The Ethnic Hoosier��..��.. February 2003

Published by the Nationalities Council of Indiana

You can find us on the Internet at

(for information about NCI, Indiana and the world)

President�s Message�.

The Nationalities Council received the Award of Distinction at the 2^nd Annual Mayor's Celebration of Diversity Awards Luncheon on 28 January. Congratulations to all of you who have worked so hard for so long in our efforts to help people learn about other cultures and to eliminate the fear of the unknown that is often what keeps us apart.

Look for several new things in the coming year. I am looking for persons interested in recruiting new groups from specific geographical areas to improve our representation of all the world. If you have a special interest in an area or ethnic group, let me know
so we can coordinate. I am also interested in courting groups that were once active members but no longer attend our meetings.

�� Gene

�� Eugene Maresca, President

Did you know�.

NCI member Jonnalee Miller has opened JJ�s Wild West, a new southwestern gift shop at Eastgate Mall, Indianapolis? It features Native American jewelry, rugs and other items.

The Indianapolis-based International Tibet Independence Movement has launched �Rangzen House,� a project to assist Tibetans and to promote Tibetan culture?

V. Sue Shields, magistrate judge for U.S. District Court (Southern District of Indiana), is one of several judges from Indiana who regularly travels to Russia for the Russian-American Judicial Partnership, a program funded by a grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development? Betty Barteau of the Indiana Court of Appeals is now head of the Russia-American Judicial Partnership.

There are 16,747 items foreign languages on the shelves of the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library? Of that total, about half are in Spanish and one-fourth divided between Chinese and Russian.

Thirty students from Bloomington High School North and South, and North Central High School (Indianapolis) spent three weeks in Japan last June? In March, they�ll host their counterparts here.

�

Males 16 and older from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia must report to the Immigration and Naturalization Service by 21 February? They join the men from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Eritrea, Lebanon, Morocco, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Somalia, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen who faced a 10 January 2003 deadline to report and register at INS.

Only one Foreign Service exam is scheduled for 2003? The deadline to register for U.S. Test Centers is 12 March for the exam on 12 April. The State Department plans to hire in all five career tracks - Management/Administrative, Consular, Economic, Political and Public Diplomacy. See http://www.careers.state.gov/officer/foreignservice/register.html.

In Memoriam�

Valdemars Melkis, 85, died 17 January� 2003. Born in Riga, he was one of the founders of the Indianapolis Latvian Choir, and served as director for over 40 years.

Todor "Ted" Stanjevich, 81, died 17 January 2003. He was a past president of Serbian Cetniks, past president of St. Nicholas Serbian Orthodox Church, and past vice-president of Diocesan Council of the New Gracanica Metropolitanate. He was born in Yugoslavia.

Barta Monro, longtime UNICEF volunteer and a founder of the Indianapolis Chapter of the Women�s International League for Peace and Freedom, died 18 January 2003.

�� .

February�s International Calendar for Indy�

(for more details about these and many other events see the complete calendar at http://www.nationalitiescouncil.org)

1: 22nd annual Burns Supper of the Scottish American Club of Indiana. 6: 5-week course in Spanish. Indpls Neighborhood Resource Center.

7: Chinese New Year Celebration. White River Gardens, Indianapolis.

8: "Karneval: A Masked Ball". Athen�um, 401 East Michigan St., Indpls.

10: Regular meeting, Nationalities Council of Indiana. 7 p.m., Willkie Room, Athen�um, 401 East Michigan Street, Indianapolis. Information: Gene Maresca, [email protected].

11: Chinese Shaolin Monks, Wheel of Life. 8 p.m. Murat Centre, Indpls.

12: Trade & Tourism Subcommittee of Indpls-Cologne Sister City Comm.

12: German-American Relations: Policies and Issues" by John Clark, Hudson Institute. Sponsor: Ind. German Heritage Society. Athen�eum.

17: Regular meeting, Indianapolis-Cologne Sister Cities Committee.

19: "Iraq, Israel and U.S. Policy in the Middle East" by Dr. Pierre Atlas, Marian College. Sponsor: Indiana Council on World Affairs.

22: Fasching/Karneval celebration, German-American Klub, Indpls.

25: �Fundamental Issues We Don't Talk About in America: Development, Terrorism, Justice, Credibility and Sustainability" by Dr. W. Cyrus Reed, Ball State Univ. Sponsor: Indpls Comm. on Foreign Relations.

Do you have an item for the next issue of The Ethnic Hoosier?

E-mail: [email protected].� Deadline: 25 Feb. 2003.