_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' 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 031 O o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 23 October 1993 O o O ( N E W S ) O This issue contains articles from NATIVE_L/NATCHAT Lists and by members of the Invisible Band. <----<<<< >>>>----> 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/newsletters; 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. "You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother's bosom? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest. You ask me to dig for stones! Shall I dig under her skin for bones? Then when I die I cannot enter her body to be born again." -- Wovoka, Paiute O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + | A hectare of mature rainforest naturally loses two pounds of topsoil | | per year. | | Once the trees are cut down, the same area will lose 68,000 pounds. | | Sources: Tropical Rainforests by Chris Park and Earth Journal | + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + We are children of our Creator Father and our Mother Earth. Never give up in our efforts to educate those who would take from Mother Earth without giving back, and helping them understand their greed will eventuate in the destruction of all. Mitaquye Oyasin! Night Owl ------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< ----------- --------- "RE: Jasper Resolution" --------- From: J.AUDLIN James D. Audlin (Chief Distant Eagle) Subj: Jasper Resolution GE Electronic Mail O'siyo, Night Owl! Here's the Jasper Resolution, fresh from Grandfather Sings Alone: Sub: Jasper resolution Here is the Jasper resolution and the groups who had representatives at Jasper and who signed the resolution. I understand that other bands of the various tribes are signing off as well.....these were the attendees. CHEROKEE UNITY COUNCIL JASPER TENNESSEE MARION COUNTY PARK 08/08/10/ OCTOBER 1993 Resolved: We the peoples of descent here assembled at Marion County Park, near Jasper, Tennessee, on October 9, 1993, do add our signatures to this resolution in order to confront the injustices of the past and to build unity and strength for the future of those American citizens who are descendants of the Cherokee race of people, and do hereby recognize each of the people, clans, and tribes here assembled as of one nation of Cherokee people. 44 Signatures on file representing 38 groups. (This may be incomplete as Chief Red Bear has not had a chance to cross check this list with that of Chief Coones). 1. Amonsonnath Tribe of Cherokee 2. Cherokee of southeast Alabama, Inc. 3. Blue Clan 4. Cherokee Nation of Texas 5. Cherokee of Georgia 6. Chickamauga Cherokee Indian Nation 7. White River Band 8. Cherokee of Hoke County 9. Delilah Whitecloud United Cherokee Indian Tribe of Kentucky 10. E-Chota Cherokee Nation (Fla.) 11. Endvegle 12. 5 Nations 13. Free Cherokees 14. Chickamauga Circle 15. Dung Beetle Society 16. Good Medicine Band 17. Hokshichankiya Band 18. Many Walks Council 19. Hummingbird Clan 20. National Veterans Band 21. N.E. Central Area 22. Wild Potato Band (MD) 23. Green Mountain Band of Cherokee 24. Inter-Tribal Rainbow Warrior Society 25. Native America Indian Community (PA) 26. Northern Tsalagi Tribe of Southwest Virginia 27. Pan-American Indian Association 28. Red Clay Inter-Tribal Indian Band 29. Southeastern Cherokee Confederacy 30. Black Wolf Band 31. Deer Clan 32. Manatee Band 33. Warrior Society 34. Sunray Meditation Society 35. Southwest Missouri Indian Center 36. The Original Cherokee Nation (TN) 37. Turtle Band of Cherokee 38. United Cherokee of West Virginia Respectfully submitted, William Smith (Chief Red Bear) Secretary I am sending the list of individual signatories to DE via SW so you will have it for the meeting. --------- "RE: Wyandot Cemeteries" --------- From: B.HUNGERFORD Beverly Hungerford Subj: Wyandot Cemeteries GE Electronic Mail I received this on FidoNet's Indian Affairs echo: BBS: Mercury Opus (813) 321-0734 From: AGONDASHA Subj: WYANDOT CEMETERIES Conf: Indian Affairs In this message we have included the letter, that we (Agondasha Society) have send to the Royal Ontario Museum, in order to give us back our ancestor's remains. We know there are about 2,000 skeletons in that museum. We want to have back our ancestors and then rebury them forever in former cemeteries where they were exhumed by this museum Today, close to the cemetery where this Museum was involved, we can read that: ______________________________________ OSSOSSANE BONEPIT Huron Indians gave temporary burial to the dead. Later, the bodies were exhumed and the bones reburied with great ceremonies in a communal pit. Father J. Brebeuf witnessed a mass burial of over 1000 individuals near the Huron village of Ossossane in 1636. Long sought, this