Poolaw To Be Inducted Into Oklahoma Military Hall Of Fame
Oklahoma: Army 1st Sgt. Pascal Cletus Poolaw has been inducted into Oklahoma's Military Hall of Fame.  Poolaw, a full-blood Kiowa and citizen of the Kiowa Tribe, is the most decorated Native American soldier in United States history. First Sgt. Poolaw was a hero in three campaigns: World War II, the Korean Conflict and the Vietnam War. He enlisted during WWII and was awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart fighting the German army.  In Korea, Pascal was wounded and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and a second Purple Heart. After retiring in 1962, he re-entered the Army in an effort to keep his four sons, who were all in military service, from having to go to Vietnam. Poolaw was killed in 1967 when he tried to rescue his battalion commander and his staff from an overwhelming enemy assault.  For his heroic actions, Poolaw was awarded his second Silver Star and third Purple Heart posthumously.
http://nativetimes.bizweb5.tulsaconnect.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=484&Itemid=1

Honoring the Ancient Way
Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico: Sixteen Zuni horseback riders, sixteen runners, and 16 horses recently teamed up to compete in the historic and traditional Zuni Human/Horse relay. During the first leg, the riders and their horses raced 5.5 miles across rugged, rocky, and often steep terrain. Runners then finished the final leg by running a 4-mile course.  "This was a tradition way before our fathers’ time," said Elton Mahkee who helped organize this year's event.  Mahkee explained that hundreds of years ago, Zuni people relayed messages to other tribes through runners and sometimes riders and horses. This year's event followed one of those old trails up Dowa Yalanne.  “That was the original route, the original trail,” he explained.  It took two months for race committee members to locate the historic trail because it was so overgrown with brush and trees.  In the process, they found stacks of stones marking the trail and old stone steps their Zuni ancestors had carved into the sides of the mesa.  Although Mahkee is president of the race committee, his team didn’t fare so well.  “I was the last one,” he admitted. While his 6-year-old horse “Cheyenne” had a tough time with the trail's very steep grade, Mahkee’s teenage daughter, Mellory, did considerably better than dad.  Mellory, her horse “Red,” and their running partner, Timothy Draper, placed fifth.  Race committee members said they plan to host the event again next year.
photo: http://www.gallupindependent.com/2008/10october/100608zuni.html
[NativeNews] Digest Number 3680

Ancient mounds make UW-Madison a unique landscape

Wisconsin:  The Midwest is home to at least 15,000 earthworks built between 350 - 2,800 years ago, but the number of ancient burial mounds at UW-Madison is staggering.  “Worldwide, these are an extremely rare resource,” said archaeologist Amy Rosebrough.  “There are more burial mounds on the UW-Madison campus than any other campus I’m aware of, and there are certainly more effigy mounds.  [The Midwest]  is the only place in the world where people created large structures in the shape of animals for burial.” Currently, 38 effigy and burial mounds in six groupings are located on the UWM campus. Five groups have either been destroyed or are no longer visible; at least 14 more have been lost to development.  Protected by law, the mounds remain important to Native Americans. “There are more in Wisconsin than elsewhere.  In terms of density of earthworks, we’re at the top of the heap,” Rosebrough said.  The question of who the mound builders were is open for debate, but experts believe Wisconsin's mounds were created by the ancestors of the Ho-Chunk, Iowas, Dakotas, Otoes and Missouris.  The sites also seem to have been chosen for a view.  “Many effigy mounds are placed on high points overlooking water,” notes Daniel Einstein.  The two most spectacular effigy mounds on campus are a bird and a two-tailed water spirit.  Both are east of the Washburn Observatory and overlook Lake Mendota.
 From Native Village: Protect Sacred Sites
UWM mound photo: www.news.wisc.edu/15910
http://www.news.wisc.edu/15910

 Riel's poems fetch $27,000 at auction
Ontario: The Métis have descended from marriages between Europeans and the Cree, Ojibway, Algonquin, Saulteaux, and Menominees.  Their fight for survival  was led by Louis  Riel, a Métis leader and politician who organized 1885's North-West Rebellion against Canada. The uprising was unsuccessful, and Riel was executed for high treason.  However, many don't realize that Riel is also considered an important literary figure.  Recently, some of Riel's manuscripts sold at auction for $27,000 -- more than five times the expected price. "The ones that [were] auctioned he wrote while he was in jail and waiting to be executed,"  said Canadian poet, Paul Savoie.  "... they were handed to his jailer, so they're quite interesting just for that fact,"  The poetry contains many powerful images, as well as religious references that became important to Riel as he faced his execution. "At some point in time in Canada, there has to be realization that this is an extremely important part of our history," Savoie said. Today, Canada recognizes the Métis as Aboriginal peoples along with the Inuit and First Nations.
Louis Riel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Riel
http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2008/11/25/riel-poet.html

Waccamaw tribe gathers for annual pauwau
Waccamaw Tribal Grounds, South Carolina: The Waccamaw People of Conway are descended from Native Americans who lived in the Dog Bluff/ Dimery settlement. In February, the Waccamaw became the first state recognized tribe in South Carolina.  To the Waccamaw People, being part of the tribe is not a right, it is a privilege. During their recent powwow in Aynor, many shared their thoughts and advice with others:
"My advice to the younger generation would be to respect your elders, stay away from drugs and alcohol, stay in school and be the best that you can be, and always respect yourself.”  Rick Bird
"We have really destroyed much of [earth's] beauty.  What will we leave for the future generations if we don’t take care of what we have now?” Iris ‘Leading Bird’ Ewing.
“Talk to your elders and learn from them.  There’s no need to step on the same nails that they stepped on.  Take what they leave behind and go a little farther with it.  You must leave a better world for your own children.  What I want for my tribe, my family, is for the survival of our culture.” Chief Harold Hatcher
http://www.scnow.com/scp/news/local/article/waccamaw_tribe_gathers_for_annual_pauwau/19435/

