Wolf Spirit newsletter: May 2011

METIS/DISTRICT14

WOLF SPIRIT Newsletter May 2011

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Aquai (greetings)

Spring is here. This is the time for re-birth. Planting gardens, renewing your vows to Mother Earth and your vows to yourself. Things start over and grow stronger with each year. We should pay attention to Mother Earth and learn from her lessons. She shows us we can grow again, stronger than before and grow our roots deeper for more stability. Listen to our Mother, she would never show you the wrong way.

This is also the time for powwows, seeing old friends and fry bread! We have craft/socials every Saturday so it is also the time for eating lots of good foods and dancing off the extra pounds.

Don’t forget to give thanks for this beautiful weather. It seems like I have been waiting forever for it!!

Happy Spring.

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Pendleton to Sell White-Buffalo-Hair and Wool Blended Blankets

In fall 2010 Pendleton Woolen Mills debuted navajo-style 'medicine blankets' made of blended wool and white-buffalo hair shed by bison with a larger run planned for 2011. OregonLive.com reported.

"I'm hopeful we might be able to make up to 200 of the blankets in the coming year." Pendleton spokesman Robert Chrisnacht told OregonLive.com.

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Monday, April 25, 2011 | By Phil Bicker

Broken Treaties: Aaron Huey’s Pine Ridge Billboard Project

The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, home of the Lakota Sioux, is ground zero for Native American Issues. Best known to most Americans as the site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, where some 300 men, women and children were slaughtered by US soldiers, today Pine Ridge is one of the poorest counties in America. The life expectancy of men is 47-years–the same as for men in Afghanistan and Somalia. The unemployment levels on the reservation are about 90%. Most people are living on just $3,000 a year.

For the past six years, photographer Aaron Huey has trained his camera on these problems. But, he says, it took him five years to understand what the real story was. “When I first went to Pine Ridge,” says Huey, “the focus was on getting pictures of gangs, superficial violence, drugs and extreme circumstances.” It wasn’t until he was asked to present a TED talk that he pieced together the history–For the first time he saw the reality–how the land was stolen from the Lakota through a series of massacres disguised as battles, and the broken treaties that followed. “It was,” says Huey, “a calculated and systematic destruction of a people.”

To spread the message about the broken treaties–and let people know “where the statistics come from,” says Huey–the photographer has devised an ambitious plan. Collaborating with two artists, Ernesto Yerena and Shepard Fairey, (the latter is best known for his portrait for Obama’s “Hope” campaign), Huey is creating a nationwide billboard campaign. And giving the street artists no-holds-barred access to his work to design it. “I told them they can cut them up,” says Huey, “and put them together, however they want.”

He wants to put these collaborations on billboards, subway platforms and buses. “I want to shift people’s attention to outlets for action,” says Huey explaining that the posters direct potential donors to grass roots Native organizations, as well information on standing treaties between tribes and the US government, and details about broken treaties.

To print posters and rent space on billboards, Huey is looking to raise $30,000 through crowd funding site Emphas.is. “So many crowd-sourcing projects are vanity book projects or fundraisers for gallery shows. I wanted to do more than that,” says Huey. “I feel like The Lakota deserve better.”

So far Huey’s raised nearly $14,000 and has been using his own credit cards to start printing. If he falls short of his fund raising goal on Emphas.is, Huey hopes his supporters will help him by pasting up posters up in their own communities. “I’m looking for partners, not just donors.” says Huey. “I want help in the form of boots on the ground.”

While Huey is careful to state that he is not an “activist,” he has certainly moved his photojournalism to another level. “I realized my role was to be an amplifier for the Lakota’s message,” says Huey. “And at the end of the day, they wanted people to hear that they want their treaties honored.”

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Tribes oppose oil field development near sacred Bear Butte
Friday, April 22, 2011

The South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment is considering an application for an oil field near sacred Bear Butte.

The board previously approved a permit for Nakota Energy to develop 960 acres near the site. But the decision failed to comply with state law so it was reopened.

Tribal leaders told the board that the oil field will interfere with religious practices at Bear Butte. "There is a lot of land in South Dakota and there are areas much more suited to be exploited if that is the desire of the state," said Michael Jandreau, chairman of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, the Associated Press reported.

The board will make a decision after its May 18 meeting.

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Comanche man wraps up three-month Trail of Tears walk
Thursday, April 21, 2011

Ron Cooper, a member of the Comanche Nation, spent three months retracing the Trail of Tears, the forced walk made by ancestors of the Cherokee Nation.

Cooper took the northern route of the trail, through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois and Missouri. He said the trip taught him that all tribes have had difficult dealings with the U.S.

"The more I learned about the history, the more I discovered how much all the tribes have in common," Cooper told The Tulsa World. "It may have happened at different times and under different circumstances, but all the tribes have faced hardship and adversity."

Cooper ended his journey yesterday in Oklahoma.

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Joe Jackson, Gila River man, killed serving in Afghanistan
Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Joe M. Jackson, a member of the Gila River Indian Community, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday. He was 22.

Jackson joined the U.S. Marine Corps two years ago. He had only been deployed in Afghanistan since March.

"That was my best friend. I lost my best friend," said his foster father, Shawn Marceau, a member of the Blackfeet Nation, The Yakima Herald-Republic reported.

Jackson spent most of his years on the Yakama Nation in Washington, where Marceau lives. He always wanted to enlist in the military and came from a long line of Marines.

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"When people live far from the scenes of the Great Spirit's making, it's easy for them to forget his laws."

