Indians Fear Losing Native-Friendly Clinics

By ANGIE WAGNER, Associated Press Writer

When Jennifer Carter moved from her reservation to Pierre, S.D., a few years ago, she went from seeing Indians like her every day to barely seeing any. But the first time she visited the South Dakota Urban Indian Health clinic, she knew she had found her place.

There, she met Indians just like her, people she could relate to and who made her feel comfortable. They were from various tribes. They no longer, or never did, live on a reservation.

"When you all get together, it's like home," said Carter, a single mother of four who used to live on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in Eagle Butte. "It makes me feel like home."
To urban Indians, that connection to their culture often means as much as the medicine they are prescribed.

But now that relationship is threatened by President Bush's 2007 budget proposal to zero out the $33 million allocation for urban Indian health clinics. At least 17 of the 34 clinics across the country may have to close their doors, while the rest would be forced to cut services.

Some 60 percent of American Indians and Alaska natives live in urban areas, according to the Census Bureau. And for years — decades in some cities — they have been receiving health care at clinics in or near the cities where they live. Providing health care to all Indians has been part of the government's trust responsibility.

"Many tribes are viewing this as an assault on trust responsibility," said Geoffrey Roth, executive director of the National Council of Urban Indian Health.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., noted during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing last month that even though the proposed cuts could be restored, "I think some of these cuts ... clearly sends out the wrong signal to Indian Country as to what our belief and our fulfillment of our obligation to Native Americans is all about."

Urban Indian health care clinics, located in 21 states, are funded by the Indian Health Service, but operate as private clinics under contract with the government. Whether a city has an urban clinic depends on the population, health status and poverty level of Indians. They are located in cities as large as New York and as small as Butte, Mont.

Clinics differ in their services — some offer primary care, others just referrals — but most have programs vital to Indians. Many offer comprehensive medical care ranging from dental and vision to mental health. Most have alcohol addiction and diabetes programs, because of the prevalence of those diseases among Indians.

The amount patients pay for services varies from clinic to clinic. Some are free; others have a sliding fee schedule. Last year, the clinics treated more than 106,000 Indians.

Compared to the U.S. population as a whole, urban Indians have a 178 percent higher death rate from alcohol abuse and a 54 percent higher death rate from diabetes, according to a 2004 study by the Seattle Indian Health Board's Urban Indian Health Institute.

At the Hunter Health Clinic in Wichita, Kan., outreach workers who help diabetics with exercise, diet and foot care would lose their jobs, and mental health and alcohol and substance abuse programs would be cut, said Susette Schwartz, clinic chief executive officer.

Isabelle Gyongyossy, a 78-year-old Oglala Sioux patient at the Hunter clinic, has diabetes and heart disease. She takes eight pills a day, uses a walker and isn't sure how she will cope if she can no longer use the clinic's programs. "If they take the funding away, I'll have to pay for a lot of things. I won't have any food," she said.

Urban clinics also offer services many other clinics don't, such as transporting patients to and from appointments, something many older patients need.

In Bush's 2007 budget proposal, it is suggested that urban Indians can go to community health centers instead, since those centers are slated to receive a $181 million increase that would build or expand 300 sites.

Alex Conant, spokesman for the White House Office of Management and Budget, noted the increase and said: "Urban Indians, like all Americans, continue to benefit from the president's initiatives to make health care more affordable and available." But clinic directors and urban Indians say increasing community health center funding doesn't solve the problem.

Urban Indians may be reluctant to seek care from a non-Indian clinic. Instead, those patients will likely wait to receive medical attention until their condition deteriorates, and then they will fill emergency rooms. Many urban Indians are too far away from reservations to return there for medical care through the Indian Health Service.

"They just won't get primary care because they're not going to drive those kinds of miles," Schwartz said. "They don't have money for gas. A lot of them are disabled and unable to get around."

Community health centers are already "stretched to the limit," said Amy Simmons, spokeswoman for the National Association for Community Health Centers. The proposed program expansion isn't designed to meet the needs of urban Indians, Daniel Hawkins, the association's vice president for federal, state and public affairs, said in a recent letter to Bush.

"My fear is losing our Indian identity," said Schwartz, the Wichita clinic CEO. "We would be able to stay open, but would lose our Native American programs." At the Wichita clinic, which also operates as a community health clinic, urban Indians receive free services and prescriptions. Some 2,700 Indians visited the clinic last year.

If the funding is dropped, urban Indians there could get health care from the community clinic. But they would miss the cultural connection they enjoy now because most Indian workers would lose their jobs, Schwartz said.

"We have so many people who don't know exactly why they're so messed up and out drinking and abusing until they talk to someone who understands Indian history. There's generations of anger that only someone who understands can connect the dots," Schwartz said.

Marjorie Bear Don't Walk, executive director of the Indian Health Board of Billings, Mont., said if Bush's proposal is approved, her clinic will be out of business. "We don't turn away anybody. All of the chairs are filled in the lobby and we only have clinic from 1 to 5," she said. "Most of them will have nowhere to go."

Cynthia Jurosek, who is both a patient and a temporary employee at the Billings clinic, wonders what will happen to all the people who rely on the clinic for transportation, and to the patients in mental health and substance abuse programs."All these urban clinics, they belong to the Indians," said Jurosek, a Crow Indian. "It's where they can go and feel good about themselves. They're treated with respect. And that's what I will lose here. "I will lose people who are truly interested in helping me get well."

EDITOR'S NOTE — Angie Wagner is the AP's Western regional writer, based in Las Vegas.

INDNs List House Party A Success In Tulsa!

More than 150 people attended the INDN’s List Candidate Debut on March 23 (http://indnslist.org/image/tid/19). Held in the Tulsa, Oklahoma home of Sally and Jim Frasier, INDN’s List’s second House Party was a huge success. Friends, candidates, and tribal leaders heard from INDN’s List endorsed candidates, socialized with fellow Democrats, enjoyed delicious food, and learned more about the INDN’s List critical mission. Oklahoma State House Candidates Chuck Hoskin and Scott Bighorse, both INDN’s List benefactors, addressed attendees and rolled out their campaign plans.

Thanks to each of you for coming out in the unseasonably cold March evening. A special thanks, of course, goes out to Jim and Sally Frasier for graciously hosting us in their beautiful home and to Shirley Harlan, Lori Cain and BJ Medley for preparing the wonderful food.

“Sally and I have worked for decades to elect Democrats in Oklahoma and are very excited to support INDN’s List and the campaigns of Scott Bighorse and Chuck Hoskin. We know these fine men will represent our Party and take their fresh ideas and passion to the State Capitol to fight for a better Oklahoma for all of us – not just the privileged few. Both Scott and Chuck are exactly the kind of progressive candidates we like to support,” said DNC National Committeeman Jim Frasier.

Sally Frasier, Congressional District 1 Secretary, said, “Jim and I have hosted numerous events in our home for Democratic candidates over the years and have always enjoyed the warm camaraderie with our like minded friends. However, the INDN’s List event brought new energy and new friends to our home! We are pleased to join forces with INDN’s List in building our Party and sending Democrats who represent the values of the Democratic Party to the State Capitol.”

We were happy be joined by tribal leaders UKB Tribal Councilman Eddie Sacks, Cherokee Tribal Council Members Bill John Baker, Joe Crittenden, Cara Cowan Watts, and Ponca Chief Dan Jones. Friends from the Native American Journalist Association, the Tulsa Indian Coalition Against Racism, and the Tulsa Native Network also attended.

Additionally, State Representative and candidate for Lieutenant Governor Jari Askins, State House candidates Al McAffrey, Jeff Potts, John Mark Young, and Dianne Barker-Harrold also attended the event.

Both Indian and non-Indian candidates value the cause of INDN’s List. Candidates for Tulsa City Council Dennis Troyer and Jon Kirby also joined us. Broken Arrow Mayor Richard Carter, Tulsa Mayoral candidate Kathy Taylor and Tulsa Auditor Phil Wood stopped by to mingle with supporters of INDN’s List and reaffirmed the importance of representing Native Americans.

We can always count on the support of organized labor, and are grateful that they could be with us at our party last night.

We are hoping to see another newspaper story about INDN’s List in the near future, as the Tulsa World accepted our invitation to attend and learn more about INDN’s List.

At INDN’s List, our strength is in our people. In just a year we have already built a thriving grassroots community. We continue to build on our greatest strength -- our friends and supporters.

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.

Visit Vietnam Vet. Larry Mitchell at http://www.potawatomivet.com and click on his blog at the site.

