_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 035 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 August 27, 2007 Mohawk seskehko:wa/moon of freshness Mvskogee hiyo-rakko/big harvest moon Kiowa aidenguak'o p'a/yellow leaves moon Passamaquoddy apsqe/feather shedding moon Potawatomi e'mnomukkises/moon of the middle +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; www.indiancountrytoday.com; Mailing List: NetRez-L, Indigenous Peoples Literature, Chiapas95-En, Native Poetry, Remember The Cherokee/Tsalagi 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + "The Nation is very accommodating to the efforts to try and secure the border." "But you can't do that without coming to the people and asking, 'This is what we would like to do, and these are our thoughts.'" "Unfortunately, sometimes the mentality or the attitude is you're a federal reserve, and we are the federal government, and we're going to do whatever we need to do." "We are saying: You can't operate that way. We are not going to allow that to happen here." __ Ned Norris Jr., Chairman Tohono O'odham Nation +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 Please set aside your prejudices and preconceived notions for a moment, and take a journey with me. You are a young man or woman with a decent education, but in a place of grinding poverty and oppression. Daily, you toil in some menial task simply to put a bit of bread on the table, and your sleep is from sheer exhaustion. You have zero hope for the future if you stay where you are, except an early death. Even that might be preferred to other "options", like conscription in a military you cannot support in your own mind, or prison like many of your neighbors and former schoolmates. You learn there is real opportunity in another country called the United States. One route to this opportunity, illegal entry, is incredibly risky. You decide to take the risk. You pay a "contractor" every cent you have plus all you can borrow. This buys you a dangerous, miserable journey. If you fall on the trail or become too ill from the heat and vileness of the broiling boxcar or truck, you know you will be abandoned and left to die. If you survive, you and the other survivors are handed over to a "coyote" who has agreed to smuggle you from the border you just crossed to the border you hope to cross. Once in the United States, by working jobs no one else wants, for less than anyone else will accept, you realize there is hope and opportunity. In spite of the jobs and pay, it really is a better life than what you left. The other source of entry is via a green card. The problem is that this is a limited solution. You hoped to earn and save enough to send support to your family back home and to have a decent life when you must return. You also discover opportunity, but as your time to return nears, the family you left behind writes to tell you that you dare not return home. Rather than check in with your green card and head back home you go into illegal alien status just like those who bartered their lives with the coyotes. You still have opportunity. You marry. You have a child that is now something you are not - a U S citizen. Besides the joy this brings, there is also palpable fear. If you get caught, and you know the INS is very busy trying to insure you and your spouse (if not a US citizen) will be caught, and you are deported, your baby can and will be legally kidnapped by the U.S. and handed off to foster care services. Aside from the emotional wounds inflicted on both parents and children, you fear for their future. It is true, there are decent foster parents, but I can count on one hand the number of Indians that found these good foster parents and a brown child will fare no better. Ah, but you hear you can join an Indian Tribe and your problems are solved. You ask a few real Indians, and they tell you this is not so. You must have decendancy or blood proof of your right to be a member of a tribal nation. Still, you hear the whispers and desperation makes you believe what you so very much want to believe. Once again, you pay some "tribal agent" every penny you own plus all you can borrow to become a member of an Indian Tribe. Mr. "tribal agent" has promised you you will now become a U S citizen by virtue of your tribal citizenship. After all, he did point out most people from your country have some tribal ancestry, so it's no big deal. Mr. "Tribal Agent", you are the scum of the earth preying on the desperate needs of decent human beings. You are also the reason I firmly believe their is a hell for bastards like you. As for the so-called tribes that support these schemes, I have only contempt. Where is the honor in victimizing desperate people? And to what end? Money? If you're so assimilated that these dollars matter more than honor, why bother pretending to be Native? Could it be a notion that establishing the right to adopt immigrants will somehow prove the tribe's sovereignty? Not only is that unlikely to ever happen, the very attempt lessens the respect and credibility that might be afforded any group seeking legitimacy as a Native nation. ' ' 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: - Chukchansi speakers record, - . The Coyotes' Vultures preserve Language - O'odham leader vows - EDITORIAL: no Border Fence Neglecting Justice on Reservations - Feds doing little - EDITORIAL: Race & Citizenship to help gain Trust Money in Cherokee dispute - Court says Yankton Sioux - More than 20 Thousand will lose Emergency Room Excluded from Health Sector - Feds: American Indians - Urgent Medical Delegation owed $60 Million to Chiapas - Fund threat: Civil rights - Yaqui and O'odham Unite or Scorched Earth Plan? to Plan Zap Summits - Tribes win ruling on Salmon - Shuswap Band opposes sale - Fish-Run Ruling a victory of Panorama Ski Resort for Northwest Tribes - Natives ignore fishing ban - Chaco spared from bite - Judge orders end of drill bits to Native Occupation - Groups hashing out future - Police hopeful Blocade of Burial Ground will remain peaceful - Tribal POINT Housing Partnership - Native Justice to close -- Court rules Rretry or release - Meeting excluded Indians - Rustywire: Borrowed Keyboards - Bill would create Holiday - Lee Goins Poem: A Poem to Myself for Native Americans - Respect for Native American Culture - Rex Lee Jim and Council Delegate - Turtle Island Fall 2007 - Billy Walkabout Spring 2008 Schedule - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: O'odham leader vows no Border Fence" --------- Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:25:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="O'ODHAM: NO BORDER FENCE" http://www.indianz.com/News http://www.azstarnet.com/allheadlines/197095 O'odham leader vows no border fence Says U.S. needs to repay tribe for migrant costs By Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star Tucson, Arizona August 19, 2007 Waist-high steel vehicle barriers may someday line the 75 miles of international border on the Tohono O'odham Nation, and high-tech towers could one day dot the horizon - but don't expect a fence or wall. At least not while newly elected tribal Chairman Ned Norris Jr. is in office. "The Nation will always be against something like that," said Norris during an interview Thursday about border issues. "And yet we hear rumors that that is the direction the government is moving. "But have they consulted with us on this permanent 15- to 20-foot iron fence? No. Do they think they are just going to come out here and do that? Not over my dead body, they are not going to do that," he said. The Tohono O'odham Nation has allowed the Department of Homeland Security to open two law-enforcement facilities to process illegal entrants and to begin construction of vehicle barriers. It has also agreed in principle to the future construction of high-tech monitoring towers, Norris said. But, he said, federal officials need to show more respect for the Nation and involve its leaders in more decisions. "The Nation is very accommodating to the efforts to try and secure the border," Norris said. "But you can't do that without coming to the people and asking, 'This is what we would like to do, and these are our thoughts.'" "Unfortunately, sometimes the mentality or the attitude is you're a federal reserve, and we are the federal government, and we're going to do whatever we need to do," Norris said. "We are saying: You can't operate that way. We are not going to allow that to happen here." The Tohono O'odham Nation didn't used to worry much about illegal immigration, from a time when about 225 illegal entrants crossed a day into the United States. That all changed in the mid-1990s. Government officials launched enforcement efforts in San Diego and El Paso that funneled human- and drug-smuggling into Arizona. The O'odham's porous border and wide open lands have since become ground zero for the mass migration. With an estimated 1,500 people crossing every day, illegal immigration has become a major concern for the Nation. Dealing with the problems brought on by human- and drug-smugglers is one of the key issues facing Norris. During the interview at his office in Sells, the tribal capital southwest of Tucson, Norris addressed many of these issues: On who should shoulder the responsibility for illegal immigration: "The problem of illegal immigration is a problem of the United States of America. It's not the Tohono O'odham Nation's problem...." On how the increased flow has harmed the Nation: "We've got several concerns: environmental problems, problems that are negatively impacting our sacred areas on the Nation; problems of our people feeling secure and safe on being able to go out into the desert.... So, people are being less compassionate about the migrant, and people are having to protect themselves and their family, and that's concerning." On whether there are any related benefits to the Nation: "No, not at all. ... There have been no reimbursements to the Nation for any of its financial contributions. Yeah, the Nation has secured some Homeland Security money. Yes, the Bureau of Indian Affairs law enforcement has been able to secure an additional, I think, $1 million. But that's $1 million compared to $3 million a year, easy, for the last eight years.... That's not considered reimbursement on our end." On maintaining compassion for the individuals crossing despite the problems created by the mass migration: "We can't forget who we are as a caring people. We can't lose sight that many of the migrant situations, many of our O'odham are in similar situations.... There are Third World conditions in Mexico and other countries, but there are Third World conditions that exist within the United States of America, and many of those are on Indian nations. There are Third World conditions that exist here on the Nation itself." On the effect of having hundreds of U.S. Border Patrol agents roaming the Nation: "I don't want to sound like I'm badgering the Border Patrol or bad- mouthing the Border Patrol, but you always have some bad apples in your basket. In too many cases, we have some agents who are disrespectful of the land, disrespectful of the people, are not culturally sensitive to the environment, to who we are as O'odham. "You have situations where the Border Patrol is in pursuit of illegal human- or drug-trafficking, and they make their own roads because those vehicles that are trying to get away from the law aren't going to stay on roads. So, you've got grazing-pasture fencing that is being torn down or cut down so they can pursue that, and you don't have anybody replacing that." On the Nation's often-strained relationship with the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Border Patrol: "I heard one of the council members say, 'You know, we complain when the Border Patrol isn't there, and we complain when they are there.' And that's really what the situation is like. We want to be at the table with them. We want to be able to participate in the decisions that are being made that are going to impact us as a people, impact our land, impact anything that's going to happen as a Nation. And I can't tell you that we are always there.... "It's much more cooperative at the local level.... They are here; they are more readily available to us. We talk to them on a regular basis. They see our situation; they hear our complaints. The level of availability and level of cooperation is much more workable here." On the many deaths of illegal border crossers: "We don't want people dying on our lands and if they are, they've gotten be taken care of. We've got to provide the health care somewhere, and that's fine if they provide it at the Indian Health Service - but give them some reimbursements so that way we are not at a total loss financially with the next O'odham that needs to be treated in the hospital." Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com. Copyright c. 2007 the Arizona Daily Star. --------- "RE: Feds doing little to help gain Trust Money" --------- Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:25:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ALLOTTEE QUESTIONS OST'S SINCERETY" http://www.thenavajotimes.com/news/082307allottee.php Allottee: Feds doing little to help gain trust money By Cindy Yurth Navajo Times August 23, 2007 A leader of federal trust land allottees on the Navajo Nation said Wednesday recent attempts by the Special Trustee for American Indians to locate 70,000 Native Americans who have unclaimed trust accounts amount to little more than face-saving for the feds. "Every so many years they publish this list of 'whereabouts unknown' trustees," said Ervin Chavez, president of Shi Shi Keyah, an association of Navajos with mineral or right-of-way royalties being held in trust by the federal government. "If they were serious, they'd hire someone to find these people," Chavez said. "It's not that hard." Instead, said Chavez, "They send out press releases saying they're looking for people, sit at their nice desks and wait for people to call." In the case of Chavez, whose name once turned up on the "whereabouts unknown" list, they could have looked in the phone book. The San Juan County commissioner is not exactly a recluse. The simple way to find Natives, Chavez argued, would be to leave it to the local agencies. "If you know Harry Begay used to live in Crownpoint, you drive out to Crownpoint, find his distant relative, and say, 'Where is Harry Begay?'" Chavez said. "The relative will say, 'Oh, Harry Begay. He moved to Salt Lake City.'" Virginia Moore, one of two fiduciary trust officers at the OST's Gallup office, said that's exactly the kind of thing they do. "We're constantly on the road trying to find people," Moore said. "We've held meetings at all 110 chapters, we go to all the powwows, we set up a booth at the Navajo Nation Fair." Then why the long list of unclaimed accounts? "We have some very old cases," she said. "Some people don't tell us when they move. Some people are aware they have an account, but it's so small because of fractionation (being divided among many heirs) that they don't bother to claim it." Chavez added that it could also be because even once a Native finds out he's on the list, it's not a simple matter to retrieve his money. "They want you to send in all kinds of documentation to prove you are who you say you are," Chavez said. "Certificate of Indian blood, birth certificate, baptismal record ... If you're Peter Begay from out in the middle of the rez and you're owed $100, you might just hang up the phone and say, 'Forget this. It's not worth $100.'" Moore countered that it's not that difficult, especially if the allottees come in to an OST or BIA office in person. "Just know your census number, have your certificate of Indian blood and a picture ID," she said. She added that the feds' efforts to locate allottees are working - 15, 300 Natives with trust accounts were found in fiscal 2006, and, with two months remaining in fiscal 2007, the OST has tracked down some 15,600. About 6,000 Navajos are on the government's rolls of allottees, collecting a total of $8 million a year in oil, gas and other royalties. It averages $1,333 per allottee, although some collect as little as a few cents because the mineral rights have been subdivided among so many heirs over the years. Another 4,000 are on the "whereabouts unknown" list, and have a total of over $2 million coming to them, according to Moore. If you suspect you or someone you know might be on the list, visit www.doi.gov/ost/iim/index. html or call 1-800-678-6836. You can also stop in the Gallup OST office (room 164 of the federal building), or call the office at 505-863-8238. Any BIA agency office or the Federal Indian Minerals Office in Farmington, 800-238-2839, also has the list of missing allottees. There are Navajo speakers at the Gallup OST office and at the OST's toll-free number, Moore said. In other federal allotment news, Shi Shi Keyah is planning a lawsuit on behalf of several Navajo families whose land includes rights-of-way for which they feel they are being inadequately compensated. And the massive Cobell v. Kempthorne lawsuit, demanding an accurate accounting of all 500,000 individual Indian trust accounts, is coming up for trial Oct. 10 before U.S. District Judge James Robertson. By the Interior Department's own estimates, the federal government owes individual Indian trust account holders between $10 and $40 billion. Some independent estimates are still higher. Copyright c. 2007 The Navajo Times Publishing Co., Inc. --------- "RE: Court says Yankton Sioux will lose Emergency Room" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:20:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BUDGET TRUMPS INDIAN LIVES" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415616 Court says Yankton Sioux Tribe will lose emergency room by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today August 20, 2007 SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - A federal judge has said he would allow an emergency room on the Yankton Sioux Reservation to close. In September 2006, District Judge Lawrence Piersol ruled in favor of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, which had asked for a restraining order to stop the IHS from removing emergency room services at the Wagner IHS hospital and change it to an urgent care facility. The town of Wagner is on the Yankton Sioux Reservation and is where the BIA and IHS offices are located. On Aug. 5, Piersol reversed his earlier decision and said the emergency facility should be allowed to close. The Yankton Sioux Tribe has fought since 1994 to keep the hospital, clinic and emergency room open. The hospital has become a political nightmare for many Yankton Sioux tribal governments that have devoted time and finances to fight for the facility. The tribe spent much time in the courts and in negotiations with the IHS and has enlisted the help of the South Dakota congressional delegations over those years. No word has come down from the Aberdeen Area Office to the local service unit as to a specific closing date for the 24-hour care. Last fall, the South Dakota congressional delegation tried to convince the IHS to keep the facility viable. This time around, the same pressure comes from the congressional delegation. "Continued 24-hour service at the facility is critical to the health and well-being of the Yankton Sioux Tribe and the surrounding community," the congressional delegation of Sens. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., John Thune, R-S.D., and Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., said in a letter to Dr. Charles Grim, director of the IHS. The letter mentioned that a 2005 IHS-commissioned Sharpless report on the facility expressed the opinion that if the 24-hour facility closed, lives would be lost. "The closure will mean that one of our people will lose their life. I hate to say that," said Dennis Rucker, Yankton Sioux tribal council member. "When there is no available help they will go to the community hospital in Wagner; are they ready to take over? I don't think so. How are we going to pay them?" he said. To Rucker, the issue goes to the heart of the agreement made between the United States and the tribe when the treaties were signed. "We gave a large portion of our land away, and our way of life, that we would receive these benefits. Somehow they neglect their federal obligations to us. All this talk to the senators and Herseth [Sandlin]; they seem to neglect that there is a treaty obligation the federal government made to my people," Rucker said. Last fall, the Wagner Community Hospital began to make plans to accommodate the additional emergency care. Connie Wagner, administrator of the Wagner hospital, said the hospital was prepared to receive additional emergency room patients. She also said she told the South Dakota congressional delegation that she supported the emergency services at the Wagner IHS facility. Earl Cournoyer, CEO of the Wagner IHS facility, referred all inquiries to the Aberdeen Area, which did not respond to phone calls. There was also no response from the central office. Funding has been the reason given for the closure of the 24-hour care because, as the IHS has stated in the past, the facility did not receive reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid because the facility did not meet the emergency room criteria as defined by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The congressional delegation confirmed that funding is the main obstacle to keeping the facility open for emergency care. Rucker said that the IHS has allocated $2.2 million to build housing for doctors and nursing staff. "They can build new quarters for new doctors, but yet they can't send down that $2 million to fund the emergency room? Where's the reasoning in that," Rucker said. The IHS did not confirm the allocation of funds for the new housing. What may save the Yankton Sioux Tribe is a possible Veterans Administration outreach clinic that could be housed in or attached to the current IHS facility. Rucker is on the American Indian advisory committee for the VA. "We are trying to get that third-party billing if the clinic becomes a reality. The main problem is money; the bottom line is the money to fund it," he said. The VA clinic would be a facility that everyone could use, and Rucker said he estimated that it could serve some 5,000 to 6,000 people from the local area and surrounding counties. The Sioux Falls VA Medical Center is looking at all options for the possible Wagner facility that could possibly open next summer. The Wagner IHS emergency care will remain open until the process is finalized by the IHS. Tribal members who choose not to use the Wagner emergency facility will be forced to travel to Yankton or Sioux Falls, where there are larger medical centers - but that would mean a more than 100-mile trip of a little more than two hours to Sioux Falls, or to Yankton, which is 60 miles away. The Wagner facility is also used by tribal members from the Nebraska Ponca and Santee Sioux tribes. "The current Wagner Service Unit is state of the art, pristine, well- staffed and a huge benefit to the community at large. "The Wagner Community Hospital has also expressed support for the continuation of the 24-hour services to avoid being unjustly overwhelmed by the additional burden," the congressional delegation said in its letter. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Feds: American Indians owed $60 Million" --------- Date: 2007/08/22 Wed PM 12:36:26 EST From: Dan Patnode Subj: Feds: American Indians owed $60 million Mailing List: NetRez-L > http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/67135.html News: Nation / World Feds: American Indians owed $60 million By ASSOCIATED PRESS August 22, 2007 Some $60 million is owed to American Indians who have not claimed inheritances or interest from tribal land allotments, the federal government said. The federal Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians is looking for more than 45,000 beneficiaries nationwide. A trust officer for the agency, John Roach, said that includes 4,000 Navajos. The beneficiaries are eligible for disbursements ranging from a couple of pennies to more than $100,000, but the government doesn't know where the beneficiaries are. "It's unconscionable for us to have $50,000, $60,000 or $100,000 and not do everything in our power to find them," Roach said. "We have a very important but strict financial duty to them." Roach said more than half the beneficiaries are owed $100 or more. Julie Redhouse, an accounting technician for the OST, said American Indians are missing out on payments for a number of reasons. People who are in line to inherit money or estates from deceased family members either don't know of the inheritance or have moved and failed to update their mailing address, she said. All earnings and inheritances are reviewed and paid out by the OST, which also sends quarterly statements to land owners, listing all money, assets and real estate. The office also owes money to descendants of the original trustees of tribal land attained through the General Allotment Act of 1887, Redhouse said. In the absence of a will, the act provided that upon death of the allottee, the ownership title would be divided among the heirs. Heirs who share ownership with dozens or even hundreds of other beneficiaries might receive only a few cents every quarter, but those who have inherited a fraction of land leased for grazing or for the development of natural resources might be eligible for larger dividends. The agency also holds on to accrued interest or inheritance until a beneficiary turns 18. The OST is asking all American Indians to check with the agency to find out whether they are owed money or have assets. Copyright c. 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. Copyright c. 2007, Santa Fe New Mexican, all rights reserved. NetRez-L mailing list NetRez-L@uwm.edu http://listserv.uwm.edu/mailman/listinfo/netrez-l --------- "RE: Fund threat: Civil rights or Scorched Earth Plan?" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:19:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FUND THREAT TO CNO" Fund threat: Civil rights or `Scorched Earth' Plan? http://www.pechanga.net/ http://newsok.com/article/3107726/1187754897 Fund threat: Civil rights or `scorched earth' plan? By John Greiner Capitol Bureau August 22, 2007 A congresswoman and the Cherokee Nation's principal chief waged a news conference war Tuesday at the state Capitol over a March 3 tribal vote that stripped some freedmen of tribal citizenship. The congresswoman Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., who has a bill to cut $300 million a year in federal funding for the tribe, said the tribal vote disenfranchised 2, 800 freedmen. She said people cannot "use public dollars to discriminate." Freedmen are descendants of freed black slaves once owned by Cherokees. Watson said the vote was a violation of the Cherokee Nation treaty with the United States in 1866 and the Cherokee Constitution. Watson said Congress is involved in policy, and this is a policy issue. She said her bill has support of 23 members of the U.S. House. If the government gives the tribe $300 million, it cannot arbitrarily disenfranchise a protected class, she added. Watson's bill would suspend any gaming funds until the tribe is in compliance with all treaty and other obligations with the United States. The Cherokee chief In an earlier news conference at the state Capitol, Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, urged Watson and Congress to withhold action on the legislation until the issue involving freedmen is settled in court. He said Watson's bill would hurt Cherokees, including the elderly who use nutritional centers and those who need cancer treatments. "Why enforce and proceed with a scorched-earth policy?" Smith asked. Smith said those freedmen who can prove they have a Cherokee ancestor can be a member of the tribe. Right now, the freedmen in question retain their rights and benefits from the Cherokee Nation, he said. He said the tribe's attorney general is going to ask the federal court where one lawsuit is filed to delay any action on the 2,800 freedmen until a decision is made in court. Copyright c. 2007 The Oklahoman/News 9, Produced by NewsOK.com. --------- "RE: Tribes win ruling on Salmon" --------- Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:49:20 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WASHINGTON MUST REPAIR FISH PASSAGES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/328681_salmon23.html Tribes win ruling on salmon State ordered to fix culverts for fish passage By ROBERT McCLURE P-I REPORTER August 22, 2007 The state has breached its duties to Indian tribes under treaties dating to the 1850s by failing to maintain the road system, cutting off salmon from spawning grounds and robbing tribes of fish they were promised, a federal judge in Seattle ruled Wednesday. The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez puts the state under the gun for tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions, of