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Posted on Wednesday, March 25
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SUMTER BAND OF CHERAW INDIANS OFFICIAL ELECTION RESULTS |
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Its been a very long year for the Sumter Band of Cheraw Indians. Through many attempts to discredit and/or destroy the leadership of our people, we have followed the leadership and advice of our attorney and held a nonimation meeting and an election that followed the by-laws of both factions and the statue of law dealing with non-profit organizations and the results of these proceedings are listed below. Aanticipating an objection to the election from the other faction, we are now in a position to seek a declaratory judgement from the courts. We have high hopes of coming out with our leaders in place. I am not going into all of the problems that brought us to this place in our history; but I will say that we have been and are always thinking of the people first. It would have been wonderful to come to an agreement that would be acceptable to both factions, but their stipulations were to say the least lop-sided.
Our ELECTED governing body is as follows:
Chief: Barbara Jan Lewandowski
Vice Chief: Melvin G. Scott, Jr
Chairperson: John Anthony Holland
Vice-Chair: Amanda J. McKinney
Secretary: Claudia Benenhaley Gainey
Treasurer: Georgia Benenhaley
Council Members:
June B. Hansen
Jeanne Galiano
Charles Ryles
Amanda S. McKellips
Jason V. Scott
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Cherokee Nation employee selected for National EMS Council |
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Cherokee Nation employee selected for National EMS Council
By Staff reports
Story Published: Aug 24, 2010
(Story Updated: Aug 24, 2010 )
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. – A Cherokee Nation employee has been selected by the U.S. secretary of Transportation to serve an additional term as a representative for the nation’s EMS advisory group.
Linda Squirrel, special projects officer for Cherokee Nation EMS, was reappointed for a second term to the board of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. The council provides information, advice and recommendations to the secretary of Transportation on matters relating to all aspects of development and implementation of emergency medical services issues. Squirrel was selected among dozens of nominees from across the country.
“It is not only an honor for Linda, but for the Cherokee Nation that the secretary selected her to serve an additional term on this council,” said Chad Smith, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. “Linda provides positive advice and recommendations to the group on the development of national EMS projects, and we know she will represent the tribal EMS programs well.”
LaHood said in a letter to Squirrel that he was pleased to reappoint her to a second term and that her interest in EMS and her excellent past service is greatly appreciated.
“We look forward to working with [her] to advance our goal of providing a world-class EMS system here in the United States,” he said.
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International Day of the World’s Indigenous People celebrated |
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International Day of the World’s Indigenous People celebrated
US acknowledges indigenous contributions while reviewing Declaration
By Gale Courey Toensing
Story Published: Aug 22, 2010
(Story Updated: Aug 20, 2010 )
NEW YORK – People around the globe marked the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People Aug. 9 as the U.S. State Department continued its review of the federal government’s rejection of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
In Malaysia, there was a celebration on the beach with dancing, music and basket weaving. In New Delhi, around 80 tribal people from eight states dressed in traditional attire and came together to speak out about their struggles and ask for their rights as equal citizens.
In Costa Rica, two dozen indigenous protesters staged a sit-in at the Legislative Assembly and called on lawmakers to approve a labor union agreement regarding the autonomy of indigenous people, which was signed by Costa Rica in 1992, but never ratified.
And in California, the California Tribal Business Alliance was preparing to make a stand against non-indigenous casino developers who encourage Californian tribes to make land claims in more marketable locations outside their traditional homelands.
Susan E. Rice, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, issued a prepared statement affirming the federal government’s “deep and abiding commitment to improving the lives of First Americans. The United States also recognizes the more than 370 million indigenous people who live in some 90 countries around the world. We honor their immeasurable contributions to society and call upon all nations to work together with indigenous communities to meet our common challenges.”
But one of the common challenges in meeting the commitment to improve the lives of indigenous peoples was the rejection by the governments of the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia when the U.N. General Assembly adopted the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in September 2007 by a vote of 143-4. The four countries all have large indigenous populations whose aboriginal territories cover vast portions of the lands. Australia and New Zealand have since adopted the Declaration and Canada and the U.S. are reviewing their positions.
