Midwest SOARRING
WINGS
Summer 1998
The Newsletter of
Midwest Save Our Ancestors Remains & Resources Indigenous Network Group
Prayer Vigil in Honor of the
Ancestors
Illinois, Welcome The
Kickapoo Home
Thoughts From the
President...
Herban Thymes: The Gift of
Bear
New Beginnings--A
Homecoming for the Plant Nation
The Bell Site--Digging for
Preservation
To Volunteer: The Inner
Drive For Harmony
A Wedding at the 4th Annual
Harvest Pow Wow
The Harvest Pow Wow--New
Dimensions
Consultation: The Right of
Native Nations
Kendall Scott--New Advisor
for Midwest SOARRING
New Lenox II--The Threat
Dissolved
Our two major events of the year were held in May, 1998, and both deserve the primacy of front page coverage. In contrast to our usual layout, therefore, we begin this issue with a two-column layout to honor the success of both events.
Prayer Vigil in Honor of the Ancestors
On May 2, 1998, National Prayer Day, 200 supporters gathered at the State Capitol Building in Springfield, Illinois, to call for Respect, Repatriation & Reburial.
Midwest Save Our Ancestors Remains & Resources Indigenous Network Group, (Midwest SOARRING) sponsored the vigil to promote dialogue between the state and the original Indigenous Nations of Illinois to achieve two goals:
Since the early 1840's, the ancestral remains of Native Americans have been collected for study, an activity that is spiritually devastating to the people. There are approximately 12,000 ancestral remains stored at institutions that need to be returned to Illinois soil, but there is no land set aside for reburial. Many states have set aside property years ago for the return of the ancestors, and a similar program is needed in Illinois. After futile years of attempting to negotiate with the state, SOARRING recognized the need to turn directly to the Creator for help, standing together with representatives of all colors, denominations and cultures to join in prayer for this essential need.
The Vigil began with a 1 1/2 block march from the State Museum to the west steps of the Capitol Building. The Research and Collection Center of the museum, located 1 1/2 miles away, holds approximately 6000 ancestral remains. At the steps, G.B.Starr-Bressette of the Bad River Band Ojibwe led a prayer and smudging, with speakers following, including Joseph Standing Bear, President of Midwest SOARRING; Cindy Bloom, Vice President of Midwest SOARRING; Pemina Yellow Bird, North Dakota Intertribal Reinterment Committee; David Lee Smith, Repatriation Officer and historian for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska; Preston Duncan, Meskwaki Nation; Michael Haney, Chairman of the Repatriation Committee for the United Indian Nations in Oklahoma; Chick Hale, Kickapoo Nation of Kansas; Karen Strong, Tlingit Nation; George Dorin, Chief of the Eagle Clan, Miami Nation of Indiana; Rich Wiater, Veteran of the Marine Corps; Regina Mahieu, Chairperson of the American Indian Council of Illinois; and Mitch Walking Elk; singer/songwriter, Cheyenne-Arapahoe/Hopi. The vigil ended with a round dance in celebration, with drumming by Eagle Ridge Drum, of Trivoli, Illinois.
Explorer Post 2780 from Alsip, Illinois, prepared and served a supper at 5 PM at the Armory Building across the street from the Capitol. A concert followed, completing the evening with Native performers, Mitch Walking Elk, a singer/songwriter of Cheyenne, Arapahoe and Hopi descent, and Duncan Grady, of the Siksika Band of the Blackfeet Nation, playing the flute.
Follow-up work with members of the state legislature and other parties who can be instrumental in achieving the above goals is in process.
We thank all those who prayed, spoke and participated in all ways, for our energies combined together create the climate for success.
IMAGES
March to the Capital
Eagle Ridge Drum - leading the way
Joseph Standing Bear Schranz - Midwest
SOARRING President on the Capital steps
"Illinois, Welcome The Kickapoo Home"
On May 30, 1998, with the sun at its height smiling down at the celebration, 2,500 visitors paid tribute at the Grand Village of the Kickapoo in LeRoy, Illinois. Crowded around the hay-ringed arena, participants gathered from across the Midwest to welcome over 350 Kickapoo members back to Illinois at the Homecoming of the Kickapoo Nation Pow Wow and Dedication of the Grand Village of the Kickapoo Park.
