_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' 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 02, ISSUE 005 O o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 29 January 1994 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. "We emphasize this point: that Indian medicine and ceremonies are not for sale. The sacred objects to carry out these ceremonies are not for sale, and the sacred sites---the ancient places, the springs, waters, mountains and lands are not for sale. They belong to the original peoples of these lands and islands. Spirituality is the foundation of our nations. Therefore we must respect our ways; we must not be the transgressors of our ways." -- Elders Circle, American Indian International Tribunal O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! It is raining in what is now north central Georgia as I prepare this issue of Wotanging Ikche. Slowly, I am learning the ways of this new place. I am fortunate to have been accepted in a new circle of people who share my beliefs and values. Still, there is much to learn. Soon, I will be making a garden; and know I will try ways that worked in other places on Turtle Island. Some will not work here. I will ask for advice among those who know this place, but the learning must be mine. It has always been so. Patience is the gift that will see me through this learning time. Knowledge will be the reward - along with a success or two on our table, I can hope. Mitaquye Oyasin! Night Owl ------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< ----------- --------- "RE: International Action Against Hydro-Quebec" --------- From: ae446@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Nigel Allen) Subj: International Action Against Hydro-Quebec INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION AGAINST HYDRO-QUEBEC APRIL 14TH Global Resistance Planned to Thwart HQ's 50th Anniversary To counter Hydro-Quebec's (Quebec's provincial utility company) 50th anniversary, the Native Forest Network (NFN) has called for international actions on Thursday, April 14th. Plans are underway for rallies/actions in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco in the U.S., Montreal in Canada and other cities in Europe and Australia. From a provincial corporation, with its own security forces, to a multinational that now consults in India, China, Guyana and elsewhere, H-Q is leaving a legacy of mega hydro electric projects that are having disastrous effects on many of the indigenous people of Quebec and the sensitive ecological areas that have been impacted. Some call it eco-genocide. Stand in solidarity with the native Cree, Innuit, Innu and the native flora and fauna whose existence are now threatened by H-Q's insidious projects in eastern North America. With the approval of NAFTA and opening global markets, H-Q is reaching out internationally to further exploit the Earth and its inhabitants. Your help is urgently needed to counter H-Q's public relations spin- doctoring and help prevent further exploitation and destruction. INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION NORTH AMERICA (Continued) (and additional information) Eastern North American NFN NEW YORK Orin Langelle Ursala Avis POB 57 POB 408 Burlington, VT 05402 USA Cooper Station (802)863-0571/Fax: (802)863-2532 New York, NY 10276 email: peacejustice@igc.apc.org CHICAGO EUROPE-- Industrial Workers of the Earth Action Resource Center World & Left Greens Jake Burbridge Miles Mendenhall PO Box E, 111 Magdelen Rd. 1466 West Irving Park Rd Oxford OX4, UK Chicago, IL 60613-1954 (865) 201-705 email: eartharc@gn.apc.org MIDWEST USA Steve Taylor SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE Greens NFN 50 Clarkson Ctr Tim Cadman & Beth Gibbings Box 493 112 Emu Bay Rd, Deloraine Chesterfield, MO 63017 Tasmania 7304, Australia (314)349-5269 cadwood@peg.apc.org WEST COAST Western North American NFN NORTH AMERICA Suzanne Pardee POB 60271 MONTREAL Seattle, WA 98160 Carla Nemiroff (206)545-3734 /FAX: (206)632-6122 Solidarity With Native People 4567 Esplanade Ave Montreal, Quebec H2T 2Y6 Canada (514)844-4961 -- Nigel Allen ae446@freenet.carleton.ca --------- "RE: Mohawks Fire on Military Aircraft over Kanesatake" --------- From: A.HOROVITCH Art Horovitch Subj: Mohawks Fire on Military Aircraft over Kanesatake GE Electronic Mail Jan 22, 1994 Montreal, Canada MOHAWKS FIRE ON MILITARY AIRCRAFT OVER KANESATAKE The Montreal Gazette reported in an article by Aaron Derfel yesterday that a group of Mohawks fired at military aircraft flying low over Kanesatake, which was the site of a violent confrontation between the Mohawks and the Canadian army in 1990. An army spokesman, capt. Rita Lepage said that the low-flying Hercules transport and a Labrador helicopter flew over Kanesatake in search of a signal from an emergency locator beacon from what was thought to be a downed aircraft. While the planes were over the community, a group of Mohawks fired at them, reported Kanesatake band councillor Robert Gabriel. When the helicopter landed in a field, Gabriel told the captain to leave in order to avoid an armed confrontation. The pilot told Gabriel that they were part of a search and rescue mission, but no one had informed the community that the aircraft would be flying low over the community or what their purpose was. Gabriel said he didn't know who had fired at the aircraft, but he condemned their actions. He said, "In Mohawk society, we would never approve of such actions." Angela gabriel, a teacher at the local school, said many people were frightened by the low-flying aircraft, and many parents called the school reporting the gunfire and requested that their children be kept inside during the noon hour. According to the Armed Forces, they received a distress signal from an emergency locator beacon near Oka, Quebec. They dispatched a Hercules to locate the beacon, but the signal could not be pinpointed. They sent the helicopter about an hour later. They pinpointed the source of the beacon on the ground but saw no crash site, so the helicopter landed to investigate further. Jerry Peltier , the Grand Chief of Kanesatake, said he didn't accept the Defence department's explanation. He said the community was so small that they would know immediately if a plane head