NATIVE_NEWS: USDA: Rudely Defending Biotech Foods
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: Robert Weissman [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: Multiple recipients of list CORP-FOCUS [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: USDA: Rudely Defending Biotech Foods MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0d -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas When Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman wanted to address the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. to rave about the biotech industry and its wonders, he called Gene Grabowski. Grabowski, a former Associated Press reporter and currently a spokesperson for the Grocery Manufacturers of America, sits on the Press Club's speakers committee. Grabowski was happy to oblige Glickman's request. After all, GMA and Glickman are bosom buddies on the issue of biotech foods -- they both agree that since biotech foods are no different from conventional foods, there is no need for labeling. Last week, Glickman addressed a National Press Club ballroom packed with biotech industry and agribusiness executives, with reporters bringing up the rear. And he didn't disappoint them. Glickman hyped the benefits of biotech foods, and downplayed the risks. The title of the speech reflects his affection for the industry: "How Will Scientists, Farmers, and Consumers Learn to Love Biotechnology, and What Happens If They Don't?" Some reporters misinterpreted Glickman's "five principles to guide the oversight of biotechnology in the 21st century" -- an arm's length regulatory process, consumer acceptance, fairness to farmers, corporate citizenship, and fair and open trade -- as meaning the government was serious about reining in an industry that has run roughshod over public health concerns. In fact, the speech could have been written -- was it? -- by the Biotechnology Industry Association (BIO) or its member companies such as Monsanto and Genentech. The day after Glickman's speech, a reporter asked BIO president Carl Feldbaum whether the speech represented a "big blow" to the biotech industry. "It was a good speech," Feldbaum said. "We are quite comfortable with his five principles. As you get into the details, I could not find much to quibble with. It is in no way a blow to the biotech industry. It was quite positive." After the speech was over -- and the pro-biotech audience loved it -- we joined a group of reporters to seek some clarifications from the Secretary. We asked Glickman why the USDA spent $100,000 to help develop the terminator seed technology -- if farmers plant these seeds, still in final development, the resulting crop would produce seed that is sterile, and farmers would be forced to buy new seed from the companies. At first, Glickman handed the question over to his aide, Keith Pitts. But we wanted Glickman to answer the question. "I certainly don't like the name of it -- it scares the hell out of me," Glickman said. Okay, so the name scares you. But what about the technology itself? Does that scare the hell out of you? "We need to study this," he said. But sir, do you think this technology should be allowed onto the market? Another Glickman associate yells that "he has answered the question." But Glickman realizes he hasn't answered the question. "In the future, we have to be very careful at USDA so that we don't finance the kind of arrangements that exclude family farmer choices," Glickman said. In his speech, Glickman made the point that genetically engineered foods are already in the food supply. For 1998 crops, 44 percent of U.S. soybeans and 36 percent of U.S. corn were produced from genetically modified seeds. Are you concerned Mr. Secretary that we are already eating genetically modified foods without knowing it, without it being labeled? "You may be, I don't know if you are or not," Glickman responded. "I eat everything. If anything is there, I eat it. I presume it is safe and good." "By and large, people have confidence in this country's system of food safety regulation," Glickman said. "The FDA is viewed as independent." But the FDA is being sued for allowing biotech foods on the market without adequate review. And the man who approved the foods at the FDA came to the FDA from a law firm where he represented Monsanto, and after his stint at the FDA, he went to work directly for Monsanto's Washington office, where he sits today. "All I can say is that the food system is safe," Glickman said. Glickman was dismissive of the Europeans for opposing biotech imports from the United States. "When you go over there [to Europe] the attitude is -- don't confuse me with the facts," Glickman said. In fact, European concerns about food safety are grounded in a moral and ethical belief system foreign to corporatists like Glickman. The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) has raised the question -- "do we have the right to experiment with, and commercialize, the building blocks of life?" "I personally have no wish to eat anything produced by genetic
NATIVE_NEWS: News Briefs...
