House, hunting

Norma Roberts: Thoughts from a proud Pawnee

November is Native American Heritage Month, a time I celebrate on this blog with something special. This year, I’m sharing some correspondence from Norma Roberts, a proud Pawnee who for years was the R.N. on duty at Fort Worth’s legendary Stock Show. Norma’s retired now and as sharp as ever. Highly intelligent, kind and perceptive.

There's a great picture of Norma on her Facebook page.

I first heard from Norma several years ago while I was the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s ombudsman. She contacted me after reading a column I’d written that was focused on a Native American issue. She treasures her Native heritage. She mentioned that as a little girl she’d been a student at the Pawnee Indian School in Oklahoma where children were not allowed to speak their language and were not treated with the dignity they deserved. She didn’t go into detail, but Norma’s mention of her experience touched me deeply and has continued to do so. Here’s another alum’s personal memories of the place and some photos. 

If there was a biography of Norma, I’d buy it in a second. It would trace her exceptional life on an Oklahoma farm and in the Pawnee school before she went on to graduate from TCU’s vaunted nursing program and pursue a medical career. Took a lot of courage and spiritual strength. Many people and many important leaders know Norma and respect her.

When Norma e-mailed me last August, I was on a road trip conducting some research for what I hope will be a book about my mother, the late songwriter Jewell House of Texarkana, Texas. My Cherokee blood comes from my mother and her mother, the late Minnie Mae Treece Hancock who was born and reared on Sand Mountain in Jackson County, Ala., and on back. My paternal grandfather, Roy House, was Indian as well, but he was killed in El Paso in 1925, and never shared any information with the family about his heritage, which was a very common practice rooted in fear of vicious prejudices that were and continue to be deeply rooted in white culture. I don't know his Nation. Maybe he was Cherokee, too. Looks to be. Just not sure. There's a picture of him on my Facebook page.

So there in August I got an email from Norma, which led to a few more, which rekindled my interest in Norma’s story. Over the months, as we’ve had time we’ve exchanged some thoughts. I’ve kept them, hoping to post them to mark Native American Heritage Month. Here, with Norma’s permission, are Norma's e-mails virtually unedited so as to keep that good sense of Norma that one gets from reading her correspondence. They stir compelling thoughts to help keep Native American Heritage Month going long after November's behind us.

Aug. 14

David, if you've checked the INDIAN NEWS I mentioned, there is an article about a young Navajo Indian, JACOBY ELLSBURY, baseball player, noted as a CANDIDATE for A.L.MVP.! It mentions he's from the Colorado Indian Reservation; I had worked on that reservation in the USPHS Indian Hosp.! It's about time our young Indians are being recognized. Not since JIM THORPE, has anyone been mentioned; I had gone to the Indian School in Pawnee with some of the Thorpe boys.!! I'll be checking on Jacoby's career.
Also THANK YOU for the prayers, I appreciate that and likewise to you and family. ( : ) ++

I knew about Sam Bradford, just failed to mention him. There was another Indian Q.B. Sonny Six Killer played Pro, but don't recall for what team. I do try to keep up with the different athletes. My father
taught me a lot about sports when I was a teenager. I was the oldest of us 4 girls; no boys at home. I like to think I was his favorite; he always called me by my Indian name.
The Indian school was not a great place to be, but my parents sent my younger sister and me there when my Father joined the Army and my mother went to work in the Defense Plant in Okla. City. I think they thought we would be well taken care of/go to school. WRONG.!
I consider you Indian, David, so don't dwell on the "mixed blood" thing. I'm also proud of our Indian men.....I've never heard of any of them refusing to enlist or burning their draft card. If it happened I never knew it.
Not sure if I ever told you, both my Grandfathers were chiefs in our tribe. Lot of info about them.
I'm just rambling on, but I like people to know about my heritage.
Later.....CHUTUKSEWAH. we don't have an alphabet, so we try to write what we hear*****That's my Pawnee name

August 15

I sometimes write when I've thought of something.

My Grandfather, Wm. Mathews, was the Medicine Man/Doctor in the tribe. When he performed some healing on a person and the family could not pay monetarily, they would pay him with horses, cattle, other livestock. That's how he/family built up the farm/ranch. He was my mother's father; she did tell us SOME things that he did. His Pawnee name was translated as BUFFALO CHIEF.He died when I was 18 mos. old, so I don't remember him. Don't know why my mother wouldn't tell us more. However, she did tell us that when he was called to perform the healing on a person, it was quite unique. He always danced in the circle while the men sang his special religous song; he took on the image of a horse. No one else could do that and when he finished his dance, the Tribe always remarked, "OK, it's finished." Then people could talk again and leave the ceremony. I do remember my Grandmother (his wife ) telling us he put a SACRED BUNDLE in the upstairs of the house. We were not to bother it or untie the blanket around it, it was placed on a Buffalo robe on a trunk filled with some of his personal things. I would have liked to see him perform his special dance. It was called appropiately THE DOCTOR DANCE. He never spoke English and mother told us he would speak Pawnee to all the animals and they seemed to understand and obey him. He was from the Kitkehauke and Chaui bands. Our tribe is or was divided into 4 bands: Kitkehauke, Chaui, Pitahaurerat and Skidi.

NOW, comes my paternal Grandfather, Rush Roberts, Sr. he was the principal chief of the tribe until his passing at the age of 99! He comes from the north and was an orphan at the age of 15 or 16. He survived the Sioux massacre by grabbing onto a horse running by and made himself lay straight against the horse. The U.S. govt. intervened and transported the remainder of the tribe to Nebraska. I'm sure you've heard stories about Indians dying of cholera and other diseases. The tribe lost a lot of the people and once again the Sioux traveled to Nebraska & killed a lot of my tribe. So the govt. sent the remainder to Oklahoma on the reservation. I guess the Sioux decided not to go there.

