Sacred N.M. Mountain Remains at Center of Uranium Fight, by R. Reese, The New York Times

It is true that people desperately need jobs, that our historical and sacred places should be maintained,and all  health issues concerning people, and the environment need to be addressed.  This article has all of these elements and more.  The heated debate concerns whether a mining company (Rio Grande Resources Corp.) should be allowed to continue to  delay cleaning up a mine that is dormant. This particular mine is located  on Mount Taylor, in Grants, NM. The mine holds the nation’s largest uranium deposit. Mount Taylor is held sacred by many of the Pueblo tribes in the Southwest. Particularly the Hopi, Acoma, Laguna, and Zuni.   The Navajo Nation also views the mountain as a sacred place.  In addition, there are concerns involving health issues

“At the hearing, held by the New Mexico Mining and Minerals Division, testimony was divided roughly equally between those who support the renewal of the company’s five-year standby permit, with an eye toward the local economic benefits that could come from reopening the mine, and those who oppose it out of concerns that contamination could worsen if the site remains un-remediated for another five years… Eric Jantz, an attorney with the New Mexico Environmental Law Center…noted that the New Mexico Environment Department has found elevated levels of nitrates and uranium in an old underground waste lagoon at the mine site, and expressed concern that delaying a comprehensive cleanup could put the environment further at risk.”

Steve Juanico of Acoma Pueblo stated: “ Everybody’s fighting for survival — we need that economic viability, But it’s short lived. … We really need to protect our water resources. Are we doing the right thing?” One remedy to fight contamination that was offered by the company according to Joe Lister, who manages the Mount Taylor mine site for the company:

“… involves planting salt cedar trees to soak up contaminated water. The trees will then be uprooted and destroyed.”

Nadine Padilla, who is of Navajo and Pueblo ancestry, is also a member of  the Multi-Cultural Alliance for a Safe Environment stated;  “ We’re not only concerned about the quality of the environment and possible contamination of the site; we’re also concerned because it’s a sacred place, a place that tribes regard as holy.”

Read the article and share your thoughts with us.

“Only after the last tree has been cut down, Only after the last river has been poisoned, Only after the last fish has been caught, Only then will you find money cannot be eaten.”   ~ Cree Prophecy ~

Photos:

top: Mt. Taylor at sunset

courtesy of L.Dietershagen-Sanchez

bottom: Ceremony for Mother Earth. photo Google Images.

Mireya Navarro, The New York Times

With the coming election for president of the Navajo Nation on November 2, one major topic is environmental healing.  Candidates feel that it’s time for people to build more solar farms to replace coal mining.

Here are several reasons stated in the article for why the tribe should  go green,

“…At the grass-roots level, the internal movement advocating a retreat from coal is both a reaction to the environmental damage and the health consequences of mining — water loss and contamination, smog and soot pollution — and a reconsideration of centuries-old tenets.”

“…In Navajo culture, some spiritual guides say, digging up the earth to retrieve resources like coal and uranium (which the reservation also produced until health issues led to a ban in 2005) is tantamount to cutting skin and represents a betrayal of a duty to protect the land.”

There are also economical reasons for the change,

“…Tribal leaders say the Navajo Nation’s income from coal has dwindled 15 percent to 20 percent in recent years as federal and state pollution regulations have imposed costly restrictions and lessened the demand for mining.”

An important article — read it and share your thoughts with us.

Tags: coal mining, elections, Navajo, Solar Energy

Since November is election time, we’d like to acknowledge Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell, who served in the United States Senate from 1993-2005 and in the U.S. House from 1987-1993. Senator Campbell is one of 44 Chiefs of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.  Campbell  was the third American Indian to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the second Native Indian to serve in the U.S. Senate. The first American Indian to serve  was Charles Curtis.

During his time in office, Campbell was noted for his candidness.

One memorable Campbell quote:

“A lot of senators are so worried about convention and how they look that they wouldn’t let their hair down if they had any.”

In addition to politics Campbell is a noted designer of American Indian jewlery, and has won over 200 prizes in competitions. He has been praised as being among the best of the country’s artist.

