Kê:Ønęhs 2019
Tuscarora Environment Program * Haudenosaunee Environmental Task Force
Table of Content Calendar ……………….….. 2
174th Tuscarora Picnic ..…. 3
Friends&Family …………... 4
Abandoned Cars ……........... 5
Burning Garbage …….…… 6
Say NO to Pesticides …...… 7
High School Internship .…... 8
Page 2 Skaru:ręØ Monthly, May 2019
Volume 10, Issue 4
May 2019 Haudenosaunee Grand Council
Tuscarora Council of Chiefs
and Clanmothers
HAUDENOSAUNEE ENVIRONMENTAL
TASK FORCE (HETF)
Oren Lyons, Political Co-Chair
Henry Lickers, Scientific Co-Chair
David Arquette, HETF Director
TUSCARORA ENVIRONMENT
PROGRAM (TEP)
Rene Rickard, TEP Director [email protected]
Bryan Printup, GIS/Planning [email protected]
Taylor Hummel, Env. Technician
Following the United Nations Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the
Haudenosaunee held a Grand Council to
discuss the environmental degradation of
our communities. In accordance with the
Great Law of Peace, the Grand Council
passed and agreed, based on
Haudenosaunee protocols and cultural
beliefs, to establish the Haudenosaunee
Environmental Task Force (HETF).
The SKARU:RE MONTHLY is the
official publication of the Tuscarora
Environment Program. You can submit
articles, artwork, photographs, editorials,
and letters of love and happiness to:
SKARU:RE MONTHLY
c/o: Tuscarora Environment
5226E Walmore Road
Tuscarora Nation
Lewiston, NY 14092
#716.264.6011
www.tuscaroraenvironment.org
or our Facebook page
“Tuscarora Environment”
May 11, 2019 - Buffalo Audubon Society Wildflower Hike, Beaver
Meadow, Welch Road, North Java, NY. 10am - 11:30am. $5/person. Come
walk with naturalist Mark Carra to look for some of the beautiful
wildflowers that grace Beaver Meadow. Call #585.457.3228 to register.
FMI: www.buffaloaudubon.org.
May 16, 2019 - Tuscarora Culture Night, Tuscarora Indian School,
Tuscarora Nation, NY. 6pm-8pm. Student artwork on view, free food
samples: venison stew, corn soup, sassafras tea, displays include
snowsnake and beadwork. Vendors include artists, crafts, beads, etc. To
reserve a table, call the School’s front office, #215-3670.
May 27-June 2, 2019 - Minneapolis Youth Media Training - Healing
Voices Stories, National American Boarding School Healing Coalition,
Minneapolis, MN. Join the NABS and Independent Indigenous Film and
Media for a free week-long video production workshop. Open to 20
participants. The project is about highlighting stories of healing,
resiliency, and hope while connecting youth to elders in their community
around boarding school experiences. FMI: www.nabshc.org,
June 11, 2019 - Dehydrating Foods and Leathers Workshop, Cornell
Cooperative Extension Office, Lake Ave, Lockport, NY. 5:30pm - 7:30pm.
$20/person. Learn the basics of preserving the harvest to enjoy year-round.
In this workshop, participants will learn how to prepare foods for
dehydration and freezing by making fruit leather, freezer jam, dehydrating
apples, and drying herbs. FMI: www.cceniagaracounty.org, Amanda
Henning, [email protected].
June 12, 2019 - Beekeeping Class - Hive Health, Masterson’s Garden
Center, Olean Road, East Aurora, NY. 6PM-7PM. $20/person. Keeping
your hives healthy requires regular inspections and a bit of preventative
maintenance. They’ll share the plan they’ve come up with and
implemented in their own apiary, as well as discuss some common hive
diseases and difficulties. Pre-registration is required. FMI:
www.mastersons.net.
August 21-23, 2019 - 6th Annual National Joint Tribal Emergency
Management Conference, Radisson Hotel and Conference Center, Oneida
Nation, Green Bay, WI. The largest gathering of native american
emergency managers and homeland security personnel in the country. The
Conference will raise greater awareness to our Tribal Emergency
Management programs, while increasing even further information sharing
across the country. FMI: www.ntemc.org, [email protected].
ON THE COVER: 4th grade longhouse project by
Isaak Franklin. Every year 3 winners are chosen to
showcase their work at the NY Power Authority
Visitor Center, Fort Niagara, and The TEP Office.