The Kickapoo were driven west via the Treaty of Edwardsville, signed in 1819, and the people had not resided in the state since 1832. The Grand Village at current LeRoy in central Illinois, had been the major village of the Kickapoo Nation from 1750 to 1832, hosting 2,000-3,000 Kickapoo (see Wings 10, page 1). At one time, the Kickapoo claimed 10 million acres of land in Illinois, nearly 3/4 of the state.
Introductions
Bill & Doris Emmett, owners of one half of the original square mile village site, introduced themselves and explained their sense of moral obligation to preserve the land and its burials. In 1991, they had purchased the first quarter of the section for their home, then purchased the second quarter to prevent the construction of a large-scale hog confinement in 1997. Deeply committed to honoring the original inhabitants, the Emmett's set aside one acre as the Grand Village of the Kickapoo Park. As a side benefit, current Illinois law prevents factory farm construction within 1/2 mile of recreational land. Approximately one-quarter of the village site remains in danger of development, therefore Joseph Standing Bear, President of the Midwest SOARRING Foundation, had suggested last year that the event be held to both welcome the Kickapoo home and draw attention to the need to protect the 240 acres of land.
History & Presentations
Kickapoo tribal members traveled from Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Mexico to attend the festival, most of them setting foot on the land of their ancestors for the first time. John Kaskaske, historian and elder of the Kickapoo of Oklahoma, provided a brief history of the nation, followed by introductions of tribal council members of both the Oklahoma and Kansas groups. The high point of the opening ceremony came with the announcement that the oldest Kickapoo elder, Marguerita Salazar, had traveled from Texas to be there. At least 104 years old, Marguerita's grandmother, Kelkowah, and her grandfather, Neepaha, had lived at the Grand Village, making Marguerita the last living link to the land. She was gifted with cloth and a beaded necklace by the Foundation, and a bronze arrow was presented by Ralph Duvick, President of the LeRoy Historical Society, in honor of the Kickapoo people who had endured the struggles of yesteryear so that the descendants could be present today. Ivan Dozier also presented packets of corn in the four colors originally grown in Illinois, so that the people could take part of their plant heritage back to their present day home territories.
Kendall Scott, Chairman of the Oklahoma group, and Fred Thomas, Vice-Chairman of the Kansas group, then introduced themselves and other key tribal representatives. Gifts of Kickapoo dance outfits and blankets were presented the Tribal Councils and Elders' Council to the Emmett's and Midwest SOARRING Foundation representatives, with the greatest honor fittingly bestowed on Bill & Doris Emmett, with Kendall's words, "As far as I'm concerned, you're Kickapoo."
The Gift of Dance
A Grand Entry of approximately 250 people, with half from the Kickapoo Nation in full regalia, hailed a new era for Illinois. As the Commemorative booklet stated emphatically: "The lands of Illinois territory have longed for her Kickapoo children to come home, awaiting the sound of their familiar footsteps, language, songs and dances. For over a century and a half, the ridges and valleys sensed a loss, and the rivers and creeks have flowed past trails and village sites with only the memory of Kickapoo life remaining. To the Kickapoo living today--welcome back to your homeland in Illinois! To the ancestors who lie buried at the Grand Village site, we pledge our ongoing work to protect and preserve your grave sites. And to the descendants of the Kickapoo yet to come, we promise our creative, consistent struggle to provide a land for you that knows it is blessed by your presence."
Tribal leadership expressed surprise and satisfaction at the large turnout of both tribal members and the general public, with between 7000-8000 participants over the weekend. The Kickapoo responded by sharing dances never before seen in public, such as the War Dance and Friendship Dance. To the thrill of all spectators, 104-year-old Marguerita led the Kickapoo-style "two-step," a courting dance for both men and women. The male dancers also appeared in face paint, a practice formerly reserved for private celebrations only.
Camping & Feasting
Between 200-300 Kickapoo, volunteers and week-end visitors camped in the beautiful hills and valley area to the south of the dance arena. The Emmett's, Illinois State University volunteers from the Native American Student Association, and many others worked for months preparing 110 acres for the event.
A sumptuous feast of 400 pounds of meat with 70 side dishes fed nearly 1000 people during dinner on Saturday afternoon. Serving trays were laden with buffalo, deer, elk, beef and wild turkey. On Sunday morning, a continental breakfast was served with food donated by Angelo & Cindy Padro and fruit from Scott Woeltje. Enough food was left over to provide another full meal for the clean-up crew on Sunday evening.
