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Ashley Stewart, The Herald
Monster truckers, rodeo performers and musicians come from all over to be part of the Evergreen State Fair.
But it’s the community that sets the local gem apart.
“The entertainment is a lot of fun, but the quality of our exhibits — the barns, the animals, the quilts — that’s what makes us unique,” said Hal Gausman, manager of the Evergreen State Fairgrounds and Park.
“It’s just a big community party.”
And there will be no shortage of community at this year’s event.
Families will be blowing bubblegum, throwing Frisbees and eating pie.
Local 4-H and FFA animal exhibitors will show off dogs, llamas, cattle, pigs and piglets, and “the best collection of rabbits you’ll ever see anywhere,” Gausman said.
And they’ve added a robot-building section to the 4H exhibits.
Food vendors will serve elephant ears, purple cows, blooming onions and other, move adventurous foods.
“Basically, if you’re not afraid to eat almost anything, you can find it out here,” Gausman said.
He said visitors can expect interesting variations of popcorn this year.
Close to the food vendors is the family stage for visitors who didn’t get tickets to the fair’s grandstand stage entertainment. Jugglers, comic magicians and musicians will give free performances on the Pepsi Family Stage between the south end of the arena and the north end of the grandstand.
The fair offers three days of barrel racing, bull riding, steer wrestling and calf roping at the Pro West Rodeo and drag races, demolition derbies and other car events, available with tickets.
Familes can also cheer on squealing racers at the fair’s legendary all-Alaskan pig races, watch the saw-offs, log rolls, axe throws and spare pole climbs at the fair’s International Lumberjack Show and pick apples, gather eggs, dig for potatoes and milk a cow at the fair’s free Farmer for the Day spots.
“It’s just a great place to come out, spend the day and make memories,” Gausman said.
The Evergreen State Fair opened Thursday and continues through Sept. 2 at its Monroe fairgrounds, 14405 179th Ave. SE.
Regular gate admission $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and youth and free for ages 5 and younger or 90 and older.
Parking is $8 on weekdays, $10 on weekends. Season and half-season parking passes are available.
Tickets are available online or by calling 800-514-3849, ext. 2.
For more information, call 360-805-6700. For a complete schedule of events, go to www.evergreenfair.org.
Kirk Boxleitner, Marysville Globe
MARYSVILLE — J.J. Edwards doesn’t want any other mother to suffer the loss she experienced when her 10-year-old stepson, Elijah Spratt, drowned on the Stillaguamish River on June 30.
After conducting lifejacket donation drives on July 6 and 13 at Twin Rivers Park in Arlington, where her stepson went into the water, Edwards and her friend Amy Jacobson partnered with the Tulalip Cabela’s to perform lifejacket fittings and serve up a benefit barbecue in front of the store on Saturday, Aug. 17, and Sunday, Aug. 18.
Jacobson explained that she and Edwards are trying to enter the Evergreen State Fair Aug. 22 through Sept. 2, to reach as many people as possible with their water safety message, but they need volunteers to help man their booth during those 12 days.
“At the Stillaguamish Festival of the River, we heard so many people say, ‘Oh, my kid can swim,’” Jacobson said.
“They don’t realize that the rush of the river is a little different from still waters,” Edwards said. “I get a little emotional over it.”
Katie Sanford, marketing manager for the Tulalip Cabela’s, sees Edwards and Jacobson’s mission as dovetailing with Cabela’s own goals of supporting its stores’ surrounding communities and helping people enjoy the outdoors safely.
“We sell boats and lifejackets, and promote being on the water,” said Sanford, who joined Edwards and Jacobson in praising Snohomish County Search and Rescue and the Everett Sail & Power Squadron for aiding their efforts. “When we saw this story in the newspaper, we were really touched by it, and we’re very glad to have such great partners for such a great cause.”
