Indian sign language in danger of being lost
Loretha (Rising Sun) Grinsell is deaf, but from the time she was a toddler was easily able to communicate with her hearing family. That’s because Grinsell, who is Northern Cheyenne, had a foster grandmother fluent in “hand talk,” also known as the sign language with which Plains Indians communicated for centuries. Both Grinsell and her cousin, James Wooden Legs, who is also deaf, used it before they went to school and learned the more commonly taught American Sign Language, Donna Healy of the Billings Gazette writes. Plains Indian sign language is now recognized as endangered, much like many spoken tribal languages, Healy writes.

Smithsonian returns sacred artifacts to Yurok Tribe
For more than 100 years, the Smithsonian Institution has stored 217 sacred items belonging to the Yurok Tribe, whose members live along the Klamath River in what is now California. The return of the necklaces, headdresses, arrows, hides and other regalia is believed to be one of the largest repatriations of Native American ceremonial artifacts in U.S. history,the San Francisco Chronicle reports here. “It’s awesome. It’s a big thing with our people,” tribal chairman Thomas O’Rourke tells the Chron.

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation gets pilot prosecuting program
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregg Peterman, who helped Russia develop a better criminal justice system, is trying to do the same thing on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. When Peterman went to Russia as part of the Department of Justice’s Overseas Professional Development Assistance and Training program, Mary Garrigan of the Rapid City Journal writes here, he thought the same sort of program should be applied to tribal court systems. Now he’s leading the new Community Prosecution Strategy pilot program on Pine Ridge, Garrigan writes.

Program puts Native American teachers in Indian reservation schools
Sixteen students among the more than 1,000 University of Oregon students will use their master’s degrees to teach in Native American communities. The 16 Native students, graduates of the Sapsik’wala Project, are required to teach at least a year in Native schools, according to this KEZI story (click on link for video). The story says Native Americans comprise just .4 percent of all teachers.

Navajo Nation eyes major new casino
Navajo gaming officials say they’ll likely break ground his fall on a major casino, which could lead to the creation of 400 jobs, to be built in the Upper Fruitland Chapter in northwest New Mexico. The tribe hopes the project leads to the creation of 400 jobs. The Navajo Nation, which faces 56 percent unemployment, got into gaming decades after tribal gaming became legal, and is now making it a high priority, according to this AP report in the Arizona Daily Star in Flagstaff. The tribe has two smaller gaming projects already under way, in the Hogback chapter in New Mexico and in Chinle, Ariz.

Gwen Florio

The fact of the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ granting – after three decades – of federal status to the 1,300 members of the Shinnecock Nation was quickly overshadowed by speculation about the tribe’s casino intentions. Here’s how Danny Hakim of the New York Times puts it:

With federal recognition, the tribe can build a casino on its 800-acre reservation in Southampton, N.Y., but the tribe, the state and local officials would prefer to find another location, in New York City or its suburbs, for the casino. That would mean plunging into a thicket of complex federal law, court rulings and political considerations.

Still, there are powerful motivations to help the tribe locate its casino anywhere but the Hamptons, where traffic is already choked by tourists in the summer. The state has been negotiating with the tribe in anticipation of the recognition.

The recognition becomes official after 30 days for public comment. The new status will let the tribe build a Class II casino with slots on its own land, but it would rather build a Class III casino with both slots and table games, elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Jed Morey of the Long Island Press takes New York state Sen. Craig Johnson to task, here, for his report recommending that the state revoke recognition of the should revoke its recognition of the Unkechaug Tribe. Except that Johnson called the tribe Poospatuck.

Morehy writes:

First of all, the tribe is Unkechaug. The reservation is Poospatuck. Second, not only is there no legal precedent for this ridiculous recommendation, there have been numerous opinions written by New York State itself declaring this idea (not the first attempt at this) unconstitutional.

This recommendation can only be classified in the following categories:

A) Stupid
B) Ignorant
C) Racist
D) All of the above

Just for the record, Morey says the correct answer is “D.”

Gwen Florio

The Burns Pauite Tribe is looking to Ontario, Ore., two and a half hours from its reservation, to build a big “destination resort” casino.

Ontario Mayor Joe Dominick tells Boise’s KIVI TV, here, that the city has to “think what’s best for the city and creating jobs in a weak economy would be a benefit.”

Although some local residents like the idea – “I think anything we can bring in to help our economy right now is a good idea,” Amy Ross tells the station – Dominick says he remains wary.

“The city of Ontario has over 600 hotel rooms available and they’re never full. If a new hotel comes along, what does that mean for our local businesses?” he wonders.

