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4 JANUARY 2012 Gila River Indian NewsNEWS FROMAROUND THE STATEOpinionViews expressed are those of the authors and do not represent the views of Gila River Indian NewsDr. James L. Vander HoovenInaugurated as President ofTOCCSubmitted by Ms.Francina Francisco-Garcia, Senior Administrative Assistant, TOCCSells, AZ—Tohono O’odham Community College(TOCC) inaugurated JamesVander Hooven, Ed.D., asits fourth College Presidenton December 9, 2011. Theceremony was a festiveevent held in the Fine ArtsBuilding at BaboquivariHigh School in Topawa,Arizona. The stage wasdecorated with creosotegreens, gourd rattles, baskets, and other artwork.The Tohono O’odhamKekel Ha-Mascamakud(TOCC) Himdag Committee and College Outreach& Events staff arranged forparticipation in the ceremony from throughout theCollege. TOCC studentYvette Ventura sang the national anthem in TohonoO’odham. Students Elizabeth Ortega, Nacho Flores,and Richard Pablo gaveopening and closing blessings. Delores Saraficio,GEDInstructor,andGeorge Miguel, Department Chair of Occupational Programs, served asMistress and Master ofCeremony.Mr. Timothy Joaquin,Chairman of the TohonoO’odham Nation Legislative Council, welcomed Dr.Vander Hooven on behalfof the Tohono O’odhamNation. Mr. Joaquin conveyed greetings from theHonorable Dr. Ned Norris,Jr., Chairman of the Tohono O’odham Nation. Dr.Vander Hooven was alsogreeted by Mr. Jonas Robles, Vice Chairman of theTOCC Board of Trustees,and by TOCC students, faculty, and alumni.Mr. Bernard Siquieros,Chairman of the TOCCBoard of Trustees, gave theTrustees’ Charge to Dr.Vander Hooven and presented him with a custommade basket woven by Ms.Geneva Ramon as a giftfrom the College.Dr. Vander Hooven’sInaugural Address touchedon the need for the Collegeto build partnerships and torely on the strength of itsfaculty and staff. He emphasized that projectsstarted by the College mustbe sustainable over the longterm and must be implemented with natural objectives (rather than methodscontrived for short-term results). He said that community colleges changelives and that he is committed to bringing this powerof change to as many people as possible on the Tohono O’odham Nation.Jim Vander Hooven’swifeJennieVanderHooven, and the couple’ssons Jude, age 3, andJonah, age 1, attended theinauguration, as did Jim’stwo uncles from ColoradoSprings, Colorado. Jim andJennie said they are happilysettled in Arizona, and theyare looking forward to theirfirst winter in the desert.For more informationon the inauguration ceremony or the College,pleasecontactMs.Francina Francisco-Garciaat tel. 520-383-0015 orf f r a n c i s c o garcia@tocc.edu. The College’swebsiteiswww.tocc.edu.No Build rebutes 202 Yes adThe December 2011 edition of the GilaRiver Indian News featured a paid advertisement from a campaign callingitself 202 Yes. A company calledPangea that leases Native Americanland for profit is behind the 202 Yescampaign. Pangea paid Initial Impressions, an advertising agency that specializes in marketing Native Americancasinos, to design the ad. Pangea andInitial Impressions work hand-in-handat the same physical address in Tempe.Pangea refers to themselves as GRIClandowners, but Pangea is actually acorporation that is pressuring GRIClandowners to lease their lands toPangea for development. Pangea’swebsite, designed by their casino marketing friends at Initial Impressions,announces their goals to build a master-planned city in District Six, whichPangea refers to as nothing but “acresof undeveloped land” in a prime location for Pangea’s City Concept.Our responses to Pangea’s ad. Responses from O’odham who are forNO BUILD.*202 Yes states that the on-reservation option saves the mountain.In fact, both proposed freeway alignments destroy the mountain. The onreservation alignment will force theloss of more than 600 acres of GRIClands at the base of South Mountain(source: Kimberly Dutcher, GRIC LawOffice). These sites are full of culturalsignificance, and The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT)knows this. By destroying the foothillsof Muhadag Do’ag, we destroy the entire mountain, as well as MuhadagDo’ag’s connection to the Estrellas.And what about the Pee Posh andO’odham families that would fall victim to the on-reservation alignment,and lose their homes to the freeway?*202 Yes states that by allowing theon-reservation alignment to be built,GRIC has a say in the noise control,pollution, and construction costs ofthe freeway extension.In fact, any and all cost and environmental analysis has already been doneby HDR Engineering, an internationalconsulting firm handpicked by the Arizona Department of Transportation/ADOT without the input of GRIC.HDR and ADOT also share officespace. HDR completed a draft environmental assessment in 1987 that hasnot made been made available to GilaRiver. The obvious question is—whynot?HDR was supposed to finish the EISin 2006 (Environmental Impact Statement, which describes the freeway’simpact to our air quality, cultural sites,groundwater, displacement of homes,plant and animal life, etc), but theyhave still not released the EIS to ourCommunity. GRIC will not have a sayin the noise control, pollution controlmeasures or construction costs of thisfreeway extension we can only makecomments on the EIS that HDR isdoing for ADOT. A vote for NOBUILD will remind ADOT that GilaRiver is sovereign, and we will haveour say. If neither ADOT or HDR havemade an effort to disclose past environmental findings to our Community,with the freeway proposals still inlimbo, why should anybody in GilaRiver believe they will do right after ayes vote?