[NN-Dialogue] Wotanging Ikche--nanews10.007
Gary Night Owl
gars@speakeasy.org
13 Feb 2002 01:40:02 -0000
WOTANGING IKCHE -- Lakota -- Common News
Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People
Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People
Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News
Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News
Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves
Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People
Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak
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
Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark
Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account
Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces
Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2002 nanews.org
==>If you want your Nation represented in the banner of this newsletter<==
email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People"
in your tribal language along with the english translation
O +-----------------------------+
O o O | Much more happens in Indian |
O o O VOLUME 10, ISSUE 007 | Country than is reported in |
O o o o o O | this weekly newsletter. For |
O o O February 16, 2002 | For daily updates & events |
O o O | go http://www.owlstar.com/ |
O | dailyheadlines.htm |
Oneida new year moon +-----------------------------+
Zuni onon u'la'ukwamme/no snow in trails moon
<================<<<< >>>>================>
This issue contains articles from www.pechanga.net; www.owlstar.com;
www.indianz.com; Stop-the-Slaughter, Native Rights, Amazon Alliance,
Paths-L, Innu-L and Tsalagi_Unole Mailing Lists; newsgroup:alt.native;
UUCP email
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 Limerick summarized in The Legacy of Conquest:
The Unbroken Past of the American West,
"Set the blood quantum at one-quarter, hold to it as a rigid definition
of Indians, let intermarriage proceed as it had for centuries, and
eventually Indians will be defined out of existence. When that happens,
the federal government will be freed of its persistent 'Indian problem.'"
"We Indians kept together that time and we avoided the worst. No eagle
came, but we survived."
"Doing my best to keep my brothers safe and out of harm's way bought
me a long stay in the Shoe, of course. Hey, listen, I'm used to paying
for crimes I didn't commit. I can tell you, I don't like being in the
Shoe one bit. You spend twenty-three hours a day in a small cage
inside a larger cage. For exercise you're allowed into the larger
enclosing cage for one hour a day. Its whole intent is to break you.
I'll avoid it if I can. But they'll never break me in there."
"Not a chance."
__ Leonard Peltier "Prison Writings...My Life Is My Sun Dance"
"I ask my brothers and sisters who are Christians, my brothers
and sisters who are Moslem, my brothers and sisters who are
Hindus, my brothers and sisters who are Buddhists, my brothers
and sisters who are Jewish, do any of you worry that your
worship services will be raided by the police? Do any of you
feel it necessary to call the police in order to set up a worship
service? Do any of you have to explain to law enforcement officers
that you have a right to worship your God in your own manner?"
__ Reuben Snake, Jr., Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
Coordinator, Native American Religious Freedom Project
At a Gathering of Native American Religious Leaders at the
U.S. Capitol to Obtain Guarantees of Religious Liberty
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
| 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!
There are two quotes above for a reason. They each represent a call to
our collective conscience to tell the dominant society their actions are
disgraceful.
Sending prayers for the brothers in the IronHouse, especially those in
seg, most especially Leonard Peltier. Twenty-seven years, when the best
the bastards who put him there can come up with with is an accessory who
is keeping a secret, is beyond shameful. If you have not taken the time
(how long can a note take?) to drop Leonard a note, please do.
Peltier, Leonard
#89637-132
Box 1000
Leavenworth, KS 66053
Birthday: 9/12/44
Ancestry: Ojibwa-Lakota
- - - -
FORWARD WIDELY
URGENT ACTION!
PRESS THE GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE PELTIER CASE!
Friends,
The House Government Reform Committee is holding hearings on FBI misconduct
relating to wrongful convictions. The hearings were prompted by the release
of two Boston men who were framed by the FBI and held wrongfully in prison
for more than 32 years. Their two co-defendants, also innocent, died in
prison. Congressman Burton, who chairs the committee, said on 60 Minutes
recently that he will be looking into other cases. Let's let him know about
Leonard Peltier! Write, and ask your friends, family, and neighbors to
write letters now.
-=-=-=-
Reuben Snake spent much of his life arguing for the simple right of
members of the Native American Church to practice their Constitution
guaranteed right to practice their religion and to take of their Sacred
sacrement.
Once again these ways are under attack ... in fact, the dominant society
even reaches out to dictate religious practices, and force traditional
groups for whom Peyote is a sacrament to limit their fellowship to those
whom the dominant society recognizes as members of "real tribes," a
criteria that often relies on the "last bottle club" of blood quantum. Some
fear, with some justification, that this change insures the eventual demise
of a way of Sacred walk that preceeds this government's creation on this
Turtle Island. This MUST NOT go unchallenged! Even if you do not practice
these ways you must speak out in defense of those who do.
Dohiyi Ani Oginalii
, , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org
(*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org
(`-') Marietta, GA 30007, U.S.A. gars@olagrande.net
===w=w=== gars@sdf.lonestar.org
----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------
- Lloyd Kiva New - Junior Indian Affairs Minister
- Crossings clashes with Boss
- Feds plan to change name of - Indian Recognition Problems
Native American Church are Getting Worse
- Documentary Recounts Fraud - A Debt Past Due
against Wenatchi may redefine Tribal Relations
- Dispute with Tribe - Indian Affairs Budget Request
could delay Projects up $22 Million
- Review likely to renew debate - Indians want Trust Fund
of Delaware's Indian managed Independently
- Buffalo Field Campaign News - Norton says Trust Funds
- Man recognized as Code Talker can't be Fixed Quickly
- Discrimination won't end - Shot Seminole Tribal Lawyer
until Indians say Enough now in Hiding
- Mexicos Rebellious Chiapas - Native Prisoner
turns to Civil Action -- Jason "Thunder Quill" Wilson
- Mexico Solidarity Network: -- Manuel Redwoman
Taco Bell Truth Tour - John Rustywire: Marion's
- Brazil: Government launches - Poem: In the Wind
War Operation - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days
- Rights to Vast Stretches - Idaho Students
of Nova Scotia may learn Indian Languages
- James Bay Cree - Native America Calling
approve deal with Quebec - Upcoming Events
--------- "RE: Lloyd Kiva New" ---------
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:21:25 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="LLOYD KIVA NEW"
http://www.sfnewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3224805&BRD=2144
IAIA founder, artist New dead at 85
By MICHELLE PENTZ/For the New Mexican February 09, 2002
Artist Lloyd Kiva New, the force behind the creation of the Institute of
American Indian Arts, died Friday in Santa Fe. He was 85.
Former students and others in the art community said America lost a
great educator, artist and visionary - and the American Indian community
one of its greatest role models.
A successful businessman and ground-breaking fashion and fabric designer,
New shattered stereotypes that had limited Native American artists.
"Our idea was to turn people on to themselves, to center the students as
the real, young Indians that they were, and to work out from there
expressively," New told a New Mexican reporter last year at a 40-year
retrospective exhibit at the IAIA Museum in downtown Santa Fe.
"We were here, against the normal approaches of most Indian schools, to
teach our Indian kids to realize themselves as Indians. We weren't here to
make them into white people," he said. "That was revolutionary."
The longtime Santa Fe resident died early Friday at St. Vincent Hospital.
Wife Aysen New said her husband became ill after the couple returned from
a business trip to Scottsdale, Ariz. New was hospitalized on Monday night.
Complications from flu led to congestive heart failure.
Painter Fritz Scholder, an original faculty member at IAIA who began as
a student of New's at a University of Arizona summer program for American
Indian students, said New is widely known as the first commercially
successful American Indian artist and as the father of Native American
contemporary art.
"Up to then (the opening of IAIA) Lloyd was the only Native American
that had truly become successful in the mainstream art world," he said.
"He was already a millionaire whose vision led not only to the opening of
IAIA but to development of Scottsdale, Ariz., as a major art center when
he decided to help young Indian students.
"No one could deny his importance as a role model, as a symbol of what
we could become. His manner was so dignified, He was a person everyone
could respect, and we all did."
Della Warrior, president of the fine-arts school, which has about 150
students from more than 100 tribes, called New's death a tragedy.
"But we are extremely grateful for Lloyd's inspiration and leadership
throughout the past 40 years," she said.
Tears flowed freely around Santa Fe as friends and colleagues fondly
remembered New as articulate, soft spoken and humble; an artist who set
his work aside to help others.
"He's an icon for the arts - not just Indian art, but art in general,"
said painter Kevin Red Star, 58, a Crow Indian who divides his time
between Santa Fe and Billings, Mont.
"He wanted American art in the mainstream, all of it: music, theater,
literary and applied arts," the IAIA graduate said. "He opened doors to
young people like me, and encouraged me to go beyond the boundaries of
where I was from and really explore."
After forging a successful career as an Arizona-based fashion designer
who ushered indigenous designs onto the pages of haute-couture magazines,
New journeyed to Santa Fe. He had an idea: to create a new generation of
artists unfettered by what the non-Indian world expected of them.
It was the tumultuous 1960s. The time was right to start IAIA, where New
was president from 1967 to 1978.
On campus, New told budding young artists plucked from the reservation
something they hadn't been taught: They could dabble in any style,
direction and media they chose.
Journalist Robert M. Coats wrote in 1967: "For once ... the focus is not
wholly, or even mainly, on the dreary round of basketry, ceramics, rug and
blanket-weaving and all the other small skills that have been for so long
set aside, rather smugly on our part, as the traditional provinces of the
Indian."
New's response: "They don't tell the French and the Dutch and anyone
else living in this country to do something only the way their grandpas
did it. So we say you can do whatever you want to do. Examine what's
inside of you and express that."
The students did - and internationally respected names emerged: Scholder,
Otellie Loloma, Alfred Young Man, Allan Houser and Dan Namingha.
Namingha credits New with initiating the turning point of his career as
a professional artist in 1972. A personal friend, Namingha described New
as unselfish and savvy; a mesmerizing speaker; an uncle figure who was
proud of his students and delighted in their success; a man with a passion
for museums and travel who enjoyed life and a dry martini with olives.
Red Star recalled flying into Santa Fe airport in 1963 at age 17, a
recruit from Montana who had just dabbled with drawing but loved art.
"We were just young, shy freshman, and I remember (New) - a very
distinguished gentleman in his 30s," said Red Star, a 1965 IAIA graduate.
"He was standing there, elegantly attired and so handsome. He came
himself to pick us up. We were so impressed."
Red Star's father died four years ago. When his first grandson, Mason
(Dusty Path), was born last year, he called New for his blessing.
A Montana Cree raised on the Black Foot reservation, Alfred Youngman was
on his way to an Indian trade school when his path unexpectedly detoured
to IAIA. The student who had never even dreamed of making a living as an
artist immediately gravitated to New as a role model.
"At the time, we didn't know (what students could achieve) said Youngman,
chairman of the Native American Studies Department at the University of
Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. "We were on fire."
He continued, "The story is yet to be written about Lloyd Kiva New and
about those early days at IAIA. What we produced there I am only now
beginning to appreciate."
New is survived by his wife Aysen New, son Jeff New, 45, of Cortez, Colo.
, and daughter Nancy Sandroff, 47, of St. Louis.
The IAIA plans a public memorial service on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. in the
campus' Cultural Learning Center.
The family, which will hold a service in the spring, asks that any
memorials be made to: Lloyd Kiva New Endowed Scholarship Fund at the
Institute of American Indian Arts. Call (800) 804-6423.
Arts Editor Camille Flores contributed to this report.
Copyright c. 2002 Santa Fe New Mexican.
--------- "RE: Crossings" ---------
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 08:40:11 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="CROSSINGS"
February 8, 2002
Caroline devoted life to helping others
By Jo Hall
Caroline D. White Horse, for years, was involved in projects and
activities that came to her town of Cherry Creek. One of them, the
founding of the Mennonite Mission, is still up and running. She dedicated
her life to helping others.
For many years she worked with the youth at the local clinic and served
as a District secretary. She enjoyed cooking, going fishing with friends,
watching baseball games, and watching her grandchildren grow up.
When her health failed, she entered the Beverly Healthcare Center in
Mobridge. She died at the center on Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002, at the age of
69.
She was born to James and May (Bear Eagle) Buck Elk Thunder, in Cherry
Creek , where she grew up and attended school. It was at the Cherry Creek
School that she had the privilege of being taught by local historian
Harold Schunk. She also attended school at the Old Cheyenne Agency.
On Jan. 28, 1959, Caroline married Jerome White Horse Sr. in Pierre. Two
sons, Greg and Jerome, and a daughter, Jackie, were born to them.
Survivors include her sons Jerome White Horse Jr. of Cherry Creek; her
daughter, Jackie and husband Kevin Jenkins of Ft. Drum, N.Y.;
grandchildren, Jason White Horse and wife Nikki of Cherry Creek, Jessica
and husband Jamie Charging Eagle and Janova White Horse, all of Tempe,
Ariz., Nancy, Sam, Yamni White Horse of Cherry Creek; five great-
grandchildren, Terrance and Tevin Jenkins, Jaysten and Jason White Horse
Jr. and Vernon Charging Eagle; two brothers, John Paul and Arnold Buck Elk
Thunder, both of Cherry Creek; and a niece, Alva Imotichey of Norwalk.
Calif.
Preceding her in death were a son, her husband, two sisters, her parents
and grandparents.
Funeral services for Caroline were held Saturday at the United Church of
Christ in Cherry Creek. The Rev. David Bowen officiated. Burial was in the
Congregational Cemetery at Cherry Creek under the direction of the Luce
Funeral Home of Eagle Butte.
Wake services were held Friday evening at the UCC Church in Cherry Creek.
Copyright c. 2001 Mobridge Tribune.
-=-=-=-
February 08, 2002
Dana N. Begay
Dana N. Begay, 78, of Toadlena died unexpectedly Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2002,
at his home.
He is survived by a son, Timothy Begay; a daughter, Veronica Garnanez;
five brothers, Leo Begay, Willie Begay, John Begay, Felix Begay and
Richard Begay; and a sister, Annie Begay. He was blessed with seven
grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
Funeral services are to begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, 2002, at
Christ the King Catholic Church in Shiprock, with Father John Sauter as
celebrant. Burial will follow at the Toadlena Community Cemetery.
Arrangements are with Chapel of Memories Funeral Home in Kirtland, (505)
598-9636.
Copyright c. 1999-2002 MediaNews Group, Inc./Farmington Daily Times.
-=-=-=-
February 5, 2002
Martin J. 'Bugs' Mesteth Sr.
MANDERSON - Martin J. "Bugs" Mesteth Sr., 33, Manderson, died Tuesday,
Jan. 29, 2002, in Manderson.
Survivors include his parents, Max and Cecelia Mesteth, Manderson; one
son, Martin Mesteth Jr., Wounded Knee; one daughter, Ashley Mesteth,
Wounded Knee; two brothers, Marquis Mesteth Sr. and Winston Mesteth, both
of Manderson; two sisters, Christina Bores A Hole and Carol Mesteth, both
of Manderson; and three grandchildren.
A two-night wake will begin at 4 p.m. today at Wounded Knee District
School in Manderson.
Mass of Christian Burial will be at 10 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, at the
school, with the Rev. Ted Zeurn and the Rev. Jim Ryan officiating. Orvile
Looking Horse, Pete Catches and Wilmer Mesteth will officiate at
traditional services.
Burial will be at the Mesteth family cemetery in White Horse Creek.
Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements.
February 6, 2002
William Lloyd Blue Bird
WAKPAMNI LAKE - William Lloyd Blue Bird, 54, Wakpamni Lake, died Sunday,
Feb. 3, 2002, in Batesland.
Survivors include his wife, Nadine Blue Bird, Batesland; three daughters,
Sarah Blue Bird and Kristy Blue Bird, both of Batesland, and Nora Farland,
Phoenix; two brothers, Louis Little White Man, Kyle, and Bernard Little
White Man, Wakpamni Lake; four sisters, Bernadine Blue Bird, Debbie Blue
Bird and Geraldine Little White Man, all of Wakpamni Lake, and Bernadine
Tallman, Allen; his father, Casey Blue Bird, Wakpamni Lake; and one
grandchild.
He served in the U.S. Army from 1969 to 1971.
A two-night wake will begin at 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, at Batesland
School Gym.
Services will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the school gym, with the
Rev. Ben Tyon, the Rev. Bernard Little White Man Sr., the Rev. Cordelia
Red Owl and the Rev. Daniel Makes Good officiating.
Burial will be at St. Andrew's Episcopal Cemetery in Wakpamni Lake.
Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements.
Chester Dean Two Bulls
RED SHIRT TABLE - Chester Dean Two Bulls, 47, Red Shirt Table, died
Saturday, Feb. 2, 2002, at Rapid City Regional Hospital.
Survivors include two daughters, Vanessa Two Bulls and Jessica Two Bulls,
both of Pine Ridge; five brothers, Gerald Two Bulls, Rapid City, and
Connie Weasel Bear, Pat Two Bulls, Leo Two Bulls and Harold Two Bulls, all
of Number Four Community, Pine Ridge; and six sisters, Doris Reyne and
Phylis Two Bulls, both of Longmont, Colo., Freida Spencer, Rapid City,
Vivian Creathbaum, Sheridan, Wyo., Carol Joy, Hardin, Mont., and Lisa Two
Bulls, Number Four Community.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1972 to 1973.
A two-night wake will begin at 3 p.m. today at Billy Mills Hall in Pine
Ridge. The second night will begin at 1 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, at Red
Shirt School Gym in Red Shirt Table.
Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 8, in the school gym, with the
Rev. Robert Two Bulls and the Rev. Phylis Alexander officiating.
Burial will be at Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery in Red Shirt Table.
Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements.
Orville Langdeau Sr.
LOWER BRULE - Orville Langdeau Sr., 75, Lower Brule, died Monday,
Feb. 4, 2002, at his home.
Survivors include seven children, Orville Langdeau Jr., Joseph Langdeau,
Stuart Langdeau, Steven Langdeau and Darla Langdeau, all of Lower Brule,
Loye Lee Whitcomb, Griswold, Conn., and Diana Langdeau, Bagley, Minn.; 14
grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
His wife, Velma Irene Langdeau, preceded him in death.
He served in the U.S. Army from December 1945 to January 1946.
A two-day wake will begin at 5 p.m. today at St. Mary's Catholic Church
in Lower Brule, with rosaries at 7 p.m. today and at 7 p.m. Thursday,
Feb. 7.
Services will be at 10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 8, at the church.
Burial will be at St. Mary's Catholic Cemetery.
Isburg-Hofmeister Funeral Chapel of Pierre is in charge of arrangements.
February 7, 2002
Keith Lyle Brown Jr.
WANBLEE - Keith Lyle Brown Jr., infant son of Lucille Has No Horse and
Keith Brown Sr., both of Wanblee, was born and died Wednesday, Jan. 23,
2002, in Pine Ridge.
Survivors include his parents; his paternal grandparents, Reed and Anita
Brown, Wanblee; and his maternal grandmother, Yvonne Has No Horse, Allen.
A one-night wake will begin at 2 p.m. today at the Wanblee CAP Office.
Services will be at noon Friday, Feb. 8, at the CAP Office.
Larry Swalley and Charlie Chipps will officiate at traditional services.
Burial will be at the Winters family cemetery in Bear Creek.
Sioux Funeral Home of Pine Ridge is in charge of arrangements.
Copyright c. 2002 The Rapid City Journal.
-=-=-=-
February 4, 2002
Kenneth Antonio
CHURCH ROCK - Services for Kenneth Antonio, 60, will be held at 10 a.m.,
Tuesday, Feb. 5 at Rollie Mortuary-Palm Chapel. Pastor Mike Thomas will
officiate. Burial will follow at Gallup City Cemetery.
Antonio died Jan. 30 in Gallup. He was born April 24, 1941 in Crownpoint
into the Mud People Clan for the Edge Water People Clan.
