Native Village News

"Now I know the government is going to break the treaty because when it was signed, it was understood that it would last as long as the grass grew, the winds blew, and the rivers ran, and men walked on two legs--and now they have sent us an Agent who has only one leg." Piapot (Flash In The Sky), Cree, 1895

Two tribes among hardest hit by California fires
The Rincon Band of Luiseno Indians and the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians are among the hardest hit by fires in southern California. The Poomacha Fire hit both reservations, destroying homes and sending residents into shelters. At Rincon, 65 homes, trailers and other buildings have been destroyed. At La Jolla, at least 41 homes have been destroyed. Other reservations hit by the fires include the Yuina, San Pasqual, Pala, Capitan Grande, Mesa Grande, Santa Ysabel, Barona, Jamul and Inaja-Cosmit reservations. More than 26,000 acres of tribal land have burned, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. “This has just shocked the entire community,” said La Jolla Chairman Tracy Nelson. “We're just trying to pull ourselves together.” To offer assistance, contact:
Indian Resource Center
4265 Fairmont Ave #140
San Diego, Ca 92105
619-281-5964
NAMAPAHH First People's Radio

VCA Animal Hospitals Offers Free Boarding for Pets Affected by Southern California Fires
VCA Animal Hospitals announced that SOUTHERN California VCA facilities are offering free boarding for companion animals whose families have been evacuated or displaced due to current wildfires. The animal hospitals will provide a safe environment for pets that have been affected by the fires, on a space available basis. Participating VCA Animal Hospitals are:

Alhambra VCA Mission Animal Hospital
Arroyo Grande VCA South County
Bellflower VCA Lakewood
Big Bear City VCA Lakeside
Burbank VCA Animal Hospital (Burbank)
Canoga Park VCA Companion
Cypress VCA College Park - Ana Brook
Encinitas VCA North Coast
Glendale VCA Arden
Hermosa Beach VCA Coast

Hesperia VCA Victor Valley
La Mesa VCA Grossmont
Laguna Niguel VCA Aliso Viejo
Lake Forest VCA Saddleback
Lake Forest VCA Arroyo
Long Beach VCA Los Altos
Los Alamitos VCA Rossmoor-El Dorado
Los Angeles VCA Miller-Robertson
Los Angeles VCA Petville
Mission Viejo VCA Mission Viejo
Monrovia VCA Santa Anita
Palm Springs VCA Desert

Pasadena VCA A Breed Apart
Rancho Mirage VCA Rancho Mirage
Reseda VCA McClave
Ridgecrest VCA Crestwood
Rolling Hills Estates
VCA Silver Spur
San Diego VCA Angel
San Diego VCA Hillcrest
San Diego VCA Main Street
San Diego VCA West Bernardo
Santa Fe Springs VCA La Mirada

Santa Monica VCA Santa Monica Dog and Cat Hospital
Santa Monica VCA Wilshire
Spring Valley VCA Paradise Valley
Temecula VCA El Rancho
Torrance VCA Clarmar
Torrance VCA Kennel Club Resort & Spa
Upland VCA Centra
Venice VCA Marina
Victorville VCA Mesa
Woodland Hills VCA Parkwood

NAMAPAHH First People's Radio

Alaska Villages Caught in Slow-Motion Disaster
Alaska: The cost to move villages which face extinction in the ten years is staggering:
Moving the small town of Newtok (315 people), a Bering Sea town being swamped by two rivers: $130,000,000 or $412,000 per person.
Moving Shishmaref, a strip of sand in the Chukchi Sea, home to about 600 people: $200,000,000, or $333,000 per person.
Moving Kivalina, a shrinking barrier island in the Chukchi with 380 residents: $125,000,000, or $329,000 per person.
Meanwhile, millions more dollars are needed to protect the people and areas from erosion until they move. Where will all the money come from? That question is receiving much attention at the federal, state and local levels. In years past, Natives would simply pick up and move to safer places. Today, school buildings, airstrips, roads and conveniences keep once-nomadic people anchored in place. Senator Ted Stevens warned village leaders during an Anchorage hearing that funds to help are extremely limited.
Newtok photo: http://noblesseoblige.org/
Anchorage Daily News

Continent-size toxic stew of plastic trash fouling swath of Pacific Ocean
California: The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a heap of debris floating in the Pacific Ocean. Biologists say it's twice the size of Texas, consists of 80% plastic and weighs 3,500,000,000,000,000 pounds. This garbage patch is located in a no-man's land between San Francisco and Hawaii. The Algalita Marine Research Foundation in Long Beach has been monitoring the Garbage Patch for 10 years. "With the winds blowing in and the currents in the gyre going circular, it's the perfect environment for trapping," said Marcus Eriksen. "There's nothing we can do about it now, except do no more harm." A report from Greenpeace titled "Plastic Debris in the World's Oceans" says vast majority of sea garbage begins its journey as onshore trash. "At this point, cleaning it up isn't an option," said one expert. "It's just going to get bigger as our reliance on plastics continues. The long-term solution is to stop producing as much plastic products at home and change our consumption habits."

