Cargill Heiress Leaves $6 Billion to Support American Indian Art, Animals !

Cargill Heiress Leaves $6 Billion to Support American Indian Art, Animals

 

Before her death in 2006, Margaret A. Cargill could sometimes slip through a gala crowd virtually unnoticed. The granddaughter of agribusiness titan W.W. Cargill had given away as much as $200 million to charity during her lifetime, yet she was determinedly press-shy. The low-profile munificence continues. With the settling of her estate last year, about $6 billion, mainly in Cargill Inc. stock, has gone to two of her three philanthropies, the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation, formed at her death, and her Anne Ray Charitable Trust. The sum placed her at No. 1 on the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s 2011 ranking of charitable donations, published this month, and made her groups, gathered under the umbrella of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, among the most asset- rich in the U.S.

 

NPR: Through Video, Lakota Students Reject Stereotypes

 

Unhappy with portrayals of Native Americans in mainstream media, a group of students from South Dakota's Rosebud Sioux Reservation created a video to show that their community is about more than alcoholism, broken homes and crime. The students are visiting Washington, D.C., on Monday to lobby Congress for increased funding for schools on reservations. Filmed in black and white, the student-produced video More Than That takes viewers through the hallways, classrooms and gymnasium of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation's county high school.

 

AP: From Negro Creek to Wop Draw, place names offend

 

Just east of Victorville in California's Mojave Desert two bluffs rise 3,000-feet from the valley floor. A 1949 map by the U.S. Geological Survey officially gave them the name locals had called them for as long as anyone could remember: Pickaninny Buttes. The name, a pejorative term that represents a caricature of black children, was likely bestowed because African Americans attempted a settlement near the Lucerne Valley at the turn of the last century. Whatever the reason, it stuck — and still has the propensity to shock.

 

Colville Tribes win $193M for mismanaged lands

 

The Confederated Colville Tribes announced an agreement Friday to accept a $193 million settlement offer from the federal government for mismanaging tribal lands. The agreement is one of the largest Indian trust mismanagement settlements in U.S. history, Colville Tribal Chairman Michael Finley told The Wenatchee World (http://bit.ly/A1m8tW ). The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to sign the agreement in the next two weeks, Finley said.

 

Travel Spotlight: South Carolina’s Surfeit of Ancient American Indian Artifacts

 

South Carolina has recently been in the news thanks to the Republican primary, where the state shocked many, on both the right and the left, by handed Newt Gingrich a large victory over Mitt Romney and the rest of the Republican presidential hopefuls. Well, there is a lot more to South Carolina what the most recent news cycles have suggested.  The state is home to an incredible amount of well perserved, extremely old American Indian artifacts, some of which have caused quite a controversy (in the scientific world rather than the aforementioned political).

HuffPo: New Indigenous Reserve Aims To Save A Fading Culture

 

It was February 4th, 2012, and Romero R&iacuteos Ushi&ntildeahua, leader of his people and one of the last members of the Maijuna tribe was witnessing a ceremony to declare the nearly 1-million acre Maijuna Reserve. I was privileged to be on hand that day, and to see history in the making. The Maijuna Reserve declaration was the culmination of years of efforts by the Maijuna People, in conjunction with conservationists and the government of Loreto, Peru.

 

South Dakota tribe asks judge to limit beer sales in tiny Neb. town that borders reservation

 

Leaders of a South Dakota American Indian tribe who are suing beer makers, distributors and retailers are now asking a judge to restrict alcohol sales in a tiny Nebraska town that borders their reservation. The Oglala Sioux Tribe added the request late last week to a federal lawsuit that seeks $500 million in damages for the alcohol-related problems on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

 

Through Video, Lakota Students Reject Stereotypes

 

Unhappy with portrayals of Native Americans in mainstream media, a group of  students from South Dakota's Rosebud Sioux Reservation created a video to show that their community is about more than alcoholism, broken homes and crime. The students are visiting Washington, D.C., on Monday to lobby Congress for increased funding for schools on reservations. Filmed in black and white, the student-produced video More Than That takes viewers through the hallways, classrooms and gymnasium of the Rosebud Sioux Reservation's county high school.

 

Totem pole to honor slain Seattle woodcarver

 

A memorial totem pole in honor of John T. Williams is being raised at Seattle Center Sunday as a symbol of justice and community. A procession of hundreds of community members carried the totem pole from Pier 57 to the Seattle Center, where it will be gifted to the city of  Seattle. John Williams was shot by Seattle police Officer Ian Birk in 2010. He had just crossed a street while holding a knife and a block of wood when Birk ordered him to drop the knife and then shot him to death. The killing outraged many, who saw it as an unnecessary use of force. Birk later resigned.