Smoke Signal Newsletter - February 2007 Page 2

Once a Crow Indian had a son killed in war. He was in mourning, so he took his lodge into the mountains and camped there that he might have dreams in which power would be given him to revenge the death of his son.

He slept in the mountains ten nights. At last as he was sleeping, he had a dream, and in this dream, he heard drumming and singing. Then a man appeared and said, "Come over here: there is dancing." So he followed the man. They came to a lodge in which there were many old men and women. There were eight men with drums. He also saw weasel-skins, skins of the mink and otter, a whistle, a smudge-stick, some wild turnip for the smudge, and some berry-soup in a kettle. One old woman had an otter-skin with a weasel-skin around it like a belt. So the man staid there, learned the songs that these people sang, and when he came back to his people he started the Crow-water-medicine. Since that time he has had other dreams: and the skins of the beaver, the muskrat, all kinds of birds, etc., with many songs for each, have been added.

This medicine has great power. If any one wishes a horse, he calls in some of the Crow-water-medicine people. Then they pray, sing, and dance.

The power of this medicine is such that after a while a man may come along and say, "I have had a bad dream. You must paint me, that the dream may not come true." Then he gives a horse as a fee. The medicine has power also in treating the sick. The people who have this medicine meet at regular times, - on Sundays and at the time of the new moon. They paint their faces with a broad red stripe across the forehead, and one across the mouth and cheeks. A rectangle of red is also painted on the back of each hand. Some wear plumes.

Anthropological Papers American Museum of Natural History, Vol. II, 1908.

Earth Works for Humanity is honored to be the coordinating organization for the Eagle tribes of North and Central America who will be traveling to the Elders Gathering at Lake Titicaca, Peru, over the Spring Equinox, 2007. As a part of The Institute for Cultural Awareness (ICA, an 18 year-old, 501c (3) non-profit organization), we are dedicated to providing a safe and healthy environment for cultural exchange and healing, bridging the gap between Elders and the children and creating Peace throughout the world. We are excited about this Elders Gathering and its mission to unite the Tribes of the Americas. We share the desire for peace and unity.

It is part of Earth Works for Humanity’s mission to provide all funding necessary for honored Elders to travel and participate in ceremonies like this one. It is estimated that 50-60 Elders will gather in Peru, and it is our intention to fully support them and their important work by raising the funds necessary for their travel, lodging, meals, and other associated expenses.

We ask for your financial support. The estimated cost for each Elder is $3,500. Please support the Elders and the cause of Peace by returning the attached form, indicating the number of Elders you will be sponsoring, along with your donation. If you would like your organization to become a sponsor of this event, please let us know so we can include you in our written materials.

We are also asking all Indigenous communities of the Americas to join with us in Spirit at Lake Titicaca by offering declarations of support for the intention of unity throughout the Americas. Each tribe’s resolution will be brought to the Gathering and incorporated into the ceremonies, linking your community to the whole. In addition, many simultaneous ceremonies will be held throughout the world on March 21, the Spring Equinox. If you are interested in coordinating a local gathering, please let us know.

The Institute for Cultural Awareness/Earth Works for Humanity is a 501c (3) non-profit organization providing a safe and healthy environment for cultural exchange and healing

Dis-Enrollment is Wrong

Dear Manataka,

I have just read the article on dis-enrollment. Although, as far as I know, I have no Native American blood running in my veins, I have been helping people research their native American heritage. Through all my research, there is one thing that seems obvious. There are many people who could enrich the rolls of many tribes, if they could establish a positive connection to the tribes that their heritage comes from. Researching Native American genealogy is no easy project. There are people today, who are positive that they are a part of a rich heritage that they cannot yet be proven. There should be a conscientious attempt to establish a site that can help these people re-claim their heritage, before any "clearing out" takes place. thank You for listening

~Dona

Bear Butte Tragedy

DEAR MANATAKA,

I am writing to let you know I came across your web site while working on a 3rd grade science project for my son. He has chosen to do a report on a landform called a "butte".