Edwards and Jacobson are providing updates on their campaign at www.facebook.com/TwinRiversPark-CommunityLifeJacketShed. For more information, or if you would like to contribute, log onto www.gofundme.com/3u01ho.
Brian Daffron, ICTMN
The “Power Brokers” series travels to the Northwest and West Coast, whose traditional tribal lands house some of the most ethnically diverse cultures in the United States. Yet, among the states along the West Coast and Northwest, there is little representation in state government. Indian Country Today Media Network contacted the administrative offices—as well as legislative assistants—for the states of Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington State, Idaho and Nevada. Among these states, only two—Alaska and Washington—have Native people within its legislative body – an interesting statistic given California is home to the second largest federally recognized tribes within a state at 103, and Nevada is home to more than 20.
Alaska
According to the Environmental Protection Agency website, there are 229 federally recognized tribes, villages and Native village corporations within the state of Alaska. From the 229 tribal governments, the 2012 U.S. Census shows that the American Indian and Alaskan Native percentage is 14.8 percent. The halls of Alaska’s state legislature have six Native members overall—two in the Senate and four in the House.
Senator Lyman Hoffman (D)
Tribal Afflilation: Yupik
Senate District: S
Years in Office: 1991-1992 and 1995-Present
Previous Legislative Experience: Alaska House of Representatives, 1986-1990 and 1993-1994
Committees: Community and Regional Affairs; Fish & Game Subcommittee; Transportation & Public Facilities—Finance Subcommittee; Legislative Centennial Commission; Finance; Governor-Finance Subcommittee; World Trade; Alternate, Legislative Council; Commerce, Community & Economic Development–Finance Subcommittee; Legislature—Finance Subcommittee; Alaska Arctic Policy Commission
Key Legislation: Co-Sponsor, Energy Assistance Program; revision of state brand board
Senator Donny Olson (D)
Tribal Affiliation: Inupiaq (Golovin)
Senate District: T
Years in Office: 2001-Present
Committees: Part of a Republican/Democrat Coalition—One of two Democrats invited within coalition; Finance; Judiciary; State Affairs
Key Legislation: Creation of Native Language Preservation Council; controlled substances classification; legislation concerning U.S. Coast Guard operations in the Arctic; request for U.S. government to open oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge; establishment of Alaska Mining Day; reduction of salmon catch by trawl fishers
Representative Bryce Edgmon (D)
Tribal Affiliation: Choggiung Village Corporation
House District: 36
Years in Office: 2006-Present
Additional Experience: President, Choggiung Village Corporation
Committees: Chair, Subcommittee on Corrections; Chair, Subcommittee on Public Safety; Finance; Subcommittee on Health and Social Services; Alternate, Alaska Arctic Policy Commission
Key Legislation: Change of the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” in Alaska statutes; act relating to performance reviews, audits and termination of Alaska executive and legislative branches, the University of Alaska and the Alaska Court System; request to the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management to plug legacy well drilling sites; reinstatement of child and adult immunization programs in the state Department of Health and Social Services; renewable energy grant fund; loan for commercial fishing entry permits; act making regional Native housing authorities eligible for grants from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; law requiring the Department of Natural Resources to deliver a fishing stream access report to the legislature and governor’s office; Village Safe Water Act
Representative Neal Foster (D)
Tribal Affiliation: Sitnasuak Native Corporation
House District: 39
Previous Experience: Vice-President, Sitnasuak Native Corporation
Years in Office: 2009-Present
Committees: Co-Chair, Military & Veterans Affairs; Community & Regional Affairs; Public Safety-Finance Subcommittee; Judiciary; Transportation & Public Finance Subcommittee; Natural Resources-Finance Subcommittee; Energy
Key Legislation: Legacy well sites; creation of a state food resource development group; opposition to Food & Drug Administration’s findings on genetically-engineered salmon; act relating to performance reviews, audits and termination of Alaska executive and legislative branches, the University of Alaska and the Alaska Court System; revolving bank loan fund; request for United States Congress to adequately fund United States Coast Guard Arctic missions; act making regional Native housing authorities eligible for grants from the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; law requiring the Department of Natural Resources to deliver a fishing stream access report to the legislature and governor’s office; relocation of the Coastal Villages Region Fund home port; Village Safe Water Act