A coalition of socially responsible investor groups, which recently urged the federal government to endorse the Declaration without qualification said some companies have indicated that the U.S. rejection of the document has made it difficult for them to include the principles of the Declaration in their own corporate human rights policies.”
The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1994 as part of the International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People. The International Day has occurred on Aug. 9 every year since then. The International Decade was extended at the end of the first 10 years when the General Assembly adopted another resolution declaring the Second Decade of the World’s Indigenous People.
Among the Decade’s goals are the promotion of non-discrimination and inclusion of indigenous peoples in processes that develop laws, policies, resources and programs that directly or indirectly affect their lives, lands and territories; the protection of their cultural integrity and collective rights; and the development of strong monitoring and accountability at all levels of government regarding the implementation of these protections.
With the adoption of the Declaration, the world’s indigenous peoples reached a historic achievement toward realizing those goals and more.
“But indigenous peoples still suffer disproportionate poverty, poor health and racism. Their languages, religions and cultural traditions are often shunned,” said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon at an International Day celebration recognizing the work of indigenous filmmakers at U.N. headquarters in New York where he addressed an audience of indigenous peoples.
The Declaration defines indigenous rights as human rights, and while it is non-binding it will become established international law through use over time.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, acknowledged the progress made in turning human rights into a reality for indigenous peoples, “but this International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is also an occasion to recall that there is no room for complacency. The continuing violations of the rights of indigenous peoples, in all regions of the world, deserve our utmost attention and action.”
The gap between the principles of the Declaration and the reality of indigenous peoples’ lives remains wide, Pillay said, “as indigenous peoples continue to suffer discrimination, marginalization in such fields as health and education, extreme poverty, disregard for their environmental concerns, displacement from their traditional lands and exclusion from effective participation in decision making processes.”
But support for the Declaration is expanding, including in the countries that originally voted against “this remarkable document,” Pillay noted.
Rice took the opportunity to point out actions the Obama administration has taken to strengthen the U.S. government’s “commitment to Native communities,” such as “unprecedented investments” for education, economic development, health care, programs to battle domestic violence and alcohol abuse, and by engaging in “meaningful government-to-government consultations,” including the White House’s mass tribal meeting last fall.
While these efforts are appreciated by tribal leaders, they universally have urged the Obama administration to endorse the Declaration without qualification.
Rice said the Obama administration is undertaking “an unprecedented review” of the Declaration and acknowledged its weight and importance.
“We recognize that for many around the world, the Declaration provides a critical framework for addressing the rights of indigenous peoples. It deserves a dedicated and comprehensive review.
“While the U.S. has taken several significant steps to date, we must continue to strive to give a greater voice to indigenous peoples and foster genuine positive change in tribal communities, in America and around the world.”
The federal government is consulting with tribal leaders and non-governmental organizations for input. Individuals can also e-mail their views through the State Department Web site – www.state.gov/s/tribalconsultation/declaration/index.htm.
Advances in the recognition of
indigenous rights since the adoption of the Declaration
In October 2007, the Chief Justice in Belize referred to the Declaration when deciding lands that were taken away from the Maya people by the government should be returned. The Chief Justice noted that Belize had voted for the Declaration, and the court quoted Article 26, which states that indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired and that “States shall give legal recognition and protection to these lands, territories and resources” with “due respect to the customs, traditions and land tenure systems of the indigenous peoples concerned.”
•In November 2007, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights invoked the Declaration in a ruling in favor of the Saramaka people in Suriname to settle a logging case. The court referred to Article 32, which affirms indigenous peoples’ “right to determine and develop priorities and strategies for the development or use of their lands.”
•In February 2008, the government of Australia formally apologized to members of the “Stolen Generations” and their families for the policy of forced removal of indigenous children, which had devastating consequences for generations of indigenous Australians.
