1. Self-Educated Artist Marcel Gotjé and the Black Hawk Logo
2. New Agua Caliente Cultural Museum in Palm Springs
3. Global Warming Documentary, "An Inconvenient Truth"
4. Newsletter Special: Buffalo Cigarettes @ $12.50 a carton.
5. Native American Business: More Powerful Than Ever
6. Black Hawk Classifieds - Free Advertising

The Board of Directors of the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum are proud to announce the selection of a new site as the future home of the Museum. Located at the Southeast corner of Tahquitz Canyon Way and Hermosa Drive, the nearly 9 acre site is situated one block East of the Palm Springs Convention Center, where the new Museum will make a spectacular architectural contribution to civic life along the Tahquitz Canyon corridor. This world-class museum will serve as a new kind of tribal elder, preserving the Native spirit of the Desert for future generations. Thousands of years of history and culture will be revived and preserved.

Capitalizing on the shared renewed focus to revitalize downtown, the new Museum will bring an additional cultural dimension to the heart of the City. The new Agua Caliente Cultural Museum will welcome annually more than 150,000 visitors of all ages and backgrounds, and will feature permanent and changing exhibitions, a research library, educational center, a 150-seat theatre, and an outdoor learning garden. Reflecting the demographics of the Coachella Valley today, the new Museum will be completely bilingual. Historically, the first non-native language that the Cahuilla people learned to speak was Spanish.

As a Smithsonian Affiliate, Coachella Valley's new Agua Caliente Cultural Museum will echo some of the same design themes of its east coast partner. Using natural building materials, the building will reflect elements of Cahuilla culture including traditional architecture, basketry and pottery. The most important benefits of the Smithsonian Affiliation will be the Museum's ability to receive the long-term loan of objects from the vast Smithsonian collections, access the richness of their educational programs and expertise, and bring its world-acclaimed exhibitions to Southern California.

The Museum is currently located at 219 South Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs. The Museum is open during the season: Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday from noon to 5:00 PM. Summer hours (beginning June 3): Friday and Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sunday 12:00 pm to 5:00 PM. Admission is free.

In 2005, the United States experienced the worst storm season ever with hurricane Rita and Katrina slamming into our Southern Coast. In other parts of the country, there was little rain. Wildfires burnt out of control devastating forests. Have we reached the point where we can no longer ignore the relevancy of our National disasters?

Many of the world's scientists seem to think so. Some would even go a step further and say that humanity is sitting on a time bomb and can expect a epic events involving extreme weather, floods, droughts, epidemics and killer heat waves beyond anything previously experienced. If we don't do something about it now, we may have less than ten years to avert a major series of disasters that will make 2005 insignificant by comparison. Is it too late?

Former Vice President Al Gore pulls no punches in explaining the urgency of the situation, hitting us with hard facts and future predictions. This film is highly informative in showing just how Global Warming is affecting the entire world. Although this film may be years too late, and I am sure those in New Orleans would agree, it is still good to see that many people have flocked to the theatre for more insight into Global Warming.

For those seeking a partisan political message, don't bother seeing this movie. Al Gore presents his argument that Global Warming is not a political issue, but an individual moral issue. Each of us has a responsibility for the future. We can't just leave it for the government to decide. Though I may or may not be a Democrat (and may have even voted against him), Al Gore gains a new-found respect from me. He shows a side I didn't see during his presidential campaigns & political career.

Yes, there is still time to make a difference, but we must act together. I highly recommend this film.

In a new report on the economic power of Native business owners, American Indian and Alaska Native owned firms compiled receipts of over $26.9 billion dollars. The study undertaken by the census bureau looks at figures from 2002 and shows that Oklahoma is number one in several categories, including states with the highest number of companies owned by tribal members.

With over 17 thousand Native-owned businesses in the state, second only to the state of California with 38,125, Oklahoma's Indian companies represent just over eight percent of the state's total businesses. Topping the list of cities with the most Indian-Owned businesses was New York, with Los Angeles second and Gallop in New Mexico ranking third. The survey defined American Indian and Alaska native-owned businesses as those where Natives own 51 percent or more of the controlling stock or equity of that business.

Additional report information:

Almost 30 percent Native-owned businesses operated in the construction and services field.

Almost 13 percent of Native-owned businesses had paid employees. Employing 191,270 people and generating nearly $22 billion

There were 3,631 firms with receipts of over $1 million dollars, making 1.8 percent of the overall Native-owned companies grossing 64 percent of the total receipts.

There were 178 Businesses who employed more than 100 people generating $5.3 billion in gross receipts.

Source - Native American Times 7/5/2006

www.nativetimes.com

As we said in our last newsletter...

We love the Internet. That's a fact. Long before we started to provide a mail order service to our local customers, we saw the Internet as the future of shopping. For those of us who like to go shopping, but don't necessarily have the time to drive all over the country, there is hardly a better way to search and find bargains, special editions and low prices than surfing through the ever expanding World Wide Web.

For those of you who would like to have a garage sale, but don't have the time or would like to sell stuff at one of the large Internet auction sites but don't have the money, we have created Black Hawk Classifieds for you. It's simple to start, easy to manage and has an unbelievable price. It's free.

Every other online classified ads service, online auction house or classified listings at your local newspaper cost money. Our classified ads site is totally free. Everyone gets a premium account for free. There is never a charge for anything and we don't have any hidden fees or memberships. You really can't find a better deal anywhere.

The process is simple. Register for an account. To register, we only ask for a name, email address and a password. Navigate to the section that describes your product or service (Transportation, Real Estate, Business Ads, etc...). Then click on "Submit Ad" and place your listing. That's all there is too it. After your ad is approved, it will immediately be placed online. You can renew your listing every 30 days for a total of 180 days. That gives you half a year to advertise yourself without having to pay a cent. The service is totally free.

To browse the classifieds, visit: www.blackhawkclassifieds.com