Representative Charisse Millett (R)
Tribal Affiliation: Inupiaq
House District: 24
Years in Office: 2009-Present
Committees: Co-Chair, Energy; Select Committee on Legislative Ethics; State Affairs; Labor & Workforce Development-Finance Subcommittee; Judiciary; Administration-Finance Subcommittee; Labor & Commerce; Commerce, Community & Economic Development—Finance Subcommittee; Task Force on Sustainable Education
Key Legislation: Vulnerable adult prompt response and notification; Alaska Challenge Youth Academy; police standards; creation of a state food resource development group; commercial use authorization for the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; legacy well sites; Change of the terms “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded” in Alaska statutes; proclamation of Alaska as a Purple Heart State; opposition to Food & Drug Administration’s findings on genetically-engineered salmon; laws concerning sale and possession of switchblades and gravity knives; encouragement of firearm and firearm accessory manufacture; Alaska Minerals Commission membership; establishment of the Alaska Gasoline Development Corporation; self-defense definitions; establishment of Vietnam Veterans Day; Statewide Suicide Prevention Council; no charge for death certificates of deceased veterans; establishment of Alaska National Guard Day; renewable energy grant fund; authorization of Native housing authorities to receive grants through Alaska Housing Finance Corporation; requirement of Department of Natural Resources to submit report on fishing stream access; urging of U.S. Congress to open coastal plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas exploration; opposition to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create new protected habitat within upper Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay; prevention, evaluation and liability for concussions in student athletes
Representative Benjamin Nageak (D)
Tribal Affiliation: Inupiaq
House District: 40
Years in Office: 2013
Committees: Co-Chair, Community & Regional Affairs; Education & Early Development—Finance Subcommittee; Health & Social Services; University of Alaska—Finance Subcommittee; Court System—Finance Subcommittee; Energy
Key Legislation: Law regarding abandoned and derelict vessels; legacy well capping; changing of statute language regarding phrases “mental retardation” and “mentally retarded”; opposition to FDA findings on genetically-engineered salmon; establishment of the Alaska Gasoline Development Corporation; allocation of funds to the Special Education Service Agency
Washington
Washington State—the home of Chief Seattle and Sherman Alexie—has 30 federally recognized tribes within its borders, making up 1.8 percent of the state’s total population. Out of 97 members of the Washington House of Representatives, two are Native.
Representative John McCoy (D)
Tribal Affiliation: Tulalip
House District: 38, Position 1
Years in Office: 2003-Present
Committees: Chair, Community Development Housing & Tribal Affairs; Vice-Chair, Environment; Education
Recent Key Legislation: Initiative to increase STEM education; authorization of state-tribal compact schools; protection of state’s cultural resources; Yakima River Basin resource management; access of tribal members to state land; music education initiatives; academic credit for military training; visitation rights for grandparents; Small Rechargeable Battery Stewardship Act; modification Native child care costs; hunting regulations for tribal members; recognition of Native American Heritage Day; regulation of sibling visitation for foster children; excuses of work and school absences for reasons of faith or conscience; increasing capacity of school districts to respond to troubled youth; limiting liability for habitat projects; job order contracting procedure for Department of Transportation; insurance coverage of eosinophilia gastrointestinal associated disorders; initiatives in high school to save lives for cardiac arrests; housing trust fund investments; tribal conservation easements; prohibiting liquor self-checkout machines; high school equivalency certificates; powers and duties of gambling commission; contribution limits to school board candidates; law requiring state to retrocede civil jurisdiction over Indians and Indian territory, reservations, county and lands; creation of state Indian Child Welfare Act; enhancement of Pacific Salmon production; creation of Washington Investment Trust; decommissioning of coal-fired power generators; establishing state-tribal relations; enactment of Middle Class Jobs Act; creation of Clean Energy Partnership; air quality protection; regulation of aviation biofuels production; clarification of rights and obligations of domestic partners in regards to parentage; creation of Indian Education division within office of Superintendent of Public Instruction; bullying prevention; oil spill program requirements; traumatic brain surgery strategic partnership.
