Tribe Urges Members To Vote Against Schwarzenegger!

The Santa Ynez Band of Mission Indians is urging tribal members to vote against actor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the California recall.

Chairman Vincent Armenta says Schwarzenegger, a Republican, "hasn't a clue what he's talking about." The tribe is planning to run ads in some major papers to contradict Schwarzenegger's ads that criticize tribal governments.

Get the Story:
Chumash Tribe Lashes Out at Schwarzenegger Over Ad (The Los Angeles Times
9/25)


Tribal leaders fire back at Schwarzenegger over 'fair share' ad (AP 9/25)

Native Battles Racism!

This letter to the editor appeared in the “Topeka ( Kansas) Capital Journal” is in response to an article concerning the Kickapoo Tribe written by Jim Griffin which is posted on “Native Unity” directly below this column. .

Misplaced Blame

I was reading a commentary recently in the Osage County Chronicle. In the section titled "Talk Sense," by Jim Griffin, the writer blasted area tribes -- the Kickapoo in particular -- labeling them a bunch of poverty-stricken, helpless Native Americans. He even labeled us as a bunch of drunks who mooched off the American taxpayers .Griffin went on to state that The Topeka Capital-Journal's so-called journalists never asked the tough questions as to not offend the Indians.

Well, this Indian is offended and I'm sick and tired of white guys putting Indians down and getting away with it .Just what makes white people so right? Every disease known to man you brought and infected the Indians with it, such as herpes, AIDS, syphilis and gonorrhea, to name just a few. How about chicken pox, smallpox and measles? How come diseases like Parkinson's, Lou Gehrig's, Huntington's and Alzheimer's all have white man's names?

You have never heard of an illness being named after an Indian like Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse or Running Bear .Griffin should think about this, too: How come every mass murderer or serial killer is white? Do Charles Manson, Jeffrey Dahmer, the Boston Strangler and Ted Bundy ring a bell? What about the two white boys who blew up the federal building in Oklahoma City? And let's not forget that all-time favorite, Adolph Hitler. It's just a guess, but isn't the porno industry controlled by white people? The next time you see a dirty movie or open a sex-related magazine, see who's in there. And why is it every time we see a child molester or sex maniac on the news, it's usually a white person?

Corruption in government and industry all seem to be white-related. Our environment has been raped and polluted by the White Man Industries and I think we've got a lying, cheating white man in the White House. So, before you white people put down another race, take a good hard look in the mirror. You're not so pretty, after all. Now that I think about it, I don't look so bad compared to your ugliness.

.DARRELL MASQUA Mayetta

Lisa Cohen, Native Celebs List Member, has found the phone number and address for the Osage County Chronicle which published Jim Griffin's original article and racist commentary on the Kickapoo Tribe.

FYI - Their number is (785) 828-3226. The address is 618 Topeka, Lyndon KS, 66451.

The Epitome Of Racism!

The following was sent to me by Larry Mitchell, author of “Potawatomi Tracks” I find it to be the epitome of racism. It is deviation from my usual upbeat theme for “Native Unity” but am running it, in its original form – even with the misspelled word “Chronicle” - to see how most of you folks react to these kinds of derogatory comments.- bobbie.


This is from the recent "Talk Sense" column by Jim Griffin
Printed recently in the

The Osage County Chronical
401 Market Street
Osage City, KS 66523
785-528-3215

"Once again folks, it is time for POND SCUM OF THE MONTH! This month's pond scum just happens to be the Kickapoo Indian Tribe.

I was reading the Topeka Capital Journal a couple of weeks ago, and they had a story about how the Upper Delaware River was just about dried up. The Kickapoo leaders were complaining that they didn't have much drinking water, and that Congress had promised them taxpayer money several years ago, which was intended to build the Plum Creek Reservoir. Except Congress has never given anyone the funds yet.

I know what some of you are thinking? But Jimbo! We need to help those poor poverty-stricken, helpless Native Americans? Well folks, for those of you who don't get out enough? Those poor Kickapoo Indians own the Golden Eagle Casion, which rakes in millions of dollars a year in profits!