Noted Actor Danny Glover Touts Cherokee Freedmen Rights
Oklahoma: Before the civil war, thousands of African-American slaves escaped their captors to hide among Native American tribes. These tribes welcomed them into their folds. In 1863, an act of the Cherokee National Council made them citizens of the Cherokee tribe.  An 1866 treaty with the U.S. government cemented their place as Cherokee citizens and protected their rights. But in the early 1980s, the Cherokee Nation stripped these Freedmen of their voting rights and citizenship. Now actor Danny Glover is calling upon the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma to allow Freedmen descendants back into the tribe with full citizenship rights.  "I've always embraced that relationship," he said. "My own grandmother was part Choctaw." He describes this relationship as a pivotal event in America's evolution and points to the help black people offered the Seminoles in their war against U.S. tyranny. Both groups, Glover said, have seen genocide and exploitation. "But I am disturbed by what I see," he said. Glover invited black people to serve as a moral compass on this issue. "These are very important decisions that we have to make. They are moral decisions."

photo: http://nit.com.au/
http://originalpechanga.blogspot.com/2008/09/noted-actor-danny-glover-touts-cherokee.html

Hawaiians Rally To Save Ceded Lands
Hawaii: More than 250 Native Hawaiians and their supporters staged a rally at the state capitol in Honolulu. They are concerned that the U.S. Supreme Court could restrict Native Hawaiian rights.  At issue is the Hawaii Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that forbade the state from selling ceded lands until Native Hawaiian land claims are resolved.  The HSC ruling cited a 1993 congressional apology resolution which admitted the overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom and recognized Native Hawaiian's control over Hawaiian Island lands. Hawaii's state government, however, is appealing  the Hawaiian Supreme Court Ruling saying the state has the right to sell the lands in question. Native Hawaiians are concerned the the U.S. Supreme Court could set back or destroy their efforts to control their own destiny.
http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20081125_Hawaiians_rally_to_save_ceded_lands.html

Uncontacted South American Tribe Unknowingly Wins Big Legal Victory

Paraguay:  The Ayoreo-Totobiegosode are among the last uncontacted Indians in South America.  Recently, they won a major victory against two Brazilian companies -- and they don't know it.  Environmental groups filed lawsuits on the Totobiegosode's behalf against Yaguarete Pora S.A. and  River Plate SA for clearing jungle lands for cattle ranches. Before their loss in court, Yaguarete and River Plate had already cleared thousands of hectares of tribal land -- a staggering 6,000 hectares this year.  Since May, the destruction has tripled, and the Totobiegosodes have been spotted fleeing the rapid bulldozing of their jungle home. Yaguarete Pora S.A. and  River Plate SA, have barred federal investigators from entering the area. "The Totobiegosode are losing their land at a faster rate than the entire Amazon,"  said Stephen Corry, director of Survival International.  "If this continues, they may well be wiped out. Paraguay's new President Lugo must act fast to ensure that the illegal destruction of the Totobiegosode's forest by these Brazilian companies stop."  The Totobiegosode are just one of an estimated 100 uncontacted tribes around the world.
Help the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode: http://www.survival-international.org/tribes/ayoreo
Slideshow: http://www.survival-international.org/tribes/ayoreo
http://gregornot.wordpress.com/2008/11/18/uncontacted-south-american-tribe-unknowingly-wins-big-legal-victory/

Heat Sensors to Track, Protect Amazon's Uncontacted Tribes

Brazil:  Most of Brazil's Indians live in the jungle and maintain their languages and traditions. Many have fought for decades to keep or regain their ancestral lands. Now the Brazilian government will begin using a plane equipped with body-heat sensors to locate -- and protect --uncontacted Indian tribes in the Amazon.  Locating the tribes will help the FUNAI [National Indian Foundation] create reserves where loggers or farmers are barred.  The technology will also help FUNAI avoid endangering the tribes through contact with its own workers. "It will enable them to locate a tribe ... without exposing them to the risk of 'Western' diseases such as flu to which uncontacted or isolated groups have no immunity," said Fiona Watson from Survival International. FUNAI will mount the heat sensors on planes that will crisscross the Amazon at high altitudes. This will ensure there is no disruption in the lives of the uncontacted tribes.
graphics: Heather's animations
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08328/929828-82.stm

"Spiritual terrorism" against indigenous people still occurs, Lutheran pastor says
Michigan:  During a multicultural conference in Marquette, a Lutheran pastor shocked audience members by saying some religions still commit “spiritual terrorism” against indigenous peoples, and that the land called United States was stolen from American Indians. Rev. Lynn Hubbard explained that Christian, Jewish and Islamic faiths have changed little since the days of conquering indigenous peoples around the world. Citing the “doctrine of discovery” and Manifest Destiny, Hubbard reviewed this history:
"Chosen people" and their "promised land" model was transposed into the doctrine of discovery;
Columbus and others believed that Native people “were expendable commodities;”
Those who supported atrocities against indigenous peoples included King Ferdinand of Spain, several popes, and Christopher Columbus;
New World explorers had church backing to take land and subjugate American Indians;
The "chosen people’" and "promised land" model is still used to justify today's genocide against the world's indigenous peoples.
Hubbard said,  "... this is spiritual insanity ...This is white supremacy coming from our European religious heritage. This is what we have to purge from our spiritual gene pool.”   Reverend Hubbard is director of the Turtle Island Project in Michigan.
Turtle Island Project: http://www.turtleislandproject.org/
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