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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 27, 2007)
News from Indian Country Pags7 Freedmen issue on detour to Capitol H ill TULSA, Okla. (AP) J A dis pute involving race and tribal identity that was supposed to play out in the courts now seems headed for Capitol Hill, where some lawm akers want \the country's second-largest Indian tribe stripped of $300 million in federal money. U.S. Rep. Diane Watson, a California Democrat who claims Indian blood and ties to Okla homa, is demanding the Chero kee Nation reinstate 2,800 de- f ascendants of, the tribe's former black staves, known as freed men. She calls a March election that booted the freedmen de scendants from the tribe “eth nic cleansing” and doesn't want to wait on the courts to decide the matter, a process that could take years. The tribe is digging in to fight the legislation, and its chief, Chad Smith, has called Watson's bill a “scorched-earth” policy aimed at hurting the poorest and sickest of the nation's 270,000 members. Neither side shows signs of giving up ground as lawmakers are expected to have a hearing on the matter next week in Washington. At stake are millions of fed eral dollars for health clinics, Head Start programs, elderly care and housing assistance for the Tahlequah-based tribe. More than 6,000 fiation employees could lose their jobs, touching off a ripple effect that would economically devastate north eastern Oklahoma. Health care to 126,000 patients would be axed. “If the Cherokee Nation were to fold, I'd be with it,” said David Rabon Comingdeer, a 15- year employee of the nation. “It would be like out whole world just fell out from under us.” But to Watson, those are con sequences the nation should have thought of before the election was called. “ We can't even fund educa tion properly or health care prop erly,” said Watson, whose bill has 23 co-sponsors, including sup port from Congressional Black Caucus lawmakers.' “Why should we fund this kind of dis enfranchisement?” Watson wants Chief Smith and his supporters “to come to their senses and see this is throw ing out, the blacks, and using federal dollars to do it.” “I stand on the law, I stand on what's right, and I'm not go- irig to massage it for phony rea sons,” she said. For décades, descendants of freed Cherokee slaves fought to reclaim their citizenship, even though théy were adopted into ' the tribe in 1866 under a treaty with the U.S. government. A ruling last year by the Cherokee'V N ation Suprerne "Court held that the Cherokee constitution assured freedmen descendants of tribal citizenship. That led to a petition drive for a ballot measure tô deter mine who is a citizen of the' Cherokee Nation. In March, nearly 77 percent of Cherokee Voters decided in a special election to amend the nation's constitution to remove the freedmen descendants and other non-Indians from tribal rolls. featuring: Bay Area Legend Mat Mall, \ R ei Regs, R a g g ia n e , Rig R, R&R Singer Mie Saniere & Mere Sept 29th 8pm $12 stud 0 iits $15 generili Warm Springs Community Center W arm Springs Indian Reservation, Oregon Cantaci lain: MgchiefJsk@tmail ar 5415531648 Ex-coach paints new mascot design WARRENTON, Ore. (AP)—Visiting teams’ questions about ' the m ural o f the Warrenton High School mascot used to make former basketball coach Tim Peitsch squirm. Peitsch says he never quite understood die image on the gymnasium wall: a headdressed man with a hooked nose and bloodshot eyes, wearing athletic pants and moccasins, carrying a tomahawk and arrows but no bow, and trying to dribble a de flated basketball. The 41-year-old depiction of the Warrenton Warriors’ mascot was one of the first things visi tors saw when they entered the gym. But under Peitsch’s hand, a ndivj ¿ultiirally sensitive repre sentation of American Indians is taking shape in the Warrenton gym, even as the state consid ers a ban on Native American m ascots, team names and logos—risking a potential uproar over ah issue historically left up to individual schools and school districts, At least 16 Oregon schools sport native mascots and nick names, which the state might prohibit. The schools will soon receive invitations to an Oct. 22 “stakeholders .meeting” to dis cuss possible policy changes at the Department of Education, officials announced Monday. But Peitsch isn’t worried about the looming prohibition. With the new mural, he said, “The issue isn’t so much the Warriors and the way they’re portrayed; you have, an image and an idea tfiat the tribe fully supports! That’s good for every body.” Principal Rod Heyen agreed. “Over tim e, there were things that just weren’t right and things that were flat-out wrong” with the old image, he said. “The caricature we had up there was demeaning. It was wrong whether we had to change our mascot or not. “I look at this as a mural that’s a tribute to the Native Americans in this area. I don’t see it as a mascot issue.” The new mural spans 12.5. feet by 17.5 feet, featuring a canoe rowed by men represent ing the Clatsop-Nehalem Con federated Tribes. Their muscles flex as they §lice paddles through a churning Columbia River.' Saddle Mountain towers, in the background. 11 All symbols and imagery have official approval from the Glatsop-Nehalem tribes, said; tribal Couiicil chairwoman Diatie Collier of Warrenton. She said the group gave Peitsch a letter of endorsement to protect the mural as the mascot controversy plays put at the state level. Spirit Lake Nation considering hog farm ' ST. MICHAEL, N.D. (AP)— Developers are considering a hog farm on the Spirit Lake Nation reservation, and not all members of the tribe are happy about if. Theresa Allery, a boardmem- be'r o f the Native American People Cooperative and coordi nator for Hog Hoop Barn De velopment, said officials hope to use federal grant money to pro duce organic vegetables~and build the hog facility. Daryl Dukart, general man ager o f Cloverdale Growers Alliance, a group of growers who produce-for Mandan-based Cloverdale Foods Co., said the reservation project would in clude nine barns that- each cpuld handle about 200 pigs. Each barn would handle three batches of pigs a year, he said. Tribal member Frank “We can turn out 4,860 pigs annually,” Dukart said. BlackCloud said he worries They likely would be itti- about damage to the environ ported from Canada, raised in ment from the hog farm. He the barns and then shipped to said he has seen hog farms on Cloverdale’s processing facility other reservations, and “I hate to see a nightmare like that up in Minot, he said. : Bill Patrie, director of the here.” Northcotintry Cooperative De Patrie said officials are only velopment Fund, said the pork gauging interest, and have not could be marketed as “Native yet even identified possible sites American-raised hogs” and sold ’ for a hog farm. Tribal member Noreen to tribal casinos in the state. Dukart said straw would be Cavanaugh said she would not put on the floor of the bams to hesitate to fight a hog farm; “I reduce odors and help heat the would be willing to initiate a pe structures, which would have tition against it,” she said. tarps for roofs. “Hoop barns are the least expensive way to get into hog production that we could find,” Patrie said, “Tiiey are environ mentally friendly and inexpen- D M Christinas Stocking Raffle tipi 11 VourBaigainConnectò M m m L w -B i t ‘g c u .'K a a 71 7 s m 5 t h St, Madras Or. i Novelty $£&* . flnstúJts» fu nmiA 1» straft »• SS.OOSa.DD HUH UBI OUST Betty Boop Collectable M ifB b u is e 'ImMHjIir htlpi/Avw w.theoulpo ststo rexo m. Toys-Tools-Housewares-Clothing-Crafts-Gfts ¡¡Minier 0701« All Products Prepared Fresh Dally Entrees Roasted Daily Featuring Hand Cut U S D A Choice Steaks 1 Giant Christmas Stocking 3 Smaller Christmas Stockings Tickets are $1 each or six for $5. 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