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Letters |
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Tribal Report of the Northern Cheyenne Nation (October 2006 Vol. I No. 10) |
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Page 5 (Letters) |
Page 6
(The Programs) |
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From A “Rezer,”
to Whatever You Are |
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Dear There has been much discussion
about the upcoming vote on coal and coal bed methane development. I have heard a lot of white people, Indians
and so-called Indians talk and write about these issues on the rez, off the rez, in the
newspapers, and on-line. Quite
frankly, I am upset as a I have heard the pleas for
coal and coal bed methane development coming from those who believe that it is the only way
to solving the problems on our reservation.
The problems on our reservation cannot be solved by simply digging
coal or drilling CBM. It is like some
people actually believe that everything will be taken care of over night. It
is like $2000 per-capita checks will keep people from drinking alcohol,
smoking crank, or inflicting violence and jealousy on each another. Where do
these ideas come from? The only thing
a $2000 dollar per-capita check will do to this reservation is make problems
worse. Money alone cannot solve our problems. Coal and CBM development are a
quick fix solution that has more risks than it does any benefits. And, in the
end only rich corporations will make the most money, and only a few elite The problems that exist on the
rez are rooted deeper than the poverty of us “rezers.” There are jobs on the rez,
but only if people are willing to work or go to college to get training to
work. So why doesn’t the tribe have better support systems for this? There
are opportunities for good, high-paying jobs, but only if people are willing
to hire someone other than their own relatives. So why don’t the people stop discriminating
against our own people? There are ways
to improve housing and roads to make our reservation a better place to live,
but only if those in charge decide to improve the Lame Deer community south
of Highway 212, the Ashland community west of the Tongue river, the Busby
community called “Magic City,” and the entire community of Birney, rather
than just the road to Jimtown and the BIA, IHS, and
CDKC housing. So why don’t they? The
problems that exist on the rez do not come from
poverty; they come from a division of “haves” and “have-nots.” And the “haves” want development so they
can “have more.” If supporters of
development are really concerned about the poverty and unemployment on the rez, then they should quit corrupting good programs and
start using these existing programs fairly for every tribal member, including
us “rezers” who have nothing. I
don’t know how many times I’ve heard: “You poor people, you should get with
the program and get some money so you can live like the rich people on TV,
‘like us.’ You poor Racism, lies, deception, and
all of this negativity will not magically disappear when our land is torn up
and the water polluted for a couple of extra dollars. You will still feel
this way towards us “rezers.” If you want a good
job at tearing up the earth, go to Colstrip, you can live in coal paradise
and get become “like them.” Chances are you are from there and already doing
it anyway. What works for you may not
work for everyone else, this is reality. So please, don’t tell me that
coal and CBM development is the new “buffalo.” It is not; it is nothing
comparable. Coal and CBM development are more like the new “buffalo hunters”
who kill animals and destroy ways of living, just so non-Indian people can
get rich off of the land of Indians. Don’t parade the argument that coal and
CBM development will solve the 500-year old alcohol problem. Don’t tell me that mining and drilling will
end poverty on the reservation. Don’t lie to the Your friend, The one you call, “Rezer” Tribal
Report of the |
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From A “Rezer,” to Other “Rezers” Dear So why have we What we want are material things that
are worth nothing, and that we will eventually leave on this earth when we
all die anyway. This is a main reason
why some of us want to develop coal and CBM.
But these things will not make us happy; they’ll just cause more
problems. And at what cost? Dead
animals, dead plants, dead children, rich corporations, and a rich elite
class of Did anyone ever try to tell you that we
can solve our problems without destroying our environment and this land? We can do this without mutilating the
Arrows and the Hat. We can do it
without money. We can use what is called, “sense.” The problem is not lack of economic
opportunity on the rez; it is laziness and
dependency on handouts. It was caused
by a hundred and twenty years of rez-life, rations,
per-capita payments, free this and free that, and
the influence of today’s demanding mainstream cultures on TV. Admit it, you want money but don’t want to
work. But I’m sorry; this is not how
life works. A man provides for his family. He hunts
and protects, and if there are no men, the women do it. This is the way of the When If Ask yourselves; who was the first to say
that all Let’s think about opening our own
businesses and starting establishments that will not harm our land. We can start businesses that fit within our
culture or not. Open a restaurant or a
store, just don’t plan for it either, do it.
Time to get creative: open an arts & crafts store, a buffalo
meat-packing store, start a chokecherry and plum jam company, start a
traditional herbal medicine shop, sell beadwork and
other artwork. Or better yet, start a
construction company, an electrician group, a plumbing group, a mechanic
shop, or get training to start a tribal fish and game program, a hunter’s
safety program, or an ecotourism program.
