FROM THE ARCHIVE

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In The Hoop
MAY 11, 2001

Welcome to In The Hoop, Indianz.Com's occasional column about assorted Indian issues.

And the winner is...
In The Hoop readers have been dying to find out who won our whatchutalkinboutbabbitt photo caption contest.

We'd like to know, too. We contacted our first pick, who hasn't responded to our email. So we contacted our second pick. Same story.

We're threatening to give the prize away to Michael Anderson, former Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Indian Affairs, instead. So you better check your email!

Say it ain't so, Joe

In The Hoop hasn't been this sad since The Fat Boys broke up. But we've managed to regain our composure after learning that the mighty XFL has decided to close shop.

That's not the worst of it though. We're worried that NFL expatriate Dick Butkus might start showing up at even more Indian Country events now that his gig as XFL Director of Competition is over.

First, In The Hoop ran into him at NIGA. Then, the Southern California Latino / Native American Sports Hall of Fame, brought to you by the good people over at Casino Morongo.

What's next, a keynote speech at NCAI?

Next week's agenda
Speaking of NCAI, the May session is being held May 13 - 16 at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Scheduled for Monday are Bureau of Indian Affairs Deputy Commissioner Sharon Blackwell, freshman Congressman Rob Simmons (R-Conn.), and Indian Affairs Committee Vice Chairman Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii.)

And fresh off her recent partnership with country music legends The Oak Ridge Boys, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday. You might remember her from such NCAI conferences as the 2001 winter executive session, where she performed some of her greatest hits including "Hudson Dog Track Approval," "The Government-to-Government Blues," and "Let's Work Together Chairman Tex Hall."

(In The Hoop plans to lobby the Bush administration to have Norton produce Indian Country targeted fire safety announcements with The Black Lodge Singers.)

Sherman Alexie: Behind the Laughter
Indianz.Com had the extreme pleasure of spending some time with Sherman Alexie yesterday. Read today's story about one of his latest projects, in case you haven't yet.

An extremely bubbly and giggly Alexie talked about every topic under the sun, including rumors that he and former Smoke Signals pal Chris Eyre are on the outs.

"The rumors of Chris Eyre's and I's feud are greatly exagerated," said Alexie, dispelling any notion of bad blood. "Whatever minor personality differences we have don't matter."

He added: "We're not going to make movies together. But I don't wish him ill will."

Nevertheless, in the interests of healing the world, In The Hoop is willing host a talking circle so that these two can finally put a commentary track on the DVD version of Smoke Signals. Pass the talking stick!

In Your Hoop
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