TN Indian Affairs

Join my Tribe!

2010-09-26T11:25:00.004-04:00

Is it any wonder that when a person starts talking with another about his/her "native" heritage, they coalesce into a culture club, then start calling themselves a "tribe", when it's been done that way in New Orleans for over a century? Now even the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) is promoting its own version of ground-up tribal creation :

Three things i've learned from CBS's latest promotion:

corporations have learned from the late-20th-century fad of culture-club-creation that the idea of a real tribe can be made into a fun game of fake tribes that can be capitalized.
creating and joining a tribe is money-making "entertainment", not culture. "Entertainment clubs" should be the new descriptive term for these groups that start up in the 21st century, take a "desire to return to the Old Ways of Our Ancestors," steal an old local Native American Indian tribal name, and squat on it to 'assume' its cultural identity.
the bigger and more-recognized an "entertainment club" is at the county (1, 2, 3) and regional pow-wow levels, the better they'll do in the far more difficult challenges to get to state and federal levels where the really big buck are.

That's how entertainment works/makes money, for the creators -- the entertainment clubs, and the vendors -- the powwow sellers, "heritage parks", and casinos waiting in the wings.

TCIA suicide by recipe

2010-07-10T14:36:00.003-04:00

While it suits many people on the losing side of an issue to quickly blame individuals for failed agendas, ie, scapegoating, all too often they fail to stop and take a look at what really happened and at the issue itself.

The culture clubs of Tennessee didn't get legislative and executive recognition of themselves as tribes in 2010 for one big reason: they failed to convince the Native American Indian community in Tennessee that they were Indian. By lying about their origins and histories, by successfully advocating for the removal of members of federally-recognized tribes from the state Commission of Indian Affairs, by taking over the TN Native American Convention and making local caucuses and the state convention a one-sided political party, by thumbing their nose at the tribe to which most of them claim kinship, by promoting secrecy, pettiness and hate at their 2010 Commission meetings, they successfully alienated all indian community support for even the sanest of culture-club members.

Of course The Fake Tribes of Tennessee blame a White Republican female legislator for their downfall after their success with the top White Republican male lawmakers of the state. 'Blame Whitey' is still a curious regurgitated racial rant when it comes from the keyboards of white blondes themselves pretending to be Indian.

The new (2009) TNNAC and new (2010) TCIA itself killed the TN Commission of Indian Affairs. They followed the recipe for Commission murder to a 't' and have ended up with less than nothing: a reputation for historical fraud, identity theft, nastiness and partisanship that is now the legislators' collective memory for the coming decade.

They were given the death recipe 17 months ago:

Killing the Commission in 2009
------------------------------------------------
1. promote argument and dissension, esp. against individuals
2. maintain state recognition of tribes, organizations & individuals as a legislative and Commission issue
3. Commission focus on internal rules and resolutions
4. TNNAC elect not-tribally-recognized members/descendants as Commission nominees

... published 5 february 2009 right here (see below). Every single one of the 4 steps TNNAC and TCIA followed religiously, compulsively, right to the very end on 19 june 2010 with the passage of TCIA Standing Rule 14 and the illegal recognition of their six culture clubs as fake tribes.

This extended suicide isn't painless, and its ghost will haunt the six faux culture clubs and their koolaid-drinking supporters for a scary long time.

Candidate Needs to Take Responsibility

2010-07-08T11:13:00.003-04:00

ref: 8 July 2010 USA TODAY: Battle grows bitter as TN recognizes new Indian tribes

Lieutenant Governor/Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey supported these fake Indian tribes and sponsored their legislation in 2009 and 2010:

• SB1733 grants state recognition to certain Indian tribes, bands, and groups

• SB1735 extends state Native American Indian recognition with full legal rights and protections to the Remnant Yuchi Nation

• SB1978 grants state recognition to certain Indian tribes, bands, and groups

"Team Ron Ramsey" ought to be taken to task for making Tennessee the laughingstock of Indian country and for disrespecting the historical 'removed' tribes of Tennessee.

Denunciation of TCIA's 19 june 2010 actions

2010-06-26T01:23:00.002-04:00

JUNE 24, 2010

TO: TENNESSEE ATTORNEY GENERAL
TENNESSEE SECRETARY OF STATE

RE: JUNE 19TH ACTIONS OF THE TN COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

WE, THE UNDERSIGNED FOUNDERS AND FORMER COMMISSIONERS OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, denounce, repudiate and reject the actions of the current TENNESSEE COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS on June 19, 2010 to recognize six groups (often called culture clubs) as State Recognized Tribes. The action taken by the current TCIA is a gross violation of state administrative policies that safeguard the public interest through prior notice, open meetings and public hearings, all of which were violated by the six current commissioners who voted for this illegal action. It is also an egregious conflict of interest given that 4 of the TCIA’s 6 members (Vice Chair Christine Goddard, Secretary James Everett Meeks, Alice Gwin Henry and Charles Lawson) are members of these very groups. Such illegitimate tribal recognition is an intentional fraud perpetrated on Cherokee, Lenape and Yuchi people to steal their political identities. Groups pretending to be Indian when a majority of them have no cultural or family affiliation with the tribes they claim as kin is a deception played on all the citizens of the State of Tennessee.

We ask the state Attorney General and Secretary of State to review these violations of state administrative rules and to determine the legitimacy of these commissioners’ actions, and to fully and objectively prosecute all violations.

Given the complete lack of public review, we also ask that the state Attorney General, the Secretary of State, and the Department of Environment and Conservation that oversees the Commission of Indian Affairs, and the Senate and House Government Operations Committees obtain for public review the applications and documentation submitted by the groups to the state Commission of Indian Affairs and used by the Commission to determine these groups’ eligibility and approval by the Commission.

FORMER TN INDIAN AFFAIRS COMMISSIONERS
1. Ray Emanuel, Nashville 1989-1992
2. John Hedgecoth, Crossville 2003-2004
3. John Anderson, Chattanooga 2003-2005
4. Evangeline Lynch, Dyer 2003-2008
5. Doris Tate Trevino, Sewanee 2005-2006
6. Niles Aseret, Nashville 2005-2007
7. Jeanie Walkingstick King, Knoxville 2005-2010
8. David Teat, Nashville 2007-2008
9. tom kunesh, Chattanooga 2007-2010
10. Bill Wells, Nashville 2008-2010

Contact: Evangeline Lynch (731) 643-6655

“Historic Orchard Knob - Established 1835” ?

2010-02-12T12:05:00.002-05:00

There are new signs stuck in the ground around the Orchard Knob area east of downtown Chattanooga that claim ‘Historic Orchard Knob - Established 1835’. Given that this area south of the river was Cherokee Nation up through 1838, and that the geographic feature was called ‘Indian Hill’, and that there is no publicly available information on the web about ‘Historic Orchard Knob’, - does anybody know where the idea of ‘Historic Orchard Knob’ being established in 1835 comes from?

reminder to TNNAC

2010-02-02T10:58:00.001-05:00

notes from the TNNAC meeting, 18 October 2008 - Saturday, 9.30am - Cumberland U -agenda

TNNAC chairman Doug Kirby said some good words at the start of the meeting ...

no reason for TNNAC to be an org without the Commission
without the Commission there will be no recognition
told if the Commission fails, there will be no recognition.
TNNAC needs to be at the center - open, transparent means of
getting commissioners, need to follow state guidelines, rules
if TCA says we need 5 recognized indians on the Commission,
it's our job to assure that it does happen
have to recommend that the balance be held as in the guidleines or
we're not doing our job, exposing ourselves to those organizations outside
the state that TNNAC & the Commission are not following the guidelines
TNNAC is not a political body
----

in spite of his words, there appears to be no further concern on the TNNAC board's part regarding the lack of guaranteed or preferred representation of members of federally- or state- recognized tribes on the state Commission of Indian Affairs, and the current lack of compliance with state law that states that 5 of the 7 members be given Indian Preference.

a dark & bloody ground

2009-02-06T08:30:00.006-05:00

When the meetings of a state Commission of Indian Affairs are besieged with groups demanding that their culture clubs and they, the members themselves, be recognized by the State as Native American Indians, when members of federally-recognized Native American Indian tribes are denigrated in public by a commissioner of Indian Affairs as being less worthy of recognition in Tennessee than the in-state descendants of indians who died over a hundred years ago, when recognition of the state's historic tribes and Native American heroes is less important than trying to embarrass a public appointee at a Commission meeting, when a fullblood member of a federally-recognized tribe with years of service and statewide community respect is unseated from his/her position as elected chairperson of the Commission of Indian Affairs by the lobbying efforts of an election official who is a member of a state-recognized tribe not native to Tennessee on behalf of a person unknown outside his/her local community and with no proven tribal affiliation, then i think it's time to ask ourselves, Whose interest is the Commission of Indian Affairs serving -- Indians or their opponents?

As a critic of the last Commission, as a community organizer of this iteration of the Commission, as former chair of the Advisory Council and of TNNAC, i have a greater degree of investment in the success of the Commission and a better historical perspective than most people. Commitment to the Commission is a choice that is tested weekly by liars and haters and racists, and affirmed daily by the problems requiring attention and the prospects of projects that will create a better future. This year, 2009, brings the legal time limit of the Commission. If anybody wants it extended further into the future, the state legislature requires an argument be made that its current existence promises future success. It will be difficult to win such an argument with the legislature when the legislative officers appoint persons with no Indian Preference over the number-one choice of the community who is a member of a federally-recognized tribe. It would be stupid to try to win an argument with the state Government Operations Committee again this year with the Joe-Joe Show again present to attack and insult representatives of the state's historic tribes. It is wrong to defend a Commission with a decreasing number of members of federally- and state-recognized tribes and an increasing number of advocates of state recognition of culture clubs as tribes. How to defend a state agency in which the workers are demeaned and the posers entertain themselves with personal attacks?

Institutions have no natural life expectancy. They live as long as they are needed, and should be terminated when they lose their ability to contribute positively to society. That's why the state legislature created the law to periodically review all state agencies - to separate the vibrant from the static. The Commission of Indian Affairs is a state agency and should be doing good, for Indians and for the state. For the Commission to continue its relevance and existence, the community should be supporting it and extolling its virtues. I don't see the indian community supporting the Commission. It is, in fact, being damned with no praise.

For the Commission to be extended, it needs to be worthy of life. To be worthy of life, it should be composed of a majority of members of federally- and state-recognized tribes, have more than half a brain, have accomplished some of its goals, and have good plans for the future. Currently there is only one member of a federally-recognized tribe, no member of a state-recognized tribe, two persons with Indian Preference based on their family history, and four persons with no Indian Preference. The Commission will probably lose its only remaining member of a federally-recognized tribe in the TNNAC elections later this year, and there are no signs that her position or any other seat on the Commission will be replaced with a member of a federally-recognized tribe. ... which is the same situation that occurred with the last Commission: opposition to appointment of members of federally-recognized tribes. When such racism happens, the Commission is not worthy of further life.

A current bill, HB 239, introduced in the state legislature ten days ago by Representative Mumpower (R-Bristol), House Republican leader, would "appoint the Confederation of Tennessee Native Tribes as the entity that will review and present for recognition any tribes, bands, or groups that seek recognition," and "recognize, for purposes of state Native American Indian recognition," the six culture clubs that compose the "Confederation of Tennessee Native Tribes". Three current commissioners (Meeks, Thigpen & Henry) are members of the "Confederation" and the only supporters of the bill on the Commission that i know of. The introduction of this bill increases the oppositional nature of the Commission's membership, and with such division within itself as well as within the legislature, it's difficult to see how the Commission can survive a doubly partisan review process.

TNNAC elections for nominations to the Commission are coming up right after this legislative session. the TNNAC board now has a majority membership of "Confederation of Tennessee Native Tribes" supporters. TNNAC has been informed that the appointments to the Commission have not followed the rule of state law in appointing five members with Indian Preference to the Commission (TCA 4-34-104.b.3). No comment from TNNAC. The Commission has been informed of the situation as well. No comment from the Commission. When lack of members of federally-recognized tribes on a state Commission of Indian Affairs fails to become a major concern of the election body and of the Commission itself, i think it's time to question the indian nature of the state agency.

The great debate within the Commission this past six years has been recognition. As i said in my comments at the last Commission meeting, 'recognition' is a third-rail issue: anybody touches it, we all die. In this case three Commissioners are grabbing ahold of the rail hard and fast after having just been told that to do so is certain death for the Commission. This extended suicide, and the political dumping they and we will experience in the legislature, will not be painless for them or the Commission.

At the last Commission meeting (17 january in Memphis) Ramona Reece of Tennessee Native Times asked, "I would like to know that if a commissioner feels like this Commission is not worthy to be extended, I ask you and I ask the public, can that commissioner that doesn't believe in this commission truly serve it adequately? truly serve the people adequately? How you gonna serve with half a heart?"

'Heart' is a metaphor for commitment. It isn't a question of how committed a commissioner is to serve on the Commission. It's a question of the obstacles before the Commission and the collective ability to overcome those obstacles. I don't see TNNAC advocating for more candidates, nominees and appointments who are members of federally- or state-recognized tribes, i don't see the Commission becoming more indian, i don't see "the Confederation" withdrawing its legislative proposal and supporting the Commission, i don't see the personal attacks on commissioners stopping, i don't see a bitterly divided legislature re-approving a bitterly divided Commission. Instead, i see the "Confederation of Tennessee Native Tribes" alienating more people from the true existing tribes, and the number of legislators who voted against the Commission last year increasing.

Fellow members of the Commission and i have proposed music, education and tourism projects, all approved by the Commission, but none garnering community support. ACTIA and i have proposed recognition of the state's historic tribes and state recognition criteria for groups who claim to be existing tribes. I have proposed revision of state laws regarding sale of burial items and a commission commitment to dialogue with the state's historic tribes. supported by an intelligent few, ignored by most because these proposals don't apply to the vocal majority's concern: State Recognition for Themselves as Indians.

The kind of self-recognition without historical proof or community support promoted in HB 239 and HB333 is contradictory to established tribal and US and state recognition rules. The self-promotion of these groups calling themselves tribes is wrong and embarrassing. Narcissism and personal gain were never motivations for creating or re-creating the Commission of Indian Affairs. This issue consumes the Commission, and devours it. Until it is resolved, there is no state Commission of Indian Affairs, just a Commission to Recognize Indian Culture Clubs and Descendants in Tennessee as Tribes and Quasi-Tribes.

Heart and brain may be the energy sources that commissioners draw upon to keep going, but it is not what will keep the Commission alive. What keeps any organization going is successful action. With the self-centered focus of these who will do anything for even a hint of legislation containing a possible promise of recognition, it's time this Commission experiment end, and with it, a corrupted election organization. Until indians, indian descendants, and legislators here in Tennessee adopt a standard for tribal recognition in the state, AND indian descendants begin to work _with_ the historic tribes of Tennessee in Oklahoma to find some positive medium of interaction and mutual validation, this state will remain 'a dark and bloody ground' of infighting and no Commission of Indian Affairs.

some 'I would like to know's' that i would like to know ...

2009-02-06T06:36:00.001-05:00

i would like to know, if a commissioner feels like this Commission of Indian Affairs is not worthy to determine recognition of Indians in Tennessee, i ask you and i ask the public, can that commissioner who doesn't believe in his/her own Commission's ability to determine its own recognition criteria truly serve it adequately? truly serve the people adequately? How you gonna serve with half a heart?

i would like to know, if a commissioner is not competent to propose some major policy initiatives, i ask you and i ask the public, can that commissioner that doesn't initiate policy proposals truly serve the Commission adequately? truly serve the people adequately? How you gonna serve with half a heart?

i would like to know, if a commissioner plots personal attacks on another commissioner during a public Commission meeting, i ask you and i ask the public, can that commissioner whose goal is to eliminate other commissioners on the Commission truly serve the Commission adequately? truly serve the people adequately? How you gonna serve with half a heart?

i would like to know, if a commissioner feels like this Commission is better composed of a minority of members of federally-recognized tribes, i ask you and i ask the public, can that commissioner who doesn't believe in the indianess of existing tribes truly serve the Commission adequately? truly serve the people adequately? How you gonna serve with half a heart?

saving or killing the Commission

2009-02-05T12:54:00.004-05:00

Getting the Commission to 2010
------------------------------------------
1. reduce Indian community in-fighting
2. eliminate state recognition (tribes, organizations, individuals) as an issue
3. initiate projects that will benefit the state
4. involve more federally- and state-recognized indians

Killing the Commission in 2009
------------------------------------------
1. promote argument and dissension, esp. against individuals
2. maintain state recognition of tribes, organizations & individuals as a legislative and Commission issue
3. Commission focus on interal rules and resolutions
4. TNNAC elect not-tribally-recognized members/descendants as Commission nominees

"a year to get put on the notification list"

2009-01-30T15:57:00.002-05:00

Ramona Reece commented at the last Commission meeting (17 January 2009 - Memphis) that "It took me over a year to get put on the notification list."

in the 1990s the Commission had an office in a state-owned building in downtown Nashville, a salaried executive director, a photocopier, a paper-envelope-USPSmail notification list, and a several thousand-dollar budget for items like paper, envelopes and stamps. they mailed meeting notices to organizations, not individuals.

in the 2000s the Commission has no budget. it has no office. no executive director. no photocopier. no paper. no envelopes. no stamps. anything and everything it has exists in cyberspace. since the Commission was refounded no Commission secretary sent out meeting notices by mail or email. all notices were provided on the Commission website and folks spread the word around by email. actual agendas with an accurate description of the peoposals to be discussed were unheard of. a Commission-directed email list was discussed in 2008, but no such capability was offered by the state.

in december 2008 the secretary of the Commission took it upon himself to create his own - not the Commission's - email notification list of Commission meetings.

