Navajos 'On The Line' In Natural Gas Dispute

The Navajo Nation is between a rock and a hard place right now in its dispute with El Paso Natural Gas out of Houston, Texas to extend a lease that allows the Texas based corporation pivotal natural gas pipeline that crosses several hundred miles of tribal land.

On one side, the tribe wants fair compensation from the company to the tune of $440 million to reach a deal to extend a 20 year right of way lease that allows the pipeline operator to ship 3.3 billion cubic feet on a daily basis to customers in New Mexico, Arizona and California. The company is offering more than $200 million in cash and other considerations.

On the other side of the coin are the thousands of Navajo tribal members who depend on the natural gas shipped through the El Paso pipeline to heat their homes and winter is on its way.

Currently, El Paso is continuing to use the pipeline with out a deal extension. Company officials say the talks are at an impasse and management has asked the U.S. Department of the Interior to step and broker a deal. They believe Interior has an obligation to extend the right-of-way under the tribe’s 1868 treaty with the United States, and wish to avoid a conflict with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission which issued a license for use of the pipeline.

Enter Louis Denetsosie, the Navajo Nation’s attorney general who was appointed to his position two years ago by Navajo President Joe Shirley, Jr. He is seeking an end to the dispute between the tribe and El Paso Gas which boils down to the basic fact that the Navajos want more money than the El Paso is willing to pay.

According to Denetsosie, “El Paso is in trespass right now, so they could be subject to action. The deadline has passed but the natural gas continues to flow.”

Denetsosie works closely with the tribal government’s resources committee to plot the Navajo’s next step. “It’s a tricky line to navigate,” he said.

The tribe has the option of asking the federal government to declare that El Paso is improperly using the pipeline without a lease, but Denetsosie said that is an unlikely course of action as the tribe wants to make certain there is no interruption in service.

“The regulations call for fair value,” Denetsosie added. “What we would like is for a rate to be established (by the Feds) and have El Paso pay it to the tribe.”

This column has been edited for length and content from an October 24th article in The Arizona Republic bylined Ken Alltucker.

Native Plaintiffs Secure Judgement

Redistricting Remedy Ordered

On January 27, 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Native American voters charging the Charles Mix County (SD) Commission with violating Native American voting rights by using election districts that are unequal in population and divide the Native American community.

On October 24th, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence L. Piersol issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order on behalf of Native American voters and ordering the County to come up with a redistricting plan the complies with the Constitution and federal law.

Bryan Sells, an ACLU Voting Rights Project attorney, said the ruling in the Charles Mix County case means the ACLU has won six of seven voting rights lawsuits in South Dakota. "We're pleased that the federal courts have acted once again to protect the equal voting rights of all South Dakotans," Sells said.

New Mexico Election Reform Task Force Final Meetings
November 10th and 11th in Santa Fe.
http://uvotenm.org

Florida Election Reformers Statewide Conference
November 12th and 13th in Orlando
http://www.votetrustusa.org/index.php?

Alyssa Macy,Political Director
Center for Civic Participation
1313 SE 5TH Street, Suite 113Minneapolis, MN 55414
alyssa@ccp.org

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Indian Records Being Dumped At National Archives

Submitted by Ken Hughes
From - Sho-Ban News

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal officials are investigating how National Archives documents of interest to American Indians suing the Interior Department were found discarded in a trash bin and a wastebasket.

The discovery came to light on Sept. 1, when Archives staff noticed federal records in one of the trash bins behind the National Archives Building near the Capitol. They notified the Archives' inspector general, Paul Brachfeld, whose staff recovered the documents. They found at least a portion of the documents were Bureau of Indian Affairs records dating to the 1950s, according to Jason Baron of the Archives' office of general counsel, in a letter last week to an Interior Department official.

Brachfeld's office began investigating, and ``what appear to be Indian records were discovered in a waste basket in the stack areas at Main Archives,'' Baron wrote. Taken together, the two dumping incidents ``may be intentional acts aimed at unlawfully removing or disposing of permanent records from the Interior Department,'' he wrote.Lawyers for the Indian plaintiffs suing the Interior Department over lost royalties ran across Baron's letter this week in a routine court filing by Justice Department lawyers on behalf of Interior's Office of Trust Records.

Dennis Gingold, the plaintiff's lead attorney, said the discovery represents more of ``the same repugnant, desperate actions we've come to expect '' from the Interior Department.Dan DuBray, an Interior Department spokesman, pointed out that the documents were not in the custody of his agency. He said the department was told by the National Archives that all the discarded documents had been found within restricted locations at the Archives.

"We have every confidence that the inspector general of the National Archives will get to the bottom of this very serious issue,'' he said.

Susan Cooper, a spokeswoman for the National Archives, said "a limited number of boxes'' were found within trash containers in the loading area and in wastebaskets in the stack areas - both within secure locations.

Interior "had nothing to do with it,'' Cooper said. "This is a problem at the National Archives, not the Interior Department.'' Cooper said Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein had directed increased security measures in the stacks and loading docks, including monitoring trash disposal and ensuring all stack doors remain locked.

