News Archives - Page 391 of 446

Dispose of unwanted medicines on National Drug Take-back Day, April 27

Correct disposal helps prevent unintentional poisonings

Source: Snohomish County Health District

SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. –Unintentional poisonings are at a record high in Snohomish County. The most recent information shows that in 2011 the number of such poisonings affected 150 county residents– more than triple the 46 reported in 2000. You can help reduce the chance of unintentional poisonings by disposing of your unwanted medicines on National Drug Take-back Day, April 27 at multiple locations in Snohomish County.

“Unintentional poisonings frequently involve prescription drugs,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, Health Officer and Director of the Snohomish Health District. He said they not only harm people, but improperly discarded drugs can also harm the environment when they enter septic systems and household trash.

To help protect the public’s safety and health, area law enforcement agencies and Bartell Drug will participate in National Drug Take-back Day, Saturday, April 27 at sites throughout the county. Find locations and hours on the Health District’s website, www.snohd.org, or call 425.388.3199. The sites accept unused, expired and unwanted prescription drugs, including narcotic painkillers and other medications.

All police departments in the county have drop-boxes available year-round, Monday through Friday, including the NCIS office at Naval Station Everett, the Washington State Patrol office in Marysville, and tribal police stations on the Tulalip and Stillaguamish reservations. Additionally, two Group Health locations and many Bartell Drugstores accept unwanted vitamins, pet medications, over-the-counter medications, inhalers and unopened EpiPens year-round.

Only law enforcement locations can accept controlled substances, such as Ativan and OxyContin. Leave all items in their original containers.

The Saturday drug-return hours support the US Drug Enforcement Agency’s “National Drug Take-back Day,” through participation by the Snohomish County Partnership for Secure Medicine Disposal. Partnership members include the Snohomish Health District, Snohomish County, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office, the Snohomish Regional Drug and Gang Task Force, the Washington State Patrol, and all local law enforcement agencies.

Established in 1959, the Snohomish Health District works for a safer and healthier Snohomish County through disease prevention, health promotion, and protection from environmental threats. Find more information about the Health Board and the Health District at http://www.snohd.org.

Drop-Off Locations and Hours

The Snohomish County Partnership for Secure Medicine Disposal provides residents with secure medicine drop-off locations year-round. The hours listed below are for the Saturday, April 27 National Drug Take-back Day.

City: Arlington

Time: 10 am – noon

Location: Arlington Police Department

110 East Third Street

Arlington, WA 98223

City: Edmonds

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Edmonds Police Department

250 Fifth Avenue North

Edmonds, WA 98020

City: Everett

Time: 8 am – Noon

Location: Everett Police Department – North Precinct

3002 Wetmore Avenue

Everett, WA 98201

City: Lake Stevens

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Bartell Drugs (hosted by Lake Stevens Police Department)

621 SR 9 NE

Lake Stevens, WA 98258

City: Lynnwood

Time: 8 am – noon

Location: Lynnwood Police Department

19321 44th Avenue West

Lynnwood, WA 98036

City: Lynnwood

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Home & About Home Care (hosted by Snohomish Regional Drug & Gang TF)

15121 Hwy 99

Lynnwood, WA 98087

City: Marysville

Time: 9 am – 1 pm

Location: Marysville Police Department

1635 Grove Street

Marysville, WA 98270

City: Mill Creek

Time: 9 am – 1 pm

Location: Snohomish County Sheriff – South Precinct

15928 Mill Creek Blvd

Mill Creek, WA 98012

City: Mountlake Terrace

Time: 10 am – 2 pm

Location: Mountlake Terrace Police Department

5906 232nd Street SW

Mountlake Terrace, WA 98043

City: Snohomish

Time: 8 am – noon

Location: Snohomish Police Department

230 Maple Avenue

Snohomish, WA 98290

Taking the Reservation to Washington

Photo of the Week: Taking the Reservation to Washington

Levi Rickert, Native News Network

WASHINGTON – Photo of poor housing needs to be shared.

“Since Washington cannot come to the reservation, we will take the reservation to Washington,”

said Paul Iron Cloud about the Trail of Hope for Indian Housing’s 1,500 delivery of a Pine Ridge Indian Reservation house to the nation’s capital city.

This photo of the week was chosen because the story of sub-standard housing on Pine Ridge is significant.

