CRAZY
COYOTE'S HIDES
The Department of Interior is seeking American Indian college students in the fields of energy and natural resource management for an internship program at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced the openings in early January as part of an effort to train the next generation of tribal energy management professionals. Qualifying students will work with scientists researching new forms of renewable and nonrenewable energy and learn about the environmental effects of energy development. The internship runs from May 25 through Aug. 6, and 12 positions are available. Candidates can apply through the Argonne National Laboratory's Web site at www.dep.anl.gov/p_undergrad/TribalInternships The application deadline is March 15.
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SMOKE SIGNAL NEWS Manataka - Preserving The Past Today For Tomorrow
MARCH 2010
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The Manataka American Indian Council does not accept federal or
state government grants, nor do we accept corporate grants. MAIC does not conduct telephone, door-to-door, email, or
mass-mailing fund raising. Our sole source of revenue comes
from our
good members and folks who shop our online Trading Post.
Manataka is a 100% all-volunteer organization - no paid staff. We need your support this time of year to fulfill requests for
assistance and to carry on our work for the coming year.
TELEVISION
CASTING CALL!
Towers Productions
is
developing a television special documenting arranged marriages
for a major cable network. They are looking for people who are
currently in the matching process or have been married and are
willing to share their experience. The television special will
educate viewers on all aspects of the tradition and incorporate all
types of backgrounds. We are looking to tell the stories from the
point of view of the participants. The more variety, the better!
Anyone
interested should email: manataka@sbcglobal.net
with your name, age, contact info, state/country you live in,
and tell us a bit about your experience with arranged marriage
(if you are currently in the matching process, how far along are
you?). Please attach a recent photo if possible. There is no
commitment at this time, this is just a chance for us to get to
know a bit about you.
"For me
writing has become prayers that say, `Great Spirit, return to us our
freedom, our land, and our lives. We are thankful for the present
from which to learn how to be thankful for the past, and how to be
hopeful for the future."
--Barney Bush, Shawnee We Native
people have really been tested. This testing is having our land
taken from us, our culture challenged, and our way of living
altered. Gratefully, we have not lost our spirituality. our
spirituality has been the key for our people making it through all
of these tests. Our prayers are strong. Indian people have also been
able to adjust to change and still keep their culture and
spirituality. Today, we should be grateful to the Creator for the
present, and for the lessons of the past. May our future be guided
by the Great Spirit. Great Spirit, thank You
for Mother Earth and Father Sky. Thank You for my life
THE WORLD
DRUM FLAG DESIGN CONTEST !!
Submit
your graphic design for the new World Drum Flag by April 30, 2010 for a
chance to win cash and other exciting prizes!
We want YOU to design a beautiful, colorful
flag to symbolize the World Drum Project. If you win, your design will be
made into a flag and it will fly on at every location worldwide where the World Drum is
presented. See your name and photo in media releases and videos worldwide,
plus get a chance to win $500 cash, plus
other great prizes!
Anyone can enter! No purchase is
necessary and there is no entry fee. It's free!
Read Official
“World
Drum Flag Design Contest" Rules and Enter Now!
A Mohawk
Perspective on Haiti
The
earthquake that struck
Haiti on January 12
lasted about 35 seconds. But weeks of improbable
rescues, tearful reunions and astonishing displays of
resilience followed.
Haiti is a place
of angry spirits never released from the agony of their passing.
Lots More Videos - DVD and VHS -
Fast Delivery
History Books by Native Voices
FEATURE STORY
Should I Identify as
Native American in the 2010 Census?
It is
absolutely critical that all
“non-enrolled” Native Americans, and
those people that can prove lineal
descent from a Native American ancestor,
self-identify as “Native American in
Combination with One or More Races” when
completing their 2010 Census
questionnaires! Get the message out –
pass this along to your family members
and other Indian friends.
Results of the 2000 Census
For the
first time ever, the 2000 Census
measured “Native Americans in
Combination with One or More Races,”
That number totaled 4,119,301. The
number of Americans that reported
themselves “Native Alone” was 2,475,956
(these are considered predominantly
enrolled members of a federally
recognized tribe. The difference between
these two numbers equals 1,643,345.