Congress found problems in 1994 with Interior's administration of 260,000 Indian trust accounts containing $400 million. Two years later, Elouise Cobell of the Blackfeet Indian tribe and others filed suit. They allege the department cheated about 500,000 Indians out of more than $100 billion, by mismanaging oil, gas, grazing, timber and other royalties from their lands dating to 1887. They have offered to settle for $27.5 billion.


RECOGNIZING A STROKE – The Three questions
Submitted by Leslie Watson

The symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. A neurologist says if he can get to a stroke victim within three hours he can TOTALLY reverse the effects of a stroke.

Now, doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
1. *Ask the individual to SMILE
.2. *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
3. *Ask the person to SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE

(Coherently) (ie . It is sunny out today) If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.

After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems that could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of a stroke, researchers urged the general public to learn to use the three questions. They could save someone’s life!

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Native Republican Won't Support Native Holiday Bill

Submitted by Mark Reed

United Native America Press Release
www.UnitedNativeAmerica.com

United Native America, a national group working to bring about a federal national holiday for American Indians has been informed that Oklahoma Republican Congressman Tom Cole will not support House Bill 167 calling for the national Native American Day.

Congressman Tom Cole is a fifth generation Oklahoman and an enrolled member of the Chickasaw Nation. He is one of only two Native Americans currently serving in the House of Representatives. Congressman Cole serves on the House Resources Committee that the national holiday bill is before at this time. Also on the resources committee is Arizona Democrat Congressman J.D. Hayworth, who has stated he will not support the bill.

To date, not one republican congressman has signed on in support of the national holiday bill for Native Americans. US Congressman J.D. Hayworth's State of Arizona is controlled by the Republican Party.

Political forces within the federal government are hell-bent on seeing House Bill 167 go down in defeat. Our federal government is not willing to reevaluate its national holiday list to have it include Native American Day.

The United States Government is telling the world that American Indians do not rate a national holiday in their true home land. It is a fact that our federal government is a blueprint of the American Indian's type of government; federalism, freedom of speech and separation of government powers were drafted from the American Indian nations, so stated by the US Senate.

American Indians helped bring about the United States in its fight for independence. American Indians have served in every war the United States has waged since its beginning. Our federal government repaid the American Indians by taking their land, freedoms and right to practice their religion, then forced them to live on reservations.

Contributions American Indians have made in helping to form the United States we have today, are to numerous to mention in this report. It is a national disgrace for our federal government not to recognize the first true Americans with a national holiday of their own.

By not allowing a national holiday for American Indians, the United States Government stands behind its holocaust against the American Indians, and as long as the government has anything to say about it, it appears a day to honor the first people of this country will never become a reality.

Our federal government thanks the American Indian community for all they have done for the United States, for their sons and daughters giving their lives serving their county in time of need, but, do not consider them worthy of a national holiday in the United States. Our national holidays are reserved for people like Columbus and our past presidents.

You, the American people can have a say on whether there will be a national Native American Day or not, contact your US Congressmen, ask if they support Hres. 167 and will sign on in support of the bill, if not, tell them you will not be voting for them, let them know you will join with other voters to take them out of office.
http://www.unitednativeamerica.com/letters/caucus.html

Seventeen States do not recognize Columbus Day. The State of South Dakota and Wyoming has changed their State law renaming Columbus Day to Native American Day, on the 2nd Monday of October.
http://www.petitiononline.com/indian/petition.html

25 congressmen signed on to Hres. 167 at this time:
Contact your Rep. Get them to sign on in support of HRES. 167
Write Your Representative - Lookup Representative
www.house.gov/writerep

Congressman Cole web site:
http://www.house.gov/cole/

Congressman Hayworth web site:
http://www.house.gov/hayworth/

Houses Resources Committee web site:
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/

Chickasaw Nation Governor, Bill Anoatubby
Email address: govweb@chickasaw.net
http://www.chickasaw.net/

Mike L. Graham
Founder United Native America
www.UnitedNativeAmerica.com
Email: mikecherokee@aol.com

Canyon Press Films Go Native

In an innovative business venture, actor, writer, producer, director Paul Winters president and CEO of Canyon Press Entertainment is taking his native-based films to Indian reservations across the country through Native American Reservations Tours.

“We can bring RED BLOOD and NATE and the COLONEL to your reservation for a screening with your people.” said Winters. “We will also send along some of the Native actors who were in the films to meet, greet and sign autographs after the show.”

Winters took his first production “Red Blood’ to the Colorado River Indian Tribes Blue Water Casino at Parker Arizona for their annual Indian Days Celebration on September 29th.

For more information on booking the Tour for your Reservation, contact Lee Whitestar, Head of the Native Tours Screening Division at (480) 563-1971. There is a screening fee and daily rate for actors to appear on the Tour.

Check out photos of the CRIT’s Tour at www.canyonpressentertainment.com

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Congress Considers Voting Rights Act

Submitted by Alyssa Macy

One of the positive ways Native peoples can become more visible to the world around them is to become politically active and the Voting Rights Act should be of concern to every NDN in this country. Forthcoming congressional hearings could possibly affect YOUR right to vote – bobbie.

Washington - Supporters of the Voting Rights Act acknowledge they know no member of Congress who wants to scrap it but legality is of a major concern to them.

