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If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath–a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

It isn't hard to see the thin red line that connects the nakedly tribal appeals of the Democratic National Convention with the bloody chaos in the Middle East. Despite Occupy Wall Street's best efforts our kind of tribalism does not involve mobs and gunmen violently attacking other groups, at least not in the formal sense, just representatives of the tribes getting up on the floor of a convention hall and promising that tribal priorities will be upheld through affirmative action and other redistributive schemes that will move more members of the oppressed tribes up the political and economic ladder. We...

The Obama administration has reached a settlement with more than 40 Indian tribes to resolve claims of mismanaged funds by the Department of the Interior. After 22 months of negotiation, the U.S. Department of Justice agreed with tribal representatives for the government to pay more than $1 billion to 41 tribes. Attorney General Eric Holder said the settlements “fairly and honorably resolve historical grievances over the accounting and management of tribal trust funds, trust lands and other non-monetary trust resources that, for far too long, have been a source of conflict between Indian tribes and the United States.” The settlement...

SEATTLE (The Blaze/AP) — Gay marriage isn’t legal in Washington state, but that hasn’t stopped an Indian tribe from recognizing same-sex unions.

...The same picture emerges wherever you look. In the European election in June, 2009, the Left took a hammering. In Germany, the Social Democrats polled just 20 per cent of the vote, their worst result since the Second World War. In France, the Socialist Party only mustered 16.5 per cent, its lowest share of the vote in a European election since 1994. In Italy, the Democrats polled 26.1 per cent, seven percentage points less than they received at the last Italian election. As David Miliband pointed out in a recent lecture: “Left parties are losing elections more comprehensively than ever...

In an unprecedented move the leaders of Jordan's main Bedouin tribes have published an open letter addressed to King Abdullah II accusing his wife, Queen Rania, of corruption. The text, released on 5 February, is signed by 36 representatives of the main Bedouin tribes. It comes at a particularly difficult time for the king, whose authority has been sapped by the growing discontent voiced by demonstrators. ... The letter makes no direct reference to the issue of the country's fragile ethnic balance, but claims that the queen, of Palestinian parentage, has created centres of power serving her own interests. This...

Stunning new photos taken over a jungle in Brazil reveal new images of one of the last uncontacted tribal groups on the planet. The photos reveal a thriving, healthy community living in Brazil near the Peruvian border, with baskets full of manioc and papaya fresh from their gardens, said Survival International, a rights organization working to preserve tribal communities and organizations worldwide "The illegal loggers will destroy this tribe," agreed Survival International’s director Stephen Corry. "It's vital that the Peruvian government stop them before time runs out

<p>Published: Monday, November 15, 2010 at 2:37 p.m. Last Modified: Monday, November 15, 2010 at 2:37 p.m.</p> <p>GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Duke without the Blue Devil? Notre Dame without the Fighting Irish? Most students and alumni at those proud universities wouldn't dream of dropping those enduring symbols of school pride.</p>

Two U.S. senators are slamming four federal stimulus funded initiatives in Connecticut as part of their national attack on President Barack Obama's $862 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. No. 14 on the GOP list is Connecticut's Mohegan Tribe, which got $54 million in rural development loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to build a four-story tribal government center, including a community center. The senators' main issue with the loans was that the center will also will serve as a practice facility for the WNBA Connecticut Sun basketball team. The team is owned by the Mohegan Sun casino, which...

"Our children will look to that day and say, 'My ancestors, they stood before the government. They stood before the Church. They stood as a people. They recognized who God is in our nation. And they did not back down. And they believed for the healing of our nation. They believed for a revival in our people—and the freedom. That's what it's all about.'" (Canada)—Canadian Christianity reports that moments after Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologized and asked for forgiveness for the federal government's catastrophic residential schools policy, Native leader and former MP Elijah Harper and 100 Huntley Street's David...