*202 Yes states that NO BUILD isnot an option, because MaricopaCounty voters approved it in 2005,through the passing of Proposition400.In fact, Proposition 400 merely provided the State with partial funding fora freeway, by authorizing a sales tax,with revenues from the tax going tofreeway planning. It did not authorizethe South Mountain extension of the202. Furthermore, due to rising construction costs and decreasing sales taxrevenues, the state of Arizona is facinga 5.3 billion dollar shortfall for freeway planning. (source: Arizona Republic, March 9, 2009 “Freewaydecision put off until 2011”).* 202 Yes states that NO BUILD isnot an option.In fact, ADOT’s own website states thefollowing, from a section about theSouth Mountain extension to the 202:14. Is it possible that nothing will bebuilt?Yes, that is one of the options beingstudied. It is important to recognizethat impacts can occur by doing nothing. The no-build alternative is beingevaluated in the Draft lleyfreeways.com/Highways/Valley Freeways/Loop 202/South Mountain/library.asp#faq)Another source: In a January 26, 2005Arizona Republic article about the 202titled, “ADOT Report Stirs Up Concern” the following point is made:“The environmental impact study andpreliminary design of the project wasbegun in 2001 and is expected to becomplete by 2006. If after the study’scompletion the Maricopa County Association of Governments, the community and other governmental bodiesdeem the freeway unfeasible or unnecessary, the process will stop. The freeway will not be built.”It is important to note that the State ofArizona has delayed the release of the202 EIS for decades. The “due date”of 2006 was already severely behindthe expected EIS completion date. In1986, former Governor Donald Antonewrote a letter stating the Community’sconcerns about environmental impactsof the proposed freeway. GovernorAntone requested that the EIS be released to the Community before anyother steps regarding the 202 freewaywere to be made. Twenty five yearslater, Gila River is still awaiting theEIS.* 202 Yes states that the freeway willbring economic development to GilaRiver.In fact, there are no freeway exitsplanned within the boundaries of GilaRiver, and ADOT’s own report circulated within Gila River stated that thepurpose of the freeway is to shorteneast-west travel time by 17-20 minutesfor Phoenix area commuters.This freeway proposal is not for ourbenefit. The off-reservation option willcut a 40-story high, 200-yard wideblast through our sacred mountain. Theon-reservation alignment is just as bad,forcing families out of their homes,and forcing us to give up 600 acres ofour lands with no guarantees of a landswap. If approved, both alignmentswould bring cancer-causing emissionsto the west end, as well as releasechemicals into the air that causedeficits in lung function for our children as they age (source: The Lancet,January 2007, “Effect of exposure totraffic on lung development from 10 to18 years of age: a cohort study”).The Loop 202 should not be extendedanywhere at all! Either proposal for the202 would be a killing zone, bringingus the footprint of an 8-lane freewaywhere nothing grows, all plant and animal habitats in the footprint would bedestroyed, and our groundwater andair would be polluted with carbonemissions, nitrogen dioxide, and otherexhaust pollutants. The two proposedroutes for the 202 extension are lessthan 1/4 mile apart in some areas, andboth routes would come close to GilaCrossing, where our children wouldbreathe in freeway pollution thatharms brain development. In addition,because the two routes are so similar,our Creator’s home would be foreverdestroyed if either Loop 202 proposalis approved.We are O’odham who believe in NOBUILD, and we hope that you are too.The evenings in Komadk this time ofyear, the night air is sweet and cold.You do not hear waves of freeway traffic rushing by. Our skies are dark, soyou can clearly see the stars twinklingover the Estrellas. No noise pollution,no freeway lighting, no haze of smogblanketing the desert. We hope to keepit this way for our children, our niecesand nephews, and their unborn children and grandchildren.Please attend the January 14th forum,9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the SacatonBoys and Girls Club and voice youropposition to the South Mountain extension to the 202. And please save thedate for the January 21st 202 forum inD6, at the Komatke Boys and GirlsClub, 9:00 am to 3:00pm. Lunch willbe served at both forums.Please contact us for more information on how you can helpsupport NO BUILD before the February 7th vote at .comGila River Alliance for a Clean EnvironmentGila River Against Loop 202(we’re on gmail.com(520) 610-3405(480) 458-8329

