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Note:  The opinions on this page may sometimes be inflammatory.  I may or may not agree with them (if I sign them, they're mine) or support their conclusions or propositions.  No matter.  These are opinions either by or about our People and as such, they should be seen, given thought, and discussion by our People.

 CNAC: Letter from Chief Smith - Get Out the Vote
"Cherokee Nation" <cherokee.nation@gmail.com>
Organization: http://groups.google.com
Saturday October 16, 2004 1:03 AM

Cherokee Nation Action Center Message
**********************************************

A special message from Principal Chief Smith:

Some of you have been surprised by my change of policy in supporting
individual candidates in state and federal elections. The change was
not undertaken lightly, or alone. The Cherokee Nation Tribal Council
and I have been motivated to support U.S. Senate candidate Brad Carson
with our votes and our finances because of the actions of his opponent,
Tom Coburn.

Tom Coburn has publicly attacked the Cherokee Nation. You can hear his
comments in his own words by going to our web site, www.cherokee.org.
You can hear him say that Cherokees "aren't Indians" and that our
treaties are "primitive agreements that should not stand in the way
of Oklahoma's future," and that he would stop tribal courts.

I believe that the Cherokee Nation is a part of Oklahoma's future, as
much as or more so than we are a part of Oklahoma's past. We employ
more than 4,500 people in our government and our businesses. We build
roads and fund public education. We provide health care to our
citizens.

Fortunately, Brad Carson realizes that the Cherokee Nation and other
Indian Nations are assets to Oklahoma.

Coburn and Carson have differences of opinions on many issues important
to the future of the Cherokee Nation:

*************
Issue: Indian Health Care
Tom Coburn: Coburn would cut funding to Indian clinics and hospitals.
Brad Carson: Carson supports funding Indian health care.

Issue: Tribal Courts
Tom Coburn: Coburn calls tribal courts a "nightmare."
Brad Carson: Carson supports sovereign Indian governments and tribal
courts.

Issue: Jobs
Tom Coburn: Coburn says Indian tribes are a drain on Oklahoma's
economy, ignoring the fact that all tribal businesses re-invest their
money in Oklahoma.
Brad Carson: Carson acknowledges the contributions of Indian
governments and business to Oklahoma's economy.

Issue: Tribal Government
Tom Coburn: Coburn says that tribes are bad for Oklahoma, and has no
respect for our treaty relationship.
Brad Carson: Carson understands the historic government-to-government
relationship between tribes and the United States.
*************

It's important for us to realize the choice that lies before us.
Federal policy toward Indian tribes changes from time to time, and if
Coburn is elected, there is no doubt that he will fight to cut funding
for Indian programs across the board.

That is why it is my duty as Principal Chief to fight for our people.
We can't sit still while such an anti-Indian candidate tries to
become the next Senator from Oklahoma, the home to more than 30 Indian
tribes.

The U.S. Senate race offers citizens and employees of the Cherokee
Nation a clear choice that will affect the future of our people for at
least a generation. A vote for Tom Coburn is a vote to cut services to
the Cherokee people and to tear up our treaty relationship with the
United States. A vote for Brad Carson clearly preserves our rights as
a nation.

I strongly urge you to vote for Brad Carson on November 2 for U.S.
Senate.

Sincerely,

Chad Smith
Principal Chief

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

The Cherokee Nation is holding a "Get Out The Vote" volunteer rally
this Saturday, October 16 from 3 - 4:30 p.m. to encourage participation
in the November elections.
The public is invited to attend. The Cherokee Nation will provide door
prizes and refreshments for volunteers.
The rally will be held at the Cherokee Nation Tribal Complex Veteran's
Memorial, located 3.5 miles south of Tahlequah on Highway 62. For more
information about Cherokee Nation's Get Out the Vote rally, please call
(918) 456-0671.

