Native Village
Youth and Education News
June 1, 2006 Issue 168 Volume 4
''The only non-immigrants are Native Americans.'' Rep. Raul M. Grijalva, D-Ariz.
Super Mileage Challenge winners average
over 1,000 MPG
Indiana: In
April, Indianapolis Raceway Park hosted the 11th annual IMSTEA Super Mileage
Challenge. Thirty-three Indiana high schools fielded 36 cars in the two classes
of competition. Teams of students designed, constructed, and raised funds needed
to construct their high mileage cars. Detailed technical proposals had to be
submitted before schools could participate. The winners were:
Stock Class winner: Mater Dei High School of Evansville, Ind., at
1,242.76 MPG,
Unlimited Class winner: William Henry Harrison High School of Lafayette, Ind.,
at 1,060.30 MPG.
http://www.rensselaerrepublican.com/articles/2006/04/28/news/community/community02.txt
Cree Plan Huge Wind Farm
Quebec: In
partnership with Ventus Energy, the Chisasibi band of Cree Indians hope to build
Canada's largest wind park. The $3,000,000,000 project calls for 1,100 windmills
that would generate 1,650 megawats of wind power. The Ventus and Cree project,
named Yudinn Energy Limited Partnership, has filed an application to export up
to 204 megawatts, or 1.7 terawatt hours, of electricity to the United States.
The windmills will be built on a 500-kilometre-long corridor along La Grande
River and the Laforge/Brisay area. However, the plans must be approved by the
Canadian federal government and Quebec. "There are a lot of things to look at
first," said Mathieu St-Amant.
H-Amindian
Listserve
Six Tribes Receive Federal Wildlife
Funds
The U.S.
Department of the Interior has granted environmental funding to six tribes:
The Laguna, Santa Clara, Ohkay Ohwingeh and Taos
pueblos -- funding to help
manage, conserve and protect fish and wildlife on their lands;
The Navajo Nation -- funding to analyze the distribution of the Gunnison prairie
dog on Navajo and Hopi lands;
Santo Domingo Pueblo -- funding for a restoration program on the Rio Galisteo.
HAmindian Listserv
Mining School, Indian College Testing Land Near Uranium Mines
South Dakota: Contamination from uranium mining on federal lands is well
documented, but no one knows how much of that pollution has affected surrounding
lands. Now researchers from The South Dakota School of Mines &Technology and
Oglala Lakota College have begun a survey of adjacent private property. "Nobody
has looked at how this has come onto private property or carried down the
watershed areas on ground or surface water. And nobody's looked at air
contamination," said Jim Stone, assistant professor at the School of Mines. So
far, tests show that concentrations of arsenic, uranium and other contaminants
is higher than what occurs naturally.
Associated Press
Gigantic Rock Slab Growing in Mount St. Helens' Crater
Washington: Mount St. Helens began erupting after several tiny earthquakes in
2004. At first, scientists believed the quakes were caused by rainwater seeping
into the hot interior. Now it's clear the magma is on the move. Last November,
a rock slab began growing in Mount St. Helen's Crater. The fin-shaped irregular
mass, now about 300 feet tall, is growing 4-5 feet per day. The latest
measurements show the new lava dome is about 96,000,000 cubic yards in volume -
enough to fill a football field with a stack of rock 10 1/2 miles high. "Given
the way things are going now, there's no hint of any sort of catastrophic
eruptions," USGS geologist Tom Pierson said. "At any time, however, things can
change." Eventually, scientists expect the volcano will rebuild its conical
peak that it blew off during a 1980, eruption that killed 57 people. The
current growth of the new lava dome has been accompanied by low seismicity
rates, low emissions of steam and volcanic gases and minor production of ash,
the USGS said.