pit was located by the archaeological researches of F. Ridley. Royal Ont. Museum excavations found the contents as described by Brebeuf. The pit lies in the field 250 yards behind this marker. Library references: Brebeuf 1636, Ridley 1947, Kidd 1953. ______________________________________ WENDAKE,October 14th, 1993. Royal Ontario Museum 100 Queen's Park Toronto, Ont M5S 2C6 Re: Huron-Wyandot bones and cemeteries We, the Agondachia Society has been incorporated since 1992. The members of this Society are all Huron descendants by blood. The Society was created to work in the Huron traditional field, such as teaching, researching, etc.. of all our traditional values and culture in a more respectful way. As well, one of the main goals of this Society is to protect and take care of our former cemeteries. As you know, that main villages of our ancestors used to be in Huronia, 60 miles north of Toronto. In 1649, our nation had to leave this country. Our ancestors had to leave behind them, their sacred sites, where their ancestors and relatives were buried. Today, we have heard that sacred sites have been disturbed and desecrated by amateur and professional archaeologists. We know that your Museum has participated in this disrespectful way of playing in our sacred grounds. We may have been forced to leave this part of our territory, but we had never forgotten about the cemeteries of our ancestors. As you know, in the Huron-Wyandot tradition, the ceremony for the dead was very important. And today, we still believe in this traditional way of respect towards our ancestors. We are disappointed and shocked by this situation. This desecration has gone on too long. We are requesting that you stop desecrating all of our cemeteries, and that you return to us the skeletons and any artifacts, which were interred with our ancestors. Agondasha Society P.O Box 246 Wendake GOA 4VO cc Wyandot's chief of Oklahoma. Wyandot's chief of Wendake. Six Nation Confederacy. Nativenet. Government of Ontario. P.S. It will be hard to have any collaboration from the Museum and the government of Ontario. Because, there is no law in Ontario or in Canada to force Museums to give back the bones to the different native nations. This is the second time we ask for Wyandot's remain. The first time was with the Laval University. We did not have a good success and we have not received nothing, so far. It will be nice, if some people would support us, by sending a letter to the Royal Ontario Museum to encourage them to give back to us our ancestors. TIJIIA:WENH (thank you) U:NENH ... via DeltaMail v2.20 for SL (#216378) --- SLMAIL v3.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) --------- "RE: Lone Ranger and Tonto Review" --------- From: sbrock@teal.csn.org (Steve Brock) Subj: Review of The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (Fiction) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) THE LONE RANGER AND TONTO FISTFIGHT IN HEAVEN by Sherman Alexie. Grove/Atlantic Monthly Press, 19 Union Square West, N.Y., NY 10003, (800) 645-1267, (212) 727-0180 FAX. 223 pp., $21.00 cloth. 0-87113-548-5 REVIEW "Survival = Anger X Imagination. Imagination is the only weapon on the reservation." -- Sherman Alexie If the first book published under the newly combined Grove/Atlantic Monthly Press imprint is any indication, this new affiliation is off to an energetic start. Sherman Alexie's "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" is an introspective and amusing tour of life in and around eastern Washington's Spokane Indian Reservation that shines with wit, wisdom, irony, and a fine prose-poetry style. The twenty-two intertwined stories in the book outline the difficult lives of Alexie's "cousins," both on and off the reservation, whose existence continues solely by the effort of enduring multiple hardships. Alcoholism, poverty, and diabetes combine with depression, despair, and disappearances, in a place where there are no high school reunions because classes have "a reunion every weekend at the Powwow Tavern." The book begins with a harrowing scene, as nine-year-old Victor wanders through his house while a night-long party swirls around him like a hurricane. A fight erupts between two uncles in the front yard, and the boy watches. "...they had to be in love," he presumes. "Strangers would never want to hurt each other that badly." In "This is What it Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona," Victor, older now, must retrieve his father's body. With Victor having no money for the trip from Spokane to Phoenix, Thomas Builds-the Fire, the shunned storyteller who talks to birds and rusting cars, steps in and offers to help him. "How did you know about it?" Victor asks. Thomas replies, "I heard it on the wind, I heard it from the birds. I felt it in the