Share on Facebook

February 8, 2010 

By Scott  

By SCOTT MCKIE B.P. 

ONE FEATHER STAFF

The Mound at the Kituwah Site (Photo by Scott McKie B.P./One Feather staff)  

Kituwah, the Mother Town of the Cherokee, is in danger according to many tribal members who are opposing the construction of a Duke Energy Substation near the site.  Tribal Council passed a resolution during their regular session on Thursday, Feb. 4 denouncing the construction plans. 

“Kituwah is the most important sacred site to the Cherokee people, and it is amazing that it remains intact into the 21^st Century,” said Principal Chief Michell Hicks who submitted the resolution.  “We purchased the site for the sole purpose of ensuring protection for future generations of Cherokees and it is our responsibility, as a Nation, to continue that work.  We have a positive relationship with Duke Energy and with Swain County and I feel confident we can reach an amicable solution once we have an opportunity to formally consult with Duke Energy on this important matter.” 

Paige Layne, Duke spokesperson, commented on Monday, Feb. 8, “We have a long standing and good working relationship with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and I think it’s built on mutual respect.  Ultimately, we want to work with the Tribe to expand our energy offerings to them in a way that is culturally sensitive.” 

The resolution passed by Tribal Council on Thursday states, “It is this Tribe’s solemn responsibility and moral duty to care for and protect all of Kituwah from further desecration and degradation by human agency in order to preserve the integrity of the most important site for the origination and continuation of Cherokee culture, heritage, history and identity.”  

Continue reading Eastern Bank of Cherokee Tribe opposes Substation at Kituwah Site

Share on Facebook

NIEA State of Native Education Address 

Vice President Teresa Makuakāne-Drechsel

February 8, 2010

Photo courtesy of NIEA: NIEA Vice-President Dr. Teresa Makuakane-Drechsel meets two students volunteering for the Summit from the Native American Leadership Program from George Washington University

Aloha Pumehana Kākou, 

On behalf of the Board of Directors for the National Indian Education Association, I welcome you to the 5^th State of Native Education Address. My name is Teresa Haunani Makuakāne-Drechsel. I am Native Hawaiian, and have the honor of serving as this year’s Vice-President for the National Indian Education Association. Our Board President, Ms. Patricia Whitefoot, would have given this address, but she has been delayed by the inclement weather. So I extend her heartfelt greetings to everyone who is here in Washington, D.C. to attend NIEA’s 13^th Annual Legislative Summit. 

Photo courtesy of NIEA: NIEA Vice-President Dr. Teresa Makuakane-Drechsel delivers the 2010 State of Native Education Address

I want to first acknowledge the people who made it possible for us to be here this morning—our NIEA staff—Ashley Martin (Mohawk), Administrative Assistant; Kerry Venegas, High School Policy Coordinator; Michael Woestehoff (Diné), Communications and Membership Coordinator; Wanda Johnson (Diné), Convention and Events Manager; and current Executive Director, Lillian Sparks (Rosebud / Oglala Lakota). As many of you may know, Ms. Sparks was nominated in October 2009 by President Obama to be Commissioner for the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), and at the end of January 2010 she went before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs for her confirmation hearing. We thank Senator Dorgan for his support of Ms. Sparks’ appointment, and we fully expect her to be confirmed soon. While we are sad about her leaving NIEA, Lillian epitomizes all that NIEA stands for—helping Native people to remain grounded in their traditional cultures, values and communities, while furthering their educational and professional opportunities. We honor her for her professional achievements and commitment to Indian Education, and we lift up her parents—Leroy and Georgeline Sparks—for their support of her work with NIEA. 

In anticipation of this transition, we have brought on-board Dr. Gerald Gipp as the Interim Executive Director for NIEA. Dr. Gipp officially started in this capacity on February 2, 2010, but he is no stranger to NIEA or to Indian Education. Jerry, as he is affectionately known, is the highly revered Executive Director of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, where he led the organization for 8 years. Jerry is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, and has extensive background in the field of American Indian education and policy development. We are privileged to have Dr. Gipp undertake this leadership role during a critical time in NIEA’s history.   

NIEA was founded in 1970 and is the largest and oldest Native education organization in the U.S., with over 3,000 members. Its mission is to “support traditional Native cultures and values, to enable Native learners to become contributing members of their communities, to promote Native control of educational institutions, and to improve educational opportunities and resources for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians throughout the United States.” 

