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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2012)
More News from Indian Country Page 9 Spilyay Tymoo January 11, 2012 Prospect of Beloit casino improving BELOIT, Wis. (AP) - After more than a decade o f intermit tent negotiations, talks have re sumed that could lead to a Ho- Ghunk Nation casino being built in Beloit. City and tribe officials have signed a preliminary agreement for a possible casino develop ment, City Manager Larry Arft said this week. While details o f the agreement haven't been re leased, representatives o f both sides presented the tentative deal at a town hall meeting this week. The Beloit City Council and Rock County Board o f Super visors will be asked to sign the agreem ent, a docum ent th at Arft said will “set the basis for the relatio n sh ip ” am ong the tribe, city and county. A casino in the area would create thousands o f jobs and could lead to further develop ment, Arft said. New businesses could include hotels, a theater, convention halls and shopping spaces, he said, “You’re talking about a sig n ifican t b o o st to th e w hole Stateline Area,” A rft said. T he casino idea has been floated for more than a decade. In a 1999 referendum, 61 per cent o f Beloit voters approved im p lem en tatio n o f a casino project. But the project ran into roadblocks in Washington, D.C. The tentative deal is “a work able product that is now suitable for review” by council members and the community, A rft said. A form al public hearing has been set for Jan. 17. While the renew ed efforts could still fall flat, there are sev eral factors in the tribe's" favor. “This could very well be the last gaming, brick-and-mortar site y o u ’l l see in the stated9 M ost notably, the H o-C hunk have a deal in place w ith the state that allows the tribe to op erate four class-three gaming facilities. T he H o-C hunk cur rently operate three, in Baraboo, Nekoosa and Black River Falls. Beloit could be that fourth locale, said Jo n Greendeer, the p re sid e n t o f th e H o -C h u n k Nation. “The Ho-Chunk have some thing that no other tribe in the state has,” he said. “This could very well be the last gaming, brick-and-mortar site you’ll see in the state.” Also to the tribe’s advantage, previously conducted environ mental-impact studies and land- use studies won’t have to be re peated. City m anagem ent and H o- Chunk officials have held inter mittent talks ever since the tribe bought 32 acres o f city land in 2008, A rft said. N egotiations intensified about six months ago, an d a p relim in ary deal was hashed out right before Christ mas, he added. G reendeer said b o th sides have mutual interests and have shown “such a’ good level o f understanding.” A ll p a rtie s in v o lv ed a p proached negotiations with “an open hand, a smile and good feelings,” Greendeer said. Quileute museum show debunks Twilight movies P O R T A N G E L E S , Wash. (AP) — An exhibit o f 23 Quileute artworks intended to debunk the tall tales o f tribal heritage told in the Twilight saga, will open at the Smithsonian’s National Mu seum o f the American Indian this week. “Behind the Scenes: The Real Story o f the Quileute Wolves” will open in the Sealaska Gal lery on the N ational Mall at Fourth Street and Independence Avenue SW in Washington, D.C., Friday and be on view through May 9. During the exhibition’s open ing weekend, Chris Morganroth III, Quileute tribal member and one o f only two fluent speakers left in the tribe, will tell tradi tional stories for children and fam ilies, in x h e .m u se u m ’s imagiNATIONS Activity Cen ter and present Quileute culture and stories in the R asm uson T h e a te r d u rin g th e N ativ e Storytelling Festival. The exhibition was organized by the Quileute tribe and the Seattle A rt Museum, where it was on view for one year, be ginning in August 2010. The exhibit brings together rare works o f Quileute art as a counterpoint to the supernatu ral storyline d ep icted in the p o p u lar Twilight b o oks and movies. Wolves are an im portant part o f Quileute legend. But werewolves — as depicted in Stephenie M eyer’s popular daydream set on the West E nd ri n ev er w ere p a rt o f th e LaPush tribe’s heritage. . According to oral traditions, the first Quileute people were changed from a pair o f wolves into human form by the Trans former, Kwati. Because o f the creation leg end, w olf imagery is prom inent in Quileute art, and to this day, th e trib e continues to enact m asked dances to h o n o r the original supernatural connection to wolves. Among the pieces to be dis played in the Smithsonian exhibit are elaborate w olf headdresses, rattles, baskets and a whale-bone dance club. “We welcome any opportu nity we have to educate the world about the true story o f the Quileute people,” said Chair woman Bonita Cleveland. “The Quileute Tribal Coun cil decided to take the global spotlight and attention we have, received as a result o f the Twi light p h en o m en o n and share with the global audience our his tory, culture and traditions. “The Smithsonian exhibit is the perfect forum to tell the au thentic story o f our people, and we are honored to have our an cestral items displayed at this prestigious