Ms Reece's public comment that "It took me over a year to get put on the notification list" is not a complaint about the Commission's meeting notice not being available publicly online along with other state 'sunshine' notices but a whine that Ms Reece was not being properly serviced with direct email by the Commission. advance meeting notice can be and is distributed publicly and freely by any number of private service providers. Mr kunesh, acting without Commission authorization, took it upon himself to create an email notification list which includes Commission meetings.
personal interest in the Commission meets personal responsibility at www.state.tn.us/environment/tcia/ and www.state.tn.us/environment/news/ppo/sunshine.shtml#tcia. public notice can be automated by Google Alerts which alert subscribers by email to new information on the web (www.google.com/alerts). that any person feels entitled to personalized notification when s/he could be doing it him/herself and making a contribution to an unfunded state agency is a comment on the entitlement beliefs of a spoiled generation.

when form matters more than substance, when mode of communication is more important than content, when being catered to matters more than community service, substance and content become superfluous.
when substance and content become superfluous, so does the agency that is dedicated to their form and mode of communication.

it's been a while

2008-11-07T05:39:00.004-05:00

... with the state as well as the national political landscape now in transition but in opposite directions (Chattanooga Times Free Press: "A Deeper Shade of Red" and "General Assembly landscape changes as GOP takes over" front page, 6nov08).

talked with several legislators who counseled ‘no action’ on the recognition issue if we wanted the Commission to survive, even if we came up with something most people could agree with because, even then, the controversy surrounding it -- as happened last year at the Commission's sunset review hearing -- would be enough to not only halt the recognition effort but also potentially derail the Commission. i'll heed their advice and back off the issue, while resting assured that any attempts by others to circumvent the Commission's recognition responsibilities will be met with advice to first obtain the Commission's support.

on that note, i think the Commission and the state should follow the recent recommendations of the National Congress of American Indians on at least two issues which could be easily amended to apply to the state commission, ie:

• The Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs (TNCIA) should strongly support the recognition of all historic tribes, and should acknowledge the fact that it has neither the academic qualifications nor the staff to properly investigate and make determinations on historical and genealogical questions; and that any plans to do so in the future will lead to organizational, intratribal and intertribal conflict.
In order to avoid those conflicts, TNCIA should support state recognition for tribes that are co-sponsored by an existing legislatively state-recognized or federally-recognized tribe, and present their request as a resolution to the TNCIA.

and

• TNCIA should call for qualified tribal citizens and descendants who are interested in serving in state positions from Commission of Indian Affairs to the State Textbook Commission to send their résumés to TNCIA for review.

Rule 0785-1, again

2008-06-14T16:10:00.003-04:00

Today I am re-submitting Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs' Rule 0785-1 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indian Nations, Tribes or Communities in Tennessee as an agenda item for review and passage, once again, by the state Commission of Indian Affairs. In 2005 the Commission submitted the proposed Rule for community review, received its approval, and in March 2006 the Commission gave the Rule its final approval. In the summer of 2006 the Commission was advised that the Rule would not pass legislative committee review, and in hopes of extending the Commission's sunset date, the Commission voted to repeal the rule. Now, less than a year later, the Commission has its summer meeting in Knoxville where I hope the Commission will once again initiate the state rulemaking process for state tribal recognition criteria.

Actual Native American Indian communities that survived the racial cleansing of the 1800s should be recognized as this land's indigenous people. At the same time, the state needs objective and rigorous criteria by which to determine the validity of groups claiming to indigenous tribes. In the Rule's absence, opportunistic groups submitted their own self-serving legislative proposal which never made it out of committee. In their defense, it is the legal Power and Duty of the state Commission of Indian Affairs to "Establish appropriate procedures to provide for legal recognition by the state of presently unrecognized tribes, nations, groups, communities or individuals, and to provide for official state recognition by the commission of such" (TCA 4-34-103.6). If and when the state Commission of Indian Affairs fails to exercise its legal responsibility, however, it becomes the power and duty of the public to promote its own "recognition" agenda. Both the Commission and the groups seeking state tribal recognition failed to obtain rule or law. We need to keep trying with the same near-unanimous support with which we all approved Rule 0785 the first time.

The term of the state Commission of Indian Affairs has been extended another year. In this short time the Commission needs to educate the legislature and the public about the need and benefits of objective tribal recognition criteria based on accurate historical data and existing federal procedures for establishing that an American Indian group exists as an Indian tribe (25 CFR 83), approve the Rule 0785 again, and oversee its implementation. We did it before. We can do it again, smarter, better. I hope we'll again have your support.

RULES OF THE TENNESSEE COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
Chapter 0785-1 - Recognition Criteria for Native American Indians
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0785-1-.01 General
0785-1-.02 Recognition Criteria For Native American Indian Nations, Tribes or Communities
0785-1-.03 Procedures For Petitioning For Recognition
0785-1-.04 Changes In Membership
Administrative History

-----------------------------------------------
tom kunesh
member, Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs
11 june 2008 20:46

on tribal recognition status

2008-06-04T08:45:00.002-04:00

Six groups - four of which were created in the 21st century - asked the non-Native-American-Indian Tennessee legislature earlier this year (2008) for the state's official validation as "recognized" Native American Indian tribes in Tennessee (HB3299/SB3123).

To date, none of these six groups - "Remnant Yuchi Nation", "Upper Cumberland Cherokee", "Chikamaka-Cherokee Band of the South Cumberland Plateau", "Central Band of Cherokee", "Cherokee Wolf Clan", "Tanasi Council of the Far Away Cherokee" - have provided even the slightest bit of public documentation of their group's history prior to the year 2000 (muchless since 1900), and none have provided records of their families' affiliation to their supposed historic tribes (five claim Cherokee affiliation). Without even the minimum prima facie evidence to support their claims of tribal status and affiliation, these claims must be summarily rejected.

There has been little public comment for or against state recognition of these groups, and the bill died quietly in legislative committee before coming up for general legislative discussion. No doubt the "Confederation of Tennessee Native Tribes" - as they currently style themselves - will resubmit their bid for recognition by non-indians in the next legislative session in january 2009. Recognition of historic indigenous communities is a positive goal for every state, and every real surviving tribe in Tennessee should be recognized by the State of Tennessee as such. At the same time, groups claiming historic status without providing public information are acting recklessly and irresponsibly. In the public interest, groups making false claims should be exposed as frauds. Before this year ends, this issue needs public disclosure of the historic record of these six groups, and of any other group seeking "recognition" as a surviving community of indigenous peoples in Tennessee.

It is the right of the Tennessee Native American Indian community to determine and recognize the existence of its own surviving historic Native American Indian communities. And it is the responsibility of the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs to "Establish appropriate procedures to provide for legal recognition by the state of presently unrecognized tribes, nations, groups, communities or individuals, and to provide for official state recognition by the commission of such" (TCA 4-34-103.(6)). To this end the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs needs to reevaluate its Rule 0785-1 on "Recognition Criteria For Native American Indian Nations, Tribes or Communities" (that it passed in 2006 and then repealed at legislative request in 2007), and work with the legislature in 2008 to reestablish it as a state Rule in 2009. Conversely, if the Commission does not resubmit Rule 0785-1 for implementation in 2008-2009, it should be understood as de facto abdication of its authority in the state tribal recognition issue, and clear the path for organizations to directly petition the state legislature in the future as some of these groups have been doing since 2004.

It is also the right and responsibility of every existing recognized Native American Indian tribe/nation/community to determine and recognize the existence of its own surviving historically-affiliated and family-related communities. The Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs should ask the Eastern Band of Cherokee, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee, the Yuchi Tribe of Oklahoma, and the several neighboring state-recognized Cherokee tribes in Alabama and Georgia, to consider the six Tennessee groups that currently claim cultural and genetic identification with them, and as relatives, provide the groups and the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs, and the state legislature, with some guidance on the validity of the groups' claims.

individual entitlement to indian identity

2008-05-18T16:18:00.004-04:00

like Ron Paul i was listening to Coast to Coast on the radio this morning and heard this reading from the 1997 book, the Fourth Turning:

Not long ago, America was more than the sum of its parts. Now, it is less. Around World War II, we were proud as a people but modest as individuals. Fewer than two people in ten said yes when asked “Are you a very important person?” Today, more than six in ten say yes. Where we once thought ourselves collectively strong, we now regard ourselves as individually entitled.

... which got me thinking about this translation for persons interested in Tennessee indian affairs ...

not long ago, a tribe was more than the sum of its parts. Now, it is less. now descendants long removed from their ancestors' culture want to be recognized as tribes themselves. Around World War II, we were proud as different peoples but modest as individuals. Fewer than one person in a hundred said yes when asked "Are you Indian?" Today, more than three in ten in Tennessee say yes. Where we once thought ourselves collectively strong as part of a tribe, we now regard ourselves as individually entitled to indian identity cards. where once a person was recognized by his/her fellow tribal members by their language, beliefs and family, now many in Tennessee believe themselves to be individually entitled to recognition as indian, with no tribal affiliation apart from probate records and dna.

this is not being indian. this is conflating genealogy, culture clubs and mutual ego-stroking to the point of fantasy.

False assumptions

2008-04-21T07:15:00.002-04:00

Names of historical tribes are free for the taking.
Native American Indian cultural club should be recognized as tribes in Tennessee.
Persons who are members of federally- or state-recognized tribes are not "Tennessee Indians".
Claimed relatives in related tribes should have no say in whether or not the relational claim is true or not.
The citizens of Tennessee should believe that every group that calls itself a "tribe" or "nation" in Tennessee is real.
"Tennessee Indians" are only those Native American Indian descendants whose 19th-century ancestors were born in Tennessee.
The claims of cultural affiliation to historic tribes made by culture clubs wanting to be recognized as tribes do not need to be proven.
Being a descendant of a 19th-century Native American Indian born in Tennessee qualifies a person as a 21st century "Tennessee Indian".
A group of Tennessee-born 21st-century Native American Indian descendants qualifies as an affiliate of a 21st century Tennessee Native American Indian tribe whose ancestors were 'removed' from Tennessee in the early 19th century.

- based on the rationale of the "Confederation of Tennessee Native Tribes" created in 2008 to advocate for the State of Tennessee's official recognition of 6 member culture clubs as tribes to the state legislature in the form of bills HB3299/SB3123 sponsored by Rep. Vaughn (D-Kingsport).

culture clubs ≠ tribes

2008-04-16T11:13:00.005-04:00

When cultural clubs refer to themselves as "tribes", few people take exception, seeing it as a kind of harmless exaggeration or idealism like the way the Boy Scouts do it. When newspapers refer to cultural clubs as tribes, however, the line between objective journalism and regional self-promotion has been crossed.

Readers have an expectation that the newspaper, engaged in the business of serious journalism, has checked the facts. In this case, the Kingsport Times-News has not checked the facts, leading to continued validation of false claims to tribal status of a local cultural club, the "Remnant Yuchi Nation". Lee Vest, founder of the organization just last year, acknowledges that he himself is not Yuchi, has never claimed to be Yuchi, and that the purpose of seeking tribal status is financial support for a 'living Indian village' which could become a major tourist attraction for Kingsport.

Taking the Yuchi name from the Yuchi tribe, currently living in forced exile in Oklahoma as part of the Muscogee/Creek Nation, without their permission is identity theft. Planning to re-create a Yuchi village with a stolen identity and misappropriated culture is cultural identity theft. Calling your local group of descendants a Native American Indian tribe is not only a bastardization of the meaning of the term but also an attack on the historical identity of the real Yuchi people.

The Commission of Indian Affairs created Tribal Recognition Criteria (Rule 0785-1) in 2006, and was then directed by legislators to repeal it in 2007, which it did. It is time for the Commission to re-assert its definition and process for state tribal recognition in order to make sure this vacuum of definitional responsibility is properly addressed by Native American Indian people now and for the future.

a new year

2008-02-13T17:35:00.002-05:00

• i live by the adage "Cui bono?" - who benefits? it helps me remember to look for the underlying purpose of things.

• i'd like to say 'yes' to everybody's proposals. and will try to say 'yes' to each person's proposal as long as it applies to him- or herself exclusively, ie, that the proposer will take responsibility for implementing her/his proposal, and that the rest of us are not burdened by it. so please, keep More Improved New Rules To Live By off of and away from this Old Republican.

• any oath required of one commissioner in the appointment process should be required of all commissioners. currently only one oath - from the governor's office - is required. adding another oath on top of that is paperwork and show. imo, nothing substantial. - why should we want to add more paperwork for us, for the state?

• i'm concerned that reviewing new internal texts for the commission, like oaths, ethics, standing rules, procedures, etc., is all so much internal furniture re-arranging that has little or nothing to do with the commission actually doing something for the state and indian people.

• i need to be reminded that some of my proposals fall into this category. not that i like to be reminded of it, but that i too - especially in the spring - like to engage in a little house-cleaning and just plain re-arranging for change simply because it is different. and that can be good sometimes too.

• i don't know how i'll vote on any specific proposal, but we will be judged in one year on what we do, not what we write or re-write or say we believe in. there may be some rules that could help us operate better, like oil in an engine, but if we focus on this internal stuff for more than hour, i will be concerned and impatient that we are losing sight of our purpose: DOING.

• the time for commissioners sitting on the commission like bumps on a log is over. imo, each of us needs to come to the table at this next meeting with a specific project that will benefit the state and the indian community in general. or find someone else's project that we can help move and/or transcend. with monthly benchmarks that we can use to measure each project's progress.

• if you think this opinion exceeds the state Sunshine law (formation of public policy & decisions is public business and shall not be conducted in secret. TCA 8-44-101), i'll be happy to discuss it publicly. just wanted you to know my feelings up front & personal like before we get together so folks wouldn't feel bushwhacked by my lack of sympathy with more paper-pushing and window-dressing. i hope i have not offended anybody by these comments.

;>

state recognition vs. tribal reconnection

2007-07-18T19:06:00.000-04:00

some descendants of indians in Tennessee want to be "recognized" by the state as politically-valid generic indians, competent and able to speak for the in-state interests of Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, Yuchi and other nations. the idea that biological descendancy creates national identity - that one drop of indian blood makes a person indian - is as false as any principle of racial determinism.

before a non-indian political entity like the State of Tennessee is used as the means of identifying the generic indian, two questions need to be competently answered:
1. what is the need for state-approved generic indians in Tennessee? and
2. what efforts have been made to reconnect descendants with their tribal relatives?

if there is no demonstrable need for an alternative authority on indian identity in the state, then we shouldn't be wasting our time trying to make a state agency act like a tribe.
and if no efforts have been made to re-establish contact and affiliation between descendants and existing tribes, we need to question the political intent of the descendants and apply ourselves to reconnecting the tribal-Tennessee relationship.

candidates: get real

2007-06-22T11:49:00.001-04:00

in this election the two most important qualifications in evaluating the candidates, imo, are:

what has the candidate actually done for the TN indian community over the past 4 years?

what does the candidate propose to accomplish - with actual projects - for the TN indian community in the next 4 years?

history repeats itself. people who haven't done anything in the past will more than likely continue to do the same in the future. people who talk ideas but have no record of action to show how they implement their ideas are like Paul's clanging cymbal warning of 1 Cor. 13.

talk is cheap. action costs. we need people on the Commission who do things, who get things done, who will get us out of this morass of 'recognition' into projects that will physically benefit the indian community and the state.

get real. tell us precisely what you want to accomplish in the next year.
then maybe we'll vote for you.

responses to Questions

2007-06-20T17:58:00.000-04:00

responses to Questions about organizational & individual recognition
at www.tncia.org/recognitionqueries.html

Questions about organizational & individual recognition

2007-06-18T20:11:00.000-04:00

The following are some questions about the past and future Native American Indian Organizational and Individual Recognition in Tennessee that need to be answered before the state Commission of Indian Affairs considers writing new rules for Native American Indian organizational and individual recognition. We all should know and be satisfied with the complete answers to these questions before we go any further toward developing state rules about indianness in Tennessee.

Purpose of recognition
1. What is the purpose of 'recognizing' Native American Indian organizations and individuals by the state of Tennessee? Is there a goal to 'recognition'?
2. To what degree do the tribes, the state, the public, the organizations and the individuals benefit from state recognition of Native American Indian organizations and/or individuals?
3. What are the material benefits of Native American Indian organizational and individual recognition? Will recognized individuals or members of recognized organizations qualify for K-12 federal funding, college scholarships, artisan status under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990, Small Business Administration 8(a) minority contract set-asides, Administration for Native Americans grants?
4. What was the political situation that initiated discussion and desire for recognition criteria?
5. How have organizations and individuals recognized in the past (1990-2000) as Native American Indian by the State of Tennessee benefitted from their changed recognition status?
6. What are the problems associated with Native American Indian organizational and individual recognition?
7. What are the traditional Native American Indian cultural values that are being promoted by state recognition of Native American Indian organizations and individuals?
8. Is state-based 'recognition' of a person or group as Native American Indian a valid racial or ethnic entitlement, ie, a rectification of past injustice?
Authority
1. Who recognizes indians as indians? Indians or non-indians? Tribes or non-indian governmental agencies?
2. Why should the state be interested in 'recognizing' organizations or individuals as Native American Indian?
3. Given the Equal Protection clause of the US Constitution, does the state define, determine and officially 'recognize' organizations and individual members of other racial/ethnic/minority groups?
4. How is the principle of Tribal Sovereignty advanced through the development of Native American Indian organizational and individual recognition controlled and provided by a non-tribal public governmental agency?
Comparative recognition
1. Which states have or had or are considering state tribal recognition and what are their regulations?
2. Which states have or had or are considering state organizational recognition and what are their regulations?
3. Which states have or had or are considering state individual recognition and what are their regulations?
4. Given that other states have such types of recognition, what are the opinions of their Indian Affairs Commissions regarding the benefits and problems associated with each type of recognition?
Alternatives
1. Which tribes have affiliate or associate organizational recognition?
2. How are these affiliate or associate organizations chartered by the tribe?
3. Native American Indian organizations and individuals in this state and in others have survived without recognition for years. How are they coping without recognition?
Elder relatives' opinions
1. Why did the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs amend the rules to severely restrict individual recognition in 1991, less than one year after implementation?
2. Why did the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs call a meeting on 22 december 1997 to dismantle the recognition criteria seven years after implementation? Was that meeting ever held?
3. What do tribes say about state recognition of Native American Indian organizations and individuals?
4. What do other non-tribal indian organizations (eg, National Congress of American Indians, Governors Interstate Indian Council, Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes) say about state recognition of Native American Indian organizations and individuals?

on agendas

2007-05-22T19:03:00.000-04:00

when we recreated the Commission, we wanted to be sure that the public was informed about the Commission's agenda items so we, the public, could know and follow what was being discussed, and to be able to have the opportunity for input into Commission decision-making before the Commission meeting. we've been disappointed several times by false, misleading and sometimes hidden agendas. some commissioners - past and present - have learned how to avoid public review of agenda items before the Commission meetings by either obscuring or simply not explaining the true nature of their agenda proposals (like 'caption bills' in the state legislature), or by adding new agenda items that nobody is prepared for at the meeting itself, or by bringing up a general topic during Commission meetings and turning it towards a motion that nobody else is prepared for - the old bait-and-switch.

these are dirty political tactics designed to blindside other commissioners as well as the public in hopes that surprise and lack of background information will improve the chances of their motion passing by the uninformed commissioner.

i hope you'll all take some time when this coming meeting's agenda comes out to review it - to make sure you know what's being proposed and the potential avenues for resolution. if you don't understand the agenda item, i hope you'll press the commissioner who proposed it to explain it, fully. additionally, i hope you'll ask whether the proposed agenda items move the Commission towards doing more, better projects or if it's discussion that will just stall the Commission for a couple more months, or even do it more damage.

an alternative TN NAI license plate proposal

2007-03-11T18:34:00.000-04:00

dummy plate
for demonstration purposes only
not a suggested design

ceremonial blade from Duck River cache,
outline of Pinson mound,
antique spelling of TN

eagle design
proposed as NA
design in 1997
already taken:

Creating a Tennessee state Native American license plate

revising SB1307/HB0570: Special License Plates - Authorizes issuance of Native American cultural license plates.

