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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (June 5, 2008)
News from Inclín Country Pgge 10 Spilyay Tymoo June 5, 2008 Minnesota tribe buys land to restore prairie Tonya Thompson/Spilyay The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs recently hosted the 33rd Annual Northwest Indian Youth Conference, which included a powwow near the end of the week-long conference. P R IO R L A K E , M inn. (AP)— A 30-acre field w here corn and soybeans were once g ro w n is n o w co v ered w ith Canada wild rye, big bluestem, Golden Alexander and compass p lan t— th e sam e grasses and flowers the pioneers saw as they p u sh ed w estw ard across the American prairie in the 1800s. This small patch o f prairie next to a condominium complex in suburban Minneapolis did not suddenly appear on its own. In stead, it was painstakingly restored at great cost by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux tribe. F lu sh w ith cash fro m its n earb y casino, th e trib e has bought up about 125 acres o f farmland and wetlands just out side the big city over the past few years and has returned them to the way they looked before the white man herded the Indi ans onto reservations. By the end o f the year, the Shakopee M dewakanton hope to begin resto rin g 450 m ore acres near the Twin Cities. Most o f it is la n d th a t has b e e n farmed since at least the 1880s. “We hold the land in high regard, and we think it’s im por ta n t to retu rn som e o f these areas to the way they were— the way it was years ago,” Shakopee M dew akanton vice chairm an Glynn Crooks said. The tribe will not disclose how much it is paying for these chunks o f valuable land in this fast-grow ing part o f the state, and it re fuses to discuss its finances. But while many Indian tribes live in cru sh in g poverty, the Mdewakanton are prospering. T h eir M ystic Lake casino, which opened in 1992 about 30 miles from dow ntow n M inne apolis and is the biggest gam bling hall in Minnesota, has gen erated millions for the tribe and made its estimated 300 members rich. M any live in su b u rb an McMansions. O th e r tribes also w ant to use the land the way their an cesto rs did. S o u th D a k o ta ’s R osebud Sioux are raising a b is o n h e rd . M e m b e rs o f N e b rask a’s W innebago trib e are encouraged to harvest wild plum s and choke cherries to im prove their diets, and milk w eed for a traditional soup. Pueblo man runs for Congress in New Mexico T ESU Q U E PU EBLO, N.M. (AP)—-Benny Shendo Jr.’s bid for Congress isn’t just a political race. H e’s literally running for office _ touring n o rth e rn N ew M exico on foot and by bike as he seeks votes in a six-way Democratic primary. The idea came naturally to the former college runner and marathoner, who is campaign ing in a district with a greater concentration o f American Indian voters than any other. “ Back in th e o ld days, that’s how messages were car ried—o n foot,” said Shendo, a m e m b e r o f th e Jem ez Pueblo tribe. H is message: We’re all in this together. “This race is really about re p re s e n tin g all o f u s— w h e th e r w e’re N av ajo s, whether we’re Apaches, whether w e’re pueblos, w heth er w e’re Hispanic, Anglo ... Asians, Afri can-A m ericans,” Shendo told students at the Santa Fe Indian School. T h e 3 rd D is tric t co v ers roughly the n o rth ern h alf o f N ew Mexico, with Indians ac counting for about 16 percent o f the voting-age population. The district has voters from 16 tribes— 14 pueblos and parts o f the Jicarilla Apache reservation and the huge Navajo Nation. Shendo, former secretary o f In d ian affairs fo r Gov. Bill Richardson, is running for the seat left open by Rep. Tom Udall, who is ru n n in g for the Senate. I f elected, Shendo would be the first Indian to hold the office. T here’s only one Indian in Congress now: Oklahom a Re publican Tom Cole, a member o f the Chickasaw Nation. Som e In d ian s have been heavily involved in tribal govern ments, but the population histori cally has not participated much in state and federal elections, said Kalyn Free o f Tulsa, Okla., who leads the Indigenous Democratic Network, which recruits and trains Indian candidates for public of fice. American Indians received U.S. citizenship in 1924, b u t some states refused to let them vote for decades. Indians could not cast ballots in New Mexico or Arizona until 1948 and until 1957 in Utah. “This is a political system not o f our