Native Village News

Native Village

Youth and Education News

July 1, 2006 Issue 169 Volume 4

"The Canada-U.S. border is not the creation of the First Peoples of this land. Historically, our people moved freely throughout our territory and across what is now the border. We recognize that border security is a key concern for all North Americans, and [we must] address those concerns while ensuring that the rights of First Nations on both sides of the border are respected and protected." Phil Fontaine, Assembly of First Nations National Chief

Earth's Temperature Is Hottest in Centuries
Washington: The Earth is hotter than its been in at least 400 years and perhaps, scientists say, at its hottest point in "the last several millennia." A panel of top climate scientists say the Earth is running a fever and that "human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming." Their 155-page report said average global surface temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere rose about 1 degree during the 20th century. The report was requested by the chairman of the House Science Committee, Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., to address those questioning the threat of global warming. The Bush administration maintains that the threat is not severe enough to warrant new pollution controls that would cost 5,000,000 Americans their jobs.
Global Warming Interactive Map: www.climatehotmap.org/
Graphic: www.esf.eduhttp://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20060622031609990007&_ccc=3&cid=842

Hall of Fame
Five cities whose green leadership sets the bar for sustainability:

CHICAGO: Population 2,862,244 Green-roofs program is second to none (Some 150 types of plants grow in the rain garden atop Chicago's City Hall;) A bike-commuter station downtown; More than 2.500,000 square feet of cooling and insulating cover; 7,300 acres of parkland includes 49 specially protected natural habitats; Charges higher vehicle-registration fees for SUVs; Requires all new city-owned buildings to meet green-design and energy-efficiency standards.	NEW YORK CITY: Population 8,104,079 Parks make up 18% of New York City; High-density, mixed-use development and primo public transit use far less energy than the U.S. average (66% of New Yorkers get to work without a car); One of the largest hybrid-bus fleets in the country; Hybrid taxis.
PORTLAND, OREGON: Population 533,492 Protects surrounding farms and open space --new developments fit onto half the usual land area; Creates less greenhouse gases than it did 15 years ago, saving $2,000,000 per year on energy bills; Attracts new business with its efficiency expertise; Its green-building standards are the toughest in the nation.	SAN FRANCISCO: Population 744,230 The first U.S. city to host a United Nations World Environment Day; Purchasing policies include phasing out toxic products and those from sweatshops; $100,000,000 invested in solar power; Studying renewable energy from ocean waves off its shores; Acclaimed recycling program sends compost made of food scraps to the region's vineyards and farms.
SEATTLE: Population 571,480 Mayor Greg Nickels launched the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement to reduce global-warming pollution nationwide; Mandatory recycling; Refitting the city's heavy-duty diesel vehicles with devices to cut particulate pollution by 50%; Reduced paper use by 30%; Creating "urban villages" that cluster offices, stores, and homes in walkable communities; Renewable energy and efficiency programs have offset its contributions to global warming -- city-owned utilities have reduce their net greenhouse-gas emissions to zero.

http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/200607/halloffame.asp

Oak Openings a key force in greenhouse gas battle
Ohio: A U.S.-China science project led by University of Toledo researcher Jiquan Chen shows that trees in Ohio's Oak Openings region are 75% more efficient than most trees at removing greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere.   Trees vary in their carbon-absorption capacity, based on species, soil, latitude, age, and other factors. Those in the Oak Openings are probably more efficient than average because of the region's unique soil, as well as their relatively young and robust age. Many are white pines planted during the Depression. Despite their efficiency, Oak Openings is a tiny blip on the Earth's screen of trees. The globally rare, 22-mile-wide swath of oak savannah and prairie grasses --which once covered four counties in Ohio and Michigan -- now faces the pressures of urban sprawl. In the meantime, a plan by Toledo Metroparks to burn out 1% of the forest to restore the forest floor for wild lupine and other natural growth, is being reconsidered. Oak Openings has been named "One of the 200 Last Great Places on Earth" by The Nature Conservancy.
http://www.toledoblade.com

Rare American Chestnut Trees Discovered
Georgia: A stand of American chestnut trees has been discovered along a hiking trail near Warm Springs, Georgia. Scientists are puzzled why these trees survived a blight that killed off nearly all chestnut trees in the early 1900s. "There's something about this place that has allowed them to endure the blight," said biologist Nathan Klaus. "It's either that these trees are able to resist the blight, which is unlikely, or Pine Mountain has something unique that is giving these trees resistance." The largest of the six (approx.) trees is about 40 feet tall and 20 to 30 years old and is capable of flowering and producing nuts. The chestnut foundation may use pollen from the tree to breed a chestnut population of blight-resistant trees. American chestnuts once made up about 25% of the forests in the eastern United States. An estimated 4,000,000,000 trees ranged from Maine to Mississippi and Florida.
AOL News

