native news-march 7

News concerning Natie Peoples.

D-Q University students left in the cold
Posted: March 04, 2005
by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today

DQU attempts to evict students by turning off heat; sheriff refuses to force students out

DAVIS, Calif. - D-Q University students remained in the dorms and defied an attempt by university administrators to evict them by eating donated foods and keeping warm with space heaters, after administrators asked the Yolo County Sheriff to evict them.

Among the American Indian students who are the victims of the university's quagmire of problems, loss of accreditation and closure in January is Candice Guthrie. Guthrie, 19-year-old Paiute/Pit River/Shoshone, is among about 20 students occupying DQU dorms in a rural area near Davis.

American Indian students resisting eviction are surviving on donated foods from the World Rescue Center and braving chilly 40-degree night temperatures after DQU administrators turned off the heat in the dorms for one week in an attempt to evict them.

''They tried to turn off the electricity too, but the person in charge of maintenance refused to do it because he didn't want to be responsible if anything happened,'' Guthrie told Indian Country Today in a telephone interview. full article

Hate crime shocks Paiute reservation
Posted: March 04, 2005
by: Valerie Taliman / Indian Country Today
Part two

OWENS VALLEY, Calif. - By some accounts, more than 400 white supremacists live in the Owens Valley, a long stretch of desert four hours north of Los Angeles.

The region is sparsely populated and dotted with small towns nestled into the east side of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. And it's the traditional homeland of several tribes, including the Paiute and Shoshone of Bishop, Big Pine, Lone Pine and Fort Independence.
A handful of paroled convicts with known ties to white supremacist prison gangs also live in the valley, according to police officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

''We know they're here, but a lot of them keep a low profile because they're involved in narco-trafficking to support themselves,'' said one officer. ''We keep a handle on the ones we know about, but a lot of them stay under the radar and live in remote areas. And some are just kids who identify with the racist agenda of these organizations.'' full article

Western Shoshones file Yucca lawsuit

Tribes cite 1863 treaty in claiming land cannot be used for waste repository
By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A contingent of Western Shoshones played what Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project opponents consider their ace in the hole Friday: a lawsuit based on an 1863 treaty that the tribes say doesn't allow building a repository on their native land.

It is the first time the Ruby Valley Treaty, authorized by Civil War Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, has been used in a case that targets Yucca Mountain, said Reno attorney Robert Hager, who represents the Western Shoshone tribes.

"I have always felt the Western Shoshone have the best claim to stop Yucca Mountain," Hager said, flanked by tribal leaders outside Lloyd George U.S. Courthouse in Las Vegas where the case was filed. full article

Band suing SaskPower, governments over dam
Last Updated Mar 4 2005 04:54 PM CST
CBC News
PRINCE ALBERT – A northern First Nation is demanding compensation for a 76-year-old hydro-electric project that it says flooded and destroyed traditional lands.

SaskPower took possession of the Island Falls dam on the Churchill River in 1981. It was constructed in 1929 for the mining industry in Manitoba.

Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation is now suing the power company, the province, and the federal government.

The band filed court documents last December claiming that a series of hydro projects were built on traditional lands without consent and that treaty rights were, and continue to be, violated. full article

American Indians standing against Anti-Indian sovereignty group
Native American Times guest commentary
OKLAHOMA CITY OK
Mike Graham 3/7/2005
The One Nation organization based in Oklahoma City is just another fear mongering group focused on American Indian sovereignty, however U.S. treaties made with Indian nations already cover that. One Nation boasts of a large membership, so large that one has to think that they are counting all people doing business with companies associated with One Nation. Most people doing business with these companies have not heard of One Nation and are not aware of what they stand for.

If they did you would see a lot of people leaving and doing business with other companies not associated with One Nation. Indian groups around the country are getting the word out to the public as to what One Nation really stands for, and that is to do away with all Indian governments and their land rights.

One Nation is basically made up of oil and gas companies, plus some convenience stores owned by them as well as realty groups. State and federal laws cover each of them; they have no say over Indian business operations. One Nation wants people to think Indian nations are ripping the taxpayers off and Indian nations are bringing about the downfall of America due to the way they are allowed to conduct business in our country. full article