Representative Jeff Morris (D)
Tribal Affiliation: Tsimshian
House District: 40, Position 2
Years in Office: 1996-Present
Committees: Chair, Technology & Economic Development; Environment; Transportation
Previous Experience: Speaker Pro Tempore and Floor Leader, Washington House of Representatives
Recent Key Legislation: Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation; business and government streamlining projects; early learning opportunities; wireless communication structures; restriction of crab fishery licenses; extending business and occupation tax credits for research and development; assessment of energy storage systems; using marijuana-related revenue to fund agricultural production research; modification of renewable energy cost recovery program; authorization of small consumer installment loans; stewardship of household mercury-containing lights; scrap metal licensing; renewable energy options for electricity company customers; grandparents’ visitation rights; increase of regulatory oversight for the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises; renewable energy jobs; elimination of traffic safety cameras; reduction of littering by retail carryout bags; firearm safety funding; tribes and conservation easements; establishment of energy efficiency improvement loan fund; child abuse investigation and proceedings statutes; decommissioning of coal-fired power generators; establishments of energy efficiency standards for consumer products; establishing government-to-government relationship between state and tribes; privatizing management of state ferry system; limits on fertilizer containing phosphorus; defining of municipal solid waste as a renewable resource; procedure of retrocession of civil and criminal jurisdiction over federally recognized tribes; implementation of Blue Alert System; Higher Education Opportunity Act; restriction of television viewers in motor vehicles; expanding rights of domestic partners in regards to parentage; embalmer regulations; improvement of fishing opportunities in Puget Sound and Lake Washington; creation of Indian Education division within office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau; epa.gov; Washington Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs; Open States; and Project Vote Smart
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/22/power-brokers-iv-northwest-home-most-tribes-less-legislators-150971
Source: Indian Country Today Media Network
The Ford Motor Company Fund’s America’s Family Album (AFA) contest has reached the final four — and one entry was taken at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian. The AFA is a compilation of user-submitted photos taken at the Smithsonian, everything from vintage black-and-whites to snaps taken in 2013. Each submission earns the museum a $5 donation from the Ford Motor Company Fund, up to a maximum of $50,000.
One of the final four photos, “Representing the Navajo Nation” by Lauri T., comes from the National Museum of the American Indian. Online voting runs to August 28 — visit AmericasFamilyAlbum.org to cast your vote and show your support.
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/22/help-navajo-photo-win-americas-family-album-contest-150989
Floyd McKay, CrossCut
Lummi master carver Jewell James is taking another ceremonial totem pole on a long trip, but this time it won’t be going as a healing pole — like those he carved for the three 9-11 sites — this pole is a political and cultural statement aimed at the export of coal from ports in the Pacific Northwest.
The pole is taking shape only a few miles from the proposed site of the largest coal terminal in the region, at Cherry Point north of Bellingham on Georgia Strait.
It’s a site that James and other Lummis regard as sacred; their ancestors lived, fished and died at Cherry Point through the centuries before white men discovered the area, imposed treaties on the natives and pushed them onto reservations.
The reservations are still there, as are the natives, and pressure continues to bring industry with its economic development, jobs, shipping, railroads, pollution, threats to native fishing areas and trampling of ancient grounds. Over the last two centuries, Cherry Point has seen two oil refineries, an aluminum plant and now plans for yet another giant industry.