Tribal Leader Works For Abortion Clinic On Rez

By Bill Harlan, Journal Staff Writer

Oglala Sioux Tribe President Cecelia Fire Thunder says a clinic on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation could provide abortions if South Dakota’s new abortion ban goes into effect.

“We’re working on it,” Fire Thunder said in a telephone interview Friday. “This is a free-choice issue. If I were in that situation, I’d want somewhere to go where I’d be taken care of."

The new South Dakota law bans all abortions except to save the life of the mother — with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Fire Thunder said the state law would not apply to the reservation. “We’re a sovereign nation,” she said.

The new law is set to go into effect July 1, but a court challenge almost certainly will delay it, and opponents of the law are already gathering signatures to put it on the ballot in November.

Fire Thunder, in fact, is one of 15 co-leaders of the new South Dakota Campaign for Healthy Families, which on Friday announced a statewide campaign to overturn the new law.

South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long declined to comment on the proposal, saying he likely would have to write a description of the new law for ballots in November.

Long said that major crimes committed on reservations come under state jurisdiction if they are committed by non-Indians against non-Indians. Other major crimes fall under federal law.

Rapid City attorney Charlie Abourezk, who has experience in Indian law and who has represented tribes and President Fire Thunder, said Indian doctors might be immune from the new state law if abortions were done on a reservation — whether the woman was Indian or non-Indian.

University of South Dakota law professor Frank Pommersheim, an expert in Indian law, agreed that Fire Thunder’s proposal was “potentially workable” — especially if doctors were Indians and if the clinic were on Indian trust land.

Pommersheim said licensing could pose a problem. Physicians licensed by the state of South Dakota could face penalties, but he also said tribes might set up their own licensing procedures.

Long said that Indian Health Service physicians don’t have to be licensed by South Dakota as long as they have licenses from other jurisdictions.

State Rep. Elizabeth Kraus, R-Rapid City, who voted for the new abortion ban, said state legislators did not anticipate a tribal government setting up a clinic. “I think it’s poor policy because I don’t believe in abortion unless it’s to save the life of a mother,” Kraus said. “I don’t believe abortion is the answer to women’s problems.”

Fire Thunder’s proposal will be moot if South Dakota’s new abortion ban never goes into effect. In fact, she predicted a federal court would rule it unconstitutional. But she said if the law did go into effect, she would work to open a clinic, maybe even on land she would donate. “We’ve got lawyers working on it right now,” she said.

Earlier in the week, Fire Thunder told newspaper columnist Tim Giago that she would “personally establish a Planned Parenthood Clinic on my own land.”

Planned Parenthood officials “expressed gratitude” for the offer in a news release Friday but said they didn’t plan to open a reservation clinic.

“It doesn’t have to be Planned Parenthood,” Fire Thunder said Friday.

Fire Thunder has worked as a licensed practical nurse, and she has helped set up community health clinics in Los Angeles. She said the tribe could set up its own clinic. “If we choose to do this, we can.”

Fire Thunder said such a clinic could serve women “from throughout the region.” But she also emphasized the clinic’s local effect. “We want to have a viable option closer to home,” Fire Thunder said in a written statement issued late Friday afternoon. “Of course, in our culture, children are sacred, but women are sacred too, and somebody who has been victimized by rape or incest should have options.”

Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or
bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com

Summer Tribal Internship - Deadline May 15

Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) is partnering with The Navajo Times to offer a 10-week internship for a NAJA student June 5-Aug. 11, 2006.
Applicants must submit the following to the Times:
* Current resume
* 5-8 newspaper clips or writing samples
* Documentation verifying NAJA membership* Two letters of reference
* A cover letter on how the internship will benefit your career and will assist you in your plans to graduate from college.

Internship applicants must be current NAJA student members in good standing. Special consideration will be given to those student applicants who have participated in past NAJA training programs, such as workshops held during the annual convention, Project Phoenix or the college Student Projects. Students who have also completed the Freedom Forum's American Indian Journalism Institute program will also be given special consideration.

Interns will receive $540 a week. Interns will be responsible for their own housing and transportation expenses and arrangements.The application deadline is May 5.

All applicants and selected intern(s) will be notified by May 12. For more information, please call Navajo Times publisher Tom Arviso Jr. at 928-871-6641 or email tarviso@navajotimes.com

Please send complete packets to:
Navajo Times 2006 Summer Internship Program
ATTN: Tom Arviso Jr.
P.O. Box 310
Window Rock, AZ 86515

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.

Robins, Barn Owls and Hornets Are Arriving In Arctic Villages

The Greenland Ice Sheet is melting. The Antarctic Ice Sheet is melting. In Bolivia, the world’s highest ski resort is melting. But, nowhere has the population been more profoundly affected by the alteration of the chemical compounds of the atmosphere through greenhouse gases than at the top of the world – the Arctic Circle.

Thirty miles from the Arctic Circle, Inuit hunter Noah Metuq feels the Arctic changing. Fish and wildlife are following the retreating ice caps northward. Polar bears are losing the ice floes they need for hunting. Seals, unable to find stable ice, are going ashore to give birth.

The global warming felt by wildlife is hitting first and hardest here in the Arctic where the Inuit people make their home. They say this winter is the worst in a series of warm winters that scientists expect will spread from the north to the rest of the globe.

The Inuit, who live in Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Siberia, see the signs of change, everywhere. Metug hauled his fishing shack onto the ice in Cumberland Sound last month expecting to stay there for at least three months. Three days later, the ice broke up and swept away his shack and some $6,00 of turbot fishing gear.

In Nain, Labrador, hunter Simon Kohlmeister drove his snowmobile onto ocean ice where he had been hunting for some 20 years to find himself and his machine breaking through the ice. He was lucky to get away with his life but his snowmobile sank into the sea.

In Russia’s northernmost territory of Chukotka, the Inuit have had to drill wells for water because there is so little snow to melt. Reykjavik, Iceland has had the warmest February in 41 years. In Alaska, water normally sealed by ice is now open, brewing winter storms that lash coastal and river villages.

A similar phenomena must be taking place at the South Pole as Antarctica melts, but there is no human population to be affected by the warming trend other than a few scientists and film makers. The stately penguins and their wildlife friends and enemies are the major occupants of the area. I could find no meaningful research on the effects of global warming on the Ona Indians of Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America.

In Pangnirtung, Canada, a community of 1,200 residents on Baffin Island were startled by thunder, rain showers and a temperature of 48 degrees in February a time when their world normally is locked in silence at minus 20 degrees.

One resident, Donald Mearns said, “We were just standing around in our shorts, stunned and amazed trying to make sense of it.” My sister-in law said for the first time in recorded history Anchorage, Alaska residents witnessed a thunder and lightning storm.

Canadian researchers say the Bering Sea is warming so fast it is “experiencing a change from arctic to sub-arctic conditions.” Gray whales are heading north and walruses are starving adrift on ice floes in water too deep for feeding. Warmer water fish like pollock and salmon are coming in, the researchers reported.

Jerry Conway is a marine mammal expert for the federal fisheries department in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. He said, “We are seeing dramatic changes in the weather systems. To be honest, we really don’t understand what are the potential impacts. If you look back in history, there have been warming trends that have gotten back to normal. But we don’t know if that will happen this time.”

Metuq, the hunter fears the worst.”The world is slowly disintegrating” he said from inside his heated house in Pangnirtung “They call it climate change, but we call it breaking up.”

The front page of the March 24th edition of The Arizona Republic ran the following headline. “Rising Seas raising alarms – MAJOR STUDY: GLOBAL WARMING WILL THREATEN COASTS BY 2100 IF POLLUTANTS AREN’T REDUCED.”

I was surprised to see the article as for the most part the conservative Republic has been quiet on the global warming issue. The map of the Southern states show areas that would be submerged if the sea level rose 20 feet which includes the cities of New Orleans, Mobile, Ala., Tallahassee, Tampa, Miami and Jacksonville, Fla. as well as Savannah, Georgia.

Residents of Venice, Italy and parts of London, England are currently struggling to keep their feet above water. Changes in the earth’s climate are nothing new but do they normally occur at this rate of speed?

The troubles for the Inuit are ominous for everyone, says Shelia Watt-Cloutier, head of the International Circumpolar Conference, an organization for the 155,000 worldwide Inuit people.

“People have become disconnected from their environment, But the Inuit have remained through this whole dilemma, remained extremely connected to its environment and wildlife,” Watt-Cloutier said. “They are the early warning. They see what is happening to the planet, and give the message to the rest of the world.”