Gila River Indian News JANUARY 2012 5NEWS FROMAROUND THE STATEGRIC Governor addressesState LegislatureBy Mihio ManusGRIN Managing EditorChallange: Developan app for a mobile deviceSACATON – Youth Council Coordinator, Michael Preston, presented achallenge for Gila River youth to create a smart phone applications revolving around culture and community.The criteria for the challenge includes: Original content must be created and designed by a Communitymember under 22 years old, and incorporates O’odham or Pee-Posh songs,culture, stories, language, history orteachings. For creating the app theyouth would receive an iPad.“Young people interact with technology and I see they’re always ontheir cell phones. Everyone wants aniPad and they mess around on theircomputer. They consume the contenteveryday. I want them to look at creating their own content,” said Preston.The reason for the challenge is to getyouth interested in technological development and for them to use the resources within the Community,according to Preston.“Also, it will get these young peopleto see that you don’t need to work inthose fields to create content,” saidPreston.Android owner and GRIC youth explains what smart phone apps are usedfor.“Certain applications allow you toget on to certain stuff, like music,games, New Year’s applications, orcheck the weather,” said Craig Antone.Antone said he knows generalknowledge about technology, but computers are a different story on application development.“If I put my time into it, I could,”said Antone when asked if he would beable to create an Droid application.Time and an idea is what it wouldtake to make an application for the Android Market and Apple App Store according to Mike Mercado, IT SecurityManager for MIS.Mercado developed an applicationfor the Droid and showcased the gourdmusic maker to the 23rd Youth Conference.“I did a little bit of research andfound that Google had an applicationengine that allows you to develop applications for the Android smartphone,” said Mercado.Mercado explained the methodologyand idea process in making the app andputting the pieces together through thewebsite’s engine.“It was a culmination of ideas, putting together the sound, the picture andunderstanding the logistics of thephone,” said Mercado.“It’s very simple. You would thinkprogramming language would be verytedious. Understanding functions andprocesses and how they work in conjunction with each other, but with theGoogle App engine, everything is labeled for you.”He is aware of technological advances and the benefits for youth in theCommunity. Understanding mobile assets, how to utilize them, Mercadosays will allow us to see the technology transition over the next few years.Mercado believes that ‘dinosaurphones’ will be phased out and eventually everyone will have a smartphone sooner or later.Dallas Delowe, Cultural Coordinator for the Tribal Education Department, jokingly said all he knows aboutphones is that if he presses a button hecan talk to someone or get somethingcalled a text message, but not toomuch about applications for smartphones.Other than that, Delowe says he hasdoes not have a problem with sharingsongs or even legends as long as factual.“I have no qualms with sharing, butjust what is it? What would I be notcomfortable sharing or given the extreme ‘not wanting to share’.? I can’tthink of anything right now,” said Delowe.Robert Cruze from the Four TribesCultural Resources Protection Committee wants to get orthography fromthe different communities: Ak Chin,Gila River, Tohono, and Salt River todigitize the information from an onlineinterview with tohonocom onyoutube.com.“We were talking about keeping ithere in the schools, but they werethinking about cyberspace,” saidBenny Thomas.The big question for everyone iswhat can and cannot be shared. Preston said to ask people in the Community what can and cannot be shared.According to Delowe he says cultureshould be shared with everyone because it has not been defined withspecifics what can and cannot be told.As reported recently in the NavajoTimes, an application has been developed for the Navajo language, SpeakNavajo Native Indian Language, andis both criticized and heralded, receiving remarks from app users like, “interesting, but fail.” And “Some of thetranslations are incorrect.”This is something that O’otham communities have asked when individualswant to put together a multimedia language program or written language.Would it be possible to develope an esoteric app? Meaning sharing information on what is thought to be culturalsensitive information (including language) -for a specific group of people?If you have any questions or comments for the Digital Youth Challenge,please contact the youth council officeat (520)562-1866 or youthcouncil@gric.nsn.usSTATE CAPITAL-GRICGovernor Gregory Mendoza was one of three dignitaries to address theopening session of the Arizona House of Representative’s Fiftieth Legislature –Second Regular Session.Governor Mendozaaddressed the House ofRepresentatives remarkingon the great history of Arizona and how the AkimelO’odham has historicallyplayed an integral role inthe United States path towestward expansion. TheGila River Indian Community was the first IndianReservation in Arizonahaving been established byCongress in 1859.The GRIC Governorgave a brief synopsis of thetribe’s history and strugglesin losing water provided bythe tribe’s namesake, GilaRiver.