Now, the Lummis appear to be well-positioned to play a key, perhaps the most critical role, in determining the fate of a huge proposal to export coal to China from Cherry Point. If the tribe’s objections to the port hold and their treaty rights under federal law withstand any legal questions, the path to approval of the port planned by SSA Marine of Seattle faces a giant obstacle. Company officials, for their part, say they believe the plan can win support from the tribe.
SSA Marine wants to export 48 million tons annually of Powder River Basin coal, and this time the Lummis are deeply dug in. Their line was first drawn a year ago when Lummi elders burned a ceremonial million-dollar check on the beach at Cherry Point and declared no compromise or financial offer would change their opposition to the Gateway Pacific Terminal (GPT).
Lummi speakers were forceful at seven public meetings last year hosted by public agencies charged with reviewing the proposal. Tribal leaders have hosted public events in Whatcom County, where the fate of two key permits will be decided. They even wrote a play, “But What About Those Promises?” to dramatize exploitation of their ancestors.
Up next is the totem pole, which begins its journey about Sept. 19 at the Powder River Basin coalfield in Wyoming and follows by truck the long and winding rail route to Cherry Point. Ceremonies and rallies along the way will reach Seattle and Cherry Point about Sept. 27 to 29.
The Lummis, with regional tribal support, are mounting a two-pronged attack on GPT: the cultural side, headed by James and associates in the Lummi Sovereignty and Treaty Protection Office; and a resource side, relying on key federal court decisions protecting “Usual and Accustomed” fishing rights granted in treaties dating to 1855.
Lummis are quick to say the two items are inseparable because salmon is integral to every aspect of their — and all Salish tribes’ — life. Scholars support that claim and note that Salish tribes have never deviated from their relationship with salmon.
“Prior to and following the arrival of Euro‐Americans, the shorelines of Cherry Point were used as fishing villages and the tidelands and waters of Georgia Strait were used to harvest fin‐ and shellfish for commercial, subsistence, and ceremonial purposes,” Lummi chairman Tim Ballew II said in a 24-page letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in January. “Although the Lummi Nation still fishes the waters of Georgia Strait, the resources have been degraded by human activities and shoreline development has precluded the use of traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering sites along the shorelines.”
The Corps has jurisdiction over wetlands and piers and it must deal directly with the 5,000-member tribe in a “government to government” manner honoring tribal sovereignty.
Dr. Yvette Roubideaux, ICTMN
I get questions all the time from American Indians and Alaska Natives (including my own relatives!) wondering why they should care about the Affordable Care Act since they already are eligible for the Indian Health Service (IHS). My response is that while the IHS is here to stay and will be available as their healthcare system, the Affordable Care Act brings new options for health coverage. It is another way that the federal government meets its responsibility to provide health care for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The purpose of the Affordable Care Act is to increase access to quality health coverage for all Americans, including our First Americans. The benefits of the health care law for American Indians and Alaska Natives are significant whether they have insurance now, want to purchase affordable insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace or take advantage of the States expanding Medicaid starting in 2014. Indian elders will benefit from a stronger Medicare with more affordable prescriptions and free preventive services no matter what provider they see. And of course, we’re thrilled that the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA), our authorizing legislation, was made permanent by the Affordable Care Act.
These new benefits mean potentially more services for individuals and the communities we serve. So we are encouraging every American Indian and Alaska Native to enroll in the Marketplaces starting October 1, 2013 to see what benefits are available to them.
To learn more about how the law is benefiting our community visit: http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2011/03/americanindianhealth03212011a.html.
To learn more about the Health Insurance Marketplace visit HealthCare.gov.
Dr. Yvette Roubideaux is the acting director of the Indian Health Service.
Read more at http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2013/08/22/roubideaux-why-you-should-care-about-affordable-care-act-150986
In its deliberations over the Keystone XL pipeline, the State Department is taking flak not just from picket-sign-wielding environmentalists, but also from within the ranks of the Obama administration. This spring the EPA slammed an environmental review as “insufficient” and called for major revisions. And Monday, ThinkProgress uncovered a letter [PDF] from the Interior Department, dated from April, that outlines the many and varied ways in which the pipeline could wreak havoc on plants and animals (not to mention dinosaurs) along its proposed route.
