Quapaw Tribe contracts with firm employing disabled people

INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY
WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008 13
Quapaw Tribe contracts with
firm employing disabled people
Pays premium price
for ‘perfect fit’
By Brenda Austin
Today correspondent
QUAPAW, Okla. – The Quapaw Tribe
of Oklahoma recently celebrated
the opening of its new casino: the
Downstream Casino and Resort,
located just off the I-44 corridor
at the spot where Kansas, Missouri
and Oklahoma meet.
The tribe’s new hotel, boasting 222
upscale rooms, luxury one- and twobedroom suites, penthouse-level
VIP lounge, valet parking, wireless
check-in and other high-end amenities, is set to open Nov. 1. As part
of offering its clients the best service and helping to provide more job
opportunities for people with special
needs, the tribe signed a deal with
Joplin Workshops at about $3 million a year to provide hotel laundry
services. The Quapaw, as part of the
contract, also helped purchase more
than $100,000 of new equipment to
handle the increased workload.
Joplin Workshops Executive Director Ron Sampson said, “We are in
the people business. Our partnership with the tribe will have a major
impact on our local community.
We already process about 600,000
pounds of laundry a month and will
be processing another 30,000 pounds
once the hotel opens. Our laundry
service currently employs 178 people
with disabilities. ”
Joplin Workshops employs area
citizens with disabilities in their
assembly and packaging enterprise
and laundry services. In addition
to serving the needs of the Downstream Hotel, Joplin Workshops also
has contracts with 10 local medical
“When I left after my first visit, I
sat in my truck and cried like a baby
because I was so sympathetic to
those people. It provides a necessary
service for us and we pay a premium
price that is higher than some of
the bids we got for our laundry. The
fortunate thing about being a tribe,
as opposed to a business, is that you
get to make decisions that are community-based sometimes and not
always profit-based.
“It has turned out to be a great
relationship. There are Native people
“By using their laundry service, we are helping support
an important segment of the community.”
– Sean Harrison, Downstream Casino Resort
public relations liaison
centers to provide laundry services.
Quapaw Chairman John Berrey
said, “The Quapaw Tribe is very community oriented. What impressed
me the most about the whole organization is the large community of
handicapped people in our area that
you never see. When I toured the
workshop, it seemed like a perfect fit
for the tribe.
that are members and part of our
society that I was told work at Joplin Workshops. When we delivered
our first 50,000 pounds of laundry
in preparation for the hotel’s opening, it was an amazing and gratifying
feeling. It makes me feel good about
what we do.”
See Quapaw page 14
Tribal gaming more
solvent than
commercial gaming
By Rob Capriccioso
Today staff
Photos courtesy Downstream Casino and Resort
With the recent opening of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma’s Downstream Casino and Resort, outside community
businesses saw a chance to increase revenue as well. Joplin Workshops, a laundry service that employees 178
people with disabilities, is one business that is benefitting. With Downstream’s luxury hotel set to open
Nov. 1, Quapaw and Joplin Workshops have signed a deal at about $3 million a year to provide laundry
services to the hotel.
Mashantuckets, UAW to discuss
labor contract under tribal law
By Gale Courey Toensing
Today staff
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. – The
Mashantucket Pequot Gaming
Authority and the United Auto Workers have agreed to talk about negotiating a union contract under tribal
law rather than federal labor law.
The breakthrough announcement
came in a brief statement issued
jointly by the two parties Oct. 10.
“The UAW and the Mashantucket
Pequot Gaming Enterprise agreed
to enter into discussions for 30 days
to determine if an agreement can
be reached to bargain under tribal
law without either party waiving
any of their rights or legal positions
under the National Labor Relations
Act,” the statement said.
The parties further agreed that
they will not discuss the status of
negotiations during the 30-day
period.
The jurisdictional dispute over
whether tribal laws or the federal
National Labor Relations Act of 1935
apply to employees on sovereign
tribal land has been waged since
last November, when poker dealers
at the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation’s Foxwoods Resort Casino
voted 1,289 – 852 to join the United
Auto Workers union. The federal
law is administered by the National
Labor Relations Board.
The tribal nation has supported
employees’ right to unionize, but
says they must do so under tribal
labor laws.
“It’s an issue of sovereignty and the
rights of Indian tribes, and the federal government’s promises to them of
self-government and sovereignty over
economic affairs on their sovereign
tribal land,” Richard Hankins, an attorney for the nation, told Indian Country
Today in a recent interview.
The NLRB certified the union vote
in June, but the nation has declined
to negotiate a contract, insisting that
federal labor laws and the NLRB had
no jurisdiction on tribal land.
The union has filed a number of
complaints against Foxwoods since
the vote was certified, and in August
the NLRB issued a complaint alleging that the tribal nation broke the
law by refusing to negotiate a contract with the union.
On Oct. 2, the NLRB ordered the
nation to bargain with the union.
The nation filed an appeal the same
day in the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the 2nd Circuit in New York.
The labor conflict at Foxwoods
See Contract page 16
NEW YORK – It’s no secret that the U.S.
gaming industry has experienced record
declines in 2008, but financial analysts note
there are big differences between the solvency of tribal gaming compared to commercial gaming. Some say financial institutions are largely not taking into account the
differences, which has resulted in a more
difficult – and perhaps unjust – borrowing
climate for Indian gaming.
Research indicates that the nation’s economy is in recession – and the tribal gaming
market, which has sometimes been viewed
as recession-resistant, is more likely than
in recent years to experience the harmful
effects of a recession.
Already, tribal gaming operators are in
crisis mode, with some
making decisions to
halt additions,
ATMORE, Ala. (AP) – A 17-story casino
hotel being built by the Poarch Band of
Creek Indians rises out of the rolling farmlands and pine forests of south Alabama,
an eye-catching tower for the
stream of travelers on Interstate 65.
To make sure drivers
don’t miss the casino exit, a
65-foot-high electronic sign
AP Photo/Press-Register, Mike Kittrell
The Wind Creek Casino and Resort, a development effort by the Poarch Band of
Creek Indians aimed at drawing tourists and boosting the area’s economy, is shown
under construction July 25 in Atmore, Ala. The 17-story casino hotel rises above the
interchange of Interstate 65 and Alabama 21, and is taller than any building between
Montgomery and Mobile along the north-south corridor.
are performing much
better than their
corporate counterparts
in terms of not defaulting
on loans and maintaining
positive financial ratings.
Craig Parmelee, a top credit analyst at the
Standard & Poor’s financial research corporation, said it is not surprising that some
tribal enterprises are struggling, given what
he calls “very challenging” economic times
for the gaming market in general.
In a recent conference call sponsored
by the Native American Finance
Officers Association, he said loan
default rates of casino operators
are expected to rise to about 5 percent by August 2009. Some experts
foresee default rates rising as
high as 9 percent by next
photo courtesy seneca allegany casino
Record declines are being seen throughout the gaming industry in 2008 – including tribal
gaming. Many tribes are feeling the economic crunch and are laying off employees or
halting expansions. The biggest difference between tribal gaming and the rest of the
gaming industry is solvency.
will beckon them to the site, which tribal
leaders hope will gain a reputation as a
destination resort.
The casino is to be filled with 1,600 electronic bingo games in halls enlivened by
the flashing lights and ringing bells of a Las
Vegas-style gaming palace. But that kind of
high-stakes gaming still isn’t allowed in Alabama – on or off tribal land, at least not yet
– a divisive issue for years between state officials and Alabama’s only federally recognized
American Indian tribe.
Still, the hotel’s gleaming glass tower
looming over the rural landscape has raised
expectations that the tribe’s investment will
pay off.
“Atmore now has a skyline,” said real estate
agent Ann Gordon, whose office is near the
hotel. “It’s hard for a small town to change.
See Poarch creek page 14
Tribal gaming enterprises
See Gaming page 18
Poarch Creeks’ new casino
hotel changes local landscape
By Garry Mitchell
Associated Press
tighten spending, and even lay off employees. Casinos owned by the Mohegan Tribe
of Connecticut, the Seneca Nation of New
York and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa Indians have been among the
bellwethers of the downturn in the Indian
country gaming market.
Car loan lender
ordered to pay
reservation residents
By Victor Morales
Today correspondent
LAS VEGAS – A car loan
lender made an agreement
with the federal government
to give $170,000 to 34 people
in damages stemming from a
government complaint alleging the lender rejected loan
applicants because they lived
in Indian reservations.
The consent order filed at the
U.S. District Court of Nevada
Sept. 30 originated from claims
that Nationwide Nevada of
Las Vegas and its parent company, Nationwide Acceptance
Corp., violated the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act by rejecting
applicants at various car dealerships in Nevada and Utah from
at least January 2003 through July
2005, according to the order.
On its Web site, Nationwide
Acceptance boasts to be one
of the largest independently
owned finance companies in
the nation. The Chicago-based
corporation contends it was
unaware of discrimination
practices and did not condone
it, according to the order.
“Our company has a strong
commitment to fair credit lending. We regret that two of our
See Lender page 15
14
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008
NAFOA honors two pioneers for
their lifetime achievements
Sycuan Capital’s
Martin elected
to board
Staff reports
CHICAGO – In honor of their
outstanding careerlong financial leadership that facilitated
the progress and ultimate success of their respective tribal
nations, Clinton Pattea and
Alida Thomas were awarded
lifetime achievement awards by
the Native American Finance
Officers Association at its 26th
annual conference Sept. 4 at
the Palmer House Hilton.
Pattea, president of the Fort
McDowell Yavapai Nation and
a 44-year member of the tribal
council, is known as a visionary at Fort McDowell and
was instrumental in a multitude of capacities in steering the nation from poverty
to prosperity. Thomas began
her career with the Gila River
Indian Community in 1982
as a clerk/typist in accounts
payable, and five years later
was appointed community
treasurer – a position she held
for 21 years. Her responsible
leadership in that post was,
in large part, what enabled
GRIC to emerge from a “bleak
financial situation” to the success story it is today.
“When I first started, we
sent our accounting out [to
a private firm], and people
would say, ‘I wish we had a
computer,’” Thomas recalled
of her early years there. But
she urged GRIC not to overburden itself with debt, and
her disciplined management
and investment in economic
development led the community to financial success.
