_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 003 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2007 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island January 20, 2007 Lakota wiotehika Wi/moon of hardship Potawatomi mkokisis/moon of the bear Western Cherokee unolvtana/cold moon Blackfeet aisstoyiimsstaa/causes cold weather moon Mvskogee rv'fo cusee/moon of winter's younger brother Pima gi'ihothag mashath/moon when animals lose their fat +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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: Oyate Underground, Frostys AmerIndian, Remember The Cherokee/Tsalagi and Native American Poetry; 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: "Indigenous peoples haven't known any borders. Colonial borders are new. It's ironic that essentially white men of privilege who created the category of white - that it is they who determine who gets permitted into our lands." __ Winona LaDuke, founding director, White Earth Land Recovery Project +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain averted war, solved many issues left over from the Revolution, and opened ten years of largely peaceful trade in the midst of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of the principle agreements contained in Article III guaranteed right of passage by Aboriginal Peoples between the United States and Canada. While it does not include Native Peoples on the southern border of the United States, Congress has acted to grant similar rights of travel to Mexican cross-border tribes. Aboriginal rights Article III of the Jay Treaty declared the right of aboriginal peoples (people indigenous to Canada and/or the US) to trade and travel between the United States and Canada, which was then a territory of Great Britain. This right was restated in section 289 of the 1952 Immigration and Naturalization Act: Nothing in this title shall be construed to affect the right of American Indians born in Canada to pass the borders of the United States, but such right shall extend only to persons who possess at least 50 per centum of blood of the American Indian race.[1] Article III is the very article President George W. Bush is determined to nullify. Please read the following from the August 28, 2006 issue of Indian Country Today. The entire article is available at http://www.kumeyaay.com/news/news_detail.html?id=4058 -- National Congress of American Indians responds to border concerns 08/28/2006 - TUCSON AZ by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today The Bush administration recently initiated efforts that would nullify the benefits of the Jay Treaty, which recognizes the right of border passage to indigenous peoples at the northern border; further, the administration planned to press for new laws to require DNA tests to determine Indian blood, according to Louis Guassac, executive director of the Kumeyaay Border Task Force. "The Indian tribes said, 'No way,'" Guassac said, speaking at a border workshop hosted by the Alianza Indigena sin Fronteras/Indigenous Alliance Without Borders in Tucson. Guassac said that in response to these plans of the Bush administration and other new regulations for border-crossers, the National Congress of American Indians has passed two resolutions. The resolutions call on the U. S. Department of Homeland Security to enter into government-to-government consultation with Native tribes on border issues, including consultation on a proposed national Indigenous Identification Card for border pass and re-pass. -- It is essential to the Native Nations along both borders that these rights of passage be retained. The 110th Congress of the United States was just sworn in. Make sure your Representatives and Senators know their Indian constituency is watching how they handle this serious issue, as well as the protracted Indian Trust Suit. 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: - YELLOW BIRD: . Article III of the Jay Treaty Can do spirit could help Tribes - Tribes turn to Court - JODI RAVE: Bush nominee withdraws over Fund `Mismanagement' - LUCKERMAN: Wampanoag and - Cobell Settlement concepts offer Narragansett cases sound a Warning remains viable - HERRINGTON: - OST pressed on timetable Why won't the BIA call back? to complete Trust Reform - YELLOW BIRD: - Tribes need INMED needs Tribes' help a focused Political Strategy - GIAGO: Apache Journalist - Racism an issue opens Doors in Media after beatings in Border Town - Imaginary Line issued - USDA Handouts for Native Americans for all Onkwehonwe poorly written - Government supports - Blackfeet Reservation Tellqelmucw Secwepemc Society hit by severe Windstorm - Logging halt sought - Maine Tribe's frustration until Leaders Recognized flares anew - Deseronto Quarry blocked - Dispute arises by Mohawk protest over County's Road on Trust Land - Ontario must pay for consultations - Report finds Range Workers to end dispute often abused - Kanesatake Mohawk Nation - Oglala Nation fights for Mirabel land presses for Pine Ridge Housing - Precedent-setting - Tribal Officials say Urban Reserve Subdivision Elder Program cut - Gitxsan win time in Kemess dispute - Iron Shell Family - Big haul for Indian Drug Unit disrespected by non-Indians - Family of Indian killed - Some State Republicans by Park Police suing N.J. upset over Gas Deal - PELTIER: - Virginia Indians have support When the Truth doesn't Matter for Recognition Bill - Native Justice - Youths honor Escapees -- Montana pitches with Annual 400-Mile Trek Prerelease Centers - Poarch Creeks slowly reclaim -- New Address for Manuel Redwoman lost Tribal Lands - Rustywire: - Wal-Mart considers new Supercenter Albuquerque Indian School in Cherokee - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Drawing back on Traditions - Lee Goins Poem: Eyes Closed - Tribe hosts - Aboriginal Business Symposium Domestic Violence Seminar in Saskatoon - GIAGO: Newspaper fills gap - Upcoming Events in South Dakota --------- "RE: Tribes turn to Court over Fund `Mismanagement'" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 08:32:18 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRUST FUND MISMANAGEMENT" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/4059 Tribes Turn to Court over Trust-Fund `Mismanagement' by Megan Tady January 8, 2007 Native Americans filed a class-action lawsuit last month in another attempt to end a decades-long struggle with the government over the mismanagement of tribal trust funds. The nonprofit Native American Rights Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of over 250 Indian tribes. The plaintiffs are seeking accurate accountings from the US Department of the Interior (DOI) for money that is held in trust funds for Indians by the federal government. The money, which is generated from drilling, foresting, and other activities that take place on Native American property, is collected for dispersal by the government. The suit alleges that tribal trust-fund accountings completed by the firm Arthur Anderson on behalf of the government were not complete and that the tribes have never been given full information about account transactions and how much money is in their trust funds. The suit is asking the court to force the government to correct trust- fund balances using complete accounting. As previously reported by The NewStandard, the mismanagement of Native American trust funds reaches back to the 19th Century, when the US government broke reservations into 80- to 160-acre parcels of land and allotted ownership to individual Native Americans. Most beneficiaries, however, have seen little or no money from their trust and have not been provided accurate records of how much money they should have received. As of 2003, the government administers about $3 billion in Indian trust funds. "This lawsuit is a reflection of a huge historical problem with the federal government's mismanagement of tribal trust accounts," said Rebecca Miles, chair of the Nez Perce Tribe, in a press statement. "We have tried to work with the agencies and we have tried to work with Congress. Our hope now is with the courts." Copyright c. 2007 The NewStandard. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Cobell Settlement concepts offer remains viable" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:21:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COBELL SETTLEMENT" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414331 'Settlement concepts' offer remains viable in Cobell case by: Jerry Reynolds / Indian Country Today January 12, 2007 Part one WASHINGTON - Among the thorny issues left over from one Congress to the next is the Cobell v. Kempthorne litigation, now in its 10th year, over the Individual Indian Money trust. But as part of an effort to settle the case legislatively and resolve some of the problems that fuel it, the presidential administration has put forward a handful of suggestions that not only aroused substantial criticism from Indian country, but also struck some tribal leaders and observers as reasonable. The "settlement concepts," as the administration termed its views, would ordain a federal withdrawal from management of the IIM trust in two phases over a 10-year period. The priority of the first phase would be consolidation of fractionated lands by voluntary and involuntary mechanisms. Among other details, tribes and individuals would retain land title; the land would remain inalienable, in trust, not subject to taxation. Interior Department Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, in brief remarks on the settlement concepts made on Nov. 16, 2006, said the administration hopes to help Indian trust account beneficiaries move from litigation to economic development and prosperity. He emphasized the administration's willingness to "invest billions" in a "material adjustment" to trust management that will ultimately increase the value of the trust estate. James Cason, associate deputy secretary for Indian Affairs at Interior and a regular participant in consultations on Cobell-related legislation, expanded on the settlement concepts in an interview shortly after they became public knowledge. In response to a line of questioning, he took Kempthorne's remarks as his starting point. "There are several key elements in the [settlement concepts] offer. One of the elements, in particular when you're talking about making an investment for return of improved capital values within Indian country, is in the area of how we manage land fractionation." With 130,000 land allotments to account for - some of them not fractionated at all, but most others fractionated among dozens, hundreds or even thousands of ownership interests - Interior has focused on the cost of fractionation to the total value of land parcels owned by individuals and tribes. "And what happens with the fractionation," Cason said, "is to each degree that a parcel is fractionated, it has a corresponding degree of reduced value for that parcel. Because you [individual Indians and tribes] can't use the entire bundle of rights associated with the parcel when you have multiple owners who may or not agree upon the use of the property, and none of them effectively get to have the benefit of using the parcel, part of the administration's proposal was to put money into consolidating the interest in parcels." Using uniform appraisal standards recognized throughout the United States, Interior calculates that when between 10 and 20 percent of a parcel is fractionated among multiple ownership interests, Cason explained, the market value of that parcel becomes zero, compared with an approximately $25,000 market value for a property of undivided possessory interest. "So part of what we were offering was, let's make a commitment on the part of the government to get to these parcels and consolidate the interest in the parcels so that whoever ends up owning these parcels at the end can actually have meaningful, beneficial use and enjoyment of their property right, which they're denied right now, and that we actually restore the market value of the parcel so that they have something they can leverage [into greater value]." One proposal that is being discussed as a legislative possibility, Cason said, is leaving the possessory interests of the top nine or 10 interest owners intact, so as to focus on consolidating the many much smaller interests with a minimum of disruption to the larger interest holders. The smaller interests might even be offered, collectively, to the top nine or 10 interest holders, he added. "We found that with pretty rare exceptions, that if you took the top nine or 10 owners, that in most cases they owned a significant majority of the property interest. And so we felt like that approach ... would enable a lot of the continuity in Indian country but take away all the disruption from fractionation." The approach might well require a mechanism for involuntary land transfers, Cason said, though no final consensus has been reached. "But I think that it's envisioned as part of the discussions that at some point you would need to do that. And there are tools, through [land] condemnation, or other tools that you could use. Those tend to be pretty expensive, so we would probably look into legislation for some easier mechanism that's more cost-efficient to do than that." (Continued in part two) Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: OST pressed on timetable to complete Trust Reform" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:48:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OST AFTER 12 YEARS OF SPENDING MONEY AND DOING NOTHING" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/017582.asp OST pressed on timetable to complete trust reform January 9, 2007 After 12 years of existence, the Office of the Special Trustee has completed just three out of eight key reform goals, the Government Accountability Office said on Monday. Established by the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994, the OST began as a small agency designed to oversee trust reform activities. But since the start of the Bush administration, its budget has increased by over 130 percent to $222.8 million and its staff has more than doubled. Despite the massive growth, only two trust reform goals have been completed since January 2001. One was the creation of a beneficiary call center, which became fully operational in December 2005, and the other was the creation of an Internet-based trust portal in May 2006, according to the report. The only other completed reform was the installation of the