San Diego County tribes can share up to $165 million in federal stimulus money, federal officials announced yesterday. The money — in the form of federally guaranteed bonds — will go for energy projects, tourism facilities, retail and wastewater treatment, U.S. Treasury officials said. The local bonds are part of $2 billion in funding the federal government is making available. Half of that total was announced yesterday, with the other half in September. The Campo Indian band got $30 million. It will use the money to fund its share of a big wind farm it is planning to build on...

Earlier this week, the California Fair Political Practices Commission released its top 10 list of the biggest individual political spenders in the state between January 2000 and the end of 2009. It's a lot of money flying around: $266 million from the 10 donors alone. KQED's John Myers summed it up nicely. But if that wasn't enough, just a few months ago, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C., released a similar, but less-noticed study, which should cement the Golden State's place atop the national political spending pantheon. The study revealed, among other things, that California's tribal gaming...

TACOMA – Nationwide, $3 billion in federal grants, contracts and loans has been set aside for 564 federally recognized tribes in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As a whole, Northwest tribes are faring better than most as the money filters down from federal agencies. However, a News Tribune analysis of the money allocated so far shows that the stimulus funds are not helping all tribes in the state equally. On the contrary, the stimulus is widening the gap between rich and poor tribes created by the relative success of their casinos. Of the $94 million awarded to Washington’s 29...

OMAHA, Neb.- Native American tribes tired of waiting for the U.S. government to honor centuries-old treaties are buying back land where their ancestors lived and putting it in federal trust. Native Americans say the purchases will help protect their culture and way of life by preserving burial grounds and areas where sacred rituals are held. They also provide land for farming, timber and other efforts to make the tribes self-sustaining.....

Do you lead one? Do you have one? It's a pretty good question these days since there's a lot of talk about Tribes going around. And it seems to be an evolving situation but an interesting one since it's apparent that it's becoming a very powerful cultural phenomenon. I would say that it's probably because of the increased connectivity we all have allows us access to people who have the same views and values. For more on Tribes, I would recommend Seth Godin's book, oddly enough titled: Tribes. I had the priviledge of attending the recent PGC200 (www.pgc200.org) launch event...

In the Bronx, a Clash of Cultures Turns Violent Ozier Muhammad/The New York Times Community leaders organized meetings at Al Tawba mosque in Claremont to address fear and frustration expressed by many local West African immigrants who have experienced tensions with the local black American residents. Published: October 19, 2009 The storefronts on a stretch of Webster Avenue in the Claremont neighborhood in the South Bronx tell the story of local shifts as well as any census: a Senegalese-run 99-cent store, an African video store, an African-run fast-food spot, a mosque, several African restaurants. A Community Struggles The owner of...

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary __________________________________________________________________ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 15, 2009 President Obama Announces Kimberly Teehee as Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs WASHINGTON – Today, in taped remarks to the 2009 National Congress of American Indians Mid-Year Conference, President Barack Obama announced the appointment of Kimberly Teehee as Senior Policy Advisor for Native American Affairs. As a member of the Domestic Policy Council, Teehee will advise the President on issues impacting Indian Country. President Obama also announced that the White House will hold a Tribal Nations Conference later this fall. "Kim Teehee will be...

WARDAK PROVINCE, Afghanistan, June 12, 2009 – Every summer, the Kuchi tribe migrates through the Daymardad district of this central-Afghanistan province, allowing their animals to graze in the open pastures belonging to the Hazara tribe. This frequently has sparked violent territorial disputes. An elder with the Kuchi tribe explains his situation to Ali Khashe, deputy governor of Afghanistan’s Wardak province, center in gray jacket, June 8, 2009. The Kuchi have asked for water and veterinarian supplies for their livestock as a condition to stop fighting with the Hazara tribe. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Rob Frazier  (Click photo for screen-resolution...

Reporting from Fuhays, Jordan -- Michel Hattar's father was a priest in Jerusalem in 1947 when word arrived from the rocky Jordanian hills that he must renounce his vows and marry to protect his tribe's land and inheritances. He did as he was told. He broke from the holy order he had known for 20 years to wed the bride picked by his family, his first cousin, Widad. Today their son Michel lives on a bluff of olive groves and fig trees that slopes toward the valley that his Fuhays tribe has farmed and fought over for more than four...