The purpose was to bring attention to members of Congress of the sub-standard living conditions that exist on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The dilapidated structure represented of the overcrowded and sub-standard housing conditions where Northern Plains Indians are forced to live. Many Indian reservations have the worst housing in the United States.

So, the group left last Saturday for Washington with a portion of a house that was erected at Pine Ridge Village in the 1960s.

The house arrived with and was parked out the US Capitol on Wednesday for people to see. Once parked outside the Capitol Hill, some people stopped to ask if the house was really from the Pine Ridge.

On the side of the house was a sign that read: “A month ago, 13 people lived in this 2 bedroom, 1 bath home.”

Unfortunately, for the organizers of Trail of Hope for Indian Housing, only Senator Heidi Heitkamp, D-North Dakota, who sits on the US Committee on Indian Affairs, was the only member of Congress to attend the short program.

Wednesday was a hectic day in the nation’s capital due to national security concerns. Only two days before terrorists disrupted the Boston Marathon by leaving behind two bombs that killed three people and some 180 wounded. A portion of the Capitol Hill was closed down due to a ricin poison-laced letter sent to Senator Wicker’s office.

This photo of the week was chosen because the story of sub-standard housing on Pine Ridge is significant. We hope it gets shared on the internet – especially to members of Congress who were otherwise preoccupied on Wednesday.

Today is Navajo Nation Sovereignty Day

Source: Native News Network

WINDOW ROCK, ARIZONA – Today the Navajo Nation celebrates its right to sovereignty to exist as a nation.

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly released the following statement about Navajo Nation Sovereignty Day, which is recognized today, April 22:

The Window Rock formation marks the capital city
of the Navajo Nation.

Today, our tribal government recognizes Navajo Nation Sovereignty Day. A day when we remember and recognize the decision of the United States Supreme Court in 1985 to uphold our ability to tax without the approval of the Secretary of Interior. With that unanimous decision, the highest court in the country recognized our sovereignty as the Navajo Nation.

We created Navajo Nation Sovereignty Day on May 3, 1985.

Today, my relatives, I want us to remember our sovereignty before the US Supreme Court made their decision. We established our sovereignty by practicing our Diné teachings. We practiced our sovereignty by speaking our language to our grandchildren, ensuring that our culture was passed on to the future generation. We practiced our sovereignty by keeping our ceremonies intact and never losing our faith in the Holy People. We practiced our sovereignty by instilling in our children the fundamental teachings of who we are as Diné.

The Holy People have always known who we are; therefore we have always been sovereign. As we move forward, we need to continue to practice cultural independence. Sovereignty is not defined completely by a court of law; it’s defined in our free ability to guide our children into the lives we want for them.

We are a diverse Navajo Nation with many different methods of expressing our ideas and culture. As we live as independent people by the teachings bestowed upon us by the Holy People, we must remember that in the complex society we live in today, our Diné teachings are the basis of who we are and within the practice of those teachings, we establish our sovereignty.

Regardless, we are thankful for the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold our ability to tax. The court confirmed our true ability to govern our land. We are a sovereign Navajo Nation.

Water Rights Tear at an Indian Reservation

Tony Demin for The New York TimesJack and Susan Lake, who support the water bill, at their potato farm on the Flathead Reservation. Mr. Lake’s family moved there from Idaho in 1934. — Tony Demin for The New York Times
Jack and Susan Lake, who support the water bill, at their potato farm on the Flathead Reservation. Mr. Lake’s family moved there from Idaho in 1934.

By Jack Healy, The New York Times, April 21, 2013

RONAN, Mont. — In a place where the lives and histories of Indian tribes and white settlers intertwine like mingling mountain streams, a bitter battle has erupted on this land over the rivers running through it.

A water war is roiling the Flathead Indian Reservation here in western Montana, and it stretches from farms, ranches and mountains to the highest levels of state government, cracking open old divisions between the tribes and descendants of homesteaders who were part of a government-led land rush into Indian country a century ago.

“Generations of misunderstanding have come to a head,” said Robert McDonald, the communications director for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. “It’s starting to tear the fabric of our community apart.”

Dependable water supplies mean the difference between dead fields and a full harvest throughout the arid West, and the Flathead is no exception. Snowmelt flows down from the ragged peaks to irrigate fields of potatoes and wheat. It feeds thirsty cantaloupes and honeydew melons. Cutthroat trout splash in the rivers. Elk drink from the streams.