Trust Fund Accounting System, or TFAS, during the Clinton administration in May 2000. The system, however, has not led to an accounting of the billions of dollars in tribal and individual trust funds. The 1994 law requires OST to come up with a strategic plan and a schedule for completing it. "However, the Special Trustee has yet to provide the Congress with a timetable for completing the remaining trust reform activities and a date for OST's termination," the GAO said. "The lack of a timetable for completing the remaining trust reforms has hindered the ability of the Congress, tribal organizations, and the public to fully assess the status of OST's trust reforms or to plan for trust fund operations once reforms are completed," the report added. Though it lacks a schedule, OST officials are confident they can complete all of their remaining goals by the end of this year. These reforms include a risk management program (March); a trust funds receivable system (November); a trust asset and accounting management system (October); an appraisal management system (March); and a probate management system (June). The Trust Asset and Accounting Management System, or TAAMS, has been a major hurdle in the reform effort. To date, the Clinton and Bush administrations have spent more than $40 million on the project, which has missed numerous deadlines. The land title component of the TAAMS system has been finished, according to GAO. But OST won't finish validating the data for the leasing component until December 2009, the report stated. The data needs to be verified, or cleaned up, because it can be inaccurate. Each regional office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs developed their own systems to track ownership of Indian allotments. "The land validation took about 1 hour per tract in BIA's Southern Plains region because there are about 12 owners per tract," the GAO said. "This validation requires more time in BIA's Great Plains region, which has about 32 owners per tract, and in BIA's Rocky Mountain region, which has over 100 owners for some tracts." Under the 1994 law, OST is to provide Congress with a "sunset" date when its work will be completed. But now that the agency has taken on additional tasks such as land consolidation and managing all trust records, that may not be a possibility under the current regime, the report noted. Despite the challenges ahead, the GAO concluded that OST "is in the final stages of implementing the trust fund management reforms that the 1994 act required." The GAO recommended that OST provide Congress with a timetable, a plan for future operations and a workforce staffing plan. In response, the Interior Department agreed with GAO's recommendations and said it will have a timetable by this June. But the department took issue with the suggestion that it hasn't completed many of its reform goals. "We estimate that over 50 significant or "key" reforms have taken place and estimate that at the very least there are many more "key" reforms to accomplish," R. Thomas Weimer, an assistant secretary, wrote in a November 21 letter. GAO reviewed the list of 47 completed tasks submitted by Interior in response to the report. But "while they are important activities for the implementation of OST's trust reforms, we believe they are not key components" of the reform effort, the GAO said. "Accordingly, we did not revise our report." Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Tribes need a focused Political Strategy" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 08:50:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FOCUSED POLITICAL STRATEGY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20070109/news_1m9tribal.html Tribes need a focused political strategy, expert says By Chet Barfield STAFF WRITER January 9, 2007 American Indian tribes must speak with a focused, united voice on issues other than gaming to make progress with the new Democratic-controlled Congress in the politically charged months ahead, tribal leaders from across the United States were told yesterday in San Diego. "Everything that's happening in the Congress is about 2008" and the presidential race, said Indian legal specialist Eric Eberhard, a former staff director for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. "It is a very volatile political environment we're going to be operating in. If we don't have a tightly focused agenda - and a realistic one - we won't get much done." He was addressing more than 200 tribal leaders from across the nation, in San Diego for a two-day forum on congressional politics. The gathering is at downtown's U.S. Grant Hotel, whose ownership by the Sycuan tribe drew applause at yesterday's opening session. With panels and group discussions offering advice from Indian organizations, Washington insiders and leaders of tribes large and small, participants are assessing challenges and opportunities afforded Indian country by the Democrats' takeover of Congress. "There's so much unknown and uncertain about the situation in D.C.," said Richard Trudell, whose Oakland-based American Indian Resources Institute organized the forum. "Is it the same old game with new players? We won't know for a while." Eberhard said tribes must fend off efforts to reduce their governmental autonomy and federal funding - especially as spiraling costs of the Iraq war spur growing shortfalls and debt. "There will be titanic battles between the two parties on where those (budget) priorities will be," he said. "They think when they're looking at the tribes that have done well at gaming, they're looking at Indian country." Attorney Patricia Zell, whose Washington firm lobbies for tribal interests, said Indians could make inroads on several key committees now that Democrats sympathetic to their concerns are in control of Congress. She said new ethics and oversight rules should not keep tribes from bringing House and Senate leaders out to see reservation communities for themselves. Heather Dawn Thompson, government affairs director for the National Congress of American Indians, said a major challenge would be to familiarize the newly elected members of Congress - 10 in the Senate, 53 in the House - with the legal, cultural and environmental issues important to tribes and tribal members. She said her organization was coordinating an effort to meet with every new lawmaker and committee leader in the weeks and months ahead. "We need to give them a broad overview on what Indian country is like," she said. "They don't want to hear about just gaming. To be successful, whether it be in gaming or anything else, we have to talk about the whole spectrum of issues." Outside the hotel, picketers from a Riverside County-based group carried signs protesting disenrollments of members of Indian tribes in Southern California and elsewhere. Chet Barfield: (619) 542-4572; chet.barfield@uniontrib.com Copyright c. 2007 Union-Tribune Publishing Co. - A Copley Newspaper Site. --------- "RE: Racism an issue after beatings in Border Town" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 08:35:18 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CORTEZ COLORADO RACISM" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://daily-times.com/news/ci_4997726 Cortez holds meeting to alleviate racial tensions By Lisa Meerts - Staff Writer The Daily Times January 12, 2007 CORTEZ, Colo. - Clyde Benally recalled once how a real estate agent, seeing his black hair and dark skin, showed him less-than-desirable homes around Cortez. A well-educated Navajo man, Benally was looking for much nicer places to live. "You can all imagine the type of houses I was shown before I said, I want something better than you're showing me,'" he told a crowd gathered at the Cortez Cultural Center on Wednesday night. Benally described other situations where he felt discrimination and asked officials in the Cortez area to take a public stance on racism. Without their voice, without bringing the issue into the light, it becomes meaningless, he said. The Southwest Intertribal Voice sponsored the meeting, which brought together enough people to fill a room and force late-comers to find seats in the hall. Utes, Anglos and Navajos sat side by side. Law enforcement, councilmen and commissioners came together with residents, teachers and even teenagers. Art Neskahi, executive director of the Southwest Intertribal Voice, organized the meeting after three intoxicated Navajo men were beaten at a city park in late November. The attacks, which resulted in one man being hospitalized, occurred over the course of one night, he said. Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane called the three beatings uncharacteristic for the city and said young men, who could not be positively identified, may have committed the crimes. Although there is a $2,000 reward for information, only one person has called, he said. "Usually you put that kind of money on the table, and crooks will turn in their mother for $2,000 and we have not had anything," Lane said. Some people at the meeting pointed at law enforcement and said the authorities needed to do a better job with incidents of racism. Lane and Montezuma County Sheriff Gerald Wallace both responded that regardless of whether someone is a perpetrator or victim, their departments look past race and address the crime. "The accusations made about the police department seem strange to me," Lane said. "I can't tell you the last time I had someone come in and complain about racism." Even so, Lane admitted that Cortez - like any border town - deals with issues between American Indians and the community. He has watched the topic come up repeatedly in his 25 years with the police department, he said, and as quickly as it rises, it subsides. "Other issues in life come up and people deal with them. This gets put on the back burner until there's an incident again. Then we start all over from ground zero," Lane said. People at the meeting eagerly discussed solutions, some noting how schools could better educate children while others said teens and adults need to be taught about racial issues today. Cyndi Guinn, who moved to Colorado from the South, said where she grew up, minorities had solidarity. They did not allow incidents like the Thanksgiving weekend beatings to pass quietly. As she agreed with Guinn, Beverly Billy, a resident from Beclabito, Ariz. on the Navajo Nation, noted how difficult it can be for American Indians to take a strong stance. "We don't know how to speak up. We've always been told to keep quiet," she said. Then she recalled how her father told her white people can give Natives an education, and encouraged the community to pursue that line. Elders drive into border towns to purchase goods and end up swindled because they cannot speak the language, cannot count the money and do not understand the laws, Billy said. The meeting lasted more than an hour and a half, the conversation alternating in tone between accusatory and supportive. But by the end, at least one message came through from everyone who spoke: collaboration. Police asked residents to bring up their concerns and make phone calls about anything that seemed abnormal. Others asked for help bringing attention to problems and learning how to handle racist friends and family. Together, the group decided it was most important to keep discussions going. "We all need to have a voice and we all need to work together," Billy added. Lisa Meerts: lmeerts@daily-times.com. Copyright c. 2007 Farmington Daily Times. --------- "RE: USDA Handouts for Native Americans poorly written" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:33:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="USDA GUIDELINES POORLY WRITTEN" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8512 USDA Handouts For Hungry Native Americans Are Poorly Written Native American Times January 10, 2007 Booklets and handouts intended by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help relieve hunger and boost nutrition among poor Native Americans, blacks, Hispanics and the elderly are of poor quality and are not aimed at their target audiences, a study has found. The study, which appears in the January/February issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, found that "the materials lacked cultural relevance for special populations. Almost all materials were intended for the non-Hispanic white general population," although a few did address Hispanics and the elderly. "Used to you had one place to order your materials. I do see more now but sometimes they will take the same framework like the food pyramid and use it for everyone," said Kibbe Conti, a Dietician and consultant for Northern Plains Nutrition Consulting. In 2004, more than 38 million people lived in households that experienced some level of what the federal government labels "food insecurity", a recently coined term for hunger that also encompasses not being able to afford nutritionally balanced meals, having to cut portion sizes and skipping meals. Of the total, 13.9 million were children. The USDA sponsored the printing of materials to help poor people improve their skills at alleviating hunger, including signing onto the food stamp program. But about 40 percent of the eligible population does not request food stamps because of "the lack of information about program eligibility requirements," the study said. Further, many of the materials could not be understood because they were written at too high a reading level. "Among the 27 materials initially identified, 20 were either irrelevant or of low relevance to food security," said the study team at Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center. "Moreover, very few of them were intended for minority populations." According to Conti, cultural relativity perks interest in her patients and allows her to help them make better choices. She has created nutrition material for various tribes across the United States and has found that the symbols for her nutritional material for Native people naturally gravitate toward the shape of a circle, not a pyramid. In her work, the California tribes chose the basket as a symbol for a nutritional guideline. The Woodland tribes chose a turtle. The medicine wheel was the choice for the Northern Plains tribes. "You have to have motivation, and I think it peaks their interest and they are more motivated to follow the message because they recognize the symbol and they recognize that the symbol has historic basis," Conti told the Native Times. "The circle, too, is like a plate. So the models we are building are a plate of food. So far, the models are the four basic food groups." The materials handed out by the U.S. Department of Agriculture may not be reaching their intended audience. According to study co-author Robert John, Ph.D., "whatever is being done is not enough. Hunger in the United States remains a problem. It has risen each year since 2000, with the exception of last year. On the other hand, there is no single thing that can be done to fix it." "This paper points out that current USDA nutrition education materials could be improved to make them more helpful for people with limited incomes," said the Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, described on its Web site as a nationwide faith-based citizens' movement against hunger. "People who struggle to put food on the table could benefit from guidance on how to budget and stretch their food dollars." Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Blackfeet Reservation hit by severe Windstorm" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:48:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BLACKFEET HAMMERED BY WINDSTORM" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070109/NEWS01/70109009/1002 Bank account set up to aid windstorm victims on Blackfeet Reservation By Tribune Staff January 9, 2007 A bank account to help Blackfeet Indian Reservation victims of the destructive New Year's wind storm has been set up by state Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning. "I'm sad to say that many people in my district are in survival mode... Food will need to be bought, demolished homes will need to be built," Augare said Monday in announcing the account. Winds of up to 75 to 90 miles per hour swept through the reservation, with one gust clocked at 110 mph in Heart Butte, during the storm. Augare set up the Blackfeet Energy Wind Fund at First Interstate Bank. Anyone wanting more information can call his cell phone at 406-450-0020. Copyright c. 2007 The Great Falls Tribune. --------- "RE: Maine Tribe's frustration flares anew" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 08:32:18 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GOVERNOR, PASSAMAQUODDY AT ODDS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/state/070107tribes.html Tribe's frustration flares anew By JOHN RICHARDSON, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram January 7, 2007 PLEASANT POINT - Gov. John Baldacci was showered with congratulations and good wishes last week as his final inauguration drew thousands of friends and fans to the state capital. But here, 180 miles away at the easternmost corner of the state, no one was celebrating. The mention of the governor's name around here, in fact, was enough to turn a conversation ugly, fast. "He's a backstabber," said Thomas Lewey, the otherwise soft-spoken lieutenant governor of Maine's Passamaquoddy Tribe. "If I was invited to his inauguration, I would not have gone." Bitterness and anger toward Baldacci, who began his second four-year term last week, are not uncommon in the economically distressed communities of Washington County. Here, in fact, those emotions are palpable. It is a complete turnaround from the relationship of a little more than four years ago, when candidate Baldacci came east to meet with tribal leaders and left them hopeful they would soon get economic help from Augusta. That help never came, tribe members say. Even worse, they say, Baldacci has prevented the tribe and the county from helping themselves. "Everything we try to do gets shot down," said Alan Lola, a 39-year-old construction worker. Last week, Baldacci defended his efforts, saying he has worked to encourage economic development in Washington County and that he continues to work with tribal leaders. Baldacci's rocky relationship with Maine's Indian tribes has been on public display since his first inauguration in 2003. Baldacci invited tribal representatives to participate in his inaugural ceremony, and two Penobscots honored the newly elected governor with a smudging ceremony. It was a historic and hopeful moment for the tribes and for the state. But tribal leaders felt betrayed and disrespected shortly after the ceremony, when Baldacci, in his inaugural address, vowed to oppose any casino in Maine. The tribes were, at that time, campaigning to build a casino in Sanford, a campaign that ultimately met defeat in a statewide vote. Baldacci's relationship with the tribes worsened in 2005 when he vetoed a bill that would have allowed the Passamaquoddy Tribe to operate a harness racing track with slot machines in Washington County. The so- called "racino" would have been similar to the one approved by voters in 2003 and now operated by an out-of-state corporation in Bangor, Baldacci's hometown. In early 2006, he vetoed another version of the bill that would have sent the issue to a statewide referendum. Baldacci said last week his stand against the racino is clearly the reason for the criticism coming from Washington County. But, he said, he followed his conscience and continues to focus his attention on less splashy improvements that he believes will bring more beneficial economic development to the area in the long run. Baldacci rattles off a list of initiatives, including county-wide tax incentives for business, highway and energy improvements and financial aid for a Washington County boat-building school, museum and development authority. The administration also has supported such new Passamaquoddy ventures as wind power generation and a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal. Baldacci denied the administration is neglecting Washington County, or any other county. "You can't leave anybody on the sidelines," he said. "I'm not happy until I see everyone doing well." Baldacci also said he is working with the governors of the four Maine tribes, all of whom attended his inauguration and were individually recognized during his speech. Relationships have improved since the racino veto, he said, and will continue to get better. "It definitely is going to change, in terms of the perception," he said. "We are committed." Four more years may not be long enough to turn around many of the hard feelings on this remote reservation, a cluster of homes, trailers and community buildings on a small peninsula between Perry and Eastport. About 600 people live on Pleasant Point, the larger of Maine's two Passamaquoddy reservations. "Most everybody is extremely disappointed," said Hilda Lewis, owner of Lewis' Flower and Gift Shop in Eastport and a member of the tribal council at Pleasant Point. "I feel that Baldacci has let Washington County down," Lewis said. "Vetoing the racino was really shameful. The racino would have provided jobs not just for the reservation but the whole of Washington County. I can't believe he did that." The frustration goes beyond members of the tribes. Pat Young, a non-Indian Eastport native, said many people were upset about the racino. "You know how great a racino would have been? And where did it go? Bangor," she said. The sentiments were clear in the results on Election Day last November. Washington County, which had been one of Baldacci's strongest supporters in 2002 and gave him 60 percent of the vote, gave him only 29 percent of the vote in 2006, the least of any county. The vote was even more dramatic on the Passamaquoddy reservations at Pleasant Point and Indian Township. The tribe had given Baldacci 89.6 percent of the vote in 2002; he got only 5.6 percent - or 17 votes - in 2006. He came in fourth last year, 15 votes ahead of Philip Morris Napier, a convicted felon. "The racino issue was a seminal issue for a lot of people in Washington County," said state Sen. Kevin Raye, R-Perry. The racino plan isn't dead. The tribe has submitted petitions to place it on the November ballot without the governor's blessing. But the plan would still have to overcome opposition from those who view gambling as a hollow form of economic development that can lead to more poverty, crime and other problems. The tribe also is working to build the LNG terminal and is exploring the potential for a wind farm. Some members also are trying to turn the tribal history and the rich ecology of the area into more powerful draws for tourists. Jobs for tribe members and revenue for the tribe are both desperately needed, they said. Money got so tight in recent months, for example, that the tribal office and health center had to scale back from 40 hours a week to 32 to save money. Baldacci is not the first governor to oppose gambling or to fail to lift Washington County and its reservations out of chronic poverty. Residents say they know the governor or the state government cannot singlehandedly rescue the county, which has the highest unemployment and the lowest household income in the state. But residents here do want the state to devote more resources to help bring economic opportunities, Raye said. "That's got to be part and parcel of turning things around," he said. "I'm hopeful that the governor is going to be eager to sort of start over with this whole thing." Rick Doyle, the newly elected governor of the Passamaquoddy Tribe, said he also is willing to work with the new Baldacci administration. "I'm hopeful this term. He seems to be more action-oriented," said Doyle. It was important to the tribe that he attend the inauguration, he said, despite the past disappointments. "We can't close the door on anything or anyone, especially the governor of Maine," he said. "If he could focus some of his energy toward Washington County and the tribe, we could work our own way out of our economic hardship." While Baldacci gets a lot of blame, many tribe members also say they feel held back by a broader public attitude tinged with prejudice, fear or racism. "We need to let the state, the people, know that the tribe is not a threat," said Edward Bassett, a member of the tribal council here. "We're good neighbors. All we want to do is survive. If you look at the history, that's all we tried to do was survive. We've got to break out of that survive mode and get into the thrive mode." Eighty-one-year-old Joseph "Cozy" Nicholas knows how hard it is to overcome prejudice. He fought in World War II and returned to the reservation without the right to vote. Then he became the tribe's first representative to the state Legislature, and gradually saw attitudes, and living conditions on the reservation, improve. "I don't think that most people look down on us the way they did," Nicholas said. The Passamaquoddy language used to be forbidden in the school; now it's studied by schoolchildren. "We grew up with an inferiority complex. Now, they're proud." But even Nicholas, known locally for his good humor and optimism, sounds frustrated. "Anything we try to do," he said, "is knocked down." Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791-6324 or at: jrichardson@pressherald.com Copyright c. 2005, Blethen Maine Newspapers, Inc. --------- "RE: Dispute arises over County's Road on Trust Land" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:48:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DISPUTE OVER ROAD" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070109/A_NEWS/701090320 Dispute over road turns violent By Dana M. Nichols Record Staff Writer January 9, 2007 SAN ANDREAS - A dispute over a county road that passes through Indian Trust land is getting violent, and needs to be resolved soon, say residents and Calaveras County's top law enforcement officer. Several people who live along the road near West Point came to the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors meeting Monday to say they don't support the posting of signs and the painting of a white line intended to discourage people from driving on the road. And they said that threats and rocks thrown at the cars of both whites and other Indians who try to drive the road make it more than just a bureaucratic dispute. "We feel the ongoing and random acts of violence allegedly perpetrated against members of our community by these individuals is tragic and, in our opinion, illegal," said Joyce Rummerfield, a Miwuk Indian, reading from a statement signed by 35 people who live in the area. Charlie Wilson, tribal chairman of the Calaveras County Miwuk Tribe, said his group posted signs and took control of the road in order to reduce the speed limit to 25 mph and improve safety. "A lot of people are upset about the speed limit set," Wilson said. "That is what this whole thing is about. We have kids running around on this trust land." Wilson acknowledged that his tribe's action to take control of the road has created tension. But he said the relatively small group with legal right to live on the trust land was not the source of any violence. Calaveras County Sheriff Dennis Downum told supervisors that the signs, the line across the road and the rift among Miwuks living along Bald Mountain are big problems. "We think it is absolutely ridiculous that that road be shut down in any fashion," Downum said. "We need to get this issue resolved. It is going to lead to significant violence up there." Supervisor Steve Wilensky, who represents that West Point Area, said he and other county officials have been meeting with Wilson and others to resolve questions over the road. But Wilensky said time is passing without any answer from the tribe, or from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, which some say has told the Indians that they had sovereignty over the road. No one responded Monday to a message left at the BIA's media office in Washington. Wilson said his group was still preparing a response to the county's most recent proposal for the road. And he said his group has no intention of shutting off access to the road. "Nothing has changed except that (county government) quit sanding it," he said of the county road operations usually done this time of year to reduce the hazard from road ice. The fact that snow plows, sanding trucks and possibly even emergency vehicles like ambulances no longer travel the upper sections of the road worries Vanessa Geto, 35, a Miwuk who lives there. "That road needs to stay open for our elders," Geto said. Wilensky asked that county officials draft an ordinance that would assert the county's right to resume enforcing laws and maintaining Bald Mountain Road. He asked that it be placed on an agenda in two weeks if by then the Bureau of Indian Affairs still has not explained whether the tribe has the legal authority to close the road. Contact reporter Dana M. Nichols at (209) 