Last Monday began the PBS Series, "WE SHALL REMAIN" with their first Episode "After The Mayflower". The ones that will get my attention begin next week, Monday April 20th, 2009, and especially the April 27th "Trail of Tears" episode which will feature "The Ridge", the Cherokee leader and his clan who I wrote about in "Jesus Wept" An American Story. It will be VERY interesting to see how PBS deals with this situation or if they will be overtaken with the usual political correctness and historical rumor. My story is taken from documented records as well as family letters saved...

Jeddah // Saudi Arabia’s religious police have been forced to issue a rare apology after a member of one of the country’s most influential tribes said he was beaten by police for allegedly kissing his wife in public. Mohammed al Qahtani, of the Qahtan tribe – the largest in Saudi Arabia – had threatened to present his case to King Abdullah after the police spokesman issued a statement eight days ago accusing Mr al Qahtani of lying about the incident. Damaging the reputation of a tribal member in Saudi is considered an insult to the entire tribe, and releasing personal...

At first, it was a bit odd to see Washington, D.C. attorney Kannon Shanmugam, counsel for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the "ceded lands" case immediately concede in oral argument that the U.S. Supreme Court should rule against OHA -- and hold the Apology Resolution was simply a symbolic statement of regret -- if the Hawaii Supreme Court's decision relied on it. Responding to a question from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, he stated: "Let me -- let me be clear about this, Justice Ginsburg, if the Hawaii Supreme Court's opinion is read to construe the Apology Resolution as creating...

The Obama White House plans to add a policy adviser on native American tribal concerns within the next few weeks, First Lady Michelle Obama said today. The president "will soon appoint a policy adviser to his senior White House staff to work with tribes and across the government on these issues such as sovereignty, health care and education, all central to the well being of native American families and the prosperity of tribes,'' the first lady said in a visit to the Interior Department today. The first lady, embarked on a tour of all the federal agencies, was greeted with...

Local shaykhs and an Iraqi Soldier discuss the future of the area after a bridge reopening ceremony in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, Jan. 18, 2009. The bridge crosses the Salty River, joining two halves of the Mamour Tribe. Photo by Spc. Jamie Vernon, 1st Armored Division. BAGHDAD — Leaders from the Iraqi Army, local shaykhs and Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers participated in a bridge reopening ceremony in Mahmudiyah, south of Baghdad, Jan. 18. The improvement in security and reduction in sectarian violence made it possible to reopen the bridge which had separated a tribal community. The reopening also returns...

<p>Eight members of a remote Indian tribe have died after drinking a chemical they mistook for alcohol.</p> <p>The dead men from the tiny Onge tribe swigged the brown liquid which washed ashore in a bottle.</p> <p>There are fewer than 100 members of the Onge left. They are the last remaining hunter-gatherers and live on the Andaman and Nicobar islands.</p>

THE "LOST" TEN TRIBES In a recent discussion of the subject, by P. Asmussim, in a German periodical, the writer shows that the ten tribes never were "lost." Both in the Books of Kings and in the Assyrian inscriptions we have records of the deportations of the inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom, and in leading particulars the accounts agree. In 734 Tiglath-Pileser led into captivity the people of Gilead and of Galilee, and the districts of Issachar, Zebulon, Asher, Naphtali, Northern Dan, Eastern Manasseh and Gad were incorporated into the Assyrian monarchy. The last king of Israel accordingly ruled over...

Pakistani tribes reach for guns after U.S. attack GHALANAI, Pakistan, June 13 (Reuters) - Fiercely independent tribesmen, angered by a U.S. air strike that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers earlier in the week, vowed to raise a militia to help Pakistan's army defend the border with Afghanistan. Elders from ethnic Pashtun tribes in Mohmand, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal regions, issued a statement late on Thursday condemning the attack as “naked aggression” and said they were ready to raise a “lashkar”, or tribal army. “It's the duty of the government to protect and defend the frontiers and we are ready to...