This column has been edited for content and length from a March 22nd story in the washingtonpost.com bylined Doug Struck, Washington Post Foreign Service.


Center For Civic Participation Looking For Projects For Website
Submitted Alyssa Macy
Political Director
Center For Civic Participation
Alyssa@ccp.org

Are you involved in or do you know of projects or organizations in theU.S. focusing on arts and democracy? If so, the Center for Civic Participation would like to include this information on our website.

Please send project contact information and a project description to lena@ccp.org or input your project information directly into our websitethrough this form: http://www.ccp.org/forms/new_voter_project.html.
We can only include projects that are non-partisan.

The mission of the Center for Civic Participation is to increase civic engagement by individuals and organizations in ways that both strengthen our democratic institutions and encourage public involvement in civic life. CCP's priority is to work in communities that have been historicallyunderrepresented in our democratic process.

To learn more about the Center for Civic Participation, check out our website at www.ccp.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Information on the Arts & Democracy Program at CCP contact:
Caron Atlas, 718-965-1509, caronatlas@aol.com

Issues related to posting information on the CCP website contact:
Lena Richardson, Lena@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.

Native Voter Alerts And Action!

Submitted by Alyssa Macy
Political Director
Center For Civic Participation
Alyssa@ccp.org

1.Trust Reform: Paying the Debt
2. Oppose the Relocation of Dineh (Navajo) peoples
3. Save the Urban Indian Health Program

1. Trust Reform: Paying the Debt
The Associated Press reported on 3/1/2006, that estimates of the money owed for unpaid royalties on oil, gas, timber and other resources from Indian lands range from half a billion dollars to $27.5 billion. Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the class action lawsuit over the federal government’s mismanagement of individual Indian Trust Accounts, applauded the continued effort of Congressional leaders to resolve the dispute through legislation.

The tribes' $27.5 billion estimate is based on the presumption that Indians are still owed about a fifth of the $100 billion to $170 billion in royalties they should have received, most of that accrued interest. The government's much lower figure is based on efforts to account for possible errors in collections, deposits and payments.

Selecting an amount for the final debt could ultimately be agreed upon rather than any technical, data-driven fix. During a joint Congressional hearing, the case mediator John Bickerman said that "Ultimately, this is an arbitrary solution. There is no right number.".

"This trust system was imposed on people, we didn't ask for it," said Mike Marchand, the first vice president of Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. "We're doing the best we can to work with the system."

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Based on the recent court successes, the plaintiffs are seeking an initial award to cover the attorney fees. Contact your senator and both of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairs and let them know that the U.S. government must cover the plaintiff fees, and that as a matter of government and trust responsibility doing anything otherwise is not acceptable.

Senators -www.senate.gov
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Chairs:

Chairman - John McCain (R-AZ)
241 Russell Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone 202-224-2235
FAX 202-228-2862

Vice Chairman -Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
322 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
United States Senate
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone 202-224-2551
FAX 202-224-11932.

2. Oppose Relocation of the Dineh
A bill is before Congress that sets a new timetable for the forced relocation of a number of Navajo families on Black Mesa. Senate bill S. 1003 "The Navajo Hopi Land Settlement Act Amendments of 2005" is now on the Senate Calendar and may be passed at anytime without debate or serious consideration unless the public acts now.

The passage of this bill would effectively devastate these traditional communities of Navajo, or Dineh, stripping them of their identity and way of life which is tied into the land itself.

This bill will permanently displace the indigenous families of Big Mountain and surrounding communities on Black Mesa from their ancestral lands and will relieve the federal government of any further responsibility for the relocated people. S. 1003, sponsored by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), comes as Peabody Coal, the world's largest coalcompany, is planning to expand its strip mining of American Indian lands, drawing down a high-quality residential aquifer in the process. Only one thing stands in Peabody's way: indigenous people live on the land belowwhich lies billions of tons of low-sulfur coal.

What you can do:
Contact your Senators and Senator McCain and express your opposition to S. 1003 and Dineh relocation. After passing the earlier relocation act, PL 93-531, in 1974, several Senators expressed misgivings about the law, but not having been informed about the law from constituents and others, it was too late.

Senators
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Representative
www.house.gov/writerep

3. Save the Urban Indian Health Program
President Bush's has proposed elimination of the Urban Indian Health Program within the Indian Health Service. Urban Indian health programs report that such a cut would result in an increase in the health care disparity for American Indians and Alaska Natives and the near annihilation of a body of medical and cultural knowledge addressing the unique cultural and medical needs of the urban Indian population held almost exclusively by these programs.

According to the 2000 Census, over 50% of Americans identifying themselves as of American Indian or Alaska Native heritage live in urban areas. Notably, the Urban Indian Health Program receives only 1% of IHS funding, stretching those dollars to achieve extraordinary results.

Major contentions of the Urban Clinics:
- Urban Indian Health Clinics provide unique and non-duplicable assistance to Urban Indians who face extraordinary barriers to accessing mainstream health care. What Urban Indian health programs offer cannot be effectively replaced by the HRSA’s Health Centers program.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Save Costs and Improve Medical Care by Getting Urban Indians to Seek Medical Attention Earlier. A delay in seeking treatment can easily result in a disease or condition reaching an advanced stage where treatment is more costly and the probability of survival or correction is lower.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Are Better Positioned to Identify Health Issues Particular to the Native Community. The Urban Indian programs are often able to diagnose more quickly and more accurately the needs of the Indian patient, as well as more readily point a patient to the appropriate medical resource to address his or her condition.
- Urban Indian Health Programs Overcome Cultural Barriers. Urban Indian programs not only enjoy the confidence of their clients, but also play a vital role in educating other health care providers in the community to the unique needs and cultural conditions of the urban Indian population.
- Urban Indian Programs Reduce Costs to Other Parts of the Indian Health Service System by Reducing Their Patient Load. Many urban Indians, if they cannot seek medical advice at an Urban Indian program, return to their reservation to access far costlier services.

Congress enshrined its commitment to urban Indians in the Indian Health Care Improvement Act where it provided: “that it is the policy of this Nation, in fulfillment of its special responsibility and legal obligation to the American Indian people, to meet the national goal of providing the highest possible health status to Indians and urban Indians and to provide all resources necessary to effect that policy.”25 U.S.C. Section 1602(a)(emphasis added).

What you can do:
Please urge Congress to reject the President's proposed cut in the 2007 Budget.

Senators
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Representative
www.house.gov/writerep

For more information:
NCUIH - www.ncuih.org

"We are all struggling to survive as nations, as communities . . .bringing our societies from the past, maintaining those connections intothe future, and being the bridge to the next seven generations"-- Margo Thunderbird, Native Elder

Family, Friends Remember Lori Piestewa
At a sunrise memorial on Thursday, March 23rd honoring Lori Piestewa, the first Native American woman killed in combat and the first woman killed in the Iraq War, four former prisoners of war – Jessica Lynch, Joseph Hudson, Shoshana Johnson and Patrick Miller - stood below Piestewa Peak in Phoenix remembering the fallen soldier and their friend.

There was silence as the four special non-Native guests stood before those who had gathered at the ramada to remember Piestewa and all the other veterans who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. Piestewa’s father and mother, Percy and Terry, faced the four and told them that we are all one and we thank God for bringing you here.

This ceremony marked the 3rd anniversary of the attack where 11 American soldiers were killed, six were captured and Piestewa died at a Iraqi hospital.. Lynch became a national hero after her dramatic rescue from the hospital by U.S Marines.

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.

Census Taking In Indian Country - Make It Personal!

“Census takers come to the reservations uninvited," says Don Loudner, a member of the Crow Creek Sioux tribe. “If the Indian people don’t know who you are, they aren’t going to tell you nothing. They don’t trust you.”

Native Americans living on reservations across the country pose a multitude of problems for census takers: They live in sparsely populated rural areas without regular mailing addresses and often mistrust government officials. The head count of Indians had some of the highest error rates for any minority group in the country. The U.S. Census Bureau wants to change that by the 2010 count- by making it personal.

New methods include encouragement from tribal leaders to be open with the people who take the census and making door-to-door visits by census takers, who, themselves, will be reservation residents.

This is the plan being introduced by Census Bureau Director, Louis Kincannon who arrived on Wednesday, March 15th on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation for the formal kickoff of the new project that will test the new counting methods for use on reservations across the nation. The Cheyenne Reservation is located in Northern North Dakota west of the Missouri River. Local enumerators will have the advantage of knowing the terrain.