A short time after the tribe was settled, the U.S. Army went to Pawnee to recruit for scouts to go up north to fight the Sioux. My Grandfather's aunt/uncle persuaded him to enlist, though he was the youngest scout. The Pawnee were long-distance runners and great scouts. They helped to capture some of the Sioux chiefs. Grandfather was the youngest scout and lived to be the oldest. When he died, a lot of the Sioux came for his funeral. They told the family they had a lot of respect for him and wanted to be there. Grandpa was Skidi and some elders who have long passed away said our tribe was closely related to the Arikara tribe up north; they were able to speak/understand each other whereas no other tribe could. My Grandfather's Pawnee name: LATAH-COTS-KAH-LAHARA was known as FANCY EAGLE, CHIEF OF THE GRAND PAWNEE. He was also the only tribesman to give someone a Pawnee Indian name. He gave me mine***CHIEF'S DAUGHTER.

The Skidi band of the Pawnee are considered the Top/Superior-more sophisticated of the 4 bands.!!! I was given the choice of which band I wanted when I was a teen-ager and I chose the Skidi. Riled my mother throughout the yrs.!! My father and I would tease her and she didn"t like that!! there were times when my parents were speaking in Pawnee, my father would say a word or phrase my mother didn't understand and he would have to explain to her. Must have been a hold-over from the Arikara side.

I do have one regret among many: Every morning, my father would go outside, facing towards the east and sing Pawnee songs. I never thought to record him. He had a great voice. Another regret, I could speak Pawnee and Wichita at a young age and when I went to the Indian school, we were not allowed to speak our native tongue, so I lost all that. If we ever got caught by the Matrons at the school, we were severely punished. I sometimes remember words or phrases, have forgotten how to carry on a conversation.

Incidentally, the Indian news report that an Oglala Sioux youngster shot some police this afternoon. Apparently, he was drinking!

More later....

August 15

Did I ever mention the govt. issued the names to the Indians because they could not pronounce or spell their Indian names.? My father was named after his father/my grandfather. His name was Rush Roberts, Jr., Pawnee name was GOOD HAWK. I don't know how to pronounce his Pawnee name. He was an hereditary chief of the Tuhitspiat clan of the Skidi Band of the Pawnee. He died in Fort Worth, All Saints Hospital, Dec.4,1975. He always wanted me in the hosp. room with him so he could call me; he would call CHUTUKS.

I stayed with him night/day. He helped me go to TCU-HARRIS COLLEGE OF NURSNG and I was so greatful. When he sensed he was dying, he spoke to us individually. Most of the Oklahoma relatives came to say their good-byes. When he started talking to me, I started crying so hard, almost made myself sick. He told me not to cry but to help take care of my mother and sisters. He went very peacefully; I was a complete Basket Case. There was a very nice writeup in the Star-Telegram. A lot of people came to pay respects; lot of them we didn't know. He was dressed in his full Pawnee clothes for his trip back home. He was at Harveson-Cole. My mother's brother came from Anadarko to dress him. We always dress our own family; don't know if other tribes do that. One of our traditions is the deceased will wear moccasins.
Just a little " history info " for you.
Later....

August 16

My computer CRASHED last eve., after my last msg. to you. I managed by myself to re-start it and I know absolutley zilch about these monsters!

August 18

If you ever have time to ck your computer, you might like to read up on the Pawnee tribe history, etc. Go to Pawnenation.org. I've been reading/learning about my own people!! The Skidi are called the Wolf band. I signed up on Twitter and tried to add your name/email address......

August 18

Sorry, just noticed I didn't spell Pawneenation correctly

August 18

This fact /info is true and I hope you'll remember it always***the Pawnee were noted to be the most cunning,famous HORSE THIEVES known all over. They could take a horse from a sleeping person without making a sound; the horses would co-operate and not make a sound either.!!!!

August 20

If you ever check your msgs., I have another Indian story to e-mail about the Crow Indians in Montana. We are supposedly distant related via Grandfather Fancy Eagle, then there are the Arikarah tribe I told you about being closer relatives. I guess the Crow nation helped at Little Big Horn and got the best of old Custer.!! The celebration is 5 days/5nights, if you can pull up the info on the Crow Celebration, it displays how the tribe sets up their Teepees; it's very elaborate. CK. IT OUT.! When the dances are completed for the yr.,they take down their Teepees and throw all their poles away. They never keep them to use again; it's always new poles for the next time.

Later ( : + )

November 20

David, I'm so glad to hear from you, I couldn't imagine what happened with you; and I'm certainly sorry to hear about your (illness). ... My nurse background and training sometimes take over. I hope I never lose that.

The Crow celebration is usually in August before the harsh winter sets it, since the reservation is so close to Canada. That wind comes with vengeance.!!! The tribe usually starts preparing for the winter right after the celebration. It's referred to as " The Crow Fair."

The Pawnee would always build their Living Quarters on the side of a high hill, and is known as an EARTH LODGE. They built them so large that their horses/livestock lived in there, too, with several families. They took great care of their horses. That's just a small info for you!!

I kinda got off the subject when you asked about the Indian School & I told you other things.
About the Indian School, I remember 2 things that could have been a tragedy for me. I contracted measles with 2 other young girls about my same age.....9 or 10. We were put in one room, 2nd floor of the "little girl's dormitory." One small bed that we shared, taking turns on the floor. The door was locked from the outside. Our meals were brought to us on trays, set on the floor, and the person left after knocking on the door. They treated us like we had leprosy.!! And we were let out about 3 times a day to go to the bathroom. What if there had been a fire? We had one small window to look out.

