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.