Published Bi-Weekly for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska • Volume 48, Number 13 Wednesday, June 28, 2017
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Published Bi-Weekly for the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska • Volume 48, Number 13 Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Winnebago Culture Camp A Big Hit With Participants
Bago Bits…
The HoChunk Renaissance Project Summer Culture camp Frybread Class.
Winnebago—The HoChunk Renaissance Project in conjunction with the HoChunk Nee Shoch Ha Chee, Boys & Girls Club hosted a
Winnebago Culture Camp last week with well over 100 participants daily. Participants took part in a number of cultural activities. The week
started with erecting a teepee that would be used for classes throughout the weeklong event. Participants learned to make frybread, cowboy bread, made moccasins, other crafts, singing on the big drum, learned games and much, much more. The weeklong event was finished
off with a trip to Coco Keys indoor water park at Omaha, Nebraska.
2015 Indians Honored with Slab Monument
WIN summer intern, Bubz is learning the
ropes of the Rez Newspaper business.
This shot is of the two new homes going
up on Thunderway. SOLD!
Participants of the “FUN in the SUN” program get out for a walk along the Floyd
River in Sioux City, Iowa.
The 2015 Winnebago Indians boy’s basketball team was recently honored with a Monument placed at the spot where it all began, the
Slab, as it is known to numerous young basketball talents on the Winnebago Reservation. The 2015 Indians are famous in Winnebago for
winning the 2015 Nebraska Boys C-2 State Basketball Tournament in Lincoln, Nebraska. Indian’s Fans gathered at the Slab with local dignitaries addressing those gathered, expressing their Pride in the Indian’s accomplishments. If you are ever in Winnebago this site is a must
stop and a must read. The Indians have made the trip to the State Tournament the last three years, bringing home the State Hardware
each time, 1st, 3rd & 3rd. Go Big Blue!
National Indian Health Board Testifies on Indian Health Service Reform Legislation
The Veteran’s Memorial Park is getting
some new, closer parking spaces before
the big event begins.
NIHB Board Member Victoria Kitcheyan testifying before the Subcommittee on Indian,
Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs
Washington, D.C - The House of Representatives Committee on Natural
Resources' Subcommittee on Indian,
Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs
held a hearing on June 21, 2017
regarding H.R. 2662, also known as
the "Restoring Accountability in the
Vice-Chairman Vincent Bass addresses
a Gathering of Winnebago Indians Sports
Fans.
Indian Health Service Act of 2017".
Identical legislation has been introduced in the US Senate (S.1250).
Victoria Kitcheyan, Great Plains Area
Representative to NIHB from the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, testified on
behalf of the National Indian Health
Board.
"Today is our opportunity to take
a hard look at the current state and
possible future of healthcare in Indian
country." Ranking Democratic Committee Member Congresswoman Norma
Torres (D-CA) said in her opening statement. The Congresswoman also shared
that she was glad to discuss this issue
and ready to help discover permanent
solutions to address issues within the
Indian Health Service (IHS).
The original bill was introduced in
2016 after a number of IHS facilities
across Indian Country were found to
have serious deficiencies by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS). The bill's sponsors consulted
with Tribes over the past year and reintroduced modified legislation in May
2017. Several key points of the bill include changing employee recruitment
and retention practices, improving
health services for patients, streamlining credentialing services, and improving information reports and transparency of leadership.
The Committee hosted two pan-
Victoria Kitcheyan, Winnebago Tribe of
Nebraska and Great Plains Area representative of NIHB reads her testimony.
Con’t. on page 2 ...
Indianz.com… Mark Trahant: Don’t plan on getting sick if you’re from
Indian Country
During the BRAN Visit the Winnebago
Wildlife & Parks Commission showed off
some of their Prized Mounts of Whitetail Deer and Buffalo, of the Winnebago
Indian Reservation. They also sold a Buffalo Burger or two.
Only 4 weeks before Stewy Ga & Boye
Ladd will capture the air waves at the
151st Annual Homecoming Celebration,
the “Oldest Powwow in North America.”
See you there.
The Senate bill, like its House counterpart, has a simple message for Indian
Country: Don’t get sick. Not in June.
Not anytime soon. This bill is not about
health care because it takes billions
from Medicaid and passes on that savings to wealthy Americans.
How bad could it be? The official
financial review from the Congressional Budget Office is expected early
next week. The scoring of the similar
House bill projected that by next year
14 million more people would be uninsured. And by 2026, an estimated 51
million people under age 65 would be
uninsured. Under the House bill only
a few million would use tax credits to
purchase policies that even then would
not cover major medical risks.
So the important takeaway from
both the Senate bill and the House version is that it strips money away from
Medicaid ($834 billion) and gives back
most of those to high-income taxpayers
($664 billion). The Senate bill takes a
little time to destroy Medicaid. It begins
phasing out the expansion in 2021 and
that will be completed by 2024. Then,
like the House, Medicaid would become
a state block grant program. The Re-
V i s i t
u s
a t
publicans argue that this would control
costs, slowing the growth of government
spending. (Now Medicaid spending is
automatic: If you are eligible, the money
is there.)
Medicaid now accounts for about 20
percent of the budget in most Indian
health system clinics and hospitals.
And, more important, it’s a growing
source of funding. It pays for medical
procedures and for transportation to
clinics. It’s the big ticket.
But Medicaid is also an odd duck. It’s
officially a state-federal partnership so
the federal government picks up most of
the cost and sets some of the rules, while
states get to determine other rules. Both
the Senate and the House bills would
let states do more (such as requiring
patients to work) or what’s especially
what’s covered by insurance.
This is particularly messy for Indian
Country. Both the Senate and House
bills recognize the Indian Health System
as unique (and paid for by the federal
government). So the legislation preserves the 100 percent federal funding
through what’s called the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage for Medicaid
or FMAP. And in theory both the Senate
and House would keep in place federal
rules for tribal members on some state
requirements such as work rules. But
the money would still flow from Washington to the states for administration.
Messy (as it often is now). And the
states that now have Medicaid expansion, through the Affordable Care Act
would have to phase that out.
The biggest problem for Indian
Country is that the Senate and House
bills would destroy the framework of
Medicaid. The bills move health care
back to the states in a big way. That can
be good or bad. California is debating
how to create a single payer system.
The Nevada legislature recently passed
a Medicaid-for-all statute (where any
citizen could buy into the program) only
to have the law vetoed by the governor.
But other states see health care only as
a cost. The thinking goes that Medicaid
is just another word for welfare and
states should sharply reduce what is
spent by government and let hospitals
cover the cost of “charity” care.
Some numbers here. The American
Hospital Association opposes both
bills for one reason. In 1990 uncompensated care cost $12.1 billion or about
Con’t. on page 4 ...
w w w . w i n n e b a g o t r i b e . c o m
Page 2— Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Around Winnebago
National Indian Health Board Testifies
on Indian Health Service Reform
Legislation
Con’t. from front page...
els during Wednesday's hearing. On
the first panel, Congresswoman Kristi Noem (R-SD) shared her perspective as a co-sponsor of the bill. "We
need to get help to these people that
are relying on this agency for healthcare," Noem insisted in her opening
statement.
Along with Kitcheyan, the Committee's second panel included: Rear
Admiral Chris Buchanan, Deputy Director of IHS; the Honorable William
Bear Shield, Chairman of the Rosebud
Sioux Tribal Health Board; the Honorable Andy Joseph, Business Council
Member of the Confederated Tribes of
the Colville Reservation; and Mr. Robert
Two Bears, District 5 Representative of
the Ho-Chunk Nation Legislature.
Kitcheyan opened by stressing the
importance of working together with
Indian Country on any legislation impacting the Indian health system. "Our
people need help... we need to do this
in tandem with all of Indian Country
because this is going to affect us all. We
need to work together to have the best
possible outcome and product for IHS
and all of Indian Country."
Joseph agreed that it is important
the solutions that come from this bill
should have a positive outcome on Indian Country.
Kitcheyan's other main points included the need for long term solutions,
proper funding for the implementation
of programs, clarification of "Savings
Clauses" within the bill, the continued
involvement of Tribes in the hiring
process, and increased fiscal accountability.
Each panelist shared different perspectives, but a key takeaway was the
importance of meaningful consultation with Tribes regarding this bill and
healthcare issues in general. "We view
consultation as our voice in the process,
and we want to be taken seriously,"
Kitcheyan noted.
Some of the panel members convene after
the hearing. From L-R: The Honorable
William Bear Shield, The Honorable Andy
Joseph, Ms. Victoria Kitcheyan, Mr. Robert
Two Bears, Matt Hittle
Bear Shield reiterated, "It all falls
back on meaningful consultation and
the nonexistence of it. It's hard to win
trust back when we're not afforded
meaningful consultation and our questions aren't answered."
"We have one chance at this and we
need to make sure we get it right this
time," Congresswoman Torres stated,
before echoing and supporting the
importance of meeting with Tribes and
honestly hearing out their ideas.
The Kidz Cafe
started
June 1st
New Deadline ! ! !
for Winnebago Newspaper July 7th
Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017 — Page 3
Winnebago News
JESUS OUR SAVIOR
LUTHERAN OUTREACH
“Honor your father/Father”
This past Sunday many took the
time to honor their fathers. One
of the blessings that our Creator
has given us is an earthly father. A
father has been entrusted with the
role and the responsibility to serve
in providing for his child(ren) food,
clothing, shelter, protection and
encouragement.
A child is to honor his father, for
some this includes step-father (like
Jesus had in Joseph), or foster father, Chooka, Deega or Jaaji. This
God-given duty does not depend on
whether or not the father is worthy
of such honor or respect. No, we
are called by Creator God to serve
and obey, love and cherish them.
For some this calling is much easier
than for others.
While some do not have a loving,
caring, supportive earthly father, we
all can have a loving, merciful, and
supportive Heavenly Father. Yes, we
all can have such a Father, as well
we should, however some simply
reject Him and would rather treat
Him as if He did not exist. In other
words, we dishonor the One who
ultimately blessed us with life.
This Father is willing to adopt you
into His family. He has one and only
One begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
Every other one of His children
has been received into His family
through the water of Holy Baptism
and/or through faith in Creator
God: God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Spirit. It matters
what tribe or nation you were born
into, or what language you speak.
When Jesus gave his disciples
his prayer, he gave them access to
His Heavenly Father. And so Jesus
taught to begin their prayer with
these words: “Our Father who art in
heaven.” Jesus’ Heavenly Father is
now, not only his Father, but ours as
well. Whenever we pray this prayer,
Jesus is praying right with us and
so one never prays it alone or begins
with “My Father.”
Pastor Ricky Jacob
Creator God not only blessed us
in this way, He also gave us His Sacred Word and invites us each and
every day to take time and allow
Him to speak to you. The following
is advice from Your Heavenly Father is found in that Sacred Word:
My son, if your heart is wise,
My heart will rejoice as well.
My innermost being will celebrate
when your lips speak upright things.
Do not allow your heart to envy
sinners.
Instead have the fear of Yahweh all
the time.
Indeed, there is a future,
and your hope will never be cut off.
Listen, my son, and be wise,
and go straight in the way of your
heart.
Do not be among those who
drink too much wine,
with those who eat too much meat,
because a drunk
and a glutton will become poor,
and drowsiness dresses a person
in rags.
Listen to your father, who begot you,
and do not despise your mother
when she is old.
Buy truth and do not sell [it];
[buy] wisdom, discipline, and knowledge.
The father of a righteous person
will cheerfully rejoice.
The man who begets a wise person
will find joy in him.
Your father and your mother will
find joy,
and she who gave birth to you will
rejoice.
My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes be pleased with
my ways,
because a prostitute is a deep pit,
and a strange* woman is a narrow
well.
She is also like a robber
waiting to ambush [someone],
and she increases treacherous
men among humanity.
Proverbs 23:15-28
* A strange woman is one whom a
man is not married to
Educare Winnebago ELI Welcomes New Staff
The Early Language Initiative Grant of Educare Winnebago is glad to announce the hiring of a new Grant Assistant. Barb McCauley, lately of St.
Augustine’s School, has joined the staff at ELI as of April of this year.
Barb brings many years of experience in the Winnebago Community and
has shown an aptitude for organization and a willingness to apply her abundant work ethic to help build the minds and spirits of the children in the
Educare Program.
Letter to the Editor…
Two years ago we did not get a per capita check. Per cap is a right to Winnebagos. The Council gave that money to Lance Morgan.
A year later we got part of the per cap. The rest was given to Lance Morgan.
That was the last year.
Who is going to run for Council?
Thank you,
Pat Greyhair
Masthead Scene
The Winnebago Football team took a trip to Hastings recently to attend a team football camp. Indians players learned a few skills from the
coaches and got some scrimmage time in against other teams attending
the camp. Go Big Blue!
The next issue of the WINNEBAGO INDIAN NEWS will be published on July 12, 2017.
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Winnebago Indian News
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The Winnebago Indian News (WIN),
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bi-weekly for the Winnebago Tribe of
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vehicle in which stresses positive and
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LETTER POLICY: Signed editorials, letters and articles appearing in the WIN
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do not necessarily reflect the opinion or
attitude of the Winnebago Indian News or
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Phone: 402-878-3221
“Official Newspaper of
the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska”
DEADLINE for this issue will be July 7, 2017.
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Winnebago Indian News Staff
Jerome LaPointe, Sr. .................... Editor
V.J. Wolfleader...............Office Manager
Winnebago Tribal Council
Frank White ............................Chairman
Vince Bass, Sr. ............... Vice Chairman
Kenny Mallory ......................... Secretary
Tori Kitcheyan ......................... Treasurer
Coly Brown .............................. Member
Darla LaPointe .......................... Member
Curtis St. Cyr ........................... Member
Isaac Smith ............................... Member
Jim Snow .................................. Member
Page 4— Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Bago News
12 & Under Bago Boys Baseball Winners! Indianz.com… Con’t. from front page
By Coach Eugene
Winnebago’s 12 & Under Baseball team played a game last Wednesday night
against the Ponca Blue team.
It was an intense game of lead changes that lead to Winnebago being ahead
13 to 10 going into the top of the 7th inning. Ponca scores three points that inning to tie the ball game 13-13. In the bottom of the 7th inning Gerry Earth is
up to bat and hits a triple to put the winning run on third base. On a wild pitch
he steals home, but is thrown out. Next two batters strike out. Extras innings!
Ponca’s first batter is walked and scores on a couple wild pitches to take the
lead 14-13. The next three batters hit the ball into play, but Winnebago fields the
ball and gets the next three outs. Bottom of the eighth, Anthony Earth is walked,
steals his way to third. Next batter Randy DeCora is walked steals to second. Oscar
Earth steps to the plate, with two strikes launches the next pitch into center field
over the outfielder’s head and the winning run walks in from second.
Winnebago wins 15 to 14 over Ponca Blue. It was a hard-fought game for Winnebago’s first win in almost two decades. Good job boys!
6 percent of total hospital expenses. By 2012 that figure reached $45.9 billion.
And, after the Affordable Care Act, the total uncompensated care costs dropped to
$35.7 billion or 4.2 percent of total hospital expenses, the lowest level in 26 years.
But this shows the futility of cutting Medicaid and insurance programs for the
poor. It doesn’t save money, it just shifts it around. People who get sick will go to
emergency rooms when it’s later in their illness and more expensive. So hospitals
will cost more for everybody. (But at least the wealthy get their tax break, right?)
The opioid crisis is an example of that. The costs will not go away. Some money
will be found by states, cities and tribes. The Senate bill adds a funding stream
of $45 billion over 10 years for substance abuse treatment and prevention that’s
now funded by the Affordable Care Act. But Medicaid expansion has been a key
funding source. The Associated Press reports that Medicaid expansion accounted
for 61 percent of total Medicaid spending on substance abuse treatment in Kentucky, 56 percent in Michigan, and 43 percent in Ohio.
#1 Caden Brownrigg #2 Eugene DeCora Jr. #3 Kenny Nieman #4 Tykell Thomas #5 Anthony
Earth #6 Jared Doxey #8 Ladanian Free #10 Elias Blue #22 Dyami Berridge #35 Oscar
Earth #40 Randy DeCora #42 Gerry Earth #50 Rochman Free #58 Lucian DeCora #99 Levin
LaPointe
A Winnebago Daughter…
H.R.1628, the American Health Care Act of 2017, cuts Medicaid funds and
provides benefits to high-income Americans. Source: Congressional Budget Office
The Senate has only a few days to consider their version of health care “reform.”
Already a few conservatives are saying the bill doesn’t go far enough and want
more changes. This is the script the House used: The conservatives throw a fit,
get their way, and then the so-called moderates give in and vote yes anyway.
