_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' 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 013 O o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 26 March 1994 O o O ( N E W S ) O This issue contains articles from NATIVE-L and NAT-EDU Mailing Lists, FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference 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. "From Wakan Tanka, the Great Spirit, there came a great unifying life force that flowed in and through all things -- the flowers of the plains, blowing winds, rocks, trees, birds, animals -- and was the same force that had been breathed into the first man. Thus all things were kindred, and were brought together by the same Great Mystery. "Kinship with all creatures of the earth, sky and water was a real and active principle. In the animal and bird world there existed a brotherly feeling that kept the Lakota safe among them. And so close did some of the Lakotas come to their feathered and furred friends that in true brotherhood they spoke a common tongue. "The animals had rights -- the right of man's protection, the right to live, the right to multiply, the right to freedom, and the right to man's indebtedness -- and in recognition of these rights the Lakota never enslaved an animal and spared all life that was not needed for food and clothing. "This concept of life and its relations was humanizing and gave to the Lakota an abiding love. It filled his being with the joy and mystery of living; it gave him reverence for all life; it made a place for all things in the scheme of existence with equal importance to all. "The Lakota could despise no creature, for all were of one blood, made by the same hand, and filled with the essence of the Great Mystery. In spirit, the Lakota were humble and meek. 'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth' -- this was true for the Lakota, and from the earth they inherited secrets long since forgotten. Their religion was sane, natural, and human." -- Chief Luther Standing Bear, Teton +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ Lunar Reminder: March 27 will be a night with a full moon. O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! Restrictions by Canadian and United States agencies continue to be placed on independent Native Nations. Brothers remain incarcerated based on unproven charges or, in the case of Clifford Dann, are shackled by strict parole mandates. Grandmothers and Grandfathers are only barely surviving on subsistence allotments that are shameful, at best. It is spring, the time of rebirth. In your celebration don't forget there are many prayers that need to be asked and actions that need to be taken. Mitaquye Oyasin! Night Owl ------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< ----------- --------- "RE: Native American Patrol" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Mar 94 19:00 -0500 From: W.LEHR [STANDINGBEAR] Subj: Native American Patrol GE Electronic Mail I've joined a new Reserve Force developed by the Hamilton County (Chattanooga area) Sheriff's Office, which is being called the Native American Reserve Force. This is the first of its kind, so on our Graduation Day, March 25, there will be people from the News Media and numerous political figures present. Besides belonging to the Tennessee River Band of Chicamaugans, I'm also a member of the Chattanooga Intertribal Association. From the time this group first came together, our goal was to stop the large scale desecration of Native American Burial sites and village sites at Moccasin Bend (a bend in the Tennessee River that has the shape of moccasin when seen from above) in the City limits of Chattanooga, TN. When we first started there were approximately 1,180 open graves where people have gone in searching for "Indian relics" (artifacts such as Sacred Pipes, burial urns, ceremonial spear heads, etc.) There were also a lot of skeletal remains found when we started reclosing the graves, which as we placed these things back in the ground, we'd smudge them with sage and cedar and sprinkle some tobacco over them just before carefully shoveling the soil back into the wholes. We started a security patrol to keep watch for any signs of fresh digs, and/or probing for graves, and trying to deter any more artifact hunters from coming into the burial sites. At the time we were taking chances of meeting up with armed grave robbers (pro's) and people who traffic Indian artifacts through the black market, since none of our patrol people had the authority to carry weapons. The problem was too big for us to handle our selves, and also since the area is jointly owned by the County and the City and has been posted "No Tress- passing" the whole time, we really didn't have any authority to be there our selves. One of our members, a Chattanooga Police Officer, of Cherokee descent, approached the Sheriffs Office to see if a number of our security force could become deputized so that we could legally patrol the area and make arrests if we came up on someone digging into a grave or found with any artifacts, as well as stopping the deer poaching that has been going on there also. At first the Sheriff turned down the idea, then after a week the Chief Deputy approached that Police officer along with three of the Executive Officers of the Intertribal Association, and said that they can't just GIVE us commissions as deputies, but if the Association was interested, they (the Sheriffs Office could put however many wanted to, through training (including firearms training), so that those interested could earn their commissions as deputies. After much debate within the Intertribal group over policy, what kind of uniforms we would like to have, and other fine details, we finally got under way as far as getting the training started (last Monday). We went to the firing range to qualify with our side arms. Everyone in the group ( the first group) did qualify. We will be graduating this Friday evening. There are supposed to be people from the TV news media, and news- papers, several politicians, and other supporting interested parties at the Graduation. We will also have a recognized Shawnee Holyman who will conduct a traditional ceremony as part of the whole graduation ceremony. That's about it in a nutshell. Our main job will be to protect and preserve the Native American Burial sites, and arrest any one found digging and/or carrying any artifacts out of there. We will also be called upon from time to time to help patrol at special events put on