Page 3 Skaru:ręØ Monthly, May 2019
Page 4 Skaru:ręØ Monthly, May 2019
By Bryan Printup
The Niagara Falls Gazette Monday, August 25, 1947
New York State Indian Leaders
Attend Outing
TUSCARORA RESERVATION, Aug. 25. - With every possible
parking place taken by visitors from all parts of New York State, the
102nd annual Tuscarora National picnic Saturday afternoon
reminded visitors of the large Indian gatherings of several decades
ago.
All Indian reservations in the state were represented among the more
than 2,300 visitors at the session marked by a full afternoon and
evening of events under the direction of Chief Elton Greene, Harry
Patterson and Tracy Johnson.
Speaking on the new educational policies of the state, Ronald P.
Daly, Albany, made several announcements of special importance.
He said the prospects for a new Tuscarora school are bright but plans
for building may be delayed until building costs become more
reasonable.
Another was appointment of Mrs. Elon F. Crouse, Mt. Hope road, as
primary grades teacher in the Mt. Hope school for the coming term.
The first Tuscarora pupil to win a degree in education from the
Buffalo State Teachers’ college, Mrs. Crouse was also a pioneer
pupil in the Niagara Falls high school where she was known as Miss
Dorothy Mt. Pleasant.
Mrs. Crouse formally taught at the Friends Indian school at Quaker
Bridge and has studied extensively in the geology and artifacts
background of this community.
Mr. Daly announced that all parents are invited to a meeting at the
Mt. Hope school at 8 p.m. on September 4 when Mrs. Hilda Gerrow,
new principal, and state representatives will meet with the local
residents to discuss school administration.
Mr. Daly confirmed a report that there will be a new bus service for
all elementary pupils living more than one mile from the Mt. Hope
school.
The Sanborn Volunteer Firemen’s band enlivened the afternoon
program and athletic sports were enjoyed.
Tuscarora athletic teams divided honors with visitors in several
contests. The Onondaga Indian girls softball team of Nedrow, bested
the local girls by a 9-1 score in a hard fought diamond contest. The
Legion nine, of Ransomville, bowed to the Tuscarora nine 0-1 at
baseball.
Thriller of the afternoon was a determined lacrosse battle between
the Rochester Indians and the Tuscaroras with the local Indians
losing 5-8.
The Tuscarora softball nine overcame the Griffin Manors, of Niagara
Falls by 20-7, in final contest of the day.
Special guests included Calvin John, of Red House, newly elected
president of the Seneca Nation of Indians, and Franklin Doctor,
Akron, Iroquois Temperance League President. There were other
representatives of the Allegany, Cattaraugus, Tonawanda Seneca
communities, Onondaga reservation and St. Regis Mohawk
community present.
ABOVE: (l-r) - Mr. Kosis, Marjorie Printup, Dorothy
Printup, Murray Printup, and Alan Printup.
ABOVE: Harold Williams. Circa 1940s.
Page 5 Skaru:ręØ Monthly, May 2019
You get a new ride and you are excited to
have new wheels, but unfortunately you didn’t
get as good as a price for your old vehicle as
you wanted, so you decide to put it up for sale
in hopes of making a few extra dollars. So
there your old car sits, in your yard not selling,
cluttering up your beautiful yard, or you just
cannot seem to find the title to that old car that
died in your yard. Believe it or not, this
happens to the best of us, because in some
cases people think their car is worth more than
it really is or we simply can misplace the title
to a car.
Tuscarora Environment did what is called a
windshield survey to see if Tuscarora has a
junk car problem. A windshield survey is
driving around the Nation territory assessing a
particular issue. In this case, it was junk cars.
From the small windshield survey TEP
conducted, we counted 61 junk cars on
people’s lots. Yes, you read correct 61 and
that was not counting the whole reservation, it
was counting only Garlow Road and half of
Upper Mountain.
In case you didn’t know the definition of a
junk car, I found one from
www.oldjunkcar.com/glossary/ which states,
“a junk car is a vehicle that is no longer
drivable and would cost more to repair than
the actual market value of the car. Insurance
companies will label vehicles as totaled when
they reach this point of irreparable damage,
however, any car that cannot be moved or
repaired easily can be labeled as a junk car.”
