For Indian Victims of Sexual Assault, A Tangled Legal Path

Submitted by Debra Sillik, AICC-N
Source: Western Shoshone Defense Project

By RALPH BLUMENTHAL, New York Times, April 25, 2007
As a Cherokee woman charging rape by a non-Indian, Jami Rozell could not go to the tribal court, which handles only crimes by Indians against Indians in Indian country. So after five months of agonizing, she went to the district attorney in Tahlequah, Okla., and testified at a preliminary hearing.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, get up there in front of my family with all these men I’ve grown up with all my life,” said Ms. Rozell, now 25 and a first grade teacher in another town. But that was not the worst of it. The police, she said she was soon told, had cleaned up the evidence room and thrown out her rape kit, and with it all chances of prosecution.

However, Chief Stephen Farmer of the Tahlequah police says the department had received permission to destroy the evidence after Ms. Rozell initially declined to press charges.

Human rights advocates say such troubled cases involving Indian victims are common. And, American Indian women are voicing growing anger at what they call their disproportionate victimization in crimes of sexual assault, most often committed by non-Indians, and attitudes and laws that they say deter many from even reporting an attack.

“Indian women suffer two and a half times more domestic violence, three and a half times more sexual assaults, and 17 percent will be stalked — and I’m a victim of all three,” said Pauline Musgrove, executive director of the Spirits of Hope Coalition, an advocacy group in Oklahoma.

Now Amnesty International has taken up the issue, calling on Congress to extend tribal authority to all offenders on Indian land, not just Indians, and to expand federal spending on Indian law enforcement and health clinics.

In a report released yesterday, the American arm of the organization said sexual violence against American Indians had grown out of a long history of “systematic and pervasive abuse and persecution.”

Chris Chaney, deputy director of the office of justice services at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and a member of the Seneca-Cayuga tribe of Oklahoma, said that Indians fell victim to crime at a higher rate than members of any other ethnic group and that domestic violence was on the rise because of methamphetamine abuse.

But Mr. Chaney said that the bureau recognized the problem and that the new federal budget proposed an increase of $16 million to aid Indian law enforcement agencies.

With just over 4 million American Indian and Alaska Native people in 550 federally recognized tribes scattered over Indian and non-Indian lands throughout the United States, jurisdictional questions often throw cases into limbo, Amnesty International found. In cases where tribal courts have jurisdiction, they can only impose punishments of up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine. The report cited Justice Department figures suggesting that more than one in three American Indian and Alaska Native women would be raped in their lifetime, almost double the national average of 18 percent.

In 86 percent of the cases, the report said, the perpetrators were non-Indian men, while in the population at large, the attacker and victim are usually from the same ethnic group.

Larry Cox, executive director of Amnesty International USA, said the organization had been studying violence against women worldwide “and then somebody said why not look at what’s happening here.”

The 73-page report focused on Indian communities in Alaska, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

Alaska has the highest incidence of forcible rapes of all women, the report said, and Native Alaskans in Anchorage were nearly 10 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault than non-natives. Oklahoma’s 401,000 American Indians (according to 2005 Census estimates that include people listing mixed racial heritages) share 39 tribal governments and a patchwork of Indian and non-Indian lands; there are no reservations in Oklahoma, which is second only to California in its Indian population.

At Help in Crisis, a shelter for Indian women and their children in Tahlequah in eastern Oklahoma, many told of suffering assaults, often by husbands, without filing complaints.

Among them was Kendra Hunter, 25, who said she had been raped by three white men who held her captive for three days in 2001. Ms. Hunter said that she did report it, but that police officers turned away the complaint, saying that the sex was consensual and that with three witnesses against her, there was no chance of a case. “I had cigarette burns on me, and they called it consensual,” she said.

Deana Franke, director of the shelter, showed off an exercise room she had built for the women but added, “I should be building a shooting range.”

Nearby in Tahlequah, at offices of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma, the director, Sonya K. Cochran, and two advocates, Lois Fuller and Sue Gaytan, displayed the legal records of a local Indian woman who complained of having been raped and sodomized by a brother-and-sister team of attackers in Fort Smith, Ark., in 2004, only to have the charges dropped after a prosecutor said the woman had repeatedly missed court dates. The woman contends she was in court.

Culturally, some advocates said, Indians, fearing humiliation, are often reluctant to press a complaint, seeing it as a test of faith or preferring to “let the creator take care of it,” as one said.

The jurisdictional complexities were evident outside the offices of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation in Shawnee. A nearby fast-food drive-in stands on state land, the north lane of the road is on city land and the south lane is Potawatomi land, where Jason O’Neal, chief of the Lighthorse Police of the Chickasaw Nation, has jurisdiction.

Chief O’Neal said that increasingly, Indian and non-Indian police departments are recognizing each other with cross-designations of authority.

But even on Indian land, if a crime is committed by, or suffered by, a non-Indian, federal law applies — except in states (not including Oklahoma) where such jurisdiction has been ceded to the state. Yet tribal courts enjoy concurrent jurisdiction when the crime is committed by an Indian, regardless of the victim, on Indian land. And the federal government retains jurisdiction over 14 major crimes, including rape, committed by Indians in Indian country. Another problem is figuring out just who is an Indian — an enrolled member of a tribe, for sure, and less certainly, anyone a tribe considers Indian, but beyond that definitions blur.

“I can’t get a U.S. attorney to take a domestic violence case unless there’s severe physical harm or use of a deadly weapon,” said Kelly Stoner, director of the Native American Legal Resource Center at the Oklahoma City University School of Law. “If you just knock a tooth out it’s not enough.”

Renée Brewer, a child welfare and family violence counselor at the Potawatomi Nation and a member of the Creek Muskogee tribe, said she recently had four agencies arguing over jurisdiction after a woman from the Absentee Shawnee Nation called 911 to say she had been raped.

“The D.A. was so confused,” Ms. Brewer said. The woman eventually left the state. And the accused rapist? “Oh, he walked,” Ms. Brewer said.

Authorities Fail To Protect Native Women From Rape Attacks!
Dear Bobbie: I wanted to tell you about a report released yesterday by AmnestyInternational denouncing the US government’s failure to protect NativeAmerican and Alaska Native women from shocking rates of rape.

More than on in three Native women will be raped in their lifetimes . http://www.amnestyusa.org/maze

The United States government has created a complex maze of tribal, state and federal jurisdictions that often allows perpetrators to rape with impunity -- and in some cases effectively creates jurisdictional vacuums that encourage assaults.

"Native women have been resisting rape in North America for over 500 years.It has been an invisible problem to the larger dominant culture because of myths and misconceptions about Native people.

We are an extremely marginalized population but Native women are strong and capable. We have always been leaders in our communities," said Sarah Deer, an attorney and Native American advocate, during and online discussion held on Amnesty's website.
Regards,- Rosa

ABOUT THE REPORT:
Join Voices with Native American and Alaska Native Women and Take Action toStop the Violence.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/maze

Slide show: Survivors of sexual violence and advocates speak out.
Photographs by Adam Nadel.
http://www.amnestyusa.org/page.do?id=1021172

Full version of the report:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/page.do?id=1021167

Press release:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGUSA20070424001

Rosa Del Angel
Web Advocacy Associate
New Media Unit(202) 544-0200 x. 326
rdelangel@aiusa.org
Amnesty International USA

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Planting Dreams Where All Hope Is Gone

Submitted by Ann VanWert
By MARY SIMON
President, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

On Sunday, Jan. 14 this year I arrived in Goose Bay to begin a week-long visit of Inuit communities in Nunatsiavut and Nunavik. My travelling companions were Roberta Jamieson, president and CEO of the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, and Dr. Paulette Tremblay, Director of Post-Secondary Education at NAAF.

The purpose of our journey - in speaking to Inuit students in nine schools, weather permitting - was to plant some dreams about their future. Both Roberta and I know from experience that dreams need to be fostered and tended.

In the airplane on the way up we all read a front page article in the Saturday Globe and Mail relating the statistics in Nunavut on the high rates of youth suicide, drug abuse, and the rates of homicide. The story was about a triple murder in Cambridge Bay. Three young men were murdered. The story itself was tragic, and one we have witnessed too many times in the Arctic. But the subtext to the story was that the situation is hopeless.

Our first meeting was with officials from the newly elected Nunatsiavut Government. The government leader, William Andersen III, was there to greet us, as was the minister of education, Ben Ponniuk. We were pleased that Josh Pamak, the President of the Rising Youth Council was there too. He was brimming with optimism about the meetings his youth group was organizing in Goose Bay and coastal communities in Nunatsiavut.

The dinner conversation that night was about the challenges of setting up a brand new government, and managing the hopes of the 9,000 people living in the half-dozen Inuit communities in the northern reaches of Labrador that make up Nunatsiavut.

The social issues that plague Nunavut are no stranger to the Inuit communities in Nunatsiavut. Inuit across the Arctic face numerous social challenges. But our conversation that night was lightened by listening to young Josh's experience in the Antarctic as part of a Student's On Ice expedition.

Our trip progressed to communities big and small. We would be led to a class room, and set up a projector and laptop and DVD. We spoke about our own lives - our experiences as young people overcoming colonialism - and moving on to obtain higher education, and achieve things we had never dreamed were possible.

Roberta spoke about being a waitress on the Six Nations Reserve, and serving the Indian agent. With passion, she conveyed how she was galvanized by an experience like that to change the power dynamic for her people. Roberta went to McGill University and obtained a law degree. She eventually became the Ontario Ombudsperson for 10 years, chief of the Six Nations Reserve, and now the president and CEO of NAAF.

