The Navajo Election Administration has formally backed presidential term limits, in a legal brief submitted late yesterday on its behalf to the Navajo Supreme Court.

Jason Begay of the Navajo Times writes here that the brief is the Election agency’s response to President Joe Shirley Jr.’s attempts to run for a third term:

“The reason for the term limit was to address the concentration of power determined to be the central cause of the governmental crisis,” states the brief, which was prepared by Scottsdale, Ariz., attorney Michael Upshaw. “As such, it is not arbitrary and is not simply a response to one person.”

The limits are actually “reasonable public policy,” and based on “strong and substantial public interest to implement checks and balances to avoid a repeat of such concentration of power,” the brief states.

Shirley has claimed term limits violate his civil rights by restricting him to run for public office.

The court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case next Friday, July 9, at 10 a.m. in the Navajo Nation Museum auditorium.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Dine, Gwen Florio, Joe Shirley Jr., Michael Upshaw, Native American news, Navajo Election Administration, Navajo Nation, Navajo Supreme Court

Oglala Lakota actor Tatanka Means to star in ‘Scoundrels’ episode
Rapid City native Tatanka Means (photo above, courtesy of Mihio Manus/Viewfinder Photography) will guest star in the second episode of the new ABC show “Scoundrels,” set to air tonight. Means, an Oglala Lakota tribal member, is the son American Indian Movement activist and actor Russell Means. The Rapid City (S.D.) Journal has the story here.

Seneca Nation – ‘We Are Not a Piggy Bank’
The Seneca Nation isn’t alone in protesting New York’s law, passed last week, that will tax cigarette purchases by non-Natives in Native-owned smoke shops. The Jamestown Post-Journal chronicles the opposition here. Tribal leader J.C. Senca says that “We are not a piggy bank the state can break open to grab extra cash.” Some New York assemblymen also object, saying the new law will drive business from their area.

Navajo Nation awaits decision on whether president can seek third term
Ballots won’t be printed for Navajo Nation elections until there’s a decision as to whether President Joe Shirley Jr. can seek a third term, the Navajo Times reports here. The Navajo Board of Election Commissioners had ruled Shirley’s run invalid, but Shirley has appealed.

Left-wing South American leaders back indigenous rights
The presidents of Ecuador, Venezuela and Bolivia have signed a declaration to promote indigenous rights. But even as the leaders met, Ecuador’s main indigenous organization protested, saying it had not been consulted, according to the BBC, here. The group, Conaie – the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador – represents about 40 percent of Ecuador’s population.

Australian indigenous group wants stripper deported
Desecration of sites sacred to indigenous people appears to be a problem the world over. According to ABC News, here, a powerful indigenous group in Australia is seeking the deportation of a French woman who was filmed stripping down to a bikini atop the sacred rock of Uluru. The woman described her actions as a “tribute” to aboriginal culture.

Gwen Florio

Tags: ABC, aboriginal, American Indian Movement, Bolivia, cigarette taxes, Conaie, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, Ecuador, indigenous, Joe Shirley Jr., Native American actors, Navajo, Navajo Board of Election Commissioners, Oglala Lakota, Russell Means, Scoundrels, Seneca Nation, Tatanka Means, Tribal smoke shops, Uluru, Venezuela

Above, please enjoy Gyasi Ross’ tribute to mothers everywhere.

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. defies eligibility question to seek third term
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. has filed to run for a third term, making him one of 12 people seeking to lead the nation. But the question of his eligibility may end up before the Navajo Supreme Court. “Under the law, he can’t run,” said Edison Wauneka, director of the Navajo Election Administration, tells the Navajo Times here.

Diversity resolution could follow ‘white pride’ school incident
A group of parents in Fort Thompson, Lower Brule and Chamberlain are working with Chamberlain, S.D., school officials on passing a resolution establishing districtwide “cultural competence standards,” that call for schools to value diverse cultures, according to this story in the the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader. The resolution was in the works before last week’s incident involving six white students who wore “White Pride World Wide” T-shirts to school.

Rising HIV rates termed crisis for First Nations communities
The head of the Saskatoon Tribal Council calls the rising rates of HIV in the province a “crisis” facing First Nations and Metis people, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports here. Provincial officials attributes 75 percent of the new questions to injection to drug use.

Cherokee Nation turns old jail into museum
The Cherokee Nation is restoring its former National Prison into a museum. This AP story following last week’s groundbreaking on the renovations tells the history of the jail. It was the only penitentiary building in what then was Indian Territory from its completion in 1875 until 1901, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Chamberlain School District, Cherokee Nation, First Nations, Fort Thompson, Gwen Florio, Gyasi Ross, HIV, Indian Territory, Joe Shirley Jr., Lower Brule, Metis, Mother's Day, Native American news, Navajo Election Administration, Navajo Nation, White pride

In case you missed the envelope in your mailbox, or all of the ads on television and the radio, the U.S. Census is going all-out this year to get an accurate count of Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Ads like the one above are on the Census Web site, as well as YouTube.

