Annual Cherokee Indian Heritage & Sandhill Crane Viewing Day

The 13th annual Cherokee Indian Heritage & Sandhill Crane Viewing Day will be held at Birchwood School on Saturday, Feb. 5, 8:30 AM- 4:00 PM EST. Birchwood School is located on TN Hwy 60, near the TN River, between Dayton and Cleveland, north of Chattanooga. Thousands of Sandhill Cranes, and possibly a few Whooping Cranes will be on hand. Eagles are frequently spotted during the festival. There will be a variety of vendors, displays, and speakers on wildlife, ornithology, archaeology and Cherokee history.
Also the Tennessee Chapter Trail of Tears Association (TNTOTA) will meet Saturday at Birchwood school.

blood for Ms Van

Commissioner Van Lynch of West Tennessee had knee surgery on
thursday and has lost some blood through her kidneys and liver.

a physical offering of a donation of a pint of blood in her name,
Evangeline Lynch of Kenton TN, would be a good prayer.
it doesn't matter what your blood type is.
ask your local blood bank about honor
or tribute donations.

it's a very good and very
special kind of prayer.

;>

cards to:
Commissioner Van Lynch
c/o Baptist Memorial Hospital
Russell and Bishop Streets
Union City TN 38261

no phone calls, please.

preparing for an election

Jacqueline Johnson: I am Tlingit, from the southeast part of Alaska. I am Raven Sockeye from the Raven House. My Tlingit name is Kus ees

LISE KING: What does it mean for you, being the Executive Director of NCAI?

Johnson: I am responsible for any business, the financial stability, for the overall administration and operation of the organization. But on top of it all, for NCAI, you have the political strategy, development pieces that are critical, and you have to build bridges with all the alliances.

KING: Was Native Vote 2004 your project, something you wanted to make sure happened? Johnson: Absolutely! I was involved in the effort to get out the vote in our villages and homes in Alaska. I really saw the benefit when we actually went from a 13% rate of voter turn out to a 60% rate of voter turn out, and we made a major difference in the election of the Governor. Not only that, but we made it very clear even before the race ended that we were checking all the commissions and every appointment that he was responsible for making. He knew before he was elected that we wanted appointments and we wanted input on certain positions, and then we started tracking people who were interested in those positions. We didn’t just say, “we want appointments.” We said, “Here is a list of folks, their resumes, these are people who have credentials to do these kinds of positions.”

I think it made a big difference in the way policy was being developed in Alaska because you’ve got native Alaskans in key positions, developing policy. The Native vote was more than just getting out the vote, it was about making a difference for the future.

From the Qualla: Irish, Cherokee work to build cultural ties

Irish, Cherokee work to build cultural ties through song, dance

photo: Jill Ingram/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Cherokee princesses stand on stage Monday night in Cherokee. From left, they are Miss Cherokee Emra Arkansas, Senior Miss Cherokee Judith Welch, Teen Miss Cherokee Kara Martin, Junior Miss Cherokee Kennedy Hornbuckle and Little Miss Cherokee Peri Arizona Wildcatt.

Related Links
PHOTOS: 1 of 6 - Cherokee and Irish dancers

Members of the Cherokee Warrior Dancers perform Monday night in Cherokee. They are in traditional war paint. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Irishwomen perform traditional dance Monday as part of cultural exchange and show of friendship in Cherokee. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Cherokee princesses onstage Monday night in Cherokee. From left, they are Miss Cherokee Emra Arkansas, Senior Miss Cherokee Judith Welch, Teen Miss Cherokee Kara Martin, Junior Miss Cherokee Kennedy Hornbuckle and Little Miss Cherokee Peri Arizona Wildcatt. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


A Cherokee man sings and drums in the traditional style Monday in Cherokee. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Members of the Cherokee Warrior Dancers perform Monday night in Cherokee. They are in traditional war paint. Photo by Jill Ingram, staff photographer.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005


Hoop dancer Daniel Tramper, a national champion, performs Monday night in Cherokee.
Citizen-Times Photo
Jan 24, 2005



By Jill Ingram
STAFF WRITER
January 25, 2005 6:00 am

CHEROKEE - In an evening of juxtapositions that included traditional drumming and bagpipes, kilts and loincloths, and war cries and jigs, the Irish and Cherokee nations celebrated their friendship Monday night with a celebration of their respective cultural traditions.

John, The Lord Alderdice, who sits in London's House of Lords and is a former speaker for the Northern Irish Assembly, was guest of honor at the event, which Cherokee Principal Chief Michell Hicks said was a year in the planning.

"It's the coming together of two nations that have both been through oppression and transgression," Hicks said. "Now we are circling back around to renew a friendship."

Speaking to about 450 spectators in the auditorium of Cherokee High School, on the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, Alderdice told the group he was "hugely impressed" with the Cherokee commitment to social and economic issues and education.

He had a "deep appreciation that the first people across the world have much to give and much to teach," Alderdice said.

The visitors also included other native people from places including Canada, California and Oklahoma, and religious leaders from across the country. The visit wasn't for the purpose of proselytizing but there was a religious quality to the evening.

"The Cherokee are known for their spiritual heritage and there is a lot of healing that needs to take place," said Ada Winn, a Cherokee from Tulsa, Okla., who traveled with the delegation.

The visit was the follow-up to a trip that members of the Eastern Band made to Ireland a year ago. The forgiveness and healing many referred to Monday night has to do with the treatment of the Cherokee and other native people at the hands of the English, Scots, Irish and their descendants in America. There were apologies, exchanges of gifts, and, of course, the dancing.

The singing and dancing began with the Cherokee national anthem, sung in Cherokee, then proceeded with dances that were in turn traditional Irish and Cherokee. The Cherokee Warrior Dancers, a troupe of men in traditional warrior garb and war paint, were the first onstage. They were followed by a quartet of women performing traditional Irish dance. Daniel Tramper, an Eastern Band member, wowed the audience with his championship hoop dancing.

Marci Johnson, 12, a member of the Anikuwih (Mulberry) Dancers, children from an extended family that perform traditional dance, said she was happy to be part of the event.

"We're supporting our tribe," she said.

The delegation will be in Tennessee today, where Alderdice will address Indian residents at the Capitol building in Nashville.

__________________________________________________
Material appearing here is distributed without profit or monitory gain to those who have expressed an interest in receiving the material for research and educational purposes. This is in accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. section 107.

Shaking the capitol

Yesterday the drum shook the state capitol building as all the officials from Oklahoma and Tennessee who attended the Lord Alderdice's visit, including Chief of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma Chad Smith, entered and exited. Good words and not-so-good words were spoken, and the state's representatives (apart from one guy who looked mightily unhappy sitting up front) were noticeably missing. But the biggest impression i left with was that this was probably the first time a Native American drum had ever been in the Tennessee State Capitol.

Inside the event was being filmed, and leaving the building we saw the TV news trucks with their transmitters up. But last night and today, not a word on TV, not a word in the press. Apparently Governor Bredesen's TennCare changes consumed the media on the hill yesterday.

Still, i find it amazing that we can shake the capitol like it's never been shaken before, with out-of-state and out-of-country dignitaries, and receive not a single mention in the Tennessee news media. And to see who else did get covered yesterday by the Nashville media makes it feel like it was an intentional snub.