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Published Friday, July 16, 1999 Obituaries: Amos L. Crooks, former vice chair of tribe http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=80766068 Lucy Y. Her / Star Tribune Amos L. Crooks, the first vice chairman of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community, died of cancer Tuesday at his home in Prior Lake. He was 79. "He was known on the reservation as the 'pipeman,' the one who carves," read a Minneapolis Star article in April 1980. In 1959, Amos moved his family to Shakopee, where he had lived for a while during his childhood. Shakopee was the land of his ancestors. "It would be, he thought, a place to iron out the wrinkles in his soul, the right place to raise the children," the article read. By an act of Congress, any American Indian of direct Mdewakanton descent has a right to live on a piece of the Shakopee land, which was set aside in 1888. The Mdewakanton originally lived in the Mille Lacs area, but they migrated south and lived along the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. By the time white settlers arrived, there had been a Mdewakanton tribe in the Shakopee area for a long time.end excerpt ~~~ Developer wants $50 million for Miami Circle http://www.naplesnews.com/today/florida/d302838a.htm Friday, July 16, 1999 Associated Press MIAMI - The developer of the property where a circular stone formation carved by Tequesta Indians was discovered wants Miami-Dade County to pay $50 million for the land. The amount was presented in court on Wednesday as Dade officials sought to take over the 2.2-acre property for the creation of an archaeological preserve. Attorneys are disputing the land's value. Developer Michael Baumann planned a 600-unit, twin-tower apartment complex on the property. His attorneys have argued that the county should pay for the value of the land, as well as potential lost profits. "Our appraisals are not completed," Baumann's attorney Toby Brigham told Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Fredricka Smith on Wednesday. Baumann spent $8 million to buy the property at the mouth of the Miami River. He spent an additional $6.6 million in architectural, legal, engineering and other fees and expenses, according to court documents. The land may be worth $50 million - triple the county's estimate - because someone might pay that amount for the land and the development plans, Brigham said.end excerpt New aboriginal channel to rely on re-runs this fall http://www.nunatsiaq.com/nunavut/nvt90716_06.html Fledgling network hopes repackaged regional material will be new to viewers in other parts of the country. SEAN McKIBBON Nunatsiaq News IQALUIT Viewers tuning into Canada's new Aboriginal People's Television Network (APTN) may see something familiar this fall re-runs. But network executives hope those viewers will be uncommon. To fill its programming slots, APTN is looking at buying rights to rebroadcast shows simply because there isn't enough new material out there. "As far as programming goes it's a challenge. There are a lot of great documentaries and half-hour and one-hour shows, but very little series," says Abraham Tagalik, the chief operating officer of the new network and chairman of APTN's progenitor, Television Northern Canada. "There's a really great regional aboriginal current affairs show out of Manitoba, and something similar from Saskatchewan and B.C." says APTN's director of communications Jennifer David. But many people from other parts of the country haven't seen those programs yet she says. She says the new network will provide a national venue for aboriginal productions that didn't exist before and APTN is banking on that wider audience. He says new, on-going shows will have to be developed, but until that happens the network will have to rely on existing material. He says $5 million has been budgeted to aquire shows from independent producers and another pot of money $55,000 according to APTN's website has been allocated for script and concept development. "Our setting up will benefit abriginal radio, newspapers, television. The sky is really the limit interms of utilizing whats out there," said Tagalik. The only original programing that will be produced by the new network itself will be the news, but that won't be up and running until January, says Tagalik. By January the network should have a studio set up at its new headquarters in Winnipeg. ~~~ Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Native American children recognize media stereotypes
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Native American children recognize media stereotypes http://www.okit.com/july/media.htm Oakland, CA -- Native American youth say the media has a powerful influence on perceptions of people of color and that they see themselves characterized as "poor," "drunk," "living on reservations," "selling fireworks," and "fighting over land." Whites and African Americans are also seen by these young people as racially stereotyped on TV - "black people are always funny," "white people are all rich and stuff." These are just some of the observations from Native American children released today as a continuation of A Different World, a groundbreaking 1998 study examining children's perceptions of race and class in the media. The studies were commissioned by Children Now, a non-profit child advocacy organization. Children Now, along with the polling firm of Lake Snell Perry Associates, conducted focus groups in three cities- Oklahoma City, Albuquerque and Seattle. The groups involved representatives of more than 20 tribes and respondents from the ages of 9-17. "We heard from Native American children that they think of themselves as an invisible race in the media," said Lois Salisbury, president of Children Now. "Yet, when they do see themselves, they're often troubled by what they see." One Comanche child says, "Nobody really talks about our group," while others point to persistent stereotypes - casinos, "fighting over land," dancing around fires." When Native American youth do see themselves positively portrayed, they say they feel proud and empowered. One Seattle boy talked about seeing a news clip about the Gathering of Nations, a pow-wow in Albuquerque, "They announced it on TV ...I was really surprised. It was cool." In addition to race, Native youth also perceived a marked difference based on socioeconomic class. "the [news] media thinks of upper class kids as