Native Village
Youth and Education News
October 6, 2004, Issue 139 Volume 3
"There were [nearly 50 million] people here who had
found the continent tens of thousands of years before [Columbus.] I think he loses the right to be called the
discoverer."
Chuck Hunt, Lane Community College
US refuses to sign 110-nation
declaration to fight poverty, hunger
The US refused to sign a UN declaration to fight hunger and poverty. The
decision was based in part on a discussion to levy a global tax on financial transactions and arms sales. The
declaration, signed by 110 heads of state, followed the release of a UN study that found that over 1,000,000,000 people
in the world live on less than $1.00 per day. "How many more times will it be necessary to repeat that the most
destructive weapon of mass destruction in the world today is poverty?'' asked Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da
Silva. "We must harness globalization. We must turn it into a positive force for all peoples of the
world."
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm?action=show_item&itemid=1016
Conditions for children
called a "crime"
A survey by the National American Indian Housing Council shows that too
many Native children don't get enough sleep, don't finish their homework, suffer from frequent illnesses, and live in
overcrowded and substandard housing conditions. The NAIHC blames a lack of federal funding. Its a crime that the
government spends more money for health care for prisoners than it does for Native Americans, said NAIHC Executive
Director Gary Gordon, adding that the U.S. spends $3,803 a year per prison inmate as compared to $1,914 per tribal
member. The survey also states black mold causes such severe problems that some children wear respirators to bed at
night. Bureau of Indian Affairs head, Dave Anderson, supports survey results. "The observations by this
group are very accurate," he said. "As Indian people, we have been almost like a Third World developing
nation. It's unfortunate that America's first people probably experience the bottom rung of every social dysfunction
there is." The NAIHC offered several solutions to the problem:
*Ask for a White House committee
to examine the problem with input from National Institutes of Health;
*Introduce
legislation that addresses the lack of adequate housing;
*Procure block grants for
infrastructure funding in Indian Country.
Very few places in our nation have children hurting as much as on our Indian reservations, said NAIHC
Chairman Chester Carl. It is up to the federal government to uphold the trust responsibility-an obligation it has
made to tribes through treaties and laws-and make good on promises ratified centuries ago. We, as Native people, will
also continue to work together to make a better life for our children.
http://nativetimes.com/
O'odham
students to get veggie, fruit snacks
Arizona: The O'odham nation and the Gila River Indian Community are
included in a $9,000,000 federal program to give children fruits and vegetables as healthy alternatives to junk food
snacks. The program hopes to help control the soaring rates of childhood obesity, diabetes and other health
problems. "It's a great introduction to improving their eating habits," said Frank Rogers,
principal at San Simon School. "The mere chance that it might have a long-lasting impact is worth the
program." The O'odham face an extremely high diabetes rate, with as many as 85% of the nation's members
either diagnosed with the disease or living with it unknowingly. American Indians, and particularly the Tohono
O'odham, are susceptible to diabetes. Many believe it's because native cultures farmed the land and their bodies stored
food to get them through drought and famine, leading to a slower metabolism. That slow metabolism now works against
them.
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Tribal police chief
promises crackdown on juvenile drinking
MONTANA -- Following a September incident that sent three Flathead tribal
youth to the hospital, Tribal Police Chief Craige Couture is "cracking down" on underage drinking.
Underage drinking has become a deadly problem on the Flathead Reservation. During last winter and spring, four
reservation youngsters, some as young as 11 years old, literally drank themselves to death. And those numbers
don't include people in alcohol-related traffic deaths. "We're not going to wait for things to happen,"
the new chief said. "We will be out in force getting the job done, with more education, more active patrols, and
more arrests. We'll go undercover, just like in drug cases, for the buying end of it." He commented
that the Tribal Council has been "more than supportive" in efforts to combat juvenile drinking.
http://leaderadvertiser.com/articles/2004/09/15/news/news03.txt
Indian Center To Try To
Track AIDS Cases, Offer Info And Help
For years, Utah's health agencies have struggled to collect accurate data
about the HIV and AIDS rates among the state's American Indians. Only 10 of 30,000 American Indians have reported having
HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, out of 721 total cases in Utah. 26 American Indians or Alaska Natives reported
having AIDS out of the state's 2,188 total cases. Dena Ned, director of Salt Lake's Indian Walk-in Center, says that's
not because American Indians areimmune or less likely to contract the disease. She suspects the number is underreported
or individuals may not be receiving information and services they need to save their lives. Ned hopes that's about to
change. With a $330,000 grant, the Walk-in Center and the Harm Reduction Project will begin a two-year project searching
out data reflecting the extent of HIV and AIDS among Utah's Indians. The Walk-In Center will provide free HIV testing
for all tribal members who come to the city seeking services.