crash-landed. But no one had seen evidence of a downed aircraft. Peltier said he's often told Defence and police officials not to show up unexpectedly, or they may expect trouble. "Kanesatake is a very sensitive society. We can't control everybody in our territory." he concluded. ------- Please include this post script to my article about Kahnesatake. Chief Jerry Peltier met with Canadian Armed Forces officials today to discuss the incident which occurred recently. They have agreed verbally that any flights over the territory will first be cleared with the band council. The Armed forces said that the case is closed. Neither the Armed Forces nor the Government could explain what the planes were doing there in the first place. --------- "RE: Navajo-Hopi Update 1/16/94" --------- From: Navajo Nation Subj: NAVAJO-HOPI UPDATE 1/16/94 Mailing List: NATIVE-L NAVAJO-HOPI "LAND DISPUTE" UPDATE: JAN. 16, 1994 MEETINGS ON THE HOPI PARTITIONED LAND (HPL) In order to discuss the matters brought up at the last mediation (Flagstaff, 1/11/93, see the UPDATE for 1/13) there are metings schedule all week long in the various HPL Dine' communities. Meetings are scheduled for 1/16 at John Yazzie's home (Sand Springs), 1/19 Cactus Valley (Oscar Whitehair), 1/20 Teesto (probably the Chapter House), 1/21 at Coal Mine Mesa (Jack Hatathlie's home), 1/22 Mosquito Springs (Mae Tso) and 1/23 Big Mountain (Violet Ashike). I plan on being at Teesto and Big Mountain at least, and I will report on them. A LITTLE HISTORY: THE NATURE OF THE HOPI CLAIM TO THE ANCESTRAL HOMELAND OF THE DINE' I am writing this so that people everywhere can understand the Hopi argument. The Hopi Tribe has been successful in pressing claims against the Dine' people who occupy lands the Hopi Tribe has gained through litigation, and against the Navajo Nation. I believe it is wrongheaded to dismiss their arguments. It is better I think to examine them and see where they are coming from. Over the last ten years I have always tried to listen to what people were saying to me, keep my mouth shut and my mind open. During a mediation which took place on Jan. 11, 1994 Hopi Chairman Vernon Masayesva said to the Dine' families of the "disputed lands" that he was aware that they held that all lands within the 4 sacred mountains were sacred. He then said that "everything within ba'dawa' - the shore of the ocean - is Hopi land." He said that this is Hopi sacred land. This is the greater Hopi religious claim to all lands in North and South America. It has been made in a number of forums, including the United Nations, and as I understand it is essentially an aboriginal title claim. Hopi people have told me that there are shrines marking this claim, one of them supposedly in Connecticut, one in California somewhere, one on the tip of south America, etc. Inside the greater Hopi claim is a central area they call Tutsqua. Like the greater claim it is also marked by shrines. This area contains things like big shrines where people go to pray frequently. There are sacred places belonging to various clans, villages and religious societies, many of which are secret. There are ruins where some of the clans say they came from and which they visit all the time. There are places where eagles nest and the clans that "own" those sites visit them looking for baby eagles for their ceremonies. Some of these are very sacred to the Dine' as well, such as the Place of Emergence in the Grand Canyon, or the place the Anglos call Woodruff Butte, south of Holbrook. There are also places for gathering plants, minerals, and other things used for religious or traditional purposes. This is the basis on which the Hopi people think about and claim the land the Dine' have always occupied. The Hopi Tribe has been very successful in getting people to think along these terms: The Hopi are trying to recover the sacred lands which were taken from them (by the Dine"). However the Navajo-Hopi "land dispute" and P.L. 93-531 are in "fact" claims and legal solutions deriving from an executive order signed in 1882 by President Chester Arthur. In law, the Hopi claim to the lands where the Dine' are living in NOT an aboriginal rights claim and it is not a religious claim. The 1882 executive order was requested by an Indian Agent at Keams Canyon who needed authority to eject a white man who was reportedly undermining the agent's authority by urging the Hopi people to disobey his orders. Rather than survey a reservation boundary, he asked that an area 1 degree in latitude and 1 degree in longitude be set aside for the Hopi "and such other Indians" as were occupying the land. In fact, the area set aside lands occupied by hundreds of Dine' families and excluded one Hopi village, Oraibi's seasonally-occupied colony at Moenkopi. It was bureaucratic necessity that led to the partition of the 1882 Executive Order Reservation. Both Dine' and Hopi were living on the same land: each tribe had its own Indian Agent and support staff. How is the bureaucrat in charge of Hopis going to fill out his forms, if he doesn't know who the Hopis are and where the Hopi land is? How can he register a homesite? build a fence? It was the dominant society's need to classify, to draw clear boundaries, that led to the need to separate the Dine' and the Hopi. A LITTLE MORE HISTORY: THE DISTRICT SIX EVICTIONS The first separation of the Dine' and Hopi came in 1936, when the BIA established grazing districts, reduced Indian livestock, and declared that Grazing District Six of the 1882 Reservation was to be an exclusive Hopi grazing district. At that time began a series of evictions of Dine' which continued until the last group, the Kabinto families, was evicted from Echo Canyon, out by Jeddito. During World War II, while all the men were away fighting, hundreds of families were forced out. John Yazzie's family used to farm in Keams Canyon and were evicted; Roger Attakai's family used to live out by Talahogan and were evicted; Louise Begay's family was evicted from D-6 near Jeddito; Eugene Hasgood's family are D-6 evictees. That's what some people mean when they say they have already been relocated once or twice and are not going to let it happen to them again. In 1972 the Kabinto families lost a suit and were ordered to vacate the Echo Canyon area by the U.S. District