The other I remember.....I got very ill with pneumonia; my parents were working.....Think Mom was in OKC working in the defense plant, father was in the Army. We were allowed to march to town on the weekends. My Grandmother would come from the farm every weekend to see me and visit. That one weekend when I didn't show up in town, Grandmother asked some of the girls where I was...the girls told her I was sick in the dormitory. She got very upset. She called for the taxicab and went out to the school. Once again no adult ever checked on me; G-mother scooped me up in her arms and carried me out to the taxi ( she told him to wait ) and they took me to the Indian Hosp., which was nearby. The Dr. checked me and told G-mother I had pneumonia and I might die. I was put in an oxygen tent. I heard G-mother singing Pawnee songs, praying and crying. So you see, I guess I was too ornery/mean to die.!! I had always had a strong attachment to my Grandmother and after that incident I had a stronger, loving respect for her.

So David, I had a tough childhood; there are so many things that happened and I had not thought about them until now. This may not be what you wanted to know about the Indian School.

Later******

November 22

I had mentioned to Norma in a Facebook exchange that Andra, my wife, had given me a 1-hour Discovery Flight in a Cessna 172 as a birthday gift and how excited I was, because I'd always dreamed of flying like my dad, Charles House (who was a commercial pilot), but was denied that dream by a baseball injury when I was about 15. Always had thought it would be impossible to ever get my private pilot's license, but now, at age 67, had learned that it may be possible. Norma's reply: 

I think one should live out their dreams before it's too late and I know you're happy with your wife's gift. I'm glad for you.

My Father worked at Convair and was fascinated with the planes. I never heard him say he would like to fly. He did work on the B-36 and entered a contest to name the plane; he was 2nd with his entry of GOLIATHAN. That plane interrupted our class at school. I went to C.F. Brewer. Seems like I told you before about my Father/planes; did I ? None of the family was allowed to use his tools out of his toolbox. He knew exactly where the tools belonged! I guess most mechaniclal engineers are like that. My favorite was the B-38, the HUSTLER. I wished I could fly when I was a lot younger, but I didn't pursue that.

About "the school," it was called Pawnee Boarding School; and other tribes went there. I don't know when it was built. It's a brown-stone building ( girl's dorm ), 2-story. The "little girls" stayed in the bottom and the "big girl's" were upstairs. I don't know about the boy's dorm; never went inside. The 2 dorms were seperated by the dining hall. We had to line up in front of the dorms, including the boys, and MARCH to the dining hall.!! The school acquired the name GRAVY U.!!! That's what was served most of the time. Whenever an Indian met another and asked, "Did you go to Gravy?," they knew what they were talking about. The school is about a mile east of the town of Pawnee. It's still there, but the buildings are now used for Govt. business.

When my parents had to leave for the Army (Father), mother had to go to work. I was taken to the boarding school for "safe" keeping since almost all the children stayed there all yr. I did learn to take up for myself.! Prior to that school, I spent about 2 yrs. with my mother's Uncle/wife in Anadarko. I started school there and when I went back with my parents in Pawnee, I went to the boarding school. When I enrolled, the teacher decided I was more advanced than the others. I was promoted to the next grade, so I skipped a grade. Then when my parents changed my school again, I went to a country school -- STAR-A-STAR.! Once again I was promoted to the next grade. Seems like I was more advanced than the class. Even when my Father took me to T.C.U., I was too young to start college. Spent that year downtown in a business college.

The boarding school took in students from the first grade through 9th grade, I believe. I don't know how many students were there.

The farm was the homestead, not quite 100 acres; Govt.-issued to my maternal grandparents. I think it was called an allotment. I remember a lot of good things on the farm. Learned to ride horses---Indian style---no bridle or saddle. We did put a rope in the lower jaw of the horse, that's all.

You can ask me most anything about our tribe. I think my grandfather was ahead of planning the building of the house. It was 2-story with a commode, bath tub and there was NO running water. we had to pump the water and carry the water into the house. Thank goodness, the windmill /pump was a few feet from the kitchen.

I never got to know my Grandfather. He died when I was about 20 months old. He was the Medicine Man of the tribe.

Writing this has brought back a lot of memories. TAKE CARE.......STAY HEALTHY.

One little tidbit: Did I mention I have a brother? His name is Bob Moline, western artist, lives here in Fort Worth.

November 26

Nowah, David.!!!!! (Osiyo, Norma)

I think I forgot to mention Bob is my adopted brother. Yrs. ago the Inter-Tribal club was trying to get their club together and put on dances and my parents voluntered to help them. Most of them lived close to Dallas. That was how the POW-WOW began at Trader Village. My Father was the tallest person, thus he stood out among the dancers. Bob became very curious/fascinated and asked to do sketches of him. Bob is self-taught. The mutual admiration started over 30 yrs. ago. My parents soon became attached to him and decided to adopt him into the family. They took him back to Pawnee and introduced him to the tribe and told Bob if he went among other tribes to mention he is from the Roberts' family. When he did go to Santa Fe, he was surprised how welcomed/treated he was. Grandfather Roberts was the stable master at the Indian school and a lot of the older Indians remembered my Grandfather and his wife, my father's mother; she was the "dining room matron." My father even went to school there. Bob has many paintings of father and he gave me one for my birthday, few yrs. ago and another for just being his sister!!!

Bob told me he had gone up north last summer and stopped at a museum in Nebraska and was surprised to see a large picture of Grandfather. I asked him if it was authentic and he said yes. I asked him if he told the curator he was his Grandson, said of course said they were glad to meet some of the family. They gave him a lot of pictures and sent him more when he got home.