After our windshield tour, Tuscarora
Environment did some research to find a
solution to the junk car issue. If you might
think that this issue is specific to Tuscarora, it
really is not, it has become a problem
throughout the country making towns and
cities develop ordinances to deal with this
problem. Though off the
Nation territory, they will
affix a dollar value to the
property and that will be
the incentive to get the
junk cars removed. At
Tuscarora it is a little
different where we don’t
affix a dollar value to our
land, but we feel our land
is just as valuable as any
property and in some
cases even more, because
nowhere else can we live
with other Tuscaroras and
be Tuscarora and
maintain that cultural
connection.
While doing research I
found an ordinance that was not just motivated by
a dollar value. In the city of, West Point,
Mississippi their junk car ordinance states “to
thereby avoid injury and hazards to children and
others attracted to such vehicles or trailers; the
devaluation of property values and the
psychological ill effect of the presence of such
vehicles or trailers upon adjoining residents and
residential property owners.” What is most
interesting, was the point of psychological ill
effects which I would compare to our traditional
teachings of a “Good Mind”. I know for me, the
junk cars out here at Tuscarora do take people
away from their “good mind” when they have to
look at them every day. Tuscarora Environment
has heard the complaints from community
members. So, a junk car, trailer or any type of
garbage debris does produce psychological ill
effects on our family, children, neighbors and
surrounding communities and brings down our
overall community happiness.
This past March, Tuscarora Environment, toured
an automobile recycler in Buffalo, NY called
Marks Auto Parts, with hopes of working with
them to get some of the junk vehicles moved out
of the Nation territory. Now we felt it was
important to look for solutions for this issue off
the Nation territory. As the environment office
we are always trying to find ways to clean up our
environment and not degrade it in any way and
that is why we went to Mark’s Auto Parts,
because they are off the Nation territory and they
recycle all the vehicles in their lot.
During the tour at Mark’s Auto we met with the
owners and they explained how they operate the
facility and their reporting requirements to the
NYSDEC. The owner stated that they work to
stay in compliance with NYSDEC regulations to
ensure that they are not polluting the local
environment.
Prior to any vehicle being placed on the lot, they
depollute the vehicle inside of
their garage, to ensure that
there is not a risk of pollution.
The vehicle information is
processed through a database
to see what is in demand for
that particular vehicle so that
part can be harvested. Each
vehicle will sit on the lot from
40-50 days. After that 40-50-
day duration it is prepped and
sent to the crusher for
transportation to an automobile
recycler in Ohio. Finally, they
explained the process of
buying cars from individuals.
The simplest way to do this
process, is online through their
website,
www.marksautoparts.com, which will take
about 36 hours from start to when they pick up
your vehicle. Once you are on their website,
you would click the tab “Sell Your Car”, which
will take you to the application to input your
car information. It will ask for the make,
model, year, and VIN number. After you have
finished inputting the information, you have
the option to submit a
couple pictures of your
vehicle, which will be
helpful to determine
how much they can
offer you for your
vehicle. In many
cases, people have a
sentimental value to
their vehicle, but in
this case, they are
specifically looking at
the nuts and bolts of
disposing the vehicle
to determine a price. Having all the
paperwork, title and lean release, will make
this process seamless. If you do not have the
title to your vehicle, there will be additional
paperwork needed and additional steps needed
to ensure that the vehicle is not stolen or that
no other parties have a vested interest in that
specific vehicle.
So, to see how this process worked, I had the
old blue car removed from my yard. I made
sure that all of our belongings were removed
from the vehicle, I got the title and lien release
for this specific vehicle ready and went to
www.marksautoparts.com on my smartphone.
I filled out all the information, including my
contact information. Within a couple of hours,
I received an email from Mark’s Auto parts
confirming the receipt of my information. In
the email it listed options for getting my
vehicle to their lot, if the car is not drivable,
then they will pick it up from my house for a
fee, that would reduce the amount I received
for the sale of my vehicle.
On the second day, I spoke with someone from
Mark’s Auto Parts confirming I wanted to sell
the vehicle. He submitted my information to
the tow truck operator they work with. Shortly
after I got off the phone with Marks, someone
called and scheduled the pick of my vehicle for
the next day. By the third day, the tow truck
company had called that morning to confirm
the time and to ensure that someone would be
at the house with the paper work. I had the
vehicle removed and sent to a facility that will
responsibly dispose of my blue car and I even
had a few extra dollars in my pocket.
