National Native News Special Features

Today's feature on National Native news. A federal panel tries to get to the facts behind Medical Experimentation on natives in the Arctic. I'm Diane Hamilton. Back in the 1950s researchers went out to villages in Alaska and conducted medical tests on more than 100 Alaskan natives using diagnostic doses of an isotope of iodine. The tests were sanctioned by the U.S. Air Force which was looking for ways to improve troop survival in extreme cold. Now a panel of the National Academy of Sciences is investigating whether there was informed consent at hearings in Fairbanks Alaska. The scientists who conducted the test said the subjects volunteered but the surviving natives say no one told them they were research subjects. John McWhorter has more. Back in the 1950s scientists working at the Air Force's air medical lab in Alaska were asked to study on humans respond to extreme arctic cold. The scientists conducted many of the tests on themselves including sleeping outside in freezing weather and dunking their hands in icy water. But they also sought to understand just how Athabaskan Indians and a new pact ask the most tolerant life in the frozen north.

In one experiment scientists flew to six Arctic Alaskan villages to administer dosages of radioactive iodine. In recent hearings about the incident which in Athabascan Trimble Gilbert says no one really understood what the tests were for. So my sister and I were selected to go through the tests and there was none of our people speak English very well during that time and nobody notified us to come up to our ability to do this. That's when they are right and they tell us what to do. We have to do it because we don't understand what's going on. Gilbert was one of more than 100 people who was given iodine 131 radioactive element widely used in the past to measure activity of the thyroid gland. Gilbert and other Alaska natives say they had no knowledge of radioactivity or its risks and no one informed them. Dr. Carr wrote on the scientist who directed the test told no

one of any risks because at the time he says he didn't believe there were any. And he contradicts the natives claim that they were uninformed speaking by teleconference from Oslo Norway when all told one of the hearing investigators Inder Chopra. But the natives freely consented to the tests. Thought of the type that would have to cut the village leaders Good understand the language. Investigators are spending a lot of time trying to figure out who knew what and when they knew it. They're finding that cultural misunderstanding led to a breach of ethics regarding informed consent. Pete Stern from FAIR Banks told the committee that he learned first hand about cultural insensitivities in 1989 while he was working as a VISTA volunteer in Arctic Village.

I want a white person in authority arrived in the village the village always thought to treat them as well as possible. Doctors in the village were real luxury especially an army or an air force for the new arriving the go is nobody would have challenged anything the doctor might have said. Culturally it would it would have been bad form to ask questions about things being said by the doctor. There'd be a lot of head nodding things like that that you know that their understanding was being said but the reality probably was significantly different. Stern believes that what the scientist took for consent might have been the natives just going along with the non-native doctors. Some natives like Gilbert Sr. Florence Newman say if they had known what the potential risks were taking iodine 131 they would have refused to clip what's being done to our bodies are healed. Maybe they'd get fired he explained. But we could not understand them. If somebody explain it to the pills or experiment Newman believes she's developed health problems because of the tests though doctors have found no

specific link. Health physicist and PANEL MEMBER Kenneth Mosman says a recent study of 35000 Scandinavians indicates that similar use of iodine 131 has resulted in no additional health risk. So now it's up to the Academy's five member panel to offer an opinion panel facilitator Lauren set low says the committee is mulling over documents and testimony in order to draft its final report. Members will make recommendations to Congress regarding ethical injury and possible restitution for National Native news in Fairbanks Alaska. I'm John McWhorter National Native news features are made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts. Today's feature on National Native news Sedona Arizona is an important center for New Age culture. But what about the culture that was there first. I'm Deon Hamilton.

