Eagle Rock Trading Post

You are the  visitor to read the news!

I've been alerted that some search engines are sending shoppers to our educational pages. If you ended up here by using the search term "turquoise rings" or a similar shopping term, please use the navigation bar to the left to direct you to our shopping pages. I apologize for the confusion.

 

Click on the story title in red to read the full story

Obama takes on freedmen issue

By JIM MYERS World Washington Bureau
5/11/2008

The senator believes the courts, not Congress, should resolve the controversy.

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. and Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama has come out against any congressional interference "at this point" in the ongoing controversy over Cherokee Nation citizenship for descendants of former slaves.
"Tribal sovereignty must mean that the place to resolve intertribal disputes is the tribe itself," the Illinois lawmaker said in a statement provided Saturday by his Senate office.
"Our nation has learned with tragic results that federal intervention in internal matters of Indian tribes is rarely productive . . . This is not a legacy we want to continue."
However, speaking directly to the Cherokee Nation issue, Obama also expressed opposition to unwarranted tribal disenrollment and described discrimination anywhere as intolerable.
"But the Cherokee(s) are dealing with this issue in both tribal and federal courts," he said.
"As it stands, the rights of the Cherokee Freedmen are not being abrogated because there is an injunction in place that ensures the freedmans' rights to programs during the pendency of the litigation. I do not support efforts to undermine these legal processes and impose a congressional solution."

76-year-old Sioux man to run Boston Marathon

By Michael Morton
GateHouse News Service
Posted Apr 19, 2008 @ 04:10 PM

Hopkinton, Mass. — Taking a break from crossing America on foot, runner No. 26,737 is scheduled to step to the Boston Marathon starting line Monday for another journey of the soul.
Before departing, he hopes to make a small tobacco offering to the ancestors and the spirits. He plans to tuck sage under each heel for good luck and will likely don his bear-claw necklace, a symbol of courage.
Then 76-year-old Emmett "His Many Lightnings" Eastman will run. Run to mark another milestone in his life. Run in memory of a dead friend. And run to inspire his Dakota Sioux tribe and other American Indians.
"It's more than just running," he said during a visit to the starting area. "It's like carrying a message and representing our people."
Eastman first came to Boston's historic race in 1972, seeking to mark his 40th birthday by running the signature event despite never having entered a race longer than 2 miles.
He didn't realize until the event drew near that athletes had to qualify beforehand, and when he told the Boston Athletic Association's director that he would run without a bib number, he was told he would be thrown in the "clink."
After the media got wind of the threat, the director relented and said the association would let Eastman run as a goodwill gesture.
 He will also be running in memory of his friend Floyd "Red Crow" Westerman, who died from leukemia complications in December. Westerman, a Dakota musician and activist, also played the character Ten Bears in the movie "Dances with Wolves."
When the race is over, the 76-year-old will rejoin the Longest Walk II, a group that is crossing America on foot asking that sacred American Indian sites be protected.

 

 

Tribe May Get Part Of Badlands

The National Park Service is considering management changes that could provide the Oglala Sioux Tribe with control of the South Unit of Badlands National Park.
One option is complete return of the area to the tribe. It's an apparently unprecedented set of proposals that, at least symbolically, would represent a reversal of the centuries-old tradition of land grabs by the U.S. government.
The proposal holds hope of economic development, cultural preservation and pride to some leaders of a reservation known for rampant alcoholism, poverty and joblessness.
Others worry, however, about handing roughly half of a national park to a tribe with a history of turmoil. 

Cherokees to take over Hastings

Press staff reports
TAHLEQUAH DAILY PRESS —

Cherokee Nation announced today its decision to assume operations at W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital, which is currently under the umbrella of the Indian Health Service.
Principal Chief Chad Smith promised to create a “comprehensive, integrated health care system” to provide improved care for patients.
“Most other large tribes in the Oklahoma area operate the Indian hospitals in their jurisdictional boundaries,” Smith said. “This has proved effective for improving patient care and reducing waste and redundancy in the system.”
Smiths said in such cases, patients report the health care system is easier to use and confusion over services decreases.

 

 

Tribe looks to sever ties with state after slots veto

By Aimee Dolloff
Thursday, April 17, 2008 - Bangor Daily News

The governor’s veto of the bill to allow the Penobscot Nation to operate slot machines at its Indian Island high-stakes beano facility and the Legislature’s failure to overturn that decision was "the last nail in the coffin" for tribal officials. Penobscot Chief Kirk Francis said Wednesday that he’s ready to dissolve the Penobscots’ relationship with the state in order to move forward in the tribe’s best interest.
"This relationship’s brought nothing but disappointment," Francis said. "We’re going to go through our tribal process and legislate our own future. I’m not going to spend any more time in Augusta talking about these issues to an administration that quite frankly just doesn’t care."
Francis is attending a conference in Texas, but said by phone Wednesday that he and the Penobscot Tribal Council and other leaders will review the tribe’s position when he returns. The Penobscots are considered a sovereign nation that has control over its internal tribal matters.

Illegal immigrant pleads guilty in case of unrecognized tribe

By ROXANA HEGEMAN
The Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. | An illegal immigrant charged in the government's case against the Kaweah Indian Nation told a federal judge on Monday that he falsely claimed he was a U.S. citizen.
Jaime Cervantes was the first defendant to plead guilty in the government's prosecution of a Wichita group that claims to be an American Indian tribe. The Kaweah Indian Nation is charged in an alleged scheme to sell tribal memberships to illegal immigrants under the guise the documents would grant them U.S. citizenship.
Cervantes pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of submitting an application on June 8, 2007, for an original Social Security card in which he falsely claimed to be a U.S. citizen. In return for his plea, prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of time served and agreed to dismiss another related count against him.
U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown set sentencing for June 30.
Federal prosecutors initially charged Kaweah Indian Nation and a dozen people in September 2007. Charges against one defendant, Raynal Williams, were subsequently dropped at the request of prosecutors. 