own making,” said Free, a m em ber o f the Choctaw N a tion w ho ran for Congress in 2004 fro m an eastern O k la homa district. But, she said, if Indians are “n o t at the table ... our voices are not going to be represented.” H er o rganization has h elped m ore than 20 Indian Democrats get elected, m o st o f them to state legislatures. A t least tw o o th er N ative Americans are running in D em o cratic congressional primaries th is year: D ia n e B e n so n in Alaska and Mary Kim Titla in Arizona. With better-known and bet te r-fu n d e d c a n d id a te s in Shendo’s race, he “would have to do som e really im pressive turnout on the reservations in order to have a shot, which has been ... hard in Democratic pri maries,” said Albuquerque poll ster Brian Sanderoff. , The candidate bills himself as the “real, true progressive” in a field o f candidates w ho offer similar Democratic themes: end ing the Iraq war, combating glo bal warming, providing access to affordable health care. Shendo says his Indian heritage gives him a singular perspective. For instance, his campaign litera ture points out that he’s no new com er to being “green.” H is p eo p le h av e been practicing sustainability for centuries. A NAFTA question at a labor forum 'makes him chuckle, as he points out that his ancestors were trading with Mexico and Central America centuries ago. “I was raised with the values and traditions that come from my people,” he explained to the labor audience: respect for land, water, animals, elders, families, neighbors, communities. “This is w ho I am,” he said. S h e n d o m an ag e d N a tiv e A m erican p ro g ram s fo r th e University o f N ew Mexico, and was assistant dean o f students and director o f the Am eri can Indian and Alaskan N a tive p ro g ra m at S tan fo rd University. H e was a fellow o f the W.K. Kellogg National Leadership Program. S h e n d o w as in th e Stanford job when he learned that the little Catholic school in the Jem ez Pueblo com m u nity west o f Santa Fe would be closing after nearly 100 years o f operation. H e re signed to go hom e and orga nize the first public charter school on an Indian reserva tion in New Mexico. He recalls with a laugh his conversation with a Stanford official. “You got a better offer? ... We can match it,” the official said. “No,” replied Shendo. ‘Y ou’ll never be able to match it ” North Dakota, tribe reach accord on reservation oil taxes BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)— Oil industry officials predict a new tax and regulatory accord between N o rth D akota and the T hree Affiliated Tribes will spur explo ration o f oil-producing rock be neath the tribe’s reservation. The agreement limits oil tax rates on reservation land, and spells out how the state and tribal governments will share oil rev enues. It specifies that N o rth D akota’s D epartm ent o f Min eral Resources will regulate res ervation production. Besides its share o f oil taxes, the Three Affiliated Tribes will receive $100,000 in fees for every new oil well drilled on res ervation trust land. T he agreem ent, w hich was authorized by the N orth Dakota Legislature last year, takes effect July 1 and may last up to two years. It may be extended for any period by agreement o f the gov ernor and the tribe’s business council. “I think this will help stimu late m ore oil production on the reservation,” Gov. John Hoeven said. “These are major invest ments they’re making, and this will help (oil companies) go on the reservation and make those investments.” Oil industry spokesmen said the agreement gives companies a set o f tax rates and regulatory assumptions they may rely on in deciding whether to drill. Ron N ess, president o f the N orth Dakota Petroleum Coun cil, said uncertainty about taxes and complex tribal rules have discouraged new drilling on the Fort B erthold Indian Reserva tion for more than 20 years. “Oil companies w ant regula tory certainty, and they’re very sensitive to taxation,” Ness said. “A t least under this situation, they know what the ground rules are. Previously, there was little or no activity there because o f the uncertainty.” T he Three Affiliated Tribes’ business council endorsed the agreem ent Thursday. H oeven said a signing ceremony will be held at the tribe’s headquarters in N ew Town on June 10. The tribe’s chairman, Marcus Wells Jr., said the tribe plans to New trial granted in tribal smoke shop raid PROV ID EN CE, R.I. (AP)— A federal judge ordered a new trial in a lawsuit