sunlight. Also, your mother was in here crying." Several times in the past, Victor has treated Thomas cruelly, now he has no choice but to accept. In a scene reminiscent of Buddy and Philbert in "Powwow Highway," they retrieve the body and drive back to Spokane in the father's pickup truck, with gas money from the father's meager savings account. Thomas tells stories, including one involving seeking a vision at Spokane Falls and encountering Victor's father, but when they return to the reservation, they cannot be friends. As a token, Victor gives Thomas half of his father's ashes. Some of the stories will leave the reader a bit confused. Those having a better understanding of tribal history will comprehend more of the inner meanings associated with feelings about the BIA, commodity supplies, the struggle to stay sober, and taking responsibility for the actions of those not related to you. In a poignant scene from "Witnesses, Secret or Not," a teen gives a dollar to a drunken acquaintance lying in a doorway. To the teen, it's a comic book and a diet Pepsi. To the other it's much more, it's enough for a jug. "One Indian doesn't tell another what to do," he says to himself. It takes courage to write stories such as these, and yes, anger. It's even hard to tell in the photo of Alexie, whether that's a shy smile on his face or a smirk. If it's a shy smile, the anger shows through in stunning passages such as this: "James must know how to cry because he hasn't yet and I know he's waiting for that one moment to cry like it was five hundred years of tears. He ain't walked anywhere and there are no blisters on his soles but there are dreams worn clean into his rib cage and it shakes and shakes with each breath and I see he's trying to talk when he grabs the air behind his head or stares up at the sky so hard." Alexie is a talent with a clear voice. His lyrical stories entertain, teach, and will be remembered. Other works by Alexie are "I Would Steal Horses" (Poetry, date not available), "Old Shirts and New Skins" (Poetry, 1993), "First Indian on the Moon" (Poetry, 1993), and "The Business of Fancydancing" (Poetry and Stories, 1992). Grove/Atlantic Monthly Press will publish his first novel early next year. --------- "RE: Chattanooga Burial Grounds" --------- From: B.HUNGERFORD Beverly Hungerford Subj: Chattanooga Burial Grounds GE Electronic Mail This one is self-explanatory. Perhaps you could post this on the Internet also? --------------------------copy------------------------------------------- BBS: Mercury Opus (813) 321-0734 To: ALL RED BLOOD RELATIVES From: TOM KUNESH Subj: Help Needed in Chattanooga Conf: Indian Affairs Ho! we just received information today when we went out to the burial ground to fill in the pits left by grave robbers that our Hamilton County Commissioners are going to meet this wednesday evening at 6pm EST to decide on voting the final monies to the building of a Civil War Drama Amphitheater on Moccasin Bend. Moccasin Bend is in the city of Chattanooga, just west and on the other side of the Tennessee River from downtown. part of the tip is owned by the state, and the rest by the city and county together. The Bend is listed on the National Register of Historic Places - given its Native American and Civil War history. Apart from the state mental hospital on the tip, 90% of the land is wooded and undeveloped. The local Civil War Roundtable and Sierra Club oppose any development there, wanting to leave it as a wooded area. there are Native American burial sites all along the shoreline of the Bend, extending inwards some 100 yards. we are working on the west side of the Bend, repairing the damage to the grave sites done by grave robbers over the past 90 years. The proposed Amphitheater is to be located on the eastern side of the Bend, nestled between two Civil War historic sites. the ridge - Stringers Ridge - has not been fully investigated by archaeologists, but an informal report has been circulated that the city/county archaeologist has found Native American village sites on the ridge, too. The Chattanooga InterTribal Association opposes development of the Bend, especially for commercial and tourist profit, and is fearful that if this proposed Amphitheater is allowed to be built now, the rest of the proposed $104,290,000 development (1985 dollars), including new access roads, pedestrian footbridges, ferry fishing piers, public marina, TVA museum, subsidized upper-income housing, river walkway through the burial grounds, trolley system, parking garage, regional history museum, hotel, restaurant, retail center, offices, stables, public marina, heritage interpretive center, archaeological museum, civil war museum and working farm will soon follow. -- Master Plan, Tennessee RiverPark: Chattanooga, prepared for the Moccasin Bend Task