Incidentally, Bob is Comanche! He wants to be considered PAWNEE. He wants a Pawnee name and asked me to help him. I told him we would have to ask the person that gives names. I asked him which Band he would like to be and he didn't hesitate and said SKIDI.!

Bob is a renowned saddlemaker and has made saddles for several Country/Western entertainers. He has his own designs and he's not cheap!! He also does bronzes, used to do watercolors, charcoal, but I don't know if he still does those. Have to brag on him....he did several oils of Father and they were on display in the COWBOY HALL OF FAME IN OKLAHOMA.

Well, David, i'll sign off for now; that pecan pie is calling me. I trust you and famiy had a great Thanksgiving.....

Yes, Norma, we did. And we all are doubly blessed this November, having these great stories from you. Thank you for taking the time to write them and for your permission to share them. To me, it's so very important for us to share stories about our heritage.

Respectful comments from anyone who reads this are most welcome. If you're Indian, what are some of your heritage-related memories?

-- David

NCAI webcast this morning

 Go here for this morning's live webcast of the National Congress of American Indians State of Indian Nations address, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Fort Worth time, from the Newseum in Washington, D.C.

I'd be tweeting this as well, but Twitter says it's over capacity at the moment.

 

Consider Chief Seattle's prophetic words

Another quote from "The Wisdom of the Native Americans," compiled and edited by Kent Nerburn (see links in previous post).

From Chief Seattle, Suqwamish and Duwamis nations, who was familiar with whites' broken promises and other abuses:

"The whites, too, shall pass -- perhaps sooner than other tribes. Continue to contaminate your own bed, and you will one night suffocate in your own waste."

See any evidence of that happening? Financial institutions, political organizations and other socioeconomic groups these days should hear his words.

What do you make of the chief's view?

A book that should grace every library

A special friend of mine, Donna Darovich, recently gave me a book that I've come to deeply treasure: "The Wisdom of the Native Americans," a compelling collection of Native Americans' quotes compiled and edited by an equally compelling author/sculptor, Kent Nerburn, whose own spirituality soars. As I've learned more about him, I'm inclined to put Nerburn in a league with John Eldredge, whose spirituality and ability to give voice to his heart and soul simply astound me. Eldredge's thoughts and writing gifts are simpy, truly awesome. I'd recommend his work to anyone, particularly to those who are suffering.

You who know me know that I love my Native American heritage, which is part Cherokee and part some other nation or nations that I may never know because my families worked hard to eradicate any connection to that heritage out of fear and shame. They nearly succeeded. I wrote about that a while back in a Sunday cover story for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. But I digress.

Out of love and respect for Native Americans and response to his heart's calling, Nerburn has given us a book filled with the majesty of Native American views. There's no saccharine stereotype at work, just unvarnished, point-blank thoughts about a wide range of matters.

His book belongs in any library, particularly one in which space is devoted to Native Americans. In this post and more to follow, I'd like to share a sampling of the quotes that Nerburn found. Here's one I especially value:

"We do not want churches because they will teach us to quarrel about God, as the Catholics and Protestants do. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth. But we never quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that."

-- Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

Emergency needs in Indian Country

The following alert was sent out by the National Congress of American Indians. The American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Texas sent it those of us who are AICCT members. I share it with you and urge you to consider responding:

Aid Requested for Tribal Communities hit by Recent Snowstorms

A succession of blizzards have ravaged several tribal communities across Indian Country and they are in great need of donated goods (e.g., non-perishable food, water, shovels) and financial assistance in order to purchase medical supplies, propane for heating homes, and gasoline for emergency vehicles.

The National Congress of American Indians is asking that you contact tribal personnel directly to find out specific needs and share your resources with them. Please be aware that there may be other tribes in need and if you have additional information, please contact NCAI and we will send out an update. If you have any questions, please contact Ahniwake Rose at NCAI, 202.466.7767 or [email protected].

**Contributions to a federally recognized tribal government are treated the same as a contribution to a state government under 7871 for purposes of charitable contributions deductibility; as, the contribution will be used exclusively for "public purposes" which in this instance is disaster relief for the ice storm of January 2010.

Navajo Nation, Navajo Nation Department of Emergency Management, c/o 2010 Snowfall Operation PO Box 620 St. Michaels , AZ 86511 · Contact: Navajo Nation, Johnny Johnson, Emergency Operations, Center Incident Commander, (928) 871-7848.  Navajo Nation request that all donations come in the form of gift cards which will be used to purchase all needs for community members and tribal responders from local vendors. They are also requesting 50,000 sandbags.

Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe/2010 Disaster Account, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Chairman’s Office Attn: Ice Storm Emergency Fund, PO Box 590, 2001 Main Street (Tribal Offices), Eagle Butte, SD 57625. Online Donations: https://secure.piryx.com/donate/0oFFsK8c/Cheyenn-River-Sioux-Tribe/  Contact: Cheyenne River, Robin Le Beau, Chairman’s Assistant: (610) 568-2101.  Medical items needed include: glucose strips, first aid kits, children’s aspirin/pain reliever, and cough syrup.

Oglala Sioux Tribe, Oglala Sioux Tribe Attn: Dean Patton, Treasurer P.O. Box 2070 Pine Ridge, S.D. 57770. Contact: Oglala Sioux, Loretta Afraid of Bear, Public Relations, (605) 867-5074, Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Rosebud Sioux Tribe c/o Emergency Preparedness Program, P.O. Box 910 Rosebud, S.D. 57570. Contact: Bill Giroux, Emergency Manager, (605) 747-2559. Items needed include non-perishable goods, heaters, and candles.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Chairman Charles Murphy, PO Box D, Fort Yates, ND 58538. Contact: Pete Red Tomahawk, Tribal Emergency Coordinator, (701) 854-8500.

