Native Village
Youth and Education News
October 19, 2005 Issue 159 Volume 4
"To [Europeans] we were only human when it came to territory, land cessions and whose side you were on." Susan Harjo, Cheyenne-Muscogee
Tradition and respect
California: For most Indian tribes, giving tobacco leaves to an elder is
considered a sign of honor. But there’s a big difference between tobacco leaves and the additive-filled cigarettes
they’re made into, says Lou Moerner. ”It would not be honorable to offer you a Marlboro,” she said. Moerner,
a tobacco program specialist with the Northern California Indian Development Culture, teaches people about tobacco,
including the difference between traditional tobacco plants and processed cigarettes. She encourages children to
ask tribal elders what their traditions are and how tobacco can help with healing. And she also teaches that
processed tobacco is dangerous. ”I cannot imagine a world without tobacco education because I see the lights go on in
little children who did not know the things that I teach them,” she said. Moerner added that mall children, who’ve
been taught that the chemicals kept under the sink are poisonous, are fascinated to learn that such things go into
cigarettes. Adults tell her that their children or grandchildren came back from tobacco education and urge them to
quit smoking. She also says many teenage boys are horrified to learn that smoking makes them less attractive to
some girls their age. And she mentions the cultural insults, such as inappropriate pictures of American Indians used in
marketing cigarettes -- such as one that shows an Indian wearing war feathers while holding a peace pipe. ”It’s
offensive on so many levels,” she said.
Eurek Times Standard
A Rare and Unusual Harvest
Texas: In the mid-1970s, 27 people were licensed to distribute peyote, a
small, round plant that grows wild only in fourTexas counties and the northern Mexico desert. Now, only 4 peyoteros
remain to supply the plant to the Native American church, which uses it as the main sacrament in their religious
ceremonies. Some ranch owners have stopped leasing land to peyoteros; others have plowed under peyote, and still
others have never opened their land. Conservationists are concerned about over-harvesting immature plants as the Native
American population and demand for the cactus grow. "Will there be peyote for my children and my children's
children?" asked Adam Nez, 35. Efforts are being made to legalize the importation of peyote from Mexico and
creating legal cultivation centers in the United States. Peyote, also know as Lophophora williamsii cactus, is
classified as a narcotic and outlawed by federal and state governments.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/17/AR2005091701219.html
New Mexico tribe seeks
halt to ski area expansion
New Mexico: Tesque Pueblo has filed a lawsuit to halt the expansion of a
ski area outside of Santa Fe. The tribe says the construction of a triple chairlift will expose shrines and sacred
sites where tribal members conduct ceremonies. Ski Santa Fe plans to complete the chairlift by Thanksgiving.
http://www.krqe.com/expanded.asp?ID=12408
Penobscot Nation chief
named to national post
Maine: Penobscot Indian Nation Chief Jim Sappier has been elected as
chairman of the National Tribal Environmental Council. Sappier will lobby for nationwide protection of tribal
lands and tribal health. Sappier’s other major goal is improving communication among tribes and between native,
state and federal government leaders. “When you talk about the environment, it means people,” Sappier
said. “Whatever tribes’ members are dying of, so are their neighbors.” Sappier was among the leaders
from seven tribes who created the council in 1991 to help preserve and protect Native American homelands. Today, the
council includes 182 tribes.
Bangor Publishing Company
No
Arctic oil drilling? How about selling parks?
Washington DC: Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) has outlined a plan for
the House budget bill to sell off 15 national parks for energy and commercial development. And there's more: the bill
would require the Park Service to sell commercial advertising on all buses, shuttles, vans, trams, and ferries
operated within the National Park System. This bill also requires the Park Service to solicit and sell commercial
sponsorship for all park visitor centers, education centers, information centers, museums, trails, auditoriums,
amphitheaters, and theaters. "These proposals for the national park system are unconscionable," said Craig
Obey, vice president of the National Parks Conservation Association. "It's hard to believe anyone could even
contemplate drafting something this extreme." However, Pombo's spokesman said the proposal was intended to be a
conversation starter to encourage Congress to vote for drilling in the Alaskan refuge. "Ultimately it's not serious
in any way as proposed legislation, but it's very serious with regard to what the committee's real alternatives
are," said Brian Kennedy. "The chairman is actively working to make sure that it's ANWR -- and (the Arctic
refuge) alone."