Salt Lake City Tribune
Maine and
One of Its Tribes Look to Buy Canadian Drugs
Maine: Maine wants to import lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada and
designate the Penobscot Indian Nation as the wholesale distributor to generate income and jobs for the tribe. The
Penobscots would keep the drugs in a warehouse and sell them to pharmacies in Maine, which would then sell them to
consumers at lower prices. "Our citizens continue to pay more expensive prices for prescription drugs here than
what our neighbors to the North pay," Governor John Baldacci said. "This is simply wrong." The
governor gave the Penobscots a $400,000 check to build a warehouse and set up a distribution program. But the governor
stopped short of saying the state would import drugs without federal permission. Federal officials have refused to
authorize such programs, saying there is no way to guarantee the safety of imported drugs. But several states,
including Illinois, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Wisconsin have set up Web sites linking state citizens
with Canadian pharmacies so consumers can buy cheaper drugs. A few cities, including Springfield, Mass.; Montgomery,
Ala.; and Burlington, Vt., have started programs that import Canadian drugs directly.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/01/national/01maine.html?th=&oref=login&pagewanted=print&position=
Hawaiian Homes Gets $9
Million Federal Grant
Hawaii:: The Department of Hawaiian Homelands has received a
$9,400,000 in federal grant for affordable housing opportunities for low-income Native Hawaiians. Most money will
be used for housing and infrastructure and for new and renovated homes. The grant is the third Native Hawaiian
Housing Block Grant since the program started in 2002. Funding amounts were $10,000,000 in 2002 and $9,600,000 in 2003.
Associated Press
Investigators say men
bilked Indian tribes out of millions
Washington: Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell says lobbyist Jack Abramoff and
public relations executive Michael Scanlon have bilked Indian tribes of $66,000,000 over
the last three years. The two even engineered tribal elections to get contracts, and insisted tribes donate thousands of
dollars to their political and charitable projects. Meanwhile, both men exchanged e-mails calling their clients
"monkeys" and worse. "It is a story of two already powerful, wealthy men lining their own pockets with
the hard-earned money of people whom they held in contempt and disregard," Campbell said during an investigative
hearing of the Indian Affairs committee "The allegation that most concerns me is that Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon
may have tried to manipulate the outcomes of tribal elections for their own personal profit." The hearing focused
on payments made by two tribes -- the Saginaw Chippewa of Michigan and Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians of
California. Bernie Sprague, Chippewa, said Scanlon once had his tribe spend $4,000,000 for
a Michigan voter database; he later learned the same service was available for $75,000.
"And this type of spending was repeated over and over again, costing our tribe over $14,000,000."
The pair are also suspected of exploiting the Tigua tribe in El Paso in 2001 and '02. Abramoff appeared at the
investigative hearing with his attorney but repeatedly pled the Fifth Amendment. Scanlon evaded U.S. marshals trying to
serve him with a subpoena.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/politics/9794177.htm
WAL-MART CONSTRUCTION
SUSPENDED AT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
Mexico: Mexican authorities have suspended the construction of a Wal-Mart
supermarket near the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, about 45 km north of Mexico City. Mexico's state
governor, Arturo Montiel, ordered them to look for a new lot for Wal-Mart. Many civil groups, including the Civic
Front for the Defense of the Teotihuacan Valley, protested against the construction, claiming it would damage artifacts
and pre-Hispanic ruins on the property. The new chain of Wal-Mart was built just one km from the Pyramid of the Sun that
has defined the skyline for 2,000 years.
KolaNews
Columbia: Indigenous March
Ends
South America: Sixty-thousand of Columbia's indigenous people marched
together in a three-day protest against government policies and violence inflicted upon their communities. Columbia is
home to 80 indigenous groups containing 700,000 people speaking 64 languages and 300 dialects. Because of their
diversity and isolation, Columbia's Indians have not matched the political force of their counterparts in Bolivia and
Ecuador. This march is, however, is a sign that the indigenous communities are starting to make their voices
heard.
Intelligence Research Ltd
Both Sides Coveting The
Indian Electorate
Washington - Peter Pino, governor of Zia Pueblo, has never seen
presidential candidates court the American Indian vote like this year. It feels good, because people are starting to
fight over our vote, and we feel like we can make a difference," Pino said. Although American Indians
make up only 1.5% of the population, their large numbers in some Western and Midwestern states have drawn candidates'
attention. "Our numbers are small, but we tend to vote as a bloc," and usually for Democrats, said
LaDonna Harris, a Comanche who ran as the vice presidential nominee of the short-lived Citizens Party in
1980. Michael Thomas, chairman Mashantucket Pequot, said Bush could do "fairly well" this year, but
it's difficult to forecast with more than 500 federally recognized tribes. In 2000, a nationwide analysis was
taken in 17 counties where American Indians make up more than 50% of the population. The results showed Al Gore carried
12 counties and President Bush carried 5.
Albuquerque Tribune
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