Recommended changes to current proposed legislation:

1.	Change definition to a "specialty earmarked plate" (TCA 55-4-202.c.6).	was "cultural" - by definition all proceeds are allocated to non-indian state agencies.
2.	Allocate all net proceeds to the Commission of Indian Affairs.	was 80% Arts Commission, 20% Highway Fund per TCA 55-4-216 "cultural".
3.	Set effective date at 1 January 2008.	was 1 July 2007; provides 6 more months for planning/selling.
4.	Set minimum number of plates at 500.	was 1,000 (failed to sell 500 in 1997).

AMEND Senate Bill 1307 / HOUSE BILL 570 to read accordingly:

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 4, to authorize the issuance of specialty earmarked Native American license plates.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:

SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 55-4-202(c)(6), is amended by adding the following as a new, appropriately designated subdivision: (_) Native American;

SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 55, Chapter 4, Part 2, is amended by adding the following as a new section thereto: Section 55-4-2__.

An owner or lessee of a motor vehicle who is a resident of this state, upon complying with state motor vehicle laws relating to registration and licensing of motor vehicles and paying the regular fee applicable to the motor vehicle and the fee provided for in § 55-4-203, shall be issued a Native American specialty earmarked license plate for a motor vehicle authorized by §55-4-210(c), with all net proceeds from the sale of such plates allocated to the commission of Indian affairs.
The specialty earmarked plates provided for in this section shall be designed in consultation with the commission of Indian affairs.
The initial minimum order shall be five hundred (500) license plates.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2008, the public welfare requiring it.

March 2007

SUMMARY OF REVISED BILL: Creates a Native American specialty earmarked license plate.

ESTIMATED REVISED FISCAL IMPACT:
Increase State Revenues - $4,380 General Fund
$13,120 Dedicated Funds
Increase State Expenditures - $4,380 One-Time

REVISED Assumptions:

Revenues (500 plates @ $35.00 each)
Expenditures (Production cost 500 plates @ $3.76 each = $1,880 one-time; computer system changes = $2,500 one-time; total $4,380)
Five hundred new plates will be purchased by individuals that currently do not have a specialty license plate.
Net proceeds from the sale of such plates will be allocated as follows: 100% to the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs ($13,120).

$30.75 of the $35.00 additional fee is appropriated to the Commission of Indian Affairs. $30.75 x 500 = 15,375

tpk/march2007

an alternative agenda proposal for this coming saturday ...

2007-03-11T10:33:00.000-04:00

Committee Reports

(- what good are committees if they don't meet or report? let's use them.)

Agenda - need rules to control agenda-development process

Rules & Procedures

Bylaws
Standing Rules
1. agenda development issues - how do items get on the agenda? - who controls agenda development?
  1. standardized blank format
  2. procedure for submitting agenda item proposals
  3. procedure for submitting resolutions
2. discussion rules - rules for in-meeting discussion with second-party proposals
3. minutes' DRAFT circulated electronically (email/internet) to the public as well as to the Commissioners in advance of the Commission meeting.

Education

Basic (3 half-hour units, grades 5-12) school curriculum on Mississippian culture and the Three Sisters; approval of grant-writing.
TN NAI music CD of TN indian musicians for school distribution; approval of grant-writing.
TN NAI tourism map; approval of grant-writing.

Health Care

Research Initiative/Health & Education Community Assessment
Promoting diabetes screening and blood-donation in coordination with local healthcare institutions at all in-state pow-wows.

Funding - revised license plate proposal
- Commission as unfunded mandate

Website - needs update, better integration, more references

Repatriation - Development of TN repatriation iniative of 11,150 "culturally-unaffiliated" NA remains using the Colorado Commission of Indian Affairs' model, support for working with the TN Archaeological Advisory Council and Division of Archaeology.

Housing - ?

Indian Memorial Project - TN AmInd Day? m, 24 sep 2007 TN AmInd Month? october 2007?

Legislative Committee - appointment for 2008 session

Old Business

Tribal recognition criteria

Hearing comments & responses
Proposed tribal recognition rules: action
Tribal recognition application: action

Mascot discontinuation: status

Recognition of the Historic Tribes of Tennessee: status

NA representation into the state parks' planning: action

New Business

Review and comment on proposed or pending state legislation (TCA 4-34-103.9)

SJR0002 Urges the TNCIA and the BIA to recognize the Cherokee Wolf Clan as Native American Indians.
SB0162 Prohibits state agencies from prohibiting use of American Indian symbols, names, and mascots.
SB1307 Authorizes issuance of Native American cultural license plates.
• revised license plate proposal
SB1371 Exempts bona fide Indian organizations from payment of $50 charitable solicitations registration fee.
SB1681 Authorizes TDEC to issue recognition to certain Indian tribes; grants recognition to Cherokee Wolf Clan.
SB2121 extends TNCIA to 2011.

Letter of commendation to Tommy Veal.

Next quarterly meeting date - proposed: saturday, 16 june, Chattanooga

Chattanooga Commissioner Meet&Greet

2007-03-09T16:46:00.000-05:00

- interested in talking about Tennessee Native American Indian politics,
locally or statewide, the current TNNAC elections for Grand Division
commissioners, or the current proposals before the Commission of
Indian Affairs, including the upcoming vote on tribal recognition criteria?

if so, you're invited to an hour-long Meet&Greet with Chattanooga
Commissioner of Indian Affairs tom kunesh at 6pm at Audubon Acres
next friday evening.

Meet&Greet
with Chattanooga Commissioner of Indian Affairs tom kunesh
6-7pm next friday evening, 16 march 2007
Audubon Acres, 600 Sanctuary Road Chattanooga TN

followed by
Native American Fireside Chat, Friday, 7:00 pm
info: Cleata Townsend at Audubon Acres
Chattanooga Audubon Society
a Trail of Tears National Historic Trail site
900 North Sanctuary Road
Chattanooga TN 37421
423. 892.1499

next TN Commission of Indian Affairs meeting
March 17, 10am - 4pm - Nashville
tentative Agenda

;>

____________________________________________________________________________

If there is a vegetative soul, an animating power that all things
share, there must be great rejoicing out there on windy days, ecstasy,
for trees move so slowly on calm days. At least it seems that way to us.
On days of high wind they move so freely it must give them
a cellular pleasure close to terror.

- Louise Erdrich, the Blue Jay's dance

nothing better to do

2006-04-02T11:46:00.000-04:00

i am one of those people "who have nothing better to do" than to reflect on the Commission's most recent meeting and their passage of the 1990 recognition criteria and submission of the criteria to the state. i wish more people would have "nothing better to do" than to consider these actions because, in fact, it is one of the Best things to do: to actually read the 1990 recognition criteria and reflect on the State's reaction to adopting them as State rules.

the point of criticism regarding the Commission's vote to propose the 1990 Recognition Criteria to the State for adoption as state rules is
(1) to show the inherent defects in the 1990 Recognition Criteria,
(2) to account for the Commission's actions these past two years that led to the Commission ignoring public comments and a good rules proposal, then submitting a known defective rules proposal to the state, and
(3) to advocate action on an effective solution - the alternative proposal that has been proposed to the Commission for seven months now.

there is nothing "unfair" about criticizing a governmental agency's lack of forward movement on an old issue, or an agency's failure to recognize the inherent defective nature of an out-dated proposal. government is the political arena, the recognition criteria are a political issue, and commissioners are political appointees. when proper action is not taken in a timely manner, and when bad action is taken whenever, criticism should not only be anticipated, it should be welcomed. in fact, it's only through criticism that we learn of our own weaknesses, and only through criticism that we learn what needs to be fixed and made strong.

yes, the 1990 recognition criteria was approved by the Commission a year ago - 12 march 2005, but it was not submitted to the state Attorney General because of the controversy surrounding various elements in it, and because it was not corrected to fix the numerous problems that it contains.

yes, the Advisory Council on TN Indian Affairs (ACTIA) used the 1990 recognition criteria as its starting document. and ACTIA also used the two (2) public hearings (23 october 2004 & 30 april 2005) that the Commission itself held on the 1990 recognition criteria, resulting in a much-improved document submitted to the Commission for review seven months ago (8 october 2005). to date this document, and the hearings that generated it, have been effectively ignored by the Commission.

TDEC attorney Ed Harris advised the Commission in december 2005, "Don't waste the State's time if you're going to keep making changes to the criteria after it's been reviewed." - what did the Commission do? it submitted an inherently defective recognition criteria to the State that is in desparate need for a complete overhaul.

repeated hearings on the issue (20 may 2006 plus one more this summer after the Commission decides what changes to make and re-submits a revised criteria to the State for public comment) - with many past requests for changes (23 october 2004 & 30 april 2005) but no changes made, and repeatedly passing the defective 1990 recognition criteria (12 march 2005, 6 march 2006) - calls into question the competence of the Commission, not just among members of the indian community but also among legislative observers. this isn't criticism, it's political fact.

the ACTIA proposal contains the date "1900" in relation to "A history of the petitioning group from [year]", the same as federal recognition criteria, as approved by ACTIA in august 2005 and again in february 2006. the inclusion of the date "1796" (the year of Tennessee's creation as a US state) was an oversight carried over from using the Commission's own amendment and passage of the 1990 recognition criteria in march 2005.

another public hearing - the third, on a still-unchanged 1990 recognition criteria - is two steps backwards, to the same point we were two years ago, before the first two hearings. after this coming hearing in may, the Commission will have to decide, again, what to submit to the state, and then hold yet _another_ (fourth) public hearing to review the next proposal.

what would be truly beneficial is for the Commission to pay attention to the indian community's previous contributions at past hearings (including posting the testimony/minutes of those two hearings) and review the submissions by the indian community rather than shutting their ears, eyes and minds and going backwards to a defective recognition criteria. nobody is making the Commission look incompetent other than itself when it submitted defective rules to the state for review. the "us and we" gave our input to the Commission over the past two years, and it has been ignored. - should we expect anything different from more hearings?

this criticism is intended to be instructional and constructive. we are in the same position as we were two years ago: a defective 1990 recognition criteria on the table. the -only- difference is that one organization has taken the time to respond to the indian community's critique of the 1990 recognition criteria, drafted the major corrections, and submitted it to the Commission for review. and it was summarily rejected. ask yourself: - what does the Commission's rejection of public input at the past hearings and rejection of the only valid recognition-criteria proposal teach us? easy - it teaches us that the Commission is on a different path than the statewide indian community.

what is the resistance to the ACTIA proposal? that it's "too wordy"? that a version of it contained a typo? that the Commission didn't want to make its own amendments to it? that third-party genealogical certification of genealogies submitted to non-genealogists costs too much?

the ACTIA Recognition Criteria is a rewrite of old problematic rules. it has slightly more words in it (142 or 6.1%) than the legislation that created the Commission. if a public servant, a political appointee, has a problem reading and understanding the 2223 words of the law that governs their state agency, or a problem reading and understanding 142 more words that better define who and what will be recognized as indian in the state of Tennessee, that person should not be a state commissioner representing indian people.
1189 words - 1990 Recognition Criteria
2365 words - 2005 ACTIA Recognition Criteria proposal
2223 words - 2003 TNCIA authorizing legislation
[legal references ("Authority", "Original rule filed ...") removed]
typos can and should be fixed. they shouldn't prevent passage of a good proposal, nor should they be used as an excuse for not passing a good proposal.
the Commission exists to improve things, and showed that it could amend the 1990 recognition criteria by adding a $20 fee. the Commissioners were completely capable of amending the ACTIA recognition proposal accordingly, but chose not to. - why? they don't say.
the Commission is not composed of genealogical and historical experts, yet they are putting themselves in the position of determining genealogical and historical fact from fancy through the creation of recognition criteria. - should the indian community and the State accept neophytes and amateurs making determinations about genealogical and historical fact for which they have had little or no training? no. third-party certification of genealogical materials is the only way that i know of for the Commission, the people they represent and the State (all second parties) to trust that the Commission's decisions about tribes, organizations and individuals petitioning for recognition (the first party) are credible. yes, professional certification costs the petitioner, but it's either make the petitioners pay the financial costs up front, or kill the Commission in a year with a total lack of credibility. personally, i prefer keeping a credible Commission.

bottom line: we all should be working on improving the ACTIA-proposed recognition criteria, not the 1990 recognition criteria that the Commission submitted to the State that will never pass.

±1300 words.

;>

Not learning from the past

2006-03-11T21:40:00.000-05:00

Issues decided at the 4 march 2006 TN Commission of Indian Affairs meeting in Nashville:
approved the original 1990 recognition criteria,
with an amendment adding a $20 processing fee,
to be submitted to the state for review and public hearings.
This takes us right back to where we started in 2004, as if the Commission never held its two public hearings, didn't learn anything from the public input, had no use for the study and research the Advisory Council did on the issue, and likes to pretend there's nothing wrong with the old criteria. Now instead of proposing the solution to all the issues previously addressed, we have to re-visit all the problems and fight for the solutions in more public forums.

I can understand ignorance as an excuse at the first meeting of the new commissioners (december 2005 in Memphis), but now it's either stupidity or plain old reactionism that just prevented the Commission from adopting the solutions to the problems inherent in the old recognition critieria. Either way, the stupids and the reactionaries either need to get smart and with it fast, or get recalled for incompetence. I suggest smartening up fast.

TN Indian Affairs

2006-01-22T12:37:00.000-05:00

TN Indian Affairs
Vicky Garland's Unofficial Notes
TNNAC Regular Board Meeting
January 21, 2006
Call to OrderPrayer- Doug Kirby
Roll Call
Cleata Townsend-Chair Chattanooga
tom kunesh- Vice Chair Chattanooga (Secretary)
Wally Leary- Alternate Chattanooga
Lynn Clayton- Chair Jackson
Jo Nicholson- Vice Chair Jackson
Norm Clayton- Alternate Jackson
Sandi Perry- Chair Nashville
Dale Mitchell- Vice Chair Nashville
Annette Lawson- Alternate Nashville
Doug Kirby- Chair Manchester
Vicky Garland- Vice Chair Manchester (Vice-Chair)
Charles Lawson- At-Large
Guests
Deborah Rodriquez- Delegate Nashville
Mark Tolley- Delegate Nashville
Absent
John Smith- At-Large- (Chair) Having tests run on his back
Helen Wagner Vinson- Chair Memphis- Sick
Ed Vinson- Vice Chair Memphis-Down in his back
Cecilia Tolley- Alternate Nashville- out of State

Agenda Review/ Approval.Approved with a few additions2. Reports
Will approve the August 28, 2005 minutes online excluding: the executive session parts will be omitted from the web page minutes APPROVED
October 22, 2005 minutes read. APPROVED
Bylaws say post minutes 21 days after the meeting. Clarification: post 21 days after the meeting at which they were approved

Filing State papers leave it at Lynn's Address for now and save $20.00
Treasurer's report
Chairman- AbsentVice Chair- Commission nominationsAll number one selections were seated on the commission by the State. They had their first meeting in December.
Referendum statusI have taken care of that myself. It is in the process as we speak.
Committee Reports
Web Page- tom kunesh gave an update of what was included.He was asked to include AG's opinion on the three organizations relationship to each other
ATTENDANCE Committee- Vicky& DougRequest from the secretary's of both TCIA and ACTIA for their membership attendance records after each meeting, with ours being furnished on www.tnnac.org will supply them with a copy of ours if requested
TNCIA Report-No one was there from the group to supply a report tom mentioned some things that went on at their last meeting and about the Feb 11th meeting on recognition, legislative review, amendment to the Law to change from 2 nominees to just one (1)
ACTIA- Sandi Perry New SecretaryNext meeting is February 4,

2006Review of the election cycle and adoption of new permanent time line.
Application period opens on the First of March
Closes the end of April
aucuses will be held the 4th Saturday in June in election years
Convention will be held the 3rd Saturday of September in election years.
Appointments of Committees
Chairperson's job: TABLED
Appointment of Alternates (2 instead of just 1)Vicky proposed and asked Charles Lawson if he would be interested in being an At Large member of TNNAC. He spoke briefly and agreed.
Then we appointed Annette Lawson as the 2nd Alternate for NashvilleBoard voted and APPROVED
Wally Leary was made Alternate forChattanoogaAPPROVED

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS-Split Secretary and Treasurer- 3rd and final reading FAILED
Amend Quorum- PASSEDHave a First Vice-Chair and a 2nd Vice Chair- this was the 2nd reading and voteAPPROVED

Wording for phone-in meeting Approval- TABLED

Write letter to Commissioners and concerned parties about Legislative review questionnaire needing input of the Indian community - APPROVED
Write letter to commissioners and concerned parties about amendments without the input of the Indian Community- APPROVED

One or two day convention
Decided to have the convention one day, but to have socializing on the Friday night before the convention and have the nominees politic the morning of the convention with question sessions of nominees, then hold the convention in the afternoon after lunch, with continued socializing Saturday night. APPROVED
How to improve Greeneville and Knoxville's participation
Meeting with the organizations, fliers, press, meet and greets.Vicky is suppose to call the Commissioners in the East and Knoxville about meet and greets in their areas

tom is suppose to update our tri-fold brochure

Updating TNNAC's standing rules and posting to the net
Minor word changes- APPROVED
Time limit for public comments- 3 minutes- APPROVED

Mark Tolley addressed the board about Penson Mounds

Next meeting Sunday April 23, 2006 at 9:30 central time at the Honors building
Agenda items for next meeting
Old businessPhone-in votes
Dale's proposal on delegates
Committee appointments
Doug's proposal on redistricting caucus areas
Nominees for Vice Chair- Lynn Clayton, Jo Nicholson, Cleata Townsend
Motion to adjourn 2:30 APPROVED

doc 1: original 1990 TNCIA recognition criteria

2005-12-10T22:28:00.000-05:00

this is the original recognition criteria on which all other versions are based. these rules expired on June 30, 2002, and have never been in effect during the lifetime of this Commission.

http://www.tncia.org/1990TCIArecognitioncriteri.html

---

August, 1990 (Revised) 1
RULES OF THE TENNESSEE COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS
701 Broadway
Suite 130 Customs House
Nashville, TN 37243-0435
Chapters Title
0785-1 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indians

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
Original chapter 0785-1 filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

August, 1990 (Revised) 1
RULES OF THE TENNESSEE COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

CHAPTER 0785-1
RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0785-1-.01 Definitions
0785-1-.02 Purpose
0785-1-.03 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indian Nations, Tribes, or Bands
0785-1-.04 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indian Organizations
0785-1-.05 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indian Individuals
0785-1-.06 Procedures for Petitioning for Recognition
0785-1-.07 Changes in Membership Rolls
0785-1-.08 Appeals

0785-1-.01 DEFINITIONS.

