cultural resources

LA Times Article on the Chumash Language

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

From the LA Times (thanks to Patrick O’Donnell for pointing this out):

SANTA YNEZ — A generation ago, the ancient Chumash tongue of Samala was all but dead, its songs and sagas buried in a university basement beneath mountains of yellowing research notes.

But now Samala is the talk of the reservation.

Thanks largely to a non-American Indian graduate student who was working for pocket money 40 years ago, the tribe has unveiled the first major Samala dictionary, a key moment in the language’s rebirth.

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Detroit News: Tribe Demands Remains from U-M

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Detroit News:

ANN ARBOR — On the wooden shelves of a University of Michigan laboratory, thousands of relics — ceramic bowls, copper beads and stone and bone tools — await the careful eyes of researchers.

The ancient burial artifacts provide rich details about vibrant cultures that hunted, fished, raised crops and traded goods throughout the Great Lakes and beyond, archaeologists say.

But a group of Native Americans led by the Saginaw Chippewa of Mount Pleasant say hundreds of human remains, and the funerary objects buried with them, are being wrongly held and they are asking U-M to return them so they can be reburied.

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More Info on Mother Earth Water Walk

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Our previous post is here.

And here is the Mother Earth Walk poster.

Ninth Circuit Affirms Constitutionality of Bald Eagle Protection Act

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

In consolidated cases, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the constitutionality of prosecuting American Indians under the Bald and Golden Eagles Protection Act, rejecting a challenge under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. A similar case is under review by the Tenth Circuit (United States v. Friday).

The Ninth Circuit applied a 2003 precedent, United States v. Antoine, upholding the law under similar facts. Here are the materials.

us-v-antoine-ca9-2003

vasquez-ramos-opening-brief

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Nokomis Center Spring Feast

bnewland

Sorry to break up the discussions with a shameless plug, but the Nokomis Center in Okemos will be hosting its first annual “Spring Feast” this Sunday, April 13th, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Guests will get to indulge in buffalo meat, as well as hear special musical guests. Tickets are $25 per family, $10 per adult, $5 per child (10 & under), and $5 per elder (55 & older). Proceeds go to the Nokomis Center, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving Native culture. The Nokomis Center is located next to the Meridian Mall in Okemos, at 5153 Marsh Rd. Please join us if you can, as the Nokomis Center needs all of the financial support our community can provide.

Two Makah Whalers Convicted in Federal Court

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

A federal magistrate convicted two members of the Makah Nation of Washington for hunting a gray whale without federal approval.

Wayne Johnson and Andy Noel were convicted of conspiracy to violate the Marine Mammal Protection Act and unlawfully taking a marine mammal. They waived the right to a jury trial but plan to take their case to the >9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Johnson and Noel face up to one year in prison Three other tribal members who participated in the hunt pleaded guilty in exchange for no prison time.

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Federal Court Makah Whaling Trial Set for Next Week

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the AP:

Trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday in federal court in Tacoma for two Makah tribal members accused of killing a gray whale without a federal permit.

Andy Noel and Wayne Johnson face up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine if convicted of violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The two turned down a plea deal accepted last month by three other whalers. All five still face prosecution in tribal court in Neah Bay. They harpooned and shot a whale Sept. 8 in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

On a pretrial motion, Magistrate J. Kelley Arnold ruled that the defendants could not argue the whaling was a religious or cultural exercise. Defense lawyer Jack Fiander says that may be appealed.

New Book: “Buffalo Inc.” by Sebastian Braun (UND)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the University of Oklahoma Press:

Buffalo Inc.
American Indians and Economic Development
By Sebastian Felix Braun
<!–By Sebastian Felix Braun
–>
Buffalo as a business on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation

Some American Indian tribes on the Great Plains have turned to bison ranching in recent years as a culturally and ecologically sustainable economic development program. This book focuses on one enterprise on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation to determine whether such projects have fulfilled expectations and how they fit with traditional and contemporary Lakota values.

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NPR: Makah Views Whalers as Heroes and Nuisances

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From NPR:

Listen

All Things Considered, March 12, 2008 · Five Makah Indians are due in federal court next month to face charges of illegally killing a gray whale in the waters off Washington state. The men say they did it out of frustration: Their tribe has a recognized treaty right to hunt the whales, but it has been waiting years for a government permit.

The hunters’ actions have had more than just legal consequences. The rest of the tribe has come to see them as both troublemakers and heroes.

Wayne Johnson, one of the men, says he’s afraid to go back to the Makah reservation and face the leaders of his tribe. His troubles started on a sunny day last September, when he decided he was no longer going to wait for a government permit to go whaling.

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Black Ash Basketry Conference — May 16, 2008

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Kelly Church:

Emerald Ash Borer/ Black Ash Basketry Conference 2008

Since the discovery of the Emerald Ash Borer(EAB) in 2002, Michigan has lost over 20 million ash trees, and the numbers continue to rise. The entire lower peninsula of Michigan is under a “no ash movement” quarantine, and the EAB continues to spread and infect entire ash lots, eventually killing off once healthy, thriving ash trees.

For hundreds of years Native Americans of Michigan (Anishnabe) and Natives from all over the North Eastern United States have been using Black Ash trees for basketweaving. These baskets have been used for centuries for utilitarian purposes such as Market baskets, berry picking baskets, fishing creels, baby baskets, laundry baskets, and sewing baskets. Today they are still used in a variety of ways, and are also collectible baskets as pieces of art.

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