Skin painted bright red, heads partially shaved, arrows drawn back in the longbows and aimed square at the aircraft buzzing overhead. The gesture is unmistakable: Stay Away. Behind the two men stands another figure, possibly a woman, her stance also seemingly defiant. Her skin painted dark, nearly black. The apparent aggression shown by these people is quite understandable. For they are members of one of Earth's last uncontacted tribes, who live in the Envira region in the thick rainforest along the Brazilian-Peruvian frontier. Thought never to have had any contact with the outside world, everything about these people is, and...

ABC News' Sunlen Miller Reports: Traveling though Montana on Monday, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., made his first stop as a presidential candidate to an Indian reservation - and got a little more than expected. Obama was adopted as an honorary member into the family within the Crow tribe that inhabited the reservation - who gave the presidential candidate a new name and new parents. "Awe Kooda bilaxpak Kuuxshish" was the honorary name given to Obama meaning, "one who helps people throughout the land." Obama was escorted out to the stage in Crow Agency, Montana arm-in-arm between his adopted parents: Sunny...

Nearly 17 years after riots tore Crown Heights apart, the recent beating of a black college student by Jewish assailants has exposed rising tensions between blacks and Jews in my neighborhood. Cops and city officials have quietly gone on high alert, worried that another riot could be in the works. The troubles began on April 14, when Andrew Charles, a 20-year-old sophomore at Kingsborough Community College, says he and a friend encountered a pair of young Jewish men while walking down Albany Ave. about 6 p.m. "One was on bike, one was on foot. They were staring at us, staring...

Pakistan's new government is close to signing a peace accord with pro-Taliban militants as part of a softer counterterrorism policy from Islamabad that deemphasizes military strikes and calls for U.S. forces to show more restraint in the area. Britain has expressed reservations about the strategy, and Washington has said it wants Pakistani forces to continue fighting insurgents in the tribal regions near the border with Afghanistan. Reports from Pakistan said a top leader of pro-Taliban militants has directed his fighters to "immediately cease their activities" in connection with the deal. The reports come as the new Pakistani government of Prime...

Several of California's largest gaming tribes have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a little-known body to successfully speed up their land applications - a necessary step for casino expansion, Capitol Weekly has learned. The California Fee to Trust Consortium was established under the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs Pacific Regional office in 2000 in order to expedite land claims, many of which have languished for years. The consortium arrangement allows tribes to pay into a fund that pays the salaries of the BIA employees who evaluate these claims. Documents about the little-known governmental organization came to light following...

Sheikh Ahmed Albu-Risha caresses his prayer beads during a meeting where he announced to many of the local Iraqi leaders that his organization, Sahwah Al-Iraq, or the 'Awakening Councils in Iraq' is going to become a political organization, laying down its arms, and sending his men to become a reserve unit in the Iraqi army. The meeting was attended by many Anbari sheikhs, Iraqi army and police commanders, as well as Col. Robert F. Castellvi, the commanding officer of the 1st Iraqi Army Division Military Transition Team. Photo by Cpl. Sean Mcginty. AR RAMADI — In a beautiful compound here...

PALM SPRINGS – A state senator has introduced legislation that would enable a large group of Indian tribes to expand existing casinos or build large new ones without further negotiations with the state. Sen. Jim Battin, R-Palm Desert, said his proposal would allow all 61 tribes that negotiated gambling agreements, or compacts, with former Gov. Gray Davis in 1999 to have up to 2,000 slots each, the number many tribes believe were promised by the deals. But the California Gambling Control Commission had voted to limit all tribes in the state to roughly 60,000 slots, based on the commission's interpretation...

The California Republican Party is struggling to get out of debt, creating a potential drag on voter registration and other party-building efforts in the midst of a heated campaign season, records showed Thursday. As of last week, the state GOP's main account had a balance of $3.2 million but $3.4 million in unpaid obligations. The party's federal account - used to finance activities that support congressional candidates - listed a balance of $34,000 but nearly $460,000 in debts, according to records filed last month. The shaky finances are due in large part to sluggish fundraising. The party collected $5.6 million...