It shows how little we've come. And how we have yet to go.

the 4 major resolutions passed at the 4dec04 TNCIA mtg

Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs meeting
Chucalissa Museum, Memphis . 4 december 2004

1. SUPPORT FOR LEONARD PELTIER'S CONTINUED QUEST FOR JUSTICE
   proposed by Commissioner Teri Ellenwood, Knoxville
   approved: Teri Lee R. Ellenwood, Knox and surrounding counties, Chair
   Jimmy Reedy, Middle Tennessee, Vice Chair
   Mike Mangrum, Nashville and surrounding counties
   
   
2. RECOGNITION OF HISTORIC TRIBES OF TENNESSEE
   proposed by the Advisory Council on Tennessee Indian Affairs
   adopted unanimously
   
   
3. RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS, TRIBES, OR BANDS
   added: "(7) Has maintained continuous state-tribal relations from 1796."
   [1-6: same as 1990 TNCIA criteria 0785-1-.03; 7: 2004; 1796 - year of Tennessee statehood]
   adopted unanimously
   
   
4. RESOLUTION OF SUPPORT TO SAVE LITTLE CEDAR MOUNTAIN
   proposed by Commissioner John Anderson, Chattanooga
   adopted unanimously
   

text of resolutions at www.tncia.org/4dec04-resolutions.html

TNCIA supports saving Little Cedar Mountain

In his quarterly report, Tennessee Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Anderson (Tuscarora/Six Nations) of Chattanooga made the following comment:

5. The public property at Little Cedar Mountain held in trust by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is being threatened with proposed development. I would like to see the following Resolution of Support to Save Little Cedar Mountain adopted by the Commission. The previous Commission of Indian Affairs was asked to support saving Little Cedar Mountain from development back on July 18, 1998 in Millington, but no action was ever taken by the Commission.

Resolution of Support to Save Little Cedar Mountain

---

Whereas: The Little Cedar Mountain area, currently held in trust for the United States' people by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), is historically significant to Native American people, given its long history of habitation and specific significance to the Chickamauga Cherokee; and

Whereas: After several Native American protests, TVA promised in March 1999 that "TVA will no longer pursue the development of the Little Cedar Mountain project on Nickajack Lake" and that "we [TVA] believe it is important for TVA to continue to maintain these public lands for use by everyone"; and

Whereas: TVA has not met its legal responsibility to protect and preserve cultural resources by initiating a phase-one archaeological survey of the area that would accurately account for all of the presumptive archaeological sites in the area; and

Whereas: TVA has not satisfactorily studied the impact of increased river traffic on the underwater village sites and human burials that were flooded by the creation of Nickajack Lake; and

Whereas: TVA has not entered into any dialogues mandated by the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) with the culturally affiliated tribes of record regarding the disposition of the large quantity of human remains that TVA continues to hold; and

Whereas: TVA has not initiated any discussion of the Native American Graves Protection Act (NAGPRA), sacred sites, traditional cultural properties and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) with the culturally affiliated tribes with the end goal of drafting a Programmatic Agreement for Section 106 of NHPA and the drafting of an agreement for Section 3 of NAGPRA, Inadvertent Discoveries; and

Whereas: The Little Cedar Mountain area, currently held in trust for the United States' people by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), is environmentally significant as a wild area to maintaining the health of the Tennessee River watershed and is one of the last remaining free and accessible public spaces on the Tennessee River;

Therefore Be It Resolved That the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs go on record supporting TVA's 1999 decision to "to maintain these public lands for use by everyone" and not to "pursue the development of the Little Cedar Mountain project on Nickajack Lake".

The motion was adopted unanimously at the Commission's 4 December 2004 meeting at Chucalissa in Memphis.

TNCIA recognizes historic tribes of Tennessee

At its 4 December 2004 meeting at Chucalissa in Memphis, the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs approved a resolution "TO RECOGNIZE HISTORIC TRIBES OF TENNESSEE", suggested by the Advisory Council on Tennessee Indian Affairs:

WHEREAS: The history of the land called "Tennessee" began with the indigenous people of this continent; and

WHEREAS: Many places in Tennessee are still called by the names originally given to them by the First Peoples, including Chattanooga and Ootewah from the Muscogee (Creek) people, and Soddy (Tsati) and Tellico from the Cherokee people, and Sewanee from the Shawnee people, and Red Bank and Running Water from the intertribal-US period; and

WHEREAS: The indigenous people of Tennessee were, in large part, removed from Tennessee by imported diseases, indigenous forces allied with the new United States of America, and ultimately by US government policy and military in the 1830s; and

WHEREAS: The indigenous people of Tennessee still remain in the land, and the children of the indigenous people removed from this land still maintain a connection to their interred ancestors and to the land that created them; and

WHEREAS: Many monuments and burials of the indigenous people of Tennessee still remain on and in the land, momuments and burials which need continuous vigilance in order to safeguard them, including Chucalissa Village, Pinson Mounds, Mounds Bottom, Old Stone Fort, Moccasin Bend, Red Clay, and the original Tanasi village site; and

WHEREAS: It is fitting and just to recognize the indigenous people of Tennessee as the First People of Tennessee and to extend to them as Nations the recognition of the State as interested and involved parties in the future of their ancestors and the land; and

WHEREAS: Federal mandates including the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA Section 106) direct interaction with appropriate representatives in order to satisfy federal consultation requirements; and

WHEREAS: The State of Tennessee acknowledges its own interaction with representatives of these tribes in order to preserve the history of the First People of Tennessee;

THEREFORE Be It Resolved That the State of Tennessee recognize the historical Nations of Indigenous People that first inhabited and named this land, including but not necessarily limited to:

1. the Yuchi Tribe of Oklahoma
   
2. the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma
   
3. the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Oklahoma
   
4. the Kialegee Tribal Town, Oklahoma
   
5. the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Oklahoma
   
6. the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas
   
7. the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
   
8. the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama
   
9. the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma
   
10. the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina
    
11. the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma
    
12. the Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma
    
13. the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
    
14. the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi
    
15. the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
    
16. the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
    
17. the Loyal Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma;
    

and

That the state Commission of Indian Affairs and the state Division of Archaeology and the Governor's Archaeological Advisory Council are directed to interact with the Historic Preservation Officers of these tribes and nations to better protect, preserve and interpret these sites for our future children.