Court. The Court ordered the Navajo Nation to expedite the eviction - to remove its own people. Rodger Davis, who drove one of the trucks, told me that it was awful. they picked up all the families, their livestock and their worldly goods. There were a couple hundred people, elderlies, children, adults, all of them crying, and the livestock were all scared and making noise too. The tribal workers finally got the caravan moving on the dirt road out. Rodger said you could look back and see black smoke coming up where the BIA and Hopis had gone in and torched the hogans and corrals and sweatlodges and ramadas and everything else,so people wouldn't come back. Just lots of black smoke and the people crying. The U.S. government ordered the eviction and ordered the Navajo Nation to do it. There were no provisions made for the families. The Nation set up a tent city in the mud at the Window Rock fairgrounds. It was a real cold wet winter and many of the elders died. Families broke up, because there was no housing for them. It wasn't until 1980 that the U.S. decided to make the D-6 evictees eligible for relocation homes (but only those who were evicted in the KABINTO case; all others remain uncompensated to this day). It is only in the last few years that a minority of the KABINTO evictees have received housing to compensate for that which the U.S. took from them. There are a lot of people around who remember that eviction, and that is why the Nation has spent tens of millions of dollars - money the Nation really doesn't have to spare - trying to block another forced relocation. BACK TO THE NATURE OF THE HOPI CLAIM ON THE HOMES OF DINE' FAMILIES Through years of skillful litigation the Hopi Tribe has secured exclusive title to about 70% of the 1882 reservation. This is not an aboriginal claim and it is not based on Hopi tradition or religion. Hopi religious use of lands in this region continues as it always has: individual Hopi come out and say their prayers, gather the eagles, whatever. Because of all the bad feelings stirred up by the "land dispute" and the evictions of Dine', sometimes there are incidents. The traditional way for these things to be done is for the visitors to stop by and talk to local residents, explain what they are doing, maybe trade a little. One of our office's jobs is to help this process out if needed. Usually if there is an incident we get an angry letter or phone call from the Hopi Tribe. We always offer - in writing if we have time - to go out with the group of Hopis who are having a problem and help them resolve it. The Hopi Tribe has NEVER taken us up on our offers of assistance. In other words, there are both traditional procedures and a Navajo Nation agency in place to protect Hopi religious use of lands occupied by the Dine'. WHY AM I WRITING ALL THIS? IF you believe that the Navajo-Hopi "land dispute" is a dispute between two Indigenous Peoples who hold the same ground to be sacred, then there is no way to resolve the issue. Both peoples' claims are equivalent and you end up taking sides based on whether you think Hopi or Dine' religion is better, purer, which came first, whatever. The Hopi claim is total, and the Hopi claim exclusive rights inside their lands. My own feeling is that the Hopi and Dine' have traditional USE RIGHTS to the "disputed lands". The Hopi right includes a lot of land uses which are compatible with the continued exercise by the Dine' of THEIR use rights which include the right of occupancy. It is a mistake to translate use of land and resources by traditional peoples into an exclusive ownership title. Exclusive titles are for people who sell the land, rent it out, or otherwise turn it into a commodity. I hope that Indigenous and traditional people everywhere, as well as their friends and advocates, take a good look at the Navajo-Hopi "land dispute" before they try to resolve land claims through creating exclusive land titles. And for everyone, here is a question: What kind of religion is it that tells you to take someone else's home away from them? --------- "RE: Air Force Threatens Owyhee Canyonla" --------- From: Dan Yurman Subj: Air Force Threatens Owyhee Canyonla Mailing List: NATIVE-L Owyhee Canyonlands: NO BOMBING RANGE! THE US AIR FORCE wants to steal your land, water and wildlife and the State of Idaho is holding open your pocket to get at it. Strong words? Not strong enough for this remarkable twisting of public policy that comes at such great environmental cost. The Owyhee Canyonlands is a mostly unroaded, biologically diverse region in southwestern Idaho and adjacent parts of Oregon and Nevada. It contains beautiful undammed rivers and wild country; a quarter of the nation's California desert bighorn sheep and the highest density and productivity of pronghorn antelope habitat in all of Idaho are here. It is also home to the Shoshone-Paiute on the Duck Valley reservation and to their ancestors as shown by extraordinarily rich archaeological sites throughout the region. The rivers and canyons are popular for recreationists exploring this desert environment. The Air Force wants a bombing range, and Idaho is falling over itself to give them one in the Owyhee. If they believed they had a credible case, they would go to Congress and request a military withdrawal of these BLM lands. That's what they are supposed to do. But Congress would never approve this pork-barrel scheme. So the Air Force and Idaho have cooked up a little deal: BLM trades Idaho the proposed bombing range area for someplace else, then Idaho lends it to the Air Force. No need to tell Congress; no need to fully justify the need for the range. Just do it. The Owyhee Canyonlands of southwestern Idaho and Oregon and Nevada are one of the nation's premier desert jewels. This little-known area will require great effort to save; let's not let it become another place no one knew before it was too late. Write a letter today! A bombing range in the Owyhee Canyonlands means jet fighters, heavy bombers, tankers and radar planes converging over the bombing range for massive training exercises at least once a month. Day-to-day pilot training, training with laser systems, and low-altitude training at night will also occur. In the approximately 25,000 acres of impact zones the public will locked out