The Middle East's Tribal Affliction   By Daniel PipesFrontPageMagazine.com | Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Why is the Middle East so at odds with modern life, laggard in everything from literacy to standard of living, from military prowess to political development? A profound new book by Philip Carl Salzman, professor at McGill University, with the deceptively plain title Culture and Conflict in the Middle East (Prometheus), offers a bold and original interpretation of Middle Eastern problems. An anthropologist, Salzman begins by sketching out the two patterns of rule that historically have dominated the Middle East: tribal autonomy and tyrannical centralism....

THe Rumor Was A Wild One, and it seized Marcelo dos Santos with the power of a primary myth. There's an Indian living in the woods around here, some local ranch hands were saying in 1996. He wears no clothes. Get near him, and he vanishes. He is utterly alone. Marcelo knew a lot about elusive Indians -- more than just about anyone. He was a sertanista, a uniquely Brazilian profession that is part jungle explorer, part ethnologist and part bureaucrat. As a member of Funai -- the Brazilian government agency charged with protecting indigenous interests and cultures -- Marcelo's...

Tribal leaders from the northern Diyala River Valley swear on a reconciliation agreement following a meeting at Forward Operating Base Fallock, an Iraqi Army base, Oct. 8. Approximately 70 leaders from Muqdadiya and the surrounding areas gathered to discuss uniting in the fight against terrorism and the way ahead. Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Serena Hayden 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs. BAGHDAD — The Tamimi and Jibouri tribes, the two largest tribes in Iraq’s Diyala province, met Oct. 24 to discuss the importance of reconciliation and signed a fellowship agreement stressing cooperation and friendship between the...

Dennis Champlain's grandfather helped win federal recognition for the Narragansett Indian Tribe. Champlain himself has danced in tribal powwows and teaches his children that they are Narragansetts. Yet the Narragansetts say he is no longer a member of the tribe. Champlain and his extended family are among thousands of people removed from American Indian tribes in recent years, often amid tribal squabbles or when a casino comes to town. In Rhode Island, the Narragansetts' removal of about 140 of roughly 2,400 members has become an issue in Saturday's election for the tribe's chief sachem, or leader. Tribal officials say they...

US officials return ancient remains to indigenous Tlingit tribes after scientific testing The Associated PressPublished: October 19, 2007 ANCHORAGE, Alaska: Human remains estimated to be more than 10,000 years old will be returned to southeast Alaska Tlingit tribes 11 years after they were found in a cave in the Tongass National Forest. It is the first time a federal agency has conveyed custody of such ancient remains to indigenous groups under the 1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, U.S. Forest Service officials said Friday. "It's a pretty substantial find," said Tongass spokesman Phil Sammon. Vertebrae, ribs, teeth, a...

AL ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq, Sept. 3, 2007 – Local tribes siding with coalition forces to repel al Qaeda must be incorporated into Iraq’s central government and its security forces, a senior Defense Department official said. The official spoke to reporters on background while traveling to Iraq with Defense Department Secretary Robert M. Gates. Gates joined President Bush and other top U.S. officials in a surprise meeting here today. It is likely the president’s last meeting with all key leaders before deciding the course of U.S. involvement in Iraq. The official told reporters in flight than an “awakening” of tribal...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26, 2007 – Tribal leaders in Iraq’s Diyala province are banding together to secure peace and protect their people, the commander of coalition forces in the province told reporters yesterday. “They (tribal leaders) signed a peace agreement and swore to protect the land and their people from al Qaeda and to bridge the gap between tribes and to have a provincial-wide reconciliation movement,” Army Col. David W. Sutherland said as he sat alongside the Iraqi security forces commander in Diyala, Maj. Gen. Abdul Kareem, during a joint news conference in Baqubah, Iraq. Referring to Kareem as his “friend”...

