North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
|
North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
|
Click PayPal link for direct credit card contribution or PayPal payment options. (No PayPal account necessary!)
Interested in Receiving NDHRC Email Newsletter? |
~North Dakota Human Rights Coalition~ PAUR Report
Programs ~ Announcements ~ Updates ~ Resources
Visit our Website at www.ndhrc.org
March 7, 2005
Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition!
In this week’s PAUR Report:
Announcements 1) Human Rights Legislative Updates 2) Books Sought for Youth 3) PSA: PEPP to Conduct 8-Week Course on Community Organizing 4) Forum Series on GLBT Life in Fargo-Moorhead 5) Profiling Alive and Well in North Dakota 6) Black History Month, Don’t Stop at 28 Days
Newspaper Articles 7) Grand Forks Herald, Leave ‘Fighting Sioux’ signs, shirts back at UND 8) Grand Forks Herald, Time has come to change the nickname 9) The Forum (Fargo), Mayors declare diversity week 10) The Forum (Fargo), Hearing actor’s film about deaf man premieres in Fargo 11) The Forum (Fargo), AIDS comes home 12) The Forum (Fargo), Ron and Nancy Saeger letter: Prairie Public TV wins high praise 13) Bismarck Tribune, Antifamily agenda 14) The Forum (Fargo), Juveniles throw rock through mosque window 15) Bismarck Tribune, Man’s CD of music from Sudan helps find his sister 16) Grand Forks Herald, Racially tinged memory doesn’t belong in column 17) Detroit Free Press, Disabled woman’s dog has its day 18) Valley City Times Record, Legislative report 19) Bismarck Tribune, Seeking to help troubled American Indian youth 20) The Dickinson Press, Commission to discuss diversity 21) Grand Forks Herald, Dorreen Yellow Bird Column: A question worth revisiting 22) The Forum (Fargo), Ma’di music: CD helps preserve African culture and connects man to long-lost relative in Sudan 23) The Forum (Fargo), Proposed casino could hurt jobs 24) Bismarck Tribune, Stenehjem resigns post with mental health group 25) Grand Forks Herald, Base donates used base housing to tribes 26) Grand Forks Herald, Diversity: NCAA requests nickname survey
Events 27) Tri-College NEW Leadership Development Institute Deadline for Applications Has Been Extended to March 11 28) MSUM Women’s Studies Program Celebrates Women’s History Month 29) South Agassiz Resource Council Kick-off Meeting, March 7, Fargo 30) RRAWC Peace Rally and Public Meeting, March 19 and 21, Fargo 31) “In Whose Honor?” American Indian Mascots in Sports, Showing at UND’s Campus, March 9, 21 & 23, Grand Forks 32) Disability Awareness Presentation by Kathy Martinez, April 6, 2005, Fargo
Reminders 33) We Still Need Your Membership 34) Press Release: United Tribes News, Companion characters emerge in new edition of Indian Superhero comic book 35) Fair Housing FIRST Accessibility Conference, March 14 & 15, Fargo 36) FM UU Church & ND Peace Coalition Sponsor 8-week Course in Resolution Resistance, Redemption, March 2 – April 20, Fargo 37) Campus Committee for Human Rights & Bridges, Educational Forum, March, & Rally, March 23 – 26, Grand Forks 38) 2005 North Dakota Community Leadership Awards 39) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent, “2004 – 2005 Presentation Peace Studies Forum,” Fargo, ND
Please Note: The NDHRC distributes a weekly PAUR report to inform our members and friends about news, events, and other human rights related information around the state. The opinions expressed within the articles are those of the authors and are not endorsed by the NDHRC.
New NDHRC members: as a membership benefit you have received an e-mail subscription of our weekly e-mail newsletter, the NDHRC PAUR Report. If you would like to be removed from the PAUR Report mailing list, please send an email to humanrights@ndhrc.org.
********************************************* Announcements *********************************************
1.) Human Rights Legislative Updates
During the 2005 legislative session, the NDHRC is following bills that affect human rights. We are also distributing a weekly legislative update to our PAUR recipients. Past legislative updates are available on our web site at: http://ndhrc.org/Goals/2005LegActivities/2005LegislativeActivities.htm.
View legislative activities for the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition member organizations' at: http://ndhrc.org/Goals/2005LegActivities/2005NDHRCMemberOrgLegislativeActivities.htm.