and around these areas 6,812 flights per year will take place. Thundering noise from fighter jets flying at 100 feet above the ground will shatter the desert solitude. Supersonic (boom producing) flights will be allowed at 10,000 feet above the ground. Throughout the rest of Owyhee County and portions of Oregon and Nevada, flights can be as low as 100 feet and 9,209 are planned per year by the Air Force. More than 30 mobile threat emitter sites will be scattered in the region requiring road construction and bringing the impacted area to about 3 million acres. Fires will be more frequent as a result of the bombing activities. The bombs include incendiary charges for spotting. Burning flares will be dropped as well as radar jamming aluminum chaff. Imagine just the noise--the sheer thundering sonic power--of this proposal. Add the other impacts, and the end of the Owyhee is obvious. The Native American history here is rich--and continues to this day. The proposed bombing range includes a National Register Archaeologic District which contains hundreds of ancient petroglyphs. The bombing range would severely impact 15 Wilderness Study Areas and candidate Wild and Scenic Rivers. There is an extraordinary sense of solitude to this land. It is a place that should be protected forever. A bombing range? Absolutely not. The diversity of plants and animals in the Owyhee Canyonlands is magnificent. YOUR RIGHT to write your government is one of the greatest gifts we have as US citizens. Too few use it. The following points should be helpful in preparing your response to JUST SAY NO! The environmental costs are too high: WILDLIFE: The Owyhee is home for one quarter of the nation's rare California bighorn sheep. In fact, it is the sole interstate source of transplant stock for nine western states. It is also critical habitat for pronghorn antelope (the highest density and productivity in Idaho), redband trout and peregrine falcons. SOLITUDE: The entire Owyhee region will face dramatic disruption from the sheer sonic power of the aircraft in use around the bombing range. As many as 9,209 600 mph low-level flights per year with supersonic (boom producing) flights 10,000 feet above the ground will significantly alter the rural environment of this three-state area. The social costs of the bombing range are also too high: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: The proposed bombing range will have an adverse impact on lands of the Shoshone-Paiute people at the Duck Valley Reservation. The impact site at the range includes native burial grounds. Small ranching communities will also be faced with major disturbances under the busy airspace. RECREATION: There are greater and greater numbers of people using the Owyhee country for recreation including whitewater floaters exploring the wild canyons and hunters and hikers enjoying the challenging country. Finally, the Idaho Training Range is not needed: Some argue the bombing range is needed to keep Idaho's Mt. Home Air Force base open. That is not true. This base is not on any current base closure list and a recent GAO report includes a Defense Department statement that the Air Force does not need this range. Furthermore, an existing range in Utah is only 20 minutes flying time from the Mt. Home base. Who decides? You decide! But only by acting. Please write today. Thank You! THE AIR FORCE: An Air Force draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) is now out for public comment. Using the points from this alert, please write to the following addresses today expressing opposition to the bombing range! The deadline is Feb. 9, 1994. Send to: Ms. Brenda Cook HQ ACC/CEVA 29 Andrews St., Ste 102 Langley AFB, VA 23996-3328 SEC. BABBITT: In order for the Air Force and Idaho scheme of bypassing Congress to work, Interior Sec. Bruce Babbitt must allow the land swap. Write Babbitt and oppose the bombing range and the BLM/Idaho land transfer. Sec. Bruce Babbitt, Department of Interior, 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240 CONGRESS: Rep. Larry LaRocco has the Owyhee Canyonlands in his district. He has not yet decided whether to support protecting this region. Write or call LaRocco and ask him to oppose the range and demand full Congressional oversite. Rep. Larry LaRocco, House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 - 202-225-6611 or 208-343-4211. It's very important that lots of comments come in on the DEIS, so if you only have time for only one thing, send that letter. If you can't get to a letter to Babbitt and LaRocco, just send them a copy of the DEIS letter. If we don't act together we will lose! Early Notice! Join your friends and fellow supporters of the Owyhee Canyonlands at a special morning event on January 29 in Boise. For more information call 208-384-1023 or 343-8153. We need your help! ------------------------------------------------ IDAHO RIVERS UNITED Internet: iru@igc.apc.org P.O. Box 633 Phone: 1-800-574-7481 Boise, ID 83701 Fax: 1-208-343-8184 ------------------------------------------------ --------- "RE: SAIIC-Chiapas" --------- From: cats.ucsc.edu!guiller Subj: SAIIC-Chiapas The South&Mesoamerican Indian Information Ctr. P.O. Box 28703, Oakland, CA 94612 To : Solidarity and Action for Chiapas, Mexico Brothers and Sisters: I just returned from San Cristobal de las Casas, in the State of Chiapas, Mexico. I was invited by the Coordinadora del Pueblo Maya en Lucha por su Liberacion-COLPUMALI. This is a grassroots Indigenous organization representing Tojolobal as well as Tzeltal and Tzoltzil peoples. Along with COLPUMALI, I visited conflict areas and new refugee camps in a caravan organized by the NGO Coordinating Committee of San Cristobal de Las Casas--a coalition of Human Rights and Humanitarian Organizations. So far, over 3,000 Maya are refugees in the thirteen towns serving as refugee camps. Major centers are: Las Margaritas, Comitan, La Floresta and Venustiano Carranza. The refugees fled as they were terrorized by cross-fire between the Mexican armed forces and Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN) guerillas. We also visited several "fincas"--giant ranches ranging from 500-4.000 hectares owned by wealthy white and mestizos. Indigenous peoples are employed there, however, living in near-slavery