Native Village
Youth and Education News
February 1, 2007 Issue 175 Volume 3
"There are bad and foolish people in every race. You have to judge them one by one, and then you have to give them a second chance." Imogene Bowen, Upper Skagit Tribe
WORLDWIDE CARD WRITING CAMPAIGN
January 12 -
February 6, 2007
On February 6th, 2007, it will be exactly 31 years since Leonard Peltier was
arrested in Canada. (Learn about Leonard:
Messages to Youth from Leonard Peltier)
Like the two previous years, KOLA offers online postcards supporting Leonard's
release from prison. The postcards, which are already addressed, are ready to be
printed out and sent to the White House and President Bush.
To learn more, visit:
http://users.skynet.be/kola/index1.htm
McIntyre reintroduces Lumbee bill
Washington,
DC: U.S. Rep. Mike McIntyre has reintroduced legislation that would provide
funding for Lumbee Indians. In 1956, the Lumbee received federal recognition,
but the legislation denied benefits given to other federally recognized tribes.
If approved, the new bill would provide $473,000,000 for the tribe's housing,
education, health and economic development. “It is time for discrimination to
end and recognition to begin,” said McIntyre, a member of the Congressional
Native American Caucus. “For over 100 years, the Lumbee people have been
seeking the dignity and respect they deserve from the federal recognition.” The
recognition bill already has 25 cosponsors. North Carolina's Senators,
Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr, have both been strong supporters of the
legislation.
http://www.robesonian.com/articles/2007/01/08/news/news/story05.txtomment.
History tells tale of slaves on Grosse Ile
Michigan:
Grosse Ile is changing the way their history is being written. New
investigations show that enslaved blacks and Indians may have been on the island
about 1795. On July 6, 1776, a deed transferred the title of Grosse Ile from
the Pottawattomie to Alexander and William McComb. The McCombs owned dozens of
slaves, and while the Ordinance of 1787 banned slavery in the new territories,
slaves belonging to British settlers were still allowed. "The Indians who were
slaves had been taken captive in intertribal wars and sold to the whites. Those
who held slaves when the Americans took over were allowed to retain them," wrote
Willis Dunbar in "Michigan: A History of the Wolverine State." The 1810 census
showed 17 slaves still in Detroit.
http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070121/CFP03/701210470
Exchange offers cash to farmers who help
rein in greenhouse gasses
Ohio:
Colenzo Short has preserved 96 acres on his farm as wetlands. Colenzo is among a
group of 30 northwest Ohio farmland owners who are trading greenhouse gasses
trapped in the soil for cash. The program, called the Chicago Climate Exchange,
has been trading for three years and has paid about $5,000,000 million to
landowners. "It's a win-win situation. You're helping out in the environment
and you're getting paid for it," said Mr. Short. Growing plants takes carbon
dioxide out of the air. The plants then store the carbon and release oxygen back
into the air. That means the millions of acres of corn, soybeans, wheat, and
other crops that farmers raise are big reducers of the carbon dioxide created by
driving automobiles and producing electricity. For maximum effectiveness,
however, farm fields cannot be tilled. Plowing allows oxygen to mix with the
carbon stored in the soil from the roots of previous crops. Thus, that carbon
dioxide returns into the atmosphere. About 225 industries, cities,
universities, and other organizations have joined the Chicago exchange. "This,
I think, for America's farmers represents a whole new opportunity," said one
participant. "We now have farmers having two crops. One above the ground called
food. One below the ground called environmental service."
Chicago Climate Exchange:
http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061210/NEWS17/612100329/-1/NEWS
Kenyan starts tree-planting campaign
Kenya - A
Kenyan environmentalist and Nobel Peace Prize winner is calling on people around
the world to plant 1,000,000,000 trees to fight global warming. "This something
that anybody can do," said Wangari Maathai. Destroying trees through burning
contributes to global warming. This releases about 740,000,000,000 pounds of
greenhouse gases every year - about 5% of the world total. Planting trees helps
offset climate change because they absorb carbon dioxide. The tree-planting
project, organized by the United Nations Environment Program, shows that "action
does not need to be confined to the corridors of the negotiation halls," said
Achem Steiner, UNEP's executive director. Scientists blame the past century's 1°
rise in average global temperatures on greenhouse gasses.
Billion Tree Campaign:
http://www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign
http://www.greenbeltmovement.org
Canada's "Amazon" Getting Millions
British Columbia: British Columbia will give $30,000,000 towards preserving the
Great Bear Rainforest, known to some environmentalists as Canada's Amazon. The
area, which stretches 750 kilometers along B.C's coast, includes one-quarter of
the world's remaining coastal temperate rainforest. Several private donors and
charitable groups from around the world have also agreed to match funds. In
total, the investment stands at $120,000,000. Funds will also help with
economic development for the Coastal First Nations. This includes more
opportunities in sustainable fisheries, forestry and tourism. Art Sterritt,
executive director for the Coastal First Nations, said it was about time that
people in the area were given more opportunities to use their land.