-- Walking Buffalo, STONEY

Society today is way off track. Unfortunately, many Indian people are caught up in these modern times. The Elders are telling us we must wake up! We must come back to the culture because this is where His laws are. If we don't follow these laws, we will be unhappy. We cannot do things just because everybody is doing them. This does not make it right. We must follow what the Great Spirit says we must do. We need to pray hard for the courage to come back and live according to the culture. It will be difficult at first but worth it in the end.

Great Spirit, today, let me listen to the warnings of the Elders.

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Lee Sprague: Mercury pollution from coal a threat to tribe
Thursday, April 21, 2011

"I see the TES Filer coal-fired power plant in Manistee every day. My children and community live in its shadow and breathe its air pollution. Piles of coal are on the shoreline of Manistee Lake, which drains to Lake Michigan. We are under current threat from coal ash waste contaminating water supplies in area considered to be one of the top ten fresh water fisheries in the continental U.S.

Mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants threatens my tribe, the Little River Band of Ottawa. Compared to others in Michigan, mercury pollution has a disproportionate impact on the health and welfare of our peoples, especially our children and our elders.

Mercury, a potent neurotoxin, pollutes our air from coal-fired power plants and then falls into waterways from rain or snow. Toxic mercury then accumulates in fish and the people who eat fish, putting pregnant women and their babies at risk for serious developmental and neurological problems. Mercury exposure threatens a child’s ability to walk, talk, read, write and learn.

Mercury pollution is a threat to all of us in Michigan, but my tribe’s traditional lifeways result in increased exposure to coal-fired power plant contaminants in the air, water and land.According to the EPA, 15.3 percent of white women of childbearing age have blood mercury levels above the health guideline, compared to 31.5 percent of Native women of childbearing age. "

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"Think only about what is holy. Empty your mind."

-- Archie Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA

If we let our minds wander, we will come up with a lot of junk; maybe bad thoughts about a brother or sister, maybe angry thoughts, maybe self-pity thoughts. Our minds are not the boss. We can instruct our mind to think about whatever we want to think about. We cannot stop thinking, but we can choose what to think about. The Elders say we move towards what we think about. That's why they say, "Think about what is holy, think about the Grandfathers, think about culture, think about values, think about ceremonies, and think about good."

Great Spirit, today, empty my mind and let me experience what it would be like to think about what is holy.

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Connecticut GOP apologizes for 'too many chiefs' remark
Thursday, April 21, 2011

Republican lawmakers in Connecticut apologized for putting an insensitive comment in its budget plan.

In calling for the elimination of more than 1,300 state managerial jobs, GOP lawmaker said some stage agencies suffer with "too many chiefs and not enough Indians." The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation said the comment was offensive.

"It was an unintentional mistake, but insensitive nonetheless and will not be repeated. We apologize to Native Americans and anyone else who rightly takes offense," GOP leaders said in response, The Connecticut Post reported.

Connecticut is home to two federally-recognized tribes and several state-recognized tribes.

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Ute Tribe in Utah plans more oil drilling on the reservation
Thursday, April 21, 2011

The Ute Tribe announces plans for more oil development on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah.

The tribe's Ute Energy company entered into a development agreement with Newfield Production Company. The two will explore, develop and market oil and gas on about 19,000 acres on the reservation.

Ute Energy also acquired about 5,300 acres and eight oil wells from El Paso Assets. The tribe plans to drill 54 wells this year alone.

“On behalf of the business committee we are proud to support the growth of the tribe’s company Ute Energy. We believe these two new business agreements will provide new economic opportunities to our existing joint efforts in these areas," Chairman Richard Jenks Jr. said in a press release. "We believe that Ute Energy’s success will position the tribe to realize the vision of taking a more active role in the development of its oil and gas resources in the Uintah Basin and provide long term benefits to the tribe.”

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Lawyer looking for beneficiaries who object to Cobell deal
Wednesday, April 20, 2011

An attorney in California wants to represent Indian beneficiaries who object to the $3.4 billion settlement in the Indian trust fund lawsuit.

Darrell Palmer says the Cobell legal team is requesting $223 million in fees -- "one of the largest fee requests in US history." He also says lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell and the other named plaintiffs "are requesting huge and unprecedented awards."

Palmer, who has experience in class action settlements, wants to file objections on behalf of beneficiaries "at no charge," according to his website, classactionfairness.com. He plans to appear at the June 20 fairness hearing in Washington, D.C.

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Stephanie Woodard: Abuses at schools for Indian children
Wednesday, April 20, 2011

"The letters are casual, even chatty, from officials of St. Francis Mission, on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation, in South Dakota, to Catholic Church superiors. The mission ran one of many boarding schools to which Native American parents were required to send their children from the late 1800s until the 1970s, when most of the institutions were closed down or transferred to tribal control.

"All goes along quietly out here," one priest wrote in 1968, with "good religious and lay faculty" at the mission. There are troublesome staffers, though, including "Chappy," who is "fooling around with little girls -- he had them down the basement of our building in the dark, where we found a pair of panties torn." Later that year, Brother Francis Chapman was still abusing children, though by 1970, he was "a new man," the reports say. In 1973, Chappy again "has difficulty with little girls."

Some documents are more discreet than explicit. In 1967, two nuns at St. Paul's Indian Mission, on the Yankton Sioux Reservation, also in South Dakota, had excessive "interest in" and "dealings with" older male students, says a report to Church higher-ups. (St. Paul's, pictured below, was renamed Marty Indian School when the tribe took it over in 1975; 2008 graduation tipis are shown in the foreground.) Another nun has "too close a circle of friends, especially two boys."