I watched as the classrooms of young Inuit listened to Roberta, and I spoke about growing up in Kangiqsualujjuaq (George River at the time) in northern Quebec, eventually becoming the president of Makivik, Inuit Circumpolar Council, the first ambassador to the Arctic, and then ambassador to Denmark.

Our point was not that everyone had to become a politician, or a president, or an ambassador. It was that the youth could be what they wanted to be. As long as they worked hard, there would be many people and organizations willing to help.

Getting back to our offices in Ottawa, I read again in the Globe, in a column by Gordon Gibson on Feb. 1, a reflection on the Arctic and the situation in Nunavut, choosing words such as, "No Hope, No Education, No Jobs".

I am not denying the statistics. They are sadly accurate, and worthy of reporting. But there is tremendous hope among many of our young people.

I do not believe criticizing governments or selectively reporting on the social conditions of Inuit from an ideological right or left point of view is helpful, nor will it fix the problems of Inuit in Nunavut and indeed throughout the Arctic.

A greater understanding on the part of Canadians about Inuit culture and societies together with a genuine partnership of governments and Inuit to improve social economic and health conditions in the Arctic, might however get us some progress.

Nor do I share the reflections of recent editorials that explicitly or implicitly criticize the Government of Nunavut for inaction regarding Inuit social problems. Your readers should understand that it is not much more than a century since first contact occurred between Inuit and the white man. As late as the 1950s some Inuit were living a nomadic way of life, living in igloos and subsisting off the land.

The Government of Nunavut is less than 10 years old. Much progress has been made. Admittedly more progress remains to be accomplished. Canadians, the Government of Canada and Inuit demonstrated vision and courage in establishing a fully public territorial government run by and for Inuit. Give it time to mature. Support it! Canada will be justly proud.

The time has come for Canada to join Inuit in shining a spotlight on the Arctic and its peoples. We have been there for thousands of years. We do not intend to leave. If we do not prosper, Canada will not reach its full potential.

Canadians have expressed through their governments and as individuals that they are concerned about global warming and they are concerned about our sovereignty. It is the Arctic that is most impacted by global warming. It is in the Arctic - our Inuit homeland - where Canadian sovereignty is most at risk. It is the Arctic that is the next frontier for enriching and expanding our economy.

I urge the prime minister and the minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development to develop in partnership with Inuit an Inuit Action Plan that will address in concrete terms actions that are specific to improving the lives of Inuit and by extension ensure that all peoples, governments and institutions in the Arctic prosper. A good starting point would be a commitment to such a plan in the next federal budget.

Let us together address the problems of Inuit in a coherent and constructive manner. Let us together end the criticism and defeatism. There is indeed hope!

Attention: Activists, Researchers, Etc. - Deadline, April 30th
This is a call for material and papers for a book which I am the contributing editor: “Red, Black, Brown & Green: Ethnic People and the Move to Economic Self- Sufficiency” by MONICA DAVIS, editor.

The only real power on this planet is green power. That is true on several levels: access to money and markets, and control over your own finances and food supply. Around the world, ethnic people and women in the 21st Century have many of the same problems as their ancestors: inadequate power to control their own agriculture, environment, community development, businesses and finances.

Authors from around the world examine the effect of interplay between money, power and the move to self-sufficiency on people of color.Contributors in environmental justice, human rights, disaster mitigation, tribal justice, farming and food production economics are already on board.

Previously published work is acceptable as long as you own the copyright to said work. Submissions must be made by April 30, 2007. Work is slated to be published by May 30, 2007.

Email manuscripts or inquiries to: Monica Davis, davis4000_2000@yahoo.com

Frichner Named North America Rep To UN Forum On Indigenous Issues
Submitted by WSDP
For Immediate Release – April 19, 2007:
Tonya Gonnella Frichner (Snipe Clan, Onondaga Nation), Vice Chair of the Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development, and Founder and President of the American Indian Law Alliance, has been selected as the North American Representative of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Her three-year term will extend from January 8, 2008 until December 2010.

As stated, the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) is an advisory body and subsidiary organ of the Economic and Social Council with a mandate to discuss Indigenous issues related to economic and social development, culture, the environment, education, health and human rights.

Ms. Frichner is committed to the adoption of the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples by the UN General Assembly, stating that, “This document is built on the sweat and tears of Indigenous Peoples, and when adopted, it will provide hope and optimism for meaningful change for our Peoples throughout the world.” Tonya will also continue to serve as an advocate for the rights of Indigenous women and girls.

Citizen of the Onondaga Nation of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, Tonya Gonnella Frichner is an attorney, educator, advocate, and recognized leader, whose excellent and dedicated work on behalf of Indigenous Peoples’ rights radiates throughout North America and beyond, into other areas of the Indigenous world. Her more than twenty years of focused work on Indigenous rights and issues, including the protection of our lands, territories, intellectual properties, human rights, and cultural survival, have at all times exemplified the unique qualities of an international advocate and diplomat of outstanding merit and distinction.

Shaped by her Onondaga people’s history and culture, and then perfected through two decades of frontline work at the United Nations and other international fora, Tonya was born and raised on her people’s traditional territories in what is known as the state of New York. Her life has been guided and defined by the rich international advocacy heritage of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, as well as by the excellent oratory and critical thinking skills she learned directly from her mother and family, and her chiefs and clan mothers whose ancestors were the first Indigenous Nation to execute a treaty with the new United States in 1776.

This legacy has impressed upon Ms. Frichner the power and efficacy of an Indigenous presence in international relations, and also the critical significance of treaty rights and obligations between Nation states and Indigenous Nations. Tonya holds this unique knowledge base and understanding of the essential historical role of treaties paramount in her relationships and thinking. Clearly such a perspective will be of great benefit to her new role in the UN Permanent Forum and she well qualifies to be the North American Representative.

The Seventh Generation Fund for Indian Development is a 30-year-old Indigenous Peoples’ identity-based, non-governmental organization whose mandate is to support the sovereignty and self-determination of Native Peoples and Nations of the Americas. As our Vice Chair, Tonya has helped to shape and develop the policies and program directions of our organization. She has also greatly assisted our work opening doors of and building understanding with philanthropic communities, lending her voice, both nationally and internationally.

Nominated for this esteemed position by the Seventh Generation Fund, Tonatierra, and Indigenous Women’s Network, during her candidacy Ms. Frichner received overwhelming support from throughout the continent of North America by a diversity of tribal Nations and community organizations.

Christopher H. Peters
President and CEO
Seventh Generation Fund
PO Box 4569
Arcata, CA 95518
www.7genfund.org

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A Native Perspective On Virgina Tech Headlines

By Kat Teraji
Submitted by Debra Sillik, AICC-N
Bury my heart at Wounded Knee, Deep in the Earth, Cover me with pretty lies - bury my heart at Wounded Knee. Didn't we learn to crawl, still our history gets written in a liar's scrawl. They tell 'ya "Honey, you can still be an Indian d-d-down at the 'Y' on Saturday nights."
Lyrics to "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee," written by Buffy St. Marie

"The worst shooting rampage in American history." "Massacre and Mourning, 33 die in worst shooting in U.S. History," and "Rampage called worst mass shooting in U.S. history."

"What first appeared to be a single shooting death unfolded into the worst gun massacre in the nation's history." You've seen and heard these headlines and reports all week as the media provided non-stop coverage of the tragic shooting of 33 people at Virginia Tech University on Monday."

The worst in U.S. history." Really? It is certainly the worst shooting on a college campus in modern U.S. history. But if we think it is the worst shooting rampage in U.S. history, then we are a singularly uneducated nation."I can't take one more of these headlines," said Joan Redfern, a member of the Lakota Sioux tribe who lives in Hollister. We met at First Street Coffee to talk while we scanned Internet stories.

"Haven't any of these people ever heard of the Massacre at Sand Creek in Colorado, where Methodist minister Col. Chivington massacred between 200 and 400 Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians, most of them women, children, and elderly men?"

Chivington specifically ordered the killing of children, and when he was asked why, he said, "Kill and scalp all, big and little; nits make lice."

At Wounded Knee Creek in South Dakota, the U.S. 7th Cavalry attacked 350 unarmed Lakota Sioux on December 29, 1890. While engaged in a spiritual practice known as the "Ghost Dance," approximately 90 warriors and 200 women and children were killed.

Although the attack was officially reported as an "unjustifiable massacre" by Field Commander General Nelson A. Miles, 23 soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for the slaughter. The unarmed Lakota men fought back with bare hands. The elderly men and women stood and sang their death songs while falling under the hail of bullets. Soldiers stripped the bodies of the dead Lakota, keeping their ceremonial religious clothing as souvenirs.

To say the Virginia shooting is the worst in all of U.S. history is to pour salt on old wounds-it means erasing and forgetting all of our ancestors who were killed in the past," Redfern said.

"The use of hyperbole and lack of historical perspective seems all too ubiquitous in much of the current mainstream media," Redfern said. "My intention is not to downplay the horror of what has happened this week in any way. But we have a 500-year history of mass shootings on American soil, and let's not forget it.

"This is only the most recent mass shooting massacre in a long history of mass shootings in a country engaged in a long love affair with firearms and very little interest in gun control.

Let's not forget our history and the richness of our Native roots. While spending time on the 1.5 million acre Hopi Reservation in Arizona, I met families living in homes they have occupied for over 900 years. On the surface, it looks like a third world country: You will observe many homes without running water, travel unpaved roads, and notice that there are no building codes.

