Spring 2008                       MULTICULTURAL NEWS FROM AN AMERICAN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE                        Our 22nd Year
 

In this issue...

Language Summit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
From Longest Walk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Freedman Citizenship Issue . . . . . . . .3
Blackwater Open Letter to Mayor . . .4
Karen Vigneault Honored . . . . . . . . . .5
Texas Farm Bureau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
When The Great Spirit Died . . . . . . .7
Grossmont Powwow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
American Indian Cultural Festival . .9
Gov. Schwarzenegger Bad Faith . . .10
Latino Film Festival . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Cedar Fire Survivor Running
for County Supervisor . . . . . . . . . . .12
Harry Reid Story . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Las Vegas Uptown View . . . . . . . . .14
Community Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
All Of Us Or None . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

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Native Americans from across the West unite at Barona for the 6th Annual Yuman Family Language Summit — tribes will focus on keeping their language and culture alive.

Shirley Murphy, Lakota, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, opens the Language Panel. Shirley Murphy is a Native American linguist and she was wearing traditional Lakota regalia. Shirley Murphy, a professional educator, has been married to fire Chief Hank Murphy, Sycuan Kumeyaay, for more than 36 years, and they have lived on the Sycuan Indian Reservation for more than three decades.

BARONA INDIAN RESERVATION, LAKESIDE, CA – Native American Tribes from across the Western United States united at the Barona Convention Center for the 6th Annual Yuman Family Language Summit from April 29 through May 1, 2008.

The Barona Band of Mission Indians is proud to have hosted this year’s language and cultural event. This year’s conference entitled “Sixteen Languages, One Family” and celebrated the culture and traditions of the Yuman Nation, which encompass Tribes spanning from Southern California to the Grand Canyon to northern Baja, Mexico.

In a collaborative effort among the Tribes to preserve and revitalize the Yuman languages and cultures, attendees had the opportunity to attend a variety of presentations including language workshops, traditional art seminars, as well as classes discussing native plants and the relationship of language and song.

The three-day summit also featured traditional foods, games, storytelling traditions and a dinner recognizing the elders who have been instrumental in preserving the language/culture.

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Message from Dennis Banks

This is Dennis Banks. 30 years ago our first Longest Walk was in progress across Kansas. It was beginning to get hot and our walkers were getting thin and trim. Once again we take to the roads of America to cross this Continent in search of sacred sites needing to be protected and secured for the next generation - in fact for the next Seven Generations. We walk this
land to listen to the people and hear their concerns about this Planet we call mother Earth.

We walk to remind America that this is still Indian Land, that we are very concerned about the mistreatment and contamination of the Air, the Water and the Soil. When the Great Spirit asked us to care for the land we accepted this task and duty. It is a committed duty with many responsibilities; within these duties are found the many Spiritual ceremonies that govern our way of life. These ceremonies
are conducted daily, weekly, monthly, seasonly, and yearly.
 

In preparation we look for medicinal plants, herbs, and roots that accompany our ceremonies and songs. Now with this climate change we fear many of the herbs, roots and plants will be lost because of the warming of Mother Earth and of mankind's destructive policies.

In California, we have walked this land thru Rumsey Band of the Wintun Tribe, Yokuts, Santa Rosa Rancheria and the Mojave People at Fort Mohave. In Arizona, we walked through the Haulapai, Havasupai,
Yavapai-Apache and Diné Territories. In New Mexico, we walked through the pueblo lands of the Ohkay Owingeh and are about to enter the Taos pueblo territory. Community after community the people welcomed us and fed us. they opened up their homes and shared many tribal stories with us. They showed us family pictures of son and daughters graduating from
schools. We saw many photos of men and women in uniform. We became extended families to each other. Then they began to tell us of environmental concerns - what we heard is very troubling.

At this hour we are compiling a “Manifesto for Change.” This Work will
reflect our findings, suggestions, and Articles for change to members of the
United States Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. As we progress on this Document we realize that many Tribal Nations have not had an opportunity share with us their concerns.

We now wish to invite all tribal members and nations from Turtle Island to
send, write, email any concerns of the environment in your area or of any outstanding congressional action which may have deprived you of
ancestral lands, water or human rights. We shall include them in our Manifesto. We will walk into Washington, D.C. united with the Northern Route, Michigan running team, many delegations from the Southwest will
join us as we walk into D.C. on July 11, 2008. Please note we have less than 90 days before we reach D.C. We are planning the “Cultural Survival Summit” for July 8, 9 and 10, 2008. Should you wish to participate in this historic event, please register online at our website - you will be contacted
by the Cultural Survival Summit planning committee. Cultural Survival
Summit details will be posted on our website in the coming days. We invite indigenous leaders from around the world to bring a delegation to join us at the Summit and walk into DC with us; We invite Indigenous musicians, drum groups, dancers, singers, and performers to join us; We invite the Youth of our Nations to join us; We invite the Elders of our Nations to
join us; We invite Native organizations to join us; We invite Tribal delegations to join us; We invite brothers and sisters from all cultural backgrounds to join us.

As we walk these final 90 days, I will make every attempt to update you at least once a week from this day forward. 30 years ago we did make some changes by walking across this country - now let's make more changes. This country still owes the first nations people a great deal and we shall not abandon what is rightfully
ours.

