Subject: nanews02.025 From: gars@netcom.com (Gary Night Owl) To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Message-ID: _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' 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 025 O o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 18 June 1994 O o O ( N E W S ) O This issue contains articles from NATIVE-L Mailing List, Usenet alt.native & soc.culture.native Newsgroups, 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 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. "Friendship is held to be the severest test of character. It is easy, we think, to be loyal to a family and clan, whose blood is in your own veins. Love between a man and a woman is founded on the mating instinct and is not free from desire and self-seeking. But to have a friend and to be true under any and all trials is the mark of a man!" __ Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa), Santee +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! I see less looking at the heart of another and more comparing outward signs among people whose traditions teach them better. I will pray this is because I am looking in the wrong places or that I am looking in the wrong way. I am asking all who read these words to look inside and ask themselves who will be left to count among us if the only count taken is that taken by wasicun rules. 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: No More Redmen for St. John's" --------- Date: Jun-08-94 15:17:00 From: Patrick Lucas (patrick.lucas@f513.n2613.z1.fidonet.org) Subj: No More Redmen for St. John's FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference ************ "NO MORE REDMEN FOR ST. JOHN'S" ************ "New York- St. John's University will change it's nickname from `Redmen' to ` The Red Storm ". "The new nickname will be unveiled at a news conference on Thursday." "Sources with the university on Tuesday said Red Storm would replace Redmen, the school's nickname for more than 70 years. The school made the change in response to criticism of offensive stereotyping of Native Americans". --- FastEcho 1.40+ Origin: CIRCUIT BREAKER,Canandaigua,NY (716)394-9164 14.4 (1:2613/513) --------- "RE: Kahnesatake Update" --------- Date: 94/06/13 22:57 From: Art Horovitch (a.horovitch@genie.geis.com) Subj: Kahnesatake Update GE Electronic Mail QUEBEC UPDATE JUNE 10-13, 1994 ------------------------------- Marchers demand peace in Kahnesatake -------------------------------------- The Montreal Gazette reported that about 150 Kahnesatake Mohawks marched through their community in a demonstration for peace. Employees of the band council and political opponents of Chief Gerry Peltier marched side-by -side as a patrol car from the Peacekeepers of Kahnewake trailed the procession. The marchers moved through the community led by native drummers on the back of a pick-up truck through an area which has been hit recently by acts of vandalism, sounds of gunfire and the sound of screeching car tires. Linda Simon , director of education at the elementary school, said the students came up with a program called SHOCK: Stop Hurting Our Community's Kids, in which they talked about their concerns over the violence in the community. Some students wrote to Chief Peltier about their fears and asked for his help. Simon said the event marked the " beginning of the community taking hold of what's going on." Peltier told Kahnesatake would soon have it's own Native police force. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Surete Quebec Officers Claim They Were Attacked In Restigouche --------------------------------------------------------------- Chief Brenda Miller of the Restigouche reserve on the Quebec -New Brunswick border, referred to an attack on two police officers as an isolated incident. The two sides involved differ in their accounts, but it appears that, according to Miller, the officers provoked about 20 youths who were doing nothing more than having a barbecue. The officers flashed an obscene sign at the youths, who responded in kind. At that point the officers got out, pulled a revolver on a woman and called her "a squaw". The woman's brothers came to her defence and a scuffle began, and it ended with the cruiser being damaged and torched. The two officers escaped from the scene by commandeering a cruiser from the Restigouche police and later abandoned it at a nearby village. The SQ spokesman, Serge Lamirande, said a gang of 20 young Micmacs stoned the car without provocation as it travelled through the reserve. He said the officers chased some youths after a rock was thrown through the window of the cruiser, then they ran up against about 20 youths aged 17 to 20 and a scuffle ensued. The officers were rescued by reserve police who drove them to safety. Chief Miller disputed this sequence of events and said that the police have an agreement with the reserve that they will notify their native colleagues before using the road through the reserve. "No such call was made to our police." said Miller. Public security minister Robert Middlemiss said the attack would not go unpunished. Poor relations between the community and the police go back to 1981, when the SQ raided the reserve, dragged people out of their homes at gunpoint, and checked their freezers looking for salmon which they said the Micmacs had caught illegally. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Parliamentarian Calls Aboriginals Spoiled and Lazy ---------------------------------------------------------- Canadian Reform Party member of parliament Herb Grubel has called aboriginals "lazy", saying they live in a South Seas like paradise and do no meaningful work. He continued, "We have been misguided in the past when we have given in to the demands of Native community to give them more physical goods and live on their South Sea Island equivalent." Liberal MP's Ethel Blondin-Andrew and Jack Anawak, who are aboriginal from the Northwest territories were personally affronted by Grubel's remarks, but refrained from saying they were racist. Blondin -Andrew said she found the comments very negative, and Anawak told parliament that Grubel cast "slurs, aspersions and racial stereotypes" without regard to the injurious effects on the country's three Native MP's. He continued, "We have been discredited because of our racial background". Reform Party leader Preston Manning distanced himself from Grubel's remarks saying "they are unacceptable and do not reflect the policies or attitudes of the party." Drew Hayden Taylor, an Ojibway writer and playwrite suggested in a somewhat humorous vein on CBC radio that unknown to the rest of Canada, The Queen Charlotte Islands off the coast of British Columbia, are moved each night to the South Seas, so that Natives can live out their lives in paradise as Grubel saw it. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Motagnais Approve Dam on Ste. Margeurite River ---------------------------------------------------------- CBC television reported that the Montagnais of Sept Isles in Eastern Quebec have approved a new series of Hydro dams to be built on the Ste. Margeurite river. The referendum passed by a narrow margin. The community has been split into factions between those favoring the project (the Band Council) for the jobs it will supposedly bring, and the people of Maliotenam, a neighbouring village who are not represented on the council and are opposed to the dam. Hydro-Quebec had said before the vote that it would go ahead with the project regardless of the outcome. The deal is to give the band about $65 million over the next 50 years as compensation for damage from flooding to the traditional lands used for hunting, fishing and trapping. About 20 protesters from the Nitassinan coalition remain blocking a road after they were served with an injunction to leave. In Montreal, a group of Native and Non-Native supporters of the Coalition occupied the offices of Christos Sirros, the Native Affairs minister in Quebec. He did not show up at his office, nor call to talk to the protesters. They were later escorted out of the building by police. --------- "RE: Quebec Update" --------- Date: 94/06/14 18:40 From: Art Horovitch (a.horovitch@genie.geis.com) Subj: Quebec Update GE Electronic Mail QUEBEC UPDATE JUNE 15, 1994 --------------------------- Parti Quebecois tries to dialogue with First Nations ---------------------------------------------------- The separatist Parti Quebecois has tried to set up a dialogue with Natives, in an attempt to gain support for the drive to an independent Quebec. The Montreal Gazette reported yesterday, in an article by Anne McIlroy, that David Cliche, a PQ candidate in the upcoming election was asked by PQ leader to approach aboriginal leaders with some proposals. Cliche's campaign, which has been ongoing since September, is linked to the PQ's desire to gain points on the potentially explosive issue of territorial integrity should separation occur. The separatists maintain that Natives have no choice but to remain within an independent Quebec. The Natives, on the other hand, maintain that they can remove themselves from an independent Quebec while laying claim to more than half the province's land. The federal Minister of Indian affairs has said that Natives can remain in Canada and keep their land.The Cree of Northern Quebec, foe example, say that they will not be forced to go with a sovereign Quebec,but might decide to remain in Canada, while retaining the entire northern half of the province, where major hydro-electric developments are located. The dispute has tended to get ugly over the last few months with tensions running high on the issues of Montagnais resistance to a new series of dams, confrontations on the Restigouche Micmac reserve, and a quasi-repeat of Oka 1990 with the Mohawks at Kahnesatake. Jacques Brassard, a PQ member of the Quebec National Assembly, said recently, that Aboriginals who refuse to recognize the authority of an independent Quebec would be dealt with harshly by the police and the courts. In this climate, Cliche has invited aboriginal leaders to take part in a commission to re-write Quebec's constitution. But aboriginal leaders see this as simply a ploy to gain recognition from other countries if Quebec becomes independent. Quebec is still smarting from the Cree campaign to have New England and New York cancel Hydro contracts with Quebec, and Native support for their cause in many European countries. Cliche says said protests by aboriginals could slow the recognition of an independent Quebec. "Everyone understand that