The House Judiciary Committee held the first two of what could be more than a dozen congressional hearings (October 18th and 20th) into extending key provisions of the 1965 law for another 25 years. While congressional approval may seem inevitable, advocates insist exhaustive hearings are necessary to ensure the extension stands up in court.

"We're trying to build a record," said Laughlin McDonald, attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project. "We are anticipating a challenge to what Congress might do."

The Constitution's 15th Amendment guarantees people of all races the right to vote, and most aspects of the Voting Rights Act _ which forbids literacy tests and other impediments for minorities _ will never expire.

But other key provisions will expire in 2007 without congressional action. One requires states with a history of racial discrimination, mostly in the South and some northwest states, to get federal approval before changing their election laws. Another mandates bilingual election assistance for those who do not speak English.

McDonald says he expects to win the political fight in Congress. But if it comes down to a legal fight, all bets are off, which is why the evidence presented at the hearings could be critical.

In recent years, the Supreme Court and U.S. Justice Department have narrowly interpreted several of the original act's key elements, much to the chagrin of civil rights activists.

Most glaring, they say, was the 2003 case Georgia v. Ashcroft. The Supreme Court seemed to suggest in its ruling that states can change their district lines provided black voters are still able to influence an election, regardless of whether their preferred candidates are elected.

McDonald says that was never the intent of the Voting Rights Act, which was established to ensure minority representation _ or at least their right to pick candidates of their choice. He says he'd like Congress to clarify that as part of the extension."

There is a consensus in the civil rights community that Georgia v. Ashcroft ought to be fixed," McDonald said.

Beyond that and a few other small changes, civil rights activists want Congress to pass a clean 25-year extension. They oppose using the bill as a forum for new legislation governing voting machines and are also against a permanent extension, which could make the whole law prone to legal attack.

"The reauthorization process is an opportunity to take stock of where we are and, if necessary, to make adjustments that will protect and strengthen the act," John Conyers of Michigan, the House Judiciary Committee's top Democrat, said in a recent opinion column.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., also supports extensive hearings and scheduled the first two for October 18th and 20th. The first involved an overview of the 1965 act and its subsequent amendments. The second focused on the expiring provisions, including Section 5, which requires federal approval for changing voting laws, and Section 203, which concerns bilingual assistance at the polls.

"The Voting Rights Act has brought voting rights to millions of Americans previously denied their right to vote," Sensenbrenner said. "While some sections of the law will not expire until 2007, I strongly believe now is the time for the Judiciary Committee to begin a thorough examination to reauthorize this critical legislation."The next hearing is set for Tuesday, October 25th.

This column was edited for content from an October 18th Associated Press story bylined Jeffrey McMurray.

Alyssa Macy
Political DirectorCenter for Civic Participation2105 First Avenue SouthMinneapolis, MN 55404 alyssa@ccp.org


Black Hills Action Group

October 27th-30th
In the Sacred Black Hills

Geared to Those Native People Who want to change the world and gain valuable skills in the following areas:
Non-Violent Direct action
Anti-War Organizing
Movement Building
Community Organizing
Grassroots Strategy

Contact:
Vic Camp – victorio@gwtc.net
Richard Iron Cloud – rironcloud@afsc.org
Nick Tilsen – ntilsen@lakotaaction.net
Marty Aranaydo – marty@ruckus.org

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Native Fraternity At U of A Takes On Challenge

Submitted by Marinell deGraffenreid

A Native American fraternity at the University of Arizona in Tucson has taken on the challenge of trying to counter the low student retention rates among American Indians on campus. Beta Sigma Epsilon now has eight active members with a goal of creating an atmosphere on campus where Native students can feel at home.

Joshua Lucio, a 24 year old microbiology major from Zuni, New Mexico was a member of the first pledge class and feels that adding new members to the fraternity is a positive sign that members are helping one another to find their place on a large college campus.

American Indian students have the lowest rates of retention of any minority group on campus because of the culture shock in the transition of leaving a reservation to attend college in a large metropolitan area. About 64 percent of Native students go back to the “rez” after their freshman year in comparison with 79 % of the overall population.

I know the feeling! It’s called “homesickness”. I left a small town of 790 people in northern New York state way back in 1944 to attend the U of A. At that time, there were 2,500 students on campus and Tucson had a population of 39,000 which added up, to me , as a move to a major metropolitan area. Wow! And look at the place now.

Lucio asserted , “Our organization helps to alleviate that feeling by having members join and stick with the organization until they graduate. We’re all her to help each other.”

Though it's fairly new, the group has had success, with 90 percent of its members staying in school. Some have left the fraternity or transferred to another college, but very few have dropped out, said Julian Billy, the fraternity president who joined two years ago.

"Since I was new to the U of A, I wanted something to make sure I was more involved with the campus," said Billy, a Ganado native who came to the UA after working for the Indian Health Services on the Navajo Nation.

There, he noticed the computer system was obsolete, which inspired him to get a computer engineering degree so he could return and improve it. He's had two summer internships there since he started at the UA.

