Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2007-07-15

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Collecting elder's
knowledge about
traditional herbal
medicine
page 7
Jazz Legend Hampton had
Bond with Nez Perce Tribe
page 3
Opening a New Dialogue
on Native Americans,
Cancer
page 4
Where People Feast:
An Indigenous
People's Cookbook
page 5
Collaborative
Anchorage School
District FASD video
deserves an OSCAR
page 4
Natives in High Risk Group for Alcohol
Dependence: Many Afflicted, Yet Few Seek Help
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Jean Pagano
In a new article in the
Archives of General Psychiatry,
entitled "Prevalence, Correlates,
Disability, and Comorbidity
of DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and
Dependence in the United
States", Native Americans
are more at risk for alcohol
dependency than any other
racial group in the United
States.
Natives are at40% greater risk
than whites to develop alcohol
dependence over the course of
a lifetime and 60% more at risk
in a given 12-month period.
Asians, African Americans, and
Hispanics were all at lower risks
than Natives and in some cases
significantly so. The data for
this study was compiled from
the National Epidemiologic
Survey on Alcohol and Related
Conditions, from a sample of 43,
093 survey respondents during
the 2001-2002 timeframe. 71%
of the respondents were white,
11.56% Hispanic, 11.07%
African American, 4.26% Asian,
and 2.12% Native American.
Alcohol abuse was 20% higher
among Natives than whites.
While alcohol dependency
was 60% higher among the
same groups within the 12
month range, Natives were 40%
more likely to be afflicted by
either alcohol abuse or alcohol
dependency.
Alcohol abuse and dependency
manifest into problems such as
car crashes and other accidents,
domestic violence, fetal
alcohol syndrome (FAS), poor
medication adherence, economic
loss and lost productivity,
among other issues. A number
of disorders arise from abuse
and dependency, such as mood
disorders like major depression
and bipolar behavior. Anxiety
disorders can be panic disorders
and phobias, while personality
disorders may include obsessive
compulsive disorders, paranoia,
and schizophrenia.
Alcohol use disorders in
the prior 12 month period
were 8.5% for the survey, with
4.7% engaged in alcohol abuse
while 3.8% experienced alcohol
dependencies. Over a lifetime,
the incidence of alcohol use
disorders climbed to 30.3% of
the U. S. population. Of these
groups, 17.8% represented
alcohol abuse and 12.5% alcohol
dependence.
Treatment programs, while
available, are not always used
be those afflicted by alcohol
abuse and dependency. Those
with lifetime dependency issues
sought treatment 24.1% of the
time, whereas those in the 12-
month category looked for help
even less frequently, at 12.1%.
The onset of alcohol use and
dependency is 22.5 years and
21.9 years, respectively. Yet,
there is a large gap between the
time a person is afflicted and
when they seek treatment. The
mean age for alcohol treatment
is29.8 years, almost 8 years after
the onset of the problem.
Treatment options included
12-step programs, family/
social services, detoxification,
outpatient clinics, rehab
programs, halfway houses, crisis
centers, emergency rooms,
clergy support, employee
assistance programs, and
physician or other health
care professionals. Halfway
houses were the least popular
methodology for seeking
help, whereas healthcare
professionals, 12-step programs,
and clergy were used more
frequently.
Interestingly enough, those
afflicted with alcohol-related
problems expressed a lack of
confidence in alcohol treatment
programs as a reason for not
seeking help. In addition,
stigmatization was also listed
as a reason for not getting
assistance. While alcohol abuse
and dependency are often
chronic problems among those
afflicted, studies have shown
that treatment does work. It
is possible that part of the
reluctance in seeking treatment
is related to the very disorders
thatarise from alcohol abuse and
dependency, such as depression
and anxiety.
Devil's Advocate
What would a lawyer do
to clear his client of child
sex abuse charges?
by Jonathan Kaminsky
City Pages
Day was dawning on
December 23, 2005, and the
wooded reservation land
surrounding Lower Red Lake
was wintry and still. In a small
house just a few feet from the
lake's rocky southern shore, 19-
year-old Daniel Jourdain, worn
out from a day spent counseling
drug users and alcoholics, lay in
bed beside his two-year-old son,
soundly asleep.
He awoke to a swarm of
federal agents—the sign of
a serious criminal matter on
an Indian reservation—all
guns and vests and urgent
commands. They put him in
handcuffs, hauled him into an
unmarked SUV, and revealed
a set of charges that hit him
like a punch to the stomach:
one count of anally raping and
orally penetrating his 11-year-
old nephew, and another count
of repeatedly anally and orally
sodomizing the boy over a
two-year period. Each carried a
sentence of up to life in prison
without parole.
After five days in a federal
holding pen, and just before his
first appearance before a judge,
Jourdain finally met his lawyer.
Paul Engh, a bespectacled
man with the lanky frame of a
basketball player, sat down and
introduced himself.