This is
significant because this 1,643,345
represents the number of persons that
self-identified as “mixed-blood”
It must be pointed
out that the 2000 Census was “flawed” -
in that it did not provide a method to
distinguish what percentage of the
1,643,345 were enrolled members of a
federally recognized Indian tribe that
chose to identify using this category
only. However, it is generally accepted
that the vast majority of these (perhaps
exceeding 90%) are “non-enrolled”
members of a federally recognized Indian
tribe.
By Takatoka and Friends
Humankind
knew if they attempted to conquer Mother Earth, they would bring great suffering
upon themselves. Man knew that Nature was not ‘wild’ and hostile but was a
benevolent friend. Then, by a twist of organized religious dogma, many began to
think humans are the greatest and most important part of creation and they saw
Nature as ‘fallen’ and sinful. Man
has attempted to divorce ourselves from Nature to the detriment of all creation. American
Indians, also known as the People of the Land, traditionally and historically
hold a special knowledge of the land and its inhabitants. Intimate knowledge of
the world surrounding the American Indian was possible because of a belief
system that considered all things of creation equal and necessary, worthy of
respect and honor.
The
results of our belief system is tremendously beneficial to the world.
We gave the world knowledge of a form of government now enjoyed by people
of the United States – democracy. American
Indians first domesticated over half of today’s world food resources.
A vast majority of the world’s pharmacopoeia (healing medicine) came from American Indian
tremendous knowledge of the plant kingdom.
Our knowledge of plant medicine, healing stones, healing clay, and animal
wisdom is unmatched in among any people in history.
Common
among those traditional teachings are the basic beliefs that we should: Never
take more than we need; Thank
Creator for what we have or what we will receive; Use
all of what we have; Give
away what we do not need. American
Indians know to respect Nature and kill only what we eat and use every part
of the animal. We do not waste life
nor disrespect their spirits but honor and thank them for providing us with life
and comfort. We ask our spirit
guides to lead us to the spirit of the animal we killed for food so that we may
pray in thanksgiving to its spirit. We
honor their cousins by leaving a gift where the animal fell.
We offer a great selection of
buckskin colors and sizes for any craft project from buckskin moccasins to
buckskin shirts, dresses or leggings. From our economical Garment Buckskin, to
our premium natural, white and smoked buckskins, you'll find the buckskin you
need at great values.
Take a tour now!
Black Mesa Coal Mine Permit Struck Down
Read more in the
Durango Herald.
Biodiversity Going Down, Disease Risk Going Up
Bird flu, swine flu, West Nile virus --
they're all part of an "epidemiologic transition" that's
happening on a global scale. As species are going
extinct and disappearing from vast portions of their
ranges, new diseases are popping up while old ones are
reasserting themselves and expanding their reaches
across the world. It's a new and ultra-compelling reason
for us to preserve every creature and plant we can.
Read more in
Science Daily. No offense intended for any individuals or tribes.
Ghost Indian
World's Financial Institution
Loses are Peanuts...
Compared to
The Destruction of Nature
by: David Gutierrez, staff writer,
2009
(NaturalNews) The economic cost of global
deforestation far outstrips the money being lost from the
current financial crisis, according to the findings of a study
commissioned by the European Union.
http://www.naturalnews.com/025904.html
GRANDFATHER
SEVEN HAWK EYES SPEAKS
"Greetings,
Brother," said Fox. "How are you this fine day?" "Greetings,"
answered Bear, looking at the big circle of fat fish. "I am well,
Brother. But what are you doing?" "I am
fishing," answered Fox. "Would you like to try?" "Oh, yes,"
said Bear, as he started to lumber over to Fox's fishing hole.