Ryan Chee, a 21-year-old aerospace engineering junior, said the fraternity's community service focus drew him in. As a member, he gets to interact not only with fellow American Indian students but join in service projects that benefit other American Indian communities.

"What drew me here was how enthusiastic they were," said Chee, from Lukachukai. "It's definitely been easier being involved in a community." Without the fraternity, Chee would have kept to himself on campus, but now he's become much more social and has better communication and networking skills.

"What we're creating now is our own type of network, and we hope to utilize that in the future when we get more alumni," said Lucio, a former fraternity president.

Billy said that, as the group grows, it will develop an endowment to fund scholarships for American Indian students and work more to reach out to high school students around the state.

Last spring the fraternity won the Inter-fraternity Council's award for most improved grade-point average. According to Billy, Beta Sigma Epsilon was founded by Navajo students Nathan Pryor and Eric Riggs and last year, a chapter started at Northern Arizona University. Students at Arizona State University and the University of New Mexico are working to start chapters.

This column has been edited for length and content from an October 11th article in the Arizona Daily Star bylined Eric Swedlund.

Voting Rights Update - 10/18/05

From: Beth Fraser – bfraser@mapa-mn.org
Submitted by Sunshine Archambault

Action needed to stop Congress
The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on a bill next week that would punish non-profit organizations for doing voter registration. The Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) regulatory reform legislation (H.R. 1461), includes the Affordable Housing Fund, which would provide funds to build and preserve affordable housing.

A group of representatives that includes Minnesota Representatives Kline and Gutknecht have attached an amendment to this legislation so that nonprofits and public organizations would not be eligible to receive these grants if they do or have done voter registration in the past 12 months or are affiliated with a group that has done voter registration in the past 12 months. For-profit organizations, on the other hand, are specifically exempted from these requirements.

Please contact your Representative today. Call 1-866-864-NHTF (toll-free) and ask to speak to your Representative¹s Legislative Director or Housing Staff to deliver this message:

"I support the establishment of the Affordable Housing Fund in the GSE legislation, but I have learned that language that will restrict an organization¹s right to engage in voter registration may be included in H.R. 1461 when it goes to the floor for a vote.
*I oppose any language that restricts voter registration and freedom of affiliation by non-profit and public organizations when using their own funds.
*I urge Representative ______ to tell House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Financial Services Chairman Mike Oxley (R-OH) to reject these restrictions and bring the bill to the floor for a vote without this language."

Thank you - Beth

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Dispute Between Navajos and El Paso Gas May Raise Bills

As if hurricanes, screwed-up pipelines and shrinking supplies aren't enough to worry about, a dispute between the Navajo Tribe and El Paso Natural Gas Corporation over a Western pipeline that crosses hundreds of miles of tribal land could hike up your natural–gas bill even higher, according to the Texas-based utility company.

A two-decade pact allows El Paso Corp to operate 900 miles of pipeline across Navajo Reservation land in New Mexico and Arizona expires on October 17th. The utility company and the tribe are miles apart on extending the deal that would allow El Paso to continue shipping natural gas to the two southwestern states and California.

Although negotiations are not openly discussed, the word is out that the tribe’s requested price is as much as three times what the utility has offered to pay. The Corp transported 3.3 billion cubic feet daily from the rich natural gas fields of Texas to business and residential customers in all three states.

The slow contract talks come at a time of already skyrocketing natural gas prices with any extra cost paid by El Paso will trickle down to consumers along the way. In frustration at the slow pace the talks are taking, El Paso Corp has sought to bypass Navajo officials by directly appealing to the federal government, now.

El Paso wants the U.S. Department of the Interior to approve a pipeline right-of-way easement that would allow the Houston based company to continue shipping natural gas throughout the Southwest. This comes at a time when the Corp has failed to strike a financial deal with the Tribe, which is a required step before the federals consider such an application.

El Paso’s spokesperson Bruce Connery claims the tribes demands have been unreasonable and could result in higher bills for its customers. The Navajo Nation has rejected offers of $200 million and instead is asking for $440 million over the two-decade lease to operate some 900 miles of pipeline.

Navajo Nation’s Attorney General, Louis Denetsosie said in a written statement the tribe’s demands would be “utterly insignificant from the consumer’s perspective.” He added that El Paso’s competitors have accepted similar terms and the pipeline operator resorted to scare tactics to sway public opinion in their favor.

“El Paso wants to return the Navajo Nation to the earlier times,” Denetsosie wrote, “when right of way over Native American lands was granted by the Unites States for nominal consideration, thus gaining a competitive advantage over other gas pipeline companies.”

El Paso says the federal government has an obligation to renew a right-of-way agreement for the following reasons.

1. The tribe agreed to permit utility construction in exchange for payment under the tribe’s 1868 traty with the Unites States.
2. “Unreasonable terms” demanded by the tribe amount to an unlawful exercise of regulatory authorization over non-Indians.
3. Renewal of the right-of-way conflict lease is needed to avoid conflict with another federal agency, the Federal Energy Commission.

Although El Paso Corp wants the Interior’s assistant secretary to rule on the company’s request and any appeal to avoid disruption of the flow of natural gas to hundreds of thousands of homes and business in the West.

