_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' 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 021 O o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 21 May 1994 O o O ( N E W S ) O This issue contains articles from NATIVE-L Mailing List, Internet alt.native newsgroup, FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference, UUCP e-mail, 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 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. "Our wise men are called Fathers, and they truly sustain that character. Do you call yourselves Christians? Does the religion of Him who you call your Savior inspire your spirit, and guide your practices? Surely not. "It is recorded of him that a bruised reed he never broke. Cease then to call yourselves Christians, lest you declare to the world your hypocrisy. Cease too to call other nations savage, when you are tenfold more the children of cruelty than they." __ Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea), Mohawk +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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: The next Full Moon is 24 May. There will also be Lunar eclipse beginning near 10:30 pm on the California coast and ending about 12:20 am (25 May) in Nova Scotia. O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! If you have not written a letter on behalf of Leonard Peltier, write it now. If you have not asked an elder what you might do to make their life better, ask now. If you have not helped a child on the path, reach out now. If you have not given of yourself to your people, do so now; without being asked. If you read one story, write one letter, dry one eye, lift one burden you will be happier, your path straighter and those who know you will sing songs of praise in their hearts. Where you walk will be a better place and that is good. Mitakuye Oyasin! Night Owl , , (*,*) Gary Night Owl gars%owlstar.UUCP@mathcs.emory.edu (`-') P. O. Box 672168 gars@genie.geis.com ===w=w=== Marietta, GA 30067, U.S.A. gars@netcom.com ------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< ----------- --------- "RE: More Leonard" --------- Date: May-12-94 14:28:00 From: Frosty Deere (frosty.deere@f502.n167.z1.fidonet.org) Subj: More Leonard FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference Subject: More Leonard For those who are doing more than just flapping their lips in support of freedom for Leonard Peltier but who are having trouble getting through to the WhiteHouse FAX at (202) 456-2461, another WhiteHouse FAX number is (202) 395- 3971. Here is a short fact-sheet for general info on his case that I'd written a few years ago. -------------------------- (cut here) ---------------------- FACT SHEET IN THE CASE OF LEONARD PELTIER (ref: "In The Spirit of Crazy Horse" Matthiessen, Peter, 1991 Viking Penguin publ.) - FACT 1: At the trial that resulted in Mr. Peltier's conviction, U.S. Attorney Lynn Crooks stated that the link between the shell casings found at the crime scene and the so-called "Wichita AR-15" allegedly used by Mr. Peltier were, "...the most important piece of evidence in this case...," - FACT 1a: By the F.B.I.'s own admission, in a teletype dated 2 October, 1975, "...the said casings could NOT be linked to that firearm." - FACT 2: In his closing arguments to the jury at the original trial in Fargo, Mr. Crooks identified Mr. Peltier as, "...the man who came down ...[the hill]... and killed those F.B.I. agents in cold blood." - FACT 2a: Before the appellate court in 1985 Mssrs. Crooks and Evan Hultman, attorneys representing the people of the United States and reputedly possessing recognized degrees in law, presented Mr. Peltier as a person guilty by reason of having aided and abetted the murders, NOT as the person who killed anyone ! When Judge Gerald Heany questioned this radical and disconcerting shift in the very basis of the prosecution's case, Mr. Crooks replied, " I'm a trial lawyer. I go for the best I can." A remark which clearly indicates a focus on conviction rather than justice. - FACT 2b: The most blatant disregard for the truth and for justice was admitted by this same attorney a few minutes later in the appellate court proceedings when Judge Donald Ross questioned him on the same point; Mr. Crooks, entrusted by the people of the United States of America with the responsibility to uphold the sanctity of justice, not simply to, 'get a conviction', stated clearly and unequivocally that, " WE CAN'T PROVE WHO SHOT THOSE AGENTS. " !!! Yet Leonard is servicing two Life-sentences for HOMICIDE ..., not for, "... aiding and abetting...," a charge for which his defense of his innocence would be more than adequate. These few facts alone make it abundantly clear that the state has NO proof that Leonard is guilty of the homicides for which he stands convicted !! Yet he remains imprisoned. (Read the book and discover MANY more such discrepancies, perjuries, and out-and-out fabrications and lies. Do something constructive with the outrage you feel as you realize this man could be your son, your father, your brother ... Please help.) In Br... --- SLMAIL v3.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) --------- "RE: Story: Earl's Dog" --------- Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 22:37:06 -0600 (MDT) From: "Dave (Kayoshk)" Subject: Earl's Dog To: , via UUCP I heard this good story from my grandmother recently. Earl's Dead Dog: Once there was a guy named Earl who lived on the rez. His dog died of old age. The dog was important to Earl, because he had him since he was a pup. Earl was very sad, and didn't know what to do. So he picked up his dog, and started going around to everyone's house with his dead dog in his arms. First he went to his neighbor, saying "my dog died". His neighbor just said "I'm sorry", and Earl moved on. Then Earl went to his clan mother saying "my dog is dead now." His clan mother just shook her head and said "it'll be okay". Earl made his way to a Sachem's house, telling the man about his dead dog. The Sachem just said "I will pray for you". For three days, Earl carried his dead dog in his arms. During those three days was the strawberry festival, and Earl even brought his dead dog to that. So everyone on the rez knew that Earl's dog had died. Then Earl went to the Longhouse with his dead dog in his arms. When he walked in to take his seat, a faithkeeper walked up to him and said: "Earl, I know that your dog is dead, and we are all truly sorry for your loss. But don't you think that after 3 days of carrying him around, it's time to burry him?" It was just the answer that Earl was looking for. --------- "RE: Inuit Self-Rule" --------- Date: May-13-94 13:09:00 From: Frosty Deere (frosty.deere@f502.n167.z1.fidonet.org) Subj: Inuit Will Decide Own Future FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference Canada Canadian Press...............................Ottawa.......... Quebec Inuit will decide their own future, independent of whether the province decides to separate from CANADA, the re-elected president of the national organization for Inuit said yesterday. "We are a nation. We have a language, culture, value and traditions that are distinct from Canadian Society as a whole but also within the aboriginal community." Rosemarie Kuptana said. Kuptana was speaking from Nain, Labrador, after winning her second term as president of Inuit Tapirisat of Canada. She received about 54% of the vote cast Wednesday in 60 communities across the country. There are about 7,000 in 14 northern Quebec communities, mostly around Hudson Bay and the Ungava Peninsula. Kaptana said those Inuit, and Inuit across the North are al part on one family. Kuptana said she wants to make sure the Inuit can continue to negotiate head to head with the federal government on their future. In February the Inuit gave the government a proposal for self-government in three areas where they are the majority. Kuptana said the proposal were so detail they even contained suggested legislation. She said the government has yet to respond to those plans. ... via DeltaMail v2.20 for SL (#216378) --- SLMAIL v3.