But sitting in a Hopi home being served a delicious lunch cooked by a proud Hopi working mother, I experienced so much more: The continuity of a long and deep heritage, a sense of the sacred, an artistic expertise, and wisdom about many things that remain a mystery to my culture.

Most of all, may we never forget all those innocent civilian men, women, and children who lost their lives simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, just as the students happened to be this week in Virginia.

May we always remember the precious humanity of these students, but may we also never forget the humanity of those who lost their lives simply for being born people Native to this country.

Attention : Activists, Researchers, Etc. – Deadline April 30th

This is a call for material and papers for a book which I am the contributing editor: “Red, Black, Brown & Green: Ethnic People and the Move to Economic Self- Sufficiency” by MONICA DAVIS, editor.

The only real power on this planet is green power. That is true on several levels: access to money and markets, and control over your own finances and food supply.

Around the world, ethnic people and women in the 21st Century have many of the same problems as their ancestors: inadequate power to control their own agriculture, environment, community development, businesses and finances.

Authors from around the world examine the effect of interplay between money, power and the move to self-sufficiency on people of color.

Contributors in environmental justice, human rights, disaster mitigation, tribal justice, farming and food production economics are already on board.

Previously published work is acceptable as long as you own the copyright to said work. Submissions must be made by April 30, 2007. Work is slated to be published by May 30, 2007.

Email manuscripts or inquiries to:
Monica Davis
davis4000_2000@yahoo.com

Hydro Quebec - A New Problem - An Old Issue
By Jeanne Bedell
Thirty years have passed since my brother assisted an organization in putting this project on the ballot in Congress, to let the world know how this massive project would affect the lands and people around this area for generations to come. My family, whose origins are from Lake Superior area, has long since the 1970’s been involved in ecological and water protective issues and organizations.

It was just a few years ago when I journeyed home traveling the Lake Superior route from northern Minnesota to Duluth, noticing signs where you couldn’t put your hands even in the waters because of stirring contaminants. I thought to my self : “Even though Sault St. Marie was at the other end of this massive lake, Indians were still eating the fish from these waters”.

Other organizations and tribes, advocating for change in laws concerning the great lake waters and jurisdiction appeared jointly to bring up these issues in legislation and court cases through the years. The CORA project for instance, came from years of concern for the environment and water issues surrounding tribal homelands, fishing activities, and treaty issues.

I also got involved to learn more about this massive problem- which not only displaced 40,000 Cree people but killed as many Caribou in the area where rivers and tributaries were drained. At the time no one asked what kind of devastation could impact the environment and the people around this project or how it would affect other people else where when they drain some natural water ways and flood others.

However, with a lot of rallying around about these issues, it was college student organizations who brought this issue up to take this to Congress because, inadvertently this would also affect the U.S. lands, waters.

It is beyond my understanding how the Canadian government can do this to its First Peoples and the environment around this project, when such issues as Global Warming with the release of Al Gore's “An Inconvenient Truth” and scientific discoveries were brought to the publics attention in recent media news.

CONTROL AND CHANGE OF NATURAL WATER SYSTEMS DOES AFFECT THE ENVIRONMENT--PEOPLE and ANIMALS.

LET US BOYCOTT THIS ISSUE AND TO BRING IT UP IN CANADIAN AND U.S. LEGISLATION...AFTER ALL THIS WILL ALSO AFFECT THE WATERS, LANDS, & CLIMATE IN THE U.S. also...PLEASE DON"T LET THIS HAPPEN AGAIN-
Jeanne Bedell
Please read this article in Indian Country Today-
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414898

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

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

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every Tuesday when available.

Al Gore Dumps Barrick Gold Sponsorship For May 11th 'Chilean Event'

Submitted by the Western Shoshone Defense Project
By Beatrice Karol Burks, The Santiago Times
Thursday, April 12, 2007
http://www.mercopress.com/vernoticiado?id=10250&formato=html

Al Gore has dumped financial backing from controversial Canadian mining company Barrick Gold for his upcoming Santiago event "Global Warming and Climate Change: The Time Has Come to Act." The Academy Award-winning environmentalist distanced himself from any association with the mining company, which owns the controversial Pascua Lama gold mine.

"Unfortunately, we were never asked to approve Barrick Gold as a cosponsor and as soon as we became aware that they were co sponsors, we asked that they be removed," Gore's press spokesperson Kalee Kreider told The Santiago Times. "I was informed that they were removed yesterday."

A Barrick Gold spokesperson confirmed to The Santiago Times that they had withdrawn their funding for the event. The US$50,000 that they contributed will be directed towards "other environmental projects." It is still not known how event organizers will cover the cash shortfall presumed to exist now that Barrick has been banned from the event.

Other sponsor's for Gore's visit include the Chilevision television station, the El Mercurio newspaper and the Banco Del Estado.

National political leaders and Chile's environmental community warned earlier this week that the mining sponsorship risked "contaminating" and making a mockery of Gore's campaign.

Barrick Gold has come under fire for dubious environmental and human rights practices on four continents. Its most controversial recent project in South America, the Pascua Lama gold mine, straddles the border between Chile and Argentina in the Andes Mountains in Chile's Region III. The project been harshly criticized by environmentalists worldwide who oppose the company's determination to destroy the glaciers sitting above the metal deposits.

"When it comes to the environment, you have to take sides," Sen. Alejandro Navarro told The Santiago Times. "In this case, it means that Gore has to choose whether he wants his message to retain its credibility, or whether he's happy to go along with whomever facilitates the event. You can't be sincerely worried about environmental phenomena affecting the planet and at the same time be 'mates' with a company like Barrick Gold."

Obviously, Gore has chosen.

Glaciers are one of the world's precious fresh water reserves – as Gore pointed out in his documentary film, "An Inconvenient Truth," – and are one of the ecosystems most at risk from climate change.

With 1,751 glaciers within its borders, Chile is home to 3 percent of the world's small glaciers. Global warming, however, is taking its toll. Chile's melting glaciers contribute to over 8 percent of the world's rising sea levels. In the last two years Chile's Marinelli glacier appears to have shrunk by more than four kilometers, despite the area receiving substantial rain.

Barrick's quest for gold in Chile may prove similarly devastating. The company initially drafted a plan to build an open-pit mine and to remove or "relocate" three glaciers impeding Pascua Lama's development. The company eventually received the environmental go-ahead from Chile's National Environment Commission (Conama) in early 2006, but on the condition that the ice mass not be touched. A tunnelled mine, rather than an open pit mine, would have to be used, said Chile's Conama.

Environmental watchdog, the Latin American Observatory of Environmental Conflicts (OLCA) has already reported partial destruction of three glaciers: Toro 1, Toro 2 and Esperanza, which all sit astride Barrick Gold's Pascua Lama mine.

Still, Chile's lax environmental controls and dismally poor environmental track record suggest Barrick will be allowed to continue developing the mine without any significant penalty or oversight. Residents in the Huasco Valley below the Pascua Lama mine site – many of whom are from the Diaguita Huasco Altina indigenous community - fear residue from the mining process will contaminate the Estrecho River which flows out of the valley. The community also claims it has lost 50,000 hectares of land which Barrick Gold acquired illegally.

"It does not make sense that one of the principal leaders of world public opinion on the threat global warming presents to our planet would come to Chile financed by the same mining company responsible for the destruction of glaciers and water contamination in so many parts of the world," read a statement from OLCA. The organization referred to the sponsorship as an "image-laundering operation" on the part of Barrick Gold.

The news of Gore's visit kicked up a controversy earlier this year when it was revealed that the event would cost over US$200,000, and that access by the public and media would be strictly limited. Gore was invited to Chile by businessman Sebastian Piñera, owner of LAN airlines and the Chilevision TV station.

Chilevision is apparently the only Chilean news media that will be allowed to question the environmental leader. Gore will deliver his seminar as part of the event "Global Warming and Climate Change: The Time to Act Has Come" at 6 p.m. on May 11th in the CasaPiedra convention center, Santiago.

Global Warming Could Bring New Diseases, Threats
Submitted by Ann VanWert
"The resiliency of indigenous populations is being severely challenged."

Jane George, Nunatsiaq News
Get ready to welcome new plants and animals along with unfamiliar diseases, crumbling coastlines, avalanches and unstable buildings, and say goodbye to travelling over the sea ice, seals and polar bears, if the world's warming continues unchecked.

The Arctic will be "especially affected" by climate change, says the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

As the region warms, communities can expect to see more severe flooding, erosion, droughts and destruction of permafrost, which will threaten public health, infrastructure and water supplies.

Fewer Arctic residents will die from cold-related injuries and health conditions. But the arrival of new insects and diseases, such as tick-borne encephalitis, will bring new threats.

Changes in the amounts and timing of rain and snowfalls will also dump more contaminants into Arctic rivers and lakes, where they will enter the food chain.

These are among the findings from a new panel report released on April 6 in Brussels. Earlier this week, Nunatsiaq News obtained confidential draft summaries of the second volume of its four-part 2007 climate assessment.

In this report, the panel looks at how climate change affects the environment and people, what the effects will be in the future, and how far adaptation and mitigation can reduce these impacts.

"Arctic human communities are already being required to adapt to climate change," the panel says. "The resiliency of indigenous populations is being severely challenged." And the panel says more challenges lie ahead.

The panel warns that unless the world's leaders act now, the weight of climate change may prove too hard and costly to carry in the future.

Some improvements to transportation in the Arctic may prove to be positive in a warmer world, but overall, changes will be "strongly negative," says the panel, particularly if the global temperature rise is greater or more rapid.

Worldwide, hundreds of millions of people will be vulnerable to flooding. Flooding will most highly affect people who live close to the land, and poorer communities will be the most at risk.

