Alabama-Coushatta in shelter after Hurricane Rita
ALABAMA-COUSHATTA NATION, Texas - Hurricane Rita ripped along the border of Louisiana and Texas, whipping down trees and leaving about 1,000 Alabama-Coushatta tribal members in Texas in a shelter facing shortages of food and gasoline.
''We've turned our multi-purpose room into a shelter,'' said Alabama-Coushatta Tribal Chairman Ronnie Thomas on Sept. 26, after Hurricane Rita hit land on the Louisiana coast two days earlier.
''We're feeding about 1,000 people,'' Thomas told Indian Country Today, pointing out that the majority of people in the shelter are tribal members.
Thomas described the downed trees that wrecked the west side of the tribal community, located 90 miles north of Houston in oak and pine timber country, 17 miles east of Livingston and 17 miles west of Woodville.
Thomas said it could take two weeks to get electricity back on to tribal members' homes. The water supply was also knocked out and generators were running sluggish as the tribe attempted to get pumps operating again.
''I didn't even go into town until today,'' he said, referring to nearby Livingston. ''They had trees down all over the power lines.''
Speaking in a telephone interview from the closed tribal offices without power, Thomas said, ''It is hot and humid, and our air conditioner isn't working.''
With daytime temperatures hovering around 100 degrees in southeast Texas, the oppressive heat added to the dilemma of evacuations and recovery efforts.
Still, it could have been worse. And in nearby Jasper, it was.
''The eye passed over Jasper. It was terrible,'' Thomas said.
''We were really lucky,'' he said, pointing out there were no injuries and a minimal amount of home damage for the tribe, whose 1,100 members live on 5,200 acres of trust land, not including the fee lands.
The exodus of more than 2 million people from Houston, Galveston and the Gulf Coast as Hurricane Rita approached created an unnatural traffic disaster. The fiasco stranded motorists in hot, stalled cars in Houston for up to 17 hours, then left thousands lined up for miles at gas stations in east Texas towns before the hurricane struck.
In fact, the lines at the gas pumps were so long on Sept. 23 at the Alabama-Coushattas' Ischoopa One Stop convenience store and gas station on Hwy 190 that Thomas pumped gas himself from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
''That was the only way I could get the lines down. As soon as I got there, I was on No. 10. It was a madhouse," said Thomas, adding that for many evacuees it was the second time in three weeks that they were fleeing a hurricane. Many had already lost everything.
Hurricane Katrina struck three weeks before; then Hurricane Rita ripped through coastal towns. After Hurricane Rita hit land, Cameron, La. was underwater, nearby communities were annihilated and hundreds were rescued from flooding. In southeast Texas, there was extensive home damage; hundreds of thousands of people in the hurricane's path were left without power.
When the exodus from Hurricane Rita ended, so did the Alabama-Coushattas' gas.
''Our gas station is about empty,'' Thomas said, adding that there is a shortage of gas at stations throughout the region.
Now, the tribe is using their remaining gasoline carefully as they attempt to clear roads and restore power. BIA law enforcement and forestry staff from Oklahoma was helping with the chainsaw work of clearing downed trees.
Meanwhile, Thomas said a group of Alabama-Coushatta tribal elders evacuated and are being hosted by the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma.
While Alabama-Coushatta offices were closed on Sept. 26, tribal staff members were still at work without electricity, both indoors and outdoors.
''Our forestry department is helping to clear the debris out.''
Thomas pointed out that the delivery of federal aid is revealing.
After Hurricane Rita, Thomas said it was the same old story when it came time to distribute boxes of food, with Indians receiving little.
Preferring not to mention the federal agency by name, he said it was the same old story for Indians.
''They are still treating Indians like they were back in the 'day.'''
Even before Hurricane Rita, Thomas said the tribe was struggling with the economic conditions in rural east Texas.
In 2002, the state of Texas shut down the tribe's casino, along with all other Indian casinos in Texas.