Tags: Benjamin Nighthorse Campbell, Charles Curtis, election, House of Representatives, U. S. Senate

By Fritz Faerber, June 8, 2010 National Geographic

The catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has caused irreparable damage to people and wildlife, but might it also cause the extinction of an American Indian tribe?

The Atakapa-Ishak Indians are a small group of Indians living in the marshes of  Louisiana in the Grand Bayou Village.  Rosina Philippe, a spokesperson for the tribe had this to say.

” The Atakapa have survived smallpox, Manifest Destiny and a millennium of hurricanes, but the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which represents a complete unknown, is the scariest threat of all…”

Maurice Phillips, another member of the Atakapa-Ishak Tribe had this comment,

“I’ve been a shrimper all my life, and trapping. That’s all I ever did. We live off the land. We get all our wildlife, seafood, and everything off the land…I can’t even think about leaving it. And the way the economy is, where are you going to go and live?”

Ruby Ancar, is also a member of the Atakapa-Ishak and here are her thoughts,

“Nature, you can’t control. You can’t control a hurricane you can’t control a tornado. But when you have things that are man made: that destroys a person’s life or an entire village or an entire community, I mean, that’s uncalled for.“

A big “thank you” to National Geographic for calling public attention to the  plight of the Atakapa-Ishak Indians.

Read the article, view the video, and share your  thoughts with us!

Tags: American Indian tribe, Atakapa-Ishak Indians, Grand Bayou Village, Louisiana, National Geographic, oil spill, Ruby Ancar, wildlife

By Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today

Many American Indian tribes are concerned that Arizona’s anti-immigration law is a threat to tribal sovereignty and to the rights of Native individuals.

This is especially true for the tribes located near the U.S.-Mexican border, such as the Tohono O’odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui, whose members have been rallying against the law.

Ian Record, an education manager with the Native Nations Institute states,

“It complicates things for tribal citizens, especially of those nations. It has to be greatly concerning to everyone that law-abiding citizens of those nations are likely to be pulled over..”

John Lewis, director of the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) states,

“We have a range of concerns, including tribal sovereign nations not being recognized as able to define and protect their own borders as they see fit, and the possibility that tribal citizens will be profiled by police…”

Read the article and share your thoughts.

Tags: Arizona anti- immigration law, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Pascua Yaqui Indians, police profile, Tohono O'odham Nation, U.S.-Mexican border

By Elizabeth Abbott, The New York Times

It is known that Native Americans lived in every state in this country, including Narragansett, Rhode Island. New archaeological evidence of the Narragansett Indians’ presence in that area has been discovered.

Some people were  exhilarated by the discovery:

“The discovery of the Indian village has excited archaeologists because of the insights it may give into how Indians lived in pre-Columbian times. To find the remains of an entire village is rare, according to archaeologists; only one other village similar in scope and complexity has been found on the East Coast, in Virginia.”

Others,  such as the development firm, Downing Salt Pond Partners, who own the property, are not exactly jumping for joy over the discovery. The firm has  already built a shopping plaza and 26 single-family homes on the land, and  they intend to  build 53 additional houses.

“The state is seeking to create a public archaeology park out of private land that Downing had already started to develop, not only violating the developer’s private property rights but also causing it considerable financial harm, the lawsuit states.”

The company is claiming that the state does not have the right to take the private land owned by Downing without compensation. Unfortunately, the state does not have the money, and is appealing to the public for support. So, the question is do we value the preservation of history and traditon, or  the rights of  the private property owners.

We at Talking Feather believe in the old adage “knowledge is wisdom”-

In other words, leave the Narragansett Indian site as it stands.

Read the article and leave your comments which are appreciated.

Tags: archaeological evidence, Downing Salt Pond, Narraganseet, Narragansett Indians, Rhode Island

NPR, April 7, 2010

Wilma Mankiller former tribal Chief of  The Cherokee Nation  died on Tuesday, at the age of 64.  A memorial for  Chief Mankiller will be held outside the Cherokee Nation Cultural Grounds in Tahlequah, Ok. It is expected that thousands will attend the service. Details

NPR presents an excerpt from a 1993 interview with Wilma Mankiller. It is an opportunity for everyone to listen to this extraordinary woman discuss the high points and the low points of her life.

