 Native
American Village News
By The Associated Press
Suspended Anchorage shock-jocks return to airwaves
By RACHEL D'ORO
Associated Press Writer
Apr 30 10:55
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) _ Two
Anchorage shock-jocks have returned to their popular morning show, three
weeks after making a derogatory comment on the air about Alaska Native
women.
Greg Wood and Chris Wilcox, known as
Woody and Wilcox, were suspended April 15 following a storm of protest
over the remark that had many comparing the disc jockeys to Don Imus.
Wilcox and Woody were jesting April 9
about what makes someone a real Alaskan. One of them switched the verbs
on an old saying that real Alaskans have urinated in the Yukon River and
made love to an Alaska Native woman. Many also consider the original
saying offensive.
Alaska Natives and others have since
canceled advertising with KBFX-FM, a Clear Channel hard rock station
that features Wilcox and Wood.
Panel addresses violence against Native women
The Associated Press
May 01 13:55
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - A three-day
conference was held in Anchorage to look at the issue of violence
against Alaska Native women.
The panel, which concluded Wednesday,
included some of the state's most prominent Alaskans and top law
enforcement officials. The members of the Alaska Rural Justice and Law
Enforcement Commission included U.S. Attorney Nelson Cohen, state
Attorney General Talis Colberg, and Public Safety Commissioner Walt
Monegan.
The conference, called "Building
Momentum,'' was put on by the Alaska Native Justice Center with funding
from the U.S. Justice Department, Office on Violence Against Women.
A separate panel of four women who
had been raped or physically abused spoke out about their experiences.
Among them was U.S. House candidate Diane Benson. She told the crowd
that she was repeatedly sexually abused in foster care.
Benson has talked publicly about her
experiences for a dozen years.
She told the crowd gathered at a
downtown hotel that when she went to the police, a Ketchikan officer not
only didn't pursue charges but said he wanted to get in on it. She said
she was raped three times by age 20. She didn't even try to report
those, she said.
The panel asked tough questions about
inadequacies in the system that is supposed to respond to the violence.
Members of the panel on rural justice admitted they didn't always have
good answers.
Benson, a Democrat, has talked
publicly about her experiences for a dozen years at victim conferences
around the country, though the rapes might be news to people in Alaska.
It's not the kind of thing she'd
bring up as a campaign strategy, she said. She talks about the worst
times of her life to offer hope to other women, she said.
"If I can be a person who can get out
there and do what I do, after this violent, neglectful and abusive kind
of history and still demand my dignity, find my self-respect, after all
of it, so can somebody else,'' Benson said.
Lisa Frank, a board member of the
Alaska Native Women's Coalition who lives in Arctic Village, said she
was raped 12 years ago Outside and was able to come home to heal. But
think of all those assaulted by someone in their village, who may have
to see the person who hurt them every day, she said.
"We're coming together and we're
talking,'' said Denise Morris, president of the Alaska Native Justice
Center.
Audience members stood one after the
other to ask the panel questions.
Why has government funding for
substance abuse treatment dropped when everyone knows that's a big need?
Why are victims treated poorly by certain prosecutors and law
enforcement officers? Shouldn't officers be required to use the
specially trained Sexual Assault Response Teams whenever possible?
As to the last question, the answer
for troopers is definitely yes, Monegan said. The teams help gather
evidence, identify suspects and begin the healing process for victims,
he said.
Information from: Anchorage Daily
News, http://www.adn.com
Hawaiian sovereignty seekers take over Honolulu
palace
By MARK NIESSE
Associated Press Writer
May 01 00:29
HONOLULU (AP) - When Native Hawaiian
sovereignty advocates chained shut the gates of historic Iolani Palace,
they said they were reclaiming land of the Hawaiian monarchy that was
stolen during the overthrow of the kingdom more than 100 years ago.
Unarmed security guards from the
Hawaiian Kingdom Government group allowed only Hawaiians, media and
students to enter. Tourists, employees and the general public were kept
out for hours until the conflict was peacefully resolved and the palace
grounds opened.
Hawaiian activists have long used
Iolani Palace, the site of Queen Liliuokalani's imprisonment following
the 1893 U.S. overthrow, as a prime location for protests of the United
States' occupation of the islands. But never before Wednesday had they
physically taken control.