Every month it's a part of the you have a pie culture to go to the veritie valley where there was a large amount of rock art that you have a pie called these petroglyphs a vital link with their ancestors a kind of history book from a time when there was no written language. The rock art is also valued by other cultures and increasingly by practitioners of so-called new age rites. But the rock art itself is beginning to suffer. Mary Lee Ryan of KNAU in Flagstaff went to one of the most heavily used rock art sites and brings us this report. Nestled in Red Canyon northwest of Sedona the Polaski ruins are home to dozens of rock paintings and etchings that date as far back as 3000 years ago. The site is also one of the last links to the past for the people. But as with many have leaders did rock art sites around the globe he is susceptible to increased vandalism falls under forest service jurisdiction and according to Ted Vaughan You have a pie. More steps need to be taken by the government to

prevent further desecration of the government. They spend millions of dollars for endangered species. You know like the spotted white owls and some mineral in this and that but to us even us you have a prize. We are in endangered species. This is an endangered culture. And what is being done on this particular day you have a bi tribal member Florence angle studies the drawings and remembers. I see the same design she made on her baskets. And kind of hurts me because I see where the script Ingle remembers seeing the images on the walls of the plot quay ruins on her mother's artwork. She says the etchings have a very specific meaning to her people a story. How many people were here where they should wander there where people

ride horses deer and all that. I think it's. A story which a lot of us don't understand. So I think I'd like to have the drawings the way it was made for people just to see you know not to damage them. Over the past few years much of the blocky rock art has been destroyed. There's graffiti everywhere and candle wax and offerings that appear to be leftovers from so-called new age ceremonies. Sedona ranger district archaeologist for the Coconino National Forest Maria Davenport patrols plot key to deal with the vandalism of the ancient art on the site. We have a lot of this kind of graffiti. How many times it's just on a plain surface. But there are occasions when it's super imposing prehistoric and historic record and it's very hard to deal with a removal then because you you run the risk of destroying the

original artwork and some of it is already so faded that you can't even tell that it's there. Well rock art was created hundreds or even thousands of years ago. You have a bi tribal archaeologist Kevin Harper says Polaski is still the cornerstone of Yeva by culture a vital link to the past that must be saved before it's too late. And then when you have a piker today. And they see this area's desecrated or whatever you want to call it with the new graffiti in this new age drawing or whatever. It's really upsetting to them because this is all they have. They don't have books like you know the Western civilization does where they can always go back and look at that. This is kind of a one time writing or whatever if you want to use it that way and once this is gone that's it for you have a bi tribal member Ted Vaughan preserving the rock art at sites like Polaski as a matter of respect. I do not go to a library and draw on there put.

Rock art writings on their walls. I don't do that. I respect. Them and we wish they in turn would show us the same respect the Forest Service is looking at ways to protect Polaski and other ruins in the Verde Valley area by limiting the number of people who tour the site each day or by keeping secret several locations significant to the culture of the area native Americans for National Native News this is Mary Lee Ryan in Flagstaff Arizona. National Native news features are made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts. Public. Radio. International. Today's feature on National Native news the six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy field a team in the world lacrosse championships. I'm Deon Hamilton. The lacrosse

championships happen every four years this year in Manchester England. Lacrosse is a sport that was born in what's now a New York State and the province of Ontario. And this year one of the six teams competing comes from where the sport originated. The Six Nations Eric Anderson reports that twenty five Iroquois are on the team including elder Oren Lyons. For more than a thousand years lacrosse held a special place in the culture of the Iroquois Confederacy feel look crosses today played on turf the size of a football field with two teams of 10 trying to maneuver a small hard rubber ball with specialized sticks of various lengths into a six by six foot goal. Plastic flak jackets padded arm protectors and helmets with face cages are standard equipment for those playing this frantic contest. It could be called the fastest game. Has the Iroquois Nationals teammates practice for the World Games.