“This was the first time I ever
received a national award,” she
said of the NAFOA honor. “That’s
why I was so grateful. It meant a
lot to me to be recognized by
financial people.”
NAFOA
President
Bill
Lomax, senior portfolio manager for the San Manuel Band
of Mission Indians, delivered
a speech outlining the “State
of Tribal Finance” in which he
spoke about economic conditions affecting Indian country,
NAFOA and the National Congress of American Indians’ joint
stance on the Pension Protection Act, tribal access to taxexempt financing, the housing crisis, energy, the banking industry and the ongoing
“credit crunch.”
Native American Finance Officers Association President Bill Lomax presented a NAFOA Lifetime
Achievement award to Fort McDowell President Clinton Pattea during the association’s 26th annual
conference Sept. 4 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago.
Poarch Creek: Hotel
from page 13
But we will see a lot of growth.”
She said she expects the tribe’s
Wind Creek Casino & Hotel and
a city-owned business park
planned across Highway 21 from
the hotel will create the type of
interstate-exit growth familiar
around the United States.
“Poarch Creeks’ businesses
have provided economic
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stability to both our tribal
members and our neighbors.
We have grown to be the largest employer in the county and
a major employer in the state,”
said Poarch Creek Chairman
Buford L. Rolin.
Lumber dealer David Swift Sr.
said Atmore will still have its
rural roots, a slow-paced lifestyle
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NAFOA’s conference was
attended by nearly 450 delegates, including 240 tribal
leaders and finance personnel
from 93 tribes and tribal entities. The event was funded by
48 sponsor-participants. Forest County Potawatomi and
the Gun Lake Tribe served as
tribal co-chairs of the event,
while Eagle Opportunity,
JP Morgan Chase, Dorsey &
Whitney LLP and GVA Marquette Advisors were corporate co-chairs.
“I was elated to have so
many tribal leaders and
finance team members joining us in Chicago,” Lomax
said. “It’s clear once again
that NAFOA is the go-to organization for all financial and
accounting matters related to
tribes, their business enterprises and their investments.
Indian country does not operate in a vacuum, so having
many tribes from across the
nation and the leaders in
the financial services industry convening to share their
knowledge and experiences is
immensely valuable to all.
“NAFOA continues to act
as the primary Indian country finance and accounting
educational resource as well
as the financial watchdog
guarding tribal financial sovereignty. Our membership
is growing dramatically and,
thanks to all of our devoted
sponsors and participants,
we are beginning to enjoy the
degree of funding that will
enable us to start doing so
much more to benefit all of
our members.”
Winning election to NAFOA’s
five-member board of directors as first vice president was
VaRene Martin, principal relationship manager at Sycuan
Capital Management (Sycuan
Band of the Kumeyaay Nation).
Martin is a member of the
Thlopthlocco Tribal Town of
the Muscogee (Creek) Nation
of Oklahoma.
“It is an honor and privilege
to have been elected first vice
president of NAFOA,” Martin
said. “NAFOA and its continued success has been one of
my passions. I have proudly
told NAFOA’s story as I travel
throughout Indian country
encouraging the tribes to use
the education that NAFOA
offers to build the financial
strength of tribal governments
and their enterprises. It is truly
a blessing to be a member of
this board.”
Re-elected NAFOA board
members were Secretary Terry
Cornelius (member and chief
financial adviser of the Oneida
Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin), and Treasurer Ryan Claw
(member of the Navajo Nation
and treasurer for the Tohono
O’odham Nation).
Also highlighting the conference were keynote addresses by
Elouise Cobell and NCAI President Joe Garcia. The event began
with a two-hour discussion on
how tribes and their business
enterprises can navigate the current economic downturn. The
panel was led by Mike Lettig of
KeyBank. participants included
Patrick Arbor, former chairman
of the Chicago Board of Trade; W.
Ron Allen, chairman at Jamestown S’Klallam and president of
the Washington Indian Gaming
Association; Elke Chenevey of
Merrill Lynch; Lou Frillman of
GVA Marquette Advisors; Mark
Jarboe of Dorsey & Whitney LLP;
David Johnson of the U.S. Interior Department; Bonnie Pullen
of the Colusa Indian Community; and Lance Morgan of HoChunk Inc.
NAFOA is a nonprofit, 501(c)3
financial educational organization governed by a five-member,
all-Native board of directors,
elected by membership.
built around farming, livestock,
timber and two state prisons,
but he expects the area around
the casino will become a large
commercial center, extending
its reach into the town about
four miles away.
For some, the development
hasn’t been a plus.
John Spence, who has operated the Dixie Catfish Shack
for 11 years at a site about a
mile from the hotel, said the
increased traffic on the highway during construction hasn’t
helped his restaurant.
But he wasn’t sure why. He
said his business may have been
hurt by high gas prices and
the slumping economy, or “it
could be people gambling” their
money away.
“I hope it picks up,” he said.
The existing Poarch Creek
gaming center, which has been
a smaller-scale bingo operation
for years, offers dining. But the
new hotel’s planned 300-seat
restaurant will be a bigger competitor with its expansive buffet
and a separate 84-seat upscale
dining room.
“You can’t have something
that big without making a major
impact on a small town our
size,” said Mayor Howard Shell.
But he expects the increased
number of casino customers to
provide a lot of economic “fringe
benefits” to the city’s restaurants
and other businesses.
In Mobile, a legal dispute also
has implications for the gaming
future of the Poarch Creeks, a
tribe of about 2,600 that gained
its federal recognition in 1984.
The Poarch Creeks are descendants of a segment of the original Creek Nation, which once
covered almost all of Alabama
and Georgia.
Alabama Attorney General
Troy King has a suit pending
in U.S. District Court in Mobile
seeking to strike down regulations that allow the Interior
Department and American
Indian tribes to bypass a state’s
refusal to negotiate a compact for
casino-style gaming. The Poarch
Creeks’ lawyers have asked that
the suit be dismissed.
A Texas case with similar
issues also has been litigated
and awaits a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling that might affect
the Alabama tribe.
The legal battle hasn’t
stopped the Poarch Creeks from
replacing their old Creek Bingo
Palace with the multimilliondollar high-rise and planning
a sister hotel on tribal land at
Wetumpka, near Montgomery,
where the tribe operates another
electronic bingo casino.
The new Atmore casino on
a 35-acre site is expected to
open in January, followed by
the 236-room hotel in February.
A water feature – a small lake
– is expected to be completed
in June, the final stage of the
opening. An amphitheater with
seating for 2,000 is planned at
the water’s edge.
The Memphis, Tenn.-based
Flintco Constructive Solutions, a
privately held American Indianowned company, is building the
hotel in partnership with Martin
Construction Inc. in Atmore.
Creek Indian Enterprises construction manager Jim Angus
said the project has created
about 350 construction jobs.
When completed, some 750
workers are expected to operate the complex, working three
shifts around the clock.
Latoya Williams-Staples,
who works in the casino, said
she expects business will pick
up because the hotel will be
visible “up and down” the interstate. The complex is about 50
miles from both Mobile and
Pensacola, Fla.
“It’s a great opportunity for
Atmore,” she said.
A manufacturing city split
by railroad tracks and home
to two state prisons, Atmore
has seen its population shrink
from 8,046 in 1990 to 7,427 in
2007, as residents relocated for
jobs. Hurricane Ivan’s tornadoes ripped through here in
2004, but repairs have given
the city a spruced-up look.
“Everybody is excited about
the hotel. It will put Atmore
on the map,” said Freddie
Hobbs, 56, a lifelong resident. “It will help keep young
people around.”
Photos courtesy Native American Finance Officers Association
NAFOA’s Corrine Wilson presented a Lifetime Achievement award to
retired Gila River Indian Community Treasurer Alida Thomas.
Quapaw: Jobs
from page 13
Sean Harrison, Downstream Casino Resort
public relations liaison, said he admires Joplin
Workshop’s work ethic and enthusiasm. “We saw
workers smiling and happy to be there, grateful
to have some work to do. It is a great community
organization that serves an important purpose. By
using their laundry service, we are helping support
an important segment of the community.”
According to Harrison, the casino’s front
entrance and driveway is located in the state of
Missouri, the parking lot is in Kansas and the
casino and hotel are in Oklahoma. “If you look at a
map, you will see where the three states all touch:
that is where we are. We adhere to Oklahoma gaming laws because the casino is in Oklahoma, but
only by a few feet.”
When the casino opened July 5, with five restaurants and two bars, it broke a record for speed
of construction on a facility of its size and scope,
according to Berrey. Construction took 10 months
and 26 days. It was also the first time that a Native
casino opened with all of its restaurants and bars
operating at full capacity.
“It is the jewel of the region and we are extremely
pumped that we were able to get it done before the
downslide in the market, which makes it difficult
for tribes and other entities to get the sort of capitol it takes to get into this business on such a big
scale,” he said.
The casino opened about a month ahead of
schedule and millions of dollars under budget.
“We have opened up a new dynamic environment
for tribes in terms of developing a resort gaming
facility. We believe we have opened the doors for
the other 38 tribes in Oklahoma and other tribes in
the country in terms of gaining financing and the
respect of Wall Street,” Berrey said.
The casino offers 1 million square feet of building space, a 70,000-square-foot gaming floor, conference center, entertainment, salon and spa with
massage, oversized outdoor swimming pool, sun
deck with Jacuzzi and fire pit, fitness center and two
18-hole championship golf courses at Eagle Creek
Golf Club at Downstream Casino Resort.
Photo courtesy Downstream Casino and Resort
Quapaw Chairman John Berrey
15
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008
Supplier diversity
leaders headline speakers
at NMSDC conference
Staff reports
NEW YORK – The National
Minority Supplier Development
Council announced Oct. 13 the
headline speakers for its 2008
Annual Conference and Business Opportunity Fair in Las
Vegas. The four-day event will
take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center beginning Oct.
26, with more than 7,000 people
expected to attend. The theme
of the conference is “Minority
Businesses and Corporations:
Playing to Win.”
