Scholarship Opportunity

The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program Scholarship Opportunity The Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Young Scholars Program provides aunique scholarship opportunity to high-achieving 7th grade studentswith financial need. The most personalized and generous scholarshipexperience in the nation, the Young Scholars Program works closelywith exceptional students and their families to provide individualizededucational services that include but are not limited to: • Help with selecting a high school• Advice and financial assistance for enrichment programs• Access to computer, software, or other learning technology• Music, art, or other talent lessons• College admission advising To be eligible, students must be in the 7th grade currently orentering the 8th grade in the fall of 2011 showing:• Strong academic ability – All or mostly A’s• Significant financial need• Motivation and will to succeed• Leadership and public service• Accomplishments in music, the arts, or other extra curricular activities Applications will be available February 1st, 2011. For moreinformation and to complete an application please visit:www.jkcf.org/scholarships/young-scholars-program/

Kumeyaay Place Names Project

IntelliSparx Launches Kumeyaay Place Names ProjectContact InformationEric Wohl
4675 51st St.
San Diego CA, 92115
619-884-2250
http://www.intellisparx.com


San Diego based interactive agency IntelliSparx launches interactive map for the Kumeyaay Place Names Project.

Online PR News – 26-November-2010 –IntelliSparx, a San Diego based digital interactive agency recently launched the Kumeyaay P lace Names Project at www.kumeyaaymapping.com. IntelliSparx donated a portion of its profit to the Kumeyaay Place Names Project to help kick-start the efforts of the Kumeyaay Research Team.

This website features an interactive map of Kumeyaay (Iipay/Tipay aka Diegueno) Place Names. Our goal was to gather invaluable information from some of remaining Kumeyaay speakers and from hard-to-access archival and printed resources and then to present it in a form that is accurate and available to many.

Financial supporters include: the Sycuan Institute for Tribal Gaming, the University of California Humanities Research Institute, the Endangered Language Fund, Intellisparx and Larry Banegas of Kumeyaay.com.

“Having worked with Kumeyaay.com, we had a great opportunity to become the active provider for the Kumeyaay Place Names Project. The KPP team has done terrific research in their respective fields and it was a pleasure putting their studies in to a web based application so that the Kumeyaay History would become a part of the web for future education and research studies,” said President of IntelliSparx, Eric Wohl.

Few concepts resonate more strongly than “place” in indigenous studies today. Place names describe landforms and also show a close connection with nature and tell timeless stories associated with land.

To learn more about the project visit www.kumeyaaymapping.com

SCHOLARSHIPS

Howka tribal members, There is a great website to help all our tribal members getting ready for college or are already in college. Check this out !
http://roybal-allard.house.gov/UploadedFiles/2010-2011_Paying_For_College-2.pdf

Free EBook- The Indian Captive

Howka tribal members, I thought I would start posting some free books that our tribal members could read online. I am starting with a book called The Indian Captive.. which is about a white man that was kidnapped and held as a slave and ultimately adopted into a tribe.

http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/32228/pg32228.html

The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Indian Captive, by Matthew Brayton

This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

Title: The Indian Captive A narrative of the adventures and sufferings of Matthew Brayton in his thirty-four years of captivity among the Indians of north-western America

ELECTIONS ARE OVER AND WE HAVE NEW LEADERS

Howka tribal members.. well the results are in >>> we now have new leaders and hopefully new opportunities... and hopefully a new library.. Here are the results:


Executive Branch
Chairman Virgil Perez
Vice-Chairwoman Brandie Taylor

Legislative Branch
Sunni Dominguez
Arlene Linton
Brenda Osuna
Andrew Wilson
Paul Gonzales
Ashley Koda
Michelle Austin

Judicial Branch
Chief Judge Brandenburg

SAD LOSS OF TRIBAL ELDER ANNA PRIETO SANDOVAL

Howka tribal members, It is a sad loss to our community to lose Anna. I want to send out my condolences to the family and to the Sycuan reservation. Anna was revered by us all. I personally remember Anna for all the good she has done for our people and villages on both sides of the border. Anna gave me the strength and determination to get my traditional tattoo done. She was the only other person from our tribe that I knew of that had one done. There is a great write up and pic of Anna in our local newspaper. I am sure Mayaha is glad she is home and out of pain.To read the article/ obit.. check here

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/nov/01/anna-prieto-sandoval-sycuan-tribal-leader-who/

FREE EBOOK

Howka tribal members, My friend Lisa Mitten, another Native librarian just sent out an email about a free computer E book that has alot of free downloadable Native books. I thought this might be especially good for our tribal members since we have no libraries close to the reservation
The new ebook reader for your computer called BLIO - http://www.blio.com/
Tell me what you think and maybe we can use it as a way to start a book club on the rez, as we don't have multiple copies of the same book available for all the kids.
I am also hoping it will help some of our college students.


http://www.blio.com/

STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIAN WOMEN

Howka sisters and brothers, as many of you know violence against Native women is an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed. Today the SD Union Tribune posted an article by Susan Montoya Bryan about a new law addressing this issue. Read the article below..... let's hope this law makes an impact and helps our sisters.
"
Federal law takes on crimes against Indian women
By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press Writer,

Wednesday, October 20, 2010 at 4:05 p.m.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Federal and tribal officials hope a new law aimed at improving the judicial landscape in Indian Country will also help them combat "disturbing" crime statistics involving American Indian women.

According to federal data, one in three Indian women will be raped in their lifetimes, while two-fifths will suffer from domestic violence. The chance an Indian woman will be the victim of a violent crime is three and a half times greater than the national average, recent numbers shows.

"The statistics in Indian Country regarding violence against women are disturbing to say the least. It's incumbent upon us to take appropriate action," said Wizipan Garriott, policy adviser to Assistant Interior Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk.

Many point to these figures as the impetus for the Tribal Law and Order Act, a broad new federal law aimed at combating crime on reservations.

About 150 judges, tribal leaders and law enforcement officials met Tuesday and Wednesday in Albuquerque for a national symposium on implementing the law, signed by President Barack Obama in July.

The act requires federal and tribal officers serving Indian Country to be trained in interviewing sexual assault victims and collecting evidence at crime scenes. It also requires the Indian Health Service to establish a nationwide protocol for helping sexual assault victims.

While it will take time to fully implement all the provisions in the act, Garriott said improving the way federal and tribal agencies go about their daily work will make things better. For instance, he said, if data shows domestic violence calls are on the rise, agencies will look at how they can better train officers to respond.

Coordination with U.S. attorneys that cover Indian County will also help ensure crimes against women are prosecuted, he said.

Supporters of the law say it will untie officers' hands in some cases by allowing them to make warrantless arrests.

"If you see the evidence, the bruising or a facial expression - even with just a facial expression you can tell something happened - that probable cause will allow the police officer to make that arrest and stop the violence. Even if it's for a short period of time, it will help," said Francine Bradley-Arthur, who served as a Navajo Nation police officer for 20 years and often saw the effects of domestic violence.

Sarah Deer, an assistant law professor and member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, was among the dozens of people who helped develop the Tribal Law and Order Act. She said she's particularly hopeful the IHS will commit to training staff and having rape exam kits available at all of its facilities.

About 30 percent of IHS facilities don't have policies in place for dealing with sexual assault cases, according to federal figures.

Deer acknowledged that not all women will report sexual assaults or want a forensic exam, but she said they should have the option.

"It's a protocol that's been used in mainstream America for going on 30 years, and it just has been denied to Native women," she said. "We're just asking - and hoping - that we can raise the standard for Native women equal to the expectations of mainstream America."

Deer and others said the law is not a quick fix for Indian Country's crime problem, but it will provide the framework for taking incremental steps forward.

