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Salmon Porn: Watch Mighty Fish Spawn on Live-Feed Underwater Camera

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

The U.S. Forest Service is providing a live view of sockeye salmon returning to spawn in Steep Creek, Juneau, Alaska. This live, underwater view is near the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska.

“Cutthroat trout and Dolly Varden (similar to Bull trout) are also in the creek. Dolly Varden consume any eggs that don’t make it into the redd,” the forest service says in the commentary. “You can also see Coho salmon fry from time to time.”

The fish cam is planted in about 18 inches of water by staff at Tongass National Forest.

Yocha Dehe Greases its Impressive Business Wheels With Olive Oil

Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation tribal chairman Marshall McKay stands in the tribe's wheat fields in the Capay Valley. (Courtesy of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation) — Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation tribal chairman Marshall McKay stands in the tribe’s wheat fields in the Capay Valley. (Courtesy of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation)

Lynn Armitage, Indian Country Today Media Network

Name: Marshall McKay

Title: Tribal chairman of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation

Product: Seka Hills Premium Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

How long in business: First olive trees planted in 2008

Advice for other business owners: “Insist on research, honesty and integrity of the product. It’s essential, and it’s what our tribal values are based on.”

After you build a profitable casino, luxurious hotel and championship golf course, create an award-winning wine label, manage more than 11,000 acres of farm and ranch land—including 300 heads of cattle—and on top of it all, buy back your original tribal lands, what on earth do you do for an encore? RELATED: The Yocha Dehe Return Focus to their Land through an Olive Oil Enterprise—and More

If you’re the very enterprising, 62-member Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation of California’s Capay Valley, you make 100 percent premium extra-virgin olive oil, marketed under the tribe’s distinguished Séka Hills label. RELATED: Oil Boom! Séka Hills Marketing Great Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Nationwide and Yocha Dehe Wintun Launches Séka Hills Brand

The Capay Valley’s hot Mediterranean-like climate creates prime olive-growing conditions. (Séka Hills website)

“The American consumer is really short-changed when it comes to fresh, virgin olive oil,” says Tribal Chairman Marshall McKay, reflecting on recent studies challenging the purity of many olive oils in the U.S. “So we decided one of our main quests would be to provide that for consumers.”

In 2008, after much research and consulting with the University of California Davis olive center, the Yocha Dehe tribe planted its first olive trees on 80 acres of poor, dry soil—the perfect conditions to grow Arbequina olives, a Spanish variety that prospers in Mediterranean-like climates. And in fall of 2011, they reaped the fruits of their labor.

“We completely sold out of our first year’s production,” says Jim Etters, director of land management for the tribe, who says their olive oil has been described as smooth and buttery, with a hint of grass and black pepper. “It was a strong start and started us on the right foot, helping us develop the market and learn the business.”

The biggest challenge for the tribe was finding a mill where they could process their olives. The nearest facility was two hours away, and for olive oil to be exceptional, it must be milled soon after picking.

So the Yocha Dehe did what any self-sustaining, economically independent tribe would do—they built their own state-of-the-art olive mill, a 14,000-square-foot facility custom-manufactured in Florence, Italy, and among the first of its kind in the U.S., where they process, store and bottle their oil. What sets this mill apart is that it prevents oxygen from ever touching the olives, thereby preserving freshness and flavor. RELATED: Yocha Dehe Olive Oil Attracts the Attention of The New York Times

The new olive mill has been a welcome addition to the Capay Valley, as it is where custom oil for 46 other olive growers is processed and bottled. “The tribe is proud to be able to partner with other local growers in and around the Capay Valley to help build the region’s reputation for world-class olive oil,” says Etters.

Chairman McKay echoes that sentiment. “One of our goals was to bring neighbors together and create agribusiness and a feeling of family in the valley. These olives have really done that for us.”

What’s next for the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation? “We have organic fields that we are nurturing, sustainable beef that we are raising, conservation of lands, restoration and distribution of energy,” McKay shares. “For centuries, we’ve been tenders of the land—farmers, really. And post-Gold Rush, we are still serving that purpose, nourishing and nurturing the land.”