And one of the things that irritates me about those so-called journalists from the Topeka Capital-Journal, is they never ask tough questions!
It seems they wouldn't want to offend an Indian? If I had been doing that story? I would have set down with the tribal leader and said, now look here Sitting Bull, or whatever the heck your name is! Just what are you doing with all of that Casino money, that you can't take care of your own water
problem?

Maybe if you people put the bottle down once in awhile, you might be able to quit mooching of the American taxpayer? Folks! I makes me madder than a wet hen when millionaires mooch off the rest of us!

Some of you may wonder? Just where is the Kickapoo Indian Reservation? Well folks! You drive about 30 miles north of Topeka and then go east a few miles, and you can tell by the large supply of empty bottles lining the ditches that you on the Reservation!


As many of you know, I am a big fan of old western movies! I was thinking the other day about all of the old John Wayne westerns and how he had Indians attack him all the time. And did you ever once hear of John Wayne being attacked by the Kickapoo Tribe? he was always fighting off the
Apaches, the Souix, the Navajo, but never the Kickapoo!

Just why was that? Maybe some of you are thinking that he should have, because the Kickapoo are in Kansas? Wrong folks! The Kickapoo are originally from the Wisconsin area, and the reason the wound up here is because a bunch of dairy-farming cheese-eaters whipped them good and
sent them to us!

And now, we the Kansas people who allowed them to own their own casino, have to listen to them whine and complain for more tax-dollars even though they are now millionaires!

Have you ever been to the Golden Eagle Casino? Have you ever seen an Indian sitting out front holding a sign that said "WILL WORK FOR FOOD"? Heck no you haven't! There isn't any Indians starving on that reservation!

Have we become so stupid that we now allow the rich to spend our tax dollars
just because they are too cheap to spend their own money?

And just how come, we the people of Kansas, get stuck with all the wimpy Indians that have names like Kickapoo, Potawatamie, and Sac and Fox?
I used to to work with a friend of mine whose Dad was Potawatamie, and his
mom was Kickapoo and I told him that made him a Pot-a-poo!

Maybe the Kickapoo Indians are living in the wrong country? Many Americans view Indians as worthless drunks! Maybe we should build them a reservation in another country such as Ireland? Just imagine folks! In Ireland, our Indians would seem to be respectable citizens compared to the hard-drinking ancestors that I have!

Hopefully by the time you read this our heat wave will be over with? I had another one of my chicken's die last week when it was over 100 degrees! Those poor old hens sit on their nest every afternoon panting like dogs in the heat and it makes me feel sorry for them. I took a fan out to the brooder house to help them stay cooler, but they were scared of it and wouldn't even go in to lay an egg. So, I took it back into the house.

Did you see where all the elderly people died in France? It is important that we in America always check on our Grandparents and make sure they have an airconditioner, and have it turned on! If you have a new car, or a new Harley Davidson and your Grandma is suffering in the heat? You need
to rethink your lifestyle! Because we are not the obnoxious, socialist French!"


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

ONE NATION = Corporate KKK.
BOYCOTT FARM BUREAU INSURANCE AND QUIK TRIP STORES! BOTH ARE FOUNDING
MEMBERS OF THE ANTI-INDIAN SOVEREIGNTY GROUP, ONE NATION!
(www.onenationok.com)


Your Money in the hands of Farm Bureau and QT will help to destroy Indian
tribal governments, Indian business development and Indian social services.
Do not let them tell you otherwise! Even their name, ONE NATION, is a
statement in opposition to Indian tribes' legal standing as MANY NATIONS!

From The Roots Of Racism Comes Positive Energy!

Navajo activist, Hazel James uses pain from her own past to help advance a Native American protest movement. “We were marching one day (in Gallup, New Mexico against police brutality) and there was this string of people yelling ’stinking Indians’ at us when all we were seeking was just treatment of other human beings.”

For years after this incident, James channeled her energies into education and diversity training, but now she’s back into grass-roots organizing with the environmentally-oriented group called the Dineh Biziil Coalition.

