The Billings Gazette from Billings, Montana • 4

4-A Tuesday, August 7, 1990 The Billings Gazette yond L2)(QJ CHEYENNE JTj, INDIW RESERVATION Cutter 0 1 1 nj.n.i puj iumjui i ji fnj Naferal NaDl Jf, ft i jTi I F7" Lu" -T- Montana 1 ft VA irr- Bighom ivy. i ri Canyon Nitlontl '1 BJflhoffl vi i oL'iV Niiioni SharldanM map fj 1 APJCynlhnGrMr i I Li 7 i rr-r-K i By TAD BARTIMUS AP Special Correspondent CUSTER BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT (AP) The Battle of the Little Bighorn has resumed 114 years after Lt. CoL George Armstrong Custer made his last stand and Indians won their last major victory of the Plains wars. This time, Barbara Booher is under attack. Booher, female and Indian, is the National Park Service's superintendent at the most famous battlefield in the American West, the place where Custer lost to Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse but became a legend of machismo and bravery.

Her appointment has triggered letters of protest to Washington from Custer fans who claim she is unfit for the job. Supporters counter that her tenure already has meant more jobs at the battlefield for qualified Indians, and will result in a much more balanced view of the controversial battle. "I think Barbara was selected for all the wrong reasons, because she is a woman and an Indian," said Bill Wells, of Malibu, who serves on the board of both the non-profit Custer Battlefield Historical and Museum Association and the Little Big Horn Associates, a group dedicated to preserving Custer's memory. "I don't think she was qualified, and she was ill-prepared. I think she is in way over her head," Wells said.

But Booher's arrival is hailed as a miracle by local Indian leaders, long angry at what they believe is a slanted emphasis at the park toward Custer and the 7th Cavalry at the expense of proper recognition for the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors who won the battle. "It's been a coming of age for a monument that has" been in the dark ages," said Janine Pease-Windy Boy; president of nearby Little Big Horn College at Crow Agency. "Barbara's a breath of fresh air. Superintendents prior to her were consistently more interested in military history from the Custer point of view. There's nothing more symbolic than an Indian and a woman to upset these so-called historians who are mostly white and male," she said.

The debate over Booher's appointment began even before she arrived here in June 1989. She had never worked for the park service before she was named superintendent. For the past 17 years, she worked for the federal government in Alaska, first with the Federal Aviation Administration, then as the allotment coordinator with the Bureau of Indian Affairs in Anchorage. But in March 1989, as an executive management trainee assigned to park service regional director Lorraine Mintzmyer in the Rocky Mountain region, she so impressed her mentor that Mintzmyer, the highest ranking woman in the park service, offered Booher the job at Custer. "I recognized that her native American heritage might be a plus for her in an area where many native Americans live and work, but I hired her because of the skills she demonstrated, not because of her heritage," said Mintzmyer.

"I have been very pleased with her work at Custer, despite the fact there have been a few critics," she said. "But I wouldn't have become the first woman superintendent if someone hadn't decided to ignore the critics and give me a chance." and its real significance," said Ms. Booher. "I would like to update and expand the exhibits, and the park brochure is going to be revised." But she is quick to point out she cannot take unilateral action. "It's not as easy to accomplish that as people think.

We have to follow the guidelines and policies that govern all changes in parks, and those are already in place. I am merely an administrator." A top priority is establishment of a monument to the Indians who died at the battlefield. Marble headstones and two tall marble markers authorized by Congress honor fallen white soldiers. Only a painted board notes the death of Indians. Rep.

Ben Nighthorse Campbell, the only Indian serving in Congress and the proud possessor of a knife used by his great-grandfather in the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and Rep. Ron Marlenee, R-Mont, are co-sponsors of legislation to authorize both the Indian monument and a national design competition. Jim Court, a former superintendent who believes he was forced out in 1986 because of "philosophical differences" with the Park Service, lives in nearby Hardin and now raises money to buy land around the battlefield. He believes the current Indian owners might turn the acreage into tourist attractions, and the non-profit organization he founded seeks to acquire the property and then deed it to the park. Court, an avid devotee of the battlefield site, is highly critical of Booher's management.

"I've been writing letters to congressmen to get things changed," said Court. "They (the park service) seem to have lost sight of what they should be doing over there." Booher's office, which formerly was Court's, offers a sweeping view of the battlefield where so much blood was spilled so long ago. But today, on a table beside the superintendent's desk, there is an imposing statue of an Indian on horseback, his arm raised, his lance ready. The bronze is titled "The Warrior." Yet there also is a framed poster quoting the legendary Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce tribe: "Hear me, my chiefs, I am tired; my heart is sick and sad, from where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever." Barbara Booher, the only Indian woman superintendent in the park service, has surrounded herself with meaningful symbols of a complex heritage. "All of life is a test, and I suppose this is part of that test," she said.