Keith Harper, attorney for the non-profit Native American Rights Fund, said the tribe has a right to cut its own deal and doubts the “feds” will interfere with the demands.

He added that studies have shown that Native Americans historically have been short-changed in right-of-way negotiations with utilities and oil companies. “I think if the Interior Department gets involved in undermining the decision-making rights of a sovereign nation, they are treading on very shaky ground.”

This column has been edited for length and content from two articles appearing in the September 23rd and 30th editions of The Arizona Republic bylined Ken Alltucker.

THE READERS SPEAK OUT: Letters to The Republic
This writer is an Arizona Republican Representative from District 8.

Tribal greed could force utility hikes - Saturday, October 8th
“The recent article concerning utility-right-of way negotiation problems with Indian tribes highlights a bad situation that has been developing for some time “Dispute may raise gas bills’

“Tribal negotiators have realized they can demand any price they want. As public utility companies have no recourse under current law.

“This is not a new situation. Laws governing right-of-way agreements on Indian land were established in 1948.

“Traditionally, however, the utility companies and tribes have reached reasonable agreements, with lease prices typical of those charged by other public and private landholders. Tribes have benefited from the income, and energy companies have been able to provide the public with utilities at reasonable cost. Only recently have tribes sought outrageous increases that will result in higher utility bills.

“We all know that gasoline and electricity prices are at unprecedented levels, largely due to market forces, such as increased demand and natural disasters. This is not he time for a single group to push those prices even higher for their personal gain.

“As chairwoman of the Arizona House Commerce Committee, I encourage the two sides to cone together to find mutual benefit and protect state consumers.

“I commend Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl for drawing and calling for the two sides to reach terms. If a fair resolution is not forthcoming, however, they should take the next step and introduce federal legislation that would establish reasonable procedures to govern right-of-way negotiation with tribes.”

Michele Reagan, Scottsdale

If tribes are 'greedy' where did they learn? Tuesday, October 11th
“Michele Reagan has an interesting take on history in her letter about ‘tribal greed’ (Tribal greed could force hikes in utility bills).

“Greed brought White people to the Valley Greed made White people force Native Americans into reservations. Greed passed laws for allotment of Native American lands so that White people could buy them.

“Now that reservations have been established, the allotment land grabs are over, and Native Americans are relatively secure in their land holdings, Ms. Reagan wants to call Native Americans greedy because they insist on naming the price for right of way.

“Native American politicians have a much keener sense of history than Ms. Reagan does. Apparently, they have a much keener sense of value of the land, also.”

S--- P---, Phoenix

AND, then there is Halliburton in New Orleans - bobbie

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Why Celebrate Columbus Day?

Submitted by Mark Reed

1. Columbus sailed into the Caribbean and never even set foot in what is now known as the United States. So, why do we, in the United States, give him one of our 8 Federal holidays?

2. Why would Columbus be given credit for "discovering" the Americas anyway, when we all know those lands were already inhabited and had been for thousands of years? Didn't the inhabitants of those lands discover them? Look at any map of the US and see the many, many, many states, cities and towns that all bear the Native American names of people and peoples who once populated those regions: Illinois, Oklahoma, Cheyenne, Nantucket, Milwaukee, Yuma, Omaha, Wichita, Tallahassee, Mississippi, Muskogee, Tennessee, Allegheny, Missouri, Kentucky, Huron, Tuscaloosa and on and on and on.....

3. Knowing that Native Americans were already here, and Columbus never was here, why does anyone go along with the myth that "Columbus Discovered America", when we all know it is not true?

4. Why aren't we taught the whole truth about Columbus' actions and the devastating consequences of those actions? Why are we only told about Columbus, who as a boy who always wanted to sail and then when he got older Spain provided him three ships & he sailed across the ocean andDISCOVERED A NEW WORLD! (where millions of Taino had lived for thousands of years and which we now call the Caribbean Why are we only taught about that FIRST voyage, and not the other 3 voyages, when all hell broke loose? Why aren't we taught about how on the second voyage, unlike the first when Columbus only had 3 small old ships, Columbus was given 17 large ships and 1,500 armed men eagerly signed up for the chance to go to the "New World" with hopes of getting rich quick on the gold to be found there?

Also, why aren't we taught about the greed and brutality of the Spaniards against the Taino (who have been remembered as " naked savages" in our history books, if at all), and how the Taino were murdered and enslaved on that second voyage? Why are we not taught about the third voyage & how when King Ferdinand & Queen Isabella of Spain heard about Columbus' actions in the "New World" he was sent back toSpain in chains to stand trial for his crimes, was convicted and stripped of his titles?

Or, how the Spaniards tricked 80 of the Taino leaders into a hut and burned them alive? Isn't to omit the ugly part ofthe truth considered LYING BY OMISSION? Then, that is what our schools are doing when they only teach about the first voyage, they are lying by omission to our students, and we as a improperly educated country have a holiday for an evil, greedy, slave-trading, murderer.

