North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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The following PAUR report is also available on the NDHRC web site at http://ndhrc.org/Newsletters/PAUR%202005/060305.htm.
~North Dakota Human Rights Coalition~ PAUR Report
Programs ~ Announcements ~ Updates ~ Resources
Visit our Website at www.ndhrc.org
June 3, 2005
Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition!
In this week’s PAUR Report:
Announcements 1) NDHRC Members Needed 2) Campaign to End AIDS: Youth ACTION Institute 3) Citizens Defense Fund, Support for John Strand
Newspaper Articles 4) Native-American Nicknames/Mascots 5) The Chronicle of Higher Education, Pride or Prejudice? 6) The Forum (Fargo), Parents: Student imprisoned
Events 7) June 2005 Native American Powwows in North Dakota 8) Immigration Officers in Fargo, June 15 - 17 & Bismarck, June 13 - 14 9) North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy Consortium Conference in Collaboration with MIG & NDMHA, August 29 & 30, Bismarck 10) Sweet Medicine Meetings, Disparities within the Native American Community, Police & Law Enforcement, June 6 & June 28, Fargo
Reminders 11) People Escaping Poverty Project (PEPP) Seek Individuals for Input on Community Based Web Site 12) Plains Art Museum Presents Native American Indian Portraits of the Fort Berthold Community, May 19 – June 12, Moorhead, MN 13) North Dakota Progressive Coalition Leadership Council Public Event, Friday, June 17, Fargo 14) 23rd International Peace Garden, “Our Natural and Political Work,” June 24 – 26, International Peace Garden, Canada-US Border (South of Brandon, Manitoba & North of Rugby, North Dakota) 15) Save the Date: 2005 North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, Thursday & Friday, October 27 – 28, 2005, Fargo 16) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Training, April – June 2005, North Dakota
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.) NDHRC Members Needed
The Coalition’s membership goal for 2005 is to reach 200 members and membership proceeds of $10,500.
As of May 10, 2005, the NDHRC has received 99 memberships for 2005 for a total of $5,285!
Your membership is very important to us and your individual advocacy is invaluable. Please become a member at: http://ndhrc.org/membership_form_revised.htm, or make a monetary donation to the NDHRC. Send your donations to NDHRC, P.O. Box 1961, Fargo, ND 58107-1961.
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has” - American anthropologist Margaret Meade
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2.) Campaign to End AIDS: Youth ACTION Institute
Message from Campaign to End AIDS: Youth ACTION Institute
A one-page document on the Campaign to End AIDS (C2EA), as well as a printable application is available at http://www.endaidsnow.org/site/c.ikIYLeMSJrE/b.694215/k.9876/Youth_ACTION_Institute.htm and can be mailed to 925 15th St NW, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20005 (please, no faxes), and information on the goals and learning objectives of the conference.
Please distribute
the attached application to youth that you work with, including staff,
volunteers, and clients. You can let them know that scholarships are available,
but that C2EA encourages everyone to pursue their own sources of funding,
including asking local places of worship or AIDS service organizations to
sponsor them to attend in exchange for the youth coming back and working with
the ASO to organize the community over the summer. We can help with fundraising
ideas too, just let us know (email Brooke at
c2ea_wv@yahoo.com for help with fundraising).
If you do not work with youth, or do not have any young people who work with your organization that would like to come, we would ask that you sponsor another youth to attend, either from your area or from another area of the country. The cost is $600 to sponsor one young person, and a donation can be made for this online at www.EndAIDSNow.org.
Applications are due by June 5th, but priority will be given to applications received by June 1st. While we realize that the timeline is short, this is an opportunity that should not be missed.
Finally, we ask
that you, and other members of your organization, visit the website (www.EndAIDSNow.org)
and sign up for the weekly updates, so that you can stay informed about
everything that’s going on with this exciting new campaign.
Thank you, Cameron Lefevre 814-574-1442
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3.) Citizens Defense Fund, Support for John Strand
Dear Coalition Friends,
The Progressive Coalition received this letter from Barry Nelson regarding the lawsuit against John Strand by the Cass County Commission. John was initially sued over a year ago after he and the Save the Jail group delayed demolition by getting an injunction from a judge. The county retaliated by suing John for the costs, hoping, no doubt, to stifle any dissent.