SJR8 A RESOLUTION to recognize and welcome The Lord Alderdice

Filed for intro on 01/13/2005
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 8
By Fowler

A RESOLUTION to recognize and welcome The Lord Alderdice, member of the House of Lords and former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

WHEREAS, the members of this General Assembly are pleased to specially recognize those dynamic leaders of foreign lands who travel to our great state to foster understanding, share cultural expressions and develop common bonds of fellowship and good will; and

WHEREAS, such an internationally acclaimed dignitary is The Lord Alderdice, a member of the House of Lords and the former Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, who is leading a delegation of goodwill ambassadors to be hosted by the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs, the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee and Peregrini International; and

WHEREAS, born March 28, 1955, to the Reverend David and Helena Alderdice, in Northern Ireland, John, Lord Alderdice was educated at Donaghcloney Primary School, Strandtown Primary School in Belfast, and Ballymena Academy where he earned the placement of Deputy Head Boy; and

WHEREAS, continuing his education, Lord Alderdice read Medicine at Queen’s University of Belfast and graduated MB, BCh, BAO in 1978; he became a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrist (MRCPsych) in 1983 and later specialized in Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy; and

WHEREAS, highly respected and greatly admired by his peers and colleagues, Lord Alderdice was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists (FRCPsych) in 1997, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland, and in 2001 an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and of the British Psychoanalytical Society; and - 2 - 00167036

WHEREAS, in 1978 Lord Alderdice joined the Alliance Party and was elected Party Leader in October 1987, he won election to the Belfast City Council in 1989 and to the newly formed Northern Ireland Forum in 1996; and

WHEREAS, during his tenure on the Northern Ireland Forum he led the Alliance delegation and served in that same capacity in the Multi-party Talks chaired by former United States Senator George Mitchell prior to being raised to the peerage in October 1996; and

WHEREAS, taking his seat on the Liberal Democrat benches in the House of Lords on November 5, 1996, Lord Alderdice played an integral role in the Irish Peace Process, serving as one of the key negotiators of the Belfast Agreement signed on Good Friday in 1998; and

WHEREAS, a committed internationalist, Lord Alderdice was elected an Executive Member of the Federation of European Liberal, Democrat and Reform Parties in 1987, Treasurer in 1995 and in 1999 served as Vice President of the organization. He is a former Vice President of Liberal International, and in October 2000, was elected the Deputy President of Liberal International, the world-wide federation of liberal political parties; and

WHEREAS, elected in 1998 to the new Northern Ireland Assembly as a member for Belfast East, he resigned as Leader of the Alliance Party and was appointed Speaker of the new Assembly, which post he held until retiring on February 29, 2004; and

WHEREAS, a truly caring and dedicated individual, Lord Alderdice has helped to found a number of Northern Ireland charities and professional organizations and worked tirelessly with a multitude of national and international religious and professional organizations; and

WHEREAS, an Elder in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Lord Alderdice is a devoted husband to wife, Joan, a Consultant Pathologist, and is the proud father of three children, Stephen, Peter and Anna; and

WHEREAS, this General Assembly is honored to have such an eminent individual as The Lord Alderdice visit Nashville and the State of Tennessee; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING,
that this General Assembly, on behalf of the citizens of Tennessee, hereby extends our most cordial welcome to The Lord Alderdice and his entire delegation from Ireland as they meet with the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs, the Native American Association of Tennessee and American Indian citizens of our state on January 25th, 2005.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we also offer our best wishes for a fruitful and rewarding visit, and express our profound hope that The Lord Alderdice will return in the future.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy.

the Archaeology Advisory Council relationship

This past saturday human bones dating from around 400-900 ce (Mississippian) were discovered northeast of Chattanooga. Most of us locals, i believe, found out third-hand. The Chattanooga Riverwalk, nearing completion, is said to have encountered several burials of which we have never heard. Coolidge Park is said to have a burial right in the middle of it somewhere. Where is our Native American archaeology contact?

The Tennessee Archaeological* Advisory Council is a 10-member governor-appointed group whose meetings are governed by the state sunshine law**, just like the TN Commission of Indian Affairs. There are reserved places for 3 Native American representatives on the Council.

In the past the Tennessee indian community hasn't had much interaction at all with this Council, and the majority of its indian members have been relatively obscure people apart from Don Yahola (Middle TN), Alva Crowe (East TN), and now Pat Cummins (Middle TN). To the best of anyone's knowledge, the West TN representative, Russell E. Baugh, has never been at a Commission of Indian Affairs meeting and is relatively unknown in the indian community. The last meeting the East TN representative, Leela Cross, attended was in Johnson City back around 1998.

IT'S TIME our indian representatives on this Council get back in touch with the indian community by reporting quarterly to the Commission of Indian Affairs, and time that the indian community makes sure that its representatives on this Council know what's happening in archaeology around the state from the indian community perspective, the political impact of the recent AG's opinion, and the sites that are being threatened by development. It's also time that we make sure that the TN Archaeology Advisory Council, which is overseen by TN Department of Environment and Conservation, the same as the Commission of Indian Affairs, complies with the same sunshine law that the Commission of Indian Affairs has to comply with, and that the indian community have the ability to obtain the agenda of the Archaeological Advisory Council the same way that it receives notice of the Commission's meetings - public website and direct email notices.

_________________________________________
Archaeological Advisory Council meeting, Ed Jones Auditorium Ellington Agricultural Center, 5105 Edmondson Pike, Nashville, Friday, January 21, 2005 - 2 P.M.

*Tennessee Code reads: "TITLE 11 NATURAL AREAS AND RECREATION : CHAPTER 6 ARCHAEOLOGY : 11-6-103. Archaeological advisory council" but the state's official website for it calls it the "Tennessee Archaeology Advisory Council".

** The Tennessee Sunshine Law, passed by the General Assembly in 1974, requires public notice of meetings of all government bodies whose action can affect public policy, and that all meetings of state, city and county government bodies be open to the public. On the TN Archaeological* Advisory Council's own website it states: For the agenda to this board's next meeting, please visit the Sunshine Notice. No notice of the TN Archaeology Advisory Council's January 2005 is given there. CORRECTION: 13jan05-agenda posted.

Resisting Exile in the 'Land of the Free': Indigenous Groundwork at Colonial Intersections

Indigenous Peoples represent holy places and sacred bonds to place in symbolic ways that constitute the borderlines of everyday knowledge, living, and experience in the present tense. Historical and ongoing colonization labors to encroach upon indigenous place-making, confiscate the properties in question, and exile Indigenous Peoples in an emotional and psychological deception represented as the "land of the free."

This panel concerned with indigenous ways of shaping and contesting place and space making will investigate how indigenous "groundwork" circulating in cultures of music, mass media communications, and everyday languages of decolonization and resistance mark boundaries that join and separate -- that write margins and mainstreams and create common ground. We might look, for instance, at how Indigenous Peoples are re writing globalization in ways that still claim the nation-state as an important and possibly democratic formation. We might explore how space can be understood in certain moments as colonized and in others as indigenized. We might interrogate how Natives and non Natives have negotiated various meanings for place in the commemoration of national memory -- in national parks, museums, and other sites of recollection and remembrance. Or, contemplating the dynamics of decolonization politics, we might investigate how culture functions as a crucial vehicle in processes that inscribe, embody, and contest place and space in Indigenous ways that expose the melancholy conditions of exile in the "land of the free."

CALL FOR PAPERS
Proposed panel for the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Studies Association

Groundwork: Space and Place in American Cultures
Washington, DC, November 3-6, 2005
Proposed panel title: "Resisting Exile in the 'Land of the Free':
Indigenous Groundwork at Colonial Intersections"
Deadline for submissions: Friday, January 21, 2004

By Monday, January 17, 2005, please submit a 250-word abstract and one page curriculum vita electronically to Tony Clark at tyeeme@uiuc.edu. You also may mail your submission to Tony Clark, American Indian Studies Program and the Native American House, The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1206 West Nevada Street, MC 139, Urbana, Illinois 61801 3818.

Archaeological Advisory Council meeting agenda

Ed Jones Auditorium Ellington Agricultural Center
5105 Edmondson Pike, Nashville
Friday, January 21, 2005 - 2 P.M.