perfect...they don't really notice the middle class and lower class...they think they're something you step on." Like children of all nationalities and races, the Native youth polled in Children Now's study want to see honest, accurate portrayals of themselves and those that are around them. All respondents said they have friends of different races and want to see that multi-ethnic aspect of their lives and their world reflected on the TV and movie screen. As one Isleta boy commented, "Show them all people...Show them together. As friends." Finally, Native youth looked beyond color and race to issues of equality, economics and fairness in their critique of television and movies. One Washington girl said, "When you do see Native Americans on TV ...they're all drunk and beating up on each other. And they're poor. "A Seattle teen offers some simple advice. "If they're going to put Indians [in the show], I'd tell them to actually go and study what they're about to film." For more information, please contact Vernae Graham or Dante Allen at Children Now, 510-763-2444. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: COMMENTARY: Why teachers can't ignore Indian mascots
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Oklahoma Indian Times Inc., Editors and Publishers: Elizabeth Gray and Jim Gray, P.O. Box 692050, Tulsa, OK 74169, or email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Why teachers can't ignore Indian mascots http://www.okit.com/opinion.htm By Cornel Pewewardy - Guest Columnist Why should anyone, especially teachers, allow his or her students to uncritically adopt a cartoon version of a people's culture as an Indian mascot or logo? Students need to be educated about the negative effects of racist Indian mascots and logos portrayed by sports teams. Some students have told me that they don't see the Indian mascot issue as important as those of alcoholism, substance abuse, and poverty. Some even say it's "too much fuss over team names," "we're just having fun," or "what's the point?" They don't see the connection, simply because they're not close to the issues of Indian education on a daily basis. What a lot of people do not see is the mimicking and protesting that goes on in sporting arenas. They are not going to see the problem if they don't think there is a problem. I see the root cause of this negative portrayal of Indian mascots as "dysconscious racism" that triggers cultural violence in sporting arenas. This is a form of racism that tacitly accepts dominant white norms and privileged schools. The way in which Indian mascots and logos are used today is racism in American sports culture. The irony is that this phenomena has become as "American as apple pie and baseball" to make fun of Indian people in athletic events across American sports culture. While the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs, University of Illinois Fighting Illini, Florida State University Seminoles, Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savages, Wichita North High School Redskins, and many more educational institutions have resisted the pressure to change, scores of colleges, universities, and high school teams have adopted new names over the years. For example, Stanford changed from Indians to the "Cardinal." Dartmouth changed from Indians to "The Big Green." Ohio's Miami University Redskins became the "Red Hawks." Marquette University Warriors are now the "Golden Eagles." Most recently, Oklahoma City University changed from Chiefs to the "Stars." These name changes shouldn't have to go through ugly alumni and student backlashes that smear Indian complainants as activist or militant. Some large school districts across the nation like Dallas Public Schools and Los Angeles Public Schools have already eliminated Indian mascots from their schools as the result of active parent and education advocacy groups working closely with school officials. Wisconsin and Minnesota have recommended that publicly funded schools not use mascots, names or logos that have been deemed offensive to Indigenous Peoples. Who should decide what is demeaning and racist? Clearly, the affected party determines what is offensive. It is not for unaffected members of society to dictate how the affected party should feel. Many indigenous people do not feel mascots and logos such as those of the Cleveland Indians and Washington Redskins promote good character representations of their respective cultures. The wide-mouth grin of the Cleveland Indians and Oklahoma's Eskimo Joes is the equivalent to the blackface representation of the 1920s that overly displayed racist stereotypes of African Americans. "Chief Wahoo," is still the Cleveland Indians' logo. Despite Indians' protests against using their images as sports mascots, dozens of teams continue to use unflattering, stereotypical symbols. For many people not closely associated with Indian education, chances are that they might not see the psychological impact of negative stereotypes used in schools upon children. As a former elementary teacher, coach, and principal, I try to get teachers to see the psychological impact upon children. It is an issue of metacognition - one more cause for low self-esteem in American Indian children. As a result, professional groups have rushed to support the elimination of negative mascots used in schools like the Mental Health Association of Minnesota and Society of Indian Psychologists of the Americas. There are plenty other professional organizations that support the elimination of negative Indian mascots used in schools like the National Indian Education Association, United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, Governor's Interstate Indian Council, Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, National Congress of American Indians, NAACP, and NCAA. My challenge is to teachers. As long as such mascots remain within the arena of school activities, both Indian and non-Indian children are learning to tolerate racism in schools. That's what children see at school and on television. As a result, schools only reinforce the negative images projected by popular culture. This is precisely what sport teams with negative Indian
NATIVE_NEWS: Archivists found documents Lincoln wrote in support of bounty land for his men