There are a lot of opportunities out there that can bring in money
without destroying our land. It will
require work and for you to wing yourself from handouts. But that is why God made you a Your friend,
The one they call, “Rezer” Tribal
Report of the |
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What is
Your Vote Worth? Dear Tribal Report
Editor, In the recent primary election, did you
vote? Were you allowed to vote? Was you vote counted? What would you think;
how would you feel if the following happened to you? -You went to
vote, your name was on the registry, you were allowed to vote, thought you
had done everything right, done your “civic duty,” only to find out later
that your ballot was “spoiled” by an appointed election judge, thus rendering
it worthless. -You went to
vote early in the day, your name was not on the voter registry, you were
allowed to vote “provisionally,” but not informed how to “prove” or that you
should have voted in another precinct, causing your ballot to be “spoiled” an
hour and a half after you left the polling place. Your ballot is rendered worthless. -You have
lived at the same residence for over two decades, went to vote, and were
advised by the appointed election judge that, according to their computer,
you are in a different precinct and are forced to vote in that precinct even
when you know it is wrong. No provisional voting is allowed. No effort is
made to correct the situation even thought the county election administrator
admits it is her fault and could have been corrected with a telephone call.
You are denied the right to vote in the precinct where you live, in a race
important to you, and for the candidate of your choice. -You go to
the polling place to vote, only to be told by the election judges that you
must provide a “picture ID,” even though such is not required by federal or
state law, the official Election Judges Handbook, or under the rules
developed by the state in compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act
(HAVA). You could have used as they should have accepted any of some 25+
valid forms of ID, including such things as utility bills, bank statement,
paycheck, vehicle registration, but a “picture ID” is demanded and you are
denied your right to vote when you don’t have one with you. -You go to
your polling place with only your Voter Confirmation (Voter Information) Card
(Mailed to every registered voter in the State of Montana), and are prepared
to vote, only to be told that your county-issued cared cannot be used as a
form of ID and you are denied your right to vote. -You are a
candidate for office on the ballot, only to discover the day before the
election that some election judges and a deputy county election administrator
understand, incorrectly, that voters are supposed to vote for two candidates
in your race instead of one, ultimately causing an over-vote in that race,
which results in no votes being counted in that race on their ballot. -You are
advised, by the county election administrator, that the county’s new
“fool-proof and fail-safe” automatic vote counting machines will catch and
prevent over-and under-votes allowing the voters to correct their mistake, or
obtain a new ballot. -Then on
Election Day you discover that in several precincts the county’s new
automotive voting machines are “broke” and thus voters there are denied the
ability to correct their over-votes and under-votes, resulting in a number of
over-votes, county-wide, that are not counted in your race. -That on
election day in one precinct, the counties new “fool-proof and fail-safe”
automatic vote counting machine somehow “jammed” by the election judges,
resulting in one ballot being counted twice, resulting in the election judges
shutting down the machine, opening the ballot box, doing hand counts, and
then re-feeding ballots into the vote counting machine with no records being
kept of the unusual actions they took. -That as a
result of a close election you, as a candidate, ask for a recount, and when
it is conducted the county’s new “fool-proof and fail-safe” automotive vote
counting machines come up with a different result each time they are used,
requiring a hand count to complete the recount. -That as a
candidate, after all the time, effort, and expense you and your supporters
have incurred, all the miles you put on your vehicle and your feet campaigning
door-to-door in the fourth largest county in the fourth largest state in the
United States, ultimately a district Court Judge determines your race to be a
tie, and the eventual winner is selected by chance by drawing a name out of a
hat. That when
you point these alleged voting irregularities to the appropriate county
election and law enforcement officials, instead of them initiating their own
investigations to discover the facts to uncover the truth and correct the
problems, they instead all choose to go into a state of denial in a futile
attempt to “protect the integrity of the voting process,” when it is clear
the system and the process are broken. Where, you might ask, could these things happen? We are not talking about
the “hanging chads” in How can we remedy this situation before the general election? Some
suggestions: -Those
elected officials involved should honestly consider resigning or possibly
face recall. -Those
appointed election judges involved should be prohibited from serving in that
capacity again. -New
election judges need to be recruited and well-trained on all aspects of
election law and the mechanics of the automatic voting machines prior to the
next election. -Parties and
candidates need to have poll-watchers at each precinct to ensure such
problems do not occur in future elections. -The Montana
Legislature should strengthen the powers of the state office of Political
Practices and provide sufficient personnel and funding for oversight,
investigation, and prosecution of claims presented. -The Montana
Legislature should enact new legislation authorizing run-off elections cases
of ties, in place of the hodge-podge of solutions that are not in the
law. At least then the voice of the
people would be heard, instead of leaving such important decisions up to a
game of chance. -The
appropriate federal, state, and local law enforcement officials should
thoroughly investigate these claims to determine if any federal or state law
or voter’s rights were violated as a result of this debacle, and, Each voter
needs to become more educated and more vigilant as to their voting rights and
as to the actual voting process used. As a voter, you need to know that these things could happen where you
vote. So, What’s Your Vote Worth? Respectfully submitted, Marvin Quinlan, Jr. Tribal Report of the |
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