Performers Honor the People
Mitch Walking Elk, of Cheyenne-Arapahoe and Hopi descent, gifted the Kickapoo Nation with a song he wrote especially for the event, and entertained everyone during dinner break on Saturday. A South American flute ensemble called Chakras, also played, bringing music from south of the border in recognition of the unity of all indigenous peoples of the Americas. A Sunday pre-Grand Entry performance, in the light rock mode, was given by Wolf, Native singer from the Northwest coast.
Specials were headed by our Kickapoo guests. Brendan Fairbanks, a hoopdancer of Kickapoo and Ojibwe descent, performed on Saturday and Sunday, and a traditional give-away was done by head female dancer, Arlene Harrison.
Summary
The Homecoming event signifies a quantum leap in restoration for the state of Illinois and the US as a whole. In the hope of setting a precedent, Joe Standing Bear stated, "It was wonderful to see the people come back home, but this is not only for one tribe." He sees this as an example of what other communities throughout the state and the nation can do to restore balance to a land broken by disrespect and disunity.
To expel a nation from its homeland is a grievous wrong, whether by force or treaty. To desecrate the graves left behind is to further disrupt the natural cycle of life and death, and the ongoing survival of the people. On this special weekend, reparation began in the only way possible: through the respect of one group of people for the right to life and prosperity of another.
Only a Beginning
The Kickapoo people who attended were overwhelmingly in favor of repeating the event. At a post-pow wow committee meeting, Kickapoo representatives of Oklahoma and Kansas met with the Emmett's and Midwest SOARRING Foundation, and the date for the Grand Village of the Kickapoo Pow Wow was set for May 22 & 23, 1999. Plans for an even bigger event are underway, as the Kickapoo again renew their original connection with their homeland in Illinois.
Thoughts From the President...
Aanni, boozhoo,
May, from its beginning to its end, was a tremendous month filled with commitment and promise. The Prayer Vigil on May 2 showed the determination and support of our people in the struggle to regain the remains of our ancestors. Many thanks to all the fine speakers, and for the songs of the women warriors that helped to raise our spirits greatly that day. We also give thanks to Mitch Walking Elk and Duncan Grady for the evening concert and to Explorer Post 2780 for serving the feast. To know that we are all united in the common struggle gives me much strength daily, and SOARRING continues to SOAR.
What happened May 30 & 31 was far more than just a pow wow. The land we call Illinois had not seen before such a return of the original peoples and the thousands of supporters who came out to welcome them home. My special thanks goes to Marguerita Salazar, 104 years of age, who came all the way up from Texas in the heat to be there that weekend. Her grandparents had lived at the Grand Village, and Marguerita may be the only one of our Native peoples alive today to have spoken with other Natives living here when this state was still ours. Marguerita, I strongly embrace you for your courage and strength. It was an extreme pleasure and honor to see you dance, and an inspiration to all of our many people. Next year's Kickapoo Pow Wow is already in the works, and promises to be more traditional as the Kickapoo leaders plan the agenda. Thank you to Bill & Doris Emmett, the pow wow committees, all the volunteers and all participants for making this a landmark event in this state.
I would like to thank Tom Lynd and Nancy Jannasch who have recently resigned due to work loads and distance, for all the hard work, support and love you gave SOARRING and the people. Both of you are dear friends and members. I wish you much success and happiness, and we will wait patiently for your work load to lessen so you can come back!
As you will read in this issue, Ivan Dozier and I have been working to create a sacred plant program. What a wonderful feeling early Sunday morning, May 31, before the pow wow started, to plant our first plantings of sweetgrass along some of the wet areas of Bill and Doris' farm, adding still more to our historic weekend as one of the plant nations also came home.
As I have in previous years, I am asking again the help of each member during the month of September to double our membership. This can be accomplished quite easily if each member brings in a single new member, and our circle will grow. The membership of SOARRING is very important. The members' talents, good will and energy enables us to do the seemingly impossible.
Our Harvest Pow Wow is almost upon us again and we need many volunteers to help so that it can run smoothly. We have new sign-up sheets (see article this issue), so please give freely of your time, as each volunteer is very important for our continued success. There is always camping available for those who work the pow wow, and the additional time we spend together over the two days brings us closer as a family. Each volunteer is very important for our continued success, and is very much appreciated.