Bear agreed
and so he followed Fox to the new place, a place where, as Fox knew very
well, the lake was too shallow to catch the winter fish--which always
stay in the deepest water when Hatho has covered their ponds. Bear
watched as fox made the hole in the ice, already tasting the fine fish
he would soon catch. "Now," Fox
said, "you must do just as I tell you. Clear your mind of all thoughts
of fish. Do not even think of a song or the fish will hear you. Turn
your back to the hole and place your tail inside it. Soon a fish will
come and grab your tail and you can pull him out."
Tribal Web Sites
(Federally recognized tribes only; Alphabetical by State)
KAWAIISU TRIBE SUES OVER RANCH DEVELOPMENT
A tribe has filed a lawsuit to stop the
development of a 5,000-acre gated resort community on a sprawling ranch
some 60 miles north of Los Angeles that it claims as tribal land.
The lawsuit filed during November in federal court in Fresno argues that
the U.S. Department of Interior failed to recognize the Kawaiisu Tribe
of Tejon’s legitimate claim to areas of the 270,000-acre Tejon Ranch
property where the Tejon Mountain Village project is planned. It also
argues that Kern County supervisors ignored the existence of historic
tribal sites when they approved the project during October. The suit
names the interior department and the county. The project, which
includes 3,500 homes, two golf courses and several resort hotels, “will
create irreversible damage to the tribe and is an unlawful act that
meets the definition of genocide and ethnocide,” according to the
lawsuit. READ MORE>>>
WHERE DOES BROWN'S ELECTION IN MASS. LEAVE
THE IHCIA?
WHAT'S UP WITH THE TRIBAL LAW AND ORDER ACT? Paying for
College - Student Resource Guide
(Includes scholarships,
internships, fellowships, books, and websites)
download now
2009_Paying_for_College-master.pdf
(184 KB) GeneralScholarships.pdf
(580 KB)
Summer Internships at Sandia National Laboratories
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/pdfs/intern_program2009.pdf
or contact Sandra Begay-Campbell at (505) 844-5418 or
skbegay@sandia.gov
More
information is also available on the DOE Tribal Energy Program Web
site at:
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/internships.cfm
by Kim
Summermoon Wilson
I’m sure most people can relate to being
“stuck” in a checkout line at a supermarket, waiting for the
person in front of you to complete a transaction so you can
go next. Well, I was in that situation recently. With the
holiday season upon us, however, Great Mystery saw fit to
use this opportunity to teach me how my demeanor impacts
others.
Four people were behind me, other than the
lady in front of me - who seemed completely unaware that
others were waiting their turn to check out. Most people
start to bag their own orders, quickly pay for them, and
repack their shopping carts. None of this activity was
taking place - everything sat still while she reviewed her
receipt, looked at her items and haggled with the cashier.
At other times, I might have gotten impatient, shown my
annoyance in many ways, quietly fumed inside, or listened to
other customers as they complained to me. I’m a quiet
person, so ‘complaining loudly’ really isn’t my style. But
I’ll seethe on the inside, which is just as bad - our moods
still filter through to those around us, and contribute to
the overall atmosphere (positive or negative).
But this time, things went differently, and I
felt truly calm and peaceful inside. I made room on the
conveyor belt for the people behind me, and chatted with
them quietly to defuse the situation with a bit of
light-hearted humor. Then they also chatted about other
things, and stopped noticing the lengthy delay, even as the
line grew longer.
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Do
you love to draw, color, paint, or design? Do you love the Mother Earth
and want peace throughout the world?
by Doug George-Kanentiio
This land was called Ayiti by its Arawak-Taino native peoples who
may, according to some, be the relatives of the Iroquois. We do
have a place of common origin in the American south but while our
ancestors migrated to the cool woodlands of the northeast others
elected to enter the rich tropical waters of the Caribbean and
gradually populate its islands before reaching the South American
coast.
Haiti was populated by hundreds of thousands of Natives at the time
of contact with the wayward explorer Cristobal Colon (mistakenly
called Christopher Columbus) on December 6, 1492. He landed in the
northern part of Ayiti and his description of the region is worth
quoting from his journal:
As I approached the entrance of this harbour (St. Nicholas) I
marveled at its beauty and excellence....From there it is level as
far as the cape where there is a beautiful beach and a grove of a
thousand kinds, all loaded with fruit....There must be a lot of
people in this region since I have seen many canoes."