conditions. The typically earn between two and three US.dollars per/day. People we interviewed in the refugee camps are scared and hungry. Some are sick. The camps lack food and warm clothing. Although, the Maya are accustomed to warm weather, the camps where they are staying are very cold. Most families have between five and eight children. The refugees expressed concern about the future. Many people joined Zapatista insurgents, and the communities have become divided between those who support the insurgents, and those who do not. Refugees often denounced that the Mexican Army has been kidnapping, torturing and intimidating Indigenous Peoples. The army has established a "free" telephone line where people can call to identify Zapatistas from their communities. Such tactics are being used to carry out a "witch hunt" in the communities. Everyone in the camps is frightened. Roger Maldonado, spokesman for the Coordinating Committee of NGO's in San Cristobal reports that over 200 people are being held in the jail in Tuxtla Gutierrez, the state capital. The authorities are not allowing anyone to visit them, and are moving--instead--prisoners from one jail to another. He says that many communities have been bombarded and neither media nor human rights groups are allowed to visit areas. The Zapatistas have taken cover in the Lacandon rainforest. Although temporarily halted, the Mexican air force was heavily bombing several areas. Each bomb can destroy about 150 square feet of forest where it falls. For this bombing, the Mexican air force is using helicopters and other weapons provided by the US army for the purpose of combating drug trafficking. The air force has been using these helicopters to kidnap Indigenous people. The military then threatens the villagers by telling them that they will be thrown from the helicopters. Mr. Maldonado stated that over 300 death certificates have been issued in Ocosingo, at the conflict's center. This contradicts the government's official estimate of 100 death from the conflict. On January 13th, the EZLN issued two communiques accepting the government's cease fire offer. Negotiations between the EZLN and the government may start in the next few days. Indigenous Peoples and Campesinos are actively responding to the conflict and are organizing themselves. From January 11-14th over 500 Indigenous peoples and other campesinos representing 138 grassroots organizations from the State of Chiapas met to make a peace proposal demanding respect for Human Rights, a solution to land ownership/tenure problems, and an end to violent intimidation by wealthy landowners, politicians and police. On January 21-22nd, these representatives will meet again to form the Coordinating Body of Indigenous People for the State of Chiapas. They have invited the Continental Indigenous Commission (CONIC), to participate as witness and provide support for the process. Representatives from Indigenous Organizations in North, Central and South America will be travelling to San Cristobal to support the struggle of Indigenous people in the State of Chiapas. What you can do: Write or call Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari to express your concern over the situation in Chiapas. Demand that the military allow prisoners to be visited and that the conflict areas be opened to visits by Human Rights workers, also that the army stop tactics aimed at terrorizing and dividing Indigenous communities. Ask that the Mexican government grant the Chiapan Indigenous organization's just demands. Carlos Salinas de Gortari, President Presidencia de la Republica Palacio Nacional Colonia Centro 06067 Mexico, DF Mexico phone: 525-515-0528 (542-8070) FAX 525-271-1764 To Send Humanitarian Aid, contact Coordinacion de los Organismos No-Gubernamentales de San Cristobal de Las Casas por la Paz. tel/fax 967-80697 To support the struggle of Indigenous People in Chiapas, please contact: Coordinadora Indigena del Estado de Chiapas c/o COLPUMALI phone 52-967-85460 (81515) FAX 52-967-80055 Sincerely, Nilo Cayuqueo, Director, SAIIC --------- "RE: Inquest Update" --------- From: Frosty Deere (1:167/502) Subj: Inquest Update FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference Well its been sometime since I have posted a report on the Inquest into the shooting of a police officer in Oka back in 1990. Mohawks that were there on that day are now beginning to testify. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- The first Mohawk to testify at the inquest into the fatal shooting of a police officer during the botched raid on the barricades at Oka in 1990 says the operation was not the surprise assault the police planned. Eba Beauvais who had been at the barricade for three weeks before July 11 raid, said the Mohawks were anticipating intervention that morning by the police. Although police were counting on the element of surprise in their 5a.m. raid, Beauvais suggested they should have been smarter. The Mohawks had been holding tobacco burning ceremonies every morning at sunrise and were awake when hundreds of police arrived to dismantle their barricades. In testimony that was vague regarding Mohawk activity but exact and precise about police actions, Beauvais said police were abusive and intimidating. Beauvais testified that when she and other Mohawk women approached the barricade to confront the approaching police the SWAT team circled them and pointed their guns at their heads while staring at them silently. "Our eyes were locked, it was quit frighting," said the 53 year old resident of Kahnawake. "All I remember is the eyes and the guns." Later, after the Mohawks had not complied with the three ultimatums to leave their encampment, Beauvais said police fired tear gas canisters at her and other women. "They aimed it at me and it hit my knee," she said. "the next one hit the women beside me." The aborted raid ended with the death of Cpl Marcel Lemay, but sparked a 78 standoff that pitted Mohawks against the police and Canadian Forces. Until yesterday, only police politicians, reporters an bureaucrats had testified at the year old inquest. Under questioning from Richard Masson, the corner's counsel, Beauvais said she went to Oka to mediate a dispute among various Mohawks, but she couldn't remember any details. She also had difficulty recalling seeing any arms behind the Mohawk barricade or whether there was any plan in the event of a raid. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= More as I get it. ... via DeltaMail v2.20 for SL (#216378) --- SLMAIL v3.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) ------- "RE: FWDP: Lakota Declaration of Sovereignty - Jurisdiction" ------- From: jburrows@halcyon.com (John Burrows) Subj: FWDP: Lakota Declaration of Sovereignty - Jurisdiction ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: This file has been created under the loving care of :: :: -= THE FOURTH WORLD DOCUMENTATION PROJECT =- :: :: :: :: Questions and comments on FWDP can be addressed to: :: :: :: :: John Burrows jburrows@halcyon.com :: :: P.O. Box 2574 :: :: Olympia, Wa Fido Net 1:352/333 :: :: 98507-2574 206-786-9629 :: :: USA The Quarto Mundista BBS :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: L A K O T A CONFEDERACY OF THE BLACK HILLS A Sovereign Nation Re-established at Bear Butte July 14, 1991 DECLARATION OF SOVEREIGNTY INTERPRETATION OF JURISDICTIONAL GROUNDS We the LAKOTA, NORTHERN CHEYENNE and on behalf of signatories of the 1851 TREATY OF FT. LARAMIE, 1868, charge the United States with the infringement of our territorial sovereignty. This violation has been recorded in history as the 1871 Appropriations Act (Rider). Our LAKOTA DECLARATION hereby terminates colonial occupation and interests of the territory defined as "PERMANENT INDIAN TERRITORY" in the previously mentioned treaties. LAKOTA unwritten sovereignty over this territory since time immemorial has now come into conflict with the claim of the United States, for their laws are written in the form of a constitution, based on an assumption of superiority of written words. However LAKOTA laws are original, customary, traditional, oral and inherent. Our claim to jurisdiction is inherent and it is for the natives of this territory to determine the destiny of our territory and not the territory to determine from afar the destiny of the people. LAKOTA hunting fishing trading land and water mineral and sovereignty rights have not been yielded to the United States during peacetime, at war, nor through the conveyance of a treaty. A treaty was not a grant of rights to the indians but a grant of rights from them. There was an exclusive right to jurisdiction and sovereignty reserved within them. We the LAKOTA challenge the Supreme Court rulings and legislation introduced by acts of Congress as inapplicable to the natives of the respected territory. Hence the claim to jurisdiction based on the Conquest and Discovery has never occurred. For LAKOTA TERRITORY the case for the LAKOTA/ 1851-1868 TREATY the case for contention rests on a different footing than the rest of native treaty claims. No formal conquest occurred, no declaration of war had been declared, and no Cession occurred. Moreover of NOVEMBER 4, 1988 the United States decided to become civilized and signed the GENOCIDE TREATY. In a review of our understanding of the constitution and it's requirements for civilized activity, the desire of the American administration was to create INCHOATE TITLE. It was the intent of the United States to perfect title over time. However we, the indigenous people holding original title remain in peaceful occupancy. The LAKOTA not only hold ORIGINAL TITLE but our claim to sovereignty and peaceful coexistence and a continuous display of our authority over lands is contrary to the claim by the United States which has based their claim on the titles of discovery and of recognition by treaty and contiguity. i.e. titles relating to acts or circumstances leading to acquisition of sovereignty; they have not, however established the fact that sovereignty was so acquired and effectively displayed at any time. We the LAKOTA/CHEYENNE etc. concur with the precedent set in the UNITED STATES vs. NETHERLANDS, wherein the UNITED STATES lost it's claim to INCHOATE TITLE, (Palmas Island Arbitration, 1928). Impropriety such as the 1980 Supreme Court ruling upholding United States policy for providing compensation without return of lands or the inherent sovereignty or jurisdiction rights is mere desire and political ambition and cannot extinguish the principle of the continuous and peaceful display of the functions of the natives of 1851 treaty occupation within the territory and is a constituted element of territorial sovereignty which is recognized as a principle of international law. The creation of American sovereignty was done on a theoretical plane and the confederation the colonists formed was not a sovereign gov't and the issue of sovereignty and concept was not resolves by the declaration of independence and continues to be a theoretical question. In the contest between the states and congress, the ideological momentum of the Revolution lay with the states, but in the contest between the people and the state governments it decidedly lay with the people. For the Continental Congress had realized that the Articles of the Confederacy was not a government and the Articles held no sovereignty. "Benjamin Rush federal debate 1787" "The people of America have mistaken the meaning of sovereignty". Quote, Noah Webster federal convention debate, "A fundamental maxim of American Politics is that sovereign power resides in the people. Written constitutions and bills of rights can never be effective guarantees of freedom. Liberty is never secured by such paper declarations, nor lost for want of them. The truth is that government takes its form and structure from the genius and habits of the people, and if on paper a form, in spite of all the formal sanctions of the supreme authority of the state a form is not accommodated to it will assume a new form. To credit a perfect wisdom and probity in the framers of the U.S. Constitution is both arrogant and impudent. The very attempt to make PERPETUAL constitution is the assumption of a right to control the opinions of FUTURE GENERATIONS and to LEGISLATE for those over whom we have as little authority as we have over a nation in ASIA. To remedy the defects of the Articles of the Confederacy the convention. was called to frame the federal constitution. This said to point to the fact that, Under this Constitution the UNITED STATES became