The land for the proposed model village seems to be on the horizon. I will write much more of this in the future.
The President of the American Indian Council of Illinois, Wally Strong, and his wife, Karen, will soon be leaving the state for a new position. On behalf of myself and SOARRING, we wish both of your a bright future and much success in all that you do, and thanks for all that you have done while here. To our new President, Regina Mahieu, we wish you much success in all your upcoming endeavors for the people.
I strongly embrace you.
Miigwech,
Joseph Standing Bear
Our traditional natural healing series is written by herbalist Cindy Bloom, Cherokee, currently serving as Vice President of Midwest SOARRING. The following article begins a series on Bear Medicine.
Herban Thymes: The Gift of Bear
by Cindy Bloom
A council meeting was held at the Center of Earth where the Anishinabeg people lived. The Upper Air Spirits asked for help from the Under Earth Spirits to save a strange, unfurred group of animals, The People.
The Flicker dispersed the messages by beating rhythms on anything he could find. The Otter climbed out of the Earth, helping Bear push the first tree of life from the Center of Earth to the surface. Otter's fur began to dry in the wind, and he wanted to return below immediately. Bear, who was curious about these unfurred animals, suggested they find them. They hadn't walked far when they came upon a group of The People. They were scared of Bear and Otter, and they took off running, leaving behind one small man child. Bear looked at the crying baby and thought, no wonder they need help. Not only did they not have fur, but they didn't have claws or fangs, and there were no berries anywhere for them to eat.
Bear scrunched down and slid down the sand dune. As he slid, the sand opened into a furrow, and there grew long vines with shiny green leaves and red berries. Bear reached over, picked a berry, and fed it to the man child.
The sun shone bright on the first cedar and bearberry vine, and upon the circles of water where Bear & Otter returned to Below. The flicker watched from the Tree of Life and began to tap out the first rhythm beat ever sounded on cedar.*
The Ojibwa refer to their most powerful medicine as Bear medicine. Kinnikinnick, the blend of herbs smoked in the pipe, is considered sacred because of its ceremonial use and powerful curing abilities. Its main ingredient is Bearberry. Arctostaphylos uva ursi is the Latin name for Bearbery which is native to North America and northern Europe. it was listed in the US Pharmacopoeia from 1820 to 1930. It is used by a dozen Indian tribes as a panacea. Uva ursi effectively treats urinary infections that are unresponsive to pharmaceutical antibiotics. It strengthens the urinary passages and is excellent in treating the inflammation of any part of the urinary system. Uva ursi is also a remedy for excessive sugar in the blood. It contains allantoin which is also effective in healing wounds. Traditionally, indigenous peoples have used this plant to treat bladder and kidney infections, kidney stones, cystitis, diabetes and female problems. (Animal studies show that bearberry stimulates the uterus, therefore pregnant women should not take it, nor should children under 2 years old.)
Across the many Native Nations, plants have often been named to honor Bear. A root used by the Cheyenne to treat diarrhea and the pain associated with it is call Bearfood. The Prairie Potawatomi use a root called Bear potatoes to heal wounds. This medicine was kept by the Bear clan in medicine bags.
Zoopharmacognosy, the fairly new science, verifies the use of plants by animals as medicine. The stories of many Indian Nations tell how the knowledge of medicine was received from the animals, and in like fashion they pattern their practices. Bear comes out of hibernation from the womb of the earth having fasted for many months. He or she emerges almost lifeless to the reawakening of life, health and spirit. In like manner, all animals are part of cosmogonic stories that explain the origins of Indian ideology, ritual and life ways. They teach us not just the causes and cures for disease but the nature of human existence. Through them, we know our relationship to the environment, all life, and the natural order that allows Native people to live in balance and harmony.
*Told by Anishinabeg elder, Keewaykinoquay, from stories the elder, Mideogema, told his grandchildren, 1923-1927.
References:
Giving Voice To Bear, by David Rockwell, Roberts Rinehart Publishers, 1991
Eastern & Central Medicinal Plants, Steven Foster and James Duke, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1990
Kewaydinoquay, Anishinabeg elder, classes in herbal medicine
Nick Cywink, Canadian Ojibwe, discussions of tradition
Warning: Wildcrafting (harvesting) plants on your own can be dangerous, as there are look-alike plants that contain toxic components. It is recommended that you buy already-processed herbs at a reputable herbal store. Presented herbal information is not intended to treat, diagnose or prescribe. Seek medical attention when necessary.
