_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 036 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 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 September 3, 2007 Klamath Speluish/dancing moon Passamaquoddy Toqakiw/autumn moon Pomo Shachluyiau-da/soaproot dug for fish poison moon Algonquin Pohquitaqunk/middle moon between harvest and eating Indian corn +-------------------------------------------------------+ | 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; 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: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + "When I hear my grandaughter reply 'I am Tsimshian' to the question who she is, my heart glows with pride. At last I have lived to see my grandchildren grasp a part of my culture, and it is very dear to my heart. All of my life I have tried to gather all of the information about my tribe, so I can store it away in my memory. Now finally I am giving my cultural gift to my grandaughters." __ Teresa Bariquit, Tsimshian +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters Let's be honest with ourselves. Neither of the two major political parties in the U.S. care about Indian issues (nor, for that matter, do the major political powers Canada or any other country with indigenous populations). They, like the major corporations, only care about how they can use Indians and Indian resources. If you need any evidence that any of the above is true, let's begin with a few facts. The NCAI has publicly decried how the Republican steering committee in Congress has deliberately blocked every single Indian issue. The leading Democratic presidential candidates proved how much they care about Indians and Indian by having turned their backs on "Prez on the Rez". Bill Richardson did show and made some pretty impressive statements. Few political pundits give Bill Richardson a real chance at the top spot. If he ends up in a cabinet post for Obama, Clinton or Edwards you can bet what will happen to his ideas. In the meantime Indians continue to be dealt a very rotten hand. The Blackfeet continue to see the headwaters for their water diverted for use by non-Indian communities. The Ponca are watching ther children and elders suffer killing respiratory illness due to carbon emissions from a plant upwind from them. The Hopi and Navajo watched their aquifer being drained for coal production. The Navajo are having to fight to prevent uranium mining on their lands in spite of the fact they are sick of watching their citizens suffer and die from radiation-related illness. Do you honestly believe any of these terrible conditions would be tolerated if the citizens suffering lived in Macon, Georgia or Lockney, Texas or Hines, Oregon? I don't think so and I doubt you do, either. Furthermore, I'm pretty sure the legislators from their districts, whether Republican or Democrats would fight to protect those communities with every legislative trick at their disposal, and state and federal agencies would be investigating and prosecuting any legal infractions. High- profile attornies would be lining up to draft damage lawsuits. But none of that ever happens when the victims live on Indian lands. What if there were a political entity that did care about Indian issues? Think about it. Would you support it? Indians have already proven they can exercise political power in several states such as South Dakota and Washington, so don't blow the idea off. Consider whether, if there were a political movement that said, "We have been watching as one theft after another has been allowed to happen to Indian peoples, and we have come to say, 'No more'." Would you get behind such a movement? Think about it hard, because other people, Indian people, are, and they believe the time has come to stop the bleeding off of our resources and our ways. They want to exclude no one in the world who wants to see the Indian, Aboriginal, Indigenous ways become the direction by which countries are guided. Think about it real hard. ' ' 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 ----------- - Interior Whistleblower - GRAFF: Indian Health faces firing threat Service reforms long overdue - Indian landowners - DR. VAINIO: My College excluded from Meeting Grade Point Average of 0.00 - Restore Recognition - JODI RAVE: to Winnemem Wintu Tribe Help lacking for hidden War Wound - Human Rights Convention - GRAHAM: Judge, Jury & Executioner moved to Mille Lacs of Cherokee Nation - Tigua obtain Achievement Center - GIAGO: 'Commod Bods' - IHS pitches Sioux San expansion going out of fashion - Tribal-State Work Group - YELLOW BIRD: Smoke-free Casinos highlights critical issues would be good bet - Many dates in Oklahoma - PARKER: Indigenous Nations are not remembered speak with One Voice - Tears shed for Chaco - TRAHANT: - First Nations Center opens From outside narrow, beaten path - Raytheon to double jobs, - JODI RAVE: Message of Healing space on Navajo Nation - First Nations Center opens - Nageezi Chapter rises from the Ashes - Canada seeks passport exceptions - State, Tribes to try for Aboriginals negotiating over Culverts - Ottawa wrong to reject - Breaking down Doors 'unofficial' forms - Appeals court backs climbing ban - Travesty of Justice in Rezberry at Sacred Site - Court set to decide Graham's - Blackfeet certified as first extradition fate NA One-Stop System - Native Justice - Tribal Focus -- Questions linger underlies firm's mission over child's removal - Tribes open first California's - Rustywire: the 'lectric Off-Rez Hotel - Del "Abe" Jones Poem: The Wall --------- "RE: Interior Whistleblower faces firing threat" --------- Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 07:25:12 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LAWYER EXPOSING RIP-OFF OF INDIAN ASSETS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=911 LAWYER EXPOSING RIP-OFF OF INDIAN ASSETS FACES FIRING THREAT - Government Cites Secrets Act to Punish Whistleblower for Talking to Reporter For Immediate Release: August 28, 2007 Contact: Carol Goldberg (202) 265-7337 Washington, DC - An Interior Department attorney who revealed his agency's extensive ongoing mismanagement of Indian properties faces termination from his job for disclosing these problems to a newspaper reporter, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The government is invoking the Trade Secrets Act, an obscure criminal statute, as the main basis for proceeding against the Interior attorney. Robert McCarthy, a Field Solicitor, is the chief legal officer in Southern California responsible for overseeing proper management of properties of individual members of Indian tribes held in trust by Interior. McCarthy has documented massive losses due to agency missteps but the problems persist, costing Native Americans millions of dollars a month in lost revenues. His concerns were validated by an Inspector General report that has yet to be finally released. McCarthy provided a reporter for the Palm Springs Desert Sun newspaper a copy of his Inspector General disclosure with individual names blacked out. The reporter wrote a story on April 10, 2007, entitled "Probe: Local Indian Affairs Office Troubled." Four months later, in a letter dated August 9, 2007, Regional Solicitor Daniel Shillito proposed that McCarthy be fired for violating the Trade Secrets Act, which prohibits the release of "confidential" financial or commercial information. In McCarthy's case, however, this arcane act does not apply because he revealed no names or any information that could be considered confidential. Moreover, the Trade Secrets Act only prohibits releases which damage the economic interests of the submitter but McCarthy's disclosures was designed to benefit those property holders by identifying and ending unjustified losses. "Interior invoking the Trade Secrets Act to cloak its own malfeasance is not only baseless but somewhat chilling," stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, whose organization is representing McCarthy. "The only official secret in this case is how corrupt and incompetent Interior has become." Significantly, Shillito, McCarthy's predecessor and supervisor, was supposed to clean up the large-scale asset mismanagement and losses identified back in 1992 that McCarthy found had never been addressed. One major problem is Interior's inability to even track revenues owed to Indian property-holders. This failure is at the heart of what is called the Cobell suit, a more than decade-long effort by tribal members to force an accounting for, and repayment of, what is owed. By most estimates, the federal government's liability to the Cobell plaintiffs and to tribes themselves runs into the tens of billions of dollars. McCarthy's disclosures show that the accounting problems have yet to be fixed and that the future financial liability of the government grows substantially greater every day. McCarthy's fate is now in the hands of Deputy Solicitor Larry Jensen, who is in charge of the Cobell litigation for Interior. Ironically, Interior was sanctioned in the Cobell case for asserting the Trade Secrets Act as a basis for denying requested lease information to the plaintiffs and ordered to pay attorney fess and costs for making "groundless" legal motions. "Congress needs to step in now to stop Interior from digging this gaping financial hole any deeper," Ruch added. "The Interior officials who covered up these conditions are the ones who should be removed from government service so that conscientious public servants like Robert McCarthy can do their jobs." Copyright c. peer.org 2007 PEER - Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. --------- "RE: Indian landowners excluded from Meeting" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 07:41:35 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FEE LADOWNERS LOCK INDIANS OUT OF MEETING" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415658 American Indian landowners excluded from fee land owners meeting by: David Melmer / Indian Country Today August 27, 2007 LAKE ANDES, S.D. - American Indian landowners were excluded from a fee land owners meeting in Charles Mix County to discuss issues involved with redrawing boundary lines for the Yankton Sioux Tribe Reservation. At least 11 members of the Yankton Sioux Tribe who own fee land within the county were denied access to the meeting because they had not received a letter from the county inviting them. A large group of landowners, all non-Indian, were invited to the meeting, held at the Charles Mix County Court House. Those landowners invited, according to the letter, own fee land that was originally, as the letter called it, trust land which was converted into fee land. The same properties were involved with the 1927 allotment act and the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, which excluded some county landowners. Not all non-Indian landowners within the boundaries of the reservation received letters, and they, too, had to leave the meeting. At issue is an order from the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals that remanded the case back to federal District Court Judge Lawrence Piersol to determine the boundaries of the Yankton Sioux Reservation. A lawsuit filed in 1994 by the Yankton Sioux Tribe to stop the construction of a solid waste dump on what the tribe alleged was within the [its] reservation boundaries started the litigation process, especially when the state got involved and asked that the Yankton reservation be diminished because of all the fee land owned by non-Indians. The entire litigation is over jurisdiction. The U.S. Supreme Court in 1998 agreed that the reservation boundaries had been diminished, but not disestablished. The word "disestablished" is bantered about by the attorneys and others, but it takes an act of Congress to disestablish a reservation, tribal officials argue. One of the attorneys who conducted the meeting, County Attorney Tom Tobin, allegedly told the crowd that the reservation had been disestablished. Tobin referred any questions to States Attorney Scott Podhradsky, who through Tobin said he would comment only to the Argus Leader and other papers were to get the information from that newspaper. Indian Country Today had its own questions to ask Podhradsky and Tobin. Robert Cournoyer, chairman of the Yankton Sioux Tribe - which owns fee land and pays taxes in Charles Mix County - was also turned away from the meeting. "They wouldn't allow us in; they had doors closed and deputy sheriffs right there. We were told that unless you have a letter you are not welcome in. If we tried to get in we would have been arrested," Cournoyer said. No official of the Yankton Sioux Tribe knows what went on at the meeting, but there is much speculation. "I believe it is racism," Cournoyer said. "They got the lawsuit coming up and what we wanted to be there for was making sure they weren't scaring these people and disseminate misinformation, and stop whatever progress we might make on jurisdiction," Cournoyer said. Some tribal officials allege that many non-Indians are afraid they will be under the jurisdiction of the tribe and not the state even though they live on fee land, which is not subject to tribal jurisdiction now. John Provost is a Yankton Sioux tribal member and a landowner. He purchased land that had been an allotment, or ceded land, and reverted to fee land at one time. He pays property taxes to the county and, under the definition of "landowners" at the meeting he should have been included; but, as he said, "I'm a Yankton Sioux Tribal member, none of us received letters." The meeting was announced in the official county newspaper, which many people assumed made the meeting open to the public. "When it was announced that everyone who did not have a letter should leave, one person asked if that meant the press also and it did. "Some people had letters from the tribe, so Tobin pursued it further and said if the letter did not come from [the county] then you can't be there," said Charon Asetoyer, American Indian landowner. "I said I was a taxpayer and live within the exterior boundaries; and he [Tobin] said there are no more boundaries, and you cannot assume what those boundaries will be," Asetoyer said. The U.S. Attorney's office is now involved in the incident and the FBI, according to tribal officials, is now investigating. "What they wanted to do is scare the whites, that's why they wanted the closed meeting. I'm convinced they were going to say they don't want Indians getting jurisdiction," Abourezk said. The county attorneys said after the meeting, when asked by some people at the door, that the closure of the meeting was justified because it was about litigation and was also attorney/client privileged. When the ruling on the boundary comes down from Piersol, very little will change in regards to jurisdiction, Abourezk said. Non-Indian landowners previously have expressed concern about hunting and fishing rights, taxes and civil and criminal justice issues should the judge favor the tribe's argument. The tribe is fighting to maintain jurisdiction over its own reservation land. