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O'siyo Brothers and Sister!
The first three articles point out some glaring
disparities between Indians and the rest of American society as a whole.
Indians are more than aware they are relegated to less than equal
treatment, but it is alarming how few in the dominant society are aware
of these differences. Further, it is apparent that there are few who
care about the status quo, and fewer willing To change it, although it
clearly represents apartheid in the society that loves to brag about
"equal rights" for all.
I am 64 years old. I lived at a time when segregation was a fact. I have
been in segregated black-only schools during my youth that were
appalling in their crumbling facilities and inadequate resources. North
Carolina went a step further than many states that imposed segregation.
There were white-only schools, black-only schools and Indian-only
schools. That is precisely how Pembroke came to be.
However bad those pre-60's segregated schools were, there are BIA
schools in existence today that make those icons of racism look like
palaces of learning.
"Report warns of serious dangers at BIA Schools"
A visit to 13 Bureau of Indian Affairs schools turned up "serious health
and safety deficiencies," some of which have gone uncorrected for years,
the Interior Department's Inspector General said in an urgent report.
The BIA needs to take "immediate action" to fix the problems, the report
said. "Failure to mitigate these conditions will likely cause injury or
death to children and school employees," Inspector General Earl E.
Devaney said in a letter to Assistant Secretary Carl Artman.
If inadequate, unsafe schools were not enough to raise "notice me"
flags, it seems the Health System for Indians has even worse examples.
Do you believe that even the worst ghetto health clinic is not in as
deplorable a condition as many IHS facilities? The sad truth is you can
actually be infected with worse things than you sought treatment for in
some of the IHS slums.
"IHS Director calls for end of Care disparities"
The director of the IHS told tribal leaders June 26 he wants his agency
to eliminate disparities within the American Indian health care system
as well as those that exist between tribal and traditional health care.
Access to tribal - and traditional - medical facilities, coordinating
insurance payments for both types of care and ensuring American Indians
are adequately insured are among the many challenges facing the agency,
Dr. Charles Grim told a congregation of the Direct Service Tribes. The
group includes tribes that allow the federal government to regulate
their health care and education programs.
Other challenges: Some Indian people do not have traditional health
insurance; instead, they rely on their tribes, through the government,
to provide medical care. And in some poverty-stricken Indian
communities, limited access to medical facilities can literally become a
matter of life and death.
Finally, I understand the need to protect endangered birds and four-leggeds,
but the bald eagle has been removed from the endangered species list,
yet to carry one of their feathers still requires a federally enrolled
tribal member to jump through the Repository hoops. Even if the bird
dropped the feather right in your path it would be against the law for
you to pick it up and keep it.
These feathers are part of our sacred path. I don't see other faiths
bound by similar bureaucratic bull. For example, it is illegal to offer
alcohol in any form to a minor, but you don't see priests and ministers
being marched off to jail and charged with illegally influencing a minor
when the child is offered sacramental wine.
"Eagle Feather Laws still in place"
Although the bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list
last month, the laws regulating the possession of the bird's feathers
are still in place.
Both the bald and the golden eagle are still protected by the federal
act that bears their names: the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act -
also known as the "Eagle Act" - as well as the Migratory Bird Treaty
Act.
Eagle feathers, however, have had spiritual significance to Indian
tribes long before the federal government began passing acts. So in the
1970s, the National Eagle Repository was established to provide feathers
of bald and golden eagles to tribal members for ceremonial purposes.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal.."
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Fire Ravaged Rez needs help!!!
Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2007 06:05:27 -0700 (PDT)
From: "Bear Warrior" <boricuawarrior@yahoo.com>
Subj: Prayer Request and request for action.
There is a dire emergency at the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in
Owyhee, Nevada. It's a very isolated reservation on the Nevada/Idaho
border. One of the many fires that have been burning out of control in
the west devastated this little village and people are suffering without
water and electricity for 5 day now with no relief in sight. Food is
going bad since there is no electricity since all the power poles are
burned to a crisp.
The elderly and the children are taking a direct hit as water supplies
dwindle and food is in short supply. Since there is no power the heat is
taking its toll and there is human suffering since there has been no
aid. If ever there was a time for The People to pull together it's now.
So give these people a chance to survive in this blistering heat. Give
them a call and see what you can do. These are our brothers and sister
who are literally baking in the hot Nevada sun. If nothing is done like
soon, there will be fatalities as the elderly will soon expire from the
heat and the lack of water.
This is a human tragedy in the making and they need help now. Do you
think the feds will help them? Well it's been 5 days now and do the
math. Lives will soon be lost if help does not get there soon. Please,
Please contact do your bit for our relations....
Contact info: Shoshone-Paiute Tribes Sho-Pai Fire Station 1935 FireLane
PO Box 219 89832 (775)757-2473 Ask for Brent Hunter, or you may contact
me here in Elko,NV, Si Thomas 775-777-7739
You may not be able to help financially but if you pray and pass this on
you may send this to someone who might be able to help. Bear Warrior
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Dohiyi Ani Oginalii
Gary Smith (*,*)
wotanging@bellsouth.net
P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org
Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. ===w=w===
http://www.nanews.org
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