The group has grown from a handful of people seeking to better Navajo tribal government in early 2001 to an umbrella of 37 organizations representing more than 1,200 members. It protests everything from proposed snowmaking for skiing on the San Francisco Peaks, uranium mining in the Four Corners area, telescopes on Mt. Graham, emphasizing energy in South Dakota to reclaiming sacred sites in California and is in the process of linking with the Zapatista causes in Southern Mexico.

Loosely patterned after the AIM protests of the ‘70s and ‘80s, which used aggressive and high volume tactics, James emphasizes “Our way is peaceful and low key in trying to change things, first, at the community level.

Already, the group has gotten the attention of Native politicians Navajo Nation President, Joe Shirley, Jr., Vice-President Frank Dayish, Jr. and State Rep. Jack Jackson, Jr. of Window Rock, who have been regulars at Dineh Biziil meetings and have offered their help on a number of fronts.

At the present time, James is currently involved in an effort to keep Arizona Snow Bowl officials from making artificial snow on their ski area, a proposal being considered by the U.S. Forest Service.

A Google Search reveals the main arguments James and other environmentalists have against artificial snow making is that it depletes streams and ponds, raises the acidity of the water and kills fish and other organisms crucial to the eco-system.

The noise from snowmaking machines also disrupts hibernation patterns of bear and other animals. There are rising concerns about the new methods of snow making which inserts Snomax, an inert bacterial additive, to enhance crystal formation at warmer temperatures.

So, residing in Flagstaff with its Snow Bowl, the mecca of Arizona’s winter sports, James is at ground zero with her current protest.

James, married and mother of four children, states her inspiration for environmentalism comes from Native American activist, Winona La Duke. Says James, “She (La Duke) is a true advocate of protecting the Earth for future generations. We need more people like her on the crucial issues for our survival.”

This article has been edited from the pages of the September 17th edition of the Arizona Republic from a story bylined, Mark Shaffer.

Apaches Save Arizona's State Fish!

This is a short but very important article because it demonstrates the impact of “Native Unity” when a tribe can get together, through a business enterprise, to save one of America’s endangered species.

The Apache Trout, State Fish of Arizona, has been brought back from the brink of extinction by the White Mountain Apache Tribe. The trout’s numbers have already grown significantly through the tribe’s William Creek Fish Hatchery. Wildlife managers are counting down the days when the yellowish-gold fish has recovered enough to be taken off the federal endangered species list.

“The White Mountain Tribe still faces some hurdles”, said, John Kaid, who manages the tribe’s wildlife and outdoor recreational programs. We are dedicated to preserving the trout”, he emphasized. “No matter what happens, it’s always going to be a continuing effort to protect the headwaters of the surrounding rivers and creeks.” Kaid affirmed the need to educate fisherman and keep non-native species of fish out of the waters.

The tribe’s hatchery, south of Hondah, produces more than 1.2 million eggs per year and is able to stock Central Arizona streams and lakes for sports fishing.

The recovery of the once endangered Apache Trout is now going ”swimmingly”.

This story by Shann McKinnon has been edited from the pages of the September 6th edition of “The Arizona Republic”.

The Path Back From Hell!

“Potawatomi Tracks”, Larry Mitchell’s poetic chronicle relating the events of his year-long tour of duty in Vietnam and the path back to his home in the Northeast corner of Kansas on the Potawatami Reservation is followed by years of drug abuse, alcoholism, homelessness and racial discrimination before he is able to overcome his feelings of despair to regain his dignity, self respect and take back control of his life.

Homecoming for most Vietnam vets was not a pleasant experience. They were shamefully treated by angry Americans who had been against the war from the first. It took years for these vets to make the transition from the horrors of a war in Southeast Asia to a peaceful existence in their own country. Mitchell was one of the fortunate ones. Some of them were never able to find the passage back to normalcy. They still can be seen – aging, homeless men, aimlessly wandering the streets of our cities. Living proof that not all men are born to be warriors.