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Restore Recognition to Winnemem Wintu Tribe" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:31:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RESOLUTION 39 URGES FEDS TO RESTORE WINTU RECOGNITION" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2007/08/29/18444527.php California Assembly Resolution Urges Feds to Restore Recognition to Winnemem Wintu Tribe by Dan Bacher August 29, 2007 Assembly Member Jared Huffman has introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 39, a bill urging Congress to restore federal recognition to the Winnemem Wintu (McCloud River) Tribe. Winnemem Wintu Tribe Environmental Justice Coalition for Water Natural Resources Defense Council For Immediate Release: August 28, 2007 Contact: Mark Franco (530)275-2737 (530)510-0944 Barry Nelson (415)875-6100 Debbie Davis (916)743-4406 California Assembly Resolution Urges Feds to Restore Recognition to Winnemem Wintu Tribe Joint Resolution Would Codify State's De-Facto Recognition of Northern California Tribe SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Aug. 28, 2007) - In an effort to reverse decades of injustice suffered by the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, Assembly Member Jared Huffman has introduced Assembly Joint Resolution 39, which urges Congress to restore federal recognition to the tribe. The Winnemem Wintu are fighting to restore their federally recognized status after the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), without any warning, notified them that their education benefits would be discontinued. Until then, they received benefits and treatment accorded to recognized tribes. "The Winnemem have paid for California's progress with our land and our lives," said Caleen Sisk-Franco, the spiritual leader for the tribe. "Without the protection of federal recognition we are denied services we deserve and the tools we need to protect and maintain our culture." Unlike the Bureau of Indian Affairs, California state agencies and even federal agencies like the U.S. Forest Service recognize the Winnemem as a legitimate tribe. It is included on the list of California Tribes held by the Native American Heritage Commission, and it has been issued state and federal permits reserved for federally recognized tribes. "Everyone seems to recognize the Winnemem Wintu Tribe except the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They can't even explain their own actions providing us with benefits and then taking them away," said Mark Franco, Headman of the tribe. The Winnemem are a band of the Wintu whose tribal lands stretch south from Mount Shasta, along the McCloud River to Bear Mountain. They were displaced during the California Gold Rush and removed from their remaining village sites in 1938 when Shasta Dam was built and the area flooded. The tribe has never been compensated for the loss of its lands. Such compensation was required by an Act of Congress passed before construction of Shasta Dam. The loss of their tribal land and the loss of services provided to the tribe have caused hardships for the Winnemem. "The bureau's treatment of the Winnemem is a travesty," said Debbie Davis, legislative analyst for the Environmental Justice Coalition for Water. "After years of failing to distinguish the Winnemem from another tribe, it remains unable to explain how the Winnemem lost their status. This bill sends a clear message urging Congress to correct the bureau's error and to restore the tribe's status and eligibility for benefits and legal protections." The 125 remaining Winnemem continue to fight to preserve their culture and lifeway. Federal recognition provides the legal framework to protect the tribe's religious freedom. Assembly Member Huffman's Joint Resolution, which was introduced last Friday, would reinforce the state's existing practices regarding the Winnemem Wintu Tribe and add another voice to the effort to restore federal recognition. "Water projects have caused disastrous impacts on California's rivers, salmon and other fisheries," said Barry Nelson, senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). "They also have produced hardships for the tribes who lived by these rivers for thousands of years. The construction of Shasta Dam resulted in the loss of the Winnemem's lands and is the single largest reason why the tribe is not recognized today. This resolution calls on the federal government to comply with federal law, to recognize the tribe and to compensate it for its lost lands." Copyright c. 2000-2007 San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center. --------- "RE: Human Rights Convention moved to Mille Lacs" --------- Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2007 18:21:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RESPONSE TO SHACKLING INCIDENT" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070903/NEWS01/109030046 Human rights convention moved to Mille Lacs in response to incident By Jami Marquardt, jmarquardt@stcloudtimes.com September 3, 2007 ONAMIA - The League of Minnesota Human Rights Commissions will have its annual conference in Onamia to focus on human rights issues in the Mille Lacs area that gained national attention this year. The convention is typically held in the Twin Cities area. "In light of the events, we're having it up there in show of support," said Marion Helland of Golden Valley, a member of the commission since the 1980s. In May the state began reviewing a case in which a Mille Lacs County policy allowed sheriff's deputies to arrest, shackle and detain an 11- year-old assault victim for failure to appear in court on the case. He is a Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe member. The "Human Rights, Civil Rights, Treaty Rights: Minnesota Challenges" conference will begin at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 29 at Grand Casino Mille Lacs Events & Convention Center. Speakers at the 36th annual conference will discuss topics such as American Indians' role in civil rights, racial disparity in education, the anti-Indian movement in the U.S., and race and racism implications in federal Indian policy. Helland, a retired teacher, will discuss a curriculum on American Indian history, culture and language that she has updated to meet state standards. Keynote speaker will be Morris Dees, co-founder and chief trial counsel of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization based in Alabama. Other speakers will include Ralonda Mason, a St. Cloud legal services attorney. Copyright c. 2007 St. Cloud Times. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tigua obtain Achievement Center" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 11:08:13 -0400 From: Sarah Bisconte Subj: IBM, The Native American Chamber of Commerce, SeniorNet and the U.S. Department of the Interior Bring Free Computer Access and Training to the Tigua Community Press Release The Tigua Achievement Center is the third of five Achievement Centers to be opened as part of Hope and Harmony, a collaborative, grant-based initiative of IBM, the Native American Chamber of Commerce, SeniorNet and the US Department of the Interior Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development, designed to bring computer technology access and education to low-income and remote Native American reservations across the United States. In the past year, the collaborative has opened Achievement Centers on the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana, and for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Cass Lake, Minnesota. --------- "RE: IHS pitches Sioux San expansion" --------- Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 09:20:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IHS HAS A PLAN BUT NO MONEY" http://www.indianz.com/News http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/08/30/ news/top/doc46d63ecabe13a310936936.txt IHS pitches Sioux San expansion Plans call for expanded outpatient services By Bill Harlan, Journal staff August 30, 2007 RAPID CITY - Indian Health Services officials laid out an ambitious plan to expand the Sioux San health facility in west Rapid City - more than tripling its size - with $51 million in new construction, increasing staff from about 120 to about 300 and adding $41.5 million to its annual budget. However, during a community meeting Wednesday night, the officials also emphasized that best-case funding would mean construction in 2012. And the best case is not likely. IHS associate area director Jon Fogarty said that at the current level of funding for new construction, it would taking nearly 20 years to build a new Sioux San. Still, Fogarty also said community support for the plan could speed funding. "You get the public involved like they did at Ellsworth Air Force Base, and this will happen very quickly," he said. (Community and government leaders successfully rescued Ellsworth from a base closure list two years ago.) Fogarty added that an expanded Sioux San could have the economic impact of about a quarter the size of the air base, which is one of the region's biggest employers. The IHS plan for Sioux San did not, however, win universal approval Wednesday from local clients, in part because it would eliminate the few inpatient beds left at Sioux San. Patient numbers do not justify inpatient services, IHS program analyst Sandy Coulter said - especially with Rapid City Regional Hospital so close. Rather, the IHS proposal would offer expanded hours for clinics, including an urgent-care clinic that would be open nights and weekends. Joe Valandra of Rapid City, a member of a task force formed to protect services at Sioux San, said Rapid City needed inpatient services. "You are completely ignoring urban, off-reservation Indians," he said. "We need a hospital, a hospital, a hospital." Still, the IHS plan would greatly expand health care at Sioux San, adding new services such as: - Audiology. - Physical therapy. - Podiatry. - A nutrition program. - An addiction outpatient program. The dental clinic would have 24 chairs for adults and 12 for children. A primary care clinic would have nearly 50 exam rooms and offices. New equipment in the plan would cost $12.5 million. Most of the new and expanded services would go into new buildings, but the plan includes $500,000 for historic preservation of some structures. The expansion plan for Sioux San - in the making since 1992 - has already been approved in a "program justification document," Fogarty said. Now, Sioux San is fifth in line behind three new projects in Arizona and a clinic in Eagle Butte. The stumbling block remains money. Before the Iraq war, Fogarty said, Congress routinely awarded the IHS $80 million to $90 million each year for new construction. The past three years the average has been about $20 million, he said. However, IHS employees cannot lobby Congress for more money. "The IHS has taken it as far as we can take it," he said. Carole Anne Heart of the Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairman's Health Board urged IHS clients here to write members of Congress, even if they don't agree with every element of the current plan. Another plan being promoted in Washington would eliminate the Sioux San expansion entirely, she said. Zelda Fast Horse Gallegos, who is originally from the Pine Ridge Reservation but who has lived in Rapid City since the 1950s, remained skeptical Sioux San would get the money. "Once again the plight of the Indian is put on the back burner," she said. Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com Copyright c. 2007 Rapid City Journal. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Tribal-State Work Group highlights critical issues" --------- Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 07:14:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MAINE, TRIBES MEET TO RESOLVE ISSUES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415668 Tribal-State Work Group highlights critical issues by: Gale Courey Toensing / Indian Country Today September 3, 2007 BANGOR, Maine - Tribal representatives put three major issues on the table at the first meeting of the Tribal-State Work Group, which is examining possible changes to the legislation governing the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act. Dispute resolution, the tribes' status as "municipalities" and tribal sovereignty were highlighted as the main issues in need of attention. The TSWG met Aug. 20, with the clock ticking toward a January 2008 deadline for presenting recommendations for amendments to the Maine Implementing Act. The Implementing Act was passed to put into action the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act, and defines the relationship between the tribes and the state. The first meeting was a step in the right direction, participants said. "I believe this work group is very important. Our beginning session exemplified respectful listening and learning about the historic Indian Land Claims settlement as well as the concern about loss of sovereignty for the tribes. The attitude of the work group is positive. We are willing to work together to find answers," Democratic Sen. Leader Elizabeth Mitchell, the work group's chairman and Maine Senate majority leader, told Indian Country Today. The work group has a total of 18 members roughly split between state representatives and representatives from the Passamaquoddy, Penobscot and Maliseet tribal nations. Three of the tribal representatives - James Sappier and Reuben "Butch" Phillips from Penobscot, and Wayne Newell from Passamaquoddy - took part in the original Settlement Act negotiations and provided the work group with a historical perspective. Some state representatives were surprised to learn, for example, that Maine's Indians were not given the right to vote in state elections until the mid-1960s. Gov. John Baldacci formed the work group last year though an executive order. Mike Mahoney, Baldacci's representative, said the work group is "off to a good start, to be sure. I am hopeful that targeted amendments to the act can be crafted that work for everyone and that can be presented to the Legislature during the 2008 session." When tribal leaders raised concerns back in 1980 that the Settlement Act would destroy tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction, a U.S. Senate Select Committee that was reviewing the act reassured the tribes that their sovereignty would be enhanced. Until the Settlement Act, the state, the federal government and Maine courts considered the tribes to have no inherent sovereignty and claimed the power to