Help Matika Wilbur Get Her TED Talk Out There

posted by JEN GRAVES on slog.thestranger.com

TUE, JUL 23, 2013 at 11:23 AM

If enough people give Matika Wilbur’s newly released recent TEDx talk the thumbs-up on YouTube, TED will feature it on the main TED site. Mainframing Matika. Check it out and see if you want to support.

FBI investigate the death and possible sexual assault of toddler on tribal land

BY BRYAN DEAN bdean@opubco.com

July 24, 2013 NewsOK.com

IDABEL, OK — The FBI is investigating the death and possible sexual assault of a 2-year-old on tribal land in McCurtain County, authorities said Wednesday.

The toddler, whose name was not released, died about noon Tuesday near Idabel, FBI Special Agent Rick Rains said. Because the death occurred on land in trust for a tribe, the FBI has jurisdiction in the case, Rains said.

No arrests have been made and no charges have been filed, but authorities are questioning a potential suspect who was being held on unrelated charges, Rains said.

Council threatens to shut down Lumbee tribal government over budget impasse

Published: July 24, 2013

By Ali Rockett
Staff writer for fayobserver.com

PEMBROKE, NC – The Lumbee Tribal Council is threatening to shut down its government if the administration continues refusing to share financial information with the council.

The council last week requested a ledger of all checks written since fiscal 2012 after discovering that Chairman Paul Brooks had purchased land beside a Lumberton golf course.

Brooks refused to hand over the ledger identifying the names of who the checks were made out, sending a letter to the council saying it would break the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

The council met again Tuesday to discuss the matter and the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1, and it once again met with resistance from the administration in requests for financial information.

Councilwoman Louise Mitchell said the council was entitled by law to itemized information, including the breakdown of employees’ salaries by job title, equipment and furniture to be purchased, travel expenditures, and legal and consultant services.

Mitchell said the information should have been provided before the meeting, but was not.

Councilwoman Danita Locklear made a motion that the council adjourn budget discussions until all requested financial information has been revealed to the council.

If not done in a timely manner, Locklear said, the council should contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which allocates nearly 90 percent, or about $12 million, of the tribe’s annual budget.

Mitchell’s motion received unanimous support.

“Why are we wasting our time?” Councilman Terry Campbell said. “I say, ‘No ledger. No budget.’ I don’t intend to come to another meeting and ask questions that people already have the answers to.”

Tribal administrator Tony Hunt told the council that the land at Pine Crest Village, which, according to deed records, was purchased for $36,000 by Lumbee Land Development, was not purchased with funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, but rather with money from a separate economic development venture.

It was further revealed during the meeting that Brooks submitted the tribe’s Indian Housing Plan, a pre-budget of sorts, to HUD without its approval or authorization.

Hunt, who is tasked with day-to-day operations of the tribe, said the plan had to be submitted by July 18, or the tribe risked jeopardizing its nearly $12 million allocation for the ensuing fiscal year.

Councilwoman Mitchell said the council has to pass a resolution authorizing Brooks to send the plan, which never happened.

Hunt said Brooks has the authority to submit it himself.

In the plan, Brooks requests HUD’s approval for an expenditure of $800,000 for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, Hunt said after being questioned by the council. The center is to be managed by Brooks’ brother.

Council members said last week that Brooks had asked the council to approve the expenditure in the current year’s budget. They denied the request.

The council also questioned Hunt about the personal use of tribal vehicles. Hunt said he, Brooks and a member of the maintenance staff drive vehicles home. Hunt said he used his own car for personal use.
Tribal Councilmen Larry Chavis said he has seen Brooks driving his tribal vehicle “anywhere and everywhere.”

“The chairman is using this as his personal piggy bank,” said McDuffie Cummings, the council’s finance committee chairman. “It’s got to stop. If we don’t get that ledger, we will not fund this Indian Housing Plan.”