“Our roster of speakers represents a broad cross-section of
industries, and we are pleased
to have them join us to offer
their insights and perspective
on minority supplier development,” said NMSDC President Harriet R. Michel. “The
business arena is global, and
minority business owners continue to grow more competitive
in the global marketplace. This
year’s speakers will share their
experience and proven strategies to help them succeed. ”
The conference program
opens Oct. 27 with a Power
Breakfast featuring Craig B.
Clayton Sr., director and diversity strategist at the International Institute for Diversity and
Cross-Cultural Management at
the University of Houston’s C.T.
Bauer College of Business. He is
also the founder of the Greater
Houston Diversity Coalition and
the Center for Diversity and Cultural Competency.
The one-day Business Opportunity Fair follows the Power
Breakfast. After a short ribboncutting ceremony, the doors open
to the exhibit hall featuring more
than 860 booths – the perfect
venue for a day of deal-making
with Asian, black, Hispanic and
Native businesses. The conference
program resumes with Monica C.
Lozano as the featured luncheon
speaker. She is the publisher and
CEO of La Opinión, the nation’s
largest
Spanish-language
daily newspaper.
On Oct. 28, Peter Berezin, vice
president and global economist
at Goldman Sachs, is the speaker
at the International Power
Breakfast. He is an expert on
global macroeconomic trends,
emerging market prospects and
equity market developments.
Constance Mitchell-Ford,
real estate bureau chief at The
Wall Street Journal, will moderate a plenary session titled
“Real World Supply Chain
Management.” Session speakers John Campi, executive
vice president of procurement
at Chrysler LLC; Paul Novak,
CEO of the Institute for Supply Management; and Quentin
L. Roach, senior vice president
and chief procurement officer
at Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.,
will discuss how buying organizations work closely with
their suppliers as they evolve
into efficient supply webs of
intricately linked companies.
Linda Johnson Rice is the
featured speaker at the luncheon. She is the president
and CEO of Johnson Publishing Co., the world’s No. 1 black
publishing company.
Oct. 29 opens with a Power
Breakfast featuring Shahid
Khan, president of Flex-N-Gate
Corp., a leading global auto
parts manufacturer with more
than 48 manufacturing plants in
Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Spain and the U.S. Terry J.
Lundgren, chairman of NMSDC
and chairman, president and
CEO of Macy’s Inc., will moderate a plenary session titled “The
View from the Top: The Future
of Minority Business Development.” Featured speakers are
Terrence Lanni, chairman and
CEO of MGM Mirage, and Jeffrey
W. Shaw, CEO of Southwest Gas
Corp. They will discuss global
business trends and how minority businesses add value for
corporate America.
Sergio Sotolongo, founder,
chairman and CEO of Student
Funding Group LLC, is the featured speaker at the Oct. 29
Business Consortium Fund Luncheon. The firm is a full-service
student loan origination company and the first such minority
business enterprise.
The Business Consortium
Fund Inc. is a minority business
development company created
by NMSDC to provide contract
financing to NMSDC-certified
minority businesses through a
network of local participating
banks and NMSDC affiliates.
The conference also includes
28 workshops covering such
topics as “How Minority Supplier Development Fits into the
Strategic Planning Process,”
“International Growth and
Competitiveness,” “More Value
From Supply-Chain Planning”
and “Going Green: Factoring in
the Corporate Goal.”
Panelists represent more than
55 corporations such as AT&T,
BP Amoco PLC, Bank of America,
Boeing Co., Chevron, Chrysler
LLC, Cisco Systems, Coca-Cola,
ConocoPhillips, Dell, Exxon
Mobil, Ford Motor Co., General
Motors Corp., Home Depot,
IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft
Foods, Kroger, PepsiCo, Pfizer,
Procter & Gamble, Raytheon,
Shell, Sprint Nextel, Toyota, UPS,
Verizon and Wal-Mart.
The conference is co-hosted
by the Nevada Minority Business Council, one of NMSDC’s
39 local affiliates around the
country. For additional information on the conference or
minority business development, call the National Minority Supplier Development
Council at (212) 944-2430 or
visit www.nmsdc.org.
Ground blessing held near
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Photo courtesy Three Affiliated Tribes
In keeping with traditional tribal practices, the Three Affiliated Tribes held a ground blessing ceremony
Oct. 3 on allotted lands northwest of Mandaree, N.D., that has been designated a potential drilling site.
Staff reports
MANDAREE, N.D. – A special
ground blessing ceremony took
place Oct. 3 on allotted lands
northwest of Mandaree – something that has never been done
before at a potential drilling site
for oil.
Perry Brady, Three Affiliated Tribes tribal historic
preservation officer, has been
reviewing potential oil well
site locations for the past 16
months. Brady ensures there
are no disturbances of tribal
cultural or possible historic
ceremonial sites on or near
the potential drilling sites.
The ceremony was a unique
gathering of the Seismic Land
Lender
from page 13
loan officers had misinterpreted
our policy with respect to a
small number of applicants. We
look forward for the matter to
be resolved,” Nationwide Acceptance President Martin Less said
in a telephone interview.
No evidence supporting
the government’s claims was
considered in the agreement;
rather, both parties reached the
accord to avoid a protracted
and costly litigation, according
to the order. The order is not
Management Inc., the company that handles the leasing
process for seismic exploration; CGG Veritas, which gathers the seismic data; and staff
members from the office of
Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Marcus Wells Jr.
Brady explained during his
past months of examining and
reviewing sites that he does not
recall the traditional tribal practices of offering special prayers
and blessings to the Earth before
any type of digging or exploration began. “It has always
been our Indian way of life to
give thanks and offer prayers to
nature and Mother Earth before
we take something from the
Earth,” he said.
In keeping with tribal practices and traditions, Brady
said he felt it was important
to go ahead and offer a prayer
at the particular site once he
confirmed there were no findings of tribal cultural or historic disturbances.
The actual location of the
ground blessing is a part of
preparation for mineral exploration by CGG Veritas Land Inc.
of Houston. Brady expressed
his appreciation to Seismic
Land Management Inc. and
CGG Veritas for allowing him
to offer prayers and also for
respecting the local beliefs
and traditional practices of the
people of the Mandan, Hidatsa
and Arikara tribes.
a declaration that the lender
violated the ECOA.
“The consent order settled
legal matter. Both parties agreed
to terms of consent decree, but
it still has to be approved by the
court,” said Scot Montrey of the
U.S. Department of Justice Civil
Rights Division.
In addition to the monetary
damages, Nationwide Acceptance must modify its written nondiscrimination credit
policy to include that residency at reservations will not
be a valid basis for rejection.
It must establish and pay for
a credit opportunity training
program for its employees.
And the company must give
access to application records
to the U.S. and submit reports
for the next two years.
Montrey declined to provide any specific details of the
cases. Many of the cases likely
involved applicants living in
at least the five reservations
that were listed as recipients
of the order. They include
Nevada’s Yerington, Fallon
Paiute-Shoshone and Pyramid
Lake reservations and Utah’s
Uintah and Ouray reservations. The damages will be
disbursed in payouts amounting to as much as $10,000 for
some claimants.
www.sycuanfunds.com
Sycuan Capital Management is a member
of EAGLE OPPORTUNITY; an alliance of
American Indian financial professionals
serving Native People.
Investors should consider the
investment objective, risks, charges
and expenses of the Fund carefully
before investing. The Fund’s
prospectus contains this and other
information about the Fund and is
available upon request by calling
1-888-899-8344. Please obtain and
carefully read the prospectus before
investing.
16
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008
St. Regis Mohawks, National Grid reach
terms for new franchise agreement
Agreement paves way for tribe
to exit utility’s service
Staff reports
AKWESASNE, N.Y. – The St. Regis
Mohawk Tribe and National
Grid announced Oct. 8 they had
reached tentative terms for a new
franchise agreement that allows
the tribe to exit from the utility’s
electrical service or to allow the
corporation to continue providing electrical services within the
Akwesasne Mohawk territory.
“This agreement will make
sure that community members
and businesses receive electrical service in a timely manner,
just like all the other National
Grid customers,” said Tribal
Chief Barbara A. Lazore. “This
is an improvement in our relationship with the company that
has provided electrical service
to our community for almost
60 years.”
The cooperative agreement
concludes three years of negotiations that has resulted in
comprehensive terms for electrical service to the community. It establishes a positive
working relationship between
National Grid and the tribe to
go forward and establishes the
framework for how electrical
services will be delivered to
the community completely in
compliance with our environmental regulations.
“We will now receive an
annual franchise payment from
National Grid for the right of way
for its poles, lines and equipment,” said Tribal Chief James
W. Ransom. “Charging National
Grid for the right of way has
been something the community
has been asking for.”
The payment to the tribe
will amount to $71,400 annually and includes a back payment for 2007 and a payment
for 2008 once the agreement is
signed. The amount is calculated based on what the company would pay in equivalent
property taxes to neighboring
municipalities where it has its
poles and equipment.
“If the community chooses
to leave the National Grid system, we will be able to make
Staff reports
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The tribal
technology industry came
together in full force at the ninth
annual TribalNet conference in
Scottsdale Sept. 29 – Oct. 2. The
targeted focus of the conference
keeps information technology
leaders and technology vendors
coming together year after year
for this event.
“The annual conference has
always been about bringing
together people uniquely tied
to one another who can share
common goals, strategies, success stories, challenges and
more to help us all move forward together as an industry,”
said TribalNet director/coordinator Shannon Bouschor.
Among the event’s highlights
were the presentation of the first
IT Industry award to the information systems team of the Mohegan Tribe, accepted by the tribe’s
chief information officer, Charles
Scharnagle, and choice sessions by keynote speakers Mark
Sunday, CIO of industry giant
Oracle, and Chris Cummiskey,
government information technology agency director and CIO for
the state of Arizona. Both leaders
provided a model of best practices
that could be applied to influence
tribal organizations.
“We really hope that those
in attendance take something
away from this conference,” said
Mike Day, founder of TribalNet
and chairman of the advisory
boards. In his conference welcome, he urged the audience
to use what they learn to help
improve tribal IT at organizations across the nation. “That’s
why you’re here,” he said to the
group. “To learn from each other
and impact your organization.”