*********************************************
2.) Books Sought for Youth
Message from Charles Hall Youth Services:
Books are a great
educational and enjoyable tool for children. Amy Jo JohnsonDirector of Development
*********************************************
3.) PSA: PEPP to Conduct 8-Week Course on Community Organizing
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
*********************************************
4.) Forum Series on GLBT Life in Fargo-Moorhead
Message Pride Collective Community Center:
I was
recently contacted by Mila Koumpilova, a features reporter at The Forum. She is
interested in doing a series of articles on the local GLBT community (see her
description below). I think she is someone we can trust to do a good job. Please let me know if you would like to find out more about the project and why we feel we should tackle it.
*********************************************
5.) Profiling Alive and Well in North Dakota
While shopping, have you ever been mistaken as a store employee by another shopper? Maybe it was a harmless mistake, or maybe the other shopper based his or her assumptions on your perceived gender or racial identity. While this isn’t "discrimination" - prohibited by state law, it is an example of how assumptions affect all of us, and provides reason for continuing to educate on discrimination in North Dakota and establish a North Dakota Commission on Human Rights.
Cheryl Bergian, Director for the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition shares a personal experience of gender profiling below:
I was at a hotel in Bismarck a few weeks ago and went downstairs for breakfast, in the general breakfast area. As I was preparing my breakfast, another hotel guest, a man, started asking me questions about the local weather in the past week, and asked if I was there to help in the breakfast area. After several questions, it dawned on me that he assumed that I was an employee of the hotel assigned to that room for clean-up and preparation, rather than a guest in the hotel, even though I was dressed professionally. It could only have been because I was female and in the room getting my own breakfast. So, gender profiling is alive and well in North Dakota. It reminded me that we make assumptions all of the time based on outward characteristics, gender, race, ethnic origin, ability/disability, even religion, and its those assumptions that so often are the basis of discriminatory acts.
*********************************************
6.) Black History Month, Don’t Stop at 28 Days
Black
History Month is over, but lessons in the history of African Americans and other
marginalized communities should be part of our learning every month of the year.
Revisit Tolerance.org's coverage of Black History Month exploring African
American history we all should know.
********************************************* Newspaper Articles *********************************************
7.) Grand Forks Herald, Leave ‘Fighting Sioux’ signs, shirts back at UND
Leave 'Fighting Sioux' signs, shirts back at UND Rebekah J. Fineday Grand Forks Herald – 03/05/2005
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - As St. Cloud State University prepares for guests to arrive on for the hockey games this weekend, the All Tribes Council respectfully requests all athletes, coaches, trainers, cheerleaders and others associated with the hockey team to refrain from wearing or displaying the UND American Indian mascots and logos. This would include but is not limited to the term "Fighting Sioux."
UND claims to be sensitive to American issues and to promote culture and diversity. As UND has declared its intention to honor Indians, we ask that it honor this request from the St. Cloud State's Indian student organization, the All Tribes Council.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
8.) Grand Forks Herald, Time has come to change the nickname
Time has come to change the nickname Melanee Myers Grand
Forks Herald – 03/04/2005
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
9.) The Forum (Fargo), Mayors declare diversity week
Mayors declare diversity week By Mary Jo Almquist The Forum – 03/02/2005
Increasing job opportunities and awareness for people with disabilities will be a major focus this week as part of Fargo-Moorhead's first-ever Diversity Awareness Week.
Diversity is often just associated with culture, but it's much more than that, said Tom Thompson, a business consultant for North Dakota Vocational Rehabilitation and a member of the Metro Area Mayors Committee for People with Disabilities.
This week is about broadening awareness for diversity, which includes people with disabilities, he said.
Fargo Mayor Bruce Furness, who declared Diversity Week at a news conference Tuesday, agreed. He said all citizens should have access to career opportunities.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
10.) The Forum (Fargo), Hearing actor’s film about deaf man premieres in Fargo
Hearing
actor's film about deaf man premieres in Fargo
Ross Thomas isn't a deaf person, but he plays one in a movie.
That movie, "What's Bugging Seth" is the winning narrative feature in this year's Fargo Film Festival.
A quirky story about a young deaf man who's trying to start his own business and find romance, the film features a closely observed performance by Thomas.