''We were the second-largest employer in the area,'' Thomas said, adding that the tribe continues to operate two smoke shops.
Now, Thomas said food donations would be appreciated for tribal members.
When asked what other type of help the tribe needs from Indian communities for their recovery efforts from Hurricane Rita, Thomas said, ''Monetary; and prayers that this turns around and works out in a good way.
''That will go a long way.''
Thursday, September 29, 2005
Tribal Chairman Ronnie Thomas pumped gas, as the exodus from Houston became an unnatural disaster
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
Now I was Happy to see this News Broadcast today on TODAY:)
NBC's "Today Show" has renamed Rockefeller Plaza the week of Sept. ... © 2005 Habitat for Humanity® International. All rights reserved. ... http://www.habitat.org/disaster/2005/katrina/
NBC's "Today Show" is buildingHabitat houses the week of Sept. 26-30. CEO Jonathan Reckford addresses Katrina response View a video message from Habitat's ... http://www.habitat.org/
NBC News’ “Today” show, Habitat for Humanity International and Warner Music Group ... Since 1976, Habitat has built more than 200000 houses in nearly 100 ... http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9400866/
Monday, September 26, 2005
Besides AOL News, What is your Favorite World News source?
President Bush wants to make it easier for the Pentagon to deploy military troops during domestic disasters such as Hurrican Katrina. But a critic of that idea says Bush risks undermining "a fundamental principle of American law" by tinkering with the Posse Comitatus Act.
• Watch: Katrina political heat | Lessons learned
• Wet misery in Louisiana | Return to New Orleans
• Helicopters and cattle | Thousands of displaced doctors
• Watch: In the middle of the fury | Paying hurricane bills
• Special Report: Rita's path: Maps, video, images, stories
• CNN TV:
WorldChanging: Another World Is Here
Quakes and Tsunami's - American Rescue
BBC - Science & Nature - Hot Topics - Natural Disasters ...
Even from space? ;)
SOLAR PROMINENCE: Astronomers are monitoring a gigantic prominence on the sun--"the largest I've imaged in several years," says veteran astrophotographer Jack Newton. Two days ago it bent into an arch large enough for the whole planet Earth to slip through, as shown in this picture from Stefan Seip of Stuttgart, Germany:
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Katrina rebuilding efforts.
Examine the debate over whether Congress will cut spending in order to fund post-Katrina rebuilding efforts.
Should the federal government continue underwriting development and rebuilding on flood- endangered areas?
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Roberts not on Native Americans side, twists truth
Supreme Court nominee John Roberts Jr. might be admirable in many respects, but as a private attorney he committed an act of intellectual dishonesty that is drawing attention from one group - the American Indian - that already fears the worst from the current court. In a brief submitted to the Supreme Court in 1997, Roberts distorted the language of a well-known precedent in a way that can only be called a blatant misrepresentation. more >>
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Wednesday, September 21, 2005
They are busing out poor and letting them take pets!
No one wants the bad reports by the News and anger of the public on this one!!!
CNN News:
Authorities in Texas and Louisiana today are working to get thousands of residents out of the path of Hurricane Rita as the powerful, Category 4 storm picks up strength in the Gulf of Mexico. The military also is redeploying troops and ships in the area -- including many that were helping with Hurricane Katrina recovery -- out of Rita's path and into position to respond quickly.
DEVELOPING STORY | NEWS UPDATE
• Watch: Rita is 'another monster storm'
• Watch: Governor: Texas is ready
• Bush: 'Ready for the worst' | Watch
• CNN/Money: Rita could mean $5 gas
• Special Report: Galveston's 1900 hurricane
• Special Report: Rita tracker | Rita's path
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by the originator.)
Sunday, September 18, 2005
The Katrina Storm, Pet Photos !! Looking for owners!!
Is it a dog or a towel?