So when the government and the reservation’s tribal leaders devised an agreement that would specify who was entitled to the water, and how much they could take from the reservoirs and ditches, there was bound to be some discord. But few people expected this.

There have been accusations of racism and sweetheart deals, secret meetings and influence-peddling in Helena, the state capital. Lawsuits have been threatened. Competing Web sites have sprung up. Some farmers have refused to sell oats to those on the other side of the argument.

For months, local newspapers have published letters from people who support the water deal — known as a compact — and from opponents who see it as a power play by the tribes to seize a scarce and precious resource from largely non-Indian farmers and water users.

The proposed compact is 1,400 pages long, a decade in the making and bewilderingly complex. Essentially, it helps to lay out the water rights of the tribe and water users like farmers and ranchers. It provides $55 million in state money to upgrade the reservation’s water systems. And it settles questions about water claims that go back to 1855, when the government guaranteed the tribes wide-reaching fishing rights across much of western Montana.

The tribes say they have given up claims to millions of gallons of water to reach the deal. They say it is the only way to avoid expensive legal battles that could tie up the state’s western water resources in court for decades to come.

But the deal has rankled farmers and ranchers on the reservation, who fear they could lose half the water they need to grow wheat and hay and to water their cattle. Under the compact, each year farmers and ranchers would get 456,400 gallons of water for every acre they irrigate. Tribal officials say that is more than enough, but farmers say the sandy soil is just too thirsty. They fear they will be left dry.

“They’ve literally thrown us under the bus, and we’ve had to fight this thing ourselves,” said Jerry Laskody, who has joined a group of farmers and ranchers in opposing any deal. The group has held meetings and taken out advertisements to spread the word.

As visitors drive onto the reservation, a bright orange billboard declares, “Your Water & Property Rights Are in Jeopardy.” The pact has also angered some conservative residents around the valley, who accuse the tribe and Montana officials of colluding in what they characterize as legalized theft.

“There’s a lot of coercion, a lot of threats,” said Michael Gale, who retired here looking for beauty, and has spent hundreds of hours attending meetings, writing letters and poring over documents in the hope of killing the compact. “Like they always say: Whiskey’s for drinking. Water’s for fighting.”

At the heart of the dispute is a question that has haunted the United States’ relations with indigenous people for centuries and provoked countless killings, dislocations, treaties and court battles: Who has a claim to the land and its resources?

It is an emotional issue, especially here.

In the early 1900s, the federal government opened up millions of acres on the Flathead and other reservations to white homesteaders, a decision that echoes today across the Great Plains and the West. Tribal members were allotted specific parcels, and the rest was put up for sale. Homesteaders came in droves, to stake farms, open sawmills and grocery stores, plant wheat and build roads.

Within a decade, settlers outnumbered tribal members on the Flathead. Today, resorts and million-dollar homes line the shores of Flathead Lake, the reservation’s largest body of water. Of the reservation’s more than 28,000 residents, about 7,000 are American Indians, according to census data.

“We are minorities on our homeland,” said Mr. McDonald, the communications director.

Over the years, tribal members married homesteaders’ children. Families blended. Children from Salish and Kootenai families attended the same schools as those who had moved in from Missoula or Washington State. Residents say that today, the bonds and friendships are wide and deep.

Until they are not. A report by the Montana Human Rights Network once described the reservation as home to “the most aggressive anti-Indian activity in Montana” because of its patchwork settlement. Conflicts have flared over tribal control of a major dam on Flathead Lake, and over whether tribal police officers should be able to arrest or detain non-Indians on the reservation. In the late 1980s, a dispute over hunting and fishing regulations led to screaming matches and death threats.

“They painted their fence posts orange and let it be known they’d shoot you if you walked on their land,” said Joe McDonald, who for nearly three decades was the president of Salish Kootenai College here on the reservation.

This time, the fight appears bound for court. After years of public meetings and deliberation, the full compact finally arrived in the Montana State Capitol this spring. It was supported by the state’s first-term governor, Steve Bullock, a Democrat, as well as by some Republican lawmakers from the area. But with farmers showing up to denounce the compact measure, the Republican-led Legislature killed the bill.