In a telephone interview from his Hollywood, Calif., home, Thomas notes that the showing at the festival here also will be the film's world premiere. It will run at 8:30 p.m. Saturday, the festival's last movie. The film finished post-production in late January.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
11.) The Forum (Fargo), AIDS comes home
AIDS comes
home
Terry Meikle thinks it would be easier some days to have cancer than to have his disease. Instead of finding support, Meikle has faced desertion and scorn from friends, family members and the public throughout his illness.
The Valley City, N.D., man wants to be accepted for who he is -- not just as a gay man with AIDS.
Because his lack of HIV/AIDS education changed his life, Meikle wants to break down the myths of the disease and let the public know being informed means not being afraid.
Growing up in small-town North Dakota, Meikle believed HIV/AIDS was a big-city problem. Now 32, he doesn't recall learning much about the virus at Wimbledon-Courtenay (N.D.) High School.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
12.) The Forum (Fargo), Ron and Nancy Saeger letter: Prairie Public TV wins high praise
Ron and
Nancy Saeger letter: Prairie Public TV wins high praise
We're glad to hear that Prairie Public Television decided to air the "Postcards from Buster" episode that is the object of a few shrill, intolerant groups and the executive branch of our government.
It would be interesting to know how many of those who oppose programming diversity are supporters of public broadcasting.
Limiting our children's scope of the world is injustice, not nurturing.
We also disagree with Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling's opinion that this program "did not fulfill the intent Congress had in mind for public programming."
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
13.) Bismarck Tribune, Antifamily agenda
Antifamily
agenda Bismarck Tribune – 02/27/2005
The
executives of Prairie Public Broadcasting, in their decision to air an episode
of "Postcards From Buster" depicting same-sex couples, declared: "A respect for
the diversity of the community served as a fundamental value of Prairie Public
Broadcasting" (Tribune, Feb. 19).
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
14.) The Forum (Fargo), Juveniles throw rock through mosque window
Juveniles
throw rock through mosque window
Two 15-year-old boys have been referred to juvenile court after a rock was thrown through a window at Fargo's mosque.
Police were dispatched to the mosque, 2102 6th Ave. S., at 9:40 p.m. Saturday.
Officers followed footprints in the snow to a home where they interviewed the teenagers, Sgt. Wayne Jorgenson said.
A meeting was being held at the mosque when the vandalism occurred, said Mohammed Fakhr, president of the Islamic Society of Fargo-Moorhead.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
15.) Bismarck Tribune, Man’s CD of music from Sudan helps find his sister
Man's CD of
music from Sudan helps find his sister Bismarck Tribune – 02/27/2005
FARGO --
Remis Silvestro keeps alive the flickering flame of Ma'di culture.
In helping
record that CD, Silvestro did more than preserve the culture of an embattled
people. The project also reconnected Silvestro with a sister he has not seen in
16 years.
View full article here
*********************************************
16.) Grand Forks Herald, Racially tinged memory doesn’t belong in column
<snip>
Racially tinged memory doesn't belong in column Grand Forks Herald – 02/27/2005
ANETA, N.D. - I've always enjoyed Dorreen Yellow Bird's columns. I find them to be educational and often insightful, as well. So, it was with much anticipation that I opened the Herald to read her Jan. 15 column, "Leave tribal hunting rules alone".
I learned that her father was a skilled hunter, who always came home with prairie chickens or other game. I learned that the food then was prepared, either to be consumed for the meal that day or to be preserved for future meals.
And I learned Dorreen's father taught his sons how to hunt. Did she remember his teaching about gun safety? Did she remember his teaching how to sight in a rifle? No, the teaching that made such an impression on her that she committed it to memory and saw fit to share with all of us was, and I quote, "Don't hunt during the white man's hunting season. They shoot at anything."
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
17.) Detroit Free Press, Disabled woman’s dog has its day
Disabled woman's dog has its dayBy David
Ashenfelter Detroit Free Press – 02/23/2005
All Joyce Grad wanted from her Royal Oak cooperative apartment board was a waiver of its no-pet policy so she could buy a dog to help her cope with debilitating depression.
What she got instead was a cold rejection.
But last week, a federal court jury in Detroit sided with the 55-year-old disabled registered nurse in a decision that could solidify the right of mentally ill people to obtain exceptions to no-pet policies in apartment, condominium and cooperative housing complexes.
