By: Michelle Blank
In recent years, American Indian voters have helped decide close elections in five Western states: Washington, Montana, South Dakota, Arizona and New Mexico. And the tribes may well play an important role in swing-state elections in 2008.
That’s one reason why the Indigenous Democratic Network recently announced “Prez on the Rez,” a forum designed to bring together Democratic presidential hopefuls and tribal leaders. The August event will be the first time presidential candidates have faced off on reservation land.
So far, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is the only candidate who has confirmed his attendance, although fund president Kalyn Free says other candidates, including John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, have expressed interest.
Some 500 tribal leaders are expected to attend the event on the Morongo Reservation in Cabazon, Calif. Free anticipates that social issues such as poverty, health care, unemployment, alcoholism and suicide will dominate discussions. “The ills America suffers from are most prominently featured on Indian country,” she says. “Those are the issues that are going to be at the forefront and how the president can help give hope and opportunity.” And Free believes the forum will have a ripple effect on voting, as tribal leaders bring their opinions back home.
Nonpartisan groups and political parties alike are beginning to recognize the impact of American Indian voters. In 2002, a gaming proposition on the Arizona ballot turned out unprecedented levels of Indian voters from across the state. The proposition passed, and the Indian turnout also helped elect the state’s first Democratic governor in over 10 years. The Democratic National Committee now has a staffer dedicated to building party participation and voter awareness among Arizona’s 22 tribes.
In 2004, the Congress of American Indians led a nationwide get-out-the-vote effort and sponsored the first post-election study of tribal voting. All eight states studied reported increased Indian voter turnout in 2004 compared to 2000.
Free hopes this trend will spur candidates to listen to tribal leaders. During a speech at a legislative summit, she said, “We’re bringing these candidates in to Indian country so they can hear what we expect of them, and what we want them to do if they’re elected president.”
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Do you know...
Many horses was an Oglala Sioux medicine man, a friend of Sitting Bull, and a promoter of the Ghost Dance as the last protection against the white man's invasion. He organized the final Ghost Dance at Standing Rock Reservation in the Spring of 1890, to dance away the white soldiers camped at the foot of the hills. At dawn the white tipis of the U.S. Army were still visible, and Many Horses, with a heart full of grief, knew that the magic had failed. But the Great Spirit spoke to him. Turning his back on the rising sun, he addressed the assembled warriors:
"I will follow the white man's trail.I will make him my friend, but I will not bend my back to his burdens. I will be cunning as a coyote.I will ask him to help me understand his ways, then I will prepare the way for my children, and their children. The Great Spirit has shown me - a day will come when they will outrun the white man in his own shoes."
All other recorded prophesies of Many Horses have come to pass. The nations of the People see the beginnings of this final prophesy today. We have the white man's shoes.
"I will follow the white man's trail.I will make him my friend, but I will not bend my back to his burdens. I will be cunning as a coyote.I will ask him to help me understand his ways, then I will prepare the way for my children, and their children. The Great Spirit has shown me - a day will come when they will outrun the white man in his own shoes."
All other recorded prophesies of Many Horses have come to pass. The nations of the People see the beginnings of this final prophesy today. We have the white man's shoes.
Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs
The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs was founded in November, 1969, by a majority of Indian chiefs in BC, partly in response to the federal government’s 1969 White Paper, which was a blueprint for assimilating Canada’s First Peoples, and partly as an inevitable outcome of a growing conviction of many of our people that our survival in the face of such policies depended upon our ability to work together.
The UBCIC founding head office is located in Kamloops, BC. The satellite office has had many homes over the years, all in the Lower Mainland, including the Musqueam and Squamish Reserves and Coqualeetza complex in Sardis. For some time now it has been located in the Gastown district of Vancouver.
Our Vision
One of the main principles of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs is that, despite our differences, we will be stronger if we work together. The goal of the UBCIC is to support the work of our people, whether at the community, nation or international level, in our common fight for the recognition of our aboriginal rights and respect for our cultures and societies. Our goal, the goal of the people, has been to give the aboriginal people of BC a voice strong enough to be heard in every corner of the world. We have, and we continue, to carry out this mission in a number of different ways.
Another major principle behind our organization is the belief that knowledge is power. We are dedicated to information-sharing as well as to the fostering of fundamental and necessary research skills for Indian people in the province.
