articles-september 30

Toll booths on St. Regis Mohawk reservation?
Updated: 9/30/2004 6:30 AM
By: News 10 Now Web Staff

It may be free now, but if the St. Regis Mohawk tribe has its way, motorists will have to pay to enter native land. Tribal leaders say setting up toll booths at the entrances to the reservation is well within their rights as a sovereign nation.

"We have to make up the money somewhere, and if we're going to lose this because we do need those funds in order to provide services to the community. I know that's an option that we have. I know it will be inconvenient for a lot of people, but you have to pay a toll on the thruway, and they make money there. So maybe that's something we need to look at seriously," said Chief Barbara Lazore who is with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe. full article

Judge dismisses charges against activist

By Eric Newhouse
Tribune Projects Editor

Russell Standing Rock is free again, after a judge on the Rocky Boy's Reservation dismissed criminal contempt charges against him.

But a special prosecutor for the tribe is appealing the decision.

Standing Rock, an activist who is challenging several amendments to the tribal constitution, was ordered to surrender for a mental evaluation last July.

When he didn't, he was charged with criminal contempt and ultimately arrested in Havre. full article

Mission to restore native diet
By Karen Herzog
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

September 30, 2004

Long before french fries, ice cream and snack foods took over, indigenous foods such as corn, squash, beans, salmon, trout and bison fed the country.

Now, a movement is afoot among leaders of American Indian communities to return to such healthy foods of their heritage, and to teach non-Indians about their little understood cuisine.

One avenue for this mission is a three-day Native Food Summit, held recently in Milwaukee.

About 200 tribal leaders, advocates for American Indian culture, food and health, and native food suppliers and business owners from across the country gathered for the summit, where they looked to American Indian chefs, such as Loretta Barrett Oden, to spark a better understanding and enthusiasm for the foods their ancestors knew. full article

Arctic hunter brings carvings to life

Posted: September 30, 2004 - 9:00am EST
by: Matt Ross / Correspondent / Indian Country Today

INUVIK, Northwest Territories - Because of its isolation from human populations, the Beaufort Delta region of the Northwest Territories has an abundance of life.

Combining the wilderness of barren lands of Canada’s far north with the icy water that feeds into the Arctic Ocean, the natural world that survives there is what intrigues carver Derrald Pokiak Taylor. With an intimate knowledge of the land, this artist attempts to portray the vividness of those animals he frequently encounters during what are fleeting moments.

"When I see the animals, I’ll follow them in their natural environment. When the polar bear is on the ice or in the open water, I’ll take the time to watch his movements," said Taylor, 41. full article

Lobbyist for tribes won't answer panel's questions

By Dee-Ann Durbin
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON -- A lobbyist who billed American Indian tribes tens of millions of dollars for work on casino issues refused Wednesday to answer questions from the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

Committee Chairman Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., quoted from e-mails in which Jack Abramoff called his tribal clients "morons," "monkeys" and "stupid idiots." Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, said he was personally offended and asked Abramoff why he worked with tribes if he felt that way. full article

Honoring Native Americans with Disrespect

BET.com, News Analysis,
Ed Wiley III, Sep 30, 2004
In the nation’s capital, where 20,000 Native Americans converged this week for the most grandiose tribal gathering in U.S. history, several Indian groups are demanding that the city discard an icon they say reminds them of America’s historic hate of their people: The Washington “Redskins” mascot.

After 15 years of development and $219 million in costs, Washington, D.C. introduced a museum on the National Mall Tuesday that recognizes the historic contributions of Native Americans. Ironically, say a wide range of religious, civil rights and Native American, organizations, long after the hoopla of the unveiling dies down, the most resounding roar rising out of Washington will be the praises lifted to a degrading icon. full article

The Harvard Law Professor Who Sat On An Israeli Assassination Target Review Panel

The Jihad of Alan Dershowitz

By LIAQUAT ALI KHAN
Law Professor,
Washburn University School of Law

If to dispute well is law's chiefest end, Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz has honed this ability to a stunning craft. In high-profile cases, such as O. J. Simpson, Doctor Dershowitz, a seasoned criminal law jurist, serves as a media-savvy lawyer determined to defend "the guilty." Less well known, however, is that this advocacy Mephistopheles thrives on inventing unpopular, counter-intuitive, and even unjust exceptions to international law--a subject he normally does not teach. These exceptions--mutually folded in each other's orb---allow the torturing of terrorists, the assassinations of their leaders, and the demolition of their family homes. What is most intriguing is the contempt that Dershowitz has for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and its current President (the Chinese judge) whom he calls a thug, discarding the language of professional courtesy.

Somewhat intrigued by his incendiary views daringly, and sometimes crudely, expressed in books and newspaper columns, I requested to interview Dershowitz, an interview he granted promptly and generously. We both taped the interview, I for no other reason but to save as a souvenir. I came out of the interview with the clear impression that--setting aside the civil liberties concerns that inform his criminal defense rhetoric--Dershowitz concocts these exceptions not merely to embellish his ivory tower but to proactively defend, and sometimes shape, Israeli policies in occupied Palestine. full article