Respectfully,
Dennis J. Banks - from The Longest
Walk in Albuquerque, New Mexico

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Study of historical facts clarifies Freedmen citizenship issue

By Dr. Dan Littlefield
Director of Sequoyah Research Center

The controversy over Freedmen citizenship in the Cherokee Nation has led
to misunderstanding and misstatement of historical facts. These misrepresentations come from various sources: citizens who are simply unlearned in Cherokee history, politicians who tend to rewrite Cherokee history to serve their own purposes and out-and-out racists.

No matter who causes the misunderstanding or makes misstatements, all
promote a distortion of the historical facts, which must be clarified if
Cherokee citizens are to make informed decisions. It is time for them not only to face the facts, but honestly to re-evaluate their positions in light of them. Because so much attention focuses on the work of the Dawes Commission and the Dawes rolls, they should consider the background for making Cherokee rolls and what the Dawes Commission did.

The argument that the Freedmen never had full citizenship rights in the
CN prior to the Dawes period is spurious. In 1866, for the first time, the
Freedmen gained the first citizenship they had ever held. It was the only citizenship they would have until 1901, when the United States made all of the citizens of the CN citizens of the United States as well. The Freedmen's rights in the Cherokee Nation were guaranteed by the Treaty of 1866, which the CN signed and carried out. It did so admirably, considering the racial climate in the adjoining states at the time.

Following the Treaty in 1866, the Cherokee National Council amended the
constitution to guarantee the freedmen full rights as citizens. The Nation's own citizenship court and Supreme Court subsequently admitted large numbers of additional Freedmen applicants to citizenship. These were primarily Freedmen who had not returned to the CN within the six-month limit set by the treaty. A good example was the Supreme Court's action on June 21, 1871, which "admitted to Cherokee Rights and Citizenship" 34 Cherokee Freedman households. Without doubt, the court realized the
implications of its action: not only those admitted but their hundreds of descendants would be future citizens of the Nation. This was only one of a number of such decisions.

In taking its censuses, the CN listed citizens according to the basis for their
rights to citizenship: by blood or by adoption. In the latter category, they listed four groups: Shawnees, Delawares, Freedmen, and intermarried whites. No matter what category a person was in, he or she was still a citizen of the CN.

If the CN did not want the Freedmen as citizens or did not recognize them,
why did it, year after year for decades, guarantee their rights by law; willfully admit more of them to citizenship and consistently list them as citizens of the Nation while at the same time keeping separate lists of intruders or people who had doubtful status as citizens? The Cherokee Nation was, in fact, a multiracial, multi-cultural constitutional nation, whose citizenship was based not on blood or culture but on either birth
or adoption.

The freedmen also participated in the economic, social and political life of the CN. Like other citizens, they had access to land under the improvement laws that guaranteed Cherokee citizens the right to occupy as much of the public domain as they could improve so long as their improvements were at least one-quarter of a mile from the next citizen's. Like other citizens, they had elementary schools and a high school, built and supported by the CN. Like other citizens, they were subject to the courts of the CN. In contrast, those black, white and Indian residents in the Nation who were not citizens had none of these rights and privileges and were subject to the United States court at Fort Smith.

When a Senate investigating committee visited the CN in 1878, the senators
interviewed Freedman Jesse Ross among others. In response to their questions, Ross testified that the Freedmen had the same rights as other Cherokee citizens: access to as much land as they needed, schools, right to sit on juries and the right to vote. Ross's testimony makes clear that Freedmen participated in the political process.

In 2003, the press quoted the late Julian Fite as saying that the Freedmen
had never voted in the CN. Whether Fite made the statement or not, the contrary was true. Like other Cherokee citizens, they voted and ran for political office. Cherokee historian Emmett Starr lists six who were elected and served in the National Council: Joseph Brown, Stick Ross, Ned Irons, Frank Vann, Samuel Stidham and Jerry Alberty. There were probably more. The historical record shows that numerous others from various districts were nominated and ran for office under the banner of one of the two major political parties. A cursory reading of the Cherokee Advocate and other
papers from the Nation in the late 19th century shows that Freedmen voters
were main players in every election. Cherokee political cartoonist Roger
Eubanks even made political hay out of those politicians who courted the
Freedman vote. If the Freedmen could not vote, how could they run for political office and be elected?

Contrary to what some people say, in the Dawes period the citizenship of the Freedmen in the CN was not questioned. The argument that the Dawes
Commission somehow "palmed" the Freedmen off on the Cherokee Nation is a distortion of the historical record. So is the idea that blood quantum on the Cherokees by-blood roll had some special meaning in determining exclusive citizenship in the Nation.

The CN's agreement with the Dawes Commission was ratified by the
Cherokee electorate - including the freedmen - on Aug. 7, 1902. Regarding
the making of rolls it stated, "The roll of citizens of the Cherokee Nation shall be made as of September first, nineteen hundred and two, and the names of all persons then living and entitled to enrollment on that date shall be placed on said roll by the Commission to the Five Civilized Tribes." It did not say "citizens by blood" or "citizens and Freedmen" or "citizens and others."

The roll that the Dawes Commission made was a roll of Cherokee citizens
according to the means by which they acquired citizenship: by blood or by
adoption.