President Obama proclaims Native American Heritage Month, stirs reason to hope

We must never lose hope, and there is cause to stoke that flame.

On Oct. 30, President Barack Obama issued his proclamation honoring November as Native American Heritage Month. It's worth reading. Note the points the president makes about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act directing more than $3 billion to help Native American communities deal with urgent needs such as health care, economic development and other top priorities.

Spent wisely, these funds could make a huge difference in helping to establish and nurture healing, dignity-enhancing initiatives that could help to stem the suicide epidemic among young Native Americans and revitalize the spirit in Indian Country where spirit has withered. Let's pray that Creator blesses such plans and all of that happens.

The president's proclamation is eloquent and true. Here it is (boldface emphasis is mine):

Presidential Proclamation of National Native American Heritage Month

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release October 30, 2009

NATIONAL NATIVE AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH, 2009

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

The indigenous peoples of North America -- the First Americans -- have woven rich and diverse threads into the tapestry of our Nation's heritage. Throughout their long history on this great land, they have faced moments of profound triumph and tragedy alike. During National Native American Heritage Month, we recognize their many accomplishments, contributions, and sacrifices, and we pay tribute to their participation in all aspects of American society.

This month, we celebrate the ancestry and time-honored traditions of American Indians and Alaska Natives in North America. They have guided our land stewardship policies, added immeasurably to our cultural heritage, and demonstrated courage in the face of adversity. From the American Revolution to combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, they have fought valiantly in defense of our Nation as dedicated servicemen and women. Their native languages have also played a pivotal role on the battlefield. During World Wars I and II, Native American code talkers developed unbreakable codes to communicate military messages that saved countless lives. Native Americans have distinguished themselves as inventors, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and scholars. Our debt to our First Americans is immense, as is our responsibility to ensure their fair, equal treatment and honor the commitments we made to their forbears.

The Native American community today faces huge challenges that have been ignored by our Government for too long. To help address this disparity, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act allocates more than $3 billion to help these communities deal with their most pressing needs. In the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, my Administration has proposed over $17 billion for programs carried out by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Indian Health Service, and other Federal agencies that have a critical role to play in improving the lives of Native Americans. These programs will increase educational opportunities, address the scourge of alcohol abuse and domestic violence, promote economic development, and provide access to comprehensive, accessible, and affordable health care. While funding increases do not make up for past deficiencies, they do reflect our determination to honor tribal sovereignty and ensure continued progress reservations across America.

As we seek to build on and strengthen our nation-to-nation relationship, my Administration is committed to ensuring tribal communities have a meaningful voice in our national policy debates as we confront the challenges facing all Americans. We will continue this constructive dialogue at the White House Tribal Nations Conference held in Washington, D.C., this month. Native American voices have echoed through the mountains, valleys, and plains of our country for thousands of years, and it is now our time to listen.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 2009 as National Native American Heritage Month. I call upon all Americans to commemorate this month with appropriate programs and activities, and to celebrate November 27, 2009, as Native American Heritage Day.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirtieth day of October, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fourth.

BARACK OBAMA

# # #

Murkowski: "We have failed" Native Americans "for far too long"

Indian health care resources fall far short of delivering decent but urgently needed help. This is just one factor involved in the suicide epidemic among young Native Americans –- an outrageous and avoidable  national shame -- and it is just one longstanding blot on the federal government’s credibility in relations with Indians. (See documentation below.)

Consider that in mid-October, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-S.D., at left), chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs (SCIA), was once again introducing legislation to re-authorize (permanently) health care for nearly 2 million American Indians and Alaska Natives via the Indian Health Care Improvement Reauthorization and Extension Act of 2009 –- a reauthorization step that hasn’t been taken in 20 years, according to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska, at left), a co-sponsor of the measure and SCIA member.

“Our First Americans suffer the highest mortality rates from diabetes, tuberculosis, alcoholism and suicide,” Murkowski said. “Indian Country has waited far too long for a bill to arrive at the President’s desk. We have failed our trust responsibility for far too long. Let’s embark on a new course to make America’s Native people the healthiest people in the world.” Amen.

Now, I want to share with you some highly compelling views that Sen. Dorgan expressed in October 2007 when he introduced legislation that would have re-authorized Indian health care. I urge you to read his comments that were published in the Congressional Record and posted on the Friends Committee on National Legislation Web site.

Dorgan’s words are powerful. I’m sharing them in full -– a violation, I know, of short-form blog practice -- for those of you who may want to read every word. As I journalist, I’m not in the business of withholding information. But for those who want a quick read, I’m boldfacing key parts.

Please take special note of Sen. Dorgan’s anecdotal documentation of some cases of suicide. I’ve never read stronger human-interest stories. They boggled my mind. Here are Dorgan's comments, and bless him, Sen. Murkowski and every advocate of decent health care for American Indians and Canadian First People:

From the Congressional Record October 19, 2007

"I wish to talk about children's health care, but I want to focus mostly on Indian children, and I am going to talk about Indian health care, generally. The reason I am doing this, I am chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee in the Senate, and Senator Reid indicated we will have on the floor of the Senate, perhaps in a week or perhaps 2 weeks, for the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. It has been 15 years since that Act has been debated on the floor of the Senate, the Indian Health Care Improvement Act.

Why separate categories, Indian health care? Why separate? We have a trust responsibility. This country promised through treaty, through other obligations, this country said to the Indian people: We have a trust responsibility to provide for your health care. It is not something that the Native Americans, the first Americans, said: We want you to give this to us; we insist upon it. It was an agreement, a treaty agreement by this country to say--in many cases, a treaty, in other cases, just a solemn promise--we will provide health care coverage to American Indians as part of our trust responsibility.