Although there was no opposition to getting the requested information, not all council members were on board with the idea of closing the Turtle, as the tribe is known.

“I would never go along with shutting this tribe down,” Councilman Terry Hunt said. “That wouldn’t hurt us or the administration. That hurts our people.”

Staff writer Ali Rockett can be reached at rocketta@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

3 Myths About Native Americans That Need to Be Put to Rest

Chelsea Hawkins July 23, 2013

Policymic.com

As a mixed-race indigenous woman, I’ve had to dispel quite a few myths about what it means to be Native American in this day and age. Many of these myths are used to either insult me, my community, and my family, whether knowingly or unknowingly; or exoticize me (really, I am not amused when you say I look like Pocahontas). My mother has been asked if she was an American citizen — because apparently you cannot be part of a tribe and a U.S. citizen simultaneously? — and has even been told that there are no “full-blooded” or even “half” native people left in the United States, despite the fact my mother was proof that very statement was false. Many young natives I know have also been made uncomfortable over incessant questions regarding everything from sweat lodges to scalping, headdresses, peyote, and why so many natives have “Mexican” last names (answer: missionaries).

I know that there’s a great deal of misinformation about indigenous American culture, that often leads to a number of assumptions. Indigenous people, I promise, are not like what you see on television or in the movies. While there are a number of extremely detrimental stereotypes surrounding indigenous people in the U.S. (see also:The Lone Ranger), here are the three I have encountered most often.

Myth: American Indians get college, medical care, and everything for free.

Reality: This is at the top of the list because there are so many things incredibly wrong with the above statement. I usually hear this coupled with statements about how I have it so much better than middle-class white kids because I was born brown, but this is incredibly untrue. The only native people in the U.S. who really benefit from any sort of educational or medical aid (at least at the federal level, because there are state-level programs that help impoverished indigenous communities) are federally recognized, meaning they are an acknowledged tribe by the U.S. government and have a government-to-government relationship. Tribes that are not recognized federally — despite the existence of treaties entered into by the government and tribal leaders — do not benefit from many of these social programs. Federal recognition is “earned” by meeting several standards which prove continued existence as a tribe and continued governance over the collective group. However, with a history of violence, forced assimilation, Indian boarding schools, and racial injustice, many tribes cannot meet such standards.

This isn’t just about social programs, though — that’s just the tip of the iceberg. It’s about the fact that people are being told outright that their community has either never existed in the first place, or that if they did, they are now extinct. As someone who is part of a tribe unrecognized by the federal government , there is nothing more discouraging then looking through pages and pages of financial aid for American Indian students and seeing that you do not qualify for any solely because the U.S. government has continually failed to honor the people it displaced. But then again, I guess we can only expect as much from a country founded on the systematic destruction of an entire people.

Myth: All indigenous people practice the same religion, have the same culture, and speak the same language.

Reality: Most Americans seem only to be familiar with Southwestern indigenous culture and fail to recognize the diversity that exists within native communities. My family’s roots are in the Pacific Northwest, so our traditional diet consisted of fish, berries, and other vegetation. We were a whaling community, our clothes look quite different because of the natural shift in climate and geography, we did not wear the headdresses or war bonnets that people so often associate with indigenous people, and we did not live in teepees or hunt bison. Our music is deeper in tone, and our dances our different. The culture of the Southwest is beautiful, but it just isn’t mine — modern Seattle is different from Little Rock, so what makes you think they would have been the same 300 years ago?

Myth: Indigenous people were historically peaceful and tribes tended to get along.

Reality: Um…no. People are people, and tribal governments are still governments. There was still war, there was still bloodshed, and there was and remains a great deal of animosity between certain tribal groups.When we buy into these stereotypes and misconceptions, we actually fail to recognize the complexity of intertribal relationships. I’m not sure why people seem to think that indigenous people lived in an alternative universe of hippie-free-love, nonviolence, and socialism, but I’ve rolled my eyes so many times at this caricature, that I’m pretty sure they’re stuck in the back of my skull.

