_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 008 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 17, 2007 Western Cherokee kagali/bone moon Pomo bashelamatau/buckeyes ripe moon +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; www.indiancountrytoday.com; Mailing Lists: Indigenous Peoples Literature, Native American Poetry, Frostys AmerIndian and Chiapas95-En; UUCP Mail IMPORTANT!! ----------- In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org <================<<<< >>>>================> +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | As historian Patricia Nelson | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== 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: "... I suspect at least half those people coming across that southern border are indigenous peoples who have been directly or indirectly affected by anti-indigenous rights policies and U.S. lead neo-liberal free trade regimes often resulting in the privatization of land. I am concerned the U.S-Mexico border is becoming a war zone giving rise to old world colonial attitudes spawning white-lead vigilante militias with U.S. military support. Indigenous peoples of the U.S. and our tribal governments must demand border justice and not be used by the homeland security program of the U.S. to undermine the civil liberties of our indigenous peoples and mestizo brothers and sisters of the Latin American countries." __ Tom Goldtooth, Exec. Dir., Indigenous Environmental Network +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 For some time now I have been witnessing a situation with alarm and sincere concern; but was having difficulty making a case for it being a Native issue. An article in this issue by John Ross "JOHN ROSS: Plot Against Mexican Maize" (Big Biotech takes advantage of the corn crisis to force farmers to buy GMO seeds) turned on the light! It is clearly a Native issue when traditional, sacred crops are in danger of being altered and/or eliminated by genetic altering as a result of being exposed to GMO genes. On a much larger scale, control of the world's food crops is very rapidly falling into the hands of one manufacturer/distributor - Monsanto. It doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to understand the threat of having world domination of food crops in the hands of one source. Go to your elders and ask them how this relates to prophecy. Twelve thousand years ago agriculture was created by people saving seeds that best met their community's needs and tastes. That practice lead to biodiversity that has literally saved mankind from famine several times throughout history. Lack of biodiversity in the Irish potato crop is exactly what helped create the potato famine of 1845-1849 when blight invaded their crop and there were no blight resistant potatoes to replace them, though such potatoes existed in other parts of the world. Our Peoples have developed crops that are unique to them and sacred to them. The Tarahumara alone have developed a vast array of crop plants, some of which perform well in desert valley and others that are highly successful in the mountain highlands. Many of these unique crops are Sacred to the Tarahumara, as are many of the crops unique to Hopi, Navajo, Zuni and many others throughout the southwestern desert. Mandan, Arikara, Iroquois and countless other nations have also produced food crops that are as individual to them as their clans and societies. As John's article makes clear, one exposure to Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) crops is all it takes to destroy these ancient, Sacred crops. Furthermore, as has been discovered in India and other World nations, the destruction of traditional foods by GMO gene infestation is exponential. Eighteen affected acres this year leads to over a hundred the following year. How deliberate is Monsanto (with US Government blessings) in their control of food crops? Iraqi farmers were forced to plant Monsanto seeds rather than traditional saved and traded seeds. This fact is documented by the International Relations and Security Network, Center for Security Studies, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. In the meantime Monsanto, through its subsidiary, American Seeds, Inc. is in the process of acquiring every major producer of crop seeds. In just the past three years ASI has acquired NC+ Hybrids, Fontanelle Hybrids, Stewart Seeds, Trelay Seeds, Stone Seeds and Seminis, who at one time controlled roughly 80% of the commercial open pollinated crop market. Seminis advertising still brags "If You've Eaten a Salad, You've Had a Seminis Product." Terminator seeds (seeds that grow a crop this year, but have only sterile seeds that cannot be replanted) tested in Thailand created what can only be termed a disaster. Elimination of our sacred plants and control of the vegetables at our tables is enough of a Native issue that I felt obligated to share. Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30007, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------- Editorial Section: - JODI RAVE: Questionable spending . GMOs threaten our Sacred Crops damages future - Rep. Jo Ann Davis - STOKES: introduces Apology Bill Time for new Eagle Feather Law - Navajos file petition - WAGAMESE: One Native life against Uranium Mining - JOHN ROSS: - Panel rejects liquor-free buffer Plot against Mexican Maiz at Bear Butte - Murder and other High Crimes - Wampanoag to get early ruling in Lacandon Jungle on Recognition Bid - Fontaine offers Natives Vision - U.S. recognises tribe of better Future that met British Settlers - Onkwehonwe Plan - - Little Shell Chippewa Tribe taking over Turtle Island may secure Land - Inuit accuse US - Yakamas want damage assessment of destroying their Way of Life from Hanford - 9 Judges set - Judge says Mattaponi to formally approve School Deal can claim water rights - It's time for Canada to pay up - Split-apart Nation comes together - First Nation was not consulted, - Karuk Tribal Health Clinic tells Shareholders - U. of I. - MLA demands answers ends Chief Illiniwek's run over Police drug experiments - Stop killing Wolves - A Legal gathering of Tribes - Choctaw owned - 'Lost Tribe' Pyke Mountain Holsters hoping to collect U.S. Payout - Court rules against bid - Meth use, Murder rates up to halt funding of OHA - Native Justice - Native American populations -- Indians sue Officials share Gene Signature at Maine Prison - GIAGO: Traditional Indians - Rustywire: Melting Snow and Ice buried by new Casino Indians - History: Carlisle Indian School - OPINION: Desperation in Pine Ridge - Lee Goins Poem: Ancestor Ceremony --------- "RE: Rep. Jo Ann Davis introduces Apology Bill" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2007 08:22:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="APOLOGY BILL INTRODUCED" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414482 Rep. Jo Ann Davis introduces apology bill by: Bobbie Whitehead / Indian Country Today February 12, 2007 WASHINGTON - A U.S. congressman has introduced a resolution that would offer an apology for and acknowledge abuses by the United States, and support better relations with American Indian nations. Rep. Jo Ann Davis of Virginia introduced again a joint resolution in the House of Representatives Jan. 4 that would grant an apology from Congress to American Indians for numerous abuses committed against them. "I believe that it is important for the United States to recognize the impact of the broken treaties and inhumane policies on the Native Americans," Davis said. "As representatives of the U.S. government, Congress has a responsibility to maintain good relations with other nations, yet we have not maintained good relations with the Native American nations." The resolution lists treaty violations, "extermination, termination, forced removal and relocation, the outlawing of traditional religions, and the destruction of sacred places" as some of the mistreatment and policies against American Indians. However, the resolution does not authorize or serve as a settlement for any claim against the United States. Davis introduced a similar resolution during the last congressional session, but it received little action. However, the newly introduced resolution has six co-sponsors and was sent to the House Committee on Natural Resources. "I will continue to push this bill, and I am hopeful it will be passed and signed into law by the President," Davis said. "It is my understanding that Chair [Nick] Rahall of the Resources Committee has a longstanding relationship with the Native Americans, and I intend to ask him for his support." The co-sponsors for the bill are Reps. Dan Boren and Tom Cole of Oklahoma, Sue Wilkins Myrick of North Carolina, Dennis Cardoza of California, Raul Grijalva of Arizona and Zach Wamp of Tennessee. "It is important to recognize injustices where we have sinned against each other, so healing can take place and reconciliation can prevail," said Wamp, who authored the Trail of Tears Study Act that was passed in December 2006. "The Native Americans should be proud of their perseverance." The resolution acknowledges that American Indians were stewards of the land that is now called the United States for thousands of years before Europeans arrived, and Davis said that despite conflicts between the Europeans and Indian tribes, "peaceful and mutually beneficial interactions also took place." The Jamestown settlement, she said, survived because of the help American Indian nations provided to the colonists. Davis said the founders of the United States wanted to maintain a "just" relationship with American Indian nations. Their intent, she said, is "evidenced by the Northwest Ordinance enacted by Congress in 1787, which begins with the phrase, 'the utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians."' Among the long list of oppressive actions, the resolution apologizes for suffering under the Indian Removal Act of 1830 in events such as the Trail of Tears, the Long Walk, the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 and the Wounded Knee Massacre in 1890, as well as suffering on various Indian reservations. The resolution also apologizes for the assimilation policies such as the General Allotment Act of 1887 and for the removal of Indian children to boarding schools where American Indian languages and practices were forbidden. The lengthy list also addresses the mismanagement of tribal funds and the taking of Indian territories and tribal lands, and notes that many of the social and economic problems affecting American Indian people today result from abuses by the U.S. government and its citizens. To improve relations and promote healing between the United States and American Indians, the resolution "urges" the president to acknowledge the country's history of abuse toward American Indian nations and people as well as to commend American Indians for their "stewardship" of the land. The resolution also recognizes American Indians for their service in the U.S. military, noting that "the Native Peoples have remained committed to the protection of this great land, as evidenced by the fact that, on a per capita basis, more Native people have served in the United States Armed Forces and placed themselves in harm's way in defense of the United States in every major military conflict than any other ethnic group." In addition, the resolutions commend states for their reconciliation with tribes and encourage all states to continue to do so. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Navajos file petition against Uranium Mining" --------- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:54:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAVAJO MOVE TO STOP URANIUM MINING" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/56884.html Navajos file petition against uranium mining in northwest New Mexico By The Associated Press February 12, 2007 A petition filed in the 10th U.S. Circuit Court in Denver asks the court to reverse Nuclear Regulatory Commission orders in the past several years over proposals by Hydro Resources Inc. to mine uranium near the two communities. The petitioners also want the court to revoke the NRC's license to Hydro Resources. The petition, which lists NRC rulings dating back to 1999, argues that the NRC violated the Atomic Energy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and its own regulations. Eastern Navajo Dine Against Uranium Mining, the Albuquerque-based Southwest Research and Information Center and Grace Sam and Marilyn Morris of Pinedale, near the proposed Church Rock mine, filed the petition after losing their fight to overturn the NRC's uranium mining license to Hydro Resources. The Navajo Nation banned uranium mining and processing on its land in 2005, but companies have been trying to revive it as uranium prices soar. Cibola and McKinley counties have passed resolutions supporting uranium mining, pointing to its potential to create jobs. New Mexico-based Hydro Resources wants to inject chemicals into the ground to release uranium and pump the solution to the surface in a process called in situ leaching. Hydro Resources did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press seeking comment. The NRC issued the license despite Hydro Resources' failure to ensure it would protect the groundwater that is the sole drinking water source for 15,000 people, said the lead attorney for the case, Eric Jantz of the New Mexico Environmental Law Center in Santa Fe. The case also argued that Hydro Resources has not ensured that residents would be protected from radiological air emissions in an area that already exceeds federal radioactivity standards from past mining contamination. Jantz also contends the company has not posted an adequate bond to ensure cleanup if the company is unable to reclaim land or water impacted by mining. "Our clients stand a much better chance of protecting Navajo communities from unsafe uranium mining in federal court, which is unburdened by the pro-industry bias exhibited by the NRC," he said. Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ruled that a 160- acre parcel near Church Rock is "Indian Country" _ meaning Hydro Resources must apply for an underground injection control permit from the EPA, not the state of New Mexico as it previously had done. Tribal officials have said they want the EPA to make the determination, rather than the state, because the United States has a higher obligation to protect American Indian interests than states do. Copyright c. 