I have read in the past year an article in one of our "local" newspapers which was about your sacred mountain, Bear Butte. I am truly saddened that even today , people are still not respecting The American Indian. I personally have a great love for them and believe they are true "spirit' themselves because they are so true and loving of all things. Why can't the growth stop of the mass buildings and things that we truly don't need? It is the same here where I live in the state of Pennsylvania. We used to have pretty scenic country side (for this area, nothing like what you have) but now everything is being destroyed and mass housing is being put in. I cry driving by knowing all of the hawks, bunnies, groundhogs, birds, etc. are being killed by huge machinery from their homes in the ground being dug up as well as the trees all being knocked down.

Even the owls are in danger. no one cares. I started writing letters into the local newspaper 10 years ago saying this was going to happen but the sad thing is, no one voice is going to change anything. It brings more money into the townships so it is a no win situation. There is a lot of Indian history here. I discover more and more each year. That makes it even harder because people have been so mean to them. Why? It is so unfair. It brings tears to my eyes nearly every single day. I have read a lot of books/articles on the Indians and thankfully someone took pictures of them for us to remember their legacy as well as the Indians of today. The story goes where I live that there used to be a Shaman King/God that lived here with his people some 2,500 years ago. The ground I live on is to have been lived on by Indians as well as most land anywhere I guess.

I just love them so much so if I can help by being a voice in trying to stop the gun range, I will be more then happy to help. In memory of all the great Indian legends/people and to the Indians of today. I hope you win. Unfortunately money seems to be the greed of the world today and people buy what ever they want. Including land no matter what it means to you or I. Thank you for your time and concern. I wish you all the best.

Sincerely,

Karen Christ

Eagle Feathers Confiscated by the Feds

Dear Manataka,

I am shocked, that even with all that has gone before us, we still have no rights! I am sorry, that this happened, and will do prayers for this young man, on my Sacred Turtle Mound! I will hang a prayer feather for him in my oak tree asap!! May Creator and Earth Mother receive his spirit and heal him, may he receive his feather from them! Oho Wunnesstou Makuye

Practice compassion...live in love

Dear Manataka,

http://www.wolflodge.org/visibiliti/prophecy/welcome.htm

Please click on this and read. Maybe not all at once, if it overwhelms you, but at some time, please read. It might shake your belief system to the core, but it is something I in my weird ways and eccentricity, have preached for over 15 years now. It is the REALITY that is now in it's time to come forward and for those of you who use discernment, might want to consider and take off the rose colored glasses so many wear in these days and times. Not to induce fear, but AWARENESS....and DISCERNMENT.

Your faith will carry you just so far, but hand in hand, and at some point, if you and yours for generations to come are going to exist on Mother Earth, Gaia, Turtle Island or whatever you want to call this planet, you will need to consider some of these realities and alternatives. I, for one, have been studying herbs and natural homeopathic remedies and healing for many years now, and have planned a retirement to the mountains, for which I have secured a place. Reliance upon a government and banking system, will not carry you forever, and the reality of a new world dawning upon us is one that takes into consideration that things are changing at a rapid pace, and you might get caught with you pants down, so to speak. Families need to love, forgive, and help each other. Friends need to do the same. We will become more reliant upon each other in the very near future.

Practice compassion...live in love...not fear...use discernment in all that you do...forgive and forget...live in the now, not the past...live your hopes, your dreams, your true spirit essence. The material world is "not where it is at". The HEART is. That is where your true SPIRIT lies, and should be recognized and lived.....ONE DAY AT A TIME...but with planning to some degree to full fill the 7th generations existence. I learned from my Hopi Elder and teacher, as well as my Lakota and Cherokee Elders and teachers, that if we are to survive as a species, we must take care of our environment, our Mother Earth, our Spirit self, and our own kind. And above all, hold on to your faith.

With love to all of you, have a wonderful peaceful holiday time

Peace, Love, Wisdom,

Truth, Justice, Light,

And Abundance to you all....

