_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N ) O o O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o o o o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 01, ISSUE 016 O o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 10 July 1993 O o O ( N E W S ) O ALL articles in this issue were extracted from NATIVE_L/NATCHAT Lists. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters of the Invisible Band and those who share our spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. It is hoped that our presence will be rewarded with a Native American RoundTable on GEnie. It is archived at the Native American FTP site ftp.cit.cornell.edu in the directory /pub/special/NativeProfs/newsletter; and is being sent to gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us (Gary S. Trujillo) should he wish to include it in his NATIVE_L or NATCHAT lists. "We first knew you a feeble plant which wanted a little earth whereon to grow. We gave it to you; and afterward, when we could have trod you under our feet, we watered and protected you; and now you have grown to be a mighty tree, whose top reaches the clouds, and whose branches overspread the whole land, whilst we, who were the tall pines of the forest, have become a feeble plant and need your protection." -- Red Jacket, Seneca Chief O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! There is a new line in the banner noting the origin of this issue's contents. This is to ease the task of those who would include excerpts from Wotanging Ikche, but only after editing to remove items previously distributed. A case in point is the NATIVE_L mail list distributed by Gary Trujillo. It is hoped this will diminish the opportunity for looping articles and help those who work to bring Native American news to hungry eyes. Mitaquye Oyasin! Night Owl ------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< ----------- --------- "RE: Leonard Peltier Status" --------- From: coyote@latrans.alphai.org (Scott Robert Ladd) Subj: Leonard Peltier Status [ This article relayed from the Usenet "soc.culture.native" newsgroup ] 29 June 1993 I have been informed that Leonard Peltier is alright after the lock-down at Marion. He spent two days in solitary confinement, even though the prison hqs yet to connect him in any way with the June 22 altercation between "hispanic" inmates. According to a reliable source, Leonard's medicine bundle was confiscated and destroyed by prison authorities. More news as I receive it... <<<---------------------------()=()------------------------------->>> ** Scott Robert Ladd ** | internet: coyote@latrans.alphai.org Coyote Gulch Productions | fido: 1:128/112 nativenet: 90:80/3 423 North Cooper Avenue | bbs/modem: 719/578-1340 Colorado Springs, CO 80905-1120 | *** FREE CLIFFORD DANN! *** --------- "RE: Am. Ind. Religious Freedom Act" --------- From: vms.cis.pitt.edu!LMITTEN Subj: Am. Ind. Religious Freedom Act I just received the following bulletin from HONOR (Honor Our Nieghbors Origins and Rights, Inc.), a support group based in Milwaukee. ****A C T I O N A L E R T**** AIRFA LEGISLATION HAS NEW NAME AND A BILL NUMBER On May 25, 1993, the NATIVE AMERICAN FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION ACT (SB 1021) was introduced in the Senate by Senator Daniel Inouye, chair of the Committee on Indian Affairs. NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS The number of co-sponsors of the bill is disappointingly low. Members of the coalition working to pass this bill had hoped that more Senators would co-sponsor Senate Bill 1021 at its introduction. Joining Senator Inouye in co-sponsorship of this bill are senators: Max Bruce (D-MT) Ben Nighthorse Campbell (D-MT) Russell Feingold (D-WI) Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR) Claiborne Pell (D-RI) Paul Wellstone (D-MN) Daniel Akaka (D-HI) Tom Harkin (D-HI) ?? WHAT YOU CAN DO If your Senator(s) has/have not yet signed onto this legislation, now is the time to urge him/her to do so!!! Please write, phone, or fax your senator(s) to urge their co-sponsorship of this bill. The legislation faces an uphill climb in the senate as a myriad of special interest groups will lobby against it. ADDRESSES The Honorable (Name) The Honorable (Name) United States Senate U.S. House of Representatives Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20510 U.S. Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121 -- ask for your representative's office HONOR ENCOURAGES YOU TO PASS THIS ALERT ALONG TO YOUR MEMBERSHIP, FRIENDS, CONSTITUENCY, ETC. Honor Our Neighbors Origins and Rights, Inc. 2647 North Stowell Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53211 414-963-1324 FAX: 414-963-0137 >>>> Sample letter follows <<<< (on your letterhead if possible) DATE Senator__________________ U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Senator______________________: Because I am deeply concerned with the challenges Indian people face in struggling to maintain their religious beliefs, I urge you to co-sponsor the Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act or NAFER (SB 1021, formerly referred to as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act). Recent Supremem COurt decisions and U.S. government agency practices have eroded several aspects of religious freedom for all faith communities but especially for Native Americans. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 has consequently amounted to nothing more than a policy statement. NAFER serves to strengthen the 1978 legislation by protecting more specifically these key components of Native American worship: 1. Protection of and access to sacred sites from outside disruptive forces; 2. Equal access to religious leaders and ceremonies for Indian prisoners; 3. Religious use of sacred eagle feathers and other animal parts; 4. Recognition of peyote as a sacrament of the Native American Church and protection of its ceremonial use. Finally, please do not confuse this legislation with the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (HR2797), which restores the "compelling interest" requirement that a state must actually have a reason to interfere with religious freedom. While this legislation merits support, the remedy it brings does not sufficiently ensure religious freedom for American Indians. SEPARATE LEGISLATION IS NEEDED. I look forward to your response. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, Name and address *********************************************************************** Lisa A. Mitten 207 Hillman Library Social Sciences Bibliographer University of Pittsburgh FAX: 412-648-1245 Pittsburgh, PA 15260 Bitnet: lmitten@pittvms 412-648-7723 *********************************************************************** --------- "RE: international tribunal hawai'i 1993" --------- From: BOOTES.UNM.EDU!HAWAII Subj: international tribunal hawai'i 1993 For those who have not heard about the kanaka maoli (Native Hawaiian Nation) trial against the U.S. for crimes perpetrated against Hawaiian Natives in the last 100 years, we will be posting information and answering questions during the next 4 weeks. The tribunal will be held on 4 islands in Hawai'i from August 12 to the 21st. --------- "RE: gambling op-ed piece" --------- From: ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu!V187EF4Y Subj: gambling op-ed piece This is an op-ed piece which appeared in the _Buffalo News_ 5 July 1993. Copied without permission. -----------start------------- INDIANS CAN'T RELY ON WHITE MAN by Tim Giago (Nanwica Kciji) New Orleans, La. - It was one of the strangest Indian conventions I've ever attended. There were more non-Indians present than Indians and clearly more white exhibitors than Indian exhibitors. The conference, staged by the National Indian Gaming Association, drew nearly 1,000 people. As I looked around the beautiful convention center, I thought about the days when some Indian tribes were rich in oil and how the carpetbaggers descended upon them like so many locusts to separate them from their wealth. But we (Indians) have grown so much more sophisticated and educated since then; haven't we? I mean we have more lawyers per square mile than most nations have teachers. I remember when the so-called "cultural vultures" were robbing Indian burial sites for plunder. Is this new breed of invaders the "gaming vultures"? Here we have tribes by the huindreds cashing in on the financial success of their casinos and bingo halls by hiring all sorts of non-Indian men and consultants to do what most of them could easily do for themselves, given the confidence. And that's what it must be. Tribal leaders have depended upon the white man for so long to do things for them they have little if any confidence in themselves or their people. Granted, much of the start-up money for casinos had to come from privateinvestors here and abroad simply because the American bankers were too conserva-tive to (a euphemism for "prejudiced") to lend the tribes the money to do it themselves. Those investors didn't put up the big dollars because they loved Indians. They saw an opportunity to make much money, and they jumped at the chance. Some viewed the Indians as children who needed to be cared for, and in providing that care, they signed some of the tribes to long-term contracts that gave them a fairly good slice of the pie for years to come. Even after the tribes gained the expertise to run their own casinos, they soon discovered that they were locked into iron-clad contracts. Many ended up in costly litigation trying to break free of investors. What is even more appalling, many tribes hired white consultants willy- nilly without insisting that they hire Indians as a stipulation of the agree- ment. Failing to realize that they swung the big hammer, gaming-rich tribes did not seize the opportunity to open doors for their own tribal members. Believe me, there isn't a consulting firm out there that wouldn't have bent over backward to hire Indians if it meant getting a juicy contract. Sort of reminds me of the New York-based American Indian College Fund, which supposedly raises money for the Indian community colleges and yet has one token Indian on its board and doesn't have a single Indian employee working at its headquarters. Visit the offices of the United Negro College Fund, and you'll see the diference. Many of the companies financing Indian casino development, either by direct loans or by partnership agreements, do not employ Indians. Many of the companies selling the gambling paraphernalia (slot machines, 21 tables, cards, etc.) do not employ Indians. In a way, though, the tribes are lucky there are a substantial number of greedy people out there because in looking out for their own interests many of these "gaming vultures" have come to the aid of the Indian tribes. They have supported legislation favorable to the tribes and have actively lobbied for successful gaming compacts between the tribes and the state government. Far be it for me to tell these investors they should be working them- selves out of their contracts and assisting the tribes into becoming totally autonomous. This is not about to happen in the near future because Indian gaming is just too