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In The Hoop
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2002

Welcome to In The Hoop, Indianz.Com's occasional column about assorted Indian issues.

At Your Orders
Neal McCaleb is set to depart his job as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs soon. But you wouldn't know that if you asked tribal leaders.

McCaleb will be a very special guest at the upcoming winter session of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). It won't be a "roast," as one tribal leader jokingly suggested, but instead he will be recognized for his service at a banquet in Washington, D.C., in late February.

Which Half?
You may know John Berrey as chairman of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma. But he's also Osage and so yesterday he announced that he will donate a half of beef in Neal McCaleb's name for an upcoming Osage traditional ceremony.

Osage Chief Jim Gray further extended the welcome to the June event. "It would be great to honor your for the work that you did while you were here," he said at the final task force meeting in Washington, D.C.

"I take that to be an invitation," said McCaleb, a member of the Chickasaw Nation. "and I will be there."

Unspun
Speaking of Jim Gray, you may know him as former editor and co-owner of The Native American Times, the Oklahoma paper formerly known as The Oklahoma Indian Times.

He gave up that job after he we elected chief of the Osage Nation but he still has that inquisitive mind. At yesterday's meeting, he asked McCaleb if the Department of Interior intended to tell the press and Congress if tribal leaders agreed with the BIA reorganization. (Which they clearly do not.)

McCaleb's answer was a simple "no." He added: "I can assure you that I won't be the spinner."

Maybe that job will be left to someone else?

In Your Hoop
Who do you think will take Neal McCaleb's place? Ross Swimmer? Eddie Brown? Email In the Hoop and let us know.

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