New Beginnings--A Homecoming for the Plant
Nation
by Ivan Dozier
The welcome home pow wow for the Kickapoo Nation marked a new beginning on many levels. To have representatives return to their ancestral village after more than 166 years was an exciting event. The new Grand Village of the Kickapoo Memorial Park was used as pow wow grounds for the first time and thousands of people gathered there at the Emmett's farm to witness the event. The homecoming emotions mixed with the color, pageantry and sounds of a good pow wow made this event memorable for all who attended.
Other new beginnings were taking place behind the scenes that weekend as another former resident was welcomed back to the area. Midwest SOARRING President, Joseph Standing Bear, led a small private blessing and planting ceremony to re-introduce sweetgrass on the Emmett's farm. Sweetgrass (Heirochloe odorata) once grew in Illinois along the banks of streams and creeks or at the edges of damp or marshy areas. Most of these wet areas have since been drained to make them more suitable for agriculture. So as American Indian people were being removed to make room for such "improvements," the changes eliminated the habitat for many of our sacred plants as well.
This sweetgrass re-introduction effort was part of an initiative we started a little more than a year ago. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) could help identify and propagate plants which are culturally significant to Native Americans. Sweetgrass is used by a large number of tribes, especially in the northern half of the United States.
The plants which were brought to the Emmett's farm and have supplied other sites in our program came from the Sault-Saint Marie Sioux in Michigan. The sweetgrass population on their reservation had been dwindling. NRCS helped build it back up by collecting plants and reproducing them in a greenhouse. Sweetgrass seeds are almost entirely infertile, but the Creator has provided the plant with vigorous rhizomes (underground stems) that can send up dozens of new shoots in just one year under ideal conditions. By carefully separating and replanting the new shoots, NRCS plant specialists were able to turn 15 plants into over 3, 000 in just a couple of years. David Burgdorf and Phillip Koch of the Rose Lake Plant Materials Center in East Lansing, Michigan, agreed to give us some of this sweetgrass for our initiative. To date, three hundred plugs of sweetgrass have been delivered and planted at more than a dozen locations throughout Illinois. Fifty of the plants were placed on the Emmett's farm.
For those who are familiar with the growth habits of the plants, finding sweetgrass can be difficult even if you know where it's growing. Unlike some of the other native grasses, sweetgrass is not showy. In the early spring, when the plant is only 8-10 inches tall, it sends up a small seedhead. Because the seeds are largely infertile, the plant doesn't waste much time on them. They quickly turn brown and deteriorate. Then later in the summer the sweetgrass extends into longer, graceful stems and leaves with a characteristic vanilla scent. Even then, the plants can be difficult to identify among the surrounding grasses. A Blackfeet friend of mine, who often collects sweetgrass with her Aunt in Montana, says you must be in the right frame of spirit and mind to find it.
We will try to maintain that proper spirit, and over the next few years revisit the plantings. Because sweetgrass is a native plant, we don't anticipate any problems of excessive growth or escape--most likely just the opposite--but we must be sensitive to all concerns. I just made a check on several of the plantings, including the Emmett's, and found things to be looking very good.
I'm pleased with this year's success because it was accomplished without even a shoestring budget, just a lot of dedication from people with a common spirit. We hope to build a stronger partnership between Midwest SOARRING and the NRCS, and can expand this program to include more plants, more growers, and an improved distribution and planting system. NRCS has already agreed to make more sweetgrass plants available for next year, but I need to get the request in by this fall. If you are interested in being a part of this project, let me know--every individual makes a difference.
Our efforts are small but they are not insignificant. With the grace of the Creator we can continue to find ways to mend the Circle of Life. Next year, we will once again honor the return of the Kickapoo to their ancestral home in Illinois. And with the coming of the new growing season, we will also welcome the return of our native plants.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in its programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs and marital or familial status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD).
To file a complaint, write the Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250 or call 1-800-245-6340 (voice) or (202) 720-1127 (TDD). USDA is an equal employment opportunity employer.