My bet is that Senate leaders have already written off Alaska Sen. Lisa
Murkowski and Maine Sen. Susan Collins because of their past support for
Planned Parenthood (there are already restrictions against the federal funding of
abortion, but the Senate bill says Planned Parenthood cannot bill Medicaid for
a year for all women’s health services). So I think Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell is banking on a fifty-fifty split with Vice President Mike Pence casting
the deciding vote.
That means the moderate senators, those that support Medicaid in their states,
can say what ever they want now. But it’s their vote that will count. Destroy Medicaid or cut taxes? That’s the choice for these three: Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley
Moore Capito, West Virginia, and Cory Gardner from Colorado.
Perhaps it’s wishful thinking but I will add Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan to this
list because Alaska will be hit particularly hard by the overall legislation, the
opioid epidemic, the state’s successful expansion of Medicaid, and its impact on
the Alaska Native Medical system. Sullivan said on Facebook that he will read
every word of the bill and he wants “a sustainable and equitable path forward
for Medicaid” and he won’t vote for a bill that makes things worse for Alaskans.
So will it be his party or Alaskans? Health care or tax cuts?
And, since I am asking already asking questions, will the Senate bill pass next
week? Remember it will only take one senator to force the Senate to start over.
Mark Trahant is the Charles R. Johnson Endowed Professor of Journalism at
the University of North Dakota. He is an independent journalist and a member
of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. To read more of his regular #NativeVote16
updates, follow trahantreports.com On Facebook:TrahantReports On Twitter: @
TrahantReports
For this and more stories from around Indian Country visit us at www.indianz.com
WIN Summer Intern Bubz…
11 year old Ciarra L. Frenchman has spent her last 6 summers playing Fast
Pitch Softball for the Whiting Warriors Majors League team out of Whiting, Iowa.
Ciarra, Tiny to her family, plays center field and 3rd base for the Warriors.
This is Tiny’s 6th year playing Fast Pitch Softball, she started when she was 5.
Ciarra is the daughter of Carmen Snow, and the granddaughter of Carol &
Jim Snow.
Go Get Um Ciarra!
When I was little I always wanted to join the Army or the Air Force. I always
had a place somewhere in my heart that I wanted to protect my country. Or even
die for my country and let people know that I tried to protect them with my life.
And if I had protected them and there family from bad people. And if I get out
alive I’ll tell other Vets about my story on the Field or in the Air.
Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017 — Page 5
Winnebago News
News From the EPD…
Bed Bug Event
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Environmental Protection Department will
be hosting a one day Bed Bug Outreach Event, on July 12, 2017 to be held at
Little Priest Tribal College from 10:00AM to 12:00PM, and again at Nebraska
Indian Community College-Macy Campus from 1:30 PM to 3:30 PM.
Come hear from guest speaker Mark Lesher-EPA Region 7 Entomologist, about
ways to identify bed bugs, products that truly work, best practices to help you
avoid bringing them into your home and steps to take if you find you have them.
Mr. Lesher is an expert in the field, and we are delighted to have him share his
knowledge. Bed bugs are on the rise all over the country, and practicing good,
sound preventative habits can help protect you and your family.
Please call me, Hilery Spray-Pesticide Circuit Rider with any questions you
may have regarding this event. I can be reached at;
Hilery Spray-PCRC
Environmental Protection Department
Work (402) 878-4060 ext 1006
Cell (712) 259-0761
Job Opening for Food Services
Winnebago Public Schools
Prep cook
Winnebago public school District is accepting applications for a cook position.
-Experience in food service.
-High school diploma or GED required.
Entry salary begins at $12 an hour. Plus fringe benefits (single health insurance). Education and experience considered in salary.
-Terms of employment August 11, 2017 until end of school year Plus clean
days, hours to be determined by supervisor.
-Serve safe certification preferred.
Applications and background check releases available in administrative office
or See Pearl LaPointe in Kitchen
Position open until July 26 2017 at 4 PM
For more information call Winnebago Public School 878-2224 extension 375
Winnebago Public Schools is an equal opportunity employer
New Deadline ! ! !
A “Big Thank You”
To whoever mowed the grass and repaired all the old broken head stones at
the James Rave Cemetery. You did a great job!
for Winnebago Newspaper
July 7th
Pattie Valladolid
(Renfer Family)
2001 Chevy Silverado 1500
$8,500
4 x 4, 95 k miles
2006 Dodge Charger R/T
$7,800
Hemi Power, 114 k miles
2006 Hummer H3
D
L
SO
$9,000
4x4
SPRING
BLOW OUT
SALE !!!
2010 Ford F-150
$9,000
4 x 4 Work Truck
90 k miles
2009 Caddy DTS
$11,500
75 k miles
Page 6 — Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Miss Palmers
Miss Palmers Writing Class…
English 11 “Year to Live” Essays
Ms. Rachel Palmer, High School English
This year in English 11 we read one of our favorite novels--Deadline, by Chris
Crutcher. Deadline is a story about a senior in high school who is forced to confront what matters most in life and what kind of an impact he wants to make on
his community before it’s too late.
It might be too late, because at the beginning of the school year Ben is hit with
a shocking diagnosis: he only has one year left to live. He decides to confront his
small Montana town rather than fade away , challenging them to change their
racist views. Would you change your life if you only had one year left to live?
Would you confront your community and try to make change one last time? What
legacy would you want to leave with friends, family, and community members?
These are the questions that drove our decisions about writing these essays.
All of the English 11 authors chose topics with the intent to have an impact on
the community, so please read with open minds and open hearts. If you have
any comments or feedback, feel free to contact me: rpalmer@winnebagok12.org.
Sincerely,
Rachel Palmer
Education and
Native Youth
towards the future making no excuses
for ourselves. We can’t forget what our
own Chief Little Priest said, “Be strong
and educate my children.”
By Justice Frenchman
Let me start by asking a question,
“Would you want your children to not
get the same education as other kids?” I
wouldn’t. I would want my kids to have
the same opportunities as everybody
else. That’s why everybody in the Native
community and non-Native people that
associate with the Native community
should acknowledge that the education
system is failing our Native students.
More awareness on this topic could
bring about change, and inspire hope
in my fellow Native students.
I would also like to say that we have
to put some of the blame on ourselves,
because the fact is that many Native
Americans do drink and do drugs.
Some consequences of this are adults
becoming alcoholics, and caring more
about getting a drink than making sure
that their kids get good grades. Effects
from this could be child neglect, and
it could make them stray away from
learning. This can become an extreme
case in which it causes suicide. Other
consequences could be brain damage
from teens drinking or doing drugs
(“The Truth”). Addiction gives them a
way out or excuse not to get an education.
Also, Native American students have
the lowest graduation rate in the U.S.
To add along with this they are not getting the right courses; they are offered
less advanced placement courses. Furthermore, ACT test scores are rapidly
declining, and their SAT scores are
substantially lower than white student
scores, according to Rebecca Klein at
the Huffington Post (huffingtonpost.
com).
This could be the affects of lack
of attendance, not getting to class all
the time, or just slacking. Other reasons are mobility of the student, like
on a constant move from parent(s)
to grandparent(s). As Mandy Smoker
Broaddus, who is a Native American
education specialist, said, “It’s a problem because families in poverty tend
not to have stable housing. Kids move
around with different family members”
(Zehr).
Another issue that affects the education of Native Americans on some
reservations is poor quality of services
in boarding schools and BIA schools.
According to Charla Bear, BIA schools
have always been severely under funded. Teachers and administrators
at BIA schools have also been surveyed
and tend to see academics as less important in the lives of their students.
Bear states that,
When asked to name the most important things the schools should do
for their students, only about one-tenth
of the teachers mentioned academic
achievement as an important goal.
Apparently, many of the teachers still
see their role as that of “civilizing the
native” (npr.org).
School board members, administrators, teachers, parents, and community
members should see academics as an
important goal to look to in the future if
we want change in our own community.
Lastly, school has a violent history
with Native communities from hitting,
yelling, and even molesting students.
Col. Richard Pratt once said in a speech
from 1892 ”Kill the Indian...Save the
Man” (“Kill the Indian”). Even though
this quote is over a hundred years old,
it still is felt in the scars embedded into
our Native ancestors. Sometimes Native
students were physically and emotionally abused in schools. But in all cases
their culture was taken away, making
them feel “less than” (“South Dakota”).
Now we must take action. I and my
fellow Native students should be the
captains of our education, so we are
educated and help our people grow. So
we aren’t frowned upon in the academic
world. I think that we should explore
and not rely on public schools. We
should go to bigger schools, so we can
have advanced learning and become
important people in the world. (Ex.
Politicians, Doctors, and Lawyers). We
need to understand our past and the
challenges that held us back as a people. Yet at the same time we must look
Domestic Violence
& Its Witnesses
By Jonna Price
Are you or someone you care about
in an abusive relationship? According
to the World Health Organization (Vagianos), “Worldwide, men who were exposed
to domestic violence as children are
THREE TO FOUR TIMES more likely to
perpetrate intimate partner violence as
adults than men who did not experience
domestic abuse as children.” Statistics
like this show that abuse creates a cycle,
and most of us have probably witnessed
or been a victim in our lives. So why do
people allow this to happen? Why would
someone stay in an abusive relationship
or allow a child to also be a victim? Domestic abuse is complicated, but there is
hope. If we educate ourselves and become
aware of how domestic abuse works, then
we can help someone who has been a
victim heal themselves.
When you think of abuse, what is it
that comes to mind? First, I am going to
explain the different forms of domestic
abuse and why it is that someone may
abuse another. The types of abuse are
physical, mental, emotional, sexual,
stalking/cyberstalking, economic/financial, and spiritual. Physical abuse is the
most visible form of abuse, and can cause
physical harm. Mental and emotional
abuse is the least visible form of abuse.
Emotional/Mental abuse happens when
your boyfriend or girlfriend is continuously trying to bring you down verbally.
An example of that would be name calling. Next I will talk about sexual abuse
and a few examples of sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse is any sort of nonconsensual sexual contact, but it gets complicated when it comes to domestic violence.
One big example of sexual abuse can be
if your male partner is being controlling
over your decision about pregnancy and/
or abortion (Patricelli).
But, why is it that people abuse?
According to the American Psychological Association, “Each year, 3.3 million
children are exposed to violence by family
members against their mothers or female
caretakers” (“Statistics”). Abusing is a
choice. In many cases it’s the female
that is being abused in the relationship,
but it’s also common that the male is the
victim. People may choose to abuse to feel
as if they have control over their partner.
Another reason someone may abuse is
because they have a psychotic disorder of
some sort. Also, alcohol can have a huge
impact when it comes to abuse, as well as
drugs. It’s possible the abuser will “lash
out” when under the influence.
Why is it people stay in an abusive
relationship? According to the National
Coalition for the Homelessness, “Domestic Violence is the THIRD leading cause
of homelessness among families” (Vagianos). Studies have shown that “up to
50% of homeless women and children
in this country are fleeing domestic
violence.” If a woman is being abused
and children are involved, when they
leave their abuser they often take the
children along with them. Often though,
victims don’t leave abusive homes in
fear of leaving their family and not being able to see them. Also, they don’t
want their children to think they don’t
love or care for them. In some cases, the
victim does take their child(ren) with
them. Financial issues come into play
when the victim leaves. Sometimes he/
she might not have money to support
them, or they might not even have a
job. For example, “stay at home moms”
won’t have individual financial stability.
The American Public Health Association
found that “The number one reason domestic violence survivors stay or return
to the abusive relationship is because
the abuser controls their money supply,
leaving them with no financial resources
to break free” (Vagianos).
Being a witness of domestic violence
is almost as close as being a victim. You
continue to think, why? Why would he
do that, and why does she continue to
stay after he did it more than once? To
help convey the experience of a witness
to domestic violence, I will share my story.
I get a call one night, it’s late and it’s
freezing cold outside. I answer the phone
and it’s my mom. Her voice is shaky as if
she just got done crying. In my head I’m
wondering, “what happened now, what did
he do?” I ask my mom if everything was
okay, and she ignores my question so I
continued to ask her until she responds.
She quietly responds, “no, everything isn’t
okay right now.” I question, “what happened, tell me,” then she quickly says to
me, “I’ll call you right back,” then I hear
nothing. My adrenaline is rushing and I’m
suddenly in a panic, crying. My sisters
and brother are now at my side, asking
“what did mom say?” I waited and waited,
expecting a call back from my mom. Hours
pass and I still haven’t heard from her yet.
For 2-3 years, my mother was in an
abusive relationship with a guy who always wanted to be in control of her and
what she does. Through the years it only
got worse and worse. How would you feel
seeing your mother with bruises up and
down her body? I’m going to tell you, it’s
not easy. It hurts you in a way that cannot
be explained. It’s all something you can
only question and hope to get an answer
to. There were times when I wouldn’t hear
from my mom for long lengths of time.
Sometimes it would be days, and that
would turn into weeks. When I would
finally hear from her, I would always ask
her if I was able to come see her or not.
The few times I would see her, she would
have black-eyes, and also bruises on different parts of her body.
It wasn’t every time though. I continued to ask her, “why do you stay, don’t
you know that he’s going to keep doing
this to you?” I felt bad because I knew
how naive she would get when it came to
him. She always believed that he would
change every single time. I also felt bad
because there was nothing I could’ve done
that would’ve helped her escape sooner. I
couldn’t help her financially, but one thing
I made sure of was to always listen to her
and pay attention to how she feels. No
matter what I or anyone else would say,
she would go right back. That’s the one
and only reason why I bit my tongue so
many times. I didn’t want her to think she
couldn’t trust me. I stayed up late some
nights worrying, wondering if I’d ever see
my mom again. That is the most heartwrenching feeling ever, and it hurts so
much to even have that thought. I don’t
wish this feeling upon my worst enemy.
One night I remember getting a call
from my mom, and this time it wasn’t
so late. She was crying and she told me
she was at the domestic violence shelter.
Believe me, this wasn’t the first time. Her
words came out so quickly, I couldn’t keep
up with what she was telling me. In full
length, I will tell you what happened to my
mother that night from what I remember.
My mom was on her phone because
one of my sisters wanted to see her. So,
my mom told him that she was going to
leave. She repeatedly tried explaining to
him that she was going see one of her
daughters. He failed to believe her and
began accusing her of “going to see another guy.” After she attempted to leave,
he grabbed her phone out of her hand.
After taking it, he hid it from her so she
couldn’t talk to anyone. My mom got up,
approaching the door and he stepped in
front of her and asked, “where do you
think you’re going?” She sat back down,
and he began to push on her. At first he
was just nudging her, but his pushing
became more aggressive. After trying to
run to the door, he grabbed her by her
hair and threw her to the floor. It escalated
from there, he started to hit her and kick
her. My mom continued to try to get up
and run, but he would catch her each
time. After the third or fourth attempt, it
became more severe. He was throwing her
to the ground, and also began slamming
her head against the floor. He was punching her, kicking her, pulling her hair. My
mom finally escaped and ran; she ran to
the police department with no shoes on, in
freezing weather. As she was running from
his house, he yelled to her “I’m sorry,” and
continued to tell her to come back. The
police questioned her, and took pictures
of her where she was mainly hurt. My
mom then went to the hospital to check
if she had any major injuries. That night
she was told she got a concussion due to
him slamming her head onto the ground
repeatedly. She spent a few weeks in the
Domestic Violence shelter where she was
able to seek counseling. Since then, my
mom hasn’t been in contact with the guy
and I hope she never does again. Due to
his abuse, I could have lost my mother. My
hope is to never cross paths with someone
who may try to physically hurt me in any
kind of way, as well as my sisters.
Have you ever heard of the saying, “if
they do it once they’ll do it again?” That’s
the moral of my story. Victims of abuse
are so vulnerable and often feel like they
have nobody to turn to because they’re
afraid of judgment, so they stay. I shared
my story, and I hope it made an impact
in someone’s life. I want every woman or
man out there to know that they aren’t
alone and that there is help out there. I
know a huge downfall can be asking for
help. Trust me though, the second you
ask for help can be the second your life
can change forever. I don’t want anyone’s
son or daughter to feel the way I had to
feel because of what I had to see my mom
go through. “Noticing and acknowledging
the signs of an abusive relationship is the
first step to ending it. No one should live
in fear of the person they love.” (“Domestic Violence and Abuse”) I understand
this is a very touchy subject and also that
it isn’t easy to open up about it. What
I ask of anyone who has read this is if
you know of anyone who is being abused
please let them know that there is support out there. Healing is a process and
can be rough, but it is possible.
Alternative Subculture
Abuse = Hate Crime
By Mary Payer
Discrimination against the alternative
subcultures such as goths, metalheads,
punks, and alternatives is a serious form
of discrimination that is unnecessary
and must be stopped.