Continue reading National Indian Education Association’s State of Native Education Address and Summit

Share on Facebook

By FELICIA FONSECA
The Associated Press
Wednesday, February 3, 2010; 7:58 PM

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Motivational speaker James Arthur Ray was arrested Wednesday afternoon on three counts of manslaughter for deaths that happened after a sweat lodge ceremony he led in northern Arizona last year. Ray was taken into custody on an indictment at his attorney’s office in Prescott, and was to be booked into the Yavapai County jail in Camp Verde, sheriff’s officials said. His bond was set at $5 million.

Ray’s attorneys said Wednesday he surrendered to authorities but that the charges were unjust and they were confident he would be exonerated in court.

“This was a terrible accident, but it was an accident, not a criminal act,” Ray attorney Luis Li said. “James Ray cooperated at every step of the way, providing information and witnesses to the authorities showing that no one could have foreseen this accident.”

The Oct. 8 sweat lodge ceremony was intended to be the highlight of Ray’s five-day “Spiritual Warrior” event at a retreat he rented just outside Sedona. He told participants, who paid more than $9,000 each to attend, that it would be one of the most intense experiences of their lives.

About halfway through the two-hour ceremony, some began feeling ill, vomiting and collapsing inside the 415-square-foot structure. Despite that, Ray urged participants to push past their physical weaknesses and chided those who wanted to leave, authorities and participants have said.

Two people – Kirby Brown, 38, of Westtown, N.Y., and James Shore, 40, of Milwaukee – passed out inside the sweat lodge and died that night at a hospital. Liz Neuman, 49, of Prior Lake, Minn., slipped into a coma and died a week later. Eighteen others were hospitalized.

Neuman’s daughter, Andrea Puckett, said Wednesday she was pleased with Ray’s arrest and the effort authorities put into the investigation.

“It helps that he is, for now, being stopped from doing what he’s doing, from harming anyone else, and that’s the biggest relief for me and my family right now,” said Puckett, of Bloomington, Minn.

Participant Beverley Bunn previously told The Associated Press that Ray did nothing to help the sick during the October sweat lodge ceremony. Following Ray’s arrest Wednesday, she said she had “many tears of joy.”

“It’s kind of a strange feeling,” said Bunn, who was not among the hospitalized. “We’ve been waiting a long time.”

Ray’s attorneys have said he took all necessary safety precautions and wasn’t aware of any medical problems until the ceremony was over. Ray declined to speak with authorities that night, on the advice of his attorneys, public records have shown.

Authorities said they quickly determined the deaths were not accidental and focused their investigation on Ray. They conducted hundreds of interviews that reached into Ray’s past ceremonies and events, including one in which a man fell unconscious during a 2005 sweat lodge ceremony at the same retreat near Sedona.

The self-help superstar who teaches people about financial and spiritual wealth uses free seminars to recruit followers to more expensive events. His company, James Ray International, is based in Carlsbad, Ca.

Ray’s representatives have said there was no way Ray could have predicted the night’s tragic events. Had he heard any pleas for help inside the pitch-black sweat lodge, he would have stopped the ceremony immediately, Ray’s attorneys said.

Documents released in the investigation showed that some people lost consciousness and others suffered broken bones at past Ray-led events and that Ray largely ignored medical problems that arose.

In the weeks after the deaths, lawsuits accused Ray and the owners of the Angel Valley Retreat Center where the sweat lodge was held of negligence and fraud. Ray’s publisher postponed two book releases, and Ray canceled his appearances amid heavy criticism from survivors.

Amayra Hamilton, one of the Angel Valley owners, has said the staff had minimal contact with Ray over the seven years he held sweat lodges there, and that other groups had used the same lodge for ceremonies without any problems.

Bunn said she believes the “Spiritual Warrior” events should be called off indefinitely.

“It frightens me that I didn’t stand back a little more,” she said.

Share on Facebook

LEDYARD KING • Argus Leader Washington Bureau • January 30, 2010

WASHINGTON – The head of the country’s largest Native American advocacy group Friday called on the federal government to give tribes more aid for impoverished reservations and greater authority to use their lands as they see fit. 