Introductions - Dr. Kevin Smith, vice chair

Reports By Members
  • University of Tennessee System - Dr. Jeff Chapman [Director, McClung Museum, Knoxville]
  • University of Memphis - Dr. David Dye
  • Middle Tennessee State University - Dr. Kevin Smith
  • Vanderbilt University - Dr. John Janusek
  • Native American Representatives
       - Leela Cross, Huntsville [East TN]
       - Patrick Cummins [Middle TN]
       - Russell E. Baugh, Nashville [West TN]
  • Amateur Archaeological Organizations [?] - Bill Swan, Signal Mountain
  • Public-at-Large - Susan Hollyday, Nashville
  • Tennessee Historical Commission - Hortense Cooper

Invited Comments by various Native American representatives

Report on State of the Division of Archaeology - Nick Fielder, State Archaeologist

New office space for DOA (really this time)
TDEC reorganization
Hot issues:
    • Discussion of Attorney General Opinion 05-005
    • Two Rivers Mound site or McCrosky site (40 SV 9)
    • Burial treatments: preservation or desecration?
    • Site acquisitions: Castalian Springs and Johnston Site

Open Discussion on Other Matters of Interest to the Council
Comments from the Public

The voter's right to know

ELECTORAL LAW - The Supreme Court directs the Election Commission to make information on candidates' criminal background, wealth and education available to the voters during elections.

THE holding of free and fair elections at regular intervals is essential for the survival of democracy. The degree of success of this process would, in turn, depend on the extent of awareness that voters have about the candidates. Their right to gain material information about the candidates is thus intrinsic to the democratic process. With the laws and rules governing the conduct of elections revealing a curious 'silence' on this aspect, the judiciary has now stepped in to initiate a significant electoral reform measure.

On May 2, [2002] a Supreme Court Bench ... upheld and modified a ... High Court order of November 2000 ... The High Court had held that in order to help voters to make the right choice, it was essential that a candidate's past should not be kept under wraps. The High Court had directed the Election Commission (E.C.) to secure certain types of information pertaining to each of the candidates contesting elections to Parliament and State legislatures and the parties they represent.

The High Court wanted the E.C. to reveal details relating to any candidate accused of an offence punishable with imprisonment; of assets possessed by him/her, spouse and dependants; of the candidate's competence, capacity and suitability for law-making, his/her educational qualifications; and the ability to judge the capacity and capability of the political party fielding the candidate.
...
The Supreme Court modified the High Court's judgment and directed the E.C. to reveal whether up to six months prior to filing of nomination, a candidate had been accused in any case that is pending, of any offence punishable with imprisonment up to two years or more, and in which charges have been framed or cognisance has been taken by a court of law.

This is preceded by a general requirement that the E.C. should reveal whether the candidate was convicted or acquitted of any criminal offence in the past, and whether he was punished with imprisonment or fine.

Will the mere knowledge of a candidate's criminal past dissuade a voter from voting in his favour? In its judgment, the Bench said: "The little man (the voter) may think over before making his choice of electing law breakers as law makers."

The Court's directive to the E.C. is not based on the assumption that at present voters are ignorant of candidates' criminal past. But it is hoped that official disclosure of information relating to candidate's criminal background would help those voters who intend to make a rational choice on the basis of facts. Even if there are only a few such rational voters, the law, as interpreted by the Court, could help them. The Court's order would only result in giving a choice to the voters, by making the process a little more transparent. According to observers, if the voters are determined to vote in favour of those with a criminal past, the E.C.'s move cannot influence their subjective decision, which could be based on various other factors.

The Supreme Court further modified the High Court's order to direct the E.C. to reveal details of assets - immovable and movable - of a candidate and of his/her spouse and dependants. The Supreme Court held that by implication, married sons and daughters of candidates or their parents could not be described as dependants. The Supreme Court also sought details of candidates' liabilities, if any, particularly whether there were any over- dues to any public financial institution or government dues.

THE Supreme Court nullified the High Court's directive to the E.C. to seek details to judge the capacity of a political party fielding the candidate. But the Court retained the directive relating to the educational qualifications of the candidate. The Court probably allowed this part of the High Court's order because the information being sought would not determine a candidate's eligibility to contest.

The Supreme Court has held that furnishing information relating to candidates was a necessary part of the nomination papers. It has asked the E.C. to draw up within two months the norms and modalities in order to carry out and give effect to its directions.

the new Old settlers

The Andamanese Negrito
The Great Migration: from Africa to Australia
Relatives in the Americas

Traces of human groups (called here collectively the Palaeoamericans)
are being discovered and excavated in the Americas recently whose
morphological affinities point towards Southeast Asia and whose
migrations into the Americas seem to predate that of the
Palaeoamerinds (the ancestors of the modern living Amerinds).

In the short time of a few years, the idea that there may have been at
least two (and perhaps more) prehistoric waves of migration into the
Americas before the migration of the Palaeoamerinds (the "First
Americans"), has turned from heresy to strong possibility. The
conversion is not universal (naturally - the evidence is still too
sketchy) but has been eased by the discovery that there have been two
waves of migration into northern America after the first known
Palaeoamerinds: the migration of the Na-Dene Amerinds (some 8,000
years ago) and that of the Inuit (Eskimos, some 5,000 years ago).

The following chart is adapted from Rolando G.J., Dahinten S., Luis
M.A., Hernandez M and Pucciarelli H.M., "Cranometric Variation and the
Settlement of the Americas: Testing Hypotheses by Means of R-Matrix
and Matrix Correlation Analyses,", American Journal of Physical
Anthropology, 2001, 116:154-165. It shows one possible model of
relationship between the various prehistoric American groups as
deducted from the analysis of skull forms (craniometry).

It is the Southeast Asian conext of some of the new discoveries that
made us, at the Andaman Association, sit up and take notice. It is, of
course, much too early to discuss the question of which Southeast
Asian or Pacific Rim groups may have contributed to the earliest
settlement of the Americas. But from now on we shall keep an eye on
this new and promising research. We try not to see Negritos under
every bed - we do not claim that the Negritos or their possible
relatives have an ancestral connection with the earliest Americans.
All we say - for now - is that they might.

As the old saying has it: when you look, you will find. With the
incentive of the latest discoveries to spur them on, archaeologists,
geneticists and linguists are now looking.

Two Palaeoamerican discoveries (in Brazilian Minas Gerais and in
Mexican Baja California Sur) were made in museums where the evidence
had been stored on shelves for decades. More such evidence may be on
other shelves in other museums.

It is notable that the two oldest of the major archaeological
discoveries listed here are near the geographical far end of the
hypothetical migration route from Alaska. Can there be a stronger hint
at how little we really know about the first Americans? One thing only
can be predicted with certainty: there will be surprises.

The reasons behind the extreme scarcity of human remains in the
Americas much older than 10,000 years have been puzzling
archaeologists for a long time. It was thought (not unreasonably) that
this was because there were no humans in the Americas before the
arrival of the Palaeoamerinds. Even with the new discoveries (which so
far do not go much beyond 12,000 years), the puzzle remains. Were the
Palaeoamericans so few in numbers that their remains can be found only
by the greatest of lucky strokes? Or did the Palaeoamericans arrive
only a relatively short time before the Palaeoamerinds? Or did they
have burial methods that destroyed the archaeological evidence of
their presence?