Friday, September 16, 2005
Full Harvest Moon
The Full Harvest Moon Rises Sept. 17
This is the moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Learn why it helps farmers in northern regions. All About the Full Moon
- Watch Video: Story of the Moon
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
National organizations raise disaster relief funds
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Posted: September 06, 2005
by: Brenda Norrell / Indian Country Today
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PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY KRT/NURI VALLBONA/MIAMI HERALD -- LONG BEACH, Miss. - Stephanie Biggs of the City of Miami Urban Search and Rescue team takes a breather after searching for Hurricane Katrina survivors and bodies of the dead in an apartment complex in Long Beach, Miss., on Sept. 7. NCAI President Tex Hall has pledged funds to aid both federal and state-recognized tribes in the devastated areas, and many American Indian tribes and organizations are mobilizing funds, teams and supplies to send to the relief effort.
NEW ORLEANS - As American Indian tribal members on the Gulf Coast seek refuge in their home communities, the National Indian Gaming Association and National Congress of American Indians are raising funds for Hurricane Katrina disaster relief. NCAI President Tex Hall said all American Indian tribal members affected by the hurricane, including those from tribes that have not received federal recognition, would be assisted.
''Let me say that I have been gathering as much information as I can on what has happened down there in the Gulf Coast,'' Hall said.
''First of all, the hearts and prayers of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara people go out to all of those hurt by Hurricane Katrina.
''Second, no one, I repeat, no one is going to be forgotten on my watch. I have asked my staff at NCAI to find out who has been hit by the hurricane, how to get in touch with them, and how to send relief to them.''
Nedra Darling, BIA spokesman, said there are six federally recognized tribes located in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi who were impacted by the powerful storm.
The BIA said the Poarch Creek Band in Alabama, the Chitimacha Tribe, Coushatta Indian Tribe, Jena Band of Choctaw and Tunica-Biloxi Tribe in Louisiana, and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians in Mississippi, were impacted.
Hall responded immediately when tribal members questioned whether the United Houma Nation in southeastern Louisiana, the Mobile-Washington Band of Choctaw Indians north of Moblie, Ala., and others lacking federal recognition, would receive disaster relief funds.
Hall said, ''The hurricane didn't care who was federally recognized or not, and neither does NCAI. We are going to work to make sure that the money sent in to NCAI gets to all of the Indian victims down there as soon as humanly possible.''
With a goal of raising $1 million, NIGA began its fundraising with a $5,000 contribution to its relief fund. Indian tribes in the hurricane's path survived with minimal damage, but many Indian homes in the Gulf Coast region were without power, water and telephone service on Sept. 5.
''This is one of the worst tragedies in American history which demands our full-scale attention and concern as these regions begin rebuilding their lives, communities and economies out of the decimation that occurred earlier this week,'' said NIGA Chairman Ernie Stevens Jr.
NIGA is working with the Spirit of Sovereignty Foundation and coordinating with the NCAI.
''NIGA and our member tribes are absolutely committed to assisting in the relief effort and are asking all American Indian tribes to help in this dark hour. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the victims, the survivors and their families at this time,'' Stevens said.
''NCAI is gathering information on the areas of greatest need which will benefit the tribes who are dealing with refugee and disaster relief for both their members and others and will soon have an answer as to exactly where we will send the funds,'' Hall said.
Most of the tribes received only wind and rain damage.
However, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw's tribal government offices in Philadelphia, Miss., and several largely rural communities lay directly in the storm's path resulting in extensive physical damage and loss of telephone service and power, the BIA said.
Mississippi Choctaw Principal Chief Phillip Martin said that his tribe has been providing emergency shelter to tribal members and non-Indians at the tribe's casino hotel. Now, they will be moved to other areas as power returns.
''We're going to do everything we can to find a place for them,'' Martin said. ''But we have our hands full trying to get water and power back to the reservation. Clean water is of the greatest importance right now - because so much depends on it.''