Native Voice One Set to Launch
New Mexico: Public radio gets a new radio network when Native Voice One (NV1) begins broadcasting on July 1. Comprised of Native American radio stations located across the United States, NV1 will offer 24x7 programming stream and reach listeners across the world via its on-line program service, NV1.org. NV1 replaces AIROS (American Indian Radio on Satellite) as the primary distributor of daily, weekly and special Native programming created by independent producers, stations, and KBC.
NV1: www.nv1.org
Koahnic Broadcast Corporation

Indian athletes given the chance to compete
Colorado: From July 2-8, the North American Indigenous Games will take place in Denver. Nearly 7,100 Canadian and U.S. athletes will compete before 50,000 spectators in 16 sporting events which include softball, boxing, swimming, running, archery and lacrosse. Almost half of the 1,161 tribes in Canada and America will be represented. "The ... purpose and the vision for the North American Indigenous Games was to give the youth ... the opportunity to compete in mainstream sports," said Harold Joseph, NAIG national council president. Joseph added that many talented Native athletes get overlooked in schools and miss their chances to compete. "How do you combat that?"You create your own games for your kids," Joseph said. The indigenous games focus on 13- to 18-year-old athletes. Adults - anyone 19 and older - will also be competing as a single group in respective competitions. Team Saskatchewan is the largest team with 690 athletes, 190 of them adult competitors. Team Nunavut, Canada's smallest team, will arrive with 12 athletes. The largest U.S. team hails from New Mexico, with 391 athletes. Team Montana will arrive with 14 members.
Comments:
"To me, I don't even race other people. I just go out and see if I can push myself hard and take my body somewhere it hasn't been. If I come out the winner, I come out the winner." Russell Dixon, 18, Fort Berthold, track and field.
"I ceremonial hunt with my dad to get meat for the freezer and give some meat to other relatives and elders." Josh Moody, Warm Springs, Ore, rifle competition.
"It's a prestigious event. I feel pretty good. I gained a little weight for football, but the speed's still there." Tuff Harris, 23, Crow and Northern Cheyenne, track and field.
"It's where kids, cultures and families all come together and culminate the spirit of the games, which is competition and camaraderie." Ken Hall, President of Team North Dakota.
"It's so competitive, we couldn't take some of our best golfers." Jarret Baker, Fort Berthold Reservation's Boys and Girls Club.
APTN National News offers daily highlights including reports: www.aptn.ca/news
On the web: www.naig2006.com
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2006/06/11/jodirave/rave20.txt

Native-youth films in SIFF spotlight
Washington: Recently 35 students ages 13-18, gathered on the Swinomish reservation for "fly filmmaking." Four student groups were given cameras and a script written by Sherman Alexie, then asked to produce a short film in less than two days. The four movies aired at the Seattle International Film Festival's FutureWave youth series. The FutureWave series showcases original live action, animated and documentary films up to 20 minutes long, all made by youths 18 and und under. "The fact that they picked [the Swinomish] to host the first fly filmmaking project for youth is important, because it's showing they trust the work we're doing as being at the forefront of the youth-media wave," said Ann Silverstein from Longhouse Media.   Rez Life, directed by Nick Clark, Martin Edwards, David Aleck, won the Special Jury Prize.
Watch the Movies made by Native Youth: http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=6040606
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgibin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=flyfilm07&date=20060607
IAIA alumna to present storyteller to First Lady
Kathleen Wall, a Jemez Pueblo artist and graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts, recently presented a storyteller figure to First Lady Laura Bush. Wall's storyteller, depicts seven children clustered around an adult woman reading aloud from the pages of a book titled "Sheweeah Dreams of Jupiter." The presentation came during a White House luncheon theme of "The First Americans." Jana, a Lumbee singer, was also invited to perform.
kolanews@topica.com