The verdict, which awarded $14,209 in actual damages and $300,000 in punitive damages to Grad, is believed to be the first federal jury verdict to recognize mental illness as a disability under the federal Fair Housing Act. It also may be the first federal verdict that, in effect, recognizes the contention that dogs are good for one's mental health.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
18.) Valley City Times Record, Legislative report
Legislative report By State Rep.
Ralph Metcalf
If you read my report last week you
may remember me talking about the "old proverbial squeeze play." Well, it was
used very effectively as the leadership guided our appropriation committee to
delay final House action on HB 1012, funding for the Department of Human
Services. You know the saying, save the best till last. I felt very honored to
have this bill saved to be presented as the very last before the legislature
took a five day recess as I would present the minority party amendment. Of
course it failed pretty much along party line vote.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
19.) Bismarck Tribune, Seeking to help troubled American Indian youth
Seeking to help troubled American Indian youth By Kayla Cogdill Bismarck Tribune – 02/18/2005
Motivating the hopeless, disinterested and uninvolved learner poses a challenge as youth rebel to find a place of acceptance and understanding, a conference was told Thursday.
More than 300 educators, social workers and parents gathered at the fourth annual Indian Child Welfare Conference at the Seven Seas Inn in Mandan. The conference is designed to educate those who work with American Indian youth and families to understand the culture and cultural impact.
Rick Curwin, an educator from New York, has traveled the world spreading his message on how to manage youth behavior in a manner that respects the dignity of each individual.
"Some kids feel more safe and cared for in jail than they do at home," Curwin said. "A sense of values and culture has been lost over time, and native children have very little to value."
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
20.) The Dickinson Press, Commission to discuss diversity
Commission to discuss
diversity The Dickinson Press – 02/22/2005
As the population of North Dakota becomes more diverse, some current sate residents are working to make these newcomers feel welcome.
To help in the effort, Dickinson’s Human Relations Commission is holding a noon luncheon at the Dickinson City Hall Friday, Feb. 25, to discuss issues related to diversity.
“To me, it’s Diversity 101,” said Commission Member Mary Jo Gonzales at a recent commission meeting. “We want to discuss how to respond to people who are different.”
Guest speakers Norm Coley Jr. and Dr. Michelle Sauer will discuss their experiences as “people of difference,” she said.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
21.) Grand Forks Herald, Dorreen Yellow Bird Column: A question worth revisiting
DORREEN YELLOW BIRD COLUMN: A question worth revisiting Grand Forks Herald – 02/19/2005
Three cheers for the National Collegiate Athletic Association for asking the question, "Why do schools such as UND continue to use American Indian nicknames and logos?"
The NCAA survey should bring the issue of the moniker and logo to the top of the university agenda once again. That needs to happen.
In the time I have lived in Grand Forks, I've found that many of those who support the nickname seem like good and honest people. They tell me they think using "Fighting Sioux" is a way of honoring American Indians and the Sioux.
Some Indian and Sioux people do feel the name is an honor. But many of us do not. And there are those who don't care to be involved in the issue.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
22.) The Forum (Fargo), Ma’di music: CD helps preserve African culture and connects man to long-lost relative in Sudan
Ma'di
music: CD helps preserve African culture and connects man to long-lost relative
in Sudan
Remis Silvestro keeps alive the flickering flame of Ma'di culture.
At 26, the Fargo man keeps in his head stories from his native southern Sudan, tales handed down through generations and taught to him by his grandfather.
One of those tales is on a compact disc of Ma'di music produced by the North Dakota Council on the Arts.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
23.) The Forum (Fargo), Proposed casino could hurt jobs
Proposed casino could hurt jobs The Forum - 02/19/2005
NEW TOWN, N.D. - Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall says a proposed tribal casino in Grand Forks would threaten some 2,500 casino jobs on North Dakota's American Indian reservations.
The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa want to partner with three brothers who farm near Grand Forks to build an off-reservation casino.
Hall said he and the other tribal leaders in North Dakota oppose the idea.
"It's nothing personal but when you start jeopardizing the jobs of the rest of us, you start jeopardizing all of the millions of dollars we have in event centers, into our casinos, into our restaurants, our hotels," Hall said. "You jeopardize that, and obviously, were going to speak in opposition."
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
24.) Bismarck Tribune, Stenehjem resigns post with mental health group
Stenehjem resigns post with mental health group By Virginia Grantier Bismarck Tribune – 02/15/2005
Al Stenehjem said Monday that he resigned recently from the executive director post of the Mental Health Association in North Dakota to pursue other opportunities.