Still no verdict in trial of raid on smoke-shop

 01:00 AM EDT on Friday, April 4, 2008
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer

 PROVIDENCE — A Superior Court jury failed to reach a verdict again yesterday in the criminal trial of seven Narragansett Indians arrested when the state police raided a tribal smoke shop in July 2003.
The seven women and five men began deliberating Tuesday afternoon and were excused Wednesday after a putting in a full day. Judge Susan E. McGuirl advised them to go home and “clear their heads.”
During the deliberations Wednesday, the panel gave the judge two notes, the first saying it had reached agreement on 12 counts, but wanted clarification on the application of self-defense, according to lawyer Gary Pelletier, who is part of the team representing six of the tribe members. Shortly after receiving the clarification, they sent McGuirl another note saying they were deadlocked on everything, he said. 

 

 

CBC warns Reid on Cherokee funds 

By Kevin Bogardus 
Posted: 04/03/08 05:13 PM [ET] 

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have promised Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that they will try to block a Native American housing assistance bill if the measure does not include language that prevents the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma from receiving any of the benefits.
The House included such a prohibition in its Indian housing assistance bill passed in September. But the Senate version does not include similar language.
“We are writing to advise you that members of the CBC will not support, and will actively oppose, passage of a [Native American housing assistance] bill that does not include this limitation,” the CBC stated in a letter sent to Reid on March 13.
The dispute between the CBC and the Cherokee Nation arose last year after the tribe amended its constitution to exclude the Freedmen — a group of freed slaves who have been members since the Civil-War era – from tribal membership. Black lawmakers have charged the tribe is ignoring the Treaty of 1886, an agreement the Cherokees signed with the U.S. government that gave tribal citizenship to the Freedmen.
“We must send the unequivocal message to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma that failure to provide full citizenship rights to the Cherokee Freedmen will have severe consequences,” CBC members wrote Reid.

 

 

Navajo Nation's Internet Service to Be Cut Off

Thursday, April 03, 2008

 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  A Utah-based company that provides public Internet access to the Navajo Nation plans to shut off the tribe's service Monday, leaving thousands of Navajos without online access to do school work, post community announcements or communicate with others across the 27,000 square-mile reservation.
"It's going to be a sad day," said Ernest Franklin, director of the tribe's Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.
The shutdown stems from a decision by Universal Service Administration Company — which administers the E-rate program under the Federal Communications Commission — to withhold $2.1 million in reimbursement funds to OnSat Network Communications Inc. over concerns about a federal audit of the Utah-based company.
The E-rate program reimburses between 85 percent and 90 percent of the costs for Internet services to the tribe's chapter houses, which operate like city governments. The Navajo Nation covers the rest.
Because of the delay in payment, an attorney for OnSat said it can't pay a subcontractor — SES Americom — for satellite time. 

Clinton says he would commit to Indian Country

By RICHARD PETERSON
For the Tribune

 HAVRE — If his wife is elected president in November, former President Bill Clinton said he'd make it his personal responsibility to tackle the issues that are important to Native Americans.
The former president, campaigning in Havre for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, made the pledge to about 30 Montana tribal leaders in a private meeting before his morning speech in the MSU-Northern Armory Gymnasium.
The meeting was attended by tribal leaders from the Blackfeet, Fort Peck, Fort Belknap, Chippewa-Cree and Little Shell tribes.
His commitment to the tribes at the hour-long meeting surprised some leaders who've been dissatisfied with the Bush administration's Native American policies during the past seven years.
"He said if she's elected, he'll commit himself to the concerns of Indian Country. It was a profound statement," said Fort Peck Tribal Councilman Tom Christian, who attended the meeting. "He said as a president, he never had time to pursue the things that needed to be done for Indians. I felt he was sincerely committed to that statement." 

 

 

Jury begins deliberations in smoke shop case

 01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, April 2, 2008
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer  

PROVIDENCE — The cases against seven Narragansett Indians arrested during a state police raid on a tribal smoke shop are in the hands of a Superior Court jury.
Seven women and five men deliberated about four hours yesterday afternoon after receiving more than an hour of instructions from Judge Susan E. McGuirl.
“You are to make this decision based on the evidence and the facts,” McGuirl said. Race, sympathy, prejudice or compassion do not play any role, she said.
In all, jurors will weigh 17 misdemeanor counts against seven tribal members, including the tribe’s leader, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas.
The Narragansetts began selling tax-free cigarettes from a shop on tribal land in Charlestown in July 2003, over Governor Carcieri’s objections. Dozens of state police executed a search warrant on the roadside store two days later to stop the tribe from selling tobacco without charging Rhode Island taxes. The action turned into a confrontation, captured by TV news crews and photographers.
All but one of the tribal members face a combination of charges that include resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, simple assault and obstruction of a police officer.
McGuirl instructed the jury that it is illegal to resist a lawful or unlawful arrest in Rhode Island. However, she said, an arrestee has the right to use reasonable force to resist an arrest in which an officer is using excessive force. 

 

 

More than 200 Rosebud cases dropped

Police officers were not properly certified

By Steve Miller, Journal staff Tuesday, April 01, 2008

More than 200 criminal cases have been dismissed in Rosebud Sioux Tribe courts because tribal police officers were not properly certified, according to a tribal judiciary official. The Rosebud police certification problem is being used to challenge three criminal cases in federal court.
James Henry, a Rosebud Sioux Tribe Council member and chairman of the tribal judiciary committee, said many of the tribal police officers were operating without tribal police certification, beginning about 1999.
In tribal court, at least 217 cases already have been dismissed because arresting officers were not certified as tribal officers, Henry said.
“That’s probably going to triple,” he said.
Henry said a 1991 tribal ordinance requires tribal law enforcement officers to be certified. He said many of the tribe’s more than 30 officers let their certification lapse. He said some officers apparently had the misconception they didn’t have to renew their certificates. But the tribal ordinance requires recertification every two years.