"This is our seat of government and
always will be,'' said Mahealani Kahau, who was elected "head of state''
of the group seven years ago. "As long as we have breath to speak, we'll
be here.''
The 60 protesters began arriving
early in the morning Wednesday, sealed the gates with chain-link locks
and hung yellow signs stating, "Warning! No trespassing. This is private
property.''
Police surrounded the palace but
didn't force their way inside the fence. The activists were locked out
of the palace itself and didn't do any damage to the area, which they
consider to be sacred.
After more than six hours,
authorities and the Hawaiians agreed to end the blockade and reopen the
palace to the public. No arrests were made immediately, but state
officials said the protesters could still be charged. Protest leaders
had said they were prepared to be arrested and would remain peaceful.
"It was kind of exciting to see an
insurgency,'' said Dorothy Scully, a visitor from Modesto, Calif., who
had a morning appointment to tour the palace but couldn't get in. "We
were victims of the insurrection this morning.''
The Hawaiian Kingdom Government is
one of several Hawaiian sovereignty organizations in the islands, which
became the 50th U.S. state in 1959. One of the most visible signs of
protest seen across the state is upside-down Hawaii state flags on
display at homes of members, signaling distress.
What sets this group apart from the
rest is that it's the only one to establish a government headquarters,
Kahau said.
"Hopefully the occupation today will
make the people aware of the history of the Native Hawaiian people and
the attacks on their land,'' said Trisha Kehaulani Watson, executive
director of another Native Hawaiian group, Kakoo Oiwi.
The ornate Iolani Palace is operated
as a museum of Hawaiian royalty. King Kalakaua built it in 1882, and it
also served as the residence for his sister and successor, Queen
Liliuokalani, the islands' last ruling monarch.
The palace's granduer was neglected
after the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1893, but the structure
was restored in the 1970s as a National Historic Landmark. It includes a
gift shop and is open for school groups and offers tours for $6 to $20.
"This is the manifestation of the
frustration of the Hawaiian people for the loss of sovereignty and
land,'' said state Sen. Kalani English, a Native Hawaiian and a Democrat
from East Maui-Lanai-Molokai who met with the protesters and brought
them food. "This made a statement. It got the word out about the plight
of the Hawaiian people.''
The protesters said they wanted to
restore Iolani Palace as the seat of their government, and they plan to
meet there daily to conduct the business of a sovereign Hawaiian
government. They pledged to return Thursday, although they say they
won't restrict access to the palace again.
Kippen de Alba Chu, executive
director of Iolani Palace, said the building was originally used as the
royal residence of the monarchy, not as the seat of government.
Only after the overthrow of the
Hawaiian kingdom was the palace renamed as an "Executive Building'' to
show that the old rulers were powerless, he said.
"It is historically wrong for any
individual or group to state that the palace is to serve as a government
building,'' Chu said. "We welcome any group who would like to celebrate
the history of Iolani Palace and Hawaii's monarchy in a historically
appropriate manner that embraces all visitors.''
About 40 students from Halau Lokahi,
a Hawaiian-focused charter school, later joined the activists by blowing
conch shells and reciting Hawaiian chants. They came to witness the
palace occupation without getting directly involved in the protest, said
Hinaleimoana Wong, cultural director at the school.
"This is a crucial spot. This is
where much of the injustice took place,'' Wong said.
The last significant conflict at
Iolani Palace before Wednesday happened when sovereignty advocates
clashed with flag-waving Statehood Day celebrants trying to sing "The
Star-Spangled Banner'' in 2006.
On the Net:
Iolani Palace: http://www.iolanipalace.org
Hawaiian Kingdom Government: http://www.higovt.org
Ads aim to curb meth use in Indian communities
The Associated Press
Apr 27 14:52
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - An ad
campaign has been launched in hopes of raising awareness and curbing the
use of methamphetamines in American Indian communities across the
nation.
The National Congress of American
Indians, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and federal officials
unveiled the campaign at the annual Gathering of Nations Pow Wow in
Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Officials say it's the first national
meth prevention initiative developed specifically for Indian Country.