Mississippi Choctaw tribal member Farrell Jerome Davidson said his mother reached him by text messaging from his home community of Tucker, Miss. He said telephone land lines were still out on Labor Day.
Davidson said electric power was restored, but there was no running water in the tribal community.
Still, he said the community is resilient, with family members and community members looking out for one another.
''When it comes to help, the door is always open.''
Remembering Hurricane Andrew and other storms which wrecked tribal communities and leveled trees, Davidson said, ''It was like a lawnmower going through.''
American Indian tribes across the nation continued to send aid the week after the hurricane. The Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribe of Fort Belknap in Montana said it will donate meat from at least 10 bison from its herd.
Interior Associate Deputy Secretary James E. Cason said the BIA has undertaken its initial response, according to a statement released Sept. 1.
''Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims of this devastating event and their families,'' Cason said. He said the BIA and other Interior agencies are working with Indian communities to meet their public safety, emergency access and emergency services needs.
The BIA's Eastern Regional Office, headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and Choctaw Agency in Philadelphia, are coordinating their recovery efforts with the Mississippi Choctaw tribal government.
The BIA's relief efforts include arranging for fresh water to be trucked in from Arkansas, utilizing agency road equipment to help clear debris from roadways, exploring ways to bring in supplies of ice, fuel and food. The BIA is also assigning law enforcement personnel to protect lives and property.
BIA Law Enforcement Services personnel arrived at the Mississippi Choctaw tribal headquarters shortly after midnight on Aug. 30 with a mobile command vehicle and Emergency Response Task Force to assist Choctaw police with their recovery efforts, the BIA said. Downed trees and power lines slowed their access to tribal communities.
Currently, the BIA is accessing requests from affected tribes for financial assistance.
NCAI donations can be sent to National Congress of American Indians, Hurricane Relief, 1301 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036.
NIGA donations may be made to the Spirit of Sovereignty Foundation, attn: Hurricane Katrina Fund, 224 Second St. S.E., Washington, DC 20003. For more information, contact Suzette Brewer at 202-548-3817 or e-mail to sbrewer@indiangaming.org.
a tale of two Americas
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Posted: September 08, 2005
by: Editors Report / Indian Country Today
Most all of the white folks got out. Many people of color, it would seem, did not. This is the unavoidable and indelible reality confronting anyone and everyone who watched on television the horrific series of events that has unfolded in the city of New Orleans. In the face of an impending and overwhelming catastrophe, as Hurricane Katrina increased to Category 5, then dropped to 4 and set its sights on the Gulf Coast communities of Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, evacuation orders went out. Yet, as is now evident, many in Katrina's path did not have the means to evacuate.
For middle-class and wealthy Americans, months of survival at a relative's house or in a hotel could be covered by a check or charged to a credit card. The purchase of a new home in another area outside the emergency zone is even within reach for some. But then there are those hundreds of thousands who live week to week on paychecks from low-paying jobs and who are reliant on public transportation. Among those families, as in all families, are newborn babies, the sick and the elderly. Suddenly, picking up and leaving doesn't seem so easy.
America's contradictions are coming into full view in this tearful saga being played out before the country and the world. Among the first is that the limiting and sometimes dangerous condition of poverty remains very much a reality of life for blacks and other people of color. As America's media have become more corporate and propagandistic in format, style and tone, very little attention has been paid in recent years to the legions of Americans who still live life on the edge of survival, often without adequate income and without even basic health care coverage.
Indian faces have been equally invisible along with the beleaguered survivors of New Orleans' Ninth Ward, until now. As our Brenda Norrell reports in her excellent series on the hurricane, the state-recognized tribes of Louisiana's coast sustained heavy damage and still remain largely out of touch as of this writing.