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) --------- "RE: A.I.M. Remembered" --------- Date: Sat, 14 May 1994 19:05:14 GMT From: kibby@news.unr.edu (Larry Kibby) Subj: A.I.M. Remembered Newsgroups: alt.native In 1972 while visiting cousins at D.Q. University, I had the opportunity to meet Dennis Banks(D.J.), who at the time was enroute to Washington, D.C., via the "Trail of Broken Treaties". At this point in time, I was indeed very familiar with most of the activity going on throughout the country. Such as, the take over of Alcatraz with Richard Oks and his people, Catalina Island, Ross Montgomery and the Pit River Nation, Leighman Brightman and his Red Power advocacy out of Berkeley, Sid Mils and Hank Adams, with the fishing dispute in the Pudget Sound area, the general fishing dispute of the Warm Springs and Yakaima Nation, and of course the take over of D.Q. Growing militant activity at the time was spreading throughout the country and people were voicing their regard towards the 362 treaty violations and the living conditions on the reservations. Hate, was a very general word in many of the non-Indian communities that were close to reservations. At that time Indian people were just learning how to adapt to city life and at the same time learning how to except modern technology that was being introduced to them, by force, with every effort from out of the B.I.A. Citizenship for Indian people had only been formed 48 years prior to that date in 1972. In that the BIA was suppose to be looking after the needs of the Indian people, it was doing a very poor job. This became factual in the confrontation with the BIA officials in D.C., when all Louis Bruce could do was to respond, "I don't know," when ask a question. Not many BIA officials could offer any answers to the questions that were being put before them. It was fairly obvious that most of the activity was being promoted to a force of violence, which did happen from that time period on. Many people who were supporters of AIM found out quick, that the FBI was not very fond of any AIM supporters. Still, two weeks before the occupation of the BIA building ended, Dennis thought that it was best to leave D.C., because there was a lot of un-necessary activity going on that had nothing to do with the sincere reason that th e"Trail of Broken Treaties" was formed for. So, south we ventured into Pembroke, North Carolina, where we stayed for a time. I say we, because traveling in Dennis's group were four Navajo ladies, four Utes with their drum, Gail and Gaylon and several other's. This group of people stayed with Dennis from beginning to end, mainly because he was a soft spoken, quiet and had a wide range of general knowledge regarding the respect for the tradition and culture, which is why we were asked to return to Pembroke, by the people there. After spending some time in Pembroke and addressing various issues there, we left going further south and up through the mid-west, into Nebraska, and spent the night at a museum and was given a full state entourage out of Nebraska. In Denver, the group went separate ways and some of us stayed and Dennis went on to South Dakota with a few of the others. Snowed in for a time in Denver, I stayed and then went on back to California, where as an AIM activist, continued to advocate support for the occupation at Wounded Knee. During our activity in Sacramento, we managed to work around most of the contempt for AIM, but it wasn't very easy, because the fed's were breathing down our necks. Through this time period, two incidents involving the feds were directed at me. One was directed at drugs, which I saw coming due to a tip- off, and the other involved a gun related incident, which I was also tipped-off. One other slight incident took place during a press release, in which two people posing as press people, were mentioned as feds and kinda made that incident look good for us. Accomplishments were achieved, support administered for the occupation and AIM was structured throughout the country as to being nothing more then a bunch of rebel-rousers, that did nothing but drink, use drugs and cause problems for the Indian people, who of course were split with some supporting AIM and some not. At this time, many Indian people were afraid that because of all this activity, they would lose their program money or that the government would make life miserable for them, again, only it couldn't get too much worse then what it already was. After a time, I spoke with Dennis off and on while he was in California, but in '74 came into Nevada to get away from some of people, who were doing nothing but being silly. Not long after that, I fell into a bottle and became an alcoholic. So I left the Indian issues go and stayed away from politics and the tradition and culture, not wanting to bring anymore disrespect on myself. Six years ago I put the bottle back on the shelf and thats where it has stayed. So I was given the opportunity to put this program together and it's working so far. After all that is said and done, I can count the many Indian people such as Dennis, who went forth to address the issues of the Indian people and people such as myself, Russell, Vernon, Clyde, Camp, and others, who continued over the years to voice a concern for preserving and protecting the tradition and culture, faced many incidents in which some cases, almost cost our lives. Since the 50's, there have been many Native American Indian people who lost their lives or are sitting in prison because of their effort to safe-guard their way of life as it was passed down to them by their ancestor's. Not too long ago, as I was standing in a court room before Judge Edward Lodge, answering to a reservation crime, it was told to the court room by the prosecutor that documentation had established me as a threat to the health and welfare of society, because of my involvement with AIM. That was in 1987, I looked at the judge and decided what would be the use in saying anything, but I was sort-of-upset, mainly because my boss was in the court room and those kind of statements don't go over to good with bosses, but oh well. Point is, for many of us who advocated the AIM movement, or were leaders in our areas, well we have to wear a jacket the rest of our lives, not too mention, some of the old AIM people who built AIM, and kept it alive, have all been but forgotten to some extent. We have had many people who put their lives on the line over the years and still we hear nothing but hate and discontent for a people, who like their ancestor's, were willing to challenge the government, in order to make right all the wrong, but city people for some reason, I don't think, understand our sincere feelings of long ago, back in the 60's and 70's, as we set out to awaken America's First Prisoner's of War. Dennis, Russell, Vernon, Clyde, were willing to go forth and direct the movement and twenty some years ago, AIM was filled with a proud people who fought to have a system of justice brought forth for all the Native American people, and today, those issues which were put before the people are now being addressed with a direction of justice. People like, Senator's Inouye and Campbell, Ada Deer, Walter Echo-Hawk and countless others have stood before a government and said it is time to listen to a Nation of people and legislation is being put into place and now, where do we go from here? Yes, there is still a form of injustice, but a government is listening and making motions that they didn't do years ago. We have come along way with the tradition and culture, and many of our traditional leaders have traveled on, or went away quietly, like myself, and others, many others are sitting in the jails and prisons all across this nation. Even yet, most os us have been labeled for life as a threat to the health and welfare of society. Many of us put ourselves in that position, but on the other hand, there is a need to justify the blood of our ancestors that covers this Our Mother Earth, and it won't be done with ignorant political games or by monetary greed or personal gain. In a sense, the Native American Indian is still America's Prisoner's of War, but the form of justice we seek is around the corner, because we have a pride and dignity to work with the system and within the system in a very educated manner, that does justify our plight of over a hundred years and when all the ignorant petty issues are set aside, maybe we can justify the blood of our people. The tradition, traditional belief and culture of the Native American Indian will be preserved and protected. --------- "RE: Debbie Tewa - Building A Future" --------- Date: 6 May 94 21:03:54 GMT From: milo@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Michele Lord) Subj: Debbie Tewa - Building A Future Newsgroups: alt.native The following article is copied, with permission, from the magazine Indigenous Woman. Indigenous Women is an official publication of the Indigenous Women's Network, a continental and pacific network of women who are actively involved in work in their communities. IWN emerged from a gathering of around 200 Indigenous women Yelm, Washington in 1985. Women came