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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 5, 2004)
News from Indian Country PzqelO Spilygy Tymoo February 5, 2004 Tribal studies proposed OLYMPIA,Wash.(AP)-An American Indian lawmaker wants the state to require tribal studies in all Washington public schools. Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, said his bill would encourage diversity and promote local his tory by requiring K-12 school districts to work with the state's 29 federally recognized tribes to develop such courses. "Tribes in the state of Wash ington have a lot to offer and we're willing to share it," McCoy, a Tulalip tribal member, said Monday as the bill went before the I louse Education Commit tee. McCoy's bill would require school districts to develop classes in local tribal history and culture for each grade. Schools would collaborate with the tribes with reservations inside district boundaries, or those whose tra ditional lands and territories fall within a 100-mile radius. To graduate from high school, Washington students Tribe plans multibillion-dollar complex LOS ANGELES (AP)-The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians is seeking permission to turn a square-mile portion of downtown Palm Springs into a multibillion-dollar complex fea turing high-rises, shopping malls, restaurants, a theme park and a second casino. The controversial develop ment plan is to be submitted Wednesday to the city planning commission, "The city should have a great run from this plan because it's in the downtown area, and it gives the city a focus in terms bfwhat'it is We're lBbkirig'fer," Ul auu K.uuM.igiu!, Agua Caliente Chairman Rich- ard Milanovich told the Los Angeles Times. The tribe unveiled last week an initiative for the November ballot that would boost payments to the state in exchange for more gambling rights. The pro posal would remove state restric tions that allow a maximum of 2,000 slot machines and two South Dakota to SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -An advisory group will meet this month to lay the ground work for an office of Indian Education within the South Da kota Department of Education, The 15-member group will include representatives of the nine American Indian tribes in South Dakota and state school officials, said Rick Melmer, state education secretary. Melmer hopes to have the new office operating by summer. The state will include Bureau of Indian Affairs schools in its planning process, even though South Dakota has no jurisdic tion over those federally funded schools. Students from those schools CASH DISCOUNT FAIR PRICING 24 HOUR SERVICE MODERN EQUIPMENT FAST, SAFE, PROMPT ACCIDENT RECOVERY SPECIALIST A Fenders By Endres COLLISION REPAIR24 IIR TOWING 541-475-6491 541-480-9605 (cell) Owner, Joe Endres, Lifetime Resident must take at least one-and-a-half credits of state history and gov ernment - areas of study that may include information about the state's first inhabitants. But McCoy said such coursework often contains inac curacies, or focuses on tribes in other regions. He called Washington's American Indian population "the state's best kept secret." Martina Whelshula said she still fields questions about tee pees - a form of housing North west Indians didn't use - when she and her husband visit schools to perform tribal dances and share their American Indian heritage. "It's just because of a total lack of cultural understanding," said Whelshula, a member of the Arrow Lake Nation, part of the Colville Confederated Tribes, who coordinates Gonzaga University's Indian Education Outreach Project. Supporters also hope the bill will help curtail high dropout casinos per tribe. The 412-member Agua Caliente Band is already the only tribe in the state with two casi nos, including a $95-million downtown Palm Springs gam bling palace that opened in No vember and one in Rancho Mi rage. "If everything in the plan manifests it will be a glory day," Palm Springs City Manager David Ready said. "If only a third of it happens, it would have a huge positive impact on the entire city." Not everyone, however, is thrilled.! Homeowners,. hotel , ".iiif-Y r, lyrryvarsrajr- owners and others say they ob- fends its plan", calling it a vision ject to the size, design and loca tion of the complex, which would be on a 640-acre site a short block east of Palm Can yon Drive and a mile west of the city's international airport. Bill Gonzalez, president of the Palm Springs Allied Homeowners Assn., was among a group of residents who com- have Indian education office often move back and forth be tween BIA and public schools, educators say. "We want to try to bridge that division even though clearly we have jurisdiction over the pub lic and not the other schools," Melmer said. Roger Bordeaux, superinten dent of Tiospa Zina School, a BIA school in Agency Village, said