Survivors include his sons, Bradford Antonio and Kenneth Antonio both of
Phoenix; daughter; Kathlyn Antonio and Sherlyn Antonio both of Phoenix;
mother, Doris Antonio of Church Rock; brothers, Clifford Antonio of Gallup,
Benjamin Antonio and Bobby Antonio both of Church Rock; sisters, Delores A.
Antonio of Sundance, Marjorie A. Begay of Church Rock and Ella Mae Yazzie
of Gallup; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Antonio was preceded in death by his father, Ben W. Antonio Sr.;
brothers, Bennie Antonio, Budford Antonio and Ernest J. Antonio and
sisters, Annabelle Touchine and Ethelyn A. Whitman.
Pallbearers will be Bradford Antonio and Gerald Hannahs.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
February 5, 2002
Laverne Mae King
SHIPROCK - Services for Laverne King, 43, will be held at 10 a.m.,
Wednesday, Feb. 6 at Cope Memorial Chapel. Pastor Stanley Jim will
officiate. Burial will follow on family land in Peach Springs.
King died Feb. 3 in Gallup. She was born June 6, 1958 in Rehoboth into
the Zuni Clan for the Bitter Water Clan.
King was a homemaker.
Survivors include his husband, James Pettigrew of Shiprock; daughter,
Lavinia Begay of Twin Lakes; parents, Bennie and Delores T. King of Peach
Springs; brothers, Glenn King of Crownpoint and Elroy King of Gallup; and
sisters, LaRose King of Twin Lakes, Eleanor King of Peach Springs and
Caroline Hanson.
Pallbearers will be held at Ernie Chaco, Larson Chaco, Vincent Tsosie,
Vernon Tsosie, Elroy King and Glenson King.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Dolly Mae Curley
KINLICHEE, Ariz. - Services for Dolly Curley, 62, were held at 10 a.m.,
today at St. Michaels Catholic Church. Burial followed at Kinlichee
Community Cemetery.
Curley died Jan. 31 in Kinlichee. She was born May 21, 1939 in Fluted
Rock, Ariz. into the Water Edge People for the Coyote Pass People.
Curley attended Brigham City, Utah and Kinlichee BIA School. She was a
homeliving assistant. She received numerous awards in supporting education.
Her hobbies include arts and craft.
Survivors include her husband, Earl G. Curley of Kinlichee; sons, Arnold
Curley, Marvin Curley, Alvin Curley, Theodore Curley, Steve Curley and
Fabian Curley all of Arizona; daughter, Donna Sam of Kinlichee; parents,
Elizabeth and Austin Albert Sr.; brothers, Eugene Albert, Andrew Albert
and Jonas Albert; sisters, Isabell Mitchell of Navajo; Betty Holmes of
Ganado, Ariz.; Mae Wallace of Summit, Ariz. and Elizabeth Yazzie of Window
Rock; 13 grandchildren and one great-grandchildren.
Pallbearers were Arnold Curley, Alvin Curley, Theodore Curley, Darron
Curley, Al-logan Curley and Davidson Sam.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Kinlichee Chapter House.
Cope Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.
Wallace Staley
CHINLE, Ariz. - Services for Wallace Staley, 67, will be held at 10 a.m.,
Wednesday, Feb. 6 at St. Isabel Church, Lukachukai, Ariz. Burial will
follow on family land, Black Rock, Ariz.
A rosary will be held at 3-5 p.m., today at Tse Bonito Mortuary.
Staley died Feb. 2 in Chinle. He was born April 15, 1934 in Black Rock
into the Towering House for the Coyote Pass.
Staley was a railroad laborer.
Survivors include his sons, Daniel Staley, Akee Staley and Anderson
Staley all of Chinle; daughters, Eva Yazzie of Holbrook, Ariz. and Eleanor
Dale of Wide Ruins, Ariz.; brothers, Bennie Staley of Kayenta and Benjamin
Staley of Sylmar, Calif.; sisters, Susie Clark, Addie Tsosie and Alice S.
Yaaie all of Black Rock, Ariz.; 17 grandchildren and seven great-
grandchildren.
Staley was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Staley; parents, Walter
and Zonnie Staley and sisters, Isabel Litson and Irene Begay.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Gloria Ann Davis
ALBUQUERQUE - Services for Gloria Davis, were held at 10 a.m., Monday,
Feb. 4 at French Mortuary, Albuquerque.
Pastor Ron Harvey officiated. Burial followed at Santa Fe National
Cemetery.
Davis died Feb. 1 in Albuquerque. She was born into the Towering House
for the Nakai Din.
Davis graduated nurse's school as an L.P.N. and worked for Indian Helath
Service as a mental health technician.
Survivors include her daughters, Andrea Babby of Sacramento, Calif.,
Carmen Davis-Reynoso and Yvonne M. Davis both of Albuquerque; sisters,
Marjorie Charley, Alberty Yazzie and Priscilla Begay; brother, Jerry Tsis;
seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Davis was preceded in death by her husband, Gilbert Davis and parents,
Yazzie Roberts and Harrison Begay.
Donations may be made to the American Diabetes Association of New Mexico,
525 San Pedro NE #101, Albuquerque, NM, 87108.
February 6, 2002
Johle M. Woody
GAMERCO - Services for Johle Woody, 86, will be announced at a later
date.
Woody died Feb. 5 in Gallup and was born Nov. 30, 1915 in Coyote Canyon
into the Green Meadow People Clan for the Red Running into the Water
People Clan.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
February 7, 2002
Della M. Benally
NASCHITTI - Services for Della Benally, 56, will be held at 10 a.m.,
Friday, Feb. 8 at Rollie Mortuary Palm Chapel. Burial will follow at
Naschitti Community Cemetery.
Benally died Feb. 4 in Naschitti. She was born May 24, 1945 in Fort
Defiance, Ariz. into the Zuni People Clan for the One Who Walks Around You
People Clan.
Survivors include her son, Marvin Benally of Gallup; daughter, Candace
Benally of Naschitti; brother, Ernest Benally of Greasewood Springs, Ariz.
; sisters, Elaine Benally and Joann Benally both of Naschitti; and three
grandchildren.
Benally was preceded in death by her parents, Minnie and Anthony Benally
and brothers, Larry Benally and Raymond Benally.
Pallbearers will be Alfred Edsitty, Gerald Frank, James Hunt Jr.,
Clifford Notah, Jerome Willatto and John Willatto Jr.
Rollie Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Glenn Smith Sr.
INSCRIPTION HOUSE, Ariz. - Services for Glenn Smith Sr., 70, will be
held at 10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 8 at the Inscription House Full Gospel
Church. Marc Tallman will officiate. Burial will follow on family private
land, Inscription House.
Smith Sr. died Feb. 2 in Inscription House. He was born March 6, 1931 in
Chichiltah into the Red Running Water People for the Blacksheep People.
Smith Sr. was employed with the Santa Fe Railroad and a pastor at the
Inscription House Full Gospel Church.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn Smith of Inscription House; sons,
Herman Smith of Breadsprings, Bennie Begay of Page, Ariz., Marvin Bitter
of Navajo, NM, Keith Bitter of Phoenix, Edward Smith, Raymond Smith and
James Toadlena all of Gallup; daughters, Phillis Smith of Two Wells, JoAnn
Yazzie of Gallup, Terri Lynn Adeky of Sunny Vale, Calif., Charlene Butler
of Phoenix Shirley Begay, Matilda Garcia and Katie B. Lowe all of Salt
Lake City, Utah; parents, John and Zonnie C. Bee; brothers, Lindy C. Bee
of Chichiltah, Andy Bee of Vanderwagon, Johnny Bee of Ramah and Tony
Armigo of Wide Ruins, Ariz.; sisters, Nellie C. Touchin of Church Rock,
Bah C. Antonio, Mava Nez, Rose C. Bee and Elsie C. Bee all of Chichiltah;
30 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.
Smith was preceded in death by his father, Tom Robert Smith and son,
Aubrey Smith.
Pallbearers will be Andy Bee, Raymond Smith, Herman Smith, Marvin Bitter,
Keith Bitter and Leopaldo Garcia.
The family will receive friends and relatives after the burial services
at Inscription House Full Gospel Church.
February 8, 2002
Kert Charlie John
CORNFIELDS, Ariz. - Services for Kert John, 83, will be held at 10 a.m.,
Saturday, Feb. 9 at Lighthouse Assemble of God, Cornfields. Rev. Joyce
Muench will officiate. Burial will follow at Cornfields Community Cemetery.
John died Feb. 5 in Phoenix. He was born Dec. 25, 1918 in Cornfields
into the Edge of the Water Clan for the Honey Combed Rock People Clan.
Survivors include his daughters, Lillie Mae Dinetso and Elsie Chester of
Cornfields; brother, Henry John of Cross Canyon, Ariz.; sisters, Lois
Warren and Elizabeth Keedah of Fort Defiance, Ariz.; 21 grandchildren; 51
great-grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.
John was preceded in death by his wife, Mary A. John and sons, Albert
John Sr. and Sam John.
Pallbearers will be Ethan R. Hanson, Anthony Faz, Albert John Jr., Art
Chester, Christopher Yoe and Stanley Chester.
Tse Bonito Mortuary is in charge of arrangements.
Copyright c. 2002 The Gallup Independent.
-=-=-=-
Memorial - Isabell Joseph
February 9, 2002 - 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Headstone Blessing, Dinner and Giveaway
Omak Longhouse
Info: (509)826-3008, 826-4793, 826-0997 or 826-3960.
Also in memory: Ida P. Sandaine, Darrell M. Herman
and Dana Ida Turner
Copyright c. 2001 Tribal Tribune.
Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
--------- "RE: Feds plan to change name of Native American Church" ---------
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:21:25 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="FEDS/NATIVE AMERICAN CHURCH"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://www.okit.com/news/2002/february/nativeamericanchurch.html
Feds plan to change name of Native American Church and other regulations
Wilhelm Murg
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is purposing a change in the
language of their regulation regarding peyote use to conform with the
American Indians Religious Freedom Act of 1994 (AIRFA). Peyote, which is
used by Native Americans in religious practice, is considered a "Schedule
1" drug by the agency, along with heroin, LSD, XTC, marijuana, Quaaludes,
and Psilocybin.
In a letter dated December 18, 2001, The DEA's Deputy Assistant
Administrator for the Office of Diversion Control, Laura Nagel, noted that
the agency is purposing to "delete all references to the `Native American
Church' and to `members of the Native American Church' in the regulation."
The letter goes on to state that the DEA "would then add language
identical to the language used in AIRFA that protects the use of peyote by
members of federally recognized tribes for bona fide traditional
ceremonial purposes in connection with the practice of traditional Indian
Religion." Nagel's letter notes that the Department of Justice's
"protection is not limited to the Native American Church, but is extended
to any member of a federally recognized Indian tribe who is engaged in the
practice of a traditional Indian religion." The change in the language
purports to clear up any confusion in the law.
In addition to the change in language, the DEA is also looking into
"promulgating a comprehensive substantive rule" that would provide
regulatory guidelines for peyote distributors and "members of Indian
tribes who possess, transport, and use peyote for religious purposes as
permitted by AIRFA." This comprehensive rule would "cover a broad range of
matters related to peyote use.
Including, but not limited to, establishing how a peyote distributor
will verify tribal membership, establishing how a peyote distributor will
verify that a tribal member is purchasing or receiving peyote for bona
fide traditional ceremonial purposes in connection with the practice of a
traditional Indian religion, and providing general regulatory guidance
that limits peyote use to its traditional religious use in the practice of
Indian religions." The letter solicits input from Native Americans,
preferably before January 31.
Teresa Murray, secretary of the Native American Church for the State of
Oklahoma is opposed to the change in the language and the purposed new
regulations. In her written response to the letter, she states "The
Christian churches made the peyote illegal for the Native American to use
in their peyote ceremonials. They had holy medicine, peyote, classified as
a dangerous drug."
"It really bothers me because we have the government getting into our
religion," Murray told Native American Times. "We talked to some lawyers
who said they're trying to make our medicine men like pharmacists, with
the peyote under lock and key."
Murray's misgivings also come from the language of Nagel's letter,
especially in the references to "members of federally recognized tribes."
Murray's husband is a non-Indian who is a member of the Native American
Church, and she realizes that the Indian blood quantum of her family will
be diluted over the generations. Murray's fear is that as more and more
Indians are being disenfranchised from their tribes due to blood quantum
the religion will die out if only tribal members are allowed to
participate. Furthermore, as it is now possible to be a full-blood Indian,
but not be a member of any tribe (for example, an Indian who is 1/8th of
eight different tribes.) Such a person could face federal drug charges if
they were to participate in peyote ceremonies.
Murray notes that not allowing non-tribal members exemption from
prosecution is a violation of basic freedom of religion rights. That very
concept was successfully argued over a decade ago in New Mexico.
In 1990, a Federal Grand Jury indicted Robert Lawrence Boyll, a non-
Native American member of the Native American Church for unlawfully
importing peyote through the United States mail and possessing peyote with
the intent to distribute; Boyll went to Mexico to obtain peyote for
himself and members if his congregation. In September of 1991 Judge Juan
Burciaga, Chief Federal Judge of the District of New Mexico granted
Boyll's motions to dismiss on the grounds that the indictment violated the
defendant's First Amendment right to freely exercise his religion and also
because the listing of peyote as a controlled substance did not apply to
the defendant because he is a member of the Native American Church.
The judge's decision stated that "`Church' refers to a body of believers
and their shared practices, rather than the existence of a formal
structure or a membership roll. Membership in the Native American Church
derives from the sincerity of one's beliefs and participation in its
ceremonies. Historically, the church has been hospitable to and, in fact,
has proselytized non-Indians. ... It is one thing for a local branch of
the Native American Church to adopt its own restrictions on membership,
but it is entirely another for the Government to restrict membership in a
religious organization on the basis of race. Any such attempt to restrict
religious liberties along racial lines would not only be a contemptuous
affront to the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of religion but also
to the Fourteenth Amendment right to equal justice under the law." The
decision was appealed and upheld in the 10th Federal District Court in
Denver.
Despite the Boyll decision, another case is currently going on in Utah.
Earlier this month, The Utah Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether
non-Indians can use peyote legally during religious ceremonies. The issue
arose from the prosecutions of a self-styled medicine man charged with
drug distribution: James Mooney in Utah County.
Mooney is the founder the Oklevueha Native American Church in Benjamin,
Utah. He and his wife, Linda, were charged with twelve first-degree felony
counts after police seized 12,000 peyote buttons during an October 2000
raid.
While Mooney says he is of American Indian ancestry, he can not document
his claim. He contends, however, that the U.S. and Utah constitutions
guarantee freedom of religion to everyone -- regardless of tribal ties -
meaning everyone has the right to participate in the ceremonial use of
peyote.
Mooney's attorney, Kathryn Collard, stated "It's a terrible irony that a
state founded on religious freedom . . .would try to regulate a church's
membership." Weber County Attorney Richard Parmley countered that the
federal law allowing peyote use was not written to protect religious
freedom, but rather to "preserve the unique cultural history of the Native
American people."
The DEA's Linden Barber, to whom all responses for the purposed change
in the agency's regulation are to be addressed, was contacted by Native
American Times for comment, but he deferred comment to the public
relations department. The Public Relations Department was contacted, but
they could not make a comment until they conferred with Mr. Barber.
Native American Times is Copyright c. 2000-2001 Oklahoma Indian Times,Inc.
--------- "RE: Documentary Recounts Fraud against Wenatchi" ---------
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:21:25 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="WENATCHI"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/57756_wenatchi09ww.shtml
New documentary recounts injustice, fraud against Wenatchi tribe
Saturday, February 9, 2002
By LINDA ASHTON
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
YAKIMA -- Twice the U.S. government promised the Wenatchi Indians rights
to their homeland, and twice the government cheated them.
More than a century later, the members of this now-tiny band are
scattered across Eastern Washington.
They are barred from fishing in the Wenatchee and Icicle rivers, and
Leavenworth, a Bavarian-theme tourist town, sits on a portion of their
ancestral land in the Cascade Range.
Mathew Dick Jr. of Nespelem, a great-grandson of the Wenatchis' last
chief, John Harmelt, and several other tribal members are renewing efforts
to get the government to recognize the tribe's rights.
"I think they need to follow through on their promises," Dick said. "I
think it's important to all the people of the United States that the
United States government keeps the promises it makes."
Dick was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to meet with the state's
congressional delegation, armed with a new documentary called "False
Promises," that recounts the history of the tribe that once numbered
between 1,600 and 2,000 people.
Seattle filmmaker Rustin Thompson's documentary is showing Feb. 20 on
the Spokane PBS station and Feb. 21 on PBS stations in Seattle and Yakima.
"I had never heard of the group of Wenatchi Indians. I only thought it
was a town and a river," Thompson said.
"And right smack in their aboriginal homeland is this Bavarian lala-land
of knick-knacks and vilkommen signs. There's no evidence they ever
existed.."
In 1855, the Wenatchi tribe, known as the P'Squosa in their own language,
signed a treaty with the U.S. government, giving them a 36-square-mile
reservation at the confluence of the Icicle and Wenatchee rivers and
guaranteeing their hunting and gathering rights in an area called the
Wenatchapam fishery, according to Richard Hart, an independent historian
from Winthrop upon whose research the documentary is based.
But the site was never surveyed, and an Indian agent would eventually
order the markers moved high up into the Cascade Range, where the winter
snow was deep and fewer fish returned to spawn.
White people began to settle in area, and the Great Northern Railroad
built its route right through the Wenatchapam fishery -- without obtaining
a right of way, according to Hart.
In 1893, the secretary of the interior, responding to white protests
about the proposed reservation, called a meeting of the Wenatchis and the
nearby Yakama Indians to try to get them to give it up.
At the meeting at Fort Simcoe, Indian Agent L.T. Erwin promised the
Wenatchis their fishing rights along with land allotments of at least 14,
000 acres in the Wenatchapam fishery area.
The Yakama, led to believe the Wenatchis were satisfied with the
arrangement, then agreed to cede the Wenatchapam reservation land to the
government.
"They were tricked into selling it," Dick said.
"I think if you would read all that we've got -- about six boxes, two
feet high -- it would get you really mad, to think you guys had an agent
like that back then."
In 1894, Congress ratified the agreement, but Erwin never made a single
land allotment to the Wenatchi. Two years later, each surviving member of
the Wenatchi tribe was offered $9.30 apiece as their share of the land
cession payment. They refused to accept.
By the turn of the century, all of the Wenatchis' homesteads had been
taken by white people.
In 1931, more than 250 Wenatchis met at Cashmere and voted to hire a
lawyer to sue the United States, but in 1935, the U.S. government blocked
the lawsuit by voiding the Indians' contract with their lawyer.
The Wenatchis' fight ended when Chief Harmelt and his wife died in a
house fire in 1937, but their daughter, Celia Ann Dick, spent a lifetime
telling her children the story.
She died in 1997, but not before Mathew Dick "made the promise to her
that I would do all that I could to finish the work John Harmelt started."
The Wenatchis were excluded from the historic federal court decisions in
Washington and Oregon that granted the Northwest's treaty tribes rights to
half the salmon in regional waters.
"The question as to who was a treaty tribe in most cases was pretty
clear," Hart said. "The parties signed the treaty and moved to the
reservation, as a result they were a treaty tribe."
But the Wenatchis never got their reservation, although a number of
their descendants live on the Colville Confederated Tribes reservation in
northeastern Washington and some live on the Yakama Nation reservation in
central Washington.
In the case United States vs. Oregon, U.S. District Judge Malcolm Marsh
classified all of the 12 Indian tribes and bands that make up the Colville
Confederated Tribes as non-treaty tribes, Hart said.
"From a standpoint of history from the Wenatchi, it is clearly
historically wrong," Hart said. "Unfortunately, it ... makes it very
difficult, if not impossible, for the tribe to sue."