”Sometimes these area are really hard to get to,” said tribal member, Marjorie Gunville, ‘You might need a four-wheel drive.”

Cheyenne tribal officials are encouraging residents to cooperate because an accurate account ensures that each tribe gets its fair share of federal funding for housing, welfare, health, day care and a wide range of other programs.

Many Indian people have been reluctant to disclose the number of individuals who live in their homes because restrictions included in some of health and welfare programs set a limit to the number of people who can live in one household.

Publicity campaigns will emphasize the fact that census information is confidential so that answers to the census takers questions cannot be used to affect anyone’s eligibility for assistance programs.

Tribal chairman Harold Frasier also has written a letter encouraging people to cooperate and that letter will be handed to the person who answers census questions for each household.

All households will get the short form with only eight questions. The long form with 50 questions will be done through monthly samples to get an ongoing detailed picture of the population.

It is estimated that the 1990 census takers missed 4.5 percent of the American Indian population. The national rate was 1.5 percent. More alarming to the National Congress of American Indians is that 12.2 percent of all Indians living on reservations were missed.

I feel it is very important for government officials to understand if they want to get an accurate census count of people living on Indian reservations across the country, they will have to send census takers that reservation residents will trust. People they know who will understand and respect their culture and traditions.

This column has been edited for length, content and rewritten to be directed to the Native community from an Associated Press story in the March 18th edition of The Arizona Republic bylined Chet Brokaw.


New Mexico 'Dems' Create Native Caucus
Indianz.Com. In Print.
URL: http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/013051.asp

Monday, March 20, 2006
The Democratic Party of New Mexico has created its first Native American Caucus. Laura Harris, Comanche, is the chairwoman of the new caucus. She said New Mexico is only the second state with a Native caucus.

California's Democratic Party created the first one in 1998. Native Americans make up about 10 percent of the state population. Harris said, "Natives are 16 percent of the Democratic vote." She added 75 percent of registered Native voters are Democrats.

INDN's List 1st Birthday Party A 'Rocking Success'
Submitted by Kalyn Free, President INDN’s List

INDN’s List recently celebrated its First Birthday in Washington D.C. More than 100 friends from across the country and dozens of tribal leaders came together for an evening to reflect on our ground-breaking successes and look forward to an even brighter future. Democratic leaders including DNC Chair Howard Dean, Californian Congressman Mike Honda, and former Minnesota Congressman Bill Luther encouraged INDN’s List to continue our efforts to ensure that the First Americans are represented – not just at the table, but on the ticket.

INDN’s List was privileged to have Governor Dean as our guest of honor. He reaffirmed the Democratic Party’s commitment to the advancement of Native Americans and the importance of bringing our First Americans into the political process.

“Democrats know that we can do better. But change is only possible when we stand up and fight for what we believe. I am committed to encouraging greater participation on the part of American Indians in our political process,” Dean said. “It is not enough for candidates to come to your communities 6 weeks before an election and ask for your vote. We have to show up now; Encourage American Indians to run for office; Provide them with the tools to win; and Encourage them to stand up for what they believe in. That is what we are doing. Together, if we show up, organize, fight for what we believe, and encourage American Indian candidates across the country to run, we can move our country forward.”

Our work and fulfilling our mission would not be possible without you. We know you will continue to support us in the coming year as we prepare to elect Indians to positions throughout the country.

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.

Highest Court In Land - Sect Can Use Hallicinogenic Tea

Submitted by Ken Hughes

Sho-Ban News, Fort Hall Id.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - In a ruling that could affect a peyote case in Utah, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that a small branch of a South American religious sect may use hallucinogenic tea as part of a ritual.The court said the government cannot hinder religious practices without proof of a ``compelling'' need to do so.

"This is a very important decision for minority religious freedom in this country,'' said lawyer John Boyd, who represents about 130 U.S. members of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente Uniao do Vegetal who live in New Mexico, California and Colorado.

The tea, which contains an illegal drug known as DMT, is considered sacred to members of the sect, which has a blend of Christian beliefs and South American traditions. Members believe they can understand God only by drinking the tea, which is consumed twice a month at four-hour ceremonies.

A trial judge found the government's evidence that the drug is harmful was equal in weight to information provided by the sect that said its method of use in tea is not.

Chief Justice John Roberts, in writing the opinion for the court, said the government had failed to prove that federal drug laws should outweigh the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which Congress passed in 1993 to prohibit burdening a person's exercise of religion.

Use of peyote in a religious context is at the center of the Utah case involving James "Flaming Eagle'' Mooney and his wife, Linda Mooney."We're looking at reviewing the Supreme Court decision, obviously in light of applicability to the Mooney case,'' Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney for Utah, told the Deseret Morning News.

The Mooneys, leaders of the Oklevueha EarthWalks Native American Church of Utah in Benjamin, are charged in federal court with multiple counts of distribution of peyote.

The federal charges were filed after the Utah Supreme Court ruled in 2004 in favor of the Mooneys, saying that members of American Indian churches of any race may use peyote in religious ceremonies.

Federal law states that only church members who are members of federally recognized tribes may use the drug.

Mooney claims to be a member of the Oklevueha Band of Yamassee Seminole Indians. Prosecutors allege that membership was revoked, the tribe is not federally recognized and that it does not use peyote in religious ceremonies.

A bill passed by the Utah Legislature and sent to the governor adopts the federal restriction that protects peyote use only for members of federally recognized tribes.______

Native Girl's Haircut Results In Lawsuit
Danny Ponce, head of a Mescalero Apache family, is suing the producers of Steven Spielberg’s TV miniseries “Into The West” for claiming that a set stylist cut his daughter’s hair without regard for tribal customs..

Ponce filed suit in federal court on March 6th , of this year, naming Turner films and an unidentified stylist as defendants. The suit seeks $250,000 for emotional distress and $75,000 in damages.

Christina Ponce, age 8, responded, last March through her parents, to an open casting call for the TNT network miniseries. The lawsuit claims the stylist cut Christina’s hair to make her look like a male Indian child as the casting call failed to produce sufficient young male Indian extras for the scene(s).

Mescalero tradition forbids cutting a girl’s hair as she approaches puberty. To prepare her for womanhood, Mescalero girls participate in a sacred coming-of-age ceremony that requires their hair to reach the waist.

Before her hair was cut, it fell midway down her back, but it has since grown, in one year, to her collar.

Is white America that “insensitive”” to the cultural traits and religious customs of other races not only here in the U.S., but all over the world?

The above story was edited for content and length from an Associated Press article in the March 18th edition of The Arizona Republic bylined Tim Korte.

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.

UN Finds US Guilty Of Human Rights Violation

Western Shoshone were victorious Friday at UN, as the US was found in violation of human rights of Native Americans and urged to take immediate action

Friday, March 10, 2006
Spero News

Bernice Lalo says the Shoshone Nation is being "threatened by extinction." But a landmark decision Friday by a UN committee is causing some Western Shoshone's to have hope.

The United States was urged to "freeze", "desist" and "stop" actions being taken or threatened to be taken against the Western Shoshone Peoples of the Western Shoshone Nation, in a Friday decision by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD). The U.S. has until July 15, 2006 to provide the UN committee with information on the action it had taken.

This action challenges the US government's assertion of federal ownership of nearly 90 percent of Western Shoshone lands.

"The mines are polluting our waters, destroying hot springs and exploding sacred mountains-our burials along with them--attempting to erase our signature on the land," says Lalo. "We are coerced and threatened by mining and Federal agencies when we seek to continue spiritual prayers for traditional food or medicine on Shoshone land."

According to Lalo, "We have endured murder of our Newe people for centuries, as chronicled in military records, but now we are asked to endure a more painful death from the U.S. governmental agencies -- a separation from land and spiritual renewal."

The decision expressed particular concern that the U.S.' basis for claiming federal title to Western Shoshone land rests on a theory of "gradual encroachment" through a "compensation" process in the Indian Claims Commission.

Joe Kennedy, also a Western Shoshone insists that "we have rights to protect our homelands and stop the destruction of our land, water, and air by the abuses of the United States government and the multinational corporations. He says "the situation is outrageous and we're glad the United Nations Committee agrees with us."

"Our people have suffered more nuclear testing than anywhere else in the world and they're continuing underground testing despite our protests. Yucca Mountain is being hollowed out in order to store nuclear waste. We cannot stand for it," Kennedy claims, adding "this earth, the air, the water are sacred. People of all races must stop this insanity now in order to secure a safe future for all."