************************************************************
Wado,

CherokeeLink@cherokee.org
Webmaster@cherokee.org

I have ambivalent feelings about Indian gaming. That ambivalence is one reason I cede most gaming news to Victor Rocha (http://www.pechanga.net), who covers it well. It is undeniable that the tribes who have successful gaming operations now suffer less poverty, have better infrastructure, and more political influence with governments around them. Their children are going to college, and returning with medical, legal, and business degrees that help their own people, and often other tribes, avoid some of the misfortunes visited upon them in past years. Many are restoring their tribal language and culture, and supporting Native arts, which had been all but eradicated by the surrounding dominant culture. Unemployment is reduced (or irrelevant - like white investors, some tribal members have sufficient income through their share of casino ownership to make ditch digging for a wage unnecessary). 

It is also undeniable that in some tribes (and their situations are well known, so I'm not going to point fingers) greed has taken over. Tribal are "thinning" rolls, with some councils finding ways to exclude even their own relatives, something that hadn't been considered before individual profit percentages became a factor. The casinos and their backers have been accused of subverting legitimate government in some tribes. In worst cases, elders accuse officials who have risen to power in gaming tribes of oppressing traditional people. And there are accusations of graft, corruption, criminal influence, fraud, mismanagement, money laundering and worse -- what I'd expect of most communities dependent on a single profitable business with a lot of money rolling through it.

Similarly, I have mixed feeings about Indian smoke shops. I'm not real happy that the abuse of tobacco happens to be the activity their chosen business encourages, but it's their country and their business. And in most cases, tax-free sale of a "premium" item like tobacco is one of the few advantages Indian merchants have over their better-heeled, more established non-Indian colleagues off the rez.

So that said -- why am I concerned about a series of enforcement activities, such as the most recent assault on tribal officials at the Coyote Valley band of Pomo Indians? The editorial below explains it well. It doesn't matter whether or not I approve of the business involved. If Indians who felt abused from those tribes had asked for help from me as an individual or as a person who spreads news, I'd do that.  I have done it.  It's my right to have an opinion and voice it, and even my right to encourage other Indians to find ways to encourage

But I do NOT support a federally-sanctioned armed assault by state and local law enforcement on tribal officials and their families in their homes or businesses such as that described as happening in several recent cases. For Federal agencies to cede their authority to a state or local agency is an evasion of the sovereign relationship between the U.S. and the tribe, and if it is tolerated for any reason (regardless of how unsavory the activity in question might be), these incidents may become a precedent to support similar dealings with other activities -- at the whim of any government, local, state, or federal. This is not a precedent Indians can afford to let stand, and it's time for Indians, regardless of whether or not their personal or tribal toes have been stepped on, to rise and support the sovereign rights Indian nations do have. 

Opinion: Coyote Valley - The legacy of the Supreme Court’s “Inyo County” decision builds - Native Times

3/23/04 I have to wonder why it is that the media and public officials are coming down on Eloise Cobell to back off her lawsuit against the DOI and Judge Lamberth to back off his rulings because tribal schools aren't online.  Has anybody considered that the DOI might deserve to be taken to task instead?  Just exactly WHY can they not put up a firewall for their online access?  I have one.  The company I work for has one.  They refuse to certify that they have one.  

Next issue is the DOI's curious choices as to which of Judge Lamberth's orders they choose to slavishly follow and which they choose to ignore.  They shut down Indian schools' online access (and even prohibited them from accepting offers of assistance from other ISPs)  because, they say, they must.   The judge said they had to shut down everything.  "Not our fault" they whine.  "Talk to those awful Indians and that hardball judge  who want us to actually be honest trustees of their money!" 

The judge also explicitly ordered that the DOI not use the shutdown as an excuse to withhold payments of royalties.  The Navajo's royalty checks (and we haven't heard this, but I assume other tribes' as well) were "delayed" with the excuse that the online system was shut down.  Could it be that the DOI is miffed that they were caught in the game they played last time -- pulling parks and other services back online within weeks, and letting Indian royalties languish for over a year? 

3/9/04 Comment on the sentencing of Leonard Gregg.  The man himself left no doubt as to his guilt, or as to his rationale for setting the fire.  He was desperate for income, and thought he and his fellow firefighters could control the fire.  In his mind, that little fire he set was creating a job for himself and his fellow part-time firefighters, so they'd get a little bit of pay to feed their families.   He says he didn't understand that the fire could grow into the uncontainable conflagration that engulfed his tribe's reservation and stripped it of its primary resource, and devastated additional miles of surrounding countryside. And that's probably the truth.