Bringing the plan to fruition would require a land swap, something that must be approved by the federal government.

Gwen Florio

The Crow Tribe looks a little closer to getting the loan it needs to build a new Little Big Horn Casino.

Yesterday the Crow Legislature approved the resolution needed to obtain a $3 million loan from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Tribe of Minnesota – meaning approval could come as early as next week.

Yesterday was the tribe’s deadline to get funding lined up and approved to build the new casino. Otherwise, the old one would close. As Susan Olp of the Billings Gazette reports here, that deadline was imposed by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

Gwen Florio

PS – With this post, Buffalo Post goes off the airwaves, as it were, for most of the holiday weekend. Have fun and stay safe.

We don’t know Lynn Malerba, recently named the first female leader of the Mohegan Tribe in nearly 300 years (see video above), but we like her style.

When asked her goals, Malbera responded, “I intend to live a long time and give people a lot of heartburn.”

Today the Boston Globe offers this profile of Malerba, delving into her background as a businesswoman and examining what awaits her as leader of the nation that runs the Mohegan Sun megacasino in Connecticut.

Brian MacQuarrie’s interview with Malerba took place in Uncasville, Conn., the town named for the great sachem Uncas, of whom Malerba is a 13th-generation descendant.

“It’s nice that we have this casino, but being chief is not about the casino,’’ she tells him.

These are challenging times for tribes with casinos. As MacQuarrie writes of Malerba and the Mohegans;

Gambling revenues are down, an ambitious expansion project is on hold, and the financial future of the 1,800-member tribe has been clouded by an economy that shows casinos are not recession-proof. According to tribal data, gaming revenues from the last quarter of calen dar 2009 declined 5.2 percent from a year earlier.

“Each chief has defined a role by the times they find themselves in,’’ said Malerba, the great-granddaughter of a chief. “It will probably take a little time to decide what my personal goals should be.’’

Those goals will probably include what Malerba calls an “endowment’’ of the tribe’s social endeavors, which encompass a assisted-living facility for the elderly, health-insurance subsidies for all members, and full scholarships for all tribespeople who attend college.

“These things are more important to us than cash distribution,’’ said Malerba.

Malerba, who spent two decades in health care, eventually becoming director of cardiology and pulmonary services at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., says she’ll apply that business experience to her lifetime appointment as tribal leader.

Gwen Florio

Ad offering to “clean” city of First Nations youth probed as a hate crime
Indian Country Today’s Gale Courey Toensing follows up here on this disturbing story about an online ad offering to cleanse the Canadian city of Winnipeg of Native youth. The ad ran with a picture of three Native boys and was headlined “Native Extraction Service.” It offered to relocate the “pesky little buggers” to their “habitat.” It’s now being investigated as a hate crime. As Valerie Talliman points out in her commentary, here, ignoring the ad is not an option: “Our silence is our consent.”

Ghost town haunted by wolves – Alaska village on high alert after teacher’s fatal mauling
A town hall meeting has been held in Chignik Lake, Alaska, to keep residents informed about wolves on the outskirts of town believed to have killed a teacher last week. Whiteout weather conditions hampered a hunt for the wolves. In the meantime, people are staying inside. This KTUU report calls Chignik Lake “a ghost town haunted by wolves.” Click on the link to watch a video report.

Native Hawaiians closer to establishing own government
This Associated Press report points out the fact that Native Hawaiians are the last remaining indigenous group in the United States that hasn’t been allowed to establish their own government. But a U.S. Senate vote this month – and President Barack Obama’s expected signature – could give federal recognition to 400,000 Native Hawaiians.

First Nations University funding denied; school could close within weeks
Canada’s aboriginal-run university could be forced to close by the end of this month, according to some reports, as a result of federal refusal to restore $7.2 million in funding that was cut after allegations of financial mismanagement. Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl tells the Toronto Globe & Mail, here, that “It is time to focus our attention on those aboriginal students themselves,” rather than the university.

Casino workers’ union contract brokered under tribal law
Among the very few tribal casinos whose workers have a union contract is huge Foxwoods Resort Casino complex, run by the Mashantucket Pequot tribe in Connecticut. What makes the contract unusual is that it was brokered under tribal law. NPR has the story here.

