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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 30, 2011)
Page 5 November 30, 2011 Spílyay Tyrooo, Warm Springs, Oregon Native home ownership bill passes Congress committee Fire Fighters Appreciation « Duran Bobb/Spilyay All team members from W.S. Fire Management were honored with a dinner sponsored by tribal elders Rita Squiemphen, Marcia Soliz, Neda Wesley and others. Crews from IHC, Operations, Fuels, and Finance enjoyed a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. The community gathered to thank the firefighters for their efforts during the summer fires of 2011. WASHINGTON - A bill meant to make home ownership easier for Indians, has cleared another hurdle this month. On Nov. 17, the U.S. House of Representatives Natural Re sources Subcommittee on In dian and Alaska Native Affairs passed the HEARTH Act. The HEARTH A ct (H.R. 2905) is the “Helping Expedite and Advance Responsible Tribal Homeownership Act of 2011.” The legislation was designed with assistance from tribal lead ers in an effort to amend the Indian Long-Term Leasing Act of 1955. The new legislation would reform federal leasing require ments and encourage housing and community development in American Indian communities. It would allow tribes to enter into certain leases without prior expressed approval of the Sec retary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. In sum, the legislation is ex pected to expedite the lease ap proval process by allowing tribal governments to approve trust land leases directly. Specifically, the legislation directs the BIA to prepare and submit to Congress a report de tailing the history and experience of Indian tribes that have cho sen to assume responsibility for administering the Indian Land Title and Records Office func tions from the BIA. “The HEARTH Act of 2011 will go a long way in strengthen ing tribal self-determination and tribal economies at the same time,” said National American Indian Housing Council Chair woman Cheryl A. Causley in a statement. “We know the time frame for individual tribal members to re ceive a home-site lease is ardu ous and can be as long as three years under the current Bureau of Indian Affairs process, but we anticipate that these improve ments in leasing and enhanced tribal control over surface leas ing will help more tribal mem bers get into homes quick.” “The housing strongly sup ports H.R. 205 because it re spects and fosters Indian tribal decision-making, expedites what can often be lengthy federal ad ministrative processes, and will improve the delivery of Federal housing assistance and expand economic opportunity in tribal communities.” In April, Causley testified before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs to suppott companion legislation, Senate bill 703. She said then that the bill “re spects and fosters Indian tribal decision-making, expedites what can often be lengthy federal administrative processes and will improve the delivery of federal housing assistance and expand economic opportunity in tribal communities.” r Indians see lessons in sweat lodge trial PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) - Self-help author James Arthur Ray faced more than a judge at his sentencing this month for a sweat lodge ceremony that left three people dead. Members of the American Indian community sat through almost the entire trial in silent protest of Ray’s use of a sacred tradition. Ray is serving two years in prison after a lengthy trial that ended in a trio of negligent ho m icide convictions and that made little mention of Native culture and traditions. He has vow ed not to hold another sweat lodge ceremony. But whether Ray learned not to misappropriate cultures re m ains to be seen, said Ivan Lewis o f the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. “He d esecrated our c e r emony, he abused it,” Lewis said Wednesday. “He used it in any way that he could just to get his money. He was told before not to do that, and he's paying for it now.” Sweat lodges are commonly used by American Indian tribes to cleanse the body and prepare for hunts, ceremonies and other events. They typically hold no more than a dozen people, com pared with more than 50 people inside the one Ray led near Sedona in October 2009. The cerem on y involves stones heated up outside the lodge, brought inside and placed in a pit. The door is closed, and water is poured on the stones, producing heat aimed at releas ing toxins in the body. In tradi tional ceremonies, the person who pours the water is said to have an innate sense about the conditions of others inside the sweat lodge, many times recog nizing problem s before they physically are presented. Day after day, Lewis and his com panion, C heryl Jo aq uin , slipped into a central Arizona courtroom to listen to trial tes timony. Prosecutors hardly men tioned a sweat lodge, instead referring to Ray’s event as a “heat endurance challenge.” Most of the participants had never been in one before. The families of the victims— Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., James Shore, 40, of Mil waukee, and Liz Neuman, 49, o f Prior Lake, M inn.— asked Lewis and Joaquin to keep in mind their loved ones when they could not be in court. The couple wore bracelets bearing Brown’s name, given to them by her parents. On the day Ray was sentenced, Joaquin’s children handed a single red rose to the victim s’ fam ilies to promote healing. Brown’s mother, Virginia, ex pressed sorrow “that their sa cred traditions were defiled in this event.” “We have experienced hun dreds of years of generational transgressions against our way of life and the value of human life for the purpose of power and greed,” Joaquin, of the Gila River Indian Community, wrote as Ray was being sentenced. “Today we pray and envision a time of unity for all mankind, with a humble understanding of love, peace and harmony.” Lewis was among a group who sued Ray following the cer emony, alleging that Ray violated the Indian Arts and Crafts Act by running the sweat lodge. A federal judge dismissed the civil complaint, saying the act applies to goods, not services. Bill Bielecki, an attorney rep resenting the Black Hills Sioux Nation Treaty Council on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge reservation, said the trial would encourage non-Natives to focus on safety when running sweat lodge cer emonies. “They’re going to look at the facts,” said Bielecki, who also He charged more than $9,000 to partici pants o f his five-day Spiritual Warrior” event that culminated with the sweat lodge. was party to the lawsuit, “You don’t use a large sweat lodge, you make sure people can leave and you don’t coerce the occu pants into staying beyond their limits or capabilities. If you do that, then you avoid gross negli gence.” Ray touted his sweat lodge ceremony as “hellacious hot” and said he learned from a Na tive American shaman. He told participants shortly before they entered the structure that he would incorporate teachings from different cultures and re ligions, according to an audio re cording played by prosecutors. Ray said a friend once told him: “no one has been in a sweat lodge until they’ve been in your lodge.” He charged m ore than $9,000 to participants o f his five-day “Spiritu al W arrior” event that culminated with the sweat lodge. Three people died and 18 others were hospitalized, yet oth ers emerged with no problems. The deaths and illnesses sparked outrage among American Indi ans, who drew distinctions be tween what Ray did and what would be considered a tradi tional American Indian sweat lodge. Jonathan Ellerby, author of “Return to The Sacred: Ancient Pathways to Spiritual Awaken ing,” said the trouble Ray en countered suggests a breakdown in either training, facilitation or the unskilled blending of mate rials and oractices. “Sweat lodges and fasting are ancient traditions that promote health and healing when done well,” said Ellerby, a non-Native who also has run the ceremo nies. “The trouble is that any thing that can help, if misused or poorly delivered can hurt, even kill. 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