The following definitions shall apply to these regulations:

(1) "Commission" means the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs.

(2) "State" means the state of Tennessee.

(3) "Enrollment" means being recognized as a Native American Indian by the state of Tennessee.

(4) "Roll" means the official list of recognized Native American individuals in Tennessee.

(5) "Disabled person" means any person determined to be in need of partial or full supervision, protection, and assistance by reason of mental illness, physical illness or injury, advanced age, developmental disability or other mental or physical incapacity.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.02 PURPOSE.

To establish criteria and procedures to provide for legal recognition by the state of Tennessee of Native American Indians presently existing in Tennessee.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.03 RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS, TRIBES, OR BANDS.

(1) The petitioning group has been identified on a substantially continuous basis as Native American Indians throughout the history of their race; and

(2) A substantial portion of the petitioning group inhabits a particular geographic area or lives in a community viewed as Native American Indian and distinct from all other populations in the geographic area, and that its members are descendants of an Indian tribe which has historically inhabited the same geographic area; and

(3) The petitioning group has maintained tribal political influence or other authority over its members, or is able to demonstrate their existence as a continuous, distinct cultural entity capable of self-regulation, throughout their history until the present; and

(4) A copy of the group's present governing document is provided and/or a statement describing in full the membership criteria and the procedures through which the group governs its affairs and members; and

(5) A list of all known current members of the group and a copy of any available list of former members, based on the tribe's own defined criteria, shall be submitted. The membership must consist of individuals who have established descendency from a tribe that existed historically; and

(6) The membership of the group is composed principally of persons who are not members of any other North American Indian tribe.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.04 RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN ORGANIZATIONS.

(1) The petitioning group shall have as its primary purpose the promotion of education, economic, or social advancement or self-sufficiency of Native American Indians, and as a secondary purpose the promotion and preservation of Native American Indian culture. The charter and by-laws of the organization must clearly document such purposes; and

(2) The petitioning group shall be legally established, with appropriate charter, articles of incorporation, by-laws, and/or constitution, in accordance with state laws, and copies of the above-mentioned documents shall be provided; and

(3) The petitioning group shall provide a statement describing membership criteria and a list of all known current members, including identification of Native American Indian members, based on the group's own defined criteria of ancestry recognition. A membership ratio must be maintained consisting of a majority of Native American Indians to non-Indian members; and

(4) The petitioning group shall be controlled by a governing board and officers, the majority of which are Native American Indians.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.05 RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN INDIVIDUALS IN TENNESSEE.

(1) All applicants must have maintained a permanent residence in Tennessee for at least six (6) months prior to their date of application.

(2) Individuals may be enrolled with the state by satisfying any of the following means of documentation:

(a) The applicant has a roll number or certificate of Indian blood from a federally-recognized tribe; or

(b) the applicant's birth certificate shows the applicant or applicant's parent(s) to be Native American Indian; or

(c) The applicant has a family tree which shows a direct ancestor of the applicant to appear on a roll of a federally recognized Native American Indian tribe. All family trees will be subject to verification by professional genealogists at the applicant's expense; or

(d) The applicant signs an affidavit stating he/she is a Native American Indian. If the applicant has a living relative at least ten years older than the applicant, the relative must also sign the affidavit. In addition to the affidavit, the applicant shall provide at least one of the following:

1. A family Bible or hymnal showing that the applicant and/or the
applicant's direct ancestors were Native American Indian.
2. Death records of the applicant's direct ancestor(s) showing the
ancestor(s) to be Native American Indian.
3. Records of direct ancestor(s) from the Indian Court of Claims.
4. School, church or health records, or other compelling documentation
which shows the applicant to be Native American Indian.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.06 PROCEDURES FOR PETITIONING FOR RECOGNITION.

(1) Applications for recognition are available on request from the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs.

(2) Applications for minors and disabled individuals may be filed by the parent, next of kin, recognized guardian, or other person responsible for the care of the minor or incompetent individual.

(3) Complete applications and supporting documentation are to be sent to:
Director
Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs
Department of Environment and Conservation
701 Broadway
Nashville, TN 37243-0435

(4) The Director of the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs shall review all applications and supporting documentation.

(5) If the application and required documentation are complete, the Director will present the information to the Commission for the Commission to review. The applicant(s) will be notified in writing of the Commission meeting when the application will be reviewed.

(6) The Commission will either approve or deny the application. The Commission may request additional information from the applicant if necessary.

(7) The Commission will notify each applicant in writing of the Commission's decision.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.07 CHANGES IN MEMBERSHIP ROLLS.

(1) Nations, tribes, or bands recognized pursuant to the rules herein contained shall notify the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs of any changes in enrollment criteria and subsequent additions or deletions of members.

(2) Organizations recognized pursuant to the rules herein contained shall submit updated membership rolls on a biennial basis for renewal of recognition certification.

(3) Upon receipt of a death certificate or other evidence of death acceptable to the Commission, the name of the deceased person shall be removed from the roll.

(4) Any recognized individual may terminate his or her enrollment by submitting written notice to the Director of the Commission.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.08 APPEALS.

(1) Any group or individual whose application for recognition has been denied may file an appeal to the Commission.

(2) The appeal shall be made in writing and shall be received by the Commission with thirty (30) days of the date of the Commission meeting when the application was denied.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

___________________________________________________________
TN Indian Affairs mailing list (tn-ind@tnind.net)
http://www.tnind.net/list/

doc 2: proposed 2006 TNCIA recognition criteria

2005-12-10T22:25:00.000-05:00

these are the proposed 2006 recognition criteria approved by the Advisory Council on Tennessee Indian Affairs (ACTIA) and recommended to the TN Commission of Indian Affairs this past july.

the 1990 recognition criteria contains 1383 words.
the 2005 proposed recognition criteria contains 2549 words. it was modified to take into consideration all of the requests for changes made at the 2 TNCIA hearings on reoognition, to improve accountability and record-keeping, and to reduce the burden of knowledge on the Commissioners themselves.

http://www.tncia.org/recognition-criteria-proposed.html

---

Modifications / changes from 1990 recognition criteria:

(A) Adapts elements of the South Carolina recognition code, specifically:
1. new "Definitions" (8-10/Tribe, Organization, Lineal Descendant), and
2. the "Purpose" was amended to include the direct citation of the TNCIA code authorizing recognition, and
3. a new section of "Limitations" (.03), and
4. additional tribal criteria (2) (D-F).

(B) Adds an organizational criterion (6) regarding congruence between an organization's name and their membership.

(C) Places onus of responsibility on party requesting recognition to submit certified documentation.

(D) Establishes "Procedures for petitioning for recognition" and procedures for record-keeping.

(E) Establishes a $20 processing fee to cover Commission costs.

This is the most inclusive document yet, addressing all previously mentioned concerns, and does not pose any further undue hardships on legitimate groups.
(* indicates addition or amendment.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

August 2005
ADVISORY COUNCIL ON TENNESSEE INDIAN AFFAIRS

PROPOSED AMENDMENT to the
1990 RECOGNITION CRITERIA OF THE TENNESSEE COMMISSION OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
Original chapter 0785-1 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indians filed July 3, 1990; proposed effective date January 2006.

CHAPTER 0785-1
RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIANS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0785-1-.01 Definitions
0785-1-.02 Purpose
0785-1-.03 Limitations
0785-1-.04 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indian Nations, Tribes, or Bands
0785-1-.05 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indian Organizations
0785-1-.06 Recognition Criteria for Native American Indian Individuals
0785-1-.07 Procedures for Petitioning for Recognition
0785-1-.08 Changes in Recognition Status
0785-1-.09 Appeals

0785-1-.01 DEFINITIONS.

The following definitions shall apply to these regulations:

(1) "Commission" means the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs.

(2) "State" means the state of Tennessee.

(3) "Recognized" means being recognized as a Native American Indian by the state of Tennessee.

(4) "List" means the official list of recognized Native American nations, tribes, bands, organizations and individuals in Tennessee.

(5) "Certified" means verified as accurate by a genealogist who is certified by the Board for Certification of Genealogists or National Genealogical Society.

(6) "Professional" means a [terminal] college/university degree (B.A. and above) and prior experience and employment in a field of study.

(7) "Disabled person" means any person determined to be in need of partial or full supervision, protection, and assistance by reason of mental illness, physical illness or injury, advanced age, developmental disability or other mental or physical incapacity.

(8) "Tribe" means an assembly of Indian people comprising numerous families, clans, or generations together with their descendents, who have a common character, interest, and behavior denoting a separate ethnic and cultural heritage, and who have existed as a separate community, on a substantially continuous basis throughout the past 100 years. In general, core members of the tribe are related to each other by blood. A tribal council and governmental authority unique to Native American Indians govern them.

(9) "Organization" means a number of individuals assembled together, which have different characteristics, interests and behaviors that do not denote a separate ethnic and cultural heritage today, as they once did. The group is composed of both Native American Indians and other ethnic races. They are not all related to one another by blood.

(10) "Lineal descendant" means direct genetic descent from a specific ancestor.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.02 PURPOSE.

Section 4-34-103(6) of the Tennessee Code Annotated states that "It is the duty of the commission to ... Establish appropriate procedures to provide for legal recognition by the state of presently unrecognized tribes, nations, groups, communities or individuals, and to provide for official state recognition by the commission of such".

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.03 LIMITATIONS.

(1) The Native American Indian entities recognized by this act, their members, lands, natural resources, or other property owned by such entities or their members, are subject to the civil, criminal, and regulatory jurisdiction and laws of the state of Tennessee, its agencies, and political subdivisions, and the civil and criminal jurisdiction of the courts of the state of Tennessee, to the same extent as any other person, citizen or land in Tennessee.

(2) Notwithstanding their state certification, Native American Indian entities have no power or authority to take any action that would establish, advance or promote any form of gambling in the state of Tennessee; nor does this provision of law confer power or authority to take any action which could establish, advance or promote any form of gambling in the State.

(3) Nothing in this act recognizes, creates, extends, or forms the basis of any right or claim of interest in land or real estate in this state for any Native American Indian entity recognized by the State.

(4) Federally-recognized tribes retain all federally recognized sovereignty of rights under this provision of law.

(5) State recognized tribes that subsequently obtain federal recognition are not bound by the limitations of this provision and therefore, gain and retain all federally recognized sovereignty of rights under this provision of law.

0785-1-.04 RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS, TRIBES, OR BANDS.

(1) Eligibility for recognition is limited to petitioning groups that meet the following criteria:

(A) The petitioning group is headquartered in the state of Tennessee, is indigenous to this state, and has been identified on a substantially continuous basis as Native American Indians throughout the history of the group; and

(B) A majority of the petitioning group inhabits a particular geographic area in Tennessee or lives in a community in Tennessee viewed as Native American Indian and distinct from all other populations in the geographic area, and that its members are descendants of an Indian tribe that has historically inhabited the state of Tennessee; and

(C) The petitioning group has maintained tribal political influence or other authority over its members, or is able to demonstrate their existence as a continuous, distinct cultural entity capable of self-regulation, throughout their history until the present; and

(D) The membership of the group is composed of a majority of persons who are not members of any other North American Indian federally- or state-recognized tribe.

(2) The following information shall be provided to the Commission to review:

(A) A copy of the group's present governing document and/or a statement describing in full the membership criteria and the procedures through which the group governs its affairs and members; and

(B) A list of all known current members of the group and a copy of any available list of former members, based on the tribe's own defined criteria. The membership must consist of individuals who have established certified descendancy from a tribe that existed historically; and

(C) A history of the petitioning group from the time of state creation (1796) to present, written by a professional historian or anthropologist and no longer than two-thousand (2000) words.

(D) Documented traditions, customs, legends, etc., that demonstrate the group's Native American Indian cultural heritage.

(E) Letters, statements, and documents from state or federal authorities, that document a history of tribal-related business and activities that specifically address Native American Indian culture, preservation, and affairs.

(F) Letters, statements, and documents from federally- or state-recognized tribes in and/or outside of Tennessee which attest to the Indian heritage of the group.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.05 RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN ORGANIZATIONS.

(1) The petitioning group shall have as its primary purpose the promotion of education, economic, or social advancement or self-sufficiency of Native American Indians, and as a secondary purpose the promotion and preservation of Native American Indian culture. The charter and by-laws of the organization must clearly document such purposes; and

(2) The petitioning group shall be legally established, with appropriate charter filed with the state Secretary of State, articles of incorporation, by-laws, and/or constitution, in accordance with state laws, and copies of the above-mentioned documents shall be provided; and

(3) The petitioning group shall provide a statement describing membership criteria and a list of all known current members, including identification of recognized Native American Indian members, based on the Commission's criteria of individual recognition. A membership ratio must be maintained consisting of a majority of Native American Indians who are able to meet the Commission's recognition criteria to members who do not meet the Commission's recognition criteria; and

(4) The petitioning group shall demonstrate that it is controlled by a governing board and officers, the majority of whom are Native American Indians.

(5) A history of the petitioning group from the time of its creation to the present, no longer than one-thousand (1000) words, shall be submitted.

(6) If an organization uses a name or language of Native American Indian cultural affiliation (eg, tribal or clan name), the petitioning group shall demonstrate the historicity of its cultural tribe or clan and that a majority of its members are directly related or historically affiliated with the named or referenced cultural group.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.06 RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN INDIVIDUALS IN TENNESSEE.

(1) All applicants must have maintained a permanent residence in Tennessee for at least twelve (12) months prior to their date of application.

(2) Individuals may be recognized by the state by satisfying any of the following means of documentation:

(A) The applicant or applicant's parent(s) has a roll number or certificate of Indian blood from a tribe recognized by the USA government; or

(B) The applicant or applicant's parent(s) has a roll number from a tribe recognized by a state legislature; or

(C) The applicant is a direct lineal descendant of an individual previously recognized as a Native American Indian by the State of Tennessee from the effective date of these rules; or

(D) The applicant's birth certificate shows the applicant or applicant's parent(s) to be Native American Indian; or

(E) The applicant has a certified family tree and supporting genealogy which shows a direct ancestor of the applicant to appear on a roll of a federally-recognized Native American Indian tribe; or

(F) The applicant signs an affidavit stating he/she is a Native American Indian. If the applicant has a living relative at least ten years older than the applicant, the relative must also sign the affidavit. In addition to the affidavit, the applicant shall provide at least one of the following:

1. A family historical document showing that the applicant and/or the applicant's direct ancestors were Native American Indian.
2. Death records of the applicant's direct ancestor(s) showing the ancestor(s) to be Native American Indian.
3. Records of direct ancestor(s) from the Indian Court of Claims.
4. School, church or health records, or other compelling documentation which shows the applicant to be Native American Indian.

(3) The onus of responsibility shall be upon the applicant to provide notarized documentation of claimed enrollment or certified documentation of claimed relationship.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.07 PROCEDURES FOR PETITIONING FOR RECOGNITION.

(1) (A) The Commission shall establish a three (3)-member Recognition Committee composed of Commissioners who shall review the applications and documentation provided by each applicant, and report its findings to the Commission.
(B) The Secretary of the Commission shall be a member of the Recognition Committee and shall maintain an annotated logbook of all applications and supporting documentation received, the date of completed application, and the Commission's decision and date thereof.
(C) The Recognition Committee may request additional information from the applicant if deemed necessary.
(D) Documentation that is incomplete or not notarized, or genealogical information that is not certified, shall be returned with the rest of the application and documentation, to the applicant.
(E) Apart from the applicant's name, city of residence, and tribal affiliation/descendancy, all applications, documentation and information submitted shall be kept confidential by the Commission.
(F) Applicants may at any time request the return of their application and documentation. No determination will be made on an application withdrawn prior to the Commission's decision.

(2) (A) Applications for recognition shall be created by the Commission and be made available from the Commission's Secretary.