The panel says 20 to 30 per cent of species are likely to be "at high risk of irreversible extinction," if the average global temperature increases more than 1.5 to 2.5 C over 1990 levels.
With uncontrolled warming, the panel warns there could be large impacts after 2100, as melting ice sheets increase sea levels and alter ocean currents. These changes in ocean currents may even lead to a cooling in the northern high latitude areas near Greenland after 2100, the panel suggests.

"Relocating populations, economic activity, and infrastructure would be costly and challenging," says the panel.

The panel's point-by-point assessment of impacts of climate change on the polar regions says:
--By the end of the century, average sea ice cover will be down by about one-third;
--Over the next 100 years, Arctic glaciers and the Greenland ice cap will shrink and contribute to rising sea levels;
--By 2050, permafrost will decrease from 20 to 35 per cent;
--By 2100, forests will replace 10 per cent of Arctic tundra and 50 per cent, if temperatures rise 4 C over 1990 levels;
--By 2100, tundra will replace polar desert by 10 to 25 per cent;
--Habitats for birds and mammals will decrease, "with major implications for predators such as seals and polar bears;"
--Alien species will move into the Arctic;
--Ice cover on lakes and rivers will decrease;
--Cold-loving fish stocks will suffer;
--Fires and insect infestations will increase in forest tundra areas.

The panel calls for adaptation and mitigation efforts to tackle these impacts, saying many impacts can be reduced or delayed. More sustainable development, using non-polluting sources of energy, in addition to research and monitoring, may help the world slow the warming.

But the panel says there will be barriers, limits and costs to what can be done to help people adapt.

That's because technology, changes to behaviour and policy won't be able to cope with all the projected effects of climate change - "and especially not over the long run as most impacts increase in magnitude," the panel says.

About 285 officials from 124 countries met this week with scientists this week in Brussels, to fine-tune the panel's summaries.

This past February, the panel declared it "very likely" that most global warming has been caused by man made emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the massive amounts of oil, gasoline and coal that human beings have burned since 1750.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

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

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every Tuesday when available.

NAJA Alerts, Announcements, AZ State Univ. PowWow - April 17th, 2007

Imus Remarks Spur Civil Rights Agency
WASHINGTON -- The chair of the nation's leading civil rights enforcement agency today publicly called on the media and entertainment industry to make greater efforts to combat racism in light of the dialogue spurred by Don Imus' remarks.

In an open letter to MSNBC, CBS, Imus and his show's producer Bernard McGuirk, the chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Naomi C. Earp, wrote:
As I read the media coverage of the racist and sexist remarks made by radio jock Don Imus and his producer Bernard McGuirk, who collectively referred to the Rutgers University women's basketball team as "rough," "hard-core hos," "nappy-headed hos," and "jigaboos,"

I shuddered and became outraged at the unfairness of the situation. As an African American woman giving leadership to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the nation's foremost civil rights agency charged with combating discrimination in the workplace, I cannot stand silent on this matter.

How dare these two men utilize the airwaves to assassinate the reputations and denigrate the accomplishments of these talented Black collegiate women who, against all odds, advanced to the NCAA championship and represented their university in stellar fashion. Given their academic and athletic achievements, these young ladies should have been celebrated and not castigated.

The popular ditty, "sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me," is untrue. Names, especially racial and sexist slurs, can and do hurt! It is one of the reasons that the EEOC recently launched E-RACE -- Eradicating Racism And Colorism from Employment, a national campaign designed to hold businesses accountable for the discriminatory conduct of their officials, managers and employees.

The EEOC intends to make clear that race and color discrimination in the workplace, whether verbal or behavioral, is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The offensive remarks of Imus and McGuirk, the belated reaction of the networks and radio station, and Imus' defense of his comments by pointing to rap lyrics -- as if two wrongs make a right -- indicate the need for a clear and unambiguous dialogue about racism in America.

It also points to a need for a change in this particular corporate culture, namely entertainment. Right is right and wrong is wrong. Employers must become intolerant of racist and sexist behavior in the workplace and invoke a zero-tolerance stance towards such offensive conduct, and so must the media and entertainment industry.

Just as employees must be encouraged to demonstrate respect towards others, so must entertainers. Offenders in the workplace and in entertainment should be swiftly and effectively disciplined even if, as Imus contends, they've done a good deed for the offended community.

It's time for corporate America, especially the entertainment industry, to be more proactive in preventing and eliminating racist and sexist behavior in the workplace. No person should be judged by the irrational and irrelevant criteria of race or gender nor have their reputations assassinated by irresponsible pundits.

During their diatribe, Imus and McGuirk mentioned Spike Lee's movie, "Do The Right Thing." That's my challenge to you all -- do the right thing. Otherwise, you are part of the problem, and not the solution. Firing Imus does not address the real issues at hand. Instead of jokes, we need a serious dialogue about race in 21st century America.

According to the EEOC, racism remains the most frequent claim filed with the agency nationwide, accounting for more than a third of all private-sector charges.

In fiscal year 2006, the EEOC received 27,238 charges alleging race-based discrimination. Additionally, the EEOC has also observed a substantial increase in the past 15 years in discrimination charge filings based on color, which have risen from 374 in 1992 to 1,241 in 2006.

The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. More information about the EEOC is available on its Web site: <http://www.eeoc.gov/>.

Western Kentucky U's Five-Day Minority Photojournalism Workshop - Deadline, April 27th
Western Kentucky University is accepting applications for a five-day minority photojournalism workshop this summer for high school students. The application deadline is April 27.

Travel, lodging and food will be provided. The workshop, scheduled for June 24-28, combines hands on instruction and photojournalism projects. The workshop emphasizes participants use their eyes, hearts, minds and cameras to effectively communicate what they see to others.

The workshop will be held in the state-of-the-art labs of WKU's nationally recognized photojournalism program. With the support of Nikon Inc., the program will be provided the latest professional digital camera equipment.

Photographs will be displayed on a Web site that will be created for the workshop and participants will be able to bring work home on a CD.

Applicants must submit two samples of photographic work and a 500-word essay on what photography means to them, and how this workshop will help in a future pursuing photojournalism. Also required is a letter of recommendation from a journalism advisor or any teacher at the applicant's school..

For more information, visit: <http://pjcal.wku.edu/envision/envision.html>.Request an application by contacting James Kenney at james.kenney@wku.edu or 270-745-6307

AICC-N Luncheon Set For April 25th
American Indian Chamber of Commerce, Nevada invites you to join us at Sam’s Town Casino
Wednesday, April 25, 2007 - 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Keynote Speaker is Vanessa Gaston, Clark County Social Services.

To make your reservations or for more information, call (702) 693-6698 or E-mail aiccn@earthlink.net. Reservations must be received by Monday, April 23rd.

Assisting Native Americans with education, employment and self-employment opportunities in Nevada.

Adelante Mujer Conference To Be Held On April 21st
More than 1,500 Latinas, ages 14 to 21, are the target of this day-long program specifically designed with the cultural and family values of the Latino community in mind.

It will be held April 21st at Pasadena City College, 1570 East Colorado Blvd in Pasadena from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will consist of more than 50 diverse workshops on career and vocational choices. Each year the conference opening and closing program is represented by a sample of California’s most influential women.

In addition, the conference provides a Resource Center with over 75 representatives from corporate and government employees, community organizations, colleges, universities. There are special bi-lingual and Spanish workshops designed for the mothers and members of the teens. Sessions for teacher and counselors are also offered.

The registration fee of $15 includes a continental breakfast, lunch and all conference materials. Pre-registration is required.

The conference is sponsored by the Pasadena Youth Center and Center for Community and Family Services and co-sponsored by Pasadena City College and the Pasadena Unified School District.

For more information contact:
Veronica De La Rosa, Conference Administrator
Telephone (626) 795-7990
Center For Community and Family Services
E-mail: adelantemujerlatina@earthlink.net
Website: http://www.adelantemujerlatina.org/

Nunatsiag News Nominated For Prestigious Award
The Michener Awards Foundation named Nunatsiaq News this week as one of six finalists in the running this year for the prestigious Michener Award, one of the highest distinctions in Canadian journalism.

The annual Michener Award was created in 1970 by the late Roland Michener, then the Governor General of Canada, in honour of his daughter Wendy. It is awarded annually to a news organization that produces the finest example of journalism serving the public interest.

The Nunatsiaq News nomination is for the paper's "innovative coverage of the impact of climate change on the Canadian Arctic," the Michener Foundation said this week in a news release.

"We are extremely honoured to be recognized for our coverage of climate change in the Arctic," said Steven Roberts, the publisher of Nunatsiaq News. "Since the late 90s, our editors and reporters felt is was essential to cover climate change as part of our ongoing news coverage because the Arctic is ground zero with respect to the impact of global warming," Roberts said.

That coverage of climate change, which dates back to 1997, includes stories that have been picked by news organizations in every corner of the planet: the sighting of a robin in Iqaluit, the use of air conditioners in the Arctic, and the complex issues created by the impact of climate change on people and wildlife, including polar bears.

Nunatsiaq News was one of the first newspapers in the world to add a climate change section. Despite the expense, the newspaper has supported reporters in coverage of international climate change meetings in southern Canada, Greenland and Iceland.

Governor General Michaëlle Jean will announce the winner June 8 at a ceremony inside Rideau Hall.
Nunatsiaq News also received 11 award nominations from the Quebec Community Newspapers Association for work done in 2006.