Barrie Examiner
Indias Forgotten Tribes Gain Rights Over
Forest
India: Daya Rakha, 36, is from the Maldhari tribe and was born in the Gir
Wildlife Sanctuary. Like his ancestors, Daya makes his living tending his cattle
which graze in Girs' lush forests. Over 40,000,000 of India's poorest people
live in the country's forests, which include tiger reserves, wildlife
sanctuaries and national parks. For years, the government neglected these
people. Recently, however, The Recognition of Forest Rights Bill 2006 became a
new law. It recognizes the tribes' rights to live in the forests and national
parks. The tribes may also use non-timber forest produce such as bamboo, stumps,
cane and to collect honey. They may not, however, hunt animals. But
conservationists worry how the endangered animals will still be affected.
Livestock epidemics could affect wild animals, including the rare Asiatic lion
whose populations were once lower than 15. Conservationists also worry that
more encroachers will push wildlife out of protected areas, making them more
vulnerable to hunters. "If allowed to live in the forest, [the tribes] will
degrade the habitat as their cattle graze in direct competition with prey like
deer," said Bharat Pathak. But the forest dwellers disagree. They say they are
not responsible for the wildlife loss and report poaching and illegal activities
to officials. "Officials say we are eating up the forest but in reality we are
helping in protecting the lions and the jungle," says Lali Rudha, a mother of
seven children.
http://sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=E9F4BCF9D56D5602C41B7EC6AB371BDC
HUNTER ILLEGALLY SHOOTS YELLOWSTONE
BISON
Montana: On January 23, a hunter illegally shot a bull bison on private property
on Horse Butte Peninsula. The shootings took place less than 150 yards from two
nearby residences. Residents of the West Yellowstone community have told hunters
that hunting is strictly prohibited. Many "no hunting" and "buffalo safe zone"
signs are posted throughout the area. "We've made it well-known that it's
illegal to shoot bison in this neighborhood. I want this hunter prosecuted to
the full extent of the law," said Ed Millspaugh, President of the Yellowstone
Estates Homeowners Association. The hunter, however, says he received
permission to hunt on the private land where took three shots at three bulls,
then fired a fourth shot at one who entered Cook's Meadow, an area where hunting
and trespassing are illegal. American Bison once spanned North America and
numbered between 30,000,000 - 50,000,000. Today's Yellowstone bison -- the only
remaining bison from America's continuously wild and genetically intact herd --
number less than 4,000 animals. 1,871 bison have been killed since 2000. Last
winter, Federal and State agencies killed or authorized the killing of more than
1,010 bison. So far this winter, two bison were captured and sent to slaughter
by Montana Department of Livestock agents. Hunters have killed 27.
For more information, video clips and photos visit:
http://www.buffalofieldcampaign.org
One-third of villages lacking in-home
water tap
Alaska. A recent study says that 34% of Alaska Native villages do not have
modern water and sewer services in their homes. The study, conducted by the
Alaska Environmental Health Association, links this lack of water service to
infectious diseases. "Practically all villages have a purified water point -- a
small treatment facility where villagers can go with a bucket to get water,"
said Troy Ritter from the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. However,
these water points are often just a hose coming out of a small building or room,
he added. This means that while access to drinking water is a lesser issue, it
doesn't always apply for water used for hand-washing and disposing of
wastewater. The research further shows that children in villages without
running water tend to have many more infectious diseases. "Quantity is the most
important characteristic of a water supply," said Ritter. "Water use less than
eight gallons per capita per day was shown to be coincident with serious health
consequences." Most villages without modern water services are either built on
permafrost ground or on swampy tundra areas. That creates difficulty and higher
costs for building the necessary pipe systems.
http://mytwobeadsworth.com/AlaskaNatVillage1207.htm
Elk meat could reduce diabetes
South Dakota: A vibrant elk herd could reverse diabetes rates among American
Indian tribes. Elk and other protein were once the foundation for
many American
Indian tribal diets. But when the U.S. forced tribes to live on reservations
and eat government-supplied foods, Indians started developing obesity and
diabetes. Today, Native people have the highest obesity and diabetes rates in
the world. "In Indian country, there is four to five times the rate of diabetes
as in the general population," said Kibbe Conti, an Oglala Sioux nutritionist.
"We're disproportionately affected by the American diet." Conti agrees with the
evidence that shows Indian people benefit from traditional diets, whether wild
rice, corn, elk or bison meat. Mike Fox of the InterTribal Bison Cooperative
agrees. For the last 15 years, his group has helped Midwest tribes restore bison
herds and reintroduce that meat to Indian diets. Short-term results suggest
that obesity and diabetes rates are declining among tribes who restore native
diets.
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/01/28/100loc_a1elkside001.cfm
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