•In April 2008, the House of Commons in Canada issued an endorsement of the Declaration, calling on the Parliament and government to “fully implement the standards contained therein.”
•In June 2008, Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada offered an apology to the approximately 80,000 former students of Indian residential schools still living, and to their family members and their communities, for the forced removal of children from their homes.
•Also in June 2008, the government of Japan formally recognized the Ainu people as indigenous people of Northern Japan. The resolution adopted by the Japanese Parliament states that the Ainu have a distinct language, religion and culture, recognizing that Japan is not an ethnically homogenous nation.
•In Bolivia, a referendum to amend the Constitution in January 2009 resulted in approximately 60 percent of the population voting in favor of changes to give Bolivia’s indigenous majority more power. The new Constitution provides for dedicated seats in Congress and in the Constitutional Court for smaller indigenous groups and, among other things, grants autonomy to indigenous peoples that will allow them to practice community justice according to their own customs.
•As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of February 2009, $510 million was allocated to be spent on the rehabilitation of Native American housing.
•In its February 2009 report to the U.N. Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Honduras stated that since 1995, the Honduran government has provided financial support for several indigenous programs, including $15 million for indigenous peoples’ education.
Since its adoption, the Declaration has been translated into some 15 indigenous and other languages in addition to the six official languages of the United Nations.
Source: www.un.org/indigenous.
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Canada’s racist policies to blame for national tragedy |
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Canada’s racist policies to blame for national tragedy
By Valerie Taliman, Today correspondent
Story Published: Aug 23, 2010
(Story Updated: Aug 20, 2010 )
Part four of a four part series
SAGKEENG FIRST NATION, Manitoba – At a gathering of traditional healers and spiritual leaders in the Turtle Lodge earlier this summer, the national tragedy of more than 582 murdered and missing First Nations women became a focus for discussion and prayers.
Several people spoke of relatives missing in Winnipeg, Vancouver, Toronto and Edmonton, and along the Highway of Tears. It seems to be happening everywhere.
Chief Donovan Fontaine said at least four women from the local community were missing – one six months pregnant – and later found murdered, some dumped along highways.
The situation has become a national outrage for women’s organizations, political leaders and traditional healers throughout Canada. There’s no question in their minds that Canada’s discriminatory policies toward indigenous peoples have played a major role.
The sad history of widespread physical and sexual abuse at residential schools has profoundly damaged Native communities, but so have other institutions like Canada’s foster care system.
“The violence happening to our women and children is destroying the fabric of our culture and communities,” said Dave Courchene, Anishinabe founder of the Turtle Lodge and a former school superintendent who gave up his career to follow a spiritual path nearly two decades ago.
“Right now there are 4,600 Native children in foster care in southern Manitoba who need a cultural and spiritual connection to their identity and families. Without that, they get lost. We have to make our children a priority and put them back in the center of our lives.”
Courchene helps many troubled youth and families who come to Turtle Lodge for guidance, ceremonies and a spiritual connection to their cultures. Seeking hope and healing, they participate in sweat lodge, fasts and seasonal ceremonies. Over time, they find solace and a spiritual family to support their recovery.
During the gathering, a chief from a remote community arrived asking Courchene to make an emergency visit to help – there were no more children left in his community after social services had taken them all.
What happens to children raised by non-Native strangers under government custody is directly linked to their vulnerability for exploitation and abuse.
“The child welfare system is implicated when we realize that many of the missing women we are talking about are not actually women at all, but girls in the care of the provincial ministries for child and family development,” said Angela MacDougall, executive director of Battered Women’s Support Services in Vancouver.
Others familiar with Canada’s foster care system complain it is badly broken judging from the disparities and discrimination embedded in the system that leads to the loss of First Nations children from their families.