Multicultural Student Services 21st Annual Arizona State University Spring Competition PowWow
April 20th, 21st, and 22nd, 2007
ASU Band Practice Field, Sixth Street & Rural Road, Tempe, Arizona

Friday, Saturday, Sunday - Gourd Dance 11:30 am & 5:30 pm - Gourd Dance 11:30 am - Gourd Dance 7:00 pm - Grand Entry 1:00 & 7:30pm -Grand Entry 1:00 pm

CONTEST CATEGORIES -
MEN’S (18 -49 yrs), TEEN BOYS’(13 -17 yrs), JUNIOR BOYS’(7-12 yrs)
Northern Traditional, N & S Traditional, N & S Traditional, Southern Straight Fancy Dance, Fancy Dance, Fancy Dance Grass, Dance Grass, Chicken Dance

WOMEN’S (18-49), TEEN GIRLS’ (13-17 yrs),JUNIOR GIRLS’ (7-12 yrs,)
Northern Traditional N & S, Traditional N & S, TraditionalSouthern Traditional Fancy Shaw, Fancy Shawl Jingle Dress, Jingle Dress Jingle Dress

Tiny Tots PowWow –Saturday, 7:00 to 7:30 pm
Men’s Grass Dance Special, Sponsored by Head Judge, Saturday Night Session

HEAD STAFF:
HOST NORTHERN DRUM…………..High Noon, Hobbema, Alberta
HOST SOUTHERN DRUM…………..Bad Medicine, Carnegie, Oklahoma
HEAD GOURD DANCER…………….Dewayne Tofpi, Carnegie, Oklahoma
ARENA DIRECTOR…………………..Darrell Goodwill, FortQu’Apelle, Saskatchewan
HEAD JUDGE…………………………William Hindsley, Cumberland, Wisconsin
MASTER OF CEREMONIES…………Sammy Tonekei White, Anadarko, Oklahoma
CO-EMCEE……………………………..Dennis Bowen, Tuba City, Arizona

DRUM CONTEST - Sound System will be provided. Committee will NOT provide chairs so bring your own.

ASU Office of the Vice President for University Student Initiatives , ASU Office of the President, ASU Cultural Diversity Committee, Ute Mountain Casino, Jackson Rancheria Casino, Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, Gila River Casinos, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe and Arizona Diamondbacks

THIS IS A SMOKE-FREE EVENT ! SMOKING IS NOT ALLOWED ON THE GROUNDS
Alcohol and other drugs will not be tolerated. Not responsible for accidents, thefts, damages or short-funded travelers.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

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

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every Tuesday when available.

Apocalypto Actor Under Fire About Heritage - Is He Or Isn't He?

Submitted by Mark Reed
By Lauren Horwitch, Apri 12, 2007
It's one of those great discovery stories. Rudy Youngblood was working at a Lowe's home improvement store in Texas and performing with a NativeAmerican theatre troupe when he hit the casting jackpot: a starring role in Mel Gibson's 2006 Mayan epic, Apocalypto.

In an industry with few high-profile Native American actors, the 24-year-old Youngblood paid homage to his Comanche, Cree, and Yaqui heritage in a slew of interviews. "I have ancestors who fought at Wounded Knee and Little Big Horn, so it's not hard to use my Native American heritage for this role," he told Time magazine

Apocalypto was a modest hit; Youngblood signed with ICM. On April 14 he is to receive an acting award from First Americans in the Arts, a nonprofit group that honors Native Americans in entertainment -- a seemingly fairy-tale ending.

But there's a major flaw in Youngblood's tale, according to Comanche scholar and commentator David Yeagley, who for almost a year has accused the actor of falsifying his Native American ancestry. "Rudy is apparently not American Indian at all, despite what the publicity says about him,"Yeagley wrote in a Dec. 12, 2006, post on his website, Bad Eagle.com. "It is identity theft, usurping the honor of those Indians who died for the blood of their people. Hollywood, apparently as well as Rudy, has no appreciation for this. Indians do."

A March 28 Los Angeles Times article took the controversy, which has been brewing in Native American online forums, into the mainstream. JoleneSchonchin, a spokesperson for the Comanche Nation, supported Youngblood and told the Times he "is not on our tribal rolls, but he does have Comanche blood. His blood comes from his paternal side. His father was a full-blooded Comanche and a prominent member of the Comanche tribe, PrestonTahchawwickah."

However, Youngblood told the Times and wrote on his website that Tahchawwickah is his adoptive father. According to www.rudyyoungblood.com, "As a young boy, Preston and Fern Tahchawwickah brought Rudy into their family as their son. He was also adopted Cree and is a member of the SlimJohn family. Like many Native people, Rudy is an integral part of several Indian families throughout the United States."

But adoption into a Comanche family may not be enough for Yeagley or the Comanche Nation. Under the precepts of the Nation's constitution, too fficially enroll, applicants must provide documentation, such as birth certificates or other federal documents, proving they are at least one-eighth Comanche Indian. The actor told the Times his biological mother is Comanche and his biological father is Yaqui, but he did not provide their names.

Other evidence suggests Youngblood is part African American and/orHispanic. His biography on the Internet Movie Database states his mother is half African American and he changed his last name from "Gonzales."

Youngblood said in the Times article that in the past he has used the name Gonzales, which is his stepfather's. Ironically, if Youngblood's roots areMexican and/or Central American, the actor might be more closely related to the people of Jaguar Paw, the Mayan character he portrayed in Apocalypto.

So far, Youngblood is keeping the specifics of his genetics under wraps. He told the Times, "I am Comanche. I'm not going to go into names. My tribe knows it. That is all that needs to be said." Youngblood's representative declined to schedule an interview between the actor and Back Stage.

Degrees Of Doubt
Actor Mark Reed, who serves as chairman and national representative forAmerican Indians in Film and Television, an advocacy group for Native Americans in entertainment, said the issue goes beyond Yeagley's beef withYoungblood.

"Both Rudy and David Yeagley need to consider the impact they're having on the entire American Indian community of artists," he said. "Although David Yeagley is making very poignant points about it, he needs to take that into consideration. But at the same time, RudyYoungblood has an obligation to Indian country to dispel these charges rather than avoiding it."

The controversy comes at a particularly bad time for Native Americanactors, who are starving for TV and film work. In a recent study of scripted television series from fall 2005 to fall 2006, Reed's organization found there was not one Native American actor among 400 regular roles 1,000 recurring roles, and 8,000 guest roles.

In January a UCLA study of TVand film casting breakdowns from June 1 to Aug. 31, 2006, found only 0.5 percent of roles called for Native American actors.

And even when the odd roles are offered, they're usually less than desirable. "They're very limited roles, and they're always stereotypical roles.... Unless the individual really is of the American Indian community, they can represent Indians in a very demeaning way without even knowing it," Reed said, adding that the eruption between Yeagley and Youngblood could narrow that playing field even further.

"If there's a controversythat goes on every time they hire an American Indian when the community comes out and says he's not an Indian...[casting directors] say, 'Look, we don't want to take the time or energy to deal with that.' They'd rather cast somebody else."

Yeagley responded that while he recognizes the dearth of Native American roles, he is protecting his people and culture by questioning Youngblood.

"If you're not Indian, don't claim to be. That's a simple, logical response," Yeagley said. "[Youngblood] could say he loves Indian culture, he loves participating in it, he even loves playing an Indian role. Fine.But to pick a family name like that and claim that's your bloodline...we're talking about a case of fraud here."

Reed and Yeagley agreed that Youngblood could put the whole situation to rest by proving his ancestry in a number of ways, the simplest of which would be to produce a letter from a Comanche official recognizing his lineage. Yeagley said he would be satisfied if the actor simply made publi the names of his family members enrolled in the Comanche Nation.

Both also acknowledge that thousands of U.S. citizens claim to be NativeAmerican without officially belonging to a tribe. Reed said enrolling in one of the 562 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes can be an exhausting process, particularly because each tribe has its own enrollment criteria.

According to the Comanche Nation's website, there are more than 13,000 enrolled members. Reed said Youngblood must prove he is at least related by blood to one of them or face damaging his career. "When you become a public figure as an actor, then the public owns you, and you need to dispel these kinds of rumors and charges because it has a great impact on the rest ofthe Indians," he said. "It's no different than being a public figure and you say, 'I have a Harvard degree.' Well, show me your degree."

Western Shoshone Elder Speaks About Battle With Feds
Submitted by Ken Hughes
By Sara Broncho
Sho-Ban News

POCATELLO - A Sacajawea Symposium "For the Future Generation" was hosted by ISU featuring a number of Native American Indian speakers on a spectrum of topics.

Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone elder spoke on Wednesday, March 28 and presented a film documentary "Our Land, Our Life" about her families personal account of the U.S. Government and the gold mining corporations in their efforts to remove her and her sister from their treaty lands purposely ignoring and denying them of their treaty rights.


The Dann sisters became activists by force and in the name of Indian rights. They have been fighting to preserve the rights of not only the Western Shoshone, but all Indian people and Indigenous people around the world with similar struggles. She voiced that she believed in "Newe Sogobia," the people's Earth Mother and as an Indian person she is fighting for the unborn children, the generations to come.

Mary Dann, Carrie's sister, passed away in the middle of all this controversy in an accident on the ranch, but Carrie still continues the fight in her 80s. In speaking at ISU she brings awareness about the ongoing struggle of Indian rights, environmental issues. She came to speak to students and members of the Indian community to hear the perverse reality of where Indian rights are at today, but that they are gaining ground in an uphill battle.

The film documentary showed Mary and Carrie Dann as simple ranchers feeding their cows, fixing fence, and gathering pine nuts on their lands - the Shoshone territories. Since 1973 the BLM officials persistently warned the sisters that their cows were on government lands and sued them for trespassing.