Please take a moment to read through the letter and consider making a donation to John’s defense fund, the Citizens Defense Fund. Regardless of whether you make a donation, please contact John to give him your support and contact the Cass County Commission to tell them what they’re doing is wrong.
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May 22, 2005
Dear Supporters,
This is to thank you for your past support of John Strand through the Citizens Defense Fund. With your support, you join dozens of other people who believe free speech and citizen involvement should be supported and protected and that Cass County Commission should not be suing its citizens for questioning and disagreeing with their actions.
As you may be aware, the trial, after countless and costly delays, is scheduled to begin in Cass County District Court on Monday, June 6. It is difficult to tell at this time whether this will be a mercifully quick hearing or one that will continue to drag on.
At any rate, this has had both a financial and emotional toll on John Strand as he has been working on this trial with his attorneys. Legal costs for John could at this time go as high as $200,000. An incredible cost for trying to ask the county commission to follow state law and to save some historical buildings.
I ask you for several things at this point:
Send me your
email address so that I can keep you as current on the trial as possible. Thanks again for your support.
Sincerely, Barry Nelson, Treasurer Citizens Defense Fund
********************************************* Newspaper Articles *********************************************
4.) Native-American Nicknames/Mascots
Native-American Nicknames/MascotsJune 2, 2005 ROUND-UPS Native-American Nicknames/Mascots (6 experts)
LEADS
ROUND-UP: NATIVE-AMERICAN NICKNAMES/MASCOTS
Following are experts who can comment on the use of Native-American mascots and nicknames by the NCAA's member universities. The NCAA's highest body, the Executive Committee, will conduct the first in a series of summer meetings next month and could decide by August whether it can and should impose a ban on Native-American imagery, which critics charge is demeaning and even racist:
1. RICHARD MORRISON, associate vice president of public relations and marketing at CENTRAL MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY: "Reasonable people can disagree on this issue. Central Michigan University's close collaboration with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe encourages CMU to use its Chippewa nickname with dignity and respect. CMU does not use a Native American mascot, stereotypical logos or drum beats. In 2002, the university and tribe signed a proclamation pledging their support for strengthening their relationship 'for the enhancement of each other's goals and for the greater good of all residents of the region, state and nation.'" Morrison has a doctorate in multicultural education, and his dissertation addresses Native-American access to higher education. News Contact: Mike Silverthorn, silve1mj@cmich.edu Phone: +1-989-774-3197 (6/2/05)
<snip>
View full article here
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5.) The Chronicle of Higher Education, Pride or Prejudice?
Pride or Prejudice?Some colleges back away from using American Indian names and mascots for athletics teams, while others defend them By Eric Willis
<snip>
Tribal Tensions
The voices of local American Indians have been raised on some campuses. At the University of North Dakota, Leigh D. Jeanotte, director of American Indian services and a member of the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Tribe, says his input and that of others was omitted from the university's report about its "Fighting Sioux" nickname. "The NCAA was asking for some active involvement of the campus community regarding this issue," he says. "None of that took place here at UND."
In its report, the university emphasizes its American Indian programs and says it "is recognized as a national leader in providing access and opportunity for American Indians and other minority populations."
"Arguably," the report says, "the university does more than any other institution of higher education in the United States to celebrate the American Indian culture."
<snip>
View full article here
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6.) The Forum (Fargo), Parents: Student imprisoned
Thomas Fiebiger, a Fargo attorney representing the student and his parents, is also a board member for the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition.
Parents: Student
imprisoned
A Fargo elementary school student and his parents claim in a federal lawsuit that the boy's teacher kept him imprisoned in a classroom closet for six months.
The boy, referred to as "John Doe," was a third-grader at Fargo's Roosevelt Elementary School when veteran teacher Steven Gravalin ordered him to sit at a desk in a "closet" during the later half of the 2002-03 school year, the lawsuit says.
The boy's mother learned of her son's treatment late in May 2003. Despite her repeated complaints, Gravalin and the school's principal, Kim Colwell, said the closet was the best place for the "disruptive" boy, the lawsuit says.
<snip>
View full article here
********************************************* Events *********************************************
A calendar of events for June is available on the NDHRC web site at http://ndhrc.org/Events/Calendar/2005/June.htm.