"There is a light at the end of the tunnel," Bradley-Arthur said. "

The Associated Press

VIDEOS ABOUT WOMEN SHAMANS

Howka tribal members.. A friend of mine sent me this great footage..she said " If you are interested in anthropology, this will be of great interest to you. This is from a friend who does reserch int the type of thing that interestests me. It is totally facinaging, so a am passing it on and sharing with all of you because this film is a real cultural treasure. It shows the great Pomo holy woman Essie Parrish performing a healing ritual in the Roundhouse, the ritual space of her people in northern California. She knew she was preserving this precious heritage, after generations of missionary inroads on Pomo culture, and the commentaries are all hers. Her title was Yomta, which means "Song," and she carried not only the chants but the ceremonies, the spiritual heritage, the healing ways of the "Indian doctors" and the Bole Maru Dreamers"
The Pomo shaman is named Piwoya her english name is Essie Parrish.. it also has singers named Bernice Dollar, Bertha Antone, Julia Marrufo & Emmett Antone. The fire tender is Clement Marrufo and the patient is Sidney Parrish. I am hoping people may know these family relations and pass on this rare footage..
http://www.sourcememory.net/womanshaman/videolinks.html

EARTH WEBCAMS

Howka tribal members.. I know we have such a beautiful view on the rez... our beautiful Volcan mountains .... but in case you want to look at other places on beautiful muut (mother earth).. take a look at this webpage full of webcams of beautiful places all over ..http://www.earthcam.com/
here you can watch zoo cams, cams looking at tourist spots worldwide..
there is also a great section for the kids of our rez.
http://www.earthcamforkids.com/

San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive KQED Collection

Thanks to Susan Hanks I was sent this link to some great archival footage.
http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/2570

San Francisco Bay Area Television Archive KQED Collection http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/2570
Native American Burial Sites : KQED News report from September 5th 1975 in South San Francisco (San Mateo County), examining the tension between economic expansion in California and the preservation of Native American sacred burial sites. Includes scenes from an archaeological dig, views of an Ohlone Indian cemetery and also interviews with several pundits, who discuss the issues involved.
http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/189762


Native American Employment Discrimination: KQED News report from August 29th 1973 featuring a press conference with Lehman Brightman, in which he announces that a charge of employment discrimination towards Native Americans is being filed against the Justice Department and other Federal agencies. He explains: "This twelve page complaint is unprecedented in the fact that it's a first in the nation to be filed with the newly created Office of Indian Rights, which is within the Justice Department." Also includes scenes of other speakers discussing this issue, one of whom points out that the Justice Department has indicted more Native Americans than they have hired, over the past three years. http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/189502
Pomo Indian Demonstration: KQED News report from January 27th 1975 featuring a rally by Pomo Native Americans, who are claiming the Catholic church should not be trying to charge them $750,000 to re possess vacant land in Northern California. http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/189752
Public Hearing on Native American housing: KQED News report from September 21st 1976 in San Francisco, featuring scenes from a public hearing about the shortage of affordable housing for Native Americans in urban areas. http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/189766 Includes view of San Francisco American Indian Center

Ron Dellums: A test of coalition politics: Documentary film produced by Oliver Moss and presented by KQED's Black Production Unit, following the 1972 political campaign of Congressman Ron Dellums and the Oakland Democratic Coalition. Includes interviews with Dellums, Willie Brown, Leola 'Roscoe Higgs' Dellums and many political supporters and opponents from the Bay Area http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/188782

Sacred Smoke Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pivRGTXCmlg&feature=player_embedded


As many of our youth and adults know.. smoking kills many of our people..
The Northern California Indian Development Council’s Sacred Smoke Project is proud to announce the release of student created Public Service Announcements on the impact of commercial tobacco in the American Indian community. The messages the students communicate is that tobacco is a sacred gift for many tribes and that commercial tobacco is a major health risk for American Indian people. The effort of these students promotes both an important health message while reinforcing American Indian culture.

ABUSE AGAINST NATIVE WOMEN

Howka sisters and brothers.. as we all know violence against Native Women is very high. I wanted to post a few websites that discuss the issue as well as show posters of some missing sisters.
http://www.amnesty.ca/campaigns/sisters_overview.php

http://indiancountrynews.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=category§ionid=36&id=183&Itemid=117



How many Sisters do we have to lose?
Helen Betty Osborne was a 19-year-old Cree student from northern Manitoba. She dreamed of becoming a teacher. On November 12, 1971, four white men abducted her from the streets of The Pas. She was sexually assaulted and brutally murdered. A judge said later:

... the men who abducted Osborne believed that young Aboriginal women were objects with no human value beyond sexual gratification ... Betty Osborne would be alive today had she not been an Aboriginal woman.

The murder of Helen Betty Osborne – and her family’s long search for justice – is one of the nine stories of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls told in Stolen Sisters: Discrimination and Violence against Indigenous Women in Canada, a report by Amnesty International.

These stories represent just part of the terror and suffering that has been inflicted on Indigenous or Aboriginal women and their families across Canada.

This violence can be stopped. But only if Canadian officials take concerted action to protect the lives of First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and girls.

On March 25, 2003 – three decades after the murder of Helen Betty Osborne – her 16-year-old cousin, Felicia Solomon, went missing in Winnipeg. The first posters seeking information on her disappearance were distributed by her family, not the police. Parts of her body were found three months later.

Lives at risk
According to a Canadian government statistic, young Indigenous women are five times more likely than other women of the same age to die as the result of violence.

Indigenous women have long struggled to draw attention to violence within their own families and communities. Canadian police and public officials have also long been aware of a pattern of racist violence against Indigenous women in Canadian cities – but have done little to prevent it.

The pattern looks like this:

Racist and sexist stereotypes deny the dignity and worth of Indigenous women, encouraging some men to feel they can get away with acts of hatred against them.


Decades of government policy have impoverished and broken apart Indigenous families and communities, leaving many Indigenous women and girls extremely vulnerable to exploitation and attack.


Many police forces have failed to institute necessary measures – such as training, protocols and accountability mechanisms – to ensure that officers understand and respect the Indigenous communities they serve. Without such measures, police too often fail to do all they can to ensure the safety of Indigenous women and girls whose lives are in danger.
No excuse for government inaction
There is no excuse for government inaction. In fact, many of the steps needed to ensure the safety and well-being of Indigenous women have already been identified by government inquiries – including the inquiry into the murder of Helen Betty Osborne.

All levels of government should work closely with Indigenous women’s organizations to develop a comprehensive and coordinated programme of action to stop violence against Indigenous women. Immediate action should be taken to implement a number of long overdue reforms, including:

Institute measures to ensure that police thoroughly investigate all reports of missing women and girls


Provide adequate, stable funding to the frontline organizations that provide culturally-appropriate services such as shelter, support and counselling to help Indigenous women and girls escape from harm’s way
“When will the Canadian government finally recognize the real dangers faced by Indigenous women?” asks Darlene Osborne, a relative of Felicia Solomon and Helen Betty Osborne. “Families like mine all over Canada are wondering how many more sisters and daughters we have to lose before real government action is taken.”

A message from Tantoo Cardinal

"There are intensely wound layers of sexism and racism that are at the root of countless acts of violence against Aboriginal women and at the root of inaction to protect and advocate for Aboriginal women.

My prayers are with the stolen sisters and their families. It is my honour to acknowledge the Stolen Sisters report. All our efforts will work towards a safer future for our daughters and granddaughters."

For more information on this report, please contact info@amnesty.ca

Help end anti-LGBT bullying!

TAKE ACTION: Help end anti-LGBT bullying! ---
In the wake of a recent spate of bullying-related youth suicides, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has released a video entitled "An Important Message" hoping to raise awareness, to reach out to suffering kids and teens so that they know they are not alone, and to move people to action to help at risk youth.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br7nbQSIyhg

Rutgers student 18 year-old Tyler Clementi took his own life last week by jumping off the George Washington Bridge after his roommate allegedly secretly filmed him in an encounter with another man.

13 year-old Seth Walsh, a Californian teenager who spent nine days in hospital on life-support following a suicide attempt, died Tuesday. He was bullied for being perceived as gay.

13 year-old Asher Brown killed himself with his father's gun following a sustained campaign of anti-gay bullying at school. On the morning he took his own life, he came out to his parents.

15 year-old Billy (William) Lucas took his own life a couple of weeks ago after what has been described as years of bullying over his perceived sexuality. Sadly, news has emerged of a possible fifth suicide.

19 year-old Raymond Chase, a Johnson and Wales sophomore, is thought to have taken his own life this past Wednesday. Chase was reportedly openly gay. The reason why he took his own life is currently unknown. ---
Don't Suffer in Silence, Get Help ---
The Trevor Project runs a 24/7 helpline with trained counselors ready to listen if you or someone you know would like to talk about the issues dealt with in this post. The Trevor Project Helpline number is 1-866-4-U-TREVOR (1-866-488-7386).

Poster Competition! WIN $1,000

Poster Competition!

2011 San Diego Latino Film Festival Poster Competition Call for Entries

Media Arts Center San Diego is now accepting submissions for our second annual Film Festival Poster Competition. The deadline for all submissions is November 19, 2010.

*Click here for Submission Form

Media Arts Center San Diego, in partnership with the San Diego Reader, will be presenting the 18th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival (SDLFF) 10-20, March 2011. This prestigious and internationally recognized festival celebrates films and videos by Latinos and/or about the Latino experience, screening over 160 works from across Latin America and throughout the United States. For the first time, the Festival is putting a call out to artists and graphic designers for its annual poster artwork. Artists and Designers are encouraged to submit work for the Film Festival Poster Competition by November 19, 2010.