lucrative. And what about those very successful small tribes that employ 1,200 people or maore? Many have exhausted the supply of employees within their own tribes and have turned to hiring hundreds of non-Indians from the sur- rounding communities. This is well and good. It gives those tribes a lot of financial clout in their own neighborhoods. There are some tribes, however, with unemployment running as high as 80 percent. Wouldn't it be nice if some of these very rich tribes would set aside a certain number of jobs for unemployed Indians from other tribes? Charity always begins at home, they say. Every time I mention this, Indian casino operators look at me as if I just landed in their midst on a space ship. Instead of creating a new form of dependency by handing out per-capita payments in monthly checks to tribal members, why not start an American Indian United Way? An organization like this could sure help some of the tribes less fortunate. Maybe the damp air of the New Orleans swamp has mildewed my brain, cut [oops- 'but'] these are just some of the thoughts that occurred as I watched the three-ring circus at the National Indian Gaming convention. /Tim Giago is publisher of Indian Country Today. Nanwica Kciji, Giago's Lakota name, means "Stand Up for Them." ------end---------- -Pat Crowe, SUNY at Buffalo --------- "RE: Native American Education" --------- From: "Elizabeth B. Pollard" Subj: Native American Education Subj: Re: Native American Education Philip Huckins (HUCKINS@bcvms.bc.edu), in an article relayed from the Usenet "soc.culture.native" newssgroup, asks for published accounts of Native Americans who attended nonreservation boarding schools. Between November, 1886, and sometime in 1897, more than 100 children, teenagers, and some young adults from among the Chiricahua and Warm Springs Apache prisoners of war at Fort Marion, St. Augustine, Florida, and Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama, were taken to Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. You can find the accounts of two of them in: Ball, Eve. *Indeh: An Apache Odyssey*. Provo: Brigham Young Univ. Press, 1980. Betzinez, Jason, with Wilbur Strutevant Nye. *I Fought With Geronimo*. Harrisburg, PA: The Stackpole Co., 1959. I warn you that present-day Chiricahua and Fort Sill Apaches are aggravated by the title of the second book. Jason was *taken* on the warpath with Geronimo in 1881, but never fought under any Apache leader. Apache boys began an intensive ten-year training for raid- ing and warfare at the age of nine, which culminated in their going on four required raids as observers and orderlies for the warriors. My Fort Sill Apache informants in 1963 stated that Jason went on only two of the required raids, decided it was a waste of time, and never completed his training. This meant that he was not recognized as a warrior, and would not have been chosen by any leader for raiding and warfare. From all I have been told about Jason, I would have to say he was a marginal Apache (i.e., acculturated to Euro-American ways, if not assimilated). So read his account with this in mind. Grosvenor Pollard via Elizabeth B. Pollard -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Elizabeth Pollard Bitnet: uahebp01@uahvax1 Systems Librarian Internet: uahebp01@asnuah.asn.net University of Alabama in Huntsville Compuserve: 72457,1560 Huntsville, AL 35899 Phone: (205)895-6313 SYSOP*Diabetes & Hypoglycemia Forum on Compuserve -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- --------- "RE: Film Festival Reveal to Survive" --------- From: innusuppnl@gn.apc.org Subj: Film Festival Reveal to Survive Film Festival Reveal to Survive Indigenous People and Western Media In the fall of 1993, the United Nations' International Year of the Indigenous Peoples, there will be a series of events in the city of Amsterdam which will call attention to the situation of indigenous people worldwide. These events will have as a common title: 'Stemmen van de Aarde, de Wereld van Inheemse Volken' (Voices of the Earth, the World of Indigenous People). There will be a congress on the concept of self-determination, an exhibition on indigenous worldviews, a big manifestation with indigenous music, poetry and theatre, and a film festival. The co-ordinating institution is the Dutch Center for indigenous People (NCIV). The NCIV has asked ReRun productions to organize a film festival which will last six days on the subject of the confrontation between indigenous people and Western filmmakers. The theme of the film festival might be summarized as follows. ReRun wants to inform the public about the possible unexpected, secon- dary effects of film documentaries and movies on the indigenous people that are portrayed. In many movies in which indigenous people play a part or are portrayed, existing stereotypical images are perpetuated and sometimes enhanced. Recently, however, there seems to be some change: Hollywood started producing movies with the 'real' story of the cultures and struggles of native peoples. In films like Dances with Wolves and Thunderheart, American Indian leaders play are part of the cast and express, through their appearance, their approval of the message of the film. Yet, this new cinematic interest in indigenous peoples' culture and history has unforeseen effects like a 'Indian hype' in New Age circles. It seems that old stereotypes are replaced by new. Of many documentary films on indigenous people, the primary goal is to make known to the outside world the critical circumstances in which these people find themselves. The purpose is often to evoke sympathy for