They see the faces of all the Iroquois nations on their squad Mohawk and Onondaga and Seneca and Tuscarora 31 year old Emmitt print up is taking part in his second World Championships a tradition the Iroquois have never lost. He says lacrosse and the all star team are tools to re-establish Native American pride. That's what it's all about. You know they've they've backed us up into a corner and little reserves and we won't go away. You know we're still here and we're showing an executive director for the Nationals team David Bray hopes it's also a step toward regaining international prominence and recognition. No small feat for a team drawing its players from a pool of about 100 candidates. It's our national game. It's a game that we gave to to the rest that are world view of the Creator and we want to put our best team obviously because it is our national sport and any nation has a certain respect that we want to do is field a very good team realizing that we have the smallest player pool to pull from. You know when you're going into the United States Canada which have much

in Australia and have much larger player pulls you know it's very difficult for us to pull. Our players you know from a such small pool. Nevertheless we are very competitive. The Iroquois Nationals will begin the games with the playing of their tribal anthem. They'll carry the Iroquois banner a replica of the Hiawatha wampum belt signifying the creation of the Confederacy. And as team board member Denise Waterman points out they'll be traveling as you record citizens complete with passports on the cover there's. A seal and the seal is the Fishel. Iroquois Confederacy symbol seal and. It's. Designates the 50 chiefs within the Confederacy. It also doesn't say it has. A tree of the tree of peace the philosophy of Shawnee circling the tree.

The various clans of the of the air quiver of to show any For example the turtle or bear travelling as members of a sovereign nation is something Onondaga Nation chief Oren Lyons says other indigenous people can aspire to he says lacrosse ties the nation's generations together calling it a medicine game with healing properties. The former collegiate All-America says the entire native community turns out to petition the creator for health in the name of an individual or group. They come to help. Turn Africa into a game that was given to us for that purpose. Spiritual goes on like I say three four weeks ago we played here. Everybody plays you know I'm 65 I'm going to play you know I was right in it and. It's fun. And the you know it goes back to the old style two sticks you know standing there and also in the air and. It's ball in the goal that's all there is you know.

Play Hard Play fair. Play to win. And it's the spirit of the game that carries for the person. The more intense and better the Spirit there is for the person that is the petition. For the World Championships. They won't be playing Madison games will be playing to win a round robin tournament is already underway with a championship game to be played on July 30th for National Native news. I'm Eric Anderson in Syracuse New York. National Native news features are made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts. These. Are. Public. Radio. International. Today's feature on National Native news the Association of American Indian physicians gathers in Portland. I'm Diane Hamilton. The numbers tell their own story. In 1994 one hundred and thirty four natives applied to medical school almost 20 years later in 1900 to only a hundred and ninety four applied. Not

very dramatic growth and a major concern to the 200 natives who have made it out of medical school and become members of the Association of American Indian physicians. They're meeting in Portland Oregon this weekend and next week and I'm speaking with their president now Klamath Piute Dr. Gerald Hill in looking at your agenda. I see that many of your activities this weekend are aimed at encouraging native medical students. Could you tell me about that effort. Yes it's something that the association has been involved with now for I think almost 20 years. We had been federally funded through the help groups Opportunity program I believe for about 18 years to do this after but now that funding has been dried up for us. And so we've continued the effort through activities funded through various other men. It is because we feel it's probably the most important thing that we can do native as native physicians is to increase the number of natives going into medical school. Turning to health care reform there's been talk that health care reform could threaten their survival of

the Indian Health Service. Is this a concern to your association. Absolutely. We have been involved with discussions on health care reform with the administration now throughout the entire year. We've participated in virtually every meeting between the administration and in the communities and we've come down very strongly with the other organizations have interested in health is that we definitely want to continue the health service which is culturally appropriate for Native Americans and that the health care reform bills now do have special provisions for Indian health and to continue to allow the Indian Health Service as well as tribal programs to be competitive throughout the health care reforms. But natives will also have an option to take themselves out of the IHS under reform. Yes. That's why we feel that we need to be competitive. If an Indian I have worked for many years in Indian health and anybody is going to take services that are greater for their