Leonard Gregg has fetal alcohol syndrome.  He was born and grew up with intellectual and judgment limitations that would diminish his ability to understand what that fire could do, how easily it could get beyond his control, and how quickly it could destroy his own people's resources. The judge in his case has sent him to federal prison for the maximum allowed term.  And fined him an astronomical amount of money that neither Leonard Gregg nor his family (nor, for that matter, his entire tribe) is likely to see for a long time.  Leonard Gregg is Apache.

And yet -- the white tourist who set a "signal fire" that became the other half of this devastating fire because she had lost her way in the woods and was trying to get found, and who knew full well that fires were not permitted and why they weren't  -- she, was never even charged.  It's hard to imagine any reason for this disparity beyond racism.  

The one who completely understood what she was doing and the possible consequences, but was eager to be found (after only a couple of hours) goes free--isn't even charged!. And she lives in a distant area, so will never have to look at what she's done again, or face the local residents she's hurt unless she just wants to.  The one who had limited comprehension of the consequences, who was desperate to feed his family gets the book thrown at him.  And when he's released -- the devastated area will still be suffering from the effects of his actions.  That land is his home and he'll have to look at it daily.  Wherever he goes,. he'll be facing people, including his own kin, who suffered because of him.  But he's an Indian man.  Somebody has to pay with hard time, and he was chosen.

October 2003 Politics As Usual - By Janet

In the Native Times, there's an ongoing column called "The Whisper," based on rumor and speculation around Indian country (mostly Oklahoma). One bit in the 10/17 edition speculates on the reasons for Rep. Istook's decision (if he doesn't change his mind) to bow out of the Oklahoma senatorial race. Lots of possible reasons: the one Istook stated (for the good of the party...yeah, right. Nobody believes that one), Bush told him not to, other party powerful threatened to crush him. 

And then there's the interesting possible reason: Indians hate Istook as much as he has made it clear he despises Indians. Rep. Brad Carson, a Cherokee, is running for the same seat. In Oklahoma, Indians have the numbers, if they are sufficiently motivated to vote in block, to carry an election. Seems nobody wants the Indians to figure that out. Sorry boys, that cat snuck out of the bag in South Dakota last election in spite of the notorious wrangling among Indians in that state. (Do these politicians NOT read the papers?) Back to Istook -- he's getting a great dose of "consequences." There's a good chance he may have to run against Kelly Haney, yet another Indian, just to keep his congressional seat. Should be interesting...

As if that little assessment that Indians can and should be kept dumb and disorganized forever were not enough, here's another one.

In Connecticut, the Governor and the Attorney General have written a letter advising the state university law school not to accept funding from the two recognized tribes in the state or the Bureau of Indian Affairs to establish an American Indian Policy Center.

Ummm...so if the people most likely to be sending their kids to be educated and the agency with treaty responsibilities for Indian education shouldn't be contributing...who would be acceptable? I mean, remember Governor Terminator's not-to-distant rant about California's tribes not paying their fair share? Let's say the project gets paid for out of a general fund. Can't you hear the whining-- "why aren't the Indians paying for this since it's going to benefit them?" Bottom line is that if you cut off the most likely contributors, you kill the project, which is precisely the point. The only folks who need to know how to work the legal system are those who are NOT Indian. And nevermind who's paying their bills.
          

Dialogue about 1868 Treaty was missing - Opinion - By Charmaine White Face - Rapid City Journal
October 11, 2003 - When U.S. Sen. Tom Daschle took the stage at the recent "Gathering and Healing of Nations" meeting, whose purpose was to try to talk about the areas of agreement and disagreement between the whites and the Indians of South Dakota, I'm sure he never expected to see protest signs at the back of the room. Our signs read, "Uphold the 1868 Treaty/Uphold the US Constitution" and "Restore the 1868 Treaty." They implied that he and S.D. Gov. Mike Rounds did neither.