Elaine Stonehorse Nowell

http://www.wolflodge.org/visibiliti/prophecy/welcome.htm

The website [above] to click on and go to is a wake-up call to all who have ears to hear and eyes to see, and the wisdom of discernment. I am not supporting or denying the person who has the website, nor his truth and logic. It is the words that are there, that are important...not his reputation, nor where he gets his information. It is the unfolding of the events Earth./Terra firma/Gaia wide, and universally, that caught my eyes, ears, and my logic of reasoning. It was and is important to use your own discernment, and do your own research. I have done mine, and a lot of truth resonated with what I have learned through Spirit, observation, and teachings. Find your own truth, and follow it.

BOULDER, CO -The Native American Rights Fund (NARF), a non-profit law firm in Boulder, Colorado announced today that it has filed a class action lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. on behalf of over two hundred and fifty (250) Indian Tribes. The suit seeks full and complete accountings from the federal government for hundreds of tribal accounts worth billions of dollars that are held in trust by the United States. The federal government long ago assumed the role of trustee for tribal trust funds, and created the accounts at issue. The funds come from revenues from tribal natural resources such as timber, minerals, oil and gas; court judgments entered against the United States for the unlawful appropriation of Indian land and property; and, income from the investments of money held in the accounts. The federal government gave Tribes no choice about the creation of these trust fund accounts, some of which date back to the 1800s.

NARF Executive Director John Echohawk explained recent events leading up to the lawsuit: “By the early 1980s, Tribes increasingly were concerned that they could not get accountings of their trust funds. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), issued key reports that identified major problems in the government’s management of tribal and individual Indian trust funds. The reports detailed records lost or never kept, systems that didn’t work or weren’t coordinated, and policies that were deficient or never even existed. In 1987, Congress began ordering the Interior Department to audit and reconcile the accounts which never had been done and to provide full and complete accountings of the funds to Tribes and individual Indians whose money was in the accounts. In 2003 the GAO stated that notwithstanding some improvements, Indian trust fund account holders have no assurance that their account balances are accurate. And as recently as 2005, the OIG reported that Interior Department procedures and controls were not adequate to ensure that Indian trust fund activities and balances were recorded properly or timely. The bottom line is that despite the agency reports and twenty (20) years of congressional mandates no adequate accountings have resulted to date.”

The government’s only response has been far short of full and complete accountings. In the 1990s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs within the Interior Department contracted with the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen, LLP, to do a very limited “reconciliation” of tribal trust fund accounts. Even though Arthur Andersen, the Interior Department, and the GAO all have acknowledged the Arthur Andersen reconciliation project shortcomings, the government has tried repeatedly to get Tribes to accept the Arthur Andersen reconciliation reports as full and complete accountings of their trust funds, thereby avoiding its basic trust responsibilities.

Efforts by Congress to resolve the situation have failed. Moreover, in 2002 Congress, concerned about the government’s potential liability for Indian trust fund mismanagement estimated by the government itself to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars -- gave Tribes a deadline of December 31, 2005 by which to challenge the accounting adequacy of the Arthur Andersen reconciliation reports. In December 2005, Congress extended this deadline for one year until December 31, 2006. But this year Congress has refused to extend the deadline any further.

Given this deadline, the only recourse for Tribes is to file a lawsuit by December 31, 2006 seeking a court order declaring that the Arthur Andersen reconciliation reports are not full and complete accountings, and requiring the government to provide such accountings according to court-ordered standards. As many as fifty (50) Tribes to date have filed lawsuits on their own behalf. But over two hundred and fifty (250) other tribes either do not have the financial resources or the needed information to file their suits by the end of this calendar year. NARF thus filed a class action lawsuit to protect those Tribes who do not file their own lawsuits from forever losing their rights to challenge the adequacy of the Arthur Andersen reconciliation reports and to get full and complete trust fund accountings from the government. The Chairman of NARF’s Board of Directors, John Gonzales, stated, “We are confident that the court will agree that the Arthur Andersen reconciliation reports are not full and complete accountings. The real battle will be over what more the court or Congress will do to protect the rights of Tribes and hold the government accountable for its duties as the trustee for tribal trust funds.”