Sophie Lancaster was in her twenties. She was a college student in the
UK. She was slender, hardly reached 5
ft, and she was a size eight. She didn’t
like to be easily stereotyped. According
to Mark Hodkinson from The Guardian,
on August 11, 2007, Sophie and her
boyfriend Robert Maltby were out walking when these two teenagers came out
of nowhere and started to attack Robert
Maltby first. Sophie came to his aid
and pleaded for them to stop, but then
they turned to her and started to beat
her. Both of them were on the ground,
kicked, stomped on and left unconscious while they were bleeding. Then
afterwards, the gang left to go celebrate
their attacks by telling friends, “There’s
two moshers nearly dead up in Bacup
park. You wanna see them?! They’re a
right mess!” (Hodkinson).
The Daily Mirror states that they were
brought to a hospital where Sophie died
13 days later. Robert is alive and well to
this day. He woke up from a coma where
she was dying from her head injuries. “I
was fine until I saw her. That was when I
broke down” (Byrne). He wishes that she
would’ve ran and they could’ve killed him
instead. She still means the world to him
to this day. “All I wanted to do was give
her something, but all I had on me was
a cheap watch my granddad had given
me. So I just took it off and gave it to
her. If I could have, I would have ripped
my heart out and given it out to her and
with any luck bring her back. But I did
not have it in my power” (Byrne).
So why were they attacked? They were
attacked because they were both goths,
not for their religion, race, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. According to
Hodkinson, Robert took one last look at
her as Sophie lay dying, and he asked,
“What have we done to deserve this?”
The family had to make a heartbreaking decision: it was to turn off her life
support machine. The Judge, Anthony
Russell QC said: “This was a hate crime
against completely harmless people who
were targeted because their appearance
was different” (Hodkinson). There were 5
teenagers in that gang. They were called
the Bacup Terror Group. The gang was
sentenced to prison. Each of them are in
for different sentences. “I want them to
never stop suffering for what they have
done. I want it to be a life-long thing. I
do not even think I can say what I want
to happen” (Hodkinson).
As a metal head myself, I’ve always
wondered why we’re attacked in many
forms when we didn’t do anything.
“People will look at you and think you’re
the Antichrist just ‘cause you’re wearing black and have tattoos” says Chris
Motionless, frontman of Motionless in
White, in an Ink and Honor interview
(Chris Motionless). I personally don’t
have tattoos, but I do wear black (and
other colors as well).
What is the Alternative Subculture?
The scene typically involves piercings,
heavy black eyeliner or heavy makeup,
tattoos, other body modifications, colorful hair, “odd” hairstyles, dark and/
or modified clothes, different genres of
music, movies, books, etc. For example,
Sophie always dyed her hair, she had
dreadlocks, and 20 piercings. Robert
had two lip-piercings, back-combed
his hair, had gauges, and wore black
eye-shadow. Robert and Sophie liked
MCR, Slipknot, Korn, and movies like
The Crow.
No matter how I’ve looked throughout
my life, I’ve always been well-mannered,
generous as I can be. An average-grade
student, the teachers like me, and I’ve
always been respectful. Not to mention,
I also tend to speak my mind. So why
do people always laugh, stare, point, or
talk about me? Why do they even try to
hurt me? Isn’t it wrong to judge before
getting to know the person? I’m sure the
alt scene asks the same question. The
abuse is a daily thing for the groups.
Whether it’s school, public, or at home.
I’ve met people with the same problem,
counting my friends. It’s all the same
result: we’re all hurt in the end whether
it’s physical or not. Even the judgment
is bad enough. We have different ways of
dealing with this. Some self-harm themselves, listen to music, are depressed,
fight back, or consider suicide.
Are some people finally taking notice? Back in 2013, Manchester Police
became the first force in the country
Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017 — Page 7
Class Writings
Alternative Subculture Abuse =
Hate Crime continued...
to officially record such offences in the
same way as those based on disability,
race, religion and sexual orientation.
“The move means victims of crime who
feel they have been targeted because of
their distinctive clothing, hairstyle and
even musical tastes will receive special
support from the police. At the moment
courts only consider hate as an aggravating factor when sentencing if it is
based on religion, ethnicity, disability
and sexual orientation” (Telegraph).
After Sylvia Lancaster (Sophie’s
mother) set up the Sophie Lancaster
(Stomp Out Prejudice, Hatred, and
Intolerance Everywhere) foundation,
the alt subculture praised it. After she
died, people offered their condolences
and posted their own stories of being
attacked for how they looked on Sophie’s MySpace site. “I realized that
prejudice and intolerance was the new
racism and my hope was that what happened to Sophie would lead to a greater
understanding and acceptance of all
people” (Lancaster). After the foundation was brought to life, Robert says
he’s still heartbroken, “Now I wake up
in the morning and I’m on my own. It
feels like someone nicked my entire life.
I always thought there was one person
for everyone. If mine’s gone, what am I
going to do now?” (Maltby). The foundation made its goal to provide a forum
for discussion; to work with youths to
raise awareness of subcultures and an
acceptance of people’s right to be different; and to help professionals in the
field (The Guardian).
Fortunately I haven’t come across
anything as extreme as Sophie’s story
in my personal life, but I remember a
time when I was out at the movies with
my family and one of my best friends.
When I was walking to the bathroom, an
older woman was walking back to the
theatres with a little girl. The woman
gasped, frantically grabbed, and held
the little girl while they were staring at
me as they walked. I had pink, purple,
and red hair. I was wearing a Beetlejuice
shirt with purple jeans, black creepers
(shoes), a spiked choker, and white contacts. I’ve also been threatened and have
been treated poorly in school or when
I’m out shopping or walking.
A few friends of mine had it worse
than me, and one of them was facing
daily abuse in the Homer Community
School in 2014. In the first few months
of the first semester, things took a turn
for the worst. She finally left the school
a year later. “At my old school, the other
kids used to tell me to kill myself because I was “emo” and all emos wanted
to do is kill themselves and cut. Before
when I was “goth” people would always
touch or grab me. Some people would
say “Don’t look at her”, “Oh, so you worship the devil?!” She also said, “I was
once called a Devil’s wh*re.”
Another friend of mine moved away
for a bit. She was walking home alone
from a park and a boy saw her. He started to shout the lyrics out for the “Whip
and Nae Nae”, and he called her an “emo
wh*re”, “homo”, “fag”, “b**ch”, and “sl*t”,
then made inappropriate sounds. A good
friend of mine said that she got called
satanic. Lastly, a friend told me from
his side, “My mom basically sold me
out. She always treated me as the “bad”
or different child. This happened three
and a half years ago. She introduced this
“cousin” that she brought home. The
“cousin” would love to pick on me. As he
did more often, he was here at the house
every day. He forced me to work, throw
me in the couch and beat me while my
mom watched and approved. This led
to my first suicide attempt. When that
failed, I tried running away. I didn’t
get very far so I came home eventually.
This was kept in until my older brother
moved back in.”
It makes my blood boil knowing
they went through this. I’ve known my
friends for a long time now. They’ve all
been nothing but sweet, generous, and
respectful to me and to everyone else.
I’ve got their backs, just like they do for
me. But sadly I can’t be there physically
for all of them. I wish I could be there to
hug them and say they’ll be okay. I’ve
also met people in this scene from outside of my community and they’ve all
been nice, even to their peers.
I understand that we have different
interests, different music, wear different clothes from the majority, but we’re
just like regular people. We’re all flesh
and blood; there’s no need to attack just
because of these qualities. We do fight
back, but only if it’s necessary. We are
the least types to judge, I don’t know if
that’s provable but that’s what I think.
I’m not sure if this is true either, but
this issue is rarely noticed by others. It
still happens to others in other places
outside of our community.
To close this essay off, here are some
lyrics, “Maybe if your mind was as open
as your mouth. You’d understand that
regardless of what anyone wears, looks
like, or sings about, we’re all the same
kids. Fighting for what we believe in and
you can never take that away.” (MIW,
“Just when you thought we couldn’t get
any more emo, we go and pull a stunt
like this.” *censored version*)
If you are a person who judges people
from alternative subcultures, please
think seriously about why you are discriminating. When you assume things,
ask first. Curious about the person?
Ask. That person never did anything to
you and yet you’re treating them like
trash? It’s time to stop. Stop acting like
you matter more than them: we’re human too. We deserve the same respect,
equality, and not to put up with negativity
anymore. We’re everywhere. We’re high
school students, teachers, the mailman,
the waiter/waitress, a business-person,
doctors, anything you can think about.
Just remember, “Open your mind before
your mouth.” (Motionless in White).
Happiness!
By Zeke Walker
Did you know people who are truly
happy are more likely to be successful in their respective careers? In a
study done on the Harvard Graduating
Class of 1980, 47% of those that are
“extremely happy” said they enjoy what
they are currently doing versus 14%
of the people who are not (Bradt). Are
you satisfied with what you are currently doing? If you aren’t, then why
not try to change that? Nothing is more
important than making yourself happy,
because if you are, you will be more
motivated to get things accomplished.
Being happy definitely has its perks,
besides the overall better mood, obviously. However, there are mental and
health benefits as well. I know you probably think it’s weird that I am actually
finding reasons to be fulfilled, because
the self-evident reason is it feels good.
But did you know that feeling content
has some genuine health benefits, like
living a healthier, longer life? According
to mindbodygreen.com, comparing two
people, one who lived happy and one who
did not, was like comparing a smoker to a
non-smoker. The happy one lived as long
as the non-smoker, and the other lived as
long as the smoker. When you are joyful,
your heart is feeling good too! According
to many studies, feeling delighted naturally lowers your heart rate, which helps
prevent many diseases that can be fatal.
Probably the most important thing that
happiness does is it naturally combats
stress. If we can reduce stress in our
lives, this will help us both physically and
mentally (“The Health Benefits”).
Without a doubt, becoming happy
has a huge impact on your life. You see
there’s this myth that if you work hard
and get something done, you’ll be satisfied just like that. Unfortunately that’s
just not the case. To be successful,
you often must make yourself content
first. Are you more likely to want to get
something done when you’re feeling drab
and sad, or when you are excited and
feeling good? Feeling happy improves
productivity. According to Vanessa Van
Edwards from ScienceofPeople.com, feeling buoyant boosts motivation, energy
and resiliency. In turn, feeling this great
will boost your creativity. Having a more
clear and sunny mindset will help you be
more creative in the activities you like to
do. With all of these qualities combined,
you are more likely to be successful. You
will do better in your career and in your
personal life. Being optimistic will not
only impact you but others around you.
If you are a joyous person, people will
be more likely to gravitate towards you
(including employers). Just make sure
whatever career path you choose makes
you truly content with yourself.
Of course I can’t tell you all of this
without telling you how you can get satisfied yourself. If you want to be happy,
you have to have the right mindset. You
have to be as optimistic as you can be.
You see, happiness isn’t just something
that happens to you out of nowhere; it’s
a lifestyle. You have to wake up every
day, thinking to yourself “Today’s going
to be a good day. I know it will be, and
I will make sure it is.” This isn’t just
something I researched on. This really
is the way I think every day, and it truly
has made a difference in my life. To be
sure, you’re not going to do this on your
own. You will need a great supportive
network, like family, friends, and others.
People who will be your backbone, who
will pick you up when you feel like you
can’t do it yourself. Another thing that
will help you in your quest to be happy
is simply getting more sleep. And relaxing
more when you feel stressed. Just sitting
there, calming yourself can always help
you when you are not feeling the best.
In the end, you have to find what makes
you sincerely happy with yourself, even
if others start to think differently about
you. All that matters in your life is you.
In conclusion, I am telling people how I
deal with life every day. I think what I am
saying will be able to help others all over.
Just be sure you stick with your decision
that made you happy in the first place. It
will get hard sometimes, but that doesn’t
mean you’ve failed. Every road will have
it ups and downs. Just be sure to stick
it through, because eventually happiness
will become a habit.
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you
design for the present.” - Jim Rohn
Plus Size Revolution
By Shalise Cline
Did you know that 65 percent of
American women are considered “Plus
Sized”? That is more than half of the
157 million women that live in America
today. In the fashion industry you are
considered plus size if you are a size
14 or larger (cnbc.com). In the society
we live in, many people cannot accept
the fact that not all of us are perfect.
It’s important that all women learn to
love themselves and try thinking of their
bodies positively.
What is plus size? Plus size is clothing/people that are larger than the
“normal” size. From my knowledge of
clothing stores, a size 0-12 is considered
the average size range. The average plus
size woman wears a size 14 and up. So
basically if you are not “average” according to the fashion industry, you are
separated into a special category, away
from the rest.
Only 18 percent of retail sales are
dedicated to plus size women (CNBC.
com). Most plus size clothing choices
are online. So if you do not have a credit
card to purchase clothes online, then
you may not have a variety of clothing
choices. There could be millions of questions when you start to shop online, like
will it fit me correctly? How long will this
take to ship? Or will it get here when I
need it to get here?
Why are retail sellers neglecting plus
size women? “In the United States alone
plus-size clothing is now a $17.5 billion
market, but it remains one of the most
underserved segments of the fashion
industry” (businesstofashion.com). So
why is plus sized fashion being pushed
off to the side? It can’t possibly be because the clothes will have to made bigger. This topic alone has caused some
serious controversy. Clothing prices for
plus size customers are more expensive
than any other clothing category. When
will this start to turn around? When will
the fashion industry finally hear plus
size women out? When will plus women
and men finally get what they deserve?
Time to talk about my personal story:
Growing up I was always bigger than
all the other kids. I was always teased
by my family and friends about how
“chubby” I was. I was always told that
I needed to lose weight. It wasn’t until
recently when I looked around me and
started thinking about how I wasn’t the
only person in the world who was bigger. I looked around and saw how most
of the women and men all wore larger
sizes. I realized that not everyone was
perfect and I wasn’t alone. I started to
gain confidence in myself, and I didn’t
let anyone bring me down, because at
the end of the day this is who I am. I
won’t change the way I look just because someone else doesn’t like it.
Millions of females have stories like
mine. Everyone struggles with their
body image. We just need to be body
positive. What is body positivity you
ask? Body positivity is loving yourself
for who you are. It is a movement for
anyone, but it starts with yourself.
How to be body positive: Like I said,
it starts with yourself. Just start appreciating life. When you wake up every
morning tell yourself you are beautiful. You can’t be positive if you are constantly comparing yourself to others. Do
something that will make you feel good
every day. Maybe try self-affirmations:
go to church, go for a walk, or do something that you know you love to do. It
only matters if it makes YOU feel good!
Plus size women around the world
are creating a movement. We are not
taking no for an answer. Everyone deserves to be treated equally. We have all
been through a struggle before. I hope
that all plus size women have a helping
hand in this, because this could potentially shape the world we live in today.
“Love the skin you are in, don’t body
shame and keep being you.” -Unknown
Bad Parenting: How to Be
the Adult of Your Family
By Manape Cleveland
Why don’t parents put their children
first before their needs and wants in life?
Let me tell you this story about a kid
named Michael. Michael is the second
oldest out of 5 children. Michael is 11
years old and starting to take care of his
little siblings at a young age. His mom
was a single mom at this period of time
and didn’t have her priorities straight.
Therefore she wanted to relive her teenage years and stay out and party all
night even when she had 5 kids at home,
leaving the two older ones to watch the
little ones.
Michael always wanted to go hang
out with his friends down the road, go
play video games, stay the night, and
have a good time like children are supposed to. Michael always is wondering
when it’s time to eat. Michael and his
old brother Merrick always made stuff
to feed the little ones so they won’t be
starving and be waiting for their mom
to come home and cook for them. They
barely even have enough to eat and the
little ones wouldn’t be full to get through
the night, so Michael & Merrick made
the sacrifice to give their food up to the
little ones. Michael & Merrick would be
really hungry and starving waiting for
their mom to come back home.
But one morning the little ones got
out of the house, went into the front
yard and started walking to the store
2 blocks away from the residence. The
little ones got to the main highway and
started to cross. Then all of a sudden
an elderly man grabbed the little kids
before they could cross the road and
called the police. When the police arrived
at the house they had the little ones in
the back of the cop car. Also, they put
the older boys in the cop car and took
them away from their mother. Michael
will never forget that day when he was
taken away from his mother because of
bad parenting. So I want parents to read
this article and make changes to their
families to give their kids a better life
than starvation, neglect, or even suicide.
One of the three main topics I am
going to talk about are some bad habits
a parent can make about parenting. According to the author Heather Kolich,
not following through is the main one
I want to talk about because kids will
test you on your boundaries to see how
much trouble they will be in. So you
parents have to talk to your children
loud and clear about your boundaries and the consequences (How Stuff
Works.com). Don’t always be telling
them “yes” to everything. Saying yes
to your children all the time can cause
your children to be comfortable with the
word yes. Therefore when you say “no”
to them they would feel upset and have
an attitude, so don’t get comfortable
with saying the word yes.