For Susan and Jack Lake, that decision cast a shadow over their potatoes. Mr. Lake’s family moved here from Idaho in 1934. Today, the family farms 1,000 acres, 85 percent of it irrigated. They grow seed potatoes that are ultimately used to make chips and instant mashed potatoes.

The Lakes agonized over the water deal, but eventually decided to support it. They worried about losing water, but said that going to court against a tribe with older, stronger claims to the reservation’s water supplies felt like a suicide mission.

Sometimes, Ms. Lake said, it just felt absurd: so many years of tangled fights over something so simple and pure.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “You turn it on and make things grow.”

University of Oklahoma College of Law offers new online master’s degree in Indian law

Source: Native American Times

ORMAN, OKLA. – The University of Oklahoma College of Law recently opened enrollment for its new Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law program, with classes beginning Fall 2013. The program is offered online to allow students maximum flexibility.

“Located in the heart of the original Indian Territory, OU Law is uniquely qualified with nationally and internationally renowned faculty to teach students the intricacies of Native American law and the issues concerning indigenous people,” OU Law Dean Joe Harroz said. “Indian law is a vibrant and growing field. We’re thrilled to offer this new program to students, tribal leaders and business professionals who need this legal knowledge.”

The Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law program is tailored for lawyers and non-lawyers seeking legal knowledge in this specialized area. Courses are taught by internationally recognized faculty including Lindsay Robertson and Taiawagi Helton.

“Almost half of our students take at least one Indian law course, making it one of OU Law’s primary areas of study,” Harroz said. “Indian law is woven into the fabric of our culture, from the artwork that surrounds us, to the extensive array of courses we offer, to the annual American Indian Law Review Symposium, which has become the third largest Native American law symposium in the nation.”

Students may earn the master’s degree by successfully completing 30 units of credit over approximately four semesters of study. Students meet their peers and professors at an introductory course on campus at the beginning of the academic year, although this requirement can be waived for good cause. Students then complete the remainder of their degree plan through courses online.

To qualify for admission to the Master of Legal Studies program, applicants must have earned their bachelor’s degree prior to the first day of class and have strong letters of recommendation, as well as leadership potential. The Master of Legal Studies Admissions Committee operates under a rolling admission process, and admissions may continue until the start of classes. However, applicants are urged to submit their application and supporting documents online at www.law.ou.edu/mls as soon as possible to receive priority review for August enrollment.

The Master of Legal Studies in Indigenous Peoples Law will be guided by an advisory board including:

· Mita Banerjee, director of the Center for Comparative Native and Indigenous Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany

· Curtis Berkey, partner, Berkey Williams LLP, and staff attorney at the Indian Law Resource Center in Washington, D.C. from 1979-1990

· Rep. Tom Cole, Chickasaw tribal member, US House of Representatives

· Phil Fontaine, Ojibwe tribal member, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations from 1997-2009 in Canada

· David Gover, Pawnee/Choctaw tribal member, staff attorney with the Native American Rights Fund

· Darwin Hill, chief of the Tonawanda Seneca Nation

· Bradford Morse, dean and professor of law at Te Piringa Faculty of Law, the University of Waikato in New Zealand

· David Mullon, Cherokee tribal member, staff director and chief counsel, US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs

· LeRoy Not Afraid, Crow tribal member, Justice of the Peace, Big Horn County, Montana

· Dinah L. Shelton, Commissioner and Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

· Joe Watkins, Choctaw tribal member; supervisory anthropologist and chief, Tribal Relations and American Cultures Program of the National Park Service; and director, Native American Studies program at University of Oklahoma

· Raquel Yrigoyen Fajardo, director of the International Institute on Law and Society in Peru

The program has received American Bar Association acquiescence, and is pending State Regent approval. For more information on the Master of Legal Studies programs, visit www.law.ou.edu/mls.

About University of Oklahoma College of Law

Founded in 1909, the University of Oklahoma College of Law is Oklahoma’s premier law school and the highest ranked “Best Law School” in the state by US News & World Report. OU Law is also nationally ranked as a top 15 “Best Value” law school and in the top 15 percent of “Best Law Schools” by National Jurist magazine. OU Law has small sections and class sizes that encourage a strong sense of community, accomplished faculty with international expertise and a state-of-the-art facility featuring study rooms, court rooms and classrooms equipped with the latest technology. As Oklahoma’s only public law school, OU Law is currently the academic home of more than 500 students enrolled in the Juris Doctor, Master of Laws and various dual degree programs.