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Lincoln documents discovered http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/dsnews/176nd2.htm Written descriptions of accidental shooting tied to Black Hawk War Saturday, July 17, 1999 SPRINGFIELD (AP) The fact that only one man in Abraham Lincoln's militia command was wounded during the conflict with Sac and Fox Indians might make most folks say, "So what?" What's interesting to historians is the discovery of the former president's written description of how William Hohimer accidentally shot himself. The discovery was triggered by a Hohimer descendant who spotted Lincoln's signature on an old military document she was viewing at the National Archives in Washington. She mentioned the sighting to Kim Bauer, a historical research specialist with the Illinois State Historical Library, who asked a National Archives historian to retrieve the file. Lincoln's statement details how Hohimer's musket went off while he was setting up camp. He wrote that the shot entered one side of Hohimer's body and went out the other, leaving a wound that was "for some days afterward considered mortal." At the time, Lincoln was captain of a 67-man militia unit during the Black Hawk War. The report enabled Hohimer to get a government disability pension of $8 a month and a 40-acre tract of bounty land for his war service. With his curiosity piqued by the discovery, Bauer asked the National Archives to search further. Archivists found five more documents Lincoln wrote in support of bounty land for his men. Some of the papers were basic forms Lincoln filled out and signed, while others were reports entirely written out. Bauer said the latest find suggests scholars should work harder to sift through old records that in many cases have been undisturbed for years. Until now, he said, it's clear that "nobody ever looked in the muster roll of the men who served with Lincoln" in the Black Hawk War. © 1998 Associated Press All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Link with American natives on AFN agenda
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: SYMPATICO NEWSEXPRESS NATIONAL NEWS Tues, July 20th http://www.ab.sympatico.ca/news/Fullstories/n071950.html Link with American natives on AFN agenda DENE MOORE VANCOUVER (CP) - Canada's biggest aboriginal group will consider a proposal to work with its U.S. counterpart in an attempt to increase its political clout. The Assembly of First Nations' annual general meeting begins Tuesday and members of the National Congress of American Indians are expected to be there. "We see this as an opportunity to renew historic ties with our friends to the south," assembly Chief Phil Fontaine said Monday. "We recognize that a joint strategic approach to common issues is the best way to go - strength in numbers." But critics say the assembly can't even work with native groups in its own backyard and doesn't properly represent most First Nations people. "We should unite in Canada before we start going outside to unite with others," said Marilyn Buffalo, head of the Native Women's Association of Canada. Buffalo said she was not invited to the annual meeting until she wrote a letter to Fontaine last week. She received an invitation but must pay her own expenses. "We've been left out of this entirely," Buffalo said from Calgary. "It's very, very sad when 52 per cent of the population, which I represent, have been left out of this assembly." But Buffalo said she is keeping an open mind about the meeting. Roy Little Chief, a former chief of the Siksika Nation in Alberta, isn't so optimistic. He said the assembly represents the federal government, not native people. "Right now in Canada there's probably 80 per cent poverty among the people (while) Phil Fontaine is controlling all kinds of money," Little Chief said in a telephone interview. "I think people are getting fed up with this." Little Chief is one of several people who plan to attend the Vancouver meeting Tuesday to protest the assembly and the proposed link with the congress. "It's not going to do anything for us," he said. The congress is the same as the assembly - a government-funded organization out of touch with grassroots natives, Little Chief said. But Fontaine said working together has led to many successes for Canada's natives. And there are many issues - land claims, resource rights, treaty issues - that are common to native people in Canada and the United States, he said. A co-operation agreement could see the assembly send its own ambassador to Washington to work more closely with American Indians, Fontaine said. The proposed agreement of co-operation will be reviewed by representatives of each national group and likely revised. Both will vote on the proposal. Assembly spokesman Jean LaRose said the agreement could be the first step towards international co-operation among indigenous people. That could include the Maori people of New Zealand, South American Indians, the indigenous people of Taiwan and others. Up to 5,000 Canadian and American native leaders are expected to attend the meeting. It is the first time the assembly and congress have met and delegates will discuss everything from treaty issues to veterans affairs. © The Canadian Press, 1999 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Plains States Tribes' Guidebook Assistance in Environmental and Water Resources Issues
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Plains States Tribes' Guidebook of Agencies/Colleges Providing Assistance in Environmental and Water Resources Issues http://mnisose.org/guidebook/gbindex.htm INTRODUCTION This guidebook is intended to provide a resource Tribes may access to determine which federal agencies and other organizations are able to provide assistance in the areas of environment and water resources. This guidebook provides only a summary of information on environmental assistance and related programs available to tribal members and their constituents and includes, but is not limited to, program information on water and natural resources. Tribes are encouraged to contact the appropriate agencies in their respective regions for additional information on assistance programs that may be available from certain agencies or organizations listed within this guidebook. With the cooperation and collaboration of the agencies and organizations listed in this guidebook, the Mni Sose Intertribal Water Rights Coalition is able to distribute this document to its member Tribes and constituents. COLLABORATING AGENCIES (clicking on one of the seven links below will download other tribal programs available): Army Corps of Engineers Bureau of Indian Affairs Bureau of Reclamation Environmental Protection Agency Indian Health Service Montana State University Northern Natural Resources Conservation Service The Coalition will continue to update this guidebook as necessary as additional information becomes available. (Please note: These files are in .pdf format and compressed ... Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Clinton Urges Fight Against Racism
