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