pass and change laws governing the tribes' internal affairs or "even terminate these tribes," the Senate Select Committee wrote. "While the settlement represents a compromise in which state authority is extended over Indian Territory to the extent provided in the Maine Implementing Act in keeping with these decisions the settlement provides henceforth that tribes will be free from state interference in the exercise of their internal affairs. Thus rather than destroying the sovereignty of tribes, by recognizing their power to control their internal affairs and by withdrawing the power which Maine previously claimed to interfere in such matters the settlement strengthens the sovereignty of the Maine Tribes," the Senate Select Committee wrote. But in the 27 years since then, tribal leaders say that state and court actions have interpreted language, such as "sovereignty" and "internal affairs," in a way that has eroded tribal sovereignty rather than strengthen it as Congress intended. "In the past, the tribes' concerns have fallen on deaf ears," Elizabeth Neptune, Passamaquoddy Tribal Council member and work group representative, told ICT. "I think it's very important for the tribes to put the issues on the table. So I'm very glad we're at least at the table to discuss the issues. I'm hopeful that we'll find a solution," Neptune said. Concerning dispute resolution, tribal leaders said they were unhappy with the status quo in which tribal-state disputes are settled in Maine courts, which almost always rule in favor of the state. The tribes want an independent, outside, objective person to mediate disputes, Neptune said. The part of the act that defines tribes as "municipalities" for the purposes of funding is also problematic, tribal leaders said. "The tribes are often excluded from some of the funding opportunities or they're held to standards they shouldn't be held to, so there was a lot of concern that the Settlement Act is used [as] leverage against the tribes," Neptune said. The third, and all-encompassing, issue is tribal sovereignty, Neptune said. Some state representatives view the issue as "huge" and suggested taking "baby steps" and focusing on small goals, Neptune said. "But the reality is every tribal representative agrees that the issue of tribal sovereignty is what this is all about and why we're at the table," Neptune said. Even the act's title reflects that Maine tribes have been settling for hundreds of years and forced to take less than what they have a right to, Neptune said. The tribes' intention with the Settlement Act was to come to an agreement with the state to govern themselves on their own land - to exercise their sovereignty. "It wasn't about selling our sovereignty or giving any of it up," Neptune said. "We've been in this area for 12,000 years and to be able to say that we still have tribal communities, we still have language in most of them, we still have traditional culture and practices, goes to show that we survived. We are survivors, but we shouldn't have to settle in order to survive," Neptune said. The work group will meet again in October, when tribal representatives will bring proposals for addressing their concerns. Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Many dates in Oklahoma are not remembered" --------- Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2007 18:21:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FORGOTTEN, IGNORED OKLAHOMA HISTORY" http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=1260&Itemid=33 Many dates in Oklahoma are not remembered By David Dary Norman, Oklahoma (AP) 8-07 One hundred and seventy-two years ago this summer, thousands of Plains Indians gathered in what is now southern Cleveland County. Their chiefs signed their first treaty ever with the United States and representatives of the Five Civilized tribes. The date was August 24, 1835. It was an important date in American history as well as that of Oklahoma, but has been forgotten by many people. At the time, the U.S. Army considered the Plains Indians, namely the Comanche, Wichita, Kiowa, Apache and a few other tribes, as "wild Indians," unlike the American Indians in eastern Indian Territory. The Plains Indians roamed freely following their commissary, the wild buffalo, on the southern plains west of the Cross Timbers region. About 1829, Sam Houston - the future president of Texas but at the time an American Indian trader near Fort Gibson - urged the military to send a delegation and establish peace with the Plains Indians. The military did little until some Osage Indians destroyed a Kiowa village in the Wichita Mountains in 1833 and took a few prisoners. The military was waiting for such an opportunity. In 1834 Gen. Henry Leavenworth and Col. Henry Dodge organized an expedition and returned the Kiowa prisoners to their home in what is now southwest Oklahoma. The military then opened dialogue with the chiefs of the Plains Indians, who accepted an invitation to visit Fort Gibson to talk peace. After a party of Plains Indians traveled east through the Cross Timbers region to Fort Gibson, they said they would negotiate a treaty, but only in buffalo country when the grass next grows after the snows have melted. When the new year arrived, the War Department in Washington ordered Major R.B. Mason and a detachment of dragoons to travel west to the headwaters of Little River near current-day Holdenville and establish a post and prepare a campground for the meeting. The post was named Fort Holmes but it did not exist for long. Conditions in the area were unhealthy for the soldiers and the post was abandoned. It was just as well that the military gave up the post because the Plains Indians opposed it as the meeting place. They demanded that the meeting be held in buffalo country. They feared their enemies would attack them if they traveled into the Cross Timbers - the stretch from modern southeast Kansas, across central Oklahoma, and into central Texas. Black jacks, post oaks, hickory and elm trees, along with undergrowth including grape vines and green briars, provided too many hiding places for wild animals and enemies. Mason selected another location just east of the Canadian River, a few miles northeast of what is now Purcell and just northwest of present-day Lexington. Mason sent word of the new location to the Plains Indians, who said it was acceptable. Whether the military knew it or not, the new location was a favorite camping ground of the Comanches on their buffalo hunts. Mason and about 50 soldiers went to the new location, established Camp Holmes - named after the abandoned Fort Holmes on the Little River - and made preparations to receive the American Indians. In late July 1835, perhaps as many as 7,000 Plains Indians began arriving setting up their camps a few miles from Camp Holmes. Soon Gen. Matthew Arbuckle and Monfort Stokes, a commissioner appointed to negotiate treaties, arrived at Camp Holmes with two companies from the Seventh Infantry. With them was a delegation from the Creek, Choctaw, Muscogee, Osage, Seneca and Quapaw tribes to sign the treaty. When they arrived, there was a force of 250 soldiers at Camp Holmes. The meeting lasted six weeks. On August 24, 1835, representatives of the Five Civilized tribes, government representatives and the chiefs of the Plains Indians signed the treaty. The Kiowa and Apaches missed the meeting but later signed the treaty containing the usual clauses of amity and friendship and granting passage through American Indian country for citizens of the United States heading for Santa Fe and Mexico. The treaty also permitted the American Indians to hunt and trap beyond the Cross Timbers region to the western limits of the United States. By the time the meeting ended, Col. A.P. Chouteau had constructed a small stockade and trading post on what is now Chouteau Creek, west of the Canadian River. During the next few years Chouteau carried on a considerable trade with the Comanches and other Plains Indians. Experienced in peacemaking, Chouteau gained the confidence of the Plains Indians. About 1837, a Comanche war party came to Chouteau's trading post and released three white women and children. While Chouteau's post apparently continued for many years, Camp Holmes, sometimes called Fort Mason, was occupied for only a short time. The government, however, kept the post on its books and occasionally stationed a few soldiers there until just before the unassigned lands were opened to settlement in 1889. Camp Holmes was then abandoned. Today nothing remains of Camp Holmes or of Chouteau's stockade and trading post. But in a roadside park on U.S. Highway 77 just north of Lexington, a traveler will see a large brown stone historical marker erected by the National Society of Colonial Dames in Oklahoma. It serves as a reminder to passers-by of the rich history that occurred nearby in 1835. Copyright c. 2007 News From Indian Country. --------- "RE: Tears shed for Chaco" --------- Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 09:20:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FORCED REMOVAL RECALLED" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2007/august/083107nkj_tearsforchaco.html Tears shed for Chaco; Former canyon residents recall legacy of forced removal By Natasha Kaye Johnson Dine' Bureau August 31, 2007 CHACO CANYON Emma Martinez, 82, flips through the pages of a book containing a picture of her grandfather, Agapito Atencio. Her search comes to a end when she locates the string of red yarn marking the page where an image of him standing amid the Navajo landscape of sagebrush and cactus can be seen. She brushes her hand across his picture, and begins to explain in Navajo he was just a little older than a newborn when his parents made the walk back from Hweeldi and carried him home into the Chaco Canyon. It would be in the canyon they would rebuild their homestead and move past the pain and anguish they endured while being imprisoned at Fort Sumner. The canyon would eventually become the place Martinez would call home. At least until she was 8 years old. Though it was more than 70 years ago, she can recall the day her grandfather and grandmother, Tashniah, were told they were going to be evicted from the canyon. She can still remember the devastation it brought upon her grandfather. "He tried to beg to stay," Martinez said through a Navajo translator. His pleas got them nowhere, and they had to leave the canyon which sheltered their brick house, a hogan, and a water well. Their removal led them to unknown nearby lands where they had to haul water in buckets by wagon. They could no longer enjoy the easily accessible water the canyon harbored. The story of Agapito Atencio's unheard pleas cannot be read in any history book, nor in an educational pamphlet found at the Chaco Culture National Historical Park just miles from the community. But it is a somber side of history the community of Chaco Canyon understands as the true history surrounding the park. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the park, when President Theodore Roosevelt signed a bill to make the 1000-year-old ruins a park in 1907. While the park staff is in the midst of getting a celebration prepared, it certainly is not a time for the community to rejoice. Saturday afternoon, the community gathered underneath the shade of a blue-and-white tent and recalled the history of their kin years ago. Recollecting the history raised raw feelings and caused many to express hostility toward the park. Today, many people insist the park has oppressed them from obtaining a higher quality of life for years. Dispute about paving a road In 1995, San Juan County granted nearly $1 million to chip seal County Road 7950, which runs from U.S. Highway 550 to the park. It took years to secure the federal funding, but after the county began paving about five miles of the road, there was objection by environmentalists and park employees who demanded an environmental impact assessment. That was more than 12 years ago, and the assessment is still taking place today. "We need the road for any kind of emergency," Mary Jane Harrison, 79, said. "We need the road, the water, and the electricity." The protest by the park continues to baffle county officials. "We're not doing major pavements," said Ervin Chavez, San Juan County commissioner, who is originally from Chaco Canyon. "Its putting gravel on existing roads (that have) been there for over 100 years." Russ Bodnar, chief of interpretation at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, said debate surrounding the paved road goes back as far as the 1950s. "It pops up in some of the reports," he said. But Bodnar maintains that as a national park they don't oppose the road; however, he did acknowledge there are individuals at the park who feel getting the road paved will have negative effects. For instance, a paved road for the park would mean increased visitation by tourists they don't have the infrastructure for. The paved road would also change the atmosphere of the park. One of the unique things about the park, Bodnar said, is visitors have a lot of freedom to have a one-on-one connection with the past, and their experience could change if the road is paved. "If there is an increase, that might have to change," he said. "It might be that the park management decides we have to be a bit more restrictive." But for Chavez, the quality of life far for Chaco Canyon residents far outweighs the park's need to accommodate tourists. He said the county will continue to push for the paved road. "We're in support of the community," Chavez said. Residents want the road paved While some residents carry hostile feelings toward the park, others just want to see the road finally paved. "I don't have anything against the park," said Rae Werito, 64. "I'm concerned with the road. Some people broke three axles in the winter. The mud is bad. It gets too rough." "The park's been getting what they want," said her husband, Cecil Werito, Sr. who worked as a preservation specialist at the park for more than 30 years. "It's not fair. The roads need to be improved." Werito raised concerns about children who have difficulties getting to school because school buses gets stuck during the winter. The situation has become almost null for some community members. "If it doesn't get there, it's fine," Leonard Dempsey, 38, of Chaco Canyon said. Dempsey pointed to the fact that there are no businesses or industries, besides the park, in or near the community, which have remained the same since he was a child. "Today when people say Chaco Canyon, they think of the park, not the community," Ramona Begay, a resident of Chaco Canyon said. "They want these improvements like any American citizen." An unclear history The number of Navajo families removed and the events surrounding their removal are still unclear today. "We're