2013 Archives


2013 Native American News Archive

Native American news and events that occurred in Indian Country in 2013.

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5 stickball teams to compete at 61st annual Cherokee National Holiday

Five stickball teams from Oklahoma and Mississippi will showcase their skills Saturday in the inaugural Cherokee National Holiday men’s stickball tournament at Sequoyah Schools’ Thompson Field.The double-elimination tournament using traditional Choctaw rules will start at 8 a.m. Admission is free.

 

“If we don’t show everyone our traditional games, we will lose them,” said stickball tournament coordinator Marcus Thompson, who will also play with his team, the Nighthawks. “Men’s stickball is the roughest sport there is, but we want people to know you can still play the game and that it is fun.”

Stickball was traditionally used to settle disputes or prepare for war. Today, teams of 20-30 people take the field and play an hour-long game consisting of four 15-minute quarters or two 30-minute halves.

The object is to hit the pole in the center of the field by throwing the ball with stickball sticks or running the ball and touching the pole while possessing the ball. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Buy apparel and gifts with this wicked sticks lacrosse design
Buy apparel and gifts with this design

Social stickball games will also be played at Sequoyah Schools’ football field at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., Aug. 31. For more information on the stickball tournament or social games, contact Marcus Thompson at 918-453-7866 or marcus-thompson@cherokee.org.

Other sporting events at the 61st Cherokee National Holiday Aug. 30-Sept. 1 include the following:

Non-traditional:

  • 5K Holiday Veterans Run will begin at the Cherokee Nation War Memorial on Aug. 31. Registration begins at 6 a.m. and race starts at 7:30 a.m. Cost is $20 for day of race. For more information, contact Hillary Mead at hillary-fry@cherokee.org.

  • Co-ed volleyball tournament will be played west of the Cherokee Nation W.W. Keeler Complex starting at 9 a.m., Aug. 31. Entry deadline is Aug. 23. For more information, contact Denise Honawa at 918-816-1995.

  •  3-on-3 basketball tournament on Aug. 30-31 at the Cherokee Nation Male Seminary Recreation Center. For more information, call Kim Arneecher at 479-427-9494.

  • Cherokee National Holiday softball tournaments will be played at the Cherokee Nation Softball Complex near Sequoyah Schools. The fast-pitch tournaments will be played Aug. 23-25, and slow-pitch tournaments Aug. 30-Sept.1.  For more information, call Sherwin Johnson at 918-696-5760 or Crystal Bogle at 918-316-1940.

  • Children’s fishing derby will held Aug. 31 from 7:30 a.m. to noon at the pond east of the W.W. Keeler Complex. Angler Jason Christie will be on site to take photos and sign autographs, and 300 fishing poles will be given out to participants. For more information, contact Ryan Callison at ryan-callison@cherokee.org.

  • Three golf tournaments will be hosted at Cherokee Springs Golf Course Aug. 29-31. The Thursday tournament will be a senior two-man scramble and the Friday tournament a two-man scramble open to all ages. The Saturday tournament will be a four-man scramble with tee times at 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. Entry fee for all tournaments is $40 for golf course members at Cherokee Springs or Cherokee Trails and $50 for non-members, and all entries must be pre-paid. For more information, call Tyler Crouch at 918-456-5100.

Traditional:

  • Finals in the marble tournament will be held at 9 a.m., Aug. 31, at the Cherokee Heritage Center. For more information, contact Phil King at 918-837-1940.

  • Cornstalk shoot competition will be held at 7:30 a.m. west of the W.W. Keeler Complex on Aug. 31-Sept. 1, with registration at 7:30 a.m. and competition at 8 a.m. For more information, call Charolette Jackson at 918-316-2932.

  • Horseshoe pitch competition will be held west of the W.W. Keeler Complex at 9 a.m. on Aug. 31 For more information, call Jody Slover at 918-822-2428.

For a full list of Cherokee National Holiday events, click here.


Cherokee Nation News Release

Julie Hubbard – 918-207-3896
communications@cherokee.org 

© Cherokee Nation – All Rights Reserved


Editor’s Note: Native american stickball games were the forerunner of today’s modern game called Lacrosse.

Alcohol sales on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation Legalized

Federal law bans the sale of alcohol on Native American reservations unless the tribal council allows it. Pine Ridge legalized alcohol for two months in 1970s, but the ban was quickly restored. An attempt to lift prohibition in 2004 also failed.