Dick said the Bureau of Indian Affairs advised the Wenatchis to work out
the matter of fishing rights with the Yakama Nation, which as a treaty
tribe, has fishing rights in the Wenatchapam fishery.
After several frustrating attempts at negotiation, Dick said, the Yakama
have agreed to meet again in Portland, Ore., in two weeks.
Today, about 28 percent of the land that would have made up the Wenatchi
reservation is publicly held.
"As it happens, the Wenatchapam fishery, that location is now a federal
fish hatchery," Hart said.
Dick said he has been working with U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell's office, as
well as Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. George Nethercutt.
"Right now, we're in a fact-finding mode," said Jed Lewison, a spokesman
for Cantwell, D-Wash.
"Sen. Cantwell has been clear -- the U.S. government has a moral
obligation to improve the welfare of Native Americans throughout the
nation. In this particular case, the office is looking forward to seeing
what we can do to help make sure these concerns are addressed."
Copyright c. 1999-2002 Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
--------- "RE: Dispute with Tribe could delay Projects" ---------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 09:09:08 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="SHAKOPEE ROAD"
http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm
http://www.shakopeenews.com/main.asp
Dispute with tribe could delay projects
By John Mueller, Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 06, 2002
Two construction projects that would effectively close County Road 83 for
most of the coming summer could be shelved unless the Shakopee Mdewakanton
Dakota Community is willing to cooperate on land acquisition needed for
expanded intersections and work along County Road 16.
However, the county says the tribe's cooperation may be linked to its
application to the federal government to place land it owns in Shakopee
and Prior Lake into trust.
The Scott County Board unanimously approved the appraisal of land and
the use of condemnation as a tool to acquire non-tribal land for the
expansion of the intersections of county roads 83 and 16, and 83 and 42
should the county be unable to purchase the land outright. That decision
came at the board's Jan. 22 meeting.
For the expansion of the intersection of county roads 42 and 83, the
county needs 13 acres of tribal land and 8 acres of non-tribal land for
road right-of-way, drainage and utility easements. To expand the
intersection of county roads 16 and 83, the city of Shakopee and the
county need 1.2 acres of tribal land and 12.9 acres of non-tribal land.
The city and county also eventually want 12 to 15 acres of tribal land
south of County Road 16 and east of County Road 83 for the preferred
realignment of County Road 16 with 17th Avenue. Without the land south of
County Road 16, the plan to use existing County Road 16 as a frontage road
for residents north of County Road 16 can't be implemented.
Last month, the board linked future approval of elements of the
construction project to the ability to successfully negotiate agreements
for the acquisition or permanent use for the expanded roadway from
landowners that include the tribe. County Board Chair Barb Marschall said
the county would not trade one-for-one its opposition to the tribe's
application to place 776 acres it owns in Shakopee and Prior Lake into
permanent trust for right-of-way at the two intersections. But, Marschall
said, the county is willing to look at the overall issue of land trust as
one of many county-tribe issues in discussions regarding land for road
projects.
"It can't be a swap, one for another," Marschall said. "That's what I
hear from the other commissioners."
Commissioner Art Bannerman of Shakopee pushed for the linkage of tribal
land to future approvals on the two intersection expansion projects and
work on County Road 16 east of
Copyright c. 2002 Shakopee Valley News, Shakopee, MN 55379.
--------- "RE: Review likely to renew debate of Delaware's Indian" ---------
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 08:26:36 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="DELEWARE"
http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm
http://www.imdiversity.com/villages/native/
Archaeological Review Likely To Renew Debate Of Delaware's Indian
by AP, The Associated Press
By Randall Chase, Associated Press Writer
Dover, Del. (AP) - A federal review of an archaeological report
suggesting there is more than one group of American Indians in Delaware is
unlikely to resolve a war of words between members of the Lenape and
Nanticoke populations.
A report that consultant Edward Heite submitted in 1998 to the Delaware
Department of Transportation concluded the original Indian inhabitants of
the Cheswold area of Kent County adapted to European culture and that
their descendants, known as the Lenape, remain in the area.
Heite was hired to examine a parcel of land called the Bloomsbury tract
after it was selected as a site for an artificial wetland.
Among the evidence on which Heite based his findings were several pieces
of bottle glass that he said were shaped into tools using traditional
American Indian flaking techniques for stone tools.
The report, subtitled "Archaeology and History of an Unrecognized
Indigenous Community in Central Delaware," was met with outrage by the
chief of the Nanticoke Indian Association in Sussex County.
"I stepped into an Indian war," Heite said.
The Lenape say the report validates their Indian heritage, while the
Nanticoke regard it as a threat and an insult.
"There's no other tribes in Delaware," said Nanticoke chief Kenneth S.
Clark. "We have an objection to people changing history."
Then-Secretary Anne Canby approved DelDOT's publication of the report in
late 2000, after giving Clark a chance to submit an addendum. But under
pressure from Clark, current DelDOT secretary Nathan Hayward III ordered
the report withdrawn last year from publication and pulled from the
agency's Web site.
Hayward and DelDOT archaeologist Kevin Cunningham did not return
telephone messages last week.
DelDOT submitted Heite's report to the National Park Service for an
independent technical review. That review should be finished this week and
sent to state officials, said NPS chief archaeologist Frank McManamon.
McManamon said NPS cultural anthropologist Mark Schoepfle generally
found Heite's research to be of high quality.
"It looks like it was a pretty good job," McManamon said. "You may see
some of the conclusions that (Heite) draws may go a little further than
the data warrant, but wait and see on that."
Clark said Heite's report is rife with inaccuracies, but he would not
provide specifics.
"I would rather not go into anything until we see what the (NPS) report
says," Clark said.
Heite said he was never told what Clark's objections are.
"All we got was that Ken Clark didn't like the report, so we have
nothing to refute," he said.
Dennis Coker, chief of the Lenape Indian Tribe of Delaware Inc., is
anxious to see both the NPS review and publication of Heite's report.
"What's at stake for us is recognition as a Native American group, an
indigenous group native to Delaware," Coker said. "We're proud of who we
are. We would like to be recognized by the larger society as a distinct
ethnic group."
While Delaware has no formal process for recognition of American Indians,
the Nanticoke have received state grants as well as federal job training
funds. Tribal members hold three seats on the human remains committee of
the state Historic Preservation Office.
In 1994, the Lenape fought unsuccessfully for a Senate resolution
recognizing them as an Indian community. The measure was tabled after
lobbying by the Nanticoke Indian Association.
Coker said the Lenape community numbers about 750 people and can
document its population of the Cheswold area for at least 300 years. It
has ties to other Lenape groups, including the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape
Indians of New Jersey, a tribe recognized by that state.
"We've intermarried with the Nanticokes for a couple of hundred years
now," Coker said. "Genealogically speaking, it's hard to tell one group
from the other."
Such talk is anathema to Clark, whose group numbers a little less than
1,000.
"People who are Nanticoke belong to this tribe, people who aren't
Nanticoke don't," he said.
According to Heite, Algonquin-speaking Nanticokes concentrated on the
southern Delmarva peninsula and merged with the Assateague community. The
Lenape, also Algonquin speakers, moved into Delaware from southeastern
Pennsylvania and New Jersey, he said.
Intermarriage was common in the Kent County area, a rough dividing line
between the northern hunter-gatherers and the mostly agricultural southern
tribes, including the Nanticoke, Assateague, Choptank and Chesapeake,
Heite said.
"The Lenape community has maintained a separate identity, but the
families in that community are related to the Nanticoke," he said.
According to Heite, the inhabitants of a tenant house at the Bloomsbury
site that was occupied from about 1750 to 1814 included at least two
Indians, John Sisco and Thomas Conselor.
Heite said glass tools similar to those at Bloomsbury have been found at
other American Indian sites, but that evidence from such a relatively late
period is rare.
"This is an archaeological demonstration of a connecting of the living
community with the Native American traditions," he said.
Copyright c. by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Copyright c. 2001 iMinorities, Inc. All rights reserved.
--------- "RE: Buffalo Field Campaign News" ---------
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2002 13:18:25 -0600
From: Buffalo Field Campaign <bfc-media@wildrockies.org>
Subj: News from the Field 2/7/02
Mailing List: <Stop-the-Slaughter@vortex.wildrockies.org>
2/7/02
Buffalo Field Campaign News from the Field
In this issue:
* An Update from the Field
* A Press Release to Send to Your Local Newspaper
* Week of Action and National Day of Action for the Buffalo
* A letter of Thanks from Corey
---------------------------------------
Buffalo Supporters,
After two weeks of respite the capture and slaughter of the
Yellowstone buffalo has resumed. The Department of Livestock's
intolerance for wild buffalo was exhibited yesterday in the agency's
irrational insistence on capturing every buffalo that enters Montana.
In an operation that took place between 8:00 and 11:45 am, agents
hazed bison more than five miles into the buffalo trap at Horse
Butte. Three bull buffalo were captured. Early this morning two of
these beautiful animals were loaded into a livestock trailer and
shipped to a slaughterhouse. The third had a numbered aluminum tag
attached to his back and had two swaths of thick fur shaven from his
shoulders and back. These marks allow DOL agents to determine which
bison have already been captured. Of the 29 bull bison targeted by
the DOL this winter, eight were marked and released. Twenty were
slaughtered. Another was shot in the field without ever being tested
for brucellosis. 35 bison have left the park this winter.
The state of Montana rests the burden of blame for the slaughter on
brucellosis, a bovine reproductive disease. Although there has never
been a documented case of brucellosis being transmitted from wild
bison to livestock, the agency insists on harassing and killing bison
when they leave the park.
On the west side of the park, where all the killing has taken place
since 1997, there are no cattle present during the times of year when
bison are outside the park. While elk and other wildlife also carry
the disease, only bison are hazed, shot, and slaughtered. There has
never been a documented case of wild buffalo passing the disease to
livestock.
After the three bulls were captured yesterday we held a vigil at Duck
Creek, where they were confined. Volunteers held a "Buffalo
Slaughter in Progress" banner by the side of highway 191 and handed
out newsletters to interested passersby. At nightfall the vigil was
relocated to a spot across the river from the Duck Creek holding pens
and prayers, songs, and blessings were given for the confined bison.
Volunteers stayed out all night through subfreezing temperatures. At
6:30 this morning two buffalo were loaded into the trailer and sent
to the slaughterhouse. The third was released on the Horse Butte
Peninsula.
We'd like to thank each of you who reads these updates for your
unfailing support. We couldn't make it through these difficult times
without your help. Your dedication has been inspirational, helping
us to stay strong, well-nourished, and focused on our mission. The
response to our call for letters to those responsible for the buffalo
slaughter was enormous. Many of you answered our request for
volunteers to organize a Day of Action for the Buffalo in your
communities on March 23. Thanks to all who have been giving your
time to share buffalo stories with your families and friends and to
those of you who have supported us in whatever way you can. Thank
you John at Two Socks for the radio you sent and your offer of
technical assistance. We took the radio out of the box and put it to
immediate use on patrol. Thanks to all the others who sent donations
for the purchase of new radio equipment. With patrols in constant
communication with one another they will be all the more safe and
effective. Thank you all for making our work possible. We will be
here until the buffalo are protected.
---------------------------------------
* A Press Release to Send to Your Local Newspaper
Montana Department of Livestock and National Park Service Squander Tax
Dollars To Slaughter Two "Low Risk" Bull Bison Near Yellowstone National
Park
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 7, 2002
Contacts: Dan Brister, Mike Mease (406) 646-0070
West Yellowstone, MT: Three bull bison, considered "low risk" by
APHIS--the sole agency with the regulatory authority to revoke
Montana's "brucellosis-free" status--were captured in a Montana
Department of Livestock (DOL) operation on the Gallatin National
Forest yesterday. Two of the bison, which the DOL claims to have
tested positive for brucellosis, were sent to slaughter early this
morning.
In its 1998 study, Brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,
the National Academy of Sciences concluded, "The current risk of
transmission from YNP (Yellowstone National Park) bison to cattle is
low." There has never been a documented transmission of brucellosis
from wild bison to livestock.
Even if buffalo were capable of spreading brucellosis, the lack of
cattle between mid-October and mid-June make such a transmission
impossible. The cattle that stock the summer grazing allotments on
Horse Butte are shipped in from Idaho. "Montana is killing America's
last wild buffalo to protect a few Idaho cattle," said BFC
spokesperson Dan Brister.
All 19 bison killed this winter have been bulls, which are incapable
of transmitting brucellosis. APHIS considers bulls "low risk" and
says their presence in the state will not jeopardize Montana's
brucellosis-free status. The agencies have captured 28 bull bison
this winter.
The operation began shortly after 8am on Wednesday on the Madison
River. Agents from the U.S. Forest Service, the National Park
Service, Montana Highway Patrol, the Montana Dept. of Fish, Wildlife,
and Parks and the Gallatin County Sheriff's Department assisted the
DOL in hazing two bison from National Forest land into the Horse
Butte trap. A lone bull was later captured from the Horse Butte
Peninsula.
"These agencies are wasting 2.8 million taxpayer dollars this winter
to unnecessarily slaughter America's last wild buffalo," said
Brister. "Scientists agree that bull bison can't transmit
brucellosis yet the DOL insists on harassing every bull that steps
across the park line."
Horse Butte provides crucial winter range for Yellowstone wildlife,
including moose, elk, deer, coyotes, wolves, eagles and swans.
Buffalo Field Campaign volunteers videotaped two bald eagles being
disturbed by the operation as they foraged over the Madison River.
Moose and trumpeter swans were also observed being impacted by the
operation.
The brucellosis test used by the DOL to determine whether to
slaughter or release captured animals detects antibodies, not
infection. The majority of the bison that test "positive" and are
killed don't actually carry brucellosis. The majority of bison that
test positive at the capture facility test negative under the more
accurate post-slaughter culture test.
The Buffalo Field Campaign is the only group working in the field
everyday to stop the bison slaughter. Volunteers defend the buffalo
on their native range and advocate for their protection.
Video and Still Photos are Available on Request.
---------------------------------------
* Week of Action and National Day of Action for the Buffalo
We are organizing our third annual Week of Action for the Yellowstone
Buffalo and need your help. This year's Week of Action is scheduled
for March 18-24 and will include a variety of workshops, non-violent
direct action, and ceremonies. Please come if you can. We are also
helping to organize solidarity rallies across the country on March
23. If you are interested in helping to organize the Day of Action
in your community, please contact Dan Brister or Pete Leusch at
bfc-media@wildrockies.org.
---------------------------------------
* A letter of Thanks from Corey
Corey first volunteered with the Buffalo Field Campaign four years
ago. He was on patrol at Horse Butte on the morning of January 29,
1998. He wrote the following account of his experience:
"I was heading down the trail at sunrise when I passed the DOL. The
guns on their backs were for the buffalo. I turned to follow them.
Suddenly they made a sharp left and stopped; they had found them. I
pulled my sled between the guns and the buffalo. I knew that's what
I'd do. There was no soul searching, none of that. It is why I'm
here. The cops cuffed me. The DOL agents shot all six buffalo while
I sat there watching, helpless. I fell to my knees and cried, and
screamed, and prayed. That was the hardest, the darkest, most
frustrating thing I have ever witnessed or been a part of."
Last winter Corey returned to the Campaign and again took to the
patrols at Horse Butte. One day he decided to approach the buffalo
trap and offer a prayer. The trap sits on public land in the
Gallatin National Forest. The DOL, which operates the trap, had
cordoned off an area around the trap and closed it from the public.
Corey decided to cross the line to offer his prayers. Officers later
observed his tracks, followed them to Corey's campfire, and arrested
him. He spent 40 days in jail.
Corey asked me to include the following letter of thanks in this
week's update:
Blessings Family,
I've just returned here to our cabin now that my long suspended
sentence is over. Many "welcome homes" and big hugs greeted me, and
I give thanks. My travels have been good, spreading awareness and
shedding light on the buffalo slaughter with lots of prayer and
circling. My time in jail was inspirational. I thank you all very
much for your kind support, comforting words and colorful cards. I
never felt separated from the Great Goodness. I was constantly
connected with the healing love that will end all pain and violence.
Receiving letters every day helped a lot. So please keep up the good
works. The buffalo will guide us through.
Peace and Love,
Corey Sundog
---------------------------------------
Dan Brister
Outreach Coordinator
Buffalo Field Campaign
PO Box 957
West Yellowstone, MT 59758
(406) 646-0070
buffalo@wildrockies.org
http:www.wildrockies.org/buffalo
--------- "RE: Man recognized as Code Talker" ---------
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:21:25 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="CODE TALKER"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://www.sfnewmexican.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=3224644
Man recognized as Code Talker
By ROBERT GEHRKE/The Associated Press February 09, 2002
WASHINGTON - The Marine Corps has concluded that David Tsosie did indeed
serve as a Navajo Code Talker during World War II and is entitled to the
Congressional Silver Medal that had been denied to him.
Tsosie, 79, had expected to get his medal during a ceremony last year
honoring hundreds of other Navajo Code Talkers. But the Marine Corps said
it lacked proof that Tsosie had been one of the Code Talkers, who shipped
messages coded in their native language in the war's Pacific theater.
But after further investigation, the Marine Corps found that Tsosie
graduated from Navajo Communications School on Sept. 7, 1943, and that he
was entitled to an award, Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., and Rep. Tom Udall,
D-N.M., said Friday.
Bingaman and Udall, who sponsored the legislation to honor the Code
Talkers with congressional medals of honor, had urged the Pentagon to
investigate Tsosie's status.
"Because Code Talkers were sworn to secrecy, they were not properly
honored until a few short months ago, some 50 years after the end of World
War II. But for Mr. Tsosie, the wait has been even longer," Bingaman said
in a statement.
He applauded the Pentagon and Marine Corps for conducting the
investigation. "But most of all," Bingaman said, "I thank Mr. Tsosie for
his invaluable service to our country."
In a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda last July, President Bush awarded
Congressional Gold Medals to the four surviving members among the 29
Marines who developed an uncrackable code based on the Navajo language.
Several hundred others who used the code in battles on the Pacific Front
were awarded the Congressional Silver Medal last November.
"I am gratified that David Tsosie, a Navajo Code Talker who served his
nation with honor, will be presented with the medal he earned so long
ago," Udall said. "When we honor them, we honor a generation of service to
our country."
Copyright c. Santa Fe New Mexican 2002.
--------- "RE: Discrimination won't end until Indians say Enough" ---------
Date: Sat, 9 Feb 2002 18:21:25 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="DISCRIMINATION"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2002/02/07/build/tribal
Guest Editorial: Discrimination won't end until Indians say, `enough'
By WILLIAM OLD CHIEF
For the Missoulian
Comments made by three legislators during a Jan. 9 meeting of the State
Tribal Relations Committee helped illustrate the very problems that
committee is supposed to address.
"They're unwilling or incapable of working like normal outside people
do," state Sen. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred said of Indians who return to
reservations to live.
"Offer them a roll of postage stamps," Sen. Jerry O'Neil, R-Kalispell,
suggested as an alternative to the governor's plans to hold meetings with
state and tribal officials to resolve several lingering disputes.
Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, suggested the existence of Indian
reservations contributes to discrimination against Indians, and he
predicted the discrimination will continue until reservations are gone.
Such comments regarding the original people of Montana - Indians -
deserve a response. However, let's be fair and give credit to where credit
is due.
It is often our own people who continue to hold us in bondage because of
their short-sightedness of what is really needed to allow Native Americans
to succeed. I, for one, do not want to step back 200 to 500 years for more
oppression by the ignorance of those who have the authority to chart our
direction, whether it be the church, state government or so-called tribal
leaders.