from the Americas and the Pacific to tell their stories, present testimony as to conditions, and to look for strategies and alternatives to make a better future for our families and communities. We discussed the issues of political prisoners, land rights, environmental degradation, domestic violence, health problems and other concerns which are pressing in our community. We learned from each other and we found courage in the experience. We wanted to continue tis work. Four years later, the Indigenous Women's Network was formally organized by a group of women who were committed keeping up the links between women working in their communities, and finding a way to strengthen that work. Our philosophy is to "work within the framework of the vision of our elders," and through this process, to rebuild our families, communities, and nations. This publication is one part of that process. The Indigenous Women's Network is a membership organization comprised of Indigenous women (voting members) and others who are interested (supporting members). Membership dues are $15 annually for voting members and $25 for supporting members which can be an organization or individual. Both receive periodic updates and our publication which is intended to appear at least two times a year. Membership information can be obtained at: Indigenous Women's Network P.O. Box 174 Lake Elmo, MN 55042 612-777-3629 Indigenous women are invited and encouraged to submit articles, poetry and artwork/graphics within the visions of this magazine. Please do not send originals and include stamped, self-addressed return packaging for your items if you wish them returned. Contributors to Volume I, Number IV include: Katsi Cook, O. Seumptewa, Victoria Manyarrows, Cate Gilles, R. Bancroft, Mark Dowie, Debra Lynn White Plume, Sarah Lyons, Kay Miller, Dr. Melanie McCoy, Mililani Trask, Nora Naranjo-Morse, Buffy St. Marie, Allison Weiss, Ruth White, and Erika Zavaleta ---------------------------------------------------------------- Debbie Tewa-Building A Future With Her Community by Winona LaDuke, Anishinabe It's a sun baked mesa in northwestern Arizona. Debbie Tewa's strapped on her toolbelt and hardhat. She clambers up a ladder onto the flat roof of a 200 year old stone house. She looks out over a hundred miles of desert, and takes a deep breath. She glances across the village sees the sun glinting off of roof based panels, and smiles. She is home, and she is the Hopi Foundations' solar electrician. In the past three years, this community-based Native foundation --"Lomasumi-nangwtukwsiwmani," in their language, has placed photo voltaic solar panels atop 50 houses on the reservation. All of them were installed by this woman - a thirty two year old Coyote Clan resident of Hotevilla. This project, like others of the Hopi Foundation is embracing both the past and the future. It makes sense. One third of Hopi villages have refused to accept electrical power lines into their village areas. The Hopi object to the electricity on several grounds. Village leaders are concerned about preserving their sovereignty as village entities. They see their people becoming "hooked" on public utility power, only to be compromised when the people are unable to afford the ever-increasing monthly payments. "They don't allow power lines into the villages, because the utilities will also have the right of way," Debbie explains. Village leaders "think that if we don't pay up the bills, they'll take even more land. So, when you get your own system, it's yours, there's no power line, no right of way into the villages, so we have our own land." Other arguments against the power are spiritual and cultural. The Hopi Foundation explains that "the force field of electricity emanating from the power lines is considered to be disruptive to the atmosphere, ambience, and balance of the plaza and ceremonial areas, at the same time blocking the aesthetics of the sky and the panoramic vistas of the mesas." The Long Road And so, each day before climbing onto the rooftops, Debbie begins with a cup of coffee at the office, lining up her schedule and her equipment. Debbie came into this job down a long road. Raised by her grandmother on the Hotevilla plaza, Debbie moved later to nearby Tuba City with her mother till the eighth grade. She graduated valedictorian from the BIA boarding school (Sherman Indian High School) in Riverside, California and returned to Arizona, to go to school at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff. "I wasn't doing too well in school so I quit," she laughs. "Then, I went selling Avon for awhile, till I got this job, as the coordinator for the summer youth at Hopi (Moencopi) in 1983." Debbie started thinking about trade schools when a recruiter for the Hopi tribe began interviewing her summer youth students. "I asked her if girls could apply, and she said 'yes', so in 1983, I got accepted to go to a trade school," where she ended up in Electricity. "I went to school for a nine month course, and then I got a job with the Gila River Housing Authority, changing devices in the HUD homes." So began a string of jobs with various electrical companies in the Tempe area. She got contracts, showed some real talent, and then more and more jobs. "Eventually I ended up with this company called Delta Diversified (in Tempe), and I worked with them for about three years. I started out an as electrical helper, and then eventually was promoted to a foreman. I stayed there for about a year, and then I quit, because they were building a PHS hospital at Gila River, and they paid more money. It was a federal job. So, I stayed there for a couple of months, and then eventually got laid off, and was more or less on my own for awhile and got odd jobs. I wired houses for people, here and there, had a contract with the Home Improvement Program, and then the Hopi Foundation got ahold of me. That was in late 1989." Debbie ended up in a solar energy training program in Carbondale, Colorado. When she returned, the Hopi Foundation had started their program, part time in 1989, and then slowly speeding up. In 1991, she began full time work at the foundation, which now employs three people - a manager, a secretary, and an electrician - Debbie. The Hopi Foundation, at its core represents a way of dealing with the physical, social, economic, and spiritual consequences of change in communities. The Hopi believe that there is a strength in the preservation and revitalization of culture and self-determination. The Hopi Foundation recognizes that members of their community have increasingly demonstrated their desires for modern convenience, which are powered by electricity - a reasonable expectation for those living in the 20th century, but the foundation believes that there are ways to do that without destroying a way of life, or an ecosystem. That solution in Hopi land is solar energy. But, it is energy, which is, frankly, put in with a conscience, not just with a power line... Debbie talks about the change in perspective brought around by solar energy. "We're so accustomed to the conveniences of having electricity, having some guy come over and hook you up to have power. With this system, you purchase it, and it's yours. It teaches you to be conservative, because you're getting your power from the battery, you can't just leave your hallway light on for three or four hours. It teaches you to be independent." Solar energy and the Hopi Foundation have also changed Debbie's life. She gets to work in her own community. "I really enjoy working at home. Just the interaction with the customers, the people - I get to talk my language, that's nice. I get to learn a lot up here, especially with the older folks. When you're out there in Phoenix, you talk to people, you get fired, or get these looks. Here, you get to talk to people. I don't mind hauling water, or getting through the mud to get to work. Sure beats driving in the big city traffic to get to work. I don't miss that one bit. We don't just do photo voltaics, I do trouble shooting, I can add on, or if they're hooked up to the grid, I can help them with that." Restoring Ceremonial Homes The Foundation is interested in addressing some deep needs in the community, not just in solar energy. The foundation has worked to rebuild some traditional clan (ceremonial houses). The clan houses are the most ancient, continuously occupied structures in North America still used to this day, yet, like anything which is four hundred years old, they face deterioration from the elements. The gradual deterioration of these centers of Hopi life and the continued incompleteness of these houses which need rebuilding