Engh, a top-dollar criminal
defense lawyer who has worked
on many high-profile murder
and terrorism-related cases,
agreed to take Jourdain's case
from the Federal Defenders
Office for far less than his going
rate. Here, the Minneapolis
Defense lawyer Paul Engh discovered that the prosecution team had
met with the alleged victim as many as 10 or 15 times. This, Engh
argued, spoiled the boy's testimony—and undermined the value of
his interview at Carolyn Levitt's clinic. Photo By Craig Lassig.
attorney was keeping with
the tradition of lawyers who
help ensure that defendants
of all stripes get effective
representation.
Jourdain, a standout three-
sport athlete and model student
in his Red Lake High School
days, professed his innocence.
"That ain't me," Jourdain said,
at a loss to explain the depth of
his anger, fear, and humiliation.
"I didn't do this."
"I believe you," Engh
responded.
"Can you get me out of here?"
Jourdain asked.
"I'll tell you what," Engh said,
looking his new client in the
eye. "I'll try to get you out of
here today."
Engh made good on his
promise. In that day's hearing,
he pointed out that Jourdain
had a toddler he was raising on
his own, no criminal history,
and a steady job as a chemical-
dependency counselor. Also,
he pointed out, if Jourdain
posed such a danger to the
community, it shouldn't have
taken the Feds four months
after the alleged crimes were
reported to arrest him. The
judge was swayed, agreeing to
release Jourdain on a signature
bond.
Getting his client home
pending trial was one thing.
Winning the case would be
quite another.
Standing in the way was a
damning piece of evidence:
a videotaped interview with
Jourdain's nephew. The
statement was made at the St.
Paul-based Midwest Children's
Resource Center, a division of
Children's Hospitals and Clinics
of Minnesota, with a 20-year
track record of interviewing
and examining children who've
alleged sexual abuse. Statements
produced there, admissible in
court and carrying the stamp
of medical authority, have been
key to convicting hundreds of
defendants in Minnesota state
and federal courts over the last
two decades.
If Engh was going to win
an acquittal for his client, he
would have to call the validity
ADVOCATE to page 4
U.S. judge
decries Indian
gambling in
handing down
drug sentence
Associated Press
RIVERTON, Wyo. - A
federal judge sentencing a
methamphetamine dealerdecried
Indian gambling, saying casinos
would "cause more suffering
to the tribal communities than
any institution since the U.S.
Cavalry."
Tilano Montoya, 34 and a
member of the Northern Arapaho
Tribe, was sentenced June 21 to
drug treatment and five years on
probation. Earlier, he had pleaded
guilty to two counts of using a
communication device to commit
a drug felony and conspiracy to
possess meth with an intent to
distribute.
U.S. District Court Judge
William F. Downes recited a litany
ofMontoya'saddictions, beginning
with marijuana and building to
almost daily meth use.
"Then the casino, the touted
GAMBLING to page 5
Use of $1 billion trust fund among
topics for Navajo council next
By Felicia Fonseca
Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -
Officials of the Navajo Nation
are looking at a pot of gold.
On the reservation the size of
West Virginia, where most roads
are unpaved, residents haul
their drinking water and half of
workers can't find jobs, $1 billion
could go a long way.
The amount is enough,
President Joe Shirley Jr. says,
to meet the needs of the Navajo
people.
The source is the Permanent
Fund _ developed in 1985 to
replenish lost revenues from
coal, timber, oil and gas. The
fund is causing quite a stir
among Navajo officials who
have a shot this year at using
the money. Some want the fund
to continue growing; others
say there's no reason to leave it
untouched.
Under tribal law, the funds
could not be harvested until last
fall.
"Everyone pretty much
expected this gold rush, and
now we have to manage it," said
Shirley's spokesman, George
Hardeen.
Shirley has urged against its
immediate use as has Peterson
Zah, the former tribal leader
whose administration established
the fund.
Zah has been campaigning
against raiding the fund and
likely will try to block legislation
in the Tribal Council next week
to clear the first hurdle in
accessing the money _ a five-
year expenditure plan.
The legislation was tabled last
year because the dates on the
document were outdated; the
measure still seeks the approval
of the plan for fiscal years 2005-
2010.
While only the interest_about
$17 million a year _ can be used
from the fund under tribal law,
some people want the council to
waive that law and dip into the
principal.
Zah said that he does not want
the money frivolously spent. The
Navajo people should decide how
the funds are spent, and tribal
FUND to page 5
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A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2007
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 33
July 15, 2007
Jordan Sang and Veronica Nelson
Two American Indian Students Selected For
Minnesota's Future Doctors Program
Minneapolis / St. Paul —
Veronica Nelson and Jordan
Sang, students at the University
of Minnesota, Duluth and
Minnesota State University,
Moorhead, respectively, were
selected to be participants in
Minnesota's Future Doctors,
a program created by the
University of MinnesotaMedical
School and the Mayo Medical
School that aims to increase
minority, immigrant, and rural
physicians.