The Dann sisters knew their rights by 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley - a treaty of peace and friendship for safe passage to the non-Indians not a treaty of cession. The treaty includes portions of Nevada, California, Idaho and Utah. In 1979 the U.S. Court of Claims awarded the Western Shoshones $26 million, but it was not accepted and still sits unaccepted.

The Western Shoshones never sold their ceded lands - never extinguishing their rights to them. On several attempts the BLM impounded the Dann's livestock and horses, the product of their livelihood from generations of their family. The films showed the BLM vehicles coming down the road as if they were going into war up against an army with helicopters and carrying guns. The two Dann sisters in their 70s stood their ground and held to their treaty rights.

The films showed one of the Dann family members in a stand off where he doused himself with gasoline as the armed BLM officials tried to move in. The film also showed the BLM using physical force holding the women against their will. Dann spoke about what her perspective as a native person and how gold and greed is the focus of the government and the big mining corporations.

She pointed out the many ironies the people need to question. The first time in court in 1974 the point came up about the Western Shoshone lands being taken by "gradual encroachment," and Dann challenged this term and how it was justified.

"What is gradual encroachment, when was that law made, who was the president, when was it enacted?"

Included is the Dann ranch, which sits atop of an abundance of gold which the mining corporations plan for their next mining site; the sacred Yucca Mountain that they want to use for nuclear waste storage of mercury, cyanide and other nuclear chemicals; and land where underground testing has been going on for years. Thousands of gallons of water are sucked up from deep within the earth 365 days a year used for the gold leaching process.

Cyanide is used to leach the gold from the land and the afterwards the cyanide remains creating great environmental concern. Contamination of the earth, the water, air, nuclear waste dumpage, nuclear testing, these are only a few of the listed major concerns of the Western Shoshone.

"Do you sell your birth rights, your beliefs for $8 billion. these mountains are sacred. Do you sell these? It can tell you about where you were, your history, and if you listen enough it can probably tell you where you're going."

She talked about the soldiers in Iraq fighting for democracy and asked "why don't they bring democracy here," "Where's my liberation."

For the second time the Western Shoshone representatives have met with the Geneva Convention, which consist of four treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland, that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. Geneva Convention decided in support of the Western Shoshone sovereignty and territorial integrity. The U.S. is at fault.

The OAS, or Organization of American States, also an international group of the Americas supported the Western Shoshone in their efforts. And the U.S. was found guilty of inequality under the law in July 2006, and the U.S. government has never responded to this day.

For more information visit http://www.wdsp.org/.

On April 1st,there was a rally held at the nuclear test site outside of Las Vegas, and on April 6 at noon in San Francisco there is a rally for protecting sacred places. April 20-22 from 9 a.m. to 6.p.m. is the North American prepatory session for the U.S. Permanent Forum on Indigenous issues in Minneapolis, Minn. and on May 11-13, a Mother's day gathering and reunion with Corbin Harney is at the nuclear test site in Nevada.

Comments
I have had to dismantle the comments section as people keep tacking on their ads. That’s not nice!!!!! I get no money from the column, so why should you “freeloaders”.

If anyone wants to post a comment, please send it directly to me and I will add it to the column - bobbieo@digitaldune.net

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

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

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every Tuesday when available.

Canada's Military Manual Exposed To Target Mohawks

Submitted by the Western Shoshone Defense Project
Updated April 2, 2007
By Brenda Norrell
Human Rights Editor
U.N. OBSERVER & International Report

The Canadian military's draft counterinsurgency manual exposes how the so-called "war on terror" is a mask to authorize torture and murders, that ultimately profit corporations and profiteering politicians.

With a copy of the draft manual, the Globe and Mail reported, "Radical natives are listed in the Canadian army’s counterinsurgency manual as a potential military opponent, lumping aboriginals in with the Tamil Tigers, Hezbollah and the Islamic Jihad.

"Caught in the act by the media, and exposed by Mohawk Nation News, the Canadian government is now backpedaling.

The Canadian government now says Aboriginal organizations won't be included as security threats like the Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad in a new counterinsurgency manual.

However, the Globe and Mail reported Saturday that the military draft manual recommends deception, ambushes and the killing of insurgents, which included Mohawks.

Canada's draft counterinsurgency manual reflects the tactics of the counterinsurgency manual used by the United States' School of the Americas for decades in Central and South America. As in Canada, Indigenous Peoples in the south were fighting for survival, and to retain their land, water and resources. Corporations acted with impunity and carried out the campaign of genocide.

Indigenous Peoples were raped, tortured, murdered and disappeared by the paramilitaries and Latin leaders trained by the School of the Americas. Renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security, protesters continue to be arrested each year at the Fort Benning, Georgia site. In violation of the Geneva Conventions, the U.S. secret system of torture and disappearances continues at secret international prisons and Guantanamo Bay.

Mohawk Nation News: Aboriginals Listed As Terrorists And Insurgents Says Fontaine
April 2, 2007 - by Joseph Quesnel
Canada First Perspective

A national Aboriginal leader is asking Ottawa to ensure that Aboriginal groups are removed from a federal National Defense document which lists militant Aboriginal groups alongside other radical groups.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine today demanded that the federal government immediately remove any reference to First Nations in a Department of National Defense draft counter-insurgency manual listing international terrorist threats.

According to a report by The Globe and Mail, radical Native American organizations such as the Mohawk Warriors Society are listed in the training manual as insurgents, alongside other insurgent groups.

"Any reference to First Nations people as possible insurgents or terrorists is a direct attack on us - it demonizes us, it threatens our safety and security and attempts to criminalize our legitimate right to live our lives like all other Canadians do. Just being referenced in such a document compromises our freedom to travel across borders, have unimpeded telephone and internet communications, raise money, and protest against injustices to our people," stated AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine.

"I am calling upon Prime Minister Stephen Harper to immediately and without reservation, reject and remove any references to First Nations from all versions of the training manual."

"It is shocking and outrageous to learn that the Canadian military would consider First Nations people as insurgents or equate us to Hezbollah or Hamas. Not only is there not a shred of evidence to make this link, First Nations have always served Canada well by their contributions to the Canadian services. Such absurd allegations only serve to undermine respect for the military and lead us to believe we will not be able to rely on their protection the way other Canadians do."

Fontaine also pointed out that the revelation of Aboriginal groups within the training manual also comes after the federal government said that they aggressively audit and possibly cut off funding provided to First Nations organizations who participate in, or support the National Day of Action on June 29th, which the federal government has said may include illegal blockades and other activities.

"Taken with the report that we are included in the list of insurgent organisations in the military's manual, raises serious questions about the federal government's respect for freedom of speech and freedom of assembly for First Nations people. It appears that they want to silence us," said Fontaine, in the release.

"The proposed June 29th National Day of Action is intended to bring focus to and generate awareness of the deplorable social - economic status of First Nations peoples in this country.

Too often, First Nations poverty and the injustices suffered by our communities are not well understood. We aim to begin changing that by reaching out to Canadians and by putting our issues and our solutions front and center. First Nations people are people of integrity and we will abide by the rule of law while exercising our right to free speech," said the National Chief.

The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization which purports to represent First Nations citizens in Canada.

Final Version of Terror Report Will Not Refer To Natives
BILL CURRY, Globe and Mail, April 2nd, 2007
OTTAWA -- References to radical natives in the Canadian army's counterinsurgency manual will not appear in the final version of the document, Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor has announced.

The use of "radical Native American organizations" as an example of insurgents in a draft version of the manual has incensed native leaders, who viewed the wording as a threat to their political rights to protest.

Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine said yesterday the inclusion of natives in the manual could threaten the ability of Canadian natives to travel internationally.

But in a written statement, Mr. O'Connor explained that the document was simply making reference to past examples of insurgencies and was not meant to suggest that natives in Canada are a potential military target.

"The draft counterinsurgency manual was produced in September, 2005, under the previous government. The draft manual is not a final document, and continues to evolve and be updated," the statement from the minister said.

"The final version will not contain references to any current aboriginal organizations. The draft manual does not make comparisons between aboriginal groups and any insurgent groups," he stated.

"The draft manual does not state that any other particular group is a potential target of the Canadian military . . . What the draft document does do is use examples of past insurgencies from Canada and abroad to illustrate how some groups have resorted to violence or the threat of violence in the past in order to gain political influence or concessions."

The minister's office said the draft manual has been used to train Canadian soldiers for the mission in Afghanistan. The reference to natives will be removed because the manual is only for use in relation to that mission, a spokeswoman said.

The Globe published a report on the manual on Saturday. The report noted that the Mohawk Warrior Society was involved in the 1990 Oka crisis in Quebec, which spawned a 78-day confrontation with police and the military that left a police officer dead.

The draft manual's 164 pages outline a wide range of measures that could be used to assess, manage and defeat an insurgency.

On the 11th page, under the heading "Overview of insurgencies and counter-insurgencies," a paragraph is highlighted, which states: "The rise of radical Native American organizations, such as the Mohawk Warrior Society, can be viewed as insurgencies with specific and limited aims. Although they do not seek complete control of the federal government, they do seek particular political concessions in their relationship with national governments and control (either overt or covert) of political affairs at a local/reserve ("First Nation") level, through the threat of, or use of, violence."

There is no other mention of natives in the manual, nor does the manual add further context as to why that paragraph is included. Five pages later, the manual gives other examples of insurgents, listing Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah and the Tamil Tigers.

Mr. Fontaine issued a statement yesterday describing the mention of radical natives as "shocking".