brought by a m em ber o f the N arrag an sett Indian tribe w ho sued state po lice for a violent 2003 raid on a tribal smoke shop. A dam Jennings’ ankle was broken in the July 14, 2003, raid at the shop on tribal land in Charlestown. A jury in 2005 fo u n d th a t tro o p e r K en n eth J o n e s u se d excessiv e fo rce w hen he was trying to subdue J e n n in g s , and a w a rd e d Jennings just over $300,000. U.S. D istrict Judge E rn est T o rre s o n T u esd ay g ra n te d Jo n es’ request for a new trial. H e said testim ony from state police was m ore credible than that o f Jennings and two other plaintiffs’ witnesses. Torres cast doubt on whether a shop worker and a customer who testified during a five-day trial could have seen Jennings’ struggle with state troopers. He also ques tioned Jennings’ recollections. Torres had earlier overturned the jury award and ruled state troopers used reasonable force, b u t the 1st U.S. Circuit C ourt o f Appeals found Jones did vio late Je n n in g s’ c o n stitu tio n a l rights and reinstated the award. The attorney general’s office said it was pleased with the de cision. B ut Jennings’ m other, Paulla D ove Jennings, said she was upset. “There is no justice for any N arragansett in the state,” she told The Providence Journal. Jennings was one o f seven tribe members w ho faced mis dem eanor criminal charges af ter the raid on the smoke shop, which was selling cigarettes with out collecting state taxes. use its oil revenues to finance improvements to its health care system, law enforcem ent and road network. “Through this present agree ment, both the tribe and state are able to work together to provide more stability in the taxation o f oil and gas in western N orth D a kota,” Wells said in a statement He could not be reached imme diately for com m ent The Fort Berthold reservation in western N orth Dakota lies atop part o f the Bakken shale rock formation, parts o f which have demonstrated great promise re cently for oil production. T he U.S. Geological Survey recently estimated that up to 4.3 billion barrels o f oil are recov erable from the Bakken shale beneath N orth D akota and east ern Montana, using current drill ing technology. N orth Dakota has a top state tax rate o f 11.5 percent on oil production, although newly drilled and low-producing wells often pay less. The agreement sets an 11.5 percent tax on oil pumped from tribal trust land. The Museum At Warm Springs Traditional & Memorial Horse Parade Photograph courtesy d the Saiys Thompson Fairiiy Pictured: Atra Irene Thompson Tine ani áster Mania finition Thursday, June 26, 2008 The Museum Grounds Banished Snoqualm ie file civil-rights lawsuit Please join The Museum At Warm Springs as w e provide the opportunity to Warm Springs Tribal Members to show their horse Regalia and to pay SEATTLE (AP)— A federal lawsuit has been filed by nine b a n is h e d m em b ers o f th e Snoqualmie tribe in the latest round o f an ongoing fight for control o f the tribe. The tribe is poised to open one o f the state’s m ost lucra tive gambling casinos this fall. The banished members were tossed out in April. They include th e trib al ch airm an , several council members and a minis te r o f th e In d ia n S h ak er Church. They filed their suit on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Seattle, claiming violation o f their civil rights. N am ed in th e suit are the Snoqualm ie council m em bers w ho banished them , stripping th em o f th eir tribal identity; barring them from tribal lands, and cutting them o ff from any tribal benefits, including health care services. The Snoqualmie are a small tribe with fewer than 700 mem bers. It was federally recognized in 1999 and obtained a reser v ation in 2006. I t intends to open what promises to be one o f the m ost profitable casinos, located just o ff Interstate 90, an enterprise the banished were also accused o f n o t supporting. respect to their Loved Ones that are now gone and free their bereavment. Walkers are welcome! Tim e starting at 10 am with "Spirit of the Horse" reception and exhibit opening to follow. Th e Changing Exhibits Gallery and Gift Shop will be open until 6 pm. With permission, photographs will be taken of Horse regalia for individual records and one copy towards the Museum's Archives during this event. For additional Information and horse trailer parking, please contact Rosalind Sampson, Beulah Tsumpti or Natalie Moody at 541553.3331/3338 Fax Adult Volunteers are requested
