And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Johanns, tribe honor each other
BY JODI RAVE Lincoln Journal Star
http://www.journalstar.com/stories/neb/sto7
SANTEE -- When Gov. Mike Johanns arrived on the Santee Sioux
Reservation in northeastern Nebraska Tuesday, both he and tribal leaders
ignored an often strained relationship.
Instead, both sides tried to learn from the other.
"I have tremendous respect for the Santee Sioux," said Johanns. "There's so
much about your cultural heritage to admire." Said Clarissa LaPlante, a
Santee parent and school board member: "I think it's good he came. It seems
like many times Santee is forgotten. It's good he sees how we are with our
children and how the community interacts with each other." In a display of
culture and tradition, the tribe paid Johanns and two state senators its
highest tribute. The drum group Iron Shooter sang an honor song for the
governor and tribal members gave him a native star quilt, performed a
"friendship" or round dance and unwittingly served his favorite meal --
roast beef, mashed potatoes and corn.
These events occurred as the Santee await a U.S. District Court appearance
Friday in Omaha. Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered the tribe to
close its small, 23-employee casino. The tribe refused. Santee tribal
members now will plead their case on why they should not be held in
contempt for failing to pay $3,000 in daily fines accumulating since Feb.
1. The state and Santee have been at odds for years over the divisive
gaming issue. The state maintains that Class III gaming is illegal in
Nebraska, while the tribe says the state consistently has failed to
negotiate a compact in good faith as required by law.
"There's more issues besides gaming that need to be discussed," Santee
Tribal Chairman Butch Denny said Tuesday. "We have health issues, economic
development and education. You never want to stop working with the state
because you don't agree on gaming." Said Johanns: "Unfortunately, I think
the casino issue has dominated the relationship between the state and the
Santee." With those differences temporarily aside, Johanns toured the
144,000-acre reservation. Highlights included: a 60-head bison ranch and a
700-head cattle ranch; a box factory employing 11 people; a K-12
reservation school; and a clinic serving 1,800 patients.
Particular attention was paid to lack of economic development on the
reservation, where unemployment among the 750 tribal members living there
is 74 percent.
Against this backdrop, Johanns announced the tribe would receive a $150,000
tourism development grant from the state's travel and tourism division. The
Santee and the Nebraska Indian Community College applied for the grant,
specifying that money be used to support a cultural center and campgrounds.
The tour was one of enlightenment for both sides.
"This is one of the most informative days I've ever spent on a
reservation," said state Sen. Pat Engel of South Sioux City, who
participated in the four-hour tour. Both the Winnebago and Omaha tribes are
in his legislative district.
Tribal members said they were pleased with the visit. Many had never seen a
governor or state legislator on their reservation before. Cap Dierks of
Ewing said it was his second visit to the Santee during his 13 years as a
legislator. Johanns' trip marked his third to Nebraska reservations during
the past two weeks.
"Very few state senators and governors visit," said Rick Thomas, a grant
writer for the Santee. "I'm 53 years old. I've never seen it happen
before." Meanwhile, the governor took note of reservation deficiencies,
including the clinic's need for more space, new X-ray equipment and
nutritional programs.
He learned of health problems related to diabetes and alcohol. James Kerr,
a clinic employee, attributed diabetes to a diet supplemented by government
rations, namely carbohydrate-rich commodities. "Their honey is not honey,"
he said. "It's corn syrup. The white man's diet is killing them off."
Tribal members attributed dire conditions, such as high unemployment, to
its historical interaction with the government. For example, in the 1860s,
the Santee were forced to relocate from Minnesota to Nebraska with orders
to farm the land.
The idea never worked.
"We don't believe Mother Earth was to be used in that manner," said Rick
Trudell. "She can provide a lot of things to us. We don't have to dig into
her." He said many of the Santee's needs were shared by communities
throughout the state.
Judi Morgan, executive director of the Nebraska Commission on Indian
Affairs, disagreed. She said all tribes' sovereign status separated them
from the average community.
And tribal member Rick Thomas was quick to point out just how basic tribal
needs are: "We don't have a gas station, a bank, a post office or a grocery
store. The things you take for granted in your community, we don't have."
Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html
doctrine of international copyright law.
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Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit)
Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/
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