On December 13 Colon wrote:
"Their land is so beautiful and fertile...Everyone fled when they
heard we were coming leaving behind whatever they had. The village
consisted of more than 1,000 houses and must have had a population
of over 3,000...they (the Natives) gave beautiful things to everyone
they met... My men told me that these people were more handsome and
of better disposition than any that we had seen up to now but I do
not know how this is possible. As to the country, the best in
Castile in beauty and fertility cannot compare with this."
Code
Talkers
Cradleboards
Modern
American Indian Hero Books
Census 2010
WHY THE 2010 CENSUS IS IMPORTANT TO ALL
AMERICAN INDIANS
A
long time ago, humans were created to be caretakers of the garden -- Mother
Earth. They held all things of
creation sacred. The people
respected Nature and understood they were only a small part of the whole circle
of life. Humans knew each part of
creation played a significant role in the contentment and survival of the other.
They accepted the divine idea that all things were equal and no animal,
including man, held dominion over other parts of creation. 
Although
there are over five hundred American Indian tribes, speaking more than
one-hundred and fifty languages, there exists universal beliefs that transcend
ethnic, cultural and geographic boundaries.
Garment Leather: Deer,
Cow, Elk and Buffalo
Expertly Tanned Buckskin: White, Gold, Smoked and Willow
In
response to objections by American Indians and the
Center for Biological Diversity and other allies, last
Thursday the Environmental Protection Agency withdrew a
controversial water permit for Arizona's massive Black
Mesa coal mine. And it's about time: Discharges of heavy
metals and toxic pollutants from the mine -- that
haven't been regulated -- have been threatening
wildlife, habitat, groundwater, and local communities'
drinking water. The 95,000-acre Black Mesa Mine Complex
is a project of Peabody Energy -- the world's largest
private dirty-coal company -- and would mine 670 million
tons of coal. It's long been a cause of concerns about
air and water pollution; harm to local people, including
American Indian tribes; the drying-up of aquifers and
springs; and coal pollution's contribution to global
warming. Among other imperiled species, the mine also
threatens the federally protected Little Colorado
spinedace fish and its habitat.
The
decline of Earth's diversity of life is tragic in
itself. But research is now showing that biodiversity
loss is dangerous, too -- not just to animals and
plants, but to human health. In fact, a new study says,
habitat destruction and species extinction are linked to
an increase and spread of infectious diseases in humans.
The mechanisms behind the link are complicated. But the
study found that when deforestation reduced the Amazon's
structural diversity provided by trees,
malaria-transmitting mosquitoes increased. Similarly,
because Lyme disease-carrying ticks have had fewer
mammals to host them, they're affecting more humans than
they might otherwise.
Two Ponca men were sitting out on a back
road visiting. All at once there was a tapping on the window.
"Ah Hoh!" "Hey guy!" "I think there is a ghost tapping on the window!"
Sure enough a wizened face with long flowing white hair was there just
out side the window.
The Ponca man driving shoved his foot down on the gas and immediately
was doing 60 miles and hour.
"Step on it!" "He's still out there!" And sure enough, there was
another tapping at the window.
The driver shoved his foot to the floor again! This time he was doing
ninety (90) miles an hour.
Still the ghostly figure tapped on the window.
"You better giver 'er some more gas!" "He's still out there."
"I can't go any faster, I've got her up to 120 miles an hour.
About that time the little old man motioned for the passenger to roll
the window down, which he did.
"Say Boys!" "I was wanting to know, do you need a shove to get out of
this mud hole?"
"It's not only greater but it's also continuous, it's been
happening every year, year after year," said study leader Pavan
Sukhdev, an economist from Deutsche Bank. "So whereas Wall
Street by various calculations has to date lost, within the
financial sector, $1 to $1.5 trillion, the reality is that at
today's rate we are losing natural capital at least between $2
to $5 trillion every year."