Another main one is being a parent
before being a friend. I want to talk
about this one because some parents
in this world are letting their kids go
out late at night, staying out all night
putting themselves in harm’s way by
drinking and smoking. I’m not saying all
the kids that are out are partying and
drinking but according to Carl Azuz,
some teenagers are even drinking or
using drugs during the school day. He
states, “It’s no surprise to their classmates, either: 86% say they know the
2.8 million who are abusing substances
during the day” (CNN.com) Therefore,
one of your kids may be drinking and
smoking. Also if your kids are drinking
and smoking then they may think it’s
okay to drink or smoke, even when bad
things can happen like going to jail for
having illegal substances on them at
a young age. Your kids might let your
future grandkids drink and smoke,
burning their future bridges just by
smoking or drinking. There are so many
consequences. For example, if you get
caught with drugs or alcohol at an early
age you can lose scholarships, and if
you’re an athlete you can get kicked
off the team. So it’s time to put the foot
down and keep your kid’s futures alive
by doing the little things that count.
The next main thing I want to cover
is what bad parenting habits can lead
to. “Future poor parenting can be also
a cycle with some kids” (EHow Contributor). Kids can continue to create
the cycle of bad parenting because that’s
what they knew growing up so therefore
they don’t know what’s right or wrong.
“Depression can be created from
a parent by not giving the attention
your kid needs to be loved or feel cared
for.”(EHow Contributor) I’m not saying
all depression is caused by bad parenting but mostly depression can be felt if
they don’t have a parent to lean on when
they’re going through some hard times.
Every child or teenager needs a parent
there for them to be able to improve
self-esteem so the child can feel like they
matter and are appreciated in their life.
Handling your child’s behavior can be
an important factor too because some
children can get their way by just throwing a fit or doing anything to get their
way. Some parents will give in and let
it slide. “For example, if she loses privileges for a low grade, but other times you
let it slide, she might not worry about
another low score because she may get
by without a consequence. Consistency
is important” (Robert Hendren).
Lack of trust is really important in
a relationship between you and your
child. Kids need their parent to be there
when anything happens. “If you repeatedly tell your child that she can come to
you and talk about anything, but then
you explode in anger when she reveals
something you don’t want to hear; she
probably won’t feel like she can trust
you next time something big happens”
(EHow Contributor). When children
don’t trust coming to you for anything
then they may feel lonely. Children don’t
like being lonely, and parents should be
a child’s number one friend in their life.
Finally, the last one is dysfunctional
patterns in families. What is a dysfunctional family? According to Kansas State
website, “family dysfunction can be any
condition that interferes with healthy
family functioning. Most families have
some periods of time where functioning
is impaired by stressful circumstances”
(Benton). In these kinds of families, children can take adult responsibilities at a
very young age when they’re supposed
to be living as a child. When parents do
Page 8 — Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Miss Palmers
Bad Parenting: How to Be the
Adult of Your Family continued...
this to children they’re stealing their
childhood away from them, leading
to ignoring their needs and wants as
a child.
No matter what the issue is in a family, the parent always has to put their
children first no matter what the situation is. Any adult can make children
but who can stand up and raise their
children? Put clothes on their back,
put a roof over their head, put food on
the table. Making sure your kid has
everything they need to take care of
themselves. Those are the parents we
need in this world because kids worrying about when they’re gonna eat
again and not take full responsibility
for their families is unacceptable. The
parent needs to be the adult in your
household, not the kids.
Pain to Creativity
By Alexandrea Flanders
Now it seems mutilation has gone
mainstream! I see you at my shows,
scarred up from head to toe like there’s
no point in even trying not to let it
show. ‘Cause we all know, “emo” kids
like to hurt themselves. Too many feelings and not enough self control, and
I mean does this mess with any of the
rest of ya? It’s an epidemic and we’re
cool with it don’t question it - “Under
The Knife” by Icon For Hire
According to eMedExpert.com,
music can help reduce chronic pain
by more than 20% and can alleviate
depression by up to 25%. This fact
proves that when words and actions
don’t speak our pain, creativity does.
Harming our own bodies has become
common, even trendy for many. Instead
we must learn to bleed our feelings
through art.
Generally speaking, every time I
open up my laptop and go to Facebook or I check my iPod and go to
Snapchat, it seems there’s always a
picture of someone, drinking, smoking,
cutting or harming their own bodies
because they’re hurting on the inside
(Medical Daily). In relation, a study
was conducted in 2014 by researchers
at Queen’s University and the study
found that every one in ten teenagers
have considered harming themselves
at some point. The National Center for
PTSD estimates from 13 to 35 percent
of students have injured themselves at
some point (Psychology Today).
There are teens and adults that hurt
their bodies because the physical pain
distracts them from emotional pain
which makes them relieved (Healthy
Place). People often read stories or
watch movies portraying a person with
a mental disorder. In those movies/
books, often being “too strong for so
long” creates a person who continues
to fight off the depression and self
harm their body in any way, only to
meet someone who fixes all of their
problems and throws every scary thing
about the world away. These people
who romanticize mental illness are
some of the people you see with self
harm scars, drinking alcohol, smoking
cigarettes, etc.
Altogether we all have our ways of
coping with troubling situations. In
the same fashion some of us harm
ourselves and some of us hide from our
problems. But not everyone in pain
must resort to self-harm. There are
some of us who create something that
helps us share with others the pain we
are feeling on the inside.
A way of coping with our troubling
situations is by painting your feelings
through art. On June 15, 2015 the Pain
Exhibit was established for people who
suffer from chronic pain and can’t put
their feelings into words, so instead
they put their feelings into an art form
for others to see (NY Times). Not only
does being artistic help with your mental situations but it also boosts your
creativity, self confidence and concentration (Art Therapy).
In addition, many of us have another
outlet other than creating a work of
art with paints and pencils. There are
more of us out there who prefer to listen
to music or write poetry when we’re
troubled. Instead of listening to music,
why not create songs to tell others how
we feel? “For those people who can’t
find words to express their emotion, the
music can provide a means to channel
that energy to express their emotion”
says Ronald M. Borczon, professor and
director of the Music Therapy Wellness
Center (Sundial). Music has such a
powerful connection to us, some of us
become musicians due to how powerful the connection is. “Poetry = Anger
+ Survival” - Alexie Sherman.
Previously, a person was going
through a bad breakup with their significant other. As they sat in their room
sobbing their eyes out with a blade
in their hand ready to mutilate their
body, they looked around their room
to see their instruments and art supplies in front of them. They thought to
themselves “Instead of being destructive to my body due to pain, why not
be productive with it?” This person is
one of the many you see at our school
in the hallways as the students go to
their classes.
“Your story matters; your voice is
important. The world is waiting for youfor your song- but we will never hear it
if you feel trapped where you are, letting
fears in your head and scars from your
past hold you back.” - Ariel Bloomer,
singer of Icon For Hire (Think TEI). Every person you’ve looked up to whether
that be in the music world or art world,
etc. has gone through troubling times.
We all have, but that doesn’t mean we
have to harm ourselves and kill each
other on the inside to solve our problems. Maybe a mental asylum isn’t the
answer? Maybe it’s the way we cope
with situations.
As you lay down in your bed at night,
imagine how many deaths we would
have if coping through bad situations
couldn’t be done in a positive or creative way. Those who have found the
light and made the world a better place
through their music and pictures, it
would never happen. Every war we’ve
ever had would be everlasting. When a
bad situation came along, we would be
focused on anger and trying to reach
the greatness in the world through a
strategy we would never achieve. With
creativity, there are no mistakes. “An
artist who stops making art is committing emotional suicide” - Unknown.
“One good thing about music, when it
hits you feel no pain” - Bob Marley. We
can turn our pain into art and create
something beautiful through our feelings of pain, anger and sorrow. Let the
beauty and the mess coexist as one
piece of art.
Music and Teens
By Raommi Bird
“Ugh, there they are playing that
loud music again!” “All you do is listen
to music.” “You think music is going
to help you in school?” “Music is just
a distraction.”
This is what we as teenagers hear
most of the time: Adults getting annoyed of the music we listen to. Little
do they know that music helps us in
many ways. Just so you know we aren’t
just ignoring you; we’re just trying to
help ourselves in ways you can’t. If
parents, teachers and other adults can
learn to open up about how teenagers
use music, this would help improve
relationships so we could better understand each other.
As you might have guessed teenagers have this special connection with
music. Some adults might just see that
music is “distracting”, but in reality
music does a lot more than you realize. To some adults certain types of
music may be garbage to their ears,
but to the ears of the young adult or
teenager it might be helping them with
a battle unknown to you.
Throughout all of history music has
played an important part. All parts of
the world had their own type of music.
Music can describe so much such as
beauty, emotions, wars, story with or
without the use of words. But as times
goes on, music has evolved to something greater. It is used everywhere:
movies, commercials and even in the
background of speeches. This tells the
audience or listener what to feel and it
then draws them in.
For an example, when you go see a
movie, a part comes on where there is
a heart break. You hear in the background a sad melody to reflect the actor’s feeling. This draws you in and it
makes you feel that pain. That simple
melody pulls you in.
When you listen to your own music
or just pass a store that is playing an
upbeat song, you feel a slight bit of
energy or that you’re moving to the
beat of the music, don’t you? Well your
body might feel a slight bit of energy
but your brain is going through a huge
wave of energy.
You see, when you listen to music
your brain enlightens with energy. Your
brain sends signals throughout your
body. The energy. When a really good
song comes on you get the “chills,”
correct? Well, that’s your body releasing dopamine. Any type of music can
release this, and I mean any type of
music, from rap to classical, techno to
lullaby. Any type of music that you like
to listen to will release this. It makes
you feel good, calm, or it can have the
opposite effect. It can energize you,
making you want to work harder. This
helps with motivation and productivity. This is why teenagers use music
to help them with school. It gives them
motivation.
With music it doesn’t just help teens
with their energy level. Music helps
with memory as well. Teenagers use
music to help them remember certain
subjects in school. When a teenager
listens to a certain type of music while
they study a subject, it gets engraved
in their mind. So when they hear a
similar beat or melody, they remember
that subject.
Teenagers are going through many
changes, physically and mentally. Many teenagers are going through
many of their own problems. They are
finding themselves and looking out for
their future.Teenagers sometimes feel
like they’re on their own, that no one
understands them. Or that they don’t
know who to talk to. Who do they go
to when they’re in need? Music. Music
helps teenagers with coping. When they
listen to their favorite artist they feel
what the artist feels. Sadness, heartbreak, empowerment, joy. etc.
Teens have their own way to see
what each other feel and mostly that’s
through music. Without the person telling you what’s wrong, you can feel the
emotions through their music.
Adults need to try to understand
teenagers and be open to what type of
music they listen to.
Music helps teens express what they
feel. So please when you start getting
annoyed of your teenager always listening to music, respectfully ask them to
stop listening to music for the moment
and try to think back when you were
a teenager. Didn’t you use music as a
teenager as well? Think about it.
Abuse and Breaking
the Cycle
one, especially an abused victim, it kills
their confidence and they will be scared
to do anything at all, so don’t be that
person. Develop a safety plan, whether if
it’s about escaping a relationship, trying
to make it better or they have already
escaped. Abuse can make someone commit suicide, that’s how deadly it can be,
so take it seriously when your friend is
telling you these things. It might have
taken them a lot of courage to do so
(http://www.thehotline.org/).
It’s not fair to a partner or child to be
abused. They didn’t choose to. All it does
is leave them with horrible memories.
Once you’re abused, it’s hard to sit and
have a talk with anybody about it. Abuse
is real and can really hurt people. There
are 5 main types of it, and they all hurt
more than the other. Just know that
if you’re an abused victim, you aren’t
alone. There is a lot of help out there
you could get. Just simply ask a friend
and call them to your rescue. If you’re
scared to even do that, pick yourself up
and build confidence over a span of time.
Then finally make that call, far away
from your abuser.
Being Non-Native Growing
By Derrell Zagurski
Up on the Winnebago, NE
You look in the window of a house Reservation
from afar and see a crying teenager getting punched and kicked like they are
a beach ball by what seems an adult.
They see you walk past and threaten you
with a hand sign. You’re thinking, do I
continue walking or call some help? The
answer is call for some help because by
any means that teen is going to think
about worse things than abuse. It’s a fact
that 5 children die every day because of
child abuse, more or less than 13,700
are abused every day in the USA alone
(http://grscan.com/). These are simple
statistics about a problem that no one
wants to fully resolve yet: abuse. Just
like Dave Pelzer said “Childhood should
be carefree, playing in the sun; not living
a nightmare in the darkness of the soul.”
There are only about 7 types of abuse.
I will tell you the ones that affect people
the most. One type is called physical
abuse. That’s when a victim is choked,
punched, kicked, slapped, anything that
you can think of that is physical. Loveisrespect.org states that if you’re trying
to escape an abusive struggle, “Start by
learning that you are not alone. More
than one in 10 high school students have
already experienced some form of physical aggression from a dating partner, and
many of these teens did not know what
to do when it happened.” Another form
of abuse is sexual abuse. It’s considered
this when the abuser is always putting
you down, threatening to harm your
reputation, and the big one is rape. Verbal abuse is also a huge problem. That’s
when you are just calling people names,
verbally threatening someone. It’s a big
problem with parents to children. They
curse out their kids and blame them
for everything or criticize them. The
last abusive type I will discuss is social
abuse. You can tell social abuse very
easily just by seeing someone making a
scene towards someone else in public,
even embarrassing their mate in front of
their children. Choosing friends and family over you, not allowing you to express
your feelings. All of these are big ways
people abuse each other (http://www.
justice.gov.yk.ca/).
Now what I’m going to tell you is facts
of who abuses, why they do it, and just
basic facts about abuse for future notice.
Now if you’re not a detective or some type
of upper law enforcement, it won’t be
easy to spot an abusive person, mainly
because they will look nice and calm with
their family on the outside. But in the
lovely comfort of their home, that’s where
they start the abuse. Abuse doesn’t happen because the other partner wanted it
to happen. It happens when one partner
wants dominance over the other. Basically when one person gets all they want
in a certain way. Most abusers have low
self-esteem. They blame the partner for
the abuse that has happened. It’s not
always men that abuse women either. It
can be the other way around. It is said
that people abuse because they had a
bad life as a child and just follow their
parents. Most victims stay while getting
abused because they are scared, scared
that the abuser could do much worse
than abuse (http://www.domesticviolenceroundtable.org/abuse-victims-stay.
html).
According to The National Domestic
Violence Hotline, “If someone you love
is being abused, it can be so difficult to
know what to do. Your instinct may be
to “save” them from the relationship, but
it’s not that easy.” That being said, if you
know a friend or family member that
is a victim of abuse, there’s one thing
that can help, you have to encourage
them to be strong and talk to friends.
Their friends should be supportive and
listen, because if you are supportive and
encourage your abused friend, it could
make them feel strong and maybe stick
up for themselves or make an important
call. A big way to help an abused victim
is to be non-judgmental. Respect the decisions of your friend even if it’s not the
brightest. If you are judgmental to any-
By Cayetana Hansen
“How can you deal with the bullying
from Native kids, since you’re white?”
“You’re stupid for attending a Native
school. You’re just setting yourself up
to get bullied.” I’ve heard these questions and comments multiple times,
from other European Americans at
sports, drama and other school events.
Also from my friends from other white
communities. The people that ask these
types of questions are just jumping to
conclusions due to stereotypes. The
towns around Winnebago, NE must
learn to acknowledge Native Americans,
learn about the cultures more, and drop
the stereotypes.
The advantages about growing
up on a reservation are that living on a
reservation has been such a learning experience. I love living on the reservation.
I’ve been here since I was born. I’m so
used to the culture and being a part of
it. I normally ignore the racist comments
I sometimes hear from other European
Americans, who have said “I’m white
and I belong with white people.” It’s such
a learning experience going to powwows
and cedar burnings/blessings.
Most white people live in this
thing called a “white bubble,” sur rounded by like-minded community
members. They do not spend much
time with people who are different from
themselves. Some people even believe
that “being white is the norm,” or to be
white is “the good thing” (White People).
The problem is, seeing one culture as
the norm is a damaging idea. We need
to see diversity as a beautiful thing.
There’s so much that people can learn,
if we all just step outside our comfort
zones and stop believing all the social
media we’re exposing ourselves to. We
should focus on beautiful things such as
different languages and cultures. Some
European Americans can be blinded
about Native Americans, because of all
the stereotypes and bad things they read
on the internet.
