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n r News from In4¡3n Country Page 11 Spilyay Tyrnoo April 20, 2011 Little Shell Tribe Seeks Recognition BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - M em bers o f the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians took their century-long campaign for recognition before Congress on Thursday, with what was called a last chance req u est for acknowledgement. The landless tribe of about 4,300 people was recognized a decade ago by officials and other tribes in Montana, where most Little Shell five. But its petition for federal reco gn itio n was turned down by the Department of Interior in 2009 after a 31- year wait. “For too long, w e’ve been refugees in Montana, waiting for the United States to fulfill its promise,” tribal president John Sinclair said during a Thursday legislative hearing before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “This is our last chance. Litde Shell and Congress have been having this conversation for more than 100 years.” Members of the tribe said attempts to establish relations with the government began in the late 1800s. In the 1930s, the govern ment planned to buy 34,000 acres in part to setde Montana’s Litde Shell, known by some as the “landless Indians.” The deal was never completed. L eg islatio n backed by Montana’s congressional delega tion would mandate recognition and direct the Department of Interior to set aside 200 acres for the tribe. Recognition also would allow the Little Shell to receive assistance with housing and other needs. D eputy A ssistant Interior Secretary George Skibine told the Senate committee Thursday the agency would not object to the bill sponsored by Montana Sen. Jon Tester. Flowever, the com m ittee’s ranking Republican, Wyoming Sen. John B arrasso, said he would oppose the bill. Barrasso questioned whether Congress should second-guess the Interior Department’s deci sion in 2009. Tester, a Democrat, coun tered that the adm inistrative process isn’t always perfect and said the agency’s 2009 rejection had ignored the Little Shell’s es tablished presence in Montana. “T h ey’ve been p art o f Montana’s history and culture for generations,” Tester said. “Every political entity in the state of Montana, every tribe thinks this has to be the right thing to do.” The hearing was set against a backdrop of political discord among members of the tribe. Two people are claiming to be the tribe’s rightful leader. Sinclair rival John Gilbert was not invited to testify Thurs day. Both sides have accused the other of undermining the rec ognition bid. The tribe’s lawyers have said the dispute has no bearing on federal recognition — and even underscores a com mitment to civic participation by the tribe’s scattered members. The 2009 denial of recogni tion said the Little Shell had failed to show enough cohesion during the early 1900s, after many of its members had been uprooted and were wandering northern Montana and southern Canada. Members of the group who ended up in Montana lived pri marily in already existing, largely multiethnic setdements, the de cision stated. The Little Shell are candid about th eir m ixed ancestry. M any also call them selves Metis, a Canadian people with European and Native-American roots. M ontana fo rm ally reco g nized the Little Shell in 2000, allow ing its members to get grants for tobacco-use preven tion and economic develop ment. The money was suspended two years ago because the tribe Oregon man sentenced for fraud MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) - A southern Oregon man has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for bilking friends and family members out of retire ment savings in an illegal scheme to develop land belonging to American Indian tribes in Mon tana. G ilb ert B ird in gro un d Pugliano of Medford planned to buy and develop tribal land in Montana and return the prof its to his investors, but he later found out his plan was illegal, the Mail Tribune reported. In stead o f retu rn in g the money he collected from clients, he used it to buy expensive cars and vacations. M edford p o lice said Pugliano, 32, has roots in an American Indian community in M ontana, and it m ay have helped him convince victims that what he was doing was le gitimate. Pugliano was indicted last fall on various counts of racketeer ing, aggravated theft, securities fraud and selling unlicensed se curities. He apologized during his sen tencing M onday in Jackso n C ounty C ircu it C ourt in Medford, saying “I got caught up in a cycle of immense greed and bad decisions.” But some victims in the court- room called out “lia r” as Pugliano spoke. His attorney, Shaun McCrea, blamed alcohol and what she called a desire for a “lavish lifestyle” by Pugliano’s wife, Shelley Pugliano. “She is by trade an accoun tant. She is the one who did the Puglianos’ taxes,” McCrea said, adding her client was “in the throes of alcoholism” and “try ing to satisfy a spouse.” Shelley Pugliano was the last to comment during the victim statement portion of the sen tencing hearing. She claimed her former husband beat her down mentally and emotionally while stealin g the life savings o f people who trusted him. “I felt guilty for bringing this monster into our family,” said Shelley Pugliano, adding her own 80-year-old grandmother was bilked out of $86,000. “He could care less,” she said. * Burford resigns as Umatilla AG PE N D LE TO N (AP) - Christopher Burford has re signed as the attorney general for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Res ervation. Burford’s resignation was effective Friday. He has held the job since November 2004 and had been on leave since last Fri day. Burford posted a message on his Facebook page earlier this month that said the tribes were trying to force him out of his job. Burford declined requests for a news interview and Tribal Deputy Executive Di rector Debra Croswell de clined to discuss the depar ture. KU hosting tribal law conference LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - The U n iv ersity o f K ansas School o f Law is hosting an upcoming conference on tribal law. The 15th annual Tribal Law and Government Conference in Lawrence is scheduled for April 21. Participants will discuss en vironm ental sovereignty, the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and so cial justice issues, as well as other topics. The university said in a re lease Friday that federal Indian law scholars and practitioners from universities, organizations and tribes across the country will make presentations at the meet ing. The conference was origi nally scheduled for February but was postponed because of bad weather. 