Among the National Park Service sites suggested for sale:
Eugene O'Neill National Historical Site,
Washington
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument,
Texas
Fort Bowie National Historical Site,
Arizona
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historical
Site, Massachusetts
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House,
District of Columbia
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site,
South Dakota
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial,
Pennsylvania
Thomas Stone National Historical Site,
Maryland
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve,
Alaska
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve,
Alaska
Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Alaska
Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve,
Alaska
Noatak National Preserve, Alaska
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Alaska
To sign a petition urging your Representative to oppose Rep. Pombo's National Park give-away, go to: http://go.care2.com/e/Ggz/BN/Blol
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/09/24/MNG2HETE8D1.DTL
Three Alaska Volcanoes
Show Signs of Unrest
Alaska: Three Alaskan volcanoes are setting off frequent tremors and minor
bursts of ash or steam. Cleveland Volcano fills the western half of uninhabited Chuginadak Island. . It
recently had a small eruption, and its ash plume rose to nearly 15,000 feet above sea level. A visible cloud of
steam recently rose from the 11,070-foot Mount Spurr. The other volcano showing unrest is 5,925-foot Tanaga Volcano. The
Alaska Volcano Observatory, which monitors Alaska's more than 40 active volcanoes, made the reports.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051012010709990007
Butch, the cougar, Washington State University mascot
Leon
Burtnett: a legend in his own right
Washington: Leon Burtnett, 62, is a man who neither talks, dresses nor
acts his age, an advantage he attributes to his profession (“coaching young people keeps me young”) and his native
American heritage. He’s one-quarter Creek Indian with signs of longevity -- his mother is 84. Burtnett has
coached in over 425 football games. For 41 seasons, from his first high school job in Kansas to assistant linebacker
coach at Washington State University, Burtnett has lived a life visited by challenges and victories,
disappointments and defeats. His most memorable game? He was head coach at Purdue when the Boilermakers knocked
off Notre Dame in the inaugural game in the Indianapolis RCA Dome. With future NFL standout Jim Everett at quarterback,
Burtnett’s Boilermakers beat the Irish and whipped Ohio State and Michigan on the way to the ‘84 Peach Bowl
http://washingtonstate.scout.com/2/448259.html
Contract to track fake
Native arts
Virginia: A consulting firm in Virginia has been hired by the Indian
Arts and Crafts Board to track counterfeit Native goods. Potomac Management Group Inc. has experience in the homeland
security arena. The firm will help the board upgrade its computer system to track people who might be selling fake arts
and crafts. The Indian Arts and Crafts makes it illegal to sell or market goods as Native-owned without proof of Native
workmanship. The law has been difficult to enforce, Native artists say.
Indianz.com
So
you want to be a star?
Kansas: Mark Reed, a Mohawk/Apache star of stage and screen, is coming to
Haskell Indian Nations University for an acting workshop. “Because it is being conducted by CBS, the one-day
seminar gives an intimate perspective on the casting process of network TV shows and mini series," Reed said.
"This CBS workshop is focused on us because American Indians are the ‘Invisible Americans’ on television.”
Reed said the event takes place at Haskell because of the deep pool of talent in the college’s theatre
department. “I made the request for the Haskell University workshop about a year ago," he said. “I want
to bring the network to us. Open communication between Indian Country and television executives can make a great
difference for our performers. If we can create a network of talent resources for the networks, we can change our image
in American media. At a recent press conference, I said we are the ‘Invisible American – the American Indian.’ We
no longer choose to be invisible, so I am trying to establish working relationships with the networks that want to help
us in resolving our ‘invisibility.' " The workshop is Oct. 22.
http://nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=7102
Voices on Canvas
Texas: Michael Kabotie, a member of the Hopi Tribe of Arizona, is Texas
Tech University's Artist-in-Residency. Kabotie, an internationally recognized Hopi artist, said he does much more
than Hopi art. His Native American heritage is the root of his creativity. "I've gone beyond the label
Hopi," he said. "It's things that all human beings recognize." To further his artistry and
honor his heritage, Kabote is working on the Hopi Mural Project. The Museum of Northern Arizona, the Peabody
Museum of Harvard University and the Hopi tribe have combined efforts to create a mural telling a story of the Hopi
tribe. Kabotie said pre-European Kiva murals, which were located in the underground religious chambers of
the Hopi people, inspired the painting. The mural has modern elements, but it is mostly about the Hopi tribe's early
traditions.
http://www.dailytoreador.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/05/434341f368537
Institute of American
Indian Arts Museum International Indigenous Biennial
New Mexico: In 2006, the Museum of the Institute of American Indian Arts
will host "A Gathering of Power: Contemporary Works from the Indigenous World." The works will be selected
from candidates recommended by artists and curators. The artwork chosen for display will be based on technical
achievement and sense of alternate world views or spiritual systems. Works will include a variety of media, including
paintings, sculpture, mixed media, installations, video art, and performances. An additional component of
the exhibition will be a series of lectures, workshops, and panel discussions by Indigenous artists. Located in Sante
Fe, the Institute of American Indian Arts is a tribal college and 1994 Land Grant Institution. The IAIA is the only
multi-tribal center of higher education in the U.S. solely dedicated to the preservation, study, creation and expression
of American Indian and Alaska Native arts and cultures.
g.bronitsky@att.net
Volume 3
Native
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