Native Village News

Native Village

Youth and Education News

December 10, 2003 Issue 124, Volume 1

“There are lots of people who are poor and forgotten. We need to remember the elders and what they’ve done for us. We want them to know that we appreciate them.” Thomas Mentzer, Hopi High teacher.

Warriors of the sacred places challenge scientists
American Indians recently attended the Summit on Consultation Protocols to Protect Native American Sacred Places. United in a new spiritual bond, they gathered to carry on for the ancestors by protecting burial sites and sacred places. "They all have power, they all have spirits," said Carey N. Vicent, speaking of the sacred areas. Vicenti urged indigenous to think of themselves as tribalists, emerging on a global scale. Among the comments:
"What is sacred to Native people today was sacred before the white man came to this land. " Carey N. Vicent, Jicarilla Apache.
"Let us know where your ancestors are buried. We all have the right to rest in peace." Jimmy Arterberry, Commanche Nation.
"We literally are still prisoners of war to the scientific professions ... they never give up. What part of ‘no’ do you people not understand? We are not scientific property." Jimmy Arterberry, Commanche Nation.
"We are still fighting to bring back our relatives. It is the insensitivity of federal agencies that makes us cry." Tim Mentz, Standing Rock Sioux.
"They are not rock art; they are made by the spirits. They are made by people who have been given a gift." Tim Mentz, Standing Rock Sioux.
"There is a price to pay, a payment that has to happen, to protect sacred places." Tim Mentz, Standing Rock Sioux.
"What works for us is who we are. It is empowering. We know our blood, we know our heritage." Carol J. Jorgensen, Tlingit.
http://www.indiancountry.com/?1069771960

Court Recognizes Clergy Privilege for Native American Medicine Man
In Denver, federal judge Marcia Krieger ruled that a Native American medicine man is a spiritual leader and has the same clergy privilege as leaders in other religious faiths. However, that won't make a difference in the case involving murder suspect Carlos Herrera. Kriegee said Herrera's confidences shared with medicine man Robert Cervantes, 37, were not in pursuit of spiritual guidance and so were not protected. Herrera has been accused of the February 2001 beating death of Brenda Chavez.
Associated Press State & Local Wire

Lakota Warrior died serving 2 nations
Pfc. Sheldon Hawk Eagle, a paratrooper with the 101st Airborne Division, died in Iraq when two Army helicopters crashed. His homecoming to Eagle Butte and the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation was the occasion for an extraordinary display of a community's sense of loss and a traditional sense of honor. They began with a procession, led by a riderless horse, that took his coffin to Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School. For the next 18 hours -- including an overnight vigil -- hundreds of tribal members listened to Christian and Lakota prayers, honor songs by tribal drum groups, and words from dignitaries and tribal officials. There were giveaways, feasts and, at sunrise, a two-hour funeral followed by a three-hour procession carrying Hawk Eagle's body to the Black Hills for burial in the national cemetery.   "We come from a warrior people," said Carol Little Wound, vice president of Si Tanka College. "As Lakota people, it is an honor to be a warrior and protect one's homeland, one's freedom, one's family. We are deeply sorry that Sheldon has come home to us in a casket. But that does not dismiss the pride we feel in him."
Indigenous News

Reservation Adopts Horses
Leaders of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation hope six new horses will help strengthen American Indian culture and values. The horses were given to the tribe by the Thoroughbred Foundation in Lexington, Ky. "...to get these horses you have to be 100 percent responsible until they die," said Ron Brown Otter, a representative of Sitting Bull College. "You can't sell them, you can't breed them. You have to care for them, and you have to do all the good things for them." Otter, joined by Bob Gipp, traveled to Kentucky to bring the horses home to live at the Brown Otter Ranch and Gipp Ranch.   "We told them we want children's horses and ones that kids can ride, and that's what they had waiting for us," Otter said. There were plenty of loving hands waiting for the horses when they arrived at the reservation. On the first weekend, several children appeared at the Brown Otter Ranch to meet them. "They had a good time," Brown Otter said. "The horses were comfortable, and they didn't hurt the kids."
http://www.imdiversity.com/Article_Detail.asp?Article_ID=20979

Minnesota's Indian Bands Bringing Back Banishment
The ultimate form of punishment among American Indians is banishment. As Indians see it, to be banished means you no longer exist. The Grand Portage Band of Ojibway is just the latest band to return to the practice after residents concerned about gang activity approached the tribal council. "When people cross that line and the community says we've had enough, it's a process we can use to deal with it," said Norman Deschampe, Grand Portage chairman. Lummi Chairman Darrell Hillaire agrees. "It has a great deal of weight. Just by being Native American and not being able to come home, it hurts not being able to see family or friends." Banishment also applies to non-Indians who misbehave on tribal land.
H-Amindian Listserve

Many want Aboriginal Treaties Tossed
A Canadian report says 63% of Saskatchewan's people want to do away with aboriginal treaty rights and treat aboriginal peoples the same as other Canadians. Saskatchewan's strong opposition may be because it--and Manitoba--have the highest percentage of aboriginal populations among Canada's 10 provinces. However, on a national basis, 53% of Canadians believe it would be better to settle outstanding land claims and give aboriginal peoples needed powers to govern their own communities.
The Leader Post

