American Indians seize moment to make political voices heard

American Indians seize moment to make political voices heard

By Nancy Lofholm
The Denver Post
Updated: 07/02/2008 01:51:39 PM MDT

“It will be a memorable occasion and a red-letter day for native people from across the country.” Frank LaMere, chairman of the Native American Caucus American Indians will be making the political pilgrimage to Denver this August in numbers that represent a zenith for tribal involvement in national politics.

Four superdelegates and an estimated 150 delegates — a doubling from the past two conventions — will represent the Zuni, Choctaw, Winnebago, Comanche, Blackfoot, Kiowa and more of the nation’s 563 tribes. Delegates and superdelegates say they expect to showcase their culture along with their growing political clout.

Indians, who represent 1 percent of the U.S. population and whose political affiliation is an estimated 80 percent Democratic, also have an unprecedented six members on the Democratic National Convention Standing Committees. Read more

Racism, Justice and the American Indian

Racism, Justice and the American Indian

By midwestgirl, published May 08, 2006

When you hear the word racism, most people think African American or Hispanic, but there is an entire other race in America who experiences racism on every level without a real sense of justice, it is the American Indian.

Racism far exceeds just Black and White or Hispanic and Asian. Often forgotten, the American Indian has experienced a great deal of racism in the U.S. Although many people overlook or excuse the behavior of the settlers, this was the home of the Indian person before Christopher Columbus. Contrary to popular belief, Columbus didn’t discover America, the Indians already called this vast land home. And like any person defending their home or territory, the Indians fought to keep their land.

It seems a shame that Native Americans are subjected to racism in a country they called their own but they do. According to the United States Department of Justice Native Americans experience per capita more than twice the rates of violence as the average American citizen. American Indians are the victim of violence by those of other races more than 70 percent of the time. So why then is the public not aware of these statistics? The answer is horrifyingly simple; the justice system in American does not tend to care for its native sons and daughters.

According to the US Department of Justice, by its own admission, crimes against Native Americans go unpunished. The DOJ states that some of the problem is reporting of crimes by Indians but they also admit that police officers nationwide are not equipped with the knowledge needed to fight crime within Native tribes. Many times because tribal members live on reservations local police are reluctant or discouraged from responding to crimes against natives. In affect this leaves many tribes policing themselves that can get difficult because of tribal ties.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/30521/racism_justice_and_the_american_indian.html

WALMART EMPLOYEES & TOWN RACIST AGAINST AMERICAN INDIANS!

WWW Virtual Library – American Indians

WWW Virtual Library – American Indians
Index of Native American Organizations on the Internet

Funding sources

Federal Funding Resources from the Office of Minority Health Washington, DC

Organizations

Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada (ANAC) Ottawa, ON

Abya Yala Fund for Indigenous Self-Development in South & Meso America (AYF) Oakland, CA

Alberta Native Friendship Centre Association [Can't connect 8/18/08] Edmonton, AB

Alliance for California Traditional Arts Fresno, CA

Alliance for Native American Indian Rights Nashville, TN

Alliance of Tribal Tourism Advocates Lower Brule, SD

American Indian Center of Chicago Chicago, IL

American Indian Chamber of Commerce of California [Missing 8/18/08] Los Angeles, CA

American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Oklahoma Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK

American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Texas Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX

American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin West Allis, WI

American Indian Coalition and Resource Center of Indiana Indianapolis, IN

American Indian Community House New York City, NY

American Indian Cultural Support Lutz, FL

American Indian Family Center St. Paul, MN

American Indian Library Association Minneapolis, MN

American Indian OIC Minneapolis, MN

American Indian Policy Center St. Paul, MN

American Indian Program Council Denver, CO

American Indian Research and Policy Institute Saint Paul, MN

American Indian Scouting Association

Americans for Indian Opportunity Santa Ana Pueblo, NM

Association For American Indian Development Seattle, WA

Association of American Indian Physicians Oklahoma City, OK

Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Dartmouth, NS

B. C. Aboriginal Fisheries Commission [Can't connect 5/05/07] West Vancouver, BC

Baltimore American Indian Center Baltimore, MD

Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle Barrie, ON

Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits San Francisco, CA

Bristol Bay Native Association Dillingham, AK

Buffalo Trust Santa Fe, NM

California Indian Basketweavers Association Nevada City, CA

California Indian Storytelling Association Fremont, CA

Chattanooga InterTribal Association Chattanooga, TN

Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority Brimley MI

Circle of Life Thunderbird House Winnipeg, MBUpdated

Coastal Carolina Indian Center & Association Emerald Isle, NC

Colombia Human Rights Network

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission Portland, OR

Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador

Council for Indigenous Arts and Culture Albuquerque, NM Hobart, IN

Council of Energy Resource Tribes Denver, CO

Dakota-Lakota-Nakota Human Rights Advocacy Coalition

Denver Indian Center Denver, CO

Ecuadorian Federation of Evangelical Indians (FEINE) Quito, Ecuador

Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Saskatoon, SK

First Nations Confederacy of Cultural Education Centres Hull, QC

First Nations Development Institute Fredericksburg, VA

Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre Fort Erie, ON

Four Worlds International Institute for Human and Community Development Lethbridge, AB

Ginew/Golden Eagles Program Minneapolis, MN

Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission Odanah, WI

Guilford Native American Association Greensboro, NC

HONOR Our Neighbors Origins and Rights   Bayfield, WI

Indian Metis Friendship Centre Prince Albert, SK

>Indigenous and Peasant Federation of Imbabura (FICI) Otavalo, Ecuador

Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism Wadsworth, NV

Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals Flagstaff, AZ

Instituto Cientfico de Culturas Indígenas Quito, Ecuador

Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. Sault Ste. Marie, MI

Intertribal Bison Cooperative Rapid City, SD

Intertribal Timber Council Portland, OR

Inuit Art Foundation Ottawa, ON

Keepers of the Sacred Traditions of Pipemakers Pipestone, MN

Keepers of the Treasures Washington, DC

Lakota Student Alliance Kyle, SD

Lakota, Dakota, Nakota Spiritual Group Jameson Annex, South Dakota State Penitentiary

Lone Wolf United Indian Tribal Association [Missing 11/23/08] Updated

Manitoba Association of Friendship Centres Winnipeg, MB

Métis Nation of Ontario Ottawa, ON

Michigan Indian Elders Association Ishpeming, MI

Midlands Intertribal Empowerment Group

Midwest Treaty Network Madison, WI

Minneapolis American Indian Center Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce Minneapolis, MN

Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center Minneapolis, MN

Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council Billings, MT

National Aboriginal Forestry Association (NAFA) Ottawa, ON

National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers (NATHPO) Washington, DC

National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development Mesa, AZ El Monte, CA Seattle, WA

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Washington, DC

National Council of Urban Indian Health Washington, D.C.

National Environmental Coalition Of Native Americans (NECONA) Prague, OKUpdated

National Indian Business Association Washington, DC

National Indian Child Welfare Association Portland, OR

National Indian Council on Aging Albuquerque, NM

National Indian Education Association Alexandria, VA

National Indian Health Board Washington, DC Denver, CO

National Indian Youth Leadership Project (NIYLP) Gallup, NM

National Indigenous Media Arts Coalition

National Native American AIDS Prevention Center Oakland, CA

National Native American Bar Association Stafford,  VA

National Native American Law Enforcement Association Washington, DC

National Native American Veterans Organization Oklahoma City, OK

National Society for American Indian Elderly Phoenix, AZ

National Society for American Indian Elderly Phoenix, AZ

National Tribal Development Association Box Elder MT

National Tribal Environmental Council Albuquerque, NM

Native American Art Studies Association Tempe, AZ

Native American Association of Germany (NAAoG)

