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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 21, 2011)
n News from Indian Country n Pdge 9 Spilydy Tymoo September- 21, 2011 Navajos seek tribal-dominated district PHOENIX (AP) - As the Hopi Tribe signaled a new will ingness to share representation in Washington, the Navajo Na tion proposed last week that Arizona’s new congressional dis tricts include one with enough Native Americans to elect one of their own to Congress. The Navajo and Hopi tribes in the past have had cool and even bitter relations, but Hopi Chairman LeRoy Shingoitewa said it makes sense for the two groups to be in the same district in order to have more collective clout on issues of common con cern. “The concept is what is good for tribes, not just one tribe,” Shingoitewa said. Leonard Gorman, executive director of the Navajo Nation’s human rights commission pre sented the state’s redistricting commission with several propos als that if implemented would dramatically redraw the land scape of much of rural Arizona. Both o f the N avajos’ two congressional proposals would create a rural-dominated district Gallup builds ‘world’s largest Navajo taco’ GALLUP, N.M. (AP) - Resi dents in Gallup have set the record for world’s largest Na vajo taco using 150 pieces of fry bread and, of course, more than 30 pounds of green chile, New Mexico officials and or ganizers said Monday. According to volunteers and state officials, the Navajo taco created Saturday was more than 10 feet in diam eter and also needed 65 pounds of ground beef, 65 pounds of beans, 50 pounds o f lettu ce and 90 pounds of cheese. Bill Lee, executive director of the Gallup McKinley County Chamber o f Commerce, said there was no record for the world’s largest Navajo taco in the Guinness Book of World Record, so residents created one. “We just decided we would establish the record,” said Lee. “There wasn’t anything on the books officially.” Lee said the objective was to highlight tourism in Gallup, a city located near the Navajo Nation, and to bring residents together for a cause. Among those that help built the massive taco were Gallup Mayor Jackie M cKinney and employees from area businesses. M cK inney finished the con struction by using a cherry- picker truck to sprinkle diced tomatoes in the taco’s center. Afterward, residents and or ganizers were treated to a free lunch. The event was part o f the N ew M exico T ourism Department’s “Catch the Kid” summer travel promotion scav enger hunt. covering eastern Arizona and much of northern Arizona, tak ing in the N avajo, H opi, H avasupai, H ualapai, W hite M ountain A pache and San Carlos Apache reservations. Both versions would reach southward to Cochise County on the U.S.-Mexico border, with one extending westward to in clude the Tohono O’odham Na tion in southern Arizona and the oth er go in g through P inal County to include the Gila River Indian Community. Such a district, Gorman said, would put enough Native Ameri cans in the district to ensure that their voting rights are protected and make it possible to have a Native American elected to rep resent Arizona in Congress for the first time, Gorman said. A separate proposal by the Navajos would redraw the cur rent legislative district that now includes the reservation to in clude less of Flagstaff and more of Apache and Navajo counties south of the reservation. The Navajos 10 years ago proposed similar redistricting L But the tribes’ relations since have improved, and Shingoitewa said he expects the Hopi Tribal Council soon will consider a resolution on forging a common front with the Navajos on re districting. “T hings have ch an ged ,” Shingoitew a said. “Life has changed, and we live in a politi cal world, and when you deal with politics, you need strength in numbers sometimes.” Com m ission Chairwom an Colleen Mathis later said a will ingness by the Hopis to share a district with the Navajos would provide the commission with more flexibility. Asked about the feasibility of drawing a congressional district as envisioned by the Navajos, Mathis said it would have to be measured against the full set of redistricting mandates. Those include creating competitive dis tricts and respecting undefined communities of interest, as well as protecting minorities’ voting rights. “It’s intriguing,” she said dur ing an interview. Ski Bowl The area at Government Camp that many people from Warm Springs remember as Tom, Dick, & Harry has been developed into a ski and adventure resort known as Ski Bowl. Kirk Hanna, owner of the Ski Bowl, wants to open this area that was once a huckleberry picking grounds for the river tribes. Hanna has invited the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs back to the area to continue their traditions and to partner in the development of an Interpretive Center. On Friday, Sept. 9 Ski Bowl provided vans and transported tribal members wanting to pick berries and enjoy the mountain. Culture and Heritage staff will be partnering with the Ski Bowl staff and the U.S. Forest Service to create an area where the 10,000 plus annual visitors can learn about the history of the mountain from the perspective of Tribal people. Group picture taken after the blessing of the building that will house the interpretive center. Lacy is set for sentencing in D ecem ber. U.S. M agistrate Judge Samuel Alba also sen tenced two other people in the ongoing trafficking case. K evin Shum way, 58, o f B landing was ordered to 12 months of probation for his role in helping Lacy sell the artifacts. The R ulon K ody Sommerville, 50, of Monticello was ordered to 12 months of probation for selling a Native American knife. U N C A SV ILLE , Conn. (AP) - The Mohegan Sun says slot revenue plunged 10.6 percent in August. The Indian-run casino said Thursday that revenue was $59.9 million, down from $67 million in August 2010. It was the steepest drop in m onths. R evenue at the southeastern C onnecticut casino dropped between 3 percent and 6 percent in the p ast few m onths due to w eak consum er spending and increased competition in the Northeast. The Mohegan Sun did not elaborate on why revenue in August fell. Okla. tribe’s commission allows freedmen to vote TULSA, Okla. (AP) - The Cherokee N atio n’s election commission voted Wednesday to allow descendants of slaves once owned by tribal members to cast ballots for principal chief, but they’ll only count in the event of a court order. Federal