there hasn't been much cooperation between state and tribal schools. "I think that it's something that's long overdue," Bordeaux said of the state's invitation to talk with tribes. With No Child Left Behind data being broken down by race, there is more incentive to HIGH QUALITY WORKMANSHIP CALL US FIRST WE'LL HELP TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING OREGON LAW STATES THAT YOU CAN CHOOSE YOUR REPAIR FACILITY WE CARE ABOUT YOU, NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANY SAVING MONEY QUALITY REPAIR WITH LIFETIME WARRANTY LATEST TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES USED for Washington schools 'There's kids that live within the reservation boundaries that don't even know what tribe they belong to, " Denny Hurtado rates among the state's more than 30,000 American Indian students. Those students often cite a lack of connection to their class room studies, said Marsha Wynecoop, whose daughters dropped out of school in the 7th and 8th grades, respectively. "It has nothing to do with who they are as individuals and as a people," said Wynecoop, a member of the Spokane Tribe. State Indian Education Di rector Denny Hurtado said ef forts are already being made to bring American Indian culture into classrooms. Wynecoop and Whelshula belong to the First People's Lan guage and Culture Committee, plained to the city attorney that the project would affect prop erty values of homes and bed-and-breakfast inns that now en joy a measure of solitude and serene desert views. "The attorney insisted the money generated by this project will help the city," Gonzalez said. He also said, The tribe is a sov ereign nation and there's not much we can do about it.' "But we say: 'Let's take back our city. Let's not allow the tribe to get away with this. Let's turn the tribe's power and gas off if necessary.'" yT fgua alienttjl jie for "a unique and cohesive dis trict with its own identity, which is separate but linked to down town Palm Springs." The tribe compares it to Plea sure Island in Orlando, Fla., an entertainment complex that in cludes eight nightclubs and evening street parties set off by music and fireworks. work together because the in formation is reflective of each school, Bordeaux said. The 2-year-old No Child Left Behind Act requires all children to meet standards in reading and math by 2014. BIA schools, which serve more than 7,000 students in South Dakota, collectively are the lowest-performing schools in the state on standardized tests. Scores for public schools on or near reservations historically have been lower than other pub lic school test results, too. Education experts say pov erty' is the leading cause of poor performance among children who attend BIA schools in South Dakota. 23 YRS IN BUSINESS a group that successfully peti tioned to the Legislature for cer tification of tribal members as language and culture experts. The three-year pilot program has certified nine people since law makers adopted it last year. The state Indian-education office has developed tribal cur ricula for kindergarten through second grade, Hurtado said. The three units - drumming, hunt ing and gathering, and canoes -actually can be applied to any culture, he said. Those courses could be ex panded for use by all grades and school districts, according to Hurtado. "This needs to happen," he said. "There's kids that live within the reservation bound aries that don't even know what tribe they belong to." Nobody testified against the bill, though it could draw resis tance from local school districts, especially since the measure doesn't include funds for the new programs. Report details gaming fines OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) The National Indian Gaming Commission has assessed almost $21 million in fines and settle ments against Oklahoma's gam ing tribes since 1993, according to a published report. Many violations identified by the commission were for oper ating illegal gaming machines, and more than half of the fines and settlements are still due, The Oklahoman reported in a story in Sunday's editions. Oklahoma gaming tribes have been in conflict with the ? Jfqderal. agency jqvij the, legality ,0f their electronic games, which ''J'd opetm hke slot L- ,"' operate chines. Tribes have contended the games are a legal, souped up version of bingo. The agency could have far less responsibility in regulating gaming facilities operated by tribes under a proposal an nounced by Gov. Brad Henry last week. It "will give legal certainty to many of the games already of fered in existing casinos," Henry said. "It's ... important to point out this proposal would not bring Las Vegas-style casino gaming to Oklahoma. It would simply ad dress the same type of games that have been played at tribal casinos across the state." The agency's regulatory docu ments were provided to The Oklahoman in