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Dear Sir, Does this mean you are hereby vacating the Mitigation Act which is illegal per the last bona fide treaty of 1868 with the Lakota, Oglala, Nakota and Dakota people? Are you also calling for a congressional oversight hearing on this matter? Or, is this simply another way to capitalize on another man's misfortune, to once again attempt to put your name in a good light by aligning with the Kennedy name. Ishgooda Editor, Native News From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 11:22:07 EDT Subject: Clinton Urges Fight Against Racism Clinton Urges Fight Against Racism .c The Associated Press By SONYA ROSS WASHINGTON (AP) - Drawing yet again from President Kennedy's legacy, President Clinton today challenged the nation's lawyers to diversify their ranks and devote more time to fighting racism through pro bono work. The president was gathering leaders from various aspects of law, such as bar associations, corporation counsels, law firms and civil rights attorneys, to issue a ``call to action'' as part of his efforts to promote racial dialogue. Today's event was patterned after a call Kennedy issued in the White House East Room on June 21, 1963, before 200 lawyers, urging them to condemn Gov. George Wallace's stand against allowing black students to enroll in Alabama's public universities. Kennedy was joined by his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy and implemented the ``Great Society'' programs that sought to address entrenched poverty, especially among minorities. Before convening that meeting, Kennedy cast his effort as an attempt to prod Americans to take up the battle for racial equality. ``We are confronted, primarily, with a moral issue. It is as old as the Scriptures and is as clear as the American Constitution,'' Kennedy said. ``The heart of the question is whether all Americans are to be afforded equal rights and equal opportunities, whether we are going to treat our fellow Americans as we want to be treated.'' White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said Clinton was commemorating the anniversary of Kennedy's call by standing in the same room, picking up on his predecessor's desire for the legal community ``to get involved with using their skills to eradicate racism in this country.'' Clinton planned to announce a series of commitments on promoting opportunities for minorities in the legal profession. The commitments were worked out among the White House, Justice Department, bar associations, law schools and private sector attorneys over the past year. Under those commitments: The American Bar Association will expand programs for corporations to hire more minority law firms, encourage more lawyers to provide free legal services to the poor and provide financial and mentoring assistance to minority law students. The American Corporate Counsel Association will promote corporate pro bono services and provide resources so that corporate counsels can implement diversity and pro bono services on the local level. Some leading law firms will agree to have their attorneys commit to spending 50 hours per year, or 3 percent of billable time, performing pro bono services for nonwhites or working in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The American Association of Law Schools will promote lessons in racial justice and public service and encourage students to volunteer in minority communities. Also, the ABA and ACCA will join with the National Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, Native American Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and the San Francisco and New York City bars to develop a national response to Clinton's call. AP-NY-07-20-99 1121EDT Copyright 1999 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Associated Press. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Flight
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Message-ID: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 15:13:52 EDT Subject: Flight To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit THOSE WHITEOUTS can be scary to fly in when everything is frozen. Snow everywhere. Kobuk Lake is expansive and must be flown over when returning from Upper Kobuk. It's not a lengthy flight and it's beautiful when clear. It is against visual flight rules to fly when visibility is less than six miles or after 9 p.m. Our pilots broke those codes. There are many small airlines in the Kotzebue region, above the Arctic Circle, on the Chukchi Sea. With a whiteout, the snow blows up from the earth and small crystalline snow falls from the sky and they combine, swallowing up the aircraft. Two miles visibility is actually enough visibility if we can see the mountains to the north. We changed our flight pattern, midflight, to go through a different pass when the weather was bad on our way to Kiana. We saw the storm and went another way. We land on the opposite end of the airstrip in Kotzebue when we flew after 9 p.m. and we scurried off the airfield, out a back gate, while the pilot waited a few minutes before flying back home. He was wishing that he wouldn't get stuck in Kotzebue that night. Rosa, in her late 40s, survived a small aircraft crash into the Kotzebue Sound sixteen years ago in a very cold September. She remembers the cold. She was found floating. One young daughter, 4 months old, survived. One did not. Her husband's remains washed up on a beach a year later...his skull was buried in a full casket with fancy new clothes purchased. Her surviving daughter had her head shaved with tubes poking out of it. Her sister didn't survive because she was too heavy and didn't float. The pilot's body washed up near the Baptist Church the following spring. One engine quit and after they were falling at a steep angle, almost straight down, the pilot managed to level it off and tried to land on the point. They didn't make it. The plane broke through the thick ice and Rosa was found on the ice. It is a common saying, among the older women, that if a newborn baby cries constantly, that they are the soul of a person who died in an aircrash who has come back to life. They are reliving the memory of the crash when they cry incessantly. *Hotel 26* is the coded signal via CB radio that a small aircraft is approaching for landing. We gather up our winter gear, pull on snow pants, bundle up warm and head out to a snow machine to get to the air strip. Even the larger 737 flights are cancelled if the winds are at 40 knots. That is a storm and this is spring in Northwestern Alaska. copyright by Patricia Aqiimuk Paul, JD July 17, 1999 Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Grassroots Indians ignored