According to the Nebraska
Commission on Indian Affairs 30% of
people living on the Winnebago reservation are white people (“Nebraska Commission”). Many people assume that
out of those 30% of non-Natives, some
of their children that attend the Winnebago Public School get bullied. What
people don’t know is that there isn’t as
much bullying on the Winnebago, NE
reservation as they make it out to be.
People are so blind they don’t realize
there is sometimes more bullying happening in their own towns than there is
on a reservation.
Personally, I have found that
students here are more accepting about
people having their own opinions on
things such as religions, skin color,
beliefs, and also LGBTQ people. I’m not
saying Winnebago Public is a “utopia,”
don’t get me wrong. There is some bullying, but not as much as people are
envisioning.
Honestly this essay isn’t to offend anyone. I just wanted to shed some
light on what it’s like growing up on a
reservation not being Native American.
Because these stereotypes are getting
ridiculous and people need to hear and
understand from people who actually
know what it’s like, instead of reading
fake news and listening to racist people.
I hope one day other non-Native kids on
the reservation don’t get asked these
types of questions. I hope one day we
can all look past the difference and look
more toward diversity, because it’s a
beautiful thing and you can learn so
much from other cultures.
Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017 — Page 9
Writing Class
The Harmful Effects
of Marijuana
By Ivory Blackbird
Has a friend or relative ever peer
pressure you into smoking marijuana,
claiming it was just a plant not a
drug or that it doesn’t really affect
your body? This accusation is false.
Although marijuana is a hemp plant
it contains a chemical called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other related
compounds. As you inhale the smoke,
THC will travel from the lungs into the
bloodstream. The blood transfers the
chemical to the brain and other organs
throughout the body causing you to feel
“high”. Many people are uneducated
about the harmful effects of marijuana,
but I’d like to take the opportunity to
discuss those facts.
Marijuana has an effect on both
short-term and long-term memory.
The immediate effects after smoking it
includes altered senses, altered sense
of time, change in mood, impaired body
movement, hallucinations, paranoia,
lowered reaction time, etc. According
to Drugsabuse.gov, Marijuana overactivates parts of the brain that contain
the highest number of these receptors.
As for long-term it affects brain development. The THC disrupts the nerve
cells in the brain, affecting memory. It
also affects impaired thinking and the
ability to learn.
Are there other dangerous effects
of marijuana? Breathing problems, increased heart rate, and problems with
child development during and after
pregnancy are all physical effects. It’s
more than likely for a marijuana user
to have a higher risk for lung cancer.
Long-term users have mental effects,
like temporary hallucinations and
paranoia. It doesn’t stop there for mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts
among teens. Heavy users tend to have
a lower life satisfaction, poorer mental
health, poor physical health, and more
relationship problems further down the
future, and also report less academic
and career success.
Is marijuana addictive and a gateway drug? Yes, it can be highly addictive. As stated by the drug-abuse
website, 30% of users may develop
some degree of problem use. Addiction
is more common for people who begin
using marijuana before the age of 18,
who then become 4 to 7 times more
likely than adults to develop problem
use. As for it being a gateway drug,
yes. It is likely to come before the use
of other drugs. People want to feel that
“first high” again and may end up trying other substances.
There is treatment for marijuana addiction. If you were a long-term user it’s
more than likely you’ll have withdrawals, such as grouchiness, sleeplessness, decreased appetite, anxiety, and
cravings. As for the harmful effects, I
hope you’ve learned something new
and think twice before you put it into
your body. It may cause damage to your
brain and body. Also the amount of
THC in marijuana has been increasing
steadily, creating more harmful effects
for users.
Dextromethorphan
By Deonna Harris
Who would ever think that teens
would abuse cold medicine? According
to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), dextromethorphan is an
over-the-counter drug that you can
buy almost anywhere (USA). Dextromethorphan is abused in high doses
by teens today, and abusing this drug
can even become deadly. According to
AbovetheInfluence.com, “In 2003, a 14year old boy in Colorado who abused
DXM died when two cars hit him as he
tried to cross a highway. Investigators
believe that taking DXM affected the
boy’s depth perception and caused him
to misjudge the distance and speed of
the oncoming vehicles” (Abovetheinfluence). In the Winnebago community
teens that abuse this drug think that
these bad things won’t happen to them.
It has happened more than once in our
community. The teens that overdosed
ended up in the hospital, some close to
dying. This is why we need to educate
the teens in our community, so they
can see what taking this drug can do to
their bodies, health, and their families.
The teens that abuse dextromethorphan can show no symptoms at all.
According to Narconon, noticing the
symptoms all depends on the amount
of DXM taken. There are four different
stages when someone abuses dextromethorphan. The first stage can make
you feel like you have been drinking.
The second stage you can begin to
imagine things that aren’t there. The
third stage your eyesight can become
blurry. The fourth stage you can lose
control of your bodily feelings (Narconon).
When a teen is abusing DXM their
personality can change. They spend
more time alone, start to act out, or
maybe even become depressed. We can
all prevent teens from abusing this drug.
It’s just so easy to get access to because
anyone can purchase it. It would be
great if all stores locked up all medicine
containing dextromethorphan or only
sold it in small quantities. At home
parents should keep all medication
containing dextromethorphan locked up
too. If people can’t get it off the street
we can make it harder for them to get
access to it.
When taking cold medicine teens
sometimes think that there is no limit
to how much you can take, so they
take way more than what they maybe
intended to take. They may not think it’s
dangerous, but actually it really is, so
dangerous that you could end up in the
hospital or even dead. Dextromethorphan is not a bad drug; it’s just getting used in the wrong way. According
to WebMD “Dextromethorphan is used
for temporary relief of coughs without
phlegm that are caused by certain infections of the air passages.”
Some teens overdose on purpose or
on accident, but it is still an overdose.
The common symptoms of overdosing are throwing up, rapid heartbeat,
feeling tired, or feelin like you can’t
walk straight, If someone you know is
experiencing these symptoms, don’t
hesitate to call 911.
The reason teens may abuse this
drug is to look cool because their
“friends” are doing it. If teens don’t get
educated about this topic they may not
know the outcome if they continue to
abuse this drug.
Once you or someone you know recognizes that you have a problem, there
are many ways to get help. You can talk
to a counselor or a trusted adult about
your addiction, and he/she can help
with ways to stay away from this drug.
It can be tough to give up something
you’ve been doing so long but you’re
not the only one. You may feel like it
is impossible but it’s not. If you believe
that you can be drug free it will happen;
all you need is help. Help is all over the
world so there’s no excuse. Don’t let this
drug be your dependant. Drop that old
life and start a new one.
To recap: DXM is easy to access. This
is a difficult drug to monitor because it’s
so readily available. The main form of
prevention is for parents to be aware of
changes in their kid’s behavior, due to
changes in the teen’s bodies and mental stability . If parents can have open
conversation with their kids about and
the effects drugs have on them, there’s
a better chance that the child will not
abuse DXM. Finally, don’t mess with
dextromethorphan because it can ruin
your life.
Why You Should Earn
a College Degree
By Evander Bass
What would you do with $100,000? If
you could be anything you wanted, what
would it be? If you had to work one job
forever, would you enjoy it? The answers
to these questions are within your reach
with one word: education. Education
is the best way to help you financially,
which opens up more opportunities in
a person’s life.
According to CollegeAtlas.org, a person who has a doctoral degree will make
up to $100,000 more annually than
someone who doesn’t have a degree.
A master’s degree is up to $63,000. A
bachelor’s degree averages $55,700 and
associate’s degree averages $42,000.
In one lifetime a doctoral and master’s
degree could earn one person up to $3.7
million more than a person who didn’t
have a degree. Although, the person has
to consider that different fields of work
will earn different amounts. For a person who has completed some college but
may not have finished, they could still
make up to $1.3 million in their lifetime.
For a person with a degree, there will
be more job opportunities. According to
CollegeAtlas.org, students who will go
on to get an associate’s and bachelor’s
degrees will have a greater range of
jobs available. Also, for ones who have
master’s and doctoral degrees the “opportunities are limitless”. For a student
that has a college degree they are more
marketable. Meaning they would have
little to a lot of experience in different
fields of work.
Job stability is also in the package
of getting a degree. People with degrees
would be safer in a job. According to CollegeAtlas.org, during a recession where
employers start letting employees go,
employers usually let go of people “at
the bottom of the totem pole”. By having
a degree you are more secured. Along
with job stability comes benefits. Higher
educated people can receive higher tier
benefits. This can not only benefit you
but also your children.
Imagine every work field there is-there is a top tier employee. From
teaching to engineers every one of those
people are making good money while
enjoying the job they do. This is a perfect example of job opportunities and
job stability. Thus one individual who
enjoys what they do is making as much
money as they can while tying into the
maximum amount of money you could
earn with a degree. Earning a degree
can and will benefit you in the long run.
Just get out there and do it!
Eating Unhealthy/
Diabetes
By D’Von LaPointe
Eating unhealthy can lead to very
bad things. For example, it can make
you sick and even kill you. Just think of
walking down a junk food aisle: all that
bad food can lead to poor health, and
you can die at a lower age. It can cause
a disease called “diabetes”. “About one
third of all people with diabetes do not
know they have the disease. Diabetes
is the leading cause of blindness in
working-age adults,” according to the
Joslin Diabetes Center (Joslin Diabetes
Center). On the Winnebago Reservation,
diabetes is all over. The people of the
Winnebago Tribe need to realize what
eating unhealthy can do to you.
Eating unhealthy can lead to diabetes
and diabetes can lead to death. Diabetes is a disease, and you cannot get rid
of it. If you don’t take care of yourself
and eat healthy, you may have some
body parts amputated. According to the
World Health Organization in 2005, “1.1
million people died from diabetes, the
full impact is much larger.” The World
Health Organization also said that “type
2 diabetes accounts for around 90% of
all diabetes worldwide” (Dambeck).
Our people of the Winnebago Tribe
have a history with diabetes, and many
people have the disease. We need to
work together and encourage each
other to stop eating unhealthy and fight
diabetes. We can also hope someone
finds a cure, but no one knows when
that day might come. Change needs to
happen not just for our tribe. This goes
for everyone that eats unhealthy or has
diabetes. We need to eat healthy and
take care of ourselves.
Diabetes has taken my grandfather
away, and because of that I will never
know him. Now diabetes has a hold of
my father. My father was always too
busy taking care of our family and never
really took care of himself. He always
made sure my brothers and I always got
what we needed and he still does. The
summer of 2016 diabetes got the best
of him. From the knee all the way down
to his foot, he got it amputated. Before
this he got his left big toe amputated off.
It was a rough summer for our family
but we still got through it. These types
of things will change your life because it
definitely did for our family. The feeling
is horrible when you see your own father
lying on a hospital bed. Being his son
and having to put up with it isn’t a feeling you ever want to have. I encourage
you all to take care of yourselves and be
grateful for the things you have.
Diabetes is something you cannot
joke around about. Eating unhealthy
can cause a lot of bad things. What it did
to my grandfather and what it is doing
to my father, you do not want that to
happen to one of your family members.
Be grateful for the things you have.
Many people out there have lost many
because of diabetes. So think twice next
time before you start to eat unhealthy.
I think this is one of the most important pieces I have ever written. I’d say
this is like top 5 at least. I want to thank
Palmer for preparing me to write this
essay. She gave out all the information
and resources we needed to get these
essays done.
Diabetes in Native Culture
Diabetes is so big in the Native culture to me. To me there is some diabetes
in my family, for example my grandpa.
He always has to watch what he eats,
and if he eats something too sweet his
blood pressure goes up. Sometimes
diabetes doesn’t seem too bad, but other
times it could be really bad towards
some people. The main idea of my topic
is how serious the percentage of diabetes is in the Native culture. It is time
for the Winnebago people to start doing
more to prevent diabetes from being in
the community.
First of all, we need to know of what
all causes type 2 diabetes. First is not
eating the right kind of food. If you just
eat junk food all day for a long period of
time you are going to end up with diabetes. Second is not keeping your body
in shape. If you get over weight there
is going to be a chance that you might
have diabetes. Endocrineweb.com says
that type 2 diabetes can be caused by
Insulin resistance. A lack of exercise can
cause diabetes and having unhealthy
meal plans to your food schedule, being
overweight or being obese. Many people
who are not overweight also develop
type 2 diabetes though, so be sure to
watch your eating habits whether you
are overweight or not.
According to the American Diabetes
Association, another cause sometimes
is being depressed. When some people
are depressed, they eat to get things off
their mind. Some people might do other
things that might cause diabetes. Drugs
and Alcohol can also cause diabetes.
Some people do a lot of drugs and they
have a chance to get it. Diabetes is really scary and some people don’t take it
as serious. “95%— Percent of American
Indians and Alaska Natives with diabetes who have type 2 diabetes” -ADA
Sometimes diabetes can also be in
your family and it could be passed down
through your DNA.
Eating healthy is a very big step that
can help you avoid getting diabetes. In
my opinion more people need to start
selling healthier food in stores. Our
economy needs to stop going to fast
food restaurants. Some people need to
go to help/prevention places to help
them avoid diabetes. Also people need
to have more controlled diets because
some people can get really out of control and that can also cause it. In the
Native culture, if a person has diabetes
they can go way back and follow our old
traditions. In my opinion that would be
the best way to avoid it.
Encouraging people more about
eating healthy is another great way to
help avoid diabetes or if they do have
it control their eating. We need to support each other rather than encourage
each other to eat the unhealthy foods.
Some people help other people and give
ideas on how to eat and have controlled
diets. I think that it is a great idea to
help people avoid all that trouble. Honestly we just need to have more salad
restaurants. If you want to be on a diet
you can get on the internet and look up
any certain types of diets that maybe
you might be interested in. There are a
lot of people in the world that are willing
to take the time out of their life just to
help somebody else with trying to avoid
getting diabetes.
According to the ADA less than 100
years ago diabetes was unknown to our
Native culture. Diabetes came into Indian country when World War II began.
Today, “American Indians and Alaska
Natives now have the highest diabetes
prevalence rates of all racial and ethnic groups in the United States.” -Sue
McLaughlin
If we don’t try and avoid all this
diabetes in our culture it is going to
get really out of control and absolutely
destroy our culture and environment. If
this continues it will be the responsibility of generations now that already has
diabetes! We need to act fast so YOUR
children or grandchildren will not have
it and have to suffer like everybody now
that has it.
Winnebago IHS Hospital
By Jaylen Harden
If Winnebago would lose the IHS
hospital, how would the tribe of Winnebago look like? The town would be
full of sick people. The members of the
tribe would have to go all the way up to
Sioux City just to get examined. Many
people would have to go all the way to
the IHS hospitals in Lincoln or Santee
to receive their medications or get their
basic check ups. The town’s population
would drop significantly because there
is no hospital; people would move away
left and right. Why I’m saying this is
because the community of Winnebago
needs to learn about the challenges at
the IHS hospital so that they are more
knowledgeable on the issue.
According to an article in the Sioux
City Journal by Dolly A. Butz, the main
problem with the hospital is that they
have really slow waiting times. What
I mean by this is that the doctors
and nurses are just slow to get you
examined and slow to get you out of
the hospital, especially in the ER. So
because of all this slow waiting time,
people have been getting sick and have
lost their lives because of this. Some
of the patients they had to treat failed
to receive the proper health care they
need. All of this happens because the
physicians and nurses need more training for their jobs. Some of the nurses
don’t know what they’re doing because
of how much experience they have
with their jobs. Instead of receiving the
proper training the nurses treated patients with the level of experience they
had (siouxcityjournal.com).
This situation is serious enough that
it caused a death. Butz states that in
spring of 2014 a 35 year old man died
because of breathing problems he had.
Because of poor training the nurses
failed to check his oxygen levels and
the nurses never told the patient he
was getting worse. Later on that night
the patient died. This death was serious
enough that it caused many people to
sue the hospital and it caused many
news stories to break out. A former
nurse who used to work at the IHS
hospital named Tonie Greve decided
she would speak out against problems
at the hospital (Sioux City Journal).
I think it is important to fix the
hospital because it’s closer for the
community and other tribes to get to.
If you need refills on your medication,
the pharmacy is there to refill them.
Another reason why it’s important to
fix the hospital is because if there’s an
emergency, it’ll be way faster to get to
the local IHS hospital if you live in or
near the community. The last and main
reason why we need to fix the hospital
Page 10 — Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Miss Palmers
Winnebago IHS Hospital
continued...
is that many people who do work
at the hospital would lose their jobs.
Look at it this way, if we were to fix the
IHS hospital, many job offers would
be open.
