Michigan Ottawa
seek federal recognition
Washington, D.C. (AP)
A Grand Rapids-based tribe asked a Senate panel during June to speed up the process of the government’s review over whether it should become federally recognized, but an antigambling group cautioned it could lead to a new casino. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Grand River Bands of Ottawa chairman Ron Yob said millions of dollars in federal funding are at stake if the Department of Interior delays its review past a December deadline for tribes to receive funds through a 1997 federal law. “If no action is taken within the next few months, the Grand River Band will be denied millions of dollars that has been specifically set aside for the Band by federal law,” Levin said.
New president decides against taking the IAIA job
Santa Fe, New Mexico (AP)
A Navajo woman chosen earlier this year to lead the Institute of American Indian Arts has decided not to take the job. “This is an amicable parting of the ways,” Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet said during June. “IAIA is a great institution doing great things, and I think its future is very bright.” Manuelito-Kerkvliet, 51, did not give a reason for her departure and declined comment further. Manuelito-Kerkvliet was the first woman president of the Navajo Nation’s Dine College in Tsaile, Ariz., holding that post from 2000 to 2003.
Fargo creates American Indian commission
Fargo, North Dakota (AP)
This city has created a Native American Commission that supporters say will give American Indians a louder, stronger presence in the community. Fargo city commissioners during June voted unanimously to form the mayor-appointed body. It will consist of a city commissioner, Fargo School Board member and seven representatives of the local American Indian community. City Commissioner Linda Coates said the need for a Native American Commission arose from a recent health survey of American Indians in Fargo and the fact that the United Way of Cass-Clay is cutting funding on July 1 to Native American Programs.
Former chairwoman convicted of terrorizing
Bismarck, North Dakota (AP)
The former chairwoman of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa has been convicted of terrorizing and reckless endangerment after threatening two men with a rifle, the U.S. attorney’s office says. Twila Martin Kekahbah, 59, was found guilty June 29 by a federal court jury, U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said. Authorities said the charges stem from an incident last Nov. 26, when two men accompanied by a tribal officer came to Kekahbah’s home near Belcourt to repossess a piece of equipment belonging to her brother, Gerald Martin, who had a construction business. “Kekahbah became upset when she was told their purpose, produced a .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle, and threatened to shoot the men if they did not leave,” the federal prosecutors said in a statement.
FBI, BIA investigating Browning stabbing
Great Falls, Montana (AP)
The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs are investigating the stabbing of a Browning man who died during June. Aarie Mad Plume, a 25-year-old construction laborer, was pronounced dead at a Browning hospital after suffering two stab wounds, one to the chest and one just below the right ear, said Deputy Tom Seifert of the Glacier County sheriff and coroner’s office. Mad Plume died from cardiac arrest due to excessive internal bleeding, Seifert said. FBI officials said no suspects have been identified, but witnesses were being interviewed.
Longtime Yakama leader, William Yallup Sr., passes on
Toppenish, Washington (AP)
William Yallup Sr., a longtime Yakama Nation leader, passed away June 17 at his Toppenish home. He was 79. Born in a tepee at the annual Labor Day Rodeo in Ellensburg in 1926, Yallup was raised with traditional Yakama teachings and spoke both Yakama and English. He spent 12 years in the armed forces, served as the tribe’s chief judge and sat on regional boards dealing with resource preservation and Northwest tribes. He began serving in tribal government in 1960 as the assistant to the Tribal Council secretary, then was elected to the Tribal Council in 1972. He retired from the post in February 2005 for health reasons. Yallup was a direct descendent of treaty signer Wish-Och-Kmpits. He is survived by his wife, Martha, son William Yallup Jr., a brother and two sisters.
Beaucage acclaimed as Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief
Sand Point First Nation, Canada (ICC)
Incumbent Grand Council Chief John Beaucage will co-ordinate collective political action for Anishinabek Nation member communities for another three years. Beaucage, 54, was not opposed in his bid to continue an ambitious agenda he launched after a mid-term election in October 2004. “I am once again honoured and humbled to fulfill this role to represent our 50,000 Anishinabek citizens,” said Beaucage, who was installed in a traditional ceremony in front of 42 voting delegates during June at the organization’s annual general assembly.
Medical journal says Indigenous health worst
London, England (ICC)
The medical journal The Lancet, in collaboration with the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Survival International, has recently launched a high-profile series of articles highlighting the shocking health crisis facing Indigenous peoples worldwide. The series provides evidence that across rich and poor countries, th health of Indigenous peoples who have suffered colonialism and loss of land is significantly worse than that of the rest of the population.To read the Lancet's articles
On the Net: www.thelancet.com/
collections/series/indigenous_health
Burned-out Crow Creek dorm to be torn down
Pierre, South Dakota (AP)
A dormitory destroyed by fire 14 months ago is finally coming down at the Crow Creek Tribal School in Stephan. Scott Raue, the school superintendent, said the Bureau of Indian Affairs has approved demolition before the fall school term begins. The shell of the old dorm is a safety hazard with the walls and roofing material crumbling and being blown around, he said. Investigators weren’t able to determine what started the fire in April 2005. Students escaped without injury.
Neo-Nazi leader pleads not guilty to hate crimes
Salt Lake City, Utah (AP)
The leader of a neo-Nazi group pleaded not guilty June 26 to charges in a federal hate-crimes indictment accusing him and two others of assaulting a Mexican immigrant and an American Indian. Shaun A. Walker, 38, of Hillsboro, W.Va., chairman of the National Alliance, made his plea before U.S. Magistrate David Nuffer, who sent him back to the Salt Lake County jail. Walker was assigned a court-appointed lawyer, Rob Youngbird. The two other defendants have already pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ziegler sent to prison for assaulting elderly woman
Pierre, South Dakota (AP)
A Fort Thompson man will serve nearly four years in prison for assaulting an elderly woman and two police officers. Zane Cameron Ziegler, 27, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 46 months in custody. He was convicted of one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury to an 82-year-old woman near Fort Thompson in February 2005. Ziegler was also found guilty of two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer. Those incidents involved two Bureau of Indian Affairs officers in July 2003 near Fort Thompson.
Pojoaque police officer receives another
drunken driving citation
Pojoaque, New Mexico (AP)
A Pojoaque tribal police officer who was fired from the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Department after his first drunken-driving charge has been cited again for the same thing. Joe Coriz, 36, has been suspended from active duty, said Pojoaque Gov. George Rivera. The governor refused to discuss details of Coriz’s arrest and said he wasn’t sure what will happen to the officer. In the latest incident, which occurred June 16 on N.M. 22 in Sandoval County, Coriz was ticketed for aggravated DWI because he refused to take a breathalyzer test. He also was cited for careless driving and negligent use of a deadly weapon, according to the Sandoval County sheriff’s report. A shotgun was seen behind the driver’s seat of the pickup truck Coriz was driving.