The Dawes Commission had actually begun enrolling Cherokee citizens in
1896, at which time and thereafter the CN insisted that the Commission use the CN's own authenticated roll of 1880 as the base roll for enrollment. The 1880 authenticated roll listed five categories of citizens according to the means by which they acquired citizenship: Cherokees by blood, adopted Shawnees, adopted Delawares, adopted Colored and adopted Whites. The Dawes Commission simply followed the CN's directions in making what became the final roll of citizens. Thus as of Sept. 1, 1902, the Freedmen were citizens of the CN, according to the CN and the Dawes Commission. In the last elections held in the Nation before 1906, the Cherokee Freedmen, like other citizens of the nation, voted for the offices of chief and
national council, just as they had done in decades past. The form the Dawes roll took made no change in their status.

Much is made of the blood quantum - or lack of it - listed on the Dawes rolls. Blood quantum was a method devised by Indian policy makers, such as the Dawes Commission, to lay the groundwork for separating the citizens of Indian nations from their assets. It was rooted in the virulent racism of the late 19th century, which said that the whiter one was, the more civilized he was. By the time of Cherokee enrollment, the theory was commonly accepted. It laid the basis for restrictions on the sale, or alienation, of homestead allotments. The idea was that those who were more than
half Cherokee were incompetent to manage their own affairs and would therefore become wards of the Department of the Interior.

In recent years, full blood has held a premium value. Cherokee family stories commonly tell how an ancestor on the Dawes roll is listed as half blood when he or she was really full. Most of those stories are probably true. Knowing that they would likely be labeled incompetent, many Cherokees probably chose voluntarily to lower their blood quantum.

Subsequent historical events suggest that the Dawes Commission could also
have had a motive to do so. Congress's primary purpose in creating the
Commission was to guarantee the transfer of land from the common CherokeeNational title to individual ownership. That was a preliminary step to the ultimate goal: to transfer the land from Cherokee hands to the hands of "real" American settlers, as whites were generally called by the politicians of the day. The blood quantum designation had no useful purpose in determining who was a Cherokee citizen or who received
an allotment. It was simply a device to determine which Cherokee citizens
would become the first marks for American land buyers and which citizens
would become wards of the Interior Department, which would manage whatever resources might be on or below the surface of their allotments. By the time the Cherokee Nation-Dawes agreement was drawn up, there was a public clamor for removal of restrictions on the sale of allotments in Indian Territory. In 1904, only two years after the agreement, restrictions were removed from the allotments of Freedmen and intermarried whites. The next land to go in the CN was allotments of Cherokees listed as half blood or less, from whose allotments the restrictions were soon removed.

Removal of restrictions did not affect the citizenship of the allottee. When the Five Tribes Act was passed in 1906, it applied as much to the Cherokee
Freedmen as it did to the adopted Shawnees, adopted Delawares, intermarried Whites and Cherokees by blood. If the "full force and effect" clause of the act has validity for Cherokee descendants today, it has validity for descendants of the four other classes of Cherokee citizens in 1906. If the CN rejects the descendants of the Cherokee Freedmen without simultaneously rejecting the descendants of the adopted Shawnees, adopted Delawares, and intermarried whites, it will be guilty of attempting to legalize racism, for all were equal participants in the CN according to the Dawes rolls of citizens.

It is only through a knowledge and understanding of Cherokee history that a
resolution of the impasse now facing the CN can be bridged. Nothing is to be gained from a repudiation of that history without giving it a hearing. Could all of the Cherokee leaders who averred the Freedmen's right to citizenship from 1866 to 1906 have been wrong? Both sides must become as informed as possible and must raise public awareness and understanding of the subject. Sadly, court decisions are rarely about morality or right or justice. They are about what words mean. As the Freedmen mark the
140th year of their citizenship in the CN, it behooves everyone to seriously
consider the words of the historical records.

Dan Littlefield is the director of the Sequoyah Research Center, which houses the American Native Press Archives, at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He has written "The Cherokee Freedmen" (1978), "Africans and Seminoles" (1977), "Africans and Creeks" (1979) and "The Chickasaw
Freedmen" (1980). He will complete a book on the Dawes Commission during the next two years

Dr. Littlefield has been called on to discuss the subject of the Freedmen of
the Five Tribes on numerous occasions and was called as an expert witness in the recent Creek-Freedman case in Muscogee (Creek) District Court in
August.

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Blackwater –
Open Letter to Mayor Sanders

Blackwater has shocking new plans to build a base of operations in Otay Mesa, just three blocks from the Mexican border.

The one man standing in the way of Blackwater is Mayor Jerry Sanders. He
has the power – under San Diego's "strong mayor" system – to launch a full
investigation into the false pretenses Blackwater used to obtain a "vocational trade school" permit for their facility in Otay Mesa.

Dear Mayor Sanders,
We, the undersigned, request that you use your full array of powers as the
Mayor of San Diego to launch an extensive investigation into the questionable process by which Blackwater obtained a permit to establish a "training facility" in Otay Mesa.

When the citizens of Potrero nixed lack water's plans to build a base in East County, we thought that Blackwater was out of San Diego for good. But now we've discovered that Blackwater obtained a permit under the "Raven Development Group" (a Blackwater subsidiary) to build a new base of operations just three blocks from the Mexican border. In addition, the name on design plans reviewed by the city was "Southwest Law Enforcement," not Blackwater USA.

The facility has been permitted as a "vocational training school," but
Blackwater spokespeople admit that the facility won't be open to the public and will be used exclusively to train Navy personnel in military tactics. That's not a vocational school, and it calls into question every other aspect of this facility.