754-9534 or dnichols@recordnet.com. Copyright c. 1998 - 2006 ONI Stockton, Inc., All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Report finds Range Workers often abused" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:48:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MORE FWS NOISE TO DISCREDIT TRIBES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/01/10/news/state/45-report.txt Report finds range workers often abused By The Associated Press January 10, 2007 HELENA - A draft report by an independent investigator says federal employees at the National Bison Range in northwestern Montana were subjected to abuse and intimidation for at least a year and a half. But a spokesman for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes called the findings "fiction" and dismissed them as being "absolutely untrue and unfounded." "This investigation was deemed flawed, to the point that the Department of Interior threw it out," tribal spokesman Rob McDonald said Tuesday. The investigation was commissioned by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service after several federal workers filed a grievance in September citing sexual harassment, hostile working conditions, substandard safety, racial slurs and violence. They also alleged mistreatment of animals, as well as potential criminal violations involving federal property and funds. The investigation was conducted by Jim Reilly, a retired special agent-in- charge of the National Park Service law enforcement program for the Rocky Mountain region. Reilly told agency managers that work conditions at the range were as bad as he had ever seen in his career, and that problems in the employees' 40-page grievance only "scratch the surface of the conditions that (FWS) employees are enduring on a daily basis," according to a letter from Deputy Regional Director Jay Slack to the regional FWS director. Reilly, in a draft report obtained by the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, cited growing safety concerns for both staff and visitors. He said he was denied access to interview tribal employees at the range. McDonald said the tribes were fully willing to cooperate, but the FWS would not tell them what accusations had been made against their employees. The tribes therefore decided not to have their employees interviewed, he said. The investigation comes on the heels of a dispute over management of the bison range, a federal facility that sits within the Flathead Indian Reservation. Last month, the FWS abruptly canceled an interim plan that had allowed the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes a role in managing the range. A fax sent to the tribes Dec. 11 told them to "immediately cease performing all activities" at the bison range and withdraw all employees from the site. The fax said the tribes had failed to perform work properly and had created a hostile and intimidating work environment. The department later agreed to re-establish its relationship with the tribes, under certain conditions. Reilly said those interviewed reported that tribal employees commonly used profanity that was at times violent, racial, sexual and demeaning to women. McDonald said the report unfairly attacks tribal employees and labels them as violent. "It has hurt their credibility - I don't know what price you can put on that," he said. Copyright c. 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Oglala Nation presses for Pine Ridge Housing" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 08:50:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PINE RIDGE HOUSING" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/20070109/BUSINESS/701090332/1003 Oglala Nation presses for Pine Ridge housing By Matthew Gruchow Argus Leader January 9, 2007 The Oglala Lakota Nation has asked New York-based Native American Energy Group to submit a plan to address the housing shortage on the Pine Ridge reservation, according to a statement from the energy company. The company would bring affordable, energy-efficient homes to the reservation, where many homes lack basic water and sewage systems and electricity, according to the statement. "We use, and encourage the use of nonrenewable resources, wherever possible, on the reservations such as oil and gas to fund renewable energy systems that will provide energy and revenues for generations to come," said Joseph D'Arrigo, chief executive officer of the energy company, in the statement. Oglala Lakota Vice President Eileen Janis has said the reservation needs 1,200 homes. There is a waiting list of almost 15,000 enrolled tribal members waiting to return to the reservation, according to the statement. Copyright c. 2006 Sioux Falls Argus Leader. --------- "RE: Tribal Officials say Elder Program cut" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:33:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LACK OF FUNDS " http://www.kxnet.com/getArticle.asp?s=rss&ArticleId=84783 Tribal officials say elder program cut for lack of money... KXNewsTeam AP-NDTribal Program Cut,0137 January 11, 2007 Tribal officials say elder program cut for lack of money New Town, N.D. (AP) Officials of the Three Affiliated Tribes say a program serving more than 700 elders is being eliminated because of a lack of money. Tribal treasurer Frank Whitecalfe says the tribe's economic recovery fund is depleted. It had been used for a program that helps elders on and off the reservation with health care. Coordinators do such things as deliver meals, help with emergencies and check on those who are injured. The Three Affiliated Tribes considers elders to be age 60 and older. Ramona Two Shields is the executive director of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Elders Organization. She says the program budget usually runs about 600-thousand-dollars a year for the elders. Two Shields says she'll try to talk to tribal council members about ways to save the program. Copyright c. 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2007 KXTV, Bismark-Mandan, ND. --------- "RE: Iron Shell Family disrespected by non-Indians" --------- Date: Monday, January 08, 2007 08:10 pm From: wicaglata Subj: Iron Shell family disrespected by non-Indians Mailing List: Oyate Underground My late maternal Great Grandmother's name was Cecelia DuBray Bordeaux. She was a sister to the late Rosalie DuBray Iron Shell. Great Grandma Rosalie was Ina to Chief Calvin Iron Shell, Sr., who recently made his journey to the spirit world. I decided to write this piece when I learned of the unnecessary sorrow my close relatives experienced in attempting to secure the Lakota Veteran's gymnasium at St. Francis Indian School for Chief Iron Shell's wake and funeral. Initially, the Iron Shell family wanted to have the three nights of wake and the funeral at the gym. Chief Iron Shell spent many years working at SFIS and many of his blood relatives live in St. Francis. However, the superintendent didn't want to call off school so the request was denied. The current SFIS superintendent and school board chairman, who are both non-Indians, are obviously insensitive to the ways of our traditional people. Non-Indians who have lived on the Rosebud Reservation for many years claim to understand the Lakota and our way of life. However, I can count on ONE hand the number of non-Lakota living on the Rosebud Reservation who I actually believe have a glimmer of understanding of Lakota custom and the two wasicu in charge of our "Indian" school are not in that group. Non-Indians do not understand our cultural and ceremonial ways when it comes to the burial of a Chief, who was also Akicita and respected leader of the Sun Dance. Why is the gymnasium named after Lakota Veteran's when the administration/school board would not allow a well- respected military veteran, who also wore the bonnet of a Lakota Itancan/Naca, to lie in state there? Consequently, in attempting to correct their blunder, school officials allowed the Iron Shell family to have the last night of wake and the funeral services at the Veteran's gym. Many Lakota people would not be where they are today if not for Chief Iron Shell, who was an educator for most of his life. As a coach and administrator, he touched the lives of many Indian students in this region. He worked tirelessly to keep Indian students in school. Many high school graduates who stayed in school to attain their diploma would not have done so if not for him. Nowadays we have non-Indians running our "Indian" school and I believe that is the root cause as to why many of our Lakota students choose to drop out of high school. In my eyes, the "old gym" belongs to Chief Calvin Iron Shell, Sr. as much as it belongs to the Indian students of SFIS. One of my male cousins summed it up when he stated that Coach Iron Shell "used to rock that house." Many people remember the outstanding basketball team that Iron Shell coached in the 1970's. Fans would pack that gymnasium to see the St. Francis Warriors play. At the funeral many people spoke about Iron Shell's life. Lionel Bordeaux stated that the Lakota Veteran's gym is "like a shrine to Calvin, he built a monument here." In addition, Ned Metcalf stated that Iron Shell "put St. Francis on the map and was the best coach in the history of St. Francis." Furthermore, our ancestors gave their very lives so the Lakota people would be provided for when the reservation system was established. Chief Calvin Iron Shell, Sr. was a direct descendent of Iron Shell, who was the first to sign his mark to the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. The Treaty of 1868 paved the way for the Lakota people to survive. Most of the funding that currently trickles down to the reservations and Tribal governments can be traced back to the provisions made in the Treaty of 1868. Sicangu Oyate Ho, Inc. is a tribally-chartered organization. This means they receive funding through the name of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to operate St. Francis Indian School. Thus, SFIS would not be in operation if not for the Treaty of 1868 and the blood our Itancan shed to ensure our survival. In closing, I learned that the Rosebud Sioux Tribe's Education Committee recently voted to revoke the charter of Sicangu Oyate Ho, Inc. I also learned that the current Tribal Council would not go with the recommendation. This is an election year on the Rosebud and some politicians have already begun campaigning. There are many things wrong at SFIS. Just ask any member of the Education Committee how many complaints they have received in the past year. If the Tribal Council continues to cater to the non- Indians at the helm of tribally chartered entities perhaps we should elect people who are not afraid to do what needs to be done to stop the ongoing atrocities occurring daily at St. Francis Indian School. Signed, Vi Waln (605) 747-5029 --------- "RE: Some State Republicans upset over Gas Deal" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:48:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WASHINGTON STATE HOUSE MEMBERS QUESTION GAS DEAL WITH TRIBES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=5245010&nav=menu484_2_9 Some state Republicans upset over gas deal with two tribes January 10, 2007 OLYMPIA, Wash. Some House Republicans are criticizing gas tax agreements Governor Chris Gregoire has reached with two tribes. The agreements allow the tribes to collect and keep 75 percent of the fuel tax from reservation sales. The state has quietly quit collecting its share of the tax at gas stations owned by the Squaxin (SKWOKS'-in) Island tribe west of Olympia and the Swinomish (SWIN'-oh-MISH') tribe near LaConner. The changes comes in the wake of a ruling by a federal judge, who barred state collection of fuel taxes on reservation gas stations. In the governor's aggreement with the tribes, they will return 25 percent of tax proceeds to the state. Two Republican legislators say the agreement means the state will be giving away 100 to 500 (m) million dollars in gas-tax money if other tribes get into the act. The governor's staff disagrees. They say the agreement will cost about half a (m) million dollars a year and save more than 150 thousand dollars. And Gregoire's office says no other tribes will sign agreements until lawmakers approve a process for doing so. (From The Olympian) Copyright c. 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2000 - 2007 WorldNow and KNDO/KNDU. --------- "RE: Virginia Indians have support for Recognition Bill" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 08:35:18 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEW EFFORT FOR RECOGNITION" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414329 Virginia Indians have support for another federal recognition bill by: Bobbie Whitehead / Indian Country Today January 12, 2007 AMHERST COUNTY, Va. - Six Virginia Indian tribes will seek federal recognition once again through legislation, having maintained support from one legislator who plans to re-introduce such a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. Rep. James P. Moran, D-Va., plans to introduce a bill that will grant the tribes - the Nansemond, Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Rappahannock and Upper Mattaponi, along with the Monacan Indian Nation - federal recognition as the 110th session of Congress gets under way, said Moran's press secretary, Austin Durrer. "It's a new Congress, a new Democratic majority, and we're hopeful that that's going to bring new opportunities for Virginia's Native Americans to receive their long-awaited recognition," Durrer said. "The international spotlight is going to be on Jamestown this summer with the 400th anniversary. We're hopeful that the fact that so many people will be focusing on the founding of our country and the role that Virginia's Native Americans played in helping the settlers survive the harsh conditions of the new world will bring added impetus to get the bill passed." For the past six years, the tribes have come close to gaining that recognition as they've sought approval in time for America's 400th commemoration of the founding of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America. With the majority of its events scheduled to begin in the summer, the descendants of the Indian nations - the people who helped the first English settlers survive - continue to wait. "Rep. Jim Moran in the House told us he will once again introduce our bill," said Monacan Nation Chief Kenneth Branham. "We're continuing to talk with Sen. John Warner, and we're hoping to contact Sen. Jim