a government, and as a matter of history it is true that some new states are formed out of the sovereignty of the old and whereas others are created out of opposition to the former territorial sovereign. It is not reasonable to suppose that, a distinction between ORIGINAL and derivative titles are relevant to the proper interpretation of the change in territorial sovereignty that takes place when a new state is created, as in the case with the United States. The confusion is with the quasi-sovereignty status derived from foreign countries versus the ORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY of the LAKOTA, CHEYENNE, ARAPAHOE. In historical truth of legal fact the United States never conferred power over the Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapahoe. Today we have 200 years of decisions by the United States Supreme Court and legislation by Congress and the President, lacking Constitutional authority over us. The United States has also abrogated the liberty and the property of the said natives under the color of the Constitution. This abrogation was no part of the original understanding and the Constitution does not confer it. Acts of Congress, and Presidential Approval or recommendations and Supreme Court Rulings do not make them Constitutional. The United States has exercised powers over the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapahoe and their lands without authority in taxes, civil jurisdiction, criminal jurisdiction, zoning, hunting, fishing, water and mineral rights, religion and general police powers. Congress mandated these activities without the consent and approval of the original inhabitants. This now exposed illegal activity is a Constitutional assault on the integrity of the indigenous self- determination. This unconstitutional taking of powers not granted to the United States government and the unjust claim for jurisdiction is without constitutional footing. This desire and claim for jurisdiction has created a cause for action for the 1851-1868 signatories as the unconsented taking of jurisdiction falls under the color of the United States Constitution for the test of the Supreme law of the land. Although the United States has granted sovereignty to itself it fell short of the Constitutional test to conquer, to defeat in war, to honor in peace, to enter into treaties for cession of lands now occupied by natives of the territories in contention by primarily LAKOTA, CHEYENNE, ARAPAHOE. The desire and original transaction by the United States is infected with FRAUD. But the real party (s) of natives have not with their agents, obligated the acts for the transfer of any rights to the United States. Therefore we are charging the United States for treaty fraud in the alleged appropriation of this 1851 treaty boundary. The United States cannot grant to themselves sovereignty to the territory still inhabited and in use by the aboriginal title holders, which they legally do not posses. A treaty in which fraud is involved is not valid. The recognition of Lakota sovereignty is still intact within both the U.S. Constitution and Lakota people. Any attempt to supplant the legitimate sovereignty of the Lakota by the absorption of territory without the course of negotiations must be considered as an unlawful premature annexation. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- To have a current Center For World Indigenous Studies Publication Catalogue sent to you via e-mail, send a request to jburrows@halcyon.com Center For World Indigenous Studies P.O. Box 2574 Olympia, WA U.S.A. 98507-2574 Fax: 206-956-1087 BBS: 206-786-9629 OCR Provided by Caere Corporation's PageKeeper -- //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// John Burrows, Director jburrows@halcyon.com Fourth World Documentation Project The Quarto Mundista BBS Finger for more info on CWIS & FWDP Fido Net 1:352/333 206/786-9629 --------- "RE: Book Reviews of Interest to Native Americans" --------- From: sbrock@teal.csn.org (Steve Brock) Subj: Short review of From The Gathering: The Wisdom of Little Crow Review of Voices of Forgotten Worlds (book/CD set) Short reviews of two Native American almanacs (reference) Review of "The Native Americans: An Illustrated History" Subj: Short review of From The Gathering: The Wisdom of Little Crow FROM THE GATHERING: THE WISDOM OF LITTLE CROW, edited by C. F. Clark. One World Publishing, P.O. Box 9148-B, Fountain Valley, CA 92708. 168 pp., $29.95 cloth (limited edition), $12.95 paper. REVIEW "Wakan - everything is sacred and everything has a right to exist and nothing is greater and nothing is lesser" -- Little Crow Little Crow, a Lakota from Pine Ridge, South Dakota and professor of American Indian Studies at Cal State Long Beach, established the American Indian Unity Church (also known as The Gathering) in his living room about fourteen years ago. His new compact volume of quotes and passages from the Oral Tradition (taken from weekly meetings of 1990-92) reflects the four aspects of the Sacred Hoop: Wisdom, Fortitude, Bravery, and Generosity. While not having the impact of attending an actual meeting, I recommend the book, as it will, no doubt, have meaning and give encouragement to many, though I suspect that they will primarily be non-Indians. Little Crow has also penned two volumes of poetry. Subj: Review of Voices of Forgotten Worlds (book/CD set) VOICES OF FORGOTTEN WORLDS: TRADITIONAL MUSIC OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE, compiled and edited by Larry Blumenfeld. Ellipsis Arts, 20 Lumber Rd., Roslyn, NY 11576. Illustrated book and two compact discs. 96 pp., softcover. Set is $35.00. 