This isn't the first time that Blackwater has tried to hold itself above
the law, and it probably won't be the last. As ABC News recently reported,
"Blackwater has been accused of tax fraud, improper use of force, arms trafficking and overbilling connected to its work for the U.S. government in Iraq. A grand jury, federal prosecutors and congressional investigators are all currently probing allegations against the company.

This isn't how San Diego should operate. The people of Potrero spoke out
loud and clear that San Diego County doesn't want Blackwater in our community. That's still true. While the City Council has taken steps to oppose Blackwater's latest attempt to force itself into San Diego, you must do your part and take a stand against Blackwater's continued attempts to skirt the law. Please review Blackwater's questionable permit before these dangerous mercenaries establish a presence on our border
with Mexico.

San Diego's government has experienced its struggles in recent years, but
you promised to turn things around. That means following the law and not
allowing friends of the Bush Administration special privileges when they want to set up shop in America's Finest City.

Members of the City Council have spoken out and vowed to do what they
can to shed light on this process, but it's ultimately up to you, Mayor Sanders. Please launch a full investigation into the false pretenses by which Blackwater obtained the permit to establish a base of operations in San Diego.

Sincerely,
Jess Durfee, Chair,
San Diego County Democratic Party
 

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Karen Vigneault  honored at 7th ANNUAL WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME  INDUCTION CEREMONY  March 29, 2008 Price Center Ballroom/UCSD campus

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Texas Farm Bureau supports transportation alternatives

By Terri Hall
Southwest Farm Press

Texas Farm Bureau offered several viable transportation and funding alternatives to the proposed Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) in meeting Texas’ future transportation needs during testimony before the Senate Transportation Committee.

“Let me assure you, as an industry we absolutely support and recognize the
need for building and maintaining roads in Texas,” said Texas Farm Bureau State Director Tom Paben. “We feel this can be accomplished within the current framework of the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT).”
“However, there is a need for redirection, as well as a review of the current priorities of the agency,” Paben added, noting several concerns about the TTC project raised in a report commissioned by Farm Bureau and conducted by professors at Baylor Law School. He also said Farm Bureau believes that the recent Draft Environmental Impact Study (DEIS) of I-69 “is fatally, flawed,” and would not stand up to judicialscrutiny.

Paben, who represents 15 counties potentially affected by the massive TTC
transportation project, said the first option for new highway and road construction, when possible, should be use of existing rights-of way and routes.

“In many cases, using entirely new routes would impact irreplaceable farm and ranch land,” Paben said. “If new right-of-way is needed, at a minimum, landowners should have reasonable access to their property.”

The cattle, corn and hay producer said members of the state’s largest farm
organization supported funding alternatives, including indexing and/or increasing the gas tax, to finance new road construction. Paben suggested bonding could also help build roads across Texas.

“Recent articles suggest the Cintra-Zachry Consortium stands to make billions of dollars from the TTC,” he said. “If they are able to do so, then why can’t the State of Texas? It seems those kinds of revenues could certainly go a long way in funding Texas roadways in the future.”

Although Farm Bureau does not support tolling existing roads, Paben said
the organization does not oppose the use of tolls to fund construction of new
roads.

The Farm Bureau testimony suggested the state focus on transportation projects that will help the “impending stress” on traffic ways—using existing routes—in the Golden Triangle, where it
is estimated 60 percent of the state’s population will live in the next 30 years.

The testimony also recalled Farm Bureau’s support of legislation by
Senator Steve Ogden to utilize the existing state highway “trunk” system.
“We believe the trunk system comprised of improving current state highways, and constructing by-passes and loops, could greatly relieve traffic flow in our metropolitan centers,” Paben said.

The farm leader noted Texas Farm Bureau members support the need for new and better roads in Texas.

“We are an industry no different from any other and need to move our products throughout the state,” he said. “…if building highways is to be a profit center, then let those highways be built by Texans for Texan taxpayers.”

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When The Great Spirit Died

“There are two basic methods by which man can feed his ego and make himself seem important. One is by genuine accomplishment. The other is by making a second party appear inferior... This is the root cause of bigotry and can occur in the most learned of men, when circumstances are such that ethics can be conveniently shunted aside. Politics... can create these circumstances.

Paulene Hunter Pachanga family disenrolled.

“... the Indians were ruthlessly destroyed in California. This was accomplished, not only directly by the most brutal class..., but through the acquiescence of all the 'decent' people who did not care enough to be outraged about what was taking place...”

These passages are taken from the book, “When the Great Spirit Died: the
destruction of the California Indians 1850-1860” by William B. Secrest.

These passages were meant to describe the conditions that existed in
California during the 1850's. Conditions which led to the campaign to exterminate California Indians by settlers and others who had “adopted”
California as their home.

These same passages could be applied today to the conditions that
exist in many places in Indian Country. The lone exception being
that the exterminators are no longer white settlers (or are they)...the
exterminators are other Indians.

Mari Sandoz, a late historian, is quoted as saying: “Properly conditioned,
any people will produce a good percent of men (including women) who look upon the extermination of those who differ from them (and have something they want) as the proper destruction of a predatory animal. It is not only the Nazis that do these things, or the wool hat boys of the South. We can all be led down this path if the approach is insidous enough.”

Does this sound like a place you know of or heard of? Does it make you
think of any number of gaming tribes who use methods such as disenrollment or moritoriums to exterminate their own and take what is not theirs?

