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Preparatory School Sends
90 Percent of Students to College
by Nathan J. Tohtsoni The Navajo
Times
FARMINGTON, NM - On a recent afternoon at Navajo Preparatory School in Farmington,
the student body was choosing class officers while administrators were busy getting the first week of classes in
order.
It's been 10 years since the Navajo Nation took control of Navajo Prep - the premiere college preparatory school
for Navajo high school students.
According to pamphlets provided by the school, nearly 90 percent of its graduates enroll in institutes of higher
learning. School officials credit summer enrichment programs and its staff for that success rate.
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Students Aiming High
by Twila Van Leer Deseret
News
FORT DUCHESNE — "Honoring the Past, Preparing for the Future."
That written objective for Uintah River High School includes pushing post-high school education for many of its
students, a departure from years in which few of the Uinta Basin's Ute Indian children looked at higher education
as a desirable option.
School has barely begun for the 2001-02 year, but already some students have their sights set on futures that include
more study.
"Anthropology or medicine," said Ashley Groves. And she knows which university
might offer the better opportunity, depending on her ultimate choice. "Brigham Young University has better
courses in anthropology, but if I decide on medicine, it will be the University of Utah."
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Where the Buffaloes Roam
by Rick Storm Amarillo Globe
QUITAQUE - Nine baby buffaloes bounce about Caprock Canyons State Park these days.
"We thought we had eight, but we had one fool us and got a late calf," said Danny Sweptson, Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department district manager. "It's hard to tell when they're pregnant."
Sweptson said calving season lasts from the end of June to mid-September, with a nine-
to 9-month gestation period.
The buffaloes belong to the historic State Bison herd, which was started in the late 1870s when pioneer cattleman
Charles Goodnight, sensing the demise of the great southern bison herd, roped two buffalo calves.
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Prairie Dog Conservation Efforts Making
Progress
by Claire Johnson of the Billings
Gazette
Plans to conserve black-tailed prairie dogs, a key animal in prairie ecosystems and
a candidate for federal protection, are progressing on several fronts.
More than 60 people from 11 states, tribes, federal agencies, landowners and conservation groups working on prairie
dog management converged at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center in Billings for a two-day session that concluded
Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the multistate conservation team, federal agencies and a tribal consortium held separate meetings.
The groups then met together Wednesday where each reported on their activities.
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Grade 12 Course Debuts at Kugaaruk School
by Denise Rideout Nunatsiaq
News
IQALUIT — Six high school students in Kugaaruk are studying poetry and reading adventure
novels in the school’s first-ever Grade 12 English literature class.
The course, English 33, made its debut at Kugaardjuq School when classes reconvened this week.
"We have a few people who are just starting to take some Grade 12 courses," Brian Johnson, the principal,
said proudly.
Up until now Kugaardjuq School has only offered courses up to Grade 11.
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Lummi School Sees Big Changes
by Kari Thorene Shaw, The
Bellingham Herald
Despite losing most of its teaching staff last June, Lummi Tribal School opened this
week with a reconstituted staff and a new curriculum.
This is a transitional year for the 200-student school, where teachers for the first time will use a new curriculum
built around Lummi culture. Superintendent Luke Enemy Hunter spent the past year developing the curriculum in anticipation
of a new $24 million tribal school facility, expected to open in fall 2003. Right now enrollment is down from last
year's 270 to about 200. Tribal officials anticipate 750 students when the new building opens.
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Woman Touring U.S. Lobbying Against Drilling
in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
by Stephen Siegfried Silver City Daily
Press
In a legend of the Gwich'in people, the land that is now the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge is the place where all life began.
Bobbie Jo Greenland, a Gwich'in woman who was interviewed by the Daily Press last week, is traveling the United
States bringing a message from her people opposing plans by the Bush administration to drill for oil and natural
gas in the refuge, home to the caribou herds that provide subsistence to the ancient culture.
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Earth Day: 2001-Forever
by Jamie Lockard
Earth Day…I’ve always considered it a silly tradition. Not a silly cause, mind you,
but a silly tradition. The reason, simply put, is my personal opinion that Earth Day should be everyday. Now, please
don’t misunderstand, I agreed whole-heartedly that it is a good cause and a good concept. At least, I felt this
way until recently.
I had a hard time endorsing an idea that supported conservation one day a year. It was similar to the "Great
American Smoke Out". I mean, if you are going to quit, it will take more than one day, and if you don’t have
any desire to quit…why would you stop for one day. Follow me so far? These things take commitment. Traditionally,
we, as a species, have a difficult time with commitment.
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Re-creating the Traditional Navajo Lifestyle
by Marley Shebala Navajo
Times
WINDOW ROCK - As she moved slowly around the exhibit of her husband's work, she smiled
often and sometimes burst into laughter.
Her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren followed her around the art show,
also smiling and laughing.
Minnie June McGirt-Tsihnahjinnie married Andrew Van Tsihnahjinnie in 1954 and they had seven children, three girls
and four boys.
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Remembering a Basket Weaver's Magic
by Ed Vogel-Las Vegas Review Journal
CARSON CITY -- The roof of the small wooden house a stone's throw from the state Capitol
has begun to sag. Trash is strewn on the floors of its two rooms.