In the end, Marks Auto Parts, is very interested
in recycling cars. They are willing to work
with the Tuscarora community and they are
willing to even take vehicles that have junk/
garbage inside of them. As for my blue car, the
biggest thing I can say, is I have peace of mind
and my neighbors have peace of mind not
having to look at the degraded junk car sitting
in my yard any longer.
a b a n d o n e d c a r s
by rene rickard
Page 6 Skaru:ręØ Monthly, May 2019
W hen astronomers search for
planets that could host life, they
look for evidence of liquid water. Water
is the basis for life as we know it. This is
why we thank The Waters, rivers, lakes,
oceans, and all the water sources in
between are the blood lines of Mother
Earth. If they are sick, then the earth is
sick. On our territory, we have different
types of surface water. We have springs,
waterfalls, creeks, and streams. If our
water is poisoned, then so are the
animals and the plants. It is everyone’s duty
to protect our waters so that future
generations can enjoy them as we have:
A·weʔ - Water
Yuhtawe ʔe - A waterfall
We ·tu·c - Rain
Yehewi·teʔ - She goes by boat
Ucataʔkye - On the surface of the water
Heni·ke· we·rih ewe ·tu·t - It intends to rain
Awetu·ʔne - Rainwater
Ki·neʔ - Creek
Cikheʔkye - Ocean
Ra·cehs - He dips for water
Uyhe heh - River
Ucaʔtuhstaʔkyeha·ʔ - A spring
Uhsne ·weh - Stream
Yucaʔtuhstitke he· - source (of water)
Nyawe·keʔ - Mouth of a river
Wahraʔehnuhaʔ - He put his hand in water
Unya·tareh - Lake
Nekahtawakwaʔnahc - Whirlpool
Raʔnetaʔnurahsthaʔ - He quenches his thirst
Kahne·kayeʔθ - Body of water
Kiʔtaʔna·theʔθ - I am thirsty
Uhθeʔkaraʔkye - On the banks of the river
Aweka·θeʔ - Fresh water
BTW: Here is the pronunciation key to help you with the letters. A good suggestion is to say letters and words out loud to help your ear become accustomed to the Tuscarora sounds. Tuscarora Pronunciation Key:* /a/ law; /e/ hat; /i/ pizza; /u/ tune; /e/ hint; /c/juice; /
ch/cheese; /h/ hoe; /m/ mother; /s/ same; /t/ do; /th/
too; /k/ gale; /kh/ kale; /n/ inhale; /r/ hiss (before a consonant or word final), run (trilled elsewhere); /
w/ cuff (before a consonant other than y or word-
final), way (elsewhere); /y/ you ; /sy/ fish; /θ/
thing; /Ø/ uh-oh; /:/ long vowel, /ˊ/high pitch; /`/low
pitch.*Adapted from Blair A. Rudes, Tuscarora-
English.
Tuscarora Word List:
WATER
REMINDER TO ALL TUSCARORA
and THEIR TENANTS
Burning these materials (or any household
garbage) is very harmful to human health and the
natural environment and is not condoned within
the Nation territory.
Exposure to the smoke can cause illness to
people and animals by inhaling or ingestion.
Anyone breathing these fumes will be exposed to
toxic fumes containing dioxins and heavy metals,
which are carcinogenic. Tire fumes cause air
pollution that can travel great distances polluting
the area where it settles. Residues and ashes left
will contaminate soil and groundwater with
volatile organic compounds, metals and other
toxic chemicals.
There are many health effects from tire burning
which could effect everything from learning
disabilities in children, cancer in laboratory
animals, and heavy metals accumulation in soils.
By Taylor Hummel
Page 7 Skaru:ręØ Monthly, May 2019
A long standing practice when it
comes to farming at Tuscarora
is that non-reservation farmers rent
from Tuscarora landowners to add
to their crop yield. Currently about
11% of our total Tuscarora land
base is currently being farmed by
non-Tuscarora farmers. These
farmers use modern agriculture
practices that is widely accepted
across the U.S. for small to large-
scale farming production, but what
does that mean for Tuscarora?
Typically, farmers spray fields with
herbicides for weed control prior to
planting. The herbicide typically
used contains Glyphosate which is a
non-selective herbicide made to
control a broad spectrum of annual
and perennial weeds and woody
plants. There are a variety of
products from different
manufactures that are utilized for
this purpose, such as “Accord”,
“Makaze” or “Roundup.” But the
Nation has banned the use of
pesticides and herbicides on the
territory (mainly because of our
dependence on ground water), and
we rely on the land owners (those
who rent to off-reservation farmers)
to make sure these chemicals are
not being used.