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GROSSMONT COLLEGE 20TH ANNUAL CELEBRATION OF LIFE

Grossmont College 20th annual celebration of life brings together the urban and rural tribal population. The College institution provides the facility. The American Indian community provides the heart and spirituality. Traditional tribal song sustains and carries the culture.

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American Indian Cultural Festival

Students - Many Native American students were honored for completing various educational programs in Southern California. The tribal nations represented in the student group include Kumeyaay, Diegueño, Luiseño..., including local San Diego County Indian reservations The successful Indian students walked around and circled the arena in traditional pow-wow honoring style. Student accomplishments ranged from earning Ph.D. degrees to completing adult and child

Bo Young Bear, Seminole- Montauk, Seminole Tribe of Florida, danced during the Grand Entry wearing spectacular Native American eagle feather regalia and custom beadwork art.

NIGA Event

The Alaska Tribal Dancers rocked the house with enthusiastic drumming and motion at the cultural opening of the NIGA Convention. Marsha Spirit Bear, (seen in the background) always ready to dance when the moment moves her took to the stage to share the fun.

Yuman Language Summit

Larry Benagas                     Stan Rodriguez

Flags - Native American Indian gourd dancers, military veterans, carried
the colors, including the American flag, the CA state flag, POW flag, US Army flag, US Marine Corps flag, and official US Navy flag into the pow-wow arena during a grand entry parade.

Ron Christman - Ron Christman, Ipai, Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueño Indians, lead a Dumas family honoring celebration for Brian Dumas, draped in wool Indian honoring blanket. Brian is Kumeyaay Indian of Jamul Indian Village reservation in San Diego.

Connection Mary Oyos offers living testimony to the fact that Pow Wow’s are excellent networking tools that keep families, tribes and friends connected. Mary is pictured standing in front of long lost brother Artie. Next to Artie is brother Virgil and sister Patricia. Mary, Virgil, Patricia and Becky (not in picture) were swept off their feet to meet their brother Artie for the first time when he showed up at the Grossmont Pow Wow. Everything is indeed connected.

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Judge Agrees with Rincon Band: Governor Schwarzenegger is charging an illegal tax and compacting in bad faith.

Orders a compact to be negotiated in 60 days.

Rincon, CA – A San Diego federal district court magistrate has found the Schwarzenegger administration’s demands for large payments by the Rincon Band of Luiseño Indians to the state’s general fund, in return for a gaming compact amendment that allows the tribe to add additional slot machines, to be an illegal tax in violation of federal law.

Judge William McCurrine Jr. found that the state was negotiating in bad faith and awarded remedies under the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA), which governs the Class III compacting
rules between tribes and states. Judge McCurrine has ordered that the parties reach an agreement within the next 60 days, and if the tribe and state fail to reach agreement each side will submit their best offer to a court-appointed mediator. The mediator will choose the offer that most closely conforms to the court’s findings and IGRA.

“ ‘Bad faith’ has haunted California tribal negotiations with the state since 1991 under then-Governor Pete Wilson, who refused to negotiate regardless of federal mandates. Until this decision, the courts have not enforced it, and not until this case has the benchmark been established for fair and legally negotiated fees versus an illegal tax on tribal gaming revenues.”

Mazzetti emphasized that the Rincon Tribal Council is looking forward to working with the governor’s office in the next 60 days to produce a compact that complies with federal law, provides for local mitigations, participates in the public safety and environmental concerns of neighbors, and continues to support an improved quality of life in all of California’s tribal communities.

“This case means a great deal, not just to Rincon, but all tribes because it confirms one of the basic foundations between American Indian tribes and states: Indian tribes are sovereign governments, which, like other governments, may not be taxed.

Rincon v. Schwarzenegger

The judge makes it clear that federal law, specifically IGRA, prevents states from using compact negotiations to assess a tax on tribal government gaming revenues,” he added. In his April 29, 2008 decision, Judge McCurrine points out that tribal government gaming was meant to benefit tribal governments and aid tribal economic development, not to balance state budgets. “Compact negotiations,” he reminded the state, “are between equal sovereigns and fees paid under the terms of a Tribal-State Compact are only to be used to mitigate impacts, protect public safety and to establish a framework of the regulation of gaming with the tribes.”

The level of taxation that the state was demanding to amend their compact would have amounted to 79 percent of the Harrah’s Rincon Casino profits.

“That’s not right and it’s not fair. No taxpayer would stand to have over two thirds of their income taken by the state. There would be a Sacramento Tea Party,” said Mazzetti, adding, “Throughout history,
some people have had the opinion that fair doesn’t apply to tribes.
However, Rincon has honored its agreement with the state and is willing to pay our fair share, but we have opposed revenue sharing that exceeds what is allowed under federal law or that goes
for impermissible purposes.”

Rincon’s immediate goal remains to add 400 machines to the existing 1600 gaming devices to reach the 2,000 maximum promised in the 1999 Tribal State Compact. The tribe has repeatedly refused to accept a compact that does not respect the mutual agreements and terms of the promised 2,000-machine allowance. “The 1999 compact is a legal document. It’s still binding and cannot be swept under the Sacramento carpet because the state’s fiscal circumstances have changed,” explained Mazzetti.

“Additionally, Rincon recognizes that to add machines beyond the 2,000 limit will require new terms, but terms that meet the requirements of IGRA and good faith negotiations.”