Attendees participated in
several breakout sessions and
roundtables, including topics
related to health, casino and
general IT. In addition, Jim Flowers, IT director for Fort McDowell Enterprises, the host site
of the conference, opened his
doors to the inner workings of
his IT shop to TribalNet attendees
with tours of his
facility.
Attendees
also had the
opportunity
to meet with
more than 60 IT
vendors, including Microsoft.
“Microsoft
has
been a member of
TribalNet for about two
years,” said Don Lionetti, account manager for
tribal government and gaming
at Microsoft. “We have found
the investments we make in
the membership and at the
annual TribalNet trade show
to be the best use of our marketing budget in reaching out
to the tribal government and
tribal gaming community.”
Microsoft belongs to other
tribal trade organizations and
finds that the key thing that differentiates TribalNet is that the
organization and trade show are
IT-specific. “Other tribal shows
don’t have the IT focus,” Lionetti said. “Therefore, the quality of TribalNet contacts and
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poles as we develop our cable,
fiber optic and other telecommunication capabilities,” Ransom added. “This provision
helps us in coordinating our
efforts to provide better telecommunication services to
our community.”
The agreement not only provides the tribe access to the poles
but helps build a relationship
with Verizon, which jointly owns
46 percent of the investment in
poles within the community.
“This is an improvement in our relationship with the company that
has provided electrical service to our community for almost 60 years.”
- St. Regis Mohawk Chief Barbara A. Lazore
that choice,” added Tribal Chief
Monica M. Jacobs. “That is
important to us.”
The terms of the agreement
include a provision for the
tribe to exit the National Grid
system at a total exit fee of
$4.13 million for the electric
Mohegans’ information systems team
recognized at TribalNet
Tribal technology industry conference
spotlights excellence
distribution system. This fee
will be recalculated at the
time of the exit. Should the
tribe choose to exit, it agrees
to work with the New York
State Public Service Commission and National Grid, which
is required to obtain the necessary approvals through the
Public Service Commission.
Should the tribe exit the
National Grid system, the
agreement includes provisions in which the utility will
conversations are of higher value
in terms of reaching the tribal IT
decision makers.”
TribalNet is an industry
resource for technology leaders at
tribal organizations and casinos
as well as the vendors that supply products and services to this
specific market. The organizational focus is to bring technology
and tribes together by offering an
industry annual conference as
well as year-round membership
and consulting services.
“As an industry, we all are
looking forward to what the
year ahead brings,” Bouschor
said. The next TribalNet conference will mark its 10th anniversary. “We are already working
on the next conference to make
it yet another well-rounded
IT event that reaches out and
makes a difference at tribal
organizations nationwide.”
Year-round webinars, newsletters, membership services
and more are available online
at www.tribalnetonline.com.
TribalNet 10 will be held Oct. 5
– Oct. 8, 2009, at the Suncoast
Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas.
Visit www.tribalnetonline.com
for more information.
help the tribe by maintaining
and operating the system for
up to two years from the date
the tribe acquires the system. The parties also agree to
enter into negotiations for a
mutual assistance agreement
for emergencies and stormrelated events.
“There is also a provision to
train up to three community
members as linemen,” Lazore
said. “These will be important
positions if we decide to establish our own electrical utility.”
The tribe estimates a new
tribal electrical utility company will result in the creation
of six to eight jobs, including
as many as three linemen.
The cost of such training will
be determined through additional negotiations between
the parties.
“The agreement also provides us access to National Grid
APTN named one
of Manitoba’s top 20
employers
Honor marks
network’s first
time on list
Staff reports
WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Aboriginal Peoples Television Network
has been recognized as one of
the top 20 employers in Manitoba. The announcement, made
in the Winnipeg Free Press, was
part of the annual Canada’s Top
Employers survey by Torontobased Mediacorp Canada Inc.
“As APTN celebrates its ninth
year as Canada’s first and only
aboriginal television network, we
are pleased and extremely proud
to receive such an esteemed
designation,” said Jean LaRose,
APTN chief executive officer.
“We have always placed a high
emphasis on the welfare and
professional development of
our employees and have in turn
experienced the benefits of a
Contract: Negotiations
from page 13
has been watched closely by
tribal nations and unions
across the country because it
will set a precedent for labor
relations between tribes and
the federal government.
Federal labor laws did not
apply on sovereign tribal land
for almost 75 years after the federal labor law was passed, but
in January 2007 a circuit court’s
2 – 1 panel decision upheld the
NLRB’s own earlier ruling that
the San Manuel Band of Mission
Indians in California was subject
to federal labor laws.
“We also included a provision so that community members will not be charged state
sales tax for services provided
within our territory,” Jacobs
said. “These taxes should never
have been charged and this
agreement corrects that.”
Prior to this agreement, it
was up to individual community members to negotiate
removing the sales tax charge
from their electric bill. Both
National Grid and the tribe
commit to working together
to make the state aware
that state sales tax does not
apply within the Akwesasne
Mohawk Territory.
The tribe has scheduled a
special community meeting for
Oct. 30 at 6 p.m. at the senior
center to review the terms of the
franchise agreement. The agreement is expected to be signed
shortly thereafter.
However, the case involved a
narrowly applied definition of the
casino as a commercial operation and did not deal with the
wider issue of tribal sovereignty or
Indian casinos as governmental
operations that provide revenue
for tribal services – issues that
may still be resolved in court if the
parties fail to reach agreement in
the current talks.
MPTN Chairman Michael
Thomas has vowed to fight the
jurisdictional issue all the way to
the U.S. Supreme Court.
State Attorney General
loyal, dedicated work force who
so passionately share our vision
with viewers all across Canada.
“It is an honor and, quite
frankly, a significant achievement for such a young organization to be recognized alongside
such well-established employers
from across Manitoba.”
APTN was one of 20 organizations recognized in the
annual survey of Manitoba
businesses, which looked at
employers of any size, in the
private or public sector, with
their head offices or principal places of business in the
province. This is the first
time APTN has made the list,
which was based partly on
employee surveys.
APTN is headquartered
in Winnipeg and employs
approximately 130 people in
offices across Canada. In September 2009, APTN will celebrate its 10-year anniversary
as Canada’s fourth national
broadcaster.
Richard Blumenthal issued
a statement following the
announcement of talks, stating
that he is prepared to fight for
federal jurisdiction over labor
issues on sovereign land.
“This process has enormous
promise in resolving profoundly
significant and strongly and
wrongly contested rights of
workers at Foxwoods. We will
continue to fight for union
member rights, and welcome
these discussions as a means of
achieving such rights as quickly
and fairly as possible.
“We are prepared to continue
the battle in the National Labor
Relations Board and the federal
courts, where ultimately we
should prevail.”
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In d i a n Co u n t r y To d a y
The Nations’ Leading American Indian News Source
17
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008
Cherokee Nation Businesses,
Acorn Growth Companies
acquire aerospace firm
Staff reports
TULSA, Okla. – Cherokee
Nation Businesses, a wholly
owned corporation of the Cherokee Nation, and Acorn Growth
Companies have announced
the acquisition of Alabamabased Aerospace Products
S.E. Inc. APSE is a well-known
aerospace parts and logistics
firm with offices in Huntsville,
Ala., San Antonio, Texas, and
Wichita, Kan.
“This acquisition fits our
long-term vision of growth for
the economy of the Cherokee
Nation,” said Brad Carson,
CEO of CNB. “APSE adds to our
portfolio of aerospace companies and we look forward to
working with Acorn Growth
Companies to expand APSE’s
market share.”
“We are very excited about
this transaction because we
believe it represents an excellent opportunity to continue
to provide the high-quality service that customers have come
to expect from APSE,” said
Jeff Davis, a partner in Acorn
Growth Companies.
“The operational and financial expertise of Acorn within
the aerospace and defense
community, combined with
the expertise and benefits of
Cherokee tribal ownership,
means that the new APSE will
be well positioned to support
its customers today, tomorrow
and well into the future,” said
Rick Nagel, also a partner in
Acorn Growth Companies.
“This was a very complex
transaction completed in
a short time frame,” Carson
said. “Cherokee Nation is serious about making strategic
acquisitions.”
“This particular transaction is also groundbreaking
because it represents a joint
acquisition involving the
Cherokee Nation and an Oklahoma-based private equity
firm which further demonstrates the maturation of the
private equity community in
the state,” Davis said. “Working with the Cherokees was
a pleasure and we were gratified that the transaction was
completed very quickly.”
APSE supports numerous key
commercial and governmental
aircraft programs, including the
KC-135, which is based in Oklahoma City at Tinker Air Force
Base. APSE’s customers include
Boeing Commercial Airplane
Group, Boeing Military Programs, Northrop Grumman,
Honeywell and Bell Helicopter,
among others.
The government, aerospace
and defense team of Focus
Investment Banking of Washington, D.C., acted as financial
advisers to APSE in conjunction
with the transaction and introduced the company to Acorn
Growth Companies.
Tribal communications company honored
Staff reports
WELCH, Minn. – Turtle Island
Communications Inc. has
been selected as the 2008 Minnesota Indian Business Conference Indian Entrepreneur
of the Year. Owners Madonna
Peltier Yawakie, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, and
Melvin Yawakie, Zuni Pueblo,
fully embody the spirit of
Indian entrepreneurship the
award honors. The award criteria require that the business be owned by an American Indian either living in or
actively conducting business
with tribal nations.
The award will be presented
at 6 p.m. Oct. 28 at Treasure
Island Resort and Casino, during
the Minnesota Indian Business
Conference & Showcase reception in the Tinta Wita room.
President Ron Johnson, Prairie
Island Indian Community, will
open the reception with welcoming remarks.
TICOM is an Indian-owned
telecommunication engineering
and technical consulting company specializing in project
management, telecom infrastructure analysis, wireline
and wireless system design,
acquisition, and regulatory and
financial services that support
project development.
The owners together have
more than 34 years’ experience
in the telecommunication field
and the technical knowledge
and expertise to create solutions for tribes interested in
improving telecommunication
services throughout their land
areas. Madonna Peltier Yawakie
earned a master’s degree in
community and regional planning and a bachelor of science in business administration from North Dakota State
University. Melvin Yawakie,
an electrical engineer, earned
a bachelor of science in electrical and electronics engineering from North Dakota
State University.