Mitchell’s 148 page book is formatted in Four Chapters:
Chapter One – The Ballad of Vietnam
Chapter Two – The European Blues
Chapter Three – Potawatomi Highway
Chapter Four – Anishnaabe Girl … Min Wi Min

“There are hundreds and hundreds of books about Vietnam veterans written by Vietnam veterans,“ asserts Mitchell, “but there are less than a handful written by Native American Vietnam veterans, and only one by a Potawatomi Vietnam veteran. Our stories must to be told for future generations.”

He has been writing for more than two decades – mostly songs and poems. “During that time,” he said, “I have found that writing has truly been a way of healing.
I wanted to share my writing with others and show how writing can help a person deal with trauma and loss in their lives.”

Mitchell and his wife, Katie, a Chippewa from Minnesota, have been married for 21 years. They live in Lawrence, Kansas and have two sons, Larry Jr. a sophomore at Haskell Indian National University and Joseph, a freshman at Kansas
University.


Chapter One: The Ballad of Vietnam

Firebase Ripcord sits on the ridge of a nearby Mountain.
A desolate firebase
that look’s like the brown hump of a buffalo.

The A-Shau valley, the valley of death is not far away.
Over the skies of the South China Sea,
B-52's can be seen going on bombing runs
up to Hanoi in North Vietnam.

The Ho Chi Minh trail is a path of attrition.
It starts in the North of Vietnam
It goes down through Laos and the A-Shau Valley.
This land of jungles and paddy fields
is where Heaven meets the Earth.

You can visit Larry Mitchell at www.PotawatomiTracks.com and find details on how to purchase his book from lulupress. It is one man’s powerful story of war, survival and rebirth.

Native Americans On The PGA Tour!

Notah Begay III, 31 was the only Native American on the PGA Tour in 1999 when he won first his event also giving him recognition as America’s foremost Native golfer. His victory brought national exposure to Native peoples and has drawn more Indians into the game according to an AP story in the Sunday September 14th edition of “The Arizona Republic”.

Officials in the golfing industry say access to the sport and its courses, once a barrier to American Indians, have improved dramatically in recent years and much of the credit for that improvement can go to tribal gaming with revenues going to build golf courses which allow tribal members access to the sport for a discount or for free.

According to “Golf Week” magazine, Native Americans had golf interests in 15 states and Canada last year and there are at least 12 states where tribes are building golf courses.

Begay of Navajo, San Felipe and Isleta descent, who began his golf career on a city course as a student at Stanford University, said, “I think tribes really need to escalate golf because what golf really does is teach you about life. This game teaches integrity. There are certain rules to follow and there are no ifs, ands or buts. There is no gray area. It is cut and dried.”

Gary George, chief operating officer of the Wildhorse Resort in Pendleton, Oregon is a golf enthusiast who believes the sport helps to keep his area youth out of trouble. He maintains the discipline it requires as well as the etiquette involved can instill skills players can use off the course in their everyday lives.

“Ever since the course came along,” George said, “it has really provided a place for our youth to go. It has provided a good work ethic for them.”

Fifteen year-old Jessica Dailleboust of Mohawk, Navajo, Comanche and Ottawa lineage, finished at the top at the National Native American Golf championships in Santa Fe this summer. She maintains that whether she’s Indian or not the love of the game will guide her future “It’s great,” she says, ”and I just really enjoy playing the game.

Begay and Dailleboust, both from Albuquerque, embody the spirit of "Native Unity" through their love of golf. Dailleboust maintains, “No one really judges you when you are out there playing, you just play”. Her statement pretty much sums it up.

The Impact Of Global Warming

Some 20 years before I became a journalist, I was a geology major at the University of Arizona. Those courses have always stayed with me so I was doubly interested in a recent editorial I saw in Indian County Today headlined, ‘Global Heat Wave Bigger Killer Than Terrorism’.

The story reporting some 5,000 deaths in France during the July-August heat wave this summer also brought about destructive changes in climate for the Inuit in Alaska.