What ex-students describe as rampant sexual abuse in South Dakota's half-dozen boarding schools occurred against a backdrop of extreme violence. "I'll never forget my sister's screams as the nuns beat her with a shovel after a pair of scissors went missing," said Mary Jane Wanna Drum, 64, who attended a Catholic institution in Sisseton, South Dakota, for the children of her tribe, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate."

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CONNECTING WITH OUR ANIMAL SPIRIT GUIDES

.....Messenger.....Shadow.....Journey.....Lifetime.....

.....MOOSE.....

...Pride...Self-Esteem...Emotion...Grace...Stamina...Wisdom...Discernment...Determination...

Moose Medicine has been described as a sacred and unique energy, although full of contradiction. Moose can be very awkward, yet so graceful. A very large animal, yet able to move swiftly and silently. There is a certain balance between it's gentleness and strength.

Moose is associated with primal feminine energy and maternal forces. It is associated strongly with water, a symbol of emotion and balance.

The word "Moose" comes from "Moz" or "Moos" in Algonquin, and translates into "Twig-Eater."

As well as field grasses and tender branches from willow trees, Moose is quite at home and loves to graze in the swamps, ponds, rivers, streams, and lakes. They can dive to the bottom of a lake (as deep as 20 feet) and spend up to a minute underwater before resurfacing with mouthfuls of tender weeds and roots rich in nutrient, water lilies being a favorite. It can be much like going into the depths of your own mind and returning with new life energy and nourishment.

The Moose has excellent depth-perception for gauging jumps, or just running over and through the many different terrains they come in contact with. They are headstrong and steadfast animals, with an uncanny ability to camouflage themselves when necessary. Their energy can teach balance between invisibility and the power of presence.

Moose Medicine can be such a strong energy, that it can be overwhelming at times. The Moose is very protective of their young. The bulls have been known to attack and kill humans who have either disturbed them, or gotten near their young, and the cows are just as fearless where their family is concerned.

Fearing only the Grizzly Bear, they can still usually out-run or out-swim them if need be. Moose relies strongly on instinct and intuition for survival.

Moose or Elk? Although they are from the same family, the largest members of the deer family, there are many different species. In Europe the name 'Elk' refers to the same animal as the North American animal we call the 'Moose'. They can grow to a height of 6-8 feet high at the shoulder. The females, or "cows" can weigh 600-800 lbs. or more. The males, or "bulls" can weigh 900-1,800 lbs. or more! Normally a solitary animal, they have been know to join herds that can include 60 or more animals at a time. Moose can run at speeds of about 35-mph, and swim as fast as 6-mph. They have a life-expectancy of about 20 years in the wild.

Moose Medicine teaches us to learn when to listen to what others have to say, and when it's time for us to have our own say on a particular subject. It teaches us to study, then act accordingly and decisively.

Those who are able to connect with Moose, however it happens, are said to be able to receive and create a special and sacred energy. Their appearance in dreams has been said to symbolize a long and good life, and is a strong omen that teaches strength, wisdom, and determination.

If Moose Medicine comes to you, it can also teach you the important lesson that not everything in life is as it seems. Sometimes we need to search more deeply to understand.

Giant dweller of forest and marsh-land,

I face a time of uncertainty.

Fill me with your confidence, your wisdom.

Teach me when to speak and when to be silent.

Help me find a point of balance and harmony

That success may be mine in honor.

.....Author Unknown

... Wishing You Balance & Harmony,

Dancing-Night-Crow

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Albuquerque Journal

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Tiny N.M. Town Altered Archaeology

By Andy Stiny
Of the Journal

FOLSOM — You think this dusty spot on the map, population 75, with abandoned buildings and no store, gas station or cafe has nothing to offer? Think again.

The town 40 miles east of Raton will forever be entwined with one of the outstanding revelations of archaeology. But it took a curious black cowboy, a deadly flood and a motley group of amateur scientists to put the puzzle pieces together. The story is all in the Folsom Museum, housed in a former mercantile store, dating from 1896.

In August 1908, telephone switchboard operator Sarah Rooke got a call that heavy rains west of town near the headwaters of the dry Cimarron River were sending a wall of water their way.
She phoned everyone she could, saving many lives in the flash flood that swept 17 people to their deaths. Rooke was found dead several days later.

Folsom was then a thriving farming town of 1,000 people. The flood exposed more of the nearby Wild Horse Arroyo so that the sides could be seen 10 feet below ground level.

In September 1908, according to a 1974 article in The American West magazine, George McJunkin was riding along the arroyo when he "noticed some white objects that had been exposed."

"(He) climbed down ... and, using a pair of a barbed-wire clippers, dug out one of the white things that proved to be a bone — one of many."

McJunkin, who was a crack shot, an expert bronc rider and former buffalo hunter, as well as one of the top cowhands in the area, "knew cattle bones when he saw them, and these had not come from any cow," according to The American West. He took the bones home and put them above his mantel.

Academic interest

In 1922, long after McJunkin told a blacksmith about his find, according to the magazine article, a motley group of amateur archaeologists from Raton, including a bank employee, a Roman Catholic priest, a striking ironworker, a student taxidermist and a Lebanese bricklayer, dug up a bagful of bones at the site.

About that time, Jesse Figgins and Harold Cook from the Colorado Museum of Natural History (now the Denver Museum of Nature and Science) had decided that man existed on the North American continent thousands of years prior to what was then commonly accepted theory. But they had no proof.

One of the excavators wrote to Figgins and took the bones to Denver in March 1926. Figgins started excavating the Folsom site in May.