Late submissions will NOT be accepted.

Guidelines

The competition is open to all artists and graphic designers, and all submissions must be received by the deadline of November 19, 2010 at 5:00pm. There is no limit to the number of submissions entered. In honor of our inaugural year of Festival Poster Competition, there is no entry fee. Entries will be accepted from individuals, collaborative teams, or design firms, with prize money being split between the entrants listed. No additional prize money will be awarded.

*Entries must be mounted on an 8 1/2" w x 11" h board.

In the artwork, be sure to include "18th Annual San Diego Latino Film Festival, March 10-20 2011" Entries may be in the form of photography, painting, graphic art, and illustration, in color or black and white.The design should be easy to translate into a range of print materials such as 30" x 36" size posters, newsprint ads, t-shirts, film, street banners, bus advertisements, etc.

Place your name, address, email and phone number on the back of each submission.

All submissions will be judged based on content, appeal and marketability. The decisions of the judges will be final. Media Arts Center San Diego does not take on liability for submissions. Please provide a self-addressed stamped envelope if you would like your design(s) to be returned to you.

All submissions become the shared property of the artist and San Diego Latino Film Festival. By submitting an entry, the entrant agrees that San Diego Latino Film Fesitval has permission to use the image for purposes including, but not limited to:

-slides
-brochures
-advertisements
-t-shirts
-souvenir programs
-festival badges & tickets
-postcards

Copyrighted material: Material that is not original or the property of the artist is prohibited.

If your poster design is selected, you will win USD$1,000 and your design will contribute the look of the Festival by appearing on Festival posters, invitations, t-shirts, and much more, providing significant and immeasurable exposure to your artwork/design. Finalists will be announced in mid-December, and the winning poster will be revealed in January 2011 in San Diego. All posters that advance to the final round will be exhibited during the 2011 San Diego Latino Film Festival, March 10-20, 2011.

Send submissions to

MEDIA ARTS CENTER SAN DIEGO
Attn: San Diego Latino Film Festival 2011
2921 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92104-1204

For further information, please contact Media Arts Center San Diego at (619) 230-1938 or visit www.sdlatinofilm.com.

FREE SEEDS FOR OUR TRIBAL MEMBERS

Howka sisters and brothers, I just wanted to remind everyone that we can get free seeds from Native Seed Search. We can get about 30 packets each. Great time to get ready and start some crops on the rez. With the way the world is going, creating our own crops on the rez could be a great way to start storing organic food. They also have chia seeds. Chia seeds is a great traditional plant for our people as it is a great plant to fend off diabetes.
http://www.nativeseeds.org/


Just give your Santa Ysabel rez address and they will send you the seeds. Select the seeds you want and then give them the names and numbers. Karen

Sacred Spirals

Howka tribal members,I wanted to share a very interesting link. I don't know if any of you have ever seen the footage of the sacred spirals that come out of the sky.There have been many newspaper articles and now there are youtube videos.. The most recent was in June .. it was visible from Australia. many tribal / indigenous peoples have the sacred spiral drawings amongst their peoples..mostly drawn on rocks
check this out
http://mountzion144.ning.com/video/the-sacred-spiral

Minority Students for Internship Opportunities

The mission of INROADS is to develop and place talented minority youth in business and industry and prepare them for corporate and community leadership.

INROADS seeks high performing minority students for internship opportunities with some of the nation's largest companies. Our rigorous career development training process will challenge you to commit to excellence and raise the bar on your personal expectations.

For more information see:
http://www.inroads.org/interns/internWhatItTakes.jsp

The 4th Friday of September in California is Native American Day

Howka Sisters & brothers, Just wanted to remind everyone that this Friday is Native American Day. I found a geat video of a Cahuilla elder at http://www.squidoo.com/california-native-american-day

I am not sure who it is , but she talks about the old days and I found it to be just like sitting with my auntie as she talked about the old days.

Native American Youth Artwork Contest

Howka sisters and brothers.. I have been out of the country. I have been blessed to spend some time with the Maori people of New Zealand. While there I rcently got our sand painting tattooed on my calf. The sand painting that represents the cosmology of our people.It was quite an experience. It was done in their traditional way using the old tapping method. As some of you remember I had our girls puberty ceremonial tattoo ( our wikwiich) done on my chin.. The new tattoo was very empowering.
I wanted to post this conest that was sent to me from AILA.Hopefully one of our creative tribal children will enter and win.. Good Luck !


CONTACT: Dave Ryan Ryan.dave@epa.gov 202-564-7827 202-564-4355 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 30, 2010 EPA Announces Native American Youth Artwork Contest: "Help FightEnvironmental Crime" WASHINGTON - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) todayannounced a poster artwork contest for Native American students aimed atprotecting the environment by encouraging the reporting of possibleenvironmental crimes through EPA's tips and complaints website. The contest, open to all middle and high school students who are membersof a federally recognized tribe, is a chance for young people to drawtheir visions of environmental damage from their viewpoint. EPA will usethe winning artwork on its website and on posters encouraging thereporting of environmental violations. Special agents with EPA's criminal enforcement program will presentplaques to winning entrants at their schools, and will give apresentation on what it is like to be an EPA criminal investigator. The artwork will be judged on creativity, originality and how well itdepicts the message of environmental violations. Entries must bereceived or postmarked by Oct. 8, 2010 to be considered. Winners will beannounced in November. Students should submit artwork to: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Enforcement - "Help Fight Environmental Crime" Contest Denver Federal Center, Bldg 25, Ent. E-2 P.O. Box 25227 Denver, CO 80225 More information on the contest:http://www.epa.gov/compliance/criminal/contest/tribal.html

ANNOUNCING A LIVE WEBCAST!

ANNOUNCING A LIVE WEBCAST!
Family Night: An Evening with
Jacque Tahuka-Nunez


Date: Monday, August 23, 2010
Time: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Location: 5250 Aero Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

Live Webcast on August 23, from 6 - 8 pm!
Please visit:
http://clients.evokenetworks.com/cimcc/live-webcast.aspx

The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center invites you to an evening of storytelling with Jacque Tahuka-Nunez. Ms. Nunez, a master storyteller, teacher, singer, director, writer and cultural consultant, will share stories of her Acjachemen ancestors. Selected as "Educator of the Year" 2009 for the State of California, she combines ancient wisdom with classroom teaching techniques in creating historically accurate and culturally appropriate resources for students. Ms. Nunez will explore the history of storytelling and the use of oral tradition in preserving and passing on California Indian cultural heritage. She has shared her stories at Disneyland, Los Angeles and Anaheim convention centers, and hundreds of schools and libraries. Ms. Nunez believes in the use of storytelling to illustrate the beauty of California Indian communities and looks to inspire others to discover more about their own cultures.

Come and learn how to bring storytelling back into your families, communities, and classrooms - or click on the above link to view the live webcast.

Presented by Communities Empowering Youth, Activating Native Youth Assets, a joint project of the National Indian Justice Center, California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, and Sonoma County Indian Health Project, and funded by the Compassion Capital Fund, ACF, DHHS.


For the complete flyer along with The California Indian Museum Lecture Series information, click here or visit: www.cimcc.org.

school resources and upcoming event

Howka tribal members, I know many of our children and adults are heading back to school. I wanted to share a new website that I think will be a great resource for school.
www.studystack.com will help you whether you are a young adult or a college student..
www.math.com
and for those of you looking for some practice tests for tests such as GED, NCLEX 3etc.. go to
www.testpreview.com
email me if you need any help.

I hope everyone got the email from our vice chair Brandy Taylor about the upcoming Warner school event. I will be bringing books for our tribal children as well as all children that atend Warner. During the Oct. event all children get to select a book of their choice.. Thanks to the fantastic donaions of private donations,Harper & Disney... so make sure you stop by.

