Hawaiian Roll (community)

Native Hawaiian Roll Commission Launches Year-Long Effort

July 26, 2012
The Maui Weekly

Officials and members of the public joined together at Washington Place last week for the historic signing of the Native Hawaiian Roll. In a ceremony filled with a spirit of hope, the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission (NHRC) began its public effort to reinvigorate the building of a sovereign Hawaiian nation. The signing was accompanied by a petition of signatures in support of the roll.

Kana'iolowalu is a year-long effort to create a base roll of Native Hawaiians--a registry of individuals who will then be eligible to participate in the formation of a sovereign government--and also gather signatures from Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians on petitions declaring support for the reunification of Native Hawaiians and recognition of Native Hawaiians' un-relinquished sovereignty.

Speaking at the ceremony, NHRC chair, former Hawai'i Gov. John D. Waihe'e said Hawai'i's spirit of aloha and history of interwoven cultures make building the Hawaiian nation not only possible, but imperative.

"This work only serves to formalize what Hawaiians and non-Hawaiians know intuitively--Hawaiian sovereignty, while dormant at times, has been un-relinquished, and does not harm our community at large, but rather enriches us all," said Waihe'e.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie, a steadfast supporter of Hawaiian self-determination created the roll commission.

"This is about building a better future for all of us with respect to the continuing development of a reorganized Native Hawaiian governing entity," the governor said.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Akaka was the first person to join the roll and sign the petition, in honor of his efforts on behalf of Hawaiian self-governance.

"Native Hawaiians are on a long and difficult journey to regain control of our collective future, and transmit our culture, knowledge and values to future generations. Signing this petition affirms that as a state, we recognize the rights of Native Hawaiians, as the indigenous people of Hawai'i, to perpetuate the culture of our island home. It is time to holomua, to move forward together, and to express our commitment to the future of Hawai'i and her indigenous people," Sen. Akaka said.

Others included in today's ceremony included U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, Lt. Gov. Brian Schatz and NHRC members Na'alehu Anthony, Lei Kihoi, Robin Danner and Mahealani Wendt.

Kana'iolowalu contains an ambitious media component to share information with the public via broadcast, print and social media. The effort also relies on music. Palani Vaughn, Brickwood Galuteria, Kapono Ka'aihue and Willie K are among those who composed original music played today in support of the reunification of Hawaiians.

Kana'iolowalu runs through July 19, 2013, with a goal to register 200,000 Native Hawaiians. Registration and signing of the petition can be done on paper or electronically. Visit www.kanaiolowalu.org.

Mukleshoot Program (health/community)

http://nwifc.org/2012/02/muckleshoot-food-program-fosters-creative-solutions

Muckleshoot food program fosters creative solutions

Students from Northwest Indian College at the Muckleshoot Tribe learn about traditional salmon preparation and skin tanning during a monthly seminar of the Food Sovereignty Project.

Including traditional foods – like huckleberries, nettles, camas and salmon – into tribal members’ everyday diets is the goal of the Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty program. The two year project is funded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is supported by Northwest Indian College’s Traditional Plants and Foods Program.

“This effort is about eating healthy and remembering who we are and where we come from,” said Valerie Segrest, a traditional foods educator at Northwest Indian College. In addition to a native foods course, the project also includes monthly day-long community seminars covering specific foods, such as deer, berries or salmon. The project also has spawned a native berry garden at the college, an orchard at the Muckleshoot Tribal School and a “cultural landscape” including native plants at the new senior center.

The project was inspired by a joint effort of the Muckleshoot, Suquamish and Tulalip tribes and the Burke Museum to research plants used by tribes.

“The Burke constructed a database of pre-contact foods,” Segrest said. “We interviewed tribal members about how traditional foods make it into their diets. We then asked if tribal members currently had access to traditional foods, and if they didn’t, why not. Our most vital discussion, and where we’re focusing our efforts now, is overcoming those barriers.”

An important aspect of the project is encouraging tribal members to come up with their own solutions.

“It’s easy for people to say that a dietician should just tell people what to eat,” Segrest said. “But when you ask people what they need for better health, and you allow their solutions to come to fruition, there is an incredible response from the community.”

Some of the solutions can come from mixing traditional food with more modern preparation methods.

“We’ve prepared a huckleberry fruit smoothie and elk burgers,” she said. “This is about making it easier to use traditional food sources.”