by the City of Chattanooga (like the Riverbend Festival, and in special emergencies. That's about it. Osda! >>>---Standing Bear---> --------- "RE: Hydro-Quebec and the Innu" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Mar 94 19:00 -0500 From: J.AUDLIN James D. Audlin (Distant Eagle) Subj: Hydro-Quebec and the Innu GE Electronic Mail Hydro-Quebec and the Innu --James David Audlin (Distant Eagle) Hydro-Quebec has been running into difficulties in its attempts to build a hydroelectric project at Great Whale, in the Cree Nation, on James Bay in northern Canada. Therefore more recently, it has initiated a similar project in Innu land in eastern Quebec. By creating this second proposed project, H-Q hopes to have a backup site, should the Great Whale project fail as a result of pressure on the utility from around the world. H-Q also hopes to pit the Cree and the Innu tribes against each other, thereby gaining two "allies" in its determination to build such a project, so the prevailing government, on the false promise that such a project will create jobs, will be reelected. H-Q offered $800 million to the Innu, but the tribal leaders and two tribal referendums (at 80% voting against it) turned down the offer. H-Q is now bidding for the project under the auspices of the Quebec provincial Department of Indian Affairs (DIA). The news media are also coopted into this effort, supporting the false promise of jobs. In 1991, when the DIA refused to allow a referendum on the H-Q issue, a non-violent standoff forced the government to allow it. After the H-Q offer was turned down, the DIA ruled that the referendum was illegal. In October 1992 another peaceful standoff at one of the proposed dam sites ushered in a period of disorganized violence by opponents to the Innu people. Gilbert Pilot, a traditional spokesperson, says, "We oppose abusive development of our ancestral lands and realize we are being labelled 'radical', 'terrorist', and 'extremist' just because we refuse to conform to the development schemes and dominating norms of the Quebec provincial establishment. We are called 'traditionalists' because we want to protect our land and share it with respect to its natural integrity and harmony. Preserving our special spiritual relationship with \Nitassinan\ ("Our Land") is our only objective." The Innu traditionalists have established The Coalition for Nitassinan, seeking to maintain that spiritual relationship with Nitassinan by opposing H-Q's plans to flood 450 square kilometres, contaminating rivers with mercury, and decreasing the flow of the Moisie River by 47% at its mouth, which will significantly damage the region's major salmon habitat. H-Q has not agreed to measure the cumulative effects the existing and proposed dams will have on the ecosystem, nor to consider the effect on the Innu people and culture, their cemeteries, portages, and sacred places. The Innu ask for help so they may maintain their way of life and protect the rivers and forests from destruction by H-Q's disastrous Saint Marguerite River dam project (SM-III), which they call "one dam too many". They plan to block construction this spring with a nonviolent barricade. Soon the call will go out for supporters to stand in solidarity with the Innu people. If you wish to support, call the Innu Support Committee at (413) 367-2202, or write to: The Coalition for Nitassinan, 7 Rue Pinashure, Maliotenam, PQ G4R 4K2, CANADA. (If you can write in French all the better; if you can send a financial contribution, better yet.) Letters (preferably in French) stating your objections to the Great Whale and SM-III projects should be written to: Jean Chretien, Prime Minister of Canada, Langevin Block, Parliament Buildings, Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2. (Fax: [613] 995-0101) Copies should be sent to: Prime Minister of Quebec, Cabinet Minister for Indian Affairs, 885 Grand Allee Est, 875 Grand Allee Est, Ediface J, 3e Etage, Ediface H, Bureau 2-400, Quebec, PQ G1A 1A2, Quebec, PQ G1R 4Y8, CANADA. CANADA. Fax: (418) 643-3924. La Presse Ltee., Toronto Globe & Mail, 7 Rue St.-Jacques, 444 Front Street West, Montreal, PQ H2Y 1K9, Toronto, ON M5V 2S9, CANADA. CANADA. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows" --------- Date: Thu, 24 Mar 94 19:00 -0500 From: JANS Janet McNeely (Evening Star) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows GE Electronic Mail An excellent series of events is going on in my own backyard! Here's the latest in Atlanta: From: "Janet E. McAdams" ++++++++++++++++NATIVE AMERICAN MONTH AT EMORY++++++++++++++++++++++ The following events are free and open to the public: Thursday, March 24, 7 PM, 206 White Hall Panel Discussion: Native Americans & the Media With: Harriet Skye (Lakota), filmmaker Chris Eyre (Arapahoe/Cheyenne), filmmaker Patricia Penn Hilden (Osage/Nez Perce), historian Friday, March 25, 6 PM, 206 White Hall Film Screenings and Discussion by Filmmakers "The Right to Be" (Harriett Skye, dir.) "Tenacity" (Chris Eyre, dir.) Tuesday, March 29, 4 PM, 207 White Hall Lecture by Gerald Vizenor (Anishinabe): "Postindian Identities: Nicknames & Autoinscriptions" Tuesday, March 29, 8 PM, 102 White Hall Fiction Reading by Gerald Vizenor (Anishinabe) Wednesday, March 30, 6 PM, 101 White Hall Film Screening "Navajo Talking Picture" (Arlene Bowman, dir.) Tuesday, April 5, 7 PM, Winship Ballroom An Evening of Traditional Storytelling with Lloyd Arneach (Cherokee) & Display of Native American Art Thursday, April 7, 7 PM, Agnor Room, Law School Panel Discussion: Native America & U.S. Law With: Wanda Warren (Catawba), Director of the Catawba Indian Nation Mario Gonzales (Oglala Lakota), Former Tribal Attorney, Oglala Lakota Nation Cosponsored by the Office of Multicultural Programs & Services of Emory University, The Native American Center of Georgia, the Emory University Center for Language, Literature & Culture, the Emory Student Bar Association, the Cherokee County Bar Association, the Emory Graduate Institute of Liberal Arts, the Creative Writing Program, and the Emory Women's Center. For more information, contact Maria Lozano, at the Office of Multicultural Programs, 727-3793. =Conference in Buffalo= The University at Buffalo's Native American People's Alliance is hosting the following conference: Voices from Turtle Island: Issues of Contemporary Native Identity Place: Fillmore 170 UB North Campus, Ellicott Complex Dates: April 8-10 Speakers will include: Tom Porter, Janet McCloud, John Mohawk, Katsi Cook and others For more info, call (716) 645-3061 or E-mail napa@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu (Internet) napa@ubvms (Bitnet) =Powwows= Apr 2-3 CMU Saginaw/Chippewa Powwow, Mt. Pleasant, MI Info: 1-517-772-5700 Apr 1-3 2nd Annual American Indian Heritage Powwow Naples, FL Info: 1-813-455-5066 April 1-3 Gathering of the Winds, Louisville, KY Info: 1-502-241-0121 April 2-3 Hawk Flight, Mountains west of Perris Perris, CA Info: 1-714-492-5416 April 2-3 16th SIFC, Regina Dome, Exhibition Park Regina, Saskatchewan Info: 1-306-584-8333 April 8-10 Celilo Wyam Feast, Celilo, OR Info: 1-503-298-1559 = Thanks to correspondents on Internet, and to _The Spike_, and _News From Indian Country_ for info contributing to this month's Powwow and Conference list. . . . Evening Star= Send notices of forthcoming powwows, conferences and gatherings to: jans@genie.geis.com gars@netcom.com ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ --------- "RE: BIA Admits Economic Warfare Against Navajo Elders" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Mar 94 17:29:37 -0500 From: Navajo Nation Subj: BIA Admits Economic Warfare Against Navajo Elders Mailing List: NATIVE-L NAVAJO-HOPI "LAND DISPUTE" UPDATE: MARCH 19, 1994 BIA ADMITS ECONOMIC WARFARE AGAINST NAVAJO ELDERS Representatives of the Navajo Nation in Washington D.C. learned last week that the purpose of recently-intensified impoundment of Navajo livestock is to coerce Navajo families into signing a controversial land agreement. "The Bureau's Attorneys stated on the record that this impoundment is targeted at Navajo families who are resisting relocation under Public Law 93- 531. They said they were using impoundment to pressure the families into signing the agreement in principle and the proposed lease..." which were features of the latest U.S. effort to "settle" the so-called Navajo-Hopi land dispute. The "land dispute," which arose from the vague wording of an 1882 presidential executive order creating a reservation for Hopi and Navajo Indians then sharing the area, was 100 years later the occasion for a costly and traumatic twenty-year program relocating Navajos from lands belatedly awarded to the Hopi Tribe. The stubborn resistance of a core group of about 350 of the most traditional Dine' (Navajo) families led to a lawsuit (MANYBEADS v. UNITED STATES) and, in 1991, court-ordered mediation. The mediation, which included the Navajo Nation and Hopi Tribes as well a the United States and the traditional Dine' families, was carried out behind closed doors, mostly in San Diego and Phoenix. While the federal mediator barred direct participation by grassroots Dine', he developed a working coalition with the white attorneys for the United States and the Hopi Tribal Council. This working coalition pushed through an "Agreement in Principle" under which the Dine' would remain on their ancestral lands as tenants for a 75-year period. In return for leasing out about 1300 acres in small lots scattered over the "disputed lands," the Hopi Tribal Council would receive about 500,000 acres of prime lands in Northern Arizona, purchased by the Navajo Tribe. There was no provision for renewal of the lease. When the Hopi Tribe revealed its proposed lease agreement, it contained numerous open-ended provisions for eviction as well as draconian restrictions on religion and day-to-day life. It was actually worse in many ways than the provisions of the Relocation Act, which at least offer the Dine' families some use rights to their land while they "await relocation." The federal mediator ordered the Dine' families to sign the leases by August 5, 1993. Instead of signing, the families offered a counterproposal. The Hopi Tribe walked out. The mediator belatedly began consulting the families to find out what their objections were to his plan. The Hopi Tribe demanded that BIA resume impoundments of Dine' livestock, which had been much reduced during the two-plus years of mediation. The Hopi Tribe itself began a campaign of selective law enforcement targeting the Dine' for offense such as "illegal" woodcutting and construction activities. In November 1993, the BIA announced that impoundment fees would be drastically increased. The fees which previously had been quite high relative to the limited incomes of most Dine' families, were increased five- to ten-fold. The BIA rangers began daily raids, forcing families to keep their livestock penned and feed hay, or risk impoundment. A dozen families have been virtually bankrupted by this federal tactic. Ada Deer, the head of the BIA, wrote to the Navajo President Zah on Dec. 27 that the stepped-up livestock impoundment was simply a continuation of previous policy, as to the radical increase in fees, "a similar policy for assessing livestock impoundment fees is followed throughout Indian country by the Bureau." The part of a nationwide campaign to protect grazing resources, and was not meant to affect any one group in particular. In last week's meetings however, it was learned this is not true. However, attorneys for the U.S. Solicitor's Office have frankly admitted that the impoundment was intended to force the Dine' families to abandon their negotiating position. Learning of this, Navajo President Peterson Zah sent a letter to Assistant Secretary of Interior Ada Deer, warning her that the tactic could backfire. In his letter, Zah points out: "I often feel that your advisors are unable to understand the human and Navajo side of this dispute, and a recommendation to 'turn up the heat' on the families in order to get them to make more concessions is a fundamental misreading of what will be necessary to win the trust and the assent of these families. " He adds "Unfortunately, the stepped up enforcement is having exactly the opposite effect, and has deepened the families' suspicions that the purpose of the United States' participation in the mediation is to have Navajo families forcibly evicted from their homes." This is an issue on which the United States has received much adverse attention form international human rights institutions, including the United Nations. The current direction taken by the federal government will almost certainly destroy any chance for a negotiated settlement. In that case, laws already on the books provide for what will almost certainly be a massive forced removal of Native people from their homelands. This is an issue in which the United States has historically lied about its actions and intent. Now, I who write this say: We who work closely with this issue feel that the problem