Scholarship available

Howka Tribal members.. we have so many college students I am not sure who is going to school for what. I am posting this scholarship opportunity that was just sent to me ..
The Wildlife Society is currently offering grants of $1,500 via a competitive program available to all Native American, Alaska Natives, First Nations, Native Hawaiian or Indigenous Tribal students currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program studying natural resources or natural resource management. Through these grants we¹d like to enable as many interested, budding professionals as possible to attend our 17th Annual Conference in Snowbird, Utah, which will run from October 2-6 this year. Select students will be able to enjoy meeting and learning from experienced wildlife professionals from all over the country. The original application deadline of August 6, 2010 has been extended to August 20, 2010 to try to encourage more students to apply for this wonderful opportunity.Details about the program and how to apply are available at:http://www.wildlife.org/conference The Wildlife Society17th Annual ConferenceJoin us for The Wildlife Society¹s 17th Annual Conference, held in Snowbird, Utah, from October 2-6, 2010. There you can learn about cutting-edge research in wildlife biology, management, and conservation, as well as meet colleagues and receive mentoring from wildlife professionals in a wide range of fields.The conference offers over 450 paper and poster presentations, half-day and full-day workshops, related field trips and many networking opportunities.Student attendees can also participate in a career fair and attend a host of student activities including breakfasts and dinners, a student-professional mixer, and a quiz bowl.Application Deadline: August 20, 2010For conference information:www.wildlife.org/conference Please help us spread the word about this exciting new initiative to all eligible students. Kind regards,Shannon

First Voices: a pubTV first about the original Americans

Tribe backs national channel from KVCR
First Voices: a pubTV first about the original Americans
Published in Current, July 26, 2010
By Steve Behrens

A small Native tribe near San Bernardino, Calif. — the San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians — has pledged $6 million over three years to help pubTV station KVCR develop what the partners say will be the first national TV channel about Native Americans.

Larry R. Ciecalone, KVCR president, expects the channel will launch in spring 2011 — initially reaching six tribes in its broadcast area via cable TV or a multicast DTV.

It won’t be assembled exclusively for Native Americans, Ciecalone cautions, because the Indians’ story is “a very important part of our history” for the general audience to know, Ciecalone says.

“We’ve discovered a lot of content looking for a place to go,” he told Current last week.

A prime source may be Native American Public Telecommunications, but its archive wouldn’t fill a 24-hour channel for long. It has fostered about 100 hours of programming, says NAPT Executive Director Shirley Sneve, but the CPB-backed group now has ready-to-go broadcast rights for only about half of them.

Other caches of videotape also could unspool on the new channel, Sneve says, citing stations and tribes that produce weekly or monthly programs about Native issues. For example, WDSE in Duluth, Minn., has produced five 15-program seasons of Native Report. The Tulalip tribes near Everett, Wash., put out a stream of programs for a cable channel that they call KANU.

When KVCR’s channel goes national, Ciecalone says, he’d like to see stations elsewhere pairing up with local tribes and producing shows that they, too, would contribute to the national channel.

Ciecalone is moving to hire an executive director for the channel, and he expects to hire 10 to 15 additional staffers.

Long-term-minded fundraisers hope that broadened programming will bring minority audiences, followed a while later by minority donors, but many Native Americans on reservations have almost no disposable income.

The San Manuel Band, however, is one of the few fortunate tribes with a large and busy gambling casino. The tribe has only about 200 members but it says it has 3,000 employees to run the gaming and entertainment complex, where B.B. King and Buddy Guy will perform in coming weeks.

The tribe not only invests in building and buying hotels around the country, but also donates generously to nonprofits and charity. San Manuel leaders wrote a $1.7 million check for Haitian earthquake relief and recently donated $2 million or more to two universities in distant states.

KVCR was not left out. Before announcing the $6 million gift to the station, the tribe had given the station $1.5 million for new facilities, and had funded The People of the Pines, KVCR’s series of 12 half-hour documentaries about the San Manuel band and other California tribes.

Ramos also was elected to the board of the San Bernardino Community College District, KVCR's licensee, and is now chair of that board.

Starting a unique and useful channel also could help KVCR keep more federal funding and more spectrum, now that Washington policymakers are frowning on multiple stations that air duplicative programming within a single metro area. The FCC is moving to squeeze underused spectrum from broadcasters, and CPB is holding mixers to inspire mergers among KVCR and the three other pubTV licensees around Los Angeles.

\The tribe got to know KVCR as its leaders realized how few local people knew Native American history — and were especially clueless about California tribes. The tribe put the story on CD-ROMs for classroom use, says James Ramos, chair of the tribal council. Then the tribe began developing the historical series The People of the Pines with KVCR.

“We started meeting on how we could get this message out there,” he says. “We started talking about this TV channel.”

In Spain’s colonial days, the California missions took Native children "basically as indentured laborers,” and the Mexican rulers who followed the Spanish “were even worse,” offering bounties for Natives killed, Ramos says. When Americans joined the Gold Rush, they sent militias into the hills to protect the timber and minerals they believed were theirs. As whites settled the valley, they gradually pushed the San Manuel band eastward, into the foothills.

A rare lucky result was that their land — shoved into the hills by 1891, when Washington recognized the reservation — was nevertheless near an Air Force base and in the path of San Bernardino’s future growth.

Tribe members tried to participate in the economy — working in stables and setting up cigarette shops, Ramos said. Santos Manuel, the 19th century leader for whom the tribe was named, was his great-grandfather, but Ramos recalls that his family earned cash by running a snack shop in their back yard.

The tribe did better by opening a high-stakes bingo hall in 1985, adding a casino in 1994 and expanding the venue in 2005.

Internship Opportunity for Students and Young Professionals

Internship program
Internship Opportunity for Students and Young Professionals
Assemblyman Anderson's District Office in El Cajon is currently hiring new interns for our Summer Internships Program. This program is an excellent opportunity for current or recently graduated students who are looking to gain experience for a political career, develop professional working skills, and meet elected officials throughout San Diego County. There is currently one opening for an aspiring political cartoonist. It is an opportunity to complete the internship program and have your work published in newspapers alongside syndicated cartoonists and columnists. If you or someone you know is interested in applying, please contact the Internship Program Director Alex Sanchez at (619) 441-2322 or e-mail her at alex.sanchez@asm.ca.gov.

Tribal Lands Conservation Program Intern

Howka tribal members, I was forwarded this recent internship opportunity and thought it might be a great opportunity for someone from our rez..


The National Wildlife Federation is now accepting applicationsfor a Tribal Lands Conservation Program Intern (description below).Please forward to anyone that might be interested or to your networksthat may know good candidates.Thanks,Garrit Tribal and Public Lands Stewardship Intern (Boulder, CO) The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is seeking an intern toassist in advancing the protection of wildlife, their habitats, andnatural resources on tribal and public lands. NWF's Tribal LandsConservation Program partners with sovereign tribal nations to solvetoday's conservation challenges for future generations. Responsibilities will include assisting with climate changeprojects, conventional energy projects, environmental education,research, writing, grant development, monitoring federal policy, helpingto organize meetings and events, and other associated tasks relative toNWF's public and tribal lands programs. The intern will be exposed tomany aspects of natural resource policy and management pertaining totribal and public lands, tribal trust resources, and tribal naturalresources. A motivated individual is sought for a full-time, 11-month, paidinternship in NWF's office located in Boulder, Colorado. The TribalLands Stewardship Intern must be available to work a 40-hour weeklyschedule. The position offers $400/week plus core benefits. Qualifications: 2 years of B.A./B.S. completed or AssociatesDegree. Candidates should have excellent analytic and writtencommunication skills, experience with computer and library research, andcomputer skills. Candidates must have a commitment to natural resourceconservation and assisting tribal communities.
Apply at www.nwf.org/careergateway
NWF's mission is to inspire Americans to protect wildlife forour children's future. Garrit Voggesser, Ph.D.Senior Manager, Tribal Lands Conservation ProgramPhone: 303-441-5161 Fax: 303-786-8911 voggesser@nwf.orgNational Wildlife FederationRocky Mountain Regional Center2260 Baseline Road, Suite 100Boulder, CO 80302www.nwf.org

Native American health news channel

Howka tribal members, I just got an email about a Native American health news channel and wanted to share.. I think it would be great to implament this into our health clinics..

Native American health news
channel available
http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/article_133ac88e-83f1-11df-960a-001cc4c03286.html

Native American
health news channel available
By SARA KINCAID Bismarck Tribune |


At first glance, it appears to be a
cable news channel like any other.

There's someone giving a report, and
a crawl across the bottom, but watch a while, and it's obvious this is not just
any news station.

The station is Good Health TV, which
gives Native American communities health news on the television sets in clinic
waiting rooms.

“It’s Native American specific, which
is nice,” said Jared Eagle, the health educator at Minne-Tohe Health Clinic in
New Town.

Good Health TV is a division of KAT
Communications in Bismarck. The channel is shown to 50 tribes in 11 states. The
program started in Fort Yates in 2005. It is funded in part by a grant from
Indian Health Services.

The clinic in New Town started using
it two years ago, at a time when officials decided to provide only health
education materials in the clinic lobby. Until the clinic started that policy,
the TV was tuned to talk shows, game shows or other daytime television, Eagle
said.