1-55961-221-5 REVIEW Bringing the plight of the world's indigenous peoples to the world, as well as providing short selections of their music, is the goal of the latest book/compact disc set offered by Ellipsis Arts. Riding on the heels of the much-praised four-CD "Global Celebra- tion," "Voices of Forgotten Worlds" contains 28 excerpts from 35 cultures, ranging from the Saami of Lapland to the Navajo of Arizona (who sound amazingly alike), to Australian Aborigines, Tibetan Monks, Newar of Katmandu, Wagogo of Tanzania, and the Maori of New Zealand. The common thread running through their music is that of joy and festivity. It's hard to imagine that the people making these sounds are on the verge of being wiped out. As the listener thumbs through the accompanying book, which contains puts the songs into perspec- tive, they also come to understand the specific plight of each group: civil war, broken treaties, invasion, industrialization, and other confrontations. The music, though, is hard to listen to straight through, as the cuts, recorded in the field, are short and many have no definite beginning or end. The set is highly recommended for use in an academic setting, from elementary to high schools, with an instructor reading aloud from the book. A portion of the proceeds from the set is donated to the United Nations Center for Human Rights. A sound bite from the collection may be heard by dialing (202) 334-9000 and pressing 8170. Subj: Short reviews of two Native American almanacs (reference) THE NATIVE NORTH AMERICAN ALMANAC: A REFERENCE WORK ON NATIVE NORTH AMERICANS IN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA, edited by Duane Champagne. Gale Research Inc., 835 Penobscot Bldg., Detroit, MI 48224, (800) 877-GALE (4253), (313) 961-6083 FAX. Illustrated, index, maps, bibliography, references, chronology, glossary. 1303 pp., $95.00 cloth. 0-8103-8865-0 THE NATIVE AMERICAN ALMANAC: A PORTRAIT OF NATIVE AMERICA TODAY by Arlene Hirschfelder and Martha Kreipe de Montano. Prentice Hall General Reference, 15 Columbus Circle, N.Y., NY 10023, (212) 373- 8500. Illustrated, index, bibliography, maps, chronology, five appendices. 320 pp., $25.00 cloth. 0-671-85012-1 REVIEW These two books, with almost identical names, find niches in altogether different places. "The Native North American Almanac" is a commanding and comprehensive reference work which addresses all aspects of Native American life. Beginning with a list of the major Native nations and a chronology going back to ancient times, Duane Champagne, Director of the American Indian Studies Center at UCLA, has compiled extensive information and data in the areas of demograph- ics, languages, law and legislation, activism, environment, urbanization, religion, arts, literature, media, health, education, and economy. Also included are biographies of prominent historical and contemporary Native North Americans, a bibliography divided by subject, and a glossary of Native terms. This is a major work, highly recommended for academic and public libraries, enterprises who do business with Native Americans, government agencies who administer or assist in Native American policy, or those interested in specific characteristics of the culture and history of the Native peoples of North America. Much less ambitious, more selective, anecdotal, and valuable in its own way is "The Native American Almanac." Focusing on Native peoples in the United States after their first encounter with Europeans, Hirschfelder and De Montano outline a brief history and furnish details on demographics, Supreme Court decisions, tribal governments and the U.S. agencies that aid (or hinder) them, languages, education, religion, games and sports, arts and communications, economics, natural resources, and Natives in the military, as well as listing the names and addresses of Native American tribes and tribal organizations. This volume is recom- mended for middle and high school libraries and those desiring a general overview of Native life. Subj: Review of "The Native Americans: An Illustrated History" THE NATIVE AMERICANS: AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY, edited by Betty and Ian Ballantine, with text by David Hurst Thomas, Jay Miller, Richard White, Peter Nabokov, and Philip J. Deloria. Turner Publishing, Inc., 1050 Techwood Dr. N.W., Atlanta, GA 10128, (404) 827-3617, (404) 827-4710 FAX. Illustrated (449 total, 301 in color), index, bibliography, maps. 480 pp., $50.00 cloth. 1-878685-42-2 REVIEW One of the scant number of coffee-table books that deserves to be read as well as glanced through, this companion volume to the Turner Broadcasting series ("The Native Americans: Behind the Legends, Beyond the Myths") is a dignified five-part examination of Indian art, culture, and history. Beginning with a portrait of tribes before the arrival of Europeans, other sections outline initial encounters, opposition to settlement, attempts at subjugation and relocations, and, perhaps the most eloquent segment - that of slow reconstruction and eventual, if not complete, cultural protection. As a history of Native-white relations, the book goes far, relying on Native authors and university scholars to write each section. It also scored high marks for production - it's a visual mosaic that is both dignified (archival photographs and paintings of Native leaders) and exciting (fairs and powwows). As well as this book is written or put together, however, until Turner changes the name and logo of his baseball team, many will make "The Native Americans" the target of the chops of real tomahawks. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows" --------- From: JANS Janet McNeely (Evening Star) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows =POWWOWS= This week's powwow and event list was contributed by Art & Suzan Horovitch. Special thanks for the Canadian events. From The Windspeaker Jan 31, 1994 Inuit Artwork at the Glenbow Museum Nov. 6 - March 13 Calgary, Alta Discover Native America PowWow Jan 20 - 23 Jacksonville, Fl Snowball Classic All Native Rodeo Jan 21 &22 Farmington, New Mexico 2nd Annual Creating Wealth with First Nations Jan 27 & 28 Vancouver, B.C. DOTC Winter Festival Jan 28 - 30 Brandon, Man. Poundmaker/nechi rounddance Feb. 12 Poundmaker Lodge, St. Albert, Alta. This is a native addiction control center Visions for our Future: Partnerships in Native Education Feb. 18 &19 Port Elgin, Ont 6th Annual culture, health and healing seminar Mar. 18 & 19 Edmonton, Alta Journey into Empowerment: 5th Annual Women & Wellness March 21- 25 Portland, Oregon SIFC 16th Annual Powwow Apr 2&3 Regina, Sask. 8th Annual Arizona State University Competition Powwow April 15 - 17 Tempe, Arizona Gatherings of Nations Powwow Apr. 22&23 Albuquerque, New Mexico Send notices of forthcoming powwows, conferences and gatherings to: jans@genie.geis.com janet.mcneely@f1706.n133.z1.fidonet.org wa4mei.atl.ga.us!kd4dts!owlstar!gars