AOL News
2006 Student Art Competition Winners Announced by the Office of Indian
Education
The winners of the 2006 Native American Student Art Competition, "The Power to
Dream, The Power to Achieve," have been announced. Winners are:
 Pre-Kindergarten 1st Place: Untitled by Makayla Chenot (Chukchansi), CA 2nd Place: Once We Hunted Them, Now We Learn About Them by Pinna’Wasa’Pe Kopepasah (Comanche), OK 3rd Place: Rainbow Dreams by Brittany Schwartz, (Chippewa) MI |
|
Grades K-2 1st Place: Great Indian Artist by Ian Drapeau (Yankton), 2nd grade NE 2nd Place: I Want to be a Baby Doctor by Angela Longee (Sioux/Assiniboine), 1st grade, NE 3rd Place: My Good Tangles by Kanowan A. Kayotawape (Menominee), 2nd grade, IL |
|
Grades 3-5 1st Place: Sweet Dreams by Seneca O. Love (Penobscot), 5th grade, ME 2nd Place: Living Up To Your Dream by Isabelle Chamberlain (Winnebago), 5th grade, NE 3rd Place: My Reflection by Rachel M. Baldwin (Brothertown Indian Nation), 5th grade,WI |
|
Grades 6-8 1st Place: If You Can Believe, Then You Can Achieve by Antonio Perea (Navajo), 7th grade, NV 2nd Place: The Gifts of Education by Jordan Martin-Thompson, (Mohawk), 8th grade, NY 3rd Place: Dream Big! Reach for the Stars by Mariah Hayes (Cherokee), 8th grade, OK |
|
Grades 9-10 1st Place: A Dream to Achieve by Amy Powless (Oneida), 10th grade, OK 2nd Place: Untitled by Michael Curley (Zuni), 10th grade, NM 3rd Place: Successful Paths by Sunny A. Loneman (Cheyenne – Arapaho), 9th grade, AZ Honorable Mention: The Sacred Road by Lorraine Peters (Navajo), 10th grade, CA |
|
Grades 11-12 1st Place: Education: The Power to Achieve Your Dream by Stephanie Hollis (Cherokee/Blackfoot), 12th grade, OK 2nd Place: Untitled by Samuel Dalgai (Navajo), 12th grade, AZ 3rd Place: College Dreams by Parker Forrest Blair (Mesquakie-Winnebago-Miwok), 11th grade, CA Honorable Mention: Native Nation by Brandon Price (Navajo), 11th grade, CA |
With 1398 entries from 32 states, participation in the 2006 Native American
Student Art Competition was 10 times greater than that of 2005.
http://www.indianeducation.org/index.cfm?page=announcements.cfm#06rtafw
Proud Plainsman
Montana: In 2005, Scott McGowan became the first person from Montana to run the
mile under 4 minutes. The 25 year old, of Chippewa heritage, grew up in Poplar
on the Fort Peck Reservation, home to Sioux and Assisboine. To McGowan, it is
a home he loves and is fiercely proud of, despite the racism he's encountered.
"When I tell people that I’m from Poplar, I get everything from sympathy to
being called ‘Prairie Nigger...," he said. "You can’t believe how tribal
members are treated. When we were on the road, going to cross country meets,
we’d go into a Wal-Mart and people said ‘there are too many of you to come in
here.’ Too many Indians." McGowan himself has a strict set of values. They go
something like this:
*
You get a fair day’s wage for fair day’s work, no more, no less.
*
You have to be able to trust in a person’s word.
T*here’s the "Popsicle rule"—if you have enough for everyone, you can eat your
popsicles in the front yard. Otherwise, do it in private.
*It’s what you’ve done that’s worthy, not how many possessions or how much wealth
you have.
*And you don’t talk about what you’ve done. No bragging, no whining.
Due to his light skin, McGowan said some Natives mistake him for white. But he
remains proud of his Chippewa heritage. "My father told me, 'Never be
embarrassed about where you’re from,'" he said.
http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=7573
Teens find the pulse of a people in Star Nation
South Dakota: Landon Lupi, 17, is a student at Stevens High School. In
December, he created The Star Nation Drum Group, a student drum group to help
SHS Lakota students connect with their tribal culture and heritage. Impressed
by Lupi efforts, the school bought Star Nation a drum. "[Landon] is preserving
his cultural heritage and reaching out through the drum to bring other students
into the group," said assistant-principal Bruce Jordan. "He's a genuine,
sincere kid out there wanting to make a better society."Students meet each week to learn and practice traditional Lakota songs. "I'm
teaching the spiritual songs that you would hear at religious get-togethers and
at sun dances, a little bit of the powwow songs and the flag song," Lupi said.
Star Nation Drum includes both young men and women. "I thought it would be a
good idea to have girls sing with us, and they could learn, too," he said.
"Plus, they sound a little better than some of the guys." Star Nation has
performed at area schools and will soon sing at nearby nursing homes.
"I'd like to show the Lakota residents there that the songs are going on to the
next generation, that it isn't dying," said 17-year-old Whitney Two Bulls, a
Star Nation Drum Group member.
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2006/05/22/news/top/news01.txtl
Jana performance raises money for youth program
Connecticut: Jana Mashonee is a 26-year-old Lumbee woman on her way to stardom.
Her 2002
release of ''Stairway to Heaven'' skyrocketed to No. 8 on the Billboard
dance chart, a first for a Native in this category. In retrospect, ''Stairway
to Heaven'' prepared Jana for obstacles she would face as a recording artist.