“We did a user survey and 84 percent
of respondents said they learned something new from watching it,” Eagle said.
“They have to watch it because we have a small waiting room.”

The channel shows information on
diabetes, wellness, gang violence and nutrition. Local people produce the
segments for the areas that are served. Communities are able to customize what
they see, and include community events or emergency information on the
station.

“When they see themselves on
the screen, they connect with it,” said KAT Communications owner Todd
Muggerud.

The channel is streamed over the
Internet and is a subscription-based service. KAT Communications hopes to get
the station shown in more than medical centers, such as schools and people’s
homes.

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE CONFERENCE IN NEW ZEALAND

Howka, After a fantastic trip to New Zealand and speaking at the Traditional Knowledge Conference I wanted to post pictures . It seems the gathering has posted them at http://gallery.maramatanga.ac.nz/main.php
For my Kumeyaay elders that made the dolls, I gave them to an Aborigine elder and a Maori elder. There is a picture on the link of them. Karen

New Zealand

Howka, I just got back from New Zealand and had a great time. I spoke at the traditional knowledge conference at Auckland University. http://www.traditionalknowledge2010.ac.nz/
It was so beautiful to see other indigenous women that had tradtional tattooed chins.
My presentation was called "the fine lines that connect indigenous women". I will post some pics as soon as I have them downloaded.

GREAT TOOL FOR YOUNGER STUDENTS & COLLEGE STUDENTS

I found this great website that will help alot of our youth in studying. it's called www.studystack.com the website is interactive and very visual. The kids can play games that actually teach them various subjects such as math, geography, history etc. it is also great for nursing students as well as other college students.

OLD FOOTAGE OF INDIANS OCCUPYING ALCATRAZ

A KQED news report from Alcatraz featuring the American Indian occupation of the island, on November 24th 1969. Includes interviews with Dennis Turner, Richard Oakes and LaNada Means. Oakes confirms there there is no outbreak of hepatitis amongst the population and Turner states they're determined to remain there for 10 years if necessary, to defend their property rights. When LaNada Means is asked by a reporter if their protest has any connection with the Third World Liberation Front she replies: "Well, this is a Native American struggle." She describes the occupation as an attempt to make the federal government honor the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie and claims the failure of Walter Hickel (Secretary of the Interior) to respond to their November 20th proclamation was expected. She also points out that whilst living conditions for the protesters are very basic, this is in fact: "Average for an Indian way of life anyway. Now, I mean today.
http://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/sfbatv/bundles/185990

Society of American Indian Government Employees

The Society of American Indian Government Employees (SAIGE) is anational non-profit organization advocating for American Indians andAlaska Natives in the government workforce. Similar to sisterorganizations in the National Coalition for Equity in Public Service,SAIGE sponsors an annual National Training Conference to promote theprofessional development, cultural awareness and continuing education ofgovernment employees. We are pleased to announce our 7th Annual NationalTraining Conference, "Walking in Two Worlds: Bridging the Gap betweenNative America & Government" at the tribally-owned Mohegan Sun Hotel inUncasville, CT, June 14-18, 2010. At this event, SAIGE will host a Native Youth Track, Veterans Track andCareer Fair where we provide information to American Indians and AlaskaNatives and the local community about career options within government. There are six tracks of workshops,one of which is Health and Wellness.Included in these are presentations by: Food Safety and InspectionService on Food Safety; Federal Long Term Care Program; and IndianHealth Service will present a Panel on Tribal Community HealthRepresentatives. There will also be opportunities to participate inCoast Guard Academy's activities such as Getting Fit with Salsa Dancing,and Tae Bo Fitnees; as well as a native yoga presntation and regularevening runs. An updated draft agenda should be on the website soon. Earlyregistration discount ends May 7. See website for more information atwww.saige.org Sponsorships and exhibitors are still being accepted.

Pic of Warner school kids

Howka tribal members, sorry I haven't been posting. With the onset of spring solstice alot has been going on. I finally got the pic of all our little ones at Warner school. This is the pic of when I was the Cat in the Basket hat for Dr. Seuss night.. Enjoy.. Karen

DOCUMENTARY ON CALIFORNIA NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY

For Immediate Release

Contact:
Kenneth Shoji
Office of Public Affairs
San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
Ph: 909-864-8933
Kshoji@sanmanuel-nsn.gov

KVCR-TV AND SAN MANUEL TO DEBUT DOCUMENTARY ON CALIFORNIA NATIVE AMERICAN HISTORY OF RESISTANCE AND SURVIVAL

Four Part Television Series to Take Viewers through Stories of Struggle and Perseverance as Told by California Indians and Noted Historians

San Bernardino Calif. and San Manuel Reservation (Highland, Calif.) March 24, 2010 – KVCR-TV in partnership with the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has produced a new four-part documentary series on the history of near extinction that was faced by California Tribal communities following contact with European and American powers. The series will air on KVCR over four consecutive Mondays starting April 5th at 8:00 p.m. Entitled “The People of the Pines, The California Native” the programs are a third installment of documentaries that have expanded from profiling the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians into a broader account of the history shared by the state’s indigenous peoples and communities.
KVCR-TV’s broadcast range extends thought the eastern portion of Los Angeles to Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Viewers are invited to watch previews for the series and individual episodes by visiting www.peopleofthepines.org
This series which began nearly two years ago is the product of in-depth research, interviews and reenactments providing California Native Americans an opportunity to bring to light those actions and policies that resulted in the decimation of a Native world that has existed since time immemorial.
“It is my wish that viewers will come to understand the factual accounts of what our ancestors went through in history, so that we can be here today to call ourselves the California Indian People and start to move forward in the broader community with mutual understanding and respect for one another, ”said San Manuel Chairman James Ramos.
The series covers a period of time spanning the internment of natives into the Spanish Mission System to the mid 20th Century when native veterans of World War II returned home to find their tribes terminated through a single action of congress.
In order to get these accounts KVCR crew traveled the state of California and beyond to speak to Native Americans who recount the shared history of their communities. This including the Modoc Tribe which was split between Oregon and Oklahoma following a protracted war that resulted in the death of a United States general and a forced removal of half the tribe to what was then Indian Territory (Oklahoma).
Historians and Native Americans cover the chronology of this history as painted upon the backdrop of American and world history. Discussions focus on various manners in which California Indians fought to maintain and remain within their ancestral lands and preserve their ways of life. Broken treaties, major military campaigns, and the heroic actions of native leaders such as Santos Manuel, leader of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, are recounted by their descendents who candidly share the tragedies and triumphs that are part of the shared identity of over 100 tribal communities located in all corners of California.


About the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians
The San Manuel Band of Serrano Mission Indians is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located near the city of Highland, Calif. The Serrano Indians are the indigenous people of the San Bernardino highlands, passes, valleys and mountains who share a common language and culture. The San Manuel reservation was established in 1891 and recognized as a sovereign nation with the right of self-government. Since time immemorial, the San Manuel tribal community has endured change and hardship. Amidst these challenges the tribe continued to maintain its unique form of governance. Like other governments it seeks to provide a better quality of life for its citizens by building infrastructure, maintaining civil services and promoting social, economic and cultural development. Today San Manuel tribal government oversees many governmental units including the departments of fire, public safety, education and environment.

3 arrested for disturbing indian burial site

Watch the video at
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/ventura_county&id=7340947


CAMARILLO, Calif. (KABC) -- Some of those arrowheads and artifacts you may come across could get you in trouble. In Ventura County, three men were arrested for disturbing an American-Indian burial site.

Beyond the wildflowers of the Santa Monica Mountains, there are treasures in the hills. The most cherished possessions of the Chumash Indians. Ventura County sheriff's deputies seized several items that were taken by suspected looters.

"Before they had the bow and arrows they actually made spears," said Deputy Julie Novak, Ventura County Sheriff's Dept.

Deputies displayed relics found with three Newbury Park men, Noah Erickson, John Watson and Fredrick Villela. A tip led deputies to private property in the coastal range where they say they found the men scavenging.

"They were very cooperative. They said they were collecting some things yet in the dark with flashlights," said Novak. "For them it was a hobby. They had been collecting and it had been in their family for generations."

There are legal ways to pursue archaeology as a hobby. This is not one of them. Scientific information is lost when objects are moved, said archeologists.

"It could be an object found we can't date," explained Professor Colleen Delaney-Rivera, Cal State Channel Islands.

The arrowheads were used to hunt elk, deer and marine mammals and are 1000 to 2000 years old. The beads show the Chumash travelled and traded with populations on Catalina and beyond.

"By finding out where artifacts come from we can see the population," said Rivera. "We are now finding Southern California beads in Colorado and the U.S. southwest."