is due to the influence of mid-level bureaucrats, holdovers from the Reagan and Bush Administrations, who are wedded to the concept of extinguishing the traditional rights and liberties of the Dine'. Even Assistant Secretary Deer's letter, with its misleading statements, was signed by an aide. Until the policy-makers of the Clinton Administration give this issue the attention it merits, there is little hope of averting another human rights tragedy in Indian country. The Dine' families have been resisting all the pressures the federal government could bring to bear against them for thirty years. This additional burden is more likely to kill chances of a settlement than to make the families submit to federal demands. There once were more than five thousand families on the land. The 300 or so left are the strongest of the strong. We who know them know they will resist. For more details, or for day-to-day information about this complex issue, check into the conference gen.nativenet and look for the NAVAJO-HOPI UPDATES which come out every few days. You may also contact the Navajo-Hopi Land Commission Office of the Navajo Nation at (602) 871-6441 and ask for Roman Bitsuie or Jon Norstog. Letters should be addressed to P.O. Box 2549 Window Rock AZ 86515. jon norstog [ This bulletin was posted from the IGC system, based in San Francisco, California. The "gen.nativenet" conference referred to above is avail- able only to subscribers of that system. However, it is easy to retrieve archived articles on this or any subject by means of the LISTSERV archives maintained on the TAMVM1 system at Texas A & M University. For more information on this facility, please send a message to the address "listserv@tamvm1.tamu.edu" containing the text: get nn-intro archives native-l (note that "tamvm1" contains the numeral "1" and "native-l" has the letter "l"). --Gary (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ] --------- "RE: UN asked to Investigate Peltier Case" --------- Date: Mon, 21 Mar 94 17:29:37 -0500 From: LISA STALNAKER HELLWIG Subj: United Nations Commission on Civil Rights asked to investigate Peltier's Case Mailing List: NATIVE-L UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS IS ASKED TO INVESTIGATE PELTIER'S CASE Document by Bruce Ellison, submitted February 15,1994 Reprinted from _In the Spirit of Crazy Horse_ March/April 1994 issue Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, PO Box 583, Lawrence, KS 66044 The government of the United States holds itself out to the world as a government of law, promoting within its integral processes, guarantees of fairness and justice. Through the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the structure of its judicial system, the United States asserts that all persons within its borders shall be protected against arbitrary arrest and shall be ensured a fair trial by an independent and impartial tribunal. Those guarantees have been recognized as fundamental, not only in the United States, but also by the signatory Nations of the Universal Declaration of Human rights, Resolution A(III) of 10 December, 1948. As expressly stated in Article 10 of the Declaration: "Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him." In the United States, this basic protection is being trampled by internal security and intelligence agencies of the government. These agencies have taken a relatively fair and impartial judicial system and transformed it into a tool of political repression against those who raise fundamental criticism against the domestic and/or foreign policies of America. This is especially true for those who promote the sovereignty of Indigenous Nations and assert their rights to land under Treaties agreed to by the United States. In 1981 Amnesty International issued a Proposal for a Commission of Inquiry into the Effect of Domestic Intelligence Activities on Criminal Trials in the United States of America (ISBN: 0 86210 0380) citing the case of Leonard Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement (AIM), as a graphic example of the growing threat to freedom and justice within the American Judicial System. The Amnesty proposal pointed to the use of coerced and false eyewitness affidavits by the United States to extradite Mr. Peltier from Canada to the United States for prosecution and imprisonment. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) terrified a young Indian woman named Myrtle Poor Bear into signing affidavits that stated she witnessed Leonard Peltier shoot and kill two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation during a firefight between AIM and the FBI on June 26, 1975. Joseph Stuntz, a young father and AIM member, was killed by government forces during the firefight. His death was not considered important enough to investigate. Although finding that the use of the affidavits constituted a "clear abuse of the investigative process by the FBI", the Court of Appeals did nothing to remedy the gross breach of international law and the Extradition Treaty between the United States and Canada. Some four years after Mr. Peltier's 1977 conviction for shooting the two FBI agents, a lawsuit against the government forced the disclosure of portions of over 12,000 pages of documents on the investigation of the agents' deaths, previously suppressed by the FBI. The United States still suppresses some 6,000 pages in their entirety and some 5,000 pages in part from these files, often claiming "national security" in justification. The documents disclosed, however, show the government fabricated the physical evidence used to convict Peltier. The documents also revealed that underlying the purported criminal prosecution of this AIM member were the government counter-intelligence and counter-insurgency operations engaged in an effort to destroy the Indigenous Treaty and Civil Rights Movement. To do this, the government manipulated the judicial system, the media, and supported a terrorist campaign against AIM members and their families which killed over 60 men, women and children, and wounded or raped hundreds of others. Contrary to published government accounts that the deceased agents were engaged in routine criminal investigations on the reservation at the time of their deaths, FBI documents show that a few weeks before the firefight, the FBI planned a paramilitary operation against the men, women and children of AIM who lived in the very area where the firefight took place. One of the two agents who was killed was a counter-intelligence officer, trained in Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT), on a 60 day special assignment to the Pine Ridge Reservation at the time of his death. Shortly after the firefight began, the "investigation" of the agents' deaths was immediately transferred from the General Crimes Division of the FBI to the Intelligence Division of the FBI, particularly under the direction of Richard Held, head of the Domestic Security Section of the FBI. SAC Held had previously helped plan and authorize the paramilitary assault on the Black Panther headquarters in Chicago, resulting in the murders of Panther leaders Fred Hampton and Mark Clark. The previously suppressed FBI documents also revealed that after the firefight, the U.S. government targeted Leonard Peltier for prosecution as the actual killer of the agents despite any proof. According to one document, dated less than three weeks after the firefight, the FBI planned to" develop information to lock Peltier...into this case." Later documents disclosed that in addition to the purported eyewitness affidavits to extradite him from Canada, the government fabricated evidence linking Peltier to the actual killing of the agents, particularly the vehicle the agents chased into the area of the AIM encampment and the weapon allegedly used to kill them. The government recently admitted that there was no proof that Peltier killed the agents. In a preceding trial, Peltier's co-defendants were found not guilty of aiding and abetting in the agents' deaths. In that case, the defense was permitted to present the limited evidence available, from which the jury concluded it was the FBI who was responsible for the creation of a climate of fear and terror on the reservation which precipitated the firefight. After his co-defendants' acquittals, Peltier was then prohibited at his trial from presenting this same evidence. In addition, recently disclosed FBI documents show that after the acquittals of Peltier's co-defendants, the FBI manufactured first a climate of fear and terror around the trial judge and then around the jury to prevent their objective review of the evidence as to the FBI's terror campaign on the reservation which led to the agents' deaths. The FBI did this by clearly and falsely claiming their lives were in danger from Mr. Peltier's family and friends. This made it impossible for the court and jury to be fair and impartial. The U.S. Court of Appeals, upon being presented with the ballistics evidence previously hidden by the FBI, ruled in September 1986 that the government had suppressed impeaching evidence, that the evidence tended to show the government's chief witness was lying about the most important evidence in the case, that this suppressed evidence "cast a strong doubt on the government's case", and had this evidence been available to the defense, Leonard Peltier possibly would have been found not guilty. The Appellate Court, nevertheless, affirmed denial of a new trial for Leonard Peltier. In October, 1987, the Supreme Court refused to hear the appeal. In 1991, with new evidence his frame-up was part of a government war to stifle domestic indigenous dissent and government admissions that it could not prove who shot the agents, Peltier again sought relief from the judicial system. The District Court again denied him relief without affording him an opportunity to present evidence. The Appellate Court subsequently refused to provide any relief. Leonard Peltier is currently serving two consecutive life sentences for a crime he did not commit, covered up by a judicial system increasingly used for the imprisonment of political activists targeted by the intelligence and security agencies of the United States. Today this case, and it is not an isolated one, exemplifies the willingness of the U.S. Government to fabricate a criminal case against people who raise their voices against the government's violation of international treaty obligations and the sovereignty of Native peoples. On behalf of Leonard Peltier, the Human Rights Commission is implored to recognize and investigate the political nature of the imprisonment of Leonard Peltier and the existence of other political prisoners in the United States, and to seek their release from prison. Leonard Peltier has been unjustly in prison since February 6, 1976. The U.S. Parole Board has just notified Mr. Peltier not to even apply for parole for at least another 15 years. --------- "RE: Supreme Court Reduces Northern Ute Rez" --------- Date: Mar-15-94 16:00:00 From: John Burrows Subj: Repercussions Of Dawe FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference SUPREME COURT REDUCES NORTHERN UTE RESERVATION By Bunty Anquoe Today Washington Bureau WASHINGTON -- Over the last 500 years, Indian tribes have been divested of millions of acres of their lands. In 1994, the trend continues. The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, last Thursday broke with established case law and released an opinion that handed over 75 percent of Northern Ute tribal lands to state control. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the newest member of the court, voted with the majority to reduce the tribe's reservation boundaries. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor wrote the majority opinion and held that acts of Congress in 1902 and 1905 "opened" the reservation to non-Indian settlers and effectively diminished tribal jurisdictional boundaries. Justices David Souter and Harry Blackmun dissented. Previous case law and standards established a "clear statement rule" to which a finding of diminishment would require both explicit tribal language of cession and an unconditional commitment from Congress to compensate the tribe. The U.S. Solicitor General, taking the tribe's side, argued the same at oral argument last fall. "We disagree," Justice O'Connor wrote, "Although the statutory language must establish an express congressional purpose to diminish, we have never required any particular form of words before finding diminishment." The majority relied on a 1902 act of Congress which "restored" unallotted reservation lands to the "public domain." The language in this law, the majority ruled, "evidences a congressional intent with respect to those lands inconsistent with the continuation of reservation status." The state, through a back-door legal tactic, convinced the high court to determine the exterior boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray reservation -- an issue that had been a matter of settled federal law since 1985. Utah's