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Panel rejects liquor-free buffer at Bear Butte" --------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:24:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YES TO BIKERS AND BOOZE, NO TO SACRED PRAYERS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070214/NEWS02/702140311/1001/NEWS Panel rejects liquor-free buffer at Bear Butte By Terry Woster twoster@midco.net February 14, 2007 PIERRE - A bill to create a liquor-free buffer zone around Bear Butte died Tuesday in a South Dakota House committee. The House Local Government Committee voted 11-2 to kill a bill that would have prohibited the issuance, transfer or renewal of liquor licenses within four miles of Bear Butte, a mountain that includes a state park near Sturgis in western South Dakota. The mountain is considered sacred by Northern Plains Indian tribes. "To me, it seems like it's just an arbitrary line that was drawn around, " said Rep. Al Koistinen, R-Watertown. "I think it's a local issue and should be handled there." Some opponents said if a buffer zone were created, the state would have to pay owners of the property for loss of value. Supporters said liquor licenses are not a basic property right. "I think a lot of this has to do with respect," said Rep. David Sigdestad, D-Pierpont. "I think it is out of respect that we hold some of these grounds sacred. Maybe the parameters are too wide, but at least there should be some buffer zone." A controversy has simmered about the issue in the past two years because Meade County granted licenses in that area for new taverns and campground complexes that are aimed at attracting business from the annual motorcycle rally that centers around Sturgis each August. The rally draws 300,000 to 500,000 people to the area over a 10-day to two-week period. Reach Terry Woster at 605-224-2760. Copyright c. 2006 Argus Leader. --------- "RE: Wampanoag to get early ruling on Recognition Bid" --------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:24:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MASHPEE WAMPANOAG" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.telegram.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070214/APN/702140524 Cape Cod tribe to get early ruling on federal recognition The Associated Press February 14, 2007 MASHPEE, Mass. - A Cape Cod tribe whose ancestors greeted the Mayflower is expected to get a final ruling Thursday on its bid for federal recognition. The Mashpee Wampanoag received preliminary approval last year, and final approval is anticipated from Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, whose office oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The announcement comes more than a month earlier than it had been expected on March 31. BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling told the Cape Cod Times the tribe will receive a call about the finding Thursday at about 5 p.m. No official challenges have been presented since the BIA ruled last March that the 1,461-member tribe had met all seven of criteria for federal recognition, and said its application was one of the strongest it had seen. Darling said a positive finding on the Mashpee petition would not take effect for another 90 days, during which last-minute challenges could be put forward. "I can safely say that everybody would be shocked if it wasn't an affirmation of the preliminary ruling," Tribal Council Spokesman Scott Ferson told the Times. "It took us completely by surprise," he said of the phone call Tribal Council Chairman Glenn Marshall received Tuesday telling him of the pending announcement. Mashpee town officials said they also were told to be ready for a 5 p.m. phone call. "I'm sure it wouldn't have come early if it was a negative finding. Usually they wait to give bad news until the last possible moment," Mashpee Town Manager Joyce Mason said. Federal recognition would allow the tribe to apply to place land in federal trust for its members, and to negotiate with the state for a possible resort casino. It also gives tribes access to federal funds for social service programs such as housing, health care and education. The tribe's priority would be buying and/or identifying parcels of land for potential federal trust, Ferson said. The tribe owns about 160 acres of land in Mashpee. It has been looking for more land off Cape Cod. Tribal leaders have said their priority is housing for members who have not been able to afford their ancestral homeland. Before the tribe could open a casino, the state would have to legalize high-stakes gaming and then negotiate a gaming compact with the Mashpee tribe and/or the Gay Head (Aquinnah) Wampanoag Tribe on Martha's Vineyard, which has sought unsuccessfully to open a casino. Mashpee Wampanoag elder Norman Dias, 69, of Mashpee, said he feels confident the BIA will grant the tribe recognition. "We are going into a new era," he said. "There will be things we'll have to learn." Information from: Cape Cod Times, http://www.capecodonline.com">http://www.capecodonline.com Copyright c. 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2007 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Corp. --------- "RE: U.S. recognises tribe that met British Settlers" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:33:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MASHPEE WAMPANOAG WIN RECOGNITION" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=253352007 U.S. recognises tribe that met early British settlers By Julie Masis February 16, 2007 BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday officially recognised the American Indians whose ancestors met the British Pilgrim settlers at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and fought in a bloody conflict over the first U.S. colonies. The Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts, whose ancestors held the first Thanksgiving meal with the European settlers, are now eligible for federal assistance in housing and healthcare, the U.S. Interior Department said. Under their new status, the Cape Cod tribe can also hunt and fish without a state licence and apply to build a casino, potentially fuelling efforts to lift a state ban on casinos. The tribe's ancestors fought in the bloodiest conflict of 17th century New England, a one-year battle between Indians and English settlers that killed an estimated 600 settlers and 3,000 Indians. The King Philip's War broke down Indian resistance and led to the eventual westward push by Europeans. Asked why it took so long for recognition, tribe spokesman Scott Ferson said the process is a bureaucratic procedure that "does not necessarily favour the Eastern tribes," which are smaller than the Western tribes. About 65 miles (104 km) southeast of Boston in Mashpee, a town where most of the tribe lives, tribal elders tended to "spirit fires" to honour tribe members who have died since the push for recognition began 32 years ago, as others celebrated. Ferson said the tribe submitted 64 boxes of documentation to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, including detailed genealogies on each of the tribe's 1,461 living members dating to the first encounter with the Europeans. The tribe's chairman, Glenn Marshall, can trace his heritage back to Massasoit, the Wampanoag chief who shared the first Thanksgiving meal with European settlers in 1621. There are currently 561 recognised Native American tribes in the United States and nearly 200 petitions for recognition, said Nedra Darling, a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokeswoman. Copyright c. Reuters 2007. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2007 The Scotsman, Edinburgh Scotland. --------- "RE: Little Shell Chippewa Tribe may secure Land" --------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:24:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="A HOMELAND FOR LITTLE SHELL" http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070214/ NEWS01/702140304&GID=7r3Jkirz8KQl9+3eYccuWYgn4JuU0XQwCvNEBJyuM3M%3D Little Shell Chippewa Tribe may secure land for the first time in 100 years By CHELSI MOY Tribune Capitol Bureau February 14, 2007 HELENA - Plans are under way to give the landless, federally-unrecognized Little Shell Chippewa Tribe something it hasn't had in more than a century - a home. Negotiations are under way between state and tribal leaders to have the Little Shell take responsibility for renovations of the Morony Dam townsite northeast of Great Falls and perform routine maintenance to the nearby walking trail for the next decade. In return, the state promises to consider donating the land to the tribe at the end of the contract. "It's something we've not had since 1892: a homeland, a place to conduct our tribal affairs," said Little Shell Vice Chairman James Parker Shield. Although the availability of land is good news to some, it doesn't resonate well with all tribal members. Future negotiations will move forward without Shield's participation. Shield, the tribe's primary spokesman, submitted his letter of resignation Monday following a disagreement with the tribal chairman over whether the tribe could financially commit to long-term maintenance of the state park. "We've had a falling out over a difference of opinions," said Tribal President John Sinclair, who indicated that it wasn't until "way late in the game" that he learned of Shield's negotiations with the state. Shield, whose resignation is effective as of Saturday, disagrees. "I thought this was discussed and decided that we would go for it," he said. Regardless, Gov. Brian Schweitzer's Chief Policy Advisor, Hal Harper, is excited to move forward and calls the proposed land exchange a win-win situation. Not only would the tribe acquire land, but the state wouldn't have to continue to pay for maintenance of the building in the townsite in the face of increased vandalism, FWP Director Jeff Hagener said. Estimates to repair the damages to the rickety brick building range anywhere from a $500,000 to $1 million, Hagener said. "It's hard to be out there all the time," Hagener said. "We don't have the money to put into it. (Morony) is not a high priority for us." The Little Shell tribe is headquartered out of a shopping mall in Great Falls. Negotiating a land deal at Morony Dam was "one of my pet projects," said Shield, who envisioned moving the tribe's headquarters there. "It needs water and septic improvements," he said. "The front porch is collapsing on one corner. Other than that, it's a good building." The tribe would also be responsible for about 30 acres of land, which includes the historical Sacagawea Springs. The Legislature tabled a bill that would hand the Little Shell $500,000 and the rights to use and maintain the Morony townsite. Hagener put the brakes on the bill, saying FWP doesn't have that kind of money. He instead offered $10,000 to the tribe to use to pay a grant writer to find financing for the project through grants, foundations, corporations or donations. Sinclair said he needs to weigh the cost-benefit of maintaining the land before he can determine whether to move forward. "We are not desperate to have the site," Sinclair said. "Our financial situation is not good. If it became a huge financial burden to us, the value would disappear." Shield said he would be disappointed if the land agreement fails. He would hate to see a good opportunity fall to the wayside because of friction among tribal leaders, he added. "You can only have one leader," Shield said. "It was becoming awkward for him (Sinclair) that I was getting a lot of public notice. Sometimes that can turn into friction." Sinclair said he intends to appoint Ronald Doney as a temporary replacement for Shield. Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, is sponsoring the bill that would allow the land lease agreement to take place. Although the bill is tabled in the House Fish, Wildlife & Parks Committee, Augare plans to insert new language into the bill in the next week that reflects the negotiations of the contract reached between tribal leaders and the governor's office. The committee, chaired by Rep. Mike Milburn, R-Cascade, will then likely vote on the bill again. Copyright c. 2007 The Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Yakamas want damage assessment from Hanford" --------- Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:24:45 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TAKAMA WANT REAL INSPECTION/DAMAGE ASSESSMENT" http://www.yakima-herald.com/page/dis/288231302512307 Yakamas want damage assessment from Hanford operations By PHIL FEROLITO YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC February 18, 2007 HORN RAPIDS, Wash. - An icy wind cuts across Rattlesnake Mountain as Dana Miller combs its snow-covered ridge for recent disturbances or unnatural activity. Miller and a few other workers with the Yakama Nation frequently visit the area to see if there have been any trespassers on the peak, which rises more than 3,000 feet just west of the Hanford nuclear reservation about eight miles north of Benton City. The mountain once served as a place to pray, hunt and gather food, and is regarded as sacred by Northwestern Indians. Smoholla, a Wanapum spiritual leader considered a prophet by many, often journeyed up the steep grade to communicate with the Creator and receive direction in life, says Russell Jim, with the Yakama Nation Environmental Restoration/Waste Management Program. But in the mid-1950s, an anti-aircraft missile-defense system was erected on the mountain to protect the Hanford site. Remnants of a radio tower still stand on the ridge near a few other buildings, including a battery-control area. Although the mountain has been marred by the equipment, its cultural significance is still recognized by the Yakama Nation, says Jim, who for years has been working with the federal Department of Energy to address the tribe's cultural concerns in the area. That's just one site that's important, and there are many, many things that need to be tied together," he says. Like the mountain, all of the 560-square-mile Hanford nuclear reservation lies within the tribe's ceded area, where tribal members retain their traditional rights to hunt, fish, gather food and perform sacred ceremonies. Since Hanford transformed operations in 1989 to full-scale cleanup, the Yakamas have taken an active role in monitoring and identifying sacred sites throughout the area on the nuclear reservation. Concerned about possible harm that plutonium production may have had on the area, the tribe has been involved during the past five years in a lawsuit against the federal government seeking an assessment of natural resources and unspecified damage that Hanford operations may have had on the area. Last year, the states of Washington and Oregon and three other Columbia River tribes - Umatilla, Nez Perce and Warm Springs - joined the lawsuit. The states merely want the federal government to cover the cost of assessing any damage. A U.S. District judge in Yakima on April 26 will hear oral arguments on a motion by the federal government to dismiss the case. Department of Energy officials say cleanup must be completed before damages to natural resources can be assessed. "We are currently conducting extensive sampling for contaminants in water, sediment, soil, and (the region's plant and animal life) so that cleanup decisions continue to have a solid scientific basis for the protection of human health and the environment," says Department of Energy spokeswoman Megan Bernett in Washington, D.C. "As we complete risk assessment activities, the department is committed to implementing cleanup remedies in accordance with state and federal laws." An October report from RIDOLFI, an environmental restoration group in Seattle, detailed these findings: * Water was diverted from the nearby Columbia River to cool nuclear reactors and then dumped back into the river despite being treated with chemicals to prevent corrosion of reactor components. * Hazardous chemicals from the site continue to make their way into the environment, and there are billions of cubic yards of solid and diluted liquid waste containing radioactive and other toxic materials. * In an area about 35 miles north of Richland adjacent to the Columbia River, roughly 11 square miles of groundwater is contaminated with chromium and radioactive elements. The groundwater pours into the Columbia River, which supplies communities downstream with drinking water. * In another area, significant concentrations of hazardous chemicals such as uranium and cyanide have been found in groundwater. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy has been working to clean up the area, and has committed to removing roughly 99 percent of the waste being stored in underground tanks. "They want to take 99 percent of the waste out of those tanks and call it good," says Phil Rigdon, deputy director of the tribe's department of natural resources. "I think it's those kinds of decisions that we need to have some involvement with." Tribal officials say a damage assessment needs to be conducted before any thorough cleanup can be done, and the tribe's cultural dependency on the area for hunting, fishing and food gathering - all inseparable links to their beliefs - must be considered. "One of our greatest concerns is that everything is done on such a fast track, that sometimes they forget about the natural resources and don't do a good job of assessment," Rigdon says. "Everything that we do is to try to protect the resources important to the Yakama Nation." But it's not just tribal members who would benefit from such an assessment, Rigdon says. Sportsmen and residents also rely on the area's resources. Jim, who isn't a party in the lawsuit, says a damage assessment would not only help with cleanup, but also would better protect workers by identifying what exactly is in the ground. When a cleanup crew runs into any remains or artifacts while digging, the tribe is called to survey, document and inventory the site, he says. There are numerous burial sites and remnants of ancient villages throughout the area. "We're very concerned about what is there," he adds. "Are these people jumping down into something that they can't smell, see, that may be very dangerous? Our people can't be running down there without knowing what they're jumping into." Jim has been working to put together guidelines outlining the tribe's physical and spiritual ties to the area's natural resources in hopes of launching a thorough cleanup. "We are tied to everything," he says. "We're trying to cover everything, foods, medicines, fish, animals ... right down to the smallest microbe." Turning his thoughts to the mountain again, Jim tells how its surrounding lower-than-normal elevation provides for moderate winters while its relatively tall peak allows foods to grow late into the summer. Many elders whose ailing bodies limited their ability to travel often stayed there year-round, he says. "It was also a place that served as the next step when you left this land to go to the next world," he says. "That was the belief of some, and it's very easy to understand when they speak of that in our (traditional) language. Very significant." --- Phil Ferolito can be reached at 837-6111 or pferolito@yakimaherald.com. Copyright c. 2007 - Yakima Herald-Republic - www.yakimaherald.com --------- "RE: Judge says Mattaponi can claim water rights" --------- Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:24:45 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MATTAPONI WATER RIGHTS BATTLE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414532 Judge says state-recognized tribe can claim water rights by: Bobbie Whitehead / Indian Country Today February 19, 2007 WASHINGTON - A Virginia Circuit Court judge has said an Indian tribe's reserved water rights claim cannot be dependant upon a tribe's federal recognition status alone. In a lengthy opinion, Judge Charles Poston, presiding over a case in the Newport News, Va., Circuit Court, also wrote that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, referred to as the "Winter's Doctrine," gives American Indian reservations first water rights and could be applicable to tribes in the Eastern United States. The judge dismissed the city of Newport News' motion for summary judgment of the Mattaponi Indian Tribe's claim to water rights under the doctrine, but Poston wrote that a tribe must show a necessity for water before making such a claim. Because the Mattaponi didn't explicitly assert necessity in the complaint, Poston asked the tribe to specify how the state's riparian water laws wouldn't protect its water rights as well as protect its cultural practices. "We will amend the tribe's complaint, specifying the necessity for the tribe having reserved water rights, said Emma Garrison, Mattaponi attorney with the Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Public Representation. "We were definitely pleased with the judge's decision." The Mattaponi have fought for nearly two decades against Newport News and several other Virginia municipalities that would benefit from the construction of a reservoir to be supplied by water from the Mattaponi River. The river serves as a primary source of income for the Mattaponi Indians, since members operate a shad hatchery on their reservation adjacent to the river. Opponents to the reservoir construction argue that the withdrawal of water from the river for the reservoir would adversely affect the shad spawning, harming the Mattaponi's economic, cultural and religious practices. At issue in the case are water rights. Eastern states follow "riparian" water rights, or basic rights for usage of water by those residing along bodies of water. In his opinion, Poston wrote that the courts couldn't ignore the fact that riparian laws may offer inadequate protection to owners. For this reason, the Mattaponi sought protection under the Winter's Doctrine. To date, only federally recognized tribes in Western states have had water rights granted under the doctrine. Newport News, which sought approval of the reservoir, argued against the Mattaponi's claim because the tribe is located in the East and is only state-recognized. But Poston explained in his opinion that in the 1908 case that ultimately yielded the Winter's Doctrine, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that treaties with American Indians to create reservations included "implied" reserved water rights, since none of the Indians would have agreed to the reservations' creation without enough water to sustain them. "Therefore, the reasoning behind the Winter's Doctrine is as equally applicable to state Indian tribes as it is to federally recognized tribes, " Poston wrote. "[...] Yet the fact that the Winter's Doctrine has not yet been applied to state Indian tribes does not preclude it from being appropriate in the state context." Poston wrote that Western states have a different climate - more arid - than Eastern states, which have more available water. Also, he noted that Eastern states have used the riparian rights, which give all land owners near water the right to share the water and use it responsibly. However, Poston wrote that while Eastern states may have an abundance of water, an argument Newport News made, the claim of available water to riparian owners in the East "illustrates why the Winters doctrine may have little applicability in riparian states." He also explained riparian laws would most likely protect the tribe's share of water needed, ensuring enough for sustenance and the tribe's cultural uses of water. Because of these factors, Poston wrote that the court, too, has doubts about the usage of the Winter's Doctrine, particularly in Virginia with its riparian laws. Despite these factors, Poston wrote that it didn't mean the Winter's Doctrine wouldn't be applicable in a "riparian jurisdiction" to "imply" reserved water rights "pursuant to an Indian reservation or treaty-granted right." Riparian laws don't offer guarantees of sufficient water to riparian owners, Poston wrote, noting such laws only guarantee "reasonable use" of water. "Riparian law, however, does not guarantee the Tribe the required quantity or quality of water needed to satisfy the purposes for which the Reservation was created," Poston wrote. Because of this, the Winter's Doctrine allows an Indian tribe and a government to override a state's riparian laws to provide enough water for a tribe's sustenance, he wrote. "The inadequacy of riparian law could necessitate an implication that both a quantity and quality of water needed to achieve the purposes underlying an Indian reservation were reserved at the time of the Indian reservation's creation," Poston wrote. "The same would hold true for ensuring that sufficient water is available to protect any other treaty- granted rights enjoyed by an Indian tribe." But Poston added that "only through this showing of necessity could a tribe, or a government as the tribe's guardian, preempt a state's riparian law in favor of reserved water rights." The United States brought the Winter's suit because the country served as the guardian of the American Indians with whom it had treaties and needed to protect the Indians' water rights, he wrote. Likewise, Poston noted the state of Virginia is the guardian of the Mattaponi. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Split-apart Nation comes together" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:33:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PONCA TRIBES UNITE" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2007/feb/15/ splitapart_nation_comes_together/?haskell_news Split-apart nation comes together By George Diepenbrock February 15, 2007 Dan C. Jones, chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, gets passionate when telling the story of how his nation has been effectively split into two tribes: one in Oklahoma and one in Nebraska. "We are not one, but we are the same," he said. About 125 years after the division, council members from Oklahoma and Nebraska met together for the first time Wednesday at Haskell Indian Nations University. Leaders are discussing how to help preserve the Ponca language for the 2,600 members in Nebraska and 3,300 in Oklahoma. Jones and Larry Wright Jr., chairman for the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska, exchanged gifts in front of Haskell students during a ceremony at Curtis Hall. "I think there's a lot of significance here, too, because not only does Haskell represent a place of higher learning for both people but both tribes had students attend this facility," said Kinsel Lieb, administrator for the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma. According to historical records, in 1877 the Poncas were forced to leave Nebraska for Oklahoma after the government had mistakenly given away their land to the Sioux. A few years later, Chief Standing Bear started and won a legal challenge to regain land in Nebraska. His success ultimately led to two separate tribes in the different states. "I would like to advise and counsel future politicians and statesmen of the U.S. government that the credibility of a government is its lifeline. It will mark how great that nation will be in history," Jones said. Haskell provides meeting spot for tribal councils After 125 years of separation, members of two Ponca tribal councils meet today in Lawrence. Congress terminated the tribe in Nebraska in the 1960s, and it was reinstated in 1990. The northern tribe is still feeling the effects of that period, as the Nebraska members have no fluent speakers of the Ponca language. "In order for us to continue to be a strong nation, Poncas, we need to have that language. We need to have that culture," Wright said. With the cultural resources the southern Poncas of Oklahoma have, tribal leaders are using the meetings this week to talk about how to bridge the gap and use technology and education to give Nebraska tribe members more access to the language. Wright said the tribes may want to pool their resources together to take advantage of federal government preservation programs. "We have this common tradition and common language. So if we can get together to do that, we can get together to do a lot of other things," Wright said. Leaders hope the partnership can lead to other opportunities, such as economic development. "This is a big step toward bringing both of our tribes back together," Wright said in a speech to students. The meeting will continue today at Haskell's Stidham Union. Copyright c. 2007 The Lawrence Journal-World. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Karuk Tribal Health Clinic" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:33:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CLINIC OPEN TO SERVE ALL" http://www.rlnn.com/ArtFeb07/KarukTribalHealthClinic.html Karuk Tribal Health Clinic: "We're here for everyone" By Brad Smith Daily News Staff Writer February 16, 2007 This week I plan to sort out a puzzle that I have wondered about. Why didn't all of the Indians join the fight in the Indian Wars of the 1850s? SISKIYOU COUNTY - The Karuk Tribal Health Clinic wants all of Siskiyou County to know that they want to help everyone - Native Americans and non- natives alike. "Medical and social services, with the exception of dental, are open to the public," Dr. Jesse Drake said. Drake is a psychotherapist and licensed clinical social worker at the KTHC. "Just because the KTHC is owned by the tribe doesn't mean that we deal only with Native Americans," Drake said. The client breakdown, he said, shows that 60 to 70 percent are Native American clients, while the rest are non-natives. "The latter is entirely Caucasian. We currently don't have any Hispanic clients - but we're open to them," Drake said. Drake said that the KTHC accepts Medi-Cal, Medi-Care and insurance. "We'll work with those who don't have Medi-Cal, Medi-Care or insurance, too." The clinic is making an effort to let the public know about the availability of the KTHC's services, Drake said, because he feels that there is a serious need for it. "We have some serious problems in this county. This is an economically depressed area. Tie that in with substance abuse and an inability to properly interact with family, friends and society in general - you have dire problems," Drake said. He said that substance abuse is very damaging since it affects not only the abuser but the abuser's family and friends as well. "It's just not the abuse of substances - it's how one interacts with family and friends. Society, too, is affected. Some abusers commit crimes, " Drake said. "Other people are some times hurt by those actions. And then the abuser's family and friends, of course, are hurt again." Drake said it is a vicious cycle. However, he added, cycles can be broken. "That's what we work on here, breaking that cycle," Drake explained. "Joseph Snapp is our substance abuse program's director. He's done some great work." Drake said that Snapp works with more than 40 cases. Six of those individuals are non-native. "The ages ran from 18 to 83," Drake added. He said that Snapp has some counselors working with young people in Orleans' schools. "Think of it as a means of prevention," Drake said. "Children today receive a lot negative messages and stereotypes via the media. We're trying to counteract that." The KTHC, according to Drake, has an array of programs ranging from domestic abuse to relapse prevention. Programs are outpatient oriented. The clinic works with a number of agencies, including Child Protective Services, Probation and Department of Social Services. Drake and Snapp both hope that people, Native American or otherwise, will take advantage of the KTHC programs. "We're here to help people, regardless of ethnicity or class. We don't care about that - we care about helping people," Drake said. "We have a lot to offer, with our medical and social services. All people have to do is walk in and ask." The KTHC is located on 1509 S. Oregon Street. For more information call 842-9200. Copyright c. 2003-2007 Red Lake Net News. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: U. of I. ends Chief Illiniwek's run" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 13:09:24 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NO MORE ILLINIWEK" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ chi-070216illiniwek%2C0%2C4986469.story U. of I. ends Chief Illiniwek's run By Jodi S. Cohen Tribune higher education reporter February 16, 2007, 12:25 PM CST The University of Illinois' American Indian mascot, Chief Illiniwek, no longer will perform at athletic events on the school's main campus after Wednesday - the last men's home basketball game of the season. School officials today issued a news release on the retirement of the 81-year-old mascot, who is portrayed by buckskin-clad students who dance at football and basketball games and other athletic events. University officials had made extensive preparations for today's announcement. But according to a source familiar with the university's plan, the process took a turn Thursday when the two students who portray the chief filed a lawsuit against the university and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The students were seeking a restraining order that would prevent the university from dumping the chief and would lift the NCAA's sanctions against the university's sports teams. But a Champaign County judge today denied their motion, saying he would not stand in the way of the U. of I.'s decision. Judge Michael Jones said during a 90-minute hearing, "Whether we like it or not... I don't believe, at least today, it is my business imposing my idea which course of action the U. of I. should have chosen." The judge said he was "not persuaded the two plaintiffs will suffer irreparable harm if the chief does not perform after the conclusion of the men's basketball season." Jones is a graduate of the university's law school, and his wife is a U. of I. employee. The chief made his first appearance on Oct. 30, 1926, during halftime of the Illinois-Pennsylvania football game. Retiring the chief is a victory for those who have pressured the university for years to dump the mascot, which they say is humiliating and creates a hostile environment on campus. It also opens the way for the university to host postseason games, currently prohibited by the NCAA because Chief Illiniwek violates the organization's rules, including next month's National Invitation Tournament in basketball. But the university's decision is a bitter defeat for those who have lobbied hard to keep Chief Illiniwek, saying it is a revered tradition that honors Native American culture. It also could mean a hit in alumni donations as the university embarks on a multibillion-dollar fundraising campaign. Steven Raquel of Naperville, who portrayed the chief in 1992 and '93, said Thursday he would be disappointed if the tradition ended with only a few days' notice. "It is a dishonorable ending to 80 years of an honorable tradition," Raquel said. "The tradition and the origins and the efforts that we have made over the years have only been done in respect of the history of Illinois and the history of the Illinois tribe. To see that linkage and that appreciation go by the wayside ... without an opportunity to find common ground is disappointing." Raquel said university officials did not tell the Council of Chiefs, the group of 27 living alumni who portrayed Illiniwek, about their decision. Others, however, applauded the plan. Charlotte Wilkenson, 32, a Native American graduate student, said: "This will be a time when we finally honor the people who have been fighting the issue, who have been saying all along to retire the chief in name, in symbol, in performance." In 2005 the NCAA ruled that Chief Illiniwek and some mascots at other universities were "hostile and abusive." The resulting sanctions have prevented the university from hosting men's tennis and women's soccer championship games. Last month, university board of trustees Chairman Lawrence Eppley said a decision about the chief's future would be made this year in response to the NCAA ruling. The students' lawsuit against the university and the NCAA alleged that being forced to abandon their positions as chief would violate, among other things, their freedom of speech, academic freedom and future economic earnings. The students are Dan Maloney of Galesburg, who performs at men's football and basketball games, and assistant chief Logan Ponce of St. Charles, who performs at women's basketball and volleyball games. According to their complaint, retiring the chief would damage their reputations and jeopardize their ability to receive academic credit. The students receive credit from the School of Music for portraying Chief Illiniwek, according to the complaint. "As has been the case for many former students who have portrayed Chief Illiniwek, many valuable employment and career opportunities and professional associations have been opened to those who have had the privilege and honor of portraying Chief Illiniwek," according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit also argues that the NCAA failed to provide due process to the students and the university when it issued the sanctions, citing a 1991 state law that requires certain procedures, such as hearings, before penalties can be imposed. In a similar lawsuit in North Dakota, a state district judge granted a preliminary injunction in November that allowed the University of North Dakota to keep its "Fighting Sioux" name and use of Native American imagery without NCAA penalties pending a trial. The U. of I. students' attorney, Brent Holmes, did not return calls for comment. Maloney said he couldn't comment until after today's hearing. NCAA spokesman Bob Williams said Thursday that the NCAA believes its sanctions are legal. "We intend to aggressively defend our position if it comes to a court hearing," Williams said. "We not only have the right but also the obligation to ensure our NCAA championships are conducted in an atmosphere free of racial stereotyping and one in which all of our student athletes, athletic staff and fans feel comfortable." Maneuvering over the chief has accelerated in recent weeks. Last month the Oglala Sioux tribe that sold the university some of the chief's regalia, including moccasins, peace pipe pouch, breastplate and war bonnet with eagle feathers, demanded them back. The university later found documentation that it already had returned the eagle-feathered headdress to the tribe at Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. On Feb. 1 university officials held a campuswide forum to address racism on campus after a student who opposed the chief was threatened on an Internet site. Last week, the Council of Chiefs sent a letter to university President B. Joseph White asking for ownership of the chief trademark. Tribune staff reporter Neil Milbert and the Associated Press contributed to this report. jscohen@tribune.com Copyright c. 2007, Chicago Tribune. --------- "RE: Stop killing Wolves" --------- Date: Sunday, February 18, 2007 01:33 am From: Glenn Welker Subj: Stop Killing Wolves !! Mailing List: IndigenousPeoplesLiterature@yahoogroups.com https://secure2.convio.net/dow/site/Donation? ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=4421&autologin= true&s_einterest=C3C4&s_src=WHY07WDWF&s_subsrc=WHY07WDWF_EHB07D1a& JServSessionIdr001=3952l5gqf1.app20a Stop Killing Wolves !! Dear Friends: Just days ago, Idaho state officials proposed to slash the price tag for killing a wolf in Idaho to only $9.75. This comes on the heels of a formally released federal proposal to lift wolf protections in Idaho and Wyoming - two states that plan to exterminate as many wolves as possible within their borders. But we have a plan to stop them. It's up to us to stop the wholesale slaughter of wolves in Idaho. Please support Defenders' work to save our Northern Rockies wolves. To jumpstart its wolf massacre, Idaho officials are proposing to offer a small price to entice the state's hunters to participate in their plan to slaughter wolves. If gray wolves lose federal protection in Idaho, the price for a wolf's life could be just $9.75. And Idaho's wolves will find no friend in Governor "Butch" Otter. In fact, Governor Otter is eager to kill these magnificent creatures himself. He recently addressed an anti-wolf rally, saying: "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself." Listen to the governor's chilling remarks In neighboring Wyoming, things are just as bad. As many as 2 out of every 3 wolves in the state could be killed, with unlimited killing in some wilderness areas. We're in for one of the toughest fights in years - and we need your help to save our wolves. Defenders is working hard to prevent the single biggest setback in wolf conservation in decades: * We're working with a broad coalition of nearly 30 conservation groups on the ground, speaking out for wolves and against Idaho and Wyoming's wolf eradication plans. * We're calling on federal officials to hold additional public hearings and to extend by 30 days the period for public comments on this important issue so your voice can be heard. * We're analyzing the federal wolf delisting plan and crafting a detailed response. * We're working with ranchers and landowners in wolf country to find common sense solutions for wolves and people. Already, over 50,000 people like you have written to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to express outrage over the ill-conceived federal plan. And we're preparing a massive mobilization around the official comment period on the delisting of Northern Rockies gray wolves. To spread the word, we'll be launching a sophisticated public education campaign and ambitious efforts to activate conservationists in the Northern Rockies. We will also call on you to help generate 200,000 public comments against this irresponsible proposal - one of our most ambitious goals yet. But we can't do any of this important work without the help of people just like you who care about our wolves. Please support our work with your tax-deductible online gift. Defenders was a leader in the successful effort to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone and central Idaho. But even these iconic animals are now threatened by Idaho and Wyoming's reckless plans. Under the states' proposals, these wolves could be shot on sight if they wander outside protected havens like Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. It will take a monumental effort to protect our Northern Rockies wolves. But with your help, we can save these animals for future generations. Thank you for all you do to protect our wildlife and wild places. Sincerely, Rodger Schlickeisen President Defenders of Wildlife --------- "RE: Choctaw owned Pyke Mountain Holsters" --------- Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 15:48:45 -0800 (PST) From: Ed Welch Subj: Choctaw owned Pyke Mountain Holsters http://www.holsterss.com/2007/02/pyle-mountain-holsters-surging-in.html Pyle Mountain Holsters - Surging in Search Engine Rankings February 15, 2007 Two months ago Pyle Mountain Holsters wasn't in the top 100 results of major search engines for it's most important keywords - today the company has multiple keywords on the first page. Pyle Mountain Holsters - a Welch, Inc. and Native American owned and operated business is the creation of Ed Welch, a member of the Choctaw Nation Indian Tribe. It's primary business is online retail of handgun holsters - ranging from shoulder holsters to belly holsters - while targeting a market segment of law enforcement, concealed handgun license holders, hunters, fisherman, and general shooting enthusiasts. According to Welch, sales have tripled during the two month time period. Although his formal education is grounded in the area of finance, Welch is quite an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) strategist. When asked if he would ever consider SEO consulting - he simply smiled and offered the following - "the net is full of SEO guru's - I've got to be really excited about a project before I'll take it on" - which reflects in his enthusiasm of Pyle Mountain Holsters. When asked if he had any advice for other