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NOTICES Cobell Receives Award from Women’s Leadership Group NEW YORK — Native American monies that the government has held in leader Elouise C. Cobell, who has led Individual Indian Money accounts for the fight for a full accounting of trust decades,” she said. “Despite repeated funds held by the federal government court orders, it is shameful that the for thousands of American Indians, was government still has yet to provide one of four women honored in November a complete accounting of the first by the Women’s Leadership Exchange. Indian account.” Cobell, a member of Montana’s Cobell, who lives in Browning, Blackfeet Tribe and executive director Mont., is the lead plaintiff in a class of the Native American Community action lawsuit that has secured court Development Corp., received the rulings that the Interior Department exchange’s Compass Award during a breached its trust responsibilities to conference in New York. American Indians by its incompetent Lesley Visser, a CBS-TV sports handling of Indian trust accounts. analyst; Dr. Kathy Magliato, a heart The accounts were established in transplant surgeon from Los Angeles; 1887 to handle the proceeds from and Renetta McCann, chief executive government-arranged leases of Indian of Starcom North America, a Chicago lands in the west. Lawyers for Cobell based advertising agency, also were and the Indians say that the government cited by the group. owes the Indians billions of dollars. “I am honored to be in the company Cobell, a winner of the 2002 of these women,” said Cobell. “And I am International Women’s Forum award happy to accept this honor, not for myself, for “Women Who Make A Difference,” but for the thousands of American filed her lawsuit in 1996. She has funded Indian women who have contributed so the lawsuit with funds from a 1997 grant much to the welfare of their tribes and as a MacArthur fellow and from other Native people for so many years. foundations interested in social justice. “I hope that with this award I can Additional award details are available call attention to our continuing, seven at www.womensleadershipexchange. year fight with the federal government com. Information on the lawsuit is for the full and complete accounting of available at www.indiantrust.com. Kenney Handles Indian Legal Matters at Portland Law Firm Kell, Alterman, & Runstein, L.L.P., has announced that Brett V. Kenney has joined the firm. His practice will focus on Native American legal matters, busi ness transactions, and estate planning and administration. Kenney previously was with Legal Aid Services of Oregon, Native Amer ican Program, from 1997 to 2003. A native of Oregon, Kenney received his J.D. from Notre Dame Law School in 1992. He also studied in the Concannon Program for International Law, London, England, in 1990-91. He earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology (urban studies) from Portland State University in 1989. Kenney is a member of the Oregon State Bar, U.S. District Court, and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Kell, Alterman, & Runstein is located at 520 SW Yamhill, Suite 600, Portland, OR 97204; 503-222-3531. Brett V. Kenney SOU Develops Digital Archives The Southern Oregon University Library has developed the Southern Oregon Digital Archives (SODA), a full-text digital library that provides re search materials on the regional ecology and indigenous peoples of southwestern Oregon and northwestern California. It’s available at http://soda.sou.edu Funded by a congressionally directed grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), this site contains fully searchable documents, books, and articles in the public domain, or for which SOU has received author/publisher permission. As of Oct. 5,2003, this growing digital resource contained 1,220 unique items, ranging in size from a few pages to several hundred pages, and forms two related collections. The Bioregion Collection consists of nearly 800 documents, including environmental impact statements, species studies, timber management plans, stream surveys, and watershed assessments. The Siskiyou/Klamath/Cascade bioregion, where four major habitat types converge, is recognized by scientists around the world as an area uniquely rich in plant and animal species and is home to the recently established (2000) Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The Klamath basin, known for its volcanic geology and wetlands that support major bird migrations, includes a national wildlife refuge established in 1908. Recently, this bioregion has been in the news because of water issues. The First Nations Tribal Collection features more than 400 documents, books, and articles relating to the indigenous peoples of the Siskiyou/ Klamath/Cascade bioregion and adjacent areas. Some of these groups include the Alsea, Hupa, Klamath, Modoc, Shasta, Siuslaw, Takelma, Wintu, and Yahuskin nations. Materials include treaties, native language dictionaries, pre-1923 books and articles, Bureau of American Ethnology publications, and more than 50 years of annual reports of the Indian agents from Oregon Indian agencies. The First Nations Collection brings together difficult-to-find ethno- historical and federal documents about the original caretakers of this unique bioregion. The library consulted with tribal representatives to determine scope and appropriateness of material for this comprehensive database of texts on the ethno-history, government relations, and cultures of these nations. All documents in the digital archives are fully searchable by keyword and phrase. The SODA database is best accessed using Mozilla 1.0 or later, Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, or Netscape 6.0 or later. Many documents are quite lengthy and a high-speed connection is recom mended. Links to help screens provide search tips and an on-line user’s manual. Voting by Mail in Oregon In 1998, Oregon voters overwhelmingly passed a ballot measure directing that elections be conducted by mail, commonly called vote by mail. This replaces traditional polling place elections. Vote by mail is a method of distributing ballots for an election. Instead of using traditional polling places where voters go to cast ballots on election day, a ballot is automatically mailed to each registered voter. The ballot is then voted and returned to the county election office to be counted. Every county provides privacy booths where you can mark your ballot. Usually, you can drop off your com pleted ballot at the same location. Call your county election office if you need to locate and use a privacy booth. Call your county election official for more details on Oregon’s vote-by- mail system. Each office will be more than happy to assist you. This information was obtained from www.sos.state.or.us. Visit this site for additional details on voting in Oregon. I I You can’t vote if you don’t register! I For more information on 1 | registering to vote, visit www. I ’ SOS.state.or.us/elections/votreg/ I I vreg.htm and www.co.lincoln.or.us/ I I clerk/registration.htm. I January 2004 □ Siletz News □ 15