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: "chris" [EMAIL PROTECTED] via: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: AFN works for international co-optation Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Tuesday 20 July 1999 The Canadian Press Link with American natives on AFN agenda DENE MOORE VANCOUVER (CP) - Canada's biggest aboriginal group will consider a proposal to work with its U.S. counterpart in an attempt to increase its political clout. The Assembly of First Nations' annual general meeting begins Tuesday and members of the National Congress of American Indians are expected to be there. "We see this as an opportunity to renew historic ties with our friends to the south," assembly Chief Phil Fontaine said Monday. "We recognize that a joint strategic approach to common issues is the best way to go - strength in numbers." But critics say the assembly can't even work with native groups in its own backyard and doesn't properly represent most First Nations people. "We should unite in Canada before we start going outside to unite with others," said Marilyn Buffalo, head of the Native Women's Association of Canada. Buffalo said she was not invited to the annual meeting until she wrote a letter to Fontaine last week. She received an invitation but must pay her own expenses. "We've been left out of this entirely," Buffalo said from Calgary. "It's very, very sad when 52 per cent of the population, which I represent, have been left out of this assembly." But Buffalo said she is keeping an open mind about the meeting. Roy Little Chief, a former chief of the Siksika Nation in Alberta, isn't so optimistic. He said the assembly represents the federal government, not native people. "Right now in Canada there's probably 80 per cent poverty among the people (while) Phil Fontaine is controlling all kinds of money," Little Chief said in a telephone interview. "I think people are getting fed up with this." Little Chief is one of several people who plan to attend the Vancouver meeting Tuesday to protest the assembly and the proposed link with the congress. "It's not going to do anything for us," he said. The congress is the same as the assembly - a government-funded organization out of touch with grassroots natives, Little Chief said. But Fontaine said working together has led to many successes for Canada's natives. And there are many issues - land claims, resource rights, treaty issues - that are common to native people in Canada and the United States, he said. A co-operation agreement could see the assembly send its own ambassador to Washington to work more closely with American Indians, Fontaine said. The proposed agreement of co-operation will be reviewed by representatives of each national group and likely revised. Both will vote on the proposal. Assembly spokesman Jean LaRose said the agreement could be the first step towards international co-operation among indigenous people. That could include the Maori people of New Zealand, South American Indians, the indigenous people of Taiwan and others. Up to 5,000 Canadian and American native leaders are expected to attend the meeting. It is the first time the assembly and congress have met and delegates will discuss everything from treaty issues to veterans affairs. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: AFN works for international co-optation
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From: "chris" [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: AFN works for international co-optation Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 15:31:46 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal Tuesday, July 20, 1999 Tecumseh's vision reality as natives to form alliance International agreement: Late chief believed in unifying tribal nations Stewart Bell National Post The Canadian Press Phil Fontaine VANCOUVER - During the early 1800s, a chief named Tecumseh had a vision of uniting Canadian and American aboriginal tribes into a single Indian Confederacy. Today the top tribal leaders from both sides of the border will gather in Vancouver to form an alliance they say will finally realize Tecumseh's dream of "one body, one heart." Five thousand delegates from Canada and the U.S. were expected to attend the first joint summit hosted by the Assembly of First Nations and the National Congress of American Indians. Phil Fontaine, Canada's top chief, and Ron Allen, his U.S. counterpart, were to sign a "protocol agreement" at the conclusion of the four-day event pledging to co-operate on issues of shared concern, such as land and border-crossing rights. The theme of the conference is Uniting First Nations: Tecumseh's Vision. "We want to renew our ties with the people in the states," Mr. Fontaine said. "Both organizations feel that, and believe that, one of the most effective ways of advancing our position is to join forces and pursue these common issues through a more collective approach." The last major gathering of North American tribes was 60 years ago, but this will be the largest and the first to discuss such a broad range of themes, from trade and culture to human rights and politics. "In addition to renewing our historic ties, it's an opportunity to give international focus to indigenous issues in North America, those related to treaties, land, resources, self determination," Mr. Fontaine said. There are many aboriginal issues that cross the border. Indians throughout North America share a similar culture and are believed by anthropologists to have all descended from people who crossed a land bridge from Asia centuries ago. The border imposed by European settlers divided some Indian tribes. Although Canada and the U.S. have taken somewhat different approaches to dealing with native people, there are common threads, such as the reservation system, residential schools and