The letter calls particular attention to a line in the State Department’s most recent environmental impact assessment [PDF] that claims “the majority of the potential effects to wildlife resources are indirect, short term or negligible, limited in geographic extent, and associated with the construction phase of the proposed Project only.”
“This statement is inaccurate and should be revised,” states the letter, which is signed by Interior’s Director of Environmental Policy and Compliance, Willie Taylor. “Given that the project includes not only constructing a pipeline but also related infrastructure … impacts to wildlife are not just related to project construction. Impacts to wildlife from this infrastructure will occur throughout the life of the project.”
Which wildlife? The letter raises concerns that potential oil spills, drained water supplies, and bustling construction workers could cause a general disturbance, but identifies the critters below, some of which are endangered, for special attention:
The Ross’ goose depends on Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin, which the pipeline would pass through, as a key migratory stopover. A spill in the basin could “severely impact critical habitat,” the letter says.
Although the letter praises State Department plans to protect these endangered ferrets, it nonetheless raises concerns about the potential for infectious diseases from domestic pets at construction camps and worksites in Montana and South Dakota to spread to this population of 1,000 or less left in the wild.
Like the Ross’ goose, the Sandhill crane depends on Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin, which, according to the letter, could be severely impacted by an oil spill.
Already endangered, least terns depend for nesting on a plot of protected federal land just 40 miles downstream from where the pipeline will cross Nebraska’s Niobrara River. Nests could fail, the letter warns, if construction activities cause fluctuations in the river’s water level.
Also endangered, the piping plover depends on the same nesting site as the least tern and faces the same threats.
In 2010 the Fish & Wildlife Service found the tiny Sprague’s pipit qualified for endangered status, but hasn’t yet been able to officially list it because of higher-priority species. But the pipit breeds in Montana’s North Valley Grassland, which the pipeline would pass through, raising concerns about impact from a spill.
While not exactly the cutest on this list, pallid sturgeons are also endangered; the letter raises concern that as water is withdrawn from the Platte River during the construction process, the fish and their eggs could suffocate. An assertion by the State Department that no plan is needed to mitigate damage to sturgeons, the letter says, “seems unsupported and requires further documentation.”
This story was produced as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Renée Holt, Native News Network, Guest Commentary
As I enjoy the last day of summer break, before I return back to school, I have been thinking about the recent media publicity my tribal community has received regarding the Keystone XL pipeline.
As an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, and a mother to three beautiful children, a couple weeks ago, our community, the Nimiipuu (aka the Real People) stood in solidarity with our First Nations brothers and sisters in Canada who oppose the Keystone XL pipeline.
Our community has been protesting the Megaloads for well over two years.
Although regional media has highlighted the Nez Perce tribal council arrests and members of our community for their Indigenous activism, what media has failed to see is that our community has been protesting the Megaloads for well over two years. It just happens to be that we held our first town hall meeting in March 2011 and Winona La Duke shared information on the negative effects of the Keystone XL and the importance of a protest.
In collaboration with the grassroots organizations Friends of the Clearwater and Wild Idaho Rising Tide (who have worked tirelessly on this environmental issue) our tribal council made an informed decision with the intention of making it known the Nimiipuu oppose the Keystone XL pipeline and the transportation of the Megaloads through our ancestral homelands.
From the ancestral homelands of the Nimiipuu people, located in North Central Idaho, I am writing this to members of society, both Indigenous AND non Indigenous, to do more than question and challenge this global climate issue, but to also help fight the battle against the Keystone XL pipeline.
