News from Indian C ountry
» ^ ^ ^ 2 7 . 2 0 , 0
Colo, lawmaker backs off tuition plan
D EN V ER (AP) - A Colo
rado lawmaker who suggested
changing'a waiver for American
Indian students at Fort Lewis
College said she will kill the bill,
but she insisted her measure
would n o t have h u rt Native
American students.
D em o c ratic Rep. K aren
Middleton o f Aurora sponsored
a bill to have cut $1.8 million
from the college’s budget, based
on reducing reimbursement for
out-öf-state tuition for Native
American students.
U n d er h er bill, stu d e n ts
would still have been able to at
tend free, but college officials
argued they would have to cut
staff and courses, providing less
o f an education.
Middleton said all colleges
and universities are being af
fected by budget cuts as the state
tries to cope with a projected $1
billion shortfall next year, but
she said the cuts to Fort Lewis
College were unique and re
quired a policy change.
“This was never about N a
tive American students,” she
said.
The state tuition waiver be
gan in 1911 as a condition for
accepting thousands o f acres of
land in Hesperus in southwest
Colorado. In exchange for the
land, the federal governm ent
and state lawmakers agreed to
provide a free education for all
Native American students.
This year, 608 out-of-state
American Indian students and
130 in-state American Indian
students accepted the offer.
Rico Munn, director o f the
C o lo rad o D e p a rtm e n t o f
Higher Education, rejected sug
gestions that the bill would vio
late the agreement.
“It never had anything to do
with Native American students,”
Munn said.
Ernest House Jr., a member
o f the Colorado Commission
on Indian Affairs, said he also
believes the cuts would not have
hurt Native American students.
He also said it would not vio
late the agreement between N a
tive Americans and the state
government.
Remains reported found at Oxford site
OXFORD, Ala. (AP) - The
remains of an American Indian
reportedly have been found and
reburied at an Oxford construc
tion site where a professor re
cently discovered that an ancient
Indian m ound has been de
stroyed.
State archaeologist Stacye
H athorn said that University of
Alabama archaeologists con
tacted her around Jan. 8 with
w ord th at the rem ains were
found at a site where Oxford is
building a sports complex,
“UA called, said they found
a body, said it was Native Ameri
can, said it was reburied and the
site is being avoided,” H athorn
said.
U niversity archaeologists
have been monitoring the site,
where construction began last
year. Hathorn, who works for
the Alabama Historical Com
mission, said the call was the
only one she has received from
the monitors.
Jacksonville State University
professor o f archaeology and
anthropology H arry Holstein
said the land in the vicinity of
the sports complex construction
contains remnants o f an Ameri
can Indian village and a temple
mound that once was 30 feet
tall. T he 3-foot base o f the
mound was intact when he vis
ited the site last summer, but had
been flattened when he returned
this week.
Cash and Release
Voted # 1 paw n shop in Madras!
Jefferson County’s only used gun dealer
At Cash and Release, we are always here to assist yew with youF short-term ioan.
Alaska village up first in U.S. census
NOORVIK, Alaska (AP) -
T h e U.S. C ensus B ureau is
launching its 2010 count o f the
nation’s residents in a remote
Alaska village.
C ensus B ureau D ire c to r
R o b e rt G roves is flying to
Noorvik in northwest Alaska on
M onday to c o u n t th e first
household in the Inupiat E s
kimo community o f 650. Villag
ers have prepared a day of fes
tivities to welcome Groves and
other visiting federal, state and
tribal officials.
Census workers and trained
locals are expected to take a
week to interview the rest o f
Noorvik’s residents, using the
same 10-question forms to be
mailed to most Americans on
March 15. Census workers also
will visit 217 other rural Alaska
com m unities in the com ing
weeks.
Alaskans in rural corrimuni-
ties not linked by roads have
b een th e first A m ericans
counted since the 1990 census.
D o you have guns, gold, jewelry, beaded items, log
splitters or chain saws? Maybe a horse trailer or ATV?
Then we have CASH to loan you! 60 day loan period
Klamaths OK basin restoration agreement
GRANTS PASS (AP) - The
Klamath Tribes are the first to
approve a $1 billion agreement
for restoring K lam ath River
salmon and bringing peace to
long-standing water battles in
the basin.
The tribes announced Tues
day that their members voted to
approve the Klamath Basin Res
toration Agreement, which is
part of a broader settlement de
signed to remove aging hydro
electric dams that block salmon.
The overall settlement is ex
pected to be signed by the doz
ens o f parties next month.
Tribal chairman Joe Kirk says
the agreement is good for the
tribes. It helps them regain own
ership o f a 90,000-acre tree
farm that was once part o f their
reservation.
He adds that it is good for
the basin, settling decades o f
battles over scarce water and
helping restore fish and wildlife.
If you don’t need a loan, come visit us for that special gift for someone.
We stock firearms, chainsaws, jewelry, hand tools and lots of Native Ameri
can headwork and traditional regalia. So come in and see us!
Located at 579 SE 5th Street, across from Thriftway.
Or give us a call at (541) 475-3157.
Haiti
(Continued from page 1)
Additionally, “they’ll need
people with different skills at
different times.”
Rescue efforts are winding
down and the long clean up and
recovery is just beginning. Vol
unteers w anting to help the
Haitians come back from this
disaster are numerous across the
United States and Indian Coun
try. Finding people w ith the
right skills at the right time —
and places for them to stay —
isn’t easy right now, however.
Trackers, param edics and
other emergency professionals
from the region are am ong
those planning to travel there
soon as aid efforts take shape.
Martinez also plans to ar
range for a mental health pro
fessional to join the regional
team.
I “This is for the victims and
th e p eo p le v o lu n te e rin g ,”
Martinez said.
•»
Only after recovery efforts
are completed can the rebuild
ing begin. Martinez won’t be in
volved with coordinating any
subsequent demolition and con
struction efforts.
Martinez also warned people
to choose carefully when giving
donations to Haitian relief. He
took a call last week from some
one saying they were collecting
money for the effort. The per
son probably only wanted to
make money for himself, how
ever. The caller couldn’t provide
proper details so Martinez fig
ured he had been contacted by
a scammer, he said.
“The)» wouldn’t stop. They
wouldn’t get o ff the phone. I
finally told this person, ‘You
called a fire and safety office,”’
he said. “Then they must have
gotten the message. They hung
up.”
Only donate to people and
groups you know and can truly
trust, M artinet em phasized.
Among well-known organiza
tions involved in Haiti relief: the
Mk ft« « B w l W
Oregon State Fair & Expo Cente
Salem Pavilion
2330 17th Street NE, Salem , O R
10 a.m. - 1 0 p.m.
G rand Entries at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m
Ite » » /
1-800-922-1399 x1230.or
541^44^230
Parking $3
Oregon State Parks
MC Nick Sixkiller
Featuring educational booths,
Native craft demonstrations,
cultural drumming,
dancing & Tribal vendors
For vendor information
This event is sponsored
' by the sovereign governments of
Z»
’ W