(B) Applications for minors and disabled individuals may be filed by the parent, next of kin, recognized guardian, or other person responsible for the care of the minor or incompetent individual.

(3) (A) Three (3) paper copies of the completed applications and supporting documentation, with a return self-addressed envelope of the same size and same postage, shall be mailed to the Secretary of the Commission for review by the Commission's Recognition Committee.
(B) The Commission may charge a $20 non-refundable processing fee, payable by check or money-order to the Commission of Indian Affairs.

(5) The Commission shall either approve or deny the application within one (1) calendar year from the date of the completed application. The Commission may request additional information from the applicant if necessary.

(6) When the application and required documentation are complete, the Recognition Committee shall review the application and present their finding to the Commission for determination at the next regular Commission meeting. The applicant(s) will be notified in writing of the Commission meeting at which time the application will be reviewed and a decision made.

(7) Formal acknowledgement of the decision of the Commission regarding the status of an application for state recognition shall be in writing.

(8) All application materials, including application form and supporting documentation and any copies, shall be returned to the applicant immediately following the Commission's decision on the applicant's request for recognition.

(9) A current list of the names of all recognized nations, tribes, bands, organizations and individuals, including tribal affiliation and city of residence, shall be maintained by the Commission's secretary and shall be publicly available.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.08 CHANGES IN RECOGNITION STATUS.

(1) Nations, tribes, or bands recognized pursuant to the rules herein contained shall notify the Commission of any changes in enrollment criteria and subsequent additions or deletions of members. Nations, tribes, or bands recognized pursuant to the rules herein contained shall be reviewed five (5) and ten (10) years following the date of recognition for continued and final recognition respectively.

(2) Organizational recognition shall be valid for a period of four (4) years. Organizations recognized pursuant to the rules contained herein shall submit updated leadership and membership rolls every four (4) years for renewal of recognition certification.

(3) (A) Upon receipt of a termination notice or other evidence of termination acceptable to the Commission, the name of the terminated nation, tribe, band or organization shall be removed from the list of recognized groups.

(B) Upon receipt of a death certificate or other evidence of death acceptable to the Commission, the name of the deceased person shall be removed from the list of recognized individuals.

(C) Individual recognition may be rescinded upon demonstration that the information upon which the recognition decision was based is incorrect.

(4) Any recognized nation, tribe, band, organization or individual may terminate its/his/her recognition by submitting written notice to the Recognition Committee of the Commission.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

0785-1-.09 APPEALS.

(1) Any group or individual whose application for recognition has been denied may file an appeal to the Commission.

(2) The appeal shall be made in writing and shall explain the specific deficiencies, errors, or supplementary material to be reviewed, and mailed by registered mail to the Commission within forty-five (45) days of the date of the Commission meeting when the application was denied.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

###

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If information is power, then the internet, which distributes
information democratically to anyone who has access to it, is
no longer distributing just information — it's distributing power.
And in a top-down society, it's empowering the bottom.
Put more simply - in America, it's empowering the American people.
We live in a top-down society, where information is power, and
where those at the top have most of the information and
hold most of the power.
- Joe Trippi

___________________________________________________________
TN Indian Affairs mailing list (tn-ind@tnind.net)
http://www.tnind.net/list/

doc 3: proposed RC amendment - use 1990 RC & change words- use "acknowledgement" instead of "recognition"

2005-12-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

Proposed amendment to the proposed 2006 TNCIA Recognition Criteria:

1. Use the (shorter) 1990 Recognition Criteria, and
2. Change two terms:

A. "Recognition" to "Acknowledging" or "Acknowledgement",
B. "Roll" to "Registry".

Purpose:

1. Minimize changes to Recognition Criteria that the state approved in 1990 in hopes of quicker review and acceptance by the state Attorney General;
2. Address concerns by members of federally-recognized tribes that the words "recognition" and "roll" sound too similar to 'real' recognition.

Pro:

1. Does not add "extra" language that may delay the state's review.
2. Reduces effect of two words used in _federal_ tribal recognition.

---
(This amendment may also be proposed in conjunction with deleting the recognition criteria section on "Recognition of tribes, nations and bands" - see doc 4: proposed RC amendment - delete RC for tribes&nations.)

---------------------------------------------------------

The right to know is basic. Moreover, it is better to err
on the side of sharing too much information than risk
leaving someone in the dark. Information is power,
but it is pointless power if hoarded. Power must be
shared for an organization or a relationship to work.
- Max Dupree, Leadership is an Art, 1989, 104-5

___________________________________________________________
TN Indian Affairs mailing list (tn-ind@tnind.net)
http://www.tnind.net/list/

doc 4: proposed RC amendment - delete RC for tribes & nations

2005-12-10T22:23:00.000-05:00

Proposed amendment to the proposed 2006 TNCIA Recognition Criteria:
Delete all sections and references to the words "tribes" and "nations".

Purpose: That the Commission NOT take on itself the responsibility of recognizing Native American Indian People within the state of Tennessee to be known as "tribes" or "nations". The meaning of the words "tribe/s" and or "nations" is too broad and in depth for the Commission to effectively and accurately evaluate the people currently presenting themselves. There may be one or two of these communities who have longevity of existence in Tennessee with long- term documentation. For the most part, the groups presenting extensive paperwork to be evaluated could be processed and approved as "Tennessee Acknowledged Native American Organizations" with a name, which does not use the word "tribe", or "nation" within it. The Commission does not have the personnel or financial resources to extensively study and validate the vast amount of documentation that has been, and will be, presented for action by the Commission.

This proposed amendment would delete the following section in its entirety from the Recognition Criteria. Only organizational and individual recognition would be available.

---

0785-1-.04 RECOGNITION CRITERIA FOR NATIVE AMERICAN INDIAN NATIONS, TRIBES, OR BANDS.

(1) Eligibility for recognition is limited to petitioning groups that meet the following criteria:

(A) The petitioning group is headquartered in the state of Tennessee, is indigenous to this state, and has been identified on a substantially continuous basis as Native American Indians throughout the history of the group; and

(B) A majority of the petitioning group inhabits a particular geographic area in Tennessee or lives in a community in Tennessee viewed as Native American Indian and distinct from all other populations in the geographic area, and that its members are descendants of an Indian tribe that has historically inhabited the state of Tennessee; and

(C) The petitioning group has maintained tribal political influence or other authority over its members, or is able to demonstrate their existence as a continuous, distinct cultural entity capable of self-regulation, throughout their history until the present; and

(D) The membership of the group is composed of a majority of persons who are not members of any other North American Indian federally- or state-recognized tribe.

(2) The following information shall be provided to the Commission to review:

(A) A copy of the group's present governing document and/or a statement describing in full the membership criteria and the procedures through which the group governs its affairs and members; and

(B) A list of all known current members of the group and a copy of any available list of former members, based on the tribe's own defined criteria. The membership must consist of individuals who have established certified descendancy from a tribe that existed historically; and

(C) A history of the petitioning group from the time of state creation (1796) to present, written by a professional historian or anthropologist and no longer than two-thousand (2000) words.

(D) Documented traditions, customs, legends, etc., that demonstrate the group's Native American Indian cultural heritage.

(E) Letters, statements, and documents from state or federal authorities, that document a history of tribal-related business and activities that specifically address Native American Indian culture, preservation, and affairs.

(F) Letters, statements, and documents from federally- or state-recognized tribes in and/or outside of Tennessee which attest to the Indian heritage of the group.

Authority: T.C.A. §4-34-103. Administrative History:
Original rule filed July 3, 1990; effective August 17, 1990.

___________________________________________________________
TN Indian Affairs mailing list (tn-ind@tnind.net)
http://www.tnind.net/list/

Current Commissioners of Indian Affairs & contact info

2005-12-10T22:03:00.000-05:00

Sent by Ms. Ruth Allen:

Please update our Commissioners listing:

Doris Tate Trevino, Chair
460 Tate Road
Sewanee, TN 37375
931/598-5953
email: tandt05@bellsouth.net

Evangeline "Van" Lynch, Vice Chair
P. O. Box 408
Trimble, TN 38259-0408
731/673-4360
email: vlynch@ycirnet.net

Ruth Knight Allen, Secretary/Treasurer
1541 Welsh Rd.
Memphis, TN 38117-6731
901/685-8135 Home
901/628-6330 Cell
email: longwlker@aol.com

Niles Aseret
635 Spike Trail
Murphreesboro, TN 37129
615/896-7928

Jeanie Walkingstick King
P. O. Box 382
Alcoa, TN 37701
865/382-5911 Cell

Jimmy Reedy
3190 Petigap Rd.
McMinnville, TN 38110
931/939-4007 Home
615/467-1513 Work
email: rockinr@blomand.net

Kippy Vaughn
P. O. Box 72
Rockwood, TN 37375
865/354-0398
email: kvaughn65@aol.com

Committee assignment changes will be sent as soon as we have them.

Thanks

Ruth

Commission Appointments

2005-12-02T23:46:00.000-05:00

All,
The commission appointments have all been made for the Metro area seats as of today Friday.
Doris Tate Trevino- Chattanooga
Jeanie King- Knoxville
Niles Aseret- Nashville
Ruth Knight Allen- Memphis

They have not all taken their oath of office so some will not be voting tomorrow at the Memphis meeting.This is just to inform you that the seats have been appointed.
Vicky Garland TNNAC Vice-Chair

NAIA's Circle Of Life NAIA Pow-wow & Fall Festival

2005-10-03T08:58:00.000-04:00

Thanks Dale!:
___________________________________

http://www.naiaindiancenter.com/naia_005.htm

Native American Indian Association
Circle Of Life NAIA Pow-wow & Fall Festival
3rd Weekend In October Every Year
Call For Information (615) 232-9179
LONG HUNTER STATE PARK
2910 Hobson Pike Nashville, Tennessee

History: The NAIA annual Pow-Wow has grown to be one of the largest Pow-Wow- east of the Mississippi River. The Pow-Wow consists of three days of activities which include traditional Native Dances with a diversity of Indian regalia in with judged categories; traditional arts and crafts including demonstrations of carving (stone, bone, and totem poles), basket-weaving, beading, and other artistry. A tipi village is erected with historical information and traditional lifestyles described. Demonstrations of ancient Indian games are performed, as well as a variety of storytellers featured.

This unique cultural event offers a rare opportunity for Tennessee's Native American Indians and visitors from all heritages living in Tennessee and surrounding states to come together for a celebration of music, dance and the arts. The NAIA Pow-Wow & Fall Festival also, offers an educational opportunity for the public to discover and learn more about the diversity of American Indian traditions, songs, dance, basket-weaving, carving, games, and other cultural events.

NAIA is extremely proud of its' 24 years of service to the Native American Indian residents of Tennessee, NAIA is an intertribal non-profit organization. The success of this annual event increases each year due to the sponsorships, grants, and increased audiences.

HOW CAN YOU HELP: Monetary donations of support. You can assist us in our commitment to provide free admission to all children on Friday and free admission to all seniors citizens and physically challenged individuals throughout the weekend event. Email or call 615-232-9179 to make a donation. By mail: 230 Spence Lane, Nashville, Tennessee, 37210-3623.

Purchase Advertisement in Pow-Wow-Book. (1/8 pge-1-full page available). Ask about Banner Rates. In addition to distributing to this at the Pow-Wow, we distribute information to all Tennessee Congressmen Senators, and other government staff and agencies because it provides useful information about the American Indian population, especially here in Tennessee.

All donations go directly to the NAIA Education/Scholarship Fund and the NAIA Emergency Relief Assistance Fund. No board members, or volunteer personnel, are paid--we are truly a volunteer organization! With your help we are making a difference. Contact office: naia@bellsouth.net to discuss your support opportunity. Help us help others in Tennessee. Together, we truly can make a difference.

For Pow-Wow information, updates, and directions call, Ray Emanuel at 615-232-9179 and leave a message. Email: naia@bellsouth.net

Oct 8, 2005 TnCIA meeting & Agenda

2005-10-02T21:48:00.000-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: Scubasquirrel@aol.com
To: tn-ind@tnind.net
Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 10:14 PM
Subject: [tn-ind] Next Commission Meeting - Oct. 8, 2005

To all nominees to the Commission:

Congratulations on your elections by the Tennessee Native American Convention. It is wonderful to see new people getting involved with the political area of our community.

For the newly elected, the next TN Commission of Indian Affairs meeting is October 8, 2005 in Knoxville, Tennessee. The meeting will be held at the Tennessee Department of Enviroment and Conservation, 2700 Middlebrook Pike, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.

This will be a good time for all of us to come to the commission meeting to see what is happening with the commission, see how the meeting is ran, and a way to show the community our commitment to the Commission by attending. This will also be a great opportunity to meet all Commissioners with whom some of us will be serving in the near future.

Hope to see everyone at the meeting.
Shelley Allen

___________________________________________________________
TN Indian Affairs mailing list (tn-ind@tnind.net)
http://www.tnind.net/list/

==================================================================

http://www.state.tn.us/environment/news/ppo/sunshine.php#tcia

TN Commission of Indian Affairs
October 8, 2005

10:00 am -
4:00 pm

Knoxville Field Office
Second Floor Conf. Room
2700 Middlebrook Pike
Knoxville

Agenda:

I. CALL TO ORDER

**Reminder that the public may address the Commission at the appropriate time.

**Those wishing to speak are to sign in and will be acknowledged in that order.

**Introductions

II. OPENING PRAYER

III. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

IV. TREASURER’S REPORT

V. CORRESPONDENCE

VI. OLD BUSINESS

1. Report of Rules/Bylaws Committee
Standing Rules
Bylaws
Policy Statement

2. Review and updates on actions taken at July 10th Chattanooga meeting.

3. Discuss Revised Recognition Criteria

4. Discuss materials already submitted for recognition

VII. LUNCH

VIII. NEW BUSINESS

1. Adopt the 1990 Recognition Criteria rewording for presentation to Tennessee Legal Department.

2. Discussion of the Chair’s day-to-day responsibilities (Ed Harris)

3. Fund Raising Options

IX. REPORTS AND CONCERNS OF COMMISSIONERS (Commissioners, please prepare a written report to turn in as well as giving a verbal report.)

a. Voting problems and state oversight

b. NA remains and burial issues

c. Commission Ethics

d. Various "NA" groups negotiating with state agencies

e. Health Care

f. NA communication across the state

g. Quarterly NA social activity in center of the state

h. Permits for shows featuring NA items

i. Grants/scholarships (including vocational schools)

j. TCIA web-site job listings

k. Permanent NA holiday during National Native American Indian Month which is November

l. More accurate NA curriculum for schools—NA/s on selection committees

m. The Mascot Issue

X. ANNOUNCEMENTS

XI. PUBLIC COMMENTS

XII. CLOSING PRAYER

XIII. ADJOURNMENT

Second Request for Letters of Support for Pinson Mounds

2005-10-02T21:33:00.000-04:00

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/TennesseeAncientSites/

Request for Letters of Support for Pinson Mounds / Little Cedar Mountain / Two Rivers Mounds, etc.

Write letters to the Governor, your State representatives in both the House and Senate, write to your federal representatives also.

http://www.legislature.state.tn.us/

http://www.firstgov.gov/Agencies/Federal/Legislative.shtml

AND send a copy of your letters to Mark Tolley

Tennessee Ancient Sites Conservancy

----- Original Message -----
From: Mark Tolley
To: tolleymm@yahoo.com
Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 7:26 PM
Subject: Second Request for Letters of Support for Pinson Mounds

We are sending a second request for letters of support for the Department of Agriculture's Division of Forestry to leave the Western Mound Group of the Pinson Mounds complex. For those of you who have already written, thank you, your letters have already made it to the Governor's office. For those of you who haven't sent letters of support, we need them as soon as possible. If there is any reason you are hesitant to write a letter, I am available to take your calls to discuss any concerns you may have. You may reach me at 615-573-4611 or 615-298-4347. Please set time aside today to make a difference.

Mark M. Tolley
Tennessee Ancient Sites Conservancy

Indian News - 2005 Eagle Awards

2005-10-02T21:31:00.000-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: VickySpitsFire Garland
To: tn-ind@tnind.net
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 4:07 PM
Subject: [tn-ind] Indian News

All,
I hope I do not step on any toes but I thought something should be
released about the 2005 Eagle Awards. So here you go.Vicky

The 2005 Native American Eagle Awards

The 2005 Eagle Awards Banquet was Saturday October 1, at the Renaissance
Center in Dickson Tennessee. The awards are sponsored by The Natchez Trace
Powwow and the Tennessee Native American Eagle award Committee. This year's
winners are:

Mark Cantrell - Leiper's Fork
Valerie Brestel-Ohle - Knoxville
Tanasi Thunder Drum - Members across the State
Floyd Ayers - Winchester
Jesse Garland - Lawrenceburg
Debra Cummins - Hermitage
Shelia Jones - Lyles
Tony McClure
Pamela Pry - Crossville
April Cantrell - Leiper's Fork
Marion Dunn (Post Humus)
Tom kunesh - Chattanooga
And a special Jr. Award certificate for the Leiper's Fork Little Princess
Teah Plumlee who took her money from Powwows and took up other donations to
buy toys for the children in Louisiana.

___________________________________________________________
TN Indian Affairs mailing list (tn-ind@tnind.net)
http://www.tnind.net/list/

Chattanooga -- Indian Summer Days

2005-10-02T21:27:00.000-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: tom kunesh
To: TN Indian Affairs list
Sent: Sunday, October 02, 2005 11:45 AM
Subject: [tn-ind] Indian Summer Days

Chattanooga -- Indian Summer Days is a fall celebration of the Chattanooga area's Native American and Pioneer heritage through skills such as dances, storytelling and music, held at the Audubon Acres' nature preserve next Saturday and Sunday, 8-9 October 2005, 10 am til dusk.

Host drum will be Thunder Heart Singers. Cherokee singer-song writer and Eagle Award winner Jamie Russell will be performing and demonstrating. Mike Serna, an Apache flutist, will also be performing ballads and serenades. Artisans will exhibit various skills such as woodcarving, mask making, basket making and flint knapping to visitors. Sunday will feature demonstrations of Native American games of skill. Visitors will be invited to join the games of stickball, Cherokee marbles, chunky, etc.