"I feel like I was supposed to come here. I am responsible for seeing that these resources are taken care of for future generations of all people. "And that is what I'm going to do." Associated Press Custer Battlefield Superintendent Barbara Booher looks out over the historic site. Born and raised on the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in Utah, Booher's father was of Cherokee descent and her mother is northern Ute. She is a soft-spoken woman who suffers from glaucoma in both eyes, although she is a pilot and owns two airplanes back in Alaska.

"I was very proud to be selected, and I'm still proud, but I had no idea it would be like this, with such high visibility," said Booher, 49. "I suppose I was a little naive. I was told it was a tough assignment, and now I know what that means. This is not a job, it's a way of life. "There is nothing neutral about the Custer battlefield.

People say it is an enigma, that there's an aura that draws people. This story is known all over the world. All I'd ever heard about it in school was from the Custer point of view, and when I came here on my own as a tourist in 1973 I thought, 'WelL that's all This is the only place where all the monuments are to the losers." In her first year, Ms. Booher has doubled the hiring of Indians at the monument and tangled with critics over whether the book "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" should be sold in the gift shop, which is run by a historical association that considers it slanted in favor of Indians. The new superintendent aims to create a more historically accurate presentation of what really happened when about 225 cavalry soldiers died with Custer on June 25, 1876.

In 1988, Indian activists staged angry demonstrations on horseback to protest the park service's museum exhibits, which they say reflect the worshipful myths that have grown up around the Custer story in the past century. Sixteen displays revolve around the cavalry, while only eight depict Indian activities. The battle occurred soon after gold was discovered in the Black Hills of the Dakotas and an influx of whites surged into lands considered sacred by the Indians. The invasion of settlers and miners followed on the heels of many broken treaties. In the spring of 1876, three Army columns numbering about 2,500 soldiers were dispatched into the territory to drive hostile Sioux and Cheyenne bands onto reservations.

Custer and his men were part of that force, which ultimately succeeded in breaking the back of Indian resistance in the West. "My goal is to help convey the reasons for the battle cier wolvs forats infers raisin run ec drivin C6' It's certainly not a normal situation to see two litters in the same pack. Mike Fairchild UM biologist 99 KALISPELL (AP) Researchers following the wolves that are living in the North Fork-area near Glacier National Park are anxiously waiting to see how the Camas Pack reacts to having two new litters of pups, instead of the usual one. "It's certainly not a normal situation to see two litters in the same pack," said Mike Fairchild, a biologist with the University of Montana Wolf Ecology Project, which has kept track of the wolves in the North Fork on both sides of the U.S.-Canadian border. In a wolf pack, normally only the "alpha," or dominant, female, and her mate produce a litter.

The Camas Pack denned in Glacier this spring, and researchers were surprised to find two denning sites. They discovered that both the alpha female and a younger female, a daughter of the alpha, had produced litters. Researchers have been able to spot six pups in the younger animal's litter but have found only one in the other litter so far. Fairchild said that since the beginning of the project in 1979, the average litter size of the North Fork packs has been six. i I I i i I The question now is what will happen to the pack.

The two families could remain separate, thus forming two packs, or they could come together in one large pack. "The wolves will show us what they intend to do this fall," Fairchild said. "Based on experiences in Alaska, I would not be surprised if they joined into one pack." He thinks that is likely because the two female wolves with pups were seen lying next to each other about a week ago, and because of the mother-daughter relationship between the two. But Fairchild said that there does not appear to be a lot of interaction between other adult wolves. By RITA MUNZENRIDER Of the Gazette Staff Thirteen-year-old Mike Smith is asking thousands of people to keep drivers sober this Labor Day weekend.

In doing so, they will also help him earn his Eagle Scout honors. Smith has organized the "Tie-One-On" campaign to promote public awareness of the problem of drinking and driving by having people tie red ribbons around their car antennas for Labor Day weekend. He also hopes his ribbons remain on the cars after the three-day holiday weekend ends. To accomplish his Eagle service project, Smith has enlisted the help of fellow Boy Scouts in Troop No. 18, chartered to the Sixth Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Billings Heights.