2 tribes want to participate in megaloads lawsuit MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) - Two Indian tribes are asking to take part in a lawsuit aimed at preventing the hauling of over sized equipment through Mon tana to the oil sand fields in Alberta, Canada. The Missoulian reports that Western Montana's Confeder ated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, L as w ell as the Nez Perce of Idaho, filed a motion in District Court in Missoula on Wednes day asking to have their say in the lawsuit against the state De partment of Transportation. Missoula County and three environmental groups say the department failed to analyze or disclose potential adverse effects in its environmental assessment of Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil's transportation plan. The MDT denies the claims. The tribes say they share many of the concerns of the plaintiffs, but have some of their own that might not otherwise be addressed in court. was not properly accounting for it, stirring dissension among members who blamed Sinclair’s poor oversight. That helped drive Gilbert’s election in a cam paign that was rejected by Sinclair and his allies as illegiti mate. “It’s going to be an ongoing saga, where our tribe is just go ing to be constandy an embar rassment, but it’s also not going to go away. We are committed to bringing democracy back to our tribal government and that’s all we want,” said former tribal president James Parker Shield, who backs Gilbert. Gilbert has been pushing for an independent panel or Indian court to resolve the political split. Sinclair has said he agrees in principal to the idea, but it has been languishing for months. Elected officials from Mon tana have steered clear of the tribe’s internal struggle, saying it is up the Little Shell to work it out. T ester spokesm an A aron Murphy said the senator would not get involved out of respect for principals of tribal self-gov ernance and self-determination. “This dispute does not impact his push for federal recognition of the Little Shell tribe, which he believes is long overdue,” Murphy said. Fighting Sioux merchandise continues BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - The University of North Da kota is going to keep licens ing Fighting Sioux merchan dise next year. North Dakota University System Chancellor Bill Goetz says UND will also be using its Fighting Sioux nickname and American Indian head logo during the 2011-12 school year. UND had been planning to discontinue the nickname and logo in A ugust. The NCAA considers the nick- name and logo hostile and abusive, and it says UND will face sanctions if it keeps us ing them. But the North Dakota Leg islature approved a bill that says UND has to keep the nickname and logo. Goetz says because of that, UND asked to resume merchandise licensing. UND had stopped ap proving new merchandise de signs last October as part of the university’s plans to quit using the logo and nickname. Tribe pleads for hault on restroom project VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) _ A California tribe wants the state to halt construction of bath rooms atop an American Indian burial site in Vallejo. The Ohlone tribe’s civil rights complaint asks California Attor ney General Kamala Harris to block creation of a park with public toilets at Glen Cove, a 3,500-year-old Ohlone settle ment along Carquinez Strait. T ribe m em ber C orinna Gould tells the San Francisco Chronicle that Ohlone ancestors deserve a place where they can rest forever. It’s one of the last native village sites in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Vallejo park district’s $1.5 m illion project, starting later this month, is aimed at sprucing a 15-acre shoreline property. It includes extensions of the Bay Trail, Ridge Trail and California Delta Trail, a parking lot and a two-stall restroom. Meadows Ski Day Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay Ethan Brunoe, Annalise Whipple and Cajun Scott (from left) participate in a ski lesson provided by Mount Hood Meadows during the recent Tribal Ski Day. Coastal tribe seeking higher ground LA PUSH, Wash. (AP) - The Q uileute T ribal School is perched just a stone’s throw from a ru gged ocean beach framed by sea stacks and islands and splashed by powerful waves at this remote northwest corner of the United States. At recess, the children burn o ff energy on a playground that’s occasionally assaulted by logs tossed ashore during win ter storms. A log on the playground is an ominous sign, but nothing like the specter o f a tsunami that could come crashing down on the school and surrounding vil lage from a m ega-earthquake off the Washington coast or in Japan or somewhere else in the earth q u ake-rid d en P acific Ocean rim where oceanic and continental tectonic plates col lide. “If they’re not paying atten tion and there's a tsunami, the children are in grave danger,” said school principal A1 Zantua. Moving the school to higher ground is a top priority of the tribe, said Quileute tribal chair woman Bonita Cleveland. It’s one o f the main reasons the tribe has been trying for decades to reclaim some of its ancestral land from the federal govern ment so it can relocate the lower village to higher ground. More birthday wishes... H appy b irth d ay to Evaline Patt (4/20) from the staff at the Museum @ Warm Springs. Happy belated birthday to Natalie Moody. Thank you for all of the wonderful cheer you bring all through the year. Much love and respect, Roberta and Merle. Happy birthday Juanita Majel (4/23). Love, Brad. H appy birth day, D em us Martinez! From the River Crew. H appy b irth d a y Jaim e Scott (4/25), who is an inspi ration and a great dad. Much love, Quinton. Happy birthday to Jonathan Smith (4/27). Edday, one yea r older! Hang in there, miracles hap pen at the last minute. Love, Lil Jonathan. Happy birthday, Julia Heath (4/27). From your wonderful and amazing family. Happy birthday, Julia! With much love and respect, from your Best Buds. H appy b irth d ay, E rica Parra (4/29). Love, Mom and Dad. Happy birthday, Erica. Love, A.nnette and Family. H appy b irth d ay, E rica from Myrna Frank and Fam ily. H appy birth d ay, D arlene Highfill. Love, Gerald. H appy b irth d a y to D arlene H ig h fill, from Freddie and Ron. ■ ; Submit your birthday wishes to Spilyay by April 29, for the May 4th edition. Email - spilyay@wstribes.org. Or call 541-553-2307 V_______________________ \ )