New coalition of regional leaders formed to oppose coal exports

Leadership Alliance Against Coal includes leaders from cities and tribes

Source: Office of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn

SEATTLE – Leaders of city governments and tribal nations across the Pacific Northwest today announced the formation of a new coalition to oppose coal trains and coal exports. The Leadership Alliance Against Coal will work together to raise awareness about the damaging economic, cultural, and health impacts of coal trains and coal exports, as well as take action to protect their communities.

“These coal trains threaten the health of our communities, the strength of our economies, and the environmental and cultural heritage we share,” said Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. “We will stand together to stop the coal trains.”

“For thousands of years Washington State tribes have fought to protect all that is important for those who call this great state home. We can no longer allow industry and business to pollute our water and land; we as leaders need to protect our treaty resources, our economies, and the human health of our citizens and neighbors,” said Brian Cladoosby, Chairman of the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community.

The Leadership Alliance Against Coal grew out of conversations between leaders from cities and tribal nations concerned about the impact of coal trains on their communities. Alliance members are calling for agencies to work together to explore the impacts on the health of people living near the rail tracks and the coal terminals. They urge state and federal agencies to deny permits for coal export proposals, as their proposed benefits do not outweigh the likely costs to local economies, health, natural environment, and cultural resources.

The City of Seattle conducted a study that found coal trains could add an additional two hours of gate downtime at major street crossings of the railway by 2025. Similar delays are likely in cities large and small along the proposed route of these trains

Tribes are concerned that coal trains and the proposed coal terminals would violate their treaty rights and damage their cultural heritage, as well as cause economic and health impacts.

“The economic, environmental and health issues raised by this 19th Century proposal are below us as a city and a state,” said State Representative Reuven Carlyle. “We need to focus on high quality, innovative, entrepreneurial markets and ideas that lift us up – not unhealthy, dangerous commodities that assault our global economy.”

“The risks not only to our tribe can be devastating, but also to the entire region,” said Chairman Melvin Sheldon, Jr., of the Tulalip Tribes. “We’ve made substantial retail investments that depend heavily on quality of life. Tulalip supports job creation. We are one of the largest employers in Snohomish County and contribute to economic solvency in the Northwest. However, we do not support an industry such as this one that we believe will damage our natural and cultural resources or diminish existing jobs in our region.”

“This increased rail traffic will have a significant impact on our local community by among other things increasing traffic congestion, creating a higher risk of accidents, decreasing our ability to provide effective emergency response times, impacting local commerce, and interfering with local truck freight delivery systems also affecting the local economy,” said Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring.

“The proposed coal trains pose a detriment to the health, economy, and quality of life of the people and communities I represent,” said Councilmember Larry Phillips, Chair of the King County Council’s Transportation, Economy, and Environment Committee. “I stand united with neighborhood, business, environmental, tribal, and government leaders in protecting the prosperity and beauty of our state by opposing coal trains.”

“The City of Spokane cannot afford to have additional coal trains coming through that disrupt truck routes, emergency services and the health of our citizens,” said Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart. “In addition we must address climate change as elected leaders and must take action. I am proud to be part of the Leadership Alliance and look forward to working with Tribal and elected leaders across the state to represent our communities.”

“The citizens of Edmonds, like so many in our region, are committed to protecting our environment, improving our public health and safety, and building our economy. Coal trains run counter to every one of these important goals,” said Edmonds City Councilmember Strom Peterson.

“Washington State has been a national leader in creating clean-energy technologies and jobs that promote sustainable global economic development. Coal exports promote damaging and unsustainable energy programs. Shoreline stands in opposition to the proposed coal export terminals and the environmental, health and economic damage that will ultimately result,” said Shoreline Mayor Keith McGlashan.

“The City of Bainbridge Island supports economic growth that does not jeopardize Washington State’s commitment to fight the serious impacts of climate change,” said Bainbridge Island Mayor Steve Bonkowski, on behalf of the City Council. “The City urges the Governor and the Legislature to work on a comprehensive policy opposing coal export terminals in Washington State.”

