Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2011)
News from Indian Country P^ge 8 Spilygy Tymoo Cherokee election still in dispute TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) — The Cherokee N ation Su prem e C ourt gran ted a key motion by Principal Chief Chad Smith last Saturday, the second day of a hearing over the Ameri can Indian tribe’s disputed elec tion. The court ordered a com parison of all voters in the tribal election commission’s voter da tabase to the tribe’s current en rollment registry. Smith maintains that by com paring the two lists, it can be de termined if unregistered voters cast ballots during the June 25 election for the principal chief’s office. There was no immediate in dication when such a compari son m igh t be done. A bout 15,000 votes were cast during the election. Smith is appealing a hand recount conducted June 30 by the election commission after Smith and tribal councilman Bill John Baker were separated by only a handful of votes. The recount showed Baker ahead by 266 votes over Smith, who has asked the court to order a ma chine recount. Unofficial returns gave Baker the lead by 11 votes the morn ing after the election, but the commission declared Smith the winner one day later by seven votes. The overall vote totals have been different in each count. The justices h aven ’t said when they might rule on Smith's request for a machine recount or if they might order a new election. The hearing was con tinuing into Saturday evening. After Smith’s attorneys rested their case Saturday, Baker’s at torneys asked the court to dis miss the appeal, saying Smith has failed to prove fraud. Under Cherokee election law, the fee for a regular appeal is $500, but if fraud is alleged, that fee is $1,500. Smith paid the latter amount in filing his appeal. The hearing Saturday began w ith testim o ny from T erry Rainey, who owns Automated Election Services, about whether the process of using machines to count absentee ballots could explain the difference between the initial vote count and the hand recount. Baker’s campaign has said Rainey has acknowledged in court and in a deposition that a double count of absentee votes could explain the difference. Rainey clarified those state m ents Saturday, saying he reached that conclusion only because he worked through the vote numbers in the matter of fered by Baker’s attorneys. Two observers of the hand recount, V alerie G iebel and Melanie Knight, testified about watching tired ballot counters and seeing tabulation issues dur ing the recount. Giebel was an observer for the Smith cam paign. Under cross-examination by Baker’s attorneys, she ac knowledged that even though the counters were tired, each counter matched tallies on pre cincts before the to tal was agreed upon. The Tahlequah-based Chero kee Nation is Oklahoma’s larg est tribe and one of the nation’s biggest, with membership ap proaching 300,000. Smith or Baker w ill adm inister a $600 million annual budget after an inauguration set for Aug. 14. Umatilla tribe elects new chairman to top job PEN D LETO N (AP) _ The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser vation have elected a new chairman of their board of trustees, the tribe's top post. The East Oregonian reports that Les Minthorn, a previous chairman and treasurer, won with 160 votes out of 478 to tal. Minthorn is taking over for Elwood Patawa, who resigned in April and whose term ends in November. Minthorn beat out five other candidates. g a rn e re d 126 v o tes. Minthorn will b e sworn in on Ju ly 11. He served as chairm an o f the board of trustees from 1974-1980. The electio n 's runner-up Native American rights lawyer dies at 68 BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - David Getches, a leading American Indian rights law yer and former dean of the U n iv ersity o f C olorado School of Law, has died. He was 68. The Boulder Daily Cam era reports that university officials say Getches died at his home a week ago Tues day of pancreatic cancer. He had stepped down as dean of the law school at the end of June to rejoin the faculty. Getches moved to Colo rado in 1970 to become the founding executive director of the Boulder-based Native American Rights Fund. He also served as executive di- Getches will be remembered as a great friend and brother to Native people.” As a p ro fesso r at CU, G etches tau gh t n atu ral re sources law, including water, pollution, environmental and American Indian public lands law. Recent academic projects in clu d ed w ork on Suprem e Court Indian law decision-mak ing, as well as water law involv ing the Colorado River and in digenous peo ple in L atin America. Former U.S. Attorney Troy Eid, who in private practice spe cializ es, in Indian law, said G etches and CU p ro fesso r C harles W ilkin so n forged American Indian law as a disci- pline o f study. Eid called Getches a “giant of the pro fession.” G etches also authored several law books in English and Spanish, and wrote nu merous articles on water, natural resources and Ameri can Indian law. “For over 30 years, David Getches has been a mentor,” In terio r S ecretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. “He inspired my work on conservation. He taught me about the importance of up holding our trust relationship with the nation's first Ameri cans. For Colorado and the nation, the legacy of David Getches' life will live forever.” Man charged in Navajo officer’s death The next deadline to submit items fo r publication in the Spilyay Tymoo is Friday, July 22. Thank yo u ! FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A K aibeto (KY' bih toh) man charged with first-degree mur der in the death o f a Navajo Nation police sergeant remains hospitalized. FBI spokesm an M anuel Johnson says authorities for mally arrested Victor Bigman at a Flagstaff hospital last Thurs day and are w atch in g him around the clock. B igm an has been under medical care