The state Indian affairs coordinator assumes that all tribes in Montana
are of the same thinking, which is unfair and untrue; even the federal
government treats us as individuals. We are people with different
languages, beliefs and customs. Our mythology and philosophy varies from
tribe to tribe. It is said that everything flows from the top down and the
problems that exist on reservations stem from decision-makers and
lawmakers who have neglected to address the issues of Indian people in an
equal and just manner.
The Indian affairs coordinator position is not a decision-maker, just a
centerpiece for the state government to say, "We are aware Indians do
exist." Two years ago the Montana tribal leaders recommended to state
officials that the position be elevated to a Cabinet position filled by
someone who would sit in the same room as decision-makers and have the
same authority to conduct the affairs on behalf of the 70,000-plus Indian
people of Montana.
The last time I looked this was still the state of Montana - not South
Africa during apartheid. The last time I voted this was still the state of
Montana, not Alabama or Mississippi in the 1960s.
Yet the African Americans who suffered at the hands of their oppressors
found the courage to stand against the cruelty of bigotry and injustice.
If we as a people are to take our rightful place in the state of Montana
during the 21st century, then we too must rise against the tyranny of
segregation and the chains of discrimination - or we will remain exiles in
our own land.
If you are tired of being followed in the supermarket and department
stores because of the color of your skin, if you're tired of racial
profiling by law enforcement officials, if you're tired of protecting your
children and grandchildren from those who would openly display their
ignorance just because of the color your skin, then you must realize only
you have the power to stop the insults of continual oppression in the
state of Montana.
The struggle for our equality must be taken to the state Capitol and not
the reservations, which are already in disarray. The struggle must be
taken to the cities of Montana for only then will they know we as a people
are not just blowing off steam. We will not be content. It will not be
business as usual until the day of equal justice emerges.
As Indian people we contribute millions of dollars to Montana's economy
yearly; everyone knows that. The moment we stop supporting cities near
reservations, they would turn into dust bowls. The moment we stop spending
money in the cities for cars, furniture, clothing and groceries, jobs will
be lost. The moment we stop supporting discrimination, the tide of
disparity will turn.
We are landowners, taxpayers, business owners, doctors, lawyers, clergy,
educators, state legislators, ranchers, and farmers - we are Montana, we
are Native Americans. How long will you choose to live under the "veil of
ignorance"? It would be a mistake for those who decide to overlook us to
underestimate the determination of Indian people.
And yes, there are many good non-Indians who have walked alongside our
cause, who have seen the other side and have chosen to support the rights
of Indian people in the state of Montana. It is said that you will know
the truth and the truth will make you free.
My question is: Where is the voice of our tribal leaders who pledged to
protect the sovereignty of their people?
William (Bill) Old Chief of Indigenous Voice Consultants in Missoula,
is a former Blackfeet tribal chairman.
Copyright c. 2000 Ravalli Republic and Lee Enterprises.
--------- "RE: Mexicos Rebellious Chiapas turns to Civil Action" ---------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 16:09:31 -0500 (EST)
From: IndigenousNews@webtv.net
Subj: Mexicos rebellious Chiapas turns to civil action
Mailing List: Native Rights <NativeRights@yahoogroups.com>
>From Yahoo Alerts for Indigenous People
Mexico's Rebellious Chiapas Turns to Civic Action
By Lorraine Orlandi
NUEVO YIBELJOJ, Mexico (Reuters) - The Mexican government offered to
build a rudimentary schoolhouse for this red-dirt settlement of 100
Tzotzil Indian families uprooted by violence in Chiapas state. But the
people refused it.
More than a year after they moved here from a crowded refugee camp,
their children study in makeshift classrooms with no walls or floor and
a roof of yellow and orange plastic sheeting.
The peasant farmer families insist on a proper school, with cinder-block
classrooms like those in the cities and big enough to serve the region,
not just the children of Nuevo Yibeljoj. They won't take anything less.
"We know that if we accept this 'emergency school' we will never
get what we want, a dignified school," said local leader Roberto
Perez. "City children don't suffer like ours, they have concrete
schools. We're fighting for equal treatment."
His simple argument underlies a sophisticated pattern of civic
resistance that has largely replaced violence in Chiapas eight years
after the Zapatista rebels took up arms in the name of Indian rights.
With peace talks at an impasse, an unofficial truce is holding between
the government of President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) and the
rebels, holed up in silence in their jungle strongholds after a historic
2,000-mile march to the capital last year to push their demands.
That spectacular public demonstration, featuring masked rebel leaders in
a colorful cross-country convoy, shifted the Zapatista struggle from the
military camp into the civic arena. Now, while national politicians
debate rebel demands, Indian communities that embody the Zapatista cause
are working to bring about long-awaited change themselves, with or
without government help.
"The question is now in the civilian arena," said the Rev. Jesus
Landin, a Catholic priest serving San Andres Larrainzer, once the site
of peace talks between the government and Zapatistas. "The people are
convinced that here change will come through civic, political, peaceful
means."
FACING THE ENEMY
Fox's election in 2000, like that of Chiapas Gov. Pablo Salazar the same
year, raised hopes of reviving peace talks and redressing profound
social injustices underlying the Zapatista rebellion in the state of 4
million people, a quarter of them Indians.
But 13 months after the two leaders took office and ended seven decades
of repressive rule by the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI,
disappointment is rampant in Chiapas over their failure to end the
Zapatista uprising.
"Fox lied about a lot of things," said Jose Vasquez, leader of the
pacifist refugee organization Las Abejas in Acteal, where four years ago
members of a paramilitary group linked to the PRI massacred 45 Tzotzil
men, women and children.
Dozens of Indians were convicted of firing on indigenous brethren, with
the complicity of official security forces.
Though Fox closed seven key army bases as demanded by the rebels and cut
back army checkpoints, residents across the Indian heartland say the
army still foments such violence, promoting paramilitary groups and
harassing civilians.
Army bases surround Acteal, their mission to promote security and
perform public works. Instead, they perpetuate conflict, prostitution,
fear, Vasquez said.
"These are not our customs," he said.
Salazar said state counterinsurgency tactics of the past, including
targeting aid programs to groups sympathetic to the PRI, have been
replaced with equitable development programs. The federal and state
governments are working to reconcile warring religious, cultural and
political factions.
In a watershed sign of easing tensions, some 1,500 displaced people in
and around Acteal went home last year or founded new communities like
Nuevo Yibeljoj (pronounced YEE-BUL-COC).
Perhaps more dramatic, refugees are sitting down face-to-face with their
PRI enemies in an effort to find a way to live together in peace, with
support from the state.
"The process of bringing together Las Abejas and those who displaced
them took us more than half of last year," Salazar said in an
interview. "The government sat in the middle, and I mean literally in
the middle.
"In the past, the complaint was that when (the refugees) tried to meet
with their adversaries, the government showed up in the same car and sat
on the same side as their adversaries," he said. "We told them:
'Speak your language, look each other in the eye, we're only here to
facilitate.' They chose the themes and initiated a productive
dialogue."
Such gains give local activists like Vasquez hope.
"It's very important to all of society that we have the will to work
for peace," he said. "In this new year, I hope we can change our
hearts, respect one another's differences."
AN UNEASY PEACE
Every Sunday in San Andres, Zapatista supporters occupying Town Hall
take petitions from a line of villagers. A few blocks away, the elected
PRI town council bides time, while outside the rustic Catholic church a
circle of elders in the rough wool tunics and tasseled hats of the
Tzotzil people hold court.
In the 199Os, masked Zapatista commanders and government negotiators
gathered in the highland town to draft the San Andres accords, providing
greater autonomy for Indian communities in choosing leaders and using
and owning land.
The 1996 accords became the basis for Fox's Indian rights initiative,
one of his first acts as president. But the weaker version ultimately
approved by Congress fell far short of rebel demands, dashing hopes of
resuming talks during Fox's first year in office.
Now the most fervently Zapatista communities, which have renounced
government assistance, are using the original accords to design
educational, farming and other programs that meet their needs, with help
from nongovernmental organizations.
"The people implemented autonomous education very seriously," said
Landin, the San Andres priest. "They're not desperate, they're
surviving."
Still, generations of conflict, a deeply-rooted system of caciquismo, or
political cronyism, and economic inequality, racism and poverty hinder
progress at the grass-roots level.
Having lost their grip on the national and state governments, entrenched
local PRI leaders are loathe to loosen their hold on a last bastion of
power in communities where loyalty to the party is akin to religious
faith.
On a typical day recently, local newspapers carried reports of a mayor
abducted by opposition party members near the Guatemala border, and of
newly elected officials prevented by PRI leaders from taking office in
San Juan Chamula, an Indian enclave outside the highland colonial city
of San Cristobal.
"There is more conflict here than ever," said weaver Josefa
Gonzalez of Zinacantan, where the left-leaning Party of the Democratic
Revolution unseated the PRI in last October's elections but was
blocked from taking office.
"We want change, but it can't be done overnight," said Cristobal
Guzman in the coffee farming village Tenejapa, where the PRI holds
power. "For change to come, people's attitudes must change."
=====
To send news reports, subscribe or unsubscribe send email to
IndigenousNews@webtv.net
--------- "RE: Mexico Solidarity Network: Taco Bell Truth Tour" ---------
Date: February 7, 2002 12:12 AM -0600
From: joewest <joewest@gwe.net
Subj: Join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' Truth Tour
Feb. 28- March 16]
newsgroup: alt.native
Mexico Solidarity Network wrote:
**Please forward to all lists**
The Mexico Solidarity Network endorses the Taco Bell Truth Tour from
Feb.28-March 16, 2002. The tour is organized by the Coalition of Immokalee
Workers (www.ciw-online.org) multi-ethnic, immigrant-led, and community-
based farmworker organization based in Immokalee, Florida. Their members
are largely Latino, Haitian, and Mayan Indian immigrants working low-wage
jobs throughout the state of Florida.
The Taco Bell Truth Tour is a national tour that will travel from
Immokalee, FL to Los Angeles, CA. The tour will bring the voice of
farmworkers to the gates of Taco Bell corporate headquarters over 3000
miles away.
Farmworkers' subpoverty wages and total lack of benefits have allowed
Florida tomato growers to minimize production costs and provide Taco Bell
with cheap tomatoes at the expense of farmworkers and their families. All
this while Taco Bell profits immensely. Farmworkers are tired of
subsidizing Taco Bell's profits with their poverty, but Taco Bell refuses
to meet with worker representatives to discuss the sweatshop conditions
under which their tomatoes are produced. It is time to stand up, speak out
and demand justice. NO MORE SWEATSHOPS IN THE FIELDS OF FLORIDA, the US,
or AMERICA.
Join the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Mexico Solidarity Network and
others as we embark on this important cross-country journey. Chances are
we' re coming to a city near you! You can organize a welcome party in your
city, do a fundraising concert, greet us in the streets, put a few
caravanistas up for the night, or travel with us for a few days. Help out
however you like!
TACO BELL TRUTH TOUR - MARCH 1-17, 2002 In a cross-country caravan from
Florida to Taco Bell's headquarters in Irvine, CA, farmworkers and their
allies will hit 15 major US cities with the TRUTH about how TACO BELL
PROFITS FROM FARMWORKER POVERTY.
Thursday, 2/28 send off TAMPA, FL
Friday, 3/1 ATLANTA, GA
Saturday, 3/2 SOUTH BEND, IN
Sunday, 3/3 CHICAGO, IL
Monday, 3/4 MADISON, WI
Wednesday, 3/6 DENVER, CO
Friday, 3/8 SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Saturday, 3/9 FRESNO, CA
SUNDAY, 3/10 LOS ANGELES, CA
RISE UP 2002: FROM THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE
MONDAY, 3/11 IRVINE, CA
CONVERGENCE AT TACO BELL HEADQUATERS
Tuesday, 3/12 FLAGSTAFF, AZ
Wednesday, 3/13 ALBUQUERQUE. NM
Thursday, 3/14 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
Friday, 3/15 LITTLE ROCK, AR
Saturday, 3/16 MEMPHIS, TN
This notice is posted by Mexico Solidarity Network.
================================================================
Mexico Solidarity Network http://www.mexicosolidarity.org
Questions? Send email to:
mexicosolidaritynetwork-owner@mexicosolidarity.org
--------- "RE: Brazil: Government launches War Operation" ---------
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 14:26:36 -0500
From: Amazon Alliance <amazon@amazonalliance.org>
Subj: Brazil: Government launches 'war operation' on mahogany loggers
Mailing List: Amazon Alliance <amazon@amazonalliance.org>
1) Reuters - Brazil launches 'war operation' on mahogany loggers
2) Greenwire - Brazil: Environment Chief Seeks U.S. Support to Curb Illegal
Logging Body
**********************************************
Brazil launches 'war operation' on mahogany loggers
BRAZIL: February 5, 2002
BRASILIA - Brazil has launched a "war operation" to save the Amazon's
fast-disappearing mahogany trees by hunting down illegal loggers deep in
the forests and chasing down smugglers shipping the wood abroad,
environmental agency Ibama said.
Ibama's "Operation Rescue" aims to recover an estimated $16 million
worth of the wood waiting at ports to be shipped abroad and to set up road
and river controls in the Amazon to block the smuggling routes of the
loggers' lucrative trade. "With this effort we are prioritizing the
question of illegal mahogany because society no longer accepts this type
of activity that damages all society," Ibama President Hamilton Nobre
Casara said.
The operation, which will involve the police and army as well, aims to
patrol major mahogany smuggling routes - most of them along rivers or
roads out of the Amazon - using helicopters, planes and boats. There will
also be reinforcement of controls at major Brazilian highways.
Another part of the plan will be the seizure of up to 225,000 square
feet (21,000 cubic meters) of cut mahogany that has been detected at sites
in the south of the Amazon state of Para. Located deep in the forest,
transporting the mahogany out on river barges could take up to 80 days.
Environmental groups fear that at current logging rates, Brazil's Amazon
mahogany reserves could disappear in eight years.
PLANET'S PLANT LIFE
The world's largest tropical forest, which covers an area larger than
all of Western Europe, is home to up to 50 percent of the planet's plant
and animal life and is already disappearing at unsustainable rates,
environmentalists fear.
Amid increasing evidence that mahogany is one of the main woods
suffering from Amazon deforestation, Brazil banned mahogany logging last
October. Only a handful of companies with permits guaranteeing replanting
can now cut down mahogany.
The ban came after intense lobbying by environmental group Greenpeace,
which had obtained pictures and video images of large clearings in
mahogany forests on Amazon Indian land.
Worth up to $1,500 per 10.76 square feet (one square meter), mahogany is
the most expensive wood in Brazil and smugglers make hefty profits by
shipping it abroad to markets like the United States, Great Britain and
Japan.
Casara traveled to the United States this week to ask U.S. authorities
for help in preventing illegal mahogany shipments from Brazil entering the
U.S.
A recent study by the World Wildlife Fund found that 4.23 million cubic
feet (120,000 cubic meters) of mahogany from Latin America reaches global
markets every year, mainly from Brazil, Bolivia and Peru.
Story by Axel Bugge
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
************************************************
Greenwire
February 4, 2002
INTERNATIONAL; Vol. 10, No. 9
Brazil: Environment Chief Seeks U.S. Support to Curb Illegal Logging Body
April Reese, Greenwire staff writer
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State John Turner "promised" the head of
Brazil's environmental agency that the United States will help Brazil
crack down on the illegal mahogany trade, according to the Brazilian
Embassy. Hamilton Nobre Casara, president of Ibama, Brazil's environmental
agency, said during a forum Thursday at the Woodrow Wilson International
Center, a nonpartisan think tank, that he had been meeting with State
Department officials to "seek a joint effort to control mahogany." The
next day, the Brazilian Embassy issued a release saying U.S. Assistant
Secretary of State John Turner "promised ... Casara that illegal mahogany
will not enter the United States."
Calls to the State Department to confirm the pledge were not returned by
press time. But Brazilian newspapers have reported that the U.S. has
committed to helping Brazil crack down on the illegal mahogany trade. A
State Department official said Thursday that "we continue to work closely
with Brazil on resolving the problem."
According to Ibama, 70 percent of Brazilian mahogany is imported into
the United States. Although no one knows how much of that comes from
illegal sources, Ibama determined during recent raids that 90 percent of
all mahogany production in Brazil is illegal, leaving Greenpeace and other
groups to suspect that much of it is imported into the United States.
After suspecting that timber barons were using laundered logging permits
to illegally harvest mahogany in restricted areas and to then export it as
legally produced mahogany, Ibama imposed a freeze on the logging,
transport and export of mahogany in October (Greenwire, Oct. 29). During
its "Operation Mahogany" investigation over the past couple of months, the
agency confirmed those fears and made several arrests, Casara said.
Roberto Goidanich of the Brazilian Embassy said Casara plans to send a
formal request for U.S. help, as well as information on the illegal
mahogany trade uncovered during the investigation, to the U.S. government
this week. "The U.S. is one of the major consumers, so it's very important
that they are a partner in combating the illegal trade," Goidanich said.
Greenpeace's Scott Paul called U.S involvement in addressing the problem
"fundamentally important," adding that the U.S. response to Casara's
request for help will be a test of its commitment to halting illegal
logging in Brazil and elsewhere. "The U.S. has been very involved in the
discussions about illegal logging," he said. "If it wants to maintain
credibility, it has to address the issue of the massive amounts of
illegally logged mahogany entering this country every day."
Meanwhile, Casara said meetings with various interest groups in Brazil
will be held in March to try to reach agreement on "more sustainable use
of these resources." If no agreement is reached, he said, "the freeze will
continue."
Tackling the illegal mahogany trade was one of Casara's first priorities
when he ascended to the top of Ibama a year ago, and environmentalists
commend him for making major advances on the issue over a short time under
difficult political circumstances. "It's amazing he's been able to push
the ball as far as he has," Paul said. Deforestation in the Amazon, which
harbors as much as 50 percent of the world's animal and plant life, was
the worst in five years in 2000, primarily due to illegal logging and
fires, according to Ibama. Brazil encompasses most of the Amazon, which
accounts for 43 percent of the country's territory.
************************************************************
Distribuido por: Distributed by:
'AMAZON ALLIANCE' FOR INDIGENOUS AND TRADITIONAL
PEOPLES OF THE AMAZON BASIN 1367 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400 Washington,
DC 20036-1860 tel (202)785-3334 fax (202)785-3335 amazon@amazonalliance.
org http://www.amazonalliance.org
Disclaimer: All copyrights belong to original publisher. The Amazon
Alliance has not verified the accuracy of the forwarded message.
Forwarding this message does not necessarily connote agreement with the
positions stated there-in.
Todos los derechos de autor pertenecen al autor originario. La Alianza
Amazonica no ha verificado la veracidad de este mensaje. Enviar este
mensaje no necesariamente significa que la Alianza Amazonica este de
acuerdo con el contenido.
La Alianza Amazonica para los Pueblos Indigenas y Tradicionales de la
Cuenca Amazonica es una iniciativa nacida de la alianza entre los pueblos
indigenas y tradicionales de la Amazonia y grupos e individuos que
comparten sus preocupaciones por el futuro de la Amazonia y sus pueblos.
Hay ochenta organizaciones del norte y del sur activas en la Alianza
Amazonica. La Alianza Amazonica trabaja para defender los derechos,
territorios, y el medio ambiente de los pueblos indigenas y tradicionales
de la Cuenca Amazonica.
The Amazon Alliance for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of the Amazon
Bas in is an initiative born out of the partnership between indigenous and
traditional peoples of the Amazon and groups and individuals who share
their concerns for the future of the Amazon and its peoples. There are
over eighty non-governmental organizations from the North and South active
in the Alliance. The Amazon Alliance works to defend the rights,
territories, and environment of indigenous and traditional peoples of the
Amazon Basin.