The case has been turned over to the DA's office. The offenses are both misdemeanors and felonies. If convicted the suspects could serve time in prison. The incident is a warning to any hiker. Finding several items in one spot is a likely burial site, sacred to the Chumash and illegal to disturb.

"Enjoy it where you can see it but don't take it with you," said Rivera.

CAT IN THE BASKET HAT READING FOR DR SEUSS BIRTHDAY AT WARNER SCHOOL

Howka tribal members, I truly enjoyed reading to the kids as Cat in the Basket Hat for Dr. Seuss's Birthday. The kids at Warner were fantastic. Here are some pics of some of the kids as they rotated from reader to reader.I am planning on doing something for our kids for National Library Week. I also plan on having a book party at our traditional gathering in August.

MASTER APPRENTICE TRAINING IN KUGLUKTUK

MASTER APPRENTICE TRAINING IN KUGLUKTUK

February, 2010

L. Frank and Leanne Hinton spent the last week of February far north of the Arctic Circle, in the hamlet of Kugluktuk, in the province of Nunavut, Canada. Temperatures were as low as -54°F, a great adventure for coastal California gals. (Even the locals thought that was pretty cold.) The village is on the Coronation Inlet of the Arctic Ocean, all frozen solid until the ice breakup comes in mid-June. This time of year, “ice-roads” are built on the lakes, and people cross over the inlet to islands on their snowmobiles, unlike the summer when they turn to their boats for these crossings. The “Tree Line,” some forty miles south of Kugluktuk is the magical place where trees start to grow. The plants of summer around Kugluktuk are lush, but tiny, hugging the ground. This time of year, of course, there is only the vast expanses of white snow.



Millie Kuliktana and her co-worker Susie had brought us up there to give a Master-Apprentice training workshop. 3 years ago they had gone to a Master-Apprentice workshop Leanne gave in Victoria, and it went to their hearts. “It was about me and my grandmother!” Millie said. They felt this was the exact thing they needed for language revitalization in Kugluktuk, where the language is rarely heard nowadays. Despite the fact that there are still some grandmothers unilingual in Inuinnaqtun, Millie can’t think of a single household that uses the language any more other than the elders’ homes, and young adults have grown up speaking only English. They’ve been working for the last 3 years to get their community ready for a Master-Apprentice program. “Language revitalization” wasn’t a word anyone was thinking about in Nunavut before now, they told us. The speakers, too, are ready. They completely understand the process, and are delighted to be part of it.



Attending the workshop were the master-apprentice teams themselves, and a group of “Foundation” students – students at the beginning of a training program for teachers. Normally in Nunavut’s Foundation program, students are expected to already know the language. But because of language loss in Kugluktuk and other villages in Western Nunavut, the majority of these students did not grow up knowing Inuinnaqtun, so language learning has to be a part of their program.



Everyone was tremendously friendly and hospitable to us. L. Frank was especially popular, not only because of her charismatic self, but also because of her tattoos. Many adults remember the facial tattoos of their grandmothers, and some are trying to gather the knowledge and courage to get their own faces tattooed. One participant told us that her grandmother used to tell her about how as a girl, she thought the faces of her mother and grandmother were so beautiful, and could hardly wait til adulthood so that she too could get tattooed – and when the day came, how beautiful she felt herself to be.



Millie, her sister Edna (who is doing the program evaluation), and Susie already have a good background in Total Physical Response language teaching methods, and are quite obviously excellent teachers and trainers themselves. They improved the experience of the workshop participants at every turn with their great ideas and inspirational comments. This was a 5 day workshop – unusually long, but the organizers were wise to set it up this way. It allowed us not only to show them what to do, but to have people really get into the program, so that by the end of the week real language learning was taking place.



During the workshop, the participants did many of the standard immersion sets that we use in training; but the fun really started when we asked the participants to think of three action verbs they would like to practice in an immersion set – and did they pick basic verbs like “run,” “stand up” and “sit down”? Noooo. They picked “square dance,” “waltz,” and ‘jig.” So then we did an immersion set where learners had to listen to the words in Inuinnaqtun and do the correct dance; but then, the masters remembered that square dances used to have instructions in the language, and began teaching those. In the end we did the square dance immersion set once or twice each day, with Edna calling out the Inuinaqtun words for moves such as “dosado,” “allemande left,” and “forward and back.”



Another great immersion activity was planned in detail by the organizers, where the master-apprentice teams had to prepare a lunch for everyone, all in Inuinnaqtun. The learners not only heard and practiced lots of language, but also learned the old ways of butchering and preparing meat, vegetables and bannock (Canadian fry bread). Our menu included roast caribou, caribou stew, dried caribou, caribou marrow caribou blood soup and caribou feet; also baked char, frozen char, and char-head soup; beluga whale blubber and skin; bannock, and several salads. One young woman was particularly moved, because it was the first time she had ever made bannock herself. “Now I can make it for my husband,” she said.



There were also immersion sets involving drum dancing and singing, Inuit wrestling games and all kinds of string-figures. But probably the most meaningful moment of all was when Kate, a unilingual master speaker of Inuinnaqtun, came in one morning with a traditional stone seal oil lamp -- a shallow bowl shaped as a half-circle. In front of her rapt audience, she filled the lamp with oil, set up a row of plant fluff that acted as wicks, and worked to strike a spark with a flint against a rock with a thin cotton scrap on it to catch the spark. (You can also use dried moss.) She managed to catch a spark and blow it into a flame, and light the lamp. Most people in the room had never seen this done before, and it was a magical moment when the wicks took flame. Kate recounted (all in Inuinnaqtun) that when she was a little girl living with her parents in an igloo, the lighting of the lamp was always a dramatic moment. The lamp was the source of all heat, light and cooking. She remembers crying with relief sometimes when the lamp was finally started after some difficulty, knowing that now they would be warm.







We talked about the importance of bringing the language home and out to the community. Maimi, one of the masters, said (in Inuinnaqtun) “When you see me around the hamlet, make sure you speak in Inuinnaqtun to me If you use English, I won’t respond.” Toward the end of the week, we started focusing on language in the family, since most of the learners have young children. We did immersion sets of simple commands that can be understood readily with gestures, a good way to start introducing the children to the language – things like “Come here,” “Put your coat on,” “come eat,” and so on. Almost all the learners have children at home, and they came back the next day full of success – the children understood them, and loved it. One young woman said she gave her child a bath, and named the body parts as she washed them. Her little girl was so delighted she kept saying “More! More!” So the next day we all did “Bath-time” immersion sets.







At the beginning of the week, the learners had seemed scared and unconfident; but by the end of the week, it was as if the Inuinnaqtun language had been locked up and was now freed. When asked to name the main ideas they learned, the chalkboard filled with phrases, like patience, repetition, put away the paper, leave English behind, gaining confidence; have fun; focus on a few words at a time, useful phrases, use it all over community, bring it home. One learner said “I learned more language this week than in my whole life!” Others said “Now I know I can learn it.” Millie said “Over the next years, you learners will be the leaders of language revitalization. We are going to take this program across all of Nunavut!” The lighting of the seal oil lamp was a great symbol for the workshop. In the same way, the spark of language is itself being relit in Kugluktuk.



Leanne Hinton

L. Frank

March 3, 2010

Young artists urged to enter wildlife art contest

Howka tribal members,this could be a great way to spread the word about traditional plants that are endangered. We have some great artists amongst our kids. I truly hope some of you kids will give this a try. If anyone wins let me know.

Young artists urged to enter wildlife art contest
By Mike Lee, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Thursday, March 4, 2010 at 2 a.m.

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Zoo is encouraging young artists from kindergarten through grade 12 to participate in a national contest to honor Endangered Species Day on May 21.

The annual event was started by Congress in 2006 after lobbying by a La Mesa man. It is designed to draw attention to imperiled plants and animals.

Native wildlife is the theme of this year’s art contest, which is organized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other groups. Zoo officials said their facilities, including the Wild Animal Park, and their Web site sandiegozoo.org, are good places to learn about endangered species.

Go to endangeredspeciesday.org for more details about the contest. The deadline to submit entries is March 26.

2010 Multicutlural Journalism Workshop

Howka sisters and brothers, AS you know in mainstream publications there are few Native writers/ journalists. I am hoping by posting this some of our youth will take advantage of this opportunity..
SAN DIEGO — The 2010 Multicultural Journalism Workshop for high school students is seeking applicants for its free summer workshop in San Diego.
The program takes place June 20-30 at Point Loma Nazarene University. The application deadline is April 7.
During the residential program, professional journalists train high school juniors and seniors interested in careers in the media.
The program is organized by CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California. Applicants must be from San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino or Imperial counties.
Applications can be downloaded at
sdspj.wordpress.com or obtained from high school journalism and yearbook advisers beginning March 1. For more information, call (619) 293-1247.