the adoption of native children into non-native families. The conference is the latest attempt by Mr. Fontaine to reach out beyond Canada's borders to advance aboriginal rights. Since he was elected national chief two years ago, he has devoted significant time and energy to forging international links. He headed a delegation to Mexico in May to foster trade and political links between indigenous people in both countries. A second visit is planned for October. The assembly also said it would look into hosting a major event in Canada in 2000 with representatives of First Nations in Mexico. Last month, Mr. Fontaine took a group of chiefs to New York to meet Kofi Anan, the United Nations Secretary General. They asked him to appoint an advocate or goodwill ambassador for aboriginal people and to establish a permanent forum that would give natives a voice at the UN. Mr. Anan has sent a representative to this week's conference. In addition, Mr. Fontaine said he has been in discussion with native leaders in Bolivia and Guatemala, and plans an official visit to New Zealand in the fall. He says the diplomatic campaign is one of "expanding our horizons. "For a time now we've been far too insular, in my view," he said. "The world has changed so fundamentally and it's become smaller in some respects and we believe that we can't allow ourselves to be idle bystanders while the world undergoes fundamental change. "We really have to be involved, to try and shape and influence the changes that take place, and so it's really important for us to design a strategic approach that will protect the unique interests of indigenous peoples." Tecumseh had similar ideas. Born in 1768 in southern Ohio, the son of a Shawnee chief, he tried to unite Indians against the United States during th e War of 1812 to "defend to the last warrior, our country, our homes, our liberty, and the graves of our fathers." He died Oct. 5, 1813, during the Battle of the Thames. "Tecumseh believed in unifying our people and bringing the various nations together. He didn't believe in war. He believed in securing the position of our people through peaceful means, and we want to build on that spirit with this particular gathering." Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton
NATIVE_NEWS: ENVIRO BRIEF: EPA ASKED TO REQUIRE BUTTERFLY-SAVING MEASURES
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I have yet to see addressed what ingestion of this bacterium does to consumers. Please be heard on the issue of labelling. We should be permitted informed choices. Lobby for accurate lobbying on genetically modified foods. Ish Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 19:18:05 -0500 To: Ishgooda [EMAIL PROTECTED] From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: EPA ASKED TO REQUIRE BUTTERFLY-SAVING MEASURES Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" ** EPA ASKED TO REQUIRE BUTTERFLY-SAVING MEASURES The Environmental Defense Fund has urged the U.S. EPA and major seed companies to limit the planting of Bt corn, a genetically-engineered variety designed to produce its own pesticide. The corn produces pollen deadly to Monarch butterflies and other butterfly species, including the endangered Karner Blue. http://www.edf.org/pubs/NewsReleases/1999/Jul/c_butterflies.html Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Tribes' cooperation important for next census
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: From Victor's Pechanga.net Martha http://www2.startribune.com/stOnLine/cgi-bin/article?thisStory=80777159 Tribes' cooperation important for next census By TIM TALLEY / Associated Press Writer OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- American Indian tribes have a lot to lose if their numbers are undercounted in the 2000 census, the director of the U.S. Census Bureau said Tuesday. " We take very, very seriously trying to do an accurate count of the American Indian population, " Director Ken Prewitt said during a Tribal Governments Conference where census officials encouraged Indian leaders to support the millennium census. " Not all of the American people cooperate at the level with which we would hope, " Prewitt said. Census officials estimate that American Indians were undercounted by 12.5 percent in the 1990 Census -- the highest of any minority group. " That was really a very discouraging undercount, " Prewitt said. In Oklahoma, which is home to about 260, 000 American Indians, more than any other state, Prewitt said the undercount was about 5 percent. " It' s a very dispersed population, " he said. " In past censuses, it' s been uneven." Prewitt said the Census Bureau is forming partnerships with tribal leaders and hopes to organize " complete count committees" with each of Oklahoma' s nearly 40 recognized tribes to encourage cooperation with census takers. " We think we will count the Indian population in the U.S. better in 2000, " Prewitt said. Census statistics help determine how and where about $200 billion in federal dollars for housing, education and other programs are spent each year. " There are benefits, " Prewitt said. " It' s really important, " said Perry Beaver, principal chief of the Creek Nation. " A lot of the programs are based on population." Prewitt said some ethnic groups are unwilling to cooperate in the census because of cultural and demographic issues, such as migrant residents and those who do not understand English. Others refuse to cooperate because of indifference, cynicism and fear, he said. " We' re counting people who don' t particularly want to be found, " Prewitt said. He said census data is confidential and information provided by individuals is not shared with any other government agency. " The concerns are understandable, " he said. " But there' s nothing that would give somebody grounds for that concern. " At no time have we ever shared any individual census data. We only share census data in aggregated statistical form, " he said. Copyright 1999 Associated Press. Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ UPDATES: CAMP JUSTICE http://shell.webbernet.net/~ishgooda/oglala/
NATIVE_NEWS: Blackfeet Revival - Tribal Bank