Eleven Tribes the Nez Perce Tribe, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the Tule River Indian Tribe, the Hualapai Tribe, the Yakama Nation, the Klamath Tribes, the Yurok Tribe, the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe, the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma, the Sac and Fox Nation, and the Santee Sioux Tribe of Nebraska -- are the named plaintiff Tribes in the lawsuit. Rebecca Miles, Chair of the lead named plaintiff the Nez Perce Tribe, commented that, “This lawsuit is a reflection of a huge historical problem with the federal government’s mismanagement of tribal trust accounts. We have tried to work with the agencies and we have tried to work with Congress. Our hope now is with the courts. We are pleased to step forward with NARF in leading this fight for Indian justice.”

MOTHER EARTH WATCH

ALERT OF THE MONTH:

PRODUCT PLUNDER:
WAL-MART "ORGANICS"
This week, the OCA announced a boycott against Wal-Mart for refusing to respond to formal complaints that many of its stores are placing "organic" signs next to products that are not organic. The Cornucopia Institute filed a complaint more than 60 days ago, and neither the USDA nor Wal-Mart have taken any action to fix these problems. Six months ago, the OCA called on Wal-Mart to stop selling cheap factory-farmed organic milk from Horizon and Aurora, and to increase the amount of domestically grown organic products on its shelves. Currently, Wal-Mart is selling cheap "organic" food by sourcing products from China, Brazil, and other nations, where labor and environmental standards are lax. Over the past year Wal-Mart has lost 2-8% of its USA customers. Please join the OCA boycott.

Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3809.cfm

WEIRD SCIENCE:
WHEN SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY FALLS INTO THE WRONG HANDS
Speaking at the World Social Forum in Nairobi this week, the ETC Group says abuses of synthetic biology have the potential to threaten humankind in just 5-10 years. Synthetic biology is the practice of building life from scratch. "Genetic engineering is passé," said Pat Mooney, Executive Director of ETC Group. "Today, scientists aren't just mapping genomes and manipulating genes, they're building life from scratch - and they're doing it in the absence of societal debate and regulatory oversight," said Mooney. With synthetic biology, just about anyone can have the ability to build dangerous viruses and pathogens from scratch. It's as simple as obtaining published gene sequence information on the internet and purchasing mail-order synthetic DNA. Scientists predict that within 2-5 years it will be possible to synthesize any virus. Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_3825.cfm

BOOK OF THE MONTH:
WHAT'S IN YOUR MILK?
A new book by Dr. Samuel Epstein, one of the world's leading scientific authorities on genetically engineered rBGH milk, offers readers an air-tight case against the use of Monsanto's synthetic hormone. Epstein's previous works have played a major role in influencing other nations to ban rBGH milk, including all of Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Is it time for the U.S. to finally acknowledge the dangers of this product? In this book, Epstein offers significant evidence of interlocking conflicts of interest between Monsanto and the White House, regulatory agencies, and the American Medical Association and American Cancer Society. He also details evidence of Monsanto's white collar crime; the suppression and manipulation of information on the veterinary and public health dangers of rBGH milk.

Learn more: http://www.preventcancer.com/publications/WhatsInYourMilkRelease.htm

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic, so did a friend of mine, John Erb.

He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada and spent years working for the government.

He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America. In hundreds of studies around the world, scientists were creating obese mice and rats to use in diet or diabetes test studies.

No strain of rat or mice is naturally obese, so the scientists have to create them. They make these morbidly obese creatures by injecting them with MSG when they are first born. The MSG triples the amount of insulin the pancreas creates, causing rats (and humans?) to become obese they even have a title for the race of fat rodents they create: "MSG- Treated Rats" MSG?

I was shocked too. I went to my kitchen, checking the cupboards and the fridge. MSG was in everything! The Campbell's soups, the Hostess Doritos, the Lays flavored potato chips, Top Ramen, Betty Crocker Hamburger Helper, Heinz canned gravy, Swanson frozen prepared meals, Kraft salad dressings, especially the 'healthy low fat' ones. The items that didn't have MSG had something called Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, which is just another name for Monosodium Glutamate. It was shocking to see just how many of the foods we feed our children everyday are filled with this stuff. They hide MSG under many different names in order to fool those who catch on.