“Their world and lifestyle including an understanding and cultural appreciation for the natural world around them is disappearing. Unprecedented heat is bringing early snow melts, strange insect infestations and animal migrations that beget many losses: Freezing rain from midwinter thunderstorms and a loss of permafrost”

Reports from Iqaluit, A Baffin Island community on the edge of the Arctic Circle, describe this passing summer season. Days with temperatures 25 degrees above normal. Whole villages were washed away as the ocean ice turns to mush. The world the Inuit has known is disappearing and melting right before their eyes.

Seal pups drown as their ice platforms dissolve underneath them before they lean how to swim. Polar bears are going hungry from the diminishing seal population and attacks on human grow more frequent On Bathhurst Island in the High Arctic, a herd of 3,000 caribou have been virtually wiped out as freezing rains trap most of the vegetation and they are starving to death. Since 1993, the herd has dwindled to less than 75 animals.

If global warming is not stemmed, the entire world, as we know it, is going to be affected. Melt all the glaciers and ice packs on earth and the sea level will rise some 600 hundred feet or more - world wide. Good bye to all of the major sea port cities in the world. The entire state of Florida will be under water and my town of Yuma, Arizona would once again become part of the Sea of Cortez. Where will your community be?

While terrorism may be an immediate threat to humanity, the increase in global warming is even a greater one. Now is the time for the peoples of the world to join together in the fight against global warming as it involves the future generations of all races and creeds on earth. We can begin by decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels and halt the destruction of rain forests throughout the world.

Indian Summerfest 2003

By Val La Rue


I had the pleasure of meeting the beautiful Irene Bedard and seeing her perform with her hubby Deni and their band. I didn't know quite what to expect...kind of hard to categorize it but when they did "Generation Landslide", I knew I had to have the cd and I also bought a photo of her and she signed them both, graciously.

Also got to see the wonderful group "Brule" and had my first experience seeing Litefoot. That man is on a mission...I also got his autograph. I told him I enjoyed seeing him on "Any Day Now".

As always, Indian Summerfest in Milwaukee is a blend of many music styles and a wonderful way to sample some of the best music and art offered by Native Americans today.

Why People Choose To Suffer!

We have two choices in life – to live to protect or to live and learn. It is almost impossible to do both at the same time. The following words of wisdom come from Ms. A.J. Mahari, Soul’s Self-Help Center,

(The article has been edited by bobbieo tailoring it to “Native Unity”.)

Are you ducking, hiding, pushing away life out of fear? Are you determined to continue to hate and debase yourself and everyone around you? When will the pain be enough? Do you know that you can free yourself from pain, leave it and stop it from destroying your life.

Suffering perpetuates itself whenever you are not working towards understanding of what is hurting you and why it is affecting you so deeply. You have the power to heal yourself but in order to do it, you must be willing to rid yourself of your “need to always be right”, your “need to always win” and your ”need to always control”

You must surrender to the helplessness that drives you to rage. Surrender to the victimized helplessness of all of your past wounds – the past injustices that were done to your tribe and the other Indian Nations of our country.

Accept your losses in life, first with grief then move forward to accepting them as a mature adult with choices and the ability to live through what has hurt you. Surrender the thought that things will always be the same. You can make positive changes that will alter your life and the lives of those around you and the way you view reality.

The only value of prolonged suffering is keeping yourself mired down in the same old rut you are in, right now. Take control of your own destiny, no matter how you view your present life or how much you have been hurt in the past, you have the power to change your life.

Say to yourself, “I am going to change my attitude about the people I see around me and live with every day. I am going to rid myself of petty jealousies. I am going to change my attitude about my friends and neighbors who have left reservation life for the white man’s world and accept them for what they are and the changes they have made in their lives.

I’m going to change my attitude about the people of other tribes who may not share all of the culture traits of my people or my religious beliefs, but accept them for what they are and what they believe as members of our Native heritage as First Americans.

“When Suffering no longer has value, healing is instantaneous”

You are worthy of change. If you don’t believe this then - YOU DON’T WANT TO CHANGE!