in the midst of piling an administrative history of how the park was managed for the last 100 years," Brad Shattuck, natural resources program manager for Chaco Culture National Historical Park, said. Officials did confirm that the removals occurred from 1907 to 1947. Shattuck said it is indisputable the history is clouded with emotion, and the park would like to clarify the history. But while the numbers and history is unknown and hazy for park officials, it remains vivid and clear to Chaco Canyon residents who lived it. At 79 years old, Mary Jean Harrison remembers, even as a 5-year-old girl, how heavy her heart was the day her family had to be removed from their home in the canyon. "They said they're going to load up the wagon, and we can't take everything," she recalled. What she remembers most clearly is how saddened her mother was when she explained to her and her siblings that they had to leave the canyon. She recalled the coolness the canyon provided from a sweltering days heat, the easy access to water, the yucca plants, the wild "chish chil", and medicines her grandfather and brother once gathered. After they left the canyon, she said they could no longer gather medicinal herbs for ceremonies. The memory brought tears to Harrison's eyes, and she wiped them away. "It was a good place," she said, shaking her head. Copyright c. 2007 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: First Nations Center opens" --------- Date: Sat, 1 Sep 2007 09:20:31 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITY CENTER IN SIOUX CITY" http://www.indianz.com/News http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/08/29/ news/local/36595f14fa5eb5cb86257346001151e0.txt First Nations Center will open today By Travis Coleman Journal Staff Writer August 30, 2007 The First Nations Community Center in Sioux City will have a grand opening today for its new facility that seeks to help Siouxland's American Indians strengthen themselves and their families. The community center will house the Office of Indian Education and the First Nations Outreach Center. The two organizations were previously located at the center's old 900-square-feet location on West Seventh Street. The two groups now share 3,200 square feet at the new facility at 613 Water St. "This building is going to be the first of its kind," said Cynthia Doan, executive director of the Office of Indian Education. Also at the grand opening, there will be recognition for recent Fatherhood is Sacred graduates and a performance by traditional drum group Mato Pejuta. The facility is designed as a central place for area Indians to get social and educational services. At the grand opening from 5:30-9 p.m., people can sign up for the center's programs, which include a class that aims to help promote healthy Indian families. The free, 14-week class is taught by instructors who have graduated from a strengthening families program that Doan said gets positive results. Child care and transportation will be provided. Five families already have signed up, with room for 20. Next year, Doan is hoping to provide the services for 40 families. "Often, the communication is just not there," Doan said. "We want to help them find alternative ways to get along." The program is always looking for volunteers as well, Doan said. Making Indian families stronger could help lower the number of Indian children in foster care, Doan said. That number is disproportionately high when compared with other ethnic groups. For example, Indian children make up about 2 percent of the child population in Woodbury County but account for more than 15 percent of the children in out-of-home placements. On Sept. 1 there will be a block party outside the center to get people interested in upcoming American Indian outreach programs funded by a Johnson O'Malley Program grant, which helps provide educational assistance to American Indian students. Some of the programs include traditional crafts, a drum class and American Indian literature. Students will also be able to get tutoring at the center, along with access to a computer lab. "Our programs are by Natives for Natives," Doan said. "It's a very exciting time for our community." Copyright c. 2007 Sioux City Journal. --------- "RE: Raytheon to double jobs, space on Navajo Nation" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 07:41:35 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RAYTHEON EXPANDS OPERATION ON NAVAJO NATION" http://www.indianz.com/News http://www.daily-times.com/news/ci_6736107 More missiles and money: Raytheon to double jobs, space on Navajo Nation - By Alysa Landry - The Daily Times August 28, 2007 UPPER FRUITLAND - With military requests expected to increase tenfold by the end of the year, Raytheon Missile Systems is almost doubling its workforce and manufacturing space on the Navajo Nation. Approved by the Navajo Nation Council in February, the $6.8 million, 38, 000-square-foot expansion of Raytheon's Navajo Agricultural Products Industry location will create about 80 new jobs and $5 million in wages. It also will increase production of one of the military's most wanted missiles - the Excalibur. "It's a revolutionary technology because it's a guided projectile," James Riley, vice president of Raytheon's land combat line, told an audience of state and Navajo Nation dignitaries and Raytheon employees Monday. "It's fired out of a cannon 40 kilometers, and it lands within five meters of the target every time. You can shoot artillery 40 kilometers and hit a single target without collateral effects, without killing innocent civilians or damaging infrastructure." The U.S. Army has shot about 30 Excalibur missiles in Iraq, Riley said, and it's asking for more. Although the facility expansion won't be complete until November, Raytheon already is hiring and has plans to produce 150 Excalibur missiles per month by December. "It's a steep curve we're on, but we've elected to accelerate that production right here at NAPI," Riley said. "By doing so, we will reduce the limitations currently placed on our soldiers in Iraq, so they can shoot (the Excalibur) when it's needed, not when it's available." Jointly funded by Raytheon, the Navajo Nation and the state of New Mexico's Tribal Infrastructure Fund, the expanded facility is exactly what the Nation needs, said Navajo Vice President Ben Shelly. The facility adheres to a Navajo preference hiring policy and is expected to maintain its 90-percent Navajo workforce. Raytheon provides the highest-paying manufacturing jobs on the reservation, and the company sets the example for what Nation officials hope becomes a trend among other businesses eying the Nation, Shelly said. "Training is all it takes for us to learn skilled labor," he said. "We have the workforce to do the job here ... as a partnership, we can make things happen." Because the facility is located on tribal land, the Nation leases the property to Raytheon, drawing an additional $135,000 per year. But the relationship is mutually beneficial, said Fred Mondragon, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Economic Development Department. "It's not just the square feet," Mondragon said. "It's not just the building, but the increased production capability for our nation's defense, plus high-paying jobs and tax revenues for the state. This will pay big dividends to all involved." When construction is complete, the 68,000-square-foot facility located about five miles south of Farmington will include classrooms, a conference room and administrative offices. The expansion will add about 15,000 square feet of production space, where workers will assemble parts for 12 missiles and munitions programs used by the U.S. military. Alysa Landry: alandry@daily-times.com Copyright c. 2007 Farmington Daily-Times, MediaNews Group. --------- "RE: Nageezi Chapter rises from the Ashes" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:31:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAGEEZI REOPENS CHAPTER HOUSE" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2007/ august/082907nkj_chrrssfrmtheashs.html Chapter rises from the ashes Nageezi overcomes, fire, controversy to remain the heart of a community By Natasha Kaye Johnson Dine' Bureau August 29, 2007 NAGEEZI - Just as the phoenix rose from the ashes, so has the community of Nageezi. It was 18 months ago when the community was swept with devastation after a fire left their chapter house in ashes. But the feelings surrounding the memories of the fire were shadowed by the celebration of the new Nageezi Chapter House Saturday morning. Smiles could be seen and laughter could be heard at the chapter's opening dedication. Over 100 people assembled in the facility and listened as leaders and community members alike expressed their happiness about the new building, and told jokes in Navajo. The crowd was serenaded by musical entertainers Talibah Begay and the Eastern Swingers, and enjoyed a luncheon as part of the days festivities. Many people expressed the new chapter house was bigger and better than the last, but while they were right about being "better," chapter officials confirmed the chapter was the same size as the last chapter, and it was the new higher ceiling that created the illusion of a larger building. The $600,000 building includes amenities the last chapter had, including a kitchen, computer lab, and several offices. But the detail in the small things, like the decorative wood work in the stage and the new fancy coffee pot in the kitchen area, is what caught the eye of community members. "I love it," Alvin Willie, 55, said. "Nizhoni! Ayoo ya'at'eeh," Evelyn Cauto, 80, said, shaking her head in approval. Sitting in the new chapter house brought comfort to the lifelong resident of Nageezi who was grief stricken last March when she got word the chapter had burned down. "I was really sad about it for a long time," she expressed in Navajo, her voice cracking a bit. The new chapter brought solace to many who were in attendance. Louise Martinez, 56, recalled how got a phone call at 6 a.m. and learned the chapter house burned down. The 10,000-square-foot building was declared a total loss by fire officials. "When me and my husband we saw the chapter house was all gone, it just hurt me," Martinez said. "I just started really crying. I just couldn't believe it happened." Martinez recollected how many elders were crying when they gathered together at a nearby multipurpose center just days after the fire. Like the other 109 chapters across the Navajo Nation, the chapter had served as the heart of the community, where families gathered together for local government chapter meetings, graduation celebrations, and receptions, among a number of different purposes. "We got used to it, like coming to the chapter meetings," Martinez said. "It seemed like there was nothing there for us anymore." The new chapter house was a sigh of relief for Martinez, and she hopes the new chapter will be the start of further improvement in Nageezi. Moving forward "I feel real good about it," Juan Betoni, the chapter house president, said. The people spent the day rejoicing in their new facility, but it was only months ago when the community was in a frenzy. Following the fire, it was confirmed that a combined total of nearly $45, 000 was illegally taken by former chapter house president Calvert Garcia, and former community services coordinator, Sam Henry. According to documents from the Navajo Nation Ethics and Rules committee, Garcia took over $24,200, and Henry took about $20,000. The illegal events began Nov. 17, 2005, when Garcia instructed Henry to issue a $15,467 check to Michael Brown to repair the heating system at the chapter house which never was approved by chapter officials, and never took place. It would be the start of several illegally issued checks to come in the four months to come. After the findings, Garcia and Henry resigned from their positions and were ordered to pay monthly installments back to the chapter house. The fire was alleged to have been started to prevent documents from being released to the Navajo Nation Ethics and Rules Committee, although no suspects were ever arrested. Regaining the trust When Betoni was elected as Chapter president in October 2006, he and his administration inherited a number of financial problems from the former administration. They began with about $1,000 in their checking account, and were bombarded with calls from bill collectors, the IRS, and state legalese. Although functioning with no chapter house facility and stretching their dollars has challenging, Betoni said dealing with the mistrust the events led up to has been most difficult. "It wasn't the chapter house that was a problem," Betoni said. "It was the community trust." Betoni said community members still bring up the illegal events that happened, but he said they are slowly gaining back the people's trust back. He is hopeful the new chapter house will help to re-establish trust. "We're not forgetting what happened," Betoni said. "We're just moving forward." Daniel Lopez, 45, a community land use planning committee member, is optimistic the new facility will help to bring back membership and generate interest that has gone down in the past months. "Like the theme says, `a new beginning,'" he said. Copyright c. 2007 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: State, Tribes to try negotiating over Culverts" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:31:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FISH STOPPING CULVERTS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070830/NEWS01/108300042/-1/NEWS State, tribes agree to try negotiating over culverts Herald staff August 30, 2007 SEATTLE - Attorneys for nearly two dozen American Indian tribes and the state of Washington agreed Wednesday to try to work out a final settlement to a lawsuit over culverts and fish. U.S. District Court Judge Ricardo Martinez ruled last week that the state has violated the 1855 Treaty of Point Elliott the tribes signed with the federal government by failing to maintain culverts. The Tulalip Tribes, a lead party in the case, have long argued that damaged culverts block fish runs. The treaty reserved the tribes' right to healthy fish runs. The case was slated for trial in September, but Martinez's ruling came first. The parties agreed Wednesday to work toward a settlement of how the state will comply with Martinez's decision. If an agreement can't be reached, a trial could be held early next year. Copyright c. 2007 The Daily Herald Co., Everett, WA. --------- "RE: Breaking down Doors" --------- Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 07:14:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="USING EDUCATION WISELY" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.lompocrecord.com/articles/2007/09/04/news/news04.txt Breaking down doors By