Which is true. They don't uphold either the 1868 Treaty or the U.S. Constitution. Article Six of the Constitution states that "Treaties are the Supreme Law of the Land," yet somehow these two elected officials seem to forget that. As I was the one carrying the "Uphold ..." sign, as soon as the opening session disbanded, and we had established a small area right outside the main door from which to hand out information, we were surrounded by Daschle aides and Secret Service people.

Monday, September 8, 2003

Canada's history and current action toward its indigenous peoples is about as schizophrenic as anyone can imagine, especially when the criminal justice system is concerned. On the one hand, some Canadian areas have established sentencing and indigenous criminal treatment programs that emulate traditional justice systems of the local tribes -- and they've been proven to work. 

Saskatchewan, however, continues to be a focal point for the "just us" variety of white man's "justice." That's the province where the local cops like to strand nearly unconscious Indian men on foot miles from any help in the dead of winter -- sometimes after urinating on them. That's where the legal machinery works hard to cover up such deeds when the dead Indian is found, rather than exposing these murders. Now we have an incredible "slap on the hand" sentencing of one of three perpetrators of the attempted rape of an Indian child and the acquittal of his accomplices. (see the 9/5/03 Globe and Mail story below, "Conditional sentence for sex assault on 12-year-old" for full details).

Let's turn this situation around a little and imagine how it would play with cultural roles reversed. Let create a pre-teen Saskatechewan girl and call her Sally White. She lives with her parents in local white middle-class community and she likes to hang out with her buddies. She's 12 and physically small (under 90 pounds, which is generally the low-end weight where adolescent changes begin to happen). Three Indian guys in their 20s pull over in their truck and entice Sally to come ride with them. They offer her beer and she takes it. After a few drinks, Sally is thoroughly drunk and so are the guys. Then each man in turn attempts to use this drunk child sexually, and she is only protected by their alcohol-induced inability to perform. 

I don't care HOW provocative our hypothetical little Miss White is -- and we've all see the 12-year-old-going-on-25 kids out there grasping at opportunities to seem more "grown up." To borrow a phrase from a friend of mine, grown men are supposed to be responsible enough to withstand the lures of children. If they can't do that, there's something wrong with them. Can any of us honestly foresee the future of three Indians who molested a white kid walking anywhere other than behind bars for a long, long time except maybe in the company of a local lynch mob or down a lonely road at the business end of her father or uncle's shotgun? 

Can any us of honestly imagine speculation admitted into evidence by a court hearing our hypothetical case that Mr. White may have abused Sally sexually? If such "evidence" was admitted, can we believe any judge would base a lenient sentence (much less acquittal) on the basis of a defense psychiatrist's testimony that IF Sally had been abused by her dad, she MIGHT have become a sexually provocative pre-teen who MIGHT have initiated sexual conduct herself? 

Canada's aboriginals are outraged about this, and so are women's groups. It's not hard to figure out that anti-Indian and maybe anti-female prejudice played a role in this judge's decision, and one doesn't need to be this child's relative, or even an Indian to "get it." Women see a foot in the door to the old "blame the victim" mentality. I don't know how much they care about an Indian child -- their comments make it clear they're afraid the judicial tendency to rape the victim again will spread beyond shrugging off the victimization of indigenous children. It will be interesting to see how an appeal plays (or even if it is attempted--remember, the prosecutor will have to initiate this, and he's part of that same Saskatchewan "just-us" system). 
 <the story> Conditional sentence for sex assault on 12-year-old - Globe and Mail
September 5, 2003 - Melfort, Sask. — A Saskatchewan judge drew accusations of racism Thursday when he said a 12-year-old aboriginal girl may have been a willing participant or even the aggressor in sexual activity with the 26-year-old man accused of assaulting her. Dean Edmondson will be confined to his house for two years rather than a jail cell after receiving what Justice Fred Kovach conceded was a rare conditional sentence for sexual assault. 

. . . . As Mr. Kovach read the sentence, supporters and family members of the now 14-year-old aboriginal girl stormed out of the courtroom shouting and accusing the court of racism. The girl's enraged father walked out of the courthouse and punched in the headlights of his own van before being led away by supporters. "The young white man was sitting there with the judge protecting him," a family spokesman told reporters outside court. 

