============================================================ Encourage early learning in your child with Your Big Backyard. Crafts, puzzles, coloring and a poster are in each issue. Subscribe now and get FREE binoculars with your paid order. http://click.topica.com/caaafvVb1ddNBb2HgmNa/YourBigBackyard ============================================================
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=content/local/indian.inc http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=pol02/0110200 2-3 http://www.escribe.com/culture/native_news/m23387.html Indian-state meeting plan debated By ERICKA SCHENCK SMITH Gazette State Bureau HELENA � Divisions within the Legislature�s interim State-Tribal Relations Committee were highlighted Wednesday during talk about bringing state and tribal leaders together to solve several lingering problems. The three non-Indian members of the six-member committee questioned plans by the governor�s office to hold meetings in which as many as 300 state and tribal officials from across the state would try to end longstanding disputes over how the governments handle education, corrections, economic development and health and human services. At one point, Sen. Jerry O�Neil, R-Kalispell, asked why the meetings are necessary, since the interim committee is already planning to visit the reservations. He said that rather than spending $36,000 to bring tribal representatives to Helena for a meeting, he could �offer them a roll of postage stamps.� Indian Affairs Coordinator Bruce Meyers explained that none of the money would come from the state. Meyers said he is working on getting grants from private foundations and corporations that want to see better government-to-government relations between states and Indian tribes. Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, said he wanted assurances that Indians who live outside reservations would be allowed to contribute to the meetings. O�Neil agreed that urban people should be a part of the meetings, but Sen. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, wanted to know, �What�s the big heartburn here for these people who are off the reservation and are making their own way?� As for Indian people living on the reservations, Butcher complained that, with welfare time limits pending, some Indians in Montana are moving back to their reservations, where the time limits do not apply. �They�re unwilling or incapable of working like normal outside people do,� Butcher said. �The elders or the parents, and I hear this all the time, are encouraging them to move back home.� The three Indian members of the committee said they were dismayed by what was said, especially by Butcher. He drew criticism from Indian legislators during the 2001 session for calling reservations �ghettos.� �I really take offense, personal offense, at some of the words Senator Butcher has chosen to use,� said Rep. Carol Juneau, D-Browning. Juneau, originally from North Dakota, is Mandan-Hidatsa. Sen. Gerald Pease, D-Lodge Grass and a Crow tribal member, said he, too, was offended. �I�m still astonished that this thought is still out there,� Pease said. Meyers said Wednesday�s discussion merely highlighted the need for the meetings � �so stereotypes like these and prejudicial statements can be rectified,� he said. Vincent Goes Ahead, vice-chairman of the Crow tribe, who attended the committee meeting Wednesday to support the proposed town hall meetings, said: �There�s two worlds, and you�ve got to open yourself up to both worlds. You can�t live in a box.� �This is an excellent opportunity to bring everyone to the table,� said Rep. Norma Bixby, D-Lame Deer. Meyers said he hoped that the first town hall meeting, on education, would be in late May or early June. Updated: Thu Jan 10 17:52:15 CST 2002 Central Time Copyright � The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. ============================================================ NO MORE PAYROLL HEADACHES FOR SMALL BUSINESS WITH PAYCYCLE! Instant calculations, pre-filled tax forms, email reminders, To Dos. Click to get your FREE How To Avoid Payroll Pitfalls guide. http://click.topica.com/caaafv5b1ddNBb2HgmNf/Paycycle ============================================================ Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