5. Some people say he is worthy of the honor of a holiday for his nautical genius, but the Vikings sailed across the ocean to North America 500 years before, Marco Polo sailed to China & India 300 years prior and the Chinese set foot upon the very shores that Columbus did 71 years prior to the arrival of Columbus, the difference being, Columbus "claimed" the land and cites the Papal Bulls with giving him the authority to do so if no one disputes the action, and Columbus accordingto his journal, was careful to add that no one disputed it at the time, while admitting at the same time that they could not understand each other, so how could they be expected to understand what his flag-planting and pronunciations meant?

6. Many people will argue that Columbus brought Western Civilization to what is now known as the United States, and that is the reason the US bestowed upon him the honor of a holiday. But how can we make that correlation when Columbus, working for Spain, came in 1492 and the European colonizers who came here TWO HUNDRED years later, came fromEngland? If Columbus is worthy of being given credit for this "achievement", wouldn't it have happened 200 years earlier and wouldn't we all be speaking Spanish now as the countries he invaded do?

7. Some people will argue that Columbus Day is a day for recognition of Italians, an Italian Pride Day. Are Italians more worthy of recognitionthan other ethnic groups in this country we have proudly (?) nicknamed"The Melting Pot"? I have heard Italians say that Germans have Oktoberfest, the Irish have St. Patrick's Day and Mexicans have Cinco deMayo, but none of those are FEDERAL holidays. The only two ethnic groups worthy of recognition for their contributions and sacrifice in this land are those who were ALREADY HERE when the Europeans came and those who the Europeans BROUGHT HERE IN CHAINS. All other ethnic groups came here voluntarily. It was long overdue but African Americans finally got their holiday - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January.... but Native Americans still don't have a holiday (urge your congressmen and women to support House Bill #167).

8. Some people think he is deserving of the honor because he proved the world was round, but this was already a widely accepted belief by educated people at the time as Ptolemy, the ancient astronomer and geographer from Egypt, declared that the Earth was spherical in the second century. Why do 17 states refuse to recognize and/or celebrate Columbus Day? Why do protesters gather and march at every Columbus Day Parade?

9. And, WHY is Columbus honored with one of our 8 federal holidays in the US when, (a). He didn't "discover" us, or anything previously undiscovered or uninhabited (b). He never set foot on what is now U.S. soil. (c). His legacy is greed, theft, destruction, brutality, slave-trading and murder (d). It is offensive to Latin American, African American and Native Americans( e). Native Americans, who were here and are worthy of a holiday, still don'thave one.

10. And why have the Taino people of the Caribbean and those in the US,whose ancestors have paid such a huge price for the misfortune of being"discovered", been erroneously declared extinct and are therefore denied legal recognition by the government?

To learn more about the truth, read: *In Defense of the Indians by Bartolome de las Casas *A People's History by Howard Zinn *Lies My Teacher Told Me by James Louwen *Rethinking Columbus by Bigelow and Peterson *The Voyages of Christopher Columbus by Rex and Thea Rienits *The Log of Christopher Columbus by Robert H. Fuson *The Journal of Columbus by Clarkson N. Potter *1421,The Year China Discovered America by Gavin Menzies *America Discovers Columbus by John Noble Wilford *The Conquest of Paradise by KirkpatrickSale *The Columbus Dynasty in the Caribbean by Troy S. Floyd *The Conquest of America by Tzvetan Todorov *Columbus & Cortez, Conquerors for Christ by Eidsmoe.

Kristopher Hohag,Chair
American Indian Student Association -UC Irvine

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Native Actor Meets CBS At Haskell University

Former Screen Actors Guild board member, Mark Reed, Apache/Mohawk, has set up an Intensive Acting Workshop in coordination with CBS scheduled for October 22nd at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas.

Reed explains the Workshop is a “one-on-one evaluation” of marketing oneself to the film and television industry. The workshop will cover such topics such as how to submit professional “eye-catching” resumes and headshots, scene evaluations, actor representation, etc.

He added, “Because it is being conducted by CBS, the one-day seminar gives an intimate perspective on the casting process of network TV shows and mini series. This CBS workshop is focused on us because American Indians are the ‘Invisible Americans’ on television”

Fern Orenstein from CBS Hollywood will be conducting the workshop. Fern is Vice-President of Prime Time casting for movies of the week and miniseries, and from CBS New York, senior Vice-President of Diversity, Josie Thomas will be assisting Fern. Reed will be on hand as the Grand Coalition Alternate Chairman for American Indians.

Reed has organized similar workshops in the Los Angeles area for American Indians in partnership with CBS which have been “very successful”. While serving on the SAG Board, he represented the Guild before the Federal Communications Commission and organized SAG’s first seminar with network producers/show runners, “The Invisible American”.

He also wants to overcome the disparity between the Hollywood “haves and have-nots” by equalizing SAG dues so that every member, especially the wealthy members, pay their fair share. Members pay 1.85% of each dollar they earn up to $200,000 but earnings above that amount are now exempt from this dues assessment. Reed proposes to remove that exemption, yielding SAG an estimated seven to fifteen million dollars for needed member services. The Dues Equalization Proposal is currently in committee.

“I made the request for the Haskell University workshop about a year ago, “ Reed asserted. “I want to bring the network to us. Open communication between Indian Country and television executives can make a great difference for our performers. If we can create a network of talent resources for the networks, we can change our image in American media.