Toulouse Shingwaak heals through her art
Ontario: Janice Toulouse Shingwaak, an Ojibwe/Anishinabe Kwe artist, has discovered her ancestors' gift of medicine and the mystery of painting as healing. ''It is really powerful," she said about her art. A descendant of Grand Chief Shingwaukonse, Ojema Kwe and Chief William Meawasige, Janice was born and raised on the Serpent River Reserve at Lake Huron. At age 18, she moved to San Diego where her artwork captured the attention of co-workers and friends. Later, she attended the Vancouver School of Art in British Columbia. Her first paintings were inspired by the beauty and grace of a Grass dancer. As her interest in spiritual reality blossomed, Janice became more in tune with her own history as an aboriginal person. "...I have always done the work of the ancestors. They are doing it along with me. I listen to them. The important part is the healing." Shingwaak's life journey has also led her to new realizations. Shingwaak is concerned about Native youth who don't know their people's histories, including the forced removal to residential schools and the abuse aboriginal people suffered. She also says this abuse led to alcohol and drug abuse in those children and, later, their own children. 'We are all suffering from the effects of cultural genocide."Janice said non-Natives must heal from the ways of domination over Indian people. They must heal from paternalism.   "What is going on now is the process of healing. Native people have learned the white man's ways; now they have to learn ours.'' http://indiancountry.om/content.cfm?id=1096412892

Indian Country Diaries Selected as Remi Winners at WorldFest-Houston Film Festival
Texas: Two films from the Indian Country Diaries series, A Seat at the Drum and Spiral of Fire, were named Remi Winners at WorldFest-Houston.   ICD is a two-part PBS series that explores issues facing today's Native Americans in urban and reservation settings.    More than 4,500 category entries were competing from 33 countries. WorldFest-Houston is the 3rd oldest independent film showcase in North America.
WorldFest: http://www.worldfest.org
http://www.indiancountrydiaries.org/

icon Annual First Americans in the Arts awards held
California: The 14th Annual First Americans in the Arts award ceremony was held in Beverly Hills to honor the stars of Indian country. Hosted by Wes Studi, the event featured a silent auction and performances by the Native Star Dance Team of New Mexico, Randy Brokeshoulder and Brent Brokeshoulder, Jana, Quese iMC, and Arigon Starr. Awards were presented to:
Tyler Christopher, Choctaw/Seneca, for Outstanding Supporting Actor Performance in a TV Movie/Special: ''Into the West.''
Kris Chenoweth, Cherokee, Outstanding Supporting Actress Performance in a Film: ''Bewitched.''
August Schellenberg, Mohawk, Outstanding Supporting Actor Performance in a Film: ''The New World.''
Nakota LaRance, Hopi/Assiniboine/Dine'/Tewa, for Outstanding New Performance by an Actor in a Film: ''Into the West.''
DeLanna Studi, Western Band of Cherokee, Outstanding Supporting Actress Performance in a TV Movie/Special ''Edge of America.''
Zahn McClarnon, Hunkpapa Lakota, Outstanding Actor Performance in a TV Movie/Special (Lead): ''Into the West.''
Tonantzin Carmelo, Tongua/Mexica, Outstanding Actress Performance in a TV Movie/Special (Lead): ''Into the West.''
Quese iMC, Pawnee/Seminole, Outstanding Musical Achievement: ''The Betty Lana Project.''
Elena Finney, Mescalero Apache/Tarascan/Irish, for Outstanding Actress Performance in Theater: ''Kino and Theresa.''
Chris Eyre, Cheyenne/Arapaho, Outstanding Achievement in Directing (Film, TV, Theater): ''Edge of America.''
Dutch Lunak, Blackfeet, Outstanding Achievement in Stunts.
ABC Television Network, Humanitarian Award: ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.''
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Will Samson Memorial Award for its contribution to ''Extreme Home Makeover.''
Q'Orianka Kilcher, Trustee Award: ''Pocahontas.''
   Link Wray, Shawnee, Lifetime Musical Achievement.
Roy Track, Assiniboine Sioux, Legacy Award.
Stephanie Stonefish Ryan, Lenni Lenape, Outstanding Achievement in Technical Arts.
NativeShare Digest

Ballerinas
Oklahoma: Statues of five American Indian ballerinas from Oklahoma will be placed in front of the Tulsa Historical Society. Artist Gary Henson is creating statues of Yvonne Chouteau, Rosella Hightower, Moscelyne Larkin Jasinski, Maria Tallchief and Marjorie Tallchief. Peggy and Charles Stephenson donated $600,000 for the cause. "My ancestors were missionaries on the Trail of Tears," said Charles Stephenson. "This was a way to recognize not only the accomplishments of these ladies, but our history with (American Indians)." The project name, "The Five Moons," comes from the 1967 ballet "The Four Moons," a production written specifically for the American Indian ballerinas.
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