Nelson and Sang, residents of
Maple, Wisconsin and Stephen,
Minnesota, are two of 23 highly-
talented, hardworking students
recruited for the program,
which was designed to generate
a pipeline of future doctors for
the state. Minnesota's Future
Doctors was developed in
response to a concern that
practicing physicians and
medical school students do
not reflect the diversity of
Minnesota communities. Two
University of Minnesota Medical
School students noticed this
disparity in their classrooms
and initiated the Minnesota's
Future Doctors program to
address this inequality. The
goal of the program is to equip
high-potential minority and
disadvantaged students with
the skills necessary to become
successful undergraduate
students, in turn making them
strong applicants for medical
school.
"These fantastic young people
are the whole package, the type
of student we want and need in
our medical schools if we are
to prepare the next generation
of physicians who can relate
to the increasingly diverse
population in our state," said
Jo Peterson, Ph.D., director of
the program.
The two join a group of
students from around
Minnesota who have completed
their freshman year of college,
have demonstrated exceptional
academic aptitude, and were
highly recommended by faculty
members. The students will
spend six weeks this summer
at the University of Minnesota
Medical Center, Fairview,
the Mayo Clinic, and Duluth
Hospital learning about
clinical care and research.
Program participants will
create electronic portfolios,
tour the campuses, take biology
courses, and learn what it
means to serve different ethnic
populations as a physician by
University of Minnesota and
Mayo Clinic professionals.
DOCTORS to page 3
Navajo beauty
queen hopes
to send
message of
respect
By Lindsay Whitehurst
The Daily Times
FARMINGTON, N JM. - Mariah
Kay Bolding isn't your typical
beauty queen.
"When a boy opens the door,
I want him to go in first," said
Bolding, the new Miss Indian
Farmington.
The 16-year-old pageant
veteran has a similarly strong
message for other American
Indian teens in Farmington: Be
yourself. Respect your culture.
Don't let your mistakes hold
you back.
Boldinggrew up in Shiprock
and Farmington.
"In Shiprock, younger
people are more involved in
tradition,," she said. "Being
out here, kids my age and
younger are ashamed of being
Native American. They don't
participate in events ... they
make fun of things, kind of
teasing."
That's at least in part, she
said, because young people
encounter prejudice, and she
isn't immune.
After she moved to
Farmington permanently in the
seventh grade, for a time she
rejected the Navajo traditions
her aunt taught her.
"I'm trying to learn about
myself again, get back
everything I threw away," she
said.
She wants other teens to
know that youthful mistakes
are reversible. "Everyone can
change," she said.
Bolding won her first title,
MESSAGE to page 5
Momaday named poet laureate
for centennial
By Ron Jenkins
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY - Pulitzer
Prize-winning writer N. Scott
Momaday was appointed by
Gov. Brad Henry on Thursday
as Oklahoma Centennial State
Poet Laureate.
" In this year of ou r centennial
celebration, our poet laureate is
not only a bona fide Oklahoma
treasure, but an American
treasure," Henry said.
"Scott Momaday's vision,
artistry and genius continue
to inspire and move readers
throughout the world."
Momaday, a novelist, poet,
playwright and artist, won the
Pulitzer in 1969 for his first
novel, "House Made of Dawn."
Momaday, who has read poems
at Henry's two inaugurations as
governor, retired to Santa Fe,
N.M. after a career of writing
and teaching at universities, the
last in Tucson at the University
of Arizona.
A Kiowa Indian, the new poet
laureate has written extensively
about Indian traditions and
culture.
He was born in Lawton and
grew up on reservations. His
mother was a writer and his
father was a painter.
He said he moved back a
year ago to Oklahoma, where
he and his wife, Barbara, have
an apartment in downtown
POET to page 6
Senate panel hears tribal road woes
By Noelle Straub
Gazette Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - With the
fatality rate on reservation
roads four times the national
average and two-thirds of the
roads unpaved, tribal leaders
and federal officials agreed
Thursday that the government
has dangerously underfunded
transportation needs in Indian
Country.
"You drive in parts of this
country and drive onto an
Indian reservation and you see
Third World conditions with
respect to their roads," Senate
Indian Affairs Chairman Byron
Dorgan, D-N.D., said at an
oversight hearing.
"Frankly, it's impossible to
maintain the roads at safe levels
with the tools we currently
have," testified Jerry Gidner,
deputy bureau director for
Indian Services at the Bureau
of Indian Affairs.
Nearly a quarter of the 4,500
bridges in Indian Country are
classified as deficient, federal
officials said.
About 76 percent of the 27,000
miles of BIA roads are dirt or
gravel, federal officials testified.
More than 66 percent of the
entire Indian Reservation Roads
system, which includes 82,000
miles of roads, are unimproved
earth and gravel, they said.
The BIAspends less than $500
in maintenance per mile each
year, a fraction of the $4,000 to
$5,000 per mile spent each year
on maintenance of state roads,
Dorgan and tribal witnesses
said.
Gidner said the administration
gives BIA a target budget each
year and road maintenance
must compete with all the other
Indian Country priorities. He
said some tribes have a "woefully
insufficient" police presence, so
law enforcement wins out over
PANEL to page 5
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