Canku Ota

(Many Paths)

A Newsletter Celebrating Native America

November 18, 2000 - Issue 23

School News

gathered by Vicki Lockard

The information here will include items of interest for and about Native American schools. If you have news to share, please let us know! I can be reached by emailing: Vlockard@aol.com

Students rally around proposed endowment fund FLAGSTAFF, Arizona — A new endowment fund set up by the Hopi Tribe may make it easier for area students to pursue higher education. The proposed fund is scheduled for consideration by the Hopi Tribal Council in its November session. The fund will be set-up as a perpetual tax-exempt endowment fund, offering an opportunity to individuals, corporations, and foundations to channel additional money and other resources into it. At two recent public presentations made in Flagstaff and Phoenix, students said that a fund like this has been a long time in coming, expressing their frustration over the vulnerability of their tribal scholarships due to the tribal budget process. “Sometimes if the Tribe’s budget is not passed, we suffer because we have to wait for the funds to come in. Some of us have to drop out of school if the money is not made available,” said one student. Still, some of the students expressed concern that the fund may not be passed by the Council, citing the past attempts of three former chairmen to establish permanent scholarships for them. “The concerns of the students are valid. They have heard the rhetoric that they are the future, and they would like the fund to be passed with adequate money committed to it,” explains LuAnn Leonard, Staff Assistant to Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor. According to Chairman Taylor, the permanent fund will be established by ordinance and will include a broad scope for its operation. “In the future, when the fund grows to a substantial amount, we can use the income to support other education initiatives beyond scholarships. Education is life-long, and we have Hopi people wanting to pursue adult education summer enrichment, and Hopi language camps. This dream can finally become a reality if we are successful establishing the Tribe’s Education Endowment Fund.” Kykotsmovi Council Representative Marvin Yoyokie, who is a member of the Endowment Fund Team, explained that the fund is critical at this point in time. “The majority of our tribal revenue is from a non-renewable resource. Revenue from coal mining provides at least 80% of the tribe’s total annual revenue. The coal will cease to exist one day, and it is important that we prepare today so that our students’ education can continue no matter what happens.” Several students at the Flagstaff meeting remarked that the fund will support tribal sovereignty and self-reliance. “I agree,” said Chairman Taylor. “In fact, the Fund will be set up under Section 7871 of the Internal Revenue Service code that treats tribal governments as states for certain tax purposes. The Ordinance provides that the fund will be under Hopi Tribal Court jurisdiction which supports our tribal sovereignty. It also allows us to adopt our own oversight structure so that we can make our donors secure.” Anyone interested in learning more about the proposed Hopi Tribe Education Endowment Fund can call LuAnn Leonard (520) 734-3104. Hopi Cross Country teams place first in regional competition By Stan Bindell, The Observer POLACCA, Ariz— Alyssa Fredericks from Hopi High School and Joshua Thompson from St. Michaels High School were the individual champion runners at the 1A-2A North Regional cross country championships at Hopi High. Fredericks dethroned last year’s champ, teammate Martina Goklish, who finished right behind her in second place. “I was surprised that I won because my teammates give me real competition, but I just ran like I always do,” Fredericks said. Fredericks, a sophomore, was behind Goklish for most of the race until she past her with about 600 yards to go. Fredericks said she had only beaten Goklish in one other race this year at the Peaks Invitational in Flagstaff early in the season. Fredericks, an Honor Roll student, ran four to six miles six days a week to stay in shape this year. “Aside from that, I just run and stretch,” she said. Fredericks, who also runs track, has been active with the National Junior Honor Society and Gifted and Talented. She maintains a 3.8 grade point average. After she graduates from high school, she hopes to run for Paradise Valley or Glendale community colleges. She is working toward academic and athletic scholarships. Her brother, Manny, has run for Phoenix College. She is the daughter of Arvin and Annette Fredericks of Kykotsmovi. Hopi won the girls race with 18 points followed by St. Michaels with 76, Many Farms third with 87, Valley-Sanders fourth with 89, Orme fifth and Red Mesa sixth. Hopi High Coach Harvey Honyouti said he was not surprised that Fredericks beat out Goklish because she had done so earlier this year and the two have been running neck and neck all year. Completing the Hopi regional championship team were Tara Secakuku, fifth Mallory Shattuck, seventh; Tonya Yonnie, tenth; and Rachael Honhongva, 22nd. The runners for second place St. Michaels were La Tanya Slim, fourth; Janelle Etsitty, sixth; Ceyrene Roanhorse, eighth; Cassidy Natoni, 13th; Danielle Tsingine, 15th; Chaela Willie, 17th; and Vanessa Lynn, 19th. The other runners who earned medals by finishing in the top 15 were: Jerilyn Price, Many Farms, ninth; Harriet Gorman, Many Farms, 11th; Elisha Moore, Valley -Sanders, 12th; and Tiffany Noggle, Valley-Sanders, 14th. Joshua Thompson, a junior at St. Michael’s, had not won a race since he was the state champion in eighth grade three years ago. “It feels good to win. I didn’t expect to win because I was running against Hopi,” he said. He is coached by his father Terry Thompson who said his son is finally starting to come around.“Winning the Arizona State Championship in the eighth grade got to his head and he lost his focus,” he said. The younger Thompson said the difference between this year and his past two years is that he prepared for this season by running during the summer. “It makes a big difference,” he said. Thompson said he couldn’t have won first without the help of his teammates, and he added that running for his dad is like running “for any normal coach.” Thompson, a B -average student, also plays basketball and runs track. He plans to study either computer engineering or veterinary in college. He hopes to earn an athletic scholarship. He is the son of Vinnie and Terry Thompson of Ft. Defiance. Hopi won the boys race by placing five runners in the top 10. The Bruins won with 32 points followed by 38 by St. Michaels. Valley grabbed third with 59, Red Mesa fourth with 123, Many Farms fifth with 139, Orme sixth with 174 and Rough Rock seventh with 191. The top five for Hopi were Delwyn “Spider” Takala,, second; Ralston Lamson, third; Logan Koopee, eighth; Roger Kisto, ninth; and Chris Lowe, tenth. The other Bruin runners were Chris Hawk, 15th, and Vornell Tungovia, 16th. St. Michaels and four runners in the top seven with Thompson winning the race; Herbert Etsitty grabbing fifth; Chris Holgate placing sixth and Jeremiah Thompson taking seventh. The other St. Michael runners were Aaron Perry, 19th Stoval Clark, 20th; and Brock Bieky, 22nd. The other runners winning medals by placing in the top 15 were Brandon Baloo, Valley, fourth; Daniel Tsosie, Valley, 11th; Frederick Jones, Red Mesa, 12th; Alvin Ashley, Valley, 13th; and Ruebert Benally, Valley 14th.

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