Jury to decide smoke shop case

 Updated: March 31, 2008 03:31 PM CDT

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Closing arguments have ended in the trial of seven Narragansett Indians arrested during a 2003 state police raid on a tribal smoke shop.
A jury will begin deliberating Tuesday after getting instructions from a judge. Prosecutor Maria Deaton says the Narragansetts instigated the violent skirmish by shoving, kicking and even choking state troopers who attempted to shut down the tax-free shop.
But defense lawyers said state police used too much force and called the raid politically motivated. They said the state police could have used less-confrontation tactics, but chose a daylight raid to send a message to the tribe that the shop would not be tolerated. 

 

 

American Indian Week kicks off at NMSU

By Jason Gibbs/Sun-News reporter
Article Launched: 04/01/2008 12:00:00 AM MDT

LAS CRUCES — They were only a dozen or so strong, but they carried the weight of many tribal nations.
Students from the New Mexico State University's American Indian Program gathered Monday on the International Mall to kick off the university's 44th annual American Indian Week. With traditional drums blaring from a modern stereo, they strode across campus, inviting other students to join them and to learn more about American Indian tradition and culture.
"Not very many people have knowledge about our traditions," said Kandis Realbird, 24, a member of the Crow nation from Montana. "They are different in their languages and traditional styles." 

 

 

Cherokees seeking kids for Healthy Nation Camp

By Staff Reports
4/1/2008

The Cherokee Nation is accepting applications for a weeklong Healthy Nation Camp beginning this summer for American Indian youth.
The camp will run June 9-13 on the campus of Rogers State University in Claremore and will feature a wide range of fitness activities that promote better health.
Participants will take part in team-building activities, games, cultural activities and health, swimming and exercise classes.
The camp is open for American Indians ages 9 to 12.
All applicants must live in the 14-county jurisdictional area of the Cherokee Nation and be willing to participate in all activities during the week.
Dorm-style sleeping arrangements and all meals will be provided.
There is no cost to participate.
Registration is limited to the first 40 girls and the first 40 boys to apply.
For more information, call (918) 434-8500, ext. 8622. 

Blackfeet Indians Offer Nation's Highest Honor to L. Ron Hubbard

for Changing America's View of The Old West and Indians Before Dances with Wolves, there was Buckskin Brigades

By Galaxy Press

BROWNING, Mont., March 25 --Amidst the steady beat of tribal drums and ceremonial chants of Montana's Blackfeet Indians, leaders of that proud nation recently honored their blood brother and champion, L. Ron Hubbard, with the Blackfeet Indian war bonnet, the highest honor that can be received for any person.
The ceremony marked the Blackfeet Indian's acknowledgement of L. Ron Hubbard's accurate and moving portrayal of the Montana natives in novels that date back to the Golden Age of fiction in the 1930s.
"This was a very spiritual and educational experience for all that attended," said Larry Grounds, Blackfeet Nation cultural advisor, who together with his brother Rick Grounds, Blackfeet medicine man and Al Potts, Blackfeet Spiritual Advisor, oversaw the ceremony. "Through the passing of the war bonnet there was a unity of Hubbard's spirit and the Pikuni (the Blackfeet) nation," Larry Grounds concluded. 

 

 

Tribe says water legislation would violate its fishing rights

Associated Press - March 25, 2008 10:54 AM ET

 TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Indian tribes in northern Michigan say water withdrawal bills pending in the Legislature could violate their rights by reducing fish populations.
The bills establish a mechanism for regulating high-volume water removal for commercial uses, such as farming and manufacturing. How much water could be taken from certain rivers and streams would depend on how fish are affected.
The bills are related to a proposed interstate compact to prevent diversion of Great Lakes waters to other regions.
In a recent letter to legislative leaders, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians says the tribe has a fishing right guaranteed by treaty and an agreement reached with the state last year.
It says that right would be jeopardized by legislation allowing water withdrawals that would harm fish. 

 

 

Two tribes awarded grants to study wildlife, aquatic habitats

By John Holyoke
Tuesday, March 25, 2008 - Bangor Daily News

Two Maine Native American tribes are among the three New England recipients of cash grants that were announced Friday by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, and those grants should pay dividends for all Mainers.
The grants were part of $6.2 million in Native American conservation projects in 18 states under the Tribal Wildlife Grant program.
According to a news release, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs will receive almost $49,000 for a project focusing on wildlife habitat and species diversity of tribal trust land. The tribe will plant wild and cultivated apple trees and high-bush cranberries that will provide food and habitat for a variety of species.
The Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians will receive more than $114,000 to study the aquatic habitat of the Meduxnekeag watershed. 

Tribe’s lawyer advised that shop was legal

 01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, March 26, 2008
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer

 PROVIDENCE — A lawyer for the Narragansett Indian tribe testified yesterday he advised the Narragansetts they were entitled to open a tax-free smoke shop.
“I told [Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas] they had the legal right as a sovereign government to open a smoke shop,” John F. Killoy said in Superior Court.
Killoy took the stand on the 15th day of trial for seven Narragansetts accused of resisting and scuffling with state police as they executed a search warrant to stop the tribe from selling tax-free tobacco in July 2003.
Killoy could not recall exactly when he gave his advice, but estimated between April and July 2003. The tribe, he said, had voted at a tribal assembly meeting in April or May to sell untaxed cigarettes.
A series of meetings with Governor Carcieri and his staff followed, as well as correspondence from state tax officials. The tribe opened the shop, over Carcieri’s objections, July 12, 2003. 

 

 

Narragansett Tribe Members Take Stand in Their own Defense

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe took the stand in their own defense after being arrested during a 2003 state police raid on a tribal smoke shop.
Thawn Harris, a tribal police officer, told jurors Wednesday that he was slammed into a car by a state trooper after trying to block another trooper from entering the shop. Adam Jennings said his ankle was broken by a trooper as he was trying to leave the shop during the raid.
Harris and Jennings are among the seven Narragansetts on trial on misdemeanor charges. They are accused of either resisting arrest or scuffling with troopers who raided the smoke shop in July 2003 because it wasn't collecting state taxes.
Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas is also expected to take the stand. 