Share on Facebook

Wayne Ortman Journal staff 

Roger Lawien This Jan. 29, 2010 photo provided by the South Dakota Rural Electric Association shows Moreau-Grand Electric Cooperative crew digging a 4-mile long trench in the snow north of South Dakota’s Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation to get to two broken wires following power and water outages caused by an ice storm. South Dakota Rural Electric Association spokeswoman Brenda Kleinjan said electricity has been restored to most population centers on Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe reservation. Hundreds of people in rural areas remained without power Monday Feb. 1, 2010. (AP Photo/South Dakota Rural Electric Association, Roger Lawien)  

EAGLE BUTTE — Parts of a sprawling South Dakota reservation still were without water and electricity Monday, nearly two weeks after winter storms toppled thousands of power lines, caused water pipes to freeze and burst, and forced more than a dozen residents on kidney dialysis to seek treatment at another reservation. 

A fierce ice storm hit the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation overnight Jan. 20, coating roads and electrical lines and forcing shops and schools to close. Before residents could recover from the ice, a blizzard tore through the Dakotas, bringing a few inches of snow and wind gusts between 25 and 50 mph. 

Several shelters and distribution centers were set up around the reservation, and an 8 p.m. curfew was imposed after some looting took place last week. At the height of the outages, about 14,000 people in the region were without water — most of them on the impoverished reservation that covers an area larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined. 

About 8,000 people live on the reservation, among the rolling, grass-covered prairies of north central South Dakota that includes Dewey and Ziebach counties. The tribe says unemployment on the reservation is at 80 percent. 

More than half of Ziebach County and 38 percent of Dewey County lived in poverty in 2005, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Tribal Chairman Joseph Brings Plenty said Monday that no deaths had been reported, though a few people reported becoming ill because of fumes from gas-powered heaters. 

“I thank the Creator for that, because we could have had quite a few people perish in this,” he said. 

Continue reading Two weeks after mammoth storm, Cheyenne River Reservation still struggling

Share on Facebook

Oglala Sioux Tribe
PINE RIDGE INDIAN RESERVATION
Loretta Afraid of Bear~Cook
“Anpetu Luta Win”

Post Office Box 2070 ~ Pine Ridge, So. Dakota ~ 57770
Mobile: (605) 441 | 5692 ~ Fax: (605) 867 | 6076
Email: Loretta@oglala.org

Office of Public Relations
Tuesday, January 26, 2010FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE:

OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE’S POSITION ON RECENT FINANCIAL SOLICITING IN THE NAME OF THE OGLALA SIOUX TRIBE IN REGARDS TO SEVERE WEATHER STATE OF EMERGENCY RELIEF.

For more information, contact:
Loretta Afraid of Bear-Cook, OST Public Relations
C/O: OST Media Center
Telephone: (605) 454-2592 | e-mail: Loretta@oglala.org

PINE RIDGE, So. DAKOTA – The Oyate (People) of the Oglala Sioux Tribe on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation recently experienced a series of harsh blizzards and extreme weather beginning in late December. Hundreds of families were ill prepared for the high winds, whiteouts and heavy snowfall that closed all roads and highways across the reservation. Many households eventually ran out of propane, firewood, food and medical supplies.Tribal President, Theresa Two Bulls, immediately established a Command Post out of her office and organized the Emergency Management Team to begin the task of assessing the situation. The team paid particular attention to tribal members with severe medical needs such as heart and dialysis patients. The Oglala (Sioux) Lakota Housing Authority under the direction of Paul Iron Cloud; the Energy Assistance Director, Denise King Red Owl; Monica Terkildsen, Emergency Response; and David Kelly from the OST Transportation Department; all provided the core guidance to the agencies to ensure that all calls were addressed. Without the care and compassion of all resource agencies, the task of responding to the needs would have been next to impossible. The disaster prompted other tribes, non-profit corporation and individuals to respond with food, clothing and financial assistance. Sadly, the disaster had also resulted in tribal members and outside organizations “scamming” for funding on the internet claiming to raise funds for the poor and needy on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. President Two Bulls advises the public that these Organizations have not received permission from the Oglala Sioux Tribe to solicit funds on behalf of the Oglala tribal membership. President Two Bulls requests that any Tribe, organization or individual who wish to donate for emergency assistance can send directly to the Oglala Sioux Tribe in care of Dean Patton, Treasurer, Oglala Sioux Tribe, P.O. Box 2070, Pine Ridge, South Dakota 57770. Mr. Patton has established an emergency fund for such donations. Funds will be used exclusively for heating costs for electrical, propane, fuel oil and firewood needs. The Housing and Energy Assistance funds have been depleted. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is very grateful to the organizations, tribes and individuals who have contacted President Two Bulls with generous outpouring of help for this ongoing need. President Two Bulls also expresses her sincere gratitude to all who have kept the Oglala Sioux Tribe in their prayers. She can be contacted via her direct line: (605) 867-4021, or e-mail: theresatb@oglala.org. 