The Indian Health Care Improvement Act expired in the year 2000 and has not been reauthorized. It is 7 years later. It doesn't mean there is no Indian health care. There is some, but it is horribly inadequate. In any event, we should reauthorize that Act and modernize it. With respect to Native Americans, we have fallen tragically short of what our responsibilities insist we do.

Let me describe what we are spending and how well we are doing with respect to health care. With Medicare, we spend $6,700 per Medicare patient; Indian health care, $2,100 per capita. We spend twice as much on health care for Federal prisoners whom we incarcerate as we do for American Indians for whom we have a trust responsibility for health care.

Someone incarcerated gets twice as much spent on their health care as American Indians for whom we have a responsibility. I am talking about children, I am talking about elders, and I will talk about some of them in just a moment. We can see ranging from Medicare to the VA to Medicaid to Federal prisons, all the way down, and here is the lowest, and the lowest is the per capita expenditure of health care for American Indians for whom we have a trust responsibility.

American Indians die at a much higher rate than other Americans from tuberculosis, a 600-percent higher rate from tuberculosis; diabetes, 189 percent, but in some parts of the country, it is 400 percent and 800 percent higher than Americans. Alcoholism, 500 percent higher. The fact is, we have grim statistics coming from Indian reservations with respect to the health of the first Americans. The rate of sudden infant death syndrome among Native Americans is the highest of any population group in the United States and more than double of non- Indians. Indian youth suicide on the Northern Great Plains, where I am from, is 10 times the national average.

Last night, I received a letter from a constituent on an Indian reservation. This constituent has had diabetes since she was 11 years old. Earlier this year, she received a kidney and pancreas transplant. She needs an anti-rejection medication to stay alive. When she went to the reservation clinic to get her medicine yesterday, she was told by the doctor: There goes our budget. There are two other tribal members who receive this medication, and when the funding is gone, there will be no more medication.

The stories are pretty unbelievable. This is a picture of a young girl named Avis Little Wind. I have described the tragedy of this young girl previously. Avis Little Wind is 14 years old. Avis is dead. She took her own life. Mental health treatment wasn't available for Avis. She lay in her bed in a fetal position for 3 months, and no one seemed alarmed by that, before she finally took her life. She wasn't in school, though she was supposed to have been. Her sister committed suicide, her father died by his own hands, and this 14-year-old girl is gone because, I presume, she felt that she was hopeless and helpless.

Those on the Indian reservation dealing with mental health issues, including suicide. For suicide prevention, they have virtually no resources. A young lady on this Indian reservation, who testified at a hearing I held once, said she had a stack of files on the floor of her office dealing with abuse and health issues. She said: ``We don't have any resources to even investigate the files. We would have to beg to borrow a car to take one of these kids to a clinic someplace.'' Then she broke down weeping. About a month later, she resigned.

The fact is people are dying. Avis Little Wind died of suicide because mental health treatment wasn't available on that Indian reservation. I was in Montana recently with Senator Tester, and a grandmother held up a picture of this beautiful young girl. She is 5 years old. Her grandmother described the picture of her granddaughter, named Ta'Shon Rain Littlelight. Ta'Shon Rain Littlelight loved to dance, and she danced in this regalia at all the pow-wows from the time she was able to walk a beautiful little girl with a sparkle in her eye. Well, Ta'Shon is gone. Ta'Shon lost her battle, as well. Between May and August of last year, she was taken many times to the Crow Indian Health Service Clinic for health services. They diagnosed the problem and they began to treat it. They said it was depression. A 5-year-old was depressed.

Well, during one of the clinic visits her grandfather said: ``But there is something else going on. Take a look at the condition of her fingertips and her toes. There is something happening in this little girl's body.'' It suggests, the grandfather said, a lack of oxygen. Something is going on. But that concern was dismissed, and finally the grandmother asked a doctor to try to eliminate the possibility of cancer or leukemia, or something of that nature. But those concerns were dismissed.

In August, this young girl was rushed from the Crow clinic to St. Vincent Hospital in Billings, MT. They airlifted her to Denver Children's Hospital where she was diagnosed with incurable, untreatable cancer. She lived for another 3 months after the tumor was discovered, in unmedicated pain. She died in September. The grandmother asked at our field hearing if Ta'Shon's cancer had been detected earlier, would it have made a difference? Would this little 5-year-old girl be alive? None of us knows, but the question of the quality of health care is a life-or-death issue.

It was for Ta'Shon.

Recently, on a Wednesday morning in my State, a young child on an Indian reservation was burned, severely burned, and rushed by the mother to the Indian Health Service clinic on the reservation, only to be told that the clinic was closed for the morning for administrative purposes. Even after the frantic pleas by the mother, this boy was refused care. So in her desperation, she contacted a doctor from another town outside of the reservation for assistance. They directed her to bring her young son immediately. She did. Thankfully, that young boy received treatment and has survived those severe burns.

She didn't get the needed health care for him at the Indian Health Service clinic. Following the treatment she did receive off the reservation, after a frantic drive in an automobile, the Indian Health Service clinic refused to cover the costs of the young boy's treatment. So the mother is now faced with a substantial medical bill, a mother who should never have been placed in this situation and a mother who doesn't have the resources to pay it.

When we held a hearing in the Indian Affairs Committee about methamphetamine, the intersection of methamphetamine and health care was pretty obvious. It was a courageous tribal leader who came to our hearing, Kathy Wesley-Kitcheyan, the chairwoman of the San Carlos Apache Tribe in Arizona. She said she was embarrassed to talk about some of the things on her reservation, because they are not very positive and she said it was like airing her family's dirty laundry but, she said, I must.