Native leaders and Native nations could be a stumbling block to our recognition as a state. The worst scenario would be for Native leaders to go to London and say they don't want an independent Quebec because of unfair treatment by the new government." he said. Aboriginal leaders are skeptical of the PQ's attitude toward them, both recently and in the past. When the PQ took power in 1976, they refused to honor parts of the James Bay agreement which had been signed by the former liberal government, according to Bob Epstein, a spokesman for the Cree. In the early 1980's, the PQ sent the SQ into the Restigouche reserve in a violent confrontation over fishing rights. Recently PQ members have attacked Mohawks for smuggling and the PQ has created a confrontational atmosphere which was further fed by openly racist programs on Quebec radio stations. Ghislain Picard, the Quebec chief for the Assembly of First Nations, said aboriginals won't be used by either side. "We will see to our own interests and our own priorities." --------------------------------------------------------------- St.Margeurite Vote Passes ----------------------------- June 14, 1994. CBC Radio reports that the vote to approve Hydro Quebec's construction of the St. Margeurite system of dams has been approved by a slim 53 % majority in voting yesterday by the Montagnais. This morning the Surete de Quebec removed a blockade of an access road to the building site which had been erected and occupied by traditional Montagnais from Maliotenam who have been fighting to have construction of the dams stopped. They are part of the Nitassinan Coalition. --------- "RE: Solemn Declaration" --------- Date: Jun-09-94 17:57:00 From: Frosty Deere (frosty.deere@f502.n167.z1.fidonet.org) Subj: Solemn Declaration FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference Subject: Old but still ... I just found an old folder I'd picked up at the first ever World Conference of Indigenous Peoples, held in British Columbia back in '75 after decades of work by the late George Manual. Hiyeee!!?? Has it really been almost twenty years ? Where are the George Manual's of today ? Remember their closing declaration to the world and how proudly walked all who heard it ...? SOLEMN DECLARATION World Council of Indigenous Peoples We, the Indigenous Peoples of the world, united in this corner of Mother Earth in a great assembly of men of wisdom, declare to all nations: We glory in our proud past: when the earth was our nurturing mother. when the night sky formed our common roof, when Sun and Moon were our parents, when all were brothers and sisters, when our great civilizations grew under the sun, when our chiefs and elders were great leaders, when justice ruled the Law and its execution. Then other peoples arrived; thirsting for blood, for gold, for land and all its wealth, carrying the cross and the sword, one in each hand, without knowing or waiting to learn the ways of our worlds, they considered us to be lower than the animals, they stole our lands from us and took us from our lands, they made slaves of the Sons of the Sun. However, they have never been able to eliminate us, nor to erase our memories of what we were, because we are the culture of the earth and the sky. We are the ancient descent and we are the millions, and although our whole universe may be ravaged, our peoples will live on for longer than even the kingdom of death. Now, we come from the four corners of the earth, we protest before the concert of nations that, "We are the Indigenous Peoples, we are a people with a consciousness of culture and race, on the edge of each country's borders and marginal to each country's citizenship." And rising up after centuries of oppression, evoking the greatness of our ancestors, in the memory of millions of Indigenous martyrs, and in homage to the counsel of our wise Elders: We vow to control again our own destiny and recover our complete humanity and pride in being Indigenous people. Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada, 1975 --- SLMAIL v4.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) --------- "RE: Hopi Bulldozers and More" --------- Date: 11 Jun 1994 06:05:01 -0400 From: news@search01.news.aol.com Subj: Hopi Bulldozers and More Newsgroup: alt.native Recent postings have reported on the visit of the Hopi and 28 traditional Native American elders to "the House of Mica" -- United Nations headquarters, on Nov. 22, 1993, and the deadline of "four days, four weeks, and four months" that the elders gave to government officials when they asked for a sincere response to the range of profound issues they addressed in their remarks. As some will know, the deadline came and went on April 23, 1994 with no sincere response from any government. At that time there was also 'cyber-chat" concerning bulldozers and backhoes poised to rip up the Earth in Hopi land, but no real hard information about what was happening. The following Draft letter is being circulated by the Wittenberg Center for Alternative Resources (188 Wittenberg Rd., Bearsville, NY 12409 Phone 914-679-9764), which helped to make it possible for the elders to visit the UN. Wittenberg is also now distributing video tapes of the messages they spoke there. The letter below is a draft intended to be used as a model by people