Think of it this way, if Winnebago
was to fix the hospital and got rid of
all of the employees who don’t have the
right amount of training and brought
new nurses and doctors in that are
highly trained, would our hospital be
as good as other hospitals? Or, is it
possible to keep some of the best staff
and give them the better training they
deserve? Think about it: if we were to
fix the hospital, it will set a good example on the tribe, as well as for other
struggling hospitals in the country. It
is time for the people of Winnebago
to learn as much we can about our
hospital’s problems so we can do everything possible to keep the Winnebago
IHS open.
Having good mental
helps you live better.
Here’s why.
By Laura Neff
“Caring for the MIND is just as crucial as caring for the BODY. In fact, one
cannot be healthy without the other.”
~Sid Garza Hillman.
Not many people in today’s society
like to, or choose to realize that their
mental well-being is just as important
as their physical well-being. When
you get sick or have a cold, you do
everything you can to make it go away
or prevent it from getting worse. It
causes distress and no one wants
it to metastasize. But, what about a
mental-illness? If a person were to
be depressed or feel helpless in their
everyday life, chances are, you’re just
going to diagnose yourself with a ‘badday.’ But what if that ‘bad day’ turns
into a ‘bad week’ or a ‘bad month?’
Still going to think it’ll get better soon
and keep doing what you’re doing?
It’s important that we learn to take
care of our mental health because it
does positively impact our lives when
treated right.
Mental health is a very important
aspect of life, but first of all, what is
bad mental health and how do we know
we have it? Well, according to Healthed.
gov, “The word ‘Mental’ means ‘to do
with the mind.’ ‘Mental illness’ is a
term that refers to a group of illnesses
that affect a person’s mind.” Furthermore “There are many different types
of mental illness. Some people may
experience a mental illness once, and
then fully recover. Others require ongoing treatment” (Healthed.gov).
Bad mental health could translate
to one of the most common mental illnesses known as depression. Depression is when one is sad or unsatisfied
with life. Most say that this sadness
has to last around more than two
weeks before you know that you are
depressed. Many books and magazines
publish things like quizzes to help
people determine if they are depressed
or not. If you notice yourself doing
more of the three following activities,
you are probably not mentally healthy,
or enjoying life as much as you could.
Symptoms of depression may not be
as obvious as a headache or stomach
ache. Some hardly mentioned symptoms are arriving late to work or school,
calling in sick when you just don’t feel
up to it, or, if another person may be
depending on you to take care of them
and you can’t help but to wake up,
dreading your duties. Your own wellbeing comes before others and not many
people like to think that statement is
true (Healthcentral.com).
When someone starts to realize that
they need to take care of themselves
better, normally it takes a while to
come to a decision on whether they
want to keep doing what they’re doing,
or take action on bettering themselves.
When they choose to go about the
method of bettering themselves, it may
happen suddenly. People change with
no big announcement as to why. That
is exactly how depression creeps up
on you. You may have always had it,
that thought of ‘should I or shouldn’t
I?’ Eventually there’s something that
triggers that ‘I should,’ or in this case
‘I’m depressed and I need help.’ There
are many types of ways you could
help yourself, simple steps to take.
For example:
Reach out and stay connected to
supportive people
Do things that make you feel good—
even when you don’t feel like it
Move vigorously during the day—
don’t sit for more than an hour
Learn about the mood-boosting
benefits of omega-3 fats
Get a daily dose of sunlight
Challenge negative thinking
Learn
more
by
reading the related articles
(Helpguide.org)
However, it isn’t all that easy to
do it all by yourself. There are many
worlds of therapy out there; it’s not
always just sitting on a couch or an
uncomfortable chair talking to someone
you don’t know. The most common type
of therapy that is brought about by a
professional psychologist is ‘psychotherapy.’ “Psychotherapy (sometimes called
“talk therapy”) is a term for a variety of
treatment techniques that aim to help
a person identify and change troubling
emotions, thoughts, and behavior.
Most psychotherapy takes place with
a licensed and trained mental health
care professional and a patient meeting one on one or with other patients in
a group setting” (www.nimh.nih.gov).
But, that’s not your only option.
Maybe you’re an aggressive person:
when you’re sad you get aggressive.
There are many therapists who suggest anger management. You may not
be angry, but that stress has built
up and caused you to feel the need
to punch or kick something, and it is
easy to find methods to deal with the
stress that is put upon you, Ex: Stress
ball. There are all kinds of movement
therapies that could be used to calm you
physically as well, Ex: Dance therapy.
Other types for people who may
need to calm their mind more than their
body are journal therapy, art therapy,
music therapy, and even hypnotherapy.
So many opportunities. It doesn’t have
to be time consuming. Repairing mental health is a process, a process that
could take as long or little time as you
want. It’s really all up to you, whether
you like your mental state as is, maybe
only after a week of one-hour sessions
you feel on top of the world. Good mental health means that you are satisfied
with your life, how you spend your time
and don’t compare yours to others.
Here is a more in depth definition: “Mental health is defined as a state
of well-being in which every individual
realizes his or her own potential, can
cope with the normal stresses of life, can
work productively and fruitfully, and is
able to make a contribution to her or his
community” (who.int). That being said,
as long as you can cope and not feel like
you’re struggling to keep up with what
life throws at you, you’re doing it right.
The truth is, you’re definitely not going
to feel or be 100% all of the time because
there are downfalls in everyone’s life
here and there. I hope that now that I
have informed you about all of this, you
can tell the difference between one little
slip and when you’re fighting to even
stand up, and are able to help yourself.
Good Mental health is a great
thing to have. It makes you feel like life
has a purpose. Which it does, but many
people believe that we aren’t even supposed to be here, so why are we? ‘Why
am I?’ You don’t have to feel that way.
Enjoy what we have, whether it was all
by accident or not, because we have a
role in this life. That role is to make a life
worth living for, for you, and for others,
and feel great about it.
Ocean Pollution
By Shatecia Thomas
According to wwf.panda.org, “80%
of ocean pollution comes from land”. It
is time for humanity to have a wakeup
call about the damage that is being
done to this important resource. Ocean
pollution can cause a lot of damage to
marine life, some of which we depend
on for food and even the oxygen of this
planet. Some of the things that affect
the ocean and cause pollution are
sewage disposal, oil, “sea of garbage”,
toxic chemicals, and so on (panda.org).
Ocean pollution is a topic everybody
needs to be aware of because it affects
more than marine life; it affects human
lives as well.
What is ocean pollution? According
to oceanservice.noaa.org, “Pollution is
the introduction of harmful contaminants that are outside the norm for a
given ecosystem.” “Man-made pollutants”, like plastic, herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, go into local
waters or runoff into the ocean when it
rains. The biggest cause of ocean pollutants is called nonpoint source pollution
(oceanservice.noaa.gov). Many of these
pollutants end up at the bottom of the
ocean, “small marine organisms” eat
them, and the food chain continues,
then it gets to us. Plastic kills fish, birds
and other marine life. It also destroys
habitats. Did you know that about
30% of the CO2 that humans make,
the ocean absorbs it (alternet.org)? The
ocean is absorbing our trash as well as
our CO2 emissions.
Who does this affect? It can affect
not only marine life, but humans as
well. If the ocean “dies” we’d lose about
70% of our oxygen. Marine phytoplankton, small marine plants that grow on
the surface of the ocean, provide that
oxygen for us. Phytoplankton also faces
an “adapt or die” scenario in the near
future (within a few hundred years or
less).
The trash we dump into the ocean
comes back to us. Do you know how
long some of this garbage takes to
degrade in water? Plastic takes up to
400 years, foam takes about 50 years,
aluminum takes up to 200 years, Sty-
rofoam takes 80 years, newspaper 6
weeks, and cardboard take 2 weeks
(Planetaid.org). The sources that cause
ocean pollution can affect us too. Pesticides, lead and other heavy metals found
in polluted water can cause problems
with your hormones, kidneys, reproductive system, and nervous system.
There’s a way that helps prevent
this, of course recycling, but is that it?
We also need laws, such as the Marine
Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries
Act (MPRSA). The MPRSA is also known
as the Ocean Dumping Act. It prohibits
transportation of material from the United States, territorial sea, flagged vessels
and agencies of the U.S., from ocean
dumping (epa.gov). The Clean Water Act
(CWA) authorizes the basic structure
for regulating discharges of pollutants
into the waters of the United States and
regulating quality standards for surface
waters (epa.gov). Is that enough to help
limit ocean pollution?
Is there more we can do other than
just having an awareness of what’s going on? You should be able to say, “I
know what ocean pollution is.” But even
better, you should be able to say, “I’ve
done something to help cease ocean
pollution”--from recycling, to turning
away from plastic bottles or plastic
bags, to picking up trash by local water
sources. You can even help by donating
to an organization that fights ocean pollution if you are able. Any gesture helps.
For example, just recently there was a
protest against a pipeline in North Dakota, because thousands of tribal members and protesters from all over the
country didn’t want oil in our water. A
lot of people, including Winnebago, NE,
get their water from the Missouri River
that will be affected by this pipeline. The
protesters made a saying: “Can’t drink
oil; keep it in the ground.” So make a
stand against water pollution, the way
these protesters did against that pipeline. Always remember that what goes
in our water always comes back to affect
us humans eventually. Be inspired to
protect this resource in whatever way
you can.
Recognizing Eating
Disorders
By Gabriela Aldrich
There once was a young girl I used
to know. People bullied her for being
weird, but mostly she was overweight.
In 3rd grade, she didn’t like the way she
looked. Each day she hated herself and
how she wished she was different. The
girl wanted to change her size but each
time she tried to lose weight nothing
happened. So she started to force herself to throw up to go home. The girl had
been doing it day after day. She didn’t
know what she was doing or what this
would lead to. Until one day her teacher
started to talk to the class about eating
disorders. The girl stopped, but it was
hard for her to hold food down. Years
went by and she was still struggling with
it. Until she was 14 she stopped eating,
and her friends started to worry about
her. They asked her “what’s wrong? Why
aren’t you eating? You’re losing a lot of
weight and you look sick ” The girl’s
mother said the same thing. All the girl
said was “I’m not hungry”. Two months
went by, and she started to feel shaky
and sick. She tried to eat but it wouldn’t
stay down. Finally she looked in the mirror and saw herself. One year later, she
was eating healthy and losing weight in
the good way. Till this day she loves the
way she feels and looks about herself.
This young lady is me, Gabriela Aldrich.
What is an eating disorder? There is
no one description for what an eating
disorder is because they take many
forms. People who have eating disorders
often are concerned with how they look
on the outside. This can lead to mental
health problems and “abnormal or disturbed eating habits” (oxforddictionaries.com).
What can cause it? Low self esteem,
feelings of not being good enough, lack
of control in their lives, depression,
anxiety, anger, stress of loneliness and
so on. These disorders are a common
painful struggle & it’s important to educate yourself and ask for help.
Eating Disorders are complex
disorders. Sometimes an eating disorder can be passed down by the parents’
genetics. They can develop irregular
hormones that mess up their mind and
the way they think of what they look
like or how others see them. The lack
of nutrition from what kinds of food
they need to eat and how much begins
to affect brain health as well and make
eating disorders more difficult to treat.
The way a person thinks of themselves and just discourages themselves
by comparing to others also creates
challenges. Mostly seeing models on
TV like Victoria’s Secret and other
people that have “the perfect body” that
makes them beautiful/ handsome can
give people struggling with an eating
disorder more excuses not to eat in a
healthy way. People who are losing a
lot of weight fast are at risk of eating
disorders.
Having a dysfunctional family can
cause a person to act strange and develop this illness due to anxiety. Things
like that can make the person think
they’re the reason why everything goes
bad or it’s their fault for the problems
in the family.
How can we recognize an eating
disorder? Anyone that’s suffering from
eating disorders may reveal several
signs and symptoms like chronic dieting. They constantly check their weight
, and they have an obsession with calories and fat that are in the food they eat.
They have eating patterns such as cutting food into tiny pieces, eating alone,
and/or hiding food, obsessions with
food, recipes, or cooking. The individual
may cook intricate meals for others but
doesn’t take any of it. Some avoid social
interaction and keep to themselves,
but with others some can switch from
overeating to fasting, or won’t eat at all.
You can tell by the way they move and
look; their skin will be pale, hair loss,
brittle nails, dark circles around eyes,
weak, some may shake a lot.
How to get help for this? You
can go to your hospital to get medical
care and monitoring. Go see a therapist
or someone you can trust and will help
you. Get a nutrition book and do it on
your own, or you can get on medications to help you better yourself.
Are you or someone you know slowly
killing yourself to be accepted, to fit in,
to be beautiful/handsome? Don’t let
anyone make you feel like you have to
skinny to be wanted. If someone says
anything about your weight or size tell
them, “My body will change only if I say
so. Don’t be bringing your negativity to
me and try to make me down, thinking
you’re so perfect”. Nobody is perfect so
why try to be? Love yourself. Love the
way you look and feel, because at the
end of the day it’s your body.
The Future Generation
of Winnebago
By Helene Cox
The Children of Winnebago--most
of us do not know of our Native heritage or what it truly means. If we as a
community have no elders around to
teach us, what will we do? Will we try
to learn at the very last minute or will
we learn now? Learning about our Native heritage is important. It’s not just
a part of history; it’s a part of us. Our
history is important. Without it we are
nothing. As the younger generation we
must learn about our history; if we do
not we will be lost without it. That’s why
the younger generation of Winnebago
people should learn more about our
Native American history & language to
become the strong elders for the next
generation to come.
Many people are fluent in their own
language. Some of the kids here in the
Winnebago community are speaking
fluently, but the other half are having
trouble with the language. There are
kids who can understand what their
family members are saying in HoChunk, but they cannot speak it back.
Kids can understand phrases or words
that are being spoken in Ho-Chunk,
but they can’t speak it. The people of
our community want us younger generation to learn about the old ways but
can’t because there aren’t many people
who can speak our language. Our language is something we can’t just take
for granted. It’s not just a part of our
history. It’s also a part of who we are
as nation.
According to the author Gauri Dushi she believes that a child can easily learn their mother-tongue if they
are exposed to it from a young age.
When they speak this language with
family, relatives, and friends, it helps
them form social groups and bonds.
She also states, “The teaching of the
mother tongue is important because
on it depends the growth of our pupils”
(Dushi). Teaching the language is also
about teaching our cultural knowledge.
If our generation were to learn our HoChunk language now, we could have a
better chance at keeping our language
alive and pass it on to our kids. Then
they could pass it on to their kids , so
it could continue.
According to The Language Conservancy there are a number of languages
that are spoken around the world,
including our own, Ho-Chunk. Since
the 1950s languages around the globe
have been steadily declining and are
still continuing to decrease. There are
6,000 spoken languages on the planet,
except 43% are considered endangered
and if we continue on how we are now,
half of them will be gone in the next 100
years. “We will never know what was
lost to the world - what ideas, what concepts, what stories - when those speech
communities died”. Over the last 400
years The Native American Language
has been decreasing, over 200 of the
Native American languages are extinct
and others are on the verge of extinction (Chaplin). What would happen to
us as a community if we were to lose
that which is a part of us?
I believe that with the support of the
people in our community, we can help
Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017 — Page 11
Writing Class
those who want to learn how to
speak the Native American language.
With that help we can educate the
younger generation, by teaching the
importance of our language. Because
so many languages are going extinct
or are on the verge of extinction, we
should do something now (BendfeldtDiaz). We must become the new generation to help those understand the
language and why it is so important
to us--why it is a part of who we are.
and spend time with each other. It was
common for whole families to know how
to put teepees up, build a fire, and be
grateful for what they had. Sometimes
I think about what our ancestors would
say about how we are living our lives
today because they sacrificed so much
for our people to survive.
Improve the Winnebago
Community
By Caden Cleveland
We Should Learn
Our Culture
By Kainyn Cariaga
When I was 15 years old I went to
sweat with my brother Christian. I
really didn’t know what to do at first
until he showed me what to do, and I
learned a lot about sweat. When I first
went in a sweat hut I was kind of scared
because I thought it would get too hot
for me or if it would be hard to breath
in the hut. I was surprised I lasted all
four rounds and didn’t ask to get out. I
learned to pray for everyone. We should
learn and use our Winnebago language
and culture more to feel a sense of pride
and wellbeing in the community.
