By: Stephanie Woodard
RENO, Nev. - Longtime Republican strongholds in the Midwest and West appear to be up for grabs in the upcoming presidential election, and Native people are emerging as the key swing vote, according to Democratic Party political strategist Celinda Lake. Speaking for the party, Lake has said, ''We cannot win these key battleground states without a turnout in the Indian vote.''
Enter Kalyn Free, Choctaw, who recognized a historic opportunity to make the nation take notice of indigenous people and their issues.
A former Oklahoma district attorney and Justice Department senior counsel, Free founded the Indigenous Democratic Network, or INDN's List, in 2005. The Oklahoma-based group recruits, trains and funds Democratic Native candidates; of the 28 it has endorsed for state and local offices, 22 have won their races.
In 2006, Free added nonpartisan INDN's List Education Fund, a nonprofit that draws attention to Indian issues with projects including ''Prez on the Rez,'' a conference during which presidential candidates learn about Indian country; training camps for indigenous candidates and their staffers; and Native American Network, a get-out-the-vote campaign.
There's more here: http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096416333
Monday, December 24, 2007
South Dakotans come together to mourn fallen soldier
By: Kevin Woster
TIMBER LAKE - On a day when racial lines seemed nonexistent, the people of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation - Native American and white - came together to mourn Cpl. Tanner O'Leary.
The 23-year-old native of Timber Lake and Eagle Butte was laid to rest Thursday afternoon in a private cemetery on the family ranch south of Timber Lake. But family, friends and others - who in some cases traveled across the nation and world to get here - celebrated O'Leary's life in a much more public way during an honor march on Main Street and a memorial service at the school gymnasium that attracted more than 500.
From tribal officials and close friends to national politicians and U.S. Army brass, speakers praised O'Leary, who died Dec. 9 from injuries sustained in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan, as a good-hearted ranch kid who grew naturally into a soldier determined to serve his people.
Former Cheyenne River Tribe Chairman Greg Bourland said O'Leary represented the best of the warrior culture in a Native American society that enlists and serves in the military at five times the national average.
There's more to this story: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/12/21/news/top/doc476ad1aedb2a8945287597.txt
TIMBER LAKE - On a day when racial lines seemed nonexistent, the people of the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation - Native American and white - came together to mourn Cpl. Tanner O'Leary.
The 23-year-old native of Timber Lake and Eagle Butte was laid to rest Thursday afternoon in a private cemetery on the family ranch south of Timber Lake. But family, friends and others - who in some cases traveled across the nation and world to get here - celebrated O'Leary's life in a much more public way during an honor march on Main Street and a memorial service at the school gymnasium that attracted more than 500.
From tribal officials and close friends to national politicians and U.S. Army brass, speakers praised O'Leary, who died Dec. 9 from injuries sustained in a bomb explosion in Afghanistan, as a good-hearted ranch kid who grew naturally into a soldier determined to serve his people.
Former Cheyenne River Tribe Chairman Greg Bourland said O'Leary represented the best of the warrior culture in a Native American society that enlists and serves in the military at five times the national average.
There's more to this story: http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/12/21/news/top/doc476ad1aedb2a8945287597.txt
Board endorses nickname meetings
By: Dale Wetzel
BISMARCK — The state Board of Higher Education has endorsed Chancellor William Goetz’s plan to meet with Sioux tribal leaders to discuss the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname.
The meetings would begin what Goetz described as an “orderly, deliberative process” of deciding whether it may be possible to keep UND’s nickname and American Indian head logo in the aftermath of a lawsuit.
Board members, meeting at Bismarck State College on Thursday, got a fresh set of appeals to discard the nickname and logo. It shows the profile of an American Indian man wearing feathers, with streaks of paint on his face.