“A single Native mother on welfare with one child receives about $580 per month to live on. But if social services takes her child and gives it to a non-Native family, they get $1,000 per month to care for the child,” said Cherry Smiley of the Aboriginal Women’s Action Network. “Instead of policies designed to keep families together, we’re dealing with rules and regulations that break our families apart.”
Manitoba Deputy Premier Eric Robinson told the gathering of traditional healers that the issue is national disgrace in Canada.
“It’s a state of emergency and we have to take some action. The national tragedy of our stolen sisters knows no provincial boundaries, and urgently requires a national strategy.”
Robinson later recalled his family history and his own sexual abuse by a priest while in residential school for three years at Jack River School in Norway House, Manitoba.
“My father was a student at one of these places, went there for seven or eight years, never learned anything more than how to write his name, but he sure became a good farmhand. My mother went at the age of 3. She came out when she was 18 to a world of alcoholism and drug abuse, and she died alone on the streets of Winnipeg at the age of 31 when I was 11 years old,” he told CBC News.
More than 150,000 First Nations children were taken from their families and forced to attend one of 130 government and church-operated residential schools designed to assimilate aboriginal children into Canadian society.
Established in the 1870s throughout Canada, residential schools were commonly overcrowded and lacked medical care and proper sanitation which resulted in widespread deaths from tuberculosis for the first 40 years. In one school, as many as 69 percent of students died from tuberculosis, according to government records.
The last residential school closed in 1996, but the impacts on First Nations are long-lasting. Rampant physical and sexual abuse created an intergenerational cycle of trauma that continues to affect families today.
A class-action lawsuit filed by residential school survivors led to the formation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which began national public hearings in June to shed light on horrific mistreatment carried out under Canadian policies.
Following a $1.9 billion Indian Residential School Settlement Agreement with survivors, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a formal apology in June 2008. In his remarks, he acknowledged the schools were intended to “kill the Indian in the child.”
In March, Grand Chief Edward John of the Tl’azt’en Nation chaired the International Expert Group Meeting on Indigenous Children and Youth in Detention, Custody, Foster-Care and Adoption in North Vancouver where leaders prepared recommendations for United Nations review.
There is a documented statistical link between the high numbers of indigenous children in foster care (and other forms of custody) and the legacy of the residential schools. This intergenerational trauma is one of the most destructive legacies of the residential school policies, the report said.
Experts agreed that discrimination, economic inequalities, and racially discriminatory policies continue to play a major role in the disproportionate placement of indigenous youth in detention, custody, foster care and adoption.
They cited many examples of discrimination including: Defining suitable households for care-giving primarily based on economic factors, both in justifications for removal of children and in determining placements for children in foster or adoptive homes; significant disparities in funding levels and services provided to Native communities; border security laws that fail to acknowledge the specific needs and rights of indigenous children and youth; and blaming the over-representation of indigenous youth in custody and care on Native peoples themselves, rather than on Canada’s system and policies.
Experts recognized that the cycle of institutionalization for Native people often begins with foster care, continues on to youth detention programs and then to custody in the adult criminal justice system. This cycle is often repeated for the children of incarcerated adults.
“In any discussion of solutions to these problems, issues of racism within law enforcement and the overarching reality of colonization and residential school are what need to be addressed and redressed,” MacDougall said.
“The women and children affected are not forgotten, because the family members, the community members, and the activists who have been working for all these years will not give up.”
Editor’s note: This series, originally set at 4, concludes with Part 5 next week summarizing resources for families and national efforts to stop the violence against women and children. It will also examine Canada’s response to this human rights emergency and intervention by the United Nations.
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Cherokee Nation challenges newly minted tribes |
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Cherokee Nation challenges newly minted tribes
Lawsuit claims Tennessee’s recognition of six groups was illegal
By Stephanie Woodard, Today correspondent
Story Published: Aug 13, 2010
(Story Updated: Aug 13, 2010 )
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A representative of the Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation has filed a lawsuit in Tennessee charging the state’s Commission of Indian Affairs violated open-meeting “sunshine” laws when it unexpectedly gave state recognition to six local groups. The commission appears to have altered its rules in order to do so. It took action June 19, about a month after the state legislature had curtailed its authority and 11 days before the date on which the legislature had slated it to go out of existence.