Even when it was constructed by Carson City merchant Abe Cohn in 1895, the building wasn't much more than a shack.
But during the 30 years she lived here, Dat-so-la-lee was transformed from Cohn's lowly Indian maid into a celebrated
artist and the most famous Washoe in America.
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Tribe Casts Medals for Original Enrollees
by Ann DeFrange Staff Writer-News
from Oklahoma
"There wasn't even an Oklahoma when I was born."
At age 98, Daisy Blackbird has seniority over Oklahoma's statehood status, and that many years in this state have
cast her as a key player in some of the most significant moments and movements Oklahoma has seen.
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Young Heritage Leaders Program Recognizes
Contributions of Youth
by Newswire Canada
TORONTO, Aug. 23 /CNW/ - Ontario youth who make valuable contributions to heritage
preservation in their communities are eligible for recognition by the Ontario Heritage Foundation as part of the
Young Heritage Leaders 2001 program.
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Camp Places Focus on Native American Science
by Arlene Helderman, Staff Intern International Falls Daily Journal
Near BARWICK, Ontario - Trying to integrate traditional Native American science with Western
science is the aim of a summer science camp held recently at Kay-Nah-Chi-Wah-Nung Historical Centre.
The camp, which was run in two-day sessions from July 10 to Aug. 17, was sponsored by Seven Generations Education
Institute in Fort Frances, Ontario. Other organizations and individuals were involved, including Indian Northern
Affairs Canada, Rainy River First Nations, and the Historical Centre.
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First We Take Tasiujaq, then We Take the
World
by Alison Blackduck-Nunatsiaq
News
IQALUIT — A coordinator of the ambitious new Nunatinnit Nomadic Media Lab says the
vagaries of weather still trump the power of the Internet.
"Our main obstacles were never technical obstacles," Katarina Soukup said in a telephone interview from
Igloolik.
For five days, a trilingual group of Inuit and non-Inuit, young and old, used a satellite uplink to the Internet
to share their experiences of living on the land.
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Final Indian School Hooked Up To Internet
WASHINGTON, Aug , 2001 (U.S. Newswire via COMTEX) -- Secretary of the Interior Gale
Norton today praised the strong partnership that brought the last Bureau of Indian Affairs school online. Assistant
Secretary for Indian Affairs Neal McCaleb, teachers and students celebrated the final hookup today at the Chichiltah/Jones
Ranch Community School on the Navajo Reservation outside Gallup, N.M
"The last roadblock facing Indian children on the Information Superhighway was knocked down today," Norton
said. "The President has told us to leave no child behind, and BIA, working with incredible partners, has
turned that vision into a reality."
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Indigenous Takes Unique Road To Top
by Heidi Henson Press and Dakotan
HARTINGTON, Neb. -- They have toured the country, been to new and exciting places and
played with the musicians that some only dream of meeting. But now, before returning to the studio, South Dakota's
Indigenous will be performing in Hartington for the annual Hartland Festival.
"We pretty much play anywhere," said lead singer Mato Nanji in a telephone interview earlier this week.
"We try to give it our 100 percent."
Though they have played large venues this year, Nanji said he enjoys returning to the
smaller venues because of the intimacy the band gains from the crowd.
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Victims of Adult Onset Diabetes Getting
Younger
by Sharon Salyer Everett
Herald
While diabetes screenings are now being recommended for many people in their 30s, doctors
here and across the nation say the disease is becoming epidemic among a much broader group as well: anyone who
is overweight and doesn't exercise, beginning as early as adolescence.
"This is a huge health issue," said Charlein Pinkham, a certified diabetes educator at Providence Everett
Medical Center.
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The Long Journey Back to the Heart
by Lisa Gregoire Edmonton
Journal
When the talk turned political, Fernie Marty slipped out of the big top tent, walked
over to a tree and began pulling sweet grass from the roots. Then he sat in the sun, wedged the roots between his
heels and braided the shiny strands.
"When you are picking the medicine, it's like you can hear your ancestors talking," said Marty. "Out
here is our church." Marty exudes peacefulness. It drips from his warm fingers when he touches your hand.
He is a medicine man, a grandfather and a spiritual guide.
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NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AMERICAN INDIANS (NCAI)
WILL SPONSOR SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR "INDIAN TELECOM
TRAINING INITIATIVE 2001"
In conjunction with ITTI 2001 -a four-day conference that will provide critical information
to tribal leaders and others about ways to increase access to telecommunications services in Indian Country -,
the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) will sponsor a scholarship program in an effort to attract the
largest possible tribal attendance. ITTI 2001 will take place Sept. 23-26 at Bally's Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Exchange Carrier
Association (NECA)
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Advocates of Indigeous California Language
Survival
When Native American languages die, we all lose part of our heritage. Beyond the linguistically
important loss of grammatical, semantic and cognitive aspects of these native languages so much more is being lost.
Language carries embedded within it the cultural values of the society it sprung from. Unique world-views, oral
literature and whole bodies of knowledge disappear with each vanishing tongue. More importantly, language loss
is a human rights issue. The native communities of California have had their languages taken from them involuntarily.
Indigenous people view their languages as the bearers of their culture, transmitter of their ceremonies and record
of their history, their way of life and their very identity.
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