 

 

Mother claims tribal cops negligent in son’s death

By Katie Brown, Journal staff Thursday, March 27, 2008

A civil trial continued Wednesday in U.S. District Court involving a woman suing the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, saying tribal law enforcement's negligence caused a 2002 car crash in Pine Ridge that killed her 36-year-old son. Nathan Vaughn Dreamer, 36, died Feb. 25, 2002, as the result of injuries from a Jan. 7 car crash.
Norma Blacksmith, Dreamer's mother and administrator of his estate, filed a claim accusing the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety -- which is run by the BIA -- of negligence in the crash.
Blacksmith filed the claim in May 2003, and the BIA denied her compensation of $900,000 in 2005. She then proceeded with the suit.
Court documents said Dreamer was driving in the Pine Ridge area Jan. 7, 2002, when he noticed a police car following him with its lights flashing.
Dreamer continued driving.
Blacksmith's claim alleges that the patrol car, driven by Officer Dan Crazy Thunder, reached Dreamer's car, struck it and caused Dreamer to lose control, go through a ditch and into a dry creek bed, striking an embankment.
Court documents said authorities were pursuing Dreamer because of a report that he had brandished a knife at a home in Oglala Housing.

 

 

Standoff at Lac du Flambeau reservation ends peacefully

Associated Press - March 26, 2008 8:55 PM ET

 LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wis. (AP) - Members of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa locked themselves in a tribal center for at least 14 hours today. The finally came out after federal officials agreed to investigate allegations of corruption among tribal leaders.
The Vilas County Sheriff's Department says the standoff ended peacefully about 3:45 p.m.
Chief Deputy Joe Fath says 10 members of the group were arrested on tentative charges of criminal trespass. All 10 are expected to make initial court appearances.
About 75 people outside the center cheered when Fath announced that the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. attorney's office agreed to look into the complaints.
Tribal Vice President Dee Mayo says she welcomes the scrutiny, promising no money was missing and all the tribe's spending was properly approved. 

Nation still wants full 17,000 acres

By:JODY McNICHOL, Dispatch Staff Writer
03/25/2008

ONEIDA - The Oneida Indian Nation disagrees with the Bureau of Indian Affairs' recommendation that 13,086 acres of Nation land be but into federal trust. The tribe wants all 17,370 acres of its land to be held by the federal government.
The tribe filed its opinion on Monday as the 30-day comment period came to an end.
Federal trust land, held for the use of an Indian tribe, is not subject to regulation or taxation by school districts or local, state or county governments.
The final decision on how much and what land will be put in trust will be made by James Cason, deputy associate secretary of the Interior, at any time starting today. After the decision is made, there will a 30-day window to file an appeal.
The towns of Vernon and Verona, and Upstate Citizens for Equality have all indicated they would file appeals, the City of Oneida and Madison and Oneida counties are among the groups that have said they'll consider it.. 

 

 

Testimony to resume in smoke shop raid trial

AP March 25, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Testimony is due to resume in the trial of seven Narragansett Indians arrested during a 2003 state police raid on a tribal smoke shop.
more stories like thisDefense lawyers began calling witnesses last week after an unsuccessful attempt to get all charges dropped midway through the trial. The trial continues Tuesday in Providence Superior Court.
The seven Narragansetts are accused of resisting arrest or scuffling with state police officers who raided the shop in July 2003 to stop it from selling tax-free cigarettes.
The trial opened last month, with state police officers detailing their skirmishes with tribe members.
Prosecutors rested their case last week. Among the expected defense witnesses is Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, who'll take the stand sometime this week

 

 

Five Makah Tribe whalers to plead guilty for killing gray whale

Associated Press - March 24, 2008 5:13 PM ET

 SEATTLE (AP) - Five members of a Washington state Indian tribe have agreed to plead guilty for killing a gray whale during a rogue hunt off the state's northwest coast.
The attorney for the members of the Makah Tribe says in exchange for the plea today federal authorities have agreed not to recommend jail time. They each faced up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine for violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act when they killed the whale in September.
The Makah last had a legal whale hunt in 1999, but their efforts to resume the hunts remains tied up by court challenges. 

 

 

Navajo council overrides president's emergency spending veto

 By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press writer Tuesday, March 25, 2008

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- A spat over emergency spending on the Navajo Nation has boiled over now that the Tribal Council has overturned a presidential veto after being warned by the president that other projects could be compromised if the spending was approved.
Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. vetoed a more than $17 million appropriation earlier this month that was meant to provide relief for a weather emergency because tribal delegates had tacked on millions of dollars for unrelated projects.
Council delegates responded with a special session Friday to consider Shirley's veto. After voting 68-8 to override the veto, the council chamber in Window Rock, Ariz., erupted with cheers and applause.
"The immediate needs of the Navajo people needed to be addressed," Council Speaker Lawrence Morgan said. "The council continues working for the Navajo people and they will do what they can to address future immediate needs."
With the override, the council issued a directive to the tribe's budget office to immediately begin disbursing checks to the tribe's 110 chapters.

Indian suit seeks $58 Billion

 Posted: March 21, 2008 02:34 AM CDT

Washington_American Indian plaintiffs say the United States owes them $58 billion in a long-running lawsuit over government mismanagement of lands.
Plaintiffs in the 12-year-old lawsuit submitted the filing to federal court this week after U.S. District Judge James Robertson asked for their input.
The suit, first filed in 1996 by Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell, claims the government has mismanaged billions of dollars in royalties held in trust from American Indian lands dating back to 1887.
In a January decision, Robertson said Interior Department accounting for billions of dollars owed to American Indian landholders has been "unreasonably delayed" and is ultimately impossible.
At the same time, Robertson said the overall task is not hopeless, and he has set a June trial date to find a remedy for the seemingly endless legal battle. The government will have a chance to respond to the plaintiffs' filing before the trial.
In a statement, the plaintiffs said the $58 billion number represent the accumulated savings the government has earned from dollars that should have been promptly deposited into individual Indian trust accounts.
Cobell said the $58 billion number is reasonable. Earlier estimates by the plaintiffs have had the government owing $100 billion or more.
"We believe that our numbers are very conservative and represent the minimum harm that Indians have suffered under our broken trust system," she said.
The government proposed paying $7 billion partly to settle the Cobell lawsuit last year, but that was rejected by the plaintiffs. 