“What is most concerning to me are the affects and impacts created by increased coal export put upon down-line communities like ours and we are just expected to take it,” said Sumner City Councilmember Nancy Dumas. “There is zero direct benefit for pass through communities like ours, yet our taxpayers are expected to bear the burden of expense, responsibility and liability that the increase in coal train traffic bisecting and disrupting our towns will bring.”

“On Earth Day, the city also introduced our Climate Action Plan, the city’s roadmap to be carbon neutral by 2050. Despite all our efforts to invest in energy efficient homes and an active transportation system, we will not achieve our climate goals if we allow a massive expansion of coal exports through our community,” said Seattle Councilmember Mike O’Brien. “I’m proud to stand united with cities and tribes to oppose coal exports and promote a climate friendly future.”

The following individuals are members of the Leadership Alliance Against Coal:

• Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle

• Councilmember Mike O’Brien, Seattle

• Councilmember Larry Phillips, King County

• Mayor Jon Nehring, Marysville

• Mayor Keith McGlashan, Shoreline

• Deputy Mayor Chris Eggen, Shoreline

• State Representative Reuven Carlyle

• Council President Ben Stuckart, Spokane

• Mayor Dave Earling, Edmonds

• Councilmember Strom Peterson, Edmonds

• Councilmember Nancy M. Dumas, Sumner

• Mayor Steve Bonkowski, Bainbridge Island

• Chairman Melvin Sheldon, Jr., Tulalip Tribes

• Chairman Brian Cladoosby, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community

• Councilmember Jay Julius, Lummi Nation

Star Wars Saga to be translated into Diné language

By Bill Donovan, Navajo Times

Coming as a surprise to everyone, especially members of the Navajo Tribe, Obi-Wan Kenobi will soon say, “May the Force be with you” in the Diné language.

Navajo members will soon be able to hear the beloved character from the Star Wars Saga say this and more as the Navajo Nation Museum, Navajo Parks and Recreation, and Lucasfilm, Ltd. have joined forces to dub Episode IV of the classic space fantasy film, Star Wars into the Diné language. This marks the first time that a mainstream movie will be dubbed into the Navajo language.

Manuelito Wheeler, the director of the Navajo Nation Museum, said he’s been working on the idea of getting a popular film dubbed into Navajo for more than three years as a way to preserve the Navajo language.

“By preserving the Navajo language and encouraging Navajo youth to learn their language, we will also be preserving Navajo culture,” Wheeler said.

He said when he approached Lucasfilm officials with the idea, he found that they were excited about the project.

“Since its inception, the Star Wars Saga has been experienced and shared all over the world. Its timeless themes of good versus evil have resonated with cultures far and wide. The movies have been translated across multiple languages and Lucasfilm Ltd. is proud to have Navajo as its most recent addition.”

The first hurdle, Wheeler said, was to come up with the funding it would take to do the dubbing but with the generous help of the Navajo Parks and Recreation Department that has finally been done.

“Navajo Parks and Recreation Department is proud and honored to be a part of this innovative and entertaining approach to helping preserve our Navajo language,” said Martin Begaye, department director.

The Navajo Nation Museum is now working with Deluxe Studio and plans are underway to dub the movie into the Navajo language using a group of Navajo-speaking members, who will be going over each spoken word in the movie and translating it into the Diné language.

Shana Priesz, senior director of Localization at Deluxe said, “While we have dubbed many films in the past into a variety of languages, this project ranks among the most significant. Every time we dub a film, we recognize the fact that we are helping to bridge cultural and communications gaps among societies. In this case, however, we have the unique privilege of contributing to the preservation of a storied and noble culture, the Navajo.

“The staff at Deluxe is looking forward to traveling to Navajo Nation to supervise the adaptation and recording process. It’s always a challenge to dub a complicated film like Star Wars, but we welcome the challenge and look forward to learning a lot about the Navajo from our hosts. We are confident that working together with native speakers, we will be able to produce a final product that creates joy and pride from viewers and contributors alike.”

Wheeler said this group consists not only of linguists but young Navajos and even a Navajo actress, who are all Navajo speakers.

“This is going to be a challenge since there are many words in the movie for which there are no counterpart in the Navajo language,” Wheeler said. “The Navajo language is a descriptive language that, in many cases, uses a description of what the word does to relay its meaning. This results in a word in English taking several words in Navajo to convey the same meaning.