Words Of Wisdom From Two Talented Native Americans!

One, old and well established in Hollywood. The other, a beautiful, young female who is making waves in Tinsel Town’s Native community. .

Who can deny that Floyd Westerman is, truly, the “First Native” of American film. Natalie Noel is the talented columnist for the “The Glitter Report” in NEWS FROM INDIAN COUNTRY. Their words of wisdom. which appeared in Natalie’s New Year’s column of this year, are well worth repeating.

“When I first arrived on the sunny shores of LaLa land, Floyd (Westerman) said something to me that I will never forget. I paraphrase.”

“Natalie,” he said to me. ”In 50 years there will be no more Indians!”

“Why Floyd, what do you mean?”

“We will do to ourselves what the white Europeans have never been able to do. We will annihilate ourselves with backbiting, finger pointing, blood quantum demands. We, not the white man, will bring about the end of the Indian”

“That was nearly five years ago and I had no idea what he meant,” wrote Natalie. “But I listened closely, as one always does with Floyd, and I remember his words. Now, I understand.

“There are so precious few of us, in Hollywood, in the US, in Canada, in the world. Why do we insist on slamming each other, hurting each other, slandering each other? You’re not Indian because you have no card, because your tribe is only State recognized, because you don’t have black hair, you’re not from the ‘rez’, you have blue eyes, your Mother or Father wasn’t Indian, you don’t look/seem/act/Indian.

“What are we doing? Not just to each other but to ourselves as a family, a community, a people? Are we really, out of ignorance, jealousy or just plain meanness going to toll the death knell for ourselves? We must consider this quietly in our hearts, with our Maker and within our own conscience. What are we going?

“Let’s use the power of our words and creative energies for the good. Let us better our lot in this world on this troubled planet in this time of need. Let us not waste our precious gifts of breath and time on slander, attacks and ugliness. It is beneath us and there is not point. Unless we wish to end all that we’ve inherited, all our ancestors died for, unless we wish to end ourselves, right here and now.”

Words of wisdom from two very talented, astute Native
Americans. Words that must be heeded and implemented in the lives of those adhering to the mission of “Native Unity”.

A Neat Sports Story: THE STORY OF JORDAN TOOTOO

The following article has been submitted to "Native Unity" by Larry Faulkner, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Larry is a special writer friend of mine - bobbie


JUST THIS PAST WINTER THE HOCKEY WORLD WAS TREATED TO A UNIQUE STORY.

Playing for Team Canada in the World Junior Hockey championships a new and exciting player emerged...one with a bright future ahead of him as a professional hockey player. Not a unique story in itself but this young man has come half a world from living a few hundred miles South of the North Pole to further his professional sports ambitions.

You see Jordan is a full blooded Inuit..Not too long ago we would have referred to him, in our ignorance, as an Eskimo. His background is one of living off the land in the harshest environment that the Earth has to offer but the change in Latitudes and Attitudes is only half of the battle for him.

The Inuit are to this day a Noble and Proud people...their inherent self pride in both themselves as members of the Earth's peoples coupled with a pride in their own culture makes them a gracious and caring community. They live in a world as far away from our value system as can be imagined.

This self pride has a distinct negative aspect to it.- you see Jordan's older brother proceeded him traveling South to pursue a career in Hockey. A relatively small transgression of some of the rules of "the white man's society" caused a shame so deep in Jordan's brother that he took his own life. There is not really any blame to pass around with this tragedy other than we should all recognize the difficulties of culture shock that these young men face.

Jordan's story becomes even more incredible in that he is dealing with the loss of his older sibling, while adjusting to the new white man's culture as he tries to break into the pros. He has traveled a full 2,000 + miles South to accomplish this. He was drafted by the Nashville Predators of the NHL and is in their training camp trying to make the team as this is written. If his spirited and determined play at the Junior World Championships this past winter is any indication he will not be denied a spot on that team's roster.

How is this relevant to all of us living in the white man's society or not? I don't know about you but I am rooting for this kid...as a matter of fact I cannot think of another story recently that has galvanized all cultures together as much as Jordan's story.