Until this crisis made these conditions and these faces unavoidable to the cameras, one would have believed that racial disparity was a thing of the past, that opportunity had indeed leveled out and that the admonitions of the civil rights movement were anachronistic. After all, Michael Jordan made it. So, too, did Will Smith and Condoleezza Rice. See Oprah Winfrey: she made it big in the country that rewards honest, hard work. She bought a $50 million home in Montecito, Calif. and revels in lavish parties with the rich and famous. Few income and racial barriers remain in the wealthiest country on Earth, or so we are often led to believe.
This leads to another glaring contradiction - how and where the richest country on Earth chooses to direct its wealth. During the past several years we've witnessed Congress and a president often guided by ideology rather than facts and acting contrary to the actual needs of the American people.
On the matter of stem cell research: Limit federal funding to obsolete lines. On the conflict with Muslim terrorists: Use false intelligence to justify and prosecute a bogus war against a country, Iraq, that had no direct involvement in Sept. 11, 2001 - leading to tens of thousands of dead and maimed. On global warming: Stall for time (which our grandchildren simply do not have) based on the conjured and disingenuous excuse that more research is needed - no need to actually listen to the consensus among the vast majority of the world's scientists or Inuit elders on the front lines. Want to see more poor women of all colors suffer? Whittle away at their reproductive rights and freedoms, including access to legitimate and scientifically proven contraception, to serve the interests of your own narrow religious beliefs.
And when studies called for increased federal funding to buttress the levees surrounding and protecting the bowl that is New Orleans, in a state with a Democratic governor, reject their request and hope for the best. It is not that America doesn't have the resources to take care of its own; it does. It's just that those in power today really don't care about those in need until the unavoidable images become politically problematic. That, our fellow inhabitants of Indian country, is the state of the Union.
Perhaps the most glaring contradiction on display, however, is that of a callous and incompetent federal government contrasted to the generally decent and benevolent American people. Remarkably, along with the host of other issues mentioned above, ideologues within the Republican Party have been for years cutting back funding and gutting the powers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under the auspices of limited government. So miserable and unprepared was the federal government for this disaster that at least one Gulf Coast community, having felt abandoned during those critical first 48 hours, spurned FEMA officials when they eventually did show up.
The mitigation of the disaster after Katrina had stormed through was, in some respects, basic. People needed water, food and transportation out of the disaster zone - immediately. Numerous stories have been told of private Americans making their way to the water's edge to launch small boats in an effort to ferry residents to the New Orleans Superdome or to highways leading out of town.
Indian tribes have responded, too. The Tunica-Biloxi have sheltered more than 500 evacuees in their Paragon Casino. NIGA and the NCAI have set up relief funds. The Mohegan-owned Connecticut Sun basketball team dedicated the gate from its WNBA playoff home game to hurricane relief. But even these valiant efforts were far too few to handle the volume of the need. While FEMA fiddled - first for hours and then for days - conditions turned wretched at the squalid Superdome, at the beleaguered New Orleans Convention Center, at desperate local hospitals and nursing homes. Many lives were needlessly lost.
There undoubtedly should be independent inquiries into the failings of government, at all levels, in their response to this disaster. But already a consensus is building that for events of this magnitude - which cross state lines and span huge geographic areas - the federal government must shoulder primary responsibility. Beginning with its marginalization of FEMA through the hiring of its director, Michael Brown (whose qualifications for the position are dubious), to the rejection of full funding to strengthen the city's protective levees, to the complete lack of preparation for the destructive floods that had been long predicted and feared for New Orleans, many difficult and uncomfortable questions need answering.
Hurricane Katrina did even more than ravage entire communities, demolish houses and uproot trees, causing violent death and destruction. It also blew the lid off America's carefully crafted veneer. America's inner cities are heavily populated by people of color - many who are poor and, as a result, remain particularly vulnerable to both natural and human-made disasters. Much more needs to be rebuilt than the buildings and industries of New Orleans and those other devastated Gulf Coast communities.
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Wiping of Tears: The Lakota Nation Helps New York Grieve
Jerry Flute, a Sioux from South Dakota and Executive Director of the Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA), who opened the "Wiping the Tears" ceremony in New York on November 16, 2001.Courtesy of +Magis/Productions Wiping of Tears: The Lakota Nation Helps New York Grieve
September 11th.