In August, one of the amateur archaeologists wrote in his diary (as related in the magazine article): "I found an arrow point this morning. ... The point is near the (bison) rib. ... One barb is broken off."

Figgins sent telegrams to major museums, and the rest is history.

Until the discovery, influential archaeologists at the Smithsonian Institution believed Native peoples had been in North America for about 4,000 years, said Steve Holen, curator of archaeology for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

"The Folsom site, overnight, completely blew that (theory) out of the water. ... It completely changed the field of archaeology overnight," Holen said.

Folsom proved that people had been here since around 12,000 years ago, Holen said. The Denver museum has five or six of the original Folsom points.

Southern Methodist University archaeologist David Meltzer began a re-excavation of the site in 1997.

Meltzer was unavailable for an interview, but his new book, "First Peoples in a New World," describes the dig.

"While Folsom is one of the best-known sites in American archaeology, for a time, it was also one of the least known, scientifically speaking," he writes.

Meltzer believes the Paleo-Indian hunters used the "steep bedrock walls" of the arroyo to their advantage, possibly stampeding and trapping the animals there for the kill or killing animals as they managed to scramble free.

"By all measures this was a successful hunt. A cow-calf herd of thirty-two bison were killed in the fall when the animals were at their peak of body fat," he writes. "With a complement of flake tools and a quartzite skinning knife, the hunters dismembered the bison and packed the meaty parts for transport."

A wealth of history

Kay Thompson has worked at the Folsom Museum for 20 years.

When it opens for the summer season, the museum can draw as many as 2,000 visitors a year, said Thompson.

"For a little place, kind of off in the sticks like we are, it's quite a few visitors," she said.
On May 14, the museum is sponsoring a Dry Cimarron River History Tour, and on June 18, visitors can tour the Folsom Man site with experts.

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Tribes an issue as Iowa lawmakers debate Internet gaming

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Lawmakers in Iowa are discussing Internet gaming and the effect it could have on tribes.

The Meskwaki Tribe, the Omaha Tribe and the Winnebago Tribe operate Class III facilities in Iowa. If the state legalizes Internet gaming, the tribes will probably be able to offer it, according to one official.

"I would lean toward they could probably do whatever they want. I wouldn't hang my hat on that you could prohibit the tribes from providing any gambling that they would like," Jack Ketterer, administrator of the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission, told lawmakers on Tuesday, The Quad City Times reported.

Federal law bans Internet wagering but exceptions are allowed under state law or tribal-state Class III compacts.

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Joe Valandra: Preparing Indian warriors for bigger battles
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

"About 140 years ago, my Lakota Grandfathers and their allies won a great victory in a battle over the U.S. Seventh Cavalry at the Greasy Grass River (Little Bighorn) in Montana. Less than 10 years later, the massacre at Wounded Knee took place. Lakota elders, women and children were slaughtered and the remaining warriors forced to sign another treaty. Our community life changed forever and our culture was about to be taken brutally from us.

From this we have learned that victory is hollow if it does not bring lasting peace and security for our people. We have learned that when defeated, our people are devastated for generations.

Our grandfathers learned a bitter lesson: what the U.S. government gives, it can and most likely will take back, if not by overt means, then through deception. Deception is made manifest in policy and legislation that denies us our lands and denies us the basic dignity of adequate healthcare and social services promised in ignored and devalued treaties. The policies themselves perpetuate a view held by some that Tribes are beggars needing only a misanthropic push out the door to stand on our own two feet.

It is a given that powerful groups consider gambling to be an activity that is immoral and wrong. It would be well to remember the passage in the Christian Bible where Roman soldiers are drawing lots for the clothes of Jesus. New age charlatans use Tribal culture and beliefs as a source of income and mock a Tribe’s very way of life in the process. It must also be remembered that, until recently, in popular literature and films Tribes and Indians were often referred to and shown as godless savages."

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Dean Chavers: Indian veterans rarely honored for service
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Indians have fought in every war the United States has had since the American Revolution. They have enlisted in higher numbers than the general population, and have served valiantly. But they are seldom honored for their service. The Navajo Code Talkers, for instance, were forbidden to tell people what they had done in the Marines in World War II. They had to remain silent for more than 30 years, until their mission was declassified. They were old men before anyone knew what they had done.

More than 12,000 Indians out of a total population of 300,000 served in World War I. A total of over 45,000 Indians out of a population of 340,000 enlisted in the military in World War II. This was one-third of the able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 45.

A total of 28 Indians have been awarded the Medal of Honor. Seven Indians won the Medal of Honor in World War II. They were Lt. Jack Montgomery (Cherokee), Lt. Van Barfoot (Choctaw), Lt. Ernest Childers (Creek), Cmdr. Ernest Edwin Evans (Pawnee), Maj. Gregory (Pappy) Boyington (Coeur d’Alene), Pvt. Roy W. Harmon (Cherokee), and Pvt. John R. Reese Jr. (Creek).

Montgomery had gone to Bacone College, finishing his AA degree in 1938. He then went on to Redlands University in California, a sister college to Bacone, and finished there in 1940. He was a running back on the Bacone football team and a star baseball player. He planned to become a coach, but WWII got in the way. Instead of becoming a coach, he became a hero in battle. In February 1944, at Padiglione, Italy, Montgomery took out three echelons of enemy by himself, and took 32 prisoners. He killed 11 Germans by himself. His troops called him a one-man army.

He was not wounded that morning, but was seriously wounded that night in another battle, and had to spend the next six months in the hospital. He suffered minor pain the rest of his life from his wounds.