Be you of Uto-Aztecan of Caddoan origin whose territories are as far removed from the Inuit territories as could be or from a peoples such as the Algonquian or Athapaskan whose territories border Inuit lands the drama and hope that this story drives home as the overcoming of adversity should be felt as deeply as I feel it.

It does not stop with the Native American community. This story transcends cultural boundaries into the white man's world. It is fair to say that all who are sports fans are touched in some way by the perseverance of the Human Spirit that Jordan's quest embodies.

You see I have no Native blood in my veins,. not a drop...I am fully descended from white Europeans but somehow I feel a pride in this young man and wish him nothing but success. Extrapolating from my feelings I would imagine that the Native American community must feel a pride that is amplified from my own or if they don't somehow they should.

I have a feeling that this young man is going to make us all feel a bit better about ourselves and that is good for all peoples.

Precious Indian Treasures Returning Home

Virtually every museum in the West including the Heard Museum in Phoenix, which houses the nation’s largest collection of Southwestern Indian culture, will admit to having objects in their collections which have been obtained through less than “over the counter” means.

The presence of these ill-gotten gains extends across our nation from anthropology departments in renowned universities to museums in major cities in the U.S. A 1990 federal law is compelling colleges, museums and private owners to give back to the tribes objects which were legally or illegally taken in the past. Although no dollar amount has been assessed to the value of the artifacts, many of them have cultural and/or religious significance.

Sacred materials are the key. The two Apache Gan figurines, donated to the Mesa Southwest Museum during its early days, are examples of how the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Reparations Act allows tribes to get back ceremonial pieces taken from their lands.

The process of returning artifacts is long and drawn out which can take more than three years for an artic=fact to go from a museum or a private collection back to the tribe from which it originated.

Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi Tribal Office of Historic Culture Preservation in Kykotsmovi, has repatriated 88 objects from museums around the country in the past decade.

The Arizona State Museum just returned 37,000 artifacts, including 30 human remains, to the Gila River Indian Community of Sacaton, southeast of Phoenix. Many of these objects will be used to stock the Pima/Maricopa tribe’s new museum.

Many times these sacred artifacts were stolen by pothunters or grave robbers for resale on the Indian artifact black market, but in the words of Kuwanwisiwma, “Someone can say, ‘Well, a Hopi sold this to me, I have permission to have it’, but if it is a sacred object, it belongs to the community and it can’t be given away.”

This blog has been edited from a story by-lined Judd Slivka, September 5th edition of “The Arizona Republic”.

Native Contributions To American Society

We can begin with “Women’s Right to Vote”. I found this article in STAR – Students and Teachers Against Racism -by Jacqueline Keeler, member of the Dineh Nation and Yankton Dakota Sioux who is also a Bay Area writer and filmmaker.

“No one has ever really asked where the idea came from when the early suffragettes organized the First Women’s Rights Convention in 1848 at Seneca Falls, New York and demanded the right to vote.”

Keeler states there was a nation right in their community that gave women - and only women – the right to vote. A mere stone’s throw from the Wesleyan Chapel where the conference was being held, women of the Iroquois Nation had been electing leaders for centuries before the White man ever stepped foot on their shores.

The women of Seneca Falls were aware of this practice as in the days before the reservation system Indian and European-American communities were in daily contact with one another. The Seneca was one of the six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy.

The well-known abolitionist, Lucretia Mott spent the summer of 1848 with Seneca women in the small community of Cattaragus near Seneca Falls where she saw women reorganize their nation’s government structure. Mott then went to Seneca Falls and inspired Elizabeth Cady Stanton, her close friend, to organize and put on the Convention.

Stanton was impressed with the matrilineal society of the Iroquois Confederacy where Indian women “ruled the home and the right of ownership of property and the descent of children were under the female line”. The Seneca women had rights that did not exist under American law.

Stanton, following the advice of her mentor, read her
”Declaration of Sentiments” which stated that a married woman In the U.S. was deprived of her rights, property, wages she earns, was compelled to promise obedience to her husband and had no rights to her children in the case of divorce.