She talked about her 22-year-old son and her warning to him about the catastrophic effect of alcoholism and substance abuse. And she talked about losing her grandson. She broke down talking about her wonderful grandson, a rodeo champion who had won 26 belt buckles and 6 saddles as a rodeo rider, who made the wrong choices with drugs and drinking and lost his life. She talked about the methamphetamine problem. That is where it intersects so quickly, in a devastating way, with health care.

She said on their reservation, in 1 year, out of 256 babies born on that Indian reservation, 64 out of 256 babies were born addicted to methamphetamine. Let me say that again. Of 256 children born on that Indian reservation, 64 were born addicted to methamphetamine. At the San Carlos emergency room, in 1 year, 25 percent of the patients who came to the emergency room tested positive for methamphetamine. And on it goes.

I am describing circumstances that one would perhaps attribute to a Third World country, where health care doesn't exist. Yet these stories, in many ways, are even more heartbreaking because they happen here in this country. They happen too often to people who are living in Third World conditions on Indian reservations with inadequate health care--health care which was promised to them as a trust responsibility, but nonetheless inadequate health care.

I recently learned of a young boy named Nicholas from the Menominee Tribe of Wisconsin, who had a very rough start. He, like a high percentage of American Indian babies, was born premature--3 months premature. He weighed 21/2 pounds. For the first 3 months of his life, he struggled in intensive care to stay alive. As part of a significant effort by his family, his doctors at the IHS facility and traditional health care practices, he persevered. As a young man, he was forced to face another health care challenge: adult onset diabetes. While this type of diabetes usually strikes Americans in mid life, it is showing up now in American Indians and Alaska Native youth at an increasingly younger age. In fact, there is a 77-percent increase in diabetes in Native children and youth under 15 years of age.

Fortunately, this young man from the Menominee Tribe is receiving services from the tribal health facility and early screening at the tribal school, and has been able to control his blood sugar, which will prevent complications, one hopes.

David Whitetail, with the Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota, was not so fortunate. He was diagnosed with type II diabetes at 17. He didn't receive the necessary care, and now he is 39 years old and a dialysis patient awaiting a kidney transplant, but is finally, at long last, beginning to get the care he needs.

A couple of years back, a young woman--I guess she would like me to call her a young woman; she probably is a bit above a young woman in age--whose name is Lida Bearstail, went to the clinic in Mandaree, ND, because of knee pain. The cartilage had worn away and bone was rubbing against bone, causing her great, great pain. If that were to happen in this Chamber to any one of us or our families, we would, of course, get a knee transplant or get a new knee. But Mrs. Bearstail was denied this treatment because it was not deemed ``priority 1''--life or limb. If it is not life or limb, and you have run out of contract health money, you are out of luck. In fact, what happened to this woman, Ardel Hale Baker, is that she had chest pain that wouldn't end, and her blood pressure was very high, and so she was diagnosed at the IHS clinic as having a heart attack. She needed to be hospitalized immediately.

They stuck her in an ambulance and rushed her to a hospital off the reservation, but they didn't have any contract health care money left to pay for anything, so the Indian Health Service taped an envelope to this woman's leg with a piece of tape. She was hauled in on a gurney to the hospital with an envelope taped with masking tape to her thigh, and as they unloaded her in the emergency room, the folks who unloaded her took a look at what was taped to her leg. They opened it up and it said--and I have a chart, I believe, of what it said. It said this patient is not going to be covered because there is no contract health money available. What they were saying was this patient is having a heart attack. They were saying to the patient and to the hospital, if this patient is admitted, understand there is no money. There is no money here. So they admitted her, she survived, but it is kind of a tragic thing to tell a story about a woman who is hauled into a hospital with a piece of paper taped to her leg that says, by the way, if you admit this woman, you are on your own because Indian Health Service contract care is out of money.

I have had tribes tell me that contract health care was out of money after the first 3 months of the year. On one reservation they say: Don't get sick after June, because there is no contract health care money. If you are going to get sick, it has to be before June, otherwise this may happen to you. If you have a heart attack and go to a hospital, they might haul you in and there might be a note attached to your arm or leg that says, by the way, if you admit this patient, you might have some difficulty because there is no money available. This last woman, Ms. Baker, survived and then received a bill for $10,000. She doesn't have $10,000.

So what happens when they run out of contract health care, they warn the hospital you are on your own if you take them. Then when the patient is released from the hospital, their credit rating is ruined because they get a bill they can't pay. This is the result of our failure to meet our trust responsibility.

That is a long description of why we need to reauthorize the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. That Act will come to the floor in the next week or two, according to Senator Reid. We have written that bill in the Indian Affairs Committee. The vice chair of the Committee, Senator Murkowski from Alaska, and I, and many other members of the Committee have written a bill we think advances the interests of Indian health care. My colleague from Oklahoma, Senator Coburn, who is on the Indian Affairs Committee with us, is a valuable member and a constructive member. He is a doctor, and that is extraordinarily helpful in terms of his knowledge. He will make the point that we need much broader reform, and I will agree with him when we have this discussion.

We need much broader reform, and this is a step, a step in the right direction. Is it a step as broad as I would like to make? No. There is a reform step that is much broader that we need to take, and we will. And I will work for that when we move this bill, but at least we ought to move this legislation. I will work with Senator Coburn and others for much more substantial reform, but at least we need to start. This is since 2000, and 7 years later we need at least to move this legislation, but it has been 15 years since we last debated the issue of Indian health care on the floor of the Senate. So it is long past the time for us to do what we are required and have promised to do, and that is meet our responsibilities for health care for American Indians.