their plight, or to influence policy makers who, through their decisions, are in a position to influence the situation of these people. With their backs to the wall, indigenous people invite or allow camera teams to film their cultural expressions, their elders, their sacred objects. Many times the penetration of the camera, even by well intentioned and informed filmmakers, has disastrous consequen- ces for the people portrayed. For example, one part of a tribe is pitted against another, because the same indigenous mediagenic spokes- persons are interviewed time and again by subsequent filmteams, or the sacredness of ritual objects or ceremonies is jeopardized through the revealing and exhibition to the eyes of (uninitiated!) audiences thou- sands of miles away. But is there a choice? If the outside world does not hear of what is going on in some remote part of the globe - the human rights violations, the pollution through mining, the loss of hunting ground as a result of logging - these developments might go on unquestioned and another indigenous people might 'disappear' from the world. In many respects it seems like a Faustian bargain: in order to survive, indigenous people have to sell their soul to the 'devil', i.e. the media. To many indigenous persons this is quite literally the case. It is against the Hopi religion, for example, to allow ceremonies and power objects to be photographed. Hopi elders feel that to film or photograph these things "steals their aura". To expose their ceremo- nies to people who have not been trained to understand them would undermine the meaning of the ceremonies. The film festival will consist of several units, divided accor- ding to subject and geographical region. As the planning is in its initial stage, these divisions are still arbitrary. However, most likely there will be at least units on the American Southwest, on the Bushmen in Southern Africa, on the Papuans in West-Papua and Papua New Guinea, the Aborigines in Australia, and on Siberia. These units will be introduced by indigenous representatives and indigenous and non- indigenous filmmakers and media-sociologists. At the end of the festival there will be a panel discussion in front of a large audien- ce. We would welcome any suggestions you might have as to speakers, movies, film documentaries, which would be meaningful to hear or to show at the festival. Please provide us with background material such as contents of the films, reviews, comments of indigenous people, etc. Also practical information such addresses for renting and shipping the films or videos will be extremely useful. Please feel free to fax us information at + 31 20 66 52 818 attn. ReRun, or to call us at +31 20 66 85 723 (Jan van Boeckel). Catalogues and other mail can be sent to ReRun Produkties, Postbus 43021, 1009 ZA Amsterdam. We can be reached by E-mail through the Dutch Innu Support Group: innusuppnl@gn.apc.org. Thank you for your time and interest. Yours truly, Jan van Boeckel co-ordinator Film Festival 1993 for ReRun Produkties. fall of 1993, the United Nations' International Year of the Indigenous Peoples, there will be a series of events in the city of Amsterdam which will call attention to the situation of indigenous people worldwide. These events will have as a common title: 'Stemmen van de Aarde, de Wereld van Inheemse Volken' (Voices of the Earth, the World of Indigenous People). There will be a congress on the concept of self-determination, an exhibition on indigenous worldviews, a big manifestation with indigenous music, poetry and theatre, and a film festival. The co-ordinating institution is the Dutch Center for indigenous People (NCIV). The NCIV has asked ReRun productions to organize a film festival which will last six days on the subject of the confrontation between indigenous people and Western filmmakers. --------- "RE: n.amer.indigenous games,july'93" --------- From: ilxhd@web.apc.org Subj: n.amer.indigenous games,july'93 NORTH AMERICAN INDIGENOUS GAMES 93' The 1993 North American Indigenous Games is one of the World's largest indigenous sporting events. Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, will play host to this prestigious event, July 18 through to the 25th. The first games of 1990 were held in Edmonton, Alberta. The North American Indigenous Games have become the foundation to what is now taken/accepted as a legacy of sporting excellence and personal development for all indigenous participants, but more importantly, for the YOUTH. The youth will lead our tomorrow and will maintain the rich history and cultural traditions, so we must teach and allow them to develop and prepare for tomorrow. The youth, with encourage- ment and support will continue to stand strong, brave and true. "The active participation in sporting and cultural events provides the young aboriginal person of today an opportunity to showcase their hidden talents to themselves, their community and to the community at large" [Quote by: Billy Mills, Olympic Gold Medalist (Track)] The games which will be featured: ARCHERY BADMINTON BASEBALL GOLF LA CROSSE SOCCER VOLLEYBALL WRESTLING Cultural festival will include: - ALL NATIONS TRADITIONAL POW-WOWS' & ROUND DANCE - ALL NATIONS FOOD FAIR - FASHION SHOW - ELDERS CIRCLE - TRADITIONAL PERFORMERS - TRADITIONAL SPORTS - TALENT SHOW A Special Events appearance on Friday, July 23th by "KASHTIN" - performing in concert for the athletes, coaching staff and all guests of the 1993 North American Indigenous Games. [Contact: N.A.I.G.'93, 1403 Central Ave., Prince Albert, Sask. S6V 7J4, Canada. Phone (306) 922-1993; fax (306)953-1993]