As Ho-Chunks one of the first most
important topics we should learn
about in our history is to know where
we came from. The Winnebago people
were known as “Big Fish People,” or
as the French called the Winnebagos,
“People of the Sea,” according to David
Smith. Some theories are the Winnebago people migrated from Middle
America around 1,000 B.C. from the
Olmec civilization. The Winnebago
people arrived in Northern Kentucky
and Tennessee around 500 B.C. Due
to warfare, around 200 A.D. to 300
A.D. the Indian Knoll Siouans were
on the move. Later they developed in
Illinois and Wisconsin. According to
Lee Sultzman, “The Winnebago spread
south afterwards along the Wisconsin
and Rock Rivers into southern Wisconsin eventually claiming a portion
of northwestern Illinois.” After 1825,
settlers started to take over the land in
Wisconsin. Winnebago people lost their
land quickly. Sultzman states that, “By
1840 the Winnebago had ceded their
Wisconsin land and agreed to move to
northeast Iowa” (dickshovel.com).The
second topic our young people should
learn more about is our language and
culture so we can keep our ways going
and feel connected to each other. Before
the Europeans we depended on hunting and the gathering of natural products for our food, tools, weapons, and
clothing. Some bands of Winnebagos
became horticulturists, raising corn,
squash, and beans. When making a
warm place to live in the men and
women would help build a lodge. The
men would cut poles for the framework
of the wigwams and collected birchbark
for the roofs. The women would tie
together reed mats, and with rolls of
bark they covered the hut, according
to David Smith.
We as a tribe need to keep our culture and language alive. Our Winnebago language is “intimately related to
Oto, Iowa, and Missouri, more distantly
to Dakota, and still more distantly to
Ponca” according to www.accessgenealogy.com/native/winnebago-tribe.htm.
Our culture was identical with those
of Sauk, and Foxes, Menominee, and
other tribes. We had almost identical
bead work, clothing, arms, moccasins, and cooking utensils. According
to www.accessgenealogy.com/native/
winnebago-tribe.htm, the Winnebago
had a number of villages, those whose
names are known as:
Prairie la Crosse
Sarrochau
Spotted Arm’s village
Village du Puant
Wuckan
Yellow Thunder.
We as young people need to take
more initiative in learning our culture
and keeping our language fluent within
our tribe. We should all be proud of who
we are and where we come from, but
to be proud is to know and understand
our history. Another thing I think is we
as youth should also get involved in
sweats, the Native American Church,
singing, dancing, beading, and other
Native American traditions. It’s up to
us youth to keep our traditions and
culture alive. Our children deserve to
know our rich history and we are going
to be the ones to pass our traditions on.
In conclusion my experience when
I went to sweat with my brother made
me feel peaceful and connected to my
forefathers. I understand why people
go back. I’m glad my brother shared
that experience with me. This is why
I feel it’s important to know and experience our culture. It can make you
feel one with nature and our people.
Today everyone is consumed by social
media and technology, and we miss out
on cultural experiences that happen
around us every day. Before technology
we used to hunt together, eat together,
I’ve been told by some of the older
generations what Winnebago used
be like. It had run down buildings.
The roads had a lot of potholes. The
Winnebago hospital was smaller. The
football field was real grass instead of
turf grass. Houses that were getting old
could barely stand up. Dogs roamed
all over the town because there were
no dog catchers at the time. Kids were
out late at night. There were no security
officers to tell them to get home and no
curfew time.
Now, Winnebago is one of the best
towns to come to in the area. It’s busy
every day, cars come in and out. The
people here are somewhat friendlier
than I remember growing up. We have
a nice hospital. It’s one of the biggest
hospitals in the county. There are
much more places to hang out at for
the kids. Such as a basketball court
called “the slab”, along with the Boys
and Girls Club, and the Blackhawk
Center. Winnebago has two successful
selling restaurants: Daga’s Mexican
grill and Native Star. Winnebago also
has three good looking parks. The one
by the Dollar General attracts the most
kids and the Boys and Girls Club is
second. These are just some of the improvements that Winnebago has made
from the past. To make sure we keep
moving further ahead into the future
the Winnebago community needs to
continue improving & expanding to
bring more people to Winnebago and
keep the youth out of trouble.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), some towns are
trying to compete with the bigger cities.
They’re trying to build new buildings
and put in some popular restaurants.
Put in a few parks and swimming pools
so they can try to bring in more visitors
and even try to put their own town on
the map to grow their economy (EPA).
A few things that Winnebago needs
is about one or two popular restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King,
and Wendy’s. If we want to consider a
healthier option we can build a Subway
or a restaurant with homemade meals.
This would give more job openings
for the Winnebago people. Even more
food choices for the people instead of
Native Star and Daga’s Mexican Grill.
That would be nice for the people of
Winnebago. Plus I think it would make
Winnebago less boring. Because I’ve
been told by the LPTC players that Winnebago is just too plain and has nothing. So they just go up to Sioux City
for fast food like McDonald’s and go
shopping at the mall. And that’s making them wish they were back home. I
just want them to think Winnebago is
another home for them too. Winnebago
with a few more restaurants would even
get more travelers every day, not just
during pow-wow time in the summer
but year round.
One thing that will definitely bring
people in is a Family Fun Center, don’t
you think? That would be the place
where all the youth would hang out at
for sure. It would have a little movie
theater in it along with laser tag, some
trampolines. It would be a great place
to have birthdays and special occasions. The Boys & Girls Club could
use it if the club is getting too full with
kids because the Boys & Girls Club gets
overcrowded at times. A Family Fun
Center would be the most popular work
site for the Summer Youth Workers. I
think a Family Fun Center would add
a variety of things to do and places to
work for our community.
The only thing that would be a problem to try and build all this is getting
the land, money, and the motivation
from the people to help. It cost at least
$125,000 to build a small size restaurant. (restaurantowner.com) Another
thing is where to build the building?
Where is a good place where it will attract people to come to it? Where would
it take less space at? The town will need
the motivation from its community to
clean up around the place so the people
would have a nice clean space to build
at. And to keep it clean after they build
the building so they have a nice place
to hang out.
Now that I showed you what the
community of Winnebago can come to
or look like, I would want you the people
of Winnebago to make it happen so we
can have a nice place for our youth and
college athletes to hang out at, making Winnebago known as a city where
people would like to come to instead
of using it as a highway, cars coming
in and out. Let’s just all stand up and
make Winnebago a nice community.
Drugs & Alcohol Is
No Life Style
According to the National Council
on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence
(NCADD) they say “drugs and alcohol
are the leading causes of crime among
youth,” and even teenage suicide is affected by drug and alcohol use (ncadd.
org). They also said, “23 million people
over the age of 12 are addicted to alcohol and other drugs, affecting millions
more people, spouses, children, family
members, friends neighbors and colleagues at work” (ncadd.org). Not everyone does drugs and alcohol. Choosing
a better lifestyle is your option: no-one
makes your choices for you. There are
a lot more choices out there than drugs
and alcohol, not just here but all over
the country, and our youth can do a
lot better.
In my opinion, I think DXM, marijuana, and alcohol are the most commonly used drugs and alcohol that are
on this reservation. According to facts
from DrugAbuse.com, the drug DXM,
which comes in the form of cough syrup
capsules, can cause you to feel “nausea
and have prolonged vomiting, sweating,
numbness, dizziness, hypertension,
quickened heart rate, and seizures”
(drugabuse.com). DXM is especially
dangerous for people who use it with
alcohol at the same time.
People in Winnebago have a laid back
attitude about marijuana, but this can
be an addicting drug too. Young people,
I’ve seen using it can get addicted, and
it starts to cause problems later in their
lives. The use of marijuana is bad for a
pregnant mother, and smoking pot at a
young age is bad for the brain. Smoking marijuana on the daily and every
once in a while are two whole different
stories. People who smoke every day do
it probably just to get through the day
or saying it’s just medicine when they
aren’t even sick.
Doing drugs and alcohol can have
many side effects on your little young
body. I honestly think people are less attractive when they choose this lifestyle.
If you do drugs and drink alcohol and
adults know you do, they’ll probably see
you as a bad influence to their younger
relatives your age and won’t like you
around. You might think doing these
things must make you cool, but it actually messes you up. It’ll mess with your
head, make you trip over stuff, etc. Let’s
see how cool you really look when you
have no friends.
Try not to live this lifestyle because
there are plenty more things to do other
than trying to look cool or avoid being
bored by doing drugs or drinking alcohol. People look sad to me when they
are doing this on the daily. Avoid the
people who are negative influences, even
if it’s loved ones. It may not be easy,
but people have done it before and it’s
not impossible either. Avoid contact as
much as you can until they are willing
to better themselves. This sounds easy
from a third person perspective, but
you can do it if you want it bad enough.
Here is another way of trying to avoid
peer pressure: sports. Never done it? Try
it, something to avoid the bad influences
on you. I’m pretty sure this will be one
way to keep you away from drugs and
alcohol, and can also keep you out of
trouble.
Well not everyone is an athlete or
wants to be one, so there are plenty
more activities to do. Just don’t be one
of those people that choose the drugs
and alcohol lifestyle. Maybe try out for
speech or the one-act at school. Audition for the dance team or the musical,
maybe even the talent show. Try to
express yourself through art or writing.
Pick up an instrument or learn to rap.
You young people should have goals for
yourselves or should be worrying about
school. Go to school and learn about
these drugs and their side effects. Also
going to school you might find the right
people to hang out with, and they might
be having the same interest as you such
as your goals.
Our youth shouldn’t be choosing this
lifestyle without a doubt, they should
easily be focusing on the simple stuff,
especially school. These young kids are
our future, and drugs and alcohol could
possibly take their lives. Many kids
probably do not realize how dangerous
DXM or alcohol can be. These kids don’t
know that alcohol can kill you. According to ProjectKnow.com, “Nearly 17
million people in United States struggle
with alcohol addiction” (projectknow.
com). It is also one of the most lethal
drugs. Drinking alcohol can really mess
up your body, I think people that drink
probably use it for the same reasons
they use for smoking and that’s to get
through the day or to avoid boredom.
If you already are choosing this lifestyle, please make a change. Old or not,
try to make a change for yourself and
make a good role model for the younger
people. If you don’t choose this lifestyle,
keep it up. Don’t make a change because
it makes you “cool.” Encourage others
to stop, step up and help. I suggest you
listen to what I had to say, I don’t want
any young lives to be taken by this
lifestyle. My prediction is if you choose
this lifestyle, it will cost you your life
because you want to be “cool”. Even if
you are lucky and escape death, who
wants to lose friends because you will
most likely be a bad influence? Take my
advice and be wise about your choices.
Thanks for hearing what I had to say
about drugs and alcohol.
Relationships
B y
E l i j a h
F r a z i e r
M o d e r n V a l u e s
A relationship is something to value a lot more
than something to have
like it’s a new toy you just got.
S u r e ,
i t ’ s
a l l
f u n
to be in a relationship,
but do you really know how to be in one?
to actually get through hard times,
to know love isn’t a word to say right away,
to build a future with another person,
to treat them as an actual person,
to make a sacrifice for them,
to make them happy no matter the cost?
Instead of just using them,
as a time waster, a sex object,
to show off how you got a hot one,
or to make an ex jealous, for money,
the reputation they have,
using them to get over another.
It’s pathetic how everything is nowadays
for the young to think they know more
than the ones who actually know,
people letting their friends and/
or family encourage them to cheat,
how people are just ignoring the problem.
Relationships are being used as if they’re
just something to play with as toys
and throw away because
they lost a feeling about it.
Everyone needs to learn
to value their relationship.
T r u e
L o v e
Love at first sight: seeing someone
you instantly fall in love with--yeah
t h a t ’ s
n o t
r e a l .
It never was nor will it ever be.
Love never comes just like that.
It comes when it’s right,
not the first month, second,
t h i r d , n o t e v e n a y e a r.
It always takes time to develop that kind of affection.
Never think about love at first sight
because you just saw them for looks
and never for who they are.
Get to know them more
before you regret the relationship
and end up leaving them,
wasting their time and yours.
Don’t go for only looks, not
even just the personality.
Neither one should matter because if you want them,
you shouldn’t care what they listen to,
what their hobbies are, what they watch,
their sexuality, their past,
their wealth, their genes,
their body. Accept everything about them,
because you never know how it’ll turn out-Yo u m a y l e a r n a w h o l e n e w
experience
and
change
into someone better than who
you wer e befor e you met them.
A c c e p t a n c e
Know if they’ll make you happy:
will they support you during life?
hold you back on your goals on life?
or someone who will stay
by you the whole time.
Make sure you do the same with them
because otherwise you’ll
end up being the problem
without you even knowing when it’s too late.
Get to know everything about them,
earn their trust and never break it,
accept the dark things about them.
Accept what they’ve done. Repair them if they are broken
instead of breaking them even more.
Alcohol In The Lives
Of Adolescents
By Alexandrea Flanders
A teenager is faced every day with
the struggle of alcohol in their life. They
wonder when their mother will quit drinking or when their father will take their
siblings, so they won't have to see their
mother struggle. Nearly every person they
know has been affected by alcohol. Their
parents divorced when they were eight
years old. Their grandmother had an affair
with their grandfather because she was
intoxicated. Their uncle died due to him
drinking while driving when they were 11.
Their aunt caught cirrhosis because she
was an alcoholic when they were 15. Their
mom at least once every three months is
involved in a car accident. Their father
almost committed suicide when they were
12 because he was drunk and fighting
with his girlfriend. They were close to
being violated by a family member when
they were 13 because their mother was
drinking with intoxicated family members.
They want to live in an alcohol-free world
someday, that way nobody will have to
go through life with problems caused by
alcohol.
Page 12 — Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Tribal Council
Alcohol is regularly exposed to children under the age of 18 daily. From
the T.V. shows they watch, to their idols
posting pictures of them with a bottle on
social media, to even their family members coming home intoxicated. Many
people throughout the United States
face the struggle of alcohol in their lives
whether it’s a close family member, friend
or themselves. The effect of alcohol on
their lives can be very lethal depending
on their age or condition they have. But
when a child may get exposed to alcohol,
there are lots of possibilities that can
happen. Throughout this, we will learn
the how alcohol affects children, the
many ways of coping with alcoholism
and how the media promotes alcohol in
a positive way.
When children get revealed to alcohol, the risk grows higher for them
becoming an alcoholic in the future. Not
only the risk rises higher because of the
trauma that can happen when alcohol
is involved, but also many family issues
may appear. If a child experiences too
much trauma when they’re younger,
they have a chance of getting a mental
illness. Not only that but the alcohol can
lead to a fatal result in serious illness or
death. According to Alcohol-Statistics,
“Over 28 million children in the United
States live in a household with at least
one alcoholic parent. Over 11 million of
those children are under the age of 18”
(Alcohol-Statistics).
Particularly, when a parent drinks
an alcoholic beverage, it can change the
image a child has over their parent. In
the eyes of a child, their parent can turn
from a loving, gentle and caring mother or
father to a hateful, rude and disrespectful
parent. There are a lot of effects alcohol
has on the family. One of the many are
abandonment; a parent may get angered
with people coming to them to confront
them about their problem and eventually
leave the family without a goodbye. Another is divorce. Many divorces happen
because a parent(s) drinks too much.
This action will play a huge impact on
the child in the future on whether they
develop drinking as well, cause trouble
or fail their classes at school, become
antisocial, etc. (National Institute on
Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism).
Furthermore, the battle children face
at home with alcohol can cause a mental illness. Some of the major mental
illnesses caused by alcohol are anxiety,
psychosis, and antisocial personality disorder. Anxiety is a major mental illness
faced by 18% (over 40 million people)
of the United States population. Anxiety
gets pictured as someone who doesn’t
want to get up and speak in front of individuals for a presentation in class or
work. But in this case, alcohol will make
your anxiety a lot worse than thought.
“The more the individual drinks, the
more their life will deteriorate. They get
caught in a vicious cycle of drinking to
escape the anxiety and thereby creating
more things to feel anxious about” - Alcohol Rehab. Psychosis is experienced
within 100,000 people throughout the
United States every year. Alcohol-related
psychosis gets described as a mental
state of mind where contact with reality
gets surrounded by hallucinations or
delusions (Addiction). Antisocial Personality Disorder, better known as ASPD
is caused by coming into contact with
underage drinking and alcohol abuse
from an alcoholic family previously. Over
6.2% of the United States population
faces ASPD daily. Long-term effects of
ASPD include the inability to maintain
relationships, isolation from others when
angry, decreased performance at work
or school, bad relationships with loved
ones caused by destructive behavior and
family conflicts (Addiction Hope).
43% of U.S. adults have been exposed
to alcohol at a young age through someone close to them personally (AlcoholStatistics) Some of the many illnesses you
can catch from alcohol are anemia, cancer, cirrhosis, dementia, and pancreatitis. “Alcohol is estimated to have caused
about half a million deaths from cancer
in 2012 alone – 5.8 per cent of cancer
deaths worldwide. The highest risks are
for heavy drinking, but even people who
drink at low levels are at risk. Modeling
for the study showed that, compared
with non-drinkers, women who regularly
drink two units a day have a 16 percent
increased a risk of developing breast
cancer and dying from it. Those who
regularly consume five units a day have
a 40 percent increased risk. For every
1,000 women who do not drink, 109 will
develop breast cancer. This rises to 126
women for those who drank 14 units or
less per week, and 153 women for those
who drink 14 to 35 units a week.” - Jennie Connor, MSN. This quote proves that
one of the many causes of illness such as
cancer is caused by alcohol alone.