After the war, Montgomery only wanted to work with military veterans. He got a job at the VA Hospital in Muskogee almost as soon as he got home. After pulling another stretch of two and a half years in the Army in Korea, he went back to work for the VA Hospital, where he worked for almost 40 years. He was a proud alumnus of Bacone, and we became friends during the time I was president of Bacone. He was one of the most self-effacing people I ever met. I knew him for over a year before one of the other veteran alumni members told me he had gotten the Medal of Honor.

Montgomery was a very quiet guy. His friend Bill Pearson once said, “If you waited for Jack to tell you he got a Medal of Honor, you’d never find out.” When his future wife Joyce first saw the medal hanging on his wall, he just said, “Oh, it’s just something that happened in the war.” Someone else had to tell her what it was.

Col. Barfoot also got the Medal for actions in Italy. He took out three enemy machine gun positions by himself, captured 17 German prisoners, and took out a tank with a bazooka. He took out the first one with a hand grenade. He took out the second one with a Tommy gun. The third one gave up and let themselves be taken prisoner.

Barfoot stayed in the Army, retiring as a full Colonel. He fought in Korea and Vietnam. A few years ago, his neighbors in northern Virginia objected to him flying the flag over his house. Barfoot took them to court and won. He is still flying the flag at 90 years of age.

Col. Childers got the Medal for actions in Italy, too. He was a graduated of Chilocco Indian School, finishing there in 1937. He had entered the Army from the Oklahoma National Guard. By the time they got to Italy, he had been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.

His unit was fighting in Oliveto, Italy when he wiped out two enemy snipers, took out two German machine gun nests, and captured a German artillery observer. When he ran out of grenades, he took out the second machine gun nest with his rifle. He stayed in the Army and retired. Then he moved back home to Oklahoma. He died at the age of 87 and is buried in his hometown of Broken Arrow.

Cmdr. Evans was a career Navy man who was killed fighting in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. He had finished at the Naval Academy in 1931 and was a career Navy man. He was commander of the USS Johnson, a destroyer. The Japanese fleet outgunned him, and sunk his ship. He was wounded in the battle and his body was never recovered.

“Pappy” was without doubt the most colorful aviator in the Marines in WWII. He already had a college degree in aeronautical engineering five years before the war. He was one of only handful of Indians with a college degree when the war started. He was the leader of the famous “Black Sheep” squadron and personally shot down an incredible 26 Japanese aircraft. His book “Baa, Baa Black Sheep” was a best seller that got turned into a TV series in the 1970s. He stayed in the Marines and retired as a full Colonel.

Harmon was a squad leader in the Army. His unit was fighting in Casaglia, Italy in 1945. He destroyed three enemy positions by himself, but was severely wounded three times in the battle, and died from his wounds. President Harry Truman awarded him the Medal of Honor posthumously.

Reese was a private in the Army stationed in the Philippines. His unit attacked the Paco Railroad Station in 1945, and took it from 300 Japanese who were well dug in. He led the attack, which routed the enemy and won the battle.

Numbers of the World War II generation later distinguished themselves in civilian life. The late Dr. Sam Billison, a Navajo Code talker, became the first Navajo Indian to earn a doctorate degree, which he got from the University of Arizona in 1954. He was a teacher, principal, school superintendent, and tribal council member. He also was the founder of the National Indian Education Association, which he, Dr. Will Antell, and Dr. Rosemary Christensen formed in 1969.

Wilfred Billey was another Navajo hero of World War II. He was herding sheep one day when his grandfather rode up on his horse. “I am taking you to school,” his grandfather said. They rode 20 miles on the horse, and Wilfred entered the Navajo Methodist Mission that day. When he came home nine months later, he could speak English.

He volunteered for the Marines when a recruiter came around. The Marines sent him straight overseas out of boot camp and the Navajo Code Talkers School. He was overseas for 30 straight months. He came home to become an educator, finishing college on the GI Bill. Then he worked work more than 40 years in the schools at Shiprock, as teacher, Indian Education director, and principal. “With much pride and satisfaction, in the prime of my life, I served my country in the United States Marine Corps,” he said in a speech in 2003.

This column is an excerpt from a forthcoming book on Indian people, “American Indians and Popular Culture” from Praeger Publishers. Dean Chavers works at Catching the Dream, a national scholarship and school improvement program in Albuquerque. Contact him at CTD4DeanChavers@aol.com.

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HUD awards $61M for housing and jobs in Indian Country
Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced $61 million in grants to tribes and tribal housing organizations.

The money comes from the Indian Community Development Block Grant Program. It will be used to improve housing in Indian Country and spur economic development.

"This funding helps our country’s Native American and Alaska Native communities improve the living conditions for hard-working families who need the most help,” HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan said in a press release. “This is an investment to promote neighborhood development, produce affordable housing, and help create much-needed jobs.”

The grants went to tribes in 20 states, including Alaska.

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*****FUNNIES:

A group of 3rd, 4th and 5th graders, accompanied by two female teachers, went on a field trip to the local racetrack, (Churchill Downs) to learn about thoroughbred horses and the supporting industry (Bourbon), but mostly to see the horses.

When it was time to take the children to the bathroom, it was decided that the

girls would go with one teacher and the boys would go with the other. The

teacher assigned to the boys was waiting outside the men’s room when one of the

boys came out and told her that none of them could reach the urinal.

Having no choice, she went inside, helped the boys with their pants, and began

hoisting the little boys up one by one, holding on to their 'wee-wee’s' to direct

the flow away from their clothes.