dollars' worth of repairs to culverts, the pipes that carry streams below roads. It is the latest fallout from a controversial 1974 ruling awarding tribes the right to half of the annual salmon catch in the state. Martinez held that Indians have the right to "a moderate living" from fishing. "That was a big one today!" declared Billy Frank, whose activism on Indian fishing issues got him arrested decades ago. "The judge's order today said the fish have got to be there. If there's no fish, there's no fishing," said Frank, chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission. "We're trying to get the salmon back, make that salmon whole again." The state already was planning to spend $69 million over the next 12 years fixing state-owned culverts. "Since 1991 we've been working closely with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to address this," said Melanie Coon, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, which owns many of the faulty road-crossing pipes. "We're committed to fixing the culverts. We've been doing it for many years. We've been spending a lot of money on it, and a lot of time." But not enough, the tribes say. "It's clear that in Judge Martinez's eyes and the eyes of the people who negotiated the treaties, this is a real promise and it may require some real work and differences in the way people behave," said John Sledd, a Seattle attorney who represents 10 tribes. Next week, the tribes will tell the judge what they think should be done, and they're sure to call for that culvert-repair schedule to be speeded up significantly. By the state's own admission, the errant culverts are blocking more than 2,300 miles of streams where salmon could spawn. Since 1991, the state has opened up about 480 miles of streams by fixing the road crossings. Sometimes the big pipes are blocked. Others are positioned so high above the water that salmon could not jump into them to continue their trip upriver. When the tribes signed treaties with then-territorial Gov. Isaac Stevens in the mid-1850s, "It was ... the government's intent, and the tribes' understanding, that they would be able to meet their own subsistence needs forever," Martinez said in a 12-page ruling filled with references to the historical record. "It was thus the right to take fish, not just the right to fish, that was secured by the treaties," the ruling said. "... The Tribes were persuaded to cede huge tracts of land - described by the Supreme Court as 'millions of acres' - by the promise that they would forever have access to this resource." It wasn't until the tribes filed suit that U.S. District Judge George Boldt ruled in 1974 that they again had full access to the fish in their accustomed places. A later decision mirrored that ruling, granting the tribes half the shellfish harvest as well. The current case was filed in 2001, when the tribes said the state's failure to fix the culverts was, in effect, robbing them of salmon. By the state's own estimates, repairing the culverts could mean an additional 200, 000 salmon to catch each year, on average. When the case was filed, legal experts said it could lead to a vast expansion of tribes' role, giving them a say over land use and development. But Martinez's ruling strictly limited its applicability to arguments about the culverts. A spokeswoman for Gov. Chris Gregoire described her as "obviously disappointed. ... She's clearly committed to salmon recovery and the next step is explaining to the court what the culvert (repair) program is." When the case was filed, tribal representatives said state officials had said they might fix the culverts over a 20- to 30-year period, but that funding from the Legislature was uncertain and it could take more than a century. "I've seen all kinds of estimates - 60 years, a century - to fix them all," said Sledd, the attorney for the tribes. "A hundred years or more to fix the culverts when you have (salmon) stocks in imminent threat of extinction ... is not consistent with the treaties and it's not good for fish." The Boldt ruling was extremely controversial at the time, and remains so among some Washington residents who resent the Indians' ability to catch fish at times and places of their own choosing. The tribes are not under state control, but negotiate annually with state officials over how many salmon and shellfish tribes are allowed to take. "I hope (the ruling) is a bit of vindication for the (mid-1850s) tribal treaty negotiators," Sledd said. "They put it all on the line." P-I reporter Robert McClure can be reached at 206-448-8092 or robertmcclure@seattlepi.com. Read his blog on the environment at www.datelineearth.com. Copyright c. 1996-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: Fish-Run Ruling a victory for Northwest Tribes" --------- Date: Thu, 23 Aug 2007 07:49:20 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VICTORY FOR TRIBES AND SALMON" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/197486.html Judge's fish-run ruling a victory for Northwest tribes Brad Shannon The Olympian August 22, 2007 A federal judge has sided with 20 Northwest Indian tribes in a legal dispute over culverts that harm fish habitat. Attorneys for the tribes, which include the Nisqually and Squaxin Island in South Sound, called it a major legal victory that upholds the tribes' claims that treaties guaranteeing tribal harvests of Puget Sound salmon also protect fish habitat. The precise on-the-ground effect of the ruling by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Martinez was not immediately clear. The state Department of Transportation owns about 1,676 culverts that block fish runs, although it has worked in recent years to remove 205 such barriers, which opened 480 miles of fish habitat, DOT spokesman Lloyd Brown said. Copyright c. 2007 The Olympian. --------- "RE: Chaco spared from bite of drill bits" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:19:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHACO CANYON SPARED GAS EXPLORATION - FOR NOW" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2007/august/082107mm_chacospared.html Chaco spared from bite of drill bits By Mike Marino Cibola County Bureau August 21, 2007 GRANTS - The Chaco Culture Historical Park was recently the focus of the Celebrate Chaco Art Show at the Cibola Arts Council/Double Six Gallery and is home to one of the most celebrated cultures of puebloan life in New Mexico. Thousands of visitors descend on the Chaco Canyon living museum and the ruins were designated a World Heritage Site. Displays, dioramas and artifacts on display continue to attract interest in a culture that was crucial to the formative era of ancient peoples. But, the area has also attracted interest in drilling operations for natural gas wells that many feel would be an unwanted intrusion on this delicate landscape. The initial plans by Cimarex Energy to drill two natural gas wells on state land within the Chaco Culture National Historical Park have been put on hold by the company. The site selected was state land within two miles of the cultural site's visitor center and just one mile from an area known as the "sun dagger" site at Fajada Butte, where light and shadow tracks the cycles of the moon and sun . Cimarex Energy issued a statement to postpone the proposed project indefinitely because of multiple concerns that have been raised by groups of environmentalists and preservationists over the potential for harm the drilling could do to what many regard as the region's ultimate ancestral puebloan site. Cimarex regional land manager, Mike Wolfe, agrees. "We feel our resources are presently better spent in areas that minimize concerns regarding that area of Chaco Cultural National Historic Park," he said. The State Land Office originally considered the drilling leases for two state land parcels, located on Sections 32 and 36 for the simple reason that proceeds derived from the energy and mineral leases on those two parcels of state lands are designed to fund public education. Chaco is an important pueblo center that tells us about the past according to Russ Bodnar of the National Park Service at the Chaco Culture Historical Park. "Chaco became a World Heritage Site on December 8, 1987. We were nominated by the National Park Service under Criteria 3 which says that you have to provide testimony to a civilization that has disappeared. We are working on having that changed and upgraded because obviously the pueblo folks definitely say they haven't disappeared and all the pueblos attest to that fact," he said. Oil and gas exploration is a double edged sword when it comes to the pros and cons of that practice. The state Historic Preservation Office of New Mexico feels that stepped up gas and oil exploration in areas like southeastern New Mexico presents an opportunity to develop cultural surveys focused on industry development of cultures, and the resulting settlements, towns and cities that were built to support it. The initial consultations about the Chaco drilling venture involved the SLO, Cimarex, the National Park Service and the Historic Preservation Department of the state of New Mexico. The Chaco site is considered a World Heritage Site and the Preservation Department is continuing to work with the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and the SLO to develop a zone that will protect resources within and outside of the park boundaries and the World Heritage Site. Copyright c. 2007 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Groups hashing out future of Burial Ground" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:19:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN REMAINS" http://www.centralohio.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/BC/20070822/NEWS01/708220302/1002 Groups hashing out future of burial ground By KRISTINA SMITH Staff writer August 22, 2007 DANBURY TOWNSHIP - Four years ago, construction workers unearthed American Indian remains, artifacts and traces of huts at a township housing site. The Cleveland Museum of Natural History deemed the area one of Ohio's most significant American Indian archaeological finds and has sent a crew each summer to excavate at the Cove on the Bay subdivision with the blessing of the developers, Greg and Gary Spatz. "The Native Americans probably wouldn't have stopped at the property line," Brian Redmond, Cleveland Museum of Natural History curator of archaeology told the News Herald during a July dig at the Cove on the Bay site. "It appears there was a whole village here." The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma, The Ohio Historic Preservation Office and other agencies are working with developer Scott Prephan to ensure remains and artifacts, if they do exist in his Harbor Bay Estates subdivision, are protected, said Alan Sisselman, chief of the Corps Ohio Application Evaluation Section. Prephan, however, said two archaeologists have dug on the site and found no evidence of bones. "They seem to be concentrated on the Spatz property," Prephan said. He has applied to the corps and state agencies for a permit to build a marina at his subdivision, Harbor Bay Estates, Sisselman said. But the National Historic Preservation Act, a federal law that protects cultural resources, requires the corps to deal with the remains and artifacts before allowing the project, he said. "Basically, we have to reach an agreement on how these remains will be handled," he said. For months, the corps has been working with Prephan, the Wyandottes and other organizations involved to work out a memorandum of agreement, a legal document outlining the process, he said. A draft agreement has been drafted, and the corps is waiting for those involved to comment on it, he said. "It's been a long time," Sisselman said. "We want to get this thing signed as soon as possible." The Wyandottes, however, have not agreed to anything, tribe spokeswoman Sherri Clemons said. The tribe is not related to the prehistoric people found in the township, but its members became involved because the remains belonged to an unidentified group of American Indians, Redmond has said. "We are not happy with how the situation is going," Clemons said. "We don't feel like we're being treated with respect. I feel like there needs to be more understanding between the parties involved." The tribe wants to excavate and rebury any remains found in an area that would always belong to the American Indians and could never be developed or disturbed, she said. And she feels those involved aren't complying with that request. "We don't want them marked," she said. "We don't want grave robbers and things like that. I have an obligation to protect the people who were there before. "This is sacred." But Prephan said he has reserved some land for the Wyandottes in an easement separate from the agreement with the Army Corps if any remains are found. "We put in all the language all those folks wanted to see," he said. "She knows those areas are set aside." E-mail Kristina Smith at mksmith@gannett.com. Copyright c. 2007 Central Ohio. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribal POINT Housing Partnership to close" --------- Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 07:36:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CAPITOL ONE TAKES SUBPRIME HIT, CUTS OFF INDIAN UNIT" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415657 Tribal POINT Housing Partnership to close by: Mark Fogarty / Today correspondent August 24, 2007 MCLEAN, Va. - One casualty of the unexpected closing of Capital One Financial Corp.'s wholesale mortgage company in the wake of the subprime mortgage crisis is its American Indian mortgage program, Tribal POINT Housing Partnership. A source at the tribal unit of GreenPoint Mortgage confirmed that Tribal POINT has stopped funding loans on tribal homelands and will close along with the entire wholesale unit of GreenPoint, which is owned by Capital One. A call to the program manager to ascertain volumes of loans done through the program to date was not returned at press time. According to GreenPoint's Web site, Tribal POINT closed loans to American Indians on trust land through three separate programs: T-POINT Plus, a private mortgage; the Department of Housing and Urban Development's section 184 guaranteed Indian mortgage; and the Rural Housing Service's loan programs, which are open to Indians. The T-POINT Plus was a GreenPoint-only loan "available to Native American homebuyers who are purchasing or refinancing a home on federally restricted trust lands or tribally restricted land." There was no prepayment penalty associated with the loan, which used modified Fannie Mae (government agency) underwriting guidelines and was available for single-family attached and detached homes, condominiums, and two- and four-family units. The source said there has been some discussion about continuing the program in another venue but that it was closing for now along with the rest of GreenPoint. Indian Country Today reported on the startup of the unit in 2003 under CeAnn Kelly, a Chickasaw tribal member. The unit was based in Houston at the time and worked through GreenPoint's network of mortgage brokers. GreenPoint Mortgage, based in Novato, Calif., was one of the top 20 mortgage firms in the United States and its abrupt closing has been perhaps the largest casualty to date of the mortgage crisis. Ironically, GreenPoint is not a subprime lender but rather an "alt-A" specialist. Alt-A lending is generally to a better credit class of borrowers than the subprime ones that have triggered the latest crisis. Capital One acquired GreenPoint in 2006 when it bought its then-parent, North Fork Bancorporation of New York state. This is shaping up to be a bad deal for the company, which is well-known for its "What's in your wallet?" credit cards. The closure will cost them $680 million. Thirty-one GreenPoint offices will be closed in 19 states, and 1,900 employees fired, according to Capital One. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Meeting excluded Indians" --------- Date: Friday, August 24, 2007 04:37 pm From: Kapoonis1959@aol.com Subj: Meeting excluded Indians - Yankton Sioux landowners cry foul Mailing List: indigenous_peoples_literature@yahoogroups.com www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070823/NEWS/708230350/1001 Meeting excluded Indians, tribe says - Yankton Sioux landowners cry foul By Peter Harriman 575-3615. August 23, 2007 Federal litigation that began in 1993 over a landfill in Charles Mix County has expanded into what could be a precedent-setting ruling on establishing the boundaries of Indian reservations. In a recent development, it also has made Yankton Sioux Tribe landowners question whether they were excluded from a meeting of potential litigants because of their race. Charles Mix County State's Attorney Scott Podhradsky put a notice in a local newspaper inviting about 250 landowners to an Aug. 16 meeting at the Charles Mix County courthouse. The landowners who were invited had titles to land on the historical Yankton Sioux reservation that might be affected by the lawsuit, Yankton Sioux Tribe v. Podhradsky. About a dozen tribal members who did not receive an invitation but who own land in Charles Mix County tried to attend the meeting, at the behest of Sioux Falls lawyer Jim Abourezk, who represents the tribe. According to several of those landowners, Tom Tobin, a Winner lawyer representing Charles Mix County, told them they could not take part. "I went there on behalf of the tribe, since we hold land in fee. They told us that unless we had a letter, we could not get into that meeting," said Tribal Chairman Robert Cournoyer. "I never did receive a letter, but I heard about the meeting. My family owns property, so I thought I should go to it," tribal member John Keeler added. "When I got there, the attorney said the only people it applied to were the people in two different sections of the county. If you didn't get a letter, there was no reason to be there." Abourezk fumes "that smacks of the Old South. I called the U.S. attorney and said there is massive discrimination going on down there." Abourezk says he also contacted the FBI and the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee. He plans to contact the corresponding U.S. House committee, as well. Martin Jackley, U.S. attorney in Sioux Falls, acknowledges that Abourezk called him. "I am aware of the general allegations that appear to be related to the ongoing litigation concerning the current geographic area of the Yankton Sioux reservation. The United States is not involved in the litigation, however. The United States played no role in the meeting at issue," Jackley said. He added that he could not comment on any investigation his office might carry out while the lawsuit is ongoing. Podhradsky insists the sole purpose of the meeting was to alert landowners to the prospect that the status of their holdings might change because of the lawsuit. One of the lawsuit's key issues is whether land held in trust by the U.S. government for tribal members in 1927 still should be considered part of Indian Country even though it has gone out of trust and has been sold, he says. "We took the U.S. attorney's legal descriptions (of the 1927 trust land) and matched it up with (present day) landowners," Podhradsky says. "There was not ever a point where any of those names was screened. ... There was no exclusion of any person of any race. If they owned land, they could come to the meeting." The meeting, Podhradsky insists, was solely to inform those landowners "we would not represent you, but you might want to hire an attorney," because between 4,000 and 7,000 acres of land that long had been considered to be no longer held in trust might be determined to still be part of the Yankton Sioux reservation. Keeler, Cournoyer, Abourezk and Charon Asetoyer - another landowner - all say Tobin closed the meeting. Tobin deferred comment to Podhradsky, who says he does not know why Tobin told tribal members they could not attend. Podhradsky adds, however, that the courtroom where the meeting was held was packed. "They have a public notice in the paper, and the public shows up, but they only wanted the 250 they sent the letters to. They wouldn't even let other people sit and observe," Asetoyer says. The lawsuit originally turned on the legality of Charles Mix County building a landfill on ground that had been part of the original Yankton Sioux reservation. The lawsuit quickly grew to encompass broad questions about whether land originally held in trust for tribes should be included in setting the exterior borders of reservations even if that land is sold and goes out of trust. The resolution of that question could affect many tribes with checkerboarded land ownership within their reservation boundaries. The case has been to the U.S. Supreme Court and has been returned to U.S. District Judge Lawrence Piersol, who is set to decide it in November. "We have to come up with evidence on where the boundaries should be drawn," Abourezk says. Podhradsky says the key question Piersol must settle is whether land held in trust in 1927, when there was a federal freeze on the disposal of such land, still should be considered part of Indian Country when setting reservation boundaries, even though the land subsequently went out of trust and was sold off into fee status when the freeze was lifted. Copyright c. 2007 Sioux Falls Argus Leader. --------- "RE: Bill would create Holiday for Native Americans" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:19:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NA DAY, THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING - HOW APPROPRIATE" http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/ nativeamericanheritageday08212007-CR.html Bill would create holiday for Native Americans Andy Harvey August 21, 2007 Do you think there should be a holiday honoring Native American heritage? Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when the Christmas shopping season starts, could soon become known as Native American Heritage Day. That's because lawmakers in Washington are discussing a bill that would create a special holiday honoring the contributions of Native Americans. S. 1852, the bill's number, was introduced by U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D- Hawaii). For some Native Americans, Thanksgiving is called Thanks taking, a reminder of what tribes lost when Europeans made contact with their ancestors. By establishing a national holiday, Arizona Native Americans hope they're heritage will finally be recognized. Hopi Tribal member Veronica James said, "I think it would be actually nice to recognize and show honor to Native Americans. We were here first after all. Every holiday that we celebrate is everything related to the white man's society." But other Valley residents think the proposed new holiday for various groups of people is too much. Richard Leathers said, "If we start to split this out all the way it could be the point where we have more holidays than we have working days." The Native American Heritage Day bill is being discussed in Senate committees. Copyright c. 2007, azcentral.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Rex Lee Jim and Council Delegate" --------- Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:57:27 -0600 From: Sararesa L. Begay Subj: News release about Rex Lee Jim and Council Delegate Ring... Navajo Nation Council Office of the Speaker Contact: Sararesa Begay, Public Information Officer (928) 871-6384 sararesabegay@navajo.org http://www.navajonationcouncil.org August 20, 2007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Council Delegate Commemorate Ring Reminds Him of Navajo Nation Sovereignty WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. - To Council Delegate Rex Lee Jim (Rock Point) the Council Delegate ring reminds him of Navajo Nation sovereignty. I see the Treaty of 1868 inscribed on one side of this ring," Jim said as he inspects the commemorative ring for the 20th Navajo Nation Council. "Treaties are made only between sovereign nations. When we Council Delegates take the Oath of Office, we swear to protect this treaty and, therefore, Navajo Nation sovereignty." Jim's thoughts turn to stories told by Navajo elders in his community about how the Navajo ancestors struggled to survive, and return to Navajo Territory after the Hwe'e'ldi' or the "Long Walk." "The stories recount Navajo survivors picking out corn kernels from animal waste," Jim said somberly. "What kind of thoughts do you have to have in order to humble yourself and feed yourself in such a manner, just so that future generations of the Navajo people may continue? Our ancestors were able to find a seed of greatness in such a horrific experience. This kernel of corn has bloomed into the Great Navajo Nation that we now are." Today, Jim, who is in his second term as a Council Delegate, says that he strives and works toward Navajo sovereignty. This means that each and every Navajo must earn and design the kind of life he or she wants to live. "A sovereign nation is only as sovereign to the degree that its people are self sufficient," said Jim who was born and reared in the Rock Point community. "We must become productive citizens," Jim said. Jim added that, "If you turn this ring to the other side, there's `Dzil,' ("Mountain" in the Navajo language) which essentially means strength, and a corn stalk. The four sacred mountains and the corn are the strength and foundation of who we are. Our ancestors made the most of the land. Combining their own strength with the strength of the land, they made sure that each and every Navajo was clothed, fed and sheltered. We as a Nation must recommit ourselves to that fundamental goal." Navajos are expanding, learning and growing, he explained. The symbolism held in the Navajo Council Delegate ring is significant, spiritual and special to Jim as he continues to describe the symbols. "The `Dzil' and the corn stalk in the Navajo culture are at the core of our Navajo prayers and ceremonies," Jim said. "These symbols remind us to work hard and smart for our people" Jim said his responsibility and public service as a Council Delegate is meaningful to him and his colleagues on the 21st Navajo Nation Council. "We take that to heart," Jim said. "We are here to serve." "Certainly, there are those who believe that Council Delegates do not work and are self-serving," he said. "They will continue to think that no matter what. Then there are others who know how hard we work. And understand that the `ring' is but a small token of appreciation on the part of the Speaker of the Navajo Nation Council." Jim believes that those Navajos who are self-sufficient and working "will probably appreciate the meaning of the Council Delegate rings." He said numerous Rock Point community members told him that the Council Delegate ring is "beautiful," and to take care of the ring and the values it stands for. "Those values are in the Navajo Nation Chamber and now the commemorative ring." He said he wants to stress that a "Sovereign Navajo Nation is only as sovereign as its people." Jim has a BA degree in English from Princeton University, and a Master's degree from the Bread Loaf School of English of Middlebury College, Vt. He also has done research at Oxford University in England and has traveled extensively. He is a published author and a practicing Blessing Way singer. --------- "RE: Billy Walkabout" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 06:06:13 -0700 (PDT) From: Mark Davis Subj: Fwd: US Army Lieutenant Billy Walkabout US Army Lieutenant Billy Walkabout Cherokee Warrior Most Decorated Native American Warrior of the Vietnam War United States Army Lieutenant Billy Walkabout Warriors Citation Walkabout received the Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, five Silver Stars and five Bronze Stars. He was believed to be the most decorated Native American soldier of the Vietnam War, according to U.S. Department of Defense reports. Walkabout was born in Cherokee County, Okla. on March 31, 1949, and lived much of his life in Oklahoma. At the time of his death, Walkabout and his wife, Juanita Medbury-Walkabout, lived in a portion of eastern Connecticut that is home to many Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan and other Native American tribal members. Walkabout's official cause of death was not given. The Native American Times reported on its website that he had been fighting complications of exposure to Agent Orange, a defoliant used by the military during the Vietnam conflict. Walkabout, a Cherokee of the Blue Holley Clan, was an 18-year-old Army Ranger sergeant when he and 12 other soldiers were sent on an assassination mission behind enemy lines on Nov. 20, 1968, in a region south west of Hue. However, they ended up in the enemy's battalion area and came under fire for hours, during which he was seriously wounded. Several of the other 12 men were killed at the scene, while the rest later died of their injuries. Walkabout's citation for the Distinguished Service Cross said he