Pueblo upset with picture on potato chip bag
The picture on the bag of Frito Lay’s new Santa Fe Ranch potato chips has upset Taos Pueblo tribal leaders. A picture of the pueblo’s North House is displayed on the bag. Frito Lay says it plans to contact tribal leaders to try to resolve the problem.
http://www.kobtv.com/index.cfm?viewer=storyviewer&id=6539&cat=NMTOPSTORIES

Surprise! You're our tribal chief
A 59-year-old retired builder from Yorkshire, northern England, was shocked to discover he is a tribal chief. Mick Henry, the son of an English mother and a Canadian soldier, was recently tracked down by his long-lost relatives from the Ojibway tribe in Manitoba. From them, he learned he was a tribal chief with a claim to thousands of acres of land in Canada. "I never thought something like this could happen to anyone, certainly not someone like me," Henry said. Henry's father was an Ojibway who returned to Canada soon after his son was born. He never maintained contact and died in 1998.
http://onenews.nzoom.com/onenews_detail/0,1227,239515-1-9,00.html

Native Americans Make Annual Tax Offering to Governor
In an annual tax-offering ceremony dating back to 1677. the chiefs of two Native American tribes gave deer carcasses to Gov. Mark R. Warner. Chief Carl "Lone Eagle" Custalow, Mattaponi, and Chief William P. "Swift Water" Miles, Pamunkey, offered Warner their tributes at the Executive Mansion. Warner then declared Nov. 26 the Day of the American Indians.
http://www.imdiversity.com/Article_Detail.asp?Article_ID=20959

NAACP To Support Tribes' Drive For Federal Recognition
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored people has pledged to support American Indian tribes seeking federal recognition. Speaking about the Paugussetts 10 year quest for federal recognition, James Griffin, president of Connecticut's NAACP said: “We want to make certain that those forces are not the only ones being heard. We will continue to support federal recognition for Native American Tribes in general, and the Golden Hill Paugussetts' federal recognition in particular, and will vigorously oppose, through legislation, public rallies and court action, any and all attempts to discriminate against Native Americans in the federal recognition process.”
http://www.theday.com/eng/web/newstand/re.aspx?reIDx=4A1315DC-D418-4892-B0A5-E4B1829DEF29

Harvard's Kennedy School Honors American Indian Tribal Governments
Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government awarded eight American Indian tribal government programs $10,000 each in recognition of their outstanding achievements. Harvard's Honoring Nations program celebrates solutions to many of the concerns that matter most to Indian people. This years issues centered on health care, homeownership, justice, affordable communication services, protection of tribal lands, prevention of domestic violence and abuse, preservation of languages, reduction of injuries, and expansion of tribal economy beyond gambling. 16 programs were honored, and 8 received "high honors." The programs are:

Assuring Self Determination through an Effective Law Enforcement Program Awarded Honors Gila River Police Department Gila River Indian Community	Cherokee National Youth Choir Awarded Honors Cherokee Nation
Choctaw Community Injury Prevention Program Awarded Honors Choctaw Health Center Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians	Chuka Chukmasi Home Loan Program Awarded High Honors Division of Housing Chickasaw Nation
Cultural Resources Protection Program Awarded Honors Natural Resources Department Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation	Family Violence & Victim’s Services Awarded High Honors Department of Family and Community Services Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
Gila River Telecommunications, Inc. Awarded Honors Gila River Indian Community	Honoring our Ancestors: Chippewa Flowage Joint Agency Management Plan Awarded High Honors Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Kake Circle Peacemaking Awarded High Honors Realty Trust Office/Tribal Court Organized Village of Kake	Menominee Community Center of Chicago Awarded High Honors Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
Na’Nizhoozhi Center, Inc. Awarded Honors Navajo Nation in collaboration with Zuni Pueblo, City of Gallup, McKinley County, Indian Health Services, and the State of New Mexico	Navajo Nation Corrections Project Awarded High Honors Department of Behavioral Services The Navajo Nation
Northwest Intertribal Court System Awarded Honors Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation	Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board Awarded Honors The 43 Federally Recognized Tribes of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho
Quil Ceda Village Awarded High Honors The Tulalip Tribes	Trust Resource Management Awarded High Honors Office of Support Services Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/hpaied/nev_main.htm

Israel's first Eskimo soldier
Eighteen-year-old Eva Ben Sira is training to become a squad commander in the Negev desert - a far cry from the frozen vastness of her homeland. Eva was born to a Yupik Eskimo mother and a Cherokee American father before being adopted by an Israeli couple. Her twin brother, Jimmy, will become the army's second serving Eskimowhen he joins the force next year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3288515.stm

Puerto Rico balks at sending more reservists to Iraq without say in war
Nearly 1,000 more military reservists from Puerto Rico will report for active duty before being deployed to Iraq. Many Puerto Ricans are urging Gov. Sila M. Calderon to refuse further call-ups of the island's reservists, who are U.S. citizens but have no voice in setting war policy. According to a tally kept by local media, 13 Puerto Ricans - including island natives living on the mainland -- are among the 441 American service members the Pentagon says have died in Iraq. Puerto Rico has a long tradition of military service, complicated by its unique political relationship with the United States. Island soldiers fight for a commander-in-chief they do not elect, authorized by a Congress in which they have no vote.
The Orlando Sentinel

Volume 2

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