who wish to write to their Senators, Representatives, or other government officials to express their opinion on these matters, as well as about Senate Bill S1021 - The Indian Religious Freedom Bill. The draft also, incidentally, gives a bit more information on the bulldozers and backhoes that are poised to rip the Earth. =================================0000================================ Dear.... I am writing to express my concern for the traditional Native American caretakers of this land. I know that efforts have been made under this Administration to begin a dialogue with Native American leaders. Sadly though, all too often, the only voices that are being heard are those of the BIA-sanctioned tribal councils, who often do not represent the views of the nations they speak for. Right now Senate Bill S1021, The Indian Religious Freedom Bill, is being considered. Although this bill is severely flawed, it begins to address the rights of Indigenous Peoples to preserve their sacred sites and traditional ways. Yet as I write, there are bulldozers on the land at the Hopi traditional village of Hotevilla. Within days or weeks construction crews will install water and sewer lines that will run right across the Hopi traditional prayer lines, and will make it impossible for the traditional elders to practice their ceremonies. I am writing to ask that this program be halted immediately, under consideration of the preservation of sacred sites, and that appropriate methods be initiated to begin discussions with the traditional elders so that their concerns may be heard. The elders are heirs to an ancient tradition of care taking this Earth. The Hopi and other First Nations elders have spent many years of their lives reaching out to tell their warnings of what will happen if this Earth is not maintained in balance. They have traveled all the way to the chambers of the United Nations. Now they say they will speak out no more until there is some indication that the government is willing to listen to their concerns. The extreme weather patterns of the past few years, which puzzle even scientists, were predicted by their teachings, and the elders say that the worst is yet to come if we don't change our treatment of the Earth. The Hopi and other indigenous elders are living treasures for all those people worldwide who care about the future of this planet. Before they pass away, wouldn't it be reasonable to give careful consideration to their concerns? If their voices are heard, perhaps we will all learn something. We have not done so well in care taking this world for future generations by shutting out their concerns. They are part of the biodiversity that is vanishing so rapidly from this planet. When they are gone, much of their earth-wisdom will pass with them. I am writing as a citizen, a taxpayer , and a voter to say that I care about what happens to the Hopi and other indigenous elders and the sacred sites they preserve. As a native born American, I know that they are an important part of my heritage, and the heritage of all Americans. Many thousands of your constituents also care deeply about what happens to the elders, and to the land they care take. I request that you immediately initiate inquiries regarding this situation, and keep me informed of your actions. Very Truly Yours,......... --------- "RE: Peace Camp Falls" --------- Date: Wed, 15 Jun 1994 05:29:00 GMT From: ky_yip@pavo.concordia.ca (YIP, KEN YEE) Subj: Innu Blockade: Police Raid on Blockade - Peace Camp Falls Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native PEACE CAMP AND BLOCKADE FALLS AT DAWN Tuesday, June 14--The Native Forest Network (NFN) announced today that the non-violent Peace Camp and blockade erected by traditional Innu from the Coalition For Nitassinan has apparently fallen in the early morning hours. It is not known from our sources how many Innu have been arrested in the raid by the Surete Quebec SQ); nor is it known how many American observers are now in custody. Canadian television also reported that the SQ raided the Peace Camp at dawn and began making arrests this morning. An unconfirmed source has told the NFN that those in custody now are facing charges that include breaking and entering and mischief. Preliminary reports coming in to the NFN today stated that around fifteen people were arrested this morning at the Peace Camp at km. 23 of an access road under construction for Hydro-Quebec's Saint Marguerite III hydroelectric project north of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Quebec. The Peace Camp and blockade began on May 29. The NFN reported yesterday that six people were arrested after returning from the Peace Camp. Two Innu traditionalists and a journalist from Montreal were later released and three U.S. observers were arrested and are still incarcerated. A very reliable source in the area told the NFN that one of the Americans interrogated last night while in custody said, "they grabbed my throat and choked me and bumped my head against a wall." "The multinational Goliath, Hydro-Quebec, may have appeared to have crushed the non-violent David's," said Orin Langelle, of the NFN in Burlington, VT, "but in reality this only gives strength to all those who are fighting against ecological destruction and struggling for the rights of