U.S. CORPS OF CENSORS Perhaps it is time that the American people rise up in anger at a federal bureau that unilaterally takes it upon itself to limit access to important scientific knowledge ["Bones of Contention," WW, April 22, 1998]. What the corps has engaged in is nothing less than censorship. There is nothing in the enabling legislation that created the corps that grants it the power to monitor activities that might concern Native Americans. The corps is purportedly a group of engineers. Hence the name, Army Corps of Engineers. The voters of this nation should make it clear to their senators and congressional representatives that the corps is to be severely limited in its activities. Let them play around with the waterways of this nation (something they've been notoriously inept at) and keep them out of the censorship business. As for the Umatilla tribe, it should be up to them to prove the relationship between the 9,000-year-old bones and their current population. The genetic proof should be readily available from the bone marrow of the skeleton. Perhaps the tribe does not want to lose the emotional/moral high ground by losing its claim to being first on this continent. After all, if it is established that the Umatilla Nation, and others like it, were just another in a very long series of waves of migration, the claim for constant federal entitlement loses a bit of steam. Perhaps it is time for the so-called "natives" to become part of this new civilization, and to enter the arena on the same footing as African Americans, Oriental Americans, Hispanic Americans and the host of others who have struggled to become part of this nation. Brad G. Garber
Southwest 96th Avenue HOMELESS SCHOOL VS. HOME SCHOOL In reference to "'A' is for Asinine" [WW, April 22, 1998]: "How can you abandon something that's been good for eight years?" says Cheryl Bickle, director of the YWCA Transitional School for homeless kids. I agree; how can you, unless abandoning the school is just another tactic by the status quo to keep the down-trodden underclass as down-trodden as possible. To say segregation from the mainstream school system is the reason for closing the school is just an excuse for the tactic. What about kids who are taught at home? Aren't they segregated from the mainstream school system? Why doesn't the ODE force these kids to attend public school? The homeless kids should remain in an environment that works. The environment works for some of the same reasons parents say home school works--no oversized classrooms and a teacher that cares. The school for the homeless kids has an average of 17 kids in a classroom, half the size of most public schools and teachers who obviously care, judging by the eight-year success rate. Are the oversized classrooms and teacher apathy of the public schools OK for the homeless kids but not OK for home-school kids? Steve Whitney
Southwest Alfred Street |