Gwen Florio

Quilting project honors Native children who died in boarding schools
Jamestown, N.D., resident Ellen Pfeiffer first learned about Indian boarding schools from her former husband, a member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe whose grandmother was taken from her family and sent to the Carlisle Indian School in Pennsylvania. She found the story heartbreaking, and began to study the era. Barbara Landis, Carlisle Indian School biographer, reports that nearly 10,000 Indian children went to Carlisle in its 40-year-history. Of those, nearly 200 children died, most of them of respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Pfeiffer believes the schools, whose purpose was to assimilate Indian children, did a disservice to Native Americans. Now she’s making quilts to honor the children who died so far from their families. The project involves 186 quilts, according to this Jamestown Sun story distributed by the Associated Press.

Connecticut tribes blast state’s plan to add keno games
Connecticut is looking at adding keno games to help close a $1.3 billion budget shortfall. But tribal casinos – which already offer it – are crying foul, saying it could cut into their profits, Indian Country Today’s Gale Courey Toensing writes here. Jackson King, general counsel for the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, says that if the state launches keno, the tribes could stop making payments to the state based on their own earnings, because of a violation of the compact.

Navajo Nation plans five casinos within two years
Despite a drop in gaming revenues around the country, the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise says it has secured the funding for five news casinos, and plans to build them within the next two years, according to the Navajo Times. Investment Committee members say gaming looks like more secure route than the stock market these days.

Seneca Nation stops effort to ban mail-order smokes in New York
The New York Times has this story on how the Seneca Nation turned around a bill designed to halt the shipment of mail-order cigarettes. The bill was approved by the New York House of Representatives and a Senate committee, before the Seneca Nation, which sees more than $1 billion annually in gambling and cigarette revenues, launched a full-scale lobbying effort to stop it.

Nunavut to substantially cut polar bear harvest quota; hunters object
Over the next four years, the annual hunting quota for Baffin Bay polar bears will gradually be reduced from 105 to 65, according to the Nunatsiaq News. Biologists are worried the bears are being overhunted, and Greenland has already reduced its quotas. But some hunters are demanding compensation for their communities.

Salish Kootenai College honors lifelong Salish language teacher Sophie Mays
Last month, family and friends on the Flathead Indian Reservation gathered at Salish Kootenai College to dedicate Sophie’s Room. It honors Sophie “Supi” Quequesah Mays died last year at the age of 56, the Char-Koosta News reports. Mays, who grew up with parents who spoke only Salish, dedicated her life to preserving the Salish language. She was the first Salish teacher when the college was founded.

Gwen Florio

The Crow Tribe has until Nov. 1 to replace its aging, ’70s-era Little Big Horn casino. But getting the money to do that – the casino owes $400,000 to the IRS – is problematic.

Tribal leaders and membes of the Absaloka Casino Enterprise Inc. board, formed in 1994 to develop Crow gaming projects, are working together toward that goal, Susan Olp of the Billings (Mont) Gazette writes here:

The ACE board learned that the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Prior Lake, Minn., provides grants and loans to other tribes for economic development.

Leaders from the two tribes met, [tribal Chairman Cedric] Black Eagle said, “and through that process, they viewed this site as a very marketable opportunity for them to invest in.”

The Shakopee agreed to give the Crow Tribe a $1 million grant and a $2.5 million loan for the casino project. The grant can be accepted by the executive branch, Black Eagle said, but the Crow Legislature must be involved in final approval of the loan.

The plan includes not only a new casino, but a 100-room hotel, convention center and RV park. Black Eagle says the casino’s location along Interstate 90, frequented by tourists, makes the idea viable. And, most important, it would – ideally – provide more jobs on a reservation with 47 percent unemployment.

Gwen Florio

Mark Trahant is a Kaiser Media Fellow examining the Indian Health Service and its relevance to the national health care reform debate. He is a member of Idaho’s Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Comment here.

This New Year I am experimenting, instead of resoluting. (I know, it’s not a real word. But it just sounded right.) I’m interested in how technology can play a role in behavior change, how to eat less, drink enough water, exercise more, and sleep better.

The tool I’m playing with is called a Fitbit. I’ll write more about that later, but it’s already interesting because it measures steps, your sleep pattern (although I am quite ready to argue about falling asleep in the chair while watching TV. The device (and my family) says “yes,” but I know better.

I see how this technology could be helpful to wellness programs. Sunday I walked 11,289 steps (not quite 3 miles), consumed more than 2,000 calories and slept 8 hours, waking up 7 times during the night.

We change what we measure – and that includes our own behavior. Just by watching my personal data, I am inclined to walk more and eat less.

But that’s only part of what could make Fitbit important to a wellness routine. Part two will come when others I know are on the system and add their stats through social networks. Think of a community of folks who are rooting for your success, for your better health, as you urge them forward.

This is more experiment, than a resolution. But this is the season for resolutions – and for many that means it’s time to quit smoking.

Read the rest of this entry »