According to officials, American
Indians, Alaska Natives and native Hawaiians have the highest rates of
meth abuse among all ethnicities.
Navajo president pushes to reduce tribal lawmakers
By FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press Writer
Apr 30 07:43
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP) - Navajo
Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. is moving forward with a plan to reform
the tribal government and first on his wish list is reducing the Tribal
Council from 88 delegates to 24.
Shirley's staff filed paperwork
Tuesday with the tribe's election office that will start the process of
gathering signatures to put the question before voters. The petitioners
will have six months to collect about 16,000 signatures, but Shirley
said the goal is to get at least 25,000 in 90 days so that the matter
could go before voters in the November elections.
"The sentiment of the people, I feel,
is that they want to reform government,'' he said in a recent interview.
"I don't think a lot of them like the way our government is run.''
J.R. Thompson of the Navajo Nation
Election Administration said his office received the documents late
Tuesday. The names of petitioners need to be checked against voter
registration rolls before signatures can be gathered, and Thompson said
that could take a couple of days.
"Until we see that everything is
proper and in order, then they can proceed with it,'' he said.
Shirley announced the formation of a
government reform task force last week during the council's spring
session. He also wants voters to approve a line item veto that would
give him the authority to approve or reject certain budget items or
supplemental appropriations.
Former Arizona state Rep. Sylvia
Laughter, acting executive director of the Office of Navajo Government
Development, said while she supports a move to reduce the council, she
sees Shirley's push for a line item veto as a power play.
"The line item veto tells me that
he's not willing to work with the legislative body,'' she said. "At the
same time, the legislative body is just as much at fault. ... There just
seems to be a lot of difficulty in moving forward with anything.''
The executive and legislative
branches have been at odds recently over a proposed $36 million
legislative complex, discretionary funds and the draining of a capital
improvement fund.
While Shirley has exercised his veto
power on a number of bills he said included unnecessary appropriations,
the council hasn't hesitated to override those vetoes.
One of Shirley's biggest challenges
in reducing the council likely will come from the delegates.
More than half of the 88 tribal
lawmakers represent two or more communities, and downsizing the council
would cheat communities out of representation in the tribal capital of
Window Rock, said council Speaker Lawrence Morgan.
"The Navajo people should be worried
about the president's move,'' he said.
Navajos voted in a 2000 referendum to
reduce the council to 24 delegates, but the measure failed because its
language required a majority vote in each of the tribe's 110 chapters.
Delegate Leonard Tsosie said he
believes Navajo voters would be receptive to reducing the council and
having delegates work harder to get elected.
"It will be harder, more competition,
but in a way I don't mind,'' he said. "I think the Navajo people should
be afforded the competition of ideas on how to make better their own
lives, their community and the Navajo Nation.''
If a reduction is approved, only 24
delegates would be elected in 2010. The Navajo Board of Election
Supervisors would reapportion the delegates with approval of the current
council by August 15, 2009. If the council rejects the plan, the Navajo
president would have the authority to develop and approve a plan.
The line item veto would go into
effect immediately if approved.
Delegate Leslie Dele said Shirley
should have a plan before the issues are voted on.
The council created a reform office
shortly after the tribal government was reorganized in 1989 under three
branches -- the executive, legislative and judicial -- though Navajo
voters never ratified the change. Previously, a chairman served as both
the head of the tribal government and the speaker of the council.
The council voted late last year to
place the office under the administrative control of Morgan. Shirley
vetoed the measure, but the council overturned it.
Laughter's main focus has been
looking at the feasibility of establishing a Navajo constitution. The
Navajo Nation is one of a few tribes that rejected a constitution under
the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.
Shirley suggested that a constitution
could be part of government reform, but said "It's not my initiative.''
Dale Mason, a political science
professor at the University of New Mexico's Gallup branch, said there is
widespread support for reducing the council -- partly to save money --
but doesn't believe Shirley has the clout to pull it off.
"I think there are a lot of Navajos
that would like the Navajo government changed, but I don't think there's
a consensus on what it should be,'' he said.
Also of Interest
[Back to Top]
[Back
to Native American Village Home]
[Add
Native American Village to Your IE Favorites]
|