family and their community if they can access better services. Unfortunately if we force our Indian communities to be noncompetitive. People will be more likely willing to give culturally appropriate care for greater services. We think that would be a great wrong to the Indian people in this country to force them to move outside the system in order to get adequate services. So if we're going to make their choice between moving out of the Indian Health Service or the tribal health programs we want them to have to make the choice on equal footing. In other words we want the services to be equally available in both services and then allow the the person to choose where they would like their services delivered from. Well you just brought up an interesting point which is the idea of traditional healing actually being integrated. How are you going to keep expanding on the idea of culturally appropriate healing when when you've got it when you're facing cutbacks and I just and and transferring people into other options in

health care. Well that's I think that's exactly the issue for me. In the last 20 years at least now we've been developing a health care system that is appropriate to the social and cultural context of Indian communities. Right now Indian people have more input into the development of their own health care system than they have ever had. And if this is lost then Indian people will lose their voice as to what type of health care system they feel is most appropriate for them. So I think it's critical to continue the funding and to continue the efforts and not just the status quo but to continue developing the systems that is appropriate to our communities. Do you think that your ways of looking at treating native people is influencing the non-native health community. I think in many ways we're leading the Western concept of care has been very disease driven. And it's also been individual driven whereas we see the health problems impacting an individual resonating throughout a community. And so we

understand that in order to have healthy Indian people we have to have healthy communities. And I think that live really is a leading concept which the non-native community I think is coming around more and more to. Thank you Dr. Hill. We've been speaking with Dr. Gerald Hill President of the Association of American Indian physicians meeting this weekend in Portland Oregon National Native news features are made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts. Today's feature on National Native news. The flavor of a powwow. I'm Diane Hamilton the PA is the cradle of intertribal ism. It is a framework of welcome in which Native Americas many cultures can celebrate themselves and one another. At the. Nowadays I can be a significant source of income for tribal members as well. There are craft markets and of course the dance competitions producer Charles Michael Ray of South Dakota Public Radio went to July's

Black Hills powwow and brought back these audio impressions of a community that forms and dissolves again in just a matter of days. The sound that you hear all those drums represent the heartbeat. It's a celebration. It's a celebration of brown. My people are there because they can express their spirituality and. You know in a sense a true competition you know. But. It's celebration. Of what we want our children to be educated about their culture and about traditions. We also want the non-Indian people to be educated and understand and appreciate have a respect for our culture and our traditions. And so when our young people come and celebrate and dance and enjoy themselves here they feel and get in touch with that

the respect and the greatness of their cultural tradition. And when they do that and they're happy with that then people the visitors that are here from all over the United States. The non-Indian people get a sense of that. And I think can grow their respect for our traditions and our culture. It's a real good feeling. Especially when you. Come together as one unit. Unity. For diverse people of many tribes come through these policies and they make friends. They meet old friends and then on the day they catch up on their news wherever they come from their reservations their communities and that's a happy good feeling the way a one on

one and I think this Roma come from a thing that the people get together with. I make friends and make new friends. I I keep them together. But it's different from a different tribes like say a team of US from where their songs and dance like say around dance around dance. In their inner tribal way here. Those players where there are round dances go counter-clockwise. But just about every tribe United States has some form of round and. They can still I know get together from different tribes and doing these dances. But at the same time still have their own. And this way still respects their traditions.

But. What I've been taught to try to pass it on to our younger generation to teach them what I know you know through our traditional values our cultural values and our spiritual values. Is this a good way to remind myself that. Respecting my culture and my traditions. I find that the more I respect my own culture and my tradition all the better I respect other people's cultures and traditions. I think that would kind of that kind of work for. Every culture if they respect themselves and they can respect other people a lot easier. National Native news features are made possible by the National Endowment for the Arts. This is National Native news. Our features producer is Steve Haim. Production

assistance from Nelly more engineering by Kevin Smith and Chris Bell like music by making it hard for the Alaska Public Radio Network. I'm Diane Hamilton. Public. Radio. International. This is Diane Hamilton of national native news. In today's headlines Native youth from New Mexico are running to Washington D.C. to draw attention to conditions on the reservation and the world Eskimo Indian Olympics get underway in Fairbanks Alaska today on national native news.