 

 

NEW DOCUMENTARY SHOWS ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT HIGH RATES OF DIABETES AMONG TOHONO O'ODHAM

Before 1930, only one case of diabetes was found among the people of the desert or the Tohono O'odham. But 30 years after the Coolidge Dam was built in Arizona health officials recorded more than 500 cases of diabetes.
Bad Sugar, a new documentary premiering during the Unnatural Causes: Is Inequity Making Sick? on PBS in most cities on March 27, explores environmental and political issues behind high rates of type II diabetes among the Tohono O'odham and shows how these and other historical events are significant factors in the rampant disease.
"Things didn't happen by chance," said Jim Fortier, (Metis/Ojibway), Bad Sugar producer and director. "These things are based on decisions that somebody else made and they are now having horrible consequences on Indian people."
In the 1890s after a series water projects were built, essentially all water supply to the Pimas was cut off. Although federal officials built a dam named after President Coolidge in 1930, the project was to provide some water to the Pima but it instead changed their livelihood. The president's promise was broken after these desert dwellers, who traditionally relied on local game and farming, received little water.
"Living along the river meant our life," said Henrietta Lopez of the Pima-Maricopa Irrigation Project. "Having the river flowing through our community meant having natural vegetation along the river, the willow, mesquite (and) cottonwood trees." 

 

 

Relatives of tribe member sue over slaying

Family claims racial discrimination in shooting by State Park Police

Friday, March 21, 2008
BY ANA M. ALAYA Star-Ledger Staff

The relatives of the Ramapough Lenape Indian Nation member shot and killed two years ago by a State Park Police officer have filed a civil racial-discrimination lawsuit against several officers, the park police and the state.
Family members claim 45-year-old Emil Mann of Monroe, N.Y., was targeted by park police because he is a member of the tribe. Mann's nephew, Carl Mann Jr., claims in the suit he suffers emotional distress from witnessing the shooting and the failure of the officers to seek swift medical attention for his uncle that day. "He will need psychological support from professionals for the rest of his life," said the nephew's lawyer, Lydia B. Cotz.
Emil Mann and relatives were celebrating Carl Mann Jr.'s 16th birthday near Stag Mountain in Mahwah on April 1, 2006, when the shooting occurred.
State Park Police Officer Chad Walder was indicted last year on a reckless manslaughter charge for shooting Emil Mann once in the chest and once in the groin. Mann died nine days later.
The shooting sparked angry protests, led to changes within the park police and resonated at the highest levels of state government, with Gov. Jon Corzine assuring the tribe of a thorough investigation.

New judge in tribal whaling case

Non-Indian to preside over Makah trial of men accused in illegal hunt

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

 NEAH BAY -- A new chief judge has taken over the Makah Tribe's case against five whalers who killed a gray whale without a permit last year.
Stanley Meyers, a former Neah Bay resident who is not an American Indian, was hired after the tribe declined to renew the contract of the previous chief judge, Jean Vitalis, whose objectivity had been questioned after she publicly criticized the whale hunt. The tribe's associate judge, Emma Doulik, recused herself, citing her strong emotions over the hunt.
The five tribal members harpooned and shot the gray whale Sept. 8, later saying they were tired of waiting for federal permission. The Makah had last killed a whale -- legally -- in 1999.
A federal grand jury indicted the men in October, charging them with violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Whaling Convention Act. The next month they were charged under tribal law.
The five defendants -- Frankie Gonzales, Wayne Johnson, Andrew Noel, Theron Parker and William Secor Sr., all of Neah Bay -- pleaded not guilty in both venues. 

 

ASU to conduct retirement ceremony for Indians mascot at Feb. 28 game

 Arkansas State University's athletic nickname and mascot, “Indians” and the Indian Family, will be officially retired in a halftime ceremony of the men’s basketball game between ASU and Louisiana-Monroe Thursday, Feb. 28, at the ASU Convocation Center in Jonesboro.
Although the names and imagery regarding "Indians" will be officially retired, ASU’s team names for the school’s 16 NCAA Division I sports will remain "Indians" until the conclusion of the current school year.
The ceremony will conclude a year-long project centered around following directives from the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) which declared that educational institutions with Native American nicknames and imagery would not be allowed to use the names or imagery at postseason competition.
In conjunction with the formation of the Mascot Selection Steering Committee, ASU Chancellor Dr. Robert Potts appointed a Mascot Retirement Committee headed by Richard Carvell, assistant professor of radio-television and director of broadcasting at ASU, to begin planning for a retirement ceremony. 

 

 

Tribe plans to sign deal assuming ownership of Indian City U.S.A.

Associated Press - February 22, 2008 8:15 AM ET

 ANADARKO, Okla. (AP) - Officials with the Kiowa Tribe are to sign a deal today to buy Indian City U.S.A. near Anadarko.
The 198-acre site includes an Indian village and replicas of the dwellings of the Apache, Caddo, Kiowa, Navajo, Pawnee, Pueblo and Wichita tribes. There is also a gift shop, museum, lodge, campground, amphitheater, radio towers and a game trail with buffalo and antelope.
Members of the Kiowa Business Committee have been negotiating with shareholders of Indian City U.S.A. and Modina Waters with the tribe says she's "99.9% sure" the deal will be made.
Terms of the sale haven't been released and Waters says a statement will be released once the deal is signed. 