first attempt to reduce Northern Ute tribal lands came in 1975 when the state argued in federal court litigation that the reservation had been disestablished and included only trust lands. Ten years later, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit held that the reservation had not been disestablished and included all trust and non-trust lands within the boundaries of the original reservation. In 1986, the Supreme Court denied the state's petition for review. Since then, the tribe had exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction over Indians on approximately 3.3 million acres of their lands in north-eastern Utah. Last year, the state used an obscure criminal case involving a member of a non-federally recognized tribe to revive the same boundary issue in the state court system. Later, the Utah Supreme Court held that the Uintah and Ouray reservation had been disestablished to include only trust lands. This set up a conflict between state and federal court decisions -- a legal situation the U.S. Supreme Court would be likely to address. In the case before the high court, the tribe itself was not a party to the case and could only file a "friend of the court brief" to support their position. Robert Hagen, a member of a non-federally-recognized tribe, was charged in Utah state court with distribution of a controlled substance in the town of Myton, which lies within the original boundaries of the Uintah reservation on land that was opened to non-Indian settlement in 1905. The trial court rejected his claim that it lacked jurisdiction over him because he was an Indian, that the crime had been committed in "Indian country" and that federal jurisdiction was exclusive. The state appellate court relied on the earlier federal circuit court opinion, agreed with Mr. Hagen's argument and vacated his conviction. The Utah Supreme Court reversed and reinstated the conviction, ruling that Congress had "diminished" the reservation by opening it to non-Indians that the town of Myton was outside its boundaries, and that Mr. Hagen's offense was subject to state criminal jurisdiction. Justice O'Connor and the majority agreed. "We conclude that the Uintah and Ouray Indian reservation has been diminished by Congress. Accordingly, the town of Myton, where petitioner committed a crime, is not in Indian country and the Utah courts properly exercised criminal jurisdiction over him." Justice Blackmun, joined by Justice Souter, filed a stinging dissent. "'Great nations, like great men should keep their word, and we do not lightly find that Congress has broken its solemn promises to Indian tribes," they wrote. "The court relies on a single, ambiguous phrase in an act (of Congress) that never became effective and which was deleted from the controlling statute to conclude that Congress must have intended to diminish the Uintah Valley reservation." "I am unable to find a clear expression of such intent in either the operative statute or the surrounding circumstances and am compelled to conclude that the original Uintah Valley reservation boundaries remain intact," Justice Blackmun argued. Where congressional intent is ambiguous, treaties, statutes, executive orders and agreements must be construed to tribal benefit, as comports with legal precedent, Justice Blackmun wrote. "One hundred thirty years ago Congress designated the Uintah Valley reservation for the permanent and exclusive occupation of the Ute Indians," he said. "The 1905 opening of the reservation constituted a substantial breach of Congress' original promise, but that opening alone is insufficient to extinguish the Ute Tribe's jurisdiction... I appreciate that jurisdiction often may not be neatly parsed among the state and Indian tribes, but this is the inevitable burden of the path this nation has chosen. "Under our precedents, the lands where petitioner's offense occurred are Indian country and the state of Utah lacked jurisdiction to try him for that crime. I respectfully dissent." (c)1994 Indian Country Today OLX 2.1 TD * CWIS 10 Year Anniversary! 1984-1994 --- GEcho 1.02+ Origin: *-=|The Quarto Mundista BBS|=-* V32b/V42b Olympia, WA (1:352/333) --------- "RE: The : Na"" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 12:20:51 -0700 (MST) From: "Arthur R. McGee" Subj: The : Na Mailing List: NAT-EDU ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: harelb@math.cornell.edu (MAP/Activ-L Autoposter) Subject: THE : Native American Studies Date: Fri, 11 Mar 1994 00:35:23 GMT THE : Native American Studies ================================================================= F A L L 1 9 9 3 S O U T H E N D P R E S S C A T A L O G ================================================================= Books to Help You Understand and Change Your World =============================================== N A T I V E A M E R I C A N S T U D I E S : =============================================== AGENTS OF REPRESSION: The FBI's Secret Wars Against the American Indian Movement and the Black Panther Party By Ward Churchill and Jim Vander Wall Provides a shocking indictment of FBI operations conducted against the American Indian Movement and the Black Panther Party, including murder, kidnapping, and a range of other illegal activities. 0-89608-293-8 $16.00 paper, 0-89608-294-6 $40.00 cloth ------------------------------------------------------------------ MARXISM AND NATIVE AMERICANS Edited by Ward Churchill Native Americans and marxists debate the applicability of marxism to non-western societies and the prevalence of ethnocentric bias in politics, social theory, and culture. 0-89608-177-x $12.00 paper, 0-89608-178-8 $35.00 cloth ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE STATE OF NATIVE AMERICA: Genocide, Colonization, and Resistance Edited by M. Annette Jaimes "Jaimes's timely anthology, whose contributors include lawyers, theologians, political activists, academics, and art- ists, is a must for anyone interested in what concerns America's indigenous people." --PUBLISHERS WEEKLY 0-89608-424-8 $16.00 paper, 0-89608-425-6 $40.00 cloth ------------------------------------------------------------------ THE TRIAL OF LEONARD PELTIER By Jim Messerschmidt, with a new 1989 after word This book is a passionate plea for justice for Leonard Peltier, an activist in the American Indian Movement, and for the people and culture he works to defend. 