Monday, September 1, 2003

I almost didn't run the story about honoring the Buffalo soldiers that follows, and I won't run it without explanation.  It's here because I think we need to be reminded of what U.S. heroes have done. .I have no problem with blacks in general, and no more difficulty celebrating black military heroes than I do Native American military heroes. If that were all there were to it, the story wouldn't have anything to do with Indians, so it wouldn't belong here anyway.

But it does have something to do with Indians. Buffalo soldiers were established by the U.S. military to commit genocide against the first legal residents of this continent, some of whom just happen to be my ancestors. While I don't blame blacks in general for what some of their ancestors did as part of the military service, I do have a problem celebrating heroes of any color who served as the prime operators of a deliberate U.S. policy to exterminate Indians. These buffalo soldiers are no more my heroes than were Custer or Chivington or Andrew Jackson. That they were good enough at fighting Indians to inspire being named by them is impressive. That we are still here, and still "in the way" when it comes to unimpeded looting of our land is a pretty clear sign that they ultimately failed at their first mission. 

A final note. West Point has been celebrating Buffalo Soldier heroics for 42 years now. Isn't that interesting? The U.S. finally got around to mentioning Native American code talkers whose World War II mission succeeded beyond anyone's expectation just a couple of years ago.

Janet

===========

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/today/education/stories/ed090103s1.shtml
West Point honors Buffalo Soldiers - Poughkeepsie Journal
September 1, 2003 - WEST POINT -- A small crowd gathered at the United States Military Academy at West Point Sunday to pay tribute to the ''Buffalo Soldiers.'' ''Every day that I live and work at West Point, I am reminded of our courageous Buffalo Soldiers, the difficult missions they faced and the tremendous heroism they displayed,'' Col. Andre Sayles, who heads the academy's electrical engineering and computer science department, said during the 42nd annual Buffalo Soldier Memorial Ceremony. 

Sayles said the ceremony, which was held at Buffalo Soldier field, had special meaning due to the connection the Buffalo Soldiers have with West Point. The group was created in 1866, and consisted of two all-black infantry and cavalry units. The unit earned its nickname from the Native American tribes they fought during the Indian Wars of 1867-1891. 

The comments below are from Frosty Deer (posted with his knowledge and permission)
Date: Sun July 20 3:12 PM
From: www.frostys.qc.ca <frosty@kahonwes.com> 
Subj: I asked this question. 

Newsgroup:alt.native

Sometime ago as the attack on Iraqi lands began I asked this question.

What if they did not have or find weapons of mass destruction?

I tried to compare that invasion to that of North America and how a government could give the people the information to get support for such attacks.

History has not changed in the methods used by powerful governments to over power people. It still goes on here in Canada and the United States when it comes to the dealings with native people.

And as if a change in government in the next election is going to change anything. It is the same crap year after year only the names
change on the doors. It is the one job in government that you can count on, "removing the names on doors and replace them." Good job
for a sign painter. Maybe TIME should do a story on the people that have that job....

Well off to check my garden and look for bugs with weapons of mass destruction to my tomatoes or cucumbers...

Save a Seal, so they can eat all the Cod Fish.... and any other fish they like...

From Wotanging Ikche, February 5, 2003 edition

 O'siyo Brothers and Sisters!
 
   In Canada, Indian Affairs Minister Nault continues to shove the Governance Act through Parliament,  knowing it is opposed and despised by the very and only people it will directly impact.  Let it be said here this act is nothing more than industrial strength window dressing for the racist and paternal Indian Act.  It is little more than an excuse to claim that the Nations it seeks to destroy asked for their execution.
 
   Meanwhile, in the United States another assault is underway in the Republican-controlled Congress to open up Alaska National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.  The evidence that the ecology and health of the area is already in a downward spiral from the effects of the invasion into the heretofore unopened ANWR seems to not faze the legislators who will be committing cultural, if not actual genocide against traditional Alaskan tribes. The only tribe on record as approving ANWR drilling is the Gwitchin, who are so desperate for funding to survive that they will sacrifice their cultural traditions for the jobs drilling and the  infrastructure to support it will create.
 