 

 

BIA land trust report due today

By:JODY McNICHOL, Dispatch Staff Writer
02/22/2008

The final draft of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Environmental Impact Statement on the Oneida Indian Nation's land into trust is to be published today.
The statement will give residents an idea what they might expect from the BIA's final decision which will come out in 30 days. A group of local officials chosen by BIA is chartering a plane to Washington D.C. to hear the 10:30 announcement from Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason. Madison County will be represented by the County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Becker; Oneida Supervisor Jim Rafte, chair of the county Native American Affairs Committee; Lenox Supervisor Rocco DiVeronica, Russell Lura, Madison County Administrative Assistant, Paul Miller, Madison County assistant director of planning and co-chair of the NYS Committee on Indian Affairs (designed to render support through state agencies to the eight tribes located within the state) and County Attorney S. John Campanie.
Becker said he's "hopeful for a positive outcome," adding that he isn't "sure the bureaucrats in Washington understand what is going on in Madison County.
Jerry Reed, senior media relations spokesman for the Oneida Indian Nation, said the Nation had no comment Thursday.

 

 

Toddler Deaths Spur Canada's Indians to Crack Down on Alcohol

 By Alexandre Deslongchamps

Feb. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Children won't be victims of alcohol again, residents in Yellow Quill, Saskatchewan, are vowing. Two toddlers dressed only in diapers and T-shirts froze to death there last month, left in a snowdrift by their drunken father.
Some villagers say banning alcohol is the only way to curb abuse on Canadian Indian reservations like Yellow Quill First Nation, where 3-year-old Kaydance Pauchay and her 1-year-old sister, Santana, died as the temperature plunged to minus 50 degrees Celsius (minus 58 Fahrenheit).
The deaths highlight rising alcohol addiction among Canada's 1.17 million native people. While some Indian leaders say prohibition won't work because it's impossible to enforce and doesn't deal with the isolation and poverty underlying alcohol abuse, the Natuashish Innu tribe imposed a liquor ban Jan. 31.
``Here we go again, another tragedy as a result of alcohol,'' said Prote Poker, chief of the Innu reservation, across the country in Labrador. ``We've had a lot of tragedies in our community and we don't want to wait for that to happen again in order for us to stand up and ban alcohol.''
The Yellow Quill toddlers' father, Christopher, 25, had been drinking beer and whisky and was bringing the girls to his sister's place less than 400 meters (1,300 feet) from his home. He lost his way and passed out, emerging four hours later at a neighbor's home, frostbitten and alone, according to police. 

Former tribal treasurer pleads guilty to embezzlement

Associated Press - February 14, 2008 12:25 AM ET

 OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - The former treasurer of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma has pleaded guilty to embezzlement from the tribe, including revenue from its Lucky Star casinos.
Edward Dunn Whiteskunk may have to pay as much as $100,000 in restitution after entering the plea Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City.
Prosecutors say Whiteskunk took nearly $6,000 in tribal funds. Records show Whiteskunk admitted keeping $5,919 in July 2003 instead of using the money to fund a trip to Washington state on behalf of the tribes.
The 51-year-old faces up to five years in prison when he is sentenced in a few months. He was released on his own recognizance pending formal sentencing.
The Hammond resident is the ninth person associated with the tribes to face embezzlement charges as the result of an ongoing FBI investigation. 

 

 

Rep. Rehberg renews push for Little Shell recognition

By Tribune Staff

 U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., renewed his request Wednesday for the House Natural Resources Committee to hold a hearing on federal recognition for the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe.
"The Little Shell deserve federal recognition," said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "I know it. The state of Montana knows it.
"It seems the only ones that don't know it are the bureaucrats at the Interior Department," he added.
Last year, Rehberg introduced legislation to recognize the tribe, which has its headquarters in Great Falls. Federal recognition increases the availability of federal money for a tribe in the form of grants and programs.
"It's time we take a different route and move my bill through the legislative process," Rehberg said. "I'm hopeful the chairman and ranking member will agree the foot-dragging has gone on too long."
The Little Shell Tribe is made up of approximately 4,300 members, mostly in the Great Falls area. In 2000, the same year the tribe was recognized by the state of Montana, the Department of the Interior issued a positive finding for the tribe, making it eligible for recognition. 

 

 

Cherokee educational group lists scholarship opportunities

TAHLEQUAH — The Cherokee Nation Educational Corporation is helping to ease the financial burden of higher education costs through several scholarship opportunities available to Cherokee Nation citizens. The CNEC is a non-profit corporation with a mission to provide educational assistance to Cherokee tribal citizens. One of the goals of CNEC is to revitalize the language, culture and history of the Cherokee people.
Scholarship applicants must be citizens of the Cherokee Nation. All applications must be received by March 14.
There are seven scholarships available: 

 

 

Area colleges to host Native American film fest

By Megan Newell

The Ganondagan State Historic Site, Rochester-area colleges and the George Eastman House, along with other area contributors are sponsoring the first Rochester Native American Film Festival. The festival will take place over three months from Feb. 4 to April 8.
The first event in the festival took place at Nazareth College. The animated Disney film Pocahontas was shown, with Russell Means, the voice of Chief Powhatan in the movie, speaking afterwards. Means is a Native American activist known for his involvement in The American Indian Movement.
According to Dana Nichols, member of the English Department, more than 600 people attended the first event.
"There are student volunteers that are involved there will be a panel discussion after one of the events here at Fisher that will include teenagers," Nichols said. 

 

 

Lawyers for Narragansetts Ask Judge to Dismiss Charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A judge who will decide whether to dismiss charges against seven Narragansett Indians chastised a prosecutor Monday for the delay in turning over documents related to a 2003 raid of a tribal smoke shop.
Superior Court Judge Susan McGuirl repeatedly grilled prosecutor Pamela Chin about why the documents had not been provided earlier. Lawyers for the seven tribe members accused of resisting arrest or fighting with police during the raid want the charges dismissed because of the delay in receiving hundreds of pages of witness statements and other documents collected by the state police.
"You have a duty to do more than prosecute the case," McGuirl told Chin.
"You have a duty to do justice. And justice in this case or any case it doesn't matter is to provide the defendants with the information that they are entitled to."
Chin acknowledged the mistake but said she had not intentionally withheld anything and did not know some records existed until they were produced by the state police. McGuirl was scheduled to rule Tuesday on the defendants' request to dismiss the case, which she acknowledged was an extreme option. 