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7.) June 2005 Native American Powwows in North Dakota
June 10-12:
Cannonball Flag Day
Celebration contest powwow
June 10-12:
Nuxbaaga contest pow
wow
June 17-19:
Twin Buttes Celebration
contest powwow
June 17-19:
Porcupine contest
powwow
June 24-26:
Porcupine powwow
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8.) Immigration Officers in Fargo, June 15 - 17 & Bismarck in June 13 - 14
Immigration Information Officer U.S. Department of Homeland Security U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Washington, DC 20528
The St Paul District Office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will be doing a circuit ride (information officers) to Bismarck and Fargo, ND the week of June 13, 2005. We will be in Bismarck June 13 - 14 and in Fargo June 15 - 17. The hours will be 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM.
We will have two (Information) officers there to perform basic information functions such as I-89's (green card approvals), temporary stamp/card issuance, I-90's (green card replacement), status inquiries, address changes, and on June 17 employment authorization documents for cases pending more than 90 days.
If you or one of your clients is interested in an appointment you may contact the following:
For Bismarck contact: Congressman Pomeroy's office Room 328, Federal Building 220 East Rosser Avenue Bismarck, ND 58501 701-224-0355
For Fargo contact: U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Application Support Center 657 2nd Avenue North, Room 248 Fargo, ND 58102 701-239-5251, Extension 10
If calling in, please leave a message with the name, telephone number and a brief message as to the appointment reason. A return call will be made with the appointment date and time.
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9.) North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy Consortium Conference in Collaboration with MIG & NDMHA, August 29 & 30, Bismarck
Message from North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy Consortium:
North Dakota Disabilities Advocacy Consortium members and friends
FYI -“Hold These Dates”-
Please keep your
calendar open August 29th and August 30th for the First
Annual NDDAC conference in collaboration with MIG and NDMHA. The conference
will be held in
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10.) Sweet Medicine Meetings, Disparities within the Native American Community, Police & Law Enforcement, June 6 & June 28, Fargo
Please pass the word & feel free to post the following:
Sweet Medicine A Native American Healing Journey Presents Community Topics for Discussion Disparities within the Native American community Police and Law Enforcement
If you are Native American or have an interest in securing the well-being of the Native American community, You are invited to attend the discussions.
June 9th, 2005 3:00-5:00 109 9th St. S. Fargo Wesley Center (& take part in the development of questions for the follow-up meeting)
A follow-up discussion June 30th, 2005 3:00 - 5:00 109 9th St. S. Fargo Wesley Center June 30 invited guests will include Officers from the Fargo, Moorhead & West Fargo Police Departments
The mission of Sweet Medicine is to be a healing and therapeutic link within the local community, and beyond, to maintain the integrity of our Native American Ancestors. Sweet Medicine seeks to provide access to culturally acceptable, social education and information to support present and future Native American leadership, in the communities in which we reside.
The goal of Sweet Medicine is to develop and support Native American led programming, in a safe, culturally inclusive environment, physically, emotionally, spiritually and socially.
For more information please call Sandi 701-364-0030
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11.) People Escaping Poverty Project (PEPP) Seek Individuals for Input on Community Based Web Site
WANTED:
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12.) Plains Art Museum Presents Native American Indian Portraits of the Fort Berthold Community, May 19 – June 12, Moorhead, MN
The Plains Arts Museum presents Native American Indian Portraits of the Fort Berthold Community by Murray Lemly, May 19 through June 12 in the William and Anna Jane Schlossman Gallery.
For more information, call the Plains Art Museum at 701-232-3821.
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13.) North Dakota Progressive Coalition Leadership Council Public Event, Friday, June 17, Fargo
The North Dakota Progressive Coalition will hold its Leadership Council meeting in Fargo on June 17 and 18, beginning with an open to the public event Friday night at the NDSU Alumni Center.
William McNary, President of U.S. Action, and Executive Director of the Illinois Citizen Action has accepted an invitation to present at the Friday night event. Plans are to have him joined by local activists in a discussion as to how to both celebrate the victory we experienced in the legislative session just complete (HB 1203, Economic Accountability) and use this victory for increased citizen participation in the future.
The Friday night is scheduled to begin at 6:30 with a reception. Please mark this date and time on your calendar and look for further details.
Any questions, please contact the North Dakota Progressive Coalition at nodakpc@btinet.net or 701-224-8090.