It features Native leaders like Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr.; National Congress of American Indians President Joe Garcia, and Cook Inlet Tribal Council President Gloria O’Neill, who is Yup’ik.

Gwen Florio

Tags: 2010 Census, Alaska Native, buffalo post, Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Gloria O'Neill, Gwen Florio, Joe Garcia, Joe Shirley Jr., National Congress of American Indians, Native American, Native American news, Navajo Nation, U.S. Census, YouTube

World champion Salish boxer brings event home to Flathead Indian Reservation
Former world champion boxer Marvin Camel comes home to the Flathead Indian Reservation Tuesday to talk about how boxing opened doors to him. He was a two-time world champion boxer who won the World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation Cruiserweight Championships, the Char-Koosta News reports here. The newspaper writes that Camel is Montana’s only world championship boxer, and was named by Sports Illustrated as one of Montana’s top 50 athletes of the 20th century. Videos of his championship matches will be shown on the Flathead Reservation this week.

Report alleges mismanagement of tribal welfare funds
A investigative report by the Palm Springs (Calif.) Desert Sun alleges the 200 members of the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians have seen millions of dollars disappear from a tribal welfare program meant to help them. More than $6 million disappeared in just two years, it says. Read it here.

Seneca Nation billboard calls for defeat of PACT act
The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act would prohibit the U.S. Postal Service from delivering cigarettes and certain other tobacco products, effectively putting Indian-owned mail order tobacco businesses – an industry developed by the Seneca Nation over the past two decades – out of operation, writes Indian Country Today’s Gale Courey Toensing here. A Seneca Nation billboard on Interstate 190 urges people to vote against it.

Reinstated Navajo President Joe Shirley offers options for smaller council
Members of the Navajo Nation voted last month to decrease the size of their tribal council from 88 to 24. Now President Joe Shirley Jr., who recently returned after being placed on leave during a probe into the tribe’s business dealings, has offered 10 reapportionment plans for consideration. The Navajo Times has the story here.

First Nations eager to use new cross-border status cards
Some First Nations in the Yukon are ready to try secure new Indian status cards, but federal officials have chiefs to list concern before before a pilot program begins, the CBC reports here. The idea is that the card will make it easier for First Nations members to cross the Canada-U.S. border. The cards are to be tested in Yukon communities near Alaska.

Little Shell opposition plans election to replace tribal council
Leaders of an opposition faction within Montana’s Little Tribe of Chippewa Indians are planning an election to replace the existing Tribal Council, the Associated Press reports here. The tribe recently was denied federal recognition, but has long been recognized by the state of Montana.

Gwen Florio

Tags: First Nations, Flathead Indian Reservation, International Boxing Federation Cruiserweight Championship, Joe Shirley Jr., Little Shell Band of Chippewa, Marvin Camel, Navajo Nation, PACT Act, Seneca Nation, Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians, U.S. Postal Service, World Boxing Council, Yukon

Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. was in his office two hours after a court ruling that the tribal council was outside its authority when it placed him on leave Oct. 26, the Navajo Times reports here.

The news nearly coincided with Tuesday’s special election, whose unofficial results show people voting 61 percent in favor of reducing the Navajo Nation Council from 88 to 24 members, and 39 percent against.

On the issue of giving the president line-item veto power, people voted 59 percent in favor and 41 percent against it.

“It makes my heart feel glad,” Shirley says. “Judge (Geraldine0 Benally ruled the legislation they used was invalid. It’s as though there really was no law and I was never on leave.”

The council placed Shirley on leave during an investigation into his involvements into failed business dealings that cost the tribe millions of dollars.

Shirley also reinstated Patrick Sandoval as his chief of staff. Earlier this month, Vice President Ben Shelly, who was in charge while Shirley was on leave, removed Sandoval from that office.

It’s likely that Judge Benally’s decision will be appealed, Begay writes.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Joe Shirley Jr., Native American news, Navajo Nation, Navajo Nation Council

Navajo special election to slash size of tribal council is Tuesday
Navajo Nation voters are being asked to reduce the size of the tribal council from 84 to 22. The proposal is part of a reform initiative by President Joe Shirley, as the Navajo Times reports here. Of course, Shirley has been temporarily removed from his post during an investigation into failed business dealings that cost millions of tribal dollars.

Helicopter reaches snowbound Blackfeet ranches
Heavy snow and temperatures as low as 35 below zero left people stranded on their isolated ranches on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation northern Montana. Authorities from the U.S. Border Patrol and the Blackfeet Department of Homeland Security report here that helicopters, and later off-road vehicles, were able to reach them with food and supplies.