DND Dismisses Report On Counterinsurgency Manual
CRFA Radio
Josh Pringle Saturday, March 31, 2007

A statement from the office of Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor says the "final version will not contain references to any current aboriginal organizations."

O'Connor's office calls a manual for the Canadian Military a draft only.The Globe and Mail says the draft manual lists "radical Native American Organizations" as potential opponents.
The draft version puts the radical Canadian aboriginals among security threats such as Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad. The document outlines measures the military might use to fight insurgents at home and abroad.

The Defence Department calls the report "speculative, sensational and inaccurate."

Western Shoshone Defense Project
P.O. Box 211308
Crescent Valley, NV 89821
775-468-0230
775-468-0237 (fax)
www.wsdp.org
wsdp@igc.org

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Is Hollywood Clueless, Lazy, Political...Or All Three?

The Myth of the "Vanishing Indian"
Submitted by Melody Little Wolf
April 9th, 2007

Want to know why you don’t see Native faces on the big screen or on TV programs?
Beyond the fact that Indians comprise a small percentage of the American population, the fact is Native actors rarely even get to the starting block. Why is this? Equally important, what can the Native entertainment community do to counteract this reality?

NativeVue Advisor Tara J. Ryan is the president and owner of Tijer Lily Co, a Native entertainment promotion and management service. In casting films, she has seen up close and personal how the Hollywood system works and how bucking that system is a Herculean task. Nevertheless, Tara and others committed to being change agents understand the value in establishing a true Indigenous face and voice in contemporary film.

But they can’t continue to work in a vacuum—because they aren’t, as she alludes to below, Atlas holding up the world. Hope springs eternal, however, and a concerted, unified stand among the Native entertainment community would go a long way in altering the status quo.
The time has come, Tara says, to retire the myth of the “vanishing Indian…”

By Tara J. Ryan
I was contacted to “help find Native Americans” for the last time a few weeks ago. This was for a MAJOR film production, they couldn’t “find” Native American actors and by the time they found out about me, they were desperate and out of money for the casting part of the budget.

This happens so much it is sickening. Desperate casting agencies trying to save their reputations and casting credits list and production companies calling and emailing to ask how I find “them.” (Let’s just move past the obvious silliness that “they” are my friends and blood brothers and sisters, and go for the point.)

If it’s the production company calling, they sometimes have a tone in their voice doubting that I can because they’ve paid as many as four or five casting directors before me who claimed to “specialize in finding Native talent” who came up with nothing, and who can blame them after all that? I can and so can all of you!

They get my name from the “one Native they have found,” a member of the production staff, the researcher on the project or a non-profit organization that couldn’t help them and referred them to my company. That’s been Tijer Lily Co in casting Native Americans in the “Hollywood” feature film world. People who know me, and other types and sizes of projects I don’t have this problem with. Just the bigger the production, the more clueless they tend to be.

I promised myself and the community that was the last “bail out.” The last. Why would I ever do such a thing in the first place? After all, there’s no credit on these projects, little or sometimes NO income. It’s simple. Because if these major productions don’t find Natives to fill these roles, they write the parts Non-Native, cut them out completely, or just get a bunch of people they think can “pass” for Natives and you all don’t get the work or even the opportunity for it. Yes in 2007, they still do this.

I thought if I could help in any way, that over time enough of the “big guys” would get the word that Natives, in this case Native actors and actresses, very much do exist and are not at all hard to “find.” But, let’s be real—you just can’t call “Native R’ Us” in Hollywood, CA to get the talent. That’s not how it works if you want it to work at all. You need to secure a good Native casting director who knows and is respected within the community. Unfortunately, producers have been looking in all the wrong places, if anywhere at all, for far too long.

I’m pretty sure that even a full- page advertisement in Variety wouldn’t get the message out.

But working alone…yes, alone as we have been doing isn’t the answer either. The few of us in the trenches can’t continue to be Atlas holding up the world. My arms are tired, but I’m not giving up. There are quite a few answers to this problem. The main one is simple. A UNIFIED COMMUNITY!.

UNIFICATION can and does work. The American Indian Community House in New York, for example, has ensured the long-running program Law and Order has enjoyed a constant flood of Native American Talent in NYC. There isn’t one Native Actor living in New York who hasn’t been “dead guy number one” or a featured extra or more on that show.

Probably the best example of the Law and Order Native community connection is actress Sheila Tousey (though her career certainly needs no one’s help, she’s just a dynamo in the talent department,) who was featured on one episode as a mom to a special child; her impressive appearance landed her regular gig for at least 10 episodes as a Judge on Law and Order, SVU.

Actors Unions regulations prohibit a casting director from asking if someone is Native American. Okay…but think about that. In 2007, how many times have you seen a character that was referred to as an African American or Latino or Asian in television or film and they weren’t one? I’ll give you a second. Are you done reviewing all the TV and film you’ve seen lately? O.K., then you’ve got your answer. NONE, not one!

Why then, is it perfectly legitimate to cast Native characters with non-Native actors?

I get many responses to casting calls, especially for historical projects, where I’m directly asked if someone “has to be Native to come to a casting call and if that’s the case, am I aware that’s ‘reverse racism’” and some who even respond on how much they “study” our people so that makes them great candidates. When I get these inquiries, I am required to respond with the truth—which is that everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, is in equal consideration for every role.

Those are the union regulations. Casting, in this case just for roles where many Native Americans are needed for one project. This is not a reference to the wonderful and still all too rare opportunities we have as individual actors and actresses regardless of our race. What I’m referring to here is large scale Native American/First Nations/Indigenous casting. It’s Native casting, and no matter what anyone says, IT IS DIFFERENT.

And it continues to go on and on…not too long ago, entirely too “close to home,” a big budget movie wanted “diversity” to add to the richness, theme and look of their film and needed Native actors. The local casting director couldn’t “find” any. She contacted me. I sent her so many qualified candidates I lost count, literally. Then she picked ONE GUY to come in—the only one with no experience—and pardon me here, the one guy who looks like me. The “could pass for any race” look. That’s who they brought in.

The director was “disappointed” at the “lack of diversity available” when he was shown the tapes from the casting call with just one Native American in the mix. Nevertheless, the local casting agent called back the “could past for any race” actor to do a dog and pony for the director just so she could to do the “see this is all there is out there" and not have to have it on set that so many actors came from another casting director.

After all, the director and the production company might find out. Ironically, the one actor she wanted to parade in front of the director actually wasn’t available by then. They had no one. Not one Native actor to make the call-back with the director. This particular local casting director threw a fit on a pretty large scale, because she was clearly under fire for the “lack of diversity,” but she still refused to do anything productive about it, like calling in the other actors.

There’s just a tiny bit of wannabe “Hollywood” politics for you.

Everything the film director was looking for exists, but because some local casting director stood in the way, literally (larger ones have done or tried this as well) the actors didn’t get any work, and this film’s intended “look” will undoubtedly suffer when it comes out.

What is the answer? Yes, like I said above. UNIFICATION and having our own, Native American LARGE SCALE distribution and all Native, all the time voice for our arts and culture in the media like never before.

Have you looked around lately at our options? You should…there is hope on the horizon…

Posted in Featured Articles, Indie-pendent Vue, That Thing We Do--The Artist Speaks

Comments
1. Good article. One thing NativeVue could do here is list all the casting directors who specialize in Native actors. Vet them with people like Tara and NativeVue’s advisors and the Native actors who support NativeVue so the list doesn’t include any casting directors who aren’t committed to Native people.
Comment by robschmidt — April 9, 2007

2. Thanks for your article – As a Native American actor, director and writer I find it interesting & completely ridiculous how they (Hollywood) say there are no Native Americans actors out there – Look a bit deeper; you’ll find a whole bunch of us and no disrespect meant here to anyone; but they also have to quit just using the same three or four actors that we see in everything – I honor those who have come before us, they have paved this path for us and I thank them – I also have to say that I am not meaning that you have to phone me, although I am here I may not be the best out there, but at least know that I am here and I am getting better (like that self promotion, I am a bastard, yes I know)

I also know it is up to the casting directors, talents agencies and the actors themselves to do a bit more self promotion but lets start taking a look around; there are so many talented Native American Actors out here in Canada & the US – Sadly we do the same thing to our Directors, writers and even down to our cameramen – there are more talented people out here people – Look around!!(Have I said that?)

As an emerging director, writer and actor myself and please I understand we all have to pay our due’s and work hard and all the other stuff they teach you but if they are only giving it to those few and not even trying to look around at the rest of us, that is pretty sad indeed – Meanwhile there alot of good actors, director’s and writers out there that just give up and quit and that’s sad to see and I know that’s their shit - All I want and I know alot of my friends in this industry is a chance to show that we are out here.

Enough with the bullshit and the politics and the little clicks everyone has – We sit here as Native Americans and say we have to work as one, but still we try to push each other away and out – Come on; let’s work as one then – Does it matter what your last name is, what tribe we are from, what State we are from, or what province we are from. Damn it! We are all Native Americans, we are all Brown –

Wouldn’t it be easier to make a film, write a script with more, even collaborating on films, sharing the directing, writing and financing – that would mean there would be more of us and more financing in place, come on think of the possibilities!!! – Get rid of those ego’s and the insecurities and lets make some Damn good Native American films with Native American Directors, DOP’s, Actors, Writers, Cameraman, Editors the list goes on

It’s time to get things in the open and talk about this and not be afraid to be cast as a troublemaker, we’re all troublemakers, Damn it were Native American’s - We as Native Americans try to be so polite at times and there is nothing wrong with speaking out – So speak out, why not – Be respectful and know what the hell you are talking about but speak out Thanks for letting me rant - Marcel Petit
Comment by PetitM — April 9, 2007

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

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

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every Tuesday when available.

