_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 006 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 February 10, 2007 Cree cepizun/old moon Yuchi hodadzo/wind moon Lakota cannapopa wi/moon when the cold cracks the trees Algonquin wapicuummilcum/moon when ice in river is gone +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; www.indiancountrytoday.com; Mailing Lists: Frostys AmerIndian; UUCP Mail IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== Along the U.S.-Mexico border, the body count continues to pile up daily. Meanwhile, the Minutemen patrol the U.S.-Mexico border and shameless politicians find it easy to denounce illegal immigration as the cause of all the nation's problems - including linking it with "the war on terror." Amidst all the clatter, the only views not being heard are the ones that matter most. Thus here, we bring you a truly historic column, featuring the views of those that have come before us to these lands: American Indians: "Too bad WE didn't think of insisting that European arrivals speak OUR language. We'd all be speaking Ojibwemowin right now." __ Patty Loew, Assoc. Prof., UW-Madison "In an important and emphatic way, the indigenous peoples of the Americas are reclaiming their continent, whether with the ballot, by boat, by air, or on foot. Let us call it repatriation on the march." __ Shirley Hill Witt, Coauthor, El Indio Jesus +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 This issue's "Native Justice" article infuriated my half-side, Janet, and it should make every reader as angry. If there has never been an article before that adequately demonstrated American justice is really "Just Us", this one does. Put it and The Lovely Janet's editorial below on your "must read" list for this issue. --- This week's "Justice" story demonstrates eloquently that the current application of "corrections" by the tribes and the US Government reeks of unfairness and injustice. If the tribes are sovereign, make their own laws and manage their own courts and corrections, offenders should be subject to those laws just as a US citizen visiting another country is subject to that country's laws. Crimes perpetrated on Indian land should be subject to Indian law, and all violators, regardless of their national origin, subject to incarceration in tribal facilities. A US citizen prosecuted in another country for breaking their laws isn't retried and repunished in the US after serving whatever sentence that country imposes - and certainly presumption of guilt isn't reinforced by the guilty sentence and evidence uncovered in the other country's courts! Just as the US cannot dictate to neighboring countries how their corrections systems must be run - so it cannot dictate terms to the tribes - IF the tribes are truly sovereign and IF their land is truly their own. If the tribes are not truly sovereign, and their lands are truly not their own - and if tribal people truly enjoy dual US/tribal citizenship, then they should also enjoy ALL the rights of a US citizen when facing arrest and trial, even in "Indian Country" which is under the management and protection of US government. The court decisions listed at the end speak for themselves. The US courts, administration and legislative branches have gone about "cherry picking" degrees of sovereignty for tribes and their citizens, granting those that benefit the US, and denying those that might benefit tribes. It's cynical, hypocritical, and should embarrass every citizen in this country for permitting this practice to go on. +/// Janet Smith owlstar@bellsouth.net /*/+ P. O. Box 672168 OwlStar Trading Post + / * Marietta, GA 30008, U.S.A. http://www.owlstar.com * + jewelry, music, flags, herbs --- 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: - MIKE WISE: . Parallel, Unequal Justice Illinois still on the Offensive - Lawmakers address problems - GIAGO: Writing helped facing American Indians heal wounds of abuse - State of the Tribal Nations - JODI RAVE: A stitch over time - Natives have their day - YELLOW BIRD: Prarie Rose, at New Mexico Legislature Meadowlark, Choke Cherry - Senate kills - NEWCOMB: Anti-Indian rhetoric Bear Butte zoning Bill in the 21st Century - Schaghticoke challenges - JODI RAVE: Eskimos dance the Dance Cason's Legal Authority - Girl makes Hockey History, - Justice settles Cibola County singing Anthem in Cree voting rights Claim - Passport restrictions - Pesticide exposure fly in Face of Tradition prevents Breastfeeding - Congress of Aboriginal Peoples - Woodrow Keeble honored suspends OMAA in ceremony at UND Arena - Ontario attacks - SWO Tribal Chair Statement Aboriginal and Treaty Rights honoring W.W. Keeble - Province holding secret meetings - Restoring Dignity in Caledonia to Sitting Bull - Onkwehonwe youth - Honor sought fearless and restless for Navajo code Talkers - Friendship Centre - Tribal members face harassment loses two Money Sources on Sacred Peaks - Residential School legal-fee - Snowbowl waits for ruling dispute continues on snowmaking - Family sues Police - Couple first to get Loan over Teen's shooting death to build on Tribal Land - BIA settles lawsuit - Native American Trackers over suicide at Yakama Jail to step up Border Role - Tribes pursue rights in Court - Solar Tower Site - Two Teens arrested Pre-Feasibility Underway for Blackfeet stabbing Death - NA Energy Group acquires - Native Justice more Oil & Gas Leases -- Parallel, Unequal Justice - No charges in case of threats - Rustywire: Wahoo at U of Illinois - Del "Abe" Jones Poem: Veterans Day --------- "RE: Lawmakers address problems facing American Indians" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SENATE INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/ Frontpage/013007/indians.html Lawmakers address problems facing American Indians By Kelly McCormack January 30, 2007 Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and former Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.) spoke Thursday about problems facing American Indians at a breakfast co- sponsored by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and The Hill. "We have a lot of work to do," Dorgan said. "We have Third World conditions in a number of Indian reservations in areas of housing, health and education. We need to address these issues." This week, the Senate Indian Affairs Committee is set to hold a hearing to discuss the nomination of Carl Artman as assistant secretary of the Indian Affairs Bureau, Dorgan said. The committee will focus on healthcare, law enforcement and other issues that spring from a "trust responsibility" between the U.S. government and the Indian peoples. This year could mark changes for Indian peoples, Campbell said. "Rubber really hits the road for this year," Campbell said. "As you know, for the last couple of years, I think we were really sidetracked," he added, referring to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who exploited four Indian tribes for millions of dollars. "Things that are really important to us, like education and housing and nutrition and jobs and the whole agenda went that way for us," Campbell said, motioning toward the window. "And very frankly, its wise of Sen. Dorgan [to bring] it back. Those are very important issues." Campbell, who served as committee chairman from 1997 to 2001 and again from 2003 to 2004, said American Indians have not had adequate political power. "We haven't had the political muscle in the U.S. Congress to make sure that our voice is heard more and get things through that will benefit our people," Campbell said. However, he said, "That's changing." "We have very strong leadership," Campbell continued. "We're on the move and we're going to make sure we stay on the move." Dorgan will be holding a "series of listening sessions across the country" at which he will meet Indian tribes and representatives to listen to their concerns and "try to understand the agenda of the committee that I shall now chair." His first listening session was scheduled to take place last weekend in Minnesota. Akaka, a member of the committee, welcomed Dorgan as chairman. "Byron Dorgan, present chairman of the committee, follows a group of leaders through the years that really brought this committee along. Ben Nighthorse Campbell was one of them," Akaka said. "I look forward to working with [Sen. Dorgan] - we'll have a great committee again." NCAI Executive Director Jacqueline Johnson and Ietan Consulting Managing Partner Wilson Pipestem also joined in the discussion, which was moderated by The Hill's editor-at-large, Albert Eisele. "It's a special honor and significant responsibility to be able to chair a committee in Congress that deals with our special relationship with Indian people and Indian tribes: the first American people," Dorgan concluded. Copyright c. 2007 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications Inc. --------- "RE: State of the Tribal Nations" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 08:43:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MONTANA TRIBES" http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070201 /NEWS01/702010301&GID=l3qfSkAs+8969p5PLTYkgGEasENKWZozMKWPhDpdBqM%3D State of the Tribal Nations: Speech mixes optimism with struggles By GWEN FLORIO Tribune Capitol Bureau February 1, 2007 HELENA - Montana's tribes have the power to swing an election, yet still struggle terribly with economic and other woes, Crow Chairman Carl Venne told lawmakers Wednesday in a pointed plea for more aid. "Something is wrong" in Indian Country, which has a 50 percent unemployment rate compared to the state's overall 2.8 percent rate, said Venne, who gave the State of the Tribal Nations address before a joint session of the Legislature. Venne, who heads the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, spoke in a House chamber packed with state and tribal elected leaders and elders. A group of Apsaalooke (Crow) Nation women in traditional elk-teeth dresses led the Pledge of Allegiance and an Apsaalooke drum group performed a flag song. Venne and others who spoke stressed the need for the state and the tribes to work together. Surveying the crowd, Crow elder Barney Old Coyote told them that "never before have we Indians enjoyed this kind of relationship with our government." Old Coyote, a decorated World War II veteran, predicted that "this relationship will begin to flourish as in no other state." Montana's Legislature has the second-highest number of Indian lawmakers in the lower 48 states, behind only Oklahoma. Venne, who delivered the Tribal Nations address in 2003, spoke Wednesday, as he did then, about "peace through unity." "I read in the papers all the time about Democrats and Republicans up here fighting over money. You as leaders, representing all the people of our state, be careful with our money. Help everyone with our money," he said, before turning specifically to Indian Country issues. Tribes need economic development, better health care, and more programs to deal with "the new onslaught of tragedy of methamphetamine," Venne said. He decried federal programs that cost billions of dollars, even as Indian Health Services is under-funded. Venne brought chuckles when he cited federal spending of $40 million to maintain wild horse herds, such as the one in the Pryor Mountains on the Crow Reservation. "You know, we don't eat them horses and we don't ride them horses." Venne also criticized coal development elsewhere in the state, such as the proposed coal-fired power plant near Great Falls, when the coal beneath the Crow Nation "could light up the whole Northwest and California and Montana for the next 2,000 years." Lest lawmakers be tempted to ignore the concerns of Indian Country, Venne reminded them that Indian votes helped put Democrat Jon Tester over the top in his U.S. Senate race with Republican incumbent Conrad Burns. "We, the Indian population of Montana, with record voter turnouts on Election Day, changed the power of the U.S. Senate," he said, a nod to the fact that Tester's election was key to Democrats taking control of the Senate. "Montana's Indians can no longer be taken for granted," he said. Contact Gwen Florio at 406-443-9493, or gflorio@greatfallstribune.com Copyright c. 2007 The Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Natives have their day at New Mexico Legislature" --------- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 11:24:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SPEAKING WITH ONE VOICE" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2007/feb/020307kdvnprt_nativeday.html Speaking with one voice Natives have their day at legislature By Kristen Davenport For The Independent February 3, 2007 SANTA FE - About a half century ago, it was actually considered illegal after an opinion from New Mexico attorney general for the state to give financial aid to American Indian tribes. And, when New Mexico joined the Union and became a state, native people were not allowed to be citizens. Tribal leaders told the New Mexico legislature Friday that things have come a long way since those times to a point where tribes now feel the state lawmakers take Indian Country's issues seriously. "Perhaps nowhere else in the United States is the tribal/state relationship more honored," said Raymond Gachupin, governor of Jemez Pueblo, adding that tribal people feel more "openness and respect" coming from state government these days. James Mountain, governor of San Ildefonso, said it s wonderful that "now we have tribal members working side-by-side with state legislators." Friday was the 20th annual American Indian Day at the state legislature in Santa Fe. Dozens of leaders from New Mexico s 22 tribes plus one from Colorado, the Utes, spoke to ask for help with dire issues facing citizens on reservations: Water, health care and education for Indian children. "It's time to settle the issues of Indian water rights," said Ben Shelly, Navajo Nation vice president who delivered the annual speech from the Navajo tribe. Some of the outstanding water cases tied up in courts and legal battles are more than 60 years old, he said. It's the water There is a proposal from Ray Begaye, a representative from Shiprock, to fully fund and settle all water disputes related to tribes for $75 million. Although Begaye said Friday he only gives that a "fifty/fifty" chance of passing, another initiative giving $15.3 million to the Eastern Navajo Regional Water Project appears more likely. That appropriation is in Gov. Richardson s budget, Begaye said. Because Richardson has declared