"I couldn't take advantage of them while working for the association," he said.
Susan Rae Helgeland, who has been serving as the association's interim executive director since Stenehjem's Jan. 31 resignation, said Stenehjem will be missed. Helgeland, the association's regional director in Fargo prior to taking on Stenehjem's duties, said it was under Stenehjem's leadership that the association began the 211 program -- a 24-hour toll-free confidential crisis intervention, information and referral service.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
25.) Grand Forks Herald, Base donates used base housing to tribes
Base donates used base housing to tribes Grand Forks Herald – 02/16/2005
Grand Forks Air Force Base officials said Tuesday that they plan to donate about $4 million in used housing units to two North Dakota American Indian tribes this summer.
The base plans to donate 20 officer units -- four single-family homes and eight duplexes -- averaging 1,300 square feet to North Dakota's Turtle Mountain and Fort Berthold tribes by mid-July, said Chris Powell, base housing manager.
Six additional units will be donated soon, he said.
"With the introduction of new Air Force housing size standards, it became more economical to build new homes instead of performing costly upgrades to existing units," Powell said.
<snip>
View full article here
*********************************************
26.) Grand Forks Herald, Diversity: NCAA requests nickname survey
DIVERSITY: NCAA requests nickname survey Grand
Forks Herald – 02/16/2005
View full article here
********************************************* Events *********************************************
A calendar of events for March is available on the NDHRC web site http://ndhrc.org/Events/Calendar/2005/March.htm.
*********************************************
27.) Tri-College NEW Leadership Development Institute Deadline for Applications Has Been Extended to March 11
The Tri-College NEW
(National Education for Women's) Leadership Development Institute will be held
on May 22 - 26, 2005 at Minnesota State University Moorhead, in Moorhead,
Minnesota. The institute is an intensive five-day residential program designed
to encourage civic and political participation and to provide public leadership
training to women who do not already have extensive leadership experience. There
is a particular emphasis on recruiting women from groups that have typically
been underrepresented voices in the political process.
*********************************************
28.) MSUM Women’s Studies Program Celebrates Women’s History Month
Women's History Month Film Festival
MSUM Women's Studies Program celebrates Women's History Month this year with a film festival featuring films by women and about women's and gender issues. The festival will run throughout month of March with films and panel discussions focusing on four topics:
March 7-10 will concentrate on Women in Global Perspective. Featured documentaries will address problems such as the trafficking of women in Southeast Asia, globalization and labor, female circumcision, and dowry deaths, as well as focusing on women's activism worldwide. A panel discussion featuring MSUM Faculty speaking on gender and global issues will be held on March 8 in celebration of International Women's Day.
The week of March 21-24 will inaugurate the new Women's Health Series by taking up issues such as breast health, the biology of gender, and reproductive issues. A panel of MSUM biologists will discuss gender biology on March 23. The highlight of the week will be the Keynote Speaker for the Health Series: Christine Norton of the Minnesota Breast Cancer Coalition, who will speak on March 21.
The final topic of the film festival is Women and Artistic Expression, featuring films by and about women that address artistic expression, especially through the medium of film. Two special events will occur during this final week: First, we will present a program called "The Experimentalists" which is a collection of new avant garde films by women courtesy of the MadCat Film Festival of San Francisco (curated by Ariella J. Ben-Dov). Second, filmmaker Yunah Hong will be on campus on March 31 to talk about her experience making a documentary about film star Anna May Wong. Ms. Hong's appearance is co-sponsored by The Korea Society.
All events are free and open to the public
For more information visit www.mnstate.edu/women.
*********************************************
29.) South Agassiz Resource Council Kick-off Meeting, March 8, Fargo
Message from South Agassiz Resource Council:
Please consider
attending this important event, which will include a discussion of Fargo's new
library facilities. And please tell anyone and everyone you know who might be
interested in attending this event. We're counting on your support to spread the
word.
*********************************************
30.) RRAWC Peace Rally and Public Meeting, March 19 and 21, Fargo
Peace Rally to Mark
2 Years of the Iraq War and Occupation, March 19, 2005
*********************************************
31.) “In Whose Honor?” American Indian Mascots in Sports, Showing at UND’s Campus, March 9, 21 & 23, Grand Forks
Nationally acclaimed film documentary to be shown on UND Campus
|