It’s important to recognize and dispel these myths because their continuation only creates a static image of a community that is anything but uniform. The indigenous community within the U.S. is incredibly complex, with its own political structure in relation to the federal and state governments, as well as varied culturally. Recognizing the intricacies of an oftentimes ignored community is important to support and appreciate all that indigenous people can and do offer to their country.

The Moko Returns: More Than A Tattoo

Nadine Martin was among the first of her contemporaries to adopt the tribal moko.<br /><br />Pat Kruis / OPB<br /><br /> — Nadine Martin was among the first of her contemporaries to adopt the tribal moko.
Pat Kruis / OPB

OPB | July 24, 2013

Contributed by Pat Kruis

Before Nadine Martin utters a single word, her face tells a story shaped over centuries. Three simple lines extend from her lips to the bottom of her chin, one at each corner of her mouth, the third at the center.

“Some people call it the one hundred eleven,” says Martin. “When the white people started coming into the valley it looked to them like the number 111.”

Martin is a descendant of the Takelma tribe, now one of the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz. And the markings on her face have a long history in Takelma culture.

“It’s not a tattoo,” Martin quickly explains. “It’s a moko.” Members of the Māori tribe call it tā moko (rhymes with “cocoa”). The cultural markings were common among the Pacific Rim tribes until the late 1800s when treaties forced the tribes out of their homelands.

Martin says she’s part of a resurgence of the moko. In her tribe as many as 25 to 30 women have had their faces marked. If you visit the Klamath tribes, the Yurok and the Karok, you may see several women with the lines on their chin.

Martin’s mother, Agnes Pilgrim, was the first in her tribe to renew the moko tradition.

After Martin’s mother and tribal elder Agnes Pilgrim chose to revive the moko markings, Martin soon followed suit.

Martin waited until a Māori shaman was able to perform the ceremony. The process is much like tattooing, but instead of ink the artist uses charcoal, the charred end of a sharp stick. Then the artist abrades the lines with a sharp object, possibly an arrowhead, obsidian or flint.

“I have always wanted to honor my ancestors,” says Martin. “I have medicine women and shaman in my heritage on both sides. I’ve always wanted to honor that. But I wanted to do it the old-fashioned way. That’s why I’m grateful that the Māoris came.” Martin says you don’t pay the shaman with money, but instead with fish or something ceremonial.

Historically and from tribe to tribe the markings meant different things. The chin markings were only for girls or women and often accompanied a milestone in life, like entering womanhood. Some accounts say girls received their first marks at age 5, then added a line each year to indicate age. Others consider the lines a mark of beauty or a sign of status.

Despite what the markings meant in the past, the resurgence of the moko today likely means something far different, and may vary from person to person.

“Different marks mean different things,” says Martin. Her lines are thin and simple, while her mother’s lines are thicker and more intricate. Martin says her role in the tribe is to pray, but she has already decided to broaden the lines on her chin as she takes a more prominent role in the tribe.

“Once you’ve taken the mark, you need to walk your talk.”

People who meet Martin often do not understand what they’re seeing.

“In India,” says Martin, laughing, “they thought it was a beard.” She laughs even more deeply. “In Australia they handed me a handkerchief to wipe it off.”

How do they respond in the United States?

“People stare. And I like that, because it reminds me of my ancestors and I feel connected to my ancestors.”

Nadine Martin was among the first of her contemporaries to adopt the tribal moko.

Pat Kruis / OPB

Fun time at UNM

Begay Foundation unites kids with Lobo women

By Ken Sickenger / Journal Staff Writer on Jul. 23, 2013

Lobo freshman Lauren Newman, center, shares a smile with Keshaun Christian, right, Wicanhpi-Winyan Echohawk, center left, and Jesslyn Sandoval during a passing drill at Monday’s basketball clinic. (adria malcolm/for the journal)

We’re going to need another bus.