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14.) 23rd International Peace Garden, “Our Natural and Political Work,” June 24 – 26, International Peace Garden, Canada-US Border (South of Brandon, Manitoba & North of Rugby, North Dakota)
An open
invitation to... As western culture
becomes continuously more technologically focused, it is important for us to
step back and appreciate the abundance of natural beauty on our planet, to take
the time and learn what it has to teach us. The politics of today are often
controversial. Join us as we take a closer look at North American Peace Treaties
and global trade issues.
Workshops The Outdoor
Classroom – Dave Barnes and Students. Dave Barnes teaches an
Alternative Education course out of Brandon MB. Dave is a strong supporter of
youth
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15.) Save the Date: 2005 North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, Thursday & Friday, October 27 – 28, 2005, Fargo
Theme: “Tools for Building Inclusive Communities: The Role of Human Rights Education and Action in North Dakota”
When: Thursday, October 27 & Friday, October 28, 2005
Where: Ramada Plaza Suites & Conference Center, 1635 42nd Street, S.W., Fargo
What: The North Dakota Human Rights Coalition annual conference will bring together a diversity of people from around North Dakota to explore and discuss the “How To’s” of human rights work with regard to progress and challenges impacting individuals and communities.
Who Should Attend: We invite community and Tribal leaders, support and advocacy organizations, stakeholders and policy makers, state agency and reservation civil rights and human resource officers, union members and officers, law enforcement officers, human service employees, churches and faith-based organizations, and individuals with an interest in human rights to attend.
Highlights:
Networking and membership meeting will enable individuals to learn more about the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition, and how to work together on common issues beyond the conference
Resource tables will provide an opportunity for people to learn more about local and statewide human rights related organizations and resources
Social event will provide a relaxed setting for establishing professional contacts, greeting friends, and making new ones
Additional information will be available on the NDHRC web site in the coming month at www.ndhrc.org.
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16.) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Training, April – June 2005, North Dakota
Vocational Rehabilitation of North Dakota and North Dakota Medicaid Infrastructure Project will be sponsoring ADA training for small businesses.
Session I - Reasonable Accommodation Reasonable accommodation is any change to a job, the work environment, or the way things are usually done that allows an individual with a disability to apply for a job, perform job functions, or enjoy equal access to benefits available to other individuals in the workplace.
Session II - E & IT (electronic and information technology) Websites are often inaccessible to people with disabilities. This two-hour session discusses legal implications for E&IT, disability awareness, E&IT barriers and universal and accessible web design practices. Session will demonstrate some of the barriers to Information Technology for people with disabilities. Also, strategies for identifying and removing these barriers will be addressed.
Session III - ADA and Small Business/Title III A practical explanation of the ADA and what every small business, Chamber of Commerce, and small business counselor should know. Key resources will be highlighted and tips are offered for cost-effective implementation. Learn 10+ ideas on how businesses can benefit from the ADA.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Laurie Davis or Shirley Brennan Minot State University Phone: (701) 858-3494 or toll free 1-800-233-1737 Email: laurie.davis@minotstateu.edu Shirley.brennan@minotstateu.edu
Who should attend? Business owners and individuals interested in the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Dates: Tuesday June 14, 2005 Session III
Time: 10 AM -12 PM CDT
Locations: Sites are at all eight ND Human Service Center Video conferencing rooms.
Cost: There is no cost to attend.
Training sessions will be conducted by:
Rocky Mountain Disability & Business
Technical Assistance Center (719) 444-0268 (Voice/TTY)
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***Member Reminder*** Please keep us in mind for your group or church social action/social justice meetings! We’d be happy to provide a presentation at a meeting or provide newsletter articles for your organizations.
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Do you have a Program, Announcement, Update or Resource that you would like shared on our weekly PAUR report? If so, please send an email to AndreaDeegan@NDHRC.org and we will do our best to accommodate you.
If you are not yet a member of NDHRC, what are you waiting for? Sign up now! The membership form is available on line at http://ndhrc.org/membership_form_revised.htm.
Not getting the PAUR Report directly in your email? It's so easy to be added to the PAUR mailing list! Email HumanRights@NDHRC.org.
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition P.O. Box 1961 Fargo, North Dakota 58107-1961 Phone: (701) 239-9323 Fax: (701) 478-4452 Email: humanrights@ndhrc.org
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