IMAGE
The Bell Site--Digging for Preservation
by Carl Kron
In mid-June, 1998, Preston Duncan, spiritual spokesperson for the Meskwaki (Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa) asked Midwest SOARRING to help with the survey of an historic battle site near Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
In 1716, French militia faced their first armed encounter with Natives in the state--at the fortressed fur-trading village of the Meskwaki. At 45 acres, this was the largest contact period settlement within the boundaries of Wisconsin, and one of the largest in the midwest. During another siege in 1730, the Meskwaki abandoned this site in response to the superior fire power of the French, and the location of the village was lost. Quarrying sand, gravel and rock before the turn of the century often turned up artifacts, but no one determined the identity of the site until 1959.
Borrow pits used during road construction in the 1950's continued to destroy the site, and no serious attempt to preserve the historical area began until 1990, when Jeff Behm, archeologist with the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, began a shovel survey to determine boundaries and the location of fortress walls. Thus began a serious endeavor to save the remaining intact as well as disturbed areas from further destruction. After four years of appeals to the Wisconsin State Historical Society, the Archeological Conservancy, and the land owners, intact preservation was clearly impossible. The land was zoned for upscale residential development. Mr. Behm then began a three-year program of excavating as much of the area as possible in order to save the artifacts and plot the burials.
To Volunteer: The Inner Drive For Harmony
by Clare Farrell
In the case of Midwest SOARRING, to volunteer in any capacity reaches into dimensions beyond linear time.
There are innumerable projects or causes that people volunteer for, some with intensive purpose, others with simple enjoyment and social rewards, and all with the intention coming from a central need: to give oneself by choice and not requirement, beyond reimbursement, for a common good. As the strictures of society more closely bind us to monetary-minded "everything has a price tag on it," the human spirit swells to break these prison walls and fly into the freedom of responsibility. This "ability to respond"--to the cries of mother earth and her children in all forms of creation--yearns for an outlet.
Midwest SOARRING is blessed to have volunteers who have chosen the sacred path of our mission for their time, energies, talents and love. To all SOARRING members, we wish to define the serious responsibility and true nobility of this venture. You are both cause and effect; due to the fragmented Eurasian mindset that has largely dominated the Eastern hemisphere for the last 4000 years, and now the Western hemisphere for 500, we are the product of a power/control paradigm. Within this view of reality, we experience the illusion of division--matter from spirit, past from present and future, man from woman, human from other life forms, time from space--structured within a hierarchy of the powerful and the powerless. You are proof that the spirit within will always emerge in the name of true Power to level the differences and erase the barriers. Every action taken for our mission to honor the ancestors and protect mother earth in the essential Native American way extends outward in a circle to both embrace and create the Whole--create it once again in the balance of its true reality.
This creation rebuilds attitudes, relationships and institutions, reaching across the dimensions like broad wings. And in the gentle folds of the protective expanse, we become the links of the once-broken chain, connecting the past to the present to the future. In mirrored response, we are gifted with the experience of unity across time and space--we bless, and are blessed.
In this light, we urge our volunteers to expend themselves, both at the Harvest Pow Wow and in the coming seasons, with your minds on the goal, your hearts in waiting, and your spirits ever in joyous anticipation.
A Wedding at the 4th Annual Harvest Pow Wow
Midwest SOARRING is honored to announce the marriage of Dawn R. Waymire, Choctaw Nation, and Robert A. Gagnon, Huron Nation, to be held in a traditional ceremony on Saturday, September 19, 1998, at 4:30 PM in the pow wow dance arena, immediately before the 5:00 PM dinner break. The newly-married couple will then provide our pow wow crew, drummers, dancers and vendors with the main course of our traditional feast. Everyone is invited to come with a good heart to this joining-together of two of our dedicated members, who chose this event to celebrate this sacred union.
The Harvest Pow Wow--New Dimensions
Midwest SOARRING has always sought to make the annual Harvest Pow Wow a valuable familial, communal and educational celebration that both represents our mission and goals as well as instructs all participants in traditional Native values. To this end, we have always had a Children's Corner and Animal Petting Center, information booth, Native artists and storytellers.
This year, we will add two new areas that will greatly enrich our event. A Spirit Fire will be coordinated by our emcee, John Red Blanket Gartland and Rick Red Horse, a spiritual gathering center of prayer and conversation well-known at many pow wows. We will also institute a Demonstration Center where artists and craft workers will show the methods and end products of their talents, such as beadworking, quilling and bow-and-arrow making from the North American traditions. In honor and respect for all indigenous peoples--recognizing that the boundaries that separate North and South America are merely human-made--we will also welcome a Mayan woman from Columbia who will share her vision of the unity of all indigenous peoples worldwide through her interpretative dance and theater presentation.