entrepreneurs striving to get ahead in the world of online retail - "You've got to be hungry - when you're hungry you persevere. You've got to want it. Use the net - every business resource you need is on the net. Learn as you go - if you need to accomplish something - learn about it - then overcome your challenge. But the most important thing I've learned - enjoy the process - if you don't learn to enjoy the process - it will be difficult to maintain the positive attitude needed to overcome those adversities standing between you and success. --------- "RE: Court rules against bid to halt funding of OHA" --------- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:54:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HAWAIIAN AFFAIRS FUNDING UPHELD" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ article?AID=/20070210/NEWS20/702100352/1170/NEWS Court rules against bid to halt funding of OHA By Ken Kobayashi Advertiser Courts Writer February 10, 2007 A federal appeals court yesterday ruled against a group of Hawai'i taxpayers challenging the use of state general funds for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. The move is in line with a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that indicated payment of taxes alone isn't enough to establish the taxpayers have the necessary legal standing to challenge the state funding. Yesterday's decision by a three-member panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also found that the taxpayers did not have standing to challenge the state funding. But instead of dismissing the taxpayer lawsuit, the appeals court sent the case back to U.S. District Judge Susan Oki Mollway. H. William Burgess, lawyer for Earl Arakaki and about a dozen other Hawai'i taxpayers, said he wasn't happy with the ruling. He said the appeals court could have found that last year's U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in an Ohio case, did not apply and ruled that his clients could pursue their lawsuit. He said he will argue that point when the case is sent back to Mollway. State Attorney General Mark Bennett said he was pleased that the appeals court ruled in favor of the state on all "substantive issues." But he said the appeals court could have ordered that the case be dismissed instead of sending it back to the trial court. Bennett said he didn't know what was left for Mollway to decide. Bennett said he anticipates that Mollway soon will hold a conference with the lawyers on how to proceed with the case. The decision is the latest development in the taxpayer lawsuit alleging that the use of government money for OHA is unconstitutional because the organization benefits only those of Hawaiian ancestry. Mollway initially threw out the lawsuit, filed in 2002, challenging government money to OHA and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands. But in 2005, the appeals court reinstated the portion of the suit dealing with OHA, which gets about 10 percent of its operating budget from state general fund money. In June last year, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected that part of the suit and indicated that the payment of taxes alone isn't enough to give the residents legal standing. The high court cited a previous ruling that threw out an Ohio taxpayer lawsuit challenging $300 million in tax breaks for a DaimlerChrysler Jeep assembly plant. The high court sent the Hawai'i case back to the appeals court to issue a ruling based on the Ohio case, which led to yesterday's decision. "In light of the Supreme Court's decision in DaimlerChrysler, we now hold that plaintiffs, as state taxpayers, lack standing to bring a suit claiming that the OHA programs that are funded by state tax revenues violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment," the panel's unanimous opinion said. "Although it is not clear that any plaintiffs have standing in any other capacity to challenge the OHA programs, we remand to the district court for further proceedings." The 36-page opinion was written by appeals Judge Jay Bybee, who wrote the decision for a three-member panel that Kamehameha Schools' admissions policy of giving preference to Hawaiians violated federal law. A larger panel of the 9th Circuit later reversed that ruling. OHA Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona yesterday said she was pleased with the decision, but warned that Hawaiians must gain political status to ward off future legal challenges. "Although we have prevailed in the legal battle, we must continue our efforts to recognize Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people with a sovereign identity," she said. Reach Ken Kobayashi at kkobayashi@honoluluadvertiser.com. Copyright c. 2007 The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. --------- "RE: Native American populations share Gene Signature" --------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 2007 08:24:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAND BRIDGE CLAIM IS BACK" http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn11178& feedId=online-news_rss20 Native American populations share gene signature NewScientist.com news service Roxanne Khamsi 14 February 2007 A distinctive, repeating sequence of DNA found in people living at the eastern edge of Russia is also widespread among Native Americans, according to a new study. The finding lends support to the idea that Native Americans descended from a common founding population that lived near the Bering land bridge for some time. Kari Schroeder at the University of California in Davis, US, and colleagues sampled the genes from various populations around the globe, including two at the eastern edge of Siberia, 53 elsewhere in Asia and 18 Native American populations. The study examined samples from roughly 1500 people in total, including 445 Native Americans. The team looked for a series of nine repeating chunks of DNA, known as 9RA, which fall in a non-coding region of chromosome 9. They found the 9RA sequence in at least one member of all the Native American populations tested, such as the Cherokee and Apache people. The two populations in eastern Siberia, where the Bering land bridge once connected Asia to North America, also tested positive for the 9RA sequence. The 9RA sequence did not appear in any of the other Asian populations examined in the study, including those from other parts of Siberia, from Mongolia or Japan. Multiple migrations? According to Schroeder, the high prevalence of this gene marker among native populations of North and South America - and its absence in most of Asia - lends strong support to the idea that Native Americans can trace their ancestry to a common founding population. The 9RA mutation probably occurred in an ancestral population located at the eastern edge of Siberia, which subsequently migrated over the Bering land bridge, Schroeder says. There may have been multiple migrations from this founding population, occurring thousands of years apart, she adds. "How many times did people cross the Bering land bridge? That would be a very difficult question to answer," says Jeffrey Long at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, who contributed to the new study. Other experts have previously suggested that Native Americans do not share a common ancestry because of the linguistic and dental differences among populations. Journal reference: Biology Letters (DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2006.0609) Copyright c. 2007 New Scientist, Reed Business Information Ltd. --------- "RE: Traditional Indians buried by new Casino Indians" --------- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 08:54:11 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: GREED" http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8599 Traditional Indians buried by new casino Indians By Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) February 12, 2007 A ruling last Friday by the U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected arguments by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians that they should not be subject to federal labor laws. Judge Janice Rogers Brown said in the ruling by the three-judge panel, "Tribal sovereignty is not absolute autonomy permitting a tribe to operate in a commercial capacity without legal restraint." The ruling was issued in response to a complaint filed by the Communications Workers of America with the National Labor Relations Board. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians had appealed that ruling favoring the union by the NLRB. Indian gaming is now a $22 billion-a-year industry with casinos in 28 states that employs as many as 250,000 workers many of them non-Indians. The industry has taken some of the poorest people in America to the lofty realms of the richest. There has been a long-time fear by the larger Indian nations calling themselves "Treaty Tribes" that some of the smaller and newer tribes would eventually get them entangled in legal battles they were sure to lose. Sovereignty on reservations like the Pine Ridge and Rosebud in South Dakota is a given. These tribes have their own law enforcement and judicial system that operates under the auspices of a legally elected tribal government. The State of South Dakota has no jurisdiction on these reservations whereas in many states, including California, the states operate under Public Law 280 that does give them jurisdiction over law enforcement and other legal matters on Indian reservations within their boundaries. And as usual, this mish-mash of conflicting jurisdictional laws can create widespread confusion. What impact does this new ruling have on Indian country? First of all it will give unions the right to deal directly with its members outside of any restrictions placed upon it by the tribes. Now the unions will come under the protections of the National Labor Relations Act. There are some tribes like the Oneida Nation of New York State, the Mashentucket Pequot in Connecticut, and the Shakopee in Minnesota that have become so extremely wealthy that they almost feel they are above any man-made laws. Henry Duro, chairman of the San Manuel Tribe said, "We are disappointed by the ruling today. We believe that these gaming projects help to fulfill essential governmental functions by providing education, health care, housing, senor care and other key programs. Those are basic governmental obligations that could be impacted by this decision." Does staging multi-million dollar boxing matches and purchasing professional basketball teams and hotel restaurant chains fit in there somewhere? Now let's take a look at the basic reality of tribal gaming. There are many tribes fortunate enough to be located on or near large metropolitan areas where their casinos can rake in millions of dollars annually. There are other tribes that still rank amongst the poorest people in America by reason of geography or because they have chosen not to get into this mad race to build a gaming casino. The Navajo Nation is still struggling with this decision and the Hopi Nation of Arizona has ruled out the prospects of ever building a casino. It has been my contention for many years that those Indian nations sitting on top of the extreme wealth afforded them by their casinos should cease taking funds from the federal government that could be better utilized on the poorer Indian reservations. When the Seminole Nation of Florida can spend a billion dollars to purchase the Hard Rock Cafe' and Hotel enterprises it makes the people of the very poor tribes wonder why they are still getting federal funding for a variety of tribal programs. These wealthy tribes can afford to build beautiful homes, construct new schools and hospitals, and to totally rebuild the infrastructure on their tribal lands from the profits realized by their lucrative casinos. Some of the larger tribes such as Pine Ridge and Rosebud are struggling to survive. Unemployment on these reservations can be as high as 75 percent and their populations are nearly 10 times that of the smaller and newer tribes that are raking in millions every month. The wealthy tribes handout per capita payments to their members that often amounts to thousands of dollars every month. To me it is a new dimension in welfare. I believe it is high time for the Department of the Interior to take a closer look at the financial positions of every Indian nation in America and to come up with a new set of rules, regulations and laws that would drastically decrease federal funding to the wealthy, independent tribes and redistribute those funds to the poorer Indian nations. Many Native Americans are a little sick and tired of watching wealthy tribes like the Seminole Nation of Florida flaunt their wealth while the majority of Indians continue to live in the worst conditions of poverty ever imaginable. To suggest that the wealthy tribes give up their federal dollars in favor of the poor tribes is almost sacrilegious in Indian country, but somebody has to say it. As I have written so many times in the past, it is an unfortunate set of circumstances in this country to see the rich tribes become richer while the poor become poorer. But remember, to be rich in money is much less than to be rich in culture and traditions. The smaller and newer tribes are now getting involved in legal disputes that will impact all of the tribes in America and they are doing so without consulting the larger and more established and traditional Indian nations. The case just ruled upon with the NLRB is one example and believe me, there will be many more that will be even more damaging to the all of the tribes of Indian country. The new casino Indian is rapidly supplanting the older and more traditional Indian. Greed is the new Indian God and where it stops, nobody knows. --- Copyright c. 2007 Native American Journalists Foundation, Inc. McClatchy News Service in Washington, DC distributes Tim Giago's weekly column. He can be reached 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" Native American Times. Copyright c. 2005 All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: OPINION: Desperation in Pine Ridge" --------- Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2007 08:47:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="OPINION: PINE RIDGE" http://www.rlnn.com/ArtFeb07/DesparationInPineRidge.html Desperation in Pine Ridge By Melanie McBee The People's Voice February 15, 2007 I am a 27 yr. old Oglala Lakota woman, originally from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I was fortunate enough to have been adopted by a stable, Christian family who had my best interests at heart. Most children from Pine Ridge are not so blessed. Pine Ridge is situated