this "Year of the Water," there was a great deal of discussion of water issues at this year s American Indian Day water settlements and water rights. "Water is life water is always a priority for our Indian people," Gachupin said. "In New Mexico, Indian water rights have seniority. It's imperative for the state to acknowledge the tribes paramount water rights." Gachupin and others spoke of the need for the state to settle tribal water claims before those who hold water rights start selling them off which has already begun happening. "We're worried big developers might take advantage of this and look to Indian communities to quench the big thirst," he said. Other issues The other two issues tribal leaders focused on during several hours of speeches in a joint session of the state House and Sente: Education and health care. "I think the very top priority for tribes right now is health care," said Ray Begaye. "The federal government has failed to meet its treaty obligations in this area." Begaye and Ben Lujan, Speaker of the House, are carrying a bill House Bill 784 which would create a group to address disparities in Indian health care and health care outside the reservation. Sen. Lynda Lovejoy, who was at her second day on the job Friday during American Indian Day, agreed that health care is the utmost importance because the Indian Health Service is drastically underfunded. Along with state remedies for the health troubles of native people, she said, the state legislature needs to find ways to force the federal government to take its responsibility seriously, she said. "I have seen a real decline in the Indian Health Service, which is a real concern for all tribal governments," Lovejoy said. One speaker Friday said the Indian Health Service is only funded at 37 percent of its need. Education was also on the top of several speaker s agenda finding ways to better educate native kids, preferably inside their own culture and language, and testing them in a way that more accurately reflects their intelligence. "We know our kids are smart because a lot of them speak two languages," Gachupin said. Still, American Indian kids often perform poorly on American standardized tests. "We must find better ways to measure our kids success," he said. Speakers also urged New Mexico lawmakers to pass proposed bills that would extend the state's lottery scholarship to students attending tribal colleges. Lovejoy said American Indian Day at the Roundhouse "has really grown" since her days in the 1990s sitting in the House of Representatives. "I'm happy to see that," Lovejoy said. "It has really made ways for the inclusion of all tribal governments." During speeches in the House chambers Friday, drumming could be heard coming from the Rotunda the nearby room at the center of the Roundhouse where dancers were performing. "I see the American Indian Day as a tool for tribal leaders to come to Santa Fe to tell us how to assist them , to help move some of the major issues forward," Lovejoy said. Copyright c. 2007 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Senate kills Bear Butte zoning Bill" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 08:43:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITE SENATORS REJECT PROTECTION FOR BEAR BUTTE" http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/02/01/news/local/news01.txt Senate kills Bear Butte zoning bill By Bill Harlan, Journal staff February 1, 2007 A Senate committee killed a bill Wednesday that would have subjected county zoning decisions to public votes. Sen. Tom Katus, D-Rapid City, sponsored the bill, saying it was in response to protests about bars and concert venues encroaching on Bear Butte during the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Katus told members of the Senate State Affairs Committee that many tribes consider Bear Butte sacred. "This is the same as their wailing wall, their Dome of the Rock; this is the same as Rome to most of the native people who practice the traditional religions," he said. Katus said the Meade County Commission had refused to allow a countywide vote on a related issue. Sen. Mac McCracken, R-Rapid City, wondered whether allowing voters to refer planning and zoning decisions would slow development. "Would this make development in a community more difficult?" he asked. "I'm talking about multi-million dollar developments." "Quite possibly," Katus said. But he added, "The voters of the county should have the right to refer that." Katus said he supported the motorcycle rally, but he also argued, "There are other values other than just bottom line greedy capitalism and there are religious issues, especially for the Lakota." State Agriculture Secretary Larry Gabriel spoke against the measure. "I understood Sen. Katus when he talked about Bear Butte, but this bill goes much, much further than that," Gabriel said. "It touches everyone in South Dakota." Yvonne Taylor, representing the South Dakota Municipal League, also opposed the bill, saying people already can refer to public votes zoning ordinances themselves. After the ordinances are in place, she said, they should apply to everyone. "This is trying to make us pick and choose who the rules apply to," she said. Speaking in favor of the bill, Ed Raventon of the South Dakota Resources Coalition said "one man, one vote" and "local control" were "at the very heart of the democratic process in America." Sen. Ed Olson, R-Mitchell, said America was a representative democracy. "If we want to be Switzerland, let's be Switzerland," he said. But he didn't want to be Switzerland, and neither did the committee, which voted 7-2 to kill the measure without a vote of the full Senate. Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or at bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2007 Rapid City Journal. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Schaghticoke challenges Cason's Legal Authority" --------- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 11:24:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SCHAGHTICOKE APPEAL" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414424 Schaghticoke challenges Cason's legal authority by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today February 2, 2007 KENT, Conn. - The Schaghticoke Tribal Nation has challenged Interior Department Associate Deputy Secretary James Cason's authority to act as "the decision-maker" in overturning the tribe's federal acknowledgement in October 2005. In the latest twist in the Schaghticokes' decades-long quest for federal recognition, attorneys filed a motion Jan. 23 in U.S. District Court in New Haven, claiming that Cason violated both the Appointments Clause of the Constitution and the Vacancies Reform Act when on Oct. 12, 2005, he issued a Reconsidered Final Determination reversing the BIA's January 2004 positive federal acknowledgement decision. Cason was functioning as an Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs but was not appointed by the president or confirmed by Congress, and therefore exceeded his authority by issuing decisions that only a "principal officer of the United States" can lawfully render; therefore, the RFD is void, STN's attorneys wrote. Cason also reversed that day the federal status of the Eastern Pequots, whose federal recognition had been issued two years earlier. Interior's Inspector General's office could not comment on what the implications would be concerning Cason's other high-level regulatory decisions, if the Schaghticokes' claims are upheld. The motion is part of the tribe's appeal of the reversal of its recognition. The appeal alleges, among other things, that the RFD was arbitrary and capricious, a violation of the tribe's due process rights and the product of unlawful political influence and congressional interference. It asks the court to restore the tribe's recognition. Interior and its officials are named as defendants. The appeal is "the Tribe's remaining hope to regain the federal recognition that was wrongly taken from it in the RFD. It is no exaggeration to say that the Tribe is fighting for its very existence. What happened to this Tribe, including the circumstances in which it lost its prior positive recognition are, at a minimum, unusual and deserving of careful review. The Tribe has alleged since its federal recognition first came under attack that various political officials acted improperly to reverse that recognition. This improper delegation of authority to Mr. Cason is one more part of the story of the illegal handling of the Tribe's recognition. The Court should hear the full story of the Tribe's fate," one of the attorneys said. The Schaghticokes' claims have "no merit," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who led the state's relentless opposition to the tribe's federal recognition. "They are yet another attempt to deflect attention from the real issue: the Schaghticoke Tribal Nation's woefully insufficient evidence in support of its petition for federal recognition. I am confident that the BIA's final decision denying the group federal recognition will stand," Blumenthal said. On Aug. 2, 2001, Norton named Cason "associate deputy secretary" - a title that does not appear on Interior's organizational chart on its Web site at www.doi.gov. In February 2005, when the duly appointed and confirmed ASIA David Anderson resigned, Norton issued an order relegating all of the ASIA responsibilities, duties and functions to Cason. "Information obtained by the Tribe - including the recent depositions of former Secretary Norton and Mr. Cason ... makes plain that, in this capacity as Associate Deputy Secretary, James Cason at all relevant times performed duties that rendered him a 'principal officer' of the United States. As such, he is required by the Constitution and case law to have been a PAS [presidential appointee, Senate confirmation] appointee. He was not," the attorneys wrote. The tribe's attorneys declined to release transcripts of Cason's and Norton's depositions, but Blumenthal included excerpts in a brief he filed opposing the tribe's request to take testimony from other Interior officials. The tribe's attorneys said "it was no accident" that Cason was appointed outside of the PAS process - he did so to avoid Senate scrutiny. Cason failed to win Senate confirmation in 1989 when former President George H.W. Bush nominated him as Assistant Secretary for Natural Resources Environment in the Agriculture Department. His inability to win Senate confirmation related to his actions in Interior's Land and Minerals Management and Bureau of Land Management during the 1980s. "Mr. Cason's decisions at the Department of the Interior were uniformly bad when measured against any reasonable standard of public interest and fairness to the public which owns the public lands," said R. Max Peterson, the chief of the U.S. Forest Service during the Reagan years, in an article called "Leave No Tree Behind" posted on www.counter punch.org in August 2003. Interior's Deputy Inspector General Mary Kendall could not comment on the merits of the Schaghticokes' claims because the issue is in litigation. "But as a lawyer, not speaking on behalf of the IG's office, I think these are very, very interesting legal issues," Kendall said. If the tribe's arguments are upheld, what would it mean for all the other high-level decisions Cason has made? Should they stand? Should they be reviewed or vacated? "I can't go there," Kendall said. Inspector General Earl Devaney's office has investigated both the tribe's positive recognition process and Cason's roles in Interior. Devaney investigated the BIA's Schaghticoke recognition process in 2004 at the request of Connecticut Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Democrat who recently announced he is running for president in 2008. Connecticut officials had accused the BIA and the tribe of political influence, corruption and "bending the rules." The investigation exonerated both the BIA and the tribe of any wrongdoing. The recognition decision was "highly controversial," but the process had been honest and transparent, Devaney said. Connecticut officials then accused the IG's office of corruption and "whitewashing" the investigation. The IG scrutinized Cason's actions during an 18-month investigation of former Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles, who was notified by the Justice Department in January that he was likely to be indicted for lying under oath about his relationship with the criminal former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The investigation involved allegations that Griles and "DOI officials" had steered $1.6 million in Bureau of Land Management contracts to Griles' former clients. Griles had assigned Cason to screen all matters relating to the contracts from which he had ostensibly recused himself. The investigation was not able to pin down any ethical violations, but issued a scathing indictment of Interior's "cowardly and disingenuous" failure "to provide rigorous ethics advice to the political leadership." The investigation was impeded by the shape-shifting nature of Griles' former oil and gas industry clients who "continually merge, change names, and develop subsidiary companies," and by "an unanticipated lack of personal and institutional memory, conflicting recollections; poor record keeping" and other deficiencies. Cason's authority to act without a presidential nomination and Senate confirmation also raised a red flag years before the tribe's current claims. In response to a query from Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., in 2002, the Government Accountability Office reported that Cason at that time was not making high level regulatory decisions and, therefore, was not "a de facto officer" of the United States subject to presidential appointment and Senate confirmation. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Justice settles Cibola County voting rights Claim" --------- Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 08:55:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CIBOLA COUNTY VOTING RIGHTS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/56285.html Justice Department settles Cibola County voting rights claim Associated Press February 1, 2007 GRANTS, N.M. (AP) - The U.S. Department of Justice has settled voting rights claims against Cibola County. The department announced Wednesday it had settled allegations that the county violated the Help America Vote Act and the National Voter Registration Act. Those claims had been added to a lawsuit alleging violations of the Voting Rights Act, which originally was filed in 1995, attorney Joe Diaz of Albuquerque, who represented the county, said Thursday. Justice Department oversight of elections in the county will be extended through 2008 under a consent decree with the county. The federal agency filed the consent decree Wednesday resolving the lawsuit. It still must be approved by a federal judge. "I felt that the county had been complying but the Justice Department felt there were a few problems" that warranted the extension, Diaz said. American Indians complained that their rights continued to be violated, and county officials agreed to the extension, Diaz said. "Voting is the most sacred thing that all of us have," he said. "The commissioners and the clerk wanted to make sure things are done right. She (Clerk Eileen Martinez) didn't mind the Justice Department looking over her shoulder for another two years." Federal law requires counties to hire interpreters and translate ballots and other election material into Indian languages. In the case of Cibola County, officials must provide voter information and assistance in Navajo and Keresan to voters who need it. The Justice Department alleged the county failed to ensure that valid voter registration applications were processed and added to voter registration lists in a timely manner; that voters' names were not removed from the rolls without cause; and that provisional ballots were offered at elections to voters whose names were not on the voter rolls. Provisional ballots are counted after the election once officials determine the person is a qualified voter. Copyright c. 2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Pesticide exposure prevents Breastfeeding" --------- Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2007 08:55:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BREASTFEEDING HALTED BY PESTICIDE CONTAMINATION" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8562 Exposure to pesticides halts ability of second-generation Yaqui girls to breastfeed babies SONORA VALLEY MEXICO By Terri Crawford Hansen February 1, 2007 The problems began when the Yaqui pueblo peoples accepted pesticide practices in the 1950s. Long-term research led by Professor Elizabeth Guillette, Ph.D., of the University of Florida found compelling proof that exposure to pesticides has produced negative health impacts over the years to the exposed Native American Yaqui communities. Her latest research findings indicate some pre-adolescent daughters of mothers exposed to pesticide spraying will never be able to breast feed their babies - ever. With others there is uncertainly. Although there is breast growth some daughters have not developed the mammary tissue needed to produce milk, or have developed a minimal amount. As the pesticide-exposed girls matured breast size became much larger they had less mammary tissue and often none at all, while the unexposed girls were normal. "Some of the most devastating injustices [are] visited on indigenous farming communities around the world," an article in the Magazine of Pesticide Action Network said in response to the study. "High exposure to pesticides suffered by many indigenous peoples is a frequent indicator of these injustices." Guillette, whose research was published in the March 2006 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives said, "A large study, using my techniques, was done in India showing the exact same results." "The results underscore the importance of women protecting themselves from manufactured chemicals beginning at birth because they stay in the body," Guillette said. The study proves pesticide exposures can cross generations and that daughters of mothers exposed to the spraying of agricultural chemicals can be affected. The intensive industrial agricultural pesticide approach, called the "Green Revolution," was born in the Yaqui homeland in the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora's Yaqui Valley. The poverty-stricken Yaqui were split between accepting pesticides, herbicides and other agricultural toxicants. The valley Yaqui agreed to grow wheat treated with pesticides for export and for other purposes. The other Yaqui removed themselves to the foothills, avoiding pesticide use or exposure. Guillette, who frequently consults with Theo Colborn, Ph.D., lead author of "Our Stolen Future," a book that brought widespread attention to hormonal changes called endocrine disruption being wrought to wildlife and humans by common contaminants, said her own interest was piqued by the changes noted in wildlife. Another anthropologist referred her to the Sonoma Yaqui Valley, where research was promising with two groups virtually identical except for their exposures to pesticides. Her first long-term study, published in the journal EHP in 1999, tested Yaqui children aged four and five. Study results indicated key differences between the two populations in fine motor skills such as hand-eye coordination, balance, short-term memory, simple problem solving and even the ability to draw a human figure. Concluding her interview, Dr. Guillette stated, "The future of our society depends on today's children. Preventative action to protect them from contamination must occur now, including individual, national and global levels." Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Woodrow Keeble honored in ceremony at UND Arena" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VETERAN HONORED" http://www.earthskyweb.com/news.htm Woodrow Keeble honored in ceremony at UND Arena, Grand Forks Volume 38, Issue 4 Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007 At the invitation of Jody Hodgson, General Manager of the Ralph Engelstad Arena, University of North Dakota, the family of the late Woodrow Wilson Keeble as well as relatives, Vietnam Veterans and Korean War veterans, and members of the SWO Tribal Council traveled to Grand Forks, ND, on Saturday, January 20, 2007, to participate in a ceremony honoring the late Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble. Sergeant Keeble is the most decorated World War II and Korean War veteran in the State of North Dakota, having received over 28 battle medals and commendations, including two World War II and five Korean War Purple Hearts as well as both the Bronze and Silver Stars. The Secretary of Defense has recommended the Congressional Medal of Honor for him, and this recommendation presently is on the desk of President George Bush. The Board of Directors of the Ralph Engelstad Arena in support of Sergeant Woodrow Keeble's nomination for the Congressional Medal of Honor decided to construct and install a permanent display in the main entry of the sports arena. The display case contains a photograph of the honoree, his helmet which bears bullet holes and is severely dented, his uniform- jacket, a separate case containing his numerous service medals, and the inscribed words of his combat brothers, who have testified about the courage and valor of Sergeant Keeble in the heat of battle. Attending the honoring ceremony from the Lake Traverse Reservation were: Sergeant Keeble's wife, Dr. Blossom Keeble, her children, Sisseton BIA Supt. Russell Hawkins and his sons, Woodrow and Cyrus Hawkins, and daughter Diana Hawkins, Katherine Akipa; Woodrow's nephew Kurt BlueDog; Veteran Dave Seaboy (himself having earned medals and ribbons in the Korean War, including the Purple Heart); the Sisseton-Wahpeton Vietnam Veterans Honor Guard; Tribal Chairman Michael I. Selvage Sr.; Tribal Vice- Chairman Jake Thompson, wife Myrna Thompson and daughter April Thompson (Jake's father, Clifford Thompson, fought in the Pacific with Sergeant Keeble); DelRay, Audrey, and Rachael German; Debbie Crawford and family; and Brian Akipa and daughter Sarah. During the honoring ceremony in the lobby area of the arena, speakers included: Earl Strinden from the arena board of directors; Kurt BlueDog; Merry Helm, film writer for the story of Woodrow Keeble; Bill Kolb, chairman of the North Dakota Medal of Honor Memorial Board; Bernie Wagner, chairman of the 164th Association; Jim Fenelon, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, a fellow soldier and friend of Woodrow; Brigadier General Jerald Engelman, North Dakota National Guard; and Major General Michael J. Haugen. SWO Tribal Chairman Michael I. Selvage Sr. was called upon to present a memorial address on behalf of the Sisseton-Wahpeton people (see accompanying feature). Following the presentations, the Board of Directors called upon Dr. Blossom Keeble to perform the unveiling of the memorial display and encasement. Family and friends were provided a memorial meal by the board of directors at the arena. Afterward, the delegation was escorted by Brigadier General Jerald Engelman to the hockey arena for a televised pre- game ceremony on the ice. This ceremony recognized the family members, honor guard, and veterans who had come to attend the honoring of Master Sergeant Woodrow Wilson Keeble. Approximately 12,000 fans had assembled to witness this ceremony in the sports arena. Special honoring song for the ceremony was provided by the Wahpekute Singers. Tribal Chairman Selvage commented that this honoring for the extraordinary heroism of Woodrow Keeble also honors all Sisseton-Wahpeton and Native American veterans from across Indian Country, many of whom have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, families, and communities. Chairman Selvage expressed his profound gratitude on behalf of our Native Nations. Copyright c. 1999-2007 by C. D. Floro/Earth and Sky Enterprises. --------- "RE: SWO Tribal Chair Statement honoring W.W. Keeble" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBAL CHAIRMAN HONORS SISSETON-WAHPETON VETERAN" http://www.earthskyweb.com/news.htm Statement by SWO Tribal Chairman Michael I. Selvage Sr. honoring Woodrow W. Keeble Volume 38, Issue 4 Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2007 Today, we are here to honor the bravery and courage of a great man, a son of the Sisseton-Wahpeton people, who gave of himself in battle for his people and his country. I am truly honored and humbled to be a part of this honoring today, for my uncle, Woodrow Keeble, who in his life time, set the standard for courage and bravery, the likes of which we have not known since days of old. Woodrow's example exemplifies everything that we know about the Dakota Warrior. Woodrow's stature is one and the same as our Warriors of long ago. In that tradition, in his own words, Woodrow said: "In battle, I have never left my position, nor have I shirked hazardous duty. Fear did not make a coward out of me." In the thick of battle, a humble and soft spoken man, who grew up an orphan from our local Enemy Swim community, became a man among men, a leader of men, and a brother to his companions. Only men of this caliber can be called leaders of our Soldiers Society, and Woodrow Keeble was that man. Woodrow was one of our Tokada, Kit Fox, leaders, who personify courage and bravery in battle. Whether it was on the battle field or in the community, Woodrow spoke and walked bravely, honorably, and demonstrated the exact meaning of duty and fraternity among his peers. Today, we can still hear Woodrow say: "Be brave before friends and foes alike, undergo hardship and conflict with fortitude. Give of yourself to the needy, give everything that you have for the poor, the weak, and for those who have no friends, give them aid, and always set an example for our people, especially our children and youth." In the traditional songs of our Sisseton Wahpeton people, we can still hear the words of Woodrow Keeble, when he said: "I am a soldier. If called upon to die in battle, I will do it for you. If there is anything difficult to do in battle, if there is anything dangerous to do in battle, I will do it for you." That is the awesome legacy of Woodrow Keeble, our father, uncle, and grandfather, a great man from our Sisseton-Wahpeton people. Mitakuyapi Owasin. All my relatives. Copyright c. 1999-2007 by C. D. Floro/Earth and Sky Enterprises. --------- "RE: Restoring Dignity to Sitting Bull" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DISRESPECT" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/000593.asp THIS LAND Restoring Dignity to Sitting Bull, Wherever He Is By DAN BARRY January 28, 2007 [New York Times Purchase Only Article] "Here, on a snow-dusted bluff overlooking the Missouri River, rests Sitting Bull. Or so it is said. Stand before the monument and see the pocks left in the granite by bullets. Notice where the nose was replaced after vandals with chains and a truck yanked the bust from its pedestal. Spot where the headdress feather was mended after being shot off. And wonder, along with the rest of the Dakotas: Is Sitting Bull here? The 12-foot monument rises where Sitting Bull is supposedly buried and where he certainly once felt at home; where the clouds of winter press down upon the hills of dormant grass; where nothing moves but a solitary bird in flight, and the whinnies of a distant horse sound almost like an old man's rueful laughter. It all seems fitting, even the vandalism, given how this world-famous American Indian has never received the respect in death that was often denied him in life. Now two men are trying to pay that respect, in late but earnest installments. As one of them, Rhett Albers, collects another beer bottle discarded near the base of the monument, the other, Bryan Defender, gazes up at the bust of Sitting Bull. Maybe in the end, it does not matter where the holy man actually rests, says Defender, who is Hunkpapa Sioux. Like the man whose history he honors." Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: Honor sought for Navajo code Talkers" --------- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:21:36 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MONUMENT, STAMP" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/166793 Honor sought for Navajo code talkers By David Biscobing Cronkite News Service Tucson, Arizona January 30, 2007 PHOENIX - Navajos who served as code talkers in World War II urged lawmakers on Monday to pass legislation honoring them. But a Hopi tribal leader sparked debate by saying the Navajos weren't the only code talkers. "We want to be remembered significantly for helping the U.S. in its time of emergency," Keith Little, a member of the Navajo Nation who served as a code talker in the Marine Corps, told the Senate Committee on Government. Philip Quochytewa, a Hopi Tribal Council member and Vietnam veteran, told lawmakers honoring just Navajos would overlook members of his and other tribes, who he said have served as code talkers throughout U.S. history. "It's only fair that other Native American code talkers are treated with the same dignity and respect," Quochytewa said. Committee members sided with the Navajos, endorsing a bill to fund a Navajo code talkers monument already approved for Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza, rejecting an amendment to rename it the "Arizona code talkers monument." The committee also approved a resolution calling for the U.S. Postal Service to create stamps honoring Navajo code talkers and other minorities who contributed to the war effort. Sen. Jake Flake, R-Snowflake, compared the argument to a championship football team in which the quarterback gets all the credit despite the contributions of teammates. "Life's not fair. But in this respect, in my opinion, the Navajos are the quarterback. They are the ones who worked this through," Flake said. "And others did a tremendous job, a great job. The Hopis were great running backs, they were great blockers, great pass catchers and should get some honor. "In my opinion, when you say code talker, it's Navajo code talkers," Flake said. Sen. Robert Blendu, R-Litchfield Park, said other tribes should seek their own recognition. "In my opinion, all that served should be honored," Blendu said. "If there are stamps for Mickey Mouse, we can find room for all the Native American tribes." More than 400 Navajos served as Marine code talkers in the Pacific during World War II, transmitting coded messages in the Navajo language. Their contributions were kept secret until 1968. Sylvia Laughter, a Navajo and former state representative who is co- chairwoman of the Navajo Code Talker Memorial Foundation, said the recognition is overdue and well-deserved. "The fact that it took 40 years before they were allowed to talk about their experience makes it important," said Laughter, who sponsored the original legislation creating the monument. "They didn't receive recognition for so long. And when the government did start to recognize them, so many had already passed away." Gov. Janet Napolitano signed legislation in 2003 calling for the monument to be added to the plaza outside the State Capitol. SB 1192 would appropriate $100,000 for it if the Navajo Nation matches that amount. There are plans for a copy of the monument in Window Rock, depicting a crouched Navajo code talker speaking into a backpack radio. SCR 1010 would urge the Postal Service to create stamps honoring Navajo code talkers, Japanese-Americans who served in World War II and black pilots who served with the Tuskegee Airmen. Copyright c. 2007 Arizona Star. --------- "RE: Tribal members face harassment on Sacred Peaks" --------- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:21:36 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SNOWBOWL MANAGEMENT HARASSES PRAYING TRIBAL MEMBER" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.navajohopiobserver.com/main.asp? SectionID=29&SubSectionID=41&ArticleID=5473 Tribal members face harassment on sacred Peaks January 30, 2007 FLAGSTAFF - The Flagstaff Ski area, more commonly known as Arizona Snowbowl, officially opened at 9 a.m., Wednesday, Jan. 24. A number of concerned community members went to the ski area to offer prayers to the mountain and witness the opening day. While some individuals held a banner and chanted "No desecration for recreation," others made quiet prayers away from the lifts and runs. "As I have been taught, this mountain is the essence of our way of life as Dine' people," said Klee Benally a member of the all-volunteer Save the Peaks Coalition. "I came here to offer my prayers for protection of this holy mountain, because it is threatened by Snowbowl's plan to make snow from treated sewage effluent." Snowbowl General Manager J.R. Murray eventually confronted Benally and demanded that he leave the area immediately. "I told the Snowbowl representative that this was my church, I would not leave my church because this is where I pray. I also told him that I was aware that the Peaks are public lands and that I had every right to be there. Snowbowl Official J.R. Murray didn't care, he just wanted me to leave and communicated this very aggressively, I felt threatened." He added, "Snowbowl is overreacting, today's aggressive encounter just goes to show that they have no respect for our culture at all." As Benally headed down the mountain, Snowbowl officials called the Forest Service law enforcement to falsely report that Klee and others that were praying were "littering" on the mountain. "A Forest Service law enforcement official followed us down the mountain, turned on his lights and stopped our vehicle to question us. It was very intimidating. I hope no one has to go through that when they go to their church", Benally said. No one was arrested, but the officer asked the group to be "professional" and to "be good about this and you'll be much better in the long run." He continued, "We don't want you hurt or anyone else hurt up there." Benally stated, "The Forest Service official stated that he was concerned for our safety, [which] illustrates that there is a threat of violence that exists for us when we want to go to our sacred mountain. He made it sound like it was dangerous for people that want to pray." This is not the first time individuals have been harassed and intimidated while offering prayers near the ski area. In two incidences last year, armed Forest Service Officials followed a group while they were making offerings at a site within the ski area boundary. Another group last year was detained at the base of the mountain and questioned by county sheriffs deputies as to what they were doing on the mountain. Numerous tribes and environmental groups continue to peacefully oppose Snowbowl's proposed desecration through legal appeals, education, demonstrations, and prayer gatherings. Copyright c. 2007 Navajo-Hopi Observer. --------- "RE: Snowbowl waits for ruling on snowmaking" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 08:43:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW SNOW" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0201snowmaking0201.html Resort waits for ruling on snowmaking Michael Kiefer The Arizona Republic February 1, 2007 Up top, the snow was hard-packed and fast, at least on the side of the hill where wind hadn't blown it away. That was good news at least for advanced skiers on the day after the chairlifts opened at the 68-year-old Arizona Snowbowl, just north of Flagstaff. But down below, on the intermediate slopes, rock tips and dried grass poked through the scant snow cover. Lower still, on the bunny hill, wide patches of dirt were melting open in the Arizona sun. For the third time in four years, the resort opened late, even though the mountain already had 5 feet of snow, "the perfect dry powder snow that we all like to ski in," said Eric Borowsky, the ski area's principal owner. "And the wind kept blowing it away." That just bolstered his claim that Snowbowl needs artificial snowmaking equipment, which he said would have let him open the first week of December. But that equipment and possibly the future of the resort are on hold awaiting a federal court decision that could come any day. Snowbowl is rustic and outdated but still wildly popular among winter- hungry Arizonans. Two years ago, when 460 inches of snow fell on the mountain, it stayed open for 139 days and hosted more than 191,000 skiers. The U.S. Forest Service, which permits Snowbowl to operate in the Coconino National Forest, calculates that the resort brings about $10 million a year into the Flagstaff economy and, when built out, can generate over $20 million. But last year, there was so little snow that the lifts ran only for 15 days and the skiers stayed home. Borowsky's fight to make snow has been vehemently opposed by Flagstaff environmentalists and several Native American communities, who don't want to see any skiers there at all. They sued the Forest Service, and the ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will decide whether Snowbowl can make artificial snow as early as next year. The environmentalists object because Borowsky's plan would pump purified wastewater up the mountain from Flagstaff by pipeline. "There's real concerns about what impacts that has on our health and the health of the environment," said Andy Bessler of the Sierra Club. At issue is whether traces of prescription drugs and other chemicals harmful to humans, animals and the sensitive mountain ecosystem remain in the treated water. The Native Americans object on religious grounds because the San Francisco Peaks, where the ski area sits, are home to their deities. "This proposal simply puts a dagger through the Hopi spiritual heart," said Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office. "For the Hopi, it doesn't matter what the source of the water is. We suddenly have a man-made substitute for bringing this blessing we call moisture, rain, snow. And that's to everybody, not just to Hopi people." They see no compromise. Ironically, the other major ski area in the state, Sunrise Park, is owned and operated by the White Mountain Apache Nation, a plaintiff in the suit against the Forest Service. Sunrise Park has artificial snowmaking, although the Apaches oppose it at Snowbowl. "The Native Americans are basically saying, 'If we call it sacred nobody can use it,' " Borowsky said. "The real big issue here for the Forest Service is, if the Indians were to prevail just because they say that it's sacred, that nobody can use it. They say you can leave it as it is, but they know it will go out of business leaving it as it is." Snowmaking proposal The Forest Service signed off on the snowmaking proposal in February 2005 after a years-long study called an environmental impact statement. The tribes and the environmentalists immediately took the Forest Service to federal court. But in January 2006, a federal judge determined that the Forest Service had done the appropriate assessment of the project and was satisfying its mandate to provide "multiple uses" of the national forest. The tribes and the environmentalists appealed, and they argued their case in front of the 9th Circuit in September. The judges' appellate decision could be issued any day. Borowsky said that his group of investors has already spent $4 million on the impact statement and legal fees, as much as they paid for the resort in 1992. "If the 9th Circuit rules in our favor, we're going to start construction (of the pipeline)," Borowsky said. And if they can get started by March, they might be able to start spraying man-made snow by next season. "If snowmaking is not approved, we will sell the ski area," he said. A history of controversy Eric Borowsky, 67, of Scottsdale, is a seasoned businessman with a low- key manner. He first came to Arizona in 1963. When Borowsky and a group of investors purchased Snowbowl, it already had a long history of controversy. Started in the mid-1930s, Snowbowl is one of the oldest ski areas in America. In the late 1970s, its owner wanted to transform it from a day ski area to a world-class resort and expand onto the San Francisco Peaks. But he was met by environmental and Native American opposition, which dragged him through federal District Court and the Court of Appeals. In 1979, the U.S. Supreme Court let the lower-court ruling stand. The upshot was that Snowbowl could expand but only within a 777-acre perimeter. The area outside Snowbowl was then designated as the Kachina Peaks Wilderness, forever out of reach to development. But the owner who fought the case ran out of money, and the resort company that bought it faced financial problems in the real estate crash of the late 1980s and sold to Borowsky's group in 1992. For the next several years, the snow was plentiful, the resort was profitable and the investors quickly paid off their debt. By 1997, they were already talking about expanding into the space allotted by the 1979 decision. The reaction was immediate. Environmental activists protested that the Forest Service plan was outdated, and so Snowbowl embarked on a new impact statement, this time, with snowmaking factored into the plan. A source for water Nearly every ski area in North America has snowmaking to ensure that it can operate even in dry winters. The problem at Snowbowl was finding a water source. It was just downhill. Flagstaff has a waste-water treatment facility that produces high-quality reclaimed water. It is currently used to water parks and school playgrounds, and the excess is discharged into an area where it is allowed to percolate back into the ground. Borowsky proposed running it up the mountain in a 12-inch pressurized pipe to a retention pond. There would be hydrants along the road to help fight forest fires on the mountain. And though reclaimed water is widely regarded as an environmentally friendly technology, widely used for various purposes in metropolitan Phoenix and Prescott, Flagstaff environmentalists objected. During oral arguments before the 9th Circuit last September, lawyers discussed what might happen if children ate the artificial snow. Borowsky contends that the artificial snow is cleaner than natural snow, which, when tested, failed to meet drinking water standards. The environmentalists hope the water questions will sway the court in their favor. Borowsky points out that the ski area constitutes only 1 percent of the San Francisco Peaks and that there would be snowmaking on only 25 percent of that space. But Native Americans resent the scientific argument over a spiritual matter. "It seems so unjust . . . to quantify someone else's religion," Kuwanwisiwma said. Economic driver The Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, stands firmly behind Borowsky. "I think our community is fortunate to have an owner like Eric," said Joe Galli, the organization's vice president. "We in the business community understand that the Snowbowl has a tremendous impact." On Tuesday night, 7 inches of new snow fell on Snowbowl. Meanwhile, everyone involved is awaiting the appellate decision. Copyright c. 2007 Arizona Republic, azcentral.com. --------- "RE: Couple first to get Loan to build on Tribal Land" --------- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:21:36 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FIRST MORTGAGE LOAN ON TRIBAL LAND" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.norwichbulletin.