On the two weekends before Labor Day (Aug. 18-19 and Aug. 25-26), the Boy Scouts, dressed in uniform, will comb the parking lots of local shopping malls and discount stores handing out between 5,000 and 10,000 ribbons. The red ribbons are stapled to cards with a message from Smith that explains their purpose. The rank of Eagle Scout is the highest achievement of the Boy Scouts of America and requires many hours of community service and other activities.

Smith already is a Life Scout. The shy, soft-spoken, brown-eyed, brown-haired youth had no trouble deciding what his Eagle serv ice project would be. It came to him during a visit with his grandmother in Las Vegas last Thanksgiving. She had a red ribbon wrapped around her car antenna as a symbol of the drinking and driving problem in her city. Smith liked the idea.

Soon after, he went to work. Ben Franklin, McCoy's Arts Crafts and Selby's Essco donated the red ribbons and Econo Print contributed the printed cards. For the past few weeks, the Scouts have been cutting the ribbon into 7-inch strips and stapling them to the cards. By the end of July, the Castlerock Junior High School eighth-grader already had put 25 hours into his project. He had his photo taken with local law-enforcement officials as they all tied ribbons on their cars.

He has also learned first-hand about the enforcement of Montana's DUI laws. Recently, he spent a night riding with a Billings police sergeant who was assigned to the Yellowstone County DUI Task Force's special patrols for drunken drivers. Smith is a believer in the cause. "I'm hoping that (Tie-One-On) will accomplish preventing drinking and driving and help the police department and sheriffs department in stopping drunk drivers," Smith said. The oldest son of Reed and Terry Smith, Mike is also a wrestler who has won top city and state honors.

He's also a paperboy and is active in Boys and Girls Club soccer. Biker fashion show held for the faithful at Sturgis Gazette photo by James Woodcock Mike Smith, foreground, and members of his scout troop work on ribbons for his Eagle scout project. The project, which uses red-colored ribbons attached to car antennas, urges public awareness of drunk driving. Threats to Polebridge minister investigated There's nothing left. We can't salvage anything in the church building.

STURGIS, S.D. (AP) What do bikers do with their free time at the 50th annual Black Hills Motor Classic? Some got off their motorcycles last week and watched a biker fashion show put on by the Harley-Davidson Company. Bikers generally are recognized by their black leather jackets, bandana headbands, and leather belts. But the company wants to modify that look and offered bikers a chance to buy brown leather, soft-blue T-shirts and clothes made out of canvas and denim. The motorcycle company has been selling clothing since about 1910 under the name of Motorclothes, said Karen Davidson, general merchandising coordinator.

And what did the bikers think? "There were a few things I liked as long as they (clothing) were on the biker side," said Harley Owners Group member Randy Leggett of Marysville, Calif, after watching the show. "They're trying to get away from the black T-shirt (image) and that's good." But while some bikers were content merely to watch a style show, others decided to make their own fashions at a "Stud Your Duds" workshop. The workshop was billed as an activity for women, but Wayne Cavanaugh of Syracuse, N.Y, said he took it to make a shirt for his wife. "You gotta please the little woman once in awhile if you want 'em to go with you (on a road trip)," he said. Debbie Tanner minister's wife "There's nothing left We can't salvage anything in the church building," she said.

The fire burned so intensely that it cracked the foundation of the building, she said. The church had about 20 regular members, she said. "Anybody would be scared," said Tanner. She said she has no idea why someone would want to intimidate her and her husband, although it seems plain that somebody dislikes the church. "Nobody has directly approached us," she said.

Friday's intruders broke the glass out of the door to get inside the home, the sheriffs department reported. Tanner said smooth surfaces in the home were wiped clean, or else the criminals wore POLEBRIDGE (AP) The Flathead County sheriffs department is investigating an apparent attempt to drive the pastor of a Polebridge church from the area by intimidation and threat The Investigation of a possible drive against the Rev. Bo Tanner comes a month after the Pole-bridge Alliance Church, which Tanner serves, burned to the ground in what authorities said was a case of arson. Friday evening, Tanner and his wife, Debbie, had dinner at a friend's house and returned to find their home vandalized. Officers said there was about $5,000 in damage, mostly to church-related materials that were kept at the home.

"There wasnt that much destroyed. It was mostly just messed up," Debbie Tanner said. A weekly newspaper clipping about the fire was left, with a message to "get out" written on it 99 An encircled cross was drawn with a line through it, Tanner said. And a bullet was drawn, pointed at her husband's picture, with the word "next" by his picture. Tanner said Monday the July 8 fire at the church had to be arson-caused because the church had no electricity or fuel, and no one had been near it before the blaze, which broke out at 4 a.m.

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