The Greenpeace report found:
At least 267 marine species suffer damage from eating or getting tangled in marine debris.
Sea turtles mistake clear plastic bags for jellyfish;
Birds swoop down and swallow indigestible shards of plastic. "These animals die because the plastic eventually fills their stomachs. It doesn't pass, and they literally starve to death," said Warner Chabot, vice president of the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental group.

How to Help:
Use canvas bags to cart groceries instead of plastic bags;
Buy foods that aren't wrapped in plastics;
Work to ban plastic fast food packaging;
Substitute plastic with biodegradable materials, increase recycling programs and enforce litter laws;
Take your trash with you when you leave the beach;
Make sure your trash bins are securely closed;
Keep all trash in closed bags.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/10/19/SS6JS8RH0.DTL

Yellowstone Park bison population approaches record
Yellowstone Park's bison population fluctuates depending winter weather, bison control, and a re-instated bison hunt. According to recent reports:
There are 4,700 bison in Yellowstone National Park;
The number falls just short of the record 4,900 recorded in the summer of 2005;
In February, the number had dipped to 3,600;
By summer, the bison population had risen to 3,900.
Before European invasion, 50,000,000 buffalo roamed freely across the Great Plains.
http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/10/15/news/wyoming/30-bison.txt?rating=true

Water shortage threatening to cut off Seminoles, worsen strain on South Florida

Florida: Lake Okeechobee's drought-caused water decline could cut off a key water source for the Seminole Tribe's Brighton reservation. With the rainy season coming to an end, Lake Okeechobee is already 5 feet below normal. "It's getting critical," said Randy Smith. "It speaks volumes as an indication of the situation Lake Okeechobee is in." The water shortage has not yet threatened the Seminoles' drinking water supply, but with the canals drying up, the tribe is holding off planting sugar cane and may not be able to continue cattle operations.   The 36,000 acre Brighton reservation includes a casino and campground and is home to over 500 residents.
photo: http://dsc.discovery.com/
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flplake1025pnoct25,0,3188703,print.story

Big number of chinook returning to Seattle-area waters
Washington: 32,000 chinook salmon swimming from Puget Sound into area rivers are the largest number since 1995.    Wildlife biologist Steve Foley says it's an exceptional survival for fish bred in a hatchery. However, numbers of returning sockeye and coho salmon are below average, according the Muckleshoot Tribe. Chinook salmon are listed as a threatened species. Sockeye and Coho salmon are endangered species.
http://www.seattletimes.com

Cherokee National Youth Choir wins NAMMY, Macy's Parade spot

Oklahoma: The Cherokee National Youth Choir, a top Native language choirs, received the 2007 Native American Music Award for Best Gospel or Inspirational Recording. The "Comfort and Joy," CD features 12 Christmas songs recorded in the Cherokee language and is the choir's 5th recording. The Cherokee National Youth Choir is made up 55 Cherokee students ages 12 -17 who live within the tribe's jurisdiction. Choir members are chosen each January by audition. They do not have to speak fluent Cherokee because the choir's goal is to enhance language skills. "The choir was organized around three objectives: language, leadership and community," said Mary Kay Henderson, the choir's director and arranger. "Everything we do revolves around those objectives. We are helping empower language through the music, bringing the community together through performance and inspiring leadership in our youth. Many of our choir members have been hailed as outstanding leaders in school and college." The choir has performed at the National Museum of the American Indian, Crazy Horse Memorial; The White House, and ground zero in New York City. The choir will also be featured performers at this Year's Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in New York/ City.
http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096415944

Andean Music is Flourishing Around the World
Andean Music has overcome geographical and cultural borders and is thriving across the world. Sikus, quenas, wankaras and charangos are the gift of the spirit of the Andes, one of the most spectacular places on Earth. Andean music is played on wind and percussion instruments. Wind instruments symbolize Father Sky, while percussion instruments are symbols of nature and Mother Earth. The music represents natural balance and cosmic wholeness. It celebrates life and death during rituals of passage and transition, during planting and harvesting. Indigenous music is part of each community's existence and is never played without purpose or strictly for entertainment. Each song, each melody, has a meaning and a statement.
Photo: Andean Group, Huara
http://web.archive.org/web/19961109070314/ww.latinolink.com/andinst.html