SANTA YSABEL WELL WATER

HOWKA TRIBAL MEMBERS, I HAVEN'T HEARD ANYONE TALKING ABOUT OUR WELL WATER BEING CONTAMINATED SO I THOUGHT i WOULD BRING THIS BEFORE THE TRIBE. HERE IS AN ARTICLE POSTED TODAY FROM THE SAN DIEGO CHANNEL 10 NEWS STATION.I HIGHLIGHTED IN BOLD THE SECTION ABOUT SANTA YSABEL.IT APPEARS IT IS WHERE THE OLD CHEVRON USED TO BE . THE LINK TO THE REPORT IS HERE
http://geotracker.swrcb.ca.gov/profile_report.asp?global_id=T0607302306



Persistent Pollutant Shuts Down Groundwater Wells

POSTED: 4:41 pm PST February 24, 2010
UPDATED: 6:26 pm PST February 24, 2010

SAN DIEGO -- A deep water monitoring well is being drilled this month in Chula Vista. When it is complete, it will tell us more about a water resource we've ignored for years: groundwater. Even though San Diego does not have a lot of groundwater, spending millions to find it and map it is now considered a high priority and an important investment.

"We'll be able to develop concepts of what the geology looks like, how the layers of geology are structured, how the groundwater flows through those layers, where is the groundwater fresh, where is the groundwater saline," said Wes Danskin, a research hydrologist with the United States Geological Survey.

Danskin hopes to finish up the groundwater research project in San Diego within a couple years. But finding the water is only half the battle. Making it drinkable is the other challenge.

"Some is contaminated by human products of one sort or another. MTBE is particularly difficult," said Danskin.

MTBE was added to gasoline in 1979 to make it burn cleaner. Before it was banned in California in 2004, it seeped into soil and groundwater. The sources of the leaks are the thousands of fuel storage tanks in the state. Once the chemical moves into the ground, it's hard to remove.

"And because it's a health hazard, it has shut down wells across the state," said Danskin.

Your gasoline taxes -- two cents per gallon -- fund millions of dollars for the cleanup of sites contaminated by leaking tanks. However, it's painfully slow. Of the 11,000 active clean up sites in california, 7,000 still haven't been cleaned up after 10 years.

10News researched MTBE cleanup projects around the county and found 327 contaminated sites. Most had fuel leaks discovered over a decade ago. The leaks are a problem not just at these sites, but also for any new wells nearby.

"As time goes on, the material spreads out and unlike surface water, you can't observe where it's going. It's not just a problem of left or right, but of how deep because it can go down into deeper levels of groundwater," said John Robertus, recently retired from the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board after serving 14 years as executive officer.

In addition to the migration problem, the suction created by a groundwater well could draw a nearby MTBE plume to it.

For example, in Lakeside, four wells that supplied 19 percent of that district's water supply had to be shut down when they were contaminated with MTBE that came from of a gas station's leaking underground storage tank.

In Santa Ysabel, no new wells are allowed to be constructed because of an existing MTBE plume from a gas station's underground fuel tank leak, first discovered in 1997. The cleanup costs at the site have reached the $1.5 million limit and additional funds will come from an emergency account.

In Oceanside, that city is investing millions of dollars for two brand new wells on Mission Avenue. The hope is that these wells will triple the city's groundwater output. However, there is MTBE in the ground underneath a gas station just across the street.

A state task force recently criticized cleanups of underground storage tank leaks. They cited a lack of sufficient incentives to cleanup quickly and cost-effectively, and recommended actions that other states already use. For example, one suggestion was to refund cleanup costs only upon the completion of key substantial project activities. However, they admitted that such changes would require legislative action and they predicted that stakeholders would fight it.


Previous Stories:
February 23, 2010: Water Resource Under Qualcomm Stadium Untapped

Billy Frank Jr. featured on state poster

Billy Frank Jr. featured on state poster
By Richard Walker, Today correspondent

Story Published: Feb 19, 2010

Story Updated: Feb 19, 2010

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Billy Frank Jr., chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, is featured on a Washington State Library poster that promotes reading.

The poster is part of the state library’s “Washington Reads” poster series. Other posters have featured NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant, and fans of “Twilight.”

In his poster, Frank is backdropped by a Coast Salish salmon design and is holding the book, “Messages from Frank’s Landing: A Story of Salmon, Treaties, and the Indian Way,” by Charles Wilkinson.

In past years, “Washington Reads” posters were made available for free to libraries and schools. Because of budget constraints, the poster has been published online and is available for a free download or online purchase. You can download the Billy Frank Jr. poster at www.sos.wa.gov/library/wa_reads/BillyFrankJr.aspx. Download sizes are 8 1/2 by 11 inches or 11 by 17 inches.

Frank, Nisqually, is the longtime chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission and is commissioner of the Medicine Creek Treaty Area. He is a longtime trustee of the Washington State Historical Society. Among the awards he has received: The 1991 Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism and the 2004 Indian Country Today Inaugural American Visionary Award.

Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash. Contact him at rmwalker@rockisland.com.

CEREMONY FOR DECEASED POW TRIBAL MEMBER AUGUSTINE QUEVAS

SATELLITE INTERNET SERVICE FOR THE REZ

Howka sisters and brothers, I found a website that might help our people on the rez get internet service. For those that can afford it you might want to look at a site like :www.hughesnet.com


HughesNet is America's #1 Choice for High Speed Satellite Internet
HughesNet® is a high speed internet connection available across the continental United States - all you need is a clear view of the southern sky. Hughes Net is up to 50x faster than any dial-up provider and available where cable and DSL are not. HughesNet is very fast and always-on - no dialing in, no phone line needed, no waiting! Hughes Net is compatible with both Windows and Apple computers, so everyone can get high speed internet via satellite!

San Diego County office of Emergency Services is trying to get our residents to register their cell or home numbers. The reason for this, is if there is a county wide emergency they will notify you immediantly. This applies to our fire season and flood season, as well as any other emergencies that might arise.
http://www.sdcounty.ca.gov/oes/ready/signup.html



About AlertSanDiego
AlertSanDiego is for registering your cell phone, VoIP phone, and email address only. Listed and unlisted land line phones are already included in the database and do not need to be registered. Please contact us or view the Frequently Asked Questions for more information. Difficulties viewing the form below? Click here to open a new window.
________________________________________
Papa John's Pizza Promotional Offer
Papa John's Pizza and the County Office of Emergency Services want all San Diego County residents to stay informed during a disaster.
The first 500 new registrants will be mailed a coupon for ONE FREE MEDIUM 1 TOPPING PIZZA. One coupon per address or phone number.

Upon registration, all registrants will be able to print an exclusive Papa John’s AlertSanDiego Special Offer. Promotional offers are available through the month of February, 2010.

The County of San Diego, in partnership with Twenty First Century Communications, Inc., has instituted a regional notification system that will be able to send telephone notifications to residents and businesses within San Diego County impacted by, or in danger of being impacted by, an emergency or disaster. This system, called AlertSanDiego, will be used by emergency response personnel to notify those homes and businesses at risk with information on the event and/or actions (such as evacuation) we are asking them to take. The system utilizes the region's 9-1-1 database, provided by the local telephone company(ies), and thus is able to contact land-line telephones whether listed or unlisted. It is TTY/TDD capable.

Because the system uses the 9-1-1 database, only land-line numbers are in the system. If you have a Voice over IP (VoIP) or cellular telephone and would like to be notified over that device, or if you would like an email notification, you must register those telephone numbers and/or email address for use by the system.

To register your VoIP, cellular telephone or email address, please fill out the registration form below. Each number and/or email provided will be added to the regional database. You will receive a confirming email message to the address entered below once you have successfully registered with AlertSanDiego.

The telephone number you register below will be called only when the address it is associated with is impacted by a disaster or emergency.

Urge the USDA to Protect Woman, Infants and Children from Mercury-laden canned tuna

Howka everyone, I know many of our people get WIC and I wanted to pass on this message I just received..


Urge the USDA to Protect Woman, Infants and Children from Mercury-laden canned tuna

Public Comment ends February 1, 2010

For more information please contact Buffy Martin Tarbox, Got Mercury Campaign Coordinator at buffy@gotmercury.org or 415-663-8590 x106

Methylmercury is a potent neurotoxin and an estimated 630,000 children born in the US are at risk each year from neurological defects due to mercury contamination, primarily as the result of consuming seafood high in mercury.