“How many times, and in how many ways must tribes prove that we are governments before people hear and respect what this means? How often must we spend our precious resources to protect this constitutional status and our right to govern our own lands?” Stephanie Spencer, Rincon tribal council member asked.

“Indian gaming was meant to assure that tribes become self-reliant and would no longer have to beg for handouts from the federal government, the state or taxpayers. To stand on our own feet and to generate the revenues that allow us to do for our communities what taxpayers take for granted from their local governments is what we sought to validate in this lawsuit. It’s what we want for all tribal governments,” she explained.

“ To this end,” Mazzetti added, “We have requested that the governor’s office commence negotiations in earnest to achieve the goals of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the wishes of the citizens of California when they amended the state constitution to allow casino gaming on tribal lands. If this administration chooses, instead, to oppose us legally, we will continue to fight for tribal
sovereignty.”

Symington Communications

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La Quincenera mas esperada de San Diego

Escrito por Michelle Banuet

Este pasado marzo 6 se llevo acabo la inaguracion del evento mas esperado El festival de cine latino en San Diego se viene presentando desde hace 15 años, con gran éxito .

Este ano es especial ya que quince anos de de grandes logros y popularidad. ya que se destaca por traer a las mejores celebridades de Latino America, este ano no es la excepción ya que chequense la madrinita que tuvo este gran evento nada mas y nada menos que la gran señorona Carmen Salinas.

Inagurando asi la gran noche con grandes personalidades. Como Patricia Riggen, directora de la película Bajo la misma luna y su gran elenco,Carmen Salinas, Adrian Alonso, Gabriel Porras.

Siguiendo asi las sorpresas con Julio Bracho, Luis Felipe Tovar, Veronica
Langer, Lorena Velazques, quedando asi inagurado el festival de cine latino en San Diego.

Le seguía una gran celebración en un popular antro localizado en la 5 y c en downtown tirando la casa por la ventana, asistiendo a este gran evento empresarios, actores, periodistas y muchos mas.

El productor Tijuanense Luis Albores de la película Parparos Azules, trajo con sigo la gran actriz Mexicana Cecilia Suarez. Y que decir del gran revuelo que causo Susana Zabaleta actris y cantante muy querida.

Se presento tan bien Gerardo Taracena de la película El Violin, película ganadora de mas de 40 premios. Esta cinta tardo mas de 10 anos en filmarce por falta de dinero por eso esta grabada en blanco y negro esta película fue ganadora del Festival de Cannes.

Dijeron presente los Españoles, Maria Brea, Pastrana y Jesus Prieto de la gran película spinnin.

Entre tantos El Burro Van Rankin, Bruno Bichir,Damian Bichir, Arai
Bethker, Plutarco Haza, Sergio Umansky, Daniela Smith y Stephanie Salas. Este ano presentando mas de 300 peliculas de diferentes partes del mundo México, Brasil,España, Argentina y de muchas partes mas.

Este gran evento se lleva acabo cada ano en Ultrastar Mission Valley cinemas localizado en Hazard Center.

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Cedar Fire Survivor Running for County Supervisor

Rudy Reyes Is Disgusted With Lack of Progress On Fire Issues

by Marc Snelling

Rudy Reyes, Cedar Fire survivor, runs for San Diego County Supervisor

San Diego County native Rudy Reyes is a study in perseverance. The 2003 survivor of the Cedar wildfires has a powerful story to tell. Rudy came to be known as a hero to many locals after the worst wildfire in California’s history swept through San Diego’s back-country. During the fires Rudy, placing the safety of his family above his own, ensured they got to safety before leaving himself.

Reyes built his one bedroom home, only months before the fires, on his family’s Wildcat Canyon Road lot. His house and his family’s 5-bedroom home were among the 2,300 homes destroyed in this fire. On October 26th 2003 Rudy was awakened by his sister to an orange glow and a warning that fire was moving in rapidly. Realizing there was no chance to save the homes, Rudy made sure his family members were safely in their vehicles before he left.

When Rudy attempted to drive out the air was so thick with smoke that his car would not start. Out of options, he doused himself in water, covered his face with his hands and prepared to run for his life. He ran one and a half miles down the road through the wall of flames until reaching a neighbor in their vehicle. The neighbor drove him to the bottom of the road where an emergency crew was setup. With visible serious burn injuries paramedics sedated him and he began his lengthy recovery.

His recovery began at the UCSD Burn Center, where he remained unconscious for 2 months. His run through the wildfire burned him over approximately 70% of his body. He lost his left ear, most of a finger, and was left temporarily blind by the flames.

Reyes’ recovery involved 28 surgeries, including a new lasik procedure that brought his vision back. His recovery also included the use of medicinal marijuana, in the form of lotions and salves to heal his damaged skin. He also used a vaporizer in the hospital, which he cited as more effective pain relief than strongest pain drugs routinely prescribed. On March 4th 2004, five months after the fire, he was the last burn victim released from hospital.

The story of Rudy’s perseverance does not end after his release from hospital. Reyes stayed busy after his recovery. He earned a degree in Archaeology, and continued his teaching career, while helping organize the Barona Cultural Center and Museum. His archaeological work is currently on display at the El Cajon courthouse as the ‘Barona Photo Collection’.

Grateful to the citizens of San Diego County who helped him and other burn survivors, Rudy has decided to use his life to give back. His gift for sincere and articulate speech, have made him an excellent spokesperson for organizations such as the Burn Institute and CHAD/United Way. He served as a mentor for young burn survivors for the Burn Institute, who describe him as “truly an inspiration to those who have met him.”