Indian Summer Days provides a cultural immersion for visitors who want to learn more about Native American and Pioneer cultures.

One-day tickets are $5 for adults, $4 for Senior Citizens, $3 for children ages 5 to 12, and free for children under 5 years of age.
Two-day tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for Senior Citizens, $5 for children ages 5 to 12, and free for children under 5 years of age.
Tickets may be purchased in advance at Audubon Acres.

The Chattanooga Audubon Society is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to educate and promote an understanding of the responsibility of all individuals to preserve and protect our environment, cultural, and historical resources through programming and stewardship. This event is co-sponsored by the Native American Fireside Chat group which meets the 3rd Friday of every month at Audubon Acres.

Directions: I-75 Exit 3A to East Brainerd Road; Go East on East Brainerd
Road; Turn Right on Gunbarrel Road; follow the signs to Audubon Acres.

Chattanooga Audubon Society/Audubon Acres
900 N. Sanctuary Road
Chattanooga TN 37421
423 892-1499
caudubonS@aol.com
http://www.audubonchattanooga.org

___________________________________________________________
TN Indian Affairs mailing list (tn-ind@tnind.net)
http://www.tnind.net/list/

TNNAConvention - Delegate Notice: 2 Days Away

2005-09-22T09:47:00.000-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: tom kunesh
To: TN Indian Affairs list
Sent: Wednesday, September 14, 2005 7:01 PM
Subject: [tn-ind] TNNAConvention - Delegate Notice

10 days away!

TNNAC Delegate Notice
----------------------------------------------------------------

Tennessee Native American Convention • Saturday, 24 September
at Little Cedar Mountain, Marion County, North Pavilion,
TVA Shellmound Recreation Area, Nickajack Dam, I-24, Exit 158
on the Tennessee River, 30 miles west of Chattanooga

Combined caucuses' delegates (www.tnnac.org/2005delegates.html)
select metro-area nominees and their order of nomination to the state
for potential appointment to the Commission of Indian Affairs, and
vote on one referendum and the site of the 2007 Convention.

Schedule (All times are Central Time.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
8:00 - 9:00 am Delegate Registration / Meet & Greet the candidates

9:00 - 9:05 Convention opens
9:05 - 9:30 Convention staff approval, agenda approval,
introduction of candidates, brief review of TNNAC
requirement, of state's requirements, required
majority, ability to vote no or abstain.

9:30 Delegate Registration Closes

9:30 - 10:05 Memphis (2 candidates)
10:05 - 10:35 Nashville (2 candidates)
10:35 - 11:10 Chattanooga (3 candidates)
11:10 - 11:45 Knoxville (3 candidates)

11:45 Convention recess
11:45 - 12:30 lunch
12:30 Convention reassembles

12:30 - 12:45 Human Rights Commission (1 candidate)
12:45 - 1:00 Historical Commission (1 candidate)
1:00 - 1:15 Referendum on "Caucus Areas"
1:15 - 1:30 2007 Convention Site nomination:
Long Hunter State Park, Hermitage

1:30 Convention adjourns
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bring: Identification, pen or pencil; we’ll be outside: sun shade, chair, sun-screen, pop-up tent, and $5 for lunch.

Beverages (water & soda) will be provided free of charge by
the Tennessee Trail of Tears of Association (www.tntota.org).
Subway sandwiches and chips will be served for lunch at a cost of $5.

Overnight camping Friday & Saturday available at TVA Shellmound Recreation Area ($10-$20/night).
plain campsites are $15/night, campsites w/electricity are $20/night.
security gates are locked at 10pm until 6am.
there's also a "primitive area" that's just a little farther away (more privacy) that costs, i believe, $10/night.

Motel accomodations at the Acuff Country Inn, I-24, Exit 155 - acuffcountryinn.com

... Exit 158 / Hwy 27 - Nickajack Dam / Powells Crossroads.

look for the "TNNAC" signs.

caucus results: http://www.tnnac.org/2005_caucus_results.html

Indian Affairs Commissioner-nominees
1. Memphis (Allen, Allen)
2. Nashville (Aseret, Teat)
3. Chattanooga (Anderson, kunesh, Tate)
4. Knoxville (Fickenworth, King, Ohle)

Other State Commissions
1. Human Rights (Anderson)
2. Historical (Tate)

referendum
1. "Caucus Areas"

2007 Convention site
1. Long Hunter State Park, Hermitage TN

website: http://www.tnnac.org

------------------------------------------------------------------------
check the weather: 10 Day Forecast for Jasper TN (37347)
http://www.weather.com/activities/other/other/weather/tenday.html?locid=37347&from=36hr_topnav_undeclared
24 September
AVERAGES
Hi 80°F
Lo 56°F

The Cherokee Nation History Course comes to Chattanooga

2005-08-24T02:02:00.000-04:00

Sponsored by the Tennessee Chapter of the Trail of Tears,
the Cherokee Nation and Chattanooga State

This 32-hour seminar was developed by Principal Chief Chad Smith, former Director of Justice of the Cherokee Nation. Chief Smith believed that a stronger awareness of Cherokee History could assist tribal employees, and all CHerokees, to a better understanding of themselves and their relationship to a reawakening Cherokee Nation.

Chief Smith compiled legal, political and social documents and developed the text that is used for this course. As a tribal planner, educator and attorney, Chief Smith has contributed a multitude of perspectives in developing this course.

Dr Julia Coates was recruited to teach the Cherokee nation History Course to more than 1800 tribal employees of the Cherokee Nation, as well as members of diverse Cherokee communities.

Dr Coates brings a background in research and activism to this course, as well as experience in the fields of Anthropology and Native American Studies. Her analysis has proposed new interpretations of Cherokee history that challenge the prevailing themes. Between Chief Smith's legal and political perspectives and Dr Coates' social and cultural interpretation, the Cherokee Nation History Course offers a fresh, innovative and well-rounded study of tribal past.

Speaker: Dr Julia Coates
$40 (fee includes textbook)
Saturday & Sunday, Oct. 29 - Nov. 13, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Chattanooga State Technical Community College
Call (423) 697-3100 to register.

indian health care in tennessee

2005-08-23T18:21:00.000-04:00

A lot of comments have been made about the lack of health care for Native Americans in Tennessee, and the need to do something about it. The problem is that all of the information we have about health care concerns have been anecdotal (stories about so-and-so being sick or getting kicked off of TennCare) and isolated (no groups of same-area individuals), ie, there's no state-wide information based on real information of any more than a very few individuals.

If we really want to do something about health care for indians in this state, then we have to understand the health care issues of Native Americans in Tennessee. To do that, some group or some body is going to have to start keeping track of indians in this state and their specific health care issues, including names, addresses, problems/issues, treatment (or lack thereof), resolution (or lack thereof), insurance (private, public, or lack thereof), tribal affiliation and status, etc., from individuals themselves and from county health departments and the state.

In keeping with their missions, the Commission of Indian Affairs (4-34-103. "Powers and duties. It is the duty of the commission to: ... (2) Investigate relief needs of Indians of Tennessee and to provide technical assistance in the preparation of plans for the alleviation of such needs;")
or the Advisory Council (ACTIA) ("ARTICLE 3. DUTIES It is the duty of the Advisory Council on Tennessee Indian Affairs to: ... (3) Investigate needs of Indians of Tennessee and to provide technical assistance in the preparation of plans for the alleviation of such needs;" and "3. The Health Care Committee"), or both,
ought to initiate a survey next year asking every person who self-identifies as indian to fill out some basic information about health care, specifically about health and health insurance status. These forms could be distributed at every indian event around the state, and the state Department of Health, and/or a university with a public health interest (like Vanderbilt or the Center for American Indian and Alaskan Native Health at Johns Hopkins University, School of Public Health), or a private organization (eg, www.tpha.info) could be used to process and interpret the data.

Health care needs, both short- and long-term, are met, for the most part, by medical insurance, usually obtained through employers or public health care plans like TennCare or Medicare or the Indian Health Service. If we want to figure out if these programs suffice for the indian population in the state, we first have to determine who in the indian community is being served and who isn't. It's time for the Commission and ACTIA to investigate these assumed health-care needs.

;>

__________________________________________________________

The way one avoids making mistakes is
to do nothing or to do nothing new.

-DB

PRELIMINARY 2005 TNNAC caucus results

2005-06-26T19:44:00.000-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: VickySpitsFire Garland
To: tn-ind@tnind.net
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2005 3:05 AM
Subject: [tn-ind] PRELIMINARY 2005 TNNAC caucus results

All,
This is the PRELIMINARY 2005 TNNAC caucus results. At::
http://www.tnnac.org/2005_prelim_caucus_results.html

_______________________________________________
tn-ind mailing list
tn-ind@tnind.net
http://mail.tnind.net/mailman/listinfo/tn-ind_tnind.net

=========================================================================

http://www.tnnac.org/2005_prelim_caucus_results.html

These results are preliminary and have not been reviewed by the TNNAC board.
-------

Voting places & voter turn-out for 2005

Memphis - 22
Jackson - 15
Nashville - 14
Manchester - 20
Chattanooga - 18
Knoxville - 4
Greeneville - 17

2005 Total Caucus Voter Turn-out: 110

----

It would be interesting to compare this voter turn-out with the previous caucus' turn-out. Does anyone have that information?

And apparently the "One Board" referendum's preliminary report is that it failed to pass: 69 rejected versus 41 approved.

Donna

Referendum " One Board"

2005-06-23T16:26:00.000-04:00

I am the Author and Sponser for the One Board referendum. I put it out there with alot of hard work rounding up signatures from all three grand divisions, to let the people have a vote on what happens in their politics. Nothing more, nothing less. Just let the people have a vote. That is what we do. I am elected by the people to represent them, to do as I feel they would want me too. So I go back and ask them what they want done. This has been a question for many years now, how can someone sit on all the different boards and be objective. So let the people decide. That is all I have to say about that.Vicky

2 Days to Go

2005-06-23T16:21:00.000-04:00

2 Days to go.

All,
Are you getting ready to Vote on Saturday June 25, 2005. This is your chance to make your voice heard. Go out to one of the seven area caucuses and VOTE. Don't sit home and fuss about who is in what position. Get up and go Vote, elect who you want, that is a applicant to that position.
This is your chance to express your choices use it wisely, VOTE.www.tnnac.org

Vote 'No' on the "One Board" referendum

2005-06-22T02:38:00.000-04:00

> 2. One Board
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Whereas: The number of people involved in the politics of the Indian community in the State of Tennessee has improved since we started in 2001 and, the Indian Community has 3 separate Organizations working together in the process. The Tennessee Native American Convention (TNNAC) who holds elections and sends a list of names to the State to fill the positions and, the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs (TCIA) are selected from the names submitted by TNNAC for the TCIA seats and, the Advisory Council of Tennessee Indian Affairs are also selected from names submitted by TNNAC and the TNNAC board members are selected in this process also.
>
> Whereas: It appears improper for a person sitting on an election commission (TNNAC) to be able to hold his own elections if running for TCIA or ACTIA seat and, all these organizations are separate entities,
>
> Whereas: We feel that sitting on more than one of these boards presents a conflict of interest.
>
> Therefore: Be it resolved that no individual shall sit on more than one (1) of these boards/Commissions/ organizations at a time; Tennessee Native American Convention (TNNAC), Advisory Council (ACTIA), and Commission of Indian Affairs (TCIA). If you are appointed to said Board/Commission/Organization then you would have to give up any seat on the others.

Vote 'No' on the "One Board" referendum
-----------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of this referendum is to eliminate the possibility of any person serving on more than one of three boards, the Commission of Indian Affairs (TCIA), the Advisory Council on Tennessee Indian Affairs (ACTIA), and the Tennessee Native American Convention (TNNAC).

Both the Advisory Council (ACTIA) and TNNAC already have bylaws that disallow the Commissioners from sitting on these boards:

BYLAWS OF THE TENNESSEE NATIVE AMERICAN CONVENTION (TNNAC)
ARTICLE 4. MEMBERSHIP
(5) In order to avoid any perception of a possible conflict of interest, no Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall be a member of TNNAC nor shall s/he be a caucus officer for the duration of his/her appointed two-year term.

and

By-Laws of the Advisory Council on Tennessee Indian Affairs (ACTIA)
ARTICLE 4. MEMBERSHIP
(5) No Commissioner of Indian Affairs shall be a member of ACTIA, and no officer of the Tennessee Native American Convention shall be an officer of ACTIA.

---

Given that ACTIA and TNNAC both already disallow Commissioner membership, then the resolution proposes -no change- regarding Commissioner status in those organizations.

That leaves ACTIA and TNNAC ... and ACTIA already disallows TNNAC officers from ACTIA membership.

So the only net change this referendum proposes is disallowing dual membership in ACTIA and TNNAC. Currently there are only two persons who have dual membership in ACTIA and TNNAC, neither of whom is an officer in either organization: Sandi Perry of Nashville and tom kunesh of Chattanooga.

This resolution is the equivalent of trying to drive a screw into wood using a sledgehammer: it's using the wrong tool and the wrong amount of force.

First, - is there a problem? Have either the Nashville or Chattanooga caucuses complained that they are over- or under-represented by these two people serving on both ACTIA and TNNAC? No. Have either ACTIA or TNNAC complained that either of these two people over- or under-represent their caucuses' interests? No. If there's no complaint from these caucuses or organizations about their representation, what is the issue? Are other caucuses complaining that Nashville and Chattanooga are under- or over-represented by these two people? No. If there's no complaint, what is the issue?

Second, - should the Convention be attempting to resolve a non-problem? No.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Meddling in organizations in which there is no actual problem is just plain wrong. It also sets a dangerous precedent of the Convention attempting to control organizations without a demonstrable problem.

Third, - who should appropriately fix the problem if one occurs? ACTIA and TNNAC already foresaw the problem of Commissioners on their boards and prohibit Commissioners from being members of their boards. A simple solution made by the organizations themselves. If and when a problem occurs, expect the organizations themselves to fix it. If the problem continues to exist, -then- propose a solution.

Fourth, "the number of people involved in the politics of the Indian community in the State of Tennessee" has -not- improved since 2003. And this year there are actually fewer candidates, and only one person who hasn't served on any of the three organizations before. In 2005 there are 14 persons running for 37 possible positions (4 commissioner-nominee positions in 4 caucuses = 16; 3 ACTIA positions in 4 caucuses = 12; 1 TNNAC position in all 7 caucuses = 7; and 2 state commission nominations). While there may be more internet political commentary in 2005 than in 2001, there is approximately the same number of -committed- people involved in statewide indian political representation - about 35.
There are 47 possible positions to fill in the TNCIA, ACTIA and TNNAC (7 Commissioners; 24 ACTIA, 16 TNNAC). Of these 47 positions, only 24 are filled by active members. That's a 48% -vacancy- of _committed_ people who are _active_ in statewide indian political representation. Until more people get actively involved it seems a silly proposal to tell 2 of the 24 that they can't be as actively involved as they have offered ... not because of any actual problem but just because, well, it seems that they may be -too- involved for too long ... since before the old Commission was sunset. There are more political -critics- today than in 2001, but not more willing political representatives.

Fifth, while the argument contained in the referendum refers to an "improper" "appear"ance, and a "feel"ing of "conflict of interest", no actual impropriety or conflict of interest has been demonstrated. "Appearance" and a "feeling" are insufficient reasons to meddle in the affairs of two organizations that have served the Indian community well these past four years.

Sixth, since there is no actual problem specified, and since there are only two persons whom this proposed rule change would affect, the "problem" appears to be personal: some folks don't like Sandi Perry and/or tom kunesh serving on these two boards. The "problem" is that their caucuses elected them to serve double duty, and they have and are serving their caucuses in these positions. The "problem" was thus created by their respective caucuses, not by ACTIA or TNNAC. - Who should choose who represents the caucus on the ACTIA and TNNAC boards? The Convention? No. The caucuses themselves. That's why the caucus elections of ACTIA and TNNAC board members begin and end at the local caucus: caucuses elect their ACTIA and TNNAC representatives, not the Convention. If the caucuses want different people serving on the two different boards, then the caucus should elect different people to the two boards. And if a caucus wants the same person doing double duty, - why should the Convention interfere in the decision-making? Let the caucus decide its own representatives. If and when "the number of people involved in the politics of the" local caucus increases, the responsibilities will be spread out. Til then, don't penalize Nashville and Chattanooga for having a couple of dedicated ACTIA and TNNAC board members. Sandi Perry and tom kunesh are both running for ACTIA and TNNAC board positions again this election. The solution is easy: let the Nashville and Chattanooga caucuses decide on their own representation to ACTIA and TNNAC.

Seventh, a summary. Appearances and feelings aside, there is no actual problem that this referendum addresses. Until there is an actual problem, the Convention should not meddle in local caucus and organizations' affairs. There are no Commissioners on either of the ACTIA or TNNAC boards, and both ACTIA and TNNAC have rules against Commissioners being members of their boards, making Commissioner involvement in ACTIA and TNNAC a non-issue. Local representation is a local issue and the organizations' issue; it is not the Convention's place to be deciding who the caucus can or cannot elect to best represent their interests. When more people get actively involved in political representation at the caucus level, the local ACTIA and TNNAC positions will more than likely be filled by different people. Easy: let it happen naturally, as the caucuses and organizations themselves feel the need.
Vote 'No' on the "One Board" referendum

Native-American activist pleads for Nickajack Shores to be left alone

2005-06-12T19:39:00.000-04:00

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/perspectives/article/0,1406,KNS_2797_3845682,00.html

Native-American activist pleads for Nickajack Shores to be left alone
By TOM KUNESH
June 12, 2005

Burns Island in the Tennessee River, less than a mile below the Nickajack Dam 25 miles west of Chattanooga, is a privately owned 220-acre Native American site with artifacts that date to 2,400 years, ceded to the United States by the Cherokee Nation in 1819. It is so culturally significant that it is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places, a designation that would give it protection under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.