In the on-line book "Esotericism of the Popol Vuh" by the Theosophical
University Press (the Popul Vuh is the holy book of the Maya
civilization), its author Raphael Girard has the following to say on
the Palaeoamericans as earliest human population in the Americas:
Survivals of that archaic form of culture still persist on this
continent and, as might be expected, are found in areas of refuge
where they were preserved by farming peoples. Populations which
retain a high degree of "First-Age" characteristics, as described by
the native sources, live in Baja California as well as on the islands
of Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost extreme. Both populations
display notable similarities, and in terms of nature and physique
appear to be the oldest and most primitive people of the hemisphere.
Baja California is or was peopled by the Yumas, Guaícuris, and
Pericu; and the Seri -- now confined to an island in the Sea of
Cortez. All of them belong to the primitive hunter cycle and,
excepting the Yumas, are dolichocephalic. They have a very primitive
type of physique, like the Tierra del Fuego Indians of the extreme
south and the Botocudos of Brazil. Like their remote ancestors, the
Fuego Indians, whom W. Krickeberg regards as direct descendants of
the oldest immigrants (W. Krickeberg, Etnología de América, Mexico,
1946, Spanish-language edition), preserve a religion based on the
purest monotheism and have almost no ritual acts. They have neither
tribal organization nor institution of chiefs, living in nomadic
hordes of two or three families, small consanguinal patrilineal
groups. They produce neither pottery nor weaving and live by hunting
and fishing, feeding on mollusks, fish, birds, and seals. A piece of
sealskin covers the shoulders of the men and serves as an apron for
the women (A. D'Orbigny, L'Homme Américain , Paris, 1839). They do
not know the fire drill, employing instead two stones and tinder, a
very primitive method still used by the Chortí, particularly in
connection with the interment of the dead. In the south of Patagonia
in former times caves were used for habitations as well as for
burials, as W. Krickeberg notes; and the same author indicates that
estimates based on archaeological remains and island middens show
that the Fuegians have lived in that region for at least two thousand
years, their culture undergoing very little modification during that
time. These data tend to confirm the cultural stability as well as
the great ethnological age of those people.

We are listing here the major discoveries that have been made in the
Americas in sequence of age, the oldest coming first. We include only
one still living (if only barely ) group here: the Fuegians who do
seem have some long-recognized but unclear and hitherto barely
explored connections to SEAsia and Australia.

How we create politicians

Was talking with a friend last encouraging him to seriously consider running for a Commissioner of Indian Affairs nomination from a metro area this year. The response was a steady "No."

It wasn't because he didn't think himself a competent thinker or that he isn't knowledgeable about the state or national issues or isn't indian enough. It was because he simply didn't want the flak that came with the application and nomination process muchless the job itself.

The flak that comes with the job. Flak ... Flieger Abwehr Kanonen ... Nazi anti-aircraft guns ... Trying to shoot down Allied aircraft ... Allies ... Dakota.

We verbally shoot at each other, at ideas we don't like, then, as it gets rougher, at the people who create the ideas. Every group does that whether they're black, white, gay, green, neoyorqueño or pakistani. What leaders in these groups have learned, however, is small-group bonding that then creates large-group bonding. Like how Tecumseh and Dragging Canoe formed their coalitions of resistance. Like how a mayor (Hubert Humphrey) was able to get socialist, anarchist, farmer and labor interests - all the progressive elements of his state, together to create the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.

We need good people to run for commissioner nominations. Good nominees need allies. We need groups of people ready to support good people who apply for Commissioner of Indian Affairs' nominations. They need people who can help take the flak, who will help defend against the flak and get their Allies through the process. Organizations sometimes suffice to mark a candidate, like the NRA or ACLU, but parties, like the GOP and DFL and Green and Libertarian make it easier to sort out whose collective side we're probably on in the tugs of war.

If TNNAC gets out of the confidential-information business, who is going to vet the applicants and nominees? Probably not the Commissioners themselves, probably not ACTIA - too hot a potato for either organization. What we need are groups of people who will sponsor applicants and nominees and who will themselves vet their own applicants and nominees and vet the applicants and nominees of others, providing the indian community with a check&balance on the community's right to information and applicants' desire to keep some things private even when entering the public arena.

Is vetting necessary? Back in the 2001 election process there were a couple applicants who were alleged to have had "a record" of sexual offenses. What to do with that information? Who should take responsibility for checking that information out? Should we just leave it to The State to run their own background checks on our final nominees? Wouldn't it be just a little more than a tad bit embarrassing if the Native American community was to propose a nominee who later turned out to have a previously undisclosed criminal record of any kind? Or a nominee who lied on their application? Personally, i can accept some people who have committed crimes in the past and have since turned their lives around. I know several of them - family and friends. The applicants who were accused of crimes back in 2001 were privately checked out, and the accusation proven baseless, which then reflected back directly on the accuser, a person who few if any people trust these days. Then when all the candidates received word that the state would require background checks on any real nominees, several people dropped out of the running ... we assume it was so in order to avoid the background checks, which means that obviously we need them: we don't want to be embarrassed by voting for somebody who has a skeleton in the closet, nor do we want the shame of nominating somebody who the state finds out is untenable as a Commissioner.

We need personal facts checked. We need candidates who can easily state their tribe and enrollment number, or provide proof of their family lineage. We need veterans whose records check out as true. We need people experienced in getting along with others and able to work with opposing viewpoints. If TNNAC can't do it, somebody else should. And since making true statements and checking personal facts appears to be such a contentious issue among some folks, existing organizations and new ones should step up and assume the responsibility of vetting their friends and their opponents.

It used to be that folks interested in getting appointed to the Commission would just write the governor and let him know of their interest, and ask a couple good people to recommend him/her. Those days of seeking the political patronage of non-indians are gone. It's no longer good enough to just get your name in front of the governor, or to be a good person to get elected or appointed. Applicants and nominees need friends who will testify to a person's goodness and who will run both a good defense and a good offense for their candidate, and will keep other candidates honest as well.

read "Tennessee" for "Alaska", "Oklahoma", NC, ...

"Second Lawsuit Filed Over Federal Water Rights," The
Associated Press State & Local Wire, January 7, 2005.
Copyright 2005 Associated Press.

["ANCHORAGE: The Native American Rights Fund on Friday
filed what is effectively a countersuit to the state
of Alaska's challenge of the federal government's
power to control certain waterways in the state. The
lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Anchorage
on behalf of Katie John and others and the Alaska
Inter-tribal Council against the U.S. departments of
the Interior and Agriculture. ‘It's all about fishing,
and it's all about people being able to fish without
the state getting in the way,’ Heather Kendall Miller,
a lawyer for the Native American Rights Fund, said
Friday. In U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.,
the state of Alaska on Thursday sued the same two
federal agencies, said Becky Hultberg, a spokeswoman
for Republican Gov. Frank Murkowski. The state's
lawsuit contends the two federal agencies have not
followed the process laid out by the U.S. Supreme
Court for defining federal reserved water rights. The
lawsuit challenges the expansion of federal
jurisdiction over certain waterways and water bodies,
over marine waters beyond the mean high tide mark and
over state and private lands in Alaska."]