As she lifted one, she couldn't help but notice that he was unusually well

endowed. Trying not to show that she was staring the teacher said, 'You must be

in the 5th grade?'

'No, ma'am', he replied. 'I'm riding Silver Arrow in the seventh race, but I really

appreciate your help.'’

~ ~ ~ ~

Men in Heaven

When everybody on earth was dead and waiting to enter Paradise , God appeared and said, "I want the men to make two lines. One line for the men who were true heads of their household, and the other line for the men who were dominated by their women. I want all the women to report to St. Peter."

Soon, the women were gone, and there were two lines of men.

The line of the men who were dominated by their wives was 100 miles long, and in the line of men who truly were heads of their household, there was only one man.

God said to the long line, "You men should be ashamed of yourselves, I created you to be the head of your household! You have been disobedient and have not fulfilled your purpose! Of all of you, only one obeyed. Learn from him."

God turned to the one man, "How did you manage to be the only one in this line?"

The man replied, "My wife told me to stand here."

~ ~ ~ ~

A fellow walks into a bar, notices a very large jar on the counter, and sees that it's filled to the brim with $10 bills.

He guesses there must be more than ten thousand dollars in it. He approaches the bartender and asks, 'What's with the money in the jar?'

'Well......you pay $10 and if you pass three tests, you get all the money and the keys to a brand new Lexus.'

The man certainly isn't going to pass this up. And so he asks, 'What are the three tests?'

'You must pay first...... Those are the rules,' says the bartender.

So, after thinking it over a while, the man gives the bartender the $10

and the bartender drops it into the jar.

'Okay,' the bartender says, 'Here's what you need to do:

First - You have to drink a whole quart of tequila, in a minute or less, and you can't make a face while doing it.

Second - There's a pit bull chained in the back with a bad tooth. You have to remove that tooth with your bare hands.

Third - There's a 90-year old lady upstairs who has never had sex.... You have to take care of that problem!'

The man is stunned. 'I know I paid my $10, but I'm not an idiot! I won't do it! You'd have to be nuts to drink a quart of tequila, and then do all those other things...'

'Your call,' says the bartender..... 'But, your money stays where it is.'

As time goes on, and the man has a few more drinks, he finally says,

'Where's the damn tequila?'

He grabs the bottle with both hands and drinks it as fast as he can. Tears stream down both cheeks... but he doesn't make a face, and he did it in fifty-eight seconds!

Next, he staggers out the back door, where he sees the pit bull chained to a pole. Soon the people inside the bar hear growling, biting, and screaming sounds... then nothing but silence!

Just when they think that the man surely must be dead, he staggers back into the bar,

with his shirt ripped open and there are scratches and he's bleeding all over his body.

He says, 'Now where's that old woman with the bad tooth?'

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

INNOCENCE IS PRICELESS

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small

American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, 'Good morning Alex.'

'Good morning Pastor,' he replied, still focused on the plaque. 'Pastor, what is this? '

The pastor said, 'Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.'

Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked,

'Which service, the 8:00 or the 10:30 ?'

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As the Lone Ranger and Tonto were riding along towards the north, they spotted a war party of 50 Apaches coming at them. They turned south and spotted a war party of 100 braves coming at them. Then, they turned east and spotted a war party of 150 braves coming at them. Finally, they turned west and spotted a war party of 200 braves coming at them. The Lone Ranger turned to his friend and said, "Well, Tonto, this is the end, there's not much we can do." Tonto looked back at the Lone Ranger, and replied, "What you mean WE, white man?"

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A Dine' guy is sitting in a bus stop with two old Anglo men. The first Anglo guy says, "Hey Herb, where you going for vacation this year?" Herb tells him, "I'm going to Montana to fish this year", The first guy looks at him and exclaims, "What you want to go there fer? They ain't nothin but a bunch of damned Indians up there." Herb then says, "Well, where you goin?" The first guy says, "I'm going to Arizona and soak up some sun!" Herb looks at him and yells, "You moron, there's nothing but a bunch of Indians in Arizona!"

Then the little Dine' guy speaks up and comments, "Why don't you both just go to hell! There's no Indians there."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Lone Ranger and Tonto walked into a bar one day and sat down to drink a beer. After a few minutes, a big tall cowboy walked in and said, "Who owns the big white horse outside?" The Lone Ranger stood up, hitched his gunbelt, and said, "I do. Why?"

The cowboy looked at the Lone Ranger and said, "I just thought you would like to know that your horse is just about dead outside!!" The Lone Ranger and Tonto rushed outside and, sure enough, Silver was about dead from heat exhaustion. The Lone Ranger got him some water and made him drink it, and soon Silver was starting to feel a little better.

The Lone Ranger turned to Tonto and said, "Tonto, I want you to run around Silver and see if you can create enough of a breeze to make him start to feel better."

Tonto said, "Sure Kemosabe", and took off running circles around Silver. Not able to do anything else but wait, the Lone Ranger returned to the bar to finish his drink.

A few minutes later, another cowboy struts into the bar and announces, "Who owns that big white horse outside?"

The Lone Ranger stands again and claims, "I do. What is wrong with him this time?"

The cowboy says to him, "Nothing much, I just wanted you to know............ you left your Injun running!!!" (((groaner)))

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A couple was invited to a swanky costume party.
Unfortunately, the wife came down with a terrible headache and told her
husband to go to the party alone.

He being a devoted husband protested, but she argued and said she was going
to take some aspirin and go to bed and there was no need for his good time
being spoiled by not going.

So he took his costume and away he went.
The wife, after sleeping soundly for about an hour, awakened without pain
and, as it was still early enough, decided to go the party.