Force of the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission, march 1985 this plan is supported by RiverCity Company -a private foundation with the sole purpose of improving the tax base of the city and county. they are supported/established with the big money of the big monied families in town, including old Coca-Cola billion$. (RiverCity Co. just merged with another local economic promoter. They are now called "Partners.") Local residents favor "a comprehensive plan to preserve Moccasin Bend in its entirety as a national park with the following themes: preservation of Native American spiritual and village sites, Civil War features, natural areas and scenic value. "In contrast, some goals -- including the "historical drama presented as a tourist attraction in an outdoor theater" [that proponents have suggested putting on Moccasin Bend -- received no votes at all." --The Chattanooga Times, Friday, 9 April 1993, p 1 Wilma Mankiller, principal chief of the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, wrote a letter to Chattanooga mayor Gene Roberts (a Republican), expressing her concern for the preservation of Moccasin Bend, including this summation: "I am requesting your assistance in protecting Moccasin Bend from any further desecration. The City of Chattanooga has an opportunity to take positive action to protect this area from further negative impact. I look forward to a positive response from your office." -- letter of 18 August 1993 We, the Chattanooga InterTribal Association, ask for your support on this issue. we would like those of you who can to call our County Commission and tell them of your feelings about this proposed development. The phone number of the Hamilton County Commissioners office is 615/ 757-2185. The County Executive is Dalton Roberts (a Democrat), cousin to the mayor. His office number is 615/ 757-2496. Their addresses are - Commissioners: 105 Courthouse, Chattanooga TN 37403; County Executive: 208 Courthouse, Chattanooga TN 37403. We were told by one local politico who is in tight with the powers-that-be that we, the local Native American populace, are the city's and county's and RiverCity Co.'s worst potential political nightmare. we want to make good on our public relations' potential and stop this development. We would appreciate your phone calls and letters and telegrams sent directly to the politicians making this first decision. We would appreciate you passing this information along to -all- Native American groups in the hope that you and they will be interested in helping us save this ancient site. Please include this information in your newsletters and post it across to other echos and other bbs's to spread the word. fast! CITA president is John Anderson, Iroquois. CITA vice president is Alva Crowe, Cherokee from Cherokee NC. Public Relations Committee chairperson of CITA is me - Tom Kunesh, Lakota from Minnesota. My phone # is 615/ 267-1635; address: 744 McCallie Avenue, Chattanooga TN 37403. CITA's voice mailbox is 615/ 954-2376. Some say the Lakota/Dakota/Nakota originated in this area thousands of years ago. For me it is important when i say "mitake oyasin" - I honor all my relations - to know that these bones are my people's - all our peoples' - bones. Their blood is our blood. It is good to save this land. We can do it. With your help. With all our help. --- MacWoof Eval:19Aug93 Origin: Life is a game of chicken ... (1:362/122.29@fidonet) --------- "RE: Native American Theater" --------- From: JANS Janet McNeely Subj: Native American Theater GE Electronic Mail =NATIVE AMERICAN THEATER= Recently on the Internet, a discussion of various Native American Theatrical and performance arts groups has been going on. Information in the following paragraphs is taken from some of the posts. Also, I saw in the Oct. 14 issue of _Indian Country Today_, a review of "Black Elk Speaks," a theatrical production of John Neihardt's book. It's running the month of October at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Denver, CO. The reviewer calls it a "must see" and an "enjoyable landmark." ---------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on the Internet by Glenn Walker: Program list from the recent performance of the "American Indian Dance Theatre" at Lisner Auditorium on the campus of GW University in Washington D.C. EASTERN WOODLANDS SUITE THE PLAINS SUITE Standing Quiver (Stomp) Dance Grass Dance Raccoon Dance Chicken Dance Old Style War Dance Old Style Grass Dance Smoke Dance Horse Dance Stick Dance Contemporary MEN'S TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN/NORTHERN STRAIGHT DANCES WOMEN'S TRADITIONAL SOUTHERN/NORTHERN ROUND DANCES MEN'S FANCY DANCES (Old Style War Dance) WOMEN'S FANCY SHAWL DANCE RED CEDAR BARK CEREMONY (Tseka - British Columbia) New (U'Mista Cultural