0-89608-163-x $14.00 paper, 0-89608-164-8 $35.00 cloth ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ =========================================== A Note from the South End Press Collective: =========================================== Whether you are interested in feminism, political ecology, grassroots democracy, mass media, anti-racist multiculturalism, international solidarity, peace, or participatory economics, we have over 170 titles to help you understand and change our world. 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[HOWEVER, TO ENCOURAGE MORE PROGRESSIVE RESOURCES ONLINE, TELL (OR WRITE) SOUTH END THAT YOU HEARD OF THEM ONLINE.] ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The entire SEP catalog is available by anonymous FTP: (1)"ftp pencil.cs.missouri.edu" (2)Login as "anonymous" (give your name as password) (3)do "cd LOOKEE_HERE/map" (4)do (ie type) "binary" You can now use "get" e.g. "get file.name" or "get file.name.Z" ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ south.end.catalog.Z (type "binary" before "get"ing this compressed file) and type "uncompress "file.Z" to turn it into a readable "file" from unix. and south.end.member.order ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ -- ----------------------------- Art McGee [amcgee@netcom.com] ----------------------------- --------- "RE: Recognition of Mohegan Indian Tribe" --------- Date: Mar-11-94 03:15:00 From: Dennis Lintz Subj: Recognition of Mohegan Indian Tribe FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference Interior Assistant Secretary Deer Issues Positive Finding on Recognition of Mohegan Indian Tribe of Connecticut Contact: Carl Shaw of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 202-219-4150 WASHINGTON, March 7, 94/U.S. Newswire/ -- Interior Assistant Secretary Ada E. Deer made a positive final determination on the petition for acknowledgment as an Indian tribe submitted by the Mohegan Tribe of Montville, Conn. "Extensive new and persuasive data was submitted to us by the tribe and other parties in the state since our proposed negative finding was issued in November 1989. After careful consideration and evaluation of the data, we have determined that the Mohegan Tribe has met all the necessary requirements to be added to our list of federally-recognized Indian tribes," Deer said. Deer's decision becomes final in 60 days unless a request for reconsideration is made to the Secretary of the Interior. In its 1989 proposed finding to deny acknowledgment to the Mohegans, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) concluded that the materials submitted met five of the seven criteria required for recognition. It also determined that the Mohegans qualified under the remaining two criteria -- continuous social community distinct from other populations, and continued tribal political influence over its members -- through 1940, but failed to meet the criteria since 1941. Since the proposed finding was made, extensive new evidence submitted by the petitioner and other interested parties provided additional information on social community and political influence from 1941 to the present. Researchers determined that the new and old evidence, when considered in its totality, provided substantial confirmation that the Mohegans maintained a cohesive social community and political authority over its members from 1941 to the present. In the criterion requiring continuous community, the Mohegans demonstrated that their kinship relationships were close and provided extensive evidence to cover the period in question since the proposed finding. They showed that a substantial portion of the membership lived within a geographical core area (34 percent lived within a 10-mile radius in 1993) and that a social core remained on the traditional tribal lands at Mohegan Hill. The petitioners also demonstrated that they had maintained social institutions such as the Mohegan Church and the tribal cemetery at Ft. Shantock. They also found that significant actual social interaction occurred among the tribal members, and this interaction was widespread throughout the membership. BIA researchers gave special weight to the strength of evidence for the continued existence of strong community and political activity in the periods immediately before 1941 and after 1966, and the continuity of leaders, political issues and characters of associations in the periods immediately before 1941 and after 1966 to conclude that the Mohegans had continuously existed as a tribe despite fluctuations of activity. In the political influence criterion requirement, researchers found that since 1966 there is substantial evidence showing a high degree of political process, the exercise of leadership, and a bilateral political relationship. Between 1941 and 1966, several events show a continuity of political influence. BIA found that the diminution of political activity was a temporary fluctuation as the result of the dying out of several politically and socially important families and the temporary migration away from the core of other adults. There was continuity of existence, even though a lower level of activity occurred between 1941 and 1966. Since the acknowledgment process was established at the request of Congress in 1978, only one other proposed negative finding has been reversed. The Gayhead Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts was recognized in 1987 after initially receiving notification of a proposed denial. The Mohegan tribes recognition will bring to 545 the federally-recognized Indian tribes eligible for services from the federal government. Three hundred and nineteen are in the lower 48 states and 226 entities are in Alaska. BIA has six other petitions under active consideration to determine whether they should be federally-recognized. Two each of the groups seeking recognition are from the states of Louisiana, Michigan and Washington. The Mohegan petition becomes the 29th to be resolved since the acknowledgment regulations were placed into effect in 1978. Nine petitions have resulted in acknowledgment, 13 have been denied, four petitioning groups were restored or recognized by Congress and the remaining three resolved by other means. -0- /U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ ... via DeltaMail v2.20 for SL (#216378) --- SLMAIL v3.5C (#1216) Origin: Reel Fun II BBS (603) 528-5620 Gilford, NH (250:504/100) --------- "RE: Big Mountain Residents Going to Washington D.C." --------- Date: Fri, 18 Mar 1994 16:33:08 GMT From: Michele Lord Subj: Big Mountain Residents Going to Washington D.C. Mailing List: NATIVE-L BIG MOUNTAIN, BLACK MESA RESIDENTS GOING TO WASHINGTON