TICOM works in partnership
with tribal nations to ensure
that the tribal jurisdiction and
the long-term health of its community and citizens is upheld.
TICOM is keenly aware of the
lack of service parity on tribal
lands, which continues to be
the motivational force behind
the growing business. TICOM
works to help build the foundation for basic infrastructure to serve residents living
within the tribal land base,
and to take economic development to the next level and
spur other types of business
opportunities. Its ultimate
goal and expertise is to move
tribes into becoming regulators and owners of their own
telecommunication services.
TICOM is committed to
partnering with skilled, talented tribal members who
Conference details
Minnesota Indian Business Conference & Showcase
Oct. 28 – 29
Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Welch, Minn.
Online registration: www.umdced.com/mnibc.html
Casino seeks only Indians for jobs
CATOOSA, Okla. (AP) – The
Cherokee Nation is looking for
employees at its casinos – but
only Indians need apply.
The tribe will host a job fair
in November at the Cherokee
Casino Resort to fill about 1,000
casino jobs.
A tribal enrollment card or
certificate of degree of Indian
blood card will be needed
to apply.
Mike Miller, spokesman for
the Cherokee Nation, said the
tribe isn’t offering preference
based on race but on tribal
citizenship.
“There are some jobs that you
just want citizens of your own
country doing,” Miller said.
He said non-Indians hold
many of the tribe’s 7,000 total
jobs, and the tribe plans to open
applications to non-Indians
once tribe members have had
an opportunity to apply.
“We don’t care what an applicant looks like,” Miller said. “We
are committed to the project
and know how to make good
things happen in their communities. It endeavors to
build trust and long-lasting
relationships with the tribal
communities they serve.
TICOM is being recognized
for the professional services
and resources it brings to its
projects and for its commitment to making a positive
impact on the ongoing digital
divide within tribal nations. To
learn more about TICOM, visit
www.turtleislandcom.com.
For more information about
the Conference, contact Pamela
Standing at (218) 847-9554 or
[email protected], or
visit www.umdced.com/mnibc.
html.
care that they’re a citizen of a
[tribal] nation. That’s a huge difference. People need to get past
some old ideas about what an
Indian tribe is. An Indian tribe is
a government made up of citizens
... just as the United States is.”
The job fair does not violate the federal Civil Rights
Act of 1964 because tribes are
exempt from the hiring provisions of the law, said Dianna
Johnston, an attorney for
the U.S. Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
Johnston said Congress
exempted tribal employers
from the Civil Rights Act’s
prohibition on preferential
treatment because tribes are
considered sovereign governments and because American
Indians traditionally have a
high unemployment rate.
The tribes’ exemption from
the Civil Rights Act refers to jobs
on reservations, but Johnson
said the EEOC has interpreted
the exemption to be extended to
any land in Oklahoma that has
been placed in federal trust for a
tribe’s benefit.
Native American
Bank appoints
Dave Gilman as
president, CEO
Staff reports
DENVER – Native American
Bank announced Sept. 26 that
David M. Gilman has been
appointed as president and
CEO of NABNA effective Sept.
15. He was also appointed
as a director of NABNA. Gilman’s appointment is subject
to regulatory approval by the
Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency.
Gilman succeeds Donald
McLean III, NABNA’s interim
president and CEO since May
16. McLean will assume the
roles of vice chairman of the
board and interim chief lending officer, and will assist Gilman through a transition
period. McLean remains a
member of the NABNA board.
“Dave Gilman is a widely
respected and distinguished
professional in the banking
industry,” said Elouise Cobell,
co-chair of NABNA’s board of
directors. “His 50-plus years
of banking experience and
extensive knowledge make
him the ideal candidate to
lead Native American Bank.
“The board is unanimous
in its decision that Dave is
the right person to provide
sound leadership to build
on NAB’s core strengths and
manage NAB through the
current environment. Dave
will also help NAB fulfill its
mission of providing Native
American and Alaska Native
individuals, corporations
and governments the financial resources they need to
reach economic sovereignty
and self-determination.”
Gilman is a career banking executive, having held the
positions of president and/or
CEO at four regional community banks in the metropolitan
Updated
Denver and Minneapolis markets – First National Bank of
Colorado (Denver), Marine
Bank (Bloomington), Fidelity
Bank Northeast (Minneapolis)
and Fidelity Bank (Minneapolis). Gilman has also served
on the respective boards of
each entity. His career has also
included senior positions in
multibillion-dollar regional
and interstate banks.
During a 10-year stint at
First National Bank of Colorado, Gilman developed and
implemented a comprehensive strategic plan, instituted
a business development and
sales program, oversaw an
almost 300 percent increase in
the bank’s assets and upgraded
lending, accounting and operational staff. While at Weststar
Bank, Gilman served as executive vice president and chief
credit officer and developed
a new asset/liability management program; improved loan
underwriting, monitoring and
collection; designed a loan
profitability analysis system;
and designed a formal officer
calling program.
Gilman said, “I am honored
to have the opportunity to lead
Native American Bank. Clearly
there are challenges ahead, but
I am encouraged by the quality of NAB’s employees, and
their dedication to the bank’s
mission. NAB is an institution with great strengths and
potential. With the leadership
of our board, our management
team is taking decisive actions
to face this challenging environment head-on and I am
excited to have an opportunity
to build on our past progress.
I look forward to our ability to
better serve the needs of Indian
country through growth, profitability and service.”
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• Expanded tribal directory featuring a list of enterprises and industry types, listed
by state – helps to connect you with Indian enterprises in your area.
• A cross-reference by industry types, providing easier lookups and faster
information – helps enterprises connect across the country.
• Expanded directory of non-Native companies with specific American Indian
supply chain or recruiting programs – helping Native and non-Native
companies synergize.
• Top stories from Native entrepreneurs – examples that help to redefine
American Indian business every day.
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18
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008
Historic agreement
streamlines Navajo Nation’s
capital outlay projects
May serve as a blueprint for similar agreements
Staff reports
The agreement is designed to
streamline the Navajo Nation’s
approval process for capital outlay projects passed by the New
Mexico Legislature and funded
by the Indian Affairs Department. The 53 projects have now
been approved as a package,
rather than individually, which
should reduce the timeline for
completing them.
In the past, the nation’s
administrative approval process required as many as 43
steps. Now the package can be
approved in six steps, saving
the nation and the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in
administrative and staff costs.
New Mexico Indian Affairs
Secretary Alvin Warren worked
with the Navajo Nation to craft
the agreement, known as the
Master
Intergovernmental
Agreement. The nation’s Intergovernmental Relations Committee unanimously approved
legislation formalizing the agreement Sept. 23. Warren signed the
agreement Oct. 2.
“It is important to acknowledge that this achievement
came about through dedicated
government-to-government collaboration,” Warren said. “With
the signing of the agreement, we
Osoyoos Chief Clarence
Louie honored
making our own money and
creating revenue-producing
jobs. The single most important
key to First Nation self-reliance
is economic development. As
the OIB businesses are all community-owned businesses, it is
really an Osoyoos Indian Band
award recognizing all past chiefs
and councils and band members who supported business
development.”
In February 1985, Louie
became head of the OIB and
immediately set in motion an
economic development plan for
their future.
Fuelled by a vision of selfreliance and entrepreneurship,
the OIB has earned the distinction of having created more
businesses per capita than any
other First Nation in Canada.
The 450-member band now
runs 10 businesses, including the first aboriginal-owned
winery in North America, vineyards, retail, construction and
tourism. The band has generated more than $100 million
of projects in the South Okanagan in the past eight years,
investing revenues back into its
community for education and
social improvements.
In addition to overseeing the
OIBDC, Louie spends a lot of
time sharing his vision of selfreliance and entrepreneurship
of lowest-rated gaming enterprises, two are American Indian.
Frank King, managing director of tribal banking for Merrill
Lynch, said during the NAFOA
conference call that it is to the
detriment of tribal gaming to be
linked with corporate gaming’s
risky financial background.
“Difficult times in corporate
gaming are going to have a significant impact on tribes’ ability
to borrow,” he predicted, noting
that many financial companies
see the industry as monolithic
– not distinguishing between the
types of gaming investors and
their different behaviors. “Investors tend to like to throw the
baby out with the bathwater.”
He added: “Corporate gaming
has placed some pretty big bets
in the last couple of years, and
they look like they’re going to
lose on those bets.”
In contrast, tribes have generally entered the economic downturn with better balance sheets.
Leveraged buyouts, for instance,
have no place in Indian country,
and tribes do not generally face
the same growth pressures as
public gaming companies.
Tribal operators also, on
SANTA FE, N.M. – Gov. Bill Richardson announced Oct. 15 a
historic agreement between the
state Indian Affairs Department
and the Navajo Nation that will
reduce bureaucratic red tape
and clear the way for 53 2008
capital outlay projects, valued
at $3.9 million, to move forward
more efficiently.
“This historic agreement is a
victory for Navajos who will benefit from these much-needed
improvements to water systems,
power lines and other important
infrastructure,” he said.
Staff reports
OLIVER, British Columbia – A
true entrepreneur who has been
changing attitudes while creating business prosperity for his
community, Chief Clarence
Louie has been named the first
Ernst & Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year award recipient
for the Pacific region and also
Photo courtesy Osoyoos Indian
Band Development Corporation
Clarence Louie,
Osoyoos Band chief
the first First Nations person to
win an Ernst & Young award in
British Columbia.
Louie, CEO of the Osoyoos
Indian Band Development
Corporation, received the
award at a gala event held
Oct. 8 in Vancouver.
“The Social Entrepreneur
of the Year category was a new
addition this year and an important one in recognizing individuals who have demonstrated
the foresight and commitment
to enact social change, often by
transforming traditional practices,” said Fred Withers, director of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year awards for
the Pacific region. “By focusing his passion and energy on
practical, innovative and market-oriented approaches to
benefit his community, Chief
Louie is pioneering sustainable
business models that will have
a profound impact on our society as a whole.”
In accepting the award, Louie
said, “The Osoyoos Indian Band
is very focused on a self-sufficient future, and we realize that we create this future
Gaming: Solvency
from page 13
summer. (The default rate for
the last 12 months has averaged
about 2.7 percent.)