“That’s going to make it difficult at times,” added Wheeler. “What we don’t want is a situation like what people saw in the old Kung fu movies when the lip movements didn’t coincide at all with what was said. I don’t want to disparage the Kung fu movies because I loved watching them, but this can become very distracting and we don’t want to see that happen here.”

This means the linguists will have to work with the dubbing director to ensure that the adaptation is done well, said Wheeler.

One of the best dubbing directors in the business, Richard Epcar, has been tapped for this project. He is a well-known voice actor and director who has directed dubs of many projects including many Academy Award winning films.

The next step in the process will be casting men and women fluent in Navajo to be voice actors.

Auditions for the roles of Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Han Solo, C-3PO, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Grand Moff Tarkin will be held at the Navajo Nation Museum on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4.

If you are interested in trying out, call 928-871-7941 to book your time slot.

Walk-ins are welcome as well.

The tribe isn’t necessarily looking for people who sound like Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill or the others, but rather for performers who have the ability to speak the dialogue with the force and emotions of the original actors, according to Wheeler.

The plans are to premier the Navajo version of the movie at the upcoming Fourth of July fair. While this will be an educational tool for those learning Navajo, Wheeler stressed that the main purpose is to encourage the preservation of the language and to show that the language is still vital today.

Since this is a cultural project, there will be no admission charged to see the movie. Wheeler said he hopes that the success of this project could result in more funds to be made available to do projects like this in the future that promote the Navajo language and Navajo culture, and encourage young Navajos to seek out more about their heritage.

Earth Day and Sex: Watch Director’s Cut of Documentary on Global Population and the Environment, Livestreamed

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

What is the true cost of overpopulation on the environment? In a world containing seven billion people needing food, energy and other means to survival, the question is ever more urgent as the effects of human-fueled climate change close in.

A 2011 documentary examines every facet of this question, from the point of view of those who serve as the gateway: women.

In honor of Earth Day the makers of the award-winning environmental documentary Mother: Caring for 7 Billion are livestreaming the hour-long film starting on Friday April 19. It will run continuously on the filmmakers’ website and on YouTube through the end of May.

“We want Mother to be viewed by as many people as possible for Earth Day because Mother holds up a mirror and shows people a very different way to look at their role on this planet,” said director and co-producer Christophe Fauchere in a statement.

“This is not your father’s population documentary,” wrote Grist senior editor Lisa Hymas upon the film’s release. “Mother takes a feminist/humanist view as it explores the issues of our exploding numbers.”

The opening sequence is stark, a black-and-white pile of squalling infants being powdered and diapered en masse by hands as big as they are. Between this sight and the camera, a row of bellowing babies files by on a conveyor belt. American Beth Osnes, the youngest of 10 children, serves as a protagonist of sorts, discovering along with the viewer her role in the population crisis. It makes her rethink her entire family-planning philosophy.

Simply put, “Our demand for resources is increasing, but the size of the planet is not,” says Mathis Wackernagel, executive director of the Global Footprint Network, an organization devoted to creating sustainability.

“We have reached a real important threshold in our relationship with the planet,” intones a voiceover. “We are the major agent of change.”

View the full film below as it is livestreamed, through the end of May.

National Park Week: Visit Parks for Free

Source: Indian Country Today Media Network

It’s National Park Week, and the National Park Service is throwing a party. All week there will be opportunities to hike, explore, learn, share, bird-watch, view wildlife, and give back–all for free.

From today, April 22, through Friday, April 26, all entrance fees are waived at the national parks.

From morning birding tours at Padre Island National Seashore to reef bay hikes at Virgin Islands National Park to a wetlands walk at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Peserve, there are hundreds of special events going on at the parks this week to celebrate. To search for an event, click here.

To find a national park near you, click here. For more info on National Park Week, click here.

An Inuksuk in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. An inuksuk, or a stone stood on end to help herd caribou, stands on the tundra in front of a mountain. (NPS)

Did you know…America’s 401 national parks include more than:

84 million acres of spectacular scenery, historic landmarks and cultural treasures
17,000 miles of trails
43,000 miles of shoreline
27,000 historic and prehistoric structures
100 million museum items
12,000 campsites

Grand Canyon National Park (NPS)

An Emmy-Winning Producer’s Doc About Lacrosse’s Native Origins

By Vincent Shilling, Indian Country Today Media Network

Dennis Deninger, an Emmy-winning production executive, was one of the first coordinating producers of ESPN’s SportsCenter. He has produced live sports television from six continents and across the United States; he has currently set his sights to produce a documentary entitled America’s First Sport, on the history of lacrosse.

