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News from Incjun Country
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Spilyay Tymoo
December 7, 2006
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Tribe holds beach access as leverage for more land
LA PUSH, Wash. (AP)— The
small Quileute Indian reserva
tion sits on a sh o relin e o f
storm -tossed driftw ood and
pebble beaches, with dramatic
views o f rock formations rising
out o f the Pacific Ocean.
B u t the same ocean that
crashes daily on these beaches
is at the center o f a long-sim
mering boundary battle between
the tribe and the National Park
Service.
The tribe has closed public
access to one beach, and threat
ens to close another if members
don’t get additional land on
higher ground, fearing the sea
will sweep away the tribe’s lower
village.
The tribe has offered a land
swap— it will hand over eight
acres o f disputed land at Rialto
Beach and reopen access to Sec
ond Beach if the park cedes—
or buys for the tribe— enough
land to more than double the
size o f the reservation.
“We don’t have anything
against the public,” said James
Jaime, the tribe’s executive di
rector. “It was the only way to
get the federal government’s at
tention.”
The reservation is bounded
on one side by the ocean and
three sides by Olympic National
Park. The tribe wants to move
its school, senior center, tribal
offices and some housing to
higher ground as well as expand
its reservation to build more
housing developments.
“Our primary concern is the
health, safety and welfare o f not
only the tribal members, but the
entire community,” said Jaime.
T ribal leaders originally
sought 1,200 acres, but are now
asking for about 800 acres to
add to their one square mile res
ervation— 309 acres o f park
lands, and another 480 acres o f
private land that it wants the
National Park Service to pur
chase for them.
The Quileute reservation was
established in 1889 at the mouth
o f the Quillayute River; Olym
pic National Park has bordered
the reservation since 1953.
The tribe and the park have
been debating the boundary at
Rialto Beach for decades. The
tribe argues that it owns most
o f Rialto Beach, but the park
has built a parking lot and a
restroom at the edge o f the
beach and both sides are disput
ing eight acres o f land there.
The dispute came to a head
last year after a tribal member
was cited for collecting firewood
near the disputed boundary.
While charges were ultimately
‘Fighting Sioux’ debate continues
G R A N D F O R K S , N.D.
(AP)— A prominent Dartmouth
C ollege graduate says the
school’s athletic director was
wrong to publicly apologize for
a hockey tournament that in
cludes the University o f North
Dakota and its Fighting Sioux
nickname.
“She takes her position with
really no knowledge o f UN D
and no understanding o f how
they’ve approached the issue,”
Gov. John Hoeven said.
He referred to a recent let
ter from Dartmouth Athletic
Director Josie Harper to the stu
dent
new spaper,
T he
Dartmouth.
“I must offer a sincere apol
ogy to the Native Am erican
community, and the Dartmouth
community as a whole, for an
event that will understandably
offend and hurt people within
our community,” Harper’s letter
said.
T h e U N D m en’s hockey
team is scheduled to play
Dartmouth in Hanover, N.H.,
on D ec. 29. Harper said that
when the game was scheduled
nearly two years ago, the UND
nickname and logo were not
considered. “I deeply regret that
we didn’t,” she wrote.
“I think it’s unfortunate she
wrote that letter and I think she’s
wrong,” said Hoeven, a 1979
Dartmouth graduate.
Jo d i G ille tte , a 1991
D artm o u th graduate and a
member o f the Standing Rock
Sioux tribe, said she supports
Harper’s stand against the UND
nickname. Gillette heads a Bis
marck institute that provides
training for people working with
American Indian children and
families.
Dartmouth dropped its own
American Indian nickname, the
Indians, in the early 1970s and
now is known as the Big Green.
“I co n trib u te a certain
am ount to them like m ost
alumni,” Hoeven said. “But my
focus is very much on North
Dakota and our university sys
tem here, and I ’m really excited
about and proud o f what they’re
doing.”
Gillette said UND should learn
from Dartmouth’s example in its
own nickname dispute.
“What would UND look like
if the administration had lis
tened to the Lakota, the Sioux
and the American Indian student
body when they made that deci
sion?” she said. “What kind o f
leadership could they have
shown to the U.S. in such a
heated subject? They could have
come out shining. Instead they’re
embroiled in this battle with the
NCAA.”
UN D is suing the NCAA
over its decision to bar the Fight
ing Sioux logo and nickname
during postseason play.
With drums, prayers, hundreds
gather to honor slain Indian soldier
poral in the 1st Battalion o f the
N E W T O W N , N.D.
(AP)— Flundreds packed an North Dakota National Guard’s
188th Air Defense Artillery.
auditorium to honor a fallen
The tribal memorial service
warrior, joining in prayers in
N athan G ood iron’s native was held Wednesday in the au
Hidatsa language and smiling ditorium o f the Four Bears Ca
through tears at pictures o f sino and Lodge west o f New
his high school basketball Town. Friends and family mem
games and his time with his bers talked o f Goodiron’s love
o f sports and service to his
newborn son.
“He was proud to be an country. A huge screen showed
American soldier, an Ameri highlights o f his life, as a mem
can Indian soldier. He knew ber o f Mandaree’s 1999 state
the meaning o f the word sac tournament basketball team, a
rifice,” said Marcus Wells Jr., soldier training for military duty
the chairman o f the Three and a father holding his newborn
Affiliated Tribes. “He was a son.
The service featured drum
good son, a good husband **
songs and Hidatsa prayers. The
and a proud father.”
Mandan,
Hidatsa and Arikara
G o o d iro n ,
25,
of
M andaree, known on the make up the Three Affiliated
Fort Berthold reservation as Tribes. Among those attending
Young E ag le, was killed were about 50 American Indian
T hanksgiving Day in A f veterans.