venue.” Also on view will be historic drawings created by Quileute teens who attended the Quileute Day School at Mora from 1905 through 1908. T he drawings depict w o lf ritual dances and shamanistic performanceSj house posts that were part o f the Potlatch Hall and a whaling scene that shows a crew o f eight m en com ing alongside a whale in their cedar canoe. At one time, whaling was an im portant endeavor for the Quileute. Navajo weavers turning art to profit SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - O n th e seco n d F riday o f every m o n th , tw o very d iffe re n t groups o f people, m ost o f them New Mexicans, get together at a school on the Navajo reser vation for one o f the state's m ost unique commercial cus toms. The Crownpoint Rug Auction got started in 1968' as a way for Navajo weavers to profit more from their hand-spun and wo ven textiles that were once used casually as saddle blankets, but were quickly becoming expen sive works o f art. By 4 p.m., when the doors open to the C row npoint E l ementary School, more than 100 Navajo weavers and their fami lies begin moving into the gym n asiu m w ith th e re su lts o f m onths o f w ork rolled up in plastic containers. They unroll their rugs at the registration desk; giving their names and hometowns, which are written onto small cards that are stapled to the rugs that are then displayed on four folding tables. By 5 p.m., the bidders, almost all o f them Anglos, begin to ar rive and look through what will be for sale. The biggest contin gency is from Albuquerque, with a few fro m S anta Fe, R io Rancho, Farm ington, Gallup, Las C ruces an d o th e r N ew Mexico towns, a handful from the contiguous states, a smatter ing from other states, and one European couple. Some o f the bidders look as if they are dripping with money. Most o f them appear to know what they’re doing, taking notes and occasionally measuring the rugs. Sizes are not mentioned on the cards. A few bidders appear to be professional traders. They are the m ost discreet o f all. O n Dec. 9, there were 227 rugs up for auction - ranging from l-by-2-foot wall hangings selling for as little as $35 to rugs up to 8-by-4 feet that went for up to $1,500. A b o u t h alf o f them failed to get a minimum bid. Fifty-five people signed up as bidders — slightly less than av erage, said to be about 75. The auction lasted about two hours. Before, the auction begins, there’s time for a Navajo taco and soda from a vendor inside the little school, and to look th ro u g h m ore th an a dozen tables w ith N ative A m erican crafts — Acoma pottery, Zuni fe tishes, Navajo jewelry. A t 7 p.m ., C h ristin a E llsw o rth , m an ag er o f th e Crownpoint Rug Weavers Asso ciation, takes to the stage to welcome the bidders and weav ers, and warn bidders against trying to buy the rugs outside in the parking lot. That would be unfair to the weavers who pay the association 15 percent o f their selling price at auction, she said. Then the auctioneers, Wayne Connell and D elbert Arty, take over. M o u n tain air resid en ts who run cattle auctions in Belen, they begin with brief descrip tio n s o f each ru g as you n g people display them to the au dience. T hen they begin their hypnotic sing-songs: “D o I hear nine hundred? N ine hundred, In most cases, the rugs that do sell go fo r a third to half what they would be priced in a gallery in Santa Fe or other cities. nine h undred. N ine hundred there! D o I hear ten hundred? Ten hundred, ten hundred...” I f the rug fails to get a mini m um bid after 30 seconds, the auctioneers declare it a no sale and direct it to be put in a spe cial pile. Occasionally, the auc tio n eers d ro p th e m inim um price by $100 or so. In those cases, th e rugs o ften draw a single bid from people seated quietly in the back — apparently professional traders seeking a discount. In m ost cases, the rugs that do’ sell go for a third to half what theyw ould be priced in a gallery in Santa Fe or other cit ies. Payments can be made in cash or personal check at a desk set up beside the auction stage, b u t no credit cards are accepted. There are no overnight accom modations in Crownpoint, about three hours by car from Santa Fe. T he nearest motels are in T h o reau (p ro n o u n ced “ th o - R O O ”) on Interstate 40, with b e tte r lodg in g in G allup o r Grants. The next auction is Jan. 13. Weavers A ssociation m an ager Ellsworth said she has taken classes in rugmaking and is an am ateur w eaver herself. She said she’s not a professional, but is experienced enough to under stand the amount o f work that goes into shearing sheep, card ing, dyeing and spinning wool into yarn, setting up a loom and weaving a rug w ith a unique pattern. “I ’ve done some weaving, but I d o n ’t w an t to sell w h at I make,” she said. “It’s my rug, my design, and then I look at these rugs and I think, ‘How can they come up with these designs?’ You get these guys from Blue Gap, from Chinle, from Wide Ruins. How do they get these designs in their heads? I sit at my loom and I think, W hat kind o f design shall I make?’ It’s real puzzling.” Ellsworth laughs at the prices' paid for N avajo rugs o ff the reservation — “an arm and a leg” — versus what weavers get. She recalled how she and her m o th er sto p p ed at a trading post near Farmington years ago to overhear a trader trying to persuade an elderly wom an to sell him a big Ganado red at a low price. “H e just w anted to give her peanuts for it,” she said, “so my m om told her in Navajo, she said, ‘D o n ’t be selling your rug like that. You p u t a lo t o f w ork in to it. Take it to th e C ro w n p o in t R ug A u c tio n . You’ll get b etter money for it.’ So the lady got her rug and she left, and I felt like saying som e thing to that man: ‘Why are you just giving them peanuts for those rugs? I t’s a lo t o f hard w ork for them .’” President of Navajo Code Talkers Association dies FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — K eith Little, one o f the most recognizable o f the re maining Navajo Code Talk ers and a vocal proponent for a museum to tell their story, has died. Little died Jan. 3 at a Fort Defiance hospital, according to the Navajo Code Talkers Association. He was 87. Little joined the Marines at 17. H e was among hun dreds o f -Navajo's recruited by the U.S. Marine Corps and trained as Code Talkers, who used a code that was devel o p ed by 29 N avajos and based on the N avajo lan guage. C ode Talkers used the code to confound the Japa nese and help win World War II.' fight the enemy with a gun or whatever,” Little told The A ssociated Press in a July 2009 interview. “When I went into the M arine Corps... I knew nothing about the N a vajo code. It was really aston ishing to me to get to Camp Pendleton and there were a bunch o f Navajos there, and they w ere w orking w ith a Navajo code.” Little’s health had been de teriorating over the past year, as he went in and out o f hos pitals between speaking en gagements and appearances in parades — the last time in New York in November for Veterans Day, the association said. H e was the longtim e p re s id e n t o f th e N avajo Code Talker Association un til his death. “My m otivation was to W ildfires force evacuation BROWNING, Mont. (AP) - Two wildfires raging last week on Montana's Blackfeet Indian Reservation burned thousands o f acres, fo rc e d scores to evacuate and destroyed several buildings. Fueled by strong winds, two blazes started around sundown on Jan. 4, and together grew to 16,000 acres by early the next day. A t least 300 peo p le w ere forced to leave their homes and a boarding school, though no in juries had been reported. R ainfall helped dozens o f fire fig h te rs an d v o lu n te e rs m ake p ro g ress in g e ttin g a handle on the fires. Idaho tribal leader pleads guilty on theft charges BOISE, Idaho (AP) - An American Indian who rose to the heights of tribal leader ship while in his mid-30s now may be headed to prison for a decade after pleading guilty to stealing federal money. K yle P rio r o f N am p a pleaded guilty Tuesday to using a bank debit card issued to a tribal foundation to en rich himsèlf. T h e 3 8 -y ear-o ld is a fo rm e r ch airm an o f th e Shoshone-Paiute Tribes in southern Idaho and northern Nevada. Between September 2008 and July 2009, Prior was the executive director o f the U pper Snake River Tribes Foundation. It was while leading the n o n -p r o fit o rg a n iz a tio n m eant to help indigenous Americans that prosecutors say P rio r stole m oney in tended to help enact a fish and wildlife program for four tribal groups from Oregon, Nevada and Idaho. Tribe to vote on freeway planned on reservation P H O E N I X (AP) - G ila River Indian Com m unity resi dents will vote on w hether to allo w th e S o u th M o u n ta in Freew ay extension o n tribal land. The proposal to be consid ered would amend current plans for the $1.9 billion extension o f Loop 202 would link west Phoe nix to Chandler with a 22-mile, eight-lane freeway along Pecos R oad. T h e cu rre n t freeway plans would take out a church and m ore that! 100 hom es in Ahwatukee. I t w ould also cut through three ridges in the South Moun tain preserve. T he ridges are religiously and culturally signifi cant to the Gila River tribe. The vote on the issue is set for Feb. 7 T h e reservation re alignment o f the highway would run along flat, undeveloped land and would not require the de struction o f mountains or build ings. However, the state would have to negotiate to obtain sev eral privately owned tracts along that route. The Gila River Tribal Coun cil has been developing ballot language. Voters will be able to go to their local polling place or use a mail ballot, said Gila River spokeswoman Alia Maisonet. It’s taken two years to bring the freeway relocation proposal to a vote, said Phoenix Council man Sal DiCiccio, whose district includes Ahwatukee. “O ur comm unity came to gether on a single plan,” he said. The plan was to get the state and the Gila River community talk ing about shifting the freeway to tribal land. Reward offered for S.D. suspect reservation death RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Federal authorities are offering a $1,000 reward for inform a tion leading to the arrest and conviction o f a man wanted in the killing o f another man on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Ronald Kills In Water, 28, is wanted in the death o f 53-year- old Robert Small Bear Jr.