John McReynolds/Record Correspondent September 4, 2007 When Niki Sandoval graduated in the bottom one-third of her class at Santa Ynez High School it came as no great surprise. Daughter of a single mother, she lived on the Chumash Reservation. What more could be expected? As it turns out, a whole lot more. At 36, the Lompoc resident has published 10 academic papers. She has lectured at UCSB, Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Santa Cruz; in Washington, Albuquerque, Paris, and Guatemala City; in Cuba and New Zealand. In June at UCSB she became Dr. Nicolasa I. Sandoval, the first Chumash in tribal history to earn a doctorate degree. Her life shatters the stereotype of indolent Native Americans with no interest in education. At key intersections in her academic career, the self-described "museum junkie" seized the initiative to take advantage of opportunities. "I wanted to be an astronaut," she said with a laugh as a Friday evening Olde Towne Market geared up outside the coffee shop where she sat. "But when I got to 12, I got more hip. I knew I had a place in the world, I just didn't know what it would be." As important as her own personal drive is her family - Native Americans who informally nurtured education from kindergarten through graduate school. "The role models I had, my mother and her mother, had a simple and true wisdom that is good for a lifetime," Sandoval said. Sandoval's maternal grandmother was descended from the Purepecha tribe of Central Mexico. She married into the Chumash tribe. Sandoval's mother moved to the Chumash reservation, four daughters in tow, after a divorce, when her eldest girl, Niki, was 9 years old. She worked at a series of low-wage jobs but found time to take her girls to libraries. "My mom taught me to read before kindergarten," Sandoval recalled. "Both she and my father had a love of learning that was infectious. I escaped in my books. My mom and dad had Time-Life books. I read magazines, cereal boxes, anything I could get my hands on." At Santa Ynez High, Sandoval's grades tumbled, but through her initiative she achieved a different distinction. She became a cheerleader, the first ever from the tribe, her mother believes, and broke through the social stratifications that marked the Valley. "Self-segregation in the Valley was not pronounced, but it was more than I was used to," Sandoval said. It was Hancock College that cranked open her world. "At Hancock I learned how to be a good student. I remember a film class with Casey Case and an art history class with Ed Harvey. It filled me up. It added so much to the quality of my life. I learned I had different paths open to me." Financial aid drew Sandoval to Pepperdine University, which is just over the hill from the Getty Museum. "I qualified for work/study. The first job I saw was at the Getty." Sandoval wanted to apply but she was discouraged by her counselor. "They rarely take our students," he said, unaware of Sandoval's history of initiative. "That's all I needed," Sandoval recalled. "I set up an interview and in 10 minutes she offered me a job." Next, Sandoval parlayed her museum experience and Pepperdine degree in public relations into a starter job at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. There, she advanced from public affairs assistant to Assistant Director of Community Services at the Smithsonian's Museum of the American Indian. In that position she met indigenous groups from throughout the Western Hemisphere. One project in particular draws a smile to her face. She assisted the Kuna people of Panama, most of whom speak only their native tongue, to raise funds for a cultural center. "I felt really good. Only a few of the men speak Spanish." The center is now in operation. "On Sept. 11, I was in Alexandria, Va., less than five miles from the Pentagon. When I got to the office I found out that the Pentagon had been hit." At that, the tug of family grew stronger. "I asked myself, `Why am I 5,000 miles away from my family?' Life was too short to not see my niece and nephew grow up." With her master's degree in museum science earned while in D.C., she applied for the doctorate program in education at UCSB and returned to the Central Coast. She began research on her dissertation in January 2005. She wanted to examine Indian education. Forty-two percent of whites age 18-24 pursued higher education in 2003 while only 18 percent of Native Americans did so. Of 1.7 million college degrees awarded that year only 0.8 percent went to Native Americans. In her research, she discovered that tribal schools had higher expectations for Native American students than did mostly white public schools. And she found that most studies of native education interviewed teachers, not native parents, the very people who she knew carried on cultural traditions. The studies treated parents as if they had nothing to offer. She decided to conduct her study in a different way. "In the educational research literature I reviewed on family involvement, I noticed a virtual absence of American Indian perspectives. I wanted to add to the knowledge base by eliciting the voices of our first teachers - our parents. Native parents and guardians possess rich cultural assets that can enrich the educational lives of all students. My own mother taught me to read at the age of 4. My father took me to museums. I credit both of them with my passion for reading, learning, and my insatiable curiosity about the world around me," she wrote. Her study turned the previous paradigm on its head. She interviewed not teachers but a dozen native parents and grandparents and developed strategies for school/parent partnerships with both sides contributing equally. Her faculty committee was impressed. "Through the personal narratives of her informants, Niki reveals the heritage of racism that has adversely influenced educational experiences across multiple generations," said UCSB professor Mary Brenner. "At the same time, she shows the determination of families to encourage their children's educational attainments through constructive engagement with the schools. Other research that has focused on the perspective of school personnel has failed to adequately describe this determination and commitment." Sandoval wants her work to affect relationships between educators and parents. "I'm hoping educators and administrators will look at parents as resources instead of obstacles," she said. She now teaches at UCSB, works part-time for the Nonprofit Support Center, and does occasional consulting, though not yet for any school districts. The fact that she was the first from the tribe to earn a doctorate came as a shock. "The education department at the tribe keeps track," Sandoval said. "There is an attorney and a doctor of optometry but they saw I was the first with a Ph.D." She is not likely to be the last. Nearly 100 tribe members are now in college classes. The booming casino provides scholarships. "What makes me happiest is that there are positive messages of people from the reservation contributing in many ways. We have intelligent and able and promising young people. I'm glad there's more attention being paid to that." Another smile lights her face. "If I can do it, anyone can do it." Correspondent John McReynolds can be reached at 736-6352 or johnny544@verizon.net. Copyright C. 2007 2006 Lee Central Coast Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Appeals court backs climbing ban at Sacred Site" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 07:41:35 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COURT DECREES CAVE ROCK OFF-LIMITS TO CLIMBERS" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/004616.asp Appeals court backs climbing ban at sacred site August 28, 2007 A ban on recreational climbing at Cave Rock, a sacred Washoe site, does not violate the U.S. Constitution, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday. In a unanimous decision, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the U.S. Forest Service acted lawfully when it banned climbing at the site. The three-judge panel cited the historical and cultural importance of Cave Rock not just to the Washoe Tribe, but to the entire country. "The fact that Cave Rock is a sacred site to the Washoe does not diminish its importance as a national cultural resource," Judge J. Clifford Wallace wrote for the majority. The decision marks the latest in a string of defeats for The Access Fund, a climbers' group that challenged the ban. The non-profit organization lost an administrative appeal and a lower court ruling. At issue was whether the Forest Service's management plan for Lake Tahoe, where Cave Rock is located, violates the Constitution's Establishment Clause, which bars the government from favoring one religion over another. The climbers also said the plan was "arbitrary and capricious." The 9th Circuit rejected the constitutional claim on two grounds. On the first, the court said the Forest Service's climbing ban served a "secular purpose" because it protects the cultural, historical and archaeological features of Cave Rock. "Historical and cultural considerations motivate the preservation of national monuments that may have religious significance to many or even most visitors," Wallace wrote, comparing Cave Rock's importance to that of National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. Second, the court said the ban doesn't favor Washoe religious beliefs. In fact, the Forest Service rejected the tribe's contention that all activity, not just climbing, should have been covered in the management plan. "The Forest Service's chosen alternative not only provides for general public use and access well beyond members of the Washoe Tribe, but also permits activities that are incompatible with Washoe beliefs," the opinion stated. As for the "arbitrary and capricious" claim, the 9th Circuit rejected the argument that the ban unfairly singles out climbing over other recreational activities. The decision pointed to years of unauthorized drilling and boring by climbers at Cave Rock, which the Washoe Tribe views as a desecration of the site. "As documented in extensive research and consultation with various community groups, rock climbing harms the physical (not necessarily geological) integrity of the rock," Wallace wrote. This isn't the first time the 9th Circuit has backed a government policy that protects sacred sites. In September 2004, the court said the state of Arizona acted lawfully by refusing to buy materials that were mined from a sacred Hopi, Navajo and Zuni site. "Native American sacred sites of historical value are entitled to the same protection as the many Judeo-Christian religious sites," Judge Betty B. Fletcher wrote in a decision that was cited as precedent in the Cave Rock case. The 9th Circuit heard oral arguments in San Francisco on February 15. Audio of the proceeding is available here: http://www.indianz.com/my.asp?url=http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/ca9/ media.nsf/2C57F76CF18E4BD58825728400671811/$file/05-15585.wma?openelement Copyright c. 2007 Indianz.com. --------- "RE: Blackfeet certified as first NA One-Stop System" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:31:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MONTANA'S FIRST CERTIFIED NATIVE ONE-STOP SYSTEM" http://www.goldentrianglenews.com/articles/2007/08/29/ glacier_reporter/news/news1.txt Blackfeet certified as state's first Native American One-Stop System By John McGill August 29, 2007 The Governor's State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) proudly announced certification of Montana's first designated Native American One-Stop System, Nit-Sit-Tah-Poh-Tahk-Kaaks, Working Friends, in Browning. Celebrating their successful walk through inspection, Blackfeet Manpower representatives had lunch at Glacier Peaks Casino with State Workforce Investment Board members and Blackfeet Tribal Business Council members, as well as Glacier County Commissioner Michael DesRosier and State Senator Carol Juneau. Photo by John McGill "The certification represents effective community partnerships in the workforce system within the boundaries of the Blackfeet Nation," said Governor Brian Schweitzer. "This is a historical event," said Blackfeet Chairman Old Person upon receiving certification. "Yesterday we were followers. Today we are leaders." Kat Momberg of the Blackfeet Manpower program explained that the One- Stop System provides employment services as well as being a training center. "When people come in we help them with job applications and interviews, resume writing and even training for specific jobs," she said. Each person seeking employment through the One-Stop System completes forms that outline skills; work experience, training and education; then that information is placed in the Job Skills Bank maintained by Manpower. Many employers are already listed at Manpower, and the program is actively recruiting more for the database. So, when those businesses are hiring, Manpower can provide them with a list of qualified applicants, contact those on the list and set up interviews. The One-Stop System is truly one-stop. Besides working with employers and those seeking work, Manpower is the place to go to sign up for unemployment benefits, and those with disabilities can access Social Security through the local Manpower office. "It's all based on partnerships," Momberg said of the local office. Some of the other programs Manpower offers through its One-Stop System include Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), Workers Investment Act (WIA), voc-rehab, the Youth Supplemental Program, the Healthy Marriage program and a computer lab. "A strong referral system and no wrong door approach allow partners to serve clients in the most efficient manner possible," said SWIB Director Leisa Smith. "This certification validates our past, present and future vision and allows us to better serve our people," said Working Friends One-Stop Operator George Kipp IV. "The State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) is formally recognizing these long-standing partnerships by way of the certification of One-Stop Systems throughout the state," said Schweitzer. "Montana's One-Stop System achieves the federal vision for statewide workforce development, which benefits our people, communities, and economy." The Blackfeet Manpower program is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday in downtown Browning, opposite City Park on N. Piegan Street. They can be reached at 406-338-2111. Copyright c. 2007 Golden Triangle Newspapers. --------- "RE: Tribal Focus underlies firm's mission" --------- Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2007 07:14:58 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ACCOUNTING, AUDITING FIRM HELPS TRIBES" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.dailyinterlake.com/articles/2007/09/02/business/bus01.txt