those who refuse to compromise their traditional values and stand in the way of fool's progress." WHAT YOU CAN DO: Fax Hydro-Quebec International at (514)-985- 3076 and tell them to immediately drop all charges of those arrested. Let them know that the whole world is watching. Furthermore, let them know that you are opposed to the Saint Marguerite III project which will compromise the biological and cultural diversity of the area. Information provided by: NATIVE FOREST NETWORK Eastern North American Resource Center POB 57 Burlington, VT 05402 USA (802)863-0571 (802)863-2532 Fax email: peacejustice@igc.apc.org --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 94/06/12 22:35 From: Kepola (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 12-18 GE Electronic Mail A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 19-25. IUNE (June) (Kaaona) 19 Sing with the voice of the wind. 20 In the hidden places are found the rarest of flowers. 21 Summer's moon is rising now above the mountains. 22 Speak softly of your secret joys. 23 Joy is the visible expression of wonder. 24 True dreams are born of sea spray, of ehukai. 25 Cherish three things above all else: the life of the land, the well-being of the spirit, and the love of those friends who are dearest to us. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: Poem: Ugly Bags" --------- Date: Thu, 09 Jun 94 23:08:31 GMT From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: Ugly Bags of Mostly Water Newsgroup: alt.native While Creation has placed us everywhere around ourselves sleeping hearts have invaded the passage awake from the fingers on up their feet are cold and covered to keep them from touching the sacred earth and so their voices are like the little winds proud of their noise and flutter it is so that sleepwalker's think their dream is the center of time which might be so if they ever remembered them if they ever awakened and reached out further than the lines which form in their mirror each morning There is a moment when all things are possible that moment puts many right to sleep (Internet) 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: Innu Blockade: Activist Alert" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Jun 1994 08:22:00 GMT From: ky_yip@pavo.concordia.ca (YIP, KEN YEE) Subj: Innu Blockade - Activist Alert Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native Re: Support and funding for the blockade against SM-3 ~From: Supporters in Mani-Utenam CALLING ALL ACTIVISTS!! We are writing this document from Mani-Utenam, Canada. We have been here for two weeks working in solidarity with the Innu people whose land is being threatened by Hydro-Quebec's SM-3 hydroelectric dam project. The Innu have been living on the north shore of the St. Lawrence river for 50 years, since the government of Quebec forced them off of their sacred land. Their ancestors lived off of the land for 9,000 years. The Innu are presently living on a reservation where the government has relocated them, but they still practice traditional hunting, fishing and trapping, and they live as traditionally as they can in today's modern world. Nitassinan, the Innu word for "our land," is the area that is being threatened by Hydro-Quebec. Nitassinan is home to caribou and black bear, ducks and loons, northern shore birds and porcupine, and vast acadian forest. This land is pristine wilderness, sacred land to the Innu people, burial ground of their ancestors, habitat to an array of wildlife and should by no means be destroyed by Hydro-Quebec, a multinational terror. The effects of Hydro Quebec's SM3 project include the destruction of sacred land, forced relocation of numerous animals, mercury poisoned salmon, the list goes on. The project includes the diversion, into the reservoir, of two tributaries the Moisie River, thereby reducing the flow of North America's most pristine river by 40%. The Coalition for Nitassinan, in conjunction with several other native and non-native groups, have been working in opposition to the SM-3 project. If they succeed in this struggle after all of their hard work, they will be setting a precedent for others opposing Hydro- Quebec. The Innu formed a blockade on HQ's access road leading to the first proposed clear cutting area. There are about 20 Innu, made up of families, protesting non-violently. Standing in solidarity at the blockade with the Innu are 6 Americans, 1 Belgian, and one person from Montreal. They have been living in the bush for two weeks working with the Innu and creating an international presence. The issue is a loaded one, both politically and environmentally. In addition to being a Native struggle, this is a struggle for the Earth and her creatures. Hydro-Quebec filed an injunction against the blockaders on June 6. It appears that the Innu have 10 days following the injunction getting passed to form a defense statement. Unfortunately the defense statement is a costly approach to defending their land and beliefs. Despite the price of lawyers, the people living in the bush need food and supplies, and anyone else who needs to get into the area needs finances to fly into the bush. The Innu are lacking in funds. Any financial support from outside of the Innu community is crucial and will be greatly appreciated at this point in the struggle. Arrests