Four years after the Cedar Fire, Wildcat Canyon Road was again part of the area effected by a massive back-country wildfire. The Witch Creek fire was one of multiple fires that burned the county again. Witnessing many of the same problems in this wildfire, Rudy is determined to take his public service to the next level. Dismayed by a lack of leadership from the County on this issue he has decided to take matters in to his own hands, through a campaign for the County Board of Supervisors.

Reyes points to decisions by the board ending the program of inmates in County facilities removing brush, their failure to create a unified fire authority, as well as continuing to let development proceed in fire prone areas. The majority of San Diego ’s wildfire-prone areas are within County Board of Supervisors, District 2. The seat currently occupied by Dianne Jacob. Reyes notes Jacob “had fire trucks parked on her property” in Jamul during both wildfires, and has singled out some of her official positions for criticism.

Two positions in particular are irksome to Reyes, and to many of Jacob’s constituents. Her delaying tactics in the creation of a county-wide fire authority, and her controversial vote in a 3-2 decision to sue the State of California ’s over the Compassionate Use Act, enacted in 1996. (Also known as Proposition 215) Reyes notes the board has enough resources to fight a losing lawsuit to overturn State law, but not enough to continue effective fire prevention programs.

He blasted the county “slush fund” which he says is doled out to groups each year “to make sure nobody challenges them at election time”. The slush-fund was the subject of a 2005 grand jury investigation which showed nearly $1 million in missing receipts in the 7 years since the program’s inception.

At the time Jacob admitted the program had shoddy book-keeping but pointed to the slush-fund as evidence of the county’s health saying, and as she stated to the North County Times: “Because county government is healthy, stable and well-managed, we have an opportunity to re-invest tax dollars back into the community.”

The secretive grant program gives each county’s supervisor up to $2 million a year from the county’s general fund. They are able to distribute this money to projects and non-profit groups as they wish with no written policy. Up against that kind of money and a 16-year incumbency, Rudy shows the same determination that has come to define his public life as a burn survivor.

“They have all been there long enough and it is time for a change.” Says Reyes referring to the five supervisors who have sat together uninterrupted for more than a decade.

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Harry Reid Story-
the man who is now U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

Searchlight had no High School, so Harry had to attend Basic High School in Henderson, where he met Landra Gould, who became his High School sweetheart. In 1959 they were married. In 1961, their first child, and only daughter Lana was born. Son, Rory was born in 1962 and three more brothers followed - Leif, Josh and Key.

Basic High was also where Reid met a teacher named Mike O’Callaghan who would play many roles in his life: teacher, boxing coach, political mentor, trusted advisor and best friend.

After completing law school, Harry returned to Henderson to serve as City
Attorney. In 1968, he was elected to the Nevada Assembly. In 1970 he was elected Lieutenant Governor. In 1977 he was appointed Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Commission. In 1983 he won the first of two terms in the United States House of Representatives.

He was elected to the Senate in 1986 and in 1998, Harry was elected to his third term as U.S. Senator, and his colleagues selected him as Assistant Democratic Leader – the second highest post among Democrats in the Senate. After he won a fourth term in 2004 by a wide margin, he was unanimously elected Senate Democratic Leader.

Today, Harry Reid is the Majority Leader in the U.S. Senate. This position
combined with his reputation for integrity and fairness has given our small state of Nevada a uniquely influential voice in Washington. Senator Harry Reid is a man who commands the respect of colleagues from both parties, and is a powerful advocate for Nevada’s middle-class families. Every day he puts his leadership position to work to deliver meaningful results for Nevadans.

However, he still lives in Searchlight and is still guided by the lessons and values he learned there. The Las Vegas Sun newspaper summarized that by saying that he “has gone from underdog to Senate’s top dog.” Parade Magazine, the nation’s largest weekly magazine identified him as one of a handful of leaders in Washington with integrity and guts.

U.S. Senator Harry Reid has developed a reputation as a skillful legislator.
Although his demeanor and voice is softspoken, what he has to say is experienced loudly to those who hear him.

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UPTown View

Large Vision Business Network Mixer

Pioneers in Helping Local Business Owners

Roy Ennis Civil Rights Activist, whom fought alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson, enjoys himself at the LVBNM (Large Vision Business Network Mixer) held at the Texas Station Casino in February 2008. Sylvester and Paula Jackson created LVBNM in the hopes to educate small business owners on how to promote and market their business with a grassroots approach. Their goal is to offer business owner’s here in Las Vegas the tools to survive and thrive.

 They offer all kinds of ways to help your business including classes, seminars, mixers and just good old fashioned advice. During their “March Madness” event Mayor Pro-Tempore of the City of North
Las Vegas presented Assemblyman Harvey Munford and Greg Jones (LVBNM
Underwriter) MVP Award for their outstanding community achievements. For more information e-mail LVBNM today at srjaxx@aol.com or visit their  website at www.pjproductionlive.com.

Elect Marsha Kimble-Simms
for Justice of the Peace North Las Vegas

Marsha Kimble-Simms is running for Justice of the Peace North Las Vegas Dept. 3. I have been residing in North Las Vegas for 7 years. I am a wife and have 5 beautiful children and one spoiled grandchild.