is, in the foundation's words, "a constant source of sadness. They stand as visible reminders to all about the toll that change has brought to the Hopi community." So it was under the authority of a matriarch of their Snow Clan at Shungopavi village, that restoration of the three story Snow Clan ceremonial house began in 1990. The Hopi Foundation, in a careful relationship between Clan leadership, architects, donors, and young Hopis, restored the house this past year, and now plans on other careful work. It is this type of project, which has implications long past a 'grant year' for a foundation. "Like any community, we want to be self sufficient, you know the government is there to help us, but it usually doesn't work out that way. So that's why the foundation was formed, we're separate from the federal government and tribal government." Debbie reminds me, "This foundation and all of their work is about the future. They aren't getting a handout - it's your own power system when you pay it off, it's your free power. It's out community." "We look up to the sun a lot, and that's how, in a way, in this century, it's helping us too, not just with our fields, it's helping us with our electricity too. So, when you get your own system, it's yours, there's no power line, no right of way into the villages, so we have our own land." Women's work How does Debbie's work influence other young women in the village? Well, there is first the question of what traditional jobs are for Native women in this day and age. "I asked the question, I wonder what people will say about this. I thought whatever happens, happens. This could show the high school kids, that you could do whatever you want to do whatever job you want, go for it." "Now I have some respect from the kids, too, they say hi to me, and ask me questions about being an electrician and stuff." She feels support from the community for the most part. "There's maybe people who talk about me, that's fine. But for the most part, I get a lot of encouragement, especially from the old people, and that's really a good boost. They say something like this in Hopi - 'You're taking care of yourself. It doesn't matter how you do it, but it's your own thing. Nobody's giving you the money to do this and that. It's your own thing.'" There are some other young women who may be following in her footsteps. "Now, there was one girl, who was thinking of going into carpentry, and there was another girl who wanted to get into the electrical field in Hotevilla. So that's a start." To other Indian communities, Debbie also has, when asked, a few words. "A long time ago, the Native Americans were all ecologists, and if you really think about it, solar energy conserves, and it fits into that environmental scheme. Because you don't you the electricity from generating plants, you aren't damaging the environment. I think it's something that each community should look at. They can look into other things. Or solar hot water heating, you can heat up the water through the sun, with these panels on your roof - the water goes up to the roof, and then comes down hot." Women, according to Debbie, also can have a big impact in this area, if they think about these issues, and the numbers. Debbie explains, "Women usually take care of the household and they have jobs. They can look into solar energy, and they can educate themselves about the environment. I educated myself about the environment and this can help a lot. The women in the house are paying the bills. They can invest in some of these products and that can save them a lot of money, and that can improve the efficiency of their house. They could get into this field, and get jobs for themselves in this field, or help their community themselves." As for herself, Debbie lives in a one room house with an outhouse. "My kitchen, bedroom, living room are one room, and they're hooked up solar. "Last year, she invented a solar shower (since there's no plumbing in her house) and she's thinking about a composting toilet. She's definitely on the cutting edge of Hotevilla, but that edge, is something which appears to be carefully crafted. We may all be able to learn something from her and this community. ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*+ "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them." -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation *~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~* milo@scicom.alphacdc.com Michele Lord Alpha Institute +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ --------- "RE: Natives to Stay if Quebec Separates" --------- Date: Thu, 19 May 94 20:12 -0500 From: Art Horovitch (a.horovitch@genie.geis.com) Subj: Minister Says Natives to Stay in Canada if Quebec Separates GE Electronic Mail April 18, 1994. Montreal, Canada MINISTER SAYS NATIVES FREE TO REMAIN IN CANADA IF QUEBEC SEPARATES ------------------------------------------------------------------- Native Affairs minister Ron Irwin, speaking at a conference on Aboriginal self -government in Quebec city this week, said that, in the event Quebec decides to secede from Canada, the federal government will allow natives to remain as part of Canada. The CBC reports that Irwin made these comments in spite of the fact that the Parti Quebecois, the opposition party in Quebec, has said that the boundaries of the province cannot change in the event that separation occurs. In addition to the Mohawk reserves around Montreal and reserves of other nations in the south of the province, the most contentious issue would be the lands of the Cree and Inuit in the North of the province. It is here that the major Hydro developments in Quebec have been built or are in the planning stages for major expansion. In fact this northern territory, known as New Quebec was turned over to the province by an act of the federal parliament as recently as the 1920's. Some opponents of Quebec separation say that the federal government can revoke the law and demand return of the territory to Canada in the event of separation. Further information in the Montreal Gazette quotes Irwin as saying, "It's our position as a government that the inherent right of self government exists with the aboriginal people within one Canada. You know the Cree and Montagnais and Naskapis have been here for at least 10,000 years and they want to remain within Canada. That's their choice. Their right is equal to , or greater than what the Bloc Quebecois and Parti Quebecois are saying." Irwin stated that Canada has a "fiduciary responsibility" to the Quebec Natives. This responsibility was not clearly defined at the conference, and Irwin was not prepared to state to what lengths Canada would go to protect Native communities that wanted to separate from Quebec. Jaques Parizeau, the leader of the Parti Quebecois, retorted that Irwin's comments have no basis in law. Parizeau said that five legal experts had looked at the idea of Quebec separation in a 1991 study, and had concluded that Quebec could become a sovereign nation within the present boundaries. Comments from Ghislain Picard, a Parti Quebecois member involved with Native questions, confirmed the legal study does not give any Native groups the right to secede from Quebec. He does not accept the argument that while the Quebec nation has the right to secede from Canada, this right is not accorded to Native groups.He did downplay the possibility of confrontation, saying this problem would have to be solved by negotiation, perhaps by international tribunals. Native leaders universally praised Irwin's comments. Ovide Mercredi, chief of the AFN,said Quebec is deluding itself if they think they can lay claim to all of Quebec territory without taking Native land claims into account. Kahnewake band councillor Billy Two Rivers said Quebec Nationalists have the right to take their language, religion and culture with them, but they have to remember the land belongs to the aboriginal people. Yesterday, in the Quebec National assembly, Premier Daniel Johnson, who had remained silent through the first days of this controversy, came out in favor of the Parti Quebecois position of no change of Quebec boundaries. He did this after being goaded into taking a stand on the issue by the opposition. With an election in the fall being fought on Quebec sovereignty, it is obvious that politics is playing a large part in the posturing going on now, and the Native groups are caught in the middle. --------- "RE: Poetry: Type Face Society" --------- Date: Wed, 18 May 94 00:52:29 GMT From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: Inverse Quantum of the Dead World:Type Face Society Newsgroups: alt.native As a keeper not so much of faith as thunder we put tobacco in our fire which has been burning 20 feet from the keyboard for 207 days and I get into my skin and sit in very hot water here in the desert and think about the "Type Face Society"....it is the nature of sacred practice to consider elements which exist in a circle such as the readers/users of alt.native.....when I am in my skin and standing upon the earth then I put you into a circle and my work with that circle is the songlines which appear here from time to time. I have said that the native ancestors whose fingers also work here should go out and ask their elders to speak for 3 minutes from the heart and post what they have said or sang into this newsgroup as elder.report and we would archive these and make them freely available...a chance for the circle to actually do some work.....so go ahead and pretend you never heard this before and you think it is a good idea and go ahead. You may be faceless or think you are you may be anonymous (nameless) or think you are but there are elders who believe that even this circle has a path where medicine will work where an old ritual can be quantified even here....I am the witness for that circumstance where the thunder will talk. where even the nameless sleep and dream while the electrons dance and join into a circle.... 500 years Tobacco Indian Turtle Heart turtle@aicap.s21.com American Indian Computer Art Project BBS 619-374-2100 Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - offline" --------- Date: Thu, 19 May 94 08:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.geis.com) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows not previously posted to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L GE Electronic Mail =Powwows= May 28 Upper Mattaponi Sharon School, King William, VA Info: 804-769-3854 or 804-769-0833 May 28-29 1st Intertribal Council of Hawaii Pearl Harbor, HI Info: 808-841-7625 May 28-30 Drums Along Rock The Rock County 4-H Fairgrounds Janesville, WI Info: 414-473-7748 May 28-29 5th Texas Championship Houston Traders Village, Houston TX Info: 713-464-1164 May 28-29 Medicine Ways, UC Riverside Campus Riverside, CA Info: 909-787-4143 June 3-4 A Celebration of the Natives People of the Americas, Chicago, IL Info: 312-463-0301 June 3-5 NAIA Spring Powwow Loretta Lynn Ranch, Waverly TN Info: 615-726-0806 Send notices of forthcoming powwows, conferences and gatherings to: jans@genie.geis.com gars@netcom.com ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ all items below this line have already been distributed by our brother, Gary Trujillo, via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - online" --------- Date: Thu, 19 May 94 08:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.geis.com) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows already posted to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L Meetings, Conferences, Powwows on the Internet: =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Original Sender: tweekco.ness.com!t-link!1-1 (Deanna #1 @1) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Leonard Peltier Weekend: June 25-26, 1994, Washington, DC June 25th: Concert for Freedom, location to be announced Confirmed performers: Tribe After Tribe; Corrosion of Conformity; Dave Matthews Band; Mercy River; Brother Cane; Lance Keltner; Tim McHugh; Brother Sun (formerly the Medicine Men); Something Scaley; Lightfoot June 26th: Day of Ceremony, Lafayette Park Schedule: 8 AM: Assemble at Foggy Bottom 9 AM: March down Pennsylvania Avenue to Lafayette Park (led by elders and spiritual leaders) 10 AM: Ceremonies begin at Lafayette Park 5 PM: Event closes Confirmed Speakers: Russell Means (AIM), Ramsey Clark (former Attorney General), Thelma Clark (mother of Eddie Hatcher), David Hill (AIM), Bob Robideau (AIM and co-defendant of Leonard Peltier), Joe Chasing Horse (Lakota), Arvol Looking Horse (Lakota, Peter Matthiessen (author of In the Spirit of Crazy Horse), Michael Horse (actor), Wes Studi (actor), Steve Robideau (co-founder of LPDC), and many more. This is a time to come together with our spiritual leaders to show to all the great power of our unity and support of Freedom for Leonard Peltier! To find out how to help in your area, call: 413-527-3716 ME, NH, RI, VT, CT, upper NY 804-790-0166 NYC, NJ, MD, PA, DE, VA, NC 813-353-2164 SC, GA, FL, AL 614-451-3023 OH, MI, IN, IL, KY, WI 501-945-1026 AK, TN, MS, LA 701-387-4794 ND, SD, MN, NE, MT 816-436-0782 KS, TX, MO, OK 801-272-9128 UT, CO, WY 505-988-3021 NM, AZ 206-471-1670 WA, OR, ID 415-552-1992 CA, NV Peltier Freedom Weekend Office: Bobby Castillo, 415-552-1992 Leonard Peltier Defense Committee: 913-842-5774 Source for above information: Leonard Peltier Freedom Weekend Newsletter; Editor, Bobby Castillo Posted by Deanna 1-8408@wwivgw.ness.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: "John Coleman" Sender: colemanj@calshp.cals.wisc.edu PROTECT MOTHER EARTH CONFERENCE (June 15-18) and 9th annual Midwest Treaty Network PROTECT THE EARTH GATHERING (June 18-19) All days start with a prayer and traditional voice. The gatherings should be a place where traditional indigenous elders feel comfortable. Toward that end, conservative dress should be worn and respect maintained for traditional values. The PROTECT MOTHER EARTH CONFERENCE (June 15-18) is a time for indigenous peoples of the Americas to discuss environmental issues of importance to their communities. The PROTECT THE EARTH GATHERING (June 18-19) is a time for indigenous people and non-indians to discuss environmental issues of common concern. Camping is available and showers and a swimming lake are nearby. There will be no electric hook ups. Bring mosquito repellent and eating utensils. Food will be provided but donations of food are welcome. The gatherings are at the Mole Lake Reservation in Forest County, Wisconsin; about 4 hours drive north of Milwaukee. There will be a sign for the gathering on Hwy.55 about 8 miles south of Crandon, WI. For more information call: Midwest Treaty Network 608-246-2256 voice or fax Indigenous Environmental Network voice715-682-4554 fax715-682-9112 or voice218-751-4967 fax218-751-0561 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Original Sender: Rio Lara-Bellon Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) EAGLE SPIRIT MEMORIAL CELEBRATION White Swan Pavilion, White Swan, WA June 16, 17, 18, 19, 1994 Host Drum Picked Daily Honorary Host Drum: Eagle Spirit June 16th Memorial Dinner Memorials, Name-Giving Raccoon Walsey Memorial Gambling 24 Hours A Day: Slahal, Wah-Luk-Sha, Blackjack, Poker, Dice, Horses Camp Day June 15th-16th Gambling Shed Tipi Poles Available Grounds Will Be Patrolled For more information contact: Richard Walsey, Eagle Spirit Celebration 2000 Progressive Road Wapato, Washington 98951 509/877-6754 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Original Sender: hydra.unm.edu!jshendo (jimmy shendorsale) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Presents Native American Entrepreneurship Training June 1,2,3, 1994 University of New Mexico Anderson Schools of Management Fee 150.00/person June 1,2,3, 1994 8:00 am-4:00 pm each day UNM Anderson Schools of Management Payable to ASM Foundation Center for Entrepreneurship CONTACT PERSON Loyola Chastain Room 2069 UNM Anderson Schools of Management Center for Entrepreneurship Albuquerque, NM 87131-1221 (505) 277-3020 or Fax (505) 277-7108 DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION IS FRIDAY MAY 27, 1994 OR respond to jshendo@hydra.unm.edu =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: rainy@lamar.colostate.edu (Rainy Naakaii) Subject: Film Festival "Imagining Indians: A Native American Film and Video Festival" Scottsdale, Arizona - June 2nd to June 5th, 1994 Tantoo Cardinal, Gary Farmer, Graham Greene, Tony Hillerman, Phil Lucas, James Luna, Merata Mita, and Diane Reyna. Floyd Westerman and other representatives of different tribal affiliation(s) including the Inuits and Maori and Aborigines from Central Australia will be present as well. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: Frosty Deere K-W First Nations Cultural Pow wow. ================================================================ Date: June 18 and 19, 1994 Place: Kitchener Ontario Canada. For more information call : 519-632-7603, ask for KEN 519-743-5752, ask for Verda 519-743-9592, ask for Sandi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: bcarroll@junkyard2.East.Sun.COM (Bruce Carroll - Sun BOS Systems Product Assurance (CONTRACTOR)) Newsgroups: alt.native Subject: Circle of Children Fundraiser Circle of Children Fundraiser Lakota Language & Culture Workshop Featuring Fedelia Cross and Nellie Two Bulls June 11 & 12 from 1pm to 4pm Immanuel United Methodist Church 545 Moody St. Waltham, MA 02154 (corner of Moody & Cherry Streets) For more information contact: Beth at 617-547-5750 Julie at 508-283-3836 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= From: Christopher.Newell@Dartmouth.edu (Chris) Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native RED EARTH POW-WOW Dance Competition and Native American Cultural Festival June 9-12, 1994 Myriad Convention Center Downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Over $50,000 in prize money 31 Different Categories FOR MORE INFORMATION Red Earth, Inc. 2100 Northeast 52nd Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73111 (405) 427-5228 =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= --------- "RE: NAIC office vandalized!" --------- Date: Thu, 12 May 94 13:50:03 EDT From: cas.org!mlr21 (Mary Lee Raines (ext 3290)) Subj: NAIC office vandalized! Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) >From TV news: The Native American Indian Center in Columbus, Ohio was broken into and vandalized. This has happened several times in the past few months, so it seems that someone has it in for them. The address is Native American Indian Center 756 Parsons Avenue P.O. Box 07705 Columbus, Ohio 43207 Phone is (614) 443-6120 >From the pictures on TV, it looked like their office was pretty well trashed--anyone wants to help out might consider calling them. Mary Lee --------- "RE: Cheslatta Nation / Kemano 2" --------- Date: 13 May 94 00:24 PDT From: fyre@web.apc.org Subj: Cheslatta Nation / Kemano 2 Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) For your info, please distribute. Cheslatta Carrier Nation P.O. Box 909 Burns Lake, B.C. V0J 1E0 phone: (604) 694-3334 fax: (604) 694-3632 10 May 1994 WE NEED YOUR HELP The Carrier Sekani Tribal Council's fight to stop Alcan's Kemano 2 project is led by my Nation. This is a David and Goliath battle. Alcan, one of Canada's largest corporations, is a multibillion dollar corporation with very deep pockets. Cheslatta is a small nation with less than 80 people living on reserve. We do not have very deep pockets. We have spent about $235,000 and though the Cheslatta Kemano Defence Fund we have raised $91,000. leaving us with a deficit of well over $100,000 fighting Kemano 2. The money has been spend on phone bills, faxing, postage, travel, legal fees, research and salaries. With that money, we have uncovered much of the buried Kemano 2 story and we have moved many mountains in our way, but the deficit stares us in the face. It could be wiped out if we took the combined $150,000 offered by the federal and provincial governments for participation in the B.C.U.C. review. But, since this is not a credible review, we have not accepted the money. We simply have to raise more money to continue this fight for survival, a fight which is benefiting and Americans, Native and Non-Native. The cost of fighting is high, but the cost of not fighting, is even higher. To those of you, who have already helped, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity and your willingness to stand side-by-side with us. And thank you for your spiritual, political and moral support, which helps keep the flame of hope burning. If you can help financially, please make your cheque or money order payable to: THE CHESLATTA KEMANO DEFENCE FUND. Please mail your contribution to: The Kemano 2 Defence Fund, c/o Cheslatta Nation, P.O. Box 909, Burns Lake, British Columbia, Canada, V0J 1E0. Contribution can also be made at any branch of the Royal Bank of Canada. (Account #: 500249-8; Burns Lake branch.) If you do make a direct deposit, please drop me a note. Mussi cho. Sincerely [signed] Chief Marvin Charlie Cheslatta Carrier Nation CMC/dw P.S. Maybe you could include this in mail-outs? or Publish it? This letter was also sent along with a three page article from Macleans Magazine, May 9/94: Powerhouse Politics. --------- "RE: Native Americans at TVA" --------- Date: Tue, 17 May 94 08:33:31 CST From: "Gary L. Williams" Subj: Organization of Native Americans at Tennessee Valley Authority Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The Organization of Native Americans at the Tennessee Valley Authority ======================================================================== In 1991, the Organization of Native Americans was established at the Tennessee Valley Authority to improve equal opportunity, affirmative action, and nondiscrimination in the agency for Native Americans by work- ing with the Equal Opportunity or Human Resources staff and providing input and feedback on relevant issues. Objectives of the group are: -- to serve as a networking system to inform Native Americans of TVA's current and projected employment needs -- to provide a forum for Native Americans to exchange information concerning activities, problems, issues, and successes related to equal employment opportunity at TVA -- to examine the overall status of Native Americans at TVA and make recommendations to correct concerns -- to review policies, procedures, and programs and provide input as to their impact on Native Americans and their cultural heritage -- to improve the responsiveness of TVA's affirmative action programs and nondiscrimination policies to the needs of Native Americans by making recommendations on matters affecting equal opportunity in TVA -- to serve as a means of communication between Native Americans, other TVA employees, and TVA management to build understanding, acceptance, and promote harmony Criteria for membership requires full or part-time employment status with the agency. Members should be a current tribal member or any Native American with documentation of at least 1/32 degree Indian blood or should be interested in working toward a better image and the advancement of Native Americans. There are currently fifty members in the ONA. The organization is managed by an Executive Council consisting of a President, Vice-President, Secretary/Treasurer, and Executive Council Chairperson. The length of term of these elected officers is two years. Meetings of the membership are held each quarter, with an annual meeting held in November of each year. The ONA was chartered in April of 1991, and has since developed into a group with high visibility within the Tennessee Valley Authority. ONA successfully petitioned the City of Chattanooga to become the Stewards of the Blue Blazes Trail which loops around the Moccasin Bend Peninsula, a site on the Tennessee river near downtown Chattanooga designated as a National Historic Landmark representing 14,000 years of continuous occupation - until the early 19th century - by Native Americans. ONA has sponsored a trail cleanup and interpretive hike on the trail and plans to blaze connecting trails and erect historical markers to illustrate the life of a Native American community before and after European contact. ONA is also working to protect ancient burial sites at the Decatur, Ala. boat harbor. In response to ONA, TVA is placing interpretive markers at agency sites with Native American names. Sequoyah, Brown's Ferry (named after Native American ferryman John Brown), Chatuge, Fontana, Hiwassee, Tellico, Shawnee, Nickajack, Watauga, Chickamauga and Ocoee sites will be included in this effort. Other efforts included the release of 4,000 lake sturgeon into the upper Clinch River in northeast Tennessee. ONA also sponsors in conjunction with its annual meeting informative presentations to employees and the community which outline how the spirit of the Native American people lives on in the hearts, minds, culture, and daily activities of Native Americans and all who benefit from their contact with the diverse native peoples represented by the ONA. ONA is the only group of its kind active in any federal agency. For more information regarding the Organization of Native Americans at TVA, contact: Pat Meares (Three Fires Woman) President, Organization of Native Americans TVA Environmental Research Center CTR 2J Muscle Shoals, Alabama 35660-1010 Telephone: 205/386-2204 Pat does not currently have access to Internet E-mail. If you wish to respond or question Pat regarding ONA via the Internet, I will copy and forward mail to her .... Posted by: Gary L. Williams Research Librarian TVA Environmental Research Center Internet: demt002@uabdpo.dpo.uab.edu tva!iduuz.chattd@mhs.attmail.com Bitnet: demt002@uabdpo --------- "RE: Nuclear Waste/Native Americans" --------- Date: Mon, 16 May 94 16:44:00 EDT From: aol.com!MordecaiSp Subj: Nuclear Waste/Native