Say Anything Blog

Interesting article written by Jo Baeza of the White Mountain Independent.

The article speaks about a visit from Sen. John McCain to the White Mountain Apache Tribe.

Read the article and judge the man for yourself.

Some students who attend the Eden Prairie School in a suburb of Minneapolis have been disciplined after photos surfaced on Facebook, a social networking site.  A total of 42 students were questioned, with 13 students disciplined.  Students were suspended from sports and other school related activities.

AP- Some Eden Prairie students have been suspended from sports and extracurricular activities after school officials saw Facebook photos of students who appeared to be partying, several students said.

Danny O’Leary, a senior lacrosse player, said Tuesday that his dean obtained four Facebook photos of O’Leary holding drinks and said he was in “a bit of trouble.” One photo shows him holding a can of beer, another a shot of rum, and another showed him holding his friend’s 40-ounce container of beer.

“I wasn’t drinking that night,” O’Leary said. “I was told each picture was equal to a two-game suspension.”

The students have also planned to walk out of school today after first hour classes.  A small, but very vocal group left the school at 9:22 a.m. today, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.

Some of the students are upset with the school administration’s handling of the situation, claiming their rights have been violated.

Students need to make better choices when posting things online and putting it out there for anyone with internet access to see.

Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz) have joined other lawmakers in calling for Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) to resign his post. 

Craig was arrested on June 11th in a bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport by police officers who were investigating reports of lewd conduct.

Senator Craig subsequently pleaded guilty to misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge on August 8th.

An article that appears in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune details the arrest report filed on Senator Craig.

According to police reports, Craig kept watching the undercover police officer through a crack in the bathroom stall, Roll Call reported. Craig then entered the next-door stall and placed his luggage against the opening under the stall door.

“My experience has shown that individuals engaging in lewd conduct use their bags to block the view from the front of their stall,” said the officer, Sgt. Dave Karsnia.

The report continued: “At 1216 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct. Craig tapped his toes several times and moves his foot closer to my foot. ... The presence of others did not seem to deter Craig as he moved his right foot so that it touched the side of my left foot which was within my stall area.”

The report said that Craig swiped his hand beneath the stall divider several times and that Karsnia showed his police identification under the stall.

Roll Call reported that Craig was detained about 45 minutes and questioned by officers at the Airport Police Operations Center. At one point, police reports said, Craig handed the arresting officer a business card that identified him as a U.S. senator and said, “What do you think about that?”

Senator Craig has maintained his innocence and is blaming his guilty plea on frustration caused by Idaho’s biggest newspaper, The Idaho Statesman, looking into his past.

Senator Craig also claims that he didn’t do anything wrong in the Minneapolis bathroom on June 11th, saying he has a “wide stance” on the toilet and he was picking up a piece of paper on the bathroom floor.  Officers misconstrued the situation and it led to his arrest. His explanations of the events only discredit his argument.  Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich) in an interview with the AP has said that Craig’s explanations are “not credible.”

When are people going to take responsibility for their own actions? Senator Craig should stand up and be a man, admit your mistakes and ask for forgiveness instead of pointing fingers at everyone else. 

Why plead guilty to a crime if you are innocent?  If Senator Craig did nothing wrong, then why not stand up and fight the charges? Innocent people do not plead guilty to crimes. Why try to influence the police with a business card stating your status as a U.S. Senator and ask “What do you think about that?” Does he think he is above the law?

There is no national Holiday that honors Native Americans, but that could change in the future as the lawmakers in good ol’ Washington D.C. are currently discussing a bill that would create one. 

The bill was introduced by U.S. Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).  The bill would call for the day to fall on the day after Thanksgiving. 

However, I am not in total agreement with this, it should probably fall on a day during the summer where it can be celebrated throughout Indian Country with Pow-wows and other celebrations. If the holiday falls on the day after Thanksgiving, those of us in the northern part of the nation will have to celebrate with a Pow-wow held indoors due to the cold weather.

We all know that Pow-wows that are held outside are way better than those held indoors.

Pow-wows are the best way for Native Americans to celebrate their heritage.  I know that I love going to Pow-wows as it fills me with pride. 

What better way to celebrate a national holiday honoring Native Americans that with a Pow-wow?

Anyway, just like everything, there are people who are against a holiday honoring Native Americans as the article points out.  Read it and see for yourself.

Due to a conflict over tribal sovereignty, Democratic Presidential candidates are being pressured to skip this event by the labor unions trying to organize in California casinos.

This historic event will be held on the reservation of the Morongo Band of Missions.  They operate a casino west of Palm Springs.

The forum will feature issues relevant to Native Americans and will give the Democratic candiates an opportunity to interact with leaders from Tribes around the country.

This event is being organized in part by Kayln Free, a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma as well as the DNC.  She has stated that if the Democratic candidates will not attend, the Republican candidates will be invited instead.

I just hope the politics surrounding this event are solved.  It would be nice to have a forums for both Republican and Democratic candidates.

There are two sides to every story.  Justin B. had an earlier post on this subject.  His posting only presented one side of this story.  The following article reveals the other side.

The Arizona Snowbowl Ski Resort wants to use water that is reclaimed from sewage treatment plants to create fake snow. 

If they want to find new ways to keep their resort economically viable, that is fine.

However, The Snowbowl Ski Resort leases about 800 acres of land on the San Francisco Peaks that are held sacred by 13 Tribes in Arizona. The United States Forest Service manages the National Forest where the Resort is located.

Tribes and Environmentalists have united to oppose this proposal.  The tribes have created a “Save the Peaks Coalition” that is aimed in preserving their sacred lands.