The Little Cedar Mountain property is a beautiful 756-acre tract of farm fields and lakeshore land just above the Nickajack Dam that the Tennessee Valley Authority took from Euro-American farmers by eminent domain in the 1960s to build a dam at the old Indian town of Shellmound/Nickajack. Little Cedar Mountain and the adjacent land, including the old town sites now underwater, long have been a sacred site to Native Americans. It was the last still-public land where Dragging Canoe and his Chickamauga band were centered in their resistance to the expanding white encroachment.

John "Thunder" Thornton, CEO of Thunder Enterprises in Chattanooga, wants to swap 1,100 acres of land he recently purchased for 578 acres of TVA lakeshore property next to Little Cedar Mountain. Thornton bought Burns Island, appraised at $593,000, to sweeten the deal for TVA. Thornton calls his proposed development Nickajack Shores.

If this were just a land swap, it would be business as usual, trading acres here for acres there. But what Thornton has done, and what he wants TVA to buy into, is nothing less than cultural terrorism.

"Artifacts" is the term archaeologists use to dispassionately describe the household and human remains of an old site that gain meaning and significance only when dug up, collected, studied and explained. To descendants of the people who lived there, however, these are sacred sites, and the dead and their resting places are to remain intact and protected from all exposure. At least this is the traditional belief in Native-American culture today.

Burns Island contains the cultural heritage and bodies of Native Americans. Burns Island, while being private property in the Euro-American developer's world, is a sacred site to Native Americans. The right thing for a good person to do is to give or sell the land back to the Muskogee (Creek) Nation and descendants of the people who lived there. Or if giving or selling land back to the Indians is not preferred, giving the archaeological easement to the tribe or to a trust like the InterTribal Sacred Land Trust or even to TVA. Or at least submit the recent archaeological report paid for by Thunder Enterprises for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places so it can receive federal protection from any further damage.

The immoral and unethical thing to do is to use sacred land and the cultural patrimony of Native Americans as a bargaining chip between a Euro-American public utility and a Euro-American land developer. Thornton and Thunder Enterprises know that Burns Island should be preserved as it is.

Thornton himself has said the island is eminently developable but needs preservation and protection. Thornton has both the knowledge and the power to protect Burns Island, but apparently is reluctant to do the right thing, in essence holding the island hostage in negotiations for the other piece of land he really wants -- Little Cedar Mountain.

There is an implicit threat contained in these negotiations: Give me Little Cedar Mountain, or Burns Island gets developed. TVA doesn't see it because it's looking at the land as acreage and wetlands and artifacts -- better toys to play with -- and because it's a secular business. But at the May 24 TVA-sponsored hearing in South Pittsburg, Tenn., Thornton (claimed to already have someone else's earlier plans) for a 220-unit housing development on Burns Island and that the solution was for TVA to swap some land for it.

Developing a sacred site -- destroying the cultural and religious integrity of the land -- creates fear of loss among religious people, especially in America among Native Americans. The creation of fear is the primary component of terrorism. To threaten development of a Native American sacred site -- holding it hostage as a bargaining chip -- is cultural terrorism.

Native Americans should not negotiate with any person who buys Native-American sacred sites to trade them for other property. TVA, a federal agency, should abide by federal policy and should not negotiate with any person who buys Native-American sacred sites to trade them for other property.

Thornton is doing what grave-robbers of Native American sites have been doing for years, just on a much larger scale: finding and buying an entire 220-acre Native-American site to sell to an old collector of Native-American sites, TVA.

Save Little Cedar Mountain. Say no to cultural terrorism. Say no to environmental racism. Demand that TVA stop negotiating for a Native-American sacred site. Demand that Burns Island and Little Cedar Mountain be protected -- by Muskogean tribes and towns, by Native Americans, by Euro-Americans everywhere.

__________________________________________________
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.

TNNAC Caucus Fliers

2005-06-12T19:34:00.000-04:00

Author: Vicky Garland
Email: vlg42@hotmail.com
Subject: TNNAC Caucus Fliers
Date: Sun Jun 12 14:41:16 2005

All,
TNNAC caucus fliers are available for printing/coping to distribute widely. Please print and place in your communities. Thank you, Vicky Garland, TNNAC Press Chairperson

they are individually available online at
http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-manchester.pdf
http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-jackson.pdf
http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-memphis.pdf
http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-knoxville.pdf
http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-nashville.pdf
http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-chattanooga.pdf
http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-greeneville.pdf

and all together at: http://www.tnnac.org/tnnac2005vote-all.pdf

Use Your Voice

2005-06-10T09:36:00.000-04:00

VOTE. tnnac.org

Elections of Indian Affairs Commissioner nominees,
Advisory Council, Convention, e t c.,

KNOXVILLE AREA CAUCUS - includes Anderson, Blount, Grainger,

Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Roane, Sevier & Union Counties

Saturday, 25 June 2005, 7pm

City-County Building, 400 West Main Street, Knoxville

2006 - 7th Annual All Nations American Indian Festival

2005-06-02T22:29:00.000-04:00

Make plans now for next year's spring event at MTSU.

---------------------------------------

http://windthruherhair.tripod.com/tn.html

7th Annual All Nations American Indian Festival
March 3 - 5, 2006
Tennessee Livestock Center
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU)
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
All Nation's Flags Invited!
All Eagle Staffs Welcome!
All Dancers Welcome!
All Drums Welcome!
Indoor Arena
Climate Controlled
Camping Hookups
Free Parking
Non-Political
Non-Profit
Scholarship Benefit Program
Non-Competition Festival/Powwow
Address: AmerindFest, MTSU
Box #267
Middle State Tennessee University
Murfreesboro, TN 37132
Phone: (615) 898-5645
Email: powwow@mtsu.edu
Website: http://www.mtsu.edu/powwow

Let Freedom Sing II

2005-06-02T22:24:00.000-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: VickySpitsFire Garland
To: Donna
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2005 11:51 AM
Subject: Help posting

Donna,
I am attaching a flyer could you get it on your list for me. And the
events list. I am a member of the Giles County Tennessee Memorial Committee.
This is for our trail of Tears project. Thanks, Vicky

-------------------------

Let Freedom Sing II

2nd Annual Musical Concert to Benefit the
Giles County Trail of Tears Memorial - Interpretive Center

Tickets on Sale Now

Call: 931-363-3789

$15 Advance

$20 Day of Show

Buy Blocks of 10 or 20 & Save!

Call for Details

Country Music Artist Jeff Bates "Long, Slow Kisses" in Concert

Opening for Jeff Chris Hennessee and Guest

Bring Your Own Lawn Chairs

Thursday - June 16, 2005 - 7:00 PM

(unable to read sponsor list - print too small)

--------

Directions to the event, from Vicky:

It is in Pulaski Tennessee at the Recreation center above Pleasant Run Park
just East of the Highway 31 and highway 64 crossing.

Friends of Bottom View Farm Native American Festival and Powwow

2005-06-02T22:23:00.000-04:00

June 4 & 5, 2005
Friends of Bottom View Farm Native American Festival and Powwow
Bottom View Farm
Portland, TN
Dancing, Arts & Crafts, Music, Silent Auction, Food and Family Fun
Benefiting Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital
Saturday and Sunday: 9 am to 6 pm
Admission: Children under 5 = FREE
Youth to 12 = $3
Adults = $6
All veterans welcome!
All drums and dancers welcome!
Grand Entry: Saturday at 12 pm and Sunday at 1 pm
Emcee: J.J. Kent, Singing Wolf Records NA flute recording artist
Head Veteran: C.D. Allen
Head Man: James Yellow Eagle
Head Lady: Loretta Howard
Arena Director: Red Kirby
Celebration Concert on Saturday at 6:30 PM with Powwow admission
Concert in covered amphitheater, featuring many artists and musical styles
All dancers are registered for the raffle and luck o’ the draw!
Camping available!
No firearms or alcohol
No selling of artifacts or sacred items, including stone pipes
For directions to Bottom View Farm, visit http://www.portlandtn.com/bottom_view_farm.htm#Directions

For more information contact:
Cathy Gregory
615-851-2623

Joe Johnston
joe@joejohnstonarts.com 615-333-7500

Crystal Rosser Rossercg@hotmail.com

2nd Annual Bell's & Benge's Memorial Motorcycle Ride & American Indian Social

2005-06-02T22:21:00.000-04:00

from Vicky. Thanks!
_____________________________

Go to: http://www.gilescountychamber.com/chamber.nsf/?Open
From the Menu on the left, click on "Special Events".
About mid-way down the page, click on "2nd Annual Bell's & Benge's Memorial Motorcycle Ride & American Indian Social".

Special Events
2nd Annual Bell's & Benge's Memorial Motorcycle Ride
& American Indian Social

2004 Premiere Ride
In 1830, with Tennessean Andrew Jackson as President, the U.S. Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. Tennessee Congressman David Crockett bitterly opposed the bill with many others, yet it passed by only one vote.

The Indian removal of 1838-1839 displaced over 100,000 Native American Indians from their ancestral homes in the Southeastern United States to a reservation over 1,000 miles away in the territory now known as Oklahoma. This removal was conducted by forcing the Indians to travel by four primary routes. Approximately 4000 died along the way, and the Cherokees called it, "Nunna dual Isuny", which translates as "The Trail Where We Cried".

Today, it is referred to as the Trail of Tears.

Two of the land routes, Bell’s and Benge’s, passed through Giles County and crossed in Pulaski, making this the only location in the United States to have a connection to more than one land removal route. The convergence of these two historic trails in Pulaski, and Crockett’s strong opposition to the Indian removal inspired the construction of a fitting memorial to the Trail of Tears and to David Crockett.

Saturday, November 5 will be a date to truly remember the people who walked the "Trail of Tears".

The Giles County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Foundation would like for you to participate in the 2nd Annual Motorcycle Ride and Premiere Reenactment Walk to remember those who walked the Trail of Tears.

Riders will leave at the Ride Captains discretion. The walk begin on Jefferson and Village Square and continue onto South First Street turn onto East College Street converging at 11:00 a.m. at the soon to be "Trail of Tears Interpretive Center" parking lot in Pulaski. Native American Social to follow.

At the beginning of the ride you will be given an envelope. Inside will be the name of the Head of Family who walked the Benge’s Route. They will be riding in memory of that Family Group. When we come together at the TOT Memorial in Pulaski there will be a special presentation for the riders.

All donations will benefit the Giles County Trail of Tears Memorial Interpretive Center.

For more information, call 931-363-3789 or e-mail, gctourism@bellsouth.net

---------------

Also here is what the flyer says:

COME TOGETHER TO REMEMBER

Come with us as we take a fall ride down picturesque roads to remember the
Native Americans who were forced to walk the Bell's and Benge's TRAIL OF TEARS Routes through Giles County, Tennessee. We observe this memorial during this time of year instead of in the summer because both of these detachments came through Giles County during the mid-fall. Benge's Detachment in late October, Bell's Detachment in early November. It was a miserable journey for them. Along the trail the Cherokee endured inclement weather, inadequate food and water, and they lacked proper clothing. We honor them by remembering the time of year they came through this area.

At the beginning of the motorcycle ride** you will be given an envelope. Inside will be the name of the Head of Family who walked the Benge's Route.
You will be riding in memory of that Family Group. This year we will also be honoring Bell's Route by reenacting the walk through downtown Pulaski. This walk** will begin on Jefferson Street (part of the original trail) turning onto First Street south. When we come together at the Giles County Trail of Tears Memorial Interpretive Center there will be a special presentation for the motorcycle riders and for the walkers. At this time our Native Gathering will begin. This is an Indian Social event where all people will "Come Together to Remember."

This event is FREE. Donations, will be accepted to benefit the Giles County
Trail of Tears Memorial Interpretive Center.

CALL FOR MORE INFORMATION - (931) 363-3789
CHECK BACK OFTEN FOR UPDATES

**Ride Departure Sites will be determined at a later date.
Riders will leave from these sites at the Ride Captain's direction at approximately 10:00 A.M.
Re-enactment Walkers will gather at the Trail of Tears Memorial Interpretive
Center Parking lot and proceed on to Jefferson Street.
Walkers will depart from Jefferson Street at the Walk Captain's direction at
approximately 10:00 A.M.

Attorney General Opinion - Tribal Recognition Criteria

2005-05-04T17:30:00.001-04:00

----- Original Message -----
From: sinihele@bellsouth.net
Sent: Wednesday, May 04, 2005 4:10 PM
Subject: Fwd: Attorney General Opinion - Tribal Recognition Criteria

S T A T E O F T E N N E S S E E
OFFICE OF THE
ATTORNEY GENERAL
PO BOX 20207
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE 37202

May 2, 2005
Opinion No. 05-066
Tennessee Commission on Indian Affairs Tribal Recognition Criteria
______________________________________________________

QUESTION
The Cherokee of Lawrence County filed a petition for recognition with the Tennessee Commission on Indian Affairs (Commission) in 2000. That Commission was terminated under the “Sunset Laws” in 2002. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-29-112, -222. The current Commission that was created in 2003 passed a resolution on December 4, 2004, that will require a tribe to have maintained a continuous state-tribe relationship since 1796 to be recognized by the State of Tennessee. Will the Cherokee of Lawrence County be grandfathered under the tribal recognition criteria of the previous Commission, or will they be subject to the criteria set forth in the December 4, 2004 resolution?

OPINION
The tribal recognition criteria of the previous Commission are no longer in effect, and, therefore, the Cherokee of Lawrence County will be subject to whatever criteria the current Commission will develop in the future. That being said, the Cherokee of Lawrence County are not subject to the criteria set forth in the December 4, 2004, resolution because the recognition criteria under Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-34-103(6) have to be established through rulemaking under the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act (UAPA).

ANALYSIS
In 2003, the Legislature charged the current Commission with establishing a procedure for tribal recognition pursuant to Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-34-103(6). The statute directed the Commission to: [E]stablish appropriate procedures to provide for legal recognition by the state of presently unrecognized tribes, nations, groups, communities or individuals, and to provide for official state recognition by the commission of such[.]

The previous Commission had a similar charge and established recognition criteria and procedures for Native American Indian nations, tribes, bands, organizations, and individuals through the promulgation of rules and regulations under the UAPA. See Tenn. Comp. R. and Reg., ch. 0785-1

Page 2

(1990). The previous Commission was terminated under the “Sunset Laws” on June 30, 2001. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-29-112, 4-29-222. The Cherokee of Lawrence County presumably submitted an application for recognition under these rules in 2000, but the previous Commission did not act upon the application before it was disbanded. As previously stated, the former Commission terminated on June 30, 2001, but the Commission’s rules remained in effect until June 30, 2002. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 4-5-226 and 4-29-112 provide that the rules expire upon completion of the one-year wind-up period for certain governmental entities.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, unless legislation is enacted to delete the expiration date provided by this subsection, each permanent rule, which does not expire under the provisions of subsection (a), shall expire on the day provided in chapter 29, part 2 of this title for termination of the agency which promulgated such rule; provided, that if such agency continues in existence pursuant to § 4-29-112, such agency rule shall expire upon completion of such wind-up period. Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-5-226

and

Upon the termination of any governmental entity under the provisions of this chapter, it shall continue in existence until June 30 of the next succeeding calendar year for the purpose of winding up its affairs. During that period, termination shall not diminish, reduce, or limit the powers or authorities of each respective governmental entity. When the wind-up period expires, the governmental entity shall cease all activities. Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-29-112

In 2003 the Legislature reenacted the Commission under Acts 2003, ch. 344, that went into effect on June 13, 2003. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-34-101. Acts 2003, ch. 344, § 11(c)(3) provided, in part, that all rules and regulations promulgated by the previous Commission prior to and in effect on the effective date of legislation would remain in force and effect. More specifically, it states as follows: (3) All rules, regulations, policies, orders and decisions promulgated or issued by the Tennessee commission of Indian affairs prior to, and in effect on June 13, 2003 shall remain in force and effect and shall be administered and enforced by the Tennessee commission of Indian affairs created by this act until duly amended, repealed, expired, modified or superseded.

The former Commission’s rules were not in effect on June 13, 2003, because they had expired on June 30, 2002. Therefore, the recognition criteria established by the former Commission are not in effect under Acts 2003, ch. 344, §11(c)(3). The current Commission must promulgate new rules under the UAPA to establish procedures for legal recognition of tribes, nations, groups, communities, or individuals and to provide for official state recognition by the Commission of such.

Page 3

Because there are no recognition criteria currently in effect for the reasons stated, above, the Cherokee of Lawrence County will be subject to the new criteria when they are established by the current Commission.

Finally, it is this Office’s understanding that the current Commission repealed its December 4, 2004, resolution on tribal recognition at the March 12, 2005, meeting and passed another resolution adopting the recognition criteria set forth by the previous Commission under Tenn. Comp. R. and Reg., ch. 0785-1 (1990) until it promulgates new rules. Mere resolutions do not meet the requirements set forth in Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-34-103(6), and, therefore, the Cherokee of Lawrence County and any other group seeking recognition are not subject to these resolutions as recognition criteria. The current Commission must promulgate rules under the UAPA in order to establish recognition criteria and procedures.

PAUL G. SUMMERS
Attorney General
MICHAEL E. MOORE
Solicitor General
SOHNIA W. HONG
Senior Counsel

Requested by:
Joey Hensley, MD
State Representative
106 War Memorial Building
Nashville, TN 37243

TN AmInd population stats

2005-04-30T21:53:00.000-04:00

US 2000 Census
Tennessee - all persons AmInd

5041 Memphis/Shelby & contiguous counties
3045 West TN - all other counties
--------------------------------------------
8086

8055 Nashville/Davidson & contiguous counties
7164 Middle TN - all other counties
--------------------------------------------
15219

3778 Chattanooga/Hamilton & contiguous counties
6340 Knoxville/Knox & contiguous counties
5654 East TN - all other counties
--------------------------------------------
15772

39077 total

purpose, traditionalism & sovereignty in TN "recognition"

2005-04-30T21:07:00.000-04:00

Individual recognition as indian is traditionally the responsibility and authority of the indian tribe, not a non-indian state government of the United States.

The principle of tribal sovereignty means that the tribe is sovereign in determining its own affairs, including membership.