---

"Report looks at status of Alaska Natives," Mary
Pemberton , The Associated Press State & Local Wire,
January 7, 2005. Copyright 2005 Associated Press
All Rights Reserved.

["ANCHORAGE: A report was issued Friday that provides
a wide-ranging look at Alaska Natives, including how
the state's indigenous people are doing in areas of
population, health, economics and education. The
report is an analysis of the Status of Alaska Natives
Report 2004, which was prepared by the University of
Alaska Anchorage's Institute of Social and Economic
Research. The report and analysis were requested by
the Alaska Federation of Natives to bring new data to
and generate fresh ideas in the Native community, and
increase dialogue with non-Natives. ‘It is the first
report that was done by Alaska Natives studying Alaska
Natives,’ said Janie Leask, chairwoman of the board of
trustees for the First Alaskans Institute. ‘Applying
Native thinking to Alaskan issues strengthens all of
us in the end with a more unified, common vision.’ The
Alaska Native Policy Center analyzed the data for the
First Alaskans Institute, a nonprofit group helping
Alaska Natives. The report not only provides a
snapshot of the status of Alaska Natives but also
looks at trends over the past 15 years. The analysis
concludes at least three areas need work
simultaneously: improving public education, addressing
health issues, creating jobs and lowering the cost of
living in rural Alaska. Even in areas where there
continue to be deficiencies, there also have been
gains, said Greta Goto, director of the Alaska Native
Policy Center. For example, there are more high
schools but the dropout rate is troublesome, she said.
‘I think it is a challenge we have to overcome,’ Goto
said."]

------------------
FYI: News Items of Interest is a daily resource
compiled by the H-AMINDIAN staff. It features a
sampling of news stories concerning Native issues in
Canada, the United States and Mexico. In order to
comply with Academic Fair Use and copyright laws, only
a summary of the news articles is offered here. We
will not reproduce articles in whole. Only stories
from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) offer
a direct link to the article in question (the link
follows immediately after the summary). However,
online links to all of our sources are available at
our website: www.asu.edu/clas/history/h-amindian/list.html.
Your college, university, or public library may
provide access to online data bases and services (such
as Lexis-Nexis, ProQuest, or Dialog) with full-text
versions of these and other stories. H-AMINDIAN is
part of the H-NET family and is housed in the
Department of History, Arizona State University.

indian who practices science rather than a scientist

Indian man first to earn doctorate at South Dakota Tech
By PETER HARRIMAN
The Associated Press - Saturday, January 08, 2005

The first American Indian to earn a doctorate from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology considers himself an Indian man who practices science rather than a scientist.

Timothy Bull Bennett says he can relate to what the great Boston Celtic coach and player Bill Russell meant when he said: "I'm not a basketball player. I'm a black man who plays basketball."

"That has always stuck with me," Bull Bennett says. "I'm not a scientist. I'm an Indian man who practices science. I am very comfortable with who I am as an Indian man, strong in my convictions. I am also a believer in science and the scientific method and know how to apply it."

He looks at what he does as a scientist through the perspective of an Indian. This insight interests officials at the South Dakota college, which is trying to recruit more American Indian students.

Last May, Bull Bennett became the first American Indian to earn a doctoral degree from South Dakota Tech. He is a member of the Mi'kmaq Tribe from northern New England and eastern Canada. Born in Maine, he grew up in Wyoming and attended college at Casper College and the University of Wyoming before completing an undergraduate degree at Black Hills State University. Bull Bennett returned to the University of Wyoming to earn a master's in wildlife and range ecology.

In 1998, South Dakota Tech recruited him. Now, they see him as a harbinger. The school has created a multicultural committee to develop strategies to attract more Indian students. This spring, recommendations will be made to President Charles Ruch.

Bull Bennett was recruited into a multidisciplinary Ph.D. program at the university involving atmospheric, environmental and water resources. His doctoral research was on bison.

Now, he is the science education coordinator for five North Dakota tribal colleges. In a program funded by the National Institutes of Health, he is working to increase the number of Indian students enrolled in higher-education biomedical research programs.

In the past two years, South Dakota Tech has set records for enrolling and graduating Indian students. But it still falls short. In fall 2003, Tech enrolled 22 first-time Indian students, the most ever, and had a total Indian student enrollment of 65, also a record. But that represented only about 4 percent of the student body; Indians make up 8.3 percent of the state's population.

Last May, nine Indian students earned undergraduate or graduate degrees. This semester, there are 10 Indian graduate students at Tech and 65 undergraduates.

"As a university, we are making progress. But this issue is so important, we can't sit back and say we've done our job," says Al Boysen, a professor in Tech's humanities department and the multicultural committee chairman.

Bull Bennett says it is especially important the institution make a commitment to bringing Indian students to science and engineering, because the university, founded in 1885, was largely created to produce engineers for the gold-mining industry that had a key role in ending the traditional lives of Northern Plains Indians.

"Really, that stood against everything the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty stood for," Bull Bennett says of a higher-education institution established to educate mining engineers. When the U.S. abolished the 1868 treaty and opened the Black Hills to mining, it paved a path that ultimately led to the Battle of the Little Big Horn and the Indian wars of the late 1870s. In that conflict, regional tribes lost both their homeland and nomadic way of life.

If Indians since then have been forced to live in a culture founded on European thinking with its high regard for logical procedure and science, many of them in the 21st century can enrich that intellectual approach with traditional insights, Bull Bennett says.

"We are very connected to the land and the resources around us. Our society is built on that. Our sense of space is what drives us, as opposed to the sense of time that drives Western societies.

"There's a contingent of very talented and intelligent people within American Indian communities. They bring a diverse knowledge of who they are. They can make great students of science, if opportunities were provided."

Such thinking resonates at South Dakota Tech.

"Historically, the work ethic of South Dakota Tech students was enough for them to get a start on a great career," Boysen says. "But we've moved into a different world where students need to have a global view. That's what employers want, and that's what increasing diversity can give us."

The university is targeting several groups of Indian students: those in Rapid City, those who live on the state's nine reservations and students who are already enrolled in the school's American Indian Outreach programs.

Students have to be dedicated, says multicultural committee member Jacquelyn Bolman, manager of special projects in South Dakota Tech's Graduate Education and Sponsored Programs Department.

"We are seeking students who can successfully do the mathematics and science, are interested in a science or engineering career, and are committed to four to six years of study," she says. "Earning a degree from this university is difficult. It always will be."

And once Tech enrolls such students, Bull Bennett says the school has to create an environment on campus that includes a center or an office for the tribes, staffed by professionals and students.

During his years at South Dakota Tech, he says he found such support intermittently. "When I was there it was not entirely lacking. Let's just say it was spotty."

But he hails the effort to bring Indian students into the sciences, reflected by the creation of the multicultural committee.

"What it is really going to take is a mind-set that has not been especially prevalent in South Dakota schools, and that is that you are actually dealing with students with a unique cultural diversity."

The multicultural committee is an appropriate first step, he says.