==^========================================
This email was sent to: gars@speakeasy.org
--------- "RE: Rights to Vast Stretches of Nova Scotia" ---------
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 08:26:36 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="NOVA SCOTIA"
http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm
http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Native-Logging.html
February 4, 2002
Natives argue they have rights to vast stretches of Nova Scotia
HALIFAX (CP) -- Nova Scotia natives are claiming rights to vast tracts of
land throughout the province in a case that could transform the logging
industry the way the Marshall decision reshaped the Atlantic fishery.
Lawyers for 35 native loggers convicted of illegally harvesting lumber
say they have aboriginal title and rights spelled out in 18th-century
treaties to cut and sell trees on Crown property.
Lawyer Bruce Wildsmith said the Supreme Court of Canada recognized their
rights when it ruled in 1999 that natives could gather and sell resources
that were part of their traditional economy.
"Forest resources were absolutely, 100 per cent vital to their lifestyle
and economy," Wildsmith said Monday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.
Wildsmith is appealing a provincial court ruling last year that found
the natives had no special entitlement to the resource.
The natives, who were charged in late 1998 and in 1999 for cutting in
Nova Scotia, argued they had rights to cut logs on Crown property and sell
them because their ancestors lived on the land for more than 2,500 years
and traded in lumber products.
The judge dismissed the claim, saying there was a significant difference
between modern and historic uses. He also found the natives were nomadic
and didn't reside in the areas they claimed to have occupied.
Wildsmith said Monday there was extensive evidence to suggest the
Mi'kmaq built settlements throughout the province, and produced and traded
in an array of wooden goods.
In an unusual case that has relied on 9,000 pages of transcripts, 20
volumes of historical evidence and treaties from 1760, Wildsmith showed a
picture of a native encampment to show they used wood to make canoes,
poles and fires.
"This was integral to their culture," said Wildsmith.
A decision in favour of the natives could have major implications for
governments and the lumber industry since it would give them
unextinguished aboriginal title to most of Nova Scotia.
It could also bring into question leases held by lumber companies
operating on property natives say they never ceded.
Observers speculate the ruling could have the same impact as the Donald
Marshall decision in 1999, which overhauled the East Coast fishery.
In that case, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Mi'kmaq and Maliseet
people have the right to earn a moderate livelihood from fishing, hunting
and gathering.
Wildsmith conceded that a native forestry industry would comply with
provincial regulations.
"People are concerned that if you find in our favour all hell will break
loose in the woods," said the lawyer, who was surrounded in court by a
dozen cardboard boxes of documents and old maps showing native
archeological sites.
"We're not talking about something that is completely outside the bounds
of regulation."
A similar case in New Brunswick caused protests when a judge last June
upheld the conviction of a Mi'kmaq man for illegally removing wood from
Crown land.
Joshua Bernard, from Eel Ground near Miramichi, N.B., argued he had
treaty and aboriginal rights to cut wood on Crown land in 1998.
Bernard's lawyers argued that treaties signed in the 1760s and
reaffirmed by the Constitution allowed him to cut and remove wood from
Crown land.
Copyright c. 2002, Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc.
--------- "RE: James Bay Cree approve deal with Quebec" ---------
Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2002 08:40:17 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="JAMES BAY"
http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm
http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Que-Cree-Hydro.html
February 3, 2002
James Bay Cree approve $3.4-billion deal with Quebec on power development
NEMASKA, Que. (CP) -- Nearly 70 per cent of the James Bay Cree voting on
a $3.4-billion deal with the Quebec government have endorsed the
arrangement, the Cree Grand Council said Sunday.
"This is an historic moment," Grand Chief Ted Moses said in announcing
the vote's outcome. "It is an agreement that vindicates the long Cree
campaign since 1975 to have our rights respected."
The pact, which amounts to a peace treaty between the Cree and the
province, was the subject last week of referendums in nine Cree
communities.
The secret ballot gave an approval rate that ranged from a low of 50 per
cent to a high of 83 per cent, depending on the Cree community involved,
said Brian Craik, a Grand Council spokesman.
"I think the majority of people are pretty happy with the outcome,"
Craik said. Among the disappointed minority are "some people who can't
fathom the idea of going ahead with another hydro project."
The deal includes cash payouts for the Cree of $24 million in 2002, $46
million next year, then $70 million a year for 48 years. The Cree also get
more control over their community and economy, more power over logging and
more Hydro-Quebec jobs.
In return, the Cree have promised to drop $3.6 billion in environmental
lawsuits against the government. The Cree also agreed to accept hydro
installations along the Eastman River and Rupert River, subject to
environmental approval.
It's a changed scene from the 1990s when a Cree campaign managed to
scuttle a planned giant hydro project at Great Whale. That seven-year
effort by the Cree included an information blitz aimed at hydro's
customers based in the New England region.
In a statement Sunday, Moses said, "A substantial portion of the Cree
people have obviously supported and endorsed the position taken by the
majority of their leaders in favour of the new agreement."
Moses and Premier Bernard Landry are to meet Thursday for a formal
signing. The pact is based on an agreement in principle reached last
Oct. 23.
Craik said in the nine communities, seven of nine chiefs backed the deal.
"There were two chiefs and our deputy grand chief who weren't in favour of
it," he said in a telephone interview from Perth, Ont.
He said some opponents expressed concern about dam safety, especially in
the Cree village of Chisasibi where local residents became worried a few
years ago over the secrecy surrounding the safety issue.
Other critics pointed to signs of dike deterioration that turned up in
the mid-90s at LG-2, hydro's La Grande dam on James Bay. "The community
that had the hardest hit from La Grande seems to have been where there was
the most controversy," Craik said.
Copyright c. 2002, Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc.
--------- "RE: Junior Indian Affairs Minister clashes with Boss" ---------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 08:10:49 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="JUNIOR INDIAN AFFAIRS MINISTER"
http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm
http://www.canoe.ca/NationalTicker/CANOE-wire.Native-Youth.html
February 5, 2002
Junior Indian Affairs minister clashes with boss on potential youth
violence
OTTAWA (CP) -- Canada's new junior Indian Affairs minister is not
diluting his warnings of potential native violence despite a bid by his
boss to downplay the threat.
Canada could eventually face violent outbreaks if land claims and treaty
settlements aren't fast-tracked, Stephen Owen said Tuesday.
The first-term Vancouver-area MP made waves Monday by publicly comparing
impoverished native youth in Canada with militant Palestinian refugees who
are willing to die for change in the Middle East.
"Perhaps I regret the reference to the Gaza Strip," he conceded Tuesday.
"But the point was ... that where situations of despair carry on for a
prolonged time, there's a real risk of violence eventually."
Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault brusquely distanced himself from
the comments of his junior minister, who was named secretary of state for
Indian Affairs last month.
"There's only one minister of Indian Affairs," Nault said Tuesday
outside the Commons. "And I speak for the government."
Owen "made an error" Monday in calling Canada's reserves "tinder-boxes"
of potential violence that can be compared to the chaos of the Middle East,
Nault added.
Impoverished native youth want change but pose no national security risk,
he said.
"There is no threat and there never has been," he stressed earlier
Tuesday. "Those communities and their leaders have said all along that
they want to work in partnership with the government of Canada," to
resolve aboriginal and treaty rights.
Owen, a lawyer and mediator whose public service career has involved
native conflicts, was accused by some of fear mongering.
"Mr. Owen's been around the block," said MP Reed Elley, aboriginal
affairs critic for the Canadian Alliance.
"He's been a deputy attorney general in B.C., he's been active in peace
processes around the world and negotiations. And he should know very well
what he was saying.
"To make these kind of comments is simply unacceptable and I think he
should apologize to aboriginal people."
Native teens and young adults aren't shy about voicing frustration with
their own leaders and government, said Ghislain Picard, vice-chief of
Quebec and Labrador for the national Assembly of First Nations.
"The youth are very much assertive," he said in an interview. "At the
same time, I don't think they're willing to resort to violence."
Native young people are more educated than ever before and Ottawa is
trying to help, said Nault.
"I don't believe there's any militancy."
But there is anger, said Tanya Kappo, 30, communications co-ordinator
for the Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta.
And it's hard to be patient as native rights erode, she said in a recent
interview.
Money is increasingly tight for higher education and medical services
that were supposed to be guaranteed in treaties her ancestors signed, she
said.
Non-natives don't see how often such benefits are denied while treaties
meant to ensure a fair share of lands and resources go unfulfilled, Kappo
said.
Copyright c. 2002, Canoe, a division of Netgraphe Inc.
--------- "RE: Indian Recognition Problems are Getting Worse" ---------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 09:09:08 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="RECOGNITION ISSUES"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://www.boston.com/dailynews/038/region/
BIA official says Indian recognition problems are getting worse
By Melissa B. Robinson, Associated Press, 2/7/2002 19:27
WASHINGTON (AP) U.S. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal A.
McCaleb told House lawmakers Thursday that the already notoriously slow
Indian tribe recognition process is getting worse.
Because of a tight budget and inadequate staffing, the Bureau of Indian
Affairs is falling further and further behind in the process of reviewing
tribal applications for federal recognition, McCaleb told the House
Government Reform Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources, and
Regulatory Affairs.
"We're going to lose ground, not gain ground," McCaleb said under
questioning by Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., who chastised him for
failing to ask his Interior superiors for a bigger budget from Congress to
handle the recognition workload.
"This is going to blow up in your face," said Shays. He said he is
worried that courts will assume greater power in the recognition process
if the BIA can't do the job.
In Shays' southwestern Connecticut district, the Golden Hill Paugussett
tribe, which has been seeking recognition for nearly two decades, filed a
lawsuit in U.S. District Court to get the BIA to speed up consideration of
its petition. It is one of four tribes in the state expecting decisions on
recognition within the next two years; all have expressed interest in
opening gambling operations.
President Bush requested nearly $2.3 billion for BIA in the fiscal year
that begins Oct. 1, 2002, about $24 million more than the current budget.
McCaleb said BIA has competing priorities, including social service
programs that are now meeting only one-third of Indian needs. A plan for
improving the recognition process is due in April.
Federal recognition can extend significant rights to tribes as sovereign
entities, such as exempting them from local and state jurisdictions and
allowing them to open casinos. They can also benefit from multibillion
dollar federal assistance programs.
The BIA has about 23 petitions for recognition under review, and
officials have estimated it could take up to 15 years just to resolve
those applications. Typically, two applications a year can be decided
under an optimistic scenario, McCaleb said.
Another 67 petitions have partial documentation, and over 80 other
tribes have started the process, McCaleb said.
Also, BIA is constantly getting new petitions, supporting materials for
existing ones and requests for information about pending cases from
interested third parties, such as local officials in petitioning tribes'
areas.
The issue of Indian recognition has generated tremendous interest
because of the explosion in Indian casinos.
In 1999, 193 federally recognized tribes reported an estimated $10
billion in gambling revenue, surpassing the amounts that the Nevada
casinos collected that year, according to Congress' investigatory arm, the
General Accounting Office. Most of the revenue, about two-thirds, was
produced by 27 tribes.
A November GAO report highlighted problems in the recognition process,
including lengthy delays and confusion about the basis of BIA's decision-
making. Also, local governments have complained that they have too little
say too late in the process, mostly because the BIA is not required to
seek public comment until it makes a proposed finding in a case.
Before then, local governments seeking information typically must rely
on formal requests through the federal Freedom of Information Act, experts
said.
"I can see they feel like they're being shut out," said Barry T. Hill,
GAO's director of natural resources and environment.
A House bill by Rep. Rob Simmons, R-Conn., whose district includes two
Indian casinos, would change the recognition process to, among other
things, require BIA to accept and consider testimony from municipalities
and other interested parties.
Rep. Simmons' bill is H.R. 3548.
Copyright c. 2002 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing Inc.
--------- "RE: A Debt Past Due may redefine Tribal Relations" ---------
Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2002 15:40:50 -0500 (EST)
From: IndigenousNews@webtv.net
Subj: A debt long past due
Mailing List: Native Rights <NativeRights@yahoogroups.com>
>From Oregonian.com
A debt long past due may redefine federal-tribal relations
02/03/02
MICHAEL MILSTEIN
The stories are bewildering legend among American Indians in the
Northwest and the nation: Family inheritances that vanished like smoke;
checks for a few dollars or pennies that arrive out of the blue; land
they owned but now cannot trac
"When I was a very little girl, I remember my dad saying that we had
this land, that someday we would get some money from it," says Lecile
Jay, a Blackfeet tribe member who lives in Florence.
But when she tried to find the land near the Blackfeet Reservation in
Montana, or some record of it, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs told
her that "it wouldn't be worth our time."
Now the legend of such missing tribal land and money has unfolded into
the worst nightmare of the U.S. Interior Department since the Teapot
Dome scandal of the 1920s, and perhaps the greatest case of government
financial incompetence in history.
Tangled in the mess are Interior Secretary Gale Norton, more than
600,000 acres belonging to thousands of Indians in the Northwest,
billions of dollars of Indian and taxpayer money, and a
multimillion-dollar federal computer system that sits idle in Portland
and may end up scrapped.
The specter looms larger as Norton is expected to testify in coming
weeks in her own contempt trial before a tough federal judge who has
shut down Interior Department computers and could put her in jail. The
judge has so lost patience, he recently warned Norton's attorneys that
"I don't believe one word you're telling me."
"This case in the last six months has just exploded," said Dave Tovey,
executive director of administration for the Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation in Eastern Oregon. "It has been building for
years, but now nobody can ignore it."
Every taxpayer may feel the impact, because the government may have to
repay Native Americans for more than $10 billion worth of royalties and
land the government has lost track of in the past century. That's
roughly the entire annual budget of the U.S. Treasury. Millions probably
would flow to Northwest tribes.
Many think the outcome will redefine the rocky relationship between
Native Americans asserting more control over tribal affairs and a
federal government that once forced them onto reservations, which soon
deteriorated into some of the poorest pockets of America.
"A lot of Indian people have been very passive for a long time," said
Elouise Cobell, a Blackfeet tribe member who set up the showdown by
suing the Interior Department. "As a result, the government got away
with anything they wanted. Now we're saying it's got to stop."
Federal courts have agreed with Cobell since she filed a class-action
lawsuit on behalf of thousands of Indians in 1996. In it, she sought an
accounting of oil, mining, grazing and logging royalties from 11 million
acres of land owned by individual Indians but held in trust by the
government, including 602,837 acres in Oregon and Washington.
The trust land is an artifact of a government scheme to undo tribal
nations and open Indian land to ranching, mining and other uses by
breaking many reservations into pieces called allotments. Some went to
Indian families. The rest went up for sale.
"In the old pictures, you see signs that say 'Indian Land for Sale,' "
recalled Lois Broncheau, who works for the Umatilla tribes buying some
of that land back, bit by bit, at today's higher prices.
The government held Indian allotments tax-free and leased them to
farmers, loggers, miners and, later, oil companies. Congress set up a
trust fund to hold the royalties and dole them out to Indian owners.
But a federal Indian agent despaired as early as 1828 that it looked as
though the government had handled Native American funds "with a
pitchfork" -- and it got worse. Not only did the government not balance
the checkbook holding Native American money, it barely even kept a
checkbook.
Oil companies pumped oil from Indian land without reporting it. Land
records disappeared -- stolen, shredded or tossed out as garbage. Some
Indians got pennies when they deserved thousands of dollars.
The government, through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, today pays
royalties to some Native Americans -- about $500 million in checks go
out each year -- but has lost track of nearly 50,000 others.
Accountants have discovered at least $2 billion, plus interest,
unaccounted for. They could not tell to whom billions more belonged.
"There are dollars sitting out there in the government that may be
ours," said Louis Pitt of Oregon's Warm Springs tribes. "But we have no
way of knowing it."
Even after Cobell filed her case, and U.S. Judge Royce Lamberth ordered
the government to turn over reams of documents, the Treasury Department
destroyed hundreds of boxes that might have contained Indian trust
records.
In 1999, acting "more out of sadness than anger," the judge held
then-Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin
and an assistant interior secretary in contempt of court. He blamed them
for "a shocking pattern of deception" that included covering up missing
documents Indians might have used to prove their case.
"I have never seen more egregious misconduct by the federal government,"
he wrote.
Lamberth ordered the government to pay more than $600,000 for the
"wasted time" of Cobell's lawyers. And he issued a warning: If federal
officials do not shape up, they "will suffer consequences far greater
than those being handed down today."
The Reagan appointee ruled shortly afterward that the entire trust fund
was in hopeless disarray. "The United States cannot say how much money
is or should be in the trust," he wrote.
Some say 300,000 Indians are entitled to the funds. Others suggest
500,000.
"Notwithstanding all of this," Lamberth wrote, Interior Department
officials "continue to write checks on an account that they cannot
balance or reconcile. It is fiscal and governmental irresponsibility in
its purest form."
He ordered the Interior Department to clean up the mess, which had
multiplied through decades of neglect.
Successive generations of Indian families split land into smaller and
smaller shares. In one instance on the Umatilla Reservation, 150 people
inherited bits of a single plot.
"It's nothing like what we call the non-Indian world, where families
sell out to each other, and just a couple people own property," said
Broncheau of the Umatilla tribes.
It adds up to a monumental bookkeeping task, even if the books did
exist.
A $40 million computer system called TAAMS, for Trust Asset Accounting
Management System, was designed to take over the task in Bureau of
Indian Affairs regional offices in Portland and around the country by
2000.
But almost from the time it was installed in 1999, the system failed. It
broke down and spit out incorrect data. In some instances workers had to
photocopy records at rural county courthouses and enter details by hand.
Records in the BIA's Portland office turned out to be incompatible with
it.
A court-appointed monitor said the Portland data had to be "cleaned up"
before the computer system would work in the Northwest, "if that is even
possible."
In February 2001, just after Norton and the Bush administration took
over the Interior Department, the BIA's top computer manager warned that
reform of the Indian trust system was "slowly but surely imploding."
But federal attorneys continued to tell Lamberth that the computer
system was advancing. Norton told Congress her "highest priority" was
fixing the trust mess. She also embraced a plan by Babbitt to rebuild
missing records based on statistical sampling, although Lamberth had
ordered a full reconstruction at a cost of hundreds of millions.
The BIA called for all its offices to forward land records to a central
office in New Mexico. Some tribes, including the Umatilla, resisted,
fearing they would lose more control over their assets.
Norton announced a plan to hand Indian trust funds to a new bureau of
the Interior Department, which tribes almost unanimously opposed as a
further dismantling of the BIA, the one agency dedicated to their needs.
"The BIA has lots of problems, and we know it," said Rick Gay of the
Umatilla tribes. "But right now it's all we have."
Investigators, meanwhile, found that Federal Reserve banks in Seattle,
Salt Lake City, Denver and elsewhere had destroyed records sought in the
case.
Court Monitor Joseph Kieffer reported in August that the computer system
may have to be scrapped altogether, adding to the $600 million taxpayers
have already spent on botched attempts to patch the problems. He
concluded that Norton had directed a "charade carried out by her
attorneys to continue to keep the major management and systems failures
from the light of day and this court."
Two teams of federal attorneys were booted off the case and investigated
for lying to the judge, and the government hired private lawyers to
defend Norton and other top officials. By October 2001, Lamberth was
welcoming new federal attorneys to the case by saying, "My condolences."
"The new team of lawyers always takes it seriously," he told them. "If
you weren't the third team of lawyers, I might take you seriously."
Ten years of reports had warned that Interior Department computers
lacked basic security precautions to protect Indian funds, and in
December a court investigator easily hacked into the system. "This
deplorable condition is inexcusable," Kieffer told the judge.
Lamberth ordered all Interior computers disconnected from the Internet,
blacking out sites for the National Park Service and other popular
agencies. The department also halted checks to more than 40,000 Indians,
blaming it on the shutdown, although Cobell's attorneys pointed out that
Norton and other top officials were still receiving their paychecks.