   This willingness to sacrifice cultural and natural treasures on the altar of corporate greed should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched this administration destroy (not a misused word here) years of  effort to save the environment.  I certainly haven't heard Secretary of  Interior Norton express any concern for the Native Peoples who suffer  (and die) while her department continues to withhold moneys it owes them for use of their resources.
 
   I send my prayers for the astronauts who died when Columbia broke up on re-entry.  I do not expect the full reasons to be told, but I do expect this sad event to be used to pump up flag waving - after an appropriate period of silence, of course.
 
 Dohiyi Ani Oginalii
 
        , ,        Gary Night Owl                   gars@nanews.org
       (*,*)       P. O. Box 672168                 gars@speakeasy.org
       (`-')       Marietta, GA 30007, U.S.A.       gars@olagrande.net 

Press release from United Native America
On January 25, 2003, at 10:00 am United Native America will be at the 
Oklahoma State Capitol to raise the Cherokee Braves flag. This act will be  done to show honor and respect to our true heritage. This act will also honor our ancestors who stood up for our civil rights against the US Government before, during and after the US Civil War against the Native Americans.

If during the act of raising the Cherokee Braves flag we are stopped or arrested, we are prepared to take the case all the way to the US. Supreme Court. No elected representative of the people has the right to call our true  history racist for standing up for our freedoms against the federal government trying to annihilate the Indian race regardless of what flag we defended our civil rights under!

Representative Cox of Oklahoma stated, any flag associated with the Confederate flag family was a symbol of racism, he states the Cherokee Braves 
flag is part of that family of flags.

Representative Cox also compares anyone fighting against the US government during the Civil war should be looked upon as the terrorist attacking America today.

I have met with Rep. Cox in his office, I asked him to apologize for his remarks comparing our ancestors to the terrorist of today, he tried to say he did not mean it that way. Well, he did, our ancestors did fight against the US. Government in the civil war under the Cherokee Braves flag! He is on record not allowing the Cherokee Braves flag to fly on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds because he states it's part of the Confederate flag family. So, he is stating Indians are to be compared to terrorist attacking America today for their part in the civil war!

Our demand for Rep. Cox to resign from his elected office still stands! His degrading remarks toward the Native America community is a national sick joke! Rep. Cox needs to get a true American history education!

I informed Rep. Cox that it was the US. Government that used small pox and  anthrax against the Native American community, the federal government shipped disease infected blankets and meat into the Indian tribes to kill as many men, women and children as they could, all this was done under the American flag we have today.

Rep. Cox stated to me, he did not know that the federal government did this to the Indians. I told Rep. Cox the state of Georgia had a state law stating that Indians could not live in the state legally on record up to 1980, he responded, he did not believe me, believe it Rep. Cox it's true American 
history!

The Cherokee Braves flag is a big part of the Cherokee people and their nation. The earliest fully documented Cherokee flag is that of the Cherokee 
Braves. This flag was presented to principal chief John Ross on October 7,  1861, by the Confederate Indian Commissioner, Albert Pike. 

A similar flag has been attributed to the First Cherokee Mounted Rifles, possibly pointing to the base design as a de facto national flag for the 
Cherokee Nation (Devereaux D. Cannon, Jr., The Flags of the Confederacy, An Illustrated History, [Memphis, TN: St. Luke's Press & Broadfoot Publishing, 1988], 64). This flag was the standard design of the first Confederate national flag, three horizontal stripes of red over white over red bearing a blue canton upon which a ring of eleven white stars appeared. 

The standard flag was modified for use by the Cherokees by the addition of a large red star in the center of the ring and that was surrounded by four 
smaller red stars. The five additional stars stood for the five "Civilized Tribes," while the large one specifically referred to the Cherokees. 

In red letters on the white stripe appeared the words "Cherokee Braves." This flag, employing black lettering is used today by the unrecognized "Southern Cherokee Nation" based in Georgia (note: this is not the same as the state 
recognized Cherokee of Georgia which employ a distinctive flag of their own).