Since her husband did not know what her costume was, she thought she would
have some fun by watching her husband to see how he acted when she was not
with him.
She joined the party and soon spotted her husband cavorting around on the
dance floor, dancing with every nice woman he could, and copping a little
feel here and a little kiss there.

His wife sidled up to him and being a rather seductive babe herself, he left
his current partner high and dry and devoted his time to the new babe that
had just arrived. She let him go as far as he wished... Naturally, (since he
was her husband.)

Finally, he whispered a little proposition in her ear and she agreed. So off
they went to one of the cars and had a quickie.

Just before unmasking at midnight, she slipped away, went home, put the
costume away and got into bed, wondering what kind of explanation he would
make for his behavior.
She was sitting up reading when he came in, and she asked what kind of a
time he had.
He said: "Oh, the same old thing. You know I never have a good time when
you're not there."

"Did you dance much ?"

"You know, I never even danced one dance. When I got there, I met Pete,
Bill Browning and some other guys, so we went into the den and played poker
all evening. But you're not going to believe what happened to the guy I
loaned my costume to...."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Think only about what is holy. Empty your mind."

-- Archie Fire Lame Deer, LAKOTA

Great Spirit, today, empty my mind and let me experience what it would be like to think about what is holy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Modern civilization has no understanding of sacred matters. Everything is backwards."

-- Thomas Yellowtail, CROW

Modern civilization says, don't pray in school; don't pray at work; only go to church on Sunday. If you don't believe what I believe, you'll go to hell. Deviancy is normal. Our role models cheat, drink and run around; these are the people in the news. The news sells bad news; no one wants to hear good news. Kids are killing kids. Victims have little protection. Violence is normal. Leaders cheat and lie. Everything is backwards. We need to pray for spiritual intervention. We need to have guidance from the Creator to help us rebuild our families, our communities and ourselves. Today, I will pray for spiritual intervention from the Great Spirit.

Grandfather, we pray for your help in a pitiful way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Code of Conduct

Our Way:

No alcohol. No drugs. No fighting. Respect for one another. Respect for the people coming to our home. Most of all, respect for ourselves as balanced human beings.

"I ask each and every individual working for me to honor this code of conduct. You are representing me and my bid for freedom. The public looks at you before they see me or my issue." – Leonard Peltier

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

KITCHEN MEDICINE

Sip This for a Stronger Immune System

By RealAge

Orange juice isn't the only beverage you can grab when you want to help your immune system fight off illness and infection.

New research suggests that grape juice may be an immune system booster, too. In a study, people who sipped Concord grape juice daily for 9 weeks had higher blood levels of a special type of infection-fighting cell.

Bolster Your Defenses

The study involved middle-aged folks who were basically healthy. But something interesting happened when they added about 1½ cups of grape juice to their daily diet. After 9 weeks, they had significantly more T cells compared with the control group. T cells are a type of white blood cell that fights off infections. And in the study, drinking grape juice increased participants' levels of specialized T cells called "surveillance" cells, found mostly in the lungs, intestines, and gastrointestinal tract. Researchers think that these cells act as the first line of defense against invading pathogens. When surveillance cells detect trouble, they stimulate other immune cells to defend the body.

Cellular Soldiers

Researchers think the polyphenols in grape juice should probably take the credit for the immune-boosting effects in the study. But keep in mind that the levels consumed in the study do have some drawbacks. A cup and a half of grape juice adds over 250 calories and 60 grams of sugar to a person's day. So to keep your overall calorie intake from inching up, use the juice in place of high-calorie, low-nutrition items currently in your diet. Or just sip the occasional glass of grape juice to help boost your body levels of polyphenols a bit. And practice a well-rounded variety of other immune-boosting habits, such as exercising regularly, getting adequate sleep, and reducing stress.

~ ~ ~ ~

DANDELION (wild endive, lions tooth, piss-in-bed)

Recommended salad addition, leaf infusion, root decoction, tincture, add to a bath for prevention of yeast infection.

Used for PMS, weight loss, high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, cancer prevention, yeast infection, digestive aid.

Warnings: may cause skin rash in sensitive cases. If dandelions causes stomach problems use less or stop using it.

DILL

Chew seeds for fresh breath, infusion or tincture, add to bath.

In addition to its preservative action, Dill is an infection fighter and soothing digestive aid. Used for stomach problems, flatulence, urinary tract infections.

Warnings: may cause rash in sensitive people

ECHINACEA (coneflower, purple coneflower)

Tincture of the roots.

High immune system boost. Echinacea kills wide variety of disease causing viruses mad bacteria , it fights infection and strengthens tissue. It may prevent infection by seriously boosting ones immune system. It is known to help the body in the fighting of colds and flu. It is a treatment for yeast infections and actually can reduce the future onset of. It helps preserve white blood cells, is a confirmed healer as it prevents germs from penetrating tissues and may have anti-arthritic properties. It is simply the most productive herb of them all.

Warnings: often causes ones tongue to tingle…..this is not harmful

EUCALYPTUS (gum tree, blue gum, Australian fever tree)

Boil leaves as an oil on cuts and scrapes, infusion from leaves, add leaves to bath.

Eucalyptol is the chemical that gives eucalyptus its healing properties. It loosens phlegm, kills influenza and may help bronchitis. An effective treatment for minor cuts and scrapes and it even repels cockroaches.

*****Warnings: do not ingest eucalyptus oil, it is highly poisonous!!. Fatalities have been reported from ingestion of as little as a teaspoon. KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN!