And now:Sonja Keohane [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: After hearing the comments regarding Pine Ridge and what could be done there to help increase employment and create jobs and although what works for one community does not always work for another, I thought this was an interesting article. Am including a few "snipped" paragraphs: http://www.billingsgazette.com/region/990720_reg10.html Blackfeet revivial Tribal bank credited with breathing new life into reservation BROWNING (AP) - Business people in this reservation hub town say their community is coming back to life and the Blackfeet National Bank, a 12-year-old, locally controlled financial institution, is coaxing the revival. There's an air of optimism in Browning's business circles as more shops are open than in recent years and people are spending more money in town. SNIP BNB has its own local board of directors, on which no elected officials may sit. The Blackfeet Tribe owns 94 percent of the business. It specializes in small business, residential real estate and consumer lending in Glacier and Pondera counties, although most of its clients reside in the immediate Browning area. SNIP "A lot of times in our community what we tend to forget is our greatest resource is our human resource," Kipp said. "If we don't invest in our people, we'll never make it." That's exactly why the bank sometimes approves loans under circumstances that other banks might consider too risky, said Sheridan Erickson, president and chief executive of BNB. For instance, BNB might approve a loan for a client with questionable credit history when other banks would flatly deny the request. Instead of looking for reasons to deny loan requests, BNB aggressively looks for ways to approve them, he said. --end of excerpts-
NATIVE_NEWS: Urgent Update from Mendota Spiritual Encampment/ Stop Hwy 55
And now:Ish [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Note: this is not the usual source of info from Mendota. Information is provided as is...Ish X-Sender: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Unverified) Message-Id: v01540b00b3ba8f0124ad@[198.174.167.125] Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 22:42:27 +0100 Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert * Red Alert Today, July 20th, 1999 at 10:10a.m., ranking officers from the Minnesota State Troopers and Minneapolis Police Department came the the Minnehaha Spiritual Encampment. Camp Member, Thunder, approached the ranking State Trooper and asked him why they had come here today. He was told that they were at camp to "take a look around." Thunder asked if they were here to take any action today against the camp. The officer informed him that they were not here to take any action today, against the camp, but to take a look around to see when they do take action what type of action they need to take. The officer asked him if the camp has a sweat lodge, and Thunder pointed to the lodge. The officer asked him if this was the same lodge that we had at the last camp. Thunder said that yes it was, and that he should know that because he was the officer that dismantled the sweat lodge during the last raid on December 20th of 1998. He said that if they need to dismantle the lodge again, they would make sure that it was returned. The Police and State Troopers also had with them a MnDoT official and a representative of Thommes and Thomas, a land clearing firm based out of Stillwater, Minnesota. The land destroyer from Thommes and Thomas had a clip-board and was taking notes on the trees in the area, including the FOUR SACRED TREES, that have been at the center of the struggle to protect this land for the last year. This is the calm before the storm, and now is the time that we must act before they bring their machines to desecrate this sacred gound. We need you, and we need you now. If you have ever felt moved by this struggle, and would be willing to come down and camp with us, now is the time. THE RIGHT OF WAY CLEARING FOR THE REROUTE OF HIGHWAY 55 IS SCHEDULED TO BEGIN BY AUGUST 2ND OF THIS YEAR. BECAUSE OF THIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE POLICE AND STATE TROOPERS, WE BELIEVE THAT THEY WILL RAID THE CAMP BEFORE THAT DATE. We need wave upon wave of people to form a human ring around the four sacred trees and stand with us in prayer and resistance around the sacred fire that has burned since August 10th of 1998. This is a place of prayer and its sacredness has been testified to by spiritual elders from six different First Nations. We need people willing to risk arrest to stand up for the sacredness of this land, to protect the trees, Camp Coldwater Spring, and for the human rights of Native Americans to freedom of religion. This place is a church to all Native Americans, what would you do if this was your church facing the bulldozers? Our spirit is not crushed. MnDoT will never pave over our prayers, and if we stand united and strong we still can save this land for the future generations. We ask all people of conscience to call the Mayor's office, the Governor's Office and even the President of the United States and demand that this re-route of Highway 55 be Stopped immediately, and that this land between Minnehaha Falls and Camp Coldwater Spring be protected for all time. We also ask that you call and fax these two companies that have been awarded the contract for the destruction of the trees and land: C.S McCrossan Inc. 7865 Jefferson Highway Maple Grove, MN phone (612) 425-4167 fax (612) 425-0520 fax (612) 425-1255 Thommes and Thomas 15457 Jeffrey N. Hugo, MN 55038 phone (651) 430-2535 Please ask them to think long and hard about the injustices of this road. That it violates human rights, makes little sense and will destroy beloved Minnehaha Park. Then tell them that they may be opening themselves up to lawsuits. Then let them know that they have been warned, in a non-violent and spiritual way. We must let them know that this is not just a "job", and that we are not against the workers. Remind them that we are non-violent. Let them know that MnDoT does have alternatives available that will still provide work. Unions and workers should not be envolved in projects that have strong community opposition, and that violate fundamental human and constitutional rights. Also: On August 10th, 1999 join us for our one year anniversary of standing up to the bulldozers and of protecting the sacred sites that lie in the path of the reroute of Highway 55. were: at the spiritual encampment. Take Highway 55 (Hiawatha Ave.) south to 54th Street and go left at the light. Go past one driveway and take the second driveway on the right that goes down to a stop light and the Bureau of Mines buildings. The Camp is on the left, and you will see the parked cars. when: Starting at 4:00pm