The decision is historic in that it is the first time a United Nations Committee has issued a full decision against the U.S. in respect to its highly controversial Federal Indian law and policy.

CERD stressed the "nature and urgency" of the Shoshone situation informing the U.S. that it goes "well beyond" the normal reporting process and warrants immediate attention under the Committee's Early Warning and Urgent Action Procedure.

The land base covers approximately 60 million acres, stretching across what is now referred to as the states of Nevada, Idaho, Utah and California.

Western Shoshone rights to the land -- which they continue to use, care for, and occupy today -- were recognized by the United States in 1863 by the Treaty of Ruby Valley. The U.S. now claims these same lands as "public" or federal lands through an agency process and has denied Western Shoshone fair access to U.S. courts through that same process.

The land base has been and continues to be used by the United States for military testing, open pit cyanide heap leach gold mining and nuclear waste disposal planning. The U.S. has engaged in military style seizures of Shoshone livestock, trespass fines in the millions of dollars and ongoing armed surveillance of Western Shoshone who continue to assert their original and treaty rights.

"While others are allowed the freedom of religion, we are kept from the very same right. The Newe (people) use this ancestral land for sacred ceremonies. The federal agencies prevent our access to some of these important areas. Our ancestors' burials are being dug up and placed into local museums' basement storage areas because of surge of gold mines and nuclear developments. This is an outrage to our people," said Judy Rojo. "We pray for the healing of our peoples, the land and the harassment and destruction to stop."

Steven Brady, also a Western Shoshone, said that "this battle has been going on for quite some time, but we've seen a dramatic increase in the federal government and the companies' rush to finalize what they consider a settlement in order to get a hold of our lands for activities that are contaminating our water and our air."

Based upon these actions and a dramatic escalation of new actions threatening irreparable harm to Western Shoshone and their environment, last year, with the support of the Univ. of Arizona Indigenous Law and Policy Program, the Western Shoshone filed a renewed legal action at the United Nations CERD.

In addition to evidence, the Western Shoshone delegation also delivered over 13,000 signatures from citizens across the United States of America supporting the Western Shoshone action to CERD. This petition was a result of a campaign organized by the rights-based development organization Oxfam America to demonstrate the widespread concern for the Western Shoshone peoples to the United Nations.

CERD rejected the U.S. argument that the situation was not "novel" and therefore should wait to be reviewed until the U.S. submits its Periodic Report -- past due since 2003.

The Committee informed the U.S. that "(a)lthough these are indeed long-standing issues...they warrant immediate and effective action... (and) should be dealt with as a matter of priority." The United States was "urged to pay particular attention to the right to health and cultural rights of the Western Shoshone...which may be infringed upon by activities threatening their environment and/or disregarding the spiritual and cultural significance they give to their ancestral lands."

CERD presented its decision to the Western Shoshone this morning. The decision details the U.S.' actions against the Western Shoshone and calls upon the United States to immediately:
-- Respect and protect the human rights of the Western Shoshone peoples;
-- Initiate a dialogue with the representatives of the Western Shoshone peoples in order to find a solution acceptable to them, and which complies with their rights;
-- Adopt the following measures until a final decision or settlement is reached on the status, use and occupation of Western Shoshone ancestral lands in accordance with due process of law and the U.S.' obligations under the Convention;
-- Freeze all efforts to privatize Western Shoshone ancestral lands for transfer to multinational extractive industries and energy developers;
-- Desist from all activities planned and/or conducted on Western Shoshone ancestral lands;
-- Stop imposing grazing fees, livestock impoundments, hunting, fishing and gathering restrictions and rescind all notices already made.

The decision highlights that this same process was found by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to violate "international human rights norms, principles and standards that govern determination of indigenous property interests."

When the U.S. last appeared before the Committee in 2001, Committee members expressed alarm and concern that U.S. laws regarding indigenous peoples continue to be based on the outdated, colonial era "doctrine of discovery."

The decision issued today demonstrates a solid commitment by the United Nations human rights system to make the Western Shoshone's struggle a priority. Whereas indigenous peoples have been active at the United Nations for several decades, the decision today also brings a breath of hope to indigenous communities across the U.S. and globally where the negative effects of U.S. policy and influence reach. In its decision, the Committee drew particular attention to its General recommendation 23 (1997) on the rights of indigenous peoples, in particular their right to own, develop, control and use their communal lands, territories and resources.

"The Western Shoshone Nation is very thankful to the Committee members for their decision affirming U.S. discrimination and destructive policies do not go on unaccounted for. Truth is what it is -- that can never change," said Judy Rojo.

Copyright © 2006 Spero

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McCain In Disagreement With Indian Country

Indianz.Com. In Print.
URL: http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/012915.asp
Friday, March 10, 2006

This week's hearing on a bill to overhaul the $20 billion tribal casino industry again highlighted the rift between Indian County and Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), who has long been considered an advocate for tribal issues.

Since he took over as chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee a year ago, McCain has primarily focused on two controversial issues: the Jack Abramoff scandal and Indian gaming. The fallout from both has been negative, with tribes scurrying to defend their right to participate in the political and economic systems.

"The current political and often difficult media environment we find ourselves in today in the wake of the Abramoff scandal makes it even more imperative that we make our presence known in Washington," Joe Garcia, the new president of the National Congress of American Indians, said last week.

Tribes consider a slate of issues, such as education, health care and law enforcement, to be worthy of attention. But of the 27 hearings McCain has held in Washington since February 2005, half of them have dealt with Abramoff, gaming and the closely tied federal recognition and land-into-trust processes.

The record stands in marked with that of retired Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado), the former chairman and a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana. Of the 51 non-confirmation hearings held during the 108th Congress in 2003 and 2004, only five dealt with Abramoff, gaming and federal recognition.

In the coming weeks, McCain will be paying attention to two issues high on the tribal agenda: methamphetamine at an April 5 hearing and child welfare on March 15. But his mind is set on other matters -- particularly his expansive amendments to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act -- even if tribes don't like it.

Comments McCain made to a tribal leader at Wednesday's hearing underscore his drive. He abruptly cut off the testimony of Ron His Horse Is Thunder, the new chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, even as he let other witnesses go past the time constraints. In the past, the committee has allowed Indian witnesses great latitude to share their views.

But when it came time for the question and answer session, McCain refused to give His Horse Is Thunder an opportunity to respond. Instead, he rebuked the tribal leader for the comments he made on the IGRA amendments in his oral statement and written testimony.

"Since your statement said that this legislation is based on anecdotal anti-Indian press reports on Indian gaming, the overblown issue of off-reservation gaming and the pin the blame on the victim reaction to the Abramoff scandal I have no questions," McCain said. "We're too far apart in our views of what this committee is trying to do in the 20-some years I've been involved on behalf of Native Americans."

At other hearings, McCain clashed with Ernie Stevens, the chairman of the National Indian Gaming Association, and Kevin Washburn, a former federal government official and Chickasaw tribal member, when they offered views on the history of IGRA that conflicted with his recollections. A former Congressional aide close to the senator said some Indian gaming leaders have "lost credibility" in McCain's eyes so he won't invite them back to the committee or sit down to meetings with them.

His handling of the Abramoff affair has been questioned by members of some of the tribes involved as well. Activists of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe who oppose their leaders for cutting ties to Abramoff called the hearings a political witch hunt and frequently bash McCain on their website. Abramoff and his allies campaigned against McCain during the 2000 presidential primary with George W. Bush.

Some members of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians scoffed when McCain refused to seek the testimony of Chief Phillip Martin and instead heaped praise on a man who eagerly promoted Abramoff and recommended him to other tribes. "Nothing has changed really [for our tribe] because they hired some of the very same people who worked with Jack Abramoff previously," Bobby Thompson, a tribal member, said in an opinion published by Indianz.Com.

Even when McCain has tackled non-gaming issues, he has bristled with the reaction he has received from Indian Country. At a hearing on trust reform last July, he criticized Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff in the landmark Indian trust fund lawsuit, for comments she made in the press about a bill he introduced even though she apologized for them.
"Leave the rhetoric to others," warned McCain, who has previously said he will only give trust reform "one good shot" before moving on to other items on his agenda. "You won't have this opportunity again any time soon."