since tribal police Choctaw Fair starts today PH IL A D E LPH IA , M iss. (AP) — The Sixty-Second Annual Choctaw Indian Fair begins this Wednesday, July 13. The fair is a four-day event featuring tribal culture and spirit. The fair will give visitors a sampling of tribal arts, crafts and dances along with the action of stickball competition. Entertainment ranges from midway rides to performances by en tertain ers C rystal Shawanda, Leann Rimes, The Spinners and Atlanta Rhythm Section. The Choctaw Indian Princess pageant is this evening. rector of the Colorado Depart m ent o f N atural R esources from 1983 to 1987. A m ong A m erican Indian rights cases litigated by Getches, the 1974 United States v. Wash ington case is cited by the Na tional Congress of American Indians as the leading case on enforcem ent o f tribal treaty rights. That case involved the fishing rights o f N orthw est tribes granted under treaties signed in the 1800s. “D avid Getches forged a revolution in federal Indian law that led to a new respect for the rights of Indian tribes in court houses throughout the nation,” Jefferson Keel, president of the American Indian group. “Mr. were called to his home June 25 to break up a fight between his sons. Authorities say Bigman inter vened in the arrests and fired four shots at Sgt. Darrell Curley, who returned fire and struck Bigman. Curley died hours later. Jo h n so n declined to say M artha’s Vineyard tribe eyes Cape W ind lawsuit AQUINNAH, Mass. (AP) — A M arth a’s V ineyard American Indian tribe has announced that its tribal gov ernm ent has authorized a lawsuit against a wind farm project off Cape Cod. The Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head said Friday that it wants to join more than a dozen groups in a new legal challenge to the proposed 130-turbine w ind farm in Nantucket Sound. The tribe said in a state ment that the planned lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Regulation and Enforcement cites multiple violations, in cluding the destruction of “historical, cultural and spiri tual tribal resources.” There are 1,121 enrolled trib al m em bers in the Aquinnah tribe. M ark Rodgers, spokes man for Cape Wind Associ ates, said about 14 legal chal lenges against Cape W ind have been rejected by vari ous courts over the past eight years. 8 SD tribes to share in $4.4 m illion in grants SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Eight American Indian tribes will share in more than $4 million in federal grant money for historic preservation. The grants are funded by rev enues from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. They're intended to pay for pre serving cultural sites and pro m oting education program s about the cultural heritage of tribes. The Crow Creek Sioux tribe w ill receive about $70,000. Other South Dakota tribes to receive grants are the Cheyenne River, Flandreau Santee Sioux, Oglala Sioux, Rosebud Sioux, Sisseton -W ahp eton O yate, S tan d in g R ock Sioux and Yankton Sioux. Twelve Okla. tribes receive historic preservation grants OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Twelve American Indian tribes based in Oklahoma are receiv ing federal historic preservation grants from the U.S. Interior Department. U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the A bsentee Shawnee, Caddo, Cheyenne and A rapaho, Choctaw , C itizen Potawatomi, Comanche, Miami, M uscogee (C reek), Paw nee, Ponca, Quapaw and Wyandotte tribes from Oklahoma will re ceive grants. Nationwide, $4.4 million in grants are going to 117 tribes. Among the Oklahoma tribes, the size of the grants range from $29,975 for the Caddo Nation to $59,431 for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. The gran t m oney com es from revenues from federal oil leases on the Outer Continental Shelf. The money is used by the National Park Service for tribal historic preservation efforts. O g la la S i o u x n a m e n e w p o lic e c h i e f PINE RIDGE, S.D. (AP) — The Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine R idge reservatio n has named a new police chief. R ichard G reenw ald took over the tribal police last week. Tribal leaders are considering a move to turn over public safety responsibilities to the federal Bu- reau of Indian Affairs. The po- lice and tribal officials have long feuded on the reservation south of Rapid City. The tribe’s judi ciary chairman, Toby Big Boy, has said local police have not addressed many complaints. where Bigman was hit or discuss his condition. F ederal au th o rities have charged Bigman's son, Tyson Bigman, with assaulting another tribal officer at the scene. He was released from custody fol lowing a detention hearing Fri day. $400 CASH REWARD VARIETY OF CARPENTRY TOOLS ITEMS TAKEN FROM 2572 Mt Jefferson Street, Warm Springs, during the night of 13 June 2011. Tools were removed from our trailer, we are trying to recover them. PARTIAL LIST OF MISSING TOOLS Ridgid Compound Mitre Saw, mounted on a work stand with wheels, Model R-4120 Milwaukie, skill saw, no case SENCO AIR NAIL GUNS: Red head, finish nailer, with case, model Finish Pro, SFN 30 Three finish air guns in a case, black plastic Coil siding Nailer, Model SCN 49 Framing Nail Gun, Frame Pro Micro pin nailer. Finish Pro 11 Milwaukie, Saws-all in red plastic case, cord is detached, lots of blades Dewalt, scroll jig saw in a black beat up metal case. Many other items, garden tools and hoses, blower, extension cords, brooms, Three ladders. Police Case #11-1174 at the Warm Springs Tribal Police Department, (541) 553-3272 Makita, 10” fold up tabla aaw, the rip guide has a broken plastic lock, m odel 2705X1 MAURICE July 13, 2011 541-546 9008 Fans COS SAT. July 16, 2011 WS Campus Lawn 9:00 am - 4:30 pm Clothes gun players Sg6es Kitchenware Fry Bread NDN Tacos Rez Dogs Funnel Cakes Shortcake Soda/Water l The House Runneth Over!!! Please help us clean it out. One’s mans junk is another mans treasure!