Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act of 1990 (see entry for NOVEMBER 16, 1990),
thousands of these objects were returned to Indian
groups. It remains unclear, however, whether using
or even handling these chemically treated objects
could pose a health hazard. The conference aims to
explore this question and determine the cost of test-
ing and decontaminating the damaged artifacts.
April 27
Brewing company apologizes for using the
name Crazy Horse.
After an eight-year legal battle (see entries for AUGUST
1, 1994, and for SEPTEMBER 17, 1996), SBC Hold-
ings settles a lawsuit with the descendants of Crazy
Horse over using the name of the famed Lakota Sioux
warrior to sell malt liquor. In the final settlement,
Crazy Horse’s family receives no financial award.
Instead, they are given seven horses, 32 blankets, 32
braids of sweet grass, and 32 twists of tobacco—all
goods of value in traditional Lakota culture. The
number of items represents that the malt liquor
had been manufactured in seven breweries and dis-
tributed in 32 states. The settlement also requires a
public apology, which John Stroh III, chairman of
SBC Holdings, delivers during a ceremony on the
Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. A
lawsuit with Hornell Brewing, which bottles Crazy
Horse Malt Liquor, is still outstanding.
“We understand your deep
and sincere feeling that the
marketing of the malt liquor
beverage... disparaged [Crazy
Horse’s] spirit and caused you
and his other descendants
emotional distress.”
—John Stroh III, in his lawsuit-set-
tling apology to the Lakota SiouxJune 28Crow students win the Columbus
Foundation Community Grant.
The Columbus Foundation awards a $25,000 grant
to four girls—Lucretia Birdinground, Omney Sees
the Ground, Kimberly Deputee, and Brenett Stew-
art—from Crow Nation, Montana. The grant is
part a program sponsored by the Bayer Corpora-
tion and National Science Foundation to encourage
middle-school students to use science to improve
their communities. The winning team proposed a
solution to a housing shortage on the Crow reser-
vation. They suggested using straw bales encased
in concrete as an inexpensive and a readily avail-
able building material. Calling themselves the “Rez
Protectors,” the girls will use the grant money to
construct a Community Study Center on their
reservation.August 29A glass and cedar totem pole is erected at
Pilchuck Glass School.
To commemorate its 30th anniversary, Pilchuck
Glass School in Seattle, Washington, erects a totem
pole at its entrance. The creation of the pole was
overseen by Tlingit artist Preston Singletary. The
design called for the incorporation of traditional
cedar carvings with cast, blown, and etched glass
parts and neon lighting. At the erection ceremony,
the artwork, known as the Founders Pole, is lifted
into place by 22 volunteers, under the direction
of master carver John Hagen. Singletary, himself a
former Pilchuck student, explains how the Found-
ers Pole mingles the old and the new: “In a long
and roundabout way, it enabled me to embrace and
honor my family, tribe, and personal past by giv-
ing me the inspiration to push forward with new
ideas.”Mozart’s The Magic Flute is staged on the
Kalispel reservation.
On its powwow grounds, the Kalispel tribe of Wash-
ington holds a production of Wolfgang Mozart’sP