Americans Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) This is a story I wrote for an American Indian newspaper in Wisconsin. I'd like to contact other outlets that would be interested in this story or something like it. I've been writing on Indian issues for the past 15 years. Minnesota Legislature approves nuclear waste storage at Prairie Island by Mordecai Specktor (729-7050) St. Paul, MN - The most hotly contested issue before the Minnesota Legislature during its 1994 session - Northern States Power Company's (NSP) proposal to store highly radioactive waste outside its Prairie Island nuclear power plant in Red Wing - was resolved in early May. NSP will be allowed to store spent nuclear fuel outdoors in "dry casks" - 17 massive steel canisters, under a bill signed into law May 10 by Gov. Arne Carlson. But the law requires NSP to search for an alternative storage site elsewhere in Goodhue County. House members of a House-Senate conference committee insisted during protracted negotiations that nuclear waste storage at Prairie Island, home of the Mdewakanton Dakota community, be allowed only on a temporary basis. NSP will get five storage casks immediately, then four more when it begins searching for an alternative storage site, and contracts for 100 megawatts of electricity generated by wind power. The final eight casks at Prairie Island will be allowed after NSP has begun construction of its alternative nuclear waste storage site, and has contracted for a total of 225 megawatts of wind power and 50 megawatts of power from farm crops (alfalfa and trees for burning). NSP wanted 17 casks. It got 5 + 4 + 8. The victory for NSP was heralded in the Red Wing Republican Eagle on May 7: CASKS PASS, blared a headline in 2-inch tall type. "I feel like a little kid with a new toy," Merle Anderson, NSP's head lobbyist, told the newspaper. "We win." The alternative site required in the law might never go into operation, according to Anderson, who told the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Personally, I don't think so, especially during the time frame outlined in the legislation." Prairie Island tribal council officials were deeply disappointed with the decision to put a nuclear waste dump within several blocks of their homes. There has been no specific response regarding what tribal officials will do next. Litigation in federal court is one possibility, or a return to the Legislature next year to modify provisions in the law, according to an attorney representing the tribal council. Tribal officials testified at numerous House and Senate committee hearings since the Legislature convened in late February. "We have been ignored, overlooked, insulted and treated with contempt," Darelyn Lehto, vice president of the Prairie Island tribal council, told members of the House environment committee, regarding her experience at the Legislature. As an example of the way the tribe was shunted aside at the Legislature, she mentioned a March 23 closed-door meeting of members of the Senate environ- ment committee with NSP chairman Jim Howard. Committee members had voted down the NSP nuclear storage plan eight days earlier, but reversed their decision one day after the meeting with Howard. (A St. Paul woman, Kris Pranke, has filed a formal complaint alleging that the private committee meeting violated the Minnesota Open Meeting Law, which requires House and Senate standing committees to hold public meetings. According to press reports, the meeting was arranged by Senate Majority Leader Roger Moe, Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL)-Erskine. Pranke's complaint has been forwarded to the Senate subcommittee on ethics.) Lehto indignantly pointed out that members of the tribal council "sat out in the hall" while legislators and the NSP chairman decided the fate of the Indian community. The Senate nuclear waste storage bill, which passed on March 30, would have allowed the state to buy 1200 acres of land in Goodhue County and relocate the entire Prairie Island Dakota community. The land supposedly would have been transferred to the U.S. government and put in trust for the tribe. "Relocation assistance" would have been provided to tribal members. The land transfer section was taken out of the bill in conference committee. NSP officials have stated that without dry cask storage they would be forced to shut down one Prairie Island reactor next year and the second reactor in 1996, because there is no room left for more spent nuclear fuel rods in the indoor storage pool at the plant. Red Wing city officials and business owners told legislators that they depend on the $22 million in annual city, county and school district taxes from NSP. They said the loss of the Prairie Island plant's $28 million annual payroll would devastate the local economy. NSP and Red Wing residents were joined in their legislative lobbying effort by AFL-CIO representatives who argued that union jobs would be lost in any scheme that interrupted plant operations. Some 20 NSP lobbyists occupied the marble halls of the Capitol and the meeting rooms and corridors of the State Office Building throughout the legislative session. They were opposed by lobbyists for the Prairie Island Mdewakanton Dakota community and Minnesotans for Nuclear Responsibility (MNR), a coalition of environmental and religious groups. NSP filled the TV air with pro-nuke commercials and ran large newspaper ads daily. The tribal and environmental opposition responded in kind, but on a much reduced scale. The Dakota at Prairie Island categorically opposed dry cask storage near their land. At a May 4 press conference, Darelyn Lehto said: "If there are people in Minnesota who feel 'perfectly comfortable' living next to a radioactive dump, let them do so. But people who don't want to live with nuclear waste shouldn't have to. Long before there was an NSP - long before there were nuclear reactors on the island - our people made their home on those 640 acres. Prairie Island is our history, but it is also our future. We should not be expected to settle for less." Lehto's comments were in response to a news story that day, in which Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary - formerly executive vice president for corporate affairs at NSP - cautioned against shutting down a "safe, reliable, economic and environmentally correct power plant that's up and running" due to fears about dry cask nuclear waste storage. Tribal members watched the legislative process wind through hearing after hearing; the dry cask storage bill was defeated at different times in both the House and Senate environment committees, but the bill had many lives. The House and Senate each passed bills proposing a solution, but they were quite different. The bill passed by the Senate would have allowed NSP to store nuclear waste in 17 steel casks on concrete pads next to the Prairie Island nuclear power plant. A companion bill with identical language was voted down decisively in the House environment committee. The House on April 25 passed the Senate bill, but stripped out the Senate language. The House version was from a bill introduced late in the legislative session by Rep. Willard Munger, DFL-Duluth, the 83-year-old chair of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Munger's bill said: zero casks at Prairie Island; allow NSP to keep operating the plant by "reracking" or compacting nuclear fuel rods in the storage pool; bring on 800 megawatts of wind power and 200 megawatts of farm-grown crop fuels to replace the 1000 megawatts generated by the Prairie Island nukes; and establish an electric energy task force to steer Minnesota away from coal and nuclear onto a renewable energy path, and study what to do with the nuclear waste now sitting at NSP's Prairie Island and Monticello reactors. The 104-30 vote in the House didn't count as an endorsement of the Munger bill, however, as much as it reflected the wishes of many representatives to vote the bill out of the House, and let a House-Senate conference committee craft a compromise. The conference committee struggled for nearly one week before House conferees agreed to the temporary storage of nuclear waste casks at Prairie Island. (A conference committee must approve a compromise bill with a majority vote from each side of the table, House and Senate, rather than a simple majority.) Munger was joined by Rep. Alice Hausman (DFL-St. Paul) in voting against the conference compromise. Hausman regretted her decision to agree to limited nuclear waste storage. "I do believe the first cask on Prairie Island will be permanent," Hausman said following a conference committee meeting that adjourned at 