She  also discusses the history of her name, a brief background of her life growing up with her family, and why she decided to go into politics. She also talks about her near death encounter, and what she learned from the experience.

Another tribute to Wilma Mankiller:

Wilma Mankiller’s Trail of Triumph- By Paul Chaat Smith, April 8, 2010,  CNN

She will be remembered with love…

-Talking Feather-

Tags: Cherokee Nation, Chief, NPR interview, Oklahoma, Tahlequah, Wilma Mankiller

By  Jesse McKinley, Published: March 20, 2010, The New York Times

This is an interesting article about a small tribe with a big spirit. The Winnemem Wintu a small, poor tribe in San Francisco, embarked on a unusual journey. Two hundred members went to the Rakaia River, located in New Zealand, to apologize to the Chinook Salmon there.

The apology will be in the form of a ceremonial dance that the leaders say has not been performed in 60 years, which is the reason the fish are in short supply in California.

The tribe feels responsible for the loss of the fish because they allowed the building of the Shasta Dam, which in turn  blocked the Sacramento River, and in short cut off passage to the seasonal salmon runs.

“We’re going to atone for allowing them to build that dam,” said Mark Franco, the tribe’s headman. “We should have fought harder.”

The tribe worked hard to raise the $60,000 for the trip. There were some challenges to overcome before they could leave, such as Federal Express wanting $600 to ship their ceremonial drum. Since they couldn’t afford this, they checked it in at the airport with the rest of the religious paraphernalia, such as the sacred water, and ceremonial weapons.

interestingly, the tribe intends to do more than just  perform the ceremony.

The Francos say they intend to ask local fish and game officials if they can bring back some of New Zealand’s salmon eggs — once of California stock — back to the McCloud. “We have to do more than pray,” Ms. Sisk-Franco said. “We have to follow through.”

I applaud the Winnemem tribe for their strong belief in their culture, and for their intelligence in handling this matter. They have utilized both to  (we hope) win this battle.

A good article to read.

Tags: Chinook Salmon, New Zealand, Rakaia River, Sacrarmento River, Shasta Dam, Winnemem Wintu tribe

By Susan Montoya Bryan The Associated Press / January 13, 2010, The Christian Science Monitor

The small village of Jemez Pueblo, located in New Mexico, is on the verge of becoming very rich, and not by installing a gambling casino.

The village is negotiating a deal to use tribal lands for building  a solar plant, that will house a large number of solar panels. According to James Roger Madalena, the representative for Jemez Pueblo in the state Legislature,

“We don’t have any revenue coming in except for a little convenience store,…It’s very critical that we become innovative, creative, that we come up with something that will last generations without having a devastating impact on the environment.”

Utilizing natural energy as a means of producing revenue might be an alternative to gambling casinos for many tribes. Millions of dollars are spent on green energy production in this country, and this is the first step towards including  American Indian tribes in this development.

Everyone should read this article.

Tags: Jemez Pueblo, money, natural energy, New Mexico, solar panels, solar power

By Rob Capriccioso, Indian Country Today

Story Updated: Jan 12, 2010

WAHINGTON – If one area important to many Native Americans received less attention than it deserved in 2009, it was Indian education.

This is the opening statement of the article concerning the need to improve American Indian education in this country.

Attempts have been made in this direction, an example being the meeting of Tribal Leaders on Capitol Hill in November, for the 40- year anniversary of the Kennedy Report, whose focus was education.

John Echohawk, director of the Native American Rights Fund stated,

What Indian education really needs today is an individual like Robert or Ted Kennedy in Congress who truly understands and embraces full tribal sovereignty in education…

The National Indian Education Association notes that some funding for education was received by some tribes as a result of February’s stimulus legislation.

Indian educators  will make their concerns known to federal lawmakers this year.

This is an important  article that should be read by everyone.

Tags: Education, National Indian Education Association, Native American Rights Fund, Washington