Notah Begay III Foundation personnel came to that realization early Monday as they prepared to travel from San Felipe Pueblo to the University of New Mexico.

NB3F had arranged to send a group of Native American youngsters to UNM for a two-hour clinic with the Lobo women’s basketball team.

The turnout exceeded expectations.

“We expected around 30 kids and ended up with 90,” said Stephanie Gabbert, the foundation’s director of soccer. “We had to arrange an extra bus, but that’s a good thing. The more kids we expose to something like this the better.”

The clinic provided many of the youngsters a first look at UNM and its basketball facilities. They rotated through various basketball and nutrition stations operated by Lobo players.

Enthusiasm ran high on both sides.

“It’s awesome,” said 13-year-old Evan Valencia. “(UNM players) got us running and they’ve been really nice. We’ve never had anything like this before. It’s fun.”

Monday’s clinic served to further the mission of NB3F. Established by Albuquerque golfer Notah Begay III, the foundation seeks to combat childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes among Native Americans by promoting education and active lifestyle choices.

The foundation’s website, nb3foundation.org, cites numerous studies reporting that childhood obesity and diabetes are more common among Native Americans than any other ethnic group.

The Santa Ana Pueblo-based foundation operates golf and soccer programs for Native American youth. NB3F also coordinates a variety of summer camps to introduce youngsters to other sports and activities.

With that in mind, Gabbert reached out to Lobo women’s basketball coach Yvonne Sanchez and men’s soccer coach Jeremy Fishbein. Both quickly agreed to hold clinics.

Lobo men’s soccer players and coaches visited NB3F’s soccer facility at San Felipe last summer and will host a clinic Wednesday. Monday’s women’s basketball clinic was a first-time event and proved a big-hit with the 90 boys and girls who attended. The campers ranged in age from 7 to 13.

Begay, now a network golf commentator for NBC, was unable to attend Monday’s clinic. His brother, Clint Begay, who helps operate NB3F, came away impressed.

“The foundation’s main goal is to get kids active,” he said. “When we can do that and get them outside the reservation, show them something new, that’s a big plus. You can tell by their faces, these kids are happy to be here.”

Lobo players clearly enjoyed the experience, too. Juniors Antiesha Brown and Ebony Walker operated a station emphasizing defense and lateral movement. They also made younsters elevate for high fives and celebrate imaginary three-point-play opportunities.

“Basketball is really good for younger kids,” Brown said, “so you have to make it fun. Eb and I like to do follow-the-leader drills and just be ridiculous to keep the kids entertained. When they have fun, it’s fun for us, too.”

UNM players largely ran Monday’s show because Sanchez and her assistant coaches were out of town recruiting. Women’s basketball vidoegrapher and former player Amy Beggin oversaw the clinic.

“It’s a cool opportunity for our players,” Beggin said, “because they love working with kids. It’s also nice because a lot of these kids have never been to UNM before. This gives them a chance to see it and maybe dream about coming here someday.”

Thirteen-year-old Ilai Sandoval admitted he was nervous about coming to the Davalos Center. Sandoval has been participating in NB3F activities for a year and now serves as a youth assistant.

“Everyone was happy we got to come here,” he said. “My cousin’s been asking me, ‘When’s the camp? When’s the camp?’ A lot of kids couldn’t wait.

“I was a little nervous because I’ve never been here before but it’s nice. I bet everyone will want to come back (Wednesday) for soccer.”

Native American Drinking Water Plant Honored with Water Project of the Year Award

The Ak-Chin Indian community in Arizona has been recognized by the AZ Water Association and received the 2013 Water Project of the Year Award for its water treatment plant that uses GE’s ZeeWeed technology.

Ak-Chin Indian Community’s surface water treatment plant (Credit: AK-Chin Indian Community)

Jul 23, 2013

Environmental Protection Online

The Ak-Chin Indian Community’s surface water treatment plant, featuring GE’s ZeeWeed 500treatment technology, was recently honored with the 2013 Water Project of the Year Award from the AZ Water Association. The new plant, commissioned in 2012, has a capacity of 2.25 million gallons per day and provides drinking water to community members and Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino.