Low-income women enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) are allowed up to 30 ounces of chunk light tuna a week in their supplemental food packages. Studies have shown that "chunk light" or "light tuna" may contain mercury levels comparable to canned albacore tuna which has previously been eliminated from WIC.

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service is accepting public comments on revisions to the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) allowable food items list. With the help of our members like you and our partner organizations, Got Mercury was successful in removing canned albacore from WIC food packages and urges the USDA Food and Nutrition Service to remove all canned tuna. Tuna is the number one source of mercury in the American diet and providing canned tuna in WIC food packages is dangerous to the health of pregnant and breastfeeding women and their children.

Currently, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service is accepting public comments and we need to send a strong message to protect low-income women and children from the toxic effects of mercury in canned tuna.

Send a letter today to the USDA to let them know they need to be doing more to protect vulnerable women, infants and children from mercury-laden canned tuna and should remove all canned tuna from WIC food packages.

HOW TO SUBMIT COMMENTS: Public Comment ends February 1, 2010

1. Click Here
http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480370d00


2. Enter your first & last name under "Submitter Information"
3. List "Private Citizen" as your "Organization"
4. Cut and Paste the sample comment letter under "Public Comment or Submission" or write your own

SAMPLE COMMENT LETTER

Director, Supplemental Food Programs Division
Food and Nutrition Service, USDA
3101 Park Center Drive, Room 520
Alexandria, Virginia 22302

Dear Director of Supplemental Food Programs Division,

RE: Docket No. FNS-2006-0037-0003

I am very concerned about "chunk light" or canned "light tuna" being included in food packages for women receiving assistance through the Women, Infants and Children program. Studies have shown that canned "light tuna" contains high levels of mercury, sometimes as high as canned albacore tuna. I applaud the USDA's decision to remove albacore tuna from WIC food packages due to mercury concerns and believe the USDA needs to do more to protect vulnerable women and children by removing all canned tuna.

Methylmercury is a known neurotoxin, with children being at greatest risks from its effects. As stated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency an estimated 630,000 children born in the US are at risk each year from neurological defects due to mercury contamination.

I would like to see the USDA take the following actions to reduce low income women and children's exposure to mercury:

• Eliminate all canned tuna from WIC food packages
• Offer canned fish alternatives such as canned wild salmon, anchovies, sardines and mackerel
• Embark on a public education effort in order to assist women in deciding which fish are healthiest for their diet

Sincerely,


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

Got Mercury? Email News and Updates
PO Box 370, Forest Knolls, CA 94933 USA

WAYS TO SAVE WATER ON THE REZ

Howka sisters and brothers..as resources become more precious on our rez, I wanted to share some resources to help our families out.Because electricity and water are hard to get in certain places on the rez, I wanted to share some websites that have resources for gathering rain water. Maybe we can start incorporating these as a way to get water up on the mountain to houses that dont have running water.Please check out these sites
www.rainthanks.com/rain-barrels-and-tanks.html
or
h2o-me.com/
Maybe we could get our tribal leader to bring them up here for a demonstration and find out costs..
www.bushmanusa.com

FEB. 6TH 11:30 CEREMONY FOR UNCLE AUGUSTINE QUEVAS

Howka sisters and brothers.... I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the ceremony Feb. 6th for my uncle Augustine Quevas. He was a POW during WW2 and never returned home. The medals he was due were never given to our family, nor did anyone every come to our reservation to tell our family the truth about what happened to him. I had posted a note on a WW2 site thanks to roger mansell, and with that posting came emails from various people that either knew Uncle augustine or had a family member that was a POW with him. One of the men who's father survived the ship that Uncle Augustine died on is willing to give our family the medals that were due him. In turn I am loaning the medals to the local veterans museum along with photos and background info of Augustine. I am flying this man in and we will be having a ceremony of the giving of the medals from him to me and then from me to the museum. Please come out and honor our deceased Santa Ysabel tribal member's ceremony.The ceremony will be at the veterans museum in San Diego on Park blvd. on the west side. the cross street is Presidents way..

California Indian Arts Association Video Collection

I found this website that might be of interest to our basketmakers.


California Indian Arts Association Meetings 1994-2000
http://www.oac.cdlib.org/view?docId=kt1t1nd7p9%3Bstyle=oac4%3Bview=dsc



Video recordings of California Indian Arts Association meetings. Recorded between 1994-2000

Online Resources at the University of San Diego

Howka sisters and brothers.. I first want to say I hope everyone comes out for the fundraiser at the casino to help raise funds for our children at Warner school. There appear to be many things they need and I am hoping we can all reach out and help them.

I have a great link that has a compilation of numerous resources about the history of San Diego. There are many links that would be about our people, so check it out.. It may even help some of you with homework or school projects.
http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/local/main.html

SUMMER INTERNSHIPS

SEQUOYAH NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTER SUMMER INTERNSHIPS The Sequoyah National Research Center (SNRC) seeks three triballyaffiliated student interns for summer 2010 during the period of June 1through July 31. Interns will work at least 25 hours per week in theCenter doing basic archival and research work under the direction ofCenter staff. The SNRC at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) housesthe papers and special collections of tribal individuals andorganizations, the world's largest archival collection of newspapersand other periodicals published by tribal individuals andorganizations, and the Dr. J. W. Wiggins Collection of Native AmericanArt, consisting more than 2,300 artworks, a massive archivedocumenting the collection, and a reference library on indigenous artof more than a thousand volumes. The goal of the American Indian Student Internship Program is toprovide students an experiential learning environment in which toacquire an understanding of the value of archives and the researchpotential of the collections of the Center and to engage in academicresearch and practical database building activities related to tribalculture, society, and issues. Interns will be expected to demonstratethe value of their experience by either a summary report of work,finding aids for collections, reports of research or other writtenwork that may be shared with their home institutions. To qualify for an internship, students must Be tribally affiliatedHave completed at least 60 college hoursBe in good standing at their home institutions of higher learning Applications should include A copy of the student's academic transcriptA reference or sponsor letter from the head of the student's majordepartment or from another relevant academic officialA statement of no more than one page expressing why the internexperience would likely be beneficial to the student's academic orcareer goals. To assist the student in meeting expenses during the two-month tenureof the internship, the Center offers On-campus housing paid for by the Center ($1,000)2,000 to defray other living expenses. Students interested in applying should send applications or inquiriesby e-mail to Daniel F. Littlefield at dflittlefiel@ualr.edu or RobertE. Sanderson at resanderson@ualr.edu or by U. S. mail to SNRC,University Plaza, Suite 500, University of Arkansas at Little Rock,2801 S. University Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72204. The SNRC mustreceive applications by March 15, 2010. The Center will select threeapplicants and three alternates. The Center staff will notifystudents of their decision by April 1, 2010.

NORDSTROM SCHOLARSHIP

Nordstrom's is giving away $10,000 scholarships to deserving students in our
community who plan on attending a 4 year accredited college of choice.
Application deadline is February 2010, so share with family and friends.

Elilee Greene, Nordstrom Corporate Program Scholarship Coordinator can be
reached at 206/373-4550 or
nordscholar@nordstrom.com.
http://shop.nordstrom.com/scholarship

LINKS FOR TEACHERS TEACHING ABOUT OUR PEOPLE

HOWKA, THERE IS A WEBSITE THAT IS AN EXCELLENT COMPILATION OF RESOURCES FOR TEACHING CHILDREN ABOUT US.
http://www.powayusd.com/projects/EdTechCentralnew/Kumeyaay/KumeyaayWebLinks.htm

BOOK USING KUMEYAAY WORDS AND THE LUCAS NAME

Howka sisters and brothers, I stumbled across an authors website that has a book using our language and the Lucas families last name. This book is not about our people, it's one of those romance novels. I was shocked to see it .. I have not read it , but I am wondering who she talked to amongst our people to get the words. The name of the book is Dream Quest. Here are the website links
http://www.janetwellington.com/kumeyaay2.htm

http://www.janetwellington.com/excerpt.htm

If anyone has read the book let me know what they think.In the meantime I will try and find a copy. In the reviews I noticed it was only non Indians that commented.While she did get the language right,some of the things she described in the excerpt would be more of a Lakota culture not our culture. While I cannot say too much as I have not read it yet, but looking at her bibliography resources she researched books about our people.I am wondering until now if any of our people even know aboout this book, this is why I am posting this. If any of our tribal people have read the romance novel please let me know.

EDWARD CURTIS PHOTOS ONLINE

http://curtis.library.northwestern.edu/curtis/browsetribes.html
Northwestern university has digitized the collection of images created by Edward Curtis. You can search by tribes using the link above.