in the southwest corner of South Dakota, and is the eighth largest reservation in the United States. The unemployment rate is 85% and 97% of the population are living below the federal poverty level. The infant mortality rate is five times the United States national average, and has among the shortest life expectancies of any group in the western hemisphere. Alcoholism, addiction, violence, and suicide predominate in this once tranquil place. Although my family educated me on the statistics, I was hardly prepared when in 1997-98, I went to live there. I was mortified by the alcoholism. These people...MY PEOPLE were committing a slow suicide by the huge amounts of alcohol they were consuming. This was no longer just another statistic to me; it became my reality, the place I woke up to every day. Many of these families are living without necessities like running water, electricity, sewer, heat - even food, diapers, and formula. Despite these things - they somehow always seem to find the money to drink, or to buy a can of hair spray to huff, or a can of paint to sniff. My people are stealing from each other to drink, committing burglaries to drink, and begging for money from others to be able to buy just one can of beer. I have a brother who was also under foster care off of the reservation, and at 7 yrs. old the tribe came and took him back, so he was then forced to live on the reservation with his Indian family. When I chose to live there, I became very close with him. He told me that he wished that I would leave, because it would be better than to subject myself to the lifestyle on the reservation. He expressed deep seated regret that he was carelessly pulled from a financially, spiritually, and emotionally stable home and returned to the reservation. He did everything in his power to make me miserable when I lived there, so that I would just leave. He was robbed of the wonderful opportunities he could have had. Why - Racism. My nation would rather force the children to continue to live with instability, alcoholism, and violence, than to have them adopted by the "whites." Being a sovereign nation, nothing can be done through state social services - and the government doesn't want anything to do with us, unless, of course, it is to make themselves look good. The tribe will cast an alcoholic into treatment, based on another alcoholic's word - but they will not remove an obviously neglected child from their cockroach infested home. I firsthand, have witnessed my blood, my family, the future generation of children - being abused physically, and emotionally. These children are not being given even a fighting chance of a beginning in life. This past summer, the same brother I mentioned telephoned me in a drunken stupor, and told me that if I didn't come and get him, he was going to commit suicide. I had two other close family members commit suicide, of course I decided I needed to go and help him. At 2:00 am, my husband and I loaded up our two small children, and what we would need into our van, and we left from Minnesota to Martin, South Dakota to pick up my brother. Upon arrival, the first thing we observed was the housing, which horrified my husband, and reminded me of the desolation of my people. My baby nieces were crying because they were hungry, their diapers had not been changed in what had to have been a day, they were dirty, and running around with no shoes on, despite the glass on the ground - they had no clothes on, and had a look of utter misery, and bewilderment on their little precious faces. YET their mothers were in the back yard drinking at ten in the morning. NO CHILD should have to live this way - I just wanted to take these children, and bring them home, but I couldn't - -what's worse, these children will grow up believing that the things that they witness, and endure are normal. I was powerless to do anything for these children - I wanted to embrace them, and take them home with me. Upon finding my brother, we also found a house full of my drunken relatives. My granddaughter (in Native custom) whom was a little older than my own baby of 6 months, was crawling around with no clothes, shoes, and a horribly soiled diaper - with cockroaches, dirt, cigarette ashes, and beer cans on the floor - narrowly avoiding being stepped on. The baby's mother who is my niece is 16, and drunk right along with everyone else. For them, this lifestyle is completely commonplace. I know of children 5years old, molesting 3 month old babies - fathers molesting children, mothers molesting children - every form of incest there is, has, and will continue to take place there - I have watched family members die of alcohol poisoning, or cirrhosis - I've watched them have to have limbs removed because of their irresponsibility in taking care of their diabetic needs - because they would rather concentrate on where their next beer is coming from, or who can get meth, or a gun. When I first went there at 16 to visit, everyone was so excited to meet me, and then they started telling me that I didn't belong there, because I wasn't really a true Native, because I was raised with white people. Then they told me that I didn't belong with my white family, that I belonged there with them. I was called an "apple" red on the outside, and white on the inside, to them I was, and still am - a wannabe Native. The racism, even against their own, is unbelievable. Men, beating their women are a normal occurrence here, as are beatings and stabbings amongst family. A majority of these things can be directly linked to alcohol - yet there's an liquor store in downtown Martin and gas stations that sell liquor. There is Whiteclay, Nebraska selling liquor just off reservation boundaries. Natives, knowing full well the alcoholism rate, are selling alcohol to their own. I have seen people call the tribal police on someone for liquor violation, just to sneak alcohol into their own house. There are dirty tribal police that have raped women that they were supposed to be taking to the tribal jail, or offer to not take them to jail for sexual favors. These things constitute every day life on the reservation, and although these things happen in other places, I believe that the plight of my people should take precedence over the third world countries the government is claiming to help. I mean, President Bush is claiming to be spending all these millions of dollars of YOUR money, to help the situations in third world countries - - when for all practical purposes he is creating a situation, a problem in addition to the country's previous problems, and furthermore Bush is the President of THIS country - NOT anywhere else. Then shouldn't the problems here in the United States be addressed first? You see this month is black history month, and other times, you see that there is some "awareness day" for something but, Native American Day goes widely ignored, and there is no awareness day, or month, or even a second for the plight of the Native Americans. This is my mission, to educate people about the reservation, and to let my voice be heard, to be the voice for the suffering children on the reservation, for my noble ancestors, and to start doing something about the desolation which is Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Copyright c. 2003-2007 Red Lake Net News. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Questionable spending damages future" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 08:33:52 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: TRIBAL MIS-MANAGEMENT" http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/02/16/jodirave/rave23.txt Native News with Jodi Rave Column: Questionable spending damages our future February 11, 2007 Indian Country needs a few good leaders. When a tribal government is run well, you can typically give credit to the person in charge. The same can be said when things go badly. You can trace disorder to poor leadership and a lack of accountability. Such has been the state of affairs among the Three Affiliated Tribes of North Dakota, home of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara. A newly elected tribal chairman is seeking a federal audit of the $105 million debt amassed under the two terms of Tex Hall, the previous chairman. Hall and I have a newspaper history. As a reporter, I wrote stories leading up to his first election. After they were published, some of his relatives called my editors and threatened to sue. It never happened. Since then, I've also written several columns about Hall and his administration. But I'm also a tribal citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and I - like many others - am concerned about our tribe's future. "For all tribal members, the corruption and gross mismanagement reported is the worst it has ever been in the history of the (Three Affiliated Tribes)," Ramona Two Shields, executive director of an elders organization, wrote this month to the New Town (N.D.) News. "Present documentation indicates that in the past eight years, the Tex Hall administration (and those in) other responsible positions" are to blame. Tribal leaders set the tone for their administrations. Past leaders have served our people well. They didn't need new trucks, cell phones or massive travel budgets. Previous tribal leaders looked to the future of the tribe. Our past, as well as our future, have been tied to a $148 million trust fund, or JTAC - Joint Tribal Advisory Committee - economic recovery fund. The tribe received the money as compensation from the federal government after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flooded 150,000 acres of our land along the Missouri River. Fifty years later, our people are still recovering from the devastating loss of our economic infrastructure and culturally significant sacred sites. The JTAC fund represents the pain and heartbreak of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara people. Hall started to use JTAC funds as soon as he took office. He was elected in the fall of 1998. The council authorized a $3.6 million withdrawal from the fund in 1998. By the end of 2000, $25 million was withdrawn. Between 2000 and 2004, another $41 million was withdrawn. Hall's term ended in 2006. It's not clear where or how the money was spent, hence the pending audit. When tribal leaders began depleting existing money, they looked for new sources. Bank loans. But in 2006, the only new line of credit extended to the tribe came from the Native American Bank, where Hall serves as board chairman for the bank's holding company, Native American Bancorporation Co. Hall lost his bid for a third term in November - Martin Cross is the only chairman in the history of our tribes to serve three consecutive terms. Marcus Wells Jr. beat Hall by 233 votes, leaving the former chairman to protest and file complaints with the National Indian Gaming Commission, tribal election board and tribal court. All three failed to find wrongdoing connected to Hall's loss. Now Hall, former president of the National Congress of American Indians, is turning to a regional tribal appeals court with hope of finding his way back to a council seat. He recently lamented to a Minot (N.D.) Daily News reporter that his election loss is "burning a hole in my side." The reality: Under Hall's leadership, a deep hole was burned in the side of the tribes' financial future. Auditors have estimated it will take some 15 years to clear the debt. Today, more than 500 employees are on the tribal payroll. A number of non-federal employees are set to be laid off on the reservation, where about 6,000 tribal citizens live. "By the end of the day we'll have at least 40 letters that are going out, " Hugh Baker, a federal programs manager for the tribe, said Thursday. "It will be close to 80 by the time we're done next week." It's one thing to lay off employees, but what will the new council do to curb its own spending? In 2006, the seven-member tribal council agreed on a $2.3 million budget to meet its needs, including cell phones, salaries, cars, travel, fringe benefits, donations and grants. Instead, the price tag doubled to $4.5 million by the end of the year. And questionable spending continues. The new council entered 2007 by approving a $120,000 loan to a tribal cattle rancher. Financial statements show tribal members have a poor history of paying back the tribe. For example, the tribe expected $100,000 in small loans to be repaid in 2006, but only collected $11,000. Will the new tribal chairman be able to define where Hall's administration ended and his begins? --- Jodi Rave covers Native issues for the Missoulian and other Lee Enterprises newspapers. She can be reached at (406) 523-5299 or jodi.rave@lee.net Copyright c. 2006 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: STOKES: Time for new Eagle Feather Law" --------- Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 08:24:45 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EAGLE LAW TOO EXCLUSIVE TOWARD TRIBAL MEMBERS" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414511 Stokes: Time for new eagle feather law by: DaShanne Stokes February 16, 2007 Think your religious freedom is protected? Think again. As many people across Indian country are aware, American Indians are the only ethnic group in the United States that require a federal permit for religious freedom. The law upholding this is commonly referred to as the "eagle feather law," referring to Title 50, Part 22 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 22), and it governs the possession and use of eagle feathers. Many people don't know how problematic the eagle feather law really is. To possess eagle feathers, citizens must be able to legally prove their ethnicity and only individuals of certifiable American Indian ancestry enrolled in a federally recognized tribe are authorized to obtain permits. Those caught without permits face imprisonment and fines up to $25,000 - for practicing their religion. But there's a problem. Falsification of state records in what has been termed "paper genocide" has artificially decreased the true number of indigenous people in the United States and terminated the "official" existence of many tribes. Consequently, many Native Americans cannot be found on the Dawes Rolls (the major determinant of tribal enrollment and application for an eagle permit) and many tribes are unable to win federal recognition. As a result, many people lose access to eagles and the ability to practice and preserve traditional customs otherwise protected for "recognized" tribes and their members. There are consequences to breaking these rules. In one case, Robert Soto, a Lipan Apache, had his feathers confiscated at a Texas pow wow in March 