Racism, David Glynn's Wild Horse novel, Velociters, Seminary, Secrets, Science & a poem by Rio Coyotl

Utes tell Gov. Herbert Utah officials racially targeting tribal members

UTE TRAVAILS … Utah Gov. Gary Herbert visited the Ute Indian Tribe on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah this past November, and you would have thought it would have been a happy occasion. Not exactly … While Herbert was welcomed with his message of “better communication,” according to the Ute Bulletin, he also got an earful from tribal officials … Chairman Shaun Chapoose called the relationship with the tribe and the state “fragile,” citing past court cases and current litigation between Utah counties and the tribe. In particular, he was referring to a 40-year old dispute over tribal jurisdiction … After the 10^th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver upheld tribal jurisdiction this past June, Wasatch, Duchesne and Uintah Counties filed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in October. According to the Bulletin, “This occurred after the Duchesne and Uintah counties met with the Ute Indian Tribe Business Committee where both counties clearly stated and gave their word that they would not file cert against the Ute Tribe” … In June 10th Circuit Judge Neil Gorsuch — who authored the opinion for a three-judge panel — accused the state of Utah and the counties of using state court prosecutions of tribal members to try to redraw reservation boundaries settled by a series of rulings in the 1990s. "Indeed, the harm to tribal sovereignty in this case is perhaps as serious as any to come our way in a long time," he’s reported to have said in the Deseret News … Nor are broken promises and challenges to tribal sovereignty the only gripes the tribe had. When Gov. Herbert maintained that “race was not an issue” in Utah, Tribal officials disagreed. Councilmember Ron Wopsock cited harassment from state and county law enforcement during Sundance time, suggesting that officers “violate the Tribal membership’s freedom of religion which is something that is guaranteed to each person under the Constitution of the United States” … Uncompahgre Councilmember Tony Small also took issue with the Utah Attorney General’s comments “calling the Tribal members outright drunks.” Gov. Herbert promised to look into that charge … Small continued, “You guys asked us for water for the Wasatch Front and we gave it to you guys. Now you guys don’t even want us to develop our own water storage … Another issue is the Uncompahgre land that was paid for by the people. That needs to be maintained. The people in the State of Colorado have acknowledged us and apologized to us for what happened. They have recognized the three Ute Tribes during their State sessions and it would be great to have that type of relationship here in the State of Utah.”

RACISM IN HIGH PLACES? … “There are, there are those who contend that it does not benefit African Americans to, to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well. As opposed to having them go to a less-advanced school, a less, a slower-track school where they do well … One of, one of the briefs pointed out that, that most of the, most of the black scientists in this country don’t come from schools like the University of Texas. They come from lesser schools where they do not feel that they’re, that they’re being pushed ahead in, in classes that are too, too fast for them." –Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia as quoted in the Hill on-line from a transcript.

DAVID GLYNN … A warm crowd gathered at Between the Covers Bookstore Dec. 19th to honor the launch of David’s posthumous novel, If There Were Courage: A Walk on the Good Red Road … It was wonderful to celebrate a human being devoted to wild horses – a rider and a keeper of the tame. David had many roles in the community – Ophir family man and mayor, realist painter, fine tile-setter and now author. And it was fitting to honor David the week after John Trudell passed on, a leader like David but from among those wronged by our pioneer ancestors. A wrong which David began our county and state movements to reconcile by erecting an Ophir town monument honoring the first peoples of Ophir Valley. May we continue to honor both of these good men … For more info on the book, visit Between the Covers Bookstore or go to davidglynnwildlifeart.com/if-there-were-courage

ODDS & ENDS … I called it my “Velociraptor” -- a buff new metallic blue Hyundai Veloster three-door (one on the driver’s side and two on the passenger’s side). I rented it to get around the Pacific Northwest. Especially loved the backup camera function that made reverse a much safer gear to use … As a former student in a California seminary also attended by retired Colorado Supreme Court Justice Gregory Hobbs, Jr., I get a seminary magazine that keeps me up to date on recent changes at my old school. So I was amazed to read that one of the teachers recently hired to train Roman Catholic men for a celibate priesthood in California is Rev. Sebastian Carnazzo – a priest in the Melkite Catholic Church of America who is married and has six children. He will be lecturing on Sacred Scripture and Biblical languages.

WEEKLY QUOTA … “Anybody holding a secret has a position of power, even if it’s a trivial secret.” –Jim Sanborn, sculptor (as quoted in the Smithsonian).

SCIENCE CHANGES … Sometimes we take scientific theory for fact, or like climate frozen in time, and forget that science is a process of positing, challenging, verifying and using information. As Science News reported earlier this year, researchers applied two different systems of analysis on the same data set within a couple years of each other -- in this case of gene activity measurements of mice and humans injured by trauma (burns, blood infections). “One group concluded that mice are terrible stand-ins for people with inflammation caused by trauma. The other group decided that the rodents are excellent human analogs. Same data, opposite results.”

THE TALKING GOURD

I opened the door

Crow sauntered in with a limp

A trick for a trap

-Rio Coyotl

Wrights Mesa