“At a recent press conference, I said we are the ‘Invisible American – the American Indian’. We no longer choose to be invisible, so I am trying to establish working relationships with the networks that want to help us in resolving our ‘invisibility’.”

Reed states the workshop is being held at Haskell U. because of the high level of talent in their theater department. Reed has made an excellent choice in Haskell to represent the Native American in film and TV, as Haskell has a fascinating history of its own.

“Twenty-two American Indian children entered the doors of a new school in Lawrence, Kansas in 1884 to begin a program that focused on agricultural education in grades one through five. In 2005, Haskell continues to serve the educational needs of American Indians and Alaska Native people from across the United States.

“For more than 120 years, American Indians and Alaska Natives have been sending their children to Haskell. Today, the university has an average enrollment of more than 1,000 students per semester.”

Alan Rosenberg has succeeded Melissa Gilbert as President of the Screen Actors Guild and has assured further cooperation with Native American actors. This will keep Mark Reed in his “activist” role for the next two years.

NCAI And NABA Organizing Meeting

For this next year's election cycle

Submitted by Alyssa Macy –
Alyssa@centerforcivicparticiaption.org

Native Vote/NV Election Protection Meeting
Sunday, October 30th, 2005
3:30pm-6:30pm
NCAI Conference (www.ncai.org)
Tulsa, Oklahoma

For more information, contact:
Irene Masayesva, irene_masayesva@ncai.org
Virginia Davis, vdavis@ncai.org
Heather Dawn Thompson, heather@heatherthompson.org

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Indian Women Still Feel Genocide

Submitted by Sunshine Woman Archambault
Empowering The Hoop Program Manager
sunshine@ccp.org

By Sam Hurst,
Rapid City Journal columnist
August 8, 2005

No one likes to talk about the genocide. It was so long ago. What does it have to do with us? That's the way a century washes over the horror. Those who conduct the slaughter will always tell you, "We had to do it." There's always a good reason. Land. Buffalo hides.Manifest destiny. God made us do it.

Then the passage of time rubs off the rough edges. By the third and fourth generation, no one remembers. No one is taught.

About a decade ago, my sister developed an interest in genealogy and for Christmas the family received a report on the Hursts ofTennessee, by way of the Shenandoah Valley, by way of SherwoodForest. There, staring me in the face, across the centuries, was a photograph of John Hurst, black as charcoal, one of several family slaves. Of course! How could it be otherwise? That was the culture, the economy of the South. Every Southerner is complicit. We have just forgotten ... willfully, arrogantly, forgotten.

In the 12 years I have lived in South Dakota, I have met dozens of people who proudly boast that they are fourth-generation homesteaders. But no one has ever admitted to me that their families participated in the genocide. "What does it have to do with us?"

I am haunted by a passage in a little book, "The Badlands Fox," by Margaret Lemley Warren. She wrote about the adventures of her father, Pete, who ranched along the Cheyenne River at the end of the 19th century. He told her stories of the early days.

"We went over and stirred them (Indians) up and a lot of our fellows laid in at thehead of a gulch ... and they chased us down Corral Draw ... RileyMiller was a dead shot, and he just killed them Indians as fast as he could shoot ... We killed about seventy-five of them. Riley Miller and Frank Lockhart went back there and got some pack horses and brought out seven loads of guns, shirts, war bonnets, ghost shirts and things. Riley took 'em to Chicago and started a museum. He made a barrel of money out of it."

I am haunted by this passage because my ranch stares across the Cheyenne River at Corral Draw.

There are a hundred ways that the terror of the genocide continues to ripple through our lives, but none is more explosive than the cruel, hard fact that we beat and rape Indian women as if they were utterly without value. Consider these numbers:

-- Fifty percent of Indian women in America will be beaten in their lifetime. That is twice the percentage of white and black and hispanic women. I find this statistic impossible to believe. I talk to a counselor at the Sacred Circle resource center in RapidCity. "Could this possibly be true at Pine Ridge, or Rosebud, or North Rapid?" She shrugs. "Statistics are hard to gather on the reservations. Women are taught to keep their mouths shut. But I was beaten, and I don't know hardly any women who haven't been."
-- Indian women are raped at twice the rate of all other races.
-- Seventy percent of the violence against Indian women is committedby non-Indian spouses or boyfriends or acquaintances.
-- One in four pregnant Indian women is beaten.
-- Two-thirds of all Indian boys between 11 and 20 arrested formurder, killing the man who assaulted their mother.

Is the problem poverty? Yes.
Is the problem alcohol and drug abuse? Yes
Lousy law enforcement? Yes.
A lack of shelters and court protections for native women? Yes.
Is the problem a deeply ingrained sexism in American culture that blames the victims? Yes.

But at its root, the problem is that 500 years of genocide and colonization have made Indian women invisible.The reservations are isolated, and we easily drift into a dismissive disinterest, as if this is a problem in Bangladesh, or Botswana - far, far away. It's their problem.

That's why it is so important to remember the genocide. It matters ... today, right now, to all of us. Next month Congress will vote to re-authorize the Violence AgainstWomen Act, and for the first time (thanks largely to the work ofSouth Dakota Indian women), the law will create a tribal division within the Justice Department to manage programs for Native women, increase funding for shelters, an inter-tribal sex offender registry, a protection order registry, better training for law enforcement and expand counseling for men.

