The student newspaper at Western Illinois University has a great editorial by the paper’s board on the truth about Thanksgiving: Remember what the true meaning of Thanksgiving is next week

I’m only excerpting a bit of it here so if you want to read the entire editorial go to this link.

“Thanksgiving is upon us once again, and students in grade schools across the country will be learning about the “original Thanksgiving,” where the Pilgrims and Native Americans came together for a great feast. . . .

They will be led to assume the story had a happy ending, which is nothing close to the truth. The Pilgrims, who were oppressed in their native country, became the oppressors. They became power hungry and self-righteous, pushing the Native Americans off their land, giving them diseases and committing a long list of other crimes against them, such as raping, murdering and pillaging their settlements.

And though we learn the truth later in life, we still “celebrate” the “original feast” between the Pilgrims and Native Americans. We connect with family and friends, and we gorge ourselves on food, forgetting the past. . . .”

As just one example of what many tribes do with casino revenues, the press reports that the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians has donated $30 million to charities since 2001. The tribe was recently recognized by the Council for Resource Development for giving to community colleges.

Also, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has donated about $20 million since 2005 and the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians has donated about $2.5 million to local schools and recently donated $1.5 million for a new Boys and Girls Club.

“We recognize that Indian gaming has created opportunities for us,” Pechanga Chairman Mark Macarro told The Riverside Press-Enterprise.

Inland casinos boost charities, schools with millions in casino donations (The Riverside Press-Enterprise 11/12)

The Bureau of Land Management has nominated 63 sites along Nine Mile Canyon in Utah to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The canyon is known for rock carvings and paintings that were created by Ute people. The BLM wants to ultimately nominate up to 800 sites for the register, the Associated Press reported.

Utah has been the focus of a major investigation into the sale and theft of Indian artifacts. At the recent White House Tribal Nations Conference, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said the probe is far from over.

Utah rock art canyon up for historic designation (AP 11/12)

There is currently a shortage of nurses in the United States and a looming crisis due to a lack of nurses in the near future.

The Fort Berthold Community College in North Dakota and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation are taking steps to cure that problem both off and on the reservation.

The college is offering a new registered nurse and practical nurse program to prepare students to work at the tribe’s new health center that is being built just north of the college campus. Starting next year, a emergency medical technician training program will also be offered.

Needs being met (The Minot Daily News 11/13)

Professor Steve Russell writes in part in a recent Indian Country Today:

“Tecumseh, Pontiac, Dragging Canoe – you could make a long list of historical personages whose primary contribution to American Indian political thought was the realization that all Indians have a target on their backs and will until we have been separated from every last acre of land and all the resources tied to that land. . . .

It’s easy to see in the historical rear view mirror that we put up the best fights, military and political, when we stood together. Why, then, is it so difficult to see that we need to stand together in the here and now? Do we seriously believe the Indian wars have ended with tribes still in possession of significant property?”

Steve Russell: Political theory according to Tonto (Indian Country Today 11/12)

The Oneida Nation of Wisconsin is restoring its corn farming tradition in hopes of improving tribal citizens’ health and preserving its tribal culture.

The Oneidas went to their ancestral homeland in New York 16 years ago to obtain seeds for white corn. “Even though we’ve been removed from New York, we’re still connected. The white corn goes back to the creation story to provide for our people,” Vickie Cornelius, the manager of the tribal cannery, told The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

The Oneida gave white corn to George Washington and his troops to help them survive a harsh winter during the Revolutionary War.

Returning to their roots, health (The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel 11/17)

The Lower Brule Sioux tribe, based in South Dakota, purchased the Westrock Group. The company is reportedly the first fully Native American-owned investment firm.

The press reports that as a result, Westrock will gain an advantage because tribal business do not have to pay federal income tax.

Don Hunter, Westrock’s chief executive officer, also says that tribal ownership provides another major advantage — access to a new pool of money. State pension funds, college endowments and other government contractors have rules that require a part of their money to be invested through minority-owned firms.

Wall Street Now Home To American Indian Firm (NPR 11/17)

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation of Connecticut is reported to be close to defaulting on a $500 million loan.

“The Mashantucket situation could set a precedent,” Moody’s Investors Service said. “With casinos such as Foxwoods located on sovereign tribal land potentially out of reach of US bankruptcy law, it remains unclear whether creditors could enforce their rights.”

The tribe reportedly owns more than $2 billion in debt incurred from the operation and expansion of Foxwoods Resort Casino and MGM Grand at Foxwoods.

Troubled casino to test extent of tribal sovereignty (The Financial Times 11/19)

Representatives of the Gila River Indian Community, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and the Tohono O’odham Nation met with the Building Owners and Managers Association of Greater Phoenix to promote their reservations as good places to do business.

The Gila River and Salt River tribes’ lands sit along major interstate highways and in lucrative areas.

The Tohono O’odhams live on a reservation about the size of Connecticut and it is trying to diversify its economy with real estate and other projects.

“Why would anyone want to do business on the reservation? Because you have a captured customer base,” said Travis Nabahe, chief executive officer of the Tohono O’odham Nation Economic Development Authority.

Tribes invite businesses to reservations (The Arizona Republic 11/19)

Landowners and energy companies are challenging the placement of Mount Taylor on the Register of Cultural Properties in New Mexico.

A group filed a law suit against the New Mexico Cultural Properties Review Committee claiming that the committee violated the state’s Open Meetings Act and that placing Mount Taylor on the register amounts to government endorsement of tribal religion.

Acoma Pueblo, Laguna Pueblo, Zuni Pueblo, the Navajo Nation, and the Hopi Tribe consider Mount Taylor to be one of their most significant sites and they want to protect the site from uranium development.

Group Challenges Mt. Taylor Listing (The Albuquerque Journal 11/19)