 

 

Special Report: Preserving native heritage

 Posted: Feb 11, 2008 07:59 PM CST

Some teachers in Billings are working to make sure that today's students know about the history of Montana's Indian tribes by including Indian Education for All in their classrooms. 
It's been more than 60 years since American Indians were included in public schools and now, all of Montana's students will learn some of the history of our first nations.               
"I think it's important that every child in Montana learns the rich cultural history of the people that've lived here for hundreds of thousands of years" said Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.
The program integrates Indian education throughout the curriculum and is incorporated throughout the standards for each grade. 

 

 

Family opens first Native American winery

02/10/2008 06:37 PM By: Stephanie Stilwell

LEXINGTON, N.C. -- North Carolina vineyards are getting another nod from wine lovers. That's because one of the state's fastest growing industries is now also the first in the country to have a Native American-owned winery.
When Darlene Gabbard started bottling wine, it was a hobby, something she gave away as gifts. Ten years later, her winery has become the first Native American-owned winery in the country.
“I didn't set out to hold that title, I am so proud that I do hold that title. I mean it's, I have had Native American people call me and say it's about time,”Gabbard, owner of Native Vines Winery said.
While she says that honor is more than words can express, it wasn't without her fair share of hesitations. “I was a little concerned with it because alcohol has had a bad connotation with Native Americans for such a long time,” Gabbard continued, “And I was afraid that it might look bad and that they might have a problem with it but they've embraced it.”

Judge faults state on evidence in smoke-shop case

 01:00 AM EST on Friday, February 8, 2008
By Katie Mulvaney
Journal Staff Writer

 PROVIDENCE — Superior Court Judge Susan E. McGuirl had stern words yesterday about the pace and thoroughness of the state’s efforts to turn over evidence in preparation for the trial of seven Narragansett Indians charged in the 2003 state police raid on a tribal smoke shop.
“We’ve spent an entire month on discovery that was supposed to be done without the court’s intervention,” McGuirl said.
Defense lawyers subpoenaed state police last month to produce all documents related to the raid after they said they grew suspicious about the absence of reports from high-ranking officers at the scene. In response to that subpoena and a court order that officers inspect their computer and paper files, the state has provided hundreds of pages of e-mails, several witness statements, a civilian complaint, and recorded comments of one of the defendants — some that came in after what would have been the start of the trial.
“There’s no assurance they have all the statements now,” McGuirl said.
McGuirl’s comments came as she heard arguments about whether a forensic investigator should be appointed to look into recovering files that might have been deleted from the state police computer system. 

 

 

Police on watch for native school settlement scams

Sherri Zickefoose, Calgary Herald
Published: Friday, February 08, 2008

Calgary police officers are receiving sensitivity training to help brace for inevitable scams targeting residential school survivors flush with federal settlement payments.
A police service DVD was revealed at a recent meeting of the Calgary police commission.
Aboriginals on Alberta reserves and throughout the country are preparing to guard against fraud, scams and increased drug trafficking they fear will accompany the lump-sum residential school payments of up to $38,000, which began being issued last fall. Calgary police have to be prepared to deal with it, police Chief Rick Hanson said.
"This will be going out to all members. There's no doubt we will be approached about this in the near future," said Hanson.
It's estimated that more than $50 million will flow into some Alberta reserves.
Residential school survivors have been targeted by salespeople -- such as out-of-province car dealers -- even before the cash has reached recipients' hands.
"There are going to be people whose offers will be too good to resist," said Piikani Nation Chief Reg Crow Shoe.
With the extra cash comes fears of an increase in the number of muggings, frauds and drug dealers targeting reserves. Rises in elder abuse and family discord are also a concern. 

Ely Shoshones hope to see cash settlement soon

Tribe looks to economic development of newly acquired lands

By JOHN PLESTINA
Ely Times Reporter

As the Ely Shoshone Tribe moves into the 21st Century, a long-awaited cash settlement for tribal members and the development of newly acquired land for housing and economic development are anticipated in the near future. The Ely tribe is part of the Western Shoshone Nation. It includes several Native American tribes that held traditional lands identified in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley. The U.S. Government recognizes several tribes including the Ely and Duckwater Shoshone tribes as part of the Western Shoshone Nation. Also recognized are the Te-Moak Tribe and its councils at Battle Mountain, Elko and Wells, the Yomba Western Shoshone Tribe and the Timbisha Tribe who live in the Death Valley region of California.
The Treaty of Ruby Valley was broken just as so many other treaties across North America have been. A dispute over lands the Shoshones lost has been ongoing since the Western Shoshones filed a claim with the federal Indian Claims Commission in 1951. In the 1970s, the ICC determined that the Shoshones had lost the land by gradual encroachment of white settlers following the Ruby Valley Treaty of 1863 which permitted non-Indian miners access to traditional tribal lands nullifying the treaty. In 1977, that federal entity identified a $26.2 million award to the Western Shoshones as future reimbursement for farm land, good and poor grazing land, mineral rights, royalties for minerals removed prior to 1872 and town sites. Congress appropriated that money into trust for the Shoshones. That money has been in trust and accumulating interest for more than 28 years. With interest, the current balance is between $140 and $150 million. An estimated 6,000 tribal members are eligible for the settlement. 

