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Show Page 2 Friday, December 8, 1972 The Ute Bulletin EDITORIAL Just Another Militant Minority Group? Much controversy has resulted due to the recent occupation of the Bureau of Indian Affairs central office by the Trail of Broken Treaties. In early November, a caravan of approximately 600 people descended on the Nation's capital and was the current protest group staging a demonstration in the city of Washington, D. C. What was announced as a peaceful march to the eastern city to remind the decision-makinbody of the country of the long list of injustices prevailed on the Native American people and to dramatize the discontent of Indian people unfolded to be a week of destruction and loss of valuable, irreplaceable records relating to Indian A Best Seller g tribes and reservations. We find ourselves concurring to the basic purpose of the Trail of Broken Treaties. The issues and demands made by the caravan are real and are matters of concern. We are not angered by the occupation of the building and the loss of experienced by the BIA but the theft and the loss of documents which include those of water rights, tribal enrollment, economic development, land protection and other legal matters which are relevant to reservations. We do not condone the participation of our young Ute people but nor do we condemn them because of the basic principle involved in the commitment they made to get involved and to follow their beliefs. It has been said that if the elected tribal leaders voiced their opposition to the occupation of the BIA as loudly as they did to government officials regarding the plight of the American Indian, we would not be in the low economic status which we are. But has it been necessary to cry discontent in the manner the November protest group cried? Has it been necessary to destroy material things in order to be heard or noticed? Has it been necessary to use the tactics of other minority groups in order to man-hou- 42-ye- ar urban-oriente- d non-India- M.N. Utes Refer Long Hair Issue To 10th Circuit Court Our hair is our business and not the concern of the School Board, Francis Wyasket, Ute Tribal Chairman stated when asked if he was satisfied with the outcome of the recent battle over the Uintah School Board Dress Code. We wont accept long hair under terms of the school district, Wyasket continued, Long hair is our way and is not the concern of the school board. Chairman Wyasket, whose son, Anthony, was among those suspended from school because of his hair length, said he did not consider the School Board's decision a good Compromise. Margie Ridley (Mrs. Benton Ridley), Whiterocks mother of 11. said concerning the board's decision to allow girls to wear pant suits. I don't like the new dress code either. We dont have the money to spend on the type of clothes the board wants. The 'pant suits they are referring to cost money." When asked about the compromise which states Indian boys may wear their hair long if braided, wrapped or tied, Mrs. Ridley said, I think it is stupid-w- e arent Navajos. Students Suspended The controversy arose earlier in the fall when seven Ute students were suspended from West Junior high school because their hair was longer than the specified length stated in the Uintah School Board dress code. A group of irritated parents met and decided to call a meeting with the school board officials to discuss the issue. Several firey meetings followed resulting in a ballot on the dress code being presented to the parents of the entire school district which includes Whiterocks, Todd Elementary and West Junior high school from the West end of the county and die Vernal City schools. The ballot included ridiculous questions such as "Should students be allowed to use the following in school; (1) tobacco; (2) drugs; (3) liquor. and "Should students be allowed to wear insignas of the Armed Forces or subversive groups'?" The state controls the first question and many parents with sons in Vietnam expressed disgust over the Armed Forces being coupled with subversive groups. It was the consensus of the parents that the ballot dealt very little with the question at hand. Voting Senseless After tabulation and publication of the votes, the school board debated for an hovr and a half on the question of slacks or pant suits being allowed in the classroom when parents clearly voted for the allowance of both. The board voted on pant suits. Although the question on the ballot which stated Exceptions in school policy should be made when the policy is found to be in conflict whh the students cultural values" received a favorable vote, the board nevertheless ruled the Indian students must wear their hair braided, wrapped or tied. The Ute custom is to have long hair free flowing. (Tribal and BIA personnel who attended the various meetings spoke with two Vernal youth who were attending Vernal schools with hair much than that of the suspended Indian students. One had been suspended but helonger had returned to school.) According to Chairman Wyasket, the Ute Tribal attorneys, Boyden and Kennedy have filed an amicus curiae (or friend of the court) statement with the 10th circuit court which is the same district in which the Pawnee Indians case of Newman Nightrider is being tried. The Utes document will let the circuit judges know we are faced with the same problem and we support the Pawnees. A favorable ruling for Newrider would also be victory for the Utes. (The Uintah School Board has stated any court would rule in their favor.) The Utes have followed the Newrider case with added interest since Newman (Under his Indian name of Aukabu Williams) placed in the fancy dances during our 72 Fourth of July pow wow. Mrs. Ridley so adeptly summed up the conflict when she said: if they School Board would worry half as much about educating our children as they do the length of their hair we d have a'gocd 'school' district. non-India- Christmas Shoppers VISIT UTES' CASTING SHOP The Ute Arts and Crafts Shop located on Highway 40 just off the Fort Duchesne junction, invites you to stop in and take a look around. The shop manager, Leo Tapoof, and his staff, Lynn Taveapont, Frankie Cesspoocn, Stewart Mart, Lorraine Cuch and Rosemary n LaRose, have designed designs on shirts and posters. for sale Ute are artists Also displayed original oil paintings and and Dlaaucs. ceramic figurines The shop also has ceramic ware which is safe for food and drink . and stock and sell creenware. The shop opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 4:30 p.m. Come m and browse. We might have something youve been looking for! silk-scree- ISSUE NOT A DEAD rs accomplish goals? life expectancy, which is True, Indian people suffer. We have an average lower than the national average; we have a higher suicide rate; our infant mortality rate is higher; the average income for an Indian family is less than the national rate is higher for our students; etc. average; the drop-ou- t Each reservation has its problems which is unique to the particular area. They have resources and methods to solve their problems. You only have to look around you to see the progress which has been evident on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. In two years every Ute family will have standard housing. The employment rate for the reservation is higher than that of the Uintah Basin. Our students have made great strides in their pursuit of higher education. The progress is slow, but positive. caravan leaders have hurt the reservation Indians in the loss The of the records. They have set back years of accumulated data which were compiled for tribal water rights suits and claims. They have set back the work of national Indian organizations which are struggling for Indian rights. Will the funds the caravan received for stranded members be at the expense of any existing or future reservation or urban programs? It is said this is not pay off money and will not affect the reservation programs. But indirectly will this affect us and will this be paid back by cuts from federal programs?. Did the Indian protest group in Washington play into the hands of the who like to see these valuable records destroyed or misplaced who eye our prime reservation lands with greed? Most Indian tribes have priority water filings who are constantly squabbling with neighboring white farmers and irrigation companies. These wratcr filing records were no doubt among the reams of paper scattered in the halls of the occupied BIA building. Americans across the country watched with mixed emotions the news media cover of the governmental agency. Indian people, both reservation the Indian take-ove- r and urban, wer touched by the destruction of the building, furniture, and records. The results will be fell and realized for a long time to come. Some advocate, some abhor, and some are indifferent about the actions of the caravan. Did the demonstration accomplish the purpose of trekking across thousands of miles to confront the Great White Father" or were we labeled as just another militant minority group? It Aint n J.C.C. |
