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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 15, 2000)
2 Smoke Signals Republican resolution seeks abolition of Tribal governments The measure calls on the federal government to immediately take whatever steps necessary to terminate all such non-republican forms of government on Indian reservations. We think it can be done peacefully. But if Tribes were to fight the effort, then the U.S. Army and the Air Force and the Marines and the National Guard are going to have to battle back.9 John Fleming, a Skagit County convention delegate SPOKANE, WA. (AP) - A little discussed resolution passed by del egates at the recent state Republi can Party convention calls for aboli tion of Tribal governments, saying they are unconstitutional. Tribal leaders call the measure an affront to their rights under treaties signed by Congress. "It's absolutely the reverse of what republican principles stand for to protect all rights and to uphold the integrity and honor of this nation and all of the commitments it makes," said Ron Allen, a republican who is chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe in Western Wash ington and vice president of the Na tional Congress of American Indians. The resolution adopted at the party convention in Spokane in June comes amid growing controversy over res ervation rules affecting non-Indians, ranging from hunting privileges to liquor sales. The resolution's main author was John Fleming, a Skagit County con vention delegate who says he now wants Washington's party delegates to try to insert a similar measure into the national republican platform. "We do not recognize them (Tribal governments) as sovereign nations, as governments," Fleming said in a recent interview. Fleming, who lives within the Swinomish Reservation and is active in organizations opposing treaty rights, refers to Tribal governments as "non-republican" because reserva tion residents who are non-Indian can't vote in Tribal elections. That makes them illegal under the U.S. and state constitutions, he contends. The measure calls on the federal government to "immediately take whatever steps necessary to terminate all such non-republican forms of gov ernment on Indian reservations." "We think it can be done peace fully," Fleming said. But if Tribes were to fight the ef fort, "then the U.S. Army and the Air Force and the Marines and the Na tional Guard are going to have to battle back," he said. Beth Jensen, chairwoman of the state republican platform committee, said she had no idea how the resolution's authors intend termina tion of Tribal governments to be car ried out. Some of the 29 resolutions that came before Jensen's committee were debated at some length during a two hour session to consider the measures. But the one on Tribal governments was barely discussed, Jensen said. "I was so unfamiliar with the issue that I wasn't totally focused on what the debate was," she said. "It seems like what was being said was, there were acts by the Tribal governments that weren't the way we do govern ment in America. ; .". ' "A couple of people gave examples to people who didn't have a clue, and it passed." Allen, of the Jamestown S'Klallam . Tribe, was surprised to learn of the resolution's passage. ; "The Republican Party nationally has been making some effort to im prove its image with regards to its relationship with the Indian na tions," Allen said. "This is polarizing. It's the opposite of what they should be doing." Robert Crawford, a researcher for the Seattle-based Northwest Coali tion for Human Dignity, called the republican resolution "disturbing" but added, "I wouldn't say it's a ma jority view." Begay has arrived as top contender on tour Shoshones greet brother Comanches POCATELLO, ID (AP) - They are called the lost Tribe a historic band of Shoshone Indians now known as Comanche. For some people attending the first ever Shoshonean Reunion and Gath ering recently at Sho-Ban High School that proved an interesting les son in Tribal history. Members from those and other Shoshone Tribes learned that they share many stories and even much of their language. Lavonne Roanhorse, a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe from Wyoming, said besides a wonderful lunch of chili and fry bread, the best part of the event was hearing the histories of Tribes from as far away as Oklahoma. "We get to know just how far back in history we go," she said. Responding to an invitation from the local Shoshone Tribe, about 50 members of Oklahoma's Comanche Tribe chartered a bus to join the fes tivities. "We've never been up to this part of the country," said Delores Karty. "They have all this fishing and wild game that we don't have in our area but I'll tell you what, Indian hos pitality is the same everywhere." His name in the Navajo language means "Almost There," which no longer seems to fit Notah Begay when it comes to his status on the PGA Tour. When his 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole curled into the right side of the cup, Begay became the only player this year to win tour events in consecutive weeks, and the first since Tiger Woods won three straight at the end of last season. Begay has been described alter nately as the only American Indian on tour, the only switch-putter in golf and a college teammate of Woods, even though Begay was the No. 1 player on that Stanford team that won the NCAA Championship in 1994. Almost there? He might have arrived on Sunday, July 2 considering the exclusive list of players he joined. In the past 15 years, only a dozen other players have gone back-to-back seasons on the PGA Tour with at least two victories, and none of those are described by anything but their stat ure as among the best in golf. The list starts with Hal Sutton, Corey Pavin and Curtis Strange in the mid-1980s, includes Greg Norman and Fred Couples at the turn of the decade and finishes strong with Mark O'Meara, Davis Love III, Nick Price, Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Vijay Singh and Woods. Woods and Begay are the only ones to do this in their first two years on tour. All but two of those players Mickelson and Duval have gone on to win a major championship. Begay has played only three ma jors and has failed to break par in 10 rounds. In that respect, he is not even close to being "almost there." But give him time. "He's one of the young guys. He's got a knack for winning golf tourna ments, because it's not easy to win," said Mark Calcavecchia, still some what shocked that Begay holed that 20-foot bender for birdie on the final hole at Hartford to finish off a round of 64. Nothing has ever come easily for Begay, who spent seven years living on the Isleta Indian Reservation south of Albuquerque. He and Woods, the first minorities selected for the Walker Cup in 1995, are clearly changing the face of golf. But while Woods was introduced to the swing in his high chair and nurtured through endless summers of golf with his father, Begay had to save his pennies to buy a bucket of range balls at a municipal track a mile from his house. When his piggy bank couldn't match his desire to play, Begay ap proached the head pro at Ladera golf course one night in the parking lot and begged him for a job in exchange for free range balls. Every morning before the sun rose, Begay would line up the carts, make sure they had keys and fill buckets with range balls. At the end of the day, he would clean out the carts, hose them down, check the batteries and charge them for the next day. In between were hours of pounding balls, refining a self-taught swing that has held up quite nicely. "Looking back, I got the better end of that deal," he said. Don't get the idea Begay is a hus tler. Two months after speaking to American Indian children about the dangers of drinking and drugs, Begay was arrested for DWI after backing into another car in the parking lot of an Albuquerque watering hole. He emerged with his character in tact by setting a rare standard in sports. He freely admitted wrongdo ing, worried about his credibility with kids, informed prosecutors of a pre vious drunk-driving arrest and spent a week in jail. "It's been an uphill battle," he said. "I'm not ever going to take anything for granted anymore. I guess I'm just happy to be playing, and that's maybe reflective in the way I'm play ing. I'm playing with a lot of spirit, and that's when I play my best." His resume is getting longer by the week. He has won four times in the past 10 months, second only to Woods (9). If he is "Almost There," he is travel ing at a high rate of speed.