Parmelee said the increases
in defaults can largely be attributed due to tighter credit offerings, limited availability of capital from banks and global economic woes.
In the first nine months of
2008, six gaming companies
rated by Standard & Poor’s have
defaulted on their loans. From
1997 – 2007, there were a total
of nine defaults of rated gaming companies.
Despite the grim and unprecedented statistics, tribal gaming
default rates are nonexistent com-
Breaking
News!
www.indiancountry.com
Updated Daily!
pared to their corporate counterparts. Of the six rated gaming
companies that defaulted this
year through September, none
was tribally owned.
Parmelee said that as a result
of the negative economic tide,
his firm has downgraded its
financial ratings of 22 gaming
entities this year. (A downgrade
means that the firm’s opinion
of that entity’s credit quality has
declined.) Nineteen of these
entities have been commercial;
three have been Native.
As of early October, more
than 40 percent of the commercial gaming operators that
Standard & Poor’s rates had
been downgraded, compared
to about 15 percent of the
Native operators it rates.
One of the most recently downgraded tribes is the Mashantucket
Pequot Tribal Nation, which operates Foxwoods Resort Casino in
Connecticut.
Of the 12 companies currently
ranked on Standard & Poor’s list
have broken ground in a new
era of efficiency in facilitating
the funding and completion
of vital capital outlay projects that benefit New Mexico’s
Navajo citizens, and often lay
the foundation for improved
infrastructure and increased
opportunity for economic
development.”
Richardson thanked Navajo
Nation President Joe Shirley
Jr., Vice President Ben Shelly,
Navajo Nation Council Speaker
Lawrence Morgan, the members of the Navajo Nation
Council’s Transportation and
Community
Development
Committee, and the Intergovernmental Relations Committee for working together to
reach the agreement.
Richardson said he hopes
the agreement can serve as a
blueprint for similar agreements
between the Navajo Nation and
other state agencies, like the
Department of Transportation
and the Aging and Long-Term
Services Department, which
oversee capital outlay money
passed by the Legislature.
with community business
groups and First Nations across
North America, as well as advising the federal government on
aboriginal economic development in his role as chair of the
National Aboriginal Economic
Development Board.
Shoshone Nation
breaks ground on
geothermal plant
Facility is first of
five planned
HONEYVILLE, Utah (AP) – The
Shoshone Nation once used
natural hot water when they
camped in the winter. Now
the tribe is going back to that
energy source.
Tribal leaders from the
Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation broke ground
Oct. 2 on a 100-megawatt
power plant. It’s the first of five
geothermal plants planned by
the Shoshone Nation’s economic development arm.
The power will be sold to the
city of Riverside, Calif.
The first $450 million steam
plant – enough to power about
70,000 homes – is planned for an
off-reservation spot near Honeyville, about 25 miles south of
the Utah-Idaho border.
The tribe, which has a 189acre reservation on the UtahIdaho border, is leasing other
lands from multiple private
owners for its geothermal
projects.
The tribe is exempt from
federal income tax and can
take advantage of a federal
energy credit to more easily
finance projects, said Michael
Devine, chief operating officer for the nation’s Economic
Development Corp.
Around-the-clock drilling has
started at the Honeyville site at a
cost of $21,000 a day, he said.
The drill will hit boiling
water starting at about 8,000
feet underground.
The tribe plans to build
another geothermal plant
near Preston, Idaho, at a spot
near the site of a massacre of
hundreds of the tribe’s men,
women and children by federal troops in 1863. The winter
encampment was at the site of
hot springs that still exist today
along the Beaver River.
The project has financial
backing from Quincy, Mass.based Meridian Investments
LLC and the Ireland-based
LotusWorks.
Johnson helps donate computer
lab to Eagle Butte School
Staff reports
EAGLE BUTTE, S.D. – U.S. Sen.
Tim Johnson, D-S.D., helped
donate a computer lab to the
staff and students of Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School
Oct. 15. Johnson, together
with Visa, provided the school
with 10 Apple iMac laptops,
which included Visa’s moneymanagement software to help
teach students the importance of financial literacy.
“I have stressed the importance of financial literacy
throughout my time in Congress, and I am proud to have
partnered with Visa to provide
students in Indian country with
a high-tech way to enhance
education and manage their
budgets,” he said. “We are
experiencing tough economic
times, and there is no more
crucial time to give future leaders the tools they need to help
their local community.”
Johnson has urged all South
Dakotans to be aware of their
personal finances throughout
his time in Congress. In 2006,
Johnson crafted “Financial Matters: A Discussion of Actions
South Dakotans Can Take to
Achieve their Financial Goals,” a
pamphlet designed to help promote financial awareness. The
guide can be downloaded from
his Senate Web site at http://
johnson.senate.gov.
Nadine Eastman, acting
principal at Cheyenne-Eagle
Butte High School; Kristin
Solheim, of Visa Inc.; and students from the high school
joined Johnson at the event.
“It takes a whole lot of hard
work to make ends meet as
families tighten their budgets. These tools will help our
young people better understand the value of preparing
for their financial future,”
Johnson continued.
He has also crafted his Hometown Prosperity Plan to help
working families manage their
budgets. The plan helps protect
consumers’ pocketbooks from
increasing energy costs, prescription drugs fees and health
care expenses. The Hometown
Prosperity Plan can be downloaded from Johnson’s Senate
Web site.
average, tend to be more conservative than many commercial gaming operators; and
in many cases, tribes operate casinos where few other
casinos are located, reducing
competition during challenging periods.
Noting Parmelee’s numbers,
King said tribal gaming enterprises are performing much better than their corporate counterparts in terms of not defaulting
on loans and maintaining positive financial ratings.
King said it is necessary for
tribal operators to look at all
upcoming projects they have on
the table and realize that they
may end up costing more than
they ever believed they might.
“It may not seem fair,” he said.
“But it’s the reality.”
Reflecting on concerns about
the linkage between commercial and tribal gaming, NAFOA
President Bill Lomax said that
the commercial lenders and
investment bankers have done
a generally good job of learning
about the differences between
tribal casino facilities and the
corporate gaming entities. He
noted that from 2005 – 07, tribes
experienced the most favorable
lending climate they have ever
seen, although those conditions
have now come to a halt due to
the credit crisis.
Lomax added, however, that
tribes do tend to face a more
difficult time in borrowing than
the corporate casinos, but he
believes this reality is not really
the fault of bankers.
“The biggest problem is that
when a bank seeks an investor
to participate in a bond issuance, the investors will often
ask for some type of comparable entity so that they can use
that comparable as a benchmark when they try to assess
the risk of the investment.
“When this is done in the
nontribal gaming world, comparables are readily available in
Las Vegas and Atlantic City and
elsewhere because corporate
entities typically have to disclose
financial information to their
shareholders or regulators.
“Tribes, however, do not disclose financial information to
the wider world and thus there
is no comparable information
for an investor to use to make
an informed decision concern-
ing the risk of the investment.
A lack of information about risk
will always lead to the investor requiring a higher return on
their investment.”
Lomax said tribes would
be helped “significantly” if an
independent body were to
gather financial information on
a regional basis that could be
used in aggregate form to provide comparable information for
the region. He said this scenario
would not only lower costs for
tribes trying to borrow money for
a new facility or an expansion, it
would give tribal casino managers a benchmark to gauge the
relative success of their facility.
In a follow-up interview, Parmelee said he couldn’t speak
as to how investors are treating tribal operators compared to
commercial operators.
Still, he added that U.S. consumers are significantly pulling
back their spending, and from
his vantage point, the majority of casinos – both tribal and
commercial – are experiencing
meaningful earnings declines.
“In this environment, it seems
to me that investors would naturally be cautious,” he said.
19
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008
INDIAN COUNTRY
FACES and Places
Photos Courtesy Ahkwesahsne Mohawk School
Cornwall Colts help launch
Ahkwesahsne Mohawk School’s reading program
Staff reports
Cornwall, Ont. – Ahkwesahsne Mohawk School
is starting its reading program with a bang. This
year’s program is called “The Road to the Cup.” Each
class has an NHL team they represent. The students
read books to earn points toward being the top
readers for the 2008 – 09 season.
The Cornwall Colts, of the CJHL, have been
great supporters of the reading programs at AMS
and are back in full force to help out again. On
hand at the official launch were Colts operations manager Mike Piquette and players Justin
Roethlingshoefer, Nicodemus Bownds, Robert
Guay, Lenny Talarico and Darick Ste-Marie. Barry
Montour, director of education at the Ahkwesahsne Mohawk Board of Education, dropped
the puck to officially start the program. Taking
the faceoff was Trenton Tarbell, student council
president, and Talarico.
During the assembly of teams, Roethlingshoefer had a special message for students
about how important it is to read. As students
left the gym, Colts players handed out souvenirs, then went to each class to hand out more
autographed player cards.
Indian Country Today welcomes your submissions.
Send your high-resolution photographs and a short description to
[email protected] and write “Faces and Places” in the subject line.
VARIETY
DATEBOOK
Coast Salish art
––––––––––––––––––––––
SEATTLE – The Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition,
“S’Abadeb (The Gifts): Pacific Coast Salish Art and
Artists,” will open Oct. 23. It will be the first major
exhibition to explore the unique artistry and culture of Pacific Coast Salish First Peoples of Washington state and British Columbia. The museum is
located at 1300 1st Ave. For more information, call
(206) 654-3100.
Short film program
––––––––––––––––––––––
LOS ANGELES – The Women in Film International
Committee will present “A Night to Celebrate:
Short Films by Indigenous Peoples of the Americas” Oct. 25 from 6 – 10 p.m. at Barnsdall Park. The
evening’s films will celebrate and support the creative talents of indigenous filmmakers from across
the Americas. Music, food and dance will be part
of the evening’s events. For more information, call
(908) 310-7141.
Beading workshop
––––––––––––––––––––––
ONAMIA, Minn. – The Mille Lacs Indian Museum
will offer a two-day beading workshop Oct. 25 – 26
at the museum, 43411 Oodena Drive. The class will
be taught by Mille Lacs Band elder and renowned
artist Margaret Hill. The cost is $50, $45 for Minnesota History Center members and $30 for Mille
Lacs Band members, with an additional supply fee
of $15 for all guests. Reservations are required; call
(320) 532-3632.