Uranium Ignites 'Gold Rush' In The West

Submitted by the Western Shoshone Defense Project
By SUSAN MORAN and ANNE RAUP
Published: March 28, 2007 - The New York Times

LA SAL, Utah — Given its connotations, Pandora is an oddly inappropriate name for an uranium mine. Prices for processed uranium ore, also called U308, or yellowcake, are climbing rapidly.

But that does not seem to bother Denison Mines, the company from Vancouver, British Columbia, that owns it. Denison recently reopened this mine about 30 miles southeast of Moab, along with several others in nearby western Colorado, after it lay dormant during the years when the nation shunned nuclear power.

The revival of uranium mining in the West, though, has less to do with the renewed interest in nuclear power as an alternative to greenhouse-gas-belching coal plants than to the convoluted economics and intense speculation surrounding the metal that has pushed up the price of uranium to levels not seen since the heyday of the industry in the mid-1970s.

“There’s a lot of staking going on,” said Mike Shumway, a 53-year-old Vietnam veteran who owns the contracting business that is working the Pandora mine. “It’s like the gold rush There’s big money in it,” he said as he probed piles of waste ore at Pandora with a Geiger counter. “What other work do you know of where you can make millions in 30 days?”

Not many. Prices for processed uranium ore, also called U308, or yellowcake, are rising rapidly. Yellowcake is trading at $90 a pound, nearing the record high, adjusted for inflation, of about $120 in the mid-1970s. The price has more than doubled in the last six months alone. As recently as late 2002, it was below $10.

A string of natural disasters, notably flooding of large mines in Canada and Australia, has set off the most recent spike. Hedge funds and other institutional investors, who began buying up uranium in late 2004 to exploit the volatility in this relatively small market, have accelerated the price rally.

“I’d call it lucky timing,” said David Miller, a Wyoming legislator and president of the Strathmore Mineral Corporation, a uranium development firm. “Three relatively independent factors — dwindling supplies of inventory, low overall production from the handful of uranium miners that survived the 25-year drought and rising concerns about global warming — all have coincided to drive the current uranium price higher by more than 1,000 percent since 2001.”

Strathmore controls more than three million acres of exploration projects in Canada and previously discovered sources in the United States, primarily around Grants, N.M. In its heyday, the Grants “uranium belt” provided 340 million pounds of uranium, making New Mexico an even larger producer than Utah or Wyoming. Some politicians in the area hope there will be a new wave of mines, mills and jobs.

“There’s so much money pouring into this sector,” said Julie Ickes, editor and publisher of StockInterview.com, which tracks uranium prices and companies. “If you put ‘uranium’ in your company name, you can look like you’re looking for property,” he said. “It’s a lot of talk.”

“You could say there were more millionaires than people here in Moab,” said Sam Taylor, 73, who has been publisher of the local weekly, The Times-Independent, since he took it over from his father in 1956.

Sitting stooped over his wooden desk at the newspaper’s office downtown, Mr. Taylor recalls how he got “the scoop of the century” when a young, cocky geologist named Charlie Steen pulled up in his battered jeep asking if The Times-Independent would publish his six-page paper on his recent discovery of pitchblende, or high-grade uranium.

Not long after, Moab lost its quietude and anonymity to the ore trucks roaring through town almost around the clock to deliver uranium to a mill on the north edge of town.

Some industry watchers fear the uranium market is entering the bust phase of another boom-bust cycle.“It’s like the tech bubble,” said James Finch, senior editor of StockInterview.com. “We’re waiting for the crash.”

But others see plenty of room for prices to climb. One is Bob Mitchell, founder of Adit Capital, a small hedge fund in Portland, Ore. In December of 2004, he became one of the first hedge fund managers to start buying uranium.

The people staking claims and drilling underground are, in the meantime, happy to see the frothy market become frothier. So far this year, 2,700 new uranium claims have been filed with the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado alone. That is nearly half the claims filed in all of last year, and a big jump from the 104 claims for 2004.

But many people in the region, including leaders of the Navajo Nation, are not particularly excited to invite Pandora and other participants in the nuclear industry back into their communities. They say the mining and power companies poisoned workers and residents, in some cases fatally, with radon, silica and tainted groundwater.

More stringent federal oversight means that mines built or refurbished today provide much better ventilation, which minimizes the underground risks. Mine operators are required to take readings of radon levels and air flow in the mines, and to measure miners’ exposure doses.

Another red flag, for environmentalists and utilities alike, is the lack of a national storage site for radioactive waste. The proposed home, Yucca Mountain in Nevada, has cost taxpayers billions over many years as it sits idly, waiting for a final decision.

But that is not holding back Kyle Kimmerle, owner of the Kimmerle Funeral Home in Moab. Mr. Kimmerle, 30, spent summers during his childhood camping and working at several of his father’s mines in the area. In his spare time he has amassed more than 600 uranium claims throughout the once-productive Colorado Plateau.

“My guess is that next year my name won’t be on the sign of this funeral home anymore and I’ll be out at the mines,” he said.

He recently struck a deal with a company to lease 111 of his claims for development. The company, new to uranium mining, has pledged $500,000 a year for five years to improve the properties. Mr. Kimmerle will receive annual payments plus royalties for any uranium mined from the area.

'Court Remands Archaeological Portion to Board'
“Uranium Exploration Permit on Hold”
Submitted by WSDP

Rapid City, SD (USA)- A South Dakota state circuit court judge ordered the archaeological portion of a uranium exploration permit back to the SD Board of Minerals and Environment, the same Board who admits they sent the State Archaeologist to the wrong place. The permit they issued is on hold until a valid permit is granted, although opponents want an injunction until the appeal process is finished.

Two volunteer environmental organizations, ACTion for the Environment and Defenders of the Black Hills filed an appeal to the state circuit court, according to the SD Administrative Procedures Act, after attending a hearing with the SD Board of Minerals and Environment on January 17 and 18, 2007.

The groups were appealing a decision by the Board granting a permit to Powertech (USA) Inc., a Canadian company, to drill 155 additional deep exploratory wells in the southwestern Black Hills for uranium. The company already has 4,000 wells in this specific area. The Black Hills are considered sacred to many member of the Defenders organization, and also to many Native American nations from the North American continent.

The two organizations filed the appeal citing due process of law and equal protection of the law from the South Dakota laws and the US Constitution. Some of the issues presented to the court in the appeal are:
-the signing of the permit by the Board prior to the plaintiffs being given the opportunity to present their objections,
-the failure to consider the plaintiffs written exhibits that were given to the Board,
-the failure to provide interpreters in the Lakota language for two of the elderly members of Defenders of the Black Hills, or for the Board to be able to understand the concerns of these elders,
-and the Board‘s practice of allowing the mining company to present data on the quality of the underground water when the mining process will contaminate the water presenting a conflict of interest. It would be in the mining companies best interest for the water to already be contaminated with uranium and radioactive materials.

W. Cindy Gillis from The Law Offices of Mario Gonzalez is the lead counsel for the Defenders of the Black Hills and ACTion for the Environment courtesy of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The Tribe has already experienced pollution from past uranium mining in the southwestern Black Hills.

The Board is represented by SD Deputy Attorney General Roxanne Giedd, and Powetech (USA) Inc. is represented by Max Main, attorney from Belle Fourche, SD. The Board will conduct a hearing at 10:00 (CDST) on April 19, 2007, at the SD Department of Environment and Natural Resources, 523 E. Capitol Ave., Pierre, SD.

Contact: Charmaine White Face, Coordinator
Defenders of the Black Hills
PO Box 2003
Rapid City, SD 57709,
Phone: 605- 399-1868
Email: bhdefenders@msn.com

Judge Blocks Mountaintop Mine Permits
Submitted by WSDP
"Miners Would Have Been Able To Fill Valleys With Mined Ore"

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A federal judge ruled Friday that the Army Corps of Engineers illegally issued permits for four mountaintop removal mines without adequately determining whether the environment would be harmed.

U.S. District Judge Chuck Chambers rescinded the permits, which allow four mines operated by Massey Energy Co. to fill nearby valleys with dirt, rocks and other material removed to expose coal seams.

The Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition and two other environmental groups had sued to force the corps to perform more extensive environmental reviews before granting valley fill permits for the mines.

The corps had maintained that more extensive reviews weren't necessary for the permits. Chambers remanded the permits to the corps for further consideration.

Messages left after hours for the corps and for Richmond, Va.-based Massey were not immediately returned.

The issue of mountaintop removal and valley fills has been argued in state and federal courts in the region for nearly a decade. Coal operators claim the practice is an efficient way to expose seams in mountainous coalfields.

Environmentalists call the technique destructive and point to a 2005 study that said mountaintop removal and valley fills had buried 1,200 miles of headwater streams in Appalachia.

The corps had argued that mitigation techniques, including restoring streams, would offset any harmful effects. Chambers, however, said the agency failed to assess the full impact of destroying headwater streams within a watershed.

"The evidence to date shows that the Corps has no scientific basis ­ no real evidence of any kind ­ upon which it bases its decisions to permit this permanent destruction to streams and headwaters," said Steve Roady, a lawyer with Washington-based Earthjustice, which represented the environmental groups.

Bill Raney, president of the West Virginia Coal Association, said he had not read the ruling and had no immediate comment. The association had intervened in the lawsuit.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE or OPINION PIECE to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

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.

AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

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

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every Tuesday when available.