Disenrollment proceedings by tribal governments have gotten plenty of attention in recent years. The general public has gained the view that disenrollment is largely about competition over money in large gaming tribes. There are certainly instances among tribal communities where family conflicts, material gain, or other issues have led to expatriation of former tribal members. Indian communities and leaders should reconsider decisions to remove members from the tribal rolls. The ability to game is based on negotiations with state governments, and has become increasingly political. Gaming communities need to maintain good relations with the state governments and voters. Nevertheless, Indian communities should not bow to outside pressures when exercising a government power such as expatriation, but tribal governments need to have clear procedures, and hold the best interests of the tribal community in mind when removing people from tribal rolls. Disenrollments should only happen when they serve the interests of long term tribal community building, cultural continuity, and political autonomy.

Calling the fate of Arizona’s eagles “an important issue for our district and the United States,” a federal judge in Phoenix postponed a decision Tuesday about protections for the state’s desert-nesting bald eagles.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary Murguia will decide if federal officials acted too hastily in removing Arizona’s smaller, lighter bald eagles from the federal endangered-species list.

Arizona’s small band of raptors was removed from endangered-species protections in August along with the nation’s other 11,000 bald eagles in the lower 48 states.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - The Keystone crude oil pipeline won’t cross American Indian reservations in South Dakota, but it could be located on cultural sites important to Indians, says Russell Eagle Bear, a Rosebud Sioux Tribe representative.

‘’We want to make sure that all the cultural properties are protected along the route,'’ Eagle Bear said. ‘’This is moving quite fast and I think they need to work closely with tribes in the area - all the tribes.'’

An official of TransCanada Corp., which is planning the 2,148-mile pipeline, said the project is not exactly breaking news. Keystone project official Jeff Rauh said it has been public knowledge for almost three years.

He said TransCanada has worked closely with state historical preservation officers and did cultural surveys and reviews to comply with historical preservation requirements.

The present state of American Indian tribal sovereignty is undergoing transition. Indian people generally lament the decline of tribal sovereignty powers owing to Congressional acts, court decisions and federal policies. The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is based on universal human rights principles and, while supporting political and cultural autonomy, does not support establishment of indigenous governments that are seen to compete with existing nation-states.

The declaration encourages indigenous peoples to work out political, land and cultural issues within the framework of nation-state law and political processes. International support of human rights and the declaration will support indigenous efforts to reclaim political, economic and cultural autonomy, and provide at least symbolic checks on nation-states. The human rights philosophy of the declaration suggests a pathway toward creating respect and agreement about universal human rights and encourages greater common ground for peaceful processes of conflict resolution. The international human rights movement represents the laudable task of creating world consensus and a possible basis for less conflict and perhaps future peace in the world.

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - With thousands of people visiting the Tulalip Tribes’ lands to gamble or shop every week, tribal Police Chief Scott Smith wants his officers to have the same authority as any other law-enforcement agent.

But currently, American Indian police officers can’t arrest a non-Indian person on tribal land.

A bill being considered by the Legislature would change that. The Senate Judiciary Committee was expected to hold a public hearing on the measure Feb. 1. Supporters of the bill were calling it a long overdue measure of law-enforcement equality.

‘’Our hands are tied,'’ said Smith, who supervises 25 tribal police officers in one of the state’s most populated reservations. ‘’Why can’t we be on the same playing field and enforce the law equally?'’

LA JUNTA, Colo. - The Northern Cheyenne Indian Nation continues to work on its Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site project, this time creating an educational program for the tribe as well as trying to acquire a portion of the site.

To support the tribe’s plans, the Northern Cheyenne needs additional funding and is accepting donations to help with its Sand Creek programs.

‘’We are contemplating acquiring some land there that could come up for sale,'’ said Steve Brady, Northern Cheyenne and co-chair of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Committee for the Northern Cheyenne Indian Nation. ‘’We’re working toward that end.'’

Currently, the majority of the 12,300-acre Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site is privately owned.

But the National Park Service as well as the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma has acquired about 3,000 acres of the site, with the 1,465 acres acquired by the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma placed in a federal trust in 2005 for management as part of the national historic site, according to Brady.

Recently inducted into the Women’s National Hall of Fame and advocate of sustainable living practices, Winona LaDuke will speak to University of Florida students and staff on March the 1st, at 7:30pm in the Rionball Room. Her lecture will be on sustainability, but from and Indigenous perspective, and she will share her thoughts on how all people can improve the life of mother earth by implementing old Indigenous teachings. If you have any questions about the event, please contact Adam Recvlohe by e-mail at arecvloh@ufl.edu.

iBy Emma Graves Fitzsimmons — Chicago Tribune

ONEIDA, Wis. (MCT) - Maria Hinton remembers speaking Oneida as a child, using it during conversations in living rooms and corner stores across the reservation. Almost a century later, she is running out of people to talk to.

‘’There is nobody to speak with [at home],'’ the 97-year-old great-grandmother said. ‘’I'm just walking around my house speaking to myself.'’

Unique for its whispered syllables, Oneida uses only 15 letters and three symbols to convey a daily life deeply rooted in nature. The words often evoke a moving image, relying on the senses to illustrate a moment. The word for ‘’bear clan,'’ osklewake, describes the glistening powder color of the animal’s face.

At his shop on Finley Point, Tim Ryan makes items used by his Indian ancestors with the same materials and the same tools they had. Ryan is a Native American and environmental educator who uses his skills to not only teach traditional ways of constructing items big and small, but also to show the importance of preserving the environments that produce the raw materials that go into those items.

POLSON - Not to let the cat out of the bag, but Tim Ryan reaches this certain point when he’s explaining to schoolchildren how he built a knife the same way his ancestors would have.

Understand, it’s been fascinating up to this point: shaping and sharpening the obsidian blade on sandstone, carving out a section in the wooden handle to insert it, concocting a glue made of tree pitch and black charcoal to hold it, tying strands of wet rawhide around the base of the blade that, when it dries, pulls the blade even more tightly into place.

Ryan has also fashioned a rawhide wristband so the knife can dangle at his side. One flick of the wrist and the knife is in his hand, ready to cut whatever needs cutting.

Margo Tamez recently sent out the following urgent call for support, explaining that since July, her Mother and Elders of el Calaboz, Texas, have been the targets of numerous threats and harassments by the Border Patrol, Army Corps of Engineers, NSA, and the U.S. related to the proposed building of a fence on their levee.
The NSA, for one, has been specifically demanding that Elders give up their lands for the levee–telling them that they will have to travel a distance of 3 miles to go through checkpoints, to walk, recreate, and to farm and herd goats and cattle ON THEIR OWN LANDS.
Margo’s mother just informed her that since last Monday the Army Corps of Engineers, Border Patrol and National Security Agency teams have been tracking down and enclosing upon the people; telling them that they have no choice: “the wall is going on these lands whether you like it or not, and you have to sell your land to the U.S.”
Margo asks that you Please help the elders and indigenous women land title holders resist forced occupation in their own lands! As a start, you can do so by sharing this information to your friends and networks. (more to follow.)
If you would like to contact Margo for more information, you can email her at mtamez@wsu.edu

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