Center, Alert Bay, British Columbia) ZUNI BUTTERFLY DANCE EAGLE DANCE APPRECIATION SONG BEAR DANCE HOOP DANCE and THE ROUND DANCE FINALE The director's name is Hanay Geiogamah; producer - Barbara Schwei Groups: OTOE, CREEK, CHIPPEWA, NAVAJO, HIDATSA, SIOUX, OTTAWA, ZUNI, CHEROKEE, SOUTHERN UTE, YAKIMA, NORTHERN ARAPAHOE, SIMILKAMEEN, COMANCHE, and CREE ---------------------------------------------------- VHS Video available from "Great Performances' Dance in America" from PBS Address: 223 East 61st Street New York, NY 10021 Tel: (212) 308-9555 Fax: (212) 826-0724 ---------------------------------------------------- Also coming on May 23, 1994 at Madison Square Garden - "Rosebud's Song" in honor of Rosebud Yellow Robe, great-grandniece of Chief Sitting Bull. The backdrop will have the faces of 1000 Native American children, with more than 1000 children from all over the world, the highest, lowest, coldest, and wettest places on earth. The story begins with 4 Native American story tellers from the North, South, East, and West. For more details check the PARADE Magazine, pgs. 4-6, from Oct. 17, 1993 of the Washington Post. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Two Native American theatre companies, based in New York City but known nationally and internationally, are: Spiderwoman Theatre, a company of three Kuna/Rappahannock sisters (Lisa Mayo, Gloria Miguel, and Muriel Miguel) who conceive, write, direct, and perform their own productions. "They call upon Spiderwoman's [goddess of Creation] inspiration for their working technique, storyweaving. An award-winning company, they have earned recognition in both the U. S. and Europe. Their work [incorporates] traditional Native American stories and storytelling, social satire, and a true perspective on Native American women in contemporary North and South American societies. Their performances draw the audience in, weaving them into the web." Coatlicue Las Colorado, "the dynamic...duo of Elvira and Hortensia Colorado. They, like Spiderwoman Theatre, perform original works centered on Native women. They both have extensive professional acting careers and have found...their work the perfect medium to express [concerns] related to their experience as contemporary [Chichimecas]." The Colorado sisters are also gifted storylellers and performance artists, and one of their videotaped pieces about the Quincentennial [sorry I don't have the title] was included in the 1992 "Encuentro" show at SPARC in Santa Monica, CA and in "For the Seventh Generation: Native American Artists Counter the Quincentenary, Columbus, New York" at Art in General in NYC (5/8-6/26/93). For more information, and to contact these groups, get in touch with Jim Cyrus, Performing Arts Coordinator, American Indian Community House (AICH), 404 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10003; tel. 212-598-0100, ext. 228; fax 212-598-4909. (Information in quotes supplied by Jim Cyrus.) Hope this information is useful. I've seen both groups perform and they are extraordinary! Carol Liu (Volunteer at AICH) Queens Public Library, Jamaica, NY 11432 718-990-0890 (tel); 718-291-8936 (fax) Internet: qladmin@class.org or cliu@queens.lib.ny.us -------------------------------------------------------------------- Naa Kahidi Theatre from Juneau, Alaska is an *excellent* theatre group doing stories and plays from different Alaska Native groups. Info: 303-840-9366 or 303-424-4630. -------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- "RE: Senecas Deserve to Win Lawsuit" --------- From: Kayoshk Subj: SENECAS DESERVE TO WIN LAWSUIT Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following article appeared in the Niagara Gazette in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Thursday, September 23, 1993, by Denise Easterling. "Grand Island" refers to a residential island in the Niagara River. Copied w/o permission ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------- < BEGIN ARTICLE > -------------------------------- SENECAS DESERVE TO WIN LAWSUIT Politicians had better be careful using the phrase "New World Order." Not only don't they know what it truly means, but they never have justice in mind when they say it. Take Native, and African Americans for example. Many have heard about the Seneca Nation's lawsuit asking that the 1815 transaction that gave Grand Island to New York State for $1000, plus an annual payment, be nullified. But that's not all, they also want returned a 300 - acre easement (a right of way) from the state Thruway Authority for the stretch of road that crosses the Cattaraugus Reservation. The Senecas say the purchases were made without the consent of the federal government. It seems that in 1790 George Washington said that the federal government would never consent to the Senecas being