This surface water treatment plant is the first for the Ak-Chin Indian Community, located in the Santa Cruz Valley of Southern Arizona, 50 miles south of Phoenix in the northwestern part of Pinal County. GE provided the technology for the Ak-Chin Indian Community’s nearby membrane bioreactor water reclamation facility, which provides Arizona Class A+ effluent for water reuse and recharge, and won an international and multiple state awards.

The Ak-Chin Indian Community’s surface water treatment plant takes advantage of its surface water allotment of Colorado River Water supplied via the Maricopa-Stanfield canal system and the Central Arizona Project canal, which gives it a secure source of water, allowing for the population to properly plan for future growth and expansion.

“We chose GE’s ZeeWeed technology for our surface water treatment plant because it is the same technology that we have in our award-winning water reclamation facility. It was the best technology available to ensure years of reliable service and the best overall value for the Ak-Chin Indian Community,” said Jayne Long, capital project manager, Ak-Chin Indian Community.

GE ZeeWeed 500 technology is a filtration technology that separates particles, bacteria, and viruses from water or wastewater. Its ability to handle high peaks of solids and turbidity, combined with the high-efficient process and low energy and chemicals usage, makes it ideal for treating deteriorated or high-variation raw water sources and produces high and stable drinking quality water.

Group Argues That Tribal Court Has No Jurisdiction Over Non-Indians

Fairfield Sun Times

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

DENVER, CO – A nationally known, nonprofit, public-interest law firm with decades of experience addressing constitutional and legal issues as to American Indians today urged the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to uphold the holding of an Arizona federal district court that a Navajo District Court has no jurisdiction over non-Indians in a civil lawsuit filed for allegedly tortious conduct on an Arizona highway. Mountain States Legal Foundation (MSLF), which had been urged to file a brief by the tribal court but whose arguments were rejected, urged the appeals court to uphold the federal district court’s ruling that the tribe lacks jurisdiction. In August 2012, the federal district court ruled that the Navajo tribal court has no jurisdiction over the non-Indians sued in the case. MSLF, which has been involved for decades in state and federal courts with regard to the authority of tribal courts over non-Indians and American Indians from other tribes, relied on U.S. Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rulings in arguing that the appellate court should uphold the lower court’s ruling.

“The highway is alienated, non-Indian land, no treaty or statute allows the Tribe to govern non-Indian conduct there, and no exception to these general rules applies,” said William Perry Pendley, president of MSLF.

In September 2004, an automobile/tour bus accident occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Nation on U.S. Highway 160 near Kayenta, Arizona. The tour bus passengers had stayed overnight at a hotel on Navajo Nation land, and the following day the bus, driven by Russell J. Conlon, left the hotel. As it proceeded westward on Highway 160 the bus collided head on with a 1997 Pontiac that contained two members of the Navajo Nation. One Navajo passenger was killed and the other passenger was injured. In December 2006, relatives and the survivor filed a lawsuit for allegedly tortious conduct, seeking compensatory and punitive damages, against the tour bus owners, operators, driver, and insurance company in the District Court of the Navajo Nation for the Kayenta District.

Those sued were all non-Indians; therefore, they filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in the Navajo District Court, alleging that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction. The District Court entered an Order denying the motion and ruled that it had jurisdiction. Those sued then filed a Petition for Writ of Prohibition with the Navajo Supreme Court asking that the Navajo Supreme Court bar the District Court from proceeding with the case. In March 2010, the Navajo Supreme Court issued an Order asking that MSLF and others file amicus curiae briefs; MSLF filed the sole brief in April 2010. The case was argued in May 2010 and decided in September 2010.

Mountain States Legal Foundation, founded in 1977, is a nonprofit, public-interest law firm dedicated to individual liberty, the right to own and use property, limited and ethical government, and the free enterprise system freedom. Its offices are in suburban Denver, Colorado.