simultaneously returned fire, helped his comrades and boarded other injured soldiers onto evacuation helicopters. "Although stunned and wounded by the blast, Sgt. Walkabout rushed from man to man administering first aid, bandaging one soldier's severe chest wound and reviving another soldier by heart massage," the citation states. "Only when the casualties had been evacuated and friendly reinforcements had arrived, did he allow himself to be evacuated." He retired as a second lieutenant. In a 1986 interview with The Associated Press, Walkabout said his 23 months in Vietnam left him with disabling injuries and memories that refused to fade. "War is not hell," Walkabout said. "It's worse." He said he struggled with failed marriages, thoughts of suicide and years of self-isolation when he would spend six months at a time alone. "Everyone I went to high school with thought I was dead for years. They're amazed when they see me and they say, 'You're not dead."' Walkabout said. He often refused to sleep near his wife, afraid he would strangle her in his sleep or try to push her under the bed to protect her from the bombs he imagined were going off. Over the years, however, he found solace in the Native American powwows where he often was an honored guest, leading the traditional dances in time to the pounding drums and chant of the singers. "I'm at peace with myself," Walkabout said in 1986. "I've got my dignity and I've got my pride. ... I never lost the war in Vietnam, I never lost a day of it. Even when I was wounded, I didn't lose. When I fought, I won. I won my wars." Walkabout's family and friends tended a round-the-clock fire in Montville after his death on Wednesday and planned to extinguish it Sunday, part of a four-day Cherokee ceremony, family members said. The smoke fire is believed to carry prayers to heaven and spiritual messages from place to place around the world. Lisa Bernier, Walkabout's stepdaughter, told The Day of New London newspaper that he was unpretentious when asked about his time in the military. "I'd say 'thank you' to him, and he'd say, 'What for?' He was so humble," Bernier said. Information provided by Brave Horse If you have a chance to make life better for others and fail to do so, you are wasting your time on Earth. No matter what our station in life, we are here to serve, even if that sometimes means making the greatest sacrifice of all. Sooner or later you are going to learn just as I did, that there's a difference between KNOWING the path and WALKING the path. http://www.theupcn.com/ --------- "RE: Chukchansi speakers record, preserve Language" --------- Date: Mon, 20 Aug 2007 07:43:20 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAVING ANOTHER NATIVE TONGUE" http://www.fresnobee.com/384/story/116949.html Rare Chukchansi speakers record, preserve language August 20, 2007 The few remaining speakers of the Chukchansi language have begun preserving their tribal words and songs using electronic translators first developed for military use. The unwritten Chukchansi language has long been spoken by residents of the Madera County foothills, the traditional territory of the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians. But like many other American Indian languages in California, it is considered nearly extinct. Just six tribal members are sufficiently fluent to teach it to others. "We're recording our language ... to save our language," said Jane Wyatt, 62, of Coarsegold, who has been teaching the language at the Wassuma Round House culture center. "I learned because my grandmother raised me. That's all we spoke." Tribal members gathered Friday near the tribe's busy Chukchansi Gold Resort & Casino in Coarsegold to try out the "Phraselator," an electronic translator developed by the Banning-based Thornton Media Inc. Seventy tribes in the United States and Canada have purchased the hand- held translation devices, which also are used by U.S. troops to translate Farsi in Iraq and Afghanistan, said the company's president Don Thornton. The tribe will use the units to start a language preservation program, said Picayune Rancheria tribal administrator Cornel Pewewardy. Copyright c. 2007 The Fresno Bee. --------- "RE: EDITORIAL: Neglecting Justice on Reservations" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:20:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEGLECTING INDIAN JUSTICE" http://www.indianz.com/News http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/328345_methed.html Federal Justice: Fund the basics SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD August 20, 2007 In diverting FBI agents to anti-terrorism activities in the wake of the 2001 attacks, the Bush administration made an important, reasonable adjustment to protect the national security. But the administration has never accepted responsibility for hiring the additional agents needed to cover the bureau's other duties. The neglect of traditional crime fighting is taking a toll on domestic security against crime. We are all at risk of paying the price for the administration's shortsighted stinginess with federal justice resources, especially for the FBI. The Seattle P-I reported Monday on the problems Indian reservations and rural areas face trying to fight the scourge of methamphetamine abuse with reduced FBI help. Indian leaders in the Northwest say they used to receive great FBI help. The story expanded on earlier reports about the impacts of shifting FBI agents to terrorism duties. Despite repeated pleas, staffing for the FBI offices in Seattle and around the country has failed to keep pace with the needs. That has allowed practitioners of mortgage fraud, identity theft and other crimes what we imagine is the better night's rest from living free of FBI agents showing up with annoying questions, loaded guns and signed warrants. In the case of the reservations and drug enforcement, there are options. Bureau of Indian Affairs police staffing and contracting dollars could be further increased. The Drug Enforcement Administration can help, and its support has made a big difference not only in cities, but for some rural areas and tribes. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, a Democrat from Snohomish County, said tribes' options for applying for meth grants would be expanded under a bill the House has sent to the Senate. He also wants an end to a DEA hiring freeze, more emphasis on prevention in all communities and support for an expected administration initiative to Mexican law-enforcement authorities to upgrade drug technology and training. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., proposed adding 1,000 FBI agents, which would begin to cover for the nearly 2,500 reassigned to terrorism-related duties. The administration envisions the terrorism fight as a generational battle. We have to avoid writing off generations at home. Copyright c. 1996-2007 Seattle Post-Intelligencer. --------- "RE: EDITORIAL: Race & Citizenship in Cherokee dispute" --------- Date: Sat, 25 Aug 2007 07:36:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="EDITORIAL: RACE NOT CITIZENSHIP" http://www.indianz.com/News http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415648 Race, not citizenship, informs Watson's Cherokee bill by: Editors Report / Indian Country Today August 24, 2007 The controversy enveloping the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and Cherokee freedmen recently has taken some interesting and unexpected turns. Americans, through the prism of this situation, are growing comfortable discussing Indian issues in dangerous terms of race and exclusion. The Cherokee leadership is entering a public relations fray potentially more volatile than a classic legal battle. The nation, amid salacious charges of ethnic cleansing, is steadfastly repeating its intention regarding a March vote to amend its enrollment policy, essentially denying freedmen without Indian ancestry citizenship within the nation. Time will tell if tribal sovereignty will trump race-baiting disguised as civil rights advocacy. The nation's congressional adversary, Rep. Diane Watson, D-Calif., in June introduced a rather paternalistic bill to sever federal relations with the Cherokees of Oklahoma until it "restores full tribal citizenship to the Cherokee freedmen disenfranchised in the March 3 Cherokee Nation vote and fulfills all its treaty obligations with the Government of the United States." H.R. 2824 would cut federal funding to the Cherokees and restrict the nation's authority to operate its gaming facilities. Watson embarked on a publicity tour to promote the bill's virtues with town hall meetings co-sponsored by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Congressional Black Caucus. At a Tulsa library, Watson characterized the controversy as the "most significant civil rights movement of this century." Not to diminish the freedmen's plight, but most Americans would probably point to the Bush administration's domestic spying program as the biggest threat to civil rights in this 7-year-old 21st century. The hyperbole didn't end there. Watson was accompanied - at the library - by U.S. Capitol police officers and proceeded to admonish an Indian nation for allegedly violating treaty obligations. "The law says we can't use U.S. dollars to violate the law," she said in Tulsa. "American money can't be used to discriminate." Watson was likely alluding to the outdated stereotype of the non-taxpaying, ward-of-the-state Indian. It is both disconcerting and comforting to know that hypocrisy is the basis of Watson's misguided crusade. It is clear that comprehension of federal Indian law, based upon treaty relations between Indian sovereign nations and the U.S. government, is not the forte of Rep. Watson or her supporters. It is considered unwise for an agent of the federal government to lecture Indian nations about violating treaties, for paternalism directed at tribal authorities in the recent past has resulted in grave consequences for Indian peoples. The Canandaigua Treaty of 1794 has been violated numerous times by the federal government. Article III of the treaty states, "Now, the United States acknowledge all the land within the aforementioned boundaries, to be the property of the Seneca Nation; and the United States will never claim the same, nor disturb the Seneca Nation, nor any of the Six Nations ..." Seneca leader Cornplanter, among those representing the Iroquois Confederacy, signed on behalf of his nation. In 1965, fewer than three generations after its signing, the covenant was broken with the completion of the Kinzua Dam by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam flooded some 10,000 acres of Seneca land confiscated by eminent domain in western New York. The flood inundated the habitable lands of Cornplanter's descendants, and more 100 Seneca families on the Alleghany Reservation were forced to relocate their longhouse, homes and schools. Nearly 1,500 graves, including that of chief Cornplanter, had to be moved or be engulfed by the reservoir, known today by the Senecas as Lake Perfidy. The Senecas drew support at the time from other Indian nations as well as the National Congress of American Indians, but not the larger American civil rights movement. Defending tribal self-governance and fighting forced assimilation, American Indians were not interested in solutions based on racial equality, distinguishing its goals from that of the black civil rights movement. That significant distinction is at the heart of the Cherokee Nation-Cherokee freedmen conflict. The Watson bill is a solution that will not serve anyone justly, as forced termination will endanger the benefits of all Cherokee citizens, including freedmen and their descendants. Rep. Watson, leading the call for termination of the Cherokee Nation, claimed on National Public Radio's "News & Notes" to have "Indian blood" and that she is a descendant of Pocahontas. Her concern with Indian civil and human rights is encouraging. Watson could use her influence in Congress to fight unequal religious freedom; reduce violent crimes against Indian women and children; encourage funding for Indian health services, law enforcement and education; or fight discrimination against Indians in nearly every sector of American culture, from sports to housing to the workplace. In the Indian world, it is said that aside from tribal enrollment or documented proof of citizenship, it is indicative of one's identity as an Indian person if you consider yourself part of something rather than part- something. As a vocal proponent for the freedmen, Watson should realize that their strongest claim to full Cherokee citizenship lies in their family and community ties to the nation. These tangible bonds matter just as much as Watson's notions of indiscernible Indian-ness by blood. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: More than 20 Thousand Excluded from Health Sector" --------- Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 11:41 am From: Chiapas 95 Moderators Subj: En;Chiapas:More than 20 Thousand Excluded from Health Sector Mailing List: Chiapas95-english 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: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 15:03:56 -0500 (CDT) From: Mary Ann Tenuto Chiapas: More than 20 thousand excluded from health sector by: isai'n mandujano * An outbreak of whooping cough uncovered the problem in the state Chankolom, San Juan Cancuc, Chiapas, July 30, 2007 (apro). The recent death of 14 indigenous because of a whooping cough outbreak in the Los Altos region, crumbled the official discourse about the achievements reached by Chiapas authorities in health matters and bared the fragile health situation which the region's Zapatista communities inhabited by 20 thousand people confront since 13 years ago. Last June, the Chiapas government assumed that the Pan American Health Organization (OPS, its initials in Spanish), a World Health Organization (WHO) dependency, would establish an office in the border city of Tapachula (Chiapas) and, moreover, anticipated that it would shortly receive "international certification for the achievements it obtained in health matters." Nevertheless, Oventik's Good Government Junta took charge of taking the makeup off of the official discourse when, last June 13, it announced that at least 14 indigenous people had died from whooping cough and 233 people presented symptoms of the same disease in some communities of the canyon of San Juan Cancuc municipality. The Junta pointed concretely to the communities of Chankolom, Iwiltik, El Rosario, Tzajal Ukum, Yocwitz, Bakelchan and La Palma. The most serious cases were identified in the first location. The outbreak of whooping cough was discovered on a visit to those places made by 25 vaccinators, 19 general medicine promoters, a nursing assistant, a doctor, a paramedic and six translators from the Zapatista micro clinics in Agua de Leo'n, Estacio'n, Magdalena, 16 de Febrero, Nueva Libertad, San Juan Cancuc, Zinacanta'n and Oventik. Members of the General Coordination of the Autonomous Zapatista Health System (SSAZ, its initials in Spanish) attested to the death of the fourteen minors. Informed of the issue, health authorities from Juan Sabines' government tried to hide the pitiful fact that occurred inside of the indigenous communities faced with the fear of losing federal aid and international certification from the OPS. Nevertheless, the Zapatista Junta publicly denounced the minors' deaths and the marginalization in health matters in which the indigenous communities in the Los Altos region find themselves. Then, the state Secretary of Health came out and denied everything, including the fourteen deaths. He even organized a "tour" to discredit the Zapatista Junta's representatives. On Thursday, June 14, state personnel from the Secretary of Health traveled to the affected communities. The writer of this article accompanied them on the tour. After traveling for two hours and plowing through inaccessible stretches of road, the reporter found a setup: two vaccination posts, health personnel that were mobilized on each side and teachers that were imparting classes. A classroom was even air conditioned to receive the reporters. Lorenzo Santi's Herna'ndez, president of the community's health committee, and a group of promoters were there. All denied the death of 14 minors due to an outbreak of whooping cough. Moreover, they admitted that more than 25 families adhered to Zapatismo were outside of their supervision. Before the chief of the health jurisdiction Number 2, with headquarters in San Cristo'bal de las Casas, Leticia Montoya Lie'vano, and the Secretary of health's director of Networks and Services, Alfonso Torres Aguilar, as well as other officials, Santi'z Herna'ndez praised the governmental attention that they receive. The medical caravan continued its path on foot. After advancing four kilometers, they stumbled upon the rebel part of Chankolom, where just a little while ago the "Santa Mari'a Zapatista Microclinic" was installed. We are talking about a cement structure, with a dirt floor. This clinic is attended to by the French organization, named Me'dicos del Mundo (Doctors of the World). They arrived in this place at the request of the Zapatistas themselves. Officials and brigadistas from the state government chatted with one of the foreign doctors, who confirmed that they knew effectively that 14 minors of age had died because of an outbreak of whooping cough in the indigenous Zapatista communities. "Twelve children arrived in the morning so that we would attend to them, all had the coqueluchoide syndrome, the symptoms of whooping cough," the doctor confided to the reporter, but on instructions from the Junta, did not give her name. Before continuing its path, the state government envoys were witnesses to the crude reality that prevails in said communities. And Antonio Mendoza Herna'ndez arrived untimely at the clinic with his tragedy on his shoulders: he commented that his children had coughs and that even a couple had died because of the cough. The personal drama of Mendoza Herna'ndez is common in these parts, where water is a luxury. There is not one creek or river from which to obtain water. Due to that situation, trachoma is an endemic ill in this region. An eye infection, terminates by leaving the indigenous people blind. The foreign doctors bring water from San Cristo'bal, but lament that the population has to search between the small mountain springs or, plainly, wait until it rains to have water. The Los Altos Canyon is the poorest one in Chiapas, a state that has 17 of the 100 poorest municipalities in the country. Chiapas, of "high priority" According to a diagnosis by the Secretary of Health, elaborated in the first six months of this year, Chiapas is a priority state," with historically high rates of marginalization, illiteracy, death and indigenous population. Even the border situation conditions migratory flows that frequently bring with it risks of disease transmission. Health risks are also present because of environmental contingencies, as a consequence of active volcanos, forest fires earthquakes or tropical storms. The document indicates that until a few years ago diarrhea, pneumonia and measles, among other transmittable diseases, occupied first place in mortality, although now, it says, suffering derived from the modification of life styles, like diabetes, heart disease, malignant tumors and accidents head the list. The most frequent demand for medical service is due to respiratory and intestinal infections. "Chiapas is of high priority because of some health indicators of high social impact, like maternal deaths, cervical-uterine cancer, infant and pre-school mortality and, recently, HIV/AIDS," reveals the report. Another group of diseases also coexist which while they are not of high mortality nor demand immediate attention, are relevant because of being almost exclusive to the state, among them, oncocercosis, trachoma, leishmaniasis (a parasitic disease) and Chagas disease. All of them are found in the Los Altos region of Chiapas, where the majority of the 17 out of 100 poorest municipalities of Mexico are located. The Excluded Roberto is an indigenous Tzotzil who is in charge of coordinating the Zapatista clinic in Chankolom. In an interview, he confirms the existence of an outbreak of whooping cough in Zapatista communities. Even so, the Secretary of Health wanted to put an end to the controversy with the dissemination of a communique', in which it was indicated that all that was found in the Los Altos region were "respiratory type illnesses." "In this zone cases of whooping cough do not exist, the evaluation of examinations always turned out negative for this disease and positive for respiratory diseases," points out the communique', with basis on the diagnosis of Adriana Go'mez Bustamante, in charge of the State Health Laboratory. Laboratory results do not interest Roberto. Every day he lives the drama of maternal deaths and infant mortality. He is also clear that the government has forgotten them and that their health and that of the residents of the indigenous communities of Los Altos depends on the "autonomous services," as they call the Zapatista health system. He adds that the government "seeks to cover the sun with a finger," when it is a reality that many children in the communities continue dying due to diseases which could be curable with prompt medical attention. "That invention that they are diseases derived from forest burning is a lie, because each year the campesinos burn and there are no outbreaks of whooping cough like those that are occurring now," he concludes. ------------------------------------------- Originally Published in Spanish by Proceso.com as part 1 of 2 (Part 2 has not been published) Monday, July 30, 2007 http: www.proceso.com.mx/noticia.html?sec0&nta52722 English translation: Chiapas Support Committee members ------------------------------------------------------ Chiapas Support Committee P.O. Box 3421 Oakland, CA 94609 Tel: (510) 654-9587 email: cezmat@igc.org www.chiapas-support.org -- To subscribe from 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: Urgent Medical Delegation to Chiapas" --------- Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 11:41 am From: Chiapas 95 Moderators Subj: En;Urgent Medical Delegation to Chiapas Mailing List: Chiapas95-english 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: Sun, 19 Aug 2007 13:44:03 -0500 (CDT) From: Mary Ann Tenuto please help us circulate this announcement to any lists you may be on and to your friends and family. thank you! Join us for a Medical Delegation to Chiapas Chiapas Medical Delegation, October 3-9, 2007 The Chiapas Support Committee of Oakland, California announces a special delegation to San Manuel Autonomous Zapatista Municipality in Chiapas, Mexico. This delegation invites you to participate in a very special celebration with the Zapatista residents of San Manuel autonomous municipality (county). Every three years the elected governing body (the autonomous council) changes, and its residents celebrate the occasion with traditional ceremonies, bands, dancing, food and fiesta. The Chiapas Support Committee (CSC) and its delegates have been invited to share in the festivities with our San Manuel brothers and sisters. Five years ago this October 8, the CSC established an hermanamiento (special partnership) with San Manuel, a beautiful municipality in the Lacando'n Jungle's Ca~adas region on the Jatate' River. We will also be celebrating that anniversary. Unfortunately, at the same time that San Manuel celebrates its new municipal council, its health promoters lack the medicine and equipment needed to do their work. Therefore, we hope to take funds with us on the delegation with which we can purchase medicine and medical supplies when we arrive. (Medicine and some medical supplies are cheaper in Mexico than here.) We hope to raise some of those funds through delegation tuition and also hope that delegates will ask for contributions from their friends and associates. We also ask those who receive this announcement to make a contribution to the delegation even if you cannot travel with us. The health care situation in indigenous communities in the conflict zone, like the communities in San Manuel, is of great concern. A recent study found unusually high rates of malnutrition, maternal and child mortality, as well as tuberculosis, due to a lack of access to health care. This delegation provides an opportunity to visit and interact with civilian Zapatista communities constructing autonomy. We will first visit the Caracol of La Garrucha and speak with the Good Government Junta (Council) before going on to San Manuel. During our visit to San Manuel, we will visit the Compa~ero Manuel Grocery Warehouse, a large and very successful economic development project (the "other economy"), speak with health promoters about the "other health," visit the Pharmacy Warehouse project and enjoy the compa~eros' hospitality. Delegates can shop for clothing, CDs, coffee or amber jewelry while in San Cristobal de las Casas. We invite you to join us for an amazing learning experience. You can read about our previous delegations on our website: Getting there, cost, etc. Delegates will arrive in Tuxtla Gutierrez by plane and then travel by bus or taxi to the colonial city of San Cristobal de las Casas. We will assemble at a posada (lodge) in San Cristobal de las Casas on October 3 in the evening. The next day, the delegation travels into the canyons of the Lacandon Jungle to spend four days in indigenous communities. Conditions there are like rough camping and require both a sleeping bag and a hammock (an air mattress may be substituted for a hammock). Cost of the delegation is US $500.00. This does NOT include air fare or bus transportation to San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. It DOES include most food, lodging and ground transportation to the communities. It ALSO includes a donation for each community we visit, delegation expenses and educational materials. We provide each delegation with an experienced group leader and translator. Again, the dates of this delegation are October 3 to October 9, 2007. We will prepare a day-to-day itinerary and will send it to all those who submit an application. Who is the Chiapas Support Committee? The Chiapas Support Committee (CSC) is a grass roots all-volunteer human rights organization in Oakland, California. We work with indigenous and campesino organizations in Mexico. We have an hermanamiento (partnership) with San Manuel autonomous Zapatista municipality in Chiapas. In the Bay Area we provide public information about Chiapas through public events, our newsletter, Chiapas Update, an email listserv and our web site . We have organized delegations to Chiapas since 2000 and also recruit and certify human rights observers and volunteers. We participate in the Other Campaign and the International Campaign in Northern California. Our office contact information is below! How to apply This delegation is open to all women and men 21 years of age or older. To apply, complete the application below and email to: cezmat@igc.org OR send by first class mail to P.O. Box 3421, Oakland, CA 94609. We would like to receive all applications by September 7, 2007. A deposit of $100 is required with your application to reserve a space for you on the delegation. Balance of $400.00 is due September 15, 2007. No portion of the tuition is refundable after September 15. For those who want more information, just email your questions to: cezmat@igc.org or call (510) 654-9587. ******************************************* CSC DELEGATION APPLICATION NAME (please print) __________________________________________ ADDRESS ______________________________________________________ CITY, STATE, ZIP ____________________________________________ HOME PHONE ________________________________ WORK PHONE ________________________________ E-MAIL ________________________________ PASSPORT NUMBER _________________________ EXPIRATION DATE _________________________ COUNTRY __________________________________ DATE of BIRTH ______________________________ 1 - Please rate your Spanish language ability (check one) None___ Poor___ Fair (Intermediate)____ Good____ Fluent____ 2 - Please provide names and phone numbers for two references: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ 3 - Have you been to Chiapas before? (yes or no) ____________ Why do you want to go to Chiapas? ____________________________ ______________________________________________________________ If you are interested in the Chiapas Support Committee delegation to Chiapas in October 2007, please fill out the above application form. We will send you more information as plans develop. In order to confirm this application and reserve a space, a deposit of $100 is required. Applications and checks may be mailed to: CHIAPAS SUPPORT COMMITTEE P.O. Box 3421 Oakland, CA 94609 or send your application by email to: cezmat@igc.org Tel: (510) 654-9587 for more information -- To subscribe from 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: Yaqui and O'odham Unite to Plan Zap Summits" --------- Date: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 11:45 am From: Chiapas 95 Moderators Subj: En;NN,Yaqui and O'odham Unite to Plan Zap Summits,Aug 19 Mailing List: Chiapas95-english 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: . From: "Dana Aldea" Yaqui And O'odham Unite to Plan Zapatistas' Intercontinental Summits "During the Planning Meeting Aug. 17, Yaqui from Vicam Pueblo Offered to Help In Any Way They Could to Ensure the Success of the North American Regional Summit" By Brenda Norrell Special to The Narco News Bulletin August 19, 2007 RANCHO EL PENASCO, Sonora, Mexico-Yaqui Zapatistas from Vicam Pueblo met with O'odham in Sonora and reached out to the world's Indigenous Peoples, extending a warm invitation to come and support the Zapatistas' regional and international summits to be held in October. Vicam Pueblo Gov. Loreto Rami'rez Mapoumea and Pueblo Mayor Florentino Buitimea Yoquihua meet with O'odham in Mexico Lt. Gov. Jose Garcia in Rancho el Penasco, to plan upcoming Zapatistas regional and international summits. D.R 2007 Brenda Norrell Gathered with O'odham at Rancho el Penasco, a dozen Yaqui Zapatistas from Vicam Pueblo, including Gov. Loreto Ramirez Mapoumea and Vicam Pueblo Mayor Florentino Buitimea Yoquihua, urged Indigenous from Alaska, Canada and the United States to join with Indigenous Peoples in northern Mexico for the North American Continental Regional Conference here, Oct. 8-9, 2007. "What happens here will determine how effective the Intercontinental Indigenous Summit is in Pueblo Yaqui," Gov. Ramirez said, speaking in Spanish through an interpreter. "We are in solidarity with one another, and we want to be in solidarity with all of the Indigenous Peoples," Gov. Ramirez said during the reunion and planning meeting held Friday, Aug. 17. The North American Continental Summit, Oct. 8 - 9, is one of four regional conferences. There are also Indigenous summits being held in Oaxaca, Oct. 4-5, Atlapulco, Oct. 6 -7 and Michaocan, Oct. 6 - 7, 2007. The regional Indigenous gatherings precede the Intercontinental Indigenous Summit/Encuentro de Pueblos Indi'genas de Ame'rica, Oct. 11-14 in Vicam Pueblo near Obregon in the southern part of the state of Sonora. O'odham in Mexico Lt. Gov. Jose Garcia, among the O'odham who will host the North American Continental regional conference here, said it was wonderful to come together with Yaqui is such a spirit of unity and harmony. "Respect," Lt. Gov. Garcia said was the feeling that permeated the meeting at Rancho el Penasco, an eco-tourism and biodiversity ranch located south of Magdalena de Kino, a 90-minute drive south of the Nogales, Arizona border. Garcia said the topics of discussion were established by the Intercontinental Indigenous Summit Commission (Comision Organizadora del Encuentro de Pueblos Indigenas de Americas.) The organizing commission includes the traditional authorities of Vicam Pueblo, National Indigenous Congress of Mexico and the Sixth Commission of the EZLN, as stated by Subcomandante Marcos in his August 15, 2007 statement. The primary topic will be the war of capitalist conquest and its effect on Indigenous Peoples. The second topic is the resistance of Indigenous Peoples to this war of conquest in defense of Mother Earth and Indigenous territories and cultures. The third topic will be a discussion of why Indigenous Peoples are struggling. The organizing commission said Indian tribes' delegates, representatives or commissions are invited to bring the problems of their regions and discuss these topics at the regional and international summits. Other attendees will be observers, without a voice or role in the decision-making process at the Indigenous summits, Garcia said, referring to Subcomandante Marcos' statement. Rancho el Penasco has become a favorite meeting place for the Zapatistas from the south to meet with Indigenous Peoples from northern Mexico and the United States. Subcomandante Marcos came to Rancho el Penasco in Oct. 2006 to meet with Indigenous Peoples in the north, then returned several times in the spring of 2007. Marcos said he found rest and harmony here at the ranch. During the planning meeting Aug. 17, Yaqui from Vicam Pueblo offered to help in any way they could to ensure the success of the North American regional summit. O'odham appreciated their efforts. "I think the most important thing is working together in unity. They talked about respect, which is sometimes only a word," Lt. Gov. Garcia said, emphasizing the respect shown by the Yaqui delegation. Vicam Pueblo Yaqui said they are eagerly waiting to hear from Indigenous Peoples from throughout the Americas. They said they want input from the world's Indigenous Peoples and hope to hear news that Indigenous delegations will be arriving from throughout the world. Yaqui extended a warm welcome to the world's Indigenous Peoples to attend the Intercontinental Indigenous Summit/Encuentro de Pueblos Indi'genas de Ame'rica. Garcia said Indigenous are welcome to arrive at Rancho el Penasco on the evening of Oct. 7th for the two-day summit. Camping is available. For those driving, there are motels nearby in Magdalena de Kino, located two miles north of Rancho el Penasco. After the summit here, there will be a caravan of cars to the international gathering in Vicam Pueblo. Brenda Norrell bsnorrell.blogspot.com brendanorrell@gmail.com Contacts: O'odham Lt. Gov. Jose Garcia oodhamj@yahoo.com Coordinator Martin Pina in Sonora, Mexico mpina@guaymas.uson.mx More information on summits: (Espa~ol) Enlace Zapatista http://www.narconews.com/Issue46/article2765.html -- To subscribe from 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: Shuswap Band opposes sale of Panorama Ski Resort" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:20:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SHUSWAP WANT LAND RIGHTS DAMAGES ASSESSED" http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2007/20/c8650.html Shuswap Band opposes sale of Panorama Ski Resort Four of six flooding fatalities happened in Carnegie in Caddo County. The area east of Carnegie has been flooded by the Washita River which swelled over its banks. Emergency management says hundreds of people were evacuated from their homes in Apache and Fort Cobb. The Washita flows right outside of Fort Cobb, so it's flooded acres and acres. Dozens of families and businesses are trying to clean up the flood damage and get their lives back together. Three of the victims have long standing emotional and professional ties to hundreds of people. All of them were relatives of the Kiowa Tribal Chairman, Billy Evans Horse. Verna Buffalo Meat says she and her family were coming back from Lawton on Highway 58, the same stretch of road Chairman Horse and his family travelled Saturday night. He made it across in one car, but his wife Dorita, daughter Helen and niece Rose Saddleblanket - all in a second car - did not. Verna said she had gone through that same flooded area just moments before and her car made it to higher ground. By that time, the current had gotten much stronger. They were stranded for eleven hours while emergency crews tended to the Horse family. Verna and her family somehow made it through the raging waters that took her friend Dorita's life and the lives of two others. "My son-in-law said, `...can't make it...turn around and wait it out,'" said Buffalo Meat. "We did....we parked on a hill and it rained and rained." She never knew her old classmate had been carried away by the swift waters and didn't learn of it until they were rescued from the top of the hill that was surrounded by water. "I think we were lucky," she said. `Cause it could have been us. But, the Lord had a hand upon us." Verna, and other tribal members, said Dorita, the Tribal Chairman's wife, came to the Tribe's Elder Center for lunch daily. Monday, the center was much quieter than usual. Members told 7News that Dorita always managed to fill the place with laughter. "We're used to seeing her come in. She's so friendly," said David Geimausaddle. He coordinates the elder's program and brought in a counselor to help elders deal with the loss. It's not business as usual," said Gemiausaddle. "When you get close to people, it's hard for you when you lose them, especially in a tragic situation." He says it's a sad day in Kiowa County. So many have been affected and it's time to stand behind Chairman Horse, now; just as he does for the tribe. One of the victims attended Riverside Boarding School in Anadarko and, Monday, counselors were on hand to help students deal with the death of their 17 year old classmate. To complicate matters, the school had to close. Riverside Indian School is just too close to the Washita River and officials made the decision to close it down for two weeks. After the call to delay classes, more than 500 students were bussed or taken to airports to go home. Flood waters caused the main waterline, located beneath the school, to burst so the school is without water. Before the line can be repaired, the water will have to dry thoroughly and that might be tough since there's ten feet of water in some spots. The tribe says it thanks all the emergency crews who worked tirelessly to recover the Horse family. Funeral services for all three members will be held Thursday, August 23 at 10am at the Tribal Headquarters. "Even though we are faced with adversity it's through our unity that we gain strength, says Gemiausaddle. That's one of the things we are leaning upon." For further information: Dean Martin, Kinbasket Group of Companies, Invermere, BC, Business Office: (250) 341-3678 Copyright c. 2005 CNW Group Ltd. --------- "RE: Natives ignore fishing ban" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:20:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PROTEST AGAINST RECREATIONAL FISHERY CONTINUES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/ LAC.20070820.SALMON20/TPStory/National Natives ignore fishing ban JANE ARMSTRONG August 20, 2007 VANCOUVER - Native fishermen defied a federal ban on the weekend, taking their boats to the lower Fraser River to protest against the continued recreational fishery. Ernie Crey, fisheries adviser for the Sto:lo bands in the Eastern Fraser Valley, said members of the Cheam, Chehalis and Musqueam bands fished the lower Fraser on Saturday night and yesterday. Mr. Crey said the decision was made after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans banned natives from fishing sockeye and chinook in the lower Fraser, but permitted recreational sports fishermen on the water until midnight last night. Sports fishermen are banned from fishing for sockeye too, and, ostensibly, can only catch chinook, but Mr. Crey said the anglers routinely flout this ban, which has caused resentment among natives who argue they have first dibs on the sockeye. Mr. Crey said native fishermen, many from impoverished communities along the Fraser River, need the fish to feed their communities over the winter. He estimated that about a dozen native fishing boats were on the water last weekend in defiance of the ban. "The courts have said our fishery comes second only to conservation and ahead of both the sport and commercial fisheries," Mr. Crey said. Doug Kelly, tribal chief for intergovernmental relations for the Sto:lo Tribal Council, said federal fisheries officers issued summonses to at least six native fishermen over the weekend, including to Chehalis Chief William Charlie. Dramatic declines in sockeye runs have already forced the federal Fisheries Department to cancel the Fraser's commercial fishery for sockeye this year. Mr. Crey said the ban on fishing sockeye on the lower Fraser raised the ire of native groups not only because recreational fishermen were snagging sockeye, but because federal fisheries officials permitted native groups on the upper Fraser to continue fishing. The DFO also told native groups they would permit the native bands all along the Fraser to continue fishing the river so long as they could arrive at a sharing agreement, Mr. Crey said. Native groups don't have time left in the season to draft such a plan, he added. It's not known what caused the collapse of sockeye runs on the Fraser. Approximately 6.3 million sockeye were expected to return this year. But so far, only about one million have arrived. Copyright c. 2007 CTVglobemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Judge orders end to Native Occupation" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Aug 2007 07:20:41 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SHARBOT LAKE URANIUM MINE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.680news.com/news/local/article.jsp?content=20070820_223354_5220 Judge orders end to native occupation August 20, 2007 By: Canadian Press Kingston, Ont. - A judge has ordered an end to a two-month-old native occupation that has prevented a prospecting company from digging for uranium on land near Sharbot Lake, Ont. according to a lawyer for the firm. "The first thing that his honour ordered is for the occupation to cease . ... and then that only certain people be allowed on the property and only under certain conditions," said Neal Smitheman, who represents Frontenac Ventures Corporation. The company wants to drill samples to see if it's feasible to operate a uranium mine on land roughly 60 kilometres north of this eastern Ontario city. The site includes private property and Crown land. Two native groups, the Ardoch Algonquins and the Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nations, have occupied the site and blocked the firm, claiming the land is part of disputed territory subject to ongoing land claim negotiations. They also cite concern about environmental damage and damage to native heritage. Frontenac Ventures went to court, seeking an injunction to stop the occupation and also seeking millions in damages from the protesters. Last week, a Superior Court judge in Kingston issued a 20-page interim decision. "Under no circumstances shall there be entry onto the subject property by anyone else other than an owner with a valid registered deed," Justice Gordon Thomson wrote. The decision also orders the removal of all "signs, vehicles, buildings and other paraphernalia erected" there by any of the parties to the court case since July 1, 2007. The parties can't agree how to interpret the decision, so they'll be back in court on Thursday. "It's somewhat vague in parts and nobody's exactly sure what it means," Chris Reid, a Toronto lawyer acting for the Ardoch First Nation, said