Nearly everybody has their ways of
coping with alcohol in their lives. Some
people become an alcoholic while others
fear the drink itself. Currently, more
than 14 million Americans are alcoholics. A study conducted in 2012 by the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism can prove that 7.2 percent of
the adult American population has an
alcohol-use in disorder (The Recovery
Village).
Because of the troubles faced with
alcoholism, there are many ways to cope
with this. A lot of the time, dealing with
this issue is negative. Here are the ways
of dealing negatively: Pessimism, drinking
more often, not letting people into their
lives, criticism, getting angry over past
issues, fearing change and sometimes a
person will resort to physically harming
their bodies or committing suicide (Alcohol Rehab).
Though there are negative ways to cope
with alcoholism, there are many positive
ways as well. Here are some of the active means to deal: Staying away from
people who drink, get rid of alcohol in the
household, focus on other objects such as
hobbies like painting a picture, playing a
sport and spending time with family and
friends.(Rethinking Drinking).
Not only do family and friends affect
the way a person drink but the media does
as well. There are songs all over the place
promoting alcohol such as “Victorious” by
Panic! At The Disco, “Cheers” by Rihanna,
“Shots” by LMFAO and much more. It’s
not just music; it’s movies as well. There
are movies such as “Beerfest,” “The Hangover,” “The Angel’s Share” and much more.
Now that we went over music and movies
promote drinking let's cover social media.
71% of teenagers are online at least once
a day to check Facebook, 52% are on Instagram, 41% are on Snapchat, 33% are
on Twitter, and 82% are on other social
media apps/websites. But what exactly
do they see when they log in? There have
been multiple occasions where a teenager
logs into their Facebook account and on
the front page there is a picture of their
favorite band/artist drinking with friends,
or they post a picture of alcohol which
they promote to get money. Not only that
but multiple celebrities have their liquor
brands such as Justin Timberlake - Sauza
901, George Clooney - Casamigos, Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt - Miraval Rose and
David Beckham - Haig Club.
Above all when children get exposed to
alcohol it can affect the way a child grows
up through, mental illness, creating family
issues and can get an illness if they were
to drink alcohol. Coping with the situation may be a bit troubling being that a
child can cope with alcohol in the past by
becoming an alcoholic, dealing negatively
or positively. Not only that but the media
can have quite an influence on whether
the movies, songs, and people promote
alcohol to their much younger audience
to sound cool or fun. As your eyes leave
this essay, think about how much this
world could change if alcohol were to
be gone one day. We might not have the
massive family divorces or custody battles
over children. We may not have as many
deaths in our country. Finally, the rate of
mental illness in teenager and adults will
most likely minimize. ¨You are responsible for your life. You can´t keep blaming
somebody else for your dysfunction. Life is
really about moving on.¨ - Oprah Winfrey.
It’s the choice whether you don´t drink
and influence the future generations. Alcohol is exposed to children daily through
their family, T.V., music and social media.
Let´s try to cut that exposure out.
WINNEBAGO TRIBE OF NEBRASKA
SPECIAL TRIBAL COUNCIL
MEETING
ETHICAL COMPLAINT
May 26, 2017
TRIBAL COUNCIL PRESENT:
Frank White
Vincent Bass
Victoria Kitcheyan
Kenneth Mallory
James Snow
Curtis St. Cyr
Isaac Smith
Coly Brown
Darla LaPointe
OTHERS PRESENT:
Danelle Smith
Sharon Frenchman
Cincinnati Chili
WINNEBAGO TRIBE OF NEBRASKA
TREASURER’S REPORT MEETING
June 2, 2017
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
2 hours and 30 minutes
Difficulty:
easy
Servings:
4
INGREDIENTS:
2 pounds ground beef
4 cups water
1 onion, chopped
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 cups spaghetti
Cheddar cheese, shredded
INSTRUCTIONS:
1) In a large pot over medium-high
heat, combine ground beef, water and
chopped onion. Stir. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
2) After 30 minutes add chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, 1 bay leaf
(crack it), garlic, tomato sauce and
apple cider vinegar. Stir to combine. Simmer for another 2 hours.
3) Cook spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain.
4) After 2 hours, serve chili over
cooked spaghetti. Top with cheddar
cheese, serve and enjoy!
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman
White called the meeting to order at
9:22 a.m.
OPENING PRAYER: Isaac Smith
offered the opening prayer.
Danelle Smith reads the Ethical
Complaints from Jill Berridge and
Allison DeCora.
Curtis St. Cyr motioned to go into
executive session at 9:52 a.m. James
Snow seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (2) abstain
Motion carried.
[Kenneth out]
Curtis St. Cyr motioned to come
out of Executive Session at 11:52 a.m.
Isaac Smith seconded
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
[Kenneth in]
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to
relieve Kenneth Mallory of his Alcohol
Program oversite duties and return
management to CEO. Darla LaPointe
seconded.
VOTE: (8) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to
accept the complaints of Jill Berridge
and Allison DeCora as they are. Darla
LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (8) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to direct General Counsel to make recommendations to the Tribal Council for
an investigative Committee appointed
by May 31, 2017 at 3:30 p.m. Darla
LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (8) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Vincent Bass motioned to direct
CEO to work with outside entity to
look at issues, do a program review
within 60 days. Darla Lapointe seconded.
VOTE: (8) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Darla LaPointe motion to adjourn.
Vincent Bass seconded.
VOTE: (8) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Chairman White adjourned the
meeting at 12:23 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Victoria Kitcheyan, Treasurer
Winnebago Tribal Council
TRIBAL COUNCIL PRESENT:
Frank White (out @ 12:00 p.m.)
Vincent Bass
Victoria Kitcheyan
Kenneth Mallory
Isaac Smith (in @ 9:25 a.m.)
James Snow
Curtis St. Cyr
Coly Brown
Darla LaPointe (in @ 9:35 a.m.)
OTHERS PRESENT:
Alan Post
Sharon Frenchman
Mike Means
Rona Stealer
Tanya Baker
Tonia Keller
Kelly Snow
Cece Earth
Benny Pretends Eagle
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman White
called the meeting to order at 9:16 a.m.
OPENING PRAYER: Alan Post offered
the opening prayer.
APPROVE AGENDA:
Vincent Bass motioned to approve the agenda as adjusted.
Curtis St. Cyr seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
[Isaac in 9:25 a.m.]
GAMING COMMISSION REPORT:
Curtis St. Cyr motioned to accept the
Gaming Commission May report.
James Snow seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no 0) abstain
Motion carried.
[Darla in 9:35 a.m., Isaac out]
WINNAVEGAS REPORT:
Vincent Bass motioned to approve
the WinnaVegas monthly report (April
2017).
James Snow seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
MARKETING REQUEST:
James Snow motioned to approve
the Tommy James & the Shondells
Concert to perform on August 12, 2017
at the Event Center. Victoria Kitcheyan
seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
REQUEST FROM HUMAN RESOURCES:
Vincent Bass motioned to approve
the request from H.R. Department
re: Changes to Hotel descriptions,
transfer of sales positions, spit on (1)
Bus Coordinator into (2) Coordinators, reduce Laundry Attendants, 4
to 3 positions. Coly Brown seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
[Isaac in]
REQUEST FROM HUMAN RESOURCES:
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to approve the revision to Guest Service Attendant Position to add: Oversee game
room and golf simulator, and delete:
Valet Services.
Vincent Bass seconded.
VOTE: (8) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
[Isaac out]
LIBERTY BANK INVESTMENT
PORTFOLIO:
Kenneth Mallory motioned
t o appr o v e t he updat e d inv e s t ment portfolio with Liberty National Bank. Vincent Bass seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
RECESS:
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to recess the meeting at 11:42 a.m. James
Snow seconded.
VOTE: (8) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
[Frank out on travel, Isaac, James:
out]
RECONVENE:
Vice -Chairman Bass reconvened the
meeting at 1:04 p.m.
TRIBAL TREASURER’S REPORT:
Curtis St. Cyr motioned to approve
the Tribal Treasurer’s Report. Darla
LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
[James in at 1:30 p.m.]
ACTION ITEMS:
CREDIT CARD POLICY
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to approve the revised credit card policy.
Darla LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
BLAND & ASSOCIATES
James Snow motioned to approve
Bland & Associates engagement letter to audit the Commercial Plan
($8,000.00) and Perform Audit procedures on Government Plan ($1,500.00)
and issue report. Darla LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to approve John Hancock Plan as the new
provider for our Tribal 401k Plan and
authorize the committee to sign. James
Snow seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
401 K COMMITTEE:
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to
change committee members from:
Maunka Morgan to Sandra Francis,
Ann Loera to Alan Post, Anthony Earth
to Gaming Commission Member (Rona
Stealer). James Snow seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (1) no, IS 0) abstain
Motion carried.
CLOTHING ALLOWANCE FOR 2017:
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to approve $350.00 for clothing allowance.
Curtis St. Cyr seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to authorize a visa type clothing card for the clothing allowances. Isaac Smith seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
motion carried.
MINOR TRUST FUND ALLOCATION:
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to table
until June 20th Finance meeting.
Darla LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
FY 17 STIMULAS EXPIRATION:
Coly Brown motioned to uphold the
Stimulus Policy. James Snow seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
NATIVE AMERICAN FINANCE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION MEMBERSHIP:
Victoria Kitcheyan motioned to approve payment for the Native American
Finance Officers Association Membership for $5,000.00. Darla LaPointe
seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
YOUTH SOFTBALL TEAM REQUEST: No action taken.
YOUTH BASKETBALL TEAM REQUEST:
Curtis St. Cyr motioned to approve
the match of funds for Winnebago Warriors for $2,500.00 for the Youth Basketball Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona
on July 9, 2017. Victoria Kitcheyan
seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (1) abstain,
DLP
Motion carried.
POW-WOW STIPEND: no action
taken.
SUMMER YOUTH BUDGET MOD:
Coly Brown motion to approve the
budget modification of $25,000.00.
Darla LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Winnebago Indian News, Wednesday, June 28, 2017 — Page 13
Meeting Minutes
Motion carried.
ADJOURN:
Darla LaPointe motion to adjourn.
Victoria Kitcheyan seconded.
VOTE: (4) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Vice-Chairman Bass adjourned the
meeting at 4:16 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kenneth Mallory, Secretary
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
WINNEBAGO TRIBE OF NEBRASKA
MONTHLY TRIBAL COUNCIL
MEETING
June 5, 2017
TRIBAL COUNCIL PRESENT:
Frank White
Vincent Bass
Kenneth Mallory
James Snow
Curtis St. Cyr
Darla LaPointe
Coly Brown
Isaac Smith (in @ 9:40 a.m.)
OTHERS PRESENT:
Kevin Connot
Garan Coons
Kristen Whitebeaver
Kelly Snow
Cece Earth
Kenny Grant
Wayne Baker
TRIBAL COUNCIL ABSENT:
Victoria Kitcheyan (travel)
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman White
called the meeting to order at 9:31 a.m.
OPENING PRAYER: Coly Brown offered the opening prayer.
APPROVE AGENDA:
Vincent Bass motioned to approve
the agenda. James Snow seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
READING OF MINUTES:
Coly Brown motioned to adopt the
May 23, 2017 minutes with changes.
James Snow seconded.
VOTE: (4) yes, KM, CB, JS, CS
(0) no (2) abstain, VB, DLP
Motion carried.
RATIFY FIVE SIGNATURES:
Approve travel to attend SAMHSA
Tribal Technical Advisory Committee
Darla LaPointe motioned to ratify
the five signature approving travel for
Victoria Kitcheyan to attend SAMHSA
Tribal Technical Advisory Committee (TTAC) meeting in Albuquerque,
NM, June 25-26, 2017. James Snow
seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Approval of Pow-wow Committee
Budget
James Snow motioned to ratify the
five signature approval of Pow-wow
Committee budget for $206,100.00
for FY’17 Pow-wow. Vincent Bass
seconded.
VOTE: (4) yes (1) no (2) abstain, CS,
KM
Motion carried.
Emergency Assistance Fund Commitment
Darla LaPointe motioned to ratify
the five signature regarding Emergency
Assistance Fund $25,000.00 Commitment to the Human Services Department additional allocation for FY’17. (A
budget modification will be presented
at the June 2, 2017 Treasurer’s Report
meeting) Coly Brown seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Adopt Resolution #17-94
Darla LaPointe motioned to ratify the
five signature adopting resolution #1794: 2017 Herd Development Grant.
Vincent Bass seconded.
VOTE:
(7) yes (0) no ( 0 )
abstain Motion carried.
Approval of additional paving to
Pow-wow entrance
Darla LaPointe motioned to ratify the
five signature approving the additional
paving to the Pow-wow entrance. (Estimated cost $14962.50). Isaac Smith
seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
CEO ACTION ITEMS:
Pow-wow Committee
James Snow motioned to appoint
Joseph Littlegeorge to the Pow-wow
Committee.
Curtis St. Cyr seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
WINNEBAGO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND REVIEW BOARD
Curtis St. Cyr motioned to appoint
Joseph Littlegeorge to the Winnebago
Community Development Fund Review
Board. Coly Brown seconded.
VOTE:
(7) yes (0) no ( 0 )
abstain Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS:
KEVIN CONNOT – UPDATE ON
TRIBAL UTILITY DEVELOPMENT AND
ADDRESS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR AGREEMENT – Update with Tribal
Utility Company and will return on
June 21, 2017 – No action.
NEW BUSINESS:
LAND CORPORATION RESOLUTIONS
NORBERT DICK HOME SITE LEASE
CANCELLATION
Vincent Bass motioned to adopt
Resolution #17-95: Ref: Norbert Dick
Home Site Lease Cancellation. James
Snow seconded.
VOTE:
(7) yes (0) no ( 0 )
abstain Motion carried.
HOCHUNK REAL ESTATE LAND
LEASE
Darla LaPointe motioned to adopt Resolution #17-96: Ref: Ho Chunk Real Estate Land Lease. Vincent Bass seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
FRAN SHARPBACK HOME SITE
LEASE – Tabled
CRYSTAL WHITE HOME SITE LEASE
– Tabled
DULCIE GREENE HOME SITE
LEASE – Tabled
US CELLULAR COMMERCIAL COLOCATION LEASE – Tabled
TRIBAL COUNCIL ITEMS:
IHS – Request to use BHCC for Disaster Contingencies - No action taken.
Request for sponsorship from the
WPS Wrestling Team
Vincent Bass motioned to approve
the request from the WPS Wrestling
Team (no amount was set). Isaac Smith
seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Keystone Pipeline travel
James Snow motioned to approve
travel for Frank White and Isaac Smith
to attend the Keystone Pipeline Public
Hearing in O’neill, NE on June 7, 2017.
Vincent Bass seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
E. Gilpin – Summer Youth Employment complaint – No Action taken.
[Vincent out]
Kenneth Mallory motioned to suspend the rules to hear Tribal member.
Darla LaPointe seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
[Vincent in]
Coly Brown motioned to adjourn.
James Snow seconded.
VOTE: (7) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
Chairman White adjourned the meeting at 3:01 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kenneth Mallory, Secretary
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
WINNEBAGO TRIBE OF NEBRASKA
SPECIAL TRIBAL COUNCIL MEETING
ELIGIBLE VOTERS LIST
June 12, 2017
TRIBAL COUNCIL PRESENT:
Frank White
Vincent Bass
Kenneth Mallory
Isaac Smith (in @ 9:45 a.m.)
James Snow
Curtis St. Cyr
Darla LaPointe
Coly Brown
OTHERS PRESENT:
Sharon Frenchman
Kristen Whitebeaver
TRIBAL COUNCIL ABSENT:
Victoria Kitcheyan (travel)
CALL TO ORDER: Chairman White
called the meeting to order at 9:18 a.m.
OPENING PRAYER: Vincent Bass
offered the opening prayer.
[Vincent out at 10:10 a.m.)
ELIGIBLE VOTERS LIST:
Kenneth Mallory motioned to approve the Eligible Voters List for 2017
Elections with corrections. Coly Brown
seconded.
VOTE: (6) yes (0) no (0) abstain
Motion carried.
NURSING HOME PRESENTATION:
Isaac Smith motioned to approve
extended funds for Nursing Home
Presentation.
Curt
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