2006. As a member of a non-federally recognized tribe, Soto did not possess an eagle permit. Soto remains in a legal battle for the return of his feathers. In another case last year, Winslow Friday, a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe, was arrested for shooting a bald eagle without a permit. Friday needed the feathers for use in his tribe's Sun Dance, for which only "clean eagles" (that had not died by electrocution or vehicle collision) could be used. Speaking in his defense, the tribe argued that the taking of eagles is a protected act of religious belief and the tribe had repeatedly attempted to obtain a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In U.S. v. Friday, the court dismissed the case - a victory for tribal sovereignty - but federal prosecutors are determined to appeal the decision. In 1996, Raymond Hardman, a Caucasian living in Utah, was arrested for possessing eagle feathers given to him by a Hopi tribal member. Hardman's wife and children were members of the federally recognized S'Kallum Tribe. In 1993 Hardman's son's godfather died and Hardman transported the body to Arizona so that appropriate services could be performed. As part of the cleansing ritual, a Hopi religious leader gave Hardman a bundle of prayer feathers, which included several eagle feathers, to be kept in the truck that had transported the deceased body. After returning home, Hardman contacted the Utah Division of Wildlife to obtain a permit to keep the feathers. However, he was informed that he would not be allowed to apply because he was not a member of a federally recognized tribe. Hardman later separated from his wife, after which she informed Ute tribal officials that he was in possession of the feathers. Hardman was found guilty of violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, even though there was no question that his religious beliefs were sincerely held. Hardman's case remains on appeal. Of course, many people believe only enrolled tribal members should be allowed to possess eagle feathers. While this feeling is easily understood after centuries of genocide and marginalization of Native people in American society, the value for blood quanta and tribal enrollment is of relatively recent import. Historically, many tribes and nations shared their spiritual practices with other tribes and non-Native people have been welcomed into indigenous familial and spiritual lives since the early 1500s, including runaway slaves and historical figures such as Daniel Boone, Gen. Sam Houston, Gov. Gray Davis and former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt. Now consider the irony. Tribal enrollment wasn't so heavily valued until the passage of the 1887 Dawes Act (Dawes Rolls), which was instituted to assimilate indigenous people into an Anglo value system and seize tribal lands. The Dawes Rolls became a major criterion for tribal enrollment and helped form the basis of CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood) numbers used to determine tribal membership and eligibility for eagle permits. The problems of the eagle feather law are immeasurable. The law creates a value system for bloodlines that creates and sustains in-fighting that is rampantly tearing apart families and cultural ties on many reservations. The law creates racial barriers for those who have or wish to adopt non- Natives into Native families. The law also makes it impossible for tribes that remain officially "unrecognized" since the 1950s "termination era" to preserve traditional customs. Like many people, I believe it's time for new and improved eagle feather law. It was for this reason that I founded Religious Freedom with Raptors, dedicated to changing the law. RFR was founded on Feb. 27, 2006, to coincide with the occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973 - major historical event in which Native and non-Native people stood together and in a unified voice demanded fair treatment from the government - an event forever symbolic of racial and cultural unity in support of indigenous rights. While there are many forms this new law might take, it is critical that we replace the race requirement of tribal enrollment. One promising option would be the creation of a Certificate of Religious Participation endorsed by a tribal member or spiritual leader. This certificate would replace the tribal enrollment requirement while ensuring that only approved participants in bona fide Native American customs are eligible to receive eagle permits. This allows for direct oversight of eagle feathers to ensure that feathers and ceremonies will not be abused. The certificate would also give legal protection to those Native Americans who wish to exercise their right to include others of their choosing in traditional customs involving eagle feathers. The certificate would also ensure that applications for eagles are reviewed on a case-by- case basis - ensuring that applicants are judged on factors that have traditionally governed eagle feather distribution, such as personal merit and individual character - rather than skin color. The time for a new eagle feather law is now. Let it be one in which we stand united around traditional indigenous values and say in one voice that we will not be undone by our skin color. Let that be our legacy. --- DaShanne Stokes, M.A., is director of the public interest advocacy group, Religious Freedom with Raptors (www.geocities.com/eaglefeatherlaw). Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: WAGAMESE: One Native life" --------- Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 13:09:24 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WAGAMESE: PERSONAL PATH" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414509 Wagamese: One Native life by: Richard Wagamese February 16, 2007 The question I hitchhiked across Canada for the first time when I was 17 in 1973. The last vestiges of the hippy era still clung to the land and it was a marvelous time to be young, free and wandering. There were thousands of us. We met in youth hostels in places like Nipigon, Gull Lake and Wawa. There was a feel to Canada then, as if the country were on the brink of a huge and wonderful reawakening, a reaffirming of the meaning of the name - Canada, Algonquian for "our home." It was summer and the first day I went from the Niagara Peninsula all the way to Sudbury. Standing there, on the great rock spine that is the Canadian Shield, I looked west to a magical land of mountains, coast and opportunity. The whole country lay before me and I was a part of it. The charcoal stretch of highway at my feet was my map and I felt like I could make it in no time at all. That wouldn't happen. The northern Ontario rains came and I was stranded. I stood for days beside a railroad bridge and slept beneath it every night. Finally, a truck driver suggested I head to a place called Chapleau to catch the westbound train. I'd never hopped a freight, but the romance of it swept me up and I found myself lurking in the brush, waiting for my chance to fling myself aboard like Woody Guthrie and the great hobo kings of the past. I made it somehow, managing to claw my way onto a slatted stock car and settled in for the ride west. I wasn't alone. There was another young man there named Mick Pocknell. He was a coalminer's kid from Sidney, Nova Scotia. He'd never met an Indian before and I had never met a Maritimer, but we shared smokes, talk and a jug of wine. I learned about the hardships of an intertidal life, of empty nets and bellies. I learned about passion for the sea, how the salt against your lips tastes exactly like the blood that flows in the veins, and I heard sea shanties sung low and drunkenly in the darkness. I talked about a life in the bush, about a people who endured incredible hardship and built a thriving culture, a lush language and an amazing history. I talked about losing all that because of missionary schools and foster care; how the bush had become a stranger because of it. We talked a long time and then we watched the moon rise through the slats of that cattle car. It was big and full and bright, and threw hard shadows across the empty space. We were struck by the sheer beauty of it and, as it rose higher in the sky, it seemed to race the train. It appeared to keep pace with us, hung in the sky like a phantom, chasing us across the depths of the night and the great darkened hulk of the land. We watched it for the longest time, both of us lost in our thoughts and the magic of that sight. Then I heard Mick Pocknell's voice through the shadow. "What kind of a God could make that happen?" I sat in the darkness and pondered it until sleep came to claim me. We separated in Thunder Bay. Mick went to take a job planting trees and I headed for the highway to continue my way west. We shook hands, he wished me luck and he was gone. I never saw him again, but I think about him every now and then and I've never forgotten his question. Oh, I know it was parallax or some rational element of our physics, but back then, on that train that night, the Maritimer's kid and the Indian became neighbors, joined by a shared vision, complete and shining. There were no differences, no skewed perceptions and no barriers. We were community, joined by simple magic and the power of the land. I made it to the West. I explored the entire Pacific coast of the country and slipped into the United States for a time to see what excitement lay there for me. Eventually, after working as a tree planter myself, bucking deadfall trees, washing dishes in a roadside truck stop, unloading railroad cars and stooking wheat, I arrived home in the southern part of Ontario, tired, with a wallet full of cash and an idea of the country that's never left me. There will always be cowboys and Indians, just as there will always be blacks and whites, Hispanics and Asians, engineers and laborers, professors and dishwashers. The soul of a nation is in its people, and the spirit of North America is variegated and sublimely diverse. What makes us strong is our diversity, our differences, but what pulls us together, ties us irrevocably into a common destiny, complete and shining, is the straining of our very human hearts - the secret wish for a common practical magic. It exists. It lives. It sails across the sky once a month as fat and round and free as a dream. You need to step out on the land to see it properly. You need to walk away from all that binds you to a city, to a desk, to a job, and stand where the wind can get at you. And when that moon comes up and begins to sail across the sky, there will come a point, if you watch it close enough, that the earth will start to move, to race that moon, and you can feel it spin in the heavens. It doesn't matter who you stand with or where they're from. It happens for both of you; that universal magic inhabiting you, filling you, making you more, joining you, erasing differences. And what kind of a God, I ask, could make that happen? Richard Wagamese is Ojibway from the Wabasseemoong First Nation in northwestern Ontario. More information about his work can be found at --- Richardwagamese.com. Mr. Wagamese's column, "One Native life," will appear in Indian Country Today's Lifeways sections. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: JOHN ROSS: Plot against Mexican Maiz" --------- Date: Tuesday, February 13, 2007 03:35 am From: Chiapas95-english Subj: En;John Ross,Plot Against Mexican Maiz Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . THE PLOT AGAINST MEXICAN MAIZ - BIG BIOTECH TAKES ADVANTAGE OF CORN CRISIS TO FORCE FARMERS TO BUY GMO SEEDS MEXICO CITY (Feb 14th) - The "diableros" (hand truck hostlers) from Lagunilla market clustered around La Lupita's Ricos Tacos in the rough and tumble barrio of Tepito were not smiling. "Yesterday these cost me six pesos. Today, it's eight. Tomorrow, who knows, ten?" complained Rodrigo Aldama, 28, pointing at the three greasy tacos on his paper plate, "Vitamin T is rich man's food now." Vitamin T, a staple of urban diet here, includes tacos, tostadas, tamales, tortillas, and most any kind of street food concocted from corn. The steep jump of tortilla prices here this January to as high as 18 pesos a kilo (they were six in November) have unleashed a storm of protest and suspicion. "Someone's getting rich on my 'ricos tacos' but it isn't me" lamented Lupita Perez. Many point fingers at the corn distribution system, which is run by transnationals. Rodrigo had another theory: "the tortilla is Mexico but now they want us to eat white bread like the gringos." Others see even more sinister motives behind the sudden spike in tortilla prices which the government of freshman president Felipe Calderon blames on short supply and high prices for white and yellow corn - the opening of the Mexican milpa or corn patch to genetically modified corn. World corn prices are currently at an all-time high due to burgeoning interest in ethanol production as a petroleum substitute. In Mexico the price of corn has been pushed upwards by the cost of diesel and petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides despite the fact that Mexico is a major oil producer. Crop failures due to drought, flooding, and even ice storms have contributed to the price surge. But whatever the immediate causes, the dismantlement of government agricultural programs and the brutal impacts of the North American Free Trade Agreement have deepened the crisis in Mexican corn production. Competing with highly subsidized U.S. farmers is driving their Mexican counterparts into bankruptcy. Whereas south of the border, guaranteed prices for farmers' crops is a thing of the past, corporate corn growers north of the Rio Bravo can receive up to $21,000 an acre in subsidies from their government, enabling them to dump their corn over the border at 80% of cost. The impact of this inundation has been to force 6,000,000 farmers and their families here to abandon their plots and leap into the migration stream, according to a 2004 Carnegie Endowment study. This assault on poor farmers down at the bottom of the food chain will be exacerbated at the end of 2007 when all tariffs on U.S. corn are abolished. Meanwhile President Calderon seeks to tamp down tortilla prices by importing up to 2,000,000 duty-free tons to augment what Mexican farmers can or cannot produce. Such a solution is guaranteed to drive more farmers off the land. Even worse is that much of the new influx of NAFTA corn will be transgenic. A great deal of the 36,000,000 tons of corn Mexico has imported from the U.S. in the past six years is genetically modified - 40% to 60% estimates the environmental group Greenpeace, reasoning that U.S. producers, barred from dealing GMO corn in Europe and Japan are using Mexico as a dumping ground for the grain. GMO corn began pouring into Mexico in 1998 and by 2001 was being detected in the remote sierras of Oaxaca and Puebla, a region in which maize was first domesticated seven millenniums ago - both BT and Starlink strains (Monsanto and Novartis brands) were found in Oaxaca's Sierra de Juarez in 2001 and 2002. 