defrauded, but would protect them in all rights. By rights, the Senecas should get their land back and monetary damages. Just because it's a majority of white, upper-middle class people that would have to pay the piper doesn't mean that the price shouldn't be paid. Talk about discrimination. Isn't justice supposed to be blind? Or are only certain groups of people supposed to pay? I remember history class and wondering why the natives would fall so easily for selling their land for trinkets and shiny objects. There's an obvious, if incorrect , answer. Some "sold" the land knowing full well that they personally didn't own it. They knew, through their culture, that the land doesn't belong to a man or men. They probably though that the Europeans were idiots for trying to buy it. However, they didn't count on the European's fire stick - guns. So, natives all over North and South America were herded like cattle, or killed off their land by thousands, relegated to patches of land unknown and unsuited to them. And while entire native peoples were being wiped off the face of the Earth, European jail cells were flung open to populate the "New World." And now we've come to the time of the big pay-back. I wondered what inquiring minds in the neighborhood thought. A perfect opportunity was the Lockport Street pre-Labor day cookout. It was a large and varied group, from fresh-faced youngsters to stately seniors. All said that they hoped that the Senecas won the suit. I asked in other places, and the answers were the same. Many commented about African-Americans not getting their 40 acres and a mule. After the Civil War, even the supposedly ignorant newly freed Africans new that there was no freedom without an economic foundation. Thaddeus Stevens, the congressman from Pennsylvania knew it too, and proposed that the newly freed Africans be given 40 acres of land and a mule from old plantations, for their hundreds of years of labor in the fields, homes, and businesses of America. Of course, he didn't get much support, but we haven't forgotten. In fact, the bill for reparations for African-Americans is alive. At least the natives should get some justice. How do you justifiably strip a people of their homes, cultures, and religions and scream "unfair" when they want something for it in return? Some of the obviously one-sided comments from Island residents would have been laughable if they weren't so ludicrous. One person felt like a hostage; others said that what happened to the natives was bad, but why should they pay; another said that the natives were taking advantage of the situation; Rep. John LaFalce said that this was their lives at stake; still another said that people have rights too. And what are the Senecas? I know it's probably hard for some to think of them as people, being that they're "invisible" and all, but the truth is, everything that they held sacred has been stolen, vilified, nullified, and otherwise abused. Who stands, and has stood for their justice? Where is it written that a thief and swindler has the rights to the spoils forever? Reparations must be made for the horrors and the gains of European invasion and destruction. The truth is that Europeans the world over are going to have to face the consequences of hundreds of years of injustice and indifference toward the "invisible" natives and aboriginal peoples of the greater part of the world. One last comment to the Island resident who said that there would be a revolution. Can't you see that it's already started? And it won't be televised! ----------------------- < END ARTICLE > ------------------------------------ //:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/\\ || || || David (Kayoshk) Ashelman || || Seneca Nation It is the simplicity of the || || Niagara University Creator that baffles humanity || || S920539@vax.niagara.edu || || || \\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*/:\*// --------- "RE: First Nations Group Makes Trek to Parliament" --------- From: aj157@Freenet.carleton.ca (Alex Bustos) Subj: FIRST NATIONS GROUP MAKES TREK TO PARLIAMENT Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) [ Originally from Usenet's "alt.journalism" newsgroup. --Gary ] znatives by Brent Dowdall Charlatan Staff FIRST NATIONS GROUP MAKES TREK TO PARLIAMENT "We walked 700 kilometres for our home." Clifford George was referring to the arrival on Parliament Hill of about 50 members of the Stoney Point First Nations band, some of whom walked 729 km from the shores of Lake Huron to demand their reservation back. The three-square-mile reservation was taken from them by the Department of National Defence in 1942 under the War Measures Act and never returned. The band was uprooted and forced to join the Kettle Island reservation, two miles away. On May 5, 1993, the band re-occupied