Native Americans on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation have now voted to end prohibition and legalize alcohol so the tribe can use the profits for education and treatment.

A majority of voters on Tuesday approved the measure, but the outcome was left hanging because of 438 challenged ballots that were more than the difference between the yes and no votes.

Francis Pumpkin Seed, Oglala Sioux Tribe Election Commission chairman, said workers on Wednesday checked each of those ballots to confirm they were cast by enrolled members. After that process was complete, the result was 1,871 for legalization and 1,679 against it, he said.

“Life will change now as we know it,” said an elated Larry Eagle Bull, one of nine tribal council members who put the issue to a public vote. “This is a new era we’re in. We’ve got to remember now we lived dry for 100 years and it was proven that prohibition didn’t work. We’re in new territory now.”

Under the law, the tribe will own and operate stores on the reservation, and profits will be used for education and detoxification and treatment centers, for which there is currently little to no funding.

“Now we can finally get the help we need,” said Eagle Bull, himself a reformed alcoholic. “Only good can come from it.”

Critics said legalization will only exacerbate the reservation’s troubles. Alcohol is blamed for some of the highest rates of domestic abuse, suicide, infant mortality, unemployment and violent crime in Indian Country.

Bryan Brewer, tribal president, opposed legalization but said he will work with the council to implement the law.

“We know the use will go up. We know there’ll be more violence. There’ll be more women and children who will be abused. It will taper off. But it’s something we’re just going to have to deal with,” he said. “I hope they talk about that. I hope it’s not just about the money but how we can work with our people.”

Pumpkin Seed said people can challenge the vote, but they would have to find a technicality _ some way the election commission violated the law.

The council will likely take up the issue next at its Aug. 27 meeting, Brewer said. The law that bans alcohol will have to be rescinded and a new law implemented, he said.

The tribe will have to apply to the county and then to the state for a permit, Brewer said.

Eagle Bull estimated that, conservatively, it will be six months to a year before sales could begin.

“We have a lot of work to do yet,” he said.

A 14-page tribal council draft of the law offers no specifics about funding or required qualifications for the people who would run the operation. The proposed law calls for a new department and a full-time director to administer and enforce the law. A new commission comprised of nine members, one from each reservation district, also would be created to guide the director, buy the alcohol, open and operate the liquor stores, hire employees and investigate violations.

Tribal leaders acknowledge the document needs to be debated and amended before taking effect.

Both sides in the debate do agree something must be done to limit the scourge of alcohol on the Lakota people. They also share a goal of putting out of business the current main suppliers of booze _ four stores in Whiteclay, Neb., two miles south of Pine Ridge, that sell millions of cans of beer a year.

Many tribal members live on Whiteclay’s barren streets to avoid arrest on the reservation for being drunk.

“Whiteclay is going to feel a pinch in their pocket book. Not right away. But it’s going to affect them, it’s going to hurt them,” Eagle Bull said.

One of the owners contacted by The Associated Press didn’t want to comment. Another couldn’t be reached.

 

Colorado River Indian Tribes Native American Days Fair and Expo will be held Oct. 2 to 6, 2013

WHAT: 41st annual Colorado River Indian Tribes Native American Days Fair and Expo
WHEN:  October 2 to 6, 2013
WHERE: Manataba Park, Parker, AZ
WHO: Mohave, Chemehuevi, Navajo and Hopi tribes, Open to Public
ADMISSION: $5.00/day or $10.00 for weekend pass for Oct 4 – 6. Admission is free on Wednesday and Thursday, Oct 2 – 3.

French auction house plans to sell sacred Hopi katsina masks
Government shutdown hitting tribes hard
Have you got what it takes to make a native american documentary?
Johnny Depp’s controversial portrayal of Tonto prompts donation from Disney
Navajo Nation may stiffen crime penalties
Oglala Sioux tribe moves to seize Wounded Knee land through eminent domain
Sacred Hopi masks sold at French auction house for 1.2 million
Spokane Tribal Council may oust vice-chairman for lying about identity in bison poaching incident
Star Wars Movie to be translated to Navajo language
The site of the 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre is for sale
Wes Studi arrested on a charge of aggravated DWI
Wes Studi inducted into Hall of Great Western Performers
Wood Resources to reopen Colville Tribe’s plywood mill in Omak