For one of the United States to "recognize" indians for no other purpose than to "recognize" them is, in effect, removing the authority of tribes to determine their own members and placing it within the jurisdiction of non-indians.

States have historically recognized tribes, and i see no conflict in the Indian Affairs Commission of Tennessee assuming the same authority that Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and many others have assumed, most often with the blessing and authorization of other tribes. In these state tribal recognitions, the authority of recognizing individual indians has still rested with the tribes. But there is no other state among the other 49 that has assumed authority to determine who is indian, and to me it is a wrongful and dangerous precedent for Tennessee to assume this responsibility, especially in light of the embarrassingly little discussion about the meaning of recognition, and with no guidance from the tribes which should be considered our elders in this policy.

As an alternative, individual recognition as it's written in the 1990 rules being currently proposed for re-adoption should be criteria for tribes and organizations within the state to use and follow.

And it has always been the federal and states' governments' prerogatives to take censuses and create rolls of indian populations at various times -- the individual "recognition" criteria being proposed could be used for the creation of any such census rolls.

Additionally, recognition should be for some practical purpose. If there is no practical purpose, then there is no reason to adopt this policy or procedures.

;>

on proposed state recognition amendments 2000

i-b woodpecker should be NA TN's state symbol

2005-04-29T01:46:00.000-04:00

Long before indians around here started identifying with the USA bald eagle, the two birds of highest human respect were the woodpecker and the falcon.

Now that the ivory-billed woodpecker has been re-discovered west of here, it's time native americans of this area re-discover the relationship between this land, the indigenous people who lived here, and the indigenous symbol of this area, the woodpecker, and work to encourage the ivory-billed woodpecker to come home to Tennessee.

;>

COX MOUND GORGET

The Cox Mound, or Woodpecker, gorget style is a particularly beautiful and enduring symbol of Tennessee's prehistoric inhabitants. A gorget was a pendant, or personal adornment, worn around the neck as a badge of rank or insignia of status and was thought to be symbolic of both earthly and supernatural powers. A variety of gorget styles, or designs, are known. As a class of artistic expression, this type of artifact falls within the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex, formerly known as the Southern Cult.

Just over thirty Cox Mound-style gorgets have been found since the late nineteenth century, primarily from prehistoric Mississippian stone box graves and villages along the lower Tennessee, Cumberland, Duck, Harpeth, and Buffalo Rivers of Middle Tennessee, and the middle Tennessee River valley of northern Alabama. As a result of the frequent mortuary association of Cox Mound gorgets with certain pottery types, namely Matthews Incised, as well as other artifacts, it has been postulated that Cox Mound gorgets date to the period A.D. 1250-1450. One rich grave from the famous burial mound at the Castalian Springs site in Sumner County produced two Cox Mound gorgets.

Typically, Cox Mound gorgets were manufactured on exotic marine shell and were white in color. Other materials, such as black slate in Putnam County and human skull fragments in Hardin County, were used rarely. Engraving the intricate design on the hard shell or slate without metal tools took many hours of skilled labor and is thought to have been a winter activity.

A Cox Mound gorget has three important iconographic elements. In the center is a cross inside a rayed circle or sun motif. The cross is symbolic of the sacred, or council, fire. The sun represents the sky deity and/or mythical ancestors. Surrounding the cross and sun is a scroll-like design element known as the looped square. This feature may represent wind, or possibly the litter on which subordinates carried a chief. Typically the looped square is composed of four lines, but in some cases only three lines are used. Four crested bird heads, which most scholars interpret as woodpeckers, are found on the outer edge. The woodpecker heads always are oriented in a counterclockwise direction, suggestive of the prehistoric Native American swastika.

The woodpecker, like the falcon, was probably a symbol of war to the prehistoric Mississippian Indians. The war symbolism of the bird probably derived from the red head of the bird, which resembled a bloodied scalping victim. The Cherokees associated the red-headed woodpecker with danger and war, and the woodpecker was always invoked for aid by the ball game players. The bird's pecking is similar to an Indian warrior striking the war post at the Victory dance. For the Cherokees, the color red is associated with male attractiveness and fertility, as well as bravery and war. Groups of woodpeckers are thought to be a sign of war to the Creeks and Seminoles. While war is typically associated with males in Native American society, it is important to note that Cox Mound gorgets have been found in both male and female burials.

Other interpretations include the identification of the four woodpeckers as the four thunders at the world quarters, and a folklorist has speculated recently that the Cox Mound gorget style is a prehistoric expression of the Yuchi myth of the Winds. Cox Mound gorgets are displayed by the Tennessee State Museum and Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Area.

C. Andrew Buchner, PanAmerican Consultants, Inc.

Suggested Reading(s): C. Andrew Buchner and Mitchell R. Childress, "A Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Gorget from Putnam County, Tennessee," Tennessee Anthropological Association Newsletter 16.6 (1991): 1-4; Madeline Kneberg, "Engraved Shell Gorgets and Their Associations." Tennessee Archaeologist 15.1 (1959): 1-39.

See Also: MISSISSIPPIAN CULTURE; PINSON MOUNDS; PREHISTORIC NATIVE AMERICAN ART; TENNESSEE STATE MUSEUM

now taking nominations

2005-04-25T20:09:00.000-04:00

PRESS RELEASE - FOR PUBLIC DISTRIBUTION

The Tennessee Native American Convention (TNNAC) is now taking nominations for the Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs, the Advisory Council of Tennessee Indian Affairs, TNNAC caucus board members, and Native American Indian represontation on other State commissions and boards.

Applications for nomination can be obtained at www.tnnac.org, along with signature sheets.

The nomination period closes May 28, 2005. Applications and signature sheets must be mailed before this date.

TNNAC is accepting nominations to the Metro area -- Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga -- commission seats and Advisory council seats. TNNAC is also accepting nominations to fill the vice chair seats at the seven area caucuses. The term of office will be 4 years from 2005-2009.

Only persons living in the metro county and contiguous counties are able to run for the metro-area Commission of Indian Affairs nominations, and for the Advisory Council positions. TNNAC board member seats are open in all seven area caucuses.

Those wishing to be a Nominee to any position must fill out an application and have at least 21 signatures of registered voters who support their candidacy. (We suggest obtaining at least 30 signatures in case some are not registered voters.) They must have at least 11 signatures of registered voters from inside their caucus area and at least 10 signatures from registered voters in their grand division. If they are applying for Indian Preference, that candidate must provide proof of Native American Indian descent.

The metro areas are defined as the following continguous-counties' areas:
Memphis: includes the counties of Fayette, Shelby and Tipton;
Nashville: Cheatham, Davidson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson counties;
Knoxville: Anderson, Blount, Grainger, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Roane, Sevier, and Union counties; and
Chattanooga: Bledsoe, Bradley, Hamilton, Marion, Meigs, Rhea, and Sequatchie counties.

Anyone in these areas can be nominated for Commission of Indian Affairs and Advisory council if (a) they are a resident of the state of Tennessee, and (b) at least 18 years of age, and (c) fill out the application, (d) submit the appropriate number of signatures, and (e) mail them to TNNAC Secretary Lynn Clayton, 354 Lowrey Road, Medon TN 38356, before May 28, 2005.

Regional caucuses will be held on Saturday, June 25, 2005. At that time those who qualified in the nomination process for Commission of Indian Affairs, the Advisory Council, and the TNNAC board will be voted on. Each area caucus will select up to 4 Commission nominees, 3 Advisory Council members, 1 TNNAC board member and an alternate, and 15 delegates (including 5 alternate delegates) to go to the biennial Convention which will be held on Saturday, September 24, 2005 at Little Cedar Mountain, west of Chattanooga. The convention will decide which of the Commission candidates will be sent to the State for nomination to appointment.

If you have any questions and the web page does not answer them, please contact Vicky Garland via email or 931/ 766-0827.

TENNESSEE NATIVE AMERICAN CONVENTION
Vicky Garland, Public Relations Committee
vlg42@hotmail.com, 931/ 766-0827

John Smith, chairman
Lynn Clayton, secretary-treasurer

self-announced applicants for TNCIA 1.1

2005-04-17T21:34:00.000-04:00

self-announced, unconfirmed applicants for the TN Commission of Indian Affairs
for the 2005-2009 metro areas, as of 17 april 2005

Memphis - Ruth Knight Allen, incumbent

Nashville - Niles Aseret

Knoxville -

Chattanooga - John Anderson, incumbent
                         - David Walker
                         - Doris Tate Trevino
                         - tom kunesh
                         - Alva Crowe

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

self-announced, unconfirmed applicants for the Advisory Council on TN Indian Affairs
for the 2005-2009 metro areas, as of 17 april 2005

Memphis -

Nashville - Joe McCaleb
                    - Sandi Perry

Knoxville -

Chattanooga - John Anderson
                            - Doris Tate Trevino
                            - tom kunesh

it's not known whether or not TNNAC has received all these applications
or if candidates have qualified with supporting signatures.
these are simply people who have said, publicly or privately,
that they intend to run. i presume that individuals can
withdraw at any time so this listing is simply an early and
wholly unofficial report for informational purposes only.

applications are available at www.tnnac.org/applicants.html

saturday, 25 june - Caucuses

MB physical prayer day

2005-04-16T21:05:00.000-04:00

had a great day out on Moccasin Bend this past saturday morning, checking to see how much work needs to be done to keep it cleaned up. the sparseness of rain this year (compared with the floods of last year) have kept the grass down but the privet continues creeping in undaunted.

we met 3 guys taking "additional GPS measurements" (AGM) along the riverbank, gridding out the shoreline more precisely for the Army Corps of Engineers to plan their riverbank stabilization before it loses another 30 feet of trees.

a MB work/physicalprayer day is scheduled for sunday, 1 may, 9am (eastern).
all are invited. bring gloves, swing-blades, clippers, water,
weed-eaters, chain-saws, water, snacks, sage, tobacco, etc.
starting at 8.30 we'll meet at the tree-line
right before the Winston Building.

for directions or more info contact
Cleata Townsend at (423) 698-2804
or Sandy Goins (sundance1877-at-yahoo.com)

be advised, there are many burials in the area.
this is also a good time to acquiant yourself with Tennessee's cemetery laws, specifically the laws governing abandoned cemeteries and their "termination". while this area is now federal property protected by federal laws like NAGPRA, ARPA and the NHPA, other Native American burial sites that aren't on federal land don't have this protection and thus are under constant threat of "termination" if found "in a neglected or abandoned condition".

;>

self-announced applicants for TNCIA

2005-04-15T18:10:00.000-04:00

self-announced applicants for the TN Commission of Indian Affairs
for the 2005-2009 metro areas, as of 15 april 2005

Memphis - Ruth Knight Allen, incumbent

Nashville -

Knoxville -

Chattanooga - John Anderson, incumbent
                        - David Walker
                        - Doris Tate Trevino
                        - tom kunesh
                        - Alva Crowe

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
it's not known whether or not TNNAC has received all these applications
or if candidates have qualified with supporting signatures.
these are simply people who have said, publicly or privately,
that they intend to run. i presume that individuals can
withdraw at any time so this listing is simply an early and
wholly unofficial report for informational purposes only.

applications are available at www.tnnac.org/applicants.html

saturday, 25 june - Caucuses

5th annual Civil Rights Conference at the UTM

2005-02-20T16:33:00.000-05:00

Gray to headline fifth annual Civil Rights Conference

University Relations
Volume 77, Issue 18
Issue Publication: 2005-02-15

Civil rights attorney Fred Gray will headline the fifth annual Civil Rights Conference at UTM.
http://www.yankton.net/stories/021505/community_20050215035.shtml

Fred Gray, civil rights attorney, who represented both Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr., and won hundreds of school desegregation cases in Alabama, will headline the fifth annual Civil Rights Conference at the UTM. "Then and Now: The Road to School Desegregation in West Tennessee," is the theme for the conference, set for Feb. 21-26.

"The purpose of the week's events is to tell the story of school segregation from the perspective of the Native Americans and the African Americans who experienced segregated schools and desegregation in West Tennessee. The conference brings together a group of scholars, professionals and individuals who witnessed desegregation firsthand," said Dr. Alice-Catherine Carls, chair of the UTM Civil Rights planning committee.

The event will kick off, Feb. 21, with a mock trial of "Brown vs. Board," sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA), the Black Student Association (BSA) and the Office of Multicultural Affairs at UTM. Poet and writer, Marilou Awiakta, author of "Selu: Seeking the Corn Mother's Wisdom," musicians, Tommy Wildcat, member of the Cherokee nation of Oklahoma, and J.J. Kent, member of the Sioux tribe, Oglala Lakota, from Pine Ridge, will be available for autographs, Feb. 22. A Native American exhibit also will be ongoing outside Watkins Auditorium in Boling University Center.

Gray is scheduled to speak at 7:15 p.m., Feb. 24, in Watkins
Auditorium in Boling University Center. Among several others, he has won cases including, "Browder vs. Gayle," which integrated buses in Montgomery, Ala.; "Gomillion vs. Lightfoot," which opened the door for redistricting and reapportioning the various legislative bodies across the nation and laid the foundation for the concept of "one man one vote;" and "NAACP vs. State of Alabama," a case that first outlawed the NAACP from conducting business in Alabama and, after being taken to the Supreme Court three times, eventually granted the NAACP the right to resume business.

Gray also won a case reinstating students who were unconstitutionally expelled from Alabama State College, a class action suit, which led to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and filed suits that integrated all state institutions of higher learning in Alabama.

TNSCC's Monthly Friendship Gathering

2005-02-20T16:26:00.000-05:00

Traditional Native Survival and Cultural Center
Monthly Friendship Gathering

This is a time for Native People of our region to come together
for sharing and meeting new acquaintances and old friends.
We ask that people bring a covered dish for sharing.

Our Elders and Council members extend a warm welcome to all the Native American Indians that are able to come together at this time. We feel it's very important that we share our histories, our thoughts; networking as a community of people, supporting each other so we become stronger in ourselves, our families and communities. This makes stronger Nations. Our People are not bound by towns, states or National boundaries.

Our survival depends on our working together for future generations to come,
so the more we work on sharing and learning our cultures,
the better we are prepared in this important duty.

We look forward to meeting and sharing with those people that are ready to put our hearts and minds together to meet this important work.

with respect,
Elders and Council of T.N.S.C.C., Inc.

Where:
108 Main Street
New Tazewell, TN

When:
The last Saturday of each month, from 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Monthly Schedule for 2005
January 29th, February 26th, March 26th, April 30th, May 28th, June 25th,
July 30th, August 7th, September 24th, October 29th, and November 26th

Have a Safe Journey!

Traditional Native Survival and Cultural Center, Inc.
A Non-Profit 501(c)(3) Organization
P.O.Box 929
New Tazewell, TN 37825
Phone: (423) 526-5778

For more information, please call the Center at (423) 526-5778
Or e-Mail us at: tnscc_larry@hotmail.com

Commission's life extended

2005-02-05T07:46:00.000-05:00

Senate Bill 1423, introduced thursday by Senator Thelma Harper of Nashville, chair of the Senate Government Operations Committee and co-sponsor of the 2001 and 2003 bills to re-create the Commission of Indian Affairs, proposes to change the termination (sunset) date of the Commission from 2005 and replace it with a 2009 date, extending the life of the Commission of Indian Affairs another four years.

The House Government Operations Committee will also need to concur, and it's expected that a House bill will be co-sponsored by its chairman, Representative Mike Kernell of Memphis, co-sponsor of the 2001 and 2003 bills, to re-set the timer of the Commission of Indian Affairs for another four years.

It's a very good sign indicating that the new Commission will be with us for a while longer.

--------------------------------------------
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-29-230(a) [Governmental entities terminated on June 30, 2009], is amended by adding a new item thereto, as follows:
( ) Commission of Indian affairs, created by § 4-34-101;

;>

--------------------------------------------
SB1423: Filed for intro on 02/03/2005
SENATE BILL 1423 By Harper

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 29 and Title 4, Chapter 34, relative to the commission of Indian affairs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-29-226(a), is amended by deleting item (25) in its entirety.
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-29-230(a), is amended by adding a new item thereto, as follows:
( ) Commission of Indian affairs, created by § 4-34-101;
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.
--------------------------------------------
Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 4-29-230. Governmental entities terminated on June 30, 2009.

Annual Cherokee Indian Heritage & Sandhill Crane Viewing Day

2005-01-31T20:56:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-30T20:19:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-28T01:11:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-26T08:05:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-16T17:25:00.000-05:00

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

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
RECOGNITION OF HISTORIC TRIBES OF TENNESSEE
proposed by the Advisory Council on Tennessee Indian Affairs
adopted unanimously
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
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

2005-01-13T01:53:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-13T01:44:00.000-05:00

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:

the Yuchi Tribe of Oklahoma
the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Oklahoma
the Alabama-Quassarte Tribal Town, Oklahoma
the Kialegee Tribal Town, Oklahoma
the Thlopthlocco Tribal Town, Oklahoma
the Alabama-Coushatta Tribes of Texas
the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana
the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama
the Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma
the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians of North Carolina
the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians of Oklahoma
the Chickasaw Nation, Oklahoma
the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Mississippi
the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma
the Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
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

2005-01-13T01:38:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-11T08:18:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-10T18:21:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-10T15:35:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-10T01:34:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-09T11:05:00.000-05:00

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, ...

2005-01-09T10:59:00.000-05:00

"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

2005-01-09T10:54:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-07T15:39:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-07T02:48:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

"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

2005-01-06T18:50:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-06T17:49:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-03T23:52:00.000-05:00

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

- Ute

Thanks

2005-01-03T17:24:00.000-05:00

I am here now. Thanks for the help.Vic

by request

2005-01-02T18:40:00.000-05:00

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:

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).
any statement or response to the media or government or public be prefaced with a disclaimer that what i say is my personal opinion.
thoroughly investigate my personal office for any TNNAC records and return any to TNNAC.
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.
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

2005-01-01T16:55:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-01T15:47:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-01T13:47:00.000-05:00

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

2005-01-01T13:28:00.000-05:00

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!

2005-01-01T00:01:00.000-05:00

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