Our Mission
to improve intertribal relationships through common strategies to protect our Aboriginal Title
to hold the federal government to its fiduciary obligations and have them change their extinguishment policy
to support our peoples at regional, national and international forums
to continue to defend our Aboriginal Title through the revival of our way of life (political, social, economic and spiritual)
to build trust, honour and respect so we may achieve security and liberty in our lifetime and continue the healing and reconciliation (decolonization) of our Nations
Check out their website: http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/about/
The UBCIC founding head office is located in Kamloops, BC. The satellite office has had many homes over the years, all in the Lower Mainland, including the Musqueam and Squamish Reserves and Coqualeetza complex in Sardis. For some time now it has been located in the Gastown district of Vancouver.
Our Vision
One of the main principles of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs is that, despite our differences, we will be stronger if we work together. The goal of the UBCIC is to support the work of our people, whether at the community, nation or international level, in our common fight for the recognition of our aboriginal rights and respect for our cultures and societies. Our goal, the goal of the people, has been to give the aboriginal people of BC a voice strong enough to be heard in every corner of the world. We have, and we continue, to carry out this mission in a number of different ways.
Another major principle behind our organization is the belief that knowledge is power. We are dedicated to information-sharing as well as to the fostering of fundamental and necessary research skills for Indian people in the province.
Our Mission
to improve intertribal relationships through common strategies to protect our Aboriginal Title
to hold the federal government to its fiduciary obligations and have them change their extinguishment policy
to support our peoples at regional, national and international forums
to continue to defend our Aboriginal Title through the revival of our way of life (political, social, economic and spiritual)
to build trust, honour and respect so we may achieve security and liberty in our lifetime and continue the healing and reconciliation (decolonization) of our Nations
Check out their website: http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/about/
CREEK INDIAN TRIBES
MOUNDBUILDER ORIGINS
Moundbuilders, the first great civilization in North America, arose 4,000 years before the Spanish set foot on the islands of coastal Georgia. From the oldest of these sites, Poverty Point in Louisiana, this great culture spread across two-thirds of the United States, following the Mississippi north to Minnesota, its tributaries, including the Ohio, east and west deep into the continent, and around the Florida peninsula into coastal Georgia.
By the time Spanish conquistadors worked inland in search of the wealth of a continent the Moundbuilder culture was in steep decline. Cahokia, Etowah and Ocmulgee, major cities of a dying culture, were no longer active sites. The remaining Moundbuilders were absorbed into the Woodland cultures which they dominated. With few exceptions in the state of Georgia, the Indians that deSoto met were not Moundbuilders, but these remnants of that tribe.
The Muscogee (Creek) people are descendents of this remarkable culture that, before 1500 AD, spanned all the region known today as the Southeastern United States. The Creek were originally one of the dominant tribes in the mid-south and later became known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Most of the Creeks descended from groups living in six towns: Cusseta, Coweta, Areka, Coosa, Hoithle Waule, and Tuckabatchee, all within the confines of the future Alabama and Georgia. The historic Muscogee later built expansive towns in Florida and South Carolina.
They were known in their own language as Muskoke or Muskogee, by the Shawnee as Humaskogi, by the Delaware as Masquachki and by the British as the Ochese Creek Indians, hence the present name. Their name has been adapted for that of their linguistic group and for Muskogee, Oklahoma, which was a major city of the Creek Nation in Indian territory.
Moundbuilders, the first great civilization in North America, arose 4,000 years before the Spanish set foot on the islands of coastal Georgia. From the oldest of these sites, Poverty Point in Louisiana, this great culture spread across two-thirds of the United States, following the Mississippi north to Minnesota, its tributaries, including the Ohio, east and west deep into the continent, and around the Florida peninsula into coastal Georgia.
By the time Spanish conquistadors worked inland in search of the wealth of a continent the Moundbuilder culture was in steep decline. Cahokia, Etowah and Ocmulgee, major cities of a dying culture, were no longer active sites. The remaining Moundbuilders were absorbed into the Woodland cultures which they dominated. With few exceptions in the state of Georgia, the Indians that deSoto met were not Moundbuilders, but these remnants of that tribe.
The Muscogee (Creek) people are descendents of this remarkable culture that, before 1500 AD, spanned all the region known today as the Southeastern United States. The Creek were originally one of the dominant tribes in the mid-south and later became known as one of the Five Civilized Tribes.
