In The Hoop
THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2002

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

The Indians Are Back
But in this case, they never went away!

After saying it would stop using Indian imagery, West Virginia's 4-H chapter has changed its mind, The Washington Times reports today. Turns out the chapter got the wrong impression from the Department of Agriculture, which provides $4.5 million in federal funds through the Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service and can't tell the group what to do with the money.

So instead, the chapter will spend a year figuring out if naming its camping groups after Indian tribes that were driven out of the area long ago is offensive.

So maybe the Indians aren't back.

The Indians Are Back, Sort Of
The District of Columbia is brimming with Indian artifacts, according to another dispatch from The Washington Times.

Archaeologists have found evidence showing Indian presence in the Beltway dating back 10,000 years, the paper reports. Excavations are undertaken by the National Park Service, schools and local governmental groups.

So where do these artifacts end up? Not with tribes, apparently. Once the district's new museum opens up in the spring of 2003, you can find them there.

The Great ANWR Debate, Continued
"Finally, let's not forget the only people who are located within the boundaries of ANWR are our Native people. In fact, they reside on their own land."

"I am going to put up the picture of Kaktovik again because I think it is representative of reality. Many people choose to overlook reality and think there is no footprint, there is nobody there. That is not the case. They are the Inupiats, a proud people, and they live in the Kaktovik by choice. They have lived there for thousands of years and support opening ANWR.

"They graciously invited some of the most outspoken opponents of ANWR to Kaktovik so they could see firsthand their way of life. Unfortunately, the Inupiats did not get the courtesy of a reply because of the intervention of the Sierra Club and some environmental groups who used their influence, if you will--and I am being gracious--to not allow the people associated with some of the villages that occupy the Gwich'in nation even to go up and look at the prosperity associated with the Eskimos in the Barrow and Wainwright area.

"A number of invitations have been extended to Members of the Senate rom the Inupiat Eskimos. It is too bad Senators have not taken them up on their offer because the Inupiats have a very interesting and compelling story to tell. They are for self-determination. They want the right to improve their lifestyle and that of their children, and this amendment supports that right of self-determination and their right to develop and live on their land as they please."

More words from Sen. Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska) on the Senate floor yesterday. Alaska Native sovereignty not included.

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