Tribal focus underlies firm's mission By NANCY KIMBALL The Daily Inter Lake September 2, 2007 A specific focus on Indian Country and a golden-rule set of core values help define Kalispell's newest accounting and auditing firm. Joseph Eve - certified public accountants, fraud examiners and management consultants - opened its doors on the upper floor of the Whipps Building in mid-June. Founded by an energetic young Joe Eve in 1985, the firm has grown to four partners and 70 people working in Billings, Great Falls, Salt Lake City and Kalispell. Eve, a Great Falls native, set out to gain a national reputation by excelling in the tribal government specialty niche of accounting. Today, the firm works with tribal gaming, governments, colleges, housing authorities and other tribal-owned enterprises in 24 or 25 states. It is doubling revenue volume every three years and now stands at $11 million. And it's on target to do $100 million in business by 2016. "We have a narrow focus because it makes your life a lot easier," Eve said. "You can become very good in that niche and very knowledgeable about it." Few others target such a market. There are some much-smaller firms in the tribal field and some "super-regional" firms with divisions handling tribal matters, Eve said, but no others in their size range has a tribal focus. It's a focus that likely will continue paying off. As a whole, Eve said, the tribal market across the nation has $50 billion in disposable income. Of the 562 federally recognized tribes, 227 operated more than 400 gaming operations by the end of 2005. Comprising 95 percent of Joseph Eve's business, tribal concerns have an unlimited potential for education. Staff members and expert guest speakers present between one and three seminars a month. The August seminar is on the Tribal Gaming Commission and background investigations, September's will cover federal regulatory issues, October's is internal controls for casinos. Typically, 30 to 60 people attend a seminar. A new video on money laundering gives tips on recognizing suspicious activity and complying with federal law. Eve said the firm produces the nation's only report on the cost of doing business for Indian gaming operations, a comprehensive study of the bottom line for more than 80 tribal casinos in 2005 and 2006. A major challenge to doing business in Indian Country, Eve said, is travel. So, to reach a goal of cutting employee travel by up to half, the firm is using more video conferencing, presenting "Web-inars" and making the shift from file cabinets to zip drives. The firm itself went entirely paperless in 2001, and now staff carry scanners when visiting clients who still stick with paper. "By and large, we have been encouraging people to give us documents electronically," and more of them are doing so, Eve said. "It's a change in culture." Joseph Eve's specialty in tribal work began in 1997, when Eve decided to fixate on tribal issues "instead of trying to be all things to all clients, ," he said. "And we focused our hiring and training on that niche." Several American Indians work with the firm, he said, but Eve isn't one to focus on a person's heritage. "There are cultural issues employees need to grasp. But growing up in Montana we were raised in a lot of prejudicial ways, and we need to deprogram that," he said. "We try to have a diverse employee base and cultural base," but Joseph Eve sees clients and employees as individuals with unique needs and skills. Eve is the firm's managing partner. Todd Timboe and Tim O'Dell both work in Great Falls as accounting and auditing partner and as marketing partner, respectively. Tiffany Madden is the Billings partner and office manager. The partners pull the entire staff together three times a year for training, and provide a mentoring program for new employees to give them opportunities to hone skills and move up in the firm. Finding the best employees and keeping them satisfied once they're on board was part of what prompted the opening of the Kalispell office. "With both Salt Lake City and Kalispell, our offices are centered on where our employees want to live," said Eve, who moved here himself in 2005. But with the Flathead's labor shortage, staffing the Kalispell office hasn't been easy. Eve and IT Director Tracy Bratcher are it so far. "It's a talent war out there," he said. Each employee who does sign on with the firm enters a work culture based on keeping promises, accepting responsibility, improving continuously, supporting each other and treating others the way they want to be treated, Eve said. With these core values built into the firm's plan for doing business and choosing clients, Eve said he and his fellow partners expect to make an impact on an ever-widening region in the years to come. "We encourage creative ideas and creative thinking," rather than painting all tribes with a broad brush, Eve said. Reporter Nancy Kimball may be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com Copyright c. 2007, The Daily Interlake. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribes open first California's Off-Rez Hotel" --------- Date: Thu, 30 Aug 2007 07:31:04 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TRIBAL BUSINESS COALITION" http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070829/20070829005864.html?.v=1 Press Release Source: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians Three Native American Tribes Form Historic Economic Development Partnership August 29, 2007 Tribal Coalition Opens California's First Tribally Owned Off-Reservation Hotel SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Three Native American Tribes made history today in California, officially opening the first hotel located off-reservation in California to be owned by a coalition of tribes. Three Fires, LLC, an economic development partnership of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians and the Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, both located in Southern California, celebrated the grand opening today of the new Residence Inn by Marriott Sacramento at Capitol Park, site of the California Capitol. The 15-story, 235-suite hotel, located across from the California State Capitol, is the first hotel in the state located off tribal lands and owned by multiple tribes. This new economic partnership is one of the first joint business ventures in the nation between tribal governments formed as an investment coalition. The three tribes are principal owners of the hotel, along with 15th & L Investors, LLC. "This tribal partnership demonstrates how Native American tribes can leverage the success of their tribal government gaming operations to expand economic development beyond gaming, enhance self-sufficiency and, ultimately, further secure tribal sovereignty," said Viejas Chairman Bobby L. Barrett. Tribal leaders believe that Three Fires, LLC will serve as an economic model, benefiting other tribes interested in working together as one to strengthen efforts, reduce risk and diversify their collective and individual economic futures. Gerald Danforth, Chairman of the Oneida Nation, said, "The hospitality industry has been successful for our Tribe. We must continue to move forward into economic partnerships such as Three Fires, to maximize our economic resources. Smart business practices result in success and I believe this project will be a tribute to smart business, hardworking employees and strong leadership." Each tribe in the partnership has shown leadership and innovation in pioneering Indian-owned and -developed businesses, from hotels, a retail shopping center and bank, to a bottled water company. "Together we are building upon a tradition of trade and commerce that has been the basis for connecting native nations since time immemorial," said San Manuel Chairman Henry Duro. The same three tribes, plus the Forest County Potawatomi Community of Wisconsin, formed a similar coalition, named Four Fires, LLC, which opened a hotel in downtown Washington D.C. in 2005. About Three Fires, LLC Three Fires, LLC is an economic development coalition of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, and the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians and Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians, both located in Southern California. The historic partnership arises from the success of tribal government gaming on reservations and the need to continually pursue a sound and established economic future. The governments of each tribe believe that forming a coalition of common interest will minimize the risk of one, while strengthening our purpose to seek out ventures that will return revenue to each member of our coalition. Oneida Nation of Wisconsin The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin is a sovereign nation representing approximately 16,000 enrolled members. With a long-range vision spanning seven generations, the Oneida Nation has made a concerted effort to invest in economic ventures that continue to lead them towards economic self- sufficiency. Among the most successful economic ventures for the Oneida are the newly expanded 400-room Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, a chain of Mobil convenience stores and gas stations, a gaming operation located immediately across from Austin Straubel International Airport in Green Bay, Wis. and a recent joint venture with the NFL Green Bay Packers team and the historic Lambeau Field. San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians The San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located near the city of Highland, Calif. The Serrano Indians are the indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys and mountains who share a common language and culture. The San Manuel reservation was established in 1891 and recognized as sovereign nation with the right of self-government. Since time immemorial, the San Manuel tribal community has endured change and hardship. Amidst these challenges the tribe continued to maintain its unique form of governance. Like other governments it seeks to provide a better quality of life for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services and promoting social, economic and cultural development. Today San Manuel tribal government oversees many governmental units including the departments of fire, public safety, education and environment. Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians The Viejas Band of Kumeyaay traces their history back 10,000 years. Their reservation is located in the community of Alpine, 30 miles from the City of San Diego. A federally recognized tribe, the Viejas Band governs in accord with the band's customs and traditions. The tribe owns and operates the Viejas Casino; Viejas Entertainment & Production, a concert booking and promotion company; three radio stations and two recreational vehicle parks. In addition, the Viejas Band was one of the first American Indian bank owners, with the purchase of Borrego Springs Bank N.A.; and also owns the 25-acre, $55 million-Viejas Outlet Center, boasting 60 retail outlet stores and restaurants. Viejas Enterprises employs nearly 2, 400 people, purchases more than $100 million locally in goods and services, and contributes millions of dollars annually to more than 450 charities and local neighboring community, school and civic programs. Contact: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians Robert Scheid, 619-659-2316 or Oneida Nation of Wisconsin Bobbi Webster, 920-819-8357 or San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Jacob Coin, 909-864-8933 --------------------------------------- Source: Viejas Band of Kumeyaay Indians Copyright c. 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2007 Business Wire. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: GRAFF: Indian Health Service reforms long overdue" --------- Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 07:41:35 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HANNAH GRAFF: FIX BROKEN IHS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/08/27/ opinion/guest/60-service.txt Guest Opinion: Indian Health Service reforms long overdue By HANNAH GRAFF Guest Opinion August 27, 2007 On the Crow Indian Reservation this month, U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., and Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., led a hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs committee, addressing the severe lack of federal funds and management for the Indian Health Service. IHS officials, including acting chief medical officer Dr. Charles North, and tribal members testified to the shortage of qualified health professionals, closure of health facilities and cancellation of programs midway through the fiscal year. A bipartisan collection of senators primarily from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee are co-sponsoring legislation that would foster improvement within IHS. These changes would include, for example, outreach and enrollment for those eligible for public coverage under programs like SCHIP; cancer screenings; school health programs; and the maintenance and improvement of facilities. High needs, low resources IHS needs reform. IHS serves approximately 1.5 million of the 3.1 million American Indian and Alaska Natives from roughly 560 federally recognized tribes. In addition to underfunded facilities, death and disease rates among natives continue to exceed those of the general public - with diabetes and suicide rates double those of white Americans. These and conditions such as alcoholism, depression and heart disease plague reservation communities. Inadequacies in coverage, care and facilities are so great that the Census Bureau's current population survey does not consider American Indian and Alaska Natives "covered" under IHS - more than a third of American Indian and Alaska Natives went without suitable coverage in 2004. This makes them part of the nearly 47 million Americans without health insurance. In 2004, only 15.5 percent of native adults received medical treatment of any kind. Lack of enrollment in public programs and inadequate services contribute to this predicament. Having access to facilities is not enough. Navajo model Opponents to IHS would prefer to see the Indian Health Care Improvement Act expire. As a more tightly managed agency, however, IHS has the potential to be a leader in culturally specific, community-centered care, in a country with wide variation and regional differences. Glimpses of its promise can be seen in places like the Four Corners region of the U.S. (New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado). The Navajo Nation, which is the largest Indian tribe in the United States, with the largest reservation of more than 25,000 square miles, has the IHS's Navajo Division of Health. Though the NDOH suffers from a lack of funds, it is able to provide a variety of services that are tailored to the community and serve needs that would otherwise go unmet. Reauthorization of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act could accomplish several feats, now and in the future. Turning IHS into a system that is well-managed and adequately funded could reduce the number of uninsured Americans. Establishing mental and personal health programs (with trained professionals) could improve overall health of communities and contain costs. Finally, giving IHS the opportunity to reach the heights of the VA would lay the groundwork for comprehensive health reform that preserves specialized care for unique populations. This is a promise our government made to American Indian and Alaska Natives - to provide resources for their well-being. For the past 15 years, Congress has let IHS go unchecked and underfunded. Reauthorization has failed several times in the last decade. Keeping the Indian Health Care Improvement Act alive, along with oversight and skilled management, could put IHS back on course for providing quality care and services to the first Americans. Hannah Graff is a research associate with the Health Policy Program at the New America Foundation, a centrist, post-partisan public policy think tank in Washington, D.C. Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: DR. VAINIO: My College Grade Point Average of 0.00" --------- Date: Mon, 3 Sep 2007 18:21:05 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DR. VAINIO: INDIAN HEALTH" http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php? option=com_content&task=view&id=1286&Itemid=1 My college Grade Point Average of 0.00 by Dr. Arne Vainio News From Indian Country My mother was traditional Ojibwe and raised 7 kids by herself. She tried to make sure we understood the reasons she did certain things and to have respect for elders and nature. I wish I would have listened to her more than I did. Poverty and alcohol were a large part of my upbringing. My grandfather was taken from his family and put into a boarding school when he was young. Because of the way he was treated, he tried to prevent my mother from learning traditional ways as he thought it would hurt her. She ran away from home at age 15 because of that. We've lost much because of this. I went to high school in northern Minnesota and had very good friends there, but always had to endure racism as I grew up. My high school counselor actually told me I was not college material and was best suited for manual labor. Fortunately, Leonard Ojala (Thank you!) took over as a counselor and brought me to the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) to see the college. I mostly enrolled there because they had indoor plumbing and steady heat in the winter. I signed up for the hardest courses I could (calculus, chemistry, physics) so I could show everyone at home how smart I was. Unfortunately, I didn't take any preparatory classes in high school and was put on academic probation within 2 quarters of college. My GPA (grade point average) at that point was 0.00. I didn't pass a single class and dropped out. I went to work and held multiple jobs. I was a bartender for years, worked in a sawmill, worked in a body shop painting cars, was a heavy equipment operator and a foreman for a construction company. Someone I really liked died with witnesses present because no one knew how to do CPR. Subsequently, I took a first responder course and eventually became a firefighter and then a paramedic in Virginia, Minnesota. I loved the Fire Department and working with dedicated professionals. I loved fighting fires. Mostly, I liked being in the ambulance. Paramedics, EMTs (emergency medical technicians) and first responders save lives and make a difference. I owe much of who I am to the Virginia Fire Department. Mark Gujer (my paramedic instructor) and I left the Fire Department together to go to medical school. Mark is still one of the best teachers I have ever had and is now an anesthesiologist in Crosby, Minnesota. At age 30, I went on to finish college at UMD. Mark and I did very well and were the top students in ALL of our classes. Conrad Firling, Ph.D. was my advisor at UMD and was the driving force getting me into the UMD School of Medicine. Thanks, Dr. Firling! The UMD School of Medicine is a great medical school and I will always be proud I went there. Any of my good qualities as a doctor are from there; my shortcomings are mine and mine alone. I did my 3 year family practice residency at the Seattle Indian Health Board in Seattle, Washington. Seattle is a huge city with lots of underserved (homeless, impoverished) people. I saw great things and tragic stories there. I have wanted to work in Indian health care since I first started in medicine. I've been working at the Min No Aya Win (Ojibwemowin for "together we are well") clinic in Cloquet, Minnesota, since September 1997. As an Ojibwe physician, this is EXACTLY where I wanted to be. I also see my patients in 4 area hospitals. I am continually amazed at the education and dedication of the people I work with. This includes ALL health care providers, not just doctors. I feel this background information is important because I had a hard time getting to be a physician. Many others have helped me. The stumbling blocks I had are the same ones our people face now. Traditional Native philosophy is to share our blessings. Mine is my medical knowledge. I welcome students to spend time with me and want very much for them to pursue professional careers. I want our people to understand what medicine can do for them. I want them to understand that much of their health care is their own responsibility. I want our children and grandchildren to go on to professional careers and lead us forward. I want us to be healthy in mind, body and spirit. I want us to do this together. Miigwetch. Over a month ago, I started writing articles for Native newspapers. The feedback I've gotten so far has been positive and I hope to keep writing. My goal overall is to try to address issues in Native health in a format that's understandable and easy to read. I am not a writer and expect to learn as I go, but I have many issues I feel I need to address. --- Arne Vainio, M.D. is a Family Practice Physician at the Min-No-Aya-Win Human Services Clinic on the Fond du Lac Ojibwe Reservation in Northern Minnesota. He can be reached at a-vainio@hotmail.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Copyright c. 2007 News From Indian Country. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Help lacking for hidden War Wound" --------- Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:42:45 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: SHODDY TREATMENT OF A WARRIOR" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/08/26/jodirave/rave41.txt Column: Help lacking for hidden war wound Jodi Rave August 26, 2007 It's been hell trying to save Private Ryan. Pfc. Ryan LeCompte, an Army scout, has been diagnosed by military and private doctors with post-traumatic stress disorder and a traumatic brain injury after serving two tours in Iraq with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. He came home with a wounded mind and a broken body. Now senior officers want to get rid of him. The 27-year-old Lakota warrior from Lower Brule, S.D., was a standout soldier, earning accolades for working "tirelessly, without complaint, despite the long hours and harsh conditions he faced," according to a December 2003 award recommendation. He participated in more than 160 combat missions. He was an "unstoppable force" that "ranks him among the best in the Thunder Squadron." That was then. Now senior officers at Fort Carson, Colo., argue he should be kicked out of the military without benefits for misconduct, charges that include missing a unit formation and allegedly hitting two soldiers. "LeCompte's chain of command has made every effort to mentor and rehabilitate him into a productive citizen and soldier," wrote the Army's congressional coordinator, Kenia Bultman, in an April response to an inquiry from Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D. "LeCompte's actions continue to defy the good order and discipline of the unit and have a negative impact on the rest of the soldiers." Tammie LeCompte, Ryan's wife, asked the senator's office for help. She said her husband was receiving poor medical care, was harassed by supervisors and was facing a dishonorable discharge after seven years of service. The soldier had been on post at Fort Carson for more than a year before he was admitted to the Sheridan, Wyo., Veterans Administration Hospital for a six-week program, including treatment for substance abuse and post- traumatic stress disorder. He was released in June. But his supervisors had already been building a case to have him discharged. On Aug. 20, Ryan attended a hearing to argue against misconduct charges. But Col. Henry "Butch" Kievenaar said he would proceed with the separation, despite being aware of Ryan's combat-related injuries. The previous month, Kievenaar had discussed "a medical separation for post-traumatic stress disorder" with the LeComptes and an investigator with Veterans for America, according to a letter sent to the senator's office by Mary Foster, director of the military personnel division at Fort Carson. Maj. Gen. Robert Mixon, Fort Carson's post commander, will make the final decision in days to come. But the outcome doesn't look promising for Ryan. And it doesn't bode well for thousands of other military service members returning from war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan with emotional and mental problems. Dr. Steven Knorr, director of mental health at Evans Army Community Hospital at Fort Carson, issued a memo to unit commanders, urging them to move swiftly and decisively when deciding the fate of soldiers with emotional issues. An excerpt from the memo posted on the National Public Radio Web site reads: "PROCRASTINATING ON DISCIPLINE AND SEPARATION. Delaying administrative separation ? is counterproductive. ? Get rid of dead wood." Jason Forrester, a spokesman for Veterans for America, said about 38 percent of soldiers returning from Iraq suffer from mental health problems, but the military has inadequate resources to assist them. "They need to be more proactive in screening people when they come back and start treating them rather than punishing them," Forrester said. The General Accounting Office is investigating other allegations made by Fort Carson soldiers who say they were mistreated or kicked out of the Army after admitting they suffer from PTSD. In fact, several multi-layered investigations are under way by the GAO, involving PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and deployment-related health problems. "We've had a lot of requests for reports in this area," Laurie Ekstrand, GAO director of health care, said Friday. "This is a huge issue." The first GAO report is expected in December. The rest will follow next year, Ekstrand said. Meanwhile, dozens of pages of military medical records show Ryan's PTSD and traumatic brain injury have led to nosebleeds, memory loss, panic attacks and headaches. He also falls asleep at inappropriate times. "His tendency to sleep is probably a welcome escape from his bleak internal landscape," wrote Dr. David Polefka, a psychologist at the veterans hospital in Sheridan, Wyo. The military treated Ryan with prescription drugs. This spring, he was oversedated while a patient in the Cedar Springs Behavioral Health System in Colorado Springs, Colo. He had to be resuscitated, according to a July report from Dr. Roderick O'Brien of the U.S. Air Force Academy Hospital. Ryan's family members say he no longer resembles the 20-year-old who signed up for military service in 2000. Orville Langdeau of Lower Brule, S.D., said his nephew "can't even make a simple decision by himself." He wants Ryan back among the Lakota, where he can heal and be honored as a combat veteran. In a July 23 psychiatric report, Dr. Anne League described Ryan as "very sleepy, looks depressed. When I asked him questions, he either stared back at me, answered, `I don't remember,' or `I don't know,' or looked at his wife for help." The Fort Carson military psychiatrist said Ryan "did appear confused or to not understand what I was asking him. He was alert and orientated, at least after he woke up. ? He also could not remember the last time he felt happy." Yet, in a medical evaluation requested by Ryan's command, League in a July 30 letter described Ryan as "alert, exhibits good eye contact and understanding of his situation ? and has been able to establish one-to-one relationships. His activities of daily living functioning remain intact." Asked about the contradictory statements, written within a week of each other, League said, "I can't speak with anyone without a release from the soldier." And if Ryan were to sign a release? "Well, if he's not competent, it raises a lot of issues." In May, Tammie LeCompte testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform during a hearing called "Invisible Casualties: The Incidence and Treatment of Mental Health Problems by the U. S. Military." But the hearing didn't give her the platform to say what her life with Ryan was really like. "I'm alone and fighting the U.S. Army," she said last week. She quit her job to take care of Ryan and five children. Money is so tight the family is eligible for food stamps. The soldier's wife recently sold their bedroom suite for $600. The kids' beds are gone, too. Two months ago, Tammie sold the family living room set for $900. Anything at home and worth some money is at the pawn shop, she said. --- Jodi Rave covers Native issues for the Missoulian. Reach her at (406) 523-5299 or jodi.rave@lee.net You can help Friends have established the LeCompte Combat Lakota Warrior Fund. Electronic fund transfers can be sent to: Armed Forces Bank and the Air Academy Bank in Colorado Springs, Colo. Routing No. 101108319 Account No. 5157153 The LeComptes' mailing address is: Ryan and Tammie LeCompte 4314-D Inchon Circle Fort Carson, CO 80913 Copyright c. 2007 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Judge, Jury & Executioner Of Cherokee Nation" --------- Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 07:25:06 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GRAHAM: CONGRESSWOMAN WATSON" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=35868 'Congresswoman Watson' Judge, Jury & Executioner Of Cherokee Nation: Mike Graham August 23, 2007 Congresswoman Watson conducted two town hall meetings that took place in Tulsa and Muskogee, Oklahoma on August 29, 2007. Watson informed everyone that she was not there to hear about any other issue than the Freedman's citizenship. Watson