Webb in the near future." Warner supported the tribes' effort in the last session by co-sponsoring a bill with former Sen. George Allen, R-Va., who introduced the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2005. Allen lost his bid for re-election in November to Webb, a Democrat. With Allen's defeat, the tribes lost one point of contact in the Senate but are hopeful for support from Webb, Branham said. However, Webb's victory gave Congress a Democratic majority, which some say means added support and movement of the Virginia tribes' bill. During the last two congressional sessions, Virginia Indians have worked to educate legislators and the public about their history, agreeing to participate in the commemoration of Jamestown's founding as well as assisting with organizing events. Some have said they want to receive federal recognition, especially before people from all over the world, including England's Queen Elizabeth II, visit Jamestown and Virginia. The tribes moved closer to that goal in 2003, when the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs supported the bill and approved sending it to the Senate for a full vote. But the House companion bill remained stalled in its Resources Committee during that session. In the last session, the bill received no action by the House, even though the SCIA held a hearing on the bill in June 2006. With the new House Resources Chairman Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., the Virginia tribes' bill and many others may move forward. "The chairman has the authority to determine which bills have hearings and which bills receive votes in the committee," said Brent Robinson, a legislative assistant to Rep. Jo Ann Davis, who co-sponsored the Virginia tribes' federal recognition bill in 2005. Some of the federal recognition bills' critics have said the legislation "sidesteps" the BIA's federal recognition process. However, Branham said the chiefs of Virginia's eight state-recognized tribes talked with the BIA years ago as they began the process of seeking federal recognition and were told that the process was lengthy and backlogged, and they were advised to seek other methods for establishing federal recognition that may be approved more quickly. Other challengers to the bills have opposed Virginia tribes' federal recognition because of Indian gaming issues. However, all six tribes have expressed no interest in gaming. The bills introduced included a provision noting the tribes would not utilize the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The six Virginia tribes, which are set up as nonprofit organizations, have been allowed under Virginia law to operate bingo games for years, but none of the tribes has pursued bingo as a means of generating revenue. "Here it is in 2007, and the Virginia Indians are still not recognized," Branham said. "This would be an embarrassment to this country and the state of Virginia if the tribes are not federally recognized, especially since this is a country that prides itself on protecting human rights." Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Youths honor Escapees with Annual 400-Mile Trek" --------- Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:59:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WARRIORS' RUN" http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/01/15/news/state/25-run.txt Warriors' Run: Youths honor escapees with annual 400-mile trek By BECKY SHAY Of The Gazette Staff January 15, 2007 BUSBY - Jade Bement finally understands why his grandpa eats last at family meals. It was a lesson the 12-year-old has watched quietly unfold at home but one that struck a cord hundreds of miles away on the Fort Robinson Outbreak Spiritual Run last week. "Warriors go last," Jade said. "I started at home last night." Jade's aunt told him to eat, but Jade said he would prefer to wait. "I learned respect," he said. Leading by example "The strong and the oldest lead from the back," said run organizer Phillip Whiteman Jr. "We can only go as fast as our oldest, youngest and slowest so no one gets left behind." Jade was among 110 Northern Cheyenne youths who made this year's run. The event, started in 1996 by Phillip Whiteman Jr., and his family, commemorates the Jan. 9, 1879, escape of 150 Cheyenne people from wooden barracks at Fort Robinson, Neb. The run is meant to honor their ancestors, help heal a historical trauma and teach the youths their Cheyenne ways, Whiteman said. Jade said there are some other lessons, too: Like it is hard to breathe while running through the Black Hills in sub-zero weather and after a few days of running your body aches. He also learned a lesson from a ranger at Mount Rushmore. "He told me to be proud of who you are and what you are," Jade said. The best part of the run was easy for the boy to explain. "Just running and knowing who you're running for, what you're running for," he said. Most participation ever This is the largest group to go on the annual run. It was made possible through wide-spread community support, Whiteman said. There also was assistance from outside the reservation, including the community of Broadus and the Montana Highway Patrol. Lt. Gov. John Bollinger flew into Broadus and talked to the runners on Saturday. Beginning Jan. 9, at 10:30 p.m., about the estimated time of the breakout, the kids started their run for Montana from Crawford, Neb. Running in relays, the youths sometimes were on the road 18-hour days to maintain their travel schedule, Whiteman said. The boys carry an eagle- feather staff and the girls carry a Northern Cheyenne flag as they run. "These kids, it's overwhelming for them to try to take on the emotional stress all at one time to think they can run 400 miles," Whiteman said. "But point A to point B, a few reflector poles, they do it. It's another way to look at life. To make healthier choices. To bring families back together." This is the first year the kids left at night. They were sent off by a group of Cheyenne elders who with the Fort Robinson Breakout Committee make the trek each year to pay homage to the people killed in the breakout, said Conrad Fisher, a committee member. "They have a sense of grieving and share stories of what happened there," Fisher said. "They grieve it like it almost happened yesterday." The outbreak is held as a key chapter in the Cheyenne's struggle and of their sacrifice to return to their homeland in 1879. Mainly women and children, the group had been held without food, water or heat before they decided to risk death by escaping to return to Montana. Most were killed during the escape, but 26 fled into the hills and traveled 40 miles before the U.S. Calvary caught up and killed them. They were buried where they had sought cover, a place known at "The Last Hole." In 1993, the last of their remains were repatriated to Montana. The outbreak run concludes on a hill overlooking Busby where a monument marks the repatriation. Sunday afternoon, dozens of people gathered to meet the runners with ululating and honking car horns. The runners were traditionally blessed, as they were at the beginning of the run, then went to a community meal and round dance to celebrate. Marie Sanchez, 67, went on the run along with six of her grandchildren. The youngest of them, 11-month-old Charlize, participated from a car seat. "It's a privilege and a honor to be with these kids, they're so strong," Sanchez said. "They might be a little rowdy at first but they settle down, they are respectful." Contact Becky Shay at bshay@billingsgazette.com or 657-1231. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Poarch Creeks slowly reclaim lost Tribal Lands" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 08:32:18 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POARCH CREEK" http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/ base/news/1168251595140030.xml&coll=3 Poarch Creeks slowly reclaim lost tribal lands By CONNIE BAGGETT Staff Reporter January 8, 2007 MAGNOLIA BRANCH WILDLIFE RESERVE - Nearly two centuries ago, thousands of acres of land were stripped from the Muscogee Indian tribes in the Southeast. Along Big Escambia Creek, one tribe is beginning to get the land back. "We have been purchasing land all adjacent to Big Escambia Creek and four miles along Sizemore Creek," said Billy Smith, the man in charge of the 4,700-acre Magnolia Branch Wildlife Reserve owned by the Poarch Band of Creeks. "We have land for tribal members to hunt if they want, and we have a campground and tubing on the creek. That's been really popular with the tribe and the public alike." Smith said all the land along the creek was part of tribal lands before the Indian Removal in the 1800s. Now, a piece at a time, the tribe is buying it back. "All this land was Creek land once," Smith said. "Once we buy the land now, we can get it into the trust and it will be Poarch Creek land forever." I drove to the reserve on Friday, a day that started with foul weather, but cleared into the kind of afternoon I dream about. Just across Sardine Bridge on Escambia 27, we found the reserve. Gatekeeper Tracy Sells said the park opened in May and was a popular camping ground for recreational vehicles and primitive campers throughout the summer. The winter has been slower, she said. Sells said the park will keep improving, with trails for hiking and horseback riding getting longer. Construction is under way on a cable bridge across the creek to join two segments of walking trails. Tribal members get to enjoy it for free, but members of the general public have to pay a fee for some activities. Smith said the land was mined for gravel years ago, but the holes gouged into the earth were abandoned. Now, the tribe is working to reclaim the land, planting longleaf pines, stocking the ponds with fish and hoping to increase the population of box turtles. The turtles are a special species to Poarch Creeks, he said, because the shells are used as rattles in ceremonial dances. The scenery is getting to be beautiful here where clearcuts are beginning to heal over. I thought of how most everything in life follows cycles, stress to calm, sorrow to joy. The river, stirred up by the storm, will settle in time. Troubles that seem insurmountable will find resolution. Even land lost for 200 years can return to the fold in generations to come. I turned from the creek and saw, out of the corner of my eye, a white shard. Sure enough, there on the creek bank was a white stone arrow point, tiny but unmistakably a knapped point. The land walked by Creeks before Alabama came to be is theirs again. Copyright c. 2007 Press-Register. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Wal-Mart considers new Supercenter in Cherokee" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2007 08:50:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EASTERN BAND WALLY WORLD" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770108025 Wal-Mart considers new Supercenter in Cherokee by Jon Ostendorff January 8, 2007 CHEROKEE - The Cherokee Indian Reservation might be home to the third new Wal-Mart Supercenter west of Asheville, according the tribe and the company. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Stewart said today that the company is talking with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians about building a Supercenter. Nothing has been decided, she said. Tribal government today would not identify the land where the Wal-Mart would be located, said tribal spokeswoman Lynne Harlan. Tribal Council on Thursday will consider authorizing Principal Chief Michell Hicks to negotiate a lease with the company, Harlan said. The meeting is open to the public. Town leaders last month approved water and sewer for a potential Supercenter in Franklin on Highlands Road and the company plans to build a store in Waynesville at the old Dayco property. The company recently told investors it planned to open 600 new locations worldwide in 2008. Of that number, 270 will be Supercenters. Some business owners in Cherokee worry that the government is courting a company that might hurt local shops. "If you look at the facts of how Wal-Mart operates, their wages are low and their benefits don't exist," said Curt Wildcatt, manger of the Radio Shack in Cherokee. "As far as competition wise, they have been very detrimental to the small businesses in the areas they go into, unless you are really specified. I am totally against it." Others see both sides of the issue. Richard Sneed, owner of the Reservation IGA Foodliner, a grocery store that has served the Qualla Boundary for 35 years, said there are pros and cons. "A lot of our money goes off the reservation when we get all these per- capita checks," he said. "With Wal-Mart, it will help the problem in some ways." Sneed said the reservation does not have a clothing retailer, a void that Wal-Mart could fill. He said he's not sure what a Supercenter would mean for his grocery store but believes the new Wal-Mart would "affect all businesses." "Its kind of hard to say what will happen five years down the road," he said. Wal-Mart did not immediately answer questions about why it is interested in the Cherokee market. The company already has a Supercenter in Sylva, about 20 minutes from the reservation. It also has regular stores in Franklin, Waynesville, and a Supercenter in Murphy. Harrah's Cherokee Casino is one of North Carolina's top tourism attractions. The business draws millions of people a year to the area and generates more than $155 million a year in profit. The casino is one of the largest private employers west of Asheville. Contact Jon Ostendorff at 828-452-1467, via e-mail at jostendo@ashevill.gannett.com Copyright c. 2007 Asheville Citizen-Times. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Drawing back on Traditions" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 08:48:49 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOIS d'ARC (OSAGE ORANGE) BOWS" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414294 Drawing back on traditions by: The Associated Press By S.E. Ruckman -- Tulsa World January 10, 2007 SCHULTER, Okla. (AP) - Inside every bois d'arc tree, a longbow is waiting to emerge. Knowing how to craft one is easy compared with coaxing the bow out of the tree, says Mike Berryhill, a Muscogee (Creek) Indian who has made longbows - which are used to shoot arrows - in the tradition of his ancestors for decades. "A bow has to have heart," he said. "Bois d'arc is a wood with heart." In the days when the Creek people lived on their Georgia homelands, before their forced removal to Oklahoma, hunters used longbows exclusively for sustenance, Berryhill said. "This is who we are; it's a part of our culture," he said. "Nowadays, we are taught how to make a living, and that's good, but back then it was survival, pure and simple." The Creek elder estimates that he has made dozens of Indian longbows in his lifetime. He got acquainted with, and then consumed by, longbows at the instruction of his grandfather, Joe Berryhill. "I was about 8 when we started being around longbows," Mike Berryhill said. "I've been involved with making them ever since." Many types of bowmakers exist, and they come out of the woodwork for frontier-oriented events, Berryhill said. He usually attends gatherings wearing his tribe's traditional attire. But bowmaking the Creek way is a dying art form, he said. "This is something I want to teach young people," he said. "Still, it's hard to get them interested in it because it's such a time-consuming process." Berryhill must cut and cure the wood before making a longbow. Depending on the wood, weeks or months can pass before a bow can be finished. He has made bows out of locust, elm and hickory, but he prefers bois d'arc. "I don't see my part in it as any special thing," he said. "The real deal is being out there and listening. I sometimes feel like I can hear when it's time for me to start working on a bow." First, the right piece of wood must be found. Berryhill has spent many hours tramping through acres of bois d'arc trees to find a potential longbow. The tree is not cut down; only a branch is removed. "I try to waste nothing when I take a piece of wood," he said. Once he finds the right tree and branch, timing is everything. The old-timers theorized that the moon has a say in what time of the month a limb should be removed. If it is cut down when the moon is too full, the wood is apt to be weak. Cold weather is the best time to cut, because the tree's sap has drawn down to its roots. That makes the wood easier to work with, Berryhill said. "It's the gravitational pull. The moon is very powerful, but we've lost our ability to realize that and use it for our benefit," he said. "Some white bowmakers will say that it doesn't matter when the wood is cut, but I don't agree." Berryhill calls himself a tree-reader, likening trees to humans. Each has attributes and weaknesses, but appearances can be deceiving, he said. "We both come from the Earth," he said. "We also have different characters and colors. Like wood, some people are easy to work with, while others are gnarly." The attributes of a bois d'arc bow are obvious. One of the longbows on his living room wall - a handsome, richly darkened instrument about 5 feet long - glows with a soft luster, but it has not been stained. Berryhill makes arrows, too. He uses river cane, which he says seems made for arrow-making. But river cane is becoming harder to find locally, he said. His arrows either are fitted with pre-made ends from kits or he makes the points out of bois d'arc. Turkey feathers adorn the opposite end. He puts his arrows into a quiver that he tanned himself. The quiver smells faintly of smoke and holds more than a half-dozen arrows. About 90 percent of the longbows Berryhill makes are for non-Indians who wish to own a real Indian bow, he said. People have paid him as much as $375 for his bows, but he also has given them away as gifts. "Sometimes I've made bows that I couldn't part with, maybe because a part of me goes into them," he said. "If you think about it, almost every culture on Earth at some time or another has used the bow and arrow in their history." Members of other area tribes also make longbows. The Cherokee Nation has named several of its longbow makers as living art treasures. Archers from that tribe, as with the Creeks, fashion their own bows. Both tribes use them to hunt game, from which they will take meat and Native medicine. Regulations for bowhunters in Oklahoma are the same whether the weapons are crossbows, compound or homemade bows, said Jim Edwards, assistant chief of the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Department's Law Enforcement Division. The season runs through Jan. 15. The archery specifications include a minimum 40-pound pull for the bow, Edwards said. Homemade bows are popular in the state with Indians and non- Indians, although it is harder to bring down a deer with them, he said. "The home bow gets back to a more traditional type of archery here in Oklahoma," he said. Berryhill said he hopes someday to teach his 7-year-old grandson how to use and make Creek longbows. The youngster has not shown much interest yet, but Berryhill holds out hope. There's still time, although he laments the passing of tribal elders who take their knowledge, such as bowmaking, with them. "Bows are a lot like Indians, in my opinion," he said. "They both have resiliency." Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Tribe hosts Domestic Violence Seminar" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:21:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SEMINAR" http://www.lahontanvalleynews.com/article/20070113/News/101130042 Tribe hosts domestic violence seminar VIKTORIA PEARSON, vpearson@lahontanvalleynews.com January 13, 2007 In a dramatic speech on domestic violence at the Fallon Convention Center Thursday, Mike Coker, instructor for the Public Agency Training Council, asked, "Why do animals get more rights and protection than a human life? Is an animal's life more important than a human being's." He said if Saddam Hussein can be dealt with harshly, so should convicted abusers. The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe's Domestic Violence Program hosted a two-day training session on the topics of confronting family violence and stalking Wednesday and Thursday. Coker was a guest speaker. The event was attended by approximately 65 law enforcement personnel and other related agency personnel from the region. "What made this training so good, is his (Coker) passion about the subject," said Sandra Hamilton of the Reno Sparks Indian Colony. "He kept everyone's attention the entire time." Survivability increases 75 percent when the victim leaves, according to statistics from the lecture. Developing an exit plan is essential for victims living in domestic violence, he said. An exit plan should include a family member or friend who can be easily contacted and knows the code word to call 911. "Sometimes when a situation is erupting, the victim does not have the availability to dial 911," he said. "However, they can call a close friend or family member who know the code word and immediately dials 911 for them." Examples he gave for code words were, "I'm out of detergent, I'll need to get some today." Coker said the person should choose something that is not obvious to the abuser. A survival bag or suitcase should be included in a safety or exit plan, Coker said. (See break out box for details.) Domestic violence advocates or intervention groups can assist victims in developing an exit plan. According to statistics in the training materials, 3.5 million or 11 percent of all reported violent crimes between 1998 and 2002 were from family violence. Of those cases, 49 percent were reported against a spouse, 41 percent by and against other family members and 11 percent were children victimized by their parents. "Family violence is now the No. 1 cause of injury to adult women, affecting more women than breast cancer, heart attacks or strokes," said Coker. Female victims accounted for 73 percent of the violence against family, according to information from the presentation. Twenty-two percent of recorded murders in 2002 involved a family member. Fifty percent of offenders incarcerated in state prisons for spousal abuse killed their victims. Viktoria Pearson can be contacted at vpearson@lahontanvalleynews.com Copyright c. 2007 Lahontan Valley News. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Newspaper fills gap in South Dakota" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 08:32:18 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: LOCAL, TRIBAL NEWS" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/017544.asp Tim Giago: Newspaper fills gap in South Dakota January 8, 2007 In this day when newspapers, including the mighty New York Times, are on a readership decline, it seems insane for anyone to start a new newspaper, especially in a town where one newspaper has been dominant for more than 100 years. But Steward Huntington, publisher of Seaton Publishing Company of Spearfish, South Dakota, believed that Rapid City was ripe for a rival publication. Huntington has worked for six newspapers across the country and has lived in the Black Hills for the past seven years. Huntington said of his new venture, "After many years of study we saw that the Rapid City community was being underserved by the daily paper (Rapid City Journal) in town. The daily paper has become more and more of a regional paper during it 17-plus years since it went under corporate ownership. We felt there was an opening to provide a paper with a distinct Rapid City focus." After more than one year in business the new Rapid City Weekly appears to be thriving. "The response from the readership has been unbelievable. In our most optimistic projections we never dreamed we would have the kind of feedback we've received. Our people can't go anywhere in town without being stopped by folks telling us how much they appreciate our paper," Huntington said. Perhaps coincidentally, or maybe in response to the new competition, the Rapid City Journal brought in a new publisher and after the loss to cancer of their longtime editor Peggy Sagen, a new editor. The new management almost immediately set about changing the format and content of the newspaper. The change was most noticeable on the editorial pages. National columnists were dropped except for random selection in the Sunday edition and local writers replaced them. But in an effort to be more local the daily has instead has become quite yokel. Its editorial columns are now written by writers with small axes to grind. In an effort to add an Indian opinion writer the paper resorted to using a writer who is more of a misogynist and religious fanatic than one who would express the political and spiritual views of Native Americans. In other words, mudslinging gossipers now dominate its opinion pages. But this sudden transition by the daily newspaper seems to fuel the aspirations of its new competitor. If the letters to the editor in the daily are to be taken seriously more people than not are unhappy with the drastic changes. They relied upon it for national columnists and national news for so many years. In fact, the results of a local basketball game are more likely to make its front page than dramatic developments in the war in Iraq. Although I am local, an American Indian born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, my weekly columns are banned from the Rapid City Journal because I have been one of its the most vocal critics. I must add here that the new Rapid City Weekly does carry my nationally syndicated column. Tom Lawrence, a native of Brookings, SD, spent many of his newspaper years working for newspapers in Montana. He was offered the job of editor of the new weekly and since he really missed living in South Dakota, he jumped at the opportunity. "The company had been looking at Rapid City for years. It has owned the Black Hills Pioneer and other publications in the area since 1947 and wanted to grow and serve the Rapid City community," Lawrence said. "We cover Rapid City closely and the people and events that make this community happen. We like profiles, longer features, quick cop briefs; community briefs, art news and we offer local columns and edits. We try to offer a well-rounded look at our community and we encourage input from them," he concluded. Lawrence admits that the paper needs to do more to cover the very large Indian community. "We need to do more and covering the Native American community is one of them," he said. Of course, so did the Rapid City Journal need to do more for the Native American community and over the years it lost most of its Indian readership to the newspaper I owned and founded, Indian Country Today. When my newspaper reached a weekly circulation of 24,000 it was just a little more than half the size of the Rapid City Journal. In fact, the weekly ICT was still growing in circulation when I sold it in 1998 and it had become a fierce competitor to the local daily for advertising dollars. I started a newspaper because the local media was not covering issues important to the Indian people and I proved that a weekly could not only survive, but also thrive in an atmosphere where the local coverage of Indian issues was at best mediocre and at most unreliable. Indian Country Today moved to New York State after I sold it and that left the door wide open for other weeklies to replace it. I hope Tom Lawrence and his weekly can fill that gap because a little honest competition usually helps to improve the quality of the dominant newspaper. Understanding that the Indian people are more than 13,000 strong in this community of 60,000 raises the bar in selecting news stories for any media outlet hoping to succeed in this community. Just as a newspaper in a city with a large black or Hispanic population understands that it must cater to its large minority, not only as readers, but as consumers, any newspaper in Rapid City must understand that its largest minority population is Indian and behave accordingly. The "New Kid in Town" is headed into its second year and has caused the local daily to do a drastic about face. I suppose you could call that good news. --- 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. 