officials objected to a ruling last month by the tribe’s highest court that found only people of direct Cherokee an cestry could be members of the tribe and vote in the upcoming election, essentially denying bal lots to some 2,800 freedmen descendants. W hile the election commission’s vote doesn’t di rectly overturn the ruling by the C herokee N ation Suprem e Court, it does allow for freed men to cast provisional ballots in an effort to make the elec tion results stand, regardless of how the courts ultimately rule. “If a court decides the freed men descendants can vote we will have the ability to certify the election,” Election Commis sion chairwoman Susan Plumb said. “If the court decides they cannot vote, we will still be able to preserve the election.” The longstanding dispute be tween the tribe and the freed men has only complicated the Sept. 24 special election between former Chief Chad Smith and tribal council member Bill John Baker. Tribal Supreme Court jus tices tossed results of the origi nal June 25 election after find ing the winner of the contest couldn't be determined with a mathematical certainty. A new election was ordered. The election has drawn na tional interest because while the tribe is based in Tahlequah, many of its 300,000 members live outside Oklahoma. On Aug. 22, the tribe’s high court overturned a tribal district court ruling that nullified the 2007 constitutional amendment on grounds that it violated an 1866 treaty between the tribe and federal governm ent that granted former slaves citizen ship. The justices disagreed, say ing the treaty never afforded citizenship to the ex-slaves. After the tribe sent out let ters kicking freedmen descen dants out of the tribe and strip ping them of their voting rights and benefits, the U.S. Depart ment o f Housing and Urban Development froze $33 million in funds to the tribe. Earlier this week, A ssistant Secretary for Indian A ffairs L arry Echo Hawk wrote a sternly worded letter disagreeing with the tribal court decision. “I urge you to consider care fully the nation’s next steps in proceeding with an election that does not comply with federal law,” Echo Hawk wrote in a let ter Friday to acting Chief S. Joe Crittenden. “The department will not recognize any action taken by the nation that is in consistent with these principles and does not accord its freed men members full rights of citi zenship.” Former tribal business council chair gets prison Yvonne Iverson/Spilyay photos Man pleads guilty in artifacts case MOAB, U tah (AP) - A so u th eastern U tah school teacher has pleaded guilty to charges that he illegally sold a Native American turkey feather b lan k et and a p reh isto ric women’s apron. Blanding resident David A. Lacy entered the plea in U.S. District Court as he faced three misdemeanor counts of traffick ing stolen artifacts. Prosecutors say Lacy sold the artifacts to an undercover informant in 2007. plans, but were thwarted. A form er com m ission member from non-reservation areas of Arizona succeeded in preserv ing a legislative district that ex cluded the Navajo Reservation, which instead was placed in the same district with Flagstaff. The Navajo Reservation is now part of Arizona’s 1st Con gressional District, which in cludes Prescott and Flagstaff and most of east-central and northeastern Arizona — but not the Hopi Reservation though it is surrounded by the much larger Navajo Reservation. At the time, the Hopis ob jected to being in the same con gressional district with the Na vajos on grounds that the more numerous Navajos would have more clout in Washington on land and other issues in dispute between the two tribes. That resulted in the last re districting commission drawing the congressional districts to have one extend inside another in order to place the Navajo and Hopi reservations in separate districts. Mohegan Sun reports steep revenue drop Wampanoag Tribe gets justice grant BOSTON (A P )-T h e U.S. D epartment of Justice has aw arded the W am panoag Tribe o f Gay Heiad more than half a million dollars for its tribal justice system. The Aquinnah Wampanoag tribe of Martha’s Vineyard will use the money to continue its traditional tribal justice system, designed to enable greater self- governance and strengthen the tribe’s economic and cultural health. U.S. A tto rn ey Carm en O rtiz announced the $567,000 award under the Coordinated Tribal A ssis tance Solicitation, an applica tion for tribal-specific grant programs offered by the Jus tice Department. The depart ment awarded $118.4 million to nearly 150 American In dian and Alaskan Native na tions around the country. GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) - The U.S. attorney’s o ffic e says the fo rm er chairman of the Chippewa Cree tribal business council has been sentenced to more than a year in prison and o rd ered to p ay n e a rly $59,000 in restitution for using a tribal credit card for personal use. Raymond “Jake” Parker Jr., was sentenced Monday in Great Falls to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty in May to theft from an Indian tribal organization. He will be on supervised release for three years after he finishes his prison term. Prosecutors allege Parker used a tribal credit card to make $22,000 in purchases. M ost o f the purchases were made at restaurants, hotels and gas stations; and he took out nearly $37,000 in cash advances, including advances taken in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev. Teleco: quality service to tribes (Continued from page 5) Tribal lands are the most underserved in the country. W hile m ost o f A m erica has about 95 percent telephone ser vice available, most tribes have about 60-65 percent o f their population served by a tele phone company. Significantly fewer members have access to broadband. This cannot continue. The NTTA has proposed that in the reorganization of the USF to the CAF, that there be a particular pool of money desig nated for tribal telcos. This money would be used to bring some level of equality to the tribes that have been ig nored and underserved by the telephone companies that were to bring service to these lands. This is a very complicated is sue. W ith the help o f the NTTA and the filings that they have made, we hope that the FCC will recognize the special needs of tribes, and this time, help fund the subsidies that tribal com panies, in clu d in g W arm Springs Telecom, need to enable better services for tribal lands. _lt