went on to say that the Cherokee Nation broke federal law in its' citizenship vote March 3, 2007 that affected about 2,700 Freedmen descendants claiming citizenship to the nation under a federal 1866 treaty. In June 2007 Congresswoman Watson introduced H.R. 2824, a bill to sever federal relations with the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma until such time that it restores full tribal citizenship rights to Freedmen descendants. The Cherokee Nations citizenship vote requires anyone regardless of race to document their ancestry to "one family member" listed on the nations roll books. Congresswoman Watson has rejected all attempts from Cherokee Nation officials to meet with them concerning this issue. Congresswoman Watson was, however, confronted with questions from Cherokee Nation citizens demanding she admit that the federal government not only broke the 1866 treaty from it's beginning, it also abandoned the 1866 treaty when it opened up all Indian territory land now called the state of Oklahoma to settlement to non Indian nations citizens. Congresswoman Watson refused to answer any questions relating to the federal governments' part of breaking the 1866 treaty as to federal law. Watson kept repeating that the Cherokee Nation was in violation of breaking federal treaty laws over their citizenship vote. She is demanding that the Cherokee Nation honor the treaty. Congresswoman Watson again would not speak of the federal governments' responsibility to fully honor the 1866 treaty. Congresswoman Watson is unwilling to let the issue work it's way through tribal court and federal court as it is on- going at this time. Watson plans to move her bill H.R. 2824 forward in September when Congress is back in session. Watson's bill is not limited to just addressing the Cherokee Nations sovereign right to determine its' citizenship requirements, it also covers other Indian nations within the state of Oklahoma. Congresswoman Watson has put herself in the position of "Judge, jury and executioner" of the Cherokee Nation" before the facts. http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/ca33_watson/070726.html Oklahoma State Government will face a human crisis over termination of Cherokee Nation. Oklahoma state government would be hit with a social economic melt down with passage of Congresswoman Watson's bill H.R. 2824, to include Freedmen that are citizens of the Cherokee Nation. The Oklahoma state government would be overrun with tens of thousands of people that will lose jobs, businesses, health care, their homes, plus closings of schools. Watson's bill would create a health care crisis that Oklahoma state agencies are in no way prepared to contend with in any manner. Congresswoman Watson's bill would stop two hundred and seventy million dollars of federal funding going to the Cherokee Nation each year. In no way, does that funding come close to covering the nations funded programs to its' some three hundred thousand citizens. Cherokee Nation business enterprises caries the bulk of the nations financial responsibilities to it's citizens. With the forced closing of all Cherokee Nation businesses and social economic programs, the Oklahoma state government and federal government would have to come up with billions of tax dollars to replace revenue now coming from the Cherokee Nation and its' citizens. Congresswoman Watson has had her fifteen minutes of Fame-Shame and grand standing before national press. Now, congress and the senate will have to deal with the legal and human realities of Watson's bill H.R. 2824. Cherokee Nation Fact Sheet: http://www.cherokee.org/pressroom/story.aspx?ID=4D0DyhfT7Og= Cherokee Nation Businesses. CNI is a very large Defense contractor that creates thousands of jobs in Eastern Oklahoma for Cherokee Citizens. http://www.cnicnd.com/ http://www.cherokee-crc.com/ Cherokee Nation Gaming Businesses http://www.cherokeecasino.com/home/index.aspx America's racist history was about more than water fountains and bath rooms or where you sat on a bus! http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/bureau/bwa_6.html Americas Trail of Tears: One of Americas first true 9-11s was Against American Indian people http://ourgeorgiahistory.com/indians/cherokee/trail_of_tears.html --- Mike Graham is a citizen of the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation. Founded United Native America in 1993 to form a national group to take action on American Indian issues. The groups main issue is to bring about a federal national holiday for Native Americans. Graham has been a guest speaker on national and international radio talk shows to include television programs. He has traveled across the country discussing issues with Indian nation leaders. Copyright c. 2007 American Chronicle. American Chronicle is a trademark of Ultio LLC. --------- "RE: GIAGO: 'Commod Bods' going out of fashion" --------- Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 07:42:45 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: HOLD THE TRANS FAT ON MY FRYBREAD" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/004593.asp Tim Giago: 'Commod bods' going out of fashion August 27, 2007 With the annual state fairs popping up around this country some fair managers are looking to eliminate the greasy, trans fat meals served by the food vendors. Apparently, "commod bods" are going out of fashion. For example, the Indiana State Fair decided to remove all trans fat from the goodies it serves each year. Now one can indulge their hearty appetites for deep-fried Snicker bars, deep-fried pickles and deep-fried Oreo cookies without worrying about tans fat. Deep fried pickles? Yuck! Neither New Mexico nor South Dakota has caught on to this latest healthy trend because at last week's Santa Fe Indian Market I saw many shoppers wandering around with grease dripping from their artery clogging clumps of Indian fry bread. And this grease was loaded with trans fat. Talk about a " commod bod" waiting to happen! But as one blogger put it last week, "What the heck, it only happens once-a-year so bring on the funnel cakes and the fried bread." The New Mexico State Fair is about to kick off and the expected 700,000 visitors will purchase goods and food from 525 vendors. It runs from September 7 to September 23 and I have not read anything about the elimination of trans fat as yet. With its world famous Indian Village, I suppose you can check your arteries at the main gate because the fry bread will be plentiful and packed with trans fats. Was it my imagination or were there fewer artists and craftsmen present from the very wealthy casino tribes at the Santa Fe Indian Market? Don't get me wrong. I believe the casinos have done wonders to lift the poorest people in America up from the dungeons of poverty. But I have observed that with a lot of money also comes a lot of apathy; apathy towards the culture, the traditions, the crafts and the arts seems to be growing more common among those people from the Indian nations with very large and very profitable casinos. The people of the 19 Pueblos have, for centuries, maintained a very close relationship with their spirituality and traditions. If there are any Indian tribes in America that will be the least effected by sudden wealth, it will be the people of the Pueblo, the Hopi and the Lakota. But I do not see the same commitment and dedication in other parts of Indian country. My daughter, while a student at the University of Minnesota, told me that the people of college age that she met from some of the local Minnesota tribes had little or no interest in attaining a higher education. One young man told her that he was getting more money every month than he could possibly spend so what good would college do him? Sadly, these are the future leaders of their nation and it is they who will replace the elders that fought long and hard to bring them the wealth they now enjoy. It is true that many of the elders did not have a college education because they grew up at a time when college was a luxury they could not afford. They learned the P's and Q's of tribal government and leadership in the school of hard knocks. But in the process they learned their own history and they knew the strength of the culture and traditions. At one time it was all they had. There are those people from the new tribes back East that grew up in poverty, but they never had the connection to their culture because of assimilation. They have become very wealthy by way of their geography and I must give them credit for trying to re-connect with a culture they never knew. They are building museums and making every effort to revive a culture that had been nearly destroyed. Now they have the money to pursue these goals. But I digress. Now back to those fat-soaked foods. Whenever I go to a fair I am hard pressed to ignore the tempting, but unhealthy cuisine. When I visit the Indian Village at the New Mexico State Fair next week I will be sorely tempted to treat myself to a deep-fried Oreo cookie. But I think I will settle for the turkey leg instead. Much healthier. But I will surely crave one of those trans fat soaked Snicker bars. Yummy! --- Tim Giago is an Oglala Lakota born and raised on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the Class of 1991. He was the founder and publisher of The Lakota Times and Indian Country Today newspapers and the founder and first president of the Native American Journalists Association. His new email address is najournalist@msn.com. Copyright c. 2007 Indianz.com. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Smoke-free Casinos would be good bet" --------- Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2007 08:56:03 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: SMOKE-FREE CASINOS" http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=48089§ion= columnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird Smoke-free casinos would be good bet Dorreen Yellow Bird August 25, 2007 A few weekends ago, I had the chance to visit two casinos in North Dakota Prairie Knights and Four Bears. In many cases, casinos and lodges on reservations have become the only lodging available if you're visiting, yet staying there can be a hazard to your health because heavy cigarette smoke can permeate an entire building. Regional casinos and lodges differ in many ways. The most important is how they handle toxic cigarette smoke. Secondhand cigarette smoke, we learned over the years, can be almost as deadly to nonsmokers as smoking is to smokers. Here is what the Center for Disease Control says about secondhand smoke: "A number of chemicals present in environmental tobacco smoke are known or suspected toxicants/irritants with various acute health affects. Prominent among them are the respiratory irritants ammonia, formaldehyde and sulfur dioxide. "Acrolein, hydrogen cyanide and formaldehyde affect mucociliary function and at a higher concentrations can inhibit smoke clearance from lungs. Nicotine is addictive and has several pharmacological and toxicological actions. Nitrogen oxides and phenol are additional toxicants present in environment tobacco smoke. "Over 50 compounds in environmental tobacco smoke have been identified as known or reasonably anticipated human carcinogens." And that's what we breathe into our bodies in the casinos and lodges. That said: For those who want an evening of entertainment in a casino and are nonsmokers or trying to quit, some casinos are better than others for the handling of secondhand smoke. For example, the Standing Rock Nation's Prairie Knights casino in Fort Yates, N.D., has the best nonsmoking area because it is completely enclosed and big enough to hold more than a few slot machines. Shooting Star casino on the White Earth Chippewa reservation in White Earth, Minn., has a nonsmoking room, but it isn't large and isn't enclosed. That situation is the same in the Spirit Lake tribe's Spirit Lake casino in Fort Totten, N.D. It has big open doors to the nonsmoking room. Enclosing that room should be essential. The Three Affiliated Tribes' Four Bears casino in New Town, N.D., the Red Lake Chippewa Tribe's Seven Clans casino near Thief River Falls and Sky Dancer, the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa's casino in Belcourt, N.D. do not have nonsmoking areas. And when I talked with casino people in the Dakota Magic casino, which is owned by the Sisseton/Wahpeton Dakota in Hankinson, S.D., they said they used to have a nonsmoking area but removed it. People didn't like the slots there, the spokesmen told me. I've heard that same complaint from other casinos with nonsmoking rooms. The problem is that these areas tend to have older and fewer slot machines, discouraging use. Securing nonsmoking rooms with doors and making sure they have good slots should be easy for casinos to do. All of the lodges have nonsmoking rooms, but even that doesn't guarantee that your nonsmoking sleeping room is toxin-free. Smoke seems to seep into rooms, although they surely have less smoke than do the rooms for smokers. I couldn't find anyone in the casinos who could tell me about the ventilation systems. This is important because good ventilation can get some of the smoke out of the building. If the ceiling is relatively high (as in Shooting Star, for example), the smoke has some place to go. But in most cases, the smoke doesn't seem to be drawn upward. When a smoker sits beside you, their smoke trails in your face rather than being drawn upward and out. There should be a concern for the casino employees, many of whom are American Indian people who spend eight hours a day, five days a week inhaling the toxins from secondhand smoke. Some of the casinos don't allow smoking in their offices, while employees on the main floor must breathe those toxins day in and day out. "When the floor is busy, it's really bad," one casino worker told me. Remember, this might be the only job opportunity available to her, and she has become somewhat accustomed to smoke. She is experiencing respiratory problems, she said. Tribal councils and managers who oversee the casinos should remember that many of their customers are their own people, who also are being exposed to cancer-causing toxins. Improving the air and environment for gamblers should be something casino boards and tribes insist on. "Smoke-free" is on the horizon; it's a regional and national trend, with tribal casinos being some of the last holdouts. They're playing a losing hand. Most other businesses in North Dakota and Minnesota have eliminated smoking from their establishments. Because nonsmokers complained, today we expect all of our restaurants and businesses and businesses to be smoke- free. Most casinos make good profits. They have money. They should take steps to make their establishments smoke-free. Healthier casinos would make us all winners and that would be a r