the reservation and in August there was an incident where shots were fired at a Canadian Forces helicopter. The incident is still under investigation. "On May 5, we walked into our home to stay," said George. "We don't care about the money. We want our land." The marchers walked up to the Parliament Buildings around 2 p.m. Several people then spoke, hugs were exchanged and the band put on a demonstration of Native drumbeats. George was in Britain fighting for Canada in 1942 when the Canadian military first took over the land because the War Measures Act gave it the power to seize property. He said he received a letter from his father saying the army had taken over the land but the band would get it back when the war was over. "The government tries to divide and conquer the people," said band councillor Glen George. "We went to war so the people could be free. But we found out the government was the real enemy because they took our homes." Stoney Point band elder Rose Manning said she was 10 when she and her family was forcefully evicted from their reservation. "I'm back at our old home, 50 years later." Band Chief Carl George said the walk was undertaken to force the government to answer the band's demands for the return of its land. "The public has a right to know if the government will respond," he said. Defence minister Tom Siddon said in a letter to NDP Aboriginal affairs critic Robert Skelly in August that the military was still using the land and would return it when they are finished. Carleton elder-in-residence Wilfred Peltier said he helped cook food and took it out to the walkers Sept. 29 when they were staying at the Nepean Tent and Trailer Park. Peltier said there was little support from Native groups such as the Native Council of Canada and the Assembly of First Nations. He also said the timing of the march was bad. "It was very bad timing, with the election going on and they didn't get any press attention," he said. Murray Angus, communications co-ordinator for the Native Council of Canada, confirmed there was no involvement by the organization and it was not represented on the Hill. "We were occupied on other fronts. Our energies were spent elsewhere," he said. Angus said the council was involved in preparing criticisms of the federal parties for ignoring Native issues during the campaign and the leaders' debates. While waiting for a government response, the band plans to return to its land and continue occupying the reserve. With files from Doug Johnson. --------- "RE: Enrollment" --------- From: B.HUNGERFORD Beverly Hungerford Subj: Enrollment GE Electronic Mail I have received permission from the sender of this note to share his words as he writes them if you want to. -------------------------copy------------------------------------------ BBS: Mercury Opus (813) 321-0734 From: FROSTY DEERE Subj: Re: enrollment Conf: Indian Affairs >I am really tired of those who put down the federally recognized tribes >as sell outs and equate being enrolled as being a BIA Indian. This is not to get into this debate but just something that happens in Canada. I am sure you all know about the Innu in Davis Inlet. Well since they are not what Canada calls status by the book enrolled in the Department of Indian Affairs, they are told they can't get service. Funny they could move them but can't fix problem unless they sign to be covered by the Indian Act of Canada. Seems they forget they caused the problem to begin with. Now in Kahnawaka we have the Mohawk people of the Longhouse which also don't get band numbers or cards from the government of Canada. They get cards from the LongHouse and one must go to the Longhouse to obtain one. US Customs has no problem with these cards but Canada sure has. Why the card? To cross the border according to the Jay Treaty and have free access to both sides. Canada customs people don't like the idea but can't stop anyone. My point is this, a card from the government only means THEY say your a native of some sort of blood quantum. But this leaves out the right to native people the freedom of choice as to who they say can belong to their Nation. What nation other than native asks what blood you have to be a citizen of that nation? The USA and Canada asks this of only the native people. Over 200 years their are many mixes of blood and adoptions by native people. The USA and Canada should have no right telling native people who is and who's not native. Their are many 25% or less blood Mohawks that were willing to die to protect the nation in 1990. Their were also some with 50% blood or better that ran to their white brothers for protection. Its this blood bull that causes native people to fight among themselves and that is what the non-native government wants. Divide and conquer has been the rule for 200 years. Telling