11 out of 22 corn-growing regions in the two states registered readings of contamination as high as 60% in a 2002 government study that was suppressed by the Secretary of Agriculture. Although Mexico imports millions of tons of transgenic corn, it remains a crime here to plant genetically modified seed. In 1998, the National Biosecurity Commission, an interdisciplinary body that involves the health and agricultural secretariats, declared a moratorium on planting genetically modified corn until its impacts could be determined, and the ban remains in place although under heavy attack from big biotech and agribiz and transnational grain purveyors like the Cargill Corporation which now controls much of Mexican corn distribution. To keep the industry at bay, the Biosecurity commission now grants permits for "experimental" stations where the grain can be grown under government supervision - the Monsanto corporation is now testing its "YieldGuard" brand corn on hundreds of hectares in Sinaloa state, the most prolific corn-producing state in Mexico. A spillover of YieldGuard in Sinaloa could contaminate a big chunk of the existing corn supply. Despite the prohibitions on planting, there is plenty of transgenic corn tassling up in the Mexican milpas these days. Some of it is accidental. Massive imports of NAFTA corn distributed in rural regions through state-owned Diconsa warehouses threaten vast swatches of the Mexican "campo." Diconsa trucks are old and the roads rough and the GMO corn blows off into the wind contaminating cornfields for miles around. Although more and more licenses are issued every year for experimental planting, producers groups are now threatening to plant GMO corn without government permission - "If the moratorium is not relaxed, we will start planting the transgenic corn in the spring cycle" warns Perfecto Solis, director of the U.S.-Mexican agribusiness giant Corn Products Systems. Despite the prohibitions, big corn growers have been sewing transgenic maize without government permission for years. Roberto Gonzalez Barrera, "El Rey de la Tortilla", whose Maseca-Gruma, now a third owned by the Archer Daniels Midlands conglomerate, rules the corn flour and tortilla market (between 60 and 80%), once boasted that he had thousands of hectares under transgenic corn. Maseca-Gruma is indeed a major player in the "transgenization" of the tortilla industry. During the administration of the now-reviled Carlos Salinas (1988-94), Gonzalez Barrera began marketing an instant corn flour mix milled from both genetically modified and natural corn. Taco shells milled and confected by Gruma and marketed by Kraft were found to contain Starlink corn, then not yet authorized for human consumption, resulting in the largest call-back of any transgenically contaminated product in U.S. history. The Maseca mix has largely supplanted the traditional Indian way of preparing corn for tortillas - the "nixtamal" in which the "granos" or kernels are put to soak overnight in a brew whose main ingredient is quicklime. As payback for market domination, the King of the Tortillas flew Salinas into self-exile in his private jet in 1995 after the ex-president's brother was arrested for murder. Barrera and his ADM partners and their transnational associates at Cargill-Consolidated Mexico and Mimsa-Corn Products now control the Mexican maize market. It is that monopoly, which has caused the current panic, considers Luis Hernandez Navarro, op-ed editor at La Jornada, the national left daily, and a writer intimately familiar with agricultural issues. When ex-president Ernesto Zedillo (1994-2000) closed down CONASUPO, the state grain distribution system in 1997, the transnationals moved in and have taken control, says Hernandez. "When Mexican corn is in danger so is Mexico" he cautions, echoing the old refrain "no hay pais sin maiz" - there is no country without corn. Hernandez and other veteran observers of the Mexican "campo" strongly suspect that the current corn crisis is being manipulated to end the moratorium on planting transgenic corn in Mexico. "The transnationals want to end the moratorium and are using this made-up crisis to pressure the SAGARPA (Agricultural Secretariat) to do away with it" figures investigator Antonio Serratos at the prestigious College of Mexico think tank. "It is part of their strategy for taking control of the entire agricultural sector." As if to confirm Serratos' hunch, Big Agro is already petitioning the Biosecurity Commission to permit widespread planting in 2007. "Bio-tech is the only solution to growing more corn and keeping the tortilla affordable" advises Jaime Yesaki, director of the National Agriculture and Livestock Council or C.N.A, the principal agri-business federation in the country. The C.N.A. was joined in its petition to the Secretary of Agriculture to vacate the ban on growing GMO corn by the National Association of Supermarkets and Retail Stores which is controlled by the U.S. transnational Wal-Mart - Wal-Mart is now Mexico's number one retailer of tortillas and other foodstuffs and, with 700 mega-stores, the nation's largest employer. The subtext of the corn conflict is control of the seed market. "We have been patiently waiting to end the moratorium for ten years now" complained Eduardo Perez Pico, director of Monsanto-Mexico, the St. Louis-based conglomerate that dominates world seed markets. "Meanwhile Mexico is falling behind the rest of the world in applying new seed technologies that can better feed its people" the magnate recently told La Jornada. The Mexican geography produces hundreds of varieties of corn that have adapted to the country's myriad bioregions over millenniums. The introduction of transgenic seed will work to homogenize these strains, reasons Dr. Ignacio Chapela, the University of California-Berkeley biologist who was the first to locate GMO contamination here while doing fieldwork in the tiny Oaxaca sierra town of Calpulapan in 2001. "Millions of years of biological history will be lost if transgenic seeds are allowed to be planted in the Mexican milpa" Chapela affirms. Big Biotech with Monsanto leading the pack wants to replace those millions of years with seeds like the Terminator (named for the action hero governor of California) which goes sterile after one growing cycle and obligates farmers (they sign binding contracts with Monsanto) to buy more, a process Mexican investigator Silvia Ribiero tags "bio-slavery". Corn is not just nutrition and livelihood in Mexico but also culture and religion. Maiz came from the gods and the Aztecs and Mayas nourished those gods with sacrificial victims to keep it coming. The transnational attack on corn stirs passions and paranoias amongst the descendants of Mexico's first peoples. At a meeting of NAFTA scientists a few years back, some with deep ties to Big Biotech, and charged with investigating allegations brought by 17 Mexican NGOs that GMO corn was a threat to the nation's 57 distinct indigenous peoples, an Indian farmer from Oaxaca seized the mic and accused the scientists of practicing genocide by pushing transgenics. "First you killed your own Indians and now you want to kill us!" the farmer shouted angrily. The Zapatistas are Mayans and the Mayans are the People of the Corn. According to their sacred books, the Popul Vuh and the Chilam Balaam, they are actually made from maiz. Manuel, a member of the ecology-agricultural commission at Oventik, the most accessible Zapatista "caracol" or public center in the mountains above San Cristobal de las Casas, venerates these roots. "We are the corn - if it is poisoned so are we" he insisted during this New Year's "Encounter Between the Peoples of the World and the Peoples of the Zapatista Communities" up at the Caracol "Resistance and Rebellion for Humanity." Now the Zapatistas are freezing their seed corn to preserve pure Mayan germ plasma so that there will never be a world without it. You can even purchase the seeds on the World Wide Web. Check out www.schoolsforchiapas.com. ******************************** John Ross is currently on the road with his latest opus "Zapatistas! Making Another World Possible - Chronicles of Resistance 2000-2006." He will be traversing the southwest (February), the south and mid-west (March) and the Atlantic Coast (April) - contact johnross@igc.org for venues and itineraries. These dispatches will continue at ten-day intervals while the Blindman is on the road. -- To subscribe to this list send a message containing the words subscribe chiapas95 (or chiapas95-lite, or chiapas95-english, or chiapas95-espanol) to majordomo@eco.utexas.edu. Previous messages are available from http://www.eco.utexas.edu/faculty/Cleaver/chiapas95.html or gopher to Texas, University of Texas at Austin, Department of Economics, Mailing Lists. --------- "RE: Murder and other High Crimes in Lacandon Jungle" --------- Date: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 04:18 am From: Chiapas95-english Subj: En;Murder and Other High Crimes in the Lacandon Jungle,Feb 13 Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2007 10:55:31 -0600 (CST) From: Mary Ann Tenuto To: chiapas@eco.utexas.edu Subject: En;Murder and Other High Crimes in the Lacandon Jungle Murder and Other High Crimes in the Lacando'n Jungle On November 13 of last year (2006), an armed attack occurred against the indigenous community of Viejo Velasco Sua'rez, in the Lacando'n Jungle of Chiapas. Four people died as a result and another five people are disappeared and presumed dead. Two people were detained by police, one of them a health promoter from a neighboring community who had gone to help; the other, one of the attackers. Information about the political organization of those attacked was confusing. The state government claimed those attacked were affiliated with Xinich, an independent Chol organization usually friendly (sympathetic) to the EZLN. Xi Nich claimed those attacked were affiliated with the EZLN. The EZLN finally released a statement clarifying that those attacked were not Zapatistas. That clarification did not, of course, reveal the political affiliation of the victims. The attackers were members of the Lacando'n Community from Nueva Palestina, recipients of a communal land grant to a group of Indigenous people whose origins are in dispute, but today are known as Lacando'n Maya. After much protest, some Chol and Tzeltal Maya were also included in this communal land grant. The history is that during the 1950s and 1960s, the Mexican government encouraged land- hungry campesinos from other parts of Chiapas to migrate to the Jungle with a promise of land. This was done to get those campesinos and their militant organizations off the backs of the mestizo landowners. After enticing them into the Jungle, the government turned around and in 1972 gave the land to a different group of indigenous people known now as the Lacando'ns, placing the land of all the others who lived there in jeopardy. We are talking about more than one million acres of land given to just 66 Lacando'n families (several hundred people), who had not even asked for it! The government's treachery caused such an uproar that it soon had to offer some of the other Mayan language groups, specifically Chol and Tzeltal peoples, a chance to relocate within what the government called the Lacando'n Community and to own a little piece of the communal wealth. This offer was on the condition that they would live in specified settlements. Some accepted. Other settlers belonged to campesino (peasant) organizations which resisted resettlement and struggled for years to legalize those communities which had already existed prior to the creation of the Lacando'n Community. It was partly from those communities which resisted resettlement and their campesino organization that the EZLN was born. Not only were those existing communities endangered; all the settler communities, whether inside or on the outskirts of the Lacando'n Community were threatened. Their ability to expand as their population grew was cut off forever by that government decision. What was the government's motive for such an apparently stupid decision? The answer is greed; greed for the precious wood in the rain forest! The Lacando'ns and those Chol and Tzeltal people who accepted living in settlements also agreed to give the government the legal right to cut down mahogany and cedar trees within the Lacando'n Community (for a price, of course). Speculation is that one of the motives for the violent attack on Viejo Velasco is that the community's land contains a large grove of mahogany forest. The attackers from the Lacando'n Community claim that they are the legal owners of the land on which Viejo Velasco is located and that they want to evict the "invaders." This, in spite of the fact that negotiations with Mexico's Agrarian Reform agency were close to legalizing Viejo Velasco. Plainly, someone did not want that community legalized! Among the group of attackers were armed men wearing several types of uniforms. Some wore state police uniforms and carried high-powered weapons. In other words, they carried very expensive weapons only legal for use by police and military. Where did indigenous peasants get the money to buy such weapons? At least one human rights group identified them as members of the Opddic, a group of PRI members, allegedly organized and funded by local cattle ranchers and the municipio of Ocosingo, belonging to the PRI. Opddic is the acronym for the Organizacio'n para la defensa de derechos indigenas y campesinos (Organization for the Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights, in English). In spite of the fact that the EZLN had clarified that it was not involved, articles soon began to appear in the Mexican press about some Lacando'ns fleeing to a museum in San Cristo'bal de las Casas, saying that they feared reprisals by the EZLN! The plot thickened a week after the Viejo Velasco murders when the Opddic announced that it would no longer recognize the authority of the Zapatista Good Government Juntas and that it intended to take back vast quantities of land in four official Chiapas counties (municipios), land now belonging to the Zapatista Caracols of Morelia and La Garrucha. This is an ominous sign for both independent organizations and for the Zapatista communities. It is very close to being a dec