Native American Business Alliance Bingham Farms, MI

Native American Community of Kansas City Kansas City, MO KS

Native American Cultural Center of California San Francisco

Native American Emergency Medical Services Association Fort Meade, SD

Native American Finance Officers Association Green Bay, WI

Native American Fish & Wildlife Society Denver, CO

Native American Heritage Association Rapid City, SD

Native American Journalists Association Vermillion, SD

Native American Recreation & Sport Institute (NARSI) Indianapolis, IN

Native American Support Group New York City, NY

>Native American Water Association Minden, NV

Native Energy Charlotte, VT

Native Financial Education Coalition Rapid City, SD

Native Nashville Nashville, TN

Native North American Travelling College Cornwall Island, ON

Native Veterans Association of Northwestern Ontario Thunder Bay, ON

Nipmuc Indian Association of Connecticut Thompson, CT

Northern California Indian Development Council Eureka, CA

Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute Olympia, WA

Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Olympia, WA

Odawa Native Friendship Centre Ottawa, ON

Oklahoma Native Business Development Center Tulsa, OK

Oneida Nation Arts Program Green Bay, WI

ONMAKED , Congreso General de la Cultura Kuna (CGCK) Ciudad de Panamá

Ontario Federation of Friendship Centres Toronto, ON

Oregon Native American Chamber of Commerce Portland, OR

Organization of American Communities [Missing 6/25/08] Monterrey Bay, CA

Oyate working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed  Berkeley, CA

Phoenix Indian Center Phoeniz

Pine Ridge Chamber of Commerce Pine Ridge, SD

Red Earth, Inc. Oklahoma City, OK

Rocky Mountain Indian Chamber of Commerce Denver, CO

Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science Santa Cruz, CA

Southeastern Native American Alliance (SENAA)

Southern California Indian Center Fountain Valley, CA

Southern Manitoba First Nations Repatriation Program Winnipeg, MB

Southwestern Association for Indian Arts, Inc. (SWAIA) Santa Fe, NM

Spotted Eagle, Inc. Milwaukee, WI

Tanasi Máterá Indigenous Circle Nashville, TN

ThreeHoops.com , Philanthropy, People, Power Fredericksburg, VA

Tohono O’odham Utility Authority (TOUA) Sells, AZ

Tuscarora Center Emerald Isle, NC

Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas de Cotacachi (UNORCAC) Cotacachi, Ecuador

Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs Vancouver, BC

Union of Ontario Indians North Bay, ON

United Native America

United Urban Indian Council Oklahoma City, OK

Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation The Hague, The Netherlands

West Virginia Native American Coalition

Wordcraft Circle of Native Writers and Storytellers Albuquerque, NM

Yooperaid

Native American beliefs clash with rural district's dress code

Long hair doesn’t cut it, school says
By ERIC HANSON Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
July 14, 2008, 11:25PM

ERIC KAYNE CHRONICLE: Adriel Arocha’s parents consider his waist-length hair “sacred” and contend it reflects Native American religious beliefs.

A small rural school district in Fort Bend County and a determined mother are tangled in a dispute over hair. Michelle Betenbaugh says her 5-year-old son, Adriel Arocha, wears his hair long because of religious beliefs tied to his Native American heritage. But the leaders of the Needville school district have strict rules about long hair on boys and don’t see any reason to make an exception in his case. The dispute illustrates a problem American schools have faced for decades: how to balance individual student rights against rules designed to maintain order and discipline in the classroom. Read more

Plugging for Smudging

Plugging for smudging

Student paves way for lasting policies protecting Native religions

By Staff: Rob Capriccioso

Story Published: Nov 1, 2008

Story Updated: Nov 3, 2008

STEVENS POINT, Wis. – Students at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point have been working overtime to allow American Indians to smudge within their residence halls and on campus.

Graduate student Rory Griffin, Menominee, has led the charge as a result of misunderstandings he and other Native students have faced when practicing aspects of their religions.

During his undergraduate years at Rocky Mountain College in 2004, he faced an incident involving city police after a campus residence hall official mistakenly thought he was smoking marijuana in the courtyard. Read more