TIKRIT — Key tribal leaders from the Ubaidi and Anbakia tribes signed a peace agreement July 10 during a meeting at the Baqubah Government Center to end tribal conflicts that have been occurring for decades and stand together against al-Qaida and other terrorist organizations. “The strength of the tribes comes from the sheiks’ courage,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. Sheik Hamed Hazber Hasan Abdal al-Anbak, paramount sheik for the Anbakia tribe, and a key tribal leader from the Ubaidi tribe, have been meeting for the past several months to discuss and work...

Accords bring Assembly Democrats on board as unions cry 'betrayal.' Four of California's wealthiest Indian gambling tribes and Assembly Democrats broke a prolonged stalemate Wednesday, striking a controversial deal that could trigger thousands of new casino slot machines and billions of dollars for the state treasury.The tribes, lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed off on side agreements that appear to provide political cover for the Legislature's approval of gambling compacts negotiated last year.Organized labor, which had lobbied Democrats to force union-friendly provisions on the tribes, criticized Wednesday's signing of separate "memorandum of understanding" accords as "an unbelievable betrayal." But the...

Local Iraq officials focus on recruiting police, creating peace. By Multi-National Corps – Iraq Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory TIKRIT, Iraq, May 17, 2007 — As coalition and Iraqi security forces continue to provide security and stability throughout Diyala Province, Iraq, many tribal leaders are also united in their efforts to bring peace and stand up against al-Qaida in Iraq. After a peace agreement was signed between the paramount sheiks of the Karki and Shimouri tribes, April 30, other tribal leaders gathered throughout the region to do the same – provide peace and protection for their people and their lands....

Pakistan's tribal district of South Waziristan, on the border with Afghanistan, is in the throes of turmoil once again. The government says that the local tribesmen have started an armed campaign to expel foreign militants whom it blames for launching cross-border attacks on foreign and Afghan troops in Afghanistan. It says more than 250 people, mostly foreign militants, have been killed in these clashes since early March. Unofficial reports put the casualty figures much lower, and suggest that mixed groups of local and foreign militants are confronting each other in what also appears to be a power struggle within the...

Tirana, March 7, 2007 (AENews) – Protests against Greek soldiers' anti-Albanian song is rising in Albania while politicians have called for a contained and calm response. In Durres and Elbasan, protesters burned Greek flags while the entire population is bewildered by the level of hatred and violence in the text of Greek Soldiers' song. A private video showing Greek soldiers singing "We are gone a make shoe-strings with Albanian guts" was published last week on the Internet, then was commented by the Greek and Albanian media. Foreign Relations committee in the Albanian Parliament called Thursday on the population to stop...

House Democrats hope to raise between $650,000 and $1 million for each of the party's most endangered Democrats in hopes of keeping the party in control of Congress. The tactics are hardly new. Republicans aggressively used their committee chairmen -- and the promise of access to them -- to raise money from interest groups and lobbyists during the party's 12 years of congressional control. They tracked donations closely and pressed lobbying firms to hire GOP lobbyists through the "K Street Project," promising "intimate" issue briefings with the chairmen in return for big donations. And the GOP is hardly sitting on...

TEMECULA – Seeking to reverse recent setbacks and improve their long-range political position, California's gambling tribes moved yesterday to establish common ground with labor-backed Democrats who blocked five new gambling compacts last summer. The tribes not only invited Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to speak at a national gaming conference at Pechanga Resort and Casino, but also embraced him as someone who “could be one of our own,” and then gave him an extended standing ovation. Afterward, tribal leaders and others lined up to have pictures taken with the mayor. Just six years ago, some of the same tribes helped...

Iraq tribes 'taking on al-Qaeda' Pacifying Anbar is a tough challenge for the US and Iraqi forces A group of Sunni tribal chiefs in Iraq say they have caught more than 100 al-Qaeda members in recent months. The tribal chiefs in the Iraqi province of Anbar joined forces in September in an attempt to defeat al-Qaeda. They set up the Salvation Council for Anbar and claim to have reduced the numbers of weapons and foreign fighters coming into the area. The restive Sunni dominated area has been a centre of activity for foreign jihadis linked to al-Qaeda. The head of...