Giving another perspective to the sheer scale of this loss, the
report notes that deforestation alone may be costing the world 7
percent of its GDP each year.
According to the study, only the first part of a review titled
"The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB)," the bulk
of this cost comes from the loss of formerly free services that
are provided by intact forests, such as the absorption of carbon
dioxide, water filtration and purification, and food production.
The authors noted that poor people are disproportionately
affected by these costs, especially in the tropics, where people
tend to depend more directly on forests for survival.
In its second phase, the TEEB review will also attempt to
calculate the economic costs of other kinds of environmental
destruction.
The TEEB review is part of a new effort by many conservationists
to gain support for environmental preservation by the numerator
in its economic benefits. According to Sukhdev, these arguments
are already starting to reach many politicians and business
executives.
"Times have changed," Sukhdev said. "Almost three years ago,
even two years ago, their eyes would glaze over. Today, when I
say this, they listen. In fact I get questions asked -- so how
do you calculate this, how can we monetize it, what can we do
about it, why don't you speak with so and so politician or such
and such business."
Sources:
How the Bear
Lost His Tail
Back
in the old days, Bear had a tail, which was his proudest possession. It
was long and black and glossy and Bear used to wave it around just so
that people would look at it. Fox saw this. Fox, as everyone knows, is a
trickster and likes nothing better than fooling others. So it was that
he decided to play a trick on Bear. It was the time of year when Hatho,
the Spirit of Frost, had swept across the land, covering the lakes with
ice and pounding on the trees with his big hammer. Fox made a hole in
the ice, right near a place where Bear liked to walk. By the time Bear
came by, all around Fox, in a big circle, were big trout and fat perch.
Just as Bear was about to ask Fox what he was doing, Fox twitched his
tail which he had sticking through that hole in the ice and pulled out a
huge trout. 
But
Fox stopped him. "Wait, Brother," he said, "This place will not be good.
As you can see, I have already caught all the fish. Let us make you a
new fishing spot where you can catch many big trout."
We recently celebrated what seemed like a sure path for the Indian
Health Care Improvement Act to (finally) be permanently reauthorized.
However, the IHCIA faces an 11th hour obstacle yet again, since the
Democratic Party recently lost its supermajority in the Senate, creating
special challenges for the passage of the larger health care reform
bills. The IHCIA is a relatively uncontroversial element of each of the
two health care bills; we just hope it won't be overlooked in the
shuffle. FCNL is supporting a comprehensive health care reform bill,
even if it is a compromise from the excellent bill we saw in the House.
A comprehensive bill will very likely continue to include the IHCIA.
When to worry? When Congress decides to pick out choice pieces of the
bills for passage. Urge your representative and senators to keep their
eye on the IHCIA, and not to leave it behind at the 11th hour. ~Friends
Committee on National Legislation
We are still waiting and watching for action on the Tribal Law and Order
Act in the House and the Senate. As noted above, Dorgan is committed to
seeing this legislation through, and we hope to see it on the floor
within the next few months. Watch for the release of our Indian Report,
which focuses on this legislation. Indian Reports are available
online. ~Friends
Committee on National Legislation
Internships available for Indian energy
students
Current college upper-classmen and graduate students, who are
familiar with Native American culture and tribal issues, are needed
to support Tribal Energy Program efforts with technical project
tasks. College students are needed to assist a cross-disciplinary
team to perform specific tasks at Sandia National Laboratories.
Interactions will be with Sandia's renewable energy staff, Native
American tribes interested in renewable systems, and Sandia's
American Indian Outreach Committee. Instant immersion in these
activities is offered to work directly with experienced and
internationally recognized peers. Travel will be required, including
field visits to renewable energy projects. The student
applicant must be a U.S. citizen and a Native American, defined as a
member of a federally recognized tribe, Alaska Village, or Alaska
Corporation (excludes state-recognized tribes; bands or groups; and
first peoples of Guam or Hawaii). Specific interest in renewable
energy is required.
For information on the application process, see the 2009
registration form, available at:
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/pdfs/intern_program2009.pdf
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/tribalenergy/internships.cfm
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