I want us to do this in a way that makes us proud. After all, it is our responsibility. We made this promise long ago, and we need to keep it. We are a good country and a good society. We spend a lot of time on the floor of the Senate talking about what doesn't work. There is a lot that works in this country. We are blessed to live here and blessed to be a part of this great place. But we continue as a country to always look to find out what we can do to fix things that are broken, to improve things that don't work quite as well as we would like. That is what we are trying to do with this issue of Indian health care.

I have described the failures. There are successes. There are folks working in Indian health care around the country who get up every day and work long hours and do a remarkable job. There are others who do not. I can tell you about a woman who has excruciating knee pain and goes to a doctor at the Indian Health Service, and she is told to wrap your knee in cabbage leaves for 4 days and it will be fine. It is unbelievable, but that sort of thing happens. I can tell you of other patients who go to an Indian Health Service doctor and get very good care. There are not enough resources. We need to respond, as we have done, to the issue of the cluster of teen suicides that exist on Indian reservations. There are so many things we need to do. Let me make the final point. These are the first Americans. These are not visitors. They were here first. Around the culture of Native Americans we have built quite a country. But Native Americans need to share in the great benefits bestowed upon the American people, and that includes opportunities for health care, opportunities for good jobs, opportunities for housing, and a decent education. We fall short in many of those areas.

We fall short in many of them. I have not spoken about education today or housing, but those issues themselves are pretty unbelievable when you take a look at the conditions on many American Indian reservations. I look forward, in the next week or two, to having an opportunity to debate the Indian Health Care Improvement Act. It is long past the time for us to do this. This will advance the interests of Indian health care, and then, in addition, we will not be completed. We will need to do reform, reform in a significant way beyond this bill. But this bill is an awfully good first start in the right direction.

Filmmaker shares insight on suicides among young First People in Canada

Here’s some excellent perspective on the suicide problem among young First People in Canada as shared with me yesterday by Doug Cuthand (below), a Saskatchewan Cree who’s an award-winnng documentary filmmaker, freelance  writer and weekly columnist for the Saskatoon Star Phoenix.

As you’ll note, this is an outrageous situation that has persisted for years. And as with the similar problem in the western U.S., this should be a source of national shame. We North Americans criticize China and other countries who violate human rights. We like to view ourselves as champions of decency and justice. But how hollow and hypocritical that rings when free nations blessed with immense resources ignore or stand by and allow conditions to exist that drain all hope and self-respect from some of the descendants of those who were crushed under the wheels of Manifest Destiny.

Granted, many were not crushed forever. Some, like Cherokee Nation, have proven to be strong, wise and prosperous. But those who comprise the weakest continue to live in torment. Where are our helping hands for them? Where is our compassion for them? Jesus said our treatment of the least among us is our treatment of him. That certainly would include these young First People who have chosen suicide instead of the torment they've been left to endure. There’s nothing we can do even though the U.S. and Canadian governments sport huge bureaucracies and budgets to manage First People? Even though our countries' private sectors bulge with wealth and resources?

This problem goes on and on. And it's no secret by any means. The Candadian Broadcasting Corporation and other news outlets have reported about the situation for years. Check examples of CBC reports here, here and here. And see a brief Canadian Mental Health Association snapshot from its Centre for Suicide Prevention here. Why does such a horror continue? I'll be putting that question to officials and experts in the future.

Here’s what Doug Cuthand had to say in his email, and I thank him for taking time out of his demanding schedule to share these thoughts:

"Suicide is a serious issue in Canada, particularly the north. Small, isolated northern communities lack support services for our young people. Drug and alcohol abuse coupled with a sense of isolation and hopelessness is a breeding ground for the despair that leads to suicide.

"This past week there have been a series of stories about La Loche in the CBC. La Loche is a small community in northwest Saskatchewan. This troubled community has a history of social problems and youth suicide.

"The history of the community is not unlike many northern communities that have been relocated and taken away from their history. If you look on Google Earth, you will see that the village is located on the eastern shore of a lake. At one time, the people lived at the western end at a village called Portage La Loche. It was located at the end of a 35km-long portage that entered the Athabasca River. It was an historic trade route and the people made a living with teams of horses freighting across the portage.

"In the 1940s, following (WWII), the freighting industry dried up, and the government moved the people to the eastern shore where they could administer them. This was a common occurrence in northern communities. Trade routes and tradelines were forgotten, and the people were clustered into manageable artificial communities.

"I am telling you this story to illustrate how our people lost control over their lives, which subsequently led to the social upheaval and resulting problems.

"I have written about suicide and related issues for close to 20 years as a columnist. Before that I was the editor of an Indian monthly magazine. Today my writing is all freelance, and I spend most of my time as a documentary filmmaker. I don't know what effect I have on public policy except that since I began writing my column I have received at least one nasty letter from every Minister of Indian Affairs and various other politicians, which I wear as a badge of honour."

Right now, on some rez out west and in Canada, there are young people who are either contemplating suicide or they're about to try to commit suicide. Statistically, they may be insignificant, but as living gifts from the Creator, they are our fellow treasures and our little brothers and sisters. They need our help and for us to care. One thing we can do is to call this outrage to elected officials' attention and demand action to solve the problem to the extent possible, whatever that is (and we don't know because we're nowhere close to giving the problem the attention is cries out for). You're at a computer, so you're wired for action. Email your elected representatives about this. Won't cost you one cent, but your voice would be a priceless call to action.

I hope you'll call this blog to others' attention. I don't say that to build readership. I make no money from this blog that was given to me free in Typepad's journalist bailout program for those of us who lost our jobs to downsizing but who wanted to continue our work as journalists. I'm blessed with this blog for good reason, and I can't think of a better use than trying to call attention to the suicide epidemic among young Native Americans and First People.