But make no mistake. There is no silver bullet solution to the problem. Ask a woman who has worked in the movement against violence and she will tell you that the best place to start is for the whole communityto adopt a zero tolerance for violence against women. Women are sacred. There is no excuse for hitting a woman, not one, not ever.

We will begin to make headway when the men in our community enforce this code with each other ... before the police are called.

I have a more simple way of looking at the problem. When every womanin the community becomes my daughter or sister. When the violence against them is violence against me, we will begin to put the legacy of the genocide behind us.

Sam Hurst is a Rapid City filmmaker.
samhurst@aol.com

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.

Arctic Thaw Affects Northern Natives

Submitted by Jean Bedell-Mashkikinabinais

The floating cap of sea ice on the Artic ocean shrank this summer to what it probably its smallest size in at least a century, continuing a trend toward less summer ice and the shift is hard to explain without attributing it in part to human-caused global warming.

OSLO - (Reuters - by Alister Doyle) Indigenous peoples urged tougher action to slow global warning on September 29th after a U.S. report showed the Arctic icecap had shrunk to its smallest size in at least 100 years.

The U.N. Environment Program also said the shrinking ice was yet more alarming evidence of an Arctic thaw that could portent worldwide disruptions including stringer hurricanes, desertification and rising sea levels.

“This is another reminder of the fast melt in the Arctic,” said Alona Yefimenko, acting head of the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat in Copenhagen, Denmark. “All the indigenous political leaders are trying to bring the message to reduce (greenhouse gas) emissions, not only in the United States but in Europe,” she added.

According to Yefimenko, shrinking ice is threatening traditional lifestyles. Polar bear and seals hunters risk falling through thinning ice. Reindeer herders often find their animals now struggling in mud on what was permafrost.

Arctic leaders especially want the United States, the world’s biggest polluter, to cap emissions of heat-trapping gases from power plants, factories and cars blamed by most scientists for global warming.

Most of the other rich nations have agreed to curbs under the United Nation’s “Kyoto Protocol” but President George W. Bush pulled out of Kyoto in 2001, saying it would be too costly and wrongly exclude developing nations.

Indigenous leaders dismiss Bush’s views that more research is needed, and point out climate change is already happening. Yefimenko, from the Russian Far East, asserts one can no longer take snowmobiles across frozen lakes and be sure of reaching the other side without sliding in the water. Around the Arctic, water flows in rivers are unpredictable and it’s very difficult for reindeer herders to cross those rivers.

The U.S findings backed a report by 250 experts last year that forecast the Arctic ice could disappear in summers by 2010, driving polar bears toward extinction. The impact would be largely negative but could open the Arctic for oil and gas, mining, logging or trans-polar shipping routes between the Pacific and Atlantic.

According to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment group, Artic ice melts faster than at the remainder of the earth because darker water and ground, once exposed, traps heat more rapidly than ice and snow.

“The U.S. report,” said Nick Nuttall, spokesman for the U.N. Environmental Program, “is yet further evidence that climate change is no longer a prediction for the future but a phenomenon that is already happening. The world might risk catastrophic and abrupt changes unless some measures are quickly acted upon.” Are Katrina and Rita representative of abrupt climatic changes?

“An already very bad trend seems to be getting worse” asserted Steve Sawyer, who heads up climate and energy policies at Greenpeace. ”Apart from the Arctic sea ice, there are worrying signs of a melting of the Greenland icecap. A complete meltdown of the icecap could raise ocean level by 7 meters.”

A meter is equal to 39.37 inches so 7 meters would equal 275.59 inches or almost 23 feet. There goes most of Florida not to mention sea coast cities and communities around the globe.

The time has come to take this problem seriously enough to contact your congressman and senators concerning global warming. It’s a given!

‘FIREWOOD’
Submitted by Threeze Sharpensteen

It was October and the Indians on a remote reservation asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he had been raised in an urban society, he was never taught much about the old ways. When he looked up at the sky he was unable to predict what the winter was going to be like.

Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was, indeed, going to be cold and the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared. Being a practical leader, he came up with a solution to his problem several days later. He went to the phone booth, called the national weather service and asked, "Is the coming winter going to be cold?"

"It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold," the meteorologist at the weather station responded.

The chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared. A week later he called the national weather service. "Does it still look like it's going to be a very cold winter?"

"Yes," the man at the national weather station again replied, "It's going to be a very cold winter."

The chief went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of firewood they could find. Two weeks later the chief called the national weather service. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" he asked.

Absolutely," the man replied. "It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever."

"How can you be so sure?" asked the chief.

The weatherman replied, "The Indians are collecting firewood like crazy."

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to make a positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the American Indian.

For news and information on Native American and First Nations actors, go to Annie's site at www.NativeCelebs.com and follow the threads.

American Indian Airways regularly broadcasts every Wednesday from 3-4 p.m.(Pacific Time) on KPFK FM 90.7 Los Angeles; FM 98.7 Santa Barbara; and by Internet with Real Media Player, Winamp and Itunes.