The real thing
Florida: Muscogee-Creek storyteller Will Hill knows he’s been blessed. In 1992, he co founded his theatrical storytelling troupe, Mahenwahdose (a Muscogee word meaning “the real thing”), and began telling the childhood stories and singing the childhood songs to audiences. This month Hill and Jehnean Washington, the other voice behind Mahenwahdose, are taking these stories to Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center. “We just love performing, and we also love sharing our native culture," Hill said. "... it’s giving us an opportunity to reach more people and to help broaden the interest in native America.” Mahenwahdose has performed at the National Museum of the American Indian as well as public schools, libraries and universities. And no matter where he goes from here, Hill said the duo will remain involved in education and reviving Indian oral tradition.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/article.aspx?articleID=071006_8_H1_hOkla47868

Oklahoma Filmmakers Hope to Get Legendary Kiowa Musician Inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Oklahoma: Filmmakers Steve Judd (Kiowa/Choctaw) and Tvli Jacob (Choctaw) are filming a documentary about Jesse Ed Davis. A gifted session guitarists, Jesse Edwin Davis III "played with all the greats, like John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, all the big musicians," Judd said. Davis, an enrolled Kiowa, had Comanche and Muscogee (Creek) heritage, as well. At just sixteen-years-old, Davis toured with Country singer Conway Twitty. Soon, musicians such as John Lennon, The Rolling Stones, George Harrison, and Jackson Browne approached Davis to play with them. In 1970, with help from Eric Clapton, Davis recorded his first solo album, which was followed by two more. He died in 1988. "Everybody is interested in Jesse Ed's story," Judd said. "Since we began filming this story people from all over have been calling us, wanting to be a part of this film. That tells you how important this man was to the music world. We just want to tell an honest story that not only celebrates Jesse Ed being Indian, but celebrates him being an amazing musician."
http://www.nativetimes.com/index.asp?action=displayarticle&article_id=8950

Diné Olympic hopefuls get boost from company

New Mexico: Two top Navajo runners, Brandon Leslie, 31, and Alvina Begay, 26, will compete for a spot at the 2008 Summer Olympics Games in Beijing, China.   Leslie will be tested this month during the US. Olympic Team Trials Men's Marathon in New York City. Begay's moment will come in April 2008 at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials Women's Marathon in Boston. Currently Leslie is training under the auspices of the Navajo Elite Runners. Begay plans to train in Colorado Springs, Colo, with the Native American Sports Council. BHP Billiton New Mexico Coal will provide the necessary training equipment and financial support.
Navajo Elite Runners: www.navajoeliterunners.org
Native American Sports Council: www.nascsports.org
http://www.thenavajotimes.com/sports/080207runners.php

Hawaii's tradition to continue despite penalty, concerns
Hawaii: During a footgame with Louisiana Tech, the University of Hawaii warriors were penalized for performing a pre-game Maori war dance called a "haka. Hawaii began performing the pre-game haka two years ago. This time, the Warriors were assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty because the Louisiana team was on the field. "We were 75 yards removed from the field, doing what we do — something that's special to Hawaii and special to our fans," said coach June Jones. "It was just an unfortunate situation I thought. [But] it's not going to prevent us from doing the haka in the future." Louisiana's coach, Derek Dooley, said his team wasn't affected by Hawaii's haka. "It's something that's probably a tradition for Hawaii, and they don't mean it as disrespect," he said Monday. "But at the same time, it's important to be sensitive to the other team and how they view it. It's like any religious or cultural event you may have." WAC Commissioner Karl Benson respects the cultural significance of Hawaii's tribute, but want to make sure others are not offended. "I conveyed to [Jones] that I was not in any shape or form trying to eliminate it," Benson said. "But rather than risk any chance of future penalty or conflict, why not do it when the other team is in their locker room? I'm anticipating that will be the case in the future." The Warriors won the game with a 45-44 score.
IndigenousNewsNetwork Issue 991

State board approves nickname settlement
The University of North Dakota may consider a compromise with the NCAA over demands that their "Fighting Sioux" team name either win tribal approval or cease being used. A plan is under discussion that would create a three-year "cooling off period" to find the answer. If UND can convince the state's Sioux tribes to support its nickname, the school could continue to use it in NCAA tournaments. Similar deals have been struck by the Florida State Seminoles and the Central Michigan Chippewas.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/index.cfm

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