David Gipp, president of United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, said the nickname and logo cause problems for Indian students at UND. Gipp is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
“Regardless of their tribal background or their views on the subject, students who attend UND are invariably drawn into situations that range from inappropriate to uncomfortable to racially charged,” Gipp said in a letter submitted to board members.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.jamestownsun.com/articles/index.cfm?id=58627§ion=news&freebie_check&CFID=77127610&CFTOKEN=16300611&jsessionid=8830e84924aec1a461a1
BISMARCK — The state Board of Higher Education has endorsed Chancellor William Goetz’s plan to meet with Sioux tribal leaders to discuss the University of North Dakota’s Fighting Sioux nickname.
The meetings would begin what Goetz described as an “orderly, deliberative process” of deciding whether it may be possible to keep UND’s nickname and American Indian head logo in the aftermath of a lawsuit.
Board members, meeting at Bismarck State College on Thursday, got a fresh set of appeals to discard the nickname and logo. It shows the profile of an American Indian man wearing feathers, with streaks of paint on his face.
David Gipp, president of United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, said the nickname and logo cause problems for Indian students at UND. Gipp is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.
“Regardless of their tribal background or their views on the subject, students who attend UND are invariably drawn into situations that range from inappropriate to uncomfortable to racially charged,” Gipp said in a letter submitted to board members.
Want to know more? Click here: http://www.jamestownsun.com/articles/index.cfm?id=58627§ion=news&freebie_check&CFID=77127610&CFTOKEN=16300611&jsessionid=8830e84924aec1a461a1
American Indians rediscovering the long-revered bison
By: Karen Herzog
MUSCODA, Wis. — A bison herd bunches up big and dark against the snow-covered prairie as members of the Ho-Chunk Nation in pickup trucks and tractors form a line behind the imposing beasts.
The bison anxiously eye the men and the machines.
But a spiritual connection explains why American Indian and bison have come face-to-face on this cold December day. While trucks and tractors have replaced horses for herding purposes, history is coming full circle.
The roundup and weigh-in of bison last week is intended to ensure the health of the majestic creatures. The Ho-Chunk are reintroducing them to better feed a people plagued by heart disease and diabetes — diseases that accompany high-carb, fast-food diets not native to American Indian culture. American bison, also known as buffalo, for centuries were central to the American Indian diet until herds were slaughtered by settlers and the U.S. military moved tribes onto reservations in the 1800s.
The Ho-Chunk — which vaccinated about 120 bison in last week's roundup — are among 57 tribes in 19 states working to bring back bison to tribal lands.
"We believe that when the buffalo come back, everything else will come back," including the health of the people, said Richard Snake, herd manager for the Ho-Chunk's Muscoda Bison Prairie 1 Ranch along the Wisconsin River bottom in southwestern Wisconsin. Bison meat is lower in fat and calories than beef, pork or chicken, with a flavor similar to beef, only richer and sweeter.
Get the whole story here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004085471_herd21.html
MUSCODA, Wis. — A bison herd bunches up big and dark against the snow-covered prairie as members of the Ho-Chunk Nation in pickup trucks and tractors form a line behind the imposing beasts.
The bison anxiously eye the men and the machines.
But a spiritual connection explains why American Indian and bison have come face-to-face on this cold December day. While trucks and tractors have replaced horses for herding purposes, history is coming full circle.
The roundup and weigh-in of bison last week is intended to ensure the health of the majestic creatures. The Ho-Chunk are reintroducing them to better feed a people plagued by heart disease and diabetes — diseases that accompany high-carb, fast-food diets not native to American Indian culture. American bison, also known as buffalo, for centuries were central to the American Indian diet until herds were slaughtered by settlers and the U.S. military moved tribes onto reservations in the 1800s.
The Ho-Chunk — which vaccinated about 120 bison in last week's roundup — are among 57 tribes in 19 states working to bring back bison to tribal lands.
"We believe that when the buffalo come back, everything else will come back," including the health of the people, said Richard Snake, herd manager for the Ho-Chunk's Muscoda Bison Prairie 1 Ranch along the Wisconsin River bottom in southwestern Wisconsin. Bison meat is lower in fat and calories than beef, pork or chicken, with a flavor similar to beef, only richer and sweeter.
Get the whole story here: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004085471_herd21.html
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