G o o d iro n ’s fath er, Paul,
ghanistan when a grenade
struck his vehicle while he asked people to remember the
was on patrol. He was a cor soldiers still on duty.
“For every one o f them
still there, putting their lives
in harm’s way, I wish I could
shake their hands,” he said.
N athan
H ale
of
Mandaree, a Tribal Council
member, remembered how
N athan G o o d iro n volun
teered to dress up as Santa
Claus and the Easter Bunny
to entertain children.
“He was a funny, enjoy
able person to be around,”
Hale said.
“He chose to defend his
country. He gave his life for
what he believed in,” Hale
said.
T rib al o fficia ls said
Goodiron, who joined the
Guard in 2 0 0 1 , enjoyed
working with computers, and
developed a power-point pro
gram about the tribal consti
tution. He attended classes at
Minot State University.
dropped, Jaime said that the tribe
needed to take action.
To get the government’s at
tention, the tribe closed o ff ac
cess to one o f the most beauti
ful sections o f W ashington
state’s Pacific shore, Second
Beach, in O ctober 2005. The
beach is public, but the parking
lot and access to the trail to the
beach is on tribal ground.
Olympic National Park Su
perintendent Bill Laitner said
that the park wants to make sure
the tribe can move people out
o f the danger zone. O f the
more than 700 members o f the
tribe, 350 live on the reserva
tion— 250 in the flood zone.
“We feel that is o f utmost im
portance,” he said. “We believe
we can do that. We don’t believe
we can solve all o f the tribes’
problems for all time.”
After several meetings, the
two sides remain at an impasse,
and the tribe said that it’s ready
to raise the ante. The park ser
vice has offered 274 acres o f
park land.
“I f there are no im prove
ments to this offer and we do
not resolve this issue, Rialto
Beach will be closed next year,”
Jaime said.
Laitner said that while clos
ing the beach would be incon
venient for park v isitors, it
would also be “devastating to the
local economy” o f the tribe.
“I don’t think the tribe wants
that,” he said.
In O cto b er, the Quileute
Tribe had a reservation-wide
tsunami drill with a complete
evacuation o f the lower village,
getting everyone to high ground
in nine minutes— the amount
o f time tribal leaders have de
termined is necessary to prevent
loss o f life. The last time a tsu
nami hit the area was 1964.
“What I fear the most is at 3
o’clock in the morning, when we
are all sleeping and not pre
pared,” Jaime said.
“Our exercises, our drills,
they’re structured, they’re cho
reographed. I t’s the real event
that’s going to be unpredict
able.”
Any change in the boundary
would have to be approved by
Congress, but Rep. Norm Dicks
said he worries that if the tribe
doesn’t accept the current of
fer, they may end up with noth
ing.
‘W e’re all concerned about
the safety o f the tribe and the
possibility o f a tsunami,” he said.
The tribe has “to realize that
they are running a risk by not
accepting this offer.”
Oneida businesses pull in $400 million
V ERO N A , N.Y. (AP) -
The Oneida Indian Nation
has annual revenues o f
more than $400 million, with
roughly three-quarters o f
that amount generated by
the tribe's casino and resort
operations.
A ccording to a report
compiled by the U.S. Bureau
o f Indian Affairs as part o f
the tribe's land trust applica
tion, the Turning Stone Re
sort and Casino accounted for
more than $300 million o f the
tribe's revenue. About 70 per
cent o f the money, or $215 mil
lion, came from gambling. The
report noted that the tribe lost
more than $10 million on its golf
courses, entertainment venues
and resort lodging.
Turning Stone attracts ap
proximately 4.5 million visitors
annually, according to the tribe.
T he B IA rep ort said the
nation's other enterprises, in
cluding its chain o f 12 gas
stations, produced about
$110 million in revenue.
The nation is seeking to
put 17,370 acres into federal
trust, which would make it
exempt from local and state
laws. T h e B IA 's parent
agency, the Department o f
Interior, is expected to make
a decision no earlier than
2008.
Officials say tribal election stands
RA PID CITY, S.D. (AP)—
Five people who were elected
last month to the Oglala Sioux
Tribal Council say tribal Presi
dent Alex White Plume exceeded
his authority when he ordered
a new election.
The five insist they must be
sworn into office next week. “It
is clearly defined in our constitu
tion that he cannot declare an
election,” said Philip Good Crow
o f Porcupine, one of those cho
sen Nov. 7 to a two-vear tribal
council term. He spoke at a Rapid
City news conference organized
by Cecelia Fire Thunder, former
tribal president.
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Cherished calf killed with other buffalo in storm
JA N E SV IL L E , Wis. (AP) _
A white buffalo calf born in
August was among five buffalo
killed by lightning at a farm near
Janesville, farmer Dave Heider
said Monday.
Heider said he went to check
on the animals Monday morn
ing before going to work, and
the mother o f the white buffalo
calf was walking around, grunt
ing, so Heider followed her up
a hill to where he found the dead
animals with burn marks, near
a tree.
He said the lightning during
a thunderstorm Sunday night
apparently hit the tree and all
five buffalo.
Heider's farm has seen the
birth o f three white buffalo _
animals that are considered sa
cred by many American Indian
tribes as omens o f good fortune
and peace.
T h e first white bu ffalo,
M iracle, was born Aug. 20,
1994, died in 2004.
A second white buffalo born
in 1996 died after three days,
Heider said.
He said latest white buffalo
calf was a male named Miracle s
Second Chance.
“Fie was born in a storm and
died in a storm,” he said.
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