From Crystal Harvey, MAIC Correspondent

Fluoride Action Network

FLUORIDE INVADES INDIAN COUNTRY!

Board of Directors,

Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board

Honored Brothers and Sisters of the AATCHB,

It has come to our attention the AATCHB Dental Support Center plans to institute an Early Childhood Caries Prevention program through the Tribal Water Systems Fluoridation project.

We ask that you reconsider approving this project pending further research and investigation of recent scientific studies and reports that strongly discourage the use of fluoride in drinking water.

A recently released 16-year study by Harvard University revealed that fluoridation associated with bone cancer in boys;

In March 2006, the National Research Council said there is a growing body of evidence indicating that fluoride can damage the brain;

On November 9, 2006, the American Dental Association warned that infants should not receive fluoridated water;

New research from Europe and India proves that people with kidney disease – particularly advanced kidney disease – should avoid fluoridated water;

In 2006, Cornell scientist diagnosed fluoride poisoning in horses drinking fluoridated water. The Cornell report is evidence that millions of dogs, cats, cattle and other animals are victims water fluoridation programs;

In February 2006, The National Research Council linked fluoride exposure to kidney damage in children. The kidney has long been recognized as a potential target of fluoride toxicity. “Human kidneys... concentrate fluoride as much as 50-fold from plasma to urine. Portions of the renal system may therefore be at higher risk of fluoride toxicity than most soft tissues.”;

Based on the studies from 2006 and early 2007, it is clear that fluoride exposure – at relatively low levels – can harm human health. It has the potential to cause bone cancer, damage the brain, damage the kidney, damage the thyroid, damage the bones (particularly in kidney patients), increase the uptake of lead, and damage the teeth.

READ MORE...

Funny Bones

No offense intended for any individuals or tribes.

Dear Rosebud:

My husband is a liar and a cheat. He has cheated on me from the beginning, and when I confront him, he denies everything. What's worse, everyone knows that he cheats on me. It is so humiliating. Also, since he lost his job five years ago, he hasn't even looked for a new one. All he does all day is smoke cigars, cruise around and bull shit with his buddies while I have to work to pay the bills. Since our daughter went away to college he doesn't even pretend to like me and hints that I may be a lesbian. What should I do? Signed: Clueless

Dear Clueless:

Grow up and dump him. Good grief, woman. For crying out loud, you don't need him anymore. You're a United States Senator from New York. Act like one.

Dear Manataka,

The Cline Mining Corporation wants to gouge a heavily polluting coal mine out of the Flathead River Valley, a thriving Rocky Mountain habitat for grizzly bears that straddles the border of Montana and British Columbia.

We need your immediate action to block this dangerous open-pit mining scheme, which would poison the headwaters of the Flathead River and jeopardize the survival of downstream populations of imperiled grizzly bears, wolves, cutthroat trout and other wildlife.

Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/bears/takeaction and urge the British Columbia government to protect the
spectacular wildlands and wildlife of the Flathead basin by rejecting the Cline Mining Corporation's reckless plan.

Cline's mining proposal calls for removing mountain tops and building waste dumps and settling ponds right on top of the headwaters of the Flathead River in British Columbia.

Hazardous pollution from the mine would travel downriver into Montana, putting the endangered grizzlies and other wildlife of Glacier National Park at even greater risk.

Please go to http://www.savebiogems.org/bears/takeaction and join Governor Brian Schweitzer and Senator Max Bauchus of Montana in speaking out against this scheme.

Thank you for helping to protect grizzly bears and other imperiled Rocky Mountain wildlife.

Sincerely,

Frances Beinecke
President
Natural Resources Defense Council


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HAND PAINTING When Italian artist Guido Daniele was hired by an advertising agency to create body painting of animals, he loved the idea. "I researched each animal in depth to see how I could transfer it to a hand, and then set about bringing it to life." The hardest part of his job is watching his creations disappear down the drain after they're photographed. "I'm getting used to it," Daniele shrugs. "At least I get to start each day with a fresh canvas." Guido Daniele lives and works in Milan.




Submitted by Waynonaha