Two months later, the computers remain shut down, and court officials
say Interior has not sought permission to restart most of them. Lamberth
suggested Interior was suffering from "Washington Monument syndrome,"
where agencies shut down well-known attractions to publicize their
troubles.
Lamberth has since ordered Norton to sign further reports to him, a
signal that he considers her personally accountable. He also began
trying her and almost 40 other top officials for contempt of court,
calling Norton's actions "so clearly contemptuous, I don't understand
what it is that we are going to try."
Norton is likely to be called as a witness in the next two weeks;
Cobell's attorneys have pushed for jail time and want a court-appointed
receiver to take over the funds. At some point, Lamberth will begin
another trial to determine how much the government must compensate
Indians for the lost trust money and interest, estimated by some at well
over $10 billion.
"Politically, I think they're all scared of what this is going to cost,"
said Tovey. "They open the box, and they say, 'Oh, man.' And it's more
expedient to cover it up than to deal with it. That's what's gone on for
years."
You can reach Michael Milstein at 503-294-7689 or by e-mail at
michaelmilstein@news.oregonian.com.
Printed for educational purposes only: The news that is reported is not
necessarily the viewpoint of IndigenousNews
To send news reports, subscribe or unsubscribe send email to
IndigenousNews@webtv.net
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
NativeRights-subscribe@egroups.com
--------- "RE: Indian Affairs Budget Request up $22 Million" ---------
Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2002 08:10:49 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="BUDGET REQUEST"
http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm
http://www.journalstar.com/native?story_id=140&date
Indian Affairs budget request up $22 million
BY JODI RAVE LEE Lincoln Journal Star
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Upon hearing President Bush's 2003 budget proposal
Monday for the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs, Aura
Kanegis said the "chronically underfunded" bureau reminded tribes of what
they gave up.
"Every year around this time there's a reminder of federal failure to
follow up with its commitments," said Kanegis, governmental affairs
director for the National Congress of American Indians, who noted the loss
of millions of acres of Native lands. In exchange, government treaties
promised tribes' health, welfare and education benefits in perpetuity.
Next year's proposed Interior Department budget asks for $2.3 billion
for the BIA, a primary link between the government and tribes. The request
is a $22 million increase over the current BIA budget.
Interior Department officials said it was a good year for the BIA.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Monday listed the commitment to Native
education and trust reform among her department's top four priorities,
which also include land restoration, park rebuilding and citizen-centered
conservation. The $11 billion Interior Department budget proposal is 21
percent higher than the 2000 budget.
"Our budget request includes a major boost in spending in Indian trust
reform, nearly $84 million, the largest increase in the history of the
trust reform," Norton said during a budget briefing in a department
auditorium. "These additional dollars are necessary to address the long
overdue changes that I have committed to making in our Indian trust
program."
Said National Congress of American Indians attorney John Dossett: "The
whole system has been drastically underfunded for 100 years. People in the
BIA have done the best they could."
Of the trust reform request, $49 million has been earmarked for the
department's Office of the Special Trustee, and $35 million for the BIA.
Norton soon may be held in contempt of court, accused of misleading a
federal judge on trust reform progress. The case sits before U.S.District
Judge Royce Lamberth as part of the Cobell vs. Norton class action, a suit
filed by 300,000 Natives who alleged government mismanagement of their
land and assets.
Meanwhile, the Interior Department's 2003 budget proposal contained
mixed messages for BIA schools.
"Our commitment to education in Indian Country includes maintaining and
improving the condition of school facilities," said Lynn Scarlett,
assistant secretary for policy, management and budget.
The Interior Department budget proposes $293 million to build six
schools and finish repairs on others. Scarlett said President Bush's goal
was to eliminate a backlog on BIA school construction and repair by 2006.
The budget also includes a $523 million request for BIA-funded school
operations, including dormitories for some. The request is $19 million
more than last year's budget. Kanegis said the increase was positive and
showed a continuing commitment to help repair crumbling BIA schools.
However, Kanegis she expressed concern about new budget goals that
encourage tribes to take control of school management. Of the 185 BIA-
funded schools, tribes operate 121. The BIA directly funds and operates
the rest.
"In 2002, BIA will consult with tribes and tribal organizations to
determine how best to outsource management of operations of the remaining
64 BIA schools," according to a written 2003 budget brief.
The $12 million slated to oversee that initiative falls short, Kanegis
said. "With schools, the administrative grant formula was already a
compromise formula funded at less than 80 percent. Basically, you're
setting schools up to fail."
Reach Jodi Rave Lee at 473-7240 or jrave@journalstar.com.
Copyright c. 2002, Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved.
--------- "RE: Indians want Trust Fund managed Independently" ---------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 09:09:08 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="MANAGE TRUST INDEPENDENTLY"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/politics/
American Indians want trust fund managed independently
Gale Norton faces critics, committee, thorny issue
By M.E. Sprengelmeyer, News Washington Bureau
February 7, 2002
WASHINGTON -- It's time to take Indian trust fund management away from
"inept" bureaucrats in the Department of Interior, Native American
activists charged during an emotional congressional hearing Wednesday.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton came under heavy fire at a House
Resources committee hearing about her efforts to clean up a century of
mismanagement in the program.
Norton testified for more than two hours about her proposal for a new
Bureau of Indian Trust Asset Management, which would oversee trust funds
established in the late 1800s to compensate individual American Indians
and tribes for the use of their lands.
"We need a departure from the current system to have a real reform,"
Norton said, explaining how the new entity might work within the existing
Bureau of Indian Affairs or as a separate entity within her department.
But testifying later, Indian activists blasted the plan. They said it
appeared to be a counterproductive, last-minute attempt for Norton to
avoid blame in an ongoing lawsuit against her agency.
"Because she has done this so late in the day, so suddenly and without
proper consultation with the tribes . . . her actions appear to be a
desperate attempt to stave off contempt (charges)," said Elouise Cobell,
the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court.
The Interior Department has acknowledged that countless documents are
missing or destroyed, making it nearly impossible to do an accurate
accounting of how much money is owed to 350,000 individuals and 315 tribal
groups.
Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit want a multibillion dollar
settlement and for the program to be placed under a new entity outside the
Interior Secretary's control.
Cobell urged Congress to cut off the money being used to fight the
lawsuit, then put the trust fund for individual Indians in the hands of a
court-supervised receiver.
"Now is the time for Congress to send a clear signal that waste, fraud
and malfeasance are unacceptable and that it wants honorable, fit,
experienced managers in charge of fixing this badly broken mechanism,"
Cobell said.
The Indian Trust issue has haunted the former Colorado attorney general
during her first year in the Bush administration. It now takes up more
than half her work time, even with pressing issues like the national
energy plan and National Park security since the Sept. 11 attacks.
Several committee members defended Norton.
"You have inherited a complex and emotional situation," said committee
chairman Rep. James Hansen, R-Utah. "Although the current administration
is on the receiving end of the brunt of blame for inadequate trust
management, previous administrations dating back decades have largely
ignored the problem."
Norton began her testimony showing a newspaper article about funds
missing from Indian Trust accounts. On the same page, the headline:
"General Custer killed." The newspaper was from July 6, 1876.
"It is unfortunate but true that through both Democratic and Republican
administrations . . . that the Interior Department has acted like the
Enron of federal agencies when it comes to managing Indian trust funds and
Indian trust assets," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.V.
Contact M.E. Sprengelmeyer at (202) 408-2729 or
sprengelmeyerm@SHNS.com.
Copyright c. 2002 The E.W. Scripps Co./Rocky Mountain News.
--------- "RE: Norton says Trust Funds can't be Fixed Quickly" ---------
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 09:09:08 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="NO QUICK FIX"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthtribune/2622187.htm
Posted on Thu, Feb. 07, 2002
American Indian trust funds can't be fixed quickly, Norton says
BY ROBERT GEHRKE
ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON -- It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars and take
sweeping changes to fix a system of American Indian royalties mismanaged
by the government for more than 100 years, Interior Secretary Gale Norton
told members of Congress on Wednesday.
Despite opposition from American Indian leaders to Norton's proposed
changes and skepticism from members of the House Resources Committee,
Norton said she is optimistic she can work with tribes and Congress to
better manage the money.
Committee members, however, clearly were frustrated at how long the
trust overhaul has taken.
Reports dating from 1928 identified problems in trust fund accounting.
In 1994, Congress created the Office of Special Trustee to oversee repair
of the system and has spent $614 million since then on changing it.
Special trustee Thomas Slonaker said Wednesday that major accounting and
data problems still have not been solved.
"It's very, very hard for me to be optimistic. I believe the Native
Americans have put up with this charade long enough," said Rep. Elton
Gallegly, R-Calif. He said if Norton can't fix the system, Congress should.
The trust funds were created in 1887, when Congress assigned American
Indians small allotments of land. Interior was assigned to manage the
grazing, timber, and oil and gas rights, but much of the money was stolen
or misappropriated.
In 1996, Elouise Cobell, a Montana banker and member of the Blackfeet
Nation, and four others sued the government for squandering the money. In
1999, U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth ordered Interior to overhaul the
trust and piece together how much the American Indians are owed.
The judge also is holding a hearing to decide if Norton should be held
in contempt for not fixing the system and misrepresenting reform efforts.
Under threat of contempt, Norton proposed sweeping changes in November,
pushing for creation of a new Interior bureau to manage the trust fund
over opposition from American Indian leaders.
Norton is working with a group of tribal representatives and said she
hopes an agreement can be reached.
She also acknowledged the difficulties in fixing the system and said the
department's computerized accounting system has failed to meet its
objectives, she said. A congressional report said last year that the $40
million-plus system may have to be scrapped.
Adding adequate computer security will cost up to $70 million over the
next three years, Norton said. Security holes prompted Lamberth to pull
the plug on the Interior Department's Internet connections on Dec. 5, 2001,
in order to protect the $500 million account from hackers.
Ninety percent of the department remains off-line, and most American
Indians who rely on royalty payments haven't seen checks since November.
Piecing together how much money has been lost since 1887 cannot be done
completely because records have been destroyed by fire or decayed, Norton
said.
Cobell asked the committee to wipe out the department's budget to fight
the lawsuit and support assigning oversight to someone outside of the
department.
Copyright c. 2002 Duluth News Tribune.
--------- "RE: Shot Seminole Tribal Lawyer now in Hiding" ---------
Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2002 08:26:36 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="LAWYER HIDING"
http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/
Shot Seminole tribal lawyer now in hiding
Associated Press
Posted February 4 2002, 1:34 PM EST
HOLLYWOOD -- A lawyer for the Florida Seminole Tribe who was shot several
times last month has been released from the hospital and is holed up in a
secret location, police said.
Jim Shore left Memorial Regional Hospital on Saturday, and was
recovering well from multiple gunshot wounds, said Lt. Tony Rode of the
Hollywood Police Department.
Police confirmed Shore was at an undisclosed location.
Shore, who is blind, was sitting in the family room of his Emerald Hills
home on Jan. 9 when someone fired at him through a glass patio door,
striking him in the torso.
Shore, who lives alone, called 911. The 56-year-old was left critically
wounded and had to undergo surgery.
Police said Shore hadn't received any threats prior to the shooting.
They are still investigating.
The Seminole Tribe has posted a $50,000 reward for information leading
an arrest.
Copyright c. 2002, South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
--------- "RE: Native Prisoner" ---------
Date: Sun Feb 10, 2002 10:57 PM
From: "Janet Smith" <owlstar@speakeasy.org>
Subj: Prisoner Issues
Date: Friday, February 08, 2002 9:04 PM
From: "Catrel" <catrel@rapidnet.com>
Subj: for WI if possible.
I received good news from Jason today that he had won another case in
Atlanta also. The case was remanded to further proceedings, with a
detailed outline of what must be done in regard to the Religious Land Use
and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, to prevail. This is the first
case in the US to address the RLUIPA in a Circuit Court in setting
guidelines to follow.
If possible I would appreciate the following notice being posted. I have
been asked by Jason "Thunder Quill" Wilson to pass the word requesting
native support at the following, taking place March 4, 2002 Tallahassee,
Florida.
He would appreciate this being passed on and anyone in the area please
attending. The scan of the document is available upon request.
Thank you,
Kim
Native American Prisoner Pen Pal Network
http://members.tripod.com/~foltz.k/napppn/napppnhome.html
USP ATLANTA NATIVE AMERICAN PRISONERS PEN PAL NETWORK
http://members.tripod.com/~foltz.k/pages/atlantahome.html
Background of the case:
Jason "Thunder Quill" Wilson is incarcerated in Hamilton Correctional
Facility, in Jasper, Florida. He, along with David "Dark Horse" Cross,
founded Native American Prisoners of Florida (NAPoF) (please see NAPS site
entry: http://www.hri.ca/partners/naps/Organizations/viewit.cfm?ID=13)
He has 4 lawsuits pending in regard to Religious Freedom in prison for
Native Americans.
Original case was 4:48-CV-328-ws in Northern District of Florida Federal
Court. They prevailed in the case, in part, and it went on appeal in 11th
Circuit Court in Atlanta March 28, 2001. He says "Silcox and the good ole
boys wanted to kill me due to I filled case 328, along with my co-
plaintiff, David "Dark Horse" Croft. All the discovery is complete and
Judge Sherrill has indicated he will set a trial date on December 18,
2001. ... I am proceeding pro se. The trial will be in Tallahassee,
Florida Federal Court.
As a result of the first lawsuit, 328, I have been transferred (6) times,
been in the box (3) times and lost (64) days gain time. I spent (66) days
in the box, from Augsut 6, 2000 til October 11, 2000 all becuse I would
not give my authorized prayer feather to (2) Sergeants who wanted to play
cowboys and Indians. I was written (2) bogus disciplinary reports."
The case now before the court - the one for which Jason is now
requesting support is US District Court, Vol 14, No 26, April 13, 2001,
and says:
"Civil Rights - Speech - Retaliation - Pro se Inmate alleging
correctional officer violated his First Amendment rights when defendant
verbally threatened him with physical harm because plaintiff and another
inmate had filed Section 1983 suit against defendant's brother
-- Defendant not entitled to summary Judgement on First Amendment
retaliation claim where plaintiff provided evidence that defendant made
statements threatening plaintiff for having sued defendant's brother in
earlier case and defendant presented evidence that other correctional
officers did not hear defendant threaten plaintiff, but has addressed
only one of dates in which plaintiff alleged defendant threatened him
-- Qualified Immunity is inapplicable because it was clearly established
at time of alleged violation that correctional officer could not retaliate
against inmate because inmate had filed Section 1983 complaint
-- Cruel and unusual punishment - Where plaintiff alleged repeated
verbal death threats by defendant accompanied by statements that
defendant and his brother had caused physical harm or even death to
inmates in past without retribution and did not allege any actual
physical abuse or contact, Eight Amendment claim should not be dismissed
on summary Judgement where it is unclear whether plaintiff could present
evidence in support of required showing that he suffered severe mental
anguish as result of verbal threats.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
TALLAHASSEE DIVISION
JASON "THUNDER QUILL" WILSON,
CASE NO. 4:99cv344-WCS
RICKY SILCOX,
NOTICE
TAKE NOTICE that a proceeding in this case has been set for the
place, date, and time set forth below:
United States Courthouse
111 North Adams St.
Tallahassee, Florida 32301
Magistrate's Courtroom - 2 South
March4, 2002
9:00 a.m.
Type of Proceeding: Jury Selection and Trial
SHEILA HURST-RAYBORN, ACTING CLERK
January 22. 2002
DATE
- signature ---
Deputy Clerk: Angela M. Maxwell
Copies to:
Wilson, Kilinski, USM, Jury
OFFICE OF CLERK
U.S. DISTRICT CT.
NORTHERN DIST. FLA.
TALLAHASSEE. FLA.
2002 JAN 22 PM 2: 24
Document No. i16
FILED
-=-=-=-
Brigitte Thimiakis (thimiakischool@the.forthnet.gr) writes:
Today I am sending you an article on Manuel Redwoman (separately).
I'm his spokesperson and Ruth Steinberg has been helping us to raise
awareness about this terrible injustice. Twelve months in ad/seg even
though the prison's own documents show Manuel has had an exceptional
conduct and record!
If you could put her article on Wotanging Ikche it would be wonderful.
(Or even a part and the link, I know it is a bit lengthy).
Unfortunately, the article IS long, so I'm giving the e-mail address here
(along with a web address to sign a petition on Manuel Redwoman's behalf).
If you'd like to read the article and are unable to view it online, please
drop me an e-mail (owlstar@speakeasy.org) and I'll send you a text version
by e-mail.
Incarcerated Indians, Part 5, by Ruth Steinberger
Part V: Lakota Man's rights Denied in State Penitentiary
(Deer Lodge, MT) -- Manuel Redwoman, Lakota, is in administrative
segregation in the state penitentiary of the Montana Department of
Corrections, at Deer Lodge, Montana. Information from telephone interviews
with Redwoman, as well as extensive documentation, reveals that Redwoman,
37, has spent 10 months in the maximum segregation unit without any
"write-ups" or even minor incidents. Redwoman was also denied a due
process hearing before he was moved to the high control unit...
Whole story at: http://www.okit.com/Justice4parts/justicemainpage.html
[Note: Manuel is 1/2 Northern Cheyenne, 1/4 Lakota, 1/4 Arapaho. On
February 22nd he will have remained in segregation, locked up 23 hours a
day, for TWELVE months, in spite of his excellent record. ]
<>o<>o< Please sign the petition: "Justice for Manuel Redwoman" >o<>o<>
http://www.PetitionOnline.com/jfmr2001/
thank you, Brigitte Thimiakis
-----------------------------------
If you know of a Native American inmate who would like to correspond with
brothers or sisters on the outside - please drop me a line with whatever
information about them they'd like shared.
Janet Smith
Owlstar Trading Post
http://www.owlstar.com
owlstar@speakeasy.org
--------- "RE: John Rustywire: Marion's" ---------
Date: 8 Jan 2002 03:55:40 -0800
From: rustywire@yahoo.com (john rustywire)
Subj: Navaho Hour on the Radio
Newsgroup: alt.native
In the early morning hours, somewhere near Grand Falls, miles North
Winslow, Arizona, in Kaibeto, Gray Mountain, and Lechee on the Navajo
Rez, an old Sanii (grandmother) would turn on the Philco radio and find
KCLS in the wind.
Borden Milk he would say, turn the can around and cut out the coupon
on the back, they were worth a penny a piece. Be sure and save them,
Borden Milk, the best canned milk in Navajoland; they used to pay for
the hour slot. Some people sound good on the radio, their voice
carries far, and when they speak you can listen to them all day, they
have a voice that lifts you up. He spoke English well and Navajo even
better, he could switch back and forth with ease, it was the voice
from a Navajo college student at Arizona State College by the name of
Daniel Deschinney. He would come on the air and say, Yahtehee Binaa
(Good Morning) Time for Mary Salt to get up, someone needs to go to
the Shonto Trading Post and wake her up, go ahead and bang on the
door, she might yell around, but tell her her boy friend, Chee Wilson
from Leupp said, Get Up Lazy Bones and he would laugh. His voice had a
special quality. He would talk about the immunizations for children,
the news from the Navajo Tribal Council at Window Rock, the news on
the Navajo Hopi land dispute and he would mention the Hualapais from
near the Grand Canyon, the folks down in Parker from the Colorado
River Tribe, the news from Second Mesa and translate the state and
local news into Navajo to let those old Saniis know what was going on
beyond the horizon. There would be a few Navajo jokes. He was young,
with a new wife back then.