5 a.m. "From that perspective, I go back to my very first position, which was we shouldn't be using an energy source that leaves a waste that other states and other generations have to pay for." But the deal was done at that point. The NSP nuclear waste storage bill was debated once again on the floors of the House and Senate, and easily passed both bodies May 6. Throughout the debate on NSP's nuclear waste plan, charges of "environmental racism" were raised. NSP's opponents declared that, once again, land belonging to people of color, American Indians, was a suitable dumping ground. The Minnesota Legislature agreed that the practice of siting hazardous waste dumps near minority communities and the poor should be looked into, and approved the establishment of a study group coordinated by the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board. The governor decided, however, to pour some salt in the fresh wounds of the Prairie Island Dakota community and their supporters. Following adjournment of the Legislature he vetoed the $10,000 appropriation that would have funded the environmental justice study. - 30 - Mordecai Specktor (mordecaisp@aol.com) 3544 16th Ave. So. Minneapolis, MN 55407 Tel.: (612) 729-7050 --------- "RE: Books of Interest to Native Americans" --------- Date: Tue, 17 May 1994 20:12:06 GMT From: sbrock@teal.csn.org (Steve Brock) Subj: Review of Shoshone Mike by Frank Bergon (Fiction/History) Review of They Called It Prairie Light (Chilocco Indian School) Review of Faces in the Moon by Betty Louise Bell (Fiction) Review of Encyclopedia of Native American Costume (Reference) Subj: Review of Shoshone Mike by Frank Bergon (Fiction/History) SHOSHONE MIKE by Mike Bergon. University of Nevada Press, Reno, NV 89557-0076, (702) 784-6573, (702) 784-6200 FAX. Maps. 300 pp., $12.95 paper. 0-87417-244-6 REVIEW "You people are in big trouble. That land doesn't belong to you any more." "Maybe not," Mike said, "but we belong to it. You whites think everything is dead, and you can just do what you want and the land doesn't know." -- Shoshone Mike Originally published in 1987 (Viking Penguin) and 1989 (Penguin), "Shoshone Mike" is a fictitious portrayal of the killing of Shoshone Mike and his family in an ambush by a white posse near Winnemucca, Nevada, in 1911. According to Bergon, Shoshone Mike refused to settle on the Ft. Hall Reservation in Idaho, preferring to roam the countryside near Twin Falls. When one of Mike's sons is killed by a white horse thief, Mike retaliates. Fearing the fairness of a trial by whites, the family, numbering twelve men, women, and children, fled into northern Nevada. The family eluded pursuit, stealing cattle and sheep for food, until a group of sheepmen uncovered their acts. To avoid their whereabouts being reported, the sheepmen were murdered by family members. Posses, including the son of one of the victims and a sheriff who believes there are mitigating factors in the first murder, were hastily assembled. Hot on the trail of the family, the posses chase them over 300 miles until the family is attacked in their sleep, and eight of the twelve members die in a pre-dawn massacre. Only four young children are left alive. Bergon relates the story with grit, detail, and compassion, describing an inhospitable environment that hosts desperate acts, where people drift like sand with imaginations large as the sky. "Shoshone Mike" is highly recommended. Also by Bergon: "Stephen Crane's Artistry" (1975), and "The Temptations of St. Ed and Brother S" (1993). Subj: Review of They Called It Prairie Light (Chilocco Indian School) THEY CALLED IT PRAIRIE LIGHT: THE STORY OF CHILOCCO INDIAN SCHOOL by K. Tsianina Lomawaima. University of Nebraska Press 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, (402) 472-6214 FAX. The University of Nebraska Press online catalog is available on the Internet by telneting to CRCVMS.UNL.EDU, username INFO, choosing UNIVERSITY PRESS, and ONLINE CATALOG. Illustrated, index, map, bibliography, notes, three appendices. 225 pp., $25.00 cloth. 0-8032-2904-6 REVIEW With the goal of assimilating Indians into the American culture, covering actual attempts to erase tribal identity by separating Indian children from their parents, Chilocco Indian School opened its doors in 1884 in northern Oklahoma, near the Kansas border. For 96 years, the school, called "The Lights on the Prairie," housed and trained many generations of Indian families (including actor Wes Studi and his father, and author Lomawaima's father). Using archival materials and interviews with sixty-one former students, Lomawaima documents the children's resistance to acculturation, establishing their own identity and independence during the period 1920 to 1940. In her evaluation, despite the attempts to transform the children's lives by providing an "appropriate" education, the "Prairie Light" shined with a distinctively Indian radiance. A winner of the 1993 North American Indian Prose Award, "They Called It Prairie Light" is highly recommended. A postscript: the school grounds are now the site of another conflict. The leadership of the Tonkawa tribe has proposed locating a temporary waste site for spent nuclear rods at the vacant facility. Subj: Review of Faces in the Moon by Betty Louise Bell (Fiction) FACES IN THE MOON by Betty Louise Bell. University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019, (800) 627-7377, (405) 325-5000 FAX. 192 pp., $19.95 cloth. 0-8061-2601-9 REVIEW Three generations of women, each attaching a different meaning to their Cherokee heritage, struggle with their interpretations in this emotional and spellbinding debut. When Lucie is called back to Oklahoma after her mother suffers a stroke, she must again confront her past as a pawn in the battle of the lifestyles of her grandmother, Hellen, who supports Cherokee traditional ways, and her mother, Gracie, who yearns to escape her Indian trappings and make it in the less confining white world. As the plot unfolds amid flashbacks and Gracie's worsening condition, Lucie finds comfort in the "women's stories" that the Cherokee have told through the ages. With sincerely-spoken dialogue and a lean and evocative prose, Bell resonantly illustrates that culture and kinship can never be fully separated. "Faces in the Moon" is recommended. Bell, a Cherokee herself, is a professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Subj: Review of Encyclopedia of Native American Costume (Reference) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN INDIAN COSTUME, edited by Josephine Paterek. ABC-CLIO, Inc., 130 Cremona Crive, P.O. Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911, (800) 422-2546, (805) 685-9685 FAX. Illustrated, index, maps, glossary, bibliography, two appendices. 530 pp., $ 75.00 cloth. 0-87436-685-2 REVIEW Visiting a reservation today, one will not normally see Native Americans dressed in their traditional finery unless there is a ceremony, dance, or powwow. Continuing a trend begun shortly after European contact, tribal members have slowly adopted (and in some cases in the past been forced to wear) western clothing - a considerable change from the everyday beaded leather tunics, leggings, breechclouts, moccasins, dresses, and robes worn in the past. The "Encyclopedia of American Indian Costume" goes back to the precontact years, displaying and describing in archival photographs (over 150 in all) and text the large assortment of clothing worn by America's indigenous peoples. From the men of the California tribes who walked naked for most of the year (and wore hats and capes of cedar bark when it rained) to the fur garments of the Eskimo, the environment gave Indians the materials to suit their climate. Divided by region, each listing by tribe contains a general overview and provides information on basic dress, outer wear, hair styles, headgear, accessories, jewelry special costumes, garment decoration, face and body embellishment, masks, and transitional dress (the adoption of European influences). Also included is a short bibliography, although many of the mentioned books are long out of print. The two appendices provide a description of how clothing was made, and a glossary. Paterek does a good job in researching what clothing is actually associated with each tribe, as clothing was a popular trade item. There is little discussion, however, of the meanings and uses associated with certain garments, other than establishing clan and societal identity, status in the tribe, or the article's customary function, such as a mourning belt. The volume is a satisfactory reference work for those interested in Indian culture and is recommended.