And at a hearing on tribal campaign contributions -- another subject tied to Abramoff and gaming -- McCain said he would consider changes to the way tribes do business in Washington. "I understand that there is a widespread fear in Indian Country of losing a seat at the table," he said last month. "I understand these concerns, but feel it is appropriate to examine how and why tribes, which truly are unique entities, are treated the way they are under the Federal Election Campaign Act, and whether the law should be changed."
Publicly, tribal leaders heap praise on the Arizona Republican, who has challenged his own party on its record on Indian issues.

During an appearance at NCAI's winter session in Washington last week, McCain was warmly received and hailed as the "next president" of the U.S. "You have my vote," said Vivian Juan-Saunders, the president of the Tohono O'odham Nation in Arizona.

Privately, tribal members who live and work in Washington have taken to calling McCain the "Great White Father" -- a historic reference to federal government paternalistic treatment of Native Americans -- both in jest and in derision. As a Republican in a Republican-controlled political environment, they feel he isn't doing enough to hold the federal government to its trust responsibilities.

"He could change things with a stroke of a pen but he doesn't," a tribal member who works as a consultant in Washington said in a private discussion recently.

When McCain assumed the chairmanship of the committee, he made it clear that he was only going to serve two years. He will be stepping down later this year as he prepares for his 2008 presidential bid. Some political observers have said his focus on hot-button issues like Abramoff and lobbying reform will make him more attractive to voters who see politicians in a negative light.

NAJA Scholarship Deadline - April 1st
The deadline for students interested in applying for a NAJA scholarship for the 2006-07 academic year is April 1. Students must be current NAJA members, complete the application form and submit supporting documentation in order to be considered.

Scholarship awards range from $500 to $5,000. For more information and to download an application, go to http://www.naja.com/programs/students/scholarships, or email us at info@naja.com or call (605) 677-5282.--

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'Meth On The Rez'

Indianz.Com. In Print.
URL: http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/012845.asp
Tuesday, March 7, 2006

After decades of focusing their attention on alcohol abuse, tribal nations have been hit with a new danger in recent years.
Methamphetamine, or meth, has taken hold on reservations across Indian Country.

The drug, typically imported from Mexico but sometimes produced in labs on tribal lands, has contributed to already-high crime rates, torn apart families and put a strain underfunded law enforcement, health and social service programs. "Meth is killing our children, affecting our cultures and ravaging our communities," Joe Garcia, the president of the National Congress of American Indians, said.

At NCAI's winter session in Washington, D.C., meth was perhaps the single biggest issue discussed among tribal leaders. Many shared their experiences in dealing with the drug and its devastating effects.

"In my family, we had 33 family members expire to alcohol," said Kathleen Kitcheyan, the chairwoman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe of Arizona. "Now we have something that's even more dangerous in our community. Crystal meth has really hit our reservation very, very hard."
Kitcheyan tied meth abuse to 120 suicide attempts and 84 suicides on the reservation since 2002. Last year, she said 63 babies were born with meth in their systems.
Darrell Hillaire, the chairman of the Lummi Nation of Washington, reported similar problems. He said 41 percent of the 1,200 children born on the reservation in the last 10 years have been affected by drugs like meth.

"That's unacceptable," said Hillaire, whose tribe was recently featured in a front-page New York Times story about a tribal member who oversaw a drug ring that smuggled meth into Washington from Canada.

The Lummi Nation has made fighting meth a top priority for the past four years, and has banished drug traffickers from the reservation, burned down a house that was used to sell drugs and opened a youth treatment facility and a youth safe house. Since January 2004, 21 people have been charged with trafficking, resulting in 15 convictions and five pending trials.

But Hillaire said addressing the law enforcement side of the battle won't solve the problem alone. "Let's take this on as wellness issue," he said, calling the federal government's war on drugs a failure.

"Indian people have a chance to set an example for the country by focusing on this as a wellness issue."

Although tribal leaders shared similar struggles with meth, their approach to dealing with the drug, and enforcement issues in general, differed. Many said prevention should be the main focus in preventing people -- especially youth -- from abusing drugs.

"A lot of it is empowering our youth to come up with solutions of their own," said Brian Wallace, the chairman of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California, who brought his son to the conference.

In Minnesota, the Red Lake Nation recently pulled out of a drug task force out of fear its sovereignty was being encroached, said chairman Floyd Jourdain Jr.

Coupled with comments in The New York Times story that accused him of hindering drug investigations, Jourdain said he is being viewed as "anti-enforcement" and "difficult."

"These collaborations, these task forces, have to be approached very carefully," he said, citing an example of an attempt to enforce state law on tribal lands. Although Minnesota is a Public Law 280 state, Red Lake does not fall under the act so the state has no criminal or civil jurisdiction there.

But other tribal leaders, while not referring specifically to Jourdain or the Red Lake Nation, dismissed those kinds of concerns. Dennis Smith, the vice chairman of the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes on the Duck Valley Reservation in Nevada and Idaho, said tribes need all the help they can get to fight meth.

"Some of the tribes are using sovereignty, to me, as an excuse to not let state troopers come on to the reservation," Smith said. "As far as I'm concerned, that is an excuse because there are ways of coming up with a memorandum of agreement or memorandum of understanding with the state and county."

Smith said it was unrealistic for tribes to engage in battle alone or rely on the federal government. "The Bureau of Indian Affairs doesn't have the manpower and will never work," he warned. So developing partnerships with local and state governments is a sensible solution, he said.

At the conference, key members of Congress and federal officials praised tribes for focusing on meth. "A lot of us recognize the devastating effect meth has had on Indian Country," said Tom Heffelfinger, who stepped down as U.S. Attorney for Minnesota last week.

As part of a new initiative, NCAI is urging tribes to develop laws and policies to fight meth use, asking the White House to develop a program to address meth and drug enforcement in Indian Country and is calling on Congress to hold hearings to focus on the problem.

"I commend you for issuing a call to action address meth use and drug trafficking on reservations," said Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. He said the committee will hold hearings to address the issue.

On a personal note: I have seen the ravages of methamphetamine addiction dating back to the 1980’s. There have been good years and bad years depending on where my son was and what he was doing at any given time.

Over those years, I have discovered the lure of the drug, to the abusers, is the most important aspect of their lives. They will go to any lengths to satisfy that habit no matter the toll the drug takes on their own bodies or what it does to the people around them.

Right before my eyes, I have seen my son turn from a Dr. Jekyll – a relatively, moderate human being - into a Mr. Hyde – an obnoxious, filthy-mouthed, arrogant, control freak. He becomes a danger to himself and everyone around him..

We don’t need the threat of terrorism to destroy our country – crystal meth is already doing the job. Using every group and means at its disposal, eradicating the nationwide meth epidemic should be one of the primary goals of an arm of Homeland Security. On tonight’s CBS Evening News, there was a story about Homeland Security breaking up street gangs across the nation which are one of the top distributors of meth. - b

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.

McCain For Bill to Settle Cobell Lawsuit

Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has vowed to move forward on a bill that would settle the decade-old class-action lawsuit filed by Elouise Cobell on behalf of as many as 500,000 Native Americans against the federal government over the mismanagement of their lands.

McCain, who runs the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said he will continue to work on the bill which will clear the way for lawmakers to begin discussing the legislation. McCain warns that no one will be happy with the result.

The Cobell group argues the Interior Department squandered $137 billion it collected, for more than a century, from oil, gas and other companies leasing Indian land. The plaintiffs have offered to settle for $27.5 billion. McCain maintains Congress will never agree to that amount so he will introduce another solution.

Unless Congress acts the lawsuit could drag on for years argues McCain whose new bill will provide a lump-sum settlement of the claims and revamp the way Indian land trusts are administered by the government.

Rep. Richard Pombo(R-CA)sponsored similar legislation in the House. Lawmakers agreed the case would never be settled out of court without intervention from Congress.

Consensus seems to be building among tribal leaders that the case need to be quickly resolved, one of the few things on which Interior officials and tribal leaders agree.

The settlement amount continues to be a source of contention. Jim Carson, associate deputy Interior secretary, did not say how much the government thinks Indians are owed but said it is probably in the low millions. (And, how many billions has Bush’s Iraq War cost the American taxpayer???)

This column has been edited for content and length from an article in the March 2nd edition of The Arizona Republic bylined Diana Marrero, Gannett News Service.


Congress Urged To Settle Cobell Lawsuit For Billions

Indianz.Com. In Print.
URL: http://www.indianz.com/News/2006/012774.asp
Thursday, March 2, 2006

Witnesses at a joint House-Senate hearing on Wednesday urged members of Congress to settle the Cobell v. Norton trust fund lawsuit for billions of dollars. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee and the House Resources Committee heard from a slate of mediation, financial and tribal leaders. Nearly all of them said American Indian beneficiaries deserve billions for the mismanagement of their trust funds.