Learning about traditional foods also puts the natural resources management efforts of the tribe into a new light.

“When we talk about gathering, fishing and hunting, you start to see how important it is to be good co-managers,” Segrest said. “Now you’re also talking about preserving habitat. It’s not just about food in a garden, it’s about the environment, caring for it and making sure traditional foods can thrive.

“Having traditional food available is not just about individual health, it’s about the health of the community,” Segrest said.

Native On Supreme Court? (politics)

Elections 2012: First Monday Debate – An Indian on the Supreme Court?

The U.S. Supreme Court begins its fall session today, the first Monday in October, and a little more than a month away from the presidential election tally.

This election is significant because the Supreme Court is divided, 5-to-4 on most issues, a split that’s often ideological with conservatives in the majority. Over the next four years three justices, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who are all in their late 70s, could retire (especially if a president is elected who shares their philosophy). President Obama has already appointed two justices, Sonia Sotomayor in 2009 and Elena Kagan in 2010. But those two appointments did not shift the balance on the court, they essentially replaced liberal justices.

But during the next four years that could change. If Mitt Romney is elected, he could appoint a conservative, building on that conservative majority. Or, conversely, if Obama is reelected, his appointments could shift the court to a liberal majority.

If the Supreme Court has not been an issue in the broader campaign, it has been on a few people’s minds in Indian country. Sherman Alexie, the Spokane and Couer d’Alene writer, Tweeted a link to a court story yesterday saying: “The most important reason to vote for Obama.”

Of course, in a more perfect union, Obama would finally appoint an American Indian to the high court. The same Supreme Court that has defined the definition of what it means to be a tribal citizen in the 21st century. The same court that has limited the power of tribal governments to act as sovereigns. The same court that created a crisis, in Carcieri, that tossed out decades of Indian law.

Center for Native American Youth Honored (news/health))

Director of the Center for Native American Youth is Recognized with the National Indian Health Board's 2012 National Impact Award

Erin Bailey, director of the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, was awarded the 2012 National Impact Award from the National Indian Health Board in Denver, Colorado on September 26, 2012.


Washington, DC, October 1, 2012 ---- 

Erin Bailey, director of the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute, was awarded a National Impact Award from the National Indian
Health Board at the NIHB 2012 Annual Awards Gala. The Gala, held during the 29
th NIHB Annual Consumer Conference, honored colleagues and friends whose outstanding service, sacrifice, dedication, and vision has greatly advanced the health of Native Americans.

"I am absolutely honored and humbled to be recognized with this award. Any success I or the Center for Native American Youth has achieved is a result of our strong partnerships with tribal leaders and organizations like the NIHB and its Board of Directors," commented Erin Bailey.

Erin Bailey received this award on behalf of the Center's efforts to reach out and improve the lives of Native American youth throughout the country. She was also recognized for her role as the lead staffer for Indian Health Care Improvement Act when it was passed as a part of health care reform in 2010, under then-chairman Senator Byron Dorgan on the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in the 110th and 111th Congresses.

"I am proud of Erin's work on Indian health issues while staffing me in the Senate, and I am pleased to have her running our program at the Center for Native American Youth," said former US Senator Byron Dorgan.

The Center launched in early 2011 when Senator Dorgan donated $1 million of leftover campaign funds and hired Erin Bailey to start the new organization. Since its launch the Center has actively reached out to Indian Country as well as built a national policy program. To date, the Center has led over 40 outreach events and roundtable conversations with Native youth in 12 different states from over 100 different tribes. 
 

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The Center for Native American Youth is dedicated to improving the health, safety and overall well-being of Native American youth through communication, policy development and advocacy. Founded by former US Senator Byron Dorgan in February 2011, the Center is a policy program within the Aspen Institute, headquartered in Washington, DC. The Center works to strengthen and create new connections, as well as exchange resources and best practices that address the challenges facing Native youth. Visit the Center's website for a comprehensive list of resources available to young Native Americans, tribes and the general public. For more information, visit www.cnay.org

The Aspen Institute is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, DC. Its mission is to foster leadership based on enduring values and to provide a nonpartisan venue for dealing with critical issues. The Institute is based in Washington, DC; Aspen, Colorado; and on the Wye River on Maryland's Eastern Shore. It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit www.aspeninstitute.org.