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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1998)
Native News Smoke Signals Pre-paid legal service plan available to members Tribal members now have access to a new legal service plan through Pre-paid Legal Services, Inc. (PPLSI). PPLSI is a large national company and can provide a large comprehensive range of legal ser vices to members regardless of where they reside. Membership participation is on a voluntary self pay basis. The cost of this valuable service is only $14.95 per month per head of household. House hold coverage will include head of household, spouse, and dependent children. This will cover non-member spouses and children as well. The service plan is comprehensive including help with existing conditions. Just like auto insurance or life insurance, you never know when you will need legal services. A Pre-Paid Legal Plan is afford able peace of mind. For more information call: Andy Jenness, Inde pendent Associate, at 1-888-740-7150. Native American Symphony seeking musicians Native Sun Symphony Orchestra, Inc. (NSSO), announces plans to form a symphony orchestra and is searching for performing musicians and Native American composers. This 65-piece orchestra will consist of Native American musicians from the Western Hemisphere. Musicians should be classi cally trained and familiar with contemporary sym phonic repertoire. The mission of NSSO is to portray, through non traditional, contemporary Native American music, the soul and spirit of the First Nations people; to heighten awareness and educate the public on Na tive American culture; and to provide performance opportunities for all qualified Native American per forming artists. Although still in the planning stages, the tenta tive plans now are for the orchestra to be based in Connecticut. Future plans also include perfor mances at the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian, the next Presidential Inau guration, Summer OlympicsExpo in Australia, and a possible national and world tour for the Millen nium events. Auditions are anticipated for Spring of 1998. Au dition sites will be determined by the response re ceived from Native American musicians. Inquiries and letters of interest should be sent to: Native Sun Symphony Orchestra, P.O. Box 112, West Mystic, Connecticut 06388. Suicides on reservation sparks concern 0 6S 3 cm LESS) FORT YATES, N.D. (AP) Five teenagers have committed suicid' ace October on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, and mental health offi cials say they are counseling 125 other young people who are depressed or thinking about kill ing themselves. All but one of the suicides was in McLaughlin, S.D., and officials said some young people were involved in suicide pacts that pressured their friends to kill themselves along with them. Robert Preuss, Director of Mental Services of the U.S. Indian Health Service, said in a meeting with Interior Department officials that most of the suicide victims are 15-year-old boys who were kicked out of school for behavioral problems. He linked the suicides to gang activity that is prevalent on the reservation. "They do what they want, when they want and get involved in destructive activity," Preuss said. Kevin Gover, the Interior Department's assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, challenged the tribal leaders to take drastic steps that would include ban ning the sale of alcohol. Gover, a recovering al coholic, said teen suicide in gang activity is occur ring in reservations across the country and shouldn't be tolerated. He said the federal government could provide money for social services that are willing to take serious measures to curb the problem. He also said alcoholics may have to be put in institutions to keep them from bringing a bad influence on the reser vations. "You are really going to have to make some tough decisions," Gover said, adding, "We allow irresponsible behavior. It's becoming a way of life." Gover, who toured Standing Rock High School, said he saw several students who appeared to be victims of fetal alcohol syndrome the result of mothers drinking during pregnancy and causes severe behavioral problems. "You can walk through the school and see those kids," he said. Jicarillas vote to withhold payments to state DULCE, N.M. (AP) - The Jicarilla Apache Tribal Council is withholding casino revenue-sharing payments from the state and wants the Interior Department to rule the payments illegal. The northern New Mexico tribe becomes the sec ond to refuse to make the payments called for un der a 1997 law that authorized tribal gambling com pacts with the state. The Mescalero Apache Tribe refused to make the first payment due last October and seven other tribes made payments under protest. The second round of payments is expected in the state treasurer's office. Tribes contend the 16 percent payments, along with required fixed regulatory fees, are excessive and may violate federal law. Jicarilla council members voted unanimously earlier this month to put the estimated $800,000 payment due next week into an escrow account and to ask the U.S. Department of Interior to de clare the 16 percent payments illegal, council Presi dent Pro Tem Ron Julian said. "The 16 percent was not negotiated," he said. "We were taxed." Julian said the tribe is drafting a letter to the Bu reau of Indian Affairs, asking that the Interior De partment rule on the legality of the revenue-sharing aspects of the New Mexico compacts. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt last August al lowed the compacts to go into effect without his signature. At the time, he expressed concern about the legality of the payments. Klamath tribal Elder dies New project to aid eagles KLAMATH FALLS, OR. (AP) - Chief Reid David, a Klamath Tribes Elder who occasionally appeared in western movies, has died. He was 87. David, who died in Klamath Falls, was involved in the tribes' culture and heritage program, and taught the Klamath language. He performed dedication and groundbreaking ceremonies for tribal enterprises, as well as the naming of tribal members during the yearly C'wam ceremony. "He was virtually a living tribal treasure," said Jeff Mitchell, tribal chairman. "He was a guiding force in preserving the tribes' past. He also made younger members of the tribe understand what it means to be a tribal member and what their place is in society." David was born January 27, 1910, in Williamson River. He attended the Chemawa Indian School in Salem, and later took a job at the Agency Hospital. He later moved to Southern California and ap peared in several movies, including "Canyon Pas sage," which was filmed near Roseburg in 1945. David served as 1997 grand marshal of the local Fourth of July parade. He made annual trips to Anchorage, Alaska, to watch the Iditarod races. Survivors include his son, Reid David Jr.; brother, Lawrence David of Chiloquin; two grand children and a great-granddaughter. KETCHIKAN, AK. (AP) - Every year, about 30 sick or injured eagles are transferred from the Ketchikan area to the Alaska Raptor Rehabilita tion Center in Sitka. Half arrive dead. Ketchikan lacks a holding site as well as eagle care experts, so eagles may sit caged at the airport. Ketchikan Indian Corporation hopes to improve the birds' survival rate with a new project at its Deer Mountain hatchery. Funding fell into place when the Ketchikan Gate way Borough approved a $60,000 economic de velopment grant. The center also has received $440,000 in federal funding and $50,000 from the state Commerce Department. The eagle project is modeled after an eagle dis play at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo. Ketchikan Indian Corp. employees and volunteers are being trained at Sitka to handle eagles. Two flightless bald eagles, currently living in Anchorage, already have been promised a perma nent home in Ketchikan. John Brown, Ketchikan Indian Corp. general manager, said the eagle cen ter should boost hatchery revenues, but money wasn't the sole motivator. "It's more of a cultural thing," Brown said. "The eagle is one of our most significant cultural sym bols. We believe very strongly we need to be con nected to it."