"It's the right way to go about it. It's a good start. But the work is in front of them."
___
article from the Argus Leader

Talk Save Little Cedar Mountain to TVA at their Board Meeting - tuesday, 18 january

Tuesday, January 18, 9:00 a.m., (EST)
Oak Ridge, Tennessee - The Pollard Technology Conference Center, 210 Badger Avenue. Contact: Gil Francis (865) 632-8031
The Board of Directors meets to conduct TVA business and review input from the public. Persons wishing to address the Board must register prior to 9am the day of the meeting.

Conversations With America Calendar of upcoming public events
A federal program called Conversations With America is designed to encourage public comment on how to improve government services to citizens. The following monthly calendar lists meetings that provide forums for public questions and comments.

Lord Alderdice of Belfast visits Nashville to meet Native Americans

the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs
the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee
the Native American Gatherer's Fellowship
Peregrini International

HONORING LORD ALDERDICE OF IRELAND
TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2005
1:00 - 4:00 P.M.
OLD SUPREME COURT ROOM
STATE CAPITOL, NASHVILLE, TN

LORD ALDERDICE is recognized internationally as a "bridge builder" for peace and reconciliation. He will give an address of encouragement, understanding and reconciliation from the Irish to the American Indian peoples of Tennessee.

SHARING OF CULTURES
Flag ceremony, Protocol of Welcome and Gifting
American Indian drumming, dancing, tribal singing and sharing of stories
Irish drumming, music and dancing

TENNESSEE COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
Sharing the Progress of the state of Indian Affairs in Tennessee

INFORMAL GATHERING
with LORD ALDERDICE
7:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Drumming, dancing, music, sharing of stories
Blakemore United Methodist Church
3601 West End Ave., Nashville TN
(Directions: Going west on West End Ave., cross over I-440 and turn left at the next traffic light.)

Suggested motels in downtown area: Best Western Downtown Convention Center, 7th Ave. and Union; Sheraton, 7th and Union (both are a block from the State Capitol
Doubletree, 4th Ave, between Deadrick and Union; Marriott Courtyard, 4th and Church St.
Closest parking lots and garages to the Capitol are in the area of Charlotte Ave. to Broadway between 1st and 5th streets.

RSVP
Planning committee members:
Melba Checote Eads 615/ 754-5303
Commissioner Van Lynch 731/ 673-4360
---

Lord Alderdice, House of Lords at Westminster, London, England, to Address Native American Citizens in Nashville, TN on January 25, 2005 as Part of Goodwill Tour to America

Lord Alderdice, former Speaker of the Irish Assembly, the parliamentary assembly of the government of Northern Ireland, and current member of the House of Lords at Westminster in London, England, will address Native American citizens and their representatives as part of a goodwill tour to America seeking to build bridges of friendship, understanding and reconciliation between the Irish people and American Indian peoples of the southeastern United States.


Nashville, TN (PRWEB) January 6, 2005 -- Lord Alderdice, former Speaker of the Irish Assembly, the parliamentary assembly of the government of Northern Ireland, and current member of the House of Lords at Westminster in London, England, will address American Indian citizens and their representatives as part of a goodwill tour to America seeking to build bridges of friendship, understanding and reconciliation between the Irish people and American Indian peoples of the southeastern United States. Lord Alderdice will be accompanied by a 14 member delegation from Ireland and will meet with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of Cherokee, North Carolina on Monday, January 24th at their invitation, flying to Nashville early Tuesday, January 25th. The address and exchange of cultural expressions of dance and song between the Irish delegation and Indian dancers and drum singers from various parts of Tennessee will take place at the historic Old Supreme Court room in the Tennessee State Capitol Building in downtown Nashville from 1:00 until 4:00 p.m.

Lord Alderdice is being hosted for this special event by the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs appointed by Governor Phil Bredesen, the Native American Indian Association of Tennessee, the Native American Gatherer's Fellowship, and Peregrini International.

A special welcoming and honoring protocol will open the event, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

RSVP is requested. Reply to Melba Eads at e-mail protected from spam bots or 615-754-5305, or Van Lynch at e-mail protected from spam bots or 731-673-4360.

###

AG opinion prohibits NA remains in classrooms

"In response to questions submitted by Betsy L. Child, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the state Attorney General issued an opinion on January 5, 2005 concerning "Public Exhibition or Display of Native American Indian Human Remains." The full text of the opinion is available in PDF format at the AG's opinion website here.

The primary impact of this opinion is in the use of Native American human remains in a classroom setting -- the Tennessee AG has opined that "The use of actual Native American Indian human remains in a classroom setting constitutes 'public exhibition or display' within the meaning of Tenn. Code Ann. 11-6-117."

This section of the code prohibits such public exhibition or display -- and effectively prohibits the use of Native American skeletal remains as teaching tools in university classrooms. Affected faculty at universities in Tennessee should consult appropriate legal counsel.

This decision will (undoubtedly) be a major topic of discussion at the upcoming Current Research meeting on January 21-22 in Nashville."

---

Current Research in Tennessee Archaeology
17th Annual Meeting

Friday, January 21 and Saturday January 22, 2005
Ed Jones Auditorium, Ellington Agricultural Center
Edmondson Pike, Nashville, Tennessee

Sponsors
Tennessee Division of Archaeology
Tennessee Archaeological Advisory Council
Middle Tennessee State University

Cocke County's 4th Annual Diversity Festival

Saturday, 15 January 2005, 10am - 4pm
at Cocke County High School in Newport
(I-40 to Exit 435, left-North- to 3rd traffic light then left around driveway to CCHS)

Music, Food, Displays to celebrate "We are the Dreamkeepers"
"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend" – MLK

The goal is to expose the local community to as many diverse races, creeds, religions etc, as we possible can and to welcome everyone to our county. We encourage folks if there are foods specific to their culture to please bring samples to give out. For example, African American chitlins, Jewish Latkas, Chinese appetizers, Muslim dates, southern food, Native American corn soup, etc.

Call 423-237-1078 for details

NEWPORT TN People of Cocke County will be joined by supporters from around the region as they gather to celebrate diversity in their community and across the nation at Cocke County High School. The first Diversity Festival was held at the school in 2002 while Ku Klux Klansmen rallied at the courthouse steps on the other side of the town of Newport.

Despite much local opposition, the KKK has continued to make its presence known through costumed appearances and distribution of hate messages, but organizers are addressing that activity by attempting to establish a neighborhood watch program. The Diversity Festival is a purely positive and constructive event that the community wants to hold for its own benefit.

In 2002, Cocke County schools were closed for the first time in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday, the Klan held their rally and the community held the first Diversity Festival. The town and its African American mayor, Roland Dykes, Jr. made national news in 2002 because of the Klan rally and the resultant community solidarity.

Friends of every race, religion, ethnicity, lifestyle, culture and class are invited to celebrate our fascinating differences in an atmosphere of respect and admiration. As always there will be no charge for admission and everyone's involvement will be appreciated. The event will end at 4:30 PM. Exhibitors, food donors and other contributors are welcome to register for participation by emailing: diversityfestival@easttncontact.org

TNNAC SOP Review - public comment meeting

Saturday, 8 January - 10am - MTSU
Paul Martin Honors building, across from the Campus Recreation Center (front door) in The Commons

Agenda: Greeting, Prayer, Introductions, SOP Review

Bring foodstuffs for a working lunch.

The SOP is online at www.tnnac.org/sop.html. If you come to the meeting, please print it out in advance for reference.