In an interview with ICTMN, Deninger, who is also a professor of practice in sports management at Syracuse University, talked about what he has learned in the process of making the documentary, and where he sees lacrosse going in the future.

How did your film get started?
I started teaching a course in the fall semester of 2012 called the History of Sport. We took students from the first accounts of sport being observed in the United States—which was lacrosse, when the Jesuits saw it in the 1630s for the first time—all the way up through the first Kentucky Derby, the origins of baseball, the invention of basketball, Teddy Roosevelt’s role in founding the NCAA and up to the present

Legends of the sacred game: Deninger with Jacques, left, Chief Powless, top, and Stenersen. (Courtesy Dennis Deninger)

day. That was the first two months of the semester—the last month of the semester, we focused on one topic. This year it was lacrosse. Each of our 15 students had to do a final research project that focused on lacrosse, and we’ve taken that research and hired a production company to work with us.

Who have you interviewed for the documentary?
We are not completely done, but we have interviewed 46 people so far. It’s going to be tough because this is only a one-hour documentary, so nobody gets to talk for more than a minute. We have strict rules here. [Laughs.] We’ve been to Baltimore to interview Steve Stenersen, the president and chief executive officer of U.S. Lacrosse. I interviewed Neal Powless who is an assistant director of the Native Student Program here at Syracuse; I also interviewed [Onondaga] Chief Irving Powless. There is a long list of lacrosse standouts in the Powless family. We also visited Alf Jacques, an Onondaga lacrosse stick-maker. It’s amazing to watch the stick being created—we were in the workshop for a few hours.

I talked to a number of Native American players and coaches, including Darris and Rich Kilgour [Tuscarora Nation] of the Buffalo Bandits in the National Lacrosse League. We’ve talked to women and men players. There is a young man who is a freshman at Onondaga Community College, Warren Hill, a goalie for the Iroquois Nationals. He grew up on Six Nations in southern Ontario. He is an all-world goalie and so humble about his accomplishments.

We sat down with Stan Cockerton, the president of the Federation of International Lacrosse. We found out about the effort to make lacrosse an Olympic sport again. We spoke with Jim Calder who is a co-author of Lacrosse, The Ancient Game. I spoke with Curt Styres, the owner of a Major League Lacrosse and a National Lacrosse League franchise. I also talked to him about the Lacrosse for Development Program, which is helping to fund an effort to put hundreds of sticks into the hands of indigenous young people to develop their knowledge of the ancient and sacred origins of the sport.

I have heard [Onondaga Turtle Clan Faithkeeper and Iroquois Nationals honorary chairman] Oren Lyons speak, and we are still waiting to interview him. I don’t want to go on without having his voice in this.

One of the longest interviews was with Chief Powless in his home. He is in his 80s now and confined to a wheelchair. We talked for over an hour and he told me wonderful stories of when he was 144 pounds playing against [NFL and lacrosse legend] Jim Brown. He talked about his knowledge of the hip bump and how he knocked Jim Brown on his back. When we stopped the interview, he says ‘Dennis, is that it? There’s so much more to tell!’ And that is true, there is so much more to tell.

When is this film due to be finished?
It will serve as the centerpiece for a symposium we are planning at Syracuse University on April 22 (Read more: ‘America’s First Sport’ Lacrosse Documentary Premiere and Symposium TODAY). We will play the film and have guests talk about the current state of lacrosse and the issues it faces, and where it is headed. We are hopeful to get an air date on the local PBS station and beyond that. We set our standards pretty high. If it goes beyond the local PBS station, that would be wonderful.

Where do you see lacrosse going?

I see a distinct trend toward making it more diverse. It separated in the 1860s and 1870s, when the Europeans set down rules. They said the Natives are professionals and professionals can’t play—because they were too damn good! The sport separated at that time.

What is encouraging to me is to see lacrosse programs get diverse youth involved, the recognition Native players are getting and how there is an opportunity for the Iroquois Nationals to compete as a team at the Olympics beginning in 2024. How exciting would that be?

I think there are wonderful things that lie ahead for lacrosse.