Warriors of AniKituhwa
––––––––––––––––––––––
CHEROKEE, N.C. – The Warriors of AniKituhwa
Dance Group, the Eastern Band of Cherokee tribal
council’s official cultural ambassadors, will perform a special re-enactment of the Delegation of
1777 at Colonial Williamsburg, Va., Oct. 25 – 26.
Along with Colonial Williamsburg character interpreters, they will re-create the treaty talks with the
governor of Virginia and his council and perform
traditional dances on the Palace Green. There will
also be exhibitions by Cherokee basket weavers
and potters who will demonstrate ancient crafting
skills, and renowned Cherokee storytellers sharing
legends thousands of years old.
For more information, visit www.colonial
williamsburg.com.
Native American Finance Conference
––––––––––––––––––––––
LEDYARD, Conn. – The Ninth Semiannual Native
American Finance Conference will take place
Oct. 27 – 28 at Foxwoods Resort and Casino
in Ledyard. There will be thought-provoking
panel discussions, networking opportunities
and many forums for the sharing of ideas and
information related to American Indian financial issues. For more information, visit www.
imn.org/etm1115/pr.
Louise Erdich reading
––––––––––––––––––––––
BALTIMORE – Goucher College will present a reading by Louise Erdich – widely acclaimed as one of
the most significant contemporary Native writers
– Oct. 28 at 8 p.m. in Kraushaar Auditorium. This
event is free and open to the public. Tickets must
be reserved in advance by calling (310) 337-6333 or
e-mailing [email protected].
“Salvage,” a play by Diane Glancy, Cherokee,
will take place Oct. 31 at Native Voices at the
Autry, 4700 Western Heritage Way. This suspenseful drama was selected for the Public
Theater’s Native Play Festival last year and had
a reading at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2008.
Performances will run through Nov. 23.
General admission is $20, or $12 for Autry
members. Call TicketWeb at (866) 468-3399 or
visit www.ticketweb.com to reserve tickets. For
group pricing, call (323) 466-5830 or e-mail
[email protected].
‘The Aztec World’ exhibit
––––––––––––––––––––––
PHOENIX – Presentation proposals are sought for
the 13th annual Native Diabetes Prevention/Intervention Conference, to be held Jan. 26 – 28 at the
Grace Inn at Ahwatukee in Phoenix. The conference provides an opportunity to share a collective
wisdom on issues of Native diabetes.
Proposals are due Oct. 30. For details, contact Sue
Thomas at (405) 325-1790 or [email protected].
CHICAGO – The Field Museum will exhibit “The
Aztec World,” a collection of nearly 300 artifacts
including works in stone, ceramics and jewelry
made of precious metals – many of which will
be displayed for the first time outside of Mexico
– Oct. 31 through April 19.
Tickets to “The Aztec World” include museum
admission and are $22 for adults, $19 for seniors
and students with ID, and $12 for children 4 – 11.
Discounts are available for Chicago residents. For
more information, call (312) 922-9410 or visit
www.fieldmuseum.org.
‘Return of the Corn Mothers’
––––––––––––––––––––––
‘Beadwork Storytellers’
––––––––––––––––––––––
Call for presentations:
diabetes prevention conference
––––––––––––––––––––––
BOULDER, Colo. – The University of Colorado
Museum of Natural History on the CU – Boulder
campus will host the “Return of the Corn Mothers,”
a photo journal exhibition of Southwestern women,
through Jan. 30 at the Henderson Building, 15th
Street and Broadway. The opening reception will
be held Oct. 30. The show is based on the pueblo
story of the Corn Mothers, who sang in the essence
of creation, including the katsinas. Featured will be
photographs of women from Colorado, New Mexico,
Arizona and Texas who have earned accolades for
community activism and creative endeavors.
The museum is free, open seven days a week
and handicapped-accessible. For more information, call (303) 492-6892 or visit http://cu
museum.colorado.edu.
Los Angeles Skins Fest
––––––––––––––––––––––
LOS ANGELES – As part of Los Angeles’ celebration of Native American Heritage Month, the Los
Angeles Skins Fest will take place Oct. 31 – Nov. 2
with movies, receptions and music – all free and
open to the public. Locations to be announced.
For more information, e-mail contact@laskinsfest.
com or visit www.laskinsfest.com.
Stage world premiere
––––––––––––––––––––––
LOS ANGELES – The world premiere of
PARK HILL, Okla. – “Beaded Storytellers – A
Visual Language Exhibit” will be on display
through April 29 at the Cherokee Heritage Center (exhibit is closed the month of January). This
exhibit brings together Southeastern beaded
artifacts that currently reside around the world
and the local descendants of their creators. A
public reception will be held Nov. 1 from 2 – 4
p.m., during which there will be no admission
charge to the heritage center.
For more information, call (918) 456-6007
or (888) 999-6007, or visit www.cherokee
heritage.org.
Feather
Fritz Scholder art exhibit
––––––––––––––––––––––
WASHINGTON – The National Museum of the
American Indian will present a career retrospective
of works by artist Fritz Scholder beginning Nov. 1.
The exhibitions will remain on view through May
17 in the museum’s New York location and through
Aug. 16 in its Washington location. For more information, visit www.americanindiansi.edu.
Northern Plains Indian art exhibit
––––––––––––––––––––––
WINNEBAGO, Neb. – The Woodland Trails Art
Retail and Learning Center will host an exhibit of
northern Plains Indian art through Nov. 29 at the
Chuck Raymond Gallery in the Woodland Trails
building. A reception will be held Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.
For more information, call (402) 878-4075 or visit
www.woodlandtrailsart.com.
Resource summit
––––––––––––––––––––––
SANTA FE SPRINGS, Calif. – The 2nd annual
Native American Resource Summit will be held
Nov. 1 – 2 at Heritage Park, 12100 Mora Drive.
Sponsored by the American Indian Advisory
Council in collaboration with Native Hope International and Department of Rehabilitation, the
summit will cover such topics as “Living with
Violence” and “Paths to Employment.”
The summit is free and open to the public;
it is wheelchair-accessible and ASL will be provided. For exhibitor information, contact Susie
Yellowhorse Jensen at (714) 962-6673 or sjensen
@indiancenter.org.
Wellness, spirituality conference
––––––––––––––––––––––
PHOENIX – The “Wellness and Spirituality XVI
Conference: Honoring Our Spiritual Gifts” will
be held Nov. 17 – 20 at the Hilton Phoenix East
See Datebook page 20
By Sonny Ryan ©2008 Indian Country Today
20
VARIETY
P O W
O ctober
NIEA National Convention Powwow
Oct. 24, Washington State Convention
and Trade Center Exhibition Hall,
800 Convention Place, Seattle, Wash.
Wanda Johnson (202) 544-7290; www.niea.org
______________________
18th South Texas ‘Way South’ Pow Wow
Oct. 24 – 25, Lark Community Center,
McAllen, Texas
Robert Soto (956) 686-6696,
[email protected]
20th Meherrin Indian Pow Wow
Oct. 24 – 26, 852 Highway 11 N, Ahoskie, N.C.
Aaron Wintson (804) 402-7402;
(252) 398-3321 (leave message);
[email protected];
www.meherrintribe.com
______________________
Fourth Intertribal Festival of
Native American Arts and Crafts
Oct. 24 – 26,
Chattahoochee River Landing Park,
Chattahoochee, Fla.
Jerry Lang or John Ferguson (229) 377-8621;
[email protected]
______________________
10th UW-Platteville Traditional Pow Wow
Oct. 25, University of Wisconsin Fieldhouse,
Platteville, Wis.
Carl Allsup (608) 342-1705, [email protected]
______________________
13th Spirit of the Harvest Pow Wow
Oct. 25, Gates Tennis Center, Houghton, Mich.
(906) 487-3692; [email protected];
www.outreach.mtu.edu/na
______________________
Bacone Fall Scholarship Pow Wow
Oct. 25, 2299 Old Bacone Road,
Muskogee, Okla.
Kyle Taylor (918) 360-1085; [email protected];
vendors: (918) 687-3299; www.bacone.edu
______________________
Three Sisters Pow Wow
Oct. 25, Oneida Turtle School, Oneida, Wis.
(920) 496-7897; (800) 236-2214;
[email protected];
www.oneidanation.org
______________________
18th Indoor Pow Wow
Oct. 25 – 26, Trudeau Memorial Center,
Warwick, R.I.
(401) 739-2700, ext. 278;
[email protected];
[email protected]
______________________
Inn of the Mountain Gods
Resort & Casino Contest Pow Wow
Oct. 25 – 26, Inn of the Mountain
Gods Resort & Casino, Mescalero, N.M.
(575) 464-7336; www.innofthemountaingods.com
______________________
Ardis McRae indian country
Datebook Continued from page 19
Mesa Hotel. This annual conference provides
a forum to focus specifically on issues of spirituality and its importance to wellness. Presenters will include Gene Thin Elk and Caleen
Sisk-Franco.
Registration is $375 until Nov. 7; after that date,
it is $475. To register, visit hpp.ou.edu.
‘Wellness and the Sacred Woman’
––––––––––––––––––––––
DURANGO, Colo. – A conference on “Wellness and the Sacred Women: Succeeding in an
Oppressive Community through Wellness and
Reconciliation” will be held Nov. 7 – 8 at Fort
Lewis College’s Union Building Ballroom. Keynote speakers Cecelia Fire Thunder and Peggy
Bird will present talks on “Growing Up and Succeeding in an Oppressive Community Through
Reconciliation” and “Breaking the Cycle of Violence and Becoming a Survivor.”
For more information, call Fort Lewis College’s
Native American Center at (970) 247-7221 or Our
Sister’s Keeper Coalition at (970) 259-2519.
Sustainable communities conference
––––––––––––––––––––––
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – A conference, “Conversations on the Land: Indigenous and Scientific
Principles for Sustainable Communities” will be
held Nov. 7 – 8 at the alumni lounge in Marshall
Hall at the State University of New York College
of Environmental Science and Forestry. Speakers include Oren Lyons, Neil Patterson and Holly
Youngbear Tibbetts.