FENNEL (finocchio, carosella, Florence fennel)

Chew seeds for a digestive aid, infusion, tincture.

Fennel relaxes the smooth muscle lining of the digestive tract and also helps expel gas. Traditionally used to stimulate the uterus into menstruation. This herb may also help fight prostate cancer.

*****Warnings: Since fennel has an estrogenic effect do not use if you are using birth control pills, have a history of abnormal clotting , or estrogen dependant breast tumors. Do NOT ingest fennel oil, seeds are fine but the oil may cause nausea, vomiting or possible seizures.

FEVERFEW (febrifuge plant, wild quinine, bachelor's button)

Chew leaves for migraine control, remade pills and tablets also work well for headaches, infusion, tincture

Seventy percent of patients in scientific studies show a significant improvement in their migraine headaches even when standard medical treatment showed no results. This herb may reduce high blood pressure and is a great digestive aid after meals.

*****Warnings: may cause sores inside mouth, do not take if you have a clotting disorder. Remember that feverfew does not cure migraines, it suppresses them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tribes tell Congress money needed

12:00 AM, May. 4, 2011

Written by

Ledyard King

Quotable: "The United States government says it's deplorable how the Indians were treated in the past. It's not the past. It's today that they're being treated that way. Why?" - John Yellow Bird Steele, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.

WASHINGTON - Usually, appropriations hearings in Congress are laundry-list affairs where lawmakers hear representatives of communities, programs and other interests rattle off requests for money in the upcoming budget.

John Yellow Bird Steele, president of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in South Dakota, took a longer view Tuesday.

Without getting into specific numbers, Steele painted a bleak picture of his Pine Ridge reservation and what he described as Third World conditions: rutted roads, substandard health care, deplorable living conditions and rampant poverty. He largely blamed the United States government for failing to live up to the treaties it signed with tribes to provide basic services.

"We do need some help, and I just wanted to come say that we have this unique relationship through the treaty that must be honored," he told members of the Appropriations subcommittee that oversees the Interior Department. The Vietnam War veteran told lawmakers that the injustice was magnified because many Indians had gone to war for the very country that betrays them.

"We go do our duty for the United States, for our country; we fight for freedom," he said. "The United States government says it's deplorable how the Indians were treated in the past. It's not the past. It's today that they're being treated that way. Why?"

Steele was among more than 30 representatives from tribes across the country who testified Tuesday in hopes of securing more money for housing, transportation, public safety and other services. For tribes that don't receive much income from casinos or other private sources, federal aid is often the largest slice of their funding pie.

That's a problem when Washington is looking for ways to cut spending, not increase it.

President Obama's 2012 budget for Indian Country would boost aid for some key programs: an additional $20 million over 2010 levels for public safety; an increase of $42 million to strengthen relationships among Indian nations; and $571 million more for Indian Health Service programs. But it's iffy whether any of those increases will get past the Republican-controlled House, where GOP leaders say Obama's nearly $3.5 billion budget plan is dead on arrival because it would add $1.3 trillion to an already mushrooming national debt. The House has begun work on the 2012 spending plan, which would take effect Oct. 1.

"I can't predict what will happen as we move forward," said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a member of the Chickasaw Nation. "We live in an era of trillion-and-a-half-dollar deficits. That's not sustainable. But I can assure you this committee is going to do everything it can on a bipartisan basis to protect and build on these very critical programs."

Dave Archambault II, a tribal councilman at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which straddles North Dakota and South Dakota, picked up on Steele's theme. He told lawmakers at Tuesday's hearing that they should consider adding millions for tribal colleges, law enforcement agencies, courts and road maintenance - not only because treaties demand it, but because it's the right thing to do.

He spoke about how, only a few decades ago, the government flooded more than 50,000 acres of prime farmland on the reservation so it could build the Oahe Dam and power plant, which now provides electricity to South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Montana and North and South Dakota.

"We did uphold our end of the treaties for almost 200 years now. Our end has been upheld with great sacrifices," Archambault said. "The reason why I'm here is to ask that you take that into consideration and remember that as you go through this 2012 budgeting process."

Contact Ledyard King lking@gannett.com.

Photographer aims to stir change on Pine Ridge Reservation

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Filed Under: National

Photographer Aaron Huey has spent the last six years documenting life on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and now he wants to raise awareness of conditions in Indian Country.

Huey is raising money for a national billboard campaign. He plans to post his images in places like New York City and Washington, D.C,. to draw attention to a history of broken treaties and promises suffered by the Oglala Sioux Tribe.

"For the first years I didn't really know why I was returning," Huey told Popular Photography. "I just knew that I couldn't turn away, that people were giving me something that I had a responsibility to share."

Huey has raised over $22,000 for the Pine Ridge Billboard Project.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PLEASE PRAY FOR:

Chief Strong Horse….strength and health

Tony Cricket…..health and healing

Chief Standing Bear…..health and wisdom

Harry…..health and wisdom

Spirit…..health, healing, wisdom and strength

Bob C…..health and healing

Bobbi C…..health and strength

Snake…..wisdom and strength

Theresa…..health and healing

Pray for all that are incarcerated that they find peace and a new way.

Wisdom for our Spiritual Leaders to help others find their way.

Our troops fighting for our freedom.

Clan Mothers and Chief….. to show the right way.

All our Ancestors

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well yard work is calling. Until next month stay healthy and safe.

If you have something to share, send it to me at shiakoda@att.net

Thank you.

Blessings,

Shiakoda Autumn Wolf Moon

Wolf Spirit newsletter

Sunday, May 8, 2011

May WOLF SPIRIT newsletter