"There's no dispute about liability," testified John Bickerman, a dispute resolution expert. "The courts have proven it, the plaintiffs have been successful in their efforts and liability is just not an issue."

Bickerman was one of two mediators appointed in 2004 by Congress to try and resolve the lawsuit, filed in 1996. Although no agreement was reached, he said $13 billion -- the amount the Cobell plaintiffs and the Bush administration agree has passed through the Individual Indian Money (IIM) trust -- could be used as a foundation for determining the final payout.

Depending on the error rate and interest rate, a settlement could be worth anywhere from $5.6 billion to $9.8 billion, Bickerman said. He didn't recommend these figures outright but urged lawmakers to reject the Interior Department's suggestion that less than $500 million is owed.

Stuart E. Eizenstat, a former U.S. ambassador who helped settle the class action Holocaust lawsuit for $8 billion, advocated a "rough justice" approach. He said it was fruitless to spend time developing a methodology to examine the IIM trust.

"In coming to a number, which almost certainly should be in the billions," he testified, "the committees should take into account the passage of time, the lost investment opportunities, the massive negligence, or worse, of the Interior Department, the fact that you are really returning their money and similar factors."

Without a settlement, tribal leaders told the committee that Indian Country will continue to suffer as the federal government continues to divert funds from reservation programs to pay for the lawsuit and related activities. Since 1996, the Clinton and Bush administrations have spent $3.4 billion on trust reform.

"At this time we are losing approximately $100 million annually out of Indian programs to pay for the accounting and the reorganization reforms that tribes opposed," said Joe Garcia, the president of the National Congress of American Indians.
The leaders of the House and Senate committees have introduced identical legislation to settle the case and make other changes. Key sticking points include the settlement figure, the scope of the settlement and the distribution method of the settlement funds

Bickerman said the settlement should resolve all trust funds mismanagement claims but not land mismanagement claims. The former category focuses on whether IIM money was collected, properly deposited and properly disbursed while the latter category involves whether trust beneficiaries received the fair amount for use of their assets.

Eizenstat, on the other hand, said the settlement should encompass trust funds mismanagement and land mismanagement claims. Bickerman later said both solutions could be considered.

The Cobell plaintiffs and most tribal leaders have objected to a provision in the settlement legislation that would allow the Treasury Department to distribute the funds. Eizenstat agreed that it is probably not in the best interests of Indian Country to allow a named defendant in the lawsuit to exercise such authority.

Instead, he said an independent federal entity could be created to take care of the distribution.

Elouise Cobell, the lead plaintiff, said she was encouraged by the hearing. "It is especially noteworthy that all the independent people who testified today recognized that liability has been established and any settlement must be in the multiple of billions of dollars," she said in a statement.

According to Congressional staff, the Bush administration has not officially responded to the settlement legislation, although officials have indicated opposition to key provisions. "We are supportive," associate deputy Interior Jim Cason said at the NCAI winter session in Washington on Monday," but the devil is in the details."

Tribal leaders urged the two committees to move quickly on the legislation, something McCain promised to do. But whatever the amount that is selected, he acknowledge no one will be satisfied.

"I can guarantee you will be roundly criticized but I think its the right and courageous thing to do to pick a number and try to end this," Bickerman said. His co-mediator, former federal judge Charles Renfrew, was unable to attend the hearing.

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.

Native GOP Candidate Challenges S.D. Congresswoman

© Indian Country Today February 28, 2006. All Rights Reserved
Posted: February 28, 2006
by: The Associated Press

By Carson Walker -- Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - An American Indian who is chairman of the Shannon County Republican Party says he plans to seek the GOP nomination for U.S. House and challenge U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth, D-S.D.

Bruce Whalen of Pine Ridge said Feb. 7 he's in the early stages of the campaign and believes it's what he should do. ''We're going to see how this is going to look and then we're going to get about the work to win,'' he said in a telephone interview.

Whalen, 43, grew up in Pine Ridge, moved to Utah as a teen and returned to South Dakota in 1999 to raise his family. He works for the Oglala Sioux Tribe as coordinator of its judiciary committee.

Whalen said when he was living in Utah, he realized the Republican Party more closely mirrored his traditional Lakota values than the Democratic Party: respect for life, limited government, sovereignty and local control. ''There's a lot more people around here that are seeing that point of view,'' he said.

Whalen lost a bid in 2002 for tribal council and was unsuccessful in 2004 in his campaign for the state House of Representatives. Whalen rallied Indian support for Republican John Thune in his 2004 victory over former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. Randy Frederick of Hayti, South Dakota GOP chairman, said Whalen has done more to advance his campaign than any other Republican who has indicated an interest.

''At this point I'm not aware of anyone else, although it's still a wide-open field,'' he said. And Whalen is interested in supporting urban issues, such as funding for the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, which would help Sioux Falls, and other issues that affect everyone, such as health care an education, Frederick said.

''Anyone who thinks Bruce is running on a single issue is badly mistaken,'' he said.

Whalen said issues important to Indians will play prominently in his campaign. He said what sets him apart from Herseth is his background. ''The most glaring difference is I come from one of the poorest counties in the nation. I understand poverty firsthand,'' Whalen said.

He also has one child in college and two preschoolers, so education is another major concern, he said. Whalen said he wants to make sure the federal government carries through with its financial commitments to tribes for services such as police protection so the business community can thrive.

True economic growth will only come through fostering private enterprise, he said. ''There's businesses that want to come into the agency,'' Whalen said. ''They're saying, 'How are you going to protect us?''

Russ Levsen, Herseth's press secretary, said several Republicans have indicated an interest in challenging her but only now has someone clearly indicated an intention to run.

''I think that's a reflection that Democrats, Republicans and Independents believe Congresswoman Herseth is doing a good job for the state,'' he said.

Whalen is the second Indian to run for the state's only House seat. Terry Begay of Volin is running as a Libertarian. He was on the South Dakota ballot for the House in 2002 and 2004 as an independent.

The Nuts And Bolts Of terrorism

This is off the topic for “Native Unity” but I have been searching for a basic understanding of the inner workings of fundamentalist Islamic Jihadist groups like the Taliban. Think I may have found a part of the answer in a conversational dialogue I would like to share with Native Unity readers. It is from a 2003 novel – “Liberty” by Stephen Coonts. The following passage has been edited for length and content.

A former Soviet KGB agent is discussing the war on terrorism with an American admiral.

"Islamic terrorists can be placed in three general categories. The foot soldiers are recruited from refugee camps and poor villages throughout the Arab world. They know little or nothing of the western world. They are the shock troops and suicide commandos who smite the Israelis and murder tourists in the Arab world. They speak only Arabic. They blend in quite well in Arab society but are essentially unable to function outside of it. These are troops that bin Laden and his ilk train as Islamic warriors in Afghanistan and Libya and Iraq.

“The second category, if you will, are Arabs with better educations, usually literate, some even possess a technical skill. The fundamentalists actively recruit these people, appeal to their religious sensitivities, wish to convert them to their perverted view of Islam. Since these people have often lived outside the Arab world, they can move freely in western society. These people are dangerous. They are the ones who hijacked the airlines that crashed into the World Trade Center.

“The third category of terrorists can be thought of as the generals, Bin Laden and his chief lieutenants. Financiers, bankers, technical advisers, and so forth. These people are Muslims. For whatever reason, terrorism appeals to their ethnic and religious view of the world.

“And there is a fourth category. Few of these people are Arabs, few are Muslims. They see profit in terrorism. Some of them take pleasure in the pain terrorists inflict, for every reason under the sun. These people are enemies of America, enemies of western civilization.

“I came to talk to you about one of America’s many enemies – a former ------- general. He doesn’t hate America, he loves money. A few weeks ago he sold four missile warheads to a wealthy Arab terrorist for two million dollars.”

A man like the above arms merchant really does exist and supposedly is or was living in the UAE. I checked him out on the Internet the other day.

Can fundamentalist Islamic terrorism exist without the interaction of these four groups?-b.

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.

Navajo President Asks Feds For 'Meaningful Consultation'

Submitted by Seth Scott

PHOENIX – U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) continued his silence today about his long-standing support for harmful federal budget cuts, four days after Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley, Jr. complained to the Bureau of Indian Affairs National Budget Meeting that the steady stream of budget cuts make him question whether his consultation was “meaningful.”