The TNNAC Board will meet with everyone interested in discussing the Standard Operating Procedures of the TNNAC election process, including the Caucuses and Convention coming up this spring and summer, on this Saturday at 10:00am at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in the new Honors building - Paul Martin Honors building across from the Campus Recreation Center.

next TNNAC board meeting;
saturday, 29 january 2005, MTSU Murfreesboro
9am-12noon business, 1-4pm Caucus Training

Warrior's Path State Park Activity

Warriors Path January 15, 2005 Winter Gardening Seminar Guest speaker Margie Hunter, author of Gardening With native Plants of Tennessee, will teach us how to plan our garden for natural beauty and for nature conservation. Free but pre-registration is required. Contact: Marty Silver 423-239-6786

To find any park check the web page-www.tnstateparks.com

word for the day: Success

If I am in harmony with my family,
that is success.


- Ute

Thanks

I am here now. Thanks for the help.Vic

by request

what i write here is my personal opinion.

last month, on sunday, 5 december, the day after the Commission of Indian Affairs meeting in Memphis, 10 TNNAC Board members and 1 alternate tried me on 6 charges that covered a range of issues stemming from allegations presented at the 18 september Commission meeting in Knoxville, and included the kitchen sink. the TNNAC Board dismissed 1 count (not the kitchen sink one) and found me "Not Guilty" on the remaining 5 counts. will be waiting for the TNNAC Board to make their own public statement about the events, or next month, whichever comes first. but in the meantime, i've been asked to reiterate a couple things to the TN indian community, and to let you know of a couple requests they made of me:

(from my 5 december notes. may be different from official wording to come later.)

TNNAC board requests of tom kunesh:

1. restriction from personal information held by TNNAC (all TNNAC board members are restricted. the only person who has access to them is the TNNAC secretary).
   
2. any statement or response to the media or government or public be prefaced with a disclaimer that what i say is my personal opinion.
   
3. thoroughly investigate my personal office for any TNNAC records and return any to TNNAC.
   
4. agree to keep personal grievances away from public view and any reply to be sent directly to the individual, and take all possible steps not to reflect comments on/to TNNAC.
   
5. make a statement: that i acted on my own, individually, and that i have agreed to comply with (these) requests of the TNNAC board.

i've agreed.
and here's my statement in compliance with request 5:

I, thomas peter kunesh, acted as a private citizen and individual member of the Tennessee indian community in all matters addressed by the TNNAC board and others on and before 5 december 2004. I am solely responsible for my actions, and did not act, nor did i intend to act, in any way as a representative of the Tennessee Native American Convention (TNNAC) or of any other organization in which i may be involved. I make this statement in compliance with the TNNAC Board's requests.
[signed] thomas peter kunesh, 14 december 2004

am happy to answer individual requests privately in compliance with request 4 above.

;>

Disclaimers

what i write here is my personal opinion. sometimes they are stronger opinions than many people are comfortable with. hope you can enjoy them as much as i like standing in the surf as the tide comes in. roll tide!

some folks like to give my writings a lot of weight -- that's nice, but thoughts only matter as much as others invest in them.
i do not write for anybody else ... wait, that's not true ... i -do- write for other people! in fact, some of my own best enemies use my writings as part of their own without knowing it. what i mean is that what you read here has not been approved or endorsed by any organization unless they themselves have -previously- agreed to do so.

and then some folks can't stand me writing and don't like my opinions or style in any way, shape or form. these disclaimers are primarily for their benefit. so in the spirit of disclaiming, as requested by several organizations i'm involved in to protect them from the wraths of my political enemigos, here's an adaptation of one from the US Navy, my first alma mater:

Personal Opinion Disclaimer
----------------------------------------------------------
These opinions have been prepared as a service to the TN indian community. Neither the TN indian community nor any of its members, followers or leaders, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.
The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the TN indian community, the TN Commission of Indian Affairs, the Advisory Council on TN Indian Affairs, the TN Native American Convention, but may be used for advertising or endorsement purposes.

and this adaptation too, just in case the first two don't cover enough:

Contents Disclaimer
----------------------------
The contents of this blog are provided on an "as is" basis for informational purposes only. People who view the opinions of this blog are expected to exercise reasonable judgment before acting, and are expected to take responsibility for their own actions.

In no event will wozuyewakan or tn-ind or anyone associated with us, be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in this website or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.

The author, wozuyewakan, has attempted to provide useful and accurate information wherever possible. By and large, this is accomplished by relating personal experiences, rational arguments, and verifiable third-party information. However, personal experiences and ability to reason naturally vary among people, and what's reasonable to one person may not necessarily be reasonable to another.

This blog contains personal opinion, both opinions of the author and opinions of various contributors to this blogsite. These opinions are offered in good faith, but come with no guarantees or warrantees; they reflect individual thoughts, which may or may not be a good basis for making group decisions.

This site contains reviews of the actions and opinions of other people and organizations. The reviews are the opinions of their respective authors. The mere presence of a review on this blog does not imply endorsement of the reviewed action or opinion or individual or organization. The presence of a review for any particular action or opinion or individual or organization in no way implies approval from the individual and/or organization who created that action or opinion of this blog.

This blog contains links to other websites operated and controlled by third parties not connected in any way to wozuyewakan or TN Indian Affairs (tn-ind). We have no control over what other people put up on their websites. Our linking to them does not imply that we endorse them or approve of their content or opinions. While we usually only link to useful or interesting websites, it's possible that the content of those sites may change without our awareness. If you have a problem with the contents of another site to which we have linked, take it up with that other website, not with us.

---

but i like this one even better:

Political Risks Disclaimer
----------------------------
This blog is written for educational and political purposes only. By no means do any of its contents recommend, advocate or urge the blind, uncaring, unthinking holding of any political opinion whatsoever. Thinking and choosing a political opinion involves relatively low levels of financial and physical risk. Nonetheless, the writers express personal opinions and will not assume any responsibility whatsoever for the negative reactions of the reader. The writers may or may not have positions in the organizations discussed in this blog -- that's life in a relatively small community. Future organizational resolutions can be dramatically different from the opinions expressed herein. Past action does not guarantee future performance.

---

there. i hope i've covered my ass enough different ways so that people understand that as a politician -- a person involved in TN indian politics, i only speak for myself. and probably won't be speaking for -any- organization in the future just so that there's no possible way to confuse the organization with the speaker.

we're done here.

;>

bienvenidos

have invited email addresses i recognize from the tn-ind list to be commentators to this tn-ind blog. as on the tn-ind list, there's no anonymous posting. other commentators/email addresses can be added.

upcoming meetings . TNNAC . ACTIA . TNCIA

TNNAC - saturday, 8 january, 10am, MTSU SOP Review - public comments
TNNAC - saturday, 29 january, MTSU, 9am-12noon - board meeting, 1-4pm - Caucus Training - open to all

ACTIA - saturday, ? february

TNCIA - saturday, 12 march, Nashville

new year, changes

greetings.
am moving to this blogger format for a change of pace, a change of style, a new method of communicating to explore.
this is a continuation of the tn-ind email list i've been running for the past several years, and will be posting info from all over TN whenever, wherever it happens.
;>

Happy new year!

Aliheli'sdi itse udetiyvsadisv!
Afvcke orolope mucvse!
Omaka teca oiyokipi!