What is Glyphosate? It’s a glycine
acid and its salts are moderately
toxic compounds in EPA toxicity
class II. Labels for products
containing these compounds must
bear the signal word ‘WARNING.’
Glyphosate itself is an acid, but it is
commonly used in salt form, most
commonly the isopropylamine salt.
It is generally sold as water-soluble
concentrates and powders. Thus,
even though it is highly soluble in
water, studies show it does not
leach appreciably, and has low
potential for runoff.
Can glyphosate end up in your well
water? The short answer is yes. The
chemical (and other herbicide
products) have the potential to
contaminate your well through the
groundwater and runoff. Like
anything, it’s best to keep these
products 100 feet or more from your
well head. This will avoid direct
contamination, but even if you
follow this rule there is still the
potential for contamination through
groundwater.
The Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations
first expressed concern about the
food chain effects of glyphosate in
2005, after research showed that
glyphosate residues can stick
around in water and soil for several
months, may be even years. This
means it has the potential to build
up to higher levels in the
environment with each use.
In 2015 the World Health
organization’s International Agency
for Research on Cancer (IARC)
classified Glyphosate as “probably
carcinogenic to humans” which
spurred years of hotly contested
debate about the future of the
chemical around the world.
Last year the chemical was under
fire due to it’s alleged link to
causing cancer, which was recently
upheld in a California court case in
August, where a judge awarded a
man $78 million because Roundup
(glyphosate) helped cause his non-
Hodgkin lymphoma.
There’s an old saying in toxicology:
“The dose makes the poison.” It
speaks to the philosophy that all
chemical substances - even water
and oxygen - can be toxic if there’s
too much of it for a biological
system to handle. Unfortunately,
there is a major lack of studies and
research to fully grasp how to assess
the impact glyphosate is having
(whether about the chemical it’s self
or the amount of the chemical that’s
being used worldwide) but everyone
knows that an impact is happening.
More information about glyphosate
and other farming sprays can be
found at: http://
pmep.cce.cornell.edu.
Page 8 Skaru:ręØ Monthly, May 2019
Did You Know . .
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) uses their hardiness zone
map to help consumers know which
plants/flowers/trees/shrubs will best
grow in their immediate
environment. The U.S. is separated
into 13 zones and each zone is
broken into subsets (ie. A, B, C).
Tuscarora is in hardiness zone 6-a .
*www.planthardiness.ars.usda.gov
The earthworm we know today is
not native to North America. The
native earthworms were wiped out
by glaciers during the last ice age,
so the northern part of the U.S. and
Canada has probably been
earthworm free for tens of
thousands of years and every
earthworm now living here is in fact
an invader, usually from Europe. *www.newscientist.com.
The term “once in a blue moon” has
been around for more than 400
years - and it doesn’t refer to the
changing of the moon color. It
refers to the third full moon in a
season that has four full moons. The
last one occurred in May 21, 2016
and the next one will happen on
May 18, 2019. * www.space.com.
W e are looking for one (1)
high school summer intern
who is entering the 10th grade or
higher this Fall 2019 for a 9-10
week paid summer internship. The
position will consist of 30-hr work
week, that will start July 1, 2019 at
the Tuscarora Environment Office.
Work might also include travel and
weekends. In addition, all interns
will be asked to assist in cultural
restoration projects as needed. The
deadline to apply is 4pm, Friday,
May 31, 2019.
QUALIFICATIONS
It is preferred but not required that
they have good knowledge about
our Tuscarora environment and
culture. In addition we prefer
applicants to have:
Good writing skills, general
knowledge of computers, and skills
with data collection;
Good verbal/communication
skills;
And Tuscarora/Haudenosaunee/
Native American preference is
given.
HOW TO APPLY
Potential applicants are asked to
submit a letter of intent or a resume
and cover letter, and include:
Personal Information (name,
address, cell/home phone number,
email, age);
The grade they will be in the
Fall 2019;
What contributions they can
make to the TEP as a summer
intern;
Past pertinent work
experiences.
Letters (and resumes, if applicable)
can be dropped off to:
Rene Rickard, TEP Director
5226 Walmore Road
Tuscarora Nation
Via: Lewiston, NY 14092
Or emailed to:
If you are interested or know
someone who might be, please
contact our Office at #716-264-
6011 for more information.
The deadline to apply is
4pm, Friday, May 31, 2019
