Native American dancers who were the target of a suburban Phoenix gallery owner’s racist rant as they were being filmed for Super Bowl week are pushing for hate crime charges. Scottsdale police say Gilbert Ortega Jr. has since been charged with three misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct. The confrontation happened last Tuesday afternoon in Old Town Scottsdale. Ten dancers were performing in front of the Native Art Market on Main Street. ESPN was filming the group in the store and then had them pose outside by a Super Bowl sign. One dancer videoed the tirade, in which Ortega can be seen cursing at them and yelling “you (expletive) Indians.”
Calling all Future solar energy warriors!!! Here is your chance to meet others in your quest to further renewable energy and get excellent training. On April 2nd through April 19th, the Red Cloud Renewable Energy Center in Pine Ridge will host intensive classroom and hands on training. The end result will be student’s knowledge of a roof top ready solar unit and valuable renewable energy job training. Organizer John Red Cloud tells KIPI news that the course runs for 17 days, Monday – Friday with one weekend built in. Lodging, meals, instruction and travel expenses will be paid. There are only 14 slots available, and participants must be 18 years and up and be comfortable using power tools. The Red Cloud Energy Foundation will provide students with a certificate upon successful completion. Applications can be found at www.redcloudrenewable.org, that’s redclouldrenewable.org.
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