Join us for a deeply enriching experience!
We continue our interview series with Pemina Yellow Bird, a leading figure in the campaign to return ancestral remains and sacred and funerary object to tribes. Pemina is a citizen of the Sahnish and Hidatsa First Nations of Fort Berthhold Reservation, North Dakota, and is an official NAGPRA representative for her tribe. She was instrumental in the formulation of NAGPRA, which became law in 1990.
Consultation: The Right of Native Nations
SOARRING: During the last NAGPRA Review Committee meeting in January, Ronald Little Owl of the North Dakota Intertribal Reinterment Committee stated that it can't be said that remains can't be returned because a group isn't a federally recognized tribe. What was he stressing in this case?
Pemina: He was supporting the fact that human remains should go back to the earth by any route available. The position that we have taken on our committee, which Ronald Little Owl is a member of, is that there are many ways to determine whether or not a non-federally-recognized tribe still practices its traditions and beliefs. Once that is determined and we shouldn't let the fact that a tribe is not federally recognized prevent them from burying their own dead simply because the BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) doesn't recognize them.
SOARRING: During an interview with President Clinton, he is quoted as saying that the regulations must be interpreted in favor of Indian people. Please explain the context of this statement.
Pemina: That comes out of historic, US government Indian policy that defines trust responsibility. This means that the federal government and all of its agents--meaning, the Park Service, the Corps, the Bureau of Reclamation--are supposed to interpret laws in favor of Native people and as Native people would have understood them. This has been upheld time and time again by the Supreme Court. Clinton was just reiterating it in a statement about federal Indian policy. This covers wording in NAGPRA as well. Frank McManoman (Manager of the Archeology and Ethnography Program for the National Park Service) blatantly failed in his trust responsibility when he stated that nothing in NAGPRA precluded scientific analysis. That's not how Native people interpreted that law. There's a very clear statement in NAGPRA that says nothing in this act shall be construed as to authorize any new scientific study.
SOARRING: Shouldn't this policy which supports interpretation in favor of Native people apply to all consultation as well?
Pemina: Yes, tribes need to tell Federal Agencies what constitutes consultation on their behalf. The federal government has done it, now tribal governments need to do it. So many times they sit down with a federal agency, and the land manager or whoever they're meeting with says, "We're going to do this, this and this, and that's going to constitute consultation." If a tribe isn't comfortable with that, a tribe needs to say, "No, we're going to do this, this and this, and that's going to constitute consultation." They need to take a more aggressive, assertive stand to define what they want instead of meekly accept the federal governments definition. They also need to define what level of influence that consultation is going to have.
One case in point: tribes in North Dakota met with the Bureau of Reclamation at their local office out of Bismarck. The Bureau handed out a 30-some page document and we saw in there the level of analysis they intended to conduct on our ancestral remains in their possession. This included a radiography, which requires the bones to be coated with a liquid radioactive substance so that they could be photographed with a certain camera film. We would never agree to anything like that, but we were in no part of the decision making process that decided this.
SOARRING: Were you able to stop any of that once you were told about it?
Pemina: No, all we did was say we were opposed to it, and that was probably the last time we met with them. They've probably just basically been doing what they want, and we still haven't repatriated anything from them. Yet after that, they were able to tell people, "We consulted with the tribes in North Dakota."
SOARRING: Are these remains identified?
Pemina: Yes, but they are still able to do this because NAGPRA told them to develop an inventory, and they're using broad brush strokes to define that, saying they need to use radiography, make plaster casts, use radiocarbon dating, and other methods to do that. We are busy putting out prairie fires here, there and all over the place, and then don't have the time, energy or resources to follow up and put pressure on them.
SOARRING: Has the NAGPRA Review committee made any progress regarding the disposition of unaffiliated remains?
Pemina: Marty Sullivan announced that the University of Arizona was going to host a forum that would involve a hand-picked panel of experts to hammer out a compromise on unaffiliated remains, but that the numbers of people in attendance were going to be kept small, or they'd never get anywhere. On the last day of the NAGPRA Committee meeting in January, in my last round of public comment, I said that they'd better invite tribes to that, because nobody but our official tribal delegates can negotiate on our behalf. I'd like to urge people to write the NAGPRA Review Committee to insist that they do the right thing and invite NAGPRA representatives from all the tribes because nobody can negotiate on behalf of tribal government. Without that, this forum would constitute an unconstitutional waiver of tribal sovereignty and our rights to represent ourselves. They may get some tribal membership that they alone choose, but these would be the ones they want--the yes-men--not a true representative voice.