Klee Benally, an organizer for Save the Peaks Coalition says:

“Snowbowl’s proposal would not only disrupt and negatively impact the sensitive mountain ecosystem and public health, but it is also a severe act of cultural degradation.”

Chelsea Ross of In These Times writes:

The coalition of tribes and environmentalists brought the issue to Federal District Court, which in January 2006 ruled in favor of the USFS’ approval of the plans on all counts. But on March 12, the 9th Circuit Court overturned two counts of that ruling, making it illegal for Snowbowl to go ahead with its plans to make snow from reclaimed wastewater.

In his 64-page decision, Judge William Fletcher wrote that the human health impacts of using wastewater had not been sufficiently evaluated, and that making snow from wastewater violated the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), based on the religious practices of the Navajo, Hopi and Havasupai tribes.

Judge Fletcher, however, compared the spraying of such snow on the Peaks to the government requiring that “baptisms be carried out with ‘reclaimed water.’”

As with every story, there are always two sides and two viewpoints.

Read the article, keep an open mind and make your own decisions on this issue.

A big thumbs up for the North Dakota Legislature.  They recently passed a bill that will help Tribal Colleges with costs and education of non-beneficiary students.

Hopefully this will be the start of a mutually beneficial relationship between the Tribal Colleges and the State of North Dakota.

David Melmer of Indian Country Today writes:

BISMARCK, N.D. - The North Dakota Legislature has agreed to compensate tribal colleges for non-beneficiary students.

Tribal college presidents worked diligently to convince the Legislature and governor that the legislation was necessary to support the tribal colleges.

Tribal colleges receive federal funding for American Indian students, which is placed in the general fund to offset costs for services. There is no funding for non-beneficiary students, who are not tribal members and do not meet the one-fourth blood requirement for American Indian designation.

Senate Bill 2404 allocates $700,000 for the states tribal colleges for grant-assistance payments beginning July 1 and ending June 30, 2009.

‘’The state board of higher education shall make grants to tribally-controlled community colleges to defray the costs of education associated with enrollment of non-beneficiary students,’’ the bill states.

The bill identifies non-beneficiary students as those who are less than one-quarter quantum American Indian blood.

Gov. John Hoeven was supportive of the bill, thereby eliminating any speculation about a veto.

This bill will go a very long way in terms of supporting what Tribal Colleges in the State of North Dakota are able to do and accomplish. Supporting education is always helpful.

In Mille Lacs county, an 11 year old crime victim was taken to jail after failing to testify at a trial of his attacker.

Richard Meryhew of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes:

Tribal leaders for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe are asking state officials to investigate the handcuffing and shackling of an 11-year-old band member who was detained by police last month after he failed to appear in court to testify as a crime victim.
The boy, who had been assaulted by an older boy, was taken to Mille Lacs County jail April 10, kept overnight in a juvenile detention center and taken to the county courthouse the next morning handcuffed, shackled and wearing an orange jail jumpsuit.

The handling of this matter befuddles common sense.  The police were within the letter of the law in Minnesota, but I am sure there are better ways of handling this situation.

The Mille Lacs band of Ojibwe is up in arms over the handling of this matter.

Should it really come to arresting and holding an 11 year old in jail?

Read the article and make your own judgements.

This is a great article about the Meskwaki Nation and their tribal members defeating a measure that would have allowed the sale of alcohol in their casino. 

This is another example of the tribal members looking out for the long range well being of their tribe. 

Josh Nelson of the WCF Courier writes:

Members of the Meskwaki Nation decided to maintain their status as owners of Iowa’s only alcohol-free casino.

A ballot initiative asking whether the sale of beer and wine should be allowed in the casino went down to defeat Thursday. The tally was 166 no votes to 143 yes. Voter turnout was about 48 percent.

Sales would have been limited to certain areas of the casino, including the lounge, entertainment venues and banquet hall.

The issue was a hot topic around morning coffee at the tribal center ever since casino officials brought the issue forward earlier this year.

The tribal members of the Meskwaki Nation should be applauded for their ability to stick with what they value without looking at only profits and dollar signs.

Great job Meskwaki Nation.

I recently read an article in the Sioux City Journal about a program called “Fatherhood is Sacred”.  This program was created to help those Indian fathers who care about their children but are without contact with them for one reason or another.  This program helps those Indian fathers who want to be strong leaders and role models for their children.

Travis Coleman of the Sioux City Journal writes:

Six months ago, a rift with the mother of his 2-year-old son stopped Robert Rouillard from seeing his son.

“I felt like I was down and out. You wake up every morning and think about your son and he’s not there,” Rouillard said.

Then came Fatherhood is Sacred, a 12-week program that Rouillard joined to help him become a better dad. Rouillard, along with Anthony Yellowbank from Sioux City, graduated from the Mesa, Ariz.-based program and recently created the first urban chapter of the program that had only been offered to American Indian men on reservations.

Rouillard’s participation in the program helped him recently gain temporary custody of his son.

About 20 dads from the Omaha, Santee and Winnebago tribes joined Rouillard recently to discuss similar experiences and what the program means to them.

“It’s a guiding light that allows us to be what we were meant to be,” said attendee Scott Aldrich. “And that’s a leader.”

Aldrich and others are products of the program created in 2001 by Albert Pooley. When the program first began, there was only one attendee. The program then reached out to American Indian fathers in jail. But the program has since reached out to those who are set to become dads to those looking for ways to become a more effective dad.

“When the program found me, I thought I was living a pretty decent life,” Yellowbank said. “It has enhanced me, helped me. My life has been getting better and better by the day.”

The program is the first of its kind, as courses that seek to create a stronger bond between parent and child have been traditionally offered to women and children.

This program will undoubtedly help out many Indian fathers become the leaders and first teachers of their children.

You can read the whole article here.