The Honoring Pole, at Shanksville, PA
For more information about the Healing Poles please contact Kurt Russo at 1-800-670-6252 or via email at frkvalues@aol.com. The Lummi Healing Poles
- The Healing Pole September 2002
- The Honoring Pole September 2003
- The Liberty & Freedom Poles September 2004
Poles Progress & FULL ITINERARY
- SLIDE SHOW PHOTO GALLERY of Liberty & Freedom Poles creation (46 images)
- SLIDE SHOW PHOTO GALLERY of The Liberty & Freedom Poles Journey (65 images)
Updated Friday October 23rd 2004
In September of 2003, a second carving, named the Honoring Pole (pictured at left) was delivered by the Lummi delegation to the site of the crash of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
Now, the final totem memorial, a linked pair named the Liberty and Freedom Poles, has completed its cross-country journey for placement at the Pentagon, September 19th, 2004.
Ceremony for 9-11Liberty and Freedom Tot...
...
We Remember!
We Remember 2002 ...
"Peace and harmony are the foundation of all Indian cultures."
David Martinez
"Amazing Grace" by R. Carlos Nakai
Canyon Records
http://www.canyonrecords.com/
Little_Running_Deer 09-11-05
Native Leaders Speak Out
Saturday, September 10, 2005
devastated Mississippi coast
NOWExamine reports from the devastated Mississippi coast, where tens of thousands remain without essential services like power and water.
Natives Affected by Hurricane Katrina
Several tribes and reservations were affected by the devastation from Hurricane Katrina on August 29. People throughout Indian county are banding together to assist with relief efforts and fundraising for victims.
Listen to a Native America Calling in Real Audio: Tribes Affected by Hurricane Katrina
A relief fund that will assist the six federally recognized tribes and their members in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi has been set up by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI). "Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the Indian Nations located in the region effected by Hurricane Katrina," said NCAI President Tex G. Hall. "It is times like this when it is important for Native people to come together to help one another out."
Some, but not all, of the tribes affected by Katrina have been reached by NCAI staff. According to reports the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians suffered the most damage as it was hit after Katrina was downgraded to a tropical depression. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has found that several tribal communities have suffered extensive physical damage losing telephone service and power in some areas.
To donate to the NCAI Hurricane Relief Fund, send donations to:
National Congress of American Indians
1301 Connecticut Ave, NW
Suite 200
Washington, DC 20036
Put Hurricane Relief in subject line of check. All donations will go to the tribes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
Links to Tribes Affected:
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians - http://www.choctaw.org
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe - http://www.tunica.org
Poarch Band of Creek Indians - http://www.poarchcreekindians-nsn.gov/tribal_government.htm
Jena Band of Choctaw Indians - http://www.jenachoctaw.org
Chitimacha Tribe - http://www.chitimacha.com
Coushatta Tribe - http://www.coushattatribela.org
Related Stories and Information from Across Indian Country:
Navajo Nation President Shirley issues statement on Hurricane Katrina
Indian Country respond's to victims of Katrina
Mississippi Choctaws hit by Hurricane Katrina
Tunica-Biloxi Tribe welcomes hurricane refugees
alter*NativeVoices.org News and Features about Tribes in the Path of Hurricane Katrina
A rescuer listens for signs of life
dated: 4:48 p.m. EDT (20:48 GMT), September 10, 2005
A rescuer listens for signs of life through a hole he chopped in the roof
of a flooded house.
Friday, September 9, 2005
Hurricane film with New Orleans in January 2005
Dispatches
See the 12-minute NOVA scienceNOW broadcast segment on how the ability to predict a hurricane's path and intensity affects cities like New Orleans. Watch the segment
New Orleans survived Katrina relatively intact but the city was unprepared for the flooding that followed the storm.