CrowNews.Net

State Housing Board to Meet in Crow

By Montana Board of Housing

The Montana Board of Housing will hold their monthly public meeting Monday. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m. and will be held at the Crow Tribal Housing Authority.

“The Montana Board of Housing is a champion for housing issues across Montana,” Gov. Brian Schweitzer said. “I support the board’s continued efforts to make safe, affordable housing accessible to every Montanan.”

Community leaders and members of the public interested in programs offered by the MBOH will have a chance to talk with board members about housing issues at the beginning of the meeting.

Tribe Honors Tuff Harris

Story & Photos by Ben Cloud

Apsaalooke tribal members gathered at the multipurpose building on Wednesday, March 12 to honor a dedicated and disciplined Christian man who always excelled athletically and now plays in the National Football League.

Chester David “Tuff” Harris, an enrolled member of the Apsaalooke Nation and a player for the Miami Dolphins, has accomplished just about everything he has set out to do in education and athletics. In addition to his accomplishments, Harris is now giving back to his tribe by spending part of the off-season talking to and sharing his experiences with the youth on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations.

With family, friends, clan uncles and Apsaalooke government officials in attendance, Harris was brought into the building in a traditional ceremony with his uncles from the Greasy Mouth clan singing their clan song. After entering the building, Tribal Chairman Carl Venne and other officials gave Harris gifts for his accomplishments.

Head Start Hand Games

    

Photos by Casey Kills Pretty Enemy
CrowNews.Net

Tiny tots from Lodge Grass, Pryor, Fort Smith and Crow Agency gathered in the Crow Multi-Purpose Building Friday for the reservation-wide Headstart Hand Game Tournament.

Editor's note: You can also click here to view Casey's photos on flickr.com.

Samuel Kohn to lead Native campaign for Obama

Here is a recent blog post on RezNet by Kevin Abourezk about Samuel Kohn, a member of the Crow Tribe, who was chosen to lead Sen. Barack Obama's effort to enlist Native voters in Montana.

Kohn said in his press release Friday, "I've been waiting for a long time for a presidential candidate who listens to Native Americans, because our issues and concerns are rarely heard."

To read the post, click here.

Absaloka Mine May Expand

Here's a recent Billings Gazette article that details Westmoreland Coal's plan to expand the Absaloke mine southward onto the Crow reservation. According to the Associated Press, the expansion would allow mining of 77 million tons of coal and extend the life of the mine.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs will host a public hearing on the issue in Hardin on April 23.

Read the full article on the Billings Gazette web site here.

A Place for Crow Kids

Jules Seminole, 18 stands next to Ben Jefferson, Director of Tribal Youth Planning. Seminole comes to the courts 8-9 times a week to play basketball. See more photos of the youth complex on Flickr.Photo by Matt Unrau.

By Matt Unrau
CrowNews.Net

Ben Jefferson is a runner. He started running when he was young and now at 64 he’s still exercising to stay healthy. Now he's sharing  the benefits of an active lifestyle with the youth of Crow Agency.

Jefferson took over for Tim Yarlott as the director of tribal youth planning in April 2007 and inherited responsibility for the Apsaalooke Youth Sports Complex on Gas Cap Hill. 

“I wanted to work with the kids, help them get off alcohol and drugs, and make a safe place for them to play,” he said.

The project started a few years ago when about two dozen boys ranging from 9 to 12 years old approached Tribal Chairman Carl Venne with a petition for a new skate park.

Download a diagram of the proposed expansion.

Hardin High Program Raises Student Voices

Members of Hardin High's RSVP Leadership Team include from left, Hayden Hooker, Joseph Doyle, Jordan Minnick, Damon Eastman and the group's advisor Mr. Mitch Evans. (not pictured: Kemule Bull Shows and Jarvis Weibert).

By Jordan Minnick
Hardin High School

Hardin High School is breaking ground with a student-facilitated school improvement program called RSVP (Raising Student Voice and Participation). Amazingly, Hardin High is also the only Class-A school in Montana to administer the program .

Hardin Halls Decked in Native Designs

By June Gregory
2nd grade teacher, Hardin Primary School

My second grade class recently did some fun and educational projects related to the Crow tribe.  First, each child found and plotted each reservation in Montana.  Of course, the class was the most excited and interested in the Crow Reservation! 

Next each child made a Crow tribal flag. As we colored each part we discussed what it represented.  Then we cut out the circular part in the middle and mounted it on royal blue.  Finally, the children trimmed their flags with gold glitter.  The flags looked beautiful displayed in the hall and classroom.

Daily Specials at the Trading Post Cafe

Slideshow by Adam Sings In The Timber
CrowNews.Net

Click on the image above to view the audio slideshow.

To view similar photos, visit the CrowNews.Net Flickr group.

One Lucky Baby

By Brett Thomas-DeJongh
CrowNews.Net

She’s not a superdelegate, she hasn’t donated money to any campaign and she won't be eligible to vote until 2025.

Yet Tazawana Jo Barlow got face time and photo ops with both Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama when they appeared in Missoula last weekend.

How did she manage the kind of access most journalists and lobbyists can only dream about? 

Well, it helps to be 10 months old and very cute. That, and her mother has a knack for being in the right place at the right time.