SOARRING: What do you feel should be the approach to finally reach a decision on unaffiliated remains?
Pemina: The message we've got to send out really loud, and do it over and over again, is that the decision for treatment and disposition of unaffiliated human remains and burial property must stay in the hands of the only people on the planet who can claim cultural affiliation with those human remains, and that's Native people. The easiest and best way to do that is to form regional, intertribal coalitions of elders and NAGPRA representatives who can decide together what will be done with the human remains from each of their regions. The tribes can belong to more than one coalition, because many tribes were forced to move and relocate, and they have ancestors buried in a number of places.
SOARRING: Thank you, Pemina.
To be continued.
Immediately prior to publication, SOARRING learned the following information from Tim McKeown, Team Leader of the National Park Service (NPS) Archeology & Ethnography Program ( oversees the NAGPRA Review Committee).
The Heard Museum, along with the Arizona State Law School, submitted a proposal to host a small meeting of individuals representing the major tribal, museum, and archeological constituencies, trying to come up with some recommendations on the disposition of culturally unidentifiable human remains. The meeting is proposed for the fall, with recommendations obtained there going to the review committee at its next meeting. That meeting will probably be in Santa Fe in December.
Wingtips: News Briefs
by the Editorial Staff
Kendall Scott--New Advisor for Midwest SOARRING
We are proud to announce the addition of Kendall Scott, Tribal Chairman of the Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma, to the Midwest SOARRING Advisory Board. We were honored to have Kendall request to be included as the fourth member of the board after the successful Homecoming of the Kickapoo Nation Pow Wow on May 30 & 31, 1998.
Kendall was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and was raised and schooled in Harrah, Oklahoma. He became involved with the tribe at the early age of 11-years-old, helping as a language interpreter and in every way he could serve, therefore gaining the trust of the people from the beginning. In 1983, when he was in the 11th grade, he moved to Texas, where his mother had been raised, and lived there until 1991, again working for the tribe, now as a bilingual teacher's aide. When he moved back to Oklahoma in '91, he was appointed Vice-Chairman, then became Chairman in 1994, and was re-elected in 1997.
At 31-years-old, he is the youngest Chairman ever elected, and his accomplishments assure him of being in continual demand by his nation. One of his major concerns has been health care, and he is responsible for establishing the Oklahoma Kickapoo's current health clinic, with a health care center under construction this summer. He has also established a tribal housing authority.
We welcome Kendall as another important voice in the development of policy and practice for the state of Illinois, according to our mission. His input will support our efforts in all aspects of the struggle to protect burials and sacred sites, as our work will directly affect the preservation of his own nation's former Grand Village in LeRoy, Illinois.
* * *
New Lenox II--The Threat Dissolved
by Clare Farrell
The plan for the proposed water main to bring Lake Michigan water to New Lenox, Illinois, had originally cut through 600 feet of the New Lenox site (see Wings, Spring 1998, No. 12). Midwest SOARRING had vigorously opposed this plan due to the possibility of impacting unmarked burials. Three Miami ancestors had been removed from the site in 1993 during construction of the Sanctuary Golf Course. The 19-acre site is nominated and eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, and probably contains more burials.
In response to objections from Midwest SOARRING, state agencies and other organizations, John Nowakowski, Mayor of New Lenox, had pledged to re-route the line if any graves were encountered. By the end of April, however, a new plan had already been drawn up that altered course to avoid most of the significant area. The plan routed the water main across only 200 feet at the northern edge of the site, an areas with little expected archeological material. By mid-May, a simple 2-day survey revealed and removed two small pits with scant artifacts, similar to those found throughout the site several years ago. No burials were discovered.
Midwest SOARRING applauds the decision of the town of New Lenox to act with sensitivity to Native people's concerns during this project. We thank Mr. Nowakowski for his understanding and pro-active approach toward bringing this dilemma to a satisfactory conclusion.
Email Midwest SOARRING at soarring@juno.com
This page hosted by 
Get
your own Free Home Page