Monday. Reid believes the decision does not order an end to the occupation. "Nowhere does the order say to the OPP, `This is an illegal demonstration, you should arrest these people,'" he said. Smitheman said the provincial police, who have been keeping watch over the standoff, have taken the position that it's not clear what the judge meant. "So they're not about to agree to an order, let alone enforcing an order, until that can be clarified," Smitheman said. "They are, I suppose, approaching with extreme caution." The lawyers agree that the judge ordered that an archeologist be brought onto the property to conduct an investigation. The sides can't agree on who chooses the archeologist and who pays. The company offered to appear at the property with an archeologist on Monday, Reid said, but his clients weren't consulted about the person hired. "No real steps have been taken since then, it's safe to say," he said. The dispute may become more complicated this week because the aboriginal groups are expected to appear in court and tell the judge they will refuse to participate in the legal proceedings. The groups sent a three-page letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty last week, asking him to intervene and help broker a deal. In the letter, they state that they appreciate the challenge the court faces, but the adversarial system, contrary to traditional Algonquin-style dispute resolution, damages the relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown. "I don't know what the judge's response will be to me standing up and saying, with all due respect, we're not participating any further in this," Reid said. The premier's office declined to provide comment Monday. Copyright c. 2007 Rogers Communications Inc. --------- "RE: Police hopeful Blocade will remain peaceful" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:19:10 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DEFY COURT ORDER, REFUSE TO END BLOCKADE" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/story/2007/08/21/ot-uranium-070821.html Police hopeful aboriginal blocade will 'remain peaceful' CBC News August 21, 2007 Police are hoping that an aboriginal blockade of a potential uranium mining site in eastern Ontario will "remain peaceful." A judge has ordered the aboriginal protesters to end the blockade but the First Nations communities have vowed to continue it. "It's certainly going to be a difficult situation," said Ontario Provincial Police Const. Paige Whiting Tuesday. "Again, we're just going to have to assess it day by day. We're wanting it to remain peaceful. We don't want to ... have any issues raised where somebody could get hurt." Neither the Ardoch and Shabot Obaadjiwan Algonquin First Nations nor the mining exploration company Frontenac Ventures Corp. are happy with Ontario Superior Court Justice Gordon Thomson's 20-page interim decision, issued quietly last week, that bans entry to the property near Sharbot Lake by anyone except "the owner with the valid registered deed." Aboriginal protesters have been blocking the entrance to the site, about 60 kilometres north of Kingston, since June 29. The Algonquins say they are concerned that uranium mining would contaminate water and cause other environmental damage on property that comprises ancestral lands they never properly surrendered, and say the order won't stop them from trying to protect their land. Police are hoping that an aboriginal blockade of a potential uranium mining site in eastern Ontario will "remain peaceful." A judge has ordered the aboriginal protesters to end the blockade but the First Nations communities have vowed to continue it. "It's certainly going to be a difficult situation," said Ontario Provincial Police Const. Paige Whiting Tuesday. "Again, we're just going to have to assess it day by day. We're wanting it to remain peaceful. We don't want to ... have any issues raised where somebody could get hurt." Aboriginal protesters have been blocking the entrance to the site, about 60 kilometres north of Kingston, since June 29. The Algonquins say they are concerned that uranium mining would contaminate water and cause other environmental damage on property that comprises ancestral lands they never properly surrendered, and say the order won't stop them from trying to protect their land. "For myself personally, I'm willing to die here if that's what it takes to not have a uranium mine here," said Paula Sherman, chief of the Ardoch First Nation, on Tuesday. Bob Lovelace, former chief of the Ardoch First Nation, said the protesters will "continue to secure the gate and not permit entry into our lands without our permission. "And certainly the exploration company will not be permitted to do any test drilling," he added. Frontenac Ventures to obey order The ruling does prevent Frontenac Ventures from entering the property, where it had hoped to do some drilling for uranium, said the company's lawyer, Neil Smitheman. "It certainly doesn't satisfy Frontenac fully, but that's His Honour's order and the company will obey the court," Smitheman said. He added that he hopes the judge will provide more direction on Thursday, when he is to meet with lawyers in court to discuss the order. The judge's decision is a response to court action initiated by Frontenac Ventures, which is suing the Algonquins for $77 million and seeking a judicial order to remove First Nations protesters from the site, where it wants to do test drills for uranium. The order came the same week the Algonquins sent a letter to Premier Dalton McGuinty, announcing that they were pulling out of the court process and asking the Ontario government to intervene in the dispute. Besides ordering the Algonquins and the company from the site, the ruling also orders the removal of all "signs, vehicles, buildings and other paraphernalia" erected at the site by either the Algonquins or the mining exploration company since July 1, 2007, the Kingston Whig-Standard reported. However, it allows for a qualified archeologist to search the property for sacred indigenous burial sites. A decision on the injunction requested by Frontenac Ventures, which would grant the company full access to the site, is to be made in September. The site includes privately owned property, but is mainly land that Ontario considers to be owned by the Crown. The Shabot Obaadjiwan First Nation is in land claim negotiations with the federal and provincial governments. With files from the Canadian Press Copyright c. CBC 2007. --------- "RE: Native Justice" --------- Date: Sat, 25 August 2007 19:25:26 -0700 From: Janet Smith [owlstar@bellsouth.net] Subj: NA News Item -- Court rules Rretry or release http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415655 Justice in Indian country by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today S.D. high court: Retry or release convicted felon Part five August 24, 2007 Editor's note: This week Indian Country Today continues an ongoing series that examines justice in Indian country. To share your comments, e-mail us at editor@indiancountry.com, using "Justice"' in the subject line. PIERRE, S.D. - A man convicted of rape and sexual assault of female juveniles will receive a new trial based on evidence that his original attorney prejudiced the case against his client. The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled Aug. 3 that Farrell Dillon Jr. should be awarded a retrial or be discharged. Dillon, Sicangu Lakota, was convicted of sexually assaulting and raping four young girls and his daughter in 1998 and sentenced to 175 years in prison. That sentence was later reduced to 115 years after the court found that double jeopardy was involved in two of the charges. Throughout his nine years in prison, Dillon has maintained his innocence, and has refused a plea bargain for a reduced sentence. "In light of the circumstances of this case, we believe that the fundamental fairness of Dillon's trial was compromised. Dillon's trial counsel was deficient, which resulted in prejudice to Dillon," the court opinion stated. In 1998, Dillon was charged with seven counts of first-degree rape, two counts of third-degree rape and five counts of criminal pedophilia. The allegations stated that on two separate occasions, Dillon conducted the sexual acts on his daughter and four of her friends. The girls were 8 and 9 years old at the time. The state's high court listed numerous examples of instances in which the defendant's counsel, Richard Bode failed in his defense of Dillon. For example, he failed to bring up double jeopardy, which would have in effect charged him with some crimes twice. Double jeopardy was later addressed, and the court reduced the sentence. The Supreme Court stated that Bode was at fault for not asking the trial court to reduce the charges. He also failed to prepare witnesses and called witnesses at late dates. He did not investigate the fact that two of the victims and their mother leveled allegations against another man two years earlier for sexual assault. No charges were brought against the accused man. The court found fault in the fact that Bode did not present evidence as to why no charges were filed. Bode also failed to accuse the mother of two of the victims with impeachment when she said her daughters were healthy, when in fact medical records showed they had sought emergency medical care more than 50 times in the past. Further, Bode also failed to prepare expert defense witnesses, which laid the entire case against him solely on the testimony of the victims. The court stated in its opinion that there was insufficient physical evidence of sexual assault presented at trial. The trial judge also rebuked Bode several times during trial and attempted to assist him in the questioning of an expert witness, only to have the attorney ignore the judge. Dillon was convicted of all charges related to that victim. Stephanie Pochop, Dillon's attorney during the appeal process, said that had the trial attorney done his job, Dillon may have been exonerated of the charges. She also said that a new trial for Dillon will help because he could be exonerated and the stigma of pedophilia will not hang over his head. "He may be nervous at trusting the justice system because it failed him once and he spent nine years in prison," Pochop said. Dillon's new attorney is Tim Rensch, a Rapid City attorney who has worked previously on sexual abuse cases. Dillon accused Bode of not including videotapes and interview transcripts of the victims at trial when he told the jury he would do so. His response to that question at Dillon's habeas hearing that asked for new trial or discharge was: "I was going to have to prolong the trial and I felt pressured to get this case done as quickly as possible." Bode was disbarred in 2001 following several complaints from clients and other lawyers about his conduct. This case is important in a number of ways. Dillon's daughter was taken from him and the family by the state Department of Social Services and at times hidden from them when she lived with foster families. Her grandmother, great-grandmother and other family members worked to qualify themselves as foster parents according to and at the instruction of the DSS, to no avail. The young girl's biological mother abandoned her when she was an infant and she was raised by her extended family in the Lakota tradition. The girl's grandmother, Marge Two Hawk, alleges her granddaughter was kidnapped by the state and that the Indian Child Welfare Act was not adhered to by the state or even the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. Coming too late to help Two Hawk, two bills requiring the Department of Social Services to cooperate with tribes and the federal ICWA in related situations have passed the state Legislature and were signed by the governor. The girl was eventually adopted by a family in Colorado. The adoptive father claimed to be a member of the Rosebud Lakota tribe; however, the Rosebud enrollment office stated in a 2005 letter that he was not a member. Two Hawk and her family have worked to have their granddaughter and niece returned to the family for nine years. The young woman is now 17 years old. The retrial has not been scheduled. Should Dillon, after the retrial, be exonerated of the charges, the situation with his daughter will be brought into the equation. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Rustywire: Borrowed Keyboards" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2006 08:10:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RUSTYWIRE: KEYBOARDS" http://www.rustywire.com/grow/keyboards.html Borrowed Keyboards by Johnny Rustywire a young indian mother dreams of new dawns wanting to get across the great internet divide walking down a reservation road from home wanting to talk and not having a machine to say it with starting out to town 30 miles away for a half hour slot got no phone and the pay phone at the store is broken getting on the road to work in the morning carrying a baby on the back waiting for a ride sitting at a desk wishing for a car and lunch dreaming of kisses, the taste of candy bars looking for a snack for less than fifty cents watching the time slide by and putting on a face working and slaving for food, lights and diapers wanting to write, to dream of it, to taste it waxing words, making pictures, talking in circles wars rage, people laugh, dancing and making love in silence they play out sitting at a typewriter letters, correspondence, today's mail and travel papers dreaming of writing, paper dreams and simple wishes hitchhiking home and then to town 30 miles away to get online for 30 minutes a day no phone, no car, just hopes and dreams wishing for tomorrow, on rainbows and soft rain a young indian mother dreams of new dawns and simple wishes, to write to write to say it all as she heads on back down the road she came with a baby on her back and tired feet whoosh, whoosh the cars pass her by as she walks on down the road thinking tomorrow i can write on that machine singing wires dance in her mind and she walks down the road to reservation blues and homemade bread looking at the sunset and running along its edge with five cents and a diaper to change Copyright c. 1999, Johnny Rustywire, all rights reserved. --------- "RE: Lee Goins Poem: A Poem to Myself" --------- Date: Friday, July 27, 2007 12:08 am From: cherokee2proud [cherokee2proud@yahoo.com] Subj: A Poem to Myself Mailing List: Native Poetry A Poem to Myself Out of deepness and sorrow of the heart, I write this poem to myself. Where a mind can scan a thousand thoughts