I am a practicing attorney and former prosecutor with more than a 90% conviction rate. I’ve represented many handicap and developmentally disabled children ensuring they have adequate resources and educational opportunities.
I am an active member in the following organizations:

■ NFPA National Foster Parent Association
■ FCAAN President Foster and Adoption Association of Nevada

I was also a member of the Joint United States Delegation to Russia for a Rule of Law Conference in St. Petersburg , Russia on women and children.
I AM A MOTHER, WIFE, PROFESSIONAL AND FEEL I CAN REPRESENT NORTH LAS VEGAS WITH THE UTMOST DIGNITY AND RESPECT. Vote for Marsha Kimble-Simms Justice of the Peace Dept. 3 to help insure a better tomorrow for the City of North Las Vegas .
CONTRIBUTIONS OR VOLUNTEERS WELCOME P.O BOX 335661
NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89033
(702)648-4587

Moulin Rouge Development Corporations Steps Up

Ed Vance and Associates in front of the New Moulin Rouge sketches

Moulin Rouge Development Corporation (MRDC) steps up in Uptown or also known as Ward 5 with the redevelopment of the Moulin Rouge Hotel and Casino. Moulin Rouge is an important part of African American history here in Las Vegas. MRDC assures anxious residents in the area that the redevelopment of the Moulin Rouge is for them; to provide jobs and economic stability, but without Uptown residents support this can be a quite difficult endeavor.

 As a Las Vegas resident the Moulin Rouge has been a mystery with little or no information released to the public. In April 2008 MRDC changed that with an open house to explain just what it is their doing. And when I say they, let’s specify. Ed Vance and Associates, Stan Wickerson, Alan Glover just to name a few “Ed Vance has been on this project from day one” explained Dale Scott CEO of MRDC, “and is relentless in his vision to see redevelopment in this part of town.”

Republic Urban Properties has also stepped up to the plate to see this project followed through. MRDC and Partners aims to please all, residents and tourists alike. April 2nd MRDC will brave City Hall to see if they can stick to the plan of breaking ground early next year. Alan Glover (MRDC partner) expressed in a phone conversation the great effect the project will have on Downtown and the extension of the metropolis stretching all the way to the Moulin Rouge. How excited Uptown Las Vegas is to have the Moulin Rouge redeveloped! With seventeen acre’s to work with don’t be surprised if the Moulin Rouge is the grandest hotel in Uptown Las Vegas! Or maybe as expressed by MRDC that if all goes well they could also provide housing as well to the residents of Uptown Las Vegas in the future.

The sky’s the limit! Remember Ward 5 residents Moulin Rouge Development
Corporation needs your support. If it wasn’t for the Moulin Rouge segregation
might still be present in Las Vegas. So let’s not forget its history!

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Community Corner

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All Of Us Or None

After a year of waiting for Mayor Dellums to make the changes he promised in Oakland’s hiring policies, Plan for a Safer Oakland called a Speakout and Rally to Ban the Box in Oakland. (Plan for a Safer Oakland is a community coalition started by All of Us or None and Critical Resistance.) On April 1, over 100 folks showed up to the speakout including crews from the Center for Young Women's Development (CYWD), United Playaz (UP), Destiny Arts/Silence the Violence (STV), Trunk Boiz crew, Intertribal Friendship House, and more. The speakout included testimonies from a range of folks about their efforts to get a job after being released from prison. A lot of performers also did spoken word
and music at the rally: an American Indian Movement drumming circle blessed the gathering, and there were also performances by: Randy from Youth Against Youth Incarceration, D.Nok, Trinidad, and STV/Destiny Arts youth, Trunk Boiz, and the Brass Liberation Orchestra.

All three points from the PSO platform were presented: 1) Welcome folks
home from prison: Ban the Box in Oakland City hiring, repeal the curfew
for people on parole and probation, fund more re-entry services. 2) Invest in People, not policing and prisons: stop Operation Impact, re-affirm Oakland as a Sanctuary city, stop Oakland police collaboration with ICE (Immigration and Customs enforcement), stop using Three Strikes in Oakland prosecutions. 3) Stand Up for Oakland Youth: no more Oakland youth to CYA, keep Oakland’s schools open, implement the Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents

We also got a lot of media coverage! The event/issue was on the front page of the Bay Area section of the SF Chronicle on Wednesday. KQED and Telemundo also covered the speakout, and several radio shows covered the event. Leading up to the event, we did a lot of outreach around Ban the Box throughout Oakland, circulated petitions, and collected endorsements from individuals and organizations that were faxed to the mayor's office.

As a result of all of this, by May 31 the City Administrator has agreed to
evaluate which Public Works jobs will no longer require disclosure of an applicant’s conviction history. Once again we learned that bureaucracies respond best to mass mobilizations that DEMAND OUR RIGHTS.

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 Spring 2008 Indian Voices PDF

Spring 2008 IV center-fold PDF
 

GuideToOnlineSchools.com can help you find an accredited distance learning degree in ESL and TESOL at one of many prestigious schools, like University of Phoenix so you can start a career teaching English as a second language.

Affordable Senior Apartments

Lovely 100-unit senior apartment building will soon have apartments available.  Must be 62 or older or mobility impaired. Income must be $27,650.00 or less for one person or $31,600.00 or less for two persons.  Rent includes utilities, laundry facilities, and recreation areas.  Section 8 available.
 Equal Housing Opportunity.

For information call:
 619-575-3232
                          

Help Support Indian Voices while you get your travel on:

 

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