D.C. Dear Support People, In early April, about twenty grassroots residents of the Dine' Nation will go to Washington, DC. We are going to Washington, DC to speak for ourselves, to ask for justice----environmental justice---- from the federal agencies and from the Congress. We have meetings scheduled with Congressmen and Senators,set for confirmation as soon as we know the specific dates we will be there. We must raise funds for some of the elders to fly out, for food and metro costs. We are presently trying to secure two vans and a gas credit card. Lodging arrangements have been made. We believe that this would be a good time for us to be heard in Washington, DC, especially in light of the Executive Order issued and signed by President Clinton on Environmental Justice during the recent Environmental Justice Symposium held in Washington, DC. Attorney General Janet and Ms. Carol Bronner, head of the EPA, have stated that they have been asked by President Clinton to make implementation of the order a priority, acknowledging the disproportionate amount of environmental devastation on Indian land. We hope that you will be able to help us raise the money we need for our cross-country trip as soon as possible. And help us to make this important effort by our people a success. Please make checks payable to: Dine Alliance Federal tax exempt status under Section 501(A) of Internal Revenue Code as an organization. Described n Section 501(c) (3) through Don't Waste Arizona, Inc. EIN 86-0717487 Please send checks for Dine' Alliance in care of: Stephen M. Brittle Don't Waste Arizona, Inc. 6205 S. 12th St. Phoenix AZ 85040 PH: 602-268-6110 FAX:602-268-0915 Thank you. For Environmental Justice, John Benally Marsha Monestersky Hotevilla AZ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Michele Lord + If you have come here to help me, + you are wasting your time..... + But if you have come because + your liberation is bound up with mine, milo@scicom.alphacdc.com + then let us work together. Aboriginal Woman ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ --------- "RE: Born With A Tooth Found Guilty" --------- Date: Mar-15-94 18:14:00 From: Frosty Deere Subj: Born With A Tooth Found Guilty FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference Some time back in 1990 a Native Leader called Born With A Tooth, took a stand against Canada. He fired some shots at the RCMP and Crews trying to divert the Oldman River. The trial of Born With A Tooth came to an dramatic end last night as he was found guilty of five charges stemming from a standoff with RCMP in 1990. The verdict was delayed by more than an hour when one women broke down in tears after being asked if she agreed with the decision of her fellow jurors. "I don't know," the women, the only native member on the jury, told the court of the Queens Bench as she buried her head in her hands and began crying. After being asked several times of she agreed with the guilty ruling, she said "you don't understand." Justice Willis O'Leary sent the jury back for further deliberations, refusing a defence application for a mistrial. After 75 minutes of additional discussion the jury returned with a unanimous decision convicting Born With A Tooth on three weapons charges and as well as two of obstruction. Testimony indicated the leader of the Peigan Lone-Fighters fired shots at police and crews moved to halt work on a channel dug by the Peigan to divert the Oldman River Born With A Tooth insisted they were warning shots. He will be sentenced today. ------------------ More on the sentencing when I get it. --- SLMAIL v3.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) --------- "RE: American Indian College Fund" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Mar 1994 12:20:51 -0700 (MST) From: Judith M Gobert Subj: American Indian College Fund Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The American Indian College Fund is a very worthy and worthwhile organization to support. It is intimately tied to the 30 (or more) tribally controlled colleges. I have seen the tremendous "boost" these colleges have provided to their communities. Most of these colleges operate on a "shoestring" budget, yet, they serve their students in an "Indian" way, nobody goes hungry. The very reason they are stretched so thin, monetarily, is that they try to do so much for the people they serve, their respective tribal communities. The American Indian College Fund is the logical next step in serving the Indian community at large by soliciting and providing for scholarships for any Indian student with need and decent grades. By way of contrast, tribal education funds or BIA scholarship funding can and is sometimes dependent on who you know, who you're related to, who's on the council, if you're living on the "rez" or off, how long you've been off the "rez", what kind of resources your tribe has, how much $$$ the legislature budgeted that year, which BIA area serves you, and sometimes what areas/degrees are "priority". I am an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation of Montana. I was attending school at Seminole Jr. College in Seminole, OK. When I asked the BIA education specialist for funding for my final semester for my associate degree, he told me that I lived off the reservation and was not eligible for funding. I worked full-time and finished my Associate's in Medical Laboratory Technology without any tribal funding. I then attended one year at Salish Kootenai College on the Flathead Reservation in Montana. From the day I hit campus, they did everything they could to ensure I succeeded and treated me with the respect and courtesy inherent in our tribal cultures. I did well, and was honored to receive several unsolicited scholarships and AIHEC's College Student of the Year award. When I transferred to the "BIG" (in my mind) University of Montana, the people at SKC tried to help to make the transition process smoother. I am now completing my PhD in Microbiology at the University of Montana. I know I would not have succeeded without the confidence and self-esteem building environment provided at SKC. There are still a lot of problems out there in Indian education, but, the tribal colleges, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC), and the American Indian College Fund are all Indian people working for Indian people. I can't see much wrong with determining your own future by providing educational opportunities for your children that are not totally dependent on governmental largess. Judy Gobert