Curtis photos on exhibit at Fort Worth’s Amon Carter museum
The museum obtained the iconic photos of Edward S. Curtis earlier this year, and this weekend, they went on display, according to this Fort Worth Star-Telegram story. Say what you want about the photos – although they seem to depict life before Indian Country was overrun, many were taken on reservations and were staged – they are striking. As the paper reports, “In 1899, he set out to document more than 80 tribes, from the Inuit in the north to the Hopi in the Southwest, compiling photographs, audio recordings and anthropological information to create a 20-volume set of books, each accompanied by a portfolio of 36 to 39 photogravure prints.” The exhibit features images from the first volume; more exhibits from later volumes are planned.

Violent Mapuche activism shakes Chile’s government, economy
Indigenous Mapuche activists in Chile are using any means necessary to pursue claims to ancestral and other lands they say were illegally taken from them. Those methods include arson, hikjackings and ranch seizures, according to this Time magazine story. Several communities have formed Mapuche Territorial Alliance, which seeks political independence from Chile.

Recession tarnishes sales of Native American jewelry
This Associated Press story by Heather Clark details the triple-edged sword facing Native jewelers. The prices of materials – silver and precious stones – is skyrocketing. Cheap knockoffs from foreign countries are flooding the market. And what was that third one? Can you say recession? Traders in Gallup, N.M., where the sale of Indian art is a mainstay of the economy, say their wholesale business is down as much as 40 percent.

Navajo Silversmith Jackie Platero says she can’t pretend to her 10 children anymore that things are OK. “I just told the kids that Christmas this year is going to be a lot less than they usually get because the bills come first,” said Platero, of To’hajiilee, west of Albuquerque.

Gwen Florio

Tags: Blackfeet Indian Reservation, buffalo post, Joe Shirley Jr., Mapuche, Native American jewelry, Native American news, Navajo Nation, Recession

First Nations stage huge protests in Canada against sales tax
Tribes blocked the Trans-Canada Highway in three places, and First Nations members also rallied in Toronto to protest the “Harmonized Sales Tax,” saying that one nation – in this case, Canada – has no right to tax another, according to the NewsWire. “Today is just the beginning,” says Grand Chief Randall Phillips of the Association of Iroquois and Allied Indians, representing eight First Nation communities across Ontario. “We have put the Federal and Provincial governments on notice that we are prepared to fight the imposition of the HST on First Nations.”

Support for sacred Black Hills site as national monument
The group calling itself Defenders of the Black Hills has endorsed the designation of the roughly 40,000 acres of National Forest System lands as the Okawita Paha National Monument, Indian Country Today reports here.

Within the hills, the sacred peak, Opahata I, also known as Harney Peak, is considered the “center of all that is” to many Native American nation. The surrounding Okawita Paha area, literally “Gathering Place,” also is considered sacred, the newspaper writes. The monument – where activities such as logging and prescribed burns would be off-limits – would be jointly managed by the National Park Service and the Great Sioux Nation.

Morales’ re-election means more pro-indigenous policies in Bolivia
Here’s an interesting story from Bolivia on the re-election of Evo Morales to the presidency. The result is likely to be more pro-indigenous policies in Bolivia, where Morales would not have won without strong support from the country’s indigenous people.

Dawes Rolls prove great tool for Native family research
Whatever you may think about the Dawes Rolls – created to allocate (vastly reduced) amounts of land to tribes – they’ve turned out to be a huge help to people doing geneaological research, according to the Terre Haute (Ind.) Tribune Star, here.

Top aide to Navajo president asked to resign
Navajo Nation Vice President Ben Shelly has asked Patrick Sandoval, chief of staff to President Joe Shirley Jr., to resign, the Navajo Times reports here. Shirley, under investigation in connection failed business dealings, has been on administrative leave for six weeks.

Gwen Florio

Tags: Black Hills, Bolivia, Dawes Rolls, Evo Morales, First Nations, Great Sioux Nation, Harmonized Sales Tax, Harney Peak, indigenous, Iroquois and Allied Nations, Joe Shirley Jr., Navajo Nation, Okawita Paha National Monument, Opahata I

The Navajo Nation Council is looking at two reform proposals – one to reduce the size of the 88-member council to 24; the second to expand presidential veto authority.

The election is supposed to be held Dec. 15. But elections officials say they need nearly $300,000 by Dec. 4 to make it happen, money that doesn’t appear to be forthcoming, according to this Navajo Times story. So, they might have to postpone the election until next year.

The paper’s Jason Begay writes that the one sure source of money the elections agency thought it had disappeared Oct. 16 when President Joe Shirley Jr. issued a memo withdrawing his offer to transfer $190,000 in executive branch funds for the election.

Shirley was placed on administrative leave last month in the midst of allegations of legal violations arising from tribal contracts with Internet and manufacturing companies.

Gwen Florio

Tags: buffalo post, Joe Shirley Jr., Native American news, Navajo Nation