 

 

States Join R.I. In Tribal Land Appeal

 Wednesday, Feb 06, 2008 - 03:46 PM
By Associated Press

PROVIDENCE - Sixteen states are supporting Rhode Island in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court that seeks to block the Narragansett Indian Tribe from removing 31 acres of land from state control.
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled the tribe should be able to put the Charlestown parcel into federal trust, which means it would be largely governed by tribal and federal law.
But the states argue that the ruling makes it too easy for the federal government to remove tribal land from state control.
Narragansett Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas says the tribe wants to build elderly housing on the plot or use it for economic development. Rhode Island authorities say the tribe could seek to build a casino there if the land goes into trust. 

 

 

Tribe to dedicate new health clinic

MUSKOGEE -- Suzanne Crawford was busy showing homes this week, but the Realtor and Cherokee Nation citizen will make time for Thursday's dedication of the tribe's new health clinic for a good reason.
"I am a diabetic, and with diabetics, it gets dangerous pretty quick," she said. "The clinic has been there for me when I needed it."
Crawford is one of thousands of eligible patients the Cherokee Na tion hopes to keep treating in its new Three Rivers Health Center.
The dedication is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday. A reception and guided tours also are planned.
The 105,000-square-foot clinic on 11 acres will offer general medical, laboratory, X-ray, dental and optometry services.
The tribe entered a joint agreement with the federal Indian Health Service to build the clinic. The Cherokee Nation issued more than $17 million in bonds to subsidize the construction. 

Native community divided on mascots

Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic Feb. 1, 2008 11:06 PM

Lost in the enthusiasm of Super Bowl XLII is a story line without pompoms and foam fingers: Many local Native Americans are struggling to pass a metaphoric peace pipe to an organization that allows team imagery viewed as demeaning by many tribes.
"It is, simply, inconsistent with the human right of people," said Rebecca Tsosie, the executive director of the Indian Legal Program at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
Sunday's game is expected to attract protesters who question the NFL's tolerance for the mascots of the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Redskins. The D.C. franchise is the most controversial and the subject of a petition filed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to cancel the trademark. 

Former Cherokee chief Mankiller endorses Clinton for president

By Associated Press 2/4/2008  3:27 PM

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Former Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller has endorsed Hillary Rodham Clinton for president, Clinton's campaign said Monday.
Mankiller served as the Cherokee chief from December 1985 until retiring in 1995. At the time she assumed office, she was the first female chief of a major American Indian tribe. The Cherokees are based in Tahlequah.
The Clinton campaign has named Mankiller as a national campaign co-chair.
"This 2008 election is about choosing a leader who can articulate a clear and common vision for our collective future," Mankiller said in a statement. "I believe Senator Clinton is the best person to do that for a variety of reasons, including her early and consistent support for tribal governments."
Oklahoma will hold its presidential primary on Tuesday. Clinton, from New York, is competing with Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois for the Democratic nomination. A third candidate, former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, has suspended his campaign. 

 

 

Funding sought to preserve native languages

By Jennifer Toomer-Cook and Deborah Bulkeley
Deseret Morning News Published: February 4, 2008

Teaching American Indian languages in schools is a tool that educators say has been tested as a way of raising the achievement bar.
To that end, the State Board of Education is seeking $275,000 to preserve and revitalize Utah's indigenous languages to help narrow achievement gaps.
Utah's CRT state test results show a 45 percentage point difference between the performance of Navajo and Caucasian students on language arts, 48 percentage points on math and 57 percentage points on science, according to data state associate superintendent Brenda Hales presented to the Education Appropriations Committee Thursday.
The Education Board wants to include San Juan and Uintah School District's Ute Indian population in the proposed program. The Northern Band of Shoshone, Goshute and the Skull Valley tribe would be included in the future, under the proposal, which came out of the governor's fall Native American summit, Hales said. 

Last Alaska language speaker dies

A woman believed to be the last native speaker of the Eyak language in the north-western US state of Alaska has died at the age of 89.
Marie Smith Jones was a champion of indigenous rights and conservation. She died at her home in Anchorage.
She helped the University of Alaska compile an Eyak dictionary, so that future generations would have the chance to resurrect it.
Nearly 20 other native Alaskan languages are at risk of disappearing.
Ms Jones is described by her family as a tiny chain smoking woman who was fiercely independent, says the BBC's Peter Bowes in Los Angeles.
"To the best of our knowledge, she was the last full-blooded Eyak alive," her daughter Bernice Galloway told the Associated Press news agency.

Supreme Court rejects last-minute appeal in smoke shop case 

Last Edited: Thursday, 10 Jan 2008, 8:50 AM EST 
Created: Thursday, 10 Jan 2008, 8:50 AM EST

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Rhode Island's Supreme Court upholds its earlier ruling preventing Governor Carcieri from testifying at the upcoming trial of seven Narragansett Indians. In a one-sentence ruling yesterday, the state's top court refused to revisit a decision that said Carcieri's testimony would be irrelevant. Seven tribe members are charged with misdemeanor crimes ranging from disorderly conduct to assault after they fought with state police who raided a tribal smoke shop in 2003.
Their lawyers say police used too much force -- and they wanted Carcieri to testify about an order he said he gave to police telling them to withdraw if tribe members resisted.
The shop was not collecting state taxes, and a federal appeals court later decided it was operating illegally. 

 

 

Judge finds man illegally fished on tribal land

 Jeremy Pawloski The Olympian

 OLYMPIA — A judge rejected the arguments of a man who claimed that despite his non-Indian status, he could legally fish alone in the Nisqually Treaty Indian Fishery because he is married to a member of the Nisqually tribe.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy convicted Larry Patrick Guidry of 10 felonies connected to his 2005 arrest by state Fish and Wildlife officers. The arrest came after Guidry, 41, sold more than 4,200 pounds of chum salmon caught during three days in December 2005, earning $1,627.
Guidry's three-day bench trial before Pomeroy pitted Nisqually code, which allows a non-American Indian spouse of a Nisqually member to use tribal fisheries, against state law. Washington law states that "it is unlawful for a person who is not a treaty Indian fisherman to participate in the taking of fish or shellfish in a treaty Ind