It has been shown in studies from the Environmental Protection Agency and grassroots organizations such as the Rainforest Action Network that gas emissions were toxic and communities located near these sites have higher rates of cancer and contamination of water resources. Not only do the Indigenous communities that are located near these sites suffer, but so do the plants and wild life. If there is one common thread we share as citizens of the global community, it is this, water is necessary to live. Once water is poisoned, we’re all poisoned.
We need to educate and inform citizens and look respectively at Indigenous governments who are protecting their homelands.
Whether in the United States or Canada, Indigenous lands and surrounding areas are continually being devastated by oil pipelines. The lives of people, wildlife and plants suffer and the Megaloads protest ought to remind us, as human beings, the value and sacredness of life is a responsibility. Whether Indigenous or non Indigenous, as humans, to oppose and protest the Keystone XL Megaloads being transported through ancestral homelands is rooted in a responsibility to community and Mother Earth. At this time, due to frustrations with the US Forest Service, the Nimiipuu community and grassroots efforts have filed a lawsuit.
If they are not stopped, the Keystone XL pipeline devastation will continue and the health and well being of those who live near these environmental hazardous areas, regardless of racial ethnicity, will be negatively affected. As an Indigenous woman, I am writing this to share with non Indigenous readers a little bit of who we are as people. Because we often make our homes where our ancestors made their homes, we also live on reserves/reservations that were at one time unwanted land. Today, the unwanted land is now sought by big oil corporations where environmental hazards have disrupted and devastated the ecosystem.
I also believe it is important to mention that the Keystone XL pipeline is an international issue. The responsibility is that of Secretary of State John Kerry to oversee international issues as appointed by President Obama.
Source: PRWeb
Native American chiefs are supremely honored, and hold the highest position within individual Native American tribes. Before generals and politicians ruled the land, the United States was filled with indigenous Native American tribes, and was host to many small societies existing beneath chiefdom.
In Native American culture, an elder was considered to be the wisest. Elders were thought to deliver just decisions, and often rose to the rank of chief. Native American chiefs have accomplished many important feats for Native Americans, and have been recorded within American history.
Now, a new website dedicated to legendary Native American chiefs has been launched.
“Many Native American chiefs have been regarded as great warriors, and have spearheaded campaigns to protect their people from danger at overwhelming odds,” said NativeAmericanChiefs.org spokesperson James Heldon. “Chiefs have led entire civilizations, expelled enemy occupants and have led tribes into profitable lands, filled with hunting grounds and fertile soil.”
The Native American leader, Geronimo, was an Apache warrior who fought the United States and Mexico to protect his people’s land. His father-in-law, Chief Cochise, was considered a fearsome warrior, and spent much of his life at war with Mexican forces to protect his tribe’s culture.
The Navajo chief, Manuelito, evaded capture by American forces in the 1800s, and additionally led his people into battle against overwhelming odds against the American Army. He took part in several battles, and participated in the Long Walk, where the United States forced the Navajo tribe to walk—at gunpoint—from their Arizona reservation to eastern New Mexico.
The Sioux chief, Sitting Bull, is arguably the most famous Native American leader. He’s considered a figure of deep conviction, cunning and bravery, and led his people to a decisive victory against opposing forces during the Battle of Little Bighorn. The Sioux, themselves, were fierce combatants, and entered battle with traditional war shirts, decorated with human scalps and ceremonial beads. Camouflage wasn’t used, as war garments were worn to inspire fear within the enemy. A chief normally stuck out, and was decorated with elaborate clothing and jewelry.
“The many stories of Native American chiefs are passed down through history, and tribes keep them alive—even today,” said Heldon. “Their tales of bravery and heroism are inspiring legends, and will likely exist for centuries. Chiefs have historically led their tribes through struggles, famine and war, and continue to lead modern tribes through hardships.”
To learn more information about Indian chiefs, as well as their accomplishments, take a look at NativeAmericanChiefs.org. Visitors will encounter stories of battles, and access biographical information pertaining to Native American leaders.