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070131/NEWS01/701310303/1002 Couple first to get loan to build on tribal land By JULIE A. VARUGHESE Norwich Bulletin January 31, 2007 MASHANTUCKET - A tribal family Tuesday signed the first mortgage from a local bank to build a house on the Mashantucket Pequot reservation, a milestone in the history of home ownership on any American Indian reservation. Jason and Tammy Shourds will receive a $417,000 mortgage loan from The Dime Bank. The Shourds already have begun building a four-bedroom, 3,500-square- foot, custom-designed home at 23 Fox Trail. Construction is expected to be completed in six months. "It's just exciting because I'm going to be on that main road next to my first cousins," said Tammy Shourds, who is a tribal member. "So our kids are excited." Chuck Treat, senior vice president for residential lending of Dime, said the bank has had a program for about six years whereby the tribe puts money down as collateral on homes built on the reservation. Now, through a traditional mortgage loan, the couple's house will be considered collateral. "We've been dealing with the tribe for a number of years and this is just a continuance of that relationship," Treat said. Tribal attorney Henry Sockbeson said he and Karl-Erik Sternlof of Brown, Jacobson, a Norwich law firm, helped the tribe create a land assignment law that assigned a lot to the couple. The couple now has interest in the lot, but the federal government still holds the title to the land. Sockbeson said Fannie Mae, a federal agency that buys loans from local banks, agreed to the condition of the mortgage loan. He said if the couple default on the loan, the bank would have to go through tribal court to foreclose on the property, and the property could only be auctioned to another tribal member, who would assume responsibility for the mortgage. "They can sell it, give it away, will it or put a mortgage on it," he said, but those transactions can only occur between tribal members. This new system frees up money the tribe has been investing to help tribal members buy homes and protects a local bank if a homeowner defaults on the loan. The Shourds and their three children now live in a home on the reservation that was financed through The Dime Bank using tribal money as collateral.But they were limited to a choice of three designs for a house. The lot transaction is recorded with the tribal clerk. Sockbeson said the whole reservation conceivably could be assigned to members in the same manner. The tribe did not have to abide by federal law in order to create the tribal law, according to a letter from the Office of the Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior. AT A GLANCE How the new home financing system for the Mashantucket Pequots will work: - The tribe assignsa lot to a tribal member, who then applies for a mortgage through The Dime Bank. - Once approved, the tribal member has interest in the property, even though the title is held by the U.S. government. - Transactions such as sales and inheritances can only occur between tribal members. - The lot transaction is recorded with the tribal clerk. - If the homeowner defaults on the loan, the bank is protected because the property would be auctioned off to another tribal member, who would assume responsibility for the mortgage. - Previously, the tribe provided money as collateral, allowing tribal members to obtain mortgages. This system frees up the tribe's money and lets tribal members build custom houses. Reach Julie A. Varughese at 425-4217 or jvarughese@norwichbulletin.com Copyright c. 2007 Norwich Bulletin. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Native American Trackers to step up Border Role" --------- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 11:24:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SHADOW WOLVES" http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070202/us_nm/usa_security_trackers_dc_2 Native American trackers to step up border role By Tim Gaynor February 2, 2007 SELLS, Arizona (Reuters) - An elite group of Native American trackers that use skills handed down from the ancestral hunt is being tapped to play a larger role in securing the United States' borders. Little known outside law enforcement circles, the Shadow Wolves have hunted drug and human traffickers on a lonely stretch of the Arizona- Mexico border southwest of Tucson since the 1970s. In an age of unmanned aerial surveillance drones, video cameras and electronic sensors on the borders, the 14-member unit uses age-old "sign cutting" techniques to follow foot, horse and vehicle trails for miles across the cactus-studded wastes of the Tohono O'odham nation for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "These skills go back generations, but with all the high-technologies they are still producing fantastic results," Alonzo Pena, the ICE special agent in Arizona, said Thursday. Now the U.S. immigration agency plans to train more American Indian trackers to help secure part of the United States' porous border with Canada. The 4,000-mile stretch crossed by marijuana and cigarette smugglers has received less government attention than the southwest border with Mexico. The Shadow Wolves agents come from eight Native American nations, including the Tohono O'odham, Navajo, Kiowa, Sioux and Omaha tribes. The new tracking unit comes amid a drive by the Department of Homeland Security to ratchet up security at the land and sea borders and airports. CARPET WALKERS The Shadow Wolves were founded in 1972 to help the former U.S. Customs Service track intruders over a 75-mile (120-km) stretch of border in the Tohono O'odham nation, and swiftly gained fame for their stealth and relentlessness. Trackers have been known to handcuff their quarry while they sleep in darkened camps on lonely backtrails and can even track smugglers who bind carpet to their shoes to smudge out their tracks. Earlier this week, a team of Navajo and O'odham agents pursued a group of "carpet walkers" north of the Mexico border to a small village near Sells, southwest of Tucson. Working fast, they followed barely visible scuff marks across the damp, loamy earth, and picked up on trail of tiny fibers snared from their burlap rucksacks by spiny mesquite trees. The hunt led them to a cinderblock ranch house 25 miles (40-km) from the international line, where agents arrested four people and impounded 970 pounds of marijuana from a shed and nearby creek. A Kiowa agent said it was evidence of the usefulness of ancient tribal skills. "Even though you have all the technology available to you, you have to rely on these ancient techniques ... It's still relevant, and this is the reason why," said Sloan Satepauhoodle, pointing to 25 reeking marijuana bales she was guarding in the remote desert wash. Group members are also set to take their skills overseas to train border police in the arts of tracking in the European nations of Croatia and Macedonia in April and May, according to Pena. Kevin Carlos, the supervisor of the group, is also keen for the members to pass on their time-honored skills. "It's a great thing that we are able to go and help other countries," Carlos said. "They think the United States and the civilized world doesn't use any of these ancient techniques, but we do ... and it makes us very proud." Copyright c. 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Solar Tower Site Pre-Feasibility Underway" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 08:43:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RESERVATION TEST SITE" http://www.sys-con.com/read/330313.htm Solar Tower Site Pre-Feasibility Underway on Native American Land By: Marketwire January 31, 2007 NEW YORK, NY - (MARKET WIRE) - 01/31/07 - Pre-feasibility assessment of a site earmarked for Solar Tower development is underway on Native American land located in the tri-State region of Arizona, California and Nevada. EnviroMission (PINKSHEETS: EVOMY), in collaboration with the Aha Macav Power Service (AMPS), is now gathering meteorological data for a pre- feasibility study to assess site viability for Solar Tower development within the reservation. Weather station technology installed at the Reservation will provide localized data to confirm regional solar radiation levels up to 2700 kwm2; levels considered to be extremely favorable for Solar Tower operation. Prospects for development are positive based on the expected solar radiation results along with general site characteristics and strong local support. Development of a Solar Tower within the reservation will enable AMPS to supply green sustainable energy to the reservation with surplus export potential into the lucrative California and Nevada markets via transmission lines located within the reservation's boundaries. Mr William Cyr, General Manager of the Aha Macav Power Service, believes Solar Tower power station operation within the reservation "should provide positive commercial opportunities for AMPS from large-scale indigenous renewable electricity generation. "Development of a Solar Tower power station within the reservation will access existing electricity transmission infrastructure that is well located to dispatch electricity to all bordering States," Mr. Cyr said. About EnviroMission Limited EnviroMission is a renewable energy developer and innovator of commercially viable large-scale power generation driven by solar radiation for zero greenhouse gas emissions. http://www.enviromission.com.au Notes about forward-looking statements Except for any historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Certain Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts constitute forward-looking statements, within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created by that Act. Reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements because they involve unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "estimates," "anticipates," "projects," "plans," "expects," "intends," "believes," "may," "should" and similar expressions and by the context in which they are used. Such statements are based upon current expectations of the company and speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date when they are made. Contacts: Ms Kim Forte Communications Director +61 (414) 690.356 Alex Livak +1 (347) 813.4664 Email Contact Copyright c. 2007 SYS-CON Media. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2005 Market Wire. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: NA Energy Group acquires more Oil & Gas Leases" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2007 08:43:01 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE AMERICAN ENERGY GROUP, INC." http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070131/20070131005435.html?.v=1 Press Release Source: Native American Energy Group, Inc. Native American Energy Group Acquires Additional Oil & Gas Leases January 31, 2007 FOREST HILLS, N.Y.-(BUSINESS WIRE)-Native American Energy Group, Inc. (the "Company" or "NAEG") (OTC Pink Sheets: NVMG - News), an independent energy company, is very pleased to announce that it has added 950 acres to its Montana Oil & Gas assets following the approval of the U.S. Department of Interior. The new leases (4) overly the prolific Bakken formation, which contains a well-known producing zone. The U.S. Department of Energy is now calling the Bakken the highest producing onshore formation in the lower 48 states. With the current well spacing at 80 acres, NAEG will have approximately 11 new wells that can be drilled. Native American Energy Group is a nationwide, bonded-company by the U.S. Department of Interior, affording NAEG the opportunity and authorization to acquire, develop, and produce oil & gas on all 562 federally recognized tribes in this country. Not every company has this privilege. NAEG intends to begin the permitting process with the State of Montana later this year to drill its horizontal Bakken wells in 2008. Management is confident that NAEG will be able to continue to acquire additional quality oil & gas leases in the near future, having arranged for a $5,000,000 funding that is said to be on-track. "This expansion as well as others that we are looking at will give the Company tremendous leverage as far as production capacity potential," stated Chief Financial Officer, Raj Nanvaan. "As I had stressed during my speech before the Montana State Tribal Affairs Committee in January 2005, essential to the successful implementation of the Company's business plan is our ability to continuously work closely with the tribes and individual land owners, and to reinvest in their infrastructure, and we have done so." Chief Executive Officer, Joseph D'Arrigo stated, "Native American Energy is most certainly at a turning point in relation to market awareness. One thing I am looking forward to is capturing the live video footage from the well-site so that shareholders will be able to see their investment dollars at work. Once we are fully financed, oil sales will be common on a regular basis. On April 10, 2005 we announced a WSJ article that revealed Montana's new Oil Boom due to the very prolific Bakken formation on which an oil field was discovered that is producing 48,000 barrels a day. Today, along with NAEG's expansion in this area, we have read that Marathon Oil, the major national and international oil developer, has acquired 200,000 mineral acres from Billings to McKenzie counties and plans to drill as many as 300 wells into the Bakken in the next five years. The following article at the link below by Lauren Donovan in the Bismarck Tribune entitled, 'North Dakota may be bigger oil player tha n Alaska' describes this situation:" http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2006/06/20/news/state/ doc4497e42f6e8e5430204114.txt (Due to its length, this URL may need to be copied/pasted into your Internet browser's address field. Remove the extra space if one exists.) NAEG's previous achievements can be accessed on the Investor Relations page: http://www.nativeamericanenergy.com/investorrelations.htm Safe Harbor Statement: This News Release may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and section 21E of the United States Securities & Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, with respect to corporate objectives, projections, estimates, operations, acquisition and development of various interests and certain other matters. These statements are made under the "Safe Harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Contact: Native American Energy Group, Inc. Richard Ross, 800-780-8076 ir@nativeamericanenergy.com http://www.nativeamericanenergy.com --- Source: Native American Energy Group, Inc. Copyright c. 2007 Business Wire. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: No charges in case of threats at U of Illinois" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHAT IF THE ROLES WERE REVERSED?????" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/16574479.htm No charges in case of threats against American Indian at U of I DAVID MERCER Associated Press January 29, 2007 CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Charges will not be filed against University of Illinois students accused of threatening an American Indian student on a Web page devoted to the school's Chief Illiniwek mascot, police and a prosecutor said Monday. University police investigating the threats made late last year on a Web page dedicated to the mascot on the social-networking Web site Facebook had earlier this month asked the Champaign County State's Attorney's Office to evaluate the case. "Our opinion is there are no charges to be filed," State's Attorney Julia Rietz said. One posting on the Chief Illiniwek-related Web page included a posting that read "I say we throw a tomohawk into her face," in reference to the American Indian student. To merit criminal charges, such a threat would have to have been made directly to the student - via an e-mail message to her, for instance - rather than in a forum that amounts to conversation, Rietz said. Facebook is restricted to users with university e-mail addresses. The students who made the posts still face possible discipline through the university, Assistant Chief of Police Jeffrey Christensen said. Citing student confidentiality, Dean of Students William Riley would only say that the cases had been referred to a discipline committee made up of faculty and students. The committee, he said, "would have heard it by now and rendered its findings." The school has said at least three students are believed to have been involved but hasn't identified them. In addition to the reference to the American Indian student, at least one other student wrote on the Facebook page that "... i hate redskins and hope all those drunk casino owning bums die." The page, before it was taken off line, was titled "If They Get Rid of the Chief I'm Becoming a Racist." Another Facebook page, "The Chief Dance is Racist, Plain and Simple," contains inflammatory language directed toward Chief Illiniwek. A post written by one student last month mentioned shooting the mascot with a revolver. No criminal complaints have been filed about that page, Christensen said. Chief Illiniwek, portrayed by a student, has performed at Illini sports events for 81 years. Opponents call the chief and other American Indian characters used by sports teams offensive, while supporters defend the mascot's use as a way of honoring American Indians. The NCAA has barred Illinois from hosting postseason sports since 2005, deeming Illiniwek and his dance a "hostile and abusive" use of American Indian imagery. University Board of Trustees Chairman Lawrence C. Eppley said last week that the board will decide this year whether to continue using the mascot. Copyright c. 2007 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2007 San Jose Mercury News. --------- "RE: MIKE WISE: Illinois still on the Offensive" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MIKE WISE: FACEBOOK RACISM" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/ article/2007/01/26/AR2007012601792.html Illinois Still on the Offensive By Mike Wise, Sports Columnist January 27, 2007 On Facebook, the popular, student-driven social Web forum, a University of Illinois undergraduate began a group late last year called "If They Get Rid of the Chief I'm Becoming a Racist." These were two students' postings on the site, aimed specifically at an American Indian woman who wants the school to stop using a caricature of her culture as its mascot. "What they don't realize is that there never was a racist problem before, " wrote one, "but now I hate redskins and hope all those drunk, casino owning bums die." "Apparently the leader of this movement is of Sioux descent," another student wrote. "Which means what, you ask? The Sioux indians are the ones that killed off the Illini indians, so she's just trying to finish what her ancestors started. I say we throw a tomohowk into her face." One hundred and ten students joined the online group, which supports Chief Illiniwek. Since the 1920s, the Chief has been portrayed by a white kid in war paint and headdress, who solemnly dances at halftime of Illinois football and men's basketball games. At Illinois, dressing up and playing Indian is called tradition. The woman opposed to the caricature hasn't slept much the past few months and still is awaiting the outcome of a university investigation into the Web forum, which may lead to at least one student's expulsion from school. "Part of me is stuck in the idea that some crazy person is out there who intends me physical harm," she said by telephone. Requesting anonymity for personal-safety reasons, she added: "The other part of me knows I've probably been operating in a very dangerous climate for a long time and I'm just now admitting it. I mean, there are 110 people signed up. I play these psychological games with myself every day just to get to class and walk on campus." Crazy, no? We get all lathered up because college football does not have a playoff system. We produce talk shows about gender equity. We want our student athletes paid, as if that will somehow right another NCAA wrong. Yet when we come across the most serious and offensive issue on campus - a hurtful reminder to a people of their grave mistreatment, a blatant misappropriation of their religious and spiritual practices - we go into denial. A woman is physically threatened by a Neanderthal kid and we want to rail about the BCS again. Eliminating the Chief won't suddenly make the Champaign-Urbana campus a utopia for diversity; this is a school where a fraternity recently held a taco-and-tequila night in which kids dressed up as Mexican gardeners and pregnant mothers all in the name of good, Greek society fun. But the discourse and debate has distilled a university's responsibility in the matter. By refusing to retire the mascot, at some level the university's Board of Trustees tacitly condones the backlash on campus. Part of the message it sends students is that it's okay for them to feel persecuted for their belief in racial stereotyping. The subtext in keeping the Chief amounts to a code of acceptance. Let's be clear: You can't use one ethnicity as a symbol and at the same time expect every student to be treated in an equal manner. The good news is that enough critical mass has formed to have the fake Indian eradicated. Since the NCAA ruled last year that the university could not host postseason events as long as it uses the Chief, calling it a "hostile and abusive" mascot, Illinois has had to send two of its playoff teams packing. And with this year's men's basketball team possibly headed to the NIT, which awards home sites to profitable schools, the athletic department could be out thousands of dollars in postseason cash - cash that pays for non-revenue-generating sports. When you can't host championship events, it also makes it that much harder to attract the best kids and coaches. Keeping a white kid in war paint around used to be just insensitive. Now it's costing Illinois money and its reputation. The student newspaper called for the Chief's retirement last week. And the Oglala Sioux Nation recently requested the return of regalia sold to the school 25 years ago. Most observers believe the Board of Trustees will in the next three months finally give the Chief his gold watch after 80 years of service. "The board has no backbone," said John Gadau, a Champaign lawyer and member of the Honor the Chief Society who has spent thousands of dollars to retain the mascot. "The rumor is, they've already got another name picked out for Illinois. We'll be the Spineless Chickens." Gadau represents the other side of the debate. I figured I would call him because Rep. Tim Johnson and former speaker Dennis Hastert, two Illinois Republicans who supported a bill that would keep the NCAA out of the Illini's business, are no longer in position to advance the measure now that Democrats have a majority in Congress. Another supporter, Illinois House Republican leader Tom Cross, has taken down a Save-the- Chief petition on his Web site. I asked Gadau how he felt about the Oglala Sioux tribe requesting the regalia be returned. "If you want to get into cliches, the first thing that comes to my mind is Indian giver," Gadau actually said. "We bought it. It's ours." Gadau added: "The real problem we have in Illinois is we don't have a tribe to buy off. Other tribes killed off the Illini. Look at Florida State. They buy the Seminoles off and it's okay for a white kid to throw a flaming spear in the ground." He's right about that. The hypocrisy on this issue prevents an across- the-board abolition of Indian mascots. You buy one tribe's silence, and it's okay to reject the claims of insensitivity by another. Still, Chief Illiniwek will be dead soon, and that will be a historic moment. For people such as Charlene Teters, who started holding up a handmade placard outside the football stadium that read, "American Indians are people, not mascots," some 20 years ago at Illinois. And for people such as Genevieve Tenoso, still an Illinois student and the great-great granddaughter of Sitting Bull, whom I met three years ago while researching a story on the Chief. Tenoso told me then about running into a group of students demonstrating on behalf of the chief under the banner, "The Illini Nation." "I think I said, 'Look, now they've got their own tribe.' And a guy told me if I didn't shut up he was going to pop me in the lip." You hear a seventh-generation descendant of the legendary Hunkpapa leader tell you that story, and you think about all the degradation their ancestors have suffered, and it makes you want to pop that kid in the lip. Copyright c. 2007 The Washington Post Company. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Writing helped heal wounds of abuse" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: RECOVERY FROM SCHOOL ABUSE" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/000602.asp Tim Giago: Writing helped heal wounds of abuse January 29, 2007 Why do some children survive abuse by growing stronger while others whither and die as the result of alcoholism, drugs, suicide or even as murderers at the hands of an executioner? And why do many of those abused as children become abusers themselves in adulthood? These are questions I was asked last week by a reporter from the Albuquerque Journal and I don't think I answered them to the best of my ability. The writer was doing an interview for my new book "Children Left Behind," a book that is a partial biography of the horrors I observed while growing up at the Holy Rosary Indian Mission on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The press release by the publisher the reporter read goes, "Tim Giago weaves a memoir, commentary, reflection and poetry together to boldly illustrate his often-horrific experiences as a child at a Catholic Indian Mission boarding school where Indian children were forcefully molded to fit into mainstream America. This unholy experiment contributed to many of today's modern problems in an entire generation of Native Americans." When she asked me how it was that I survived the experience and came out stronger my reply was that I attributed to my parents. I believe this was not the complete answer. Make no mistake that I loved my parents, but after giving it much thought, I do not believe they were the only reason I made some success of my life after the boarding school experience. I think it was because I loved to write. When I was seventeen and on my way by ship to Korea in 1952, I started to write poems about my school days, the good, the bad, and the very ugly. I continued to write these poems for nearly 19 years and one day I mailed them to a Cahuilla Indian man named Rupert Costo, the publisher of the Indian Historian Press in San Francisco. Costo, a victim of the boarding school system himself, called me a few weeks later and said, "Tim, these poems must be published." And his publishing house named the book of poetry, "The Aboriginal Sin." It was published in 1978. Many of these poems are included in my new and expanded book on the Indian mission boarding schools, "Children Left Behind." From the day the book of poetry was published the Catholic Church hierarchy and the Jesuit priests at the mission school went into denial. They denied that I ever went to school at the mission and they attempted to erase any evidence of it. I had to get affidavits from my former classmates to prove I attended school there. It seems that my small book of poetry was hurting the school's ability to solicit money. By writing about my life, and the lives of my friends at the mission school, it was a cathartic experience for me. By putting my thoughts down on paper I was able to see my life's experiences for what they were, to analyze them, and to put them behind me. Many Indian people who read my book, then and now, write to me and say how much this has helped them to understand their own fears and anxieties. You must understand that America's "Cultural Genocide" against the Indian people encompassed more than three generations beginning in the mid-1880s and lasting until the 1960s. When I read the reviews of the movie "Freedom Writers" in the New York Times I thought about my own life and how writing proved to be the catharsis that lifted me out of my pain and sorrow. When I was in the sixth grade I was writing down everything that was important to me. One day I handed in a composition assignment to my teacher, a Catholic prefect who would later become a Jesuit priest, and he read it, slammed it down on my desk, and accused me of plagiarism. I had no idea of what he was talking about. He said, "As a writer you will never amount to a hill of beans." His critical comments made me work all the harder to improve my writing skills. Many years later I was given the Distinguished Achievement Award in Journalism by the University of Missouri School of Journalism. When I was asked at the banquet that night, "If you could name anyone in the world, who would you like to have sitting at your side tonight?" I replied, "A Father Fagan from the Holy Rosary Indian Mission boarding school who told me that as a writer, I would never amount to a hill of beans." Anna Quindlen, writing a review on "Freedom Writers" in her weekly column for Newsweek quoted novelist Don DeLillo when he wrote, "Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in making all around us. In the end, writers will write not to be outlaw heroes of some underculture but mainly to save themselves, to survive as individuals" I say amen to that. Writing was my salvation and it was writing that took me all of the way from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to Harvard Yard. It was writing that helped me to see past the horrors of rape, psychological and physical abuse, and the sanctimonious religious indoctrination of the Catholic Church and enabled me to write a book that would remind all Americans that there is a portion of their history that has been swept under the rug and buried because of the shame it not only brought to the Church but to the Nation. Too many Indians have been sacrificial victims of the boarding schools for me to ever let America forget. And I encourage all teachers worth their salt to take their students to see "Freedom Writers." It could change their lives. --- McClatchy News Service in Washington, DC distributes Tim Giago's weekly column. He can be reached at P.O. Box 9244, Rapid City, SD 57709 or at najournalists@rushmore.com. Giago was also the founder and former editor and publisher of the Lakota Times and Indian Country Today newspapers and the founder and first president of the Native American Journalists Association. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the class of 1990-1991. Clear Light Books of Santa Fe, NM (harmon@clearlightbooks.com) published his latest book, "Children Left Behind." Copyright c. 2000-2006 Indianz.Com. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: A stitch over time" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 08:57:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: PRESERVING TRADITION" http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/01/29/jodirave/rave29.txt A stitch over time: For generations, a Salish family preserves a tradition By JODI RAVE January 28, 2007 PABLO - If it exists, or can be imagined, it can be beaded. So says Salish beader Karen Kapi. A man once challenged her: I know something you can't bead. A naked lady. A few days later, Karen presented him with a beaded belt buckle. It had a beautiful, discreetly naked lady with flowing black hair modestly covering her voluptuous body. The man wore the buckle faithfully - until someone stole it. He pleaded for Karen to bead the woman again. No, she said. Some things are meant to be originals, meaning no duplicates, ever. Sometimes, it just depends. Still, Karen remains up to the challenge of all beading requests. And the demand for her labor-intensive skill and valued time never wanes. One morning this past week, Karen sat with family members and beaded in The People's Center, the Salish and Kootenai tribes' cultural museum on the Flathead Reservation. On this day, five generations of her family were present, ranging from Karen's 85-year-old mother, Margaret Coffee, to two great-grandchildren, 7-month-old Anjaleah Sheridan and 3-year-old Iggy Pierre. Karen works full time at the The People's Center, where she and women in her family demonstrate beadwork to tourists. The women also gather at the center and teach tribal members who want to learn the art of beading. "They're passing on their talents and teaching others," said Marie Torosian, the center's education director. "They've taught me some tricks with my beadwork." Karen Kapi's family has made beading a tradition. Even though Natives might be associated with beadwork, not every Indian can bead. And skill levels vary. It might take some people years to finish beadwork on a dance outfit, whereas Karen and her family have worked marathon shifts to finish fully beaded outfits in days. Together, the women have beaded for governors, tribal and national beauty pageant contestants, foreign dignitaries, the U.S. Mint, family members, and hundreds of others seeking finely crafted beadwork. The women bead everything from single clothing items costing thousands of dollars to keychains and earrings that sell for less than $20. But there is perhaps one item that best defines the women: handbags. On this day, Karen's mother has a handbag with her that was beaded by Karen's great-grandmother, Maggie Adams, who was from the Spokane Tribe. The beadwork is exquisite. Adams beaded the U.S. flag in the center of the bag, and intricate use of color combinations makes the flag appear three- dimensional, as if it's rippling in the wind. "I've had a lot of people touch it to see if it had real folds in it," said the elder. Karen, who is 65, beaded her first handbag while a student at what is now called Haskell Indian Nations University. She has since acquired 178 beaded handbags, including more than 40 she beaded herself. One bag in her collection took more than 100 years to complete, with five generations of women in her family contributing beadwork to the piece. Each handbag has a story, including tales of squirrels, frybread, friends, red birds, turtles, stick games, stampedes and religion. The women create modern designs, but also respect the older, traditional styles, too. Maggie Maestas, Karen Kopi's 20-year-old granddaughter, has recently completed some of her first big beading projects, including a traditionally styled beaded vest for her son and a more contemporary, bold-colored butterfly handbag for herself. When asked about the beadwork done by her grandmother Karen and aunt Naomi Kuka, the young woman sits up straight and glances across the table where the other two are moving beading needles through canvas and buckskin. "I'm better," she says without hesitation. All the women laugh. "But we're faster," the older ones reply. Overall, the women have a great reverence for one another's work. But Naomi feels not everyone understands just how much time, skill and effort goes into stitching beads and creating breathtaking designs. "If we're beading for a family member or someone in particular, we put feelings into that beadwork, like, we want that person to dance well when they wear this," she said. "But when you see tourists come in and browse ... they see a price tag on it and they think it's a little overpriced," said Kuka. "It's like, ooohhh. You wouldn't say that if you knew how much work goes into this." Unlike many foreign import beaded handbags, Karen and her family's pieces are made to last. Naomi has been carrying a fully beaded handbag sewn by her mother several decades ago. She uses it regularly, as did her mother. "I know 100 years from now, my mother's beadwork will still be holding up." As the women sit and bead in The People's Center, a relative, Pat Matt, stops by. He admires the beading projects they're working on. Naomi is sewing hummingbird leggings to match the pattern on her traditional dress. Karen is laboring over a pair of moccasins that were started by someone else and never finished. Pat lets the women know he needs new beadwork for a traditional dance outfit. "I want cuffs, a cape and side drops, and a choker, but the `new school' design," he said. And he wants a floral pattern, but that should be an "old school" design. He assures the women he can get the buckskin and beads. And then he drops the bombshell. "I need someone to do my outfit by spring, by Kyi-Yo Powwow." Moans instantly rise from around the beading table. The annual powwow hosted at the University of Montana is coming up in April. "Everyone needs their outfit by Kyi-Yo," said Naomi. But, he's a relative. On a recent visit to her mother's house, Naomi sat on the floor and carefully unpacked a box containing some of her mother's handbag collection. She admired several older bags, the ones with beads the color of a pink seashell. "This color, this old Cheyenne pink, it's a color that hasn't been out for years and years. You can't get it anymore unless you rob it off an old piece. I only have a couple of hanks, which I got from my mom. I raided her supply. I won't use that color for anybody but myself. It's a very coveted color, old color." Karen and her family are following a long tradition of Natives across the country who have used beads to decorate everyday items. European fur traders introduced glass seed beads to the Northern Plains tribes. Soon, beads and cotton thread replaced the porcupine quills and sinew that had traditionally been used on items, such as dresses, shirts and moccasins. Naomi relishes her mother's collection of traditional and modern beadwork. And she loves to go to her home and look at the old and new beads. "It's like being a kid in a candy store," Naomi said. "What can I touch? What can I see? What can I feel? What can I get into?" Bead selection is a never-ending process. Karen recently received a $6,000 shipment of beads. The newer selections allow beadworkers to get fancy. "Real flashy beadwork is out there on the powwow circuit now," Naomi said. "There's nothing wrong with that. You look at my dance outfit and it's flashy." "If the old people could see the beads we had today, they'd probably be just as contemporary as we are because they could do so many things," Karen said. Contemporary beadwork designs are everywhere. "You can go to a powwow and you might see a Nike sign beaded," Karen said. "Which irritates me," added Naomi. "You might see Mickey Mouse, or some other such ridiculous thing," Karen said. "But maybe it means something to them. And that's why they beaded it. I have never beaded a Nike sign. And I don't think I ever will." "Although you did bead me Mickey Mouse," Naomi said. Karen paused, a little bemused with herself. "I did bead her a Mickey Mouse." Reporter Jodi Rave can be reached at 1-800-366-7186 or at jodi.rave@lee.net. Copyright c. 2006 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Prarie Rose, Meadowlark, Choke Cherry" --------- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:21:36 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: IN PRAISE OF THE CHOKE CHERRY" http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=25708 §ion=columnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird&freebie_check &CFID=17827051&CFTOKEN=12439927&jsessionid=88309c152cf144633619 The prairie rose, western meadowlark & the chokecherry Dorreen Yellow Bird January 31, 2007 I've always admired Herald columnist and political wise man Lloyd Omdahl for his wit and expertise. But I don't believe he's an expert on wild fruit. Omdahl recently took issue with Sen. Stan Lyson, R-Williston, and a small group from Williston who want to make the chokecherry North Dakota's official fruit ("Juneberry fans, our day will come," Page 4A, Jan. 29). It should be the Juneberry, Omdahl claims. Normally, I wouldn't weigh in against this man whose knowledge of state government is legendary; but then again, I know my prairie plants and wild fruit. This expertise comes from the days when I filled an empty lard pail with Juneberries or chokecherries from the coulees near White Shield, N.D., and Minot - I know both wild fruits well. In the western part of the state, the metal lard pail is almost a necessity: You need it to clang and jingle in order to scare the rattlesnakes before you enter Juneberry or chokecherry territory. We consider the first rattler you scare - or that scares you - your badge as a wild fruit picker. From my chokecherry-picking days, I graduated to jelly and syrup making. For me, only the chokecherry makes a unique and unusual piquant-tasting jelly and syrup. I understand - although I have no experience - that the chokecherry also makes a very good "dry" wine, dry being the key word. Even though I do like Juneberries, I find them to be an easier, tamer fruit, rather like blueberries. There's a lot of hype about Juneberries' nutritional value, but they don't have the gusto, zest or tart flavor of the chokecherry. (I must have developed my taste for this wild fruit from my baby bottle, because I seem to have always liked it.) Back to the Juneberries: They're a nice fruit and as tasty as blueberries. I've made puddings, cakes and pies from them, but that is not where the chokecherry shines. Chokecherries have strength. It is their uniqueness and power. A real chokecherry person knows how to get the most from this acidic fruit. That seed isn't as big as you might think. There really is a lot of fruit in a handful of these wild cherries, and I argue that the berry not only has juice but also is heavy with meat or pulp. Here's how you get the most from the cherry: If you're a seasoned chokecherry connoisseur, pop a whole handful of fruit in your mouth, and roll the berries around until all the meat is separate from the seed. Then, while keeping the seeds on one side and the meat on the other, you swallow the tasty meat of chokecherry and spit out the seeds. This fruit is strong, whereas the Juneberry stands at the door of mild. In fact, chokecherries are so strong that they can pucker the mouth and brown the teeth, so much so that even bleach will have a hard time whitening those teeth again. When you smile after a day of picking, people will think you've lost your two front teeth. Expect laughter. During the season, I get used to it. It isn't a fruit that you take lightly. Horses and livestock have died from eating too many of its leaves, especially after those leaves have wilted (such as after a frost or after branches have been broken). Wilting makes the plant sweet, but it also releases cyanide, and about 10 to 20 pounds of foliage might be fatal. My affinity for this fruit goes beyond my earlier years, when I spent days exploring the hills. It is one of the fruits that have a special place in the diet of American Indian people. It was used with meats as a supplement; it was dried for eating alone or added to other food. It's also considered a healing food, and at instruction from some of my teachers, chokecherries were said to be a sacred food. In dreams, it will come and provide sustenance in the form of council and healing, I was told. During ceremonies, the bark is made into a hot tea. When your throat is parched, this hot chokecherry tea slides down the throat and not only gives you courage, but also shores up the body for the rest of the days of the ceremony. The United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck did a project with the U. S. Department of Agriculture to find the nutritional value of wild fruits and plants such as the wild chokecherry and lamb's quarter (pig weed). I don't have the report but was told that chokecherries were found to be very nutritious. An important aspect of this study is that these wild plants are available to all of us just for the picking. They are not exotic plants or fruits from another foreign country, but from our own Plains states - something we find in our backyards. And yet, they contain nutritional magic and even healing. Hail, the wonderful little chokecherry. I raise my hand and vote "Yes" for the chokecherry as our state fruit. --- 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: NEWCOMB: Anti-Indian rhetoric in the 21st Century" --------- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 11:24:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEWCOMB: SUBTLE AND NOT-SO SUBTLE RACISM" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414433 Newcomb: Anti-Indian rhetoric in the 21st century by: Steven Newcomb / Indigenous Law Institute February 2, 2007 Every area of Indian country seems to have its own version of the anti- Indian movement. It is a movement that crafts messages by using some of the deepest political concepts and core values of the dominant American society. It is a movement that tries to appeal to an unconscious fear of the "disintegrating" influence of "the other." This approach may be particularly effective these days when an "us vs. them" mentality and the use of terms like "terror" and "national security" are so prevalent in public discourse. The categories and metaphors used in anti-Indian rhetoric are wrapped in language that reflects a number of values shared by millions of Americans. Terms and phrases such as "One Nation," "equal rights," "liberty," "justice," "equal justice under law" and so forth seem quite normal to the average person in the United States. To a non-Indian audience, arguments that are put together through the use of such terms and phrases may seem to merely reflect common sense. Thus, one challenge we face as Indian people is how to formulate meaningful responses to anti-Indian messages without seeming to defy mainstream "common sense" and deeply held American values. In times such as these, we are in need of nuance of language and subtlety of insight. This need for insightful nuance is connected to a more general challenge we face. When we as Indian people use the English language, we often find ourselves in the paradoxical predicament of attempting to express indigenous cultural and political understandings by means of concepts and categories that carry the baggage of a European cultural mentality, cultural context and values. A dominant-society audience will automatically interpret our messages within their own mental framework using their own cognitive and cultural background. Another key challenge is the way that the anti-Indian movement is able to exploit the fact that the American public is uninformed when it comes to the subject of American Indians nations. An example of how the anti- Indian crowd exploits such ignorance is the way it frames its arguments in terms of what it claims is appropriate in the "American democracy" while not acknowledging the role that the Haudenosaunee Confederacy played in the formation of the model of democracy eventually adopted by the United States. The anti-Indian movement avoids discussing the argument that our original free Indian nations and peoples have the right to continue to exist because the existence of our nations far predates that of the United States. Anti-Indian activists unconsciously use what we might call container-structured arguments to sidestep the original free and independent existence of our Native nations. The cognitive background of a "container" argument views the country of the United States as a type of container or box, the boundaries of which correspond to the borders of the United States. The United States is also viewed as an "object." Container and object ways of thinking and speaking are reflected in the ridiculous, fear-based argument that the existence of sovereign Indian nations is threatening to dismantle the United States. One aspect of the mental model of a nation is that of a container or bounded region of space. This image is an essential structural feature of the "One Nation" slogan used by anti-Indian organizations. The anti-Indian thought process assumes that everyone and everything inside the container-country called "the United States of America" (including Indian nations) is subject to the laws and political authority of the U.S. governmental system, which is, of course, made up of the federal, state, and local governments. This way of thinking places Indian nations and Indian governments in an "anomalous" or unusual situation in relation to the political structuring of the United States. It leads to the question of where and how Indian nations fit "within" the U.S. political framework. Those who created the United States as a political entity used surveyors and mapmakers to conceptualize and build national and state boundaries that were thought of as encircling and engulfing Indian nation lands. Once U.S. boundary lines were established on maps and institutionalized in social and political practice, this created the ridiculous perception that the United States is politically and legally first on the continent, despite the obvious fact that with regard to Indian nations this is completely and chronologically false. The anti-Indian movement attempts to exploit this sense that the United States is more fundamentally rooted in the continent than Indian nations. The anti-Indian movement also employs a deep-level political/legal metaphor: "inside of is under the jurisdiction of." This metaphor reflects and reinforces a popular assumption: "Indian nations that exist 'inside' or 'within' the boundaries of the United States are subject to the political and legal authority of the United States" (otherwise known as "plenary power"). Some anti-Indian activists argue that the way to "free" Indians from federal claims of plenary power is to get rid of Indian nations in the name of civil rights and "equal justice for all." In any case, the presumption of plenary power does not take into account that Indian nations were here on the continent first and possess a sacred birthright of original independence. Nor does it account for the fact that Indian nations have made hundreds of treaties with the United States that, from a Native perspective, are supposed to safeguard the political existence and lands of Indian nations as "supreme law" in the United States. As first indigenous nations, one collective challenge we share is to find the most effective means of responding to the anti-Indian movement in the 21st century. As a start, it bears repeating that we were placed on this continent by the Creator, with our own respective lands, languages, cultures, spiritual traditions and values. We are still here. The United States was constituted on our indigenous lands "in" and "within" a pre- existing "Turtle Island" (North America). Our respective sovereign nations have the right to continue to exist for the simple reason that we do exist, thanks to our ancestors. --- Steven Newcomb is the Indigenous Law Research Coordinator at the Sycuan Education Department on the Sycuan Indian Reservation, in San Diego County, California. He is the co-founder and co-director of the Indigenous Law Institute, and a columnist for Indian Country Today. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Eskimos dance the Dance" --------- Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2007 08:47:02 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: YUP'IK WAY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/02/04/jodirave/rave27.txt Column: Eskimos dance the dance, share the harvest Jodi Rave, The Missoulian February 4, 2007 EMMONAK, Alaska - It is winter, and the Eskimos are dancing. I can still see them, and hear the timeless rhythm of their singing and drumming. The men's voices rising and falling as they hit upon flat, wide, handheld drums. Bom, bom, bom ... Bom, bom, bom - Bom, bom, bom ... Now, as ever, dance remains at the heart of the Yup'ik culture. The Yup'ik people of western Alaska are gathering in their villages during these long winter nights to practice traditional dances. While their dance halls may be warm, the day I arrived in Emmonak, the wind chilled the air to 27 degrees below zero. No roads lead to Emmonak. In the winter, people travel by snowmobile. In the summer, they use the rivers to travel to one another's villages. When I stepped off the plane late last month, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was on assignment for an international magazine to write about violence against Native women. Even then, it was possible to find light in the dark. My guide was Lynn Hootch, a Yup'ik sister born and raised in the Yukon Delta region, which lies parallel to the Bering Sea. After a long day of interviews, she invited me to join her at the community hall for a night of singing and dancing. The Emmonak villagers call themselves Kuigpagmuit or "people from the Yukon River." This winter, the people are meeting at the community hall four nights each week in preparation for an annual potlach celebration, which takes place in February. The potlach provides a platform for the Kuigpagmuit to dance for and share with neighboring villages. The people will give away material goods, fish and other harvested foods to visiting guests. In the Wade Hampton region of Alaska, Natives make up about 94 percent of the 8,000 residents. In this land, the people rely on harvests of wild food - including salmon, whale, seals, caribou and berries - amounting to nearly 700 pounds per person. Hunting, trapping, fishing and gathering accounts for about 44 percent of villagers' economic income. The potlachs allow them to share harvested food. The generosity is a quality I've seen among indigenous people all across North America. But it's a practice that has long confounded outsiders. "In accordance with their Eskimo philosophy, no one ever hordes anything," said the Rev. Ferdinand Drevis in 1918. "If one has more than the other, he is supposed to share. So they do not see why we should have a supply of water and wood on hand to last for months when they have none. We have to convince them that with our mode of living, we need more water and wood than they do. "The people have already given up their masked dances, however they continue to hold their potlachs - although we discourage the extravagances of giving. In their estimation, I am considered rich. But I'm not willing to part with any of my belongings just for the glory of giving." Christian forces in the area eventually blotted out many village potlach festivals and other dances in the Yukon Delta. But the dances in Emmonak have remained. As I sat in the community hall and watched, Lynn could see I liked the sound of the drums. She invited me to dance with her and the other women. Lynn tried to encourage me. "You can say you danced with the Eskimos," she said. I asked her if they really called themselves Eskimos. Yes, she said. I guess it's kind of like us Lower 48 tribes collectively calling ourselves Indians. Even though it's a general term that doesn't describe our diversity - ranging from the Navajo and Lakota to the Ojibwe and Seminole - it works. Although I wanted to, I didn't dance with the Eskimos. I was too shy. It's not like dancing in a powwow arena where dancers make up their own moves. When the Eskimo women dance, each takes her place and they move in unison, as if walking in each other's footsteps, or as if shooting the same bear or rowing in same canoe up the Yukon River. Instead, it felt good just to watch the Eskimos dance. Reach columnist Jodi Rave at 800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@lee.net Copyright c. 2006 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Girl makes Hockey History, singing Anthem in Cree" --------- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2007 11:24:56 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIRL SINGS NATIONAL ANTHEM IN CREE" http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2007/02/03/cree-hockey.html Edmonton girl makes hockey history, singing anthem in Cree CBC News February 4, 2007 A 13-year-old Alberta girl made history at centre ice in Calgary's Saddledome on Saturday night when she became the first person to sing O Canada in Cree at an NHL game. Akina Shirt, who lives in Edmonton but is originally from the Saddle Lake First Nation about 120 kilometres east of Edmonton, sang the national anthem before the Calgary Flames took on the Vancouver Canucks. Shirt said she learned the Cree version of the anthem a year ago. "I had to work extra hard in learning the words and practising it and I eventually memorized it and it just comes natural," she told CBC News. Shirt sang to a sold-out crowd in the Saddledome and in front of hundreds of thousands of Hockey Night in Canada viewers. She's gained a reputation as a lucky charm since she started out singing the anthem for the Saddle Lake Junior B Warriors - each time she has opened a game, the home team has won. Saturday night was the first time she opened for a professional hockey matchup. And sure enough, the Flames beat the Canucks 4-3. Shirt said the chief of the Saddle Lake First Nation told the Flames that they should have her sing the anthem. Copyright c. CBC 2007. --------- "RE: Passport restrictions fly in Face of Tradition" --------- Date: Tuesday, January 30, 2007 07:53 pm From: frostyca2000 Subj: Passport restrictions fly in face of tradition Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Passport restrictions fly in face of tradition Doug Cuthand The Leader-Post January 29, 2007 A new chapter began this week in Canada's relationship with the United States with new American regulations that require passports for air passengers entering the U.S. All non-Americans need a passport to enter the U.S. and Americans require one to re-enter. This is not going over well in Indian Country and for good reason. The border has been in place only for about 200 years and it's totally arbitrary when it comes to our traditional national boundaries. In Saskatchewan, members of the Dakota Nation sought asylum in Canada following the Battle of the Little Big Horn. In reality, they had been coming to Canadian