2000-2007 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Can do spirit could help Tribes" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:33:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: RIFT BETWEEN REZ LIFE AND REST OF STATE" http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=23409 `Can do' spirit could help tribes advance Dorreen Yellow Bird Grand Forks Herald January 11, 2007 There has never been a time in my history with the Herald when the rift between reservation communities and the rest of the state felt so apparent. The distance is between ways-of-life, with each group seeming to be too far to one side. This realization came after I took part in Herald editorial board meetings with members of the Grand Forks and East Grand Forks business community, as well as with Joel Kotkin and Delore Zimmerman, authors and analysts who travel nationwide and specialize in demography and rural development. In those discussions Tuesday, I felt an urge to run to the window, look out at the city and see all the accomplishments. Yet the discussions also pointed to a seemingly narrow focus on growth and wealth. North Dakota's outmigration has stopped or slowed, the group said. The state's population has increased. Higher-paying professional jobs are here for the plucking. The state's role in energy production puts us in the top 10; we're close to breaking into greatness. And the city's low unemployment is commendable. Yet there's a shortage of minimum-wage or "unskilled" workers, probably because there is so little housing available for them. Why isn't affordable housing ranked higher on the needs agenda? As I sat there away from the big conference table, my thoughts moved around the state to the four Indian reservations, and I wondered how they fit into the state scene. There wasn't a whisper about the reservations at either meeting. Years ago, I might have assumed this silence sprang from a kind of closet racism; these days, I'm reasonably sure it didn't. The attendees were focused on their and the region's performance, like race horses who are blind to anything but the winner's circle. The reservations have possibilities and could add to the state's potential. When you talk about energy, you'll find the Three Affiliated Tribes with oil and natural gas, good coal potential and wind energy space available. Water? We're sitting on Lake Sakakawea. If you follow the Missouri River downstream as it rolls into the Standing Rock Lakota nation, you'll find it surrounded by the spacious land in both North and South Dakota - land with potential underneath (the Williston Basin, which contains oil and natural gas, stretches across the reservation) and on top, in the form of wind energy. On the eastern side of the state, the Spirit Lake Reservation sits alongside Devils Lake, whose fishing and boating potential is barely being tapped. The reservation also boasts 6,390 acres of woodland, and its high hills have potential as wind energy sources. Near the Canadian border, the Turtle Mountain Band has great potential as a tourist draw with lakes, trees and the close proximity to Canada. That reservation can harness wind energy, too. In addition, all of the reservations have had population growth. This growth has enhanced the state's figures. The increase is surprising to many outsiders, because unemployment on the reservations is high and jobs are at a premium. As I listened to the businessmen and women and later the editorial board guests, there was an uneasiness at the pit of my stomach. I was hearing what the rest of the state is doing about making the best use of its potential. I know reservations are not living up to their economic potential, and that is probably why we're barely a blip on the radar of the state's growth. When you put tribes up against non-Indians, the historical piece always must fit into the puzzle because it provides an explanation. Unemployment, alcohol abuse and so on are problems on reservations that are a result of historic trauma. I know that these problems are not a result of the character of Indian people, as it is sometimes stereotyped. I'm a student of tribal history, and it is easy to see that these reservation problems came with the restriction of tribal culture that resulted in the loss of independence. The Sahnish, for example, used to build complete new communities by hand - earth lodges that could accommodate more than 500 people and many individual family lodges - all without any modern tools. They depended on themselves for food and the wellbeing of our people. What happened to us? As our land areas closed in on us and lifestyles changed, we took less and less responsibility while the government promised more and more to keep us out of the way of "progress" throughout the country. This scenario is similar on many reservations. These historic facts are true, but it's time for tribes to start their economic engines - they have the fuel. I'm not saying that reservations should turn into economic machines or that we strive for big houses, fancy cars and other amenities above who we are. I am saying we need to take back our "can do for ourselves" attitude. We need to move away from leaving responsibility to the tribal and federal governments. We need to be partners with the state by developing our own resources. We need to change our attitudes about ourselves and communities - and take charge of who we are because, after listening on Tuesday, I realized we are not living up to our potential. ---- Dorreen Yellow Bird is a reporter and columnist. Her columns appear Wednesdays and Saturdays on the opinion pages of the Herald. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald, Forum Communications Co., Fargo ND. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Bush nominee withdraws" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2007 08:33:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: WITHDRAWLS PLEASE NATIVE GROUPS" http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/01/12/jodirave/rave35.txt Bush nominee withdraws;Native groups pleased BY JODI RAVE of the Missoulian January 10, 2007 Native rights advocates celebrated Tuesday after learning three of President Bush's appeals court appointees withdrew their nominations, including William G. Myers III who was awaiting Senate confirmation to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "NCAI and tribes from across the country had opposed his nomination because of his documented disregard for federal law affecting Native sacred places and his unwillingness to consider tribal government views," said Joe Garcia, president of the National Congress of American Indians. "Indian Country had grave concerns about Mr. Myers' ability to apply the law fairly and impartially," said Garcia. "A lifetime appointment to the 9th Circuit, which contains millions of acres of public lands, hundreds of Indian reservations, more than 400 Indian tribes, and millions of Indian people, is just too important to the future of Indian people." Myers as well as William Haynes, William Myers and Terrence Boyle all ended their quest for confirmation. The nominees faced considerable challenges given their controversial backgrounds and the Senate's new Democratic majority. Tribes, environmentalist organizations and Senate Democratic allies had fought Myers nomination. "In support of their own agenda of liberal judicial activism, Senate Democrats have engaged in unprecedented measures of obstruction against the president's highly qualified nominees," Ed Whelan, president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia, told the Associated Press. Myers sparked Native opposition during his tenure as lead lawyer for the U.S. Interior Department. Among his legal decisions was an opinion that reversed a Clinton-era ruling that protected Indian Pass, a land area sacred to the Fort Yuma-Quechan Tribe of Yuma, Ariz. Quechan tribal leaders led an effort to derail Myer's nomination. "He's not qualified and he doesn't care about tribes," said Courtney Coyle, a La Jolla, Calif., lawyer representing the Quechan. As an Interior lawyer, Myers supported mining claims by Glamis Gold Ltd., a Canadian gold mine company, which was recently acquired by Goldcorp Inc., one of the world's largest gold mine operations. Goldcorp's U.S. earnings, ending in September, were $342 million. The company expects to double its reserves and increase production by 50% over the next 4 years. Glamis officials have an active appeal with the U.S. State Department to move forward with open pit cyanide project mining operations. Under NAFTA, the Quechan tribe remains limited in its legal options. Yet, Native advocates content that Myers' circuit court withdrawal means one less opponent in the court system for tribes. "It's a great day for the world of sacred places; it's a great day for the environment," said Suzan Shown Harjo, president of the Morning Star Institute in Washington, D.C. "He would have done tremendous damage on the 9th Circuit. I am thrilled his judicial career has been nipped in the bud. This however doesn't undo the damage he's done potentially to the Quechan." --- Reach reporter Jodi Rave at 800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@lee.net Copyright c. 2006 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises --------- "RE: Wampanoag and Narragansett cases sound a Warning" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2007 08:35:18 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LUCKERMAN: TRADING OFF TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414336 Luckerman: Wampanoag and Narragansett cases sound a warning by: Douglas Luckerman January 11, 2007 When tribes enter into legal agreements with state governments or others, they can no longer rely on courts to protect tribal sovereign immunity under the general principles of federal common law alone. That is the warning every tribe must take from two recent New England cases. A state high court and the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals each has found "express" waivers of sovereign immunity in two different state/tribe land settlements, and so permitted the states to enforce their criminal and regulatory laws directly against two tribal governments. These are shocking interpretations of Massachusetts and Rhode Island land settlement acts because neither act contains an express waiver of sovereign immunity or any provisions that refer to tribal immunity. Neither case presented a shred of evidence that the state and tribe had ever discussed tribal immunity, to say nothing of bargaining it away as these courts held. Both the Wampanoag and Narragansett tribes argued that federal Indian law clearly provides that a state/tribe agreement that grants a state jurisdiction on tribal lands does not confer jurisdiction over the tribal government. Numerous cases under Public Law 280, and even some prior cases in the 1st Circuit, have affirmed that principle. It was thus a surprise when both these courts "interpreted" the "intent" of the settlement acts to permit direct enforcement against tribal governments. Although both courts limited their holdings to the specific settlement acts and to surrounding facts, no tribe can afford to disregard the assault on sovereignty that these decisions represent. In the Wampanoag case, a tribal land corporation formed prior to federal recognition agreed to hold settlement lands "subject to the same laws, as any other Massachusetts corporation." Overturning a lower court, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Bldg. Inspector v. Wampanoag Aquinnah Shellfish Hatchery Corp. read that provision to constitute an express waiver of the tribe's sovereign immunity. The court did not address the importance of the federal government's subsequent extension of federal recognition to the Wampanoag after the land corporation agreement and whether the tribe had any recognized claim to immunity that it might bargain away Bldg. Inspector v. Wampanoag Aquinnah Shellfish Hatchery Corp. Nor did the decision take into account that the corporation was a completely separate legal entity from the tribal government and never did hold the lands in question. About 18 months later, in Narragansett Indian Tribe v. Rhode Island, the 1st Circuit interpreted language in the Rhode Island Settlement providing that "the settlement lands shall be subject to the civil and criminal laws and jurisdiction of the State of Rhode Island." The court held that this provision "drew no distinction between tribal members and the Tribe itself. " It held that by agreeing to those terms, the tribe had waived its immunity and by adopting that language into statute, Congress abrogated Narragansett immunity as well. The tortured reasoning of these courts ignores Supreme Court precedents and contradicts earlier holdings regarding the sovereign immunity of these tribes. Indeed, prior federal decisions involving the same statutory provisions and the same tribes had reasoned that in the "interpretation of statutes that touch upon tribal sovereignty, the court is obligated to construe acts diminishing the sovereign rights of Indian tribes strictly." Under that standard, those same courts ruled that "these provisions are altogether silent on the question of tribal sovereign immunity." As the dissenting judge in the Narragansett case noted, "The problem here is not a choice of language, but the lack of any language in any of the relevant documents that speaks to jurisdiction over the Tribe." Both New England decisions defy well-settled Supreme Court rules, including that "a waiver of sovereign immunity cannot be implied but must be unequivocally expressed" and that "there is a difference between the right to demand compliance with state laws and the means available to enforce them" against tribal governments. More often than ever before, tribes all over the United States now enter into various kinds of state/tribe agreements and private contracts. These may be commercial contracts with businesses, contracts with government agencies to provide services, agreements to share law enforcement jurisdiction, or even gaming compacts. The New England cases warn that when a tribe drafts a contract, agreement or compact, it must keep these cautionary tales in mind and not simply rely on federal common law sovereignty rules. State and federal courts appear to increasingly ignore common law protections as evidenced by the recent California Supreme Court campaign finance ruling. The courts only pay lip service to such protections as the Indian canons of construction and "backdrop" analysis that require courts to presume tribal immunity is intact and require clear and unequivocal proof of waiver. The New England cases shift the burden of immunity proof to tribes. The only rational way to combat this unfortunate trend, other than have Congress act to shore up tribal immunity, is to negotiate express provisions in every contract and agreement that recognize and affirm tribal sovereignty generally and sovereign immunity in particular. --- Douglas Luckerman is an attorney in private practice in Lexington, Mass. He was the tribal counsel in Narragansett Indian Tribe v. Rhode Island. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: HERRINGTON: Why won't the BIA call back?" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:21:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HERRINGTON: BIA" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.columbian.com/opinion/news/01122007news92200.cfm Why won't the BIA call back? GREGG HERRINGTON Columbian staff writer January 12, 2007 "If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary-wise, what it is it wouldn't be, and what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?" That gibberish from the title character in "Alice's Adventure in Wonderland" might just as well have come from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, which appears to be ducking down its rabbit hole into the world of the indecipherable and the unaccountable. For many journalists and political activists, the BIA over the years has been considered a black hole where requests for clear information go to die. It didn't matter a whole lot around here, given the absence of Indian tribes and reservations. But interest in the BIA skyrocketed after the Cowlitz Indians gained tribal status in 2002 in the wake of the tribe's David Barnett buying 152 acres at the La Center Interstate 5 junction. Now, the BIA and its parent, the Department of Interior, will decide if Barnett & Friends will gain federal trust status for the land, a move that would clear the way for construction of one of the largest casino complexes in the state. The inevitable anti-casino groups sprang up, including Citizens Against Reservation Shopping (CARS), of which Columbian Publisher Scott Campbell is a member. But their requests for information often disappeared down the hole. Baird: 'Process should be open' Last winter, U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, got the feds to show their faces and answer questions. A Jan. 18, 2006, press release from his office said: "WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Brian Baird today announced he secured not one, but two public meetings to clear up confusion over the Cowlitz Tribe's gaming-application process. (He) also secured an ombudsman to arrange the meeting and answer any questions Southwest Washington residents may have about the application process. ? The rules governing the approval of gaming applications and the responsibilities of the many federal agencies with a role in the process should be open, transparent, and understandable for everyone." So, officials from the Interior Department flew out to conduct public meetings plus interviews with the media and others, clarifying things. We thought. Baird even announced that "George Skibine, Director of the Office of Indian Gaming in the Department of Interior, will be the ombudsman for the process, standing by to answer questions and hear concerns "about the Cowlitz Tribe's gaming application process." Who's ombudsing the ombudsman? Maybe the BIA ombudsman needs an ombudsman. I tried several times this week by phone, e-mail and fax to get through to Skibine, and also to Gerald Henrikson in the Portland regional office of the BIA, but got no response. Unbeknownst to me until late Wednesday, Tom Hunt and Sarah Coomber of CARS had been trying to reach the same two gentlemen, also without success. They had the same questions as do I. Last Saturday, The Columbian's Jeffrey Mize reported that Henrikson had said the final environmental impact statement on the proposed casino would be wrapped up late this month and sent to the BIA. But, he also said, it would not be made public until after the government decides whether to take the 152 acres at the La Center exit into trust on the tribe's behalf. But if the final EIS is not released to the public and the public therefore can't comment before a decision is made, doesn't that make the whole public-input process a sham? Hunt, of CARS, figures the BIA is circumventing the National Environmental Policy Act regarding release of a final EIS. But even if there's no legal issue about when the public gets a look at the final EIS, Hunt is dubious about the final EIS. "It's fascinating," he said, that in fewer than 100 working days after the close of the comment period on the draft EIS "they could have reviewed more than 2,000 comments, many of them very substantive, such as about crowding in the I-5 corridor, and said, 'Here's how we'll mitigate the concerns.' " There also were plenty of concerns about the draft EIS by Vancouver and Clark County governments, but apparently they won't get to respond, either. The process, as Alice said of Wonderland, is getting curiouser and curiouser. --- Gregg Herrington can be reached at gregg.herrington@columbian.com. Copyright c. 2007 Columbian.com. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: INMED needs Tribes' help" --------- Date: Sun, 14 Jan 2007 17:21:09 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: INMED" http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=23762 INMED needs tribes' help Dorreen Yellow Bird Grand Forks Herald January 13, 2007 Tribal casinos earn reputations as "cash cows." These businesses, however, also are thought to bring in a seedier element, including addictions. Most tribes have accepted these "cows" with all their diseases because of the promise of jobs and profit for communities. And in recent years, there's been a movement among some tribes with lucrative casinos to help other tribes that might be just getting by while still other tribes have looked beyond reservations and are supporting non- Indian communities and local universities, as well as funding worthy community causes. One such cause in Grand Forks, I think, would be a good match for casino tribes. The program is INMED or Indians Into Medicine. INMED at UND is in trouble because the program's federal funding is dwindling. As we all know, the nation is tightening its belt in the face of a huge budget deficit and funding for the ongoing war in Iraq and Afghanistan. INMED, a national program, is caught in the rollback. Why choose this program from among the great many worthy programs that need saving? Because it has a proven record of success and an excellent reputation for filling a void. INMED trains Indian people to be doctors, nurses and other health professionals. More important, it's producing American Indian doctors for reservations and rural communities where there is a shortage. If casino tribes would accept some of the responsibility of paying for INMED, it would be another upbeat example of Indian people doing for themselves. Indians would be using some share of their casino profits to help other Indians become medical professionals. Before 1973 and the development of the INMED program, there were very few Indian doctors anywhere. When the first students graduated from medical school with the help of INMED, their white coats and stethoscopes announced to young Indian people everywhere that "You can do it, too." INMED has helped about 169 students become doctors; they practice medicine all over the country, but many have returned to and are practicing medicine on their reservations. They are important on reservations because not only do they have the skills to heal, but also they are a good fit. Many have a good understanding of the community and are comfortable working on reservations. This is not true for every physician in Indian Health Service. In the past, many physicians who came to reservations didn't stay long. They were lonely, missed the amenities of city life and felt cut off from a familiar lifestyle. INMED also should look beyond casinos for financial help. As mentioned, there are 169 doctors and many more health professionals who graduated with INMED's help; they work as service unit directors, nurses, clinical psychologist, nutritionists, occupational therapists, physician assistants, physical therapists and so on and probably would be willing to financially support the INMED program. Many of these professionals remember the "commodity Spam and cheese" days on the reservation, I suspect, and would be happy to support the Indian students in the INMED program. I think back to when my mother and aunt were alive. They had limited incomes, but in keeping with their generous natures, they supported many causes such as INMED because they knew it was good to help their neighbor. That is true of many Indian people. Maybe they just need to be asked. Those grass-roots supporters have nothing to gain but that good feeling of helping. The casinos, on the other hand, could gain a reputation for helping produce doctors and other medical professionals for Indian communities. Their good works could be rewarded with national exposure. What a public relations boon this kind of program could be for casinos. Lastly, the INMED program is so important to Indian and non-Indian communities alike that it might be helpful for the elders and the spiritual leaders to whisper a prayer for them. Tribes should get behind the INMED program. It is helping our community help itself. --- Dorreen Yellow Bird is a reporter and columnist. Her columns appear Wednesdays and Saturdays on the opinion pages of the Herald. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald, Forum Communications Co., Fargo ND. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Apache Journalist opens Doors in Media " --------- Date: Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:59:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: MARY KIM TITLA" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/017660.asp Tim Giago: Apache journalist opens doors in media January 15, 2007 Mary Kim Titla is a slender and attractive member of the San Carlos Apache Nation and she remembers how hard it was to break into the mainstream media. When she finally made the breakthrough she soon realized how much Native American news was deliberately omitted on a daily basis as she toiled at the NBC affiliate television stations in Arizona. Armed with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Communications Degree from Arizona State University, she set out to open doors for her people in the mainstream media, but like most Native American journalists that have made this same transition, she soon ran into executives with little or no knowledge about Indians and with little or no desire to hear their side of the story. Early on, Titla ran into news directors who said, "We don't have the audience for a lot of Indian news and we cannot discriminate by having a reporter or news aimed at a specific minority." Her initial experiences reminded me of my own. When I first signed on as a cub reporter with a local South Dakota daily newspaper one white editor told me that I could not cover Indian news objectively because I was an Indian. My response, "You have white reporters covering white news every day. Are they not being objective?" Throughout her 20 years in television Mary Kim Titla managed to open small doors and soon her face and name became familiar to most Arizonians. But as she gained in popularity she still felt stifled and unfulfilled by the congregation of media moguls too steeped in mediocrity and lacking in vision to further expand opportunities for Native Americans. On July 1, 2005 Titla kicked off the venture that had become her dream goal. She resigned from her position as television news reporter and started the online Native Youth Magazine. One year later, over a cup of coffee in Tulsa, OK this summer, she told me about the difficult times she and her family have faced since starting the magazine. "If it wasn't for the free labor of my three sons and husband and our willingness to work 24/7 to move this project forward, I think we would have had second thoughts," she said. Titla said her online magazine was developed in order to give voice to those without the resources or opportunity to have their points of views taken seriously. She said, "Native Youth Magazine showcases the talents and lifestyles of Native youth. It's a positive place for our young people to go to, but it's not just for Native youth. It's for anyone who cares about Native youth. We want the world to know our young people are alive and well and they're having healthy fun." Titla's early goal was to build a successful website. Now she is looking to morph into a print magazine and she is entertaining a proposal for a television show. "Wow, and to think the original vision was just a website." Explaining how the idea of a website for Native youth began, Titla said this on her personal website, "The idea of a website for Native youth began in my home. I'm a mother of three boys, Jordan 20, Micah 15, and Bear 10. They all jump on the Internet almost on a daily basis. I noticed they weren't going to websites that catered to them as Native youth and I discovered why. There just aren't many websites for them. Those that exist are niche sites for those who have special interests like writing, sports and entertainment. There's nothing wrong with that, but I wondered about all the young people like my sons who wanted a place in cyberspace that not only catered to them but also offered one stop shopping. That's when the vision began." When Titla read the message board during the first days of Native Youth Magazine the simple message "I love NYM" from a Native teenage girl, nearly brought her to tears. It assured her that Indian teenagers did read the online magazine and they did enjoy it. Titla and her husband John Mosely, Assinboine Sioux/Paiute, have invested most of their savings into the project. She credits her sons and a core group of Indian youth for building the website. "They gave me their input into the layout, design, colors, content and products for an online store. A handful of youth contribute articles on a regular basis," she said. A logo and essay contest drew many hits and generated what she called "awesome entries." As it passes the halfway point on the way to its second year Native Youth Magazine.com is now averaging about 2 million hits per month and more than 1,000 unique visits a day. Titla expounds, "Not bad for such a young website." President John F. Kennedy once said, "The American Indian is the least understood and most misunderstood of all Americans." Titla hopes to change that perception. Mary Kim Titla had a dream and she is just awakening from that dream and dealing with the tough realities of keeping a website business online. I strongly encourage you to join her in that dream and visit her website at Native Youth Magazine.com. You can contact Titla directly at marykim@nativeyouthmagazine.com. --- McClatchy News Service in Washington, DC distributes Tim Giago's weekly column. He can be reached at P.O. Box 9244, Rapid City, SD