There were two tall Navajo boys by the name of Jackson, attending the
Flag Bordertown dorm, they played first string, one of them, Leonard,
was high scorer in the state basketball tournament playing the monster
sized school Phoenix Union, he said they were from Cow Springs, some
called it Red Lake, though there was never any water there all year
long, just when it rained, it is on the northside of the road halfway
between Tuba City and Kayenta, he would say. He would talk about the
scores from Tuba City and how the games turned out. He would mention
the song requests for different people, saying this is for Pearl going
to school at the Flagstaff Beauty College from Sharlene at Cameron
store, near Gray Mountain on Highway 89, playing a little Waylon
Jennings. He spun tales and talked about little things, like the road
conditions on the back road between Tuba and Kaibeto, that the sand
had covered the road so the road had moved west a little bit.
Navajo Hour was the voice of Navajoland back in those days. He would
speak about the upcoming ceremonies and squaw dance notices way out
there by Dilcon, you follow the gravel road to Selba Delkai to the
second dip then turn East two miles then turn right at the house with
the red roof, Kee Mikes bighan, his place that is where it is at. Then
he would talk about the Navajo School Clothing program, about who in
each community a person had to see.
Then he would talk about the tourists, that over by Skeleton Mesa
there was wagon seen with four white horses with New Mexico plates,
the wagon had rubber wheels and one of the girls was seen at the
armory at the Flag Pow Wow grounds, dancing to Buck Owens, when you
see the horse drawn wagon be sure to say hello to Shirleta.
Yeeeeeee!!!, he would say.
In 1968 when the snow came and it was four to six feet high and people
and live stock were trapped way out in the middle of nowhere he was
their lifeline, telling them the National Gaurd was flying in food and
hay by helicopters, telling them to lay blankets outside their hogans
on the snow and food would be dropped to them. During the heavy rains
when the roads would be washed out he told families to check on each
other, and that people in the area would be there to help them. He was
the calm voice who like to laugh speaking through the small Philco.
Yes, way out in the boon docks, out by Sand Springs, Shonto, and Cedar
Ridge, the coffee brewed, the potatoes were peeled, biscuits made,
corn meal mush boiled and people chopped wood and hauled water to the
sound of Daniel Deschinney and his Navajo Hour. It is morning, the sky
is still dark but on the East there is a band of light, and I can hear
his voice calling out....Yahtehee Bina...Good Morning...
rustywire
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/rustywire">navajo spaceships</a>
--------- "RE: Poem: In the Wind" ---------
Date: Thu, 18 Mar 1999 11:51:16 -0800
From: Nancy Thomas <nlthomas@YvwiiUsdinvnohii.net>
Subj: "In The Wind"
Mailing List: Paths-L <paths-l@YvwiiUsdinvnohii.net>
"IN THE WIND"
Grandfather,
Quietly alone,
I walk within,
A time that is
In the wind.
Grandfather,
Through my ancestor's
I walk within,
A time that is
In the wind.
Grandfather,
Of the shadows gone by,
I walk within,
A time that is
In the wind.
Grandfather,
The path of the Circle,
I walk within,
A time that is
In the wind.
Grandfather,
In life we live,
Amd we die,
As we walk within,
A time that is
In the wind.
Grandfather,
May the spirit of my people,
Always live on,
As we walk within,
A time that is,
A time that always will be,
Forever,
In the wind.
Wednesday, March 17, 1999
by:
******************************************************
<> kibbey@sierra.net <>
<> http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/7027 <>
<> "Larry Kibby", Program Director <>
<> Western Shoshone Historic Preservation Society <>
<> Elko Indian Colony <>
<> 1581 Pinenut Circle <>
<> Elko, Nevada 89801-2577 <>
******************************************************
--------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" ---------
Date: Mon, 04 Feb 2002 06:39:49 -1000
From: Debbie Sanders <kepola@hgea.org>
Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days
PEPELUALI
(February)
(Kau-lua)
18
My hopes are cast, like stars, upon the sky.
19
I am a keiki o ka aina, a true child of the land!
20
My hope lies in the future; my strength lies in the past; my survival lies
in the joining of the two.
21
Look into the eyes of a stranger, ... and find a friend.
22
Trust in the lessons of our heritage.
23
A dream is a wild bird upon the wind!
24
See the world through the eyes of a child.
(c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders
Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue
(With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream)
--------- "RE: Idaho Students may learn Indian Languages" ---------
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 08:40:11 -0600
From: Gary Smith <gars@Speakeasy.org>
Subj: NA News Item
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
filename="LANGUAGES"
http://www.pechanga.net/
http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story
Students may learn Indian languages
Saturday, February 9, 2002
Boise - Legislation to allow the state and tribes to cooperate on the
teaching of Indian languages in Idaho schools was introduced in the Senate
on Friday.
"I think it's just a small piece of what we can do to work together for
the state and for the tribes," said Rep. Hilde Kellogg, R-Post Falls, a
co-sponsor.
The bill was developed in the Indian Affairs Council, a committee whose
membership includes state lawmakers and officials of Idaho's Indian tribes.
It allows tribes to designate people who are qualified to teach their
native language and allows a school district to have those individuals
teach a class. The language teachers could not teach any other subject
unless they obtained regular teaching certifications.
David Kerrick, lobbyist for the Nez Perce Tribe, told the Senate
Education Committee, "We want to make a clear statement ... that as a
state, we recognize that these languages are part of our heritage."
Sen. Joe Stegner, R-Lewiston, also a co-sponsor, said the bill is needed
because experts in tribal languages may not be otherwise qualified to
teach in Idaho schools under current laws. Under the bill, which will be
assigned a bill number and get a full hearing in the coming weeks, the
state Board of Education would make rules covering the details of the
program.
Copyright c. 2002, The Spokesman-Review.
--------- "RE: Native America Calling" ---------
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2002 12:16:33 -0600
From: Eric Martin <emartin2@unl.edu>
Subj: NAC Topics + an Audio Valentine from Different Drums
+ Olympic Info from AlterNative Voices + more ...
1) NAC Topics for 2/11 - 2/15
2) Voices From The Circle
3) Different Drums - Audio Valentine
4) alterNATIVE VOICES
5) Earthsongs - Thunderbird Sisters
1) NAC Topics for 2/11 - 2/15
Listen live every weekday from 1-2pm ET by going to www.airos.org or tuning
into your local radio station. For a list of affiliates go to
http://www.nativeamericacalling.com/nac_affiliates.shtm
02/11 - MON: Learning in Rural Environments:
What if you could earn an advanced degree without leaving your reservation
or village community? In Alaska, a successful program is training Native
people in small business management, tribal government administration, land
and renewable resources, cultural documentation and rural health
management. The program, designed for mature and returning students in
rural communities, is turning out community leaders and CEOs. Guests
include Gordon Pullar of the Aleut Nation, Director of Alaska Native and
Rural Development at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.
02/12 - TUE: Live with Club Red:
Club Red starring Oneida comedian Charlie Hill, is a comedy show unlike any
other on public radio. It's a fast-paced mix of skits, running gags, guest
musicians and lots of Charlie being himself. Each episode spoofs and
satirizes contemporary life in Indian Country. The club offers poetry
slams, film festivals, wannabe Indians and just sheer nonsense. It's like
Monty Python... with moccasins. Guests include Charlie Hill, the Flat Earth
Rangers, Grandma Mabel, Dr. Fido Multiplex, and Executive Producer Peggy
Berryhill of the Muscogee Nation.
02/13 - WED: Casino Surveillance:
The integrity of Indian gaming has been under intense scrutiny since tribal
casinos opened their doors. Indian gaming is the most heavily regulated
gaming industry in the nation, yet there exists the perception that it has
connections to the mob and that corruption is rampant. Where do tribes turn
when it comes to protection, detection, and enforcement of this myriad of
regulations? And who is in charge of security and surveillance for tribal
casinos? Guests include Richard Jaramillo of Isleta Pueblo and Arrow Gaming
Consultants Unlimited.
02/14 - THU: Love, American (Indian) Style:
It's been said many times that there is no love like Native love. There is
no courtship like an Indian courtship. Especially at an all-night "49"
after the pow wow. In fact, the songs of this preferred form of Native
socializing are all about lost love, drowned sorrows, and catching a new
snag. On this Valentine's Day, we look at Indian courting techniques, from
contemporary, modern-day tee pee creeping to more traditional forms of
romance. Tune in and get hooked up on the Indian Love Connection.
02/15: FRI: No Tribes in Alaska?:
Republican leaders in the Alaska State Legislature are asking the Bush
administration to reconsider the formal status of Alaska Natives. State
lawmakers claim federal recognition of tribes in Alaska is causing problems
for state laws, and they believe tribes should be acknowledged mainly as a
vehicle for funding Native American programs. But what right do states have
to define the power of tribes? Do Alaska Natives have the right to
sovereign immunity, trust land, and gaming permits? Guests include
Anchorage attorney Don Mitchell.
2) Voices From The Circle
This week, VOICES FROM THE CIRCLE/AIROS listeners will hear an interview
with Rebecca Adamson, Executive Director of the First Nations Development
Institute and the different perspectives between those who want to develop
business in "Indian Country" and "Mainstream America."
VFTC host Jim DeNomie talks with his sister Joanne DeNomie, a New York City
Jazz/Blues singer about her impressions of the September 11th disaster and
how it has affected her and the lives of other citizens of Manhattan.
Musically, VFTC listeners will hear: Something new from Mary Youngblood.
Yolanda Martinez ponders "Wolf Legends." Black Lodge keeps us in touch with
the pow wow trail with an "Intertribal." Bill Miller sings us the story of
"Tumbleweed." Flutist Dennis Hawk ponders the age old question, where is
"Lew Webster's Ghost." Karen Therese sings of a "Love Like A River." Little
Otter takes us way up North and back to the pow wow trail with a "Side
Step." The Red House Family concludes VFTC with "Urban Indian."
Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET)
Monday - 2/11: 4pm, 10pm
Tuesday - 2/12: 4am
Saturday - 2/16: 3pm
Sunday - 2/17: 4am, 3pm
Monday - 2/18: 4am
3) Different Drums - Audio Valentine
This week Different Drums sends listeners an audio Valentine, an hour of
love songs from the heart of NDN country. Love songs in both traditional
and contemporary styles - songs that celebrate love that works and songs
that laugh while getting through the times that it doesn't - are blended
into a sweet hour of "Love Medicine." Chester Knight and the Wind, Annie
Humphrey, Buddy Redbow, John Trudell and Jackie Bird are just a few of the
artists waiting to touch your heart this week on Different Drums.
Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET)
Tuesday 2/12: 10am, 4pm, 10pm
Wednesday 2/13: 4am
Saturday 2/16: 5pm
Sunday 2/17: 6am, 5pm
Monday 2/18: 6am
4) alterNative Voices - The Olympics and Indian Country
alterNATIVE VOICES is honored to have in studio this week Darrick
Silversmith (Dine). Darrick was one of the select Olympic Torch carriers
in January. He is young urban Native person with integrity, vision and
inspiration and brought Native pride and honor to the Olympic torch and
uniform.
At the new desk, Vernon Cawker has a story about Native tribes involvement
in the 2002 Olympics - or lack thereof!
Susie announces a student writing contest sponsored by South Dakota Public
Broadcasting and Indigenous Issues Forums.
Plus music selections from MaryYoungblood's new collection "Beneth Raven
Moon" and Coyote Zen's "Medicine Dog," Ulali and Powwow Legends from across
Indian Country.
Visit us anytime for more information www.alternativevoices.org
Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET)
Wednesday 2/13: 10am, 4pm, 10pm
Thursday 2/14: 4am
Saturday 2/16: 6pm
Sunday 2/17: 7am, 6pm
Monday 2/18: 7am
5) Earthsongs - Debora Iyall
Next time on Earthsongs: Modern Music From Native America you'll be the
first to hear tracks from Arigon Starr's forthcoming album "BACKFLIP." Also
in the mix, Robbie Robertson (the song that opened the 2002 Winter
Olympics) and new music from Ozomatli, Arsenal, Natay and Hawaiian reggae
Grammy nominees B.E.T.
Then -- in the spirit of Valentine's Day -- we'll revisit our 1999
interview with Debora Iyall (deb-OR-ah eye-all) who blazed across the 80's
modern rock landscape singing hits like "Girl In Trouble" and "Never Say
Never." Since those days with Romeo Void, she's been in numerous small
bands as well as teaching printmaking, practicing her own visual erotic art
and even collaborating on Balinese-style shadow puppet plays. Now loyal
fans have discovered her most recent release, "Dialog" under the band name
"Knife in Water."
All this and plus the Native Word of the Day. Details at www.earthsongs.net.
Listen online by going to www.airos.org (All Times ET)
Thursday 2/14: 10am, 4pm, 10pm
Friday 2/15: 4am
Saturday 2/16: 4pm
Sunday 2/17: 5am, 4pm
Monday 2/18: 5am
Eric Martin
Native American Public Telecommunications (NAPT)
Web Communications Specialist
emartin2@unl.edu
Listen to Indian Radio on the Internet 24 hours a day at nativetelecom.org
To subscribe to AIROS' electronic program guide e-mail airos@unl.edu with
the subject heading subscribe.
--------- "RE: Upcoming Events" ---------
Date: Sun, 10 Feb 2002 15:39:14 -0
From: Gary Smith (gars@speakeasy.org)
Subj: Upcoming Events
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
EVENTS ARE FEATURED IN ODD NUMBERED ISSUES ONLY
=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2002 13:05:33 -0700
From: wes wildcat <wildcat@scd.ucar.edu>
Subj: pow-wow
YOUNG BIRD DRUM
Honor~~Benefit Powwow
February 16, 2002
Myriad Convention Center~~Oklahoma City
Exhibit Hall #3
1:00 - Gourd Dance 7:00 - Grand Entry
Contest in Following Categories:
Two step
Womens Buckskin Mens Fancy
Womens Cloth Mens straight
Jr Girls jingle Jr. Girls cloth
Teen Girls cloth Teen Boys Fancy
Teen Girls Jingle Jr. Boys Fancy
MC: Wallace Coffey - Comanche
HS: Jimmy Starr - Sac&Fox
HGDS: Kelly Cable - Comanche-Cheyenne
HMD: Darrel Wildcat - Pawnee
HLD: Grace Gillette - Arikara
HGD: Lonnie Emahoolah - Kiowa
CoHost: Tiah Piah Society of OK
CoHost: Comanche Little Ponies
HLBD: Graham "littleboy" Primeaux - Otoe
HLGD: Aubrey Noel Stone - Kiowa
AD's: Adrian Horsechief & Randy Frazier
We are very proud of the Youngbird Drum group and they will be
representing all American Indians at the Grammy Music Awards.
===================================
Date: Thu, 22 Nov 2001 10:04:05 -0400
From: Larry Innes <linnes@innu.ca>
Subj: Innu Walk for the Earth - March 2002
Mailing List: Innu People Forum list <INNU-L@YORKU.CA>
Innu Walk for the Earth - March 2002
Join Innu women in the fifth annual winter trek from Sheshatshiu to
Minipi Lake. The Innu way of life is under threat from military
flight training activities, large scale hydroelectric development,
industrial forestry and new highway developments. This month-long
walk is being organized by Innu women who are concerned about the
future of the Earth, and is intended to highlight the need to protect
the land for future generations. In the Innu tradition, we will walk
on snowshoes, pulling what we need on toboggans. The days will be
long and bright, but it will still be the Labrador winter.
We welcome participants from other Innu communities, Aboriginal and
non-Aboriginal people to join us. We want everyone to experience the
beauty of our land in the winter, and to take part in our traditional
way of life. There will be plenty of country food and wildlife along
the way, and we will all be working hard, breathing clean, fresh air,
and making new friendships.
Anyone who would like to come will need to have their own equipment:
moccasins, snow-boots, snowshoes, and a warm sleeping bag, but we
will share tents and food.
We are also seeking donations from people who support our work, but
are unable to participate in the Walk. We want to publicize the
purpose of the trip, and purchase some supplies. We would appreciate
any donations that you can afford to make.
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT PARTICIPATION OR TO MAKE A DONATION:
Innu Womens Walk
PO Box 197, Sheshatshiu, Labrador, Canada A0P 1M0
or call Elizabeth (Tshaukuesh) Penashue (709) 497-8741
===================================
Date: Sat, 2 Feb 2002 21:28:18 -0600
From: "Klieta Eaton Bagwell" <kbagwell@HiWAAY.net>
Subj: Homecoming Festival
Cherokee River Indian Community
Homecoming & Indian festival
1100 County Road 67, Moulton, AL
Everyone welcome and invited !
Free admission, Free parking, Free primitive camping
APRIL 6 & 7, 2002
Friday April 5th is setup day for venders & campers
Contact: Steve Bison, Klieta Bagwell, Juanita Lusk or Gene Bagwell
256 318-3584, 256 318-3423, 256 292-3584(256 905-0444 on Tues & Thur)
Information on Head dancers, MC, arena director, etc will be announced
Host Drum: Buffalo Heart
Other drums welcome
The Public is invited to come and enjoy Native American Indian Food,
American Indian Drums & Dancers, storytelling, hand made crafts, Blowgun
competition, cakewalk, fun, games and more.
Horseshoe pitching contest: sponsored by SilverWolf horse Sanctuary!
Entry fee $1.00 1st 2nd & 3rd place prizes
SPONSORS
Silverwolf horse
Alabama Minority
Sanctuary
Consumers council
20
Hogohegee Indian Center
No bad attitudes, language, politics, or hurt feelings
Tobacco abuse in designated areas only
Thank you for your support in teaching our children the true values of
our community.
Directions: From I65 take the Hartselle Hwy 36 exit, (between the
Decatur & Cullman exits) go west about 20 miles. turn south on hwy 33 go
about 10 miles turn east at the Cherokee River Indian Community Sign
(it's between the 15 - 16 miles markers) Go 3 miles to reservation
>From Cullman take the hwy 157 exit, turn west on hwy 36, turn south on
hwy 33 follow directions above.
===================================
Native Solutions Presents:
4th Annual Intertribal Powwow - Oxford Lake Park
Exit 185 off I-20 April 26-28, 2002
Fri 5-9pm Dancing & Storytelling
Sat 10am-8pm Grand Entry 11am
Sun 10am-5pm Grand Entry 12noon
Admission $5 Adults, Seniors 65 & up and Children 12 & under free
Native American Honor Guard and Warrior Society
Host Nortern Drum - Grey Wolf Singers
Host Southern Drum - Shadow Wolf Singers
Headman - Don Redbear
Hedlady - Donna Dulaney
MC - Gary Smith
AD - Buck Tucker
Special Native American flute performance - Larry Campbell
Special Appearance, Dalls TX autor & Speaker - Kicking Eagle
No Drugs or Alcohol - Bring your own chairs
Iron Forging, Beadwork, Dreamcatcher and Healing with Herbs demos
For more Info call Tony 256 835 0110; Cindy 256 831 9373;
John or Rachel 256 835 2638; or Mark or Ruth 26 820 6315
Vendors - Contact Mark or Ruth Davis only
===================================
anderson's native american events page
http://andersons-web.com/billyone.html
this page has been designed to help you find native american events. we
have posted information on pow-wows, festivals, rodeos, art & craft shows,
seminars and many other types of gatherings that represents the native
american culture. please feel free to send us information about your
gatherings to post. along with our list of events, we have included links
to all other event pages that we are aware of so that you can use this
page as your native american event index page. as hard as we work to make
sure the information we post is correct, mistakes seem easy to make.
therefore before you depart for a gathering, please use the contact
numbers given and verify all of the important information for yourself.
we can be contacted as follows:
write us:
anderson's
11372 timber lane
brooksville, florida 34601
Anderson's Web Powwows
February 22 - 24, 2002: Ancient Voices 3rd annual Benefit Pow Wow To help
benefit Sovereign Nations Cultural Preservation Center in the building of
their Museum. The location is Myakkahatchee Creek Park, North Port,
Florida. Use exit 33 off I-75. Visit us on the web at: http://www.sncpc.
home.dhs.org For more information
e-mail: ancient_voices_pow_wow_@yahoo.com
March 2 - 3, 2002: Great Lakes Indian Culture Association Mid-Winter
Powwow at the Baker College in Owosso, Michigan. Appprox 20 miles NE of
Lansing and 20 miles West of Flint at Gute and Washington Streets near M-
52 and M-21. For more information call: 313-383-9442 or 313-336-4187.