For more information, visit www.esf.edu/out
reach/pd/2008/conversations/default.htm.
Intertribal Arts Marketplace
––––––––––––––––––––––
LOS ANGELES – The Intertribal Arts Marketplace will take place Nov. 8 – 9 from 10 a.m.
– 5 p.m. at the Autry National Center of the
American West, 4700 Western Heritage Way.
More than 100 American Indian artists from
around the country will be selling pottery,
jewelry, sculptures, paintings, mixed-media
works and much more. Juried awards will be
presented in various categories. There will also
be performances by Native dancers, storytellers and musical acts.
Admission is free for Autry members and
children 9 and younger; $12 for adults; and $8
for seniors over 60, students with ID and children over 10. For more information, visit www.
autrynationalcenter.org.
INDIAN COUNTRY TODAY, WEDNESDAY, October 22, 2008
W O W
Fourth Annual Hunting Moon Pow Wow
Oct. 31 – Nov. 2,
Wisconsin Expo Center, State Fair Park,
Potawatomi Bingo Casino,
West Ellis, Wis.
(414) 847-7320; (800) PAYSBIG, ext. 7720;
www.paysbig.com
______________________
Appalachian Cherokee
Nation Pow Wow
Oct. TBA, Loudon County, Va.
(804) 448-4269
N ovember
17th Austin Pow Wow and
American Indian Heritage Festival
Nov. 1, Tony Burger Center,
3200 Jones Road,
Austin, Texas
(512) 371-0628;
www.austinpowwow.org
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22nd Red Mountain Eagle Pow Wow
Nov. 1 – 2, Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Connie Carlisle (480) 577-9460,
[email protected]
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30th American Indian Science and
Engineering Society Pow Wow
Nov. 1, Anaheim Convention Center
and Anaheim Marriott, Anaheim, Calif.
(505) 765-1052;
www.aises.org/events/2008
Fifth Trail of Tears Re-enactment
Walk and Indian Social
Nov. 1, The Public Square,
Lawrenceburg, Tenn.
(931) 766-0827; [email protected];
www.home.earthlink.net/~bellsroute/index.html
Southern Paiute Veterans Pow-Wow
Nov. 1 – 2, Moapa Travel Plaza,
I-15, exit 75-Valley of Fire,
20 minutes north of Las Vegas, Nev.
Dalton N. Tom (702) 362-9799;
Leroy Spotted Eagle (702) 656-6828;
vendors: LaDawn W. Levi (702) 865-2802
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NIU Gathering Traditional Pow Wow
Nov. 1, Student Recreation Center,
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Ill.
Michael Augsburger (815) 758-3604;
[email protected];
www.sa.niu.edu/nations
Traditional Harvest Moon Pow Wow
Nov. 1 – 2, 2565 Princeton Road,
Hamilton, Ohio
Wanbli Glaleshka (513) 616-8279;
[email protected]
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21st AIA Orlando Pow Wow
Oct. 31 – Nov. 2, Central Florida Fairgrounds,
Orlando, Fla.
(407) 327-8207; [email protected];
www.aiaofflorida.org
Fredericksburg Pow Wow
Nov. 1 – 2, Fredericksburg Agricultural Fairgrounds,
Fredricksburg, Va.
Barry Richardson (252) 532-0821;
[email protected]
Navajo artist Al Bahe exhibit
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PRESCOTT, Ariz. – New paintings and other
works by Navajo artist Al Bahe will be displayed
at the Smoki Museum, 147 N. Arizona St., Nov.
8 – March 15. An opening reception will be held
Nov. 8 from 1 – 4 p.m. and is free to the public.
For more information, call (928) 445-1230 or
visit www.smokimuseum.org.
Student Center on Syracuse University’s south
campus. Speakers will include Robert Odawi
Porter, Michael Taylor, Tassy Parker, Kevin White
and Scott Lyons.
A reception will be held Nov. 14 in the College
of Law rotunda with a movie to follow in Grant
Auditorium, also in the College of Law. Registration information and directions are online at www.
law.syr.edu/indigenous.
Film submissions wanted
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Red Earth Buffalo Bash
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RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Lakota-Dakota-Nakota
Language Summit will take place Nov. 11 – 13
at the Ramkota Hotel. Keynote speakers include
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe President Ron His
Horse Is Thunder, Piegan Institute co-founder
Darrell Kipp and Seventh Generation Fund Chair
Rosalie Little Thunder. For more information, call
(605) 867-6193, e-mail [email protected]
or visit www.tuswecatiospaye.org.
Red Nation Film Festival
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LOS ANGELES – The fifth annual Los Angeles Red
Nation Film Festival will be held Nov. 13 – 16 in
Los Angeles and will offer outstanding examples of
American Indian contributions in film, the media
and in the culture at large. For more information,
schedules of events and tickets, call (818) 904-9256
or visit www.rednation.com.
‘Search for Native Citizenry’ conference
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SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Center for Indigenous
Law, Governance and Citizenship will hold its
fifth annual Haudenosaunee Conference, “Moving Beyond ID Card Indians: The Search for
Native Citizenry,” Nov. 14 – 15 at the Goldstein
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Fifth Christmas Powwow
Oct. 31 – Nov. 1, location TBA,
Colorado Springs, Colo.
Brad or Gabriele Bearsheart (719) 488-1775
Language summit
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16th Annual Waccamaw
Cultural Arts Festival and Pauwau
Nov. 1 – 2, tribal grounds,
591 Bluewater Road, Aynor, S.C.
Sandy Cox (843) 397-1333;
[email protected]; www.waccamaw.us
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Agua Caliente Cultural
Museum is now accepting submissions for its
eighth annual Festival of Native Film and Culture,
to be held at Camelot Theatres March 4 – 8, 2009.
Focusing on films created by, about, and starring
American Indian and other indigenous people, the
festival seeks a varied combination of feature films,
documentaries and short films that represent the
wealth of talent and diversity of expression that
continues the tradition of previous years.
Deadline for submissions is Nov. 10. For more
information on festival programming or submitting
a film, e-mail Thomas Ethan Harris at tethanharris@
earthlink.net. For general festival information, call
Sharon May at (760) 778-1079, ext. 101.
Santa Fe Springs Pow Wow
Nov. 1 – 2, Heritage Park,
12100 Mora Drive,
Santa Fe Springs, Calif.
(818) 870-0000; [email protected]
OKLAHOMA CITY – The annual Red Earth Buffalo Bash will be held Nov. 15 at the Science
Museum Oklahoma Mezzanine, 2100 NE 52nd
St. Social hour and a silent auction will begin
at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and a program at
7 p.m. and a live auction and Red Earth Spirit
Award presentation at 8:30 p.m. Keynote speaker
will be Kevin Gover, director of the National
Museum of the American Indian.
For more information, call (405) 427-5228.
Global Gaming Expo
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EXN Fraternity Pow Wow
Nov. 3, front lawn of Mendenhal at East Carolina
University, Greenville, N.C.
Brian Richardson (252) 717-1570;
[email protected]
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Ninth Stone Mountain Park
Pow Wow and Indian Festival
Nov. 6 – 9, Antebellum Plantation and Farmyard
inside Stone Mountain Park, Ga.
Linda Whittington (770) 413-5066;
[email protected];
www.stonemountainpark.com
shopping at this event. Contact Laura Grabhorn
at (360) 867-6413 or [email protected] to
participate as an artist or vendor.
Woody Crumbo exhibit
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EVANSTON, Ill. – The Mitchell Museum of the
American Indian, 3001 Central St., will display
paintings by Potawatomi artist Woody Crumbo
through Dec. 24. His paintings are in numerous
museums, galleries and private collections; Queen
Elizabeth and New York’s Metropolitan Museum of
Art own complete numbered sets of his etchings
and silk screens. For more information, call (847)
475-1030 or visit www.mitchellmuseum.org.
Native art exhibit
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BROOKINGS, S.D. – The Thorburn/Buechel exhibition, a collection of American Indian art and
photographic images, will be on display in the
South Dakota Art Museum through Feb. 22. For
more information, call (866) 805-7590 or (605) 6885423, or visit www3.sdstate.edu/Administration
/SouthDakotaArtMuseum.
LAS VEGAS – The current economic landscape
and the effect it will have on the future of the
gaming entertainment industry is among the
issues to be discussed as part of the Global
Gaming Expo conference, Nov. 18 – 20 at the Las
Vegas Convention Center. Three specialized professional education events will be held Nov. 17.
For more information on G2E, visit www.global
gamingexpo.com.
PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The Festival of Native Film
and Culture will take place March 4 – 8 at Camelot
Theatres. This event will include film screenings,
receptions and events, and is presented by Agua
Caliente Cultural Museum. For more information,
call (760) 778-1079 or visit www.accmuseum.org.
Blackfeet doll cradleboard class
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Pueblo pottery
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GREAT FALLS, Mont. – Jackie Larson Bread, Blackfeet and one of Montana’s Circle of American
Masters honorees, will lead a class on making a
Blackfeet doll cradleboard or a female Blackfeet
doll on Wednesdays through Nov. 19 from 10:30
a.m. – 1 p.m. in the C.M. Russell Museum lower
level, 400 13th St. North.
Cost for supplies and instruction is $70 for
museum members and $80 for non-members. To
register or for more information, call (406) 7278787, ext. 347.
Evergreen State College
longhouse events
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OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Holiday Native Arts
Fair will be held Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
at the longhouse, 2700 Evergreen Parkway
NW. Many Evergreen students, staff members and
Olympia community members do their holiday
Festival of Native Film and Culture
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SANTA FE, N.M. – The Museum of Indian Arts and
Culture will show “A River Apart: The Pottery of
Cochiti and Santo Domingo Pueblos,” through June
6, 2010. The exhibit will examine the pottery traditions of the two pueblos through nearly 250 pieces.
The museum is located on Museum Hill,
Camino Lejo off Old Santa Fe Trail. For more
information, call (505) 476-1269 or visit www.
indianartsandculture.org.
Get the word out!
I
ndian Country Today will publish information
about your pow wow or event if you send the
name, date, location and contact information several
weeks in advance to 3059 Seneca Turnpike, Canastota,
NY 13032, e-mail [email protected], or fax to
(315) 829-8393.