Most of the Creeks descended from groups living in six towns: Cusseta, Coweta, Areka, Coosa, Hoithle Waule, and Tuckabatchee, all within the confines of the future Alabama and Georgia. The historic Muscogee later built expansive towns in Florida and South Carolina.
They were known in their own language as Muskoke or Muskogee, by the Shawnee as Humaskogi, by the Delaware as Masquachki and by the British as the Ochese Creek Indians, hence the present name. Their name has been adapted for that of their linguistic group and for Muskogee, Oklahoma, which was a major city of the Creek Nation in Indian territory.
Why the Sun Follows the Moon
Southern Maidu Legend
Father Sun and Mother Moon lived inside the huge hollow rocks of Rock House. Their light did not shine from the sky, so the People and the Animals lived in darkness.
Now Coyote, who was always playing tricks, thought it would be great fun to dump some fleas on Father Sun and Mother Moon. So he began to gather the fleas and place them in bags. On his way to Rock House he met Rabbit. When Coyote bragged about his bags of fleas, Rabbit would not believe him. They began to argue. Between them, Rabbit and Coyote began to tug on one of the bags. As Rabbit yanked it from Coyote's grasp, the bag opened and the fleas spilled out on the ground. And to this day, Rabbit and Coyote are always scratching fleas.
Rabbit liked Coyote's idea of taking the fleas to Rock House. So together they trudged up the peak to Rock House carrying the bags of fleas. As they walked they tried to think of a plan to get the fleas inside of Rock House.
Along the path they found Gopher digging a hole. They decided to include Gopher in their trick. Gopher could dig a hole down through the soil to Rock House. When they reached the top of the peak, Gopher began to dig quietly so Father Sun and Mother Moon would not be alarmed. As soon as Gopher backed out of the hole, Coyote and Rabbit shook the bags of fleas down the opening. Then they plugged up the hole and ran away feeling very pleased with themselves.
The fleas soon covered Father Sun and Mother Moon. When Mother Moon could no longer stand the fleas, she flew out of Rock House and began to circle the Earth. Father Sun followed Mother Moon out of Rock House. They raced around the Earth trying to get rid of those fleas.
That is why, to this day, the Sun follows the Moon across the sky.
Father Sun and Mother Moon lived inside the huge hollow rocks of Rock House. Their light did not shine from the sky, so the People and the Animals lived in darkness.
Now Coyote, who was always playing tricks, thought it would be great fun to dump some fleas on Father Sun and Mother Moon. So he began to gather the fleas and place them in bags. On his way to Rock House he met Rabbit. When Coyote bragged about his bags of fleas, Rabbit would not believe him. They began to argue. Between them, Rabbit and Coyote began to tug on one of the bags. As Rabbit yanked it from Coyote's grasp, the bag opened and the fleas spilled out on the ground. And to this day, Rabbit and Coyote are always scratching fleas.
Rabbit liked Coyote's idea of taking the fleas to Rock House. So together they trudged up the peak to Rock House carrying the bags of fleas. As they walked they tried to think of a plan to get the fleas inside of Rock House.
Along the path they found Gopher digging a hole. They decided to include Gopher in their trick. Gopher could dig a hole down through the soil to Rock House. When they reached the top of the peak, Gopher began to dig quietly so Father Sun and Mother Moon would not be alarmed. As soon as Gopher backed out of the hole, Coyote and Rabbit shook the bags of fleas down the opening. Then they plugged up the hole and ran away feeling very pleased with themselves.
The fleas soon covered Father Sun and Mother Moon. When Mother Moon could no longer stand the fleas, she flew out of Rock House and began to circle the Earth. Father Sun followed Mother Moon out of Rock House. They raced around the Earth trying to get rid of those fleas.
That is why, to this day, the Sun follows the Moon across the sky.
Hoopa Valley Tribe Praises Thompson's Bill to Fund Trinity River Restoration
HOOPA VALLEY TRIBE LAUDS LEGISLATION FOR PROTECTION OF TRINITY RIVER RESTORATION
by Dan Bacher
Hoopa, Calif. – The Hoopa Valley Tribe lauded north coast Congressman Mike Thompson for his introduction Thursday of a bill to adequately fund the restoration of the Trinity River, which bisects the tribe’s reservation, and has been the focal point of decades of fishery restoration studies, litigation and bureaucratic short-changing. Thompson decided to introduce the bill (H.R. 2733) after a Hoopa delegation visited him to express concern that Trinity River restoration funding was being diminished by a plan to restore the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley.