March 29 - 31, 2002: Third Annual Circle of Friends Intertribal Powwow at
the Wiley T. Jones Fairgrounds in Forrest City, Arkansas (About 1 hour
West of Memphis, TN) For more information Please contact Frank or Cinda
Brent at 870-295-4060 or email justalittleotter@juno.com
May 3 - 5, 2002: 15th Annual Indian Celebration and Powwow Presented by
the East Tennessee Indian League at the Farmer's Market Knoxville,
Tennessee I-640, Exit 8. For More Information contact: 865-579-1384 or
email: TWDBear@aol.com
May 10 - 11, 2001: The Augusta Pow Wow (new location see flyer) FLYER
CLICK HERE! Augusta Georgia . The flyer mentions a belt and pictures of
this belt. You may view these pictures by clicking HERE. For more
information call 706-771-1221 or e-mail: krazywilly@mindspring.com
June 1 - 2, 2002: Pistcataway Indian Tribe celebrating it's 20th year with
a very large pow wow at their reservation in Maryland. For more
information e-mail: TopcopinDC@aol.com
June 26 - 29, 2002: Yes 2002! National Powwow 12. July, 2002 in Tipton,
Indiana. The committee is looking for input and suggestions on how to make
The National Powwow experience more enjoyable and rewarding. See our Web
Site at: www.nationalpowwow.com Please send input to: J. Ford Griggs,
Chairman, National Powwow 12, Rt. 3, Box 110, Bartlesville, Oklahoma 74003,
Telephone 918-662-5317, Fax 918-662-5317, or e-mail at: FordGriggs@aol.com
August 2 - 4, 2002: Pow Wow at Frank Liske Park in Concord, North Carolina,
Ridgie Tucker will lead the host Southern Drum. There will be Gourd
Dancing. Jim Charlton and Amy Anderson will be the head dancers and Jim
Anderson will MC once again. The dates and place are still tentative but
it is expected to remain at the park and the dates will be very close.
Once the committee gets everything together for this one we will update
this notice. You should put this little dance on your calendar as it has
been outstanding the last few years. For more information contact George
Hoyt (704)786-5705 or e-mail him at: gehoy@concordnc.com
August 17 - 18, 2002: 22 Annual American Indian Hobbyist Pow - Wow at the
Flying W Ranch Star Rt. 2 Box 150 Tionesia, PA. 16353. Write for
information or call: 814-463-7663.
===================================
Aaron's Powwow Calendar
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Olympus/9173/powwows.html
I have collected these listings from various places on the web and from
usenet, as well as other listings that I receive and requests from powwow
organizers. I do not take responsibility for the accuracy (or spelling) of
any of these listings. Use the contact information provided to make sure
that the powwow has not changed date, time, location, or other details. In
most cases, I have included all of the information that I have for each
listing. If you have corrections to make or would like to see your powwow
listed here, please send me an e-mail message with the appropriate
information (you must include the event name, exact date, city, state, and
a contact number or email; any additional information is helpful but not
required).
February 2002
February-April - Sam Watts-Kidd
Retrospective Exhibit and Cherokee Clans Exhibit
Location: Cherokee Heritage Center, Tahlequah, Oklahoma.
Notes: Artist reception for Sam Watts-Kidd Exhibit on February 2.
Contact: (918) 456-6007.
February 16-17 - Lima Mid-Winter Powwow
Location: Lima, Ohio.
Notes: Head Man, Jasper Mithlo.
Contact: (397) 663-0337, lisaco@techII.com.
February 22-24 - Ancient Voices Third Annual Benefit Powwow
Location: Myakkahatchee Creek Park, 6967 Registar Rd., North Port, Fl.
Notes: MC, Mark Crazydog; Head Man, Dennis Littlewolf;
Head Lady, Shenna Sunflower; Head Veteran, Ghostwalker;
Host Southern Drum, Red Wind Spirit Singers. Dance and drum competitions.
Vendors by invitation only.
Contact: (941) 496-9771; fax (509) 335-8804;
ancient_voices_pow_wow@aol.com; http://www.sncpc.home.dhs.org/.
February 22-24 - Sixth Annual Vero Beach Intertribal Powwow
Location: Indian River County Fairgrounds, Vero Beach, Florida.
Notes: Sponsored by the Teen Escape Council fo the Vero Beach/
Indian River County Recreation Department.
Vendors by invitation only.
Free primitive camping for participants, RV hook-ups available.
Host Drum, Northern Thunderhorse Singers.
Contact: (561) 567-1579; fax (561) 567-6325; deedee1579@aol.com.
February 27 - Jicarilla Apache Days
Location: Community Center, Dulce, New Mexico.
Contact: (505) 759-1343.
March 2002
March 9-10 - Cal State University Long Beach Thirty Second Annual Powwow
Location: Upper Quad, CSU Long Beach Campus, Long Beach, California.
Notes: Contest, intertribal, Gourd dancing. All drums and dancers welcome.
Free admission and parking.
Contact: Bianca Larson (562) 985-4963 (leave message),
fax (562) 985-4631 or (562) 985-5683, afriendr@hotmail.com;
Vendors contact (562) 985-8528, anzarian@csulb.edu.
April 2002
April 5-7 - Aboriginal Student Council of the University of
Alberta First Annual Competition Powwow
Location: Butter Dome, University Campus, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Notes: Dance, drum, hand drum and iron man/iron woman contests.
Drum money for non-placing and non-competing drum groups.
All winners paid in Canadian funds. First Grand Entry Friday 7 pm.
Everyone is welcome.
Contact: Shannan Awasis (780) 930-2026, smokinbuffalo1@hotmail.com.
April 6-7 - Florece April Fools Day Festival
Location: Florence/Laurderdale Coliseum, Florence, Alabama.
Notes: Grand Entry 10 am. All drums and dancers welcome.
Head Man, Bill Jolly; Head Lady, Teresa Boduck; Host Drum, Whitehorse;
Guest Drum, Redbird; Arena Director Bear; MC, Farron Weeks.
Contact: katydid30us@vallnet.com.
April 12-14 - Tifton Intertribal Powwow
Location: Friendly City Park, E.B. Hamilton Complex, Tifton, Georgia.
Notes: Princess contest.
Contact: Jerry Laney (229) 787-5180 evenings;
Native Way Productions, 8788 Gravel Hill Rd, Albany GA 31705,
e-mail Jerry@NativeWayProductions.com; http://www.nativewayproductions.com
April 19-21 - Musical Echoes, A Native American Cultural Event and
Flute Gathering
Location: The Landing, Ft. Walton Beach, Florida.
Notes: Flute, drum, tipi contests.
Contact: (850) 243-4405.
April 20-21 - Three Rivers Intertribal Powwow
Location: Mitchell Hall, UW-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Contact: Tracy Littlejohn (608) 785-8225, Hinuga1@aol.com.
April 25-27
Nineteenth Annual Gathering of Nations Powwow,
Miss Indian World, and Indian Traders Market
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Notes: Over 3,000 Native singers and dancers and over 500 tribes from
all over the world come to Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA to exchange
culture and tradition and sing and dance competitively and socially.
Everyone is invited. Visit the web site for information, photos, sound
and video clips, history, educational information, giveaways,
free e-mail, message boards, chat, free e-cards, and more.
Contact: e-mail web@gatheringofnations.com;
http://www.gatheringofnations.com.
April 25-28 - Native Way Indian Festival and Powwow
Location: Tobosofkee Recreation Area (Sandy Beach), Macon, Georgia.
Contact: Jerry Laney (229) 787-5180 evenings;
Native Way Productions, 8788 Gravel Hill Rd, Albany GA 31705,
e-mail Jerry@NativeWayProductions.com; http://www.nativewayproductions.com
May 2002
May 4-5 - Ninth Annual Choctaw Apache Traditional Powwow
Location: Ebarb High School Ball Park, 53440 Hwy 482, Ebarb, Louisiana.
Notes: Head Man, Oosahwe; Head Lady, Lori Barham Gray;
Head Gourd Dancer, Herbert Johnson Sr.; Arena Director, Thomas Muskrat;
Host Drum, Drum Busters. All dancers and drums are welcome.
Contact: (318) 645-7392; fax (318) 645-2589; colton@cp-tel.net;
http://cate.50megs.com/Index.htm.
May 11 - Ninth Annual Occoneechee State Park Native American Heritage
Festival and Powwow
Location: Buggs Island Lake, Occoneechee State Park, Clarksville, Va.
Notes: Native dancing, arts and crafts and food. Everyone welcome.
Contact: Julie West, Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce,
PO Box 1017, Clarksville VA 23927, (804) 374-2436, (800) 557-5582;
http://www.kerrlake.com/chamber/powwow.
May 31-June 2 - Fifty Second Annual Tulsa Powwow
Location: O'Brien Park, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Contact: Jack Anquoe (918) 743-3628.
June 2002
June 6-8 - Celebration 2002
Location: Juneau, Alaska.
Notes: "Celebration is a monumental biennial gathering of Alaska Natives,
which exemplifies the dynamics of Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimpshian cultural
activities including singing, dancing, storytelling, and visual art and
encourages thousands of individuals to participate in positive activities
highlighting traditional singing and dancing, arts and crafts, and Native
languages."
Contact: Jayne Dangeli, Sealaska Heritage Foundation, One Sealaska Plaza
Suite 201, Juneau AK 99801; (907) 463-4844; fax (907) 586-9293;
jayne.dangeli@sealaska.com; http://www.sealaska.com/.
June 26-29, 2002 - National Powwow 12
Location: NEW LOCATION - Tipton County Fairgrounds, Tipton, Indiana.
Contact: http://www.nationalpowwow.com/.
July 2002
July 13-14 - Howard County Powwow
Location: Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, Maryland.
Notes: Admission $7 adults, $4 children.
Contact: (410) 442-1022; Barry Richardson (252) 257-5383,
now-cdcbarry@coastalnet.com.
July 18-21 - Standing Arrow Powwow
Location: Elmo, Montana.
Contact: Richard Nichols (406) 849-6018 days.
July 27-28 - Wakichipi Richmond Powwow
Location: RIR Complex, 600 E. Laburnum Ave., Fairgrounds, Richmond, Va.
Notes: Admission $7 adults, $4 children.
Contact: (804) 345-7223; Barry Richardson (252) 257-5383,
now-cdcbarry@coastalnet.com.
August 2002
August 17-18 - Ninth Annual Powwow by the Sea
Location: Memorial Coliseum, 402 S. Shoreline, Corpus Christi, Texas.
Notes: Sponsored by the Coastal Bend Council of Native Americans.
Contact: cbcna@worldnet.att.net; http://home.att.net/~cbcna/cbcna002.htm.
September 2002
September 14-15 - Tenth Annual Four Winds Powwow
Location: Killeen Special Events Center, W.S. Young Dr., Killeen, Texas.
Notes: $15,000 prize money (no catagories combined),
Grand Entries at 1 pm and 7 pm with Gourd Dancing at 12 noon and 6 pm.
Admission $1.00 ages six and up.
Multi-cultural presentation during dinner hour on Saturday.
Contact: Paula Brock (254) 699-3167; e-mail Fourwinds1@hotmail.com;
http://www.fourwindstx.org; Fourwinds Intertribal Society,
Box 10035, Killen, TX 76547-0035.
October 2002
October 11-13 - Hagerstown Powwow
Location: Hagerstown Fairgrounds, Hagerstown, Maryland.
Notes: Admission $7 adults, $4 children.
Contact: (301) 791-3246; Barry Richardson (252) 257-5383,
now-cdcbarry@coastalnet.com.
October 31-November 3 - Fredericksburg Powwow
Location: Fairgrounds, Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Notes: Admission $6 adults, $4 children.
Contact: (540) 373-1776, (800) 678-4748; Barry Richardson (252) 257-5383,
now-cdcbarry@coastalnet.com.
November 2002
November 15-17 - Gread American Indian Exposition
Location: Richmond Showplace, 3000 Mechanicsville Tpke., Richmond, Va.
Notes: Over $10,000 in dance and drum prize money.
Admission $7 adults, $4 children.
Contact: (804) 225-8877; Barry Richardson (252) 257-5383,
now-cdcbarry@coastalnet.com.
===================================
Date: Mon, 4 Feb 2002 22:58:06 -0800
From: "NorthStar" <NorthStar@InterCorp.com>
Subj: Powwow Information - May
Mailing List: Tsalagi_Unole <tsalagi-unole@yahoogroups.com>
May 4-5 - Ninth Annual Choctaw Apache Traditional Powwow
Location: Ebarb High School Ball Park, 53440 Hwy 482, Ebarb, Louisiana.
Notes: Head Man, Oosahwe; Head Lady, Lori Barham Gray; Head Gourd Dancer,
Herbert Johnson Sr.; Arena Director, Thomas Muskrat;
Host Drum, Drum Busters . All dancers and drums are welcome.
Contact: (318) 645-7392; fax (318) 645-2589; colton@cp-tel.net;
http://cate.50megs.com/Index.htm.
May 11 - Ninth Annual Occoneechee State Park Native American Heritage
Festival and Powwow
Location: Buggs Island Lake, Occoneechee State Park, Clarksville, Virginia
Notes: Native dancing, arts and crafts and food. Everyone welcome.
Contact: Julie West, Clarksville Lake Country Chamber of Commerce,
PO Box 1017, Clarksville VA 23927, (804) 374-2436, (800) 557-5582;
http://www.kerrlake.com/chamber/powwow.=20
May 17-19 - First Annual Wolf Creek Intertribal Powwow
Location: Hwy. 59 Flea Market Grounds, Summerdale, Alabama.
Notes: Friday 9 am to 2 pm Children's Education Day. $1500 prize money.
Head Man, Charles Jones; Head Lady, Deborah Jones; MC, John Ferguson;
Arena Director, Michael Raven Crowdog;
Contemporary Recording Artist, Dave 'White Wolf' Trezak.
Food vendors still needed [as of 1/3/02].
Contact: Chief Gene Griffith (251) 986-5433; Tribal Office (251) 989-2714;
standingbull@wolfcreeksoutherncherokee.com; littlewolf@monacanindian.com;
http://www.geocities.com/wolfcreekband/home.html.
May 31-June 2 - Fifty Second Annual Tulsa Powwow
Location: O'Brien Park, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Contact: Jack Anquoe (918) 743-3628.
===================================
Aboriginal Multi-Media Society AAMSA
Aboriginal Community Events Listing
http://www.ammsa.com/ammsaevents.html#anchor388226
For more information on Powwows: the traditions and dances, check out
Windspeaker's Guide to Indian Country.
To add your event to this listing please e-mail us at: market@ammsa.com
January 18 - April 7, 2002
German Silver Exhibit:
Symbolic Jewelry of the Southern Plains Indians
Red Earth Museum
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Phone: 405-427-5228
February 14, 2002
Kiowa War Mothers Valentine's Day Dance
Red Buffalo Hall
Carnegie, Oklahoma
Phone: 405-247-3290
February 22, 2002
Poetry Reading: Native American Women and Others
for Multi-Cultural Preservation
Jacobson House
Norman, Oklahoma
Phone: 405-366-1667
February 23, 2002
Comanche Little Ponies Dance
Cleveland County Fairgrounds
Norman, Oklahoma
Phone: 580-429-8229
March 9 - 10, 2002
Genealogy Workshop
Cherokee Heritage Center
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-6007
March 6 - 8, 2002
Economic Conference on Indian Tourism
Biltmore Hotel
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Phone: 800-593-3356
March 12, 2002
American Indian Cultural Society Lecture:
Carrier of Culture - Language
Tribes Gallery
Norman, Oklahoma
Phone: 405-329-4442
March 20 - 21, 2002
Vernal Equinox Walk
Spiro Mounds Archaeological Center
Spiro, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-962-2062
March 23, 2002
Traditional Pottery Class
Cherokee Heritage Center
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-6007
March 24, 2002
Lecture Series: "Historic Homes"
Cherokee Heritage Center
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-6007
April 6, 2002
Oklahoma University's Miss Indian OU Pageant,
Lloyd Noble Center
Norman, Oklahoma
Phone: 405-325-3163
April 6 - 7, 2002
"Art Under The Oaks" Indian Market
Honor Heights Dr
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-683-1701
April 6 - 30, 2002
"Art Under The Oaks" Exhibit & Sale
Honor Heights Dr
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-683-1701
April 9 - 13, 2002
Annual Symposium on the American Indian
Northeastern State University
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-5511 x 4351
April 12 - 13, 2002
Northeastern State University Powwow
University Campus
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-5511 x 4351
April 12 - 13, 2002
Oklahoma University's Stomp Dance and Powwow
Lloyd Noble Center
Norman, Oklahoma
Phone: 405-325-3163
April 14, 2002
Lecture Series: "Mainstreet",
Cherokee Heritage Center
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-6007
April 19 - 21, 2002
Apache Rattlesnake Festival and Powwow
Fairgrounds,
Apache, Oklahoma
Phone: 580-588-2880
April 19-21, 2002
Sixteenth Annual
Arizona State University Spring Competition Pow Wow
Tempe, Arizona
Phone: (480) 965-5224
Email: pow_wow@asu.edu
Web site: http://powwow.asu.edu
April 19 - 21, 2002
Old Fort Days Heritage Festival
Fort Gibson Historic Site
Fort Gibson, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-478-4780
April 20, 2002
Apache Tribal Princess Dance
Apache Tribal Building
Anadarko, Oklahoma
Phone: 405-247-7695
April 25 - 26, 2002
Indian Territory Days
Cherokee Heritage Center
Tahlequah, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-456-6007
April 25 - 27, 2002
Indian Festival & Powwow
Talihina School Gym
Talihina, Oklahoma
Phone: 918-567-2539
July 25 to July 28, 2002
Moosehide Gathering
Dawson City, Yukon
Contact: Lue Maxwell
Special Events Coordinator
Box 599, Dawson City, Yukon Y0B 1G0
(867)993-5385
(867-993-6553)fax
luene.maxwell@gov.trondek.com
===================================
Char-Koosta News
The official news publication of the Flathead Indian Nation
http://www.charkoosta.com/pow.html
Upcoming Powwows
.......... 2002
2nd Week in Feb.: Billy's 3rd Annual Powwow, Mondon Hill Rd., Brooksville,
FL; PO Box 353, Brooksville, FL 34605; cbarne13@bellsouth.net
May 10, 11 and 12, 2002: Cahaba Shrine Park, 6001 Pulaski Pike, Huntsville,
AL; 256/539-5844
May 18, 2002: Helbolb Powwow at Everett Community College (1220
Rockefeller Ave.), Everett, WA; 425/388-9268 or 338-9562
June 14, 15 and 16, 2002: 33rd Annual Delta Park Powwow/Encampment, East
Delta Park, Portland, OR; 503/760-1737; Bowandarrowcc@aol.com
July 3 through 7, 2002: 104th Annual 4th of July Celebration in Arlee, MT;
406/745-2700, 745-4984, 726-3135; ruthq@blackfoot.net;
http://go.to/Arlee_powwow
July 12, 13 and 14, 2002: 12th Annual Montour International Powwow,
Western Idaho Fairgrounds, Boise, ID; 208/383-0125
Let us announce your Powwow.
Please include a phone number or functioning e-mail address for
confirmation purposes.
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Notice of Copyright Clearance by Contributors:
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Buffalo Field Campaign, Gary Smith, Indigenous News, Amazon Alliance,
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Nancy Thomas, Larry Kibby, Debbie Sanders, Eric Martin
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