When radio stations refused to play her song, she worked around it by promoting
it at nightclubs. ''For a couple of weeks I outsold Madonna,'' she said. ''But
it still didn't get the airplay it deserved.'' She has also won three Native
American Nammy Awards. In April, Jana performed at the First Lady's Luncheon in
Washington, D.C. About 2,000 politicians, dignitaries, former Supreme Court
justices and others were in attendance. Each year the event raises money for a
different charity. This year, Jana helped raise $25,000 for the United National
Indian Tribal Youth program. Jana's says her music reflects her heritage and
her experiences in UNITY, a program that empowers American Indian and Alaska
Native youths on a spiritual, social and psychological level. Mashonee has
begun her own program, ''Jana's Kids.'' She visits schools where she
intertwines her music with a speech on cultural pride, identity and peer
pressures. She opens the floor for students to discuss their feelings on any
topic. ''Native youth may appear passive, but they have a lot to say. We need
to listen to them more and not shut them down.'' The Jana's Kids program also
raises scholarship funds for students who excel in the academic, artistic or
athletic arenas.
Learn more about Jana and Jana's Kids: http://www.jananation.com/
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412993
Town Members Challenge Local HS Mascot
Ohio: Recently, Oberlin High School graduates joined others at the Cleveland
Indians’ home opener to protest the team's racist mascot and team name. Oberlin
High School is also under fire for its own use of “Indians” as a team name.
"Every decade someone has brought [the issue] to the board,” said Marci Alegant,
school Board President. Ohio has the highest percentage of sports teams claiming
an Indian mascot -- almost 10% of its teams embrace the Indian as its own.
Some people say that Native Americans are honored [by the mascot],” said
protestor Elana Riffle, Oberlin College senior. “So to take that out of the
public eye it’ll be forgotten." Now Riffle and other OC students are showing a
passionate drive to change the status quo. The college's Experimental College
course titled “The History of the American Indian Movement,” is being taught by
Robert Roche of the Cleveland American Indian Movement.
Daughter keeps alive the art of natural dyeing
Arizona: Navajo weaver Mabel Burnside Myers created the Navajo plant dye charts
which illustrate natural dyes for yarn in Navajo weavings. ''When I
was 11, I
remember making
these little plant cards," said Myer's daughter, Isabel Deschinny. Each
card explained how a single dye was made from a plant.
Eventually, Myers combined the plant samples with their yarn colors in a
collection known as Navajo dye charts. Today Deschinny is carrying on her
mother's traditions by teaching Southwest plants and the dying processes in
university classes and workshops. The secret to creating natural dyes comes from
choosing the right plant, in the right season and in the right spirit of Navajo
tradition and giving back. Blossoms, roots, barks, leaves, berries and skins
are used in the dye baths. Each requires special care and knowledge to produce
the color:
"Buckwheat is the hardest; sometimes it is brighter yellow than at other
times.''
''I have to have a pick and an axe for mountain mahogany, and I have to have a
man to get it.''
''Holly berries only appear every five or 10 years, so you have to store those
up.'' (red/violet)
''I go to Taos, New Mexico, for the chokecherries.''
Sumac leaves are used for gray;
Burnt juniper ashes produces a light color of lime;
Purple larkspur, known as txadidiidootl'ish, creates golds;
Navajo tea, known as ch'ilgoh wehih, creates yellow;
Another yellow dye is created from rabbit brush, known as g'iiltsoih;
Sagebrush produces a light yellow;
Brown onionskin produces the goldenrod color;
Canyaigre dock root, known as wild rhubarb and chaad'iniih to Navajos, is used
for dark yellow-orange.
Deschinny has self-published a booklet of plant dye recipes, ''Native Plant
Dyes, Series I, Introduction.''
http://indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096413040
Two of South Dakota's three Indian stations off the air
South Dakota: Until a few years ago, South Dakota had four radio stations that
served mostly American Indians. Today, due to technical or licensing problems,
only one remains on the air. The stations:
KSWS-FM at Sisseton lost its FCC license and no longer exists. A Web site now
communicates with members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton tribe.
KILI-FM at Porcupine was knocked off the air in April when lightning hit near
the station. They are now waiting for grant monies to replace and upgrade
equipment. KILI-FM serves western South Dakota, including the Pine Ridge
and Rosebud Indian Reservations.
KLND-FM at McLaughlin has equipment problems and hasn't broadcast since April
10. "Our converter is pretty much on the blink," said Jana Shields-Gipp, board
of directors chairman. They are trying to make repairs. KLND serves mostly the
Standing Rock and Cheyenne River reservations.
KINI-FM at St. Francis is the only station broadcasting. Its funding comes from
the Catholic church and donations. KINI-FM serves the Rosebud and Pine
Ridge reservations.
HJ ProVoice: http://www.hjprovoice.com
KILI: http://www.kiliradio.org/
KLND: http://www.klnd.org/klnd.htm
KINI: http://www.gwtc.net/kinifm
http://www.bemidjipioneer.com/ap/index.cfm?page=view&id=D8HSU5GO0
Volume 3
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