native people if you can't get you house in order can can we give you the right to rule yourselves. It is only the people of the native nations that can say who is a citizen and member of their nation. Not every nations will use the same rules and some might even take people that are from other nations to rebuild. They only way to become strong is by building a new house with good wood. By tearing down the old house one will find a lot of good wood. So one can't just burn all the old wood. Keeping the house together, family together, friends together can make a bright future together. Native people also need to rid themselves of hate and racism. This blood thing is the cause of racism among our own people. Speaking about wives as "Oh that white women or white man or those children that are half white." Some of those children care more and willing to defend the rights of the nations. Meaning defending it for all people and not just a few. One must remember the past and help those among us, be it if they are 1% or 100% blood, they are still our people and not property of the USA or Canada's governments. We are not dogs or horses that one needs to check blood lines, which are the only other things blood quantum is used for. These governments have taken the native people to level animals for breeding and membership. By getting the native people to use this method of breeding its people, goes against everything native people stand for. Native people stand for respecting everything Mother Earth as put on Turtle Island. To listen to these governments and removing those we think are not pure will only make us weak. Instead we need to educate, teach the culture of those which have not or do not understand. By doing so we can make a nation of people stronger for all. One only has to look at those with only the 1% to see that many have closer connection to the past and vision for the future. Lets stop beating the bushes for problems and start building nations once again. To do so one needs people of one mind. The USA built itself by using people, never asking about blood but by what can you do for the nation and to be of one mind in the melting pot of America. These People are they must defend, and to be educated in the history of the nation. When they are ready they must take an oath to become a citizen. Maybe thats what is needed to rebuild the nations of American Native People. Show the world how we respect life and our people no matter how much blood they might have. Blood in only one part of body, but its the mind that thinks and carries the culture, religion, languages, visions, respect, and understand of what being a native person is all about. Lets rebuild before the future washes away from the minds what native people are. Other wise will see nations only as names in history, which I am sure is what Canada and the USA would like to see happen. Maybe I am not 100% blood but my brain is 100% Mohawk ! So much that I will defend the rights of the Mohawk Nation even if that means it might mean my life ! Peace. --- SLMAIL v3.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows" --------- From: JANS Janet McNeely Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows GE Electronic Mail =POWWOWS= Focus on the Midwest and West Next issue - list of Veterans Day Powwows Oct 22-23 Comanche War Dance & Powwow Cache OK Oct 23 NASA Powwow University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR Oct 29-31 4th Annual South Texas Powwow Mission TX Info: (512) 686-6696 Oct 29-31 National Indian Days Powwow Parker, AZ Info: (602) 669-9211 Nov 6-7 Carmel American Indian Festival Carmel CA Info: (408) 623-2379 Nov 5-6 2nd Annual Okinapi Traditional Powwow AB Canada Info: (403) 455-3242 Nov 3-6 Meeting - The Native American Art Studies Association, Santa Fe, NM This group includes artists, art historians, anthropologists, collectors, graduate students, etc. Info: David Penney at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Nov 4-6 Meeting - The 1993 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Ethnohistory, Indiana University Nov 12-14 Annual Veteran's Powwow Hosted by the Tuscarora Nation (Iroquois) Niagara County Community College (no phone # available) Nov 12-14 The Great American Indian Exposition - 1993 Richmond Virginia Fairgrounds Info: (410) 788-0254, (410) 788-0689 Nov 25-27 4th Annual Rocky Mountain Contest Pow-wow, Denver, CO. Sponsors Rocky Mountain Pow-wow Association. Info: 303-840-9366 or 303-424-4630 This month's contributors include various Internet sources (thanks especially to Kayoshk!), _Indian Country Today_, and the Powwow Calendar published by The Book Company, Summertown TN. Send notices of forthcoming powwows, conferences and gatherings to: jans@genie.geis.com jans%glsdk@wolves.durham.nc.us ....duke!wolves!glsdk!jans