In United Native Americas quest to bring about a federal national holiday for Native Americans, Cherokee Chief Chad Smith is unwilling to call upon the federal government to stop using our tax dollars to pay for Columbus Day and not having it as a national holiday, he has stated to me, that would be 
pitting the Indian community against the Italians. 

The Cherokee Nation does not recognize Columbus Day as all Indian nations do not. Seventeen states do not recognize Columbus Day as a state paid holiday, Oklahoma is one of those states.

Cherokee Chief Chad Smith's view on not wanting to change Columbus Day to Native American day is not in line with the vast majority of Native Americans to include most Americans.

Columbus is the equal of Hitler to the Native American community, there would never be a tax paid holiday for Hitler in America for the German American community, nor should there be a national holiday for Columbus in America!

United Native America has several holiday resolutions in support of bringing about a national holiday for Native Americans from Indian nations around the country, they all call for changing Columbus Day to Native American Day 
except the Oklahoma Cherokee Nation. The state of South Dakota has changed Columbus Day to Native American Day.

Oklahoma State representative Wayne Pettigrew has informed United Native America he will take action to bring about a state bill making the second 
Monday in October Native American Day, this is the date Columbus Day is recognized by the federal government.

United Native America will work with Rep. Pettigrew to bring about this bill as soon as possible! It's about time we had an elected Oklahoma 
representative to have the back bone to stand up and tell it like it is as to Columbus.

Representative Cox, United Native America recommends the two web sites listed below to start your education about the Native American community and their  true history.

www.UnitedNativeAmerica.com

American Indian Contributions to the World Main Page

Mike L. Graham
Founder United Native America
Email: MIKECHEROKEE@AOL.COM
1008 SE 10th St
Muldrow Okla. 74948
918-427-9894
Till the first of February 2003
Call 479-646-5561 Room 57

Just my opinion - January 8, 2003

The "WAAAAANHHHH" award goes to the editorial writer today in the Norwich Bulletin who quotes cries of dismay from communities surrounding tribal casinos. The complaint would seem to be that the casino remits a hefty chunk of proceeds to the state for the privilege of operating, but little of that chunk is spent on community issues near the casino. And the communities have issues. A significant number of people have moved to the community who are employed by the casinos, requiring more schools, more water treatment, more policing, etc. 

Okay. I'll grant that. Now crybabies, let's look at the rest of the country. From where I stand, it appears to me that what these whiners are griping about is a blessing. Their communities are filled with employed people who are paying some of the highest property taxes in the country (I had friend in Bridgeport once who was paying six times what I was in North Carolina for property taxes. His residence was valued at almost exactly the same as mine). They have tourists coming in spending money at their hotels and restaurants, buying gas at their gas stations and souvenirs at their gift shops. 

It's not unusual for businesses and industries to be offered deals by a community or state that exempts them from taxes for least a period of time. I've known since I was a child (and this was nearly half a century ago) that in my own area, the southeast, states and counties create all kinds of tax diversions, delays, islands -- whatever -- to induce corporations to locate there, knowing full well they will have infrastructure issues that the business will not directly pay for. Liggett & Meyers never paid property taxes for manufacturing and storage facilities in the middle of downtown Durham NC. I assume American Tobacco had a similar deal there. There are a couple of new car plants in Alabama who got exactly that kind of deal recently. Corporations sell these deals to the community by promising there will be more property taxpayers and consumers in the community (patronizing restaurants, stores, etc...and thus making them more profitable), and that, in turn, will increase the resources of the community. 

Communities in most of the rest of the country are struggling with unemployment -- they've got citizens and businesses going bankrupt, foreclosures are at an unprecedented high, and no relief in sight. They'd love to have the casino-community problems. (Well, I take that back. The state where I live doesn't have, and doesn't want, casinos. It's not about the money -- it's about "sin." This is the Bible belt, where gambling is deemed by the faithful to be one of The Bad Things Sinners Do. The Baptist faithful would rather their own communities suffer poverty than allow a sinful business in, but many of their congregations have no problem driving to...oh, let's say Qualla or the Silver Sun...to play the slots.