response to a federal Freedom of Informa tion Act request. ttfoiEQi! all UGDaux VI, 10,000 sq. feet of great treasures, new and with new items arriving weekly . Dealer spaces available for antiques and collectibles C3 Mattress sets, new and used. Federal judge dismisses DiacKteet housing lawsuit GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking repair or re placement of 203 houses on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation that residents claim made them sick. An appeal is expected. U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon recently granted mo tions to dismiss the lawsuit filed in August 2002 against the fed eral Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Blackfeet Housing Author- Martin Marceau, a lead plaintiff, said the case likely will be appealed to the 9th U.S. Cir cuit Court of Appeals. Marceau and his fellow plain tiffs bought the houses, built in the late '70s and early '80s, un der a rent-to-own program with the tribal housing authority. They say their families have suffered medical problems from asthma to sinusitis because the homes were built with treated wood foundations unsuited for the area. Kloisture problems caused by the wooden foundations have exposed residents to mold, and the wood itself was treated with toxic chemicals, the plaintiffs contend. The suit asked for unspeci fied monetary damages and for the homes to be repaired or re placed, an undertaking esti Tabacco shop PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -The Narragansett Indians have filed an appeal of a federal court ruling that said the state was in the right when it shut down their tax-free tobacco store. .une or tne triDes attorneys Valil':the:appeal'aM'trie;l'Ck. .bne'bf the "tribe's, attorneys cult Court of Appeals in Bos ton to take another look at whether the state had the right to execute a search warrant on tribal lands. "There are very important questions here of tribal sover eignty," attorney Jack Killoy said of the December ruling issued Lawsuit suffers KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -A federal prosecutor said Kan sas Attorney General Phill Kline has no jurisdiction to file law suits against two federal agen cies and has asked that the suits be dropped. Kline sued the National In dian Gaming Commission and the U.S. Department of the In terior last fall after the Wyan dotte Tribe of Oklahoma opened a casino in downtown Kansas City, Kan., next to the old, - ; i t mated to cost $30 million. Haddon ruled that HUD can't be sued under the various laws that apply to the housing projects and the Blackfeet Housing Authority has "sover eign immunity." He said responsibility for maintenance of the homes falls with the housing authority and the plaintiffs. "We think he's dead wrong," said Tom Towe of Billings, at torney for the plaintiffs. HUD had a trust responsi bility to maintain the homes be cause it funded construction and imposed long-term rules and regulations on the project, Towe said. At a hearing in mid-November, assistant U.S. attorney Timo thy J. Cavan, who represented HUD, argued the federal agency has no authority over the sov ereign Blackfeet nation and, therefore, did not force the tribal housing authority, which built the homes, to do anything. The new ruling, filed Jan. 12 in federal court in Great Falls, suggests that the proper venue for the suit would be the Court of Claims in Washington, DC. It typically decides contract dis putes involving the federal gov ernment. Other plaintiffs named were Candice Lamott, Julie Rat tler, Joseph Rattler Jr., Mary Grant, Gary Grant and Deana Mountain Chief. case appealed by the U.S. District Court. In July, the state police ex ecuted a warrant and seized the smoke shop's merchandise. The raid turned violent when tribal police and other tribe .member: r'lice 0$ Jtxhep& ers resisted the State1 Po- the tribe's lands in Charlestown. The Narragansetts filed suit, claiming the state's actions vio lated their rights as a federally recognized tribe. , Killoy said the tribe also wants the appeals court to take another look at whether it can sell tobacco tax-free, ' major setback tribe's historic Huron Cemetery. Kline accused the federal agencies of allowing the casino to open without adhering to en vironmental and historic pres ervation guidelines. He com plained that state officials had not been consulted beforehand. But Eric Melgren, U.S. Attorney for the District of Kansas, said that environmental and historic preservation laws did not apply in the case and that Kline should have sued the tribe instead. Furniture, gifts, glass ware, pottery, fenton dealer, Anheuser-Busch dealer for steins & collectibles, dolls drag ons, candles and more g I : Stop in and check us out Lay-aways and credit cards accepted Financing available World of Treasures Inc. Second Time Around 178 SW 5th Madras, OR 97741 (541) 475-6991