According to ethnographer, Alice Fletcher Indian women were aware that women’s rights were curtailed under Christianity and American law. She told the 1888 International Council of Women that an Indian woman was free, owned her own home, the work of her hands, that her children would never forget her and that she was better off as an Indian woman than under white law.

Mott and Stanton had paved the way for women’s suffrage. When in 1893, Matilda Joslyn Gates was arrested for the criminal act of trying to vote in a school board election, the Iroquois stepped in to support her and upon her release, adopted her into the Wolf Clan of the Mohawk nation with the Indian name, “Karonienhawi”, Sky Carrier.

“American Indian egalitarian societies not only inspired democracy,’ wrote Keeler, “but also inspired Marx, John Locke, and Rousseau as well as Mott, Stanton and Susan B. Anthony.”

The Measure Of A Man!

The following blog is not directly related to ‘Native Unity’ but it does communicate how I feel that we are all related in the Sacred Hoop of Life .

I saw two photographs last week that make me realize the measure of a man is gauged in the way he reacts to the other creatures who live in the world around him.

The first is a stunning photograph of George Foreman, two-time heavy weight champ and a small white kitten appearing on the front cover of the September/October issue of AARP (American Assn of Retired Persons).

There sits George, in full color, imparting his most engaging smile with this tiny, fuzzy, white, long-eared, kitten snuggling next to his face comfortably perched on his massive shoulders. The color contrasts, alone, make it one of the most engagingly, perfect photographs I have ever seen.

The second was e-mailed to me in a set of photographs of our troops stationed in Iraq. There are five of them in different settings with soldiers huddled together in prayer, comradeship, interacting with children and Iraqi citizens.

The one I found to be the most compelling depicts a lone soldier, in full battle gear, seated in a doorway. An assault weapon, rests on his knee, while he looks down at the small yellow and white kitten as he gently strokes its head. The kitten appears to be the one standing guard, confident, unafraid in the midst of the chaos and destruction that surrounds it, as it sits on its haunches looking directly at the photographer.

The true measure of a man is reflected in the trust that smaller creatures of this earth place upon him.

Miracle, The Sacred White Buffalo

This blog is being reprinted from the pages of the Heider Family website because I feel it wholeheartedly meets with the spirit and mission of "Native Unity" - bobbie

'A Gift To The Hearts Of All People'

Miracle, the White Sacred Female Buffalo Calf, was born on the farm of Dave, Valerie, and Corey Heider during the morning of August 20, 1994.

Not an albino, she is considered to be the first white buffalo calf born since 1933. Furthermore, she is extremely important to the religious beliefs of many American Indian tribes. The Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota Nations (known collectively as the Sioux) are considered her primary spiritual guardians and she plays a pivotal role in the fulfillment of their most revered prophecies.

However, her place in the prophecies and beliefs of many tribes make her a highly sacred symbol to many of the American Indian Nations across the continent. She is seen by a vast number of people as a symbol of hope and renewal for humanity and for harmony between all peoples, all races, in our world today.

Although not American Indian, the Heider family has come to view Miracle as a special gift which belongs to the hearts of all people. Commercialization is not allowed. They open their farm to visitors free of charge seven days a week so that people may visit Miracle at the pasture fence. Many come to offer prayers in her presence, some come simply out of curiosity. Whatever their reason for visiting Miracle and this simple farm, few people leave unaffected by their time there. For safety reasons, visitors are not allowed into the pasture. Miracle is, after all, a wild buffalo as are the rest of the buffalo with her. www.homestead.com/whitebuffalomiracle.

It is the Heiders' hope that above website will help to bring understanding and answer many of the questions people have about Miracle. For those unable to visit Miracle, her progress can be seen here. We intend to keep it regularly updated with new pictures and news of her calves, her development, and her ever-evolving color changes. Please check back often to see what is new.

Mitakuye Oyasin....We Are All Related in the Sacred Hoop of Life.Aho! May It Ever Be So.