Commission Chairperson Tammera Hicks called the event “historic” and a fulfillment of the agency’s purpose. Green-lighted groups include the Cherokee Wolf Clan, Central Band of Cherokee, Tanasi Council, Chikamaka Band, United Eastern Lenape Nation of Winfield, Tennessee and Remnant Yuchi Nation.
Principal Chief Michell Hicks, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, criticized the process. “As one of three federally recognized Cherokee tribes, we have had no interaction with any of these groups, and I absolutely do not support them in this endeavor.”
Cherokee Nation Communications Officer Mark Miller described the recognitions as “defying the state legislature.” He went on to say that, as a Cherokee, he could certainly see the attractions of his culture. However, he said, it is important to distinguish between heritage clubs, which is how he defined these groups, and federally recognized tribes, such as the Cherokee Nation.
“When people do genealogical research, they find all sorts of ethnicities and may take a particular interest in some of them. People who discover a little German heritage, for example, might want to study the German language and go to Oktoberfest. But this doesn’t give them the right to automatically become a German citizen or to create their own Germany. Similarly, you can’t make up your own tribe just because you found a Native ancestor.”
The Cherokee Nation and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have long struggled to protect their political and cultural identity. A 2008 joint resolution described threats over the years to their sovereignty and reputation by those claiming to be Cherokee, along with the loss of millions in federal funding. The document called the problem epidemic and said it “often involves membership fees; misleading presentations to school children and interference in a multitude of government functions, including child welfare cases.”
“Lies” was how Principal Chief Joe Sitting Owl White described criticism of the recognition process. “They’ll lie till the Lord comes, and they will not inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.”
The ink had barely dried on the recognition certificates when 10 former Tennessee Indian Affairs commissioners submitted a letter to the state’s attorney general, denouncing the process and calling the groups merely “culture clubs.” The ex-officials charged conflicts of interest, noting that four of the six current commissioners belong to the tribes they approved. The 10 former officials also questioned the legitimacy of the new tribes’ identity claims, which are based in part on others’ perception that one is Native American and on business activities that address cultural preservation.
Some of the newly recognized groups assert a relationship to a single historic nation; the Chikamaka Band says it descends from a confederacy of Cherokees, Creeks, Shawnees, and other nations. The Central Band of Cherokee has an especially far-flung heritage. This includes believing it is a Lost Tribe of Israel, said Sitting Owl White. “We have DNA proving this and a team working hard on a treaty with Israel.” A Facebook site for the Central Band offers links to archaeological information supposedly demonstrating the Israeli connection, including a portrait of Pocahontas showing her “Jewish traits.”
Though a state’s stamp of approval falls short of federal recognition, the benefits can still be substantial. In 2007, the Tennessee attorney general’s office issued an opinion saying benefits include eligibility to sell arts and crafts as Native-American-made and to receive minority scholarships and other education assistance; state-recognized groups can also be eligible for certain federal funds, including community block grants that assist with child care, employment, emergency services, health care, housing, home energy bills and other needs. At press time, the BIA had not responded to a request for its position on federal benefits to state-approved tribes, or on how federal laws, such as those governing the welfare of Native children, apply to such groups.
Gambling is not on the table. According to Tennesee’s attorney general, the state-recognized tribes must meet more stringent federal requirements in order to conduct gaming activities, which may occur only on land the U.S. Interior Department acquires on their behalf.
The attorney general’s office is currently considering a response to the lawsuit, according to Mark James, general counsel for the state’s environment department, under which the commission operated.
“I will work to ensure this action is invalidated,” Hicks said.
Miller made a suggestion. “If you’re proud of your Cherokee background, please express it in a way that’s friendly to our history and to those of us living today. Come and visit us. We’re alive and well, here in Oklahoma.”
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