“I’ve been going to Budget Advisory Council meetings for four years and feel that we haven’t really accomplished anything. We keep getting cuts. Tribal leaders come to Washington to put forth recommendations that we need money for programs to do an adequate job out there in Indian Country. But it seems like every time we’re getting cut. So where is this meaningful consultation? I really don’t see that, and I’d really like to see it addressed,” said Shirley.

Earlier this month, Renzi, whose district includes large portions of the Navajo Nation, voted for a budget bill that cuts billions of dollars from services that help Native Americans secure health care, child care and financial aid for college.

According to the Associated Press, the Arizona Advocacy Network warned Renzi that the legislation “would require Native Americans to prove citizenship before receiving health care. The legislation works against the 635 Navajo students at Northern Arizona University receiving federal loans and more than 2,100 families that received subsidies to pay for childcare, mostly also Navajo.”

Renzi defended his vote by saying that those programs, which benefit Native Americans, are “costly and outdated.”

Renzi’s budget-cutting vote came less than a month after his controversial decision to keep campaign contributions relating to lobbyist-turned-criminal Jack Abramoff, who pleaded guilty in January to charges of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy in connection with a scheme that bilked millions of dollars from Native Americans.

Renzi has voted for the Republican budget every year he’s been in Congress.

###

Arizona Dems Reafffirm Support For Tribal Sovereignty

PHOENIX – The Arizona Democratic Party’s State Committee passed a resolution at its winter meeting on Saturday reaffirming its support for Native American tribal sovereignty.

“The Democratic Party supports tribal sovereignty,” said Arizona Democratic Party Chairman Harry Mitchell. “We support efforts by Native Americans to help themselves, and respecting tribal sovereignty is a fundamental part of that support.”

The resolution reaffirming support for tribal sovereignty read as follows:

Democratic Party’s Resolution Reaffirming Support for Tribal Sovereignty

WHEREAS, Section 8, Article 1 of the United States Constitution gives Congress the power “to regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States and with Indian Tribes” thus recognizing the Tribes as separate and independent peoples within the territorial boundaries of the United States; and

WHEREAS, the United States Constitution has been construed to recognize Indian sovereignty by classifying Indian treaties as part of the “supreme law of the land” and to establish Indian affairs as a unique area of federal concern; and

WHEREAS, the Congress of the United States has enacted measures and laws that support tribal government, that alleviate some of the health and educational needs of the Tribes, that promote tribal economic development, that enhance tribal self-sufficiency, that protect sacred cultural and burial sites, that secure religious freedom and which enhance the government-to-government relationship between the Tribes and the United States of America thereby acknowledging the desire of this Nation to keep the Tribes as strong sovereign partners; and

WHEREAS, the Tribes have maintained a strong covenant with this nation having given up vast tracts of land and having sent their young men and women to war in disproportionate numbers during our nation’s call to arms asking only the consideration agreed upon, including the promise that their children be educated, that health care be provided and that their traditional ways and government be supported and respected; and

WHEREAS, the Tribes have always stood four-square with the Democratic Party clinging to the values and ideals that brought them together, those being tolerance, respect, and a willingness to proclaim that everyone is important, that no one among us is unimportant; and

WHEREAS, the Tribes have looked to the Democratic Party to help them take their “rightful place” and to advocate for them in the political process and they have reciprocated in the same arena by delivering fully 85% of their vote to the Democratic candidates in the last four General elections and by securing several House and Senate seats for Democrats whose elections hinged on the Native American vote;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) stands in solidarity with the Indian Nations and reaffirms their support for the exercise of tribal sovereignty and for tribal efforts to be self-sufficient;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that federal laws, executive orders, and treaties in this regard be honored and that the ADP continue to fight for the rights of Native people while working to empower our first Americans by encouraging their involvement in the political process.

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.

Golden State's Gambling Tribes Risk Killing Their 'Golden Goose'

By Jim Boren / The Fresno Bee
(Updated Sunday, February 19, 2006, 5:25 AM)

Not too many years ago, Indian gaming in California consisted of high-stakes bingo parlors and low-priced buffets. It was enough to encourage people to drive to rural communities like Friant, Lemoore, Jackson and Jamestown for their gambling fix. Still, the Nevada casinos barely acknowledged the existence of these tribal operations.

Today casino operators in Las Vegas and Reno see Indian gaming as a huge threat — so much so that they are now partnering with tribes to build mega-casinos across the Golden State. The Nevada casinos certainly weren't going to see gambling flourish in California and not have a big piece of it.

To Californians, this gambling transition came in a flash — from bingo in what were essentially warehouses to full-blown gambling in glitzy casinos. California voters opened the door by passing initiatives in 1998 and 2000 that expanded Indian gaming. Legal rulings favoring gambling tribes also helped.

Once the legal climate changed, the casino rush came quickly. This is a gambling state and there were few critics, so long as the tribal casinos were in rural areas. But only the naive could think gambling would be contained to out-of-the-way places. There's just too much money in it.

Moving into the cities
Now we are on the verge of the next big political battle over Indian gaming, and the results could determine the future of the enterprise in California. The question is fundamental: Why not build Indian casinos in urban areas closer to the gamblers that frequent them?

A tribe tried to push a casino into a heavily populated part of the San Francisco area. Another casino is being considered in Orange County, not far from Disneyland.

The San Joaquin Valley is facing this issue, too. There's a casino and hotel proposed for Highway 99 in Madera County. If approved, that area would quickly become urban and congested because it would sit on the Valley's main highway.

With all the money at stake, the old rules about Indian gaming don't seem to apply. Build them anywhere, and let the cash roll in. The casinos don't even have to be on tribal land anymore. Their backers have found out how to overcome legal hurdles. Find a good piece of property and push the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to put it in trust. Get state approvals and wheel in the slot machines and blackjack tables.

In 2004, Indian gaming revenue approached $20 billion in the United States, according to the National Indian Gaming Association. More than $6 billion was generated in California, and that would grow substantially if all the proposed casinos are approved.

The casino proposal in Madera County is typical of the new thinking by the tribes and their Nevada partners. Even though the public wants casinos on tribal land in rural areas, the tribes are pushing for more lucrative sites.

The North Fork Rancheria of the Mono Indians teamed with Stations Casinos to persuade Madera County to approve the casino and resort on Highway 99.

Madera County, desperately in need of money, cut a sweet deal with the tribe in exchange for supporting the project. The county would get more than $80 million over 20 years. But there has been a growing backlash against casinos in urban areas. Gambling tribes once had a positive image, but now their aggressiveness has given them a black eye among many Californians.

Backlast beginning
The Bay Area casino was blocked, even though many of the politicians had appeared to have greased the deal for the tribe.

In Orange County, authorities are trying to stop the casino near Disneyland because of a public outcry. All this hasn't been lost on those involved in the Madera County proposal.

Supporters of the North Fork Rancheria's plan have wisely begun a public relations campaign to persuade doubters that the casino would help tribe members, give a boost to local government funding, create jobs for residents and improve Madera's overall business climate.

But the gambling tribes are playing a dangerous game with their onslaught into the state's urban areas. If casinos are on every corner, the public one day will decide that the tribes shouldn't have the special monopoly that has allowed them to get very rich.

Where would it leave the tribes if California voters in a few years voted to allow anyone with the financial means to build casinos? The Nevada casinos would quickly jettison the tribes, and the competition for the gambling dollar would intensify.

Gambling in California is here to stay. The only question is whether there's going to be a massive realignment of who gets the proceeds. That should worry the gambling tribes. They just might be the biggest losers if casinos continue to proliferate in California.

Jim Boren is The Fresno Bee's editorial page editor. His column appears Sunday. E-mail him at jboren@fresnobee.com or write him at 1626 E St., Fresno 93786.

Native Activist Has Published Article
Jean bedell-mashkikinabinais has an article published in the March-April issue of Well Nations Magazine entitled “Whispering Pines”.

The publication is available at www.wellnations.com.

A ' Feel-Good Story' - Not Too Many Come Along
Submitted by Lillian Keller

I don’t know if this story will brighten your day but it sure put a "Happy Face" on mine.-b

If you saw the front page story of the SF Chronicle on Thursday, December 15, 2005, you would have read about a female humpback whale who had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.

She was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line (rope) wrapped around her body -- her tail, her torso, a line tugging in her mouth. A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallon Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her, a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she wasfree, the divers say she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, and nudged them, pushed
them gently around -- she thanked them.

Some said it was the most incredibly beautiful experience of their lives. The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he will never bethe same.

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.