“The Hoopa Valley Tribe is supportive of river restoration throughout California, but legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a funding plan that will significantly reduce environmental restoration funding from the Central Valley Project restoration fund,” said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to alert Congressman Thompson of the potential harm to the fishery based communities dependent on the Trinity River, and he reacted to our concerns.”
Marshall anticipates working with San Joaquin River restoration advocates to support tandem legislation to benefit both rivers. “We will gladly be part of a coalition to restore both rivers, but after three decades of legislation, litigation and cooperative studies that have produced the solid science for restoring the river, we cannot agree to new legislation that will undermine the federal government’s promise to restore the Trinity River.”
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15725.html
by Dan Bacher
Hoopa, Calif. – The Hoopa Valley Tribe lauded north coast Congressman Mike Thompson for his introduction Thursday of a bill to adequately fund the restoration of the Trinity River, which bisects the tribe’s reservation, and has been the focal point of decades of fishery restoration studies, litigation and bureaucratic short-changing. Thompson decided to introduce the bill (H.R. 2733) after a Hoopa delegation visited him to express concern that Trinity River restoration funding was being diminished by a plan to restore the San Joaquin River in the Central Valley.
“The Hoopa Valley Tribe is supportive of river restoration throughout California, but legislation to restore the San Joaquin River has a funding plan that will significantly reduce environmental restoration funding from the Central Valley Project restoration fund,” said Clifford Lyle Marshall, Chairman of the Hoopa Valley Tribe. “The Hoopa Valley Tribe sent a delegation to Washington, D.C. to alert Congressman Thompson of the potential harm to the fishery based communities dependent on the Trinity River, and he reacted to our concerns.”
Marshall anticipates working with San Joaquin River restoration advocates to support tandem legislation to benefit both rivers. “We will gladly be part of a coalition to restore both rivers, but after three decades of legislation, litigation and cooperative studies that have produced the solid science for restoring the river, we cannot agree to new legislation that will undermine the federal government’s promise to restore the Trinity River.”
Click here to read more: http://www.nativebiz.com/community/News,op=visit,nid=15725.html
A banner year for Native American culture
BRUNSWICK — The way Nicholas Smith sees it, it's been a big year for Native American affairs in Maine.
Among other milestones, Gov. John Baldacci thanked tribes for their land stewardship, legislators visited tribal reservations on a bus tour of northern and eastern regions of the state, state leaders renewed conversations about the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and state officials proclaimed June 6 as Native American Veteran History Day.
"I think 2007 has been a big break-through year," said Smith, 80, a Brunswick resident who also saw something of a banner year for his investment in Native American culture. In May, on the heels of decades of work that have rendered him a familiar face for many of Maine's indigenous people, Smith received an honorary degree from his alma mater and a legislative proclamation recognizing his work as a scholar of Wabanaki culture.
"Nick is an unsung researcher," said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission. "They remember Nick at these weddings and ceremonies that few white people have ever observed."
Click here to read more: http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/2F3375B51E2325E1052572FF0057BC99?Opendocument
Among other milestones, Gov. John Baldacci thanked tribes for their land stewardship, legislators visited tribal reservations on a bus tour of northern and eastern regions of the state, state leaders renewed conversations about the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and state officials proclaimed June 6 as Native American Veteran History Day.
"I think 2007 has been a big break-through year," said Smith, 80, a Brunswick resident who also saw something of a banner year for his investment in Native American culture. In May, on the heels of decades of work that have rendered him a familiar face for many of Maine's indigenous people, Smith received an honorary degree from his alma mater and a legislative proclamation recognizing his work as a scholar of Wabanaki culture.
"Nick is an unsung researcher," said John Dieffenbacher-Krall, executive director of the Maine Indian Tribal State Commission. "They remember Nick at these weddings and ceremonies that few white people have ever observed."
Click here to read more: http://www.timesrecord.com/website/main.nsf/news.nsf/0/2F3375B51E2325E1052572FF0057BC99?Opendocument
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