Update: Due to the State of Emergency on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation, the Oglala Sioux Tribe opened the doors at the Prairie Wind Casino Hotel to care for 25 dialysis patients and 10 supporting staff from Cheyenne River. According to media reports, electrical power will be restored in approximately 10 to 14 days.

For more information and updates, log on to the official website of the Oglala Sioux Tribe:

www.oglalalakotanation.org

Share on Facebook

Storm Takes Steep Toll on Destitute Tribe

By JOEL MILLMAN

Juanita Oros/West River Eagle News

Fallen power poles at a community pow-wow ground after a storm hit Ziebach and Dewey counties in South Dakota.

A tiny tribe of Lakota Sioux has been battling wind, rain and subzero temperatures this week as ice storms lash one of the U.S.’s poorest communities and leave thousands without electricity, heat or drinking water.

“There’s been winters this bad before, but not with rain so bad it freezes the power lines and snaps the poles,” said Joseph Brings Plenty, the 38-year old chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe, whose reservation lies about 200 miles northeast of Rapid City, S.D. The tribal chairman said 500 power lines were brought down in a blizzard in November, and that between 2,000 and 3,000 more have been lost since Friday from ice storms.

The Cheyenne River tribe is made up of four of the seven bands of Lakota Sioux Indians in the Dakotas, whose reservations also include the Pine Ridge, Standing Rock and Rosebud bands. Power-line damage across all reservations may exceed 5,000 downed poles, which tribal authorities said may take weeks or months for utility companies to repair.

“These events are showing just how painfully inadequate our emergency response capabilities are. Because of one ice storm, we had over 3,000 downed electrical lines and mass power outages,” said Tracey Fischer, chief executive and president of First Nations Oweesta Corporation, a national nonprofit working on economic development in Indian country.

Continue reading Thousands of Downed Power Poles Leave South Dakota Sioux Reservation Without Heat, Water; Melting Snow to Use in Toilets

Share on Facebook

For immediate release:

Lillian Sparks and her mother Georgeline. Photo provided by NIEA

Lillian Sparks joins other prominent American Indian appointments in the Obama Administration including; Interior Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk, White House Senior Policy Adviser for Native American Affairs Kim Teehee, White House Associate Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Jodi Gillette, and Indian Health Service Director Yvette Roubideaux.

As some of you might know, Lillian Sparks (Oglala Lakota) has been nominated by United States President Obama to serve as the Commissioner of Administration for Native Americans, Department of Health and Human Services.

She gave a brief testimony, accompanied by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe President, Rodney Bordeaux.

US President Obama has been attentive to Native issues and she has been asked to implement the President’s agenda for Tribal communities.

In her capacity as NIEA’s executive director, she has brought national attention to education issues concerning American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians for almost 6 years.

This appointment will cover not only education, but economic and infrastructure development, early childhood education, language preservation, and the principals of tribal self-determination, tribal consultation, and tribal inclusion.

She told the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, “I look forward to working with the members of this Committee to provide essential services to Native American communities across the country.” All of the Committee was very enthusiastic about her nomination.

This position serves the American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities within the Health and Human Services. The position has been vacant for over a year, last served by Quanah Crossland Stamps (Cherokee Nation).

Lillian will continue to be with the National Indian Education Association and will host their Legislative Summit, held this February 8-10 in Washington, DC. 

### 

More on the Legislative Summit is at www.niea.org

The mission of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) is to support traditional Native cultures and values; to  enable  Native learners to become contributing members of their communities; to promote Native control of educational institutions; and to improve educational opportunities and resources for American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians throughout the United States. The National Indian Education Association, a 501(c) (3) membership-based organization, was founded in 1970.

Share on Facebook

Share on Facebook