“Though we havestruggled much as a people,our struggle has helped usgrow in faith and endurance to become a complete people,” he said.“Today, the GRIC is a vibrant center of economicdevelopment, agricultureand ranching. Like you, Ilook to the next 100 yearsand I am filled with optimism.”Governor Mendozapledged to continue tomake Arizona a better placefor everyone by striving tocreate jobs within GRIC’seconomic corridors thatborder Phoenix.“As we always have,we will work with ourneighbors as a kind and dependable friend,” he said.The Fiftieth Legislature – Second Regular Session marks the beginningof Arizona’s CentennialYear with the first legislature having taken place in1912.Indian Law and Order Commission Field HearingCommission to listen and learn from Indian Countryabout lasting structural reforms to tribal justice systems.Valarie Tom, Media RelationsSALT RIVER PIMAMARICOPA INDIANCOMMUNITY—Thenext Indian Law and OrderCommission field hearingwill be held from 8:30 amto 4:30 pm on Friday, January 13 at the Talking StickHotel in Scottsdale, AZ.The Salt River PimaMaricopa Indian Community (SRPMIC) will hostthe one-day event that willbring together legal experts, tribal judicial representativesandlawenforcement officials togain insight into implementation of the Tribal Law andOrder Act (TLOA) fromthe people who are going tobe affected by it the most—Native Americans living onReservations.Some of the topics tobe discuss include: “LawEnforcement in IndianCountry”, “Overview ofJuvenile Systems: ThePractitioner’s Experience”,“Community Perspectiveon Judicial Systems in Indian Country”, and “TribalCourt Jurisdiction and theTLOA”. SRPMIC President Diane Enos will address the gathering duringthe welcoming address.The Tribal Law andOrder Act (TLOA) wassigned into law by President Obama in July 2010with bipartisan support andmakes federal agenciesmore accountable for serving Indian lands. TLOAalso provides greater freedom for tribes to designand run their own criminaljustice systems.TLOA created the Indian Law and Order Commission, an independent,all-volunteeradvisorygroup, to help with thegreatest challenges to securing equal justice for Native Americans living andworking on Indian lands.TLOA directs theCommission to report backto the White House andCapitol Hill this fiscal yearwith specific proposals tomake Indian Country saferand more just, so that Native Americans may finallyreceive the full protectionsguaranteed to all U.S. citizens by the Constitution.To gain insight intothese and many other systemic challenges, the Indian Law and OrderCommission has begun visiting Indian tribes and nationstodeveloprecommendations for lasting public policy reform.For event information, contact www.indianlawandordercommission.com.

6 JANUARY 2012 Gila River Indian NewsSkyline District 5 Honors ProgramBy Rudy DolfoCounselor, Skyline D5Skyline District 5 is excited to have inplace this year’s 7th and 8th grade HonorsProgram for Language Arts and Math.These subjects focus on advanced skills inpreparation for secondary honors and APcourse work in high school. Honors coursesprovide expectations and opportunities forstudents to work at an accelerated pace. Itengages them in more rigorous and complexcontent and processes, and it also utilizestheir higher level thinking process to develop authentic products that reflect the student’s understanding of key concepts. Thecurriculum in each honors course includesappropriate adaptations for accelerated andenriched learning for pursuing in-depth studies that require abstract and higher-orderthinking skills. Student accountability isstressed.Placement in the honors program is basedon multiple criteria including the student’sperformance on the AIMS scores, benchmark testing, attendance, attitude, previousclass grades from each block, and effort.Factors such as the desire of the student andparent or guardian to be in the program arealso taken into consideration. Once the student is in the program, he/she must maintainan A or B average, have good attendance,exhibit good behavior, show true effort, andhave a positive attitude.One of the most critical components to thesuccess of every student is parent involvement and support from home. Parents arecommitted to ensuring that students are responsibly completing homework and projects that often require additional timeoutside of the classroom setting.Although the program has only been inplace for a

In Remembrance of Lita Reynolds Lita Reynolds, 78, of Peoria passed away at 5:23 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011 at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Born March 17, 1933 in Sacaton, AZ to Miles and Eliza (Vavages) Davis. She married James H. Reynolds in Florence, AZ on Dec. 15, 1955. He preceded her in death in 1971. She was also preceded