are now possible for all blockaders and anyone involved in the action. The presence of the U.S. citizens has helped create an awareness of the global perspective of this project, especially since the project is being created in order to provide unneeded energy to the United States and elsewhere. An even greater presence will strengthen the struggle, allowing for even more success. Hard work has been put into erecting the blockade and setting up the camp. The area is absolutely beautiful, all have reported to be having amazing experiences and forming strong connections with the earth and the Innu people. If they are arrested, much of the active opposition to the project will be gone. News reporters, native, and non-native support will enable the Coalition for Nitassinan to have more power opposing the SM-3 project. WE NEED YOU HERE; For the Innu, for the Earth, for the Animals. This is one of the last vast wilderness areas left in North America. We must protect this area from being destroyed. If you are at all interested in finding out about the actions taking place here, would like to be part of the peace camp and international observance, or can help with financial assistance please contact the following: Native Forest Network or: Eastern North American Innu Support Committee Resource Center 100 Cave Hill Road POB 57 Leverett, MA 01054 USA Burlington, VT 05402 USA (413)367-9352 (802)863-0571 (802)863-2532 Fax email: peacejustice@igc.apc.org or: Coalition for Nitassinan 182 de l'Eglise Mani-Utenam, Quebec Canada G4R 4K2 Tel: (418)-927-2234 Fax: (418)-927-2102 If you can't help in the ways described above, please write, call or FAX IMMEDIATELY Hydro-Quebec at the following address and let them know how you feel. Hydro-Quebec Phone: 1-800-363-7443 75 Rene-Levesque O., Fax: (514) 289-3674 Montreal, Quebec Canada H2Z 1A4 --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - offline" --------- Date: Thu, 16 June 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= June 18-19 Oregon's Indian Nations Art Celebration Oregon Convention Ctr., Portland Oregon Info: (503) 286-7201 June 18-19 33rd First Nation Chippewas of Sarnia Sarnia, Ontario Info: (519)336-8410 June 18-19 Wepawaug River Village Milford, CT Info: (203) 878-8898 June 17-19 Father's Day West Palm Beach, FL Info: (813) 853-4997 June 24-26 The Silver Star Oakland, CA Info: (415) 554-0525 June 24-26 Plains Pow-Wow Noblesville, IN Info: (317) 841-8900 June 24-26 21st Potawatomi Shawnee, OK Info: (405) 275-3121 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, 16 June 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 = Powwows and Gatherings from the Internet = =============================================================== = Barter Offer = >From: Automatic digest processor Subject: Tribal Project needs 4MB simms: trade art for chips? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Subject: Tribal Project needs 4MB simms: trade art for chips? Date: Fri, 10 Jun 94 05:28:46 GMT Organization: Aicap,Johannesburg, Ca. American Indian Computer Art Project needs anywhere from (1) to (8) 4 MB 9-pin SIMMS memory chips. Will trade fine original art for any chips. (we need at least (2) real bad. We are in the remote Mojave Desert. Turtle Heart turtle@soft21.s21.com (Ahnishinabeg) American Indian Computer Art Project BBS 619-374-2100 Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light =::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::= Newsgroups: gen.nativenet,soc.culture.native,alt.native Date: Wed, 8 Jun 1994 09:00:26 +0200 (MET DST) From: kd4dts!nanovx!emory!gnosys.svle.ma.us!NativeNet Original Sender: janmooij Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The families of Brotherhood Community invite you and your family to the Seventh Annual INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD DAYS Honoring the memory of Chief Severt Young Bear, I JULY 10-17, 1994 Porcupine, South Dakota on the beautiful and historic Pine Ridge Reservation July 10-14 Educational workshops Theme: Tatanka, the Lakota and the Buffalo (college credit available) July 14-17 POWWOW Host Drums: Owl Bonnet Singers, White Cloud Singers, Eagles Nest Singers Guest Host Drum: Blue Star Singers (California) Ceremonies - Meals - Rendezvous - Memorial Eyapaha - The irrepressible Calvin Jumping Bull Miss Brotherhood Princess Contest open to all young ladies Traditional prizes for contest winners Francis Thunder Hawk - Head Committee Mike Bugelski - Coordinator Frank Andrews - Advisor To receive more information contact: International Brotherhood Days, Inc. or Francis Thunder Hawk 10911 Middlegate Drive P.O.Box 214 Fairfax, VA 22032 Porcupine, SD 57772 (703) 578-5685 (day) (605) 867-1110 250-4161 (nite) =::=::=::=::=::=::=::=::= From: Pablo Bellon Subject: SA'HEH'WA'MISH 4th Annual Pow-Wow (fwd) __________________________________________________________________________ SA'HEH'WA'MISH 4th ANNUAL POW-WOW & Art Fair __________________________________________________________________________ JUNE 18, 19, 1994 Mason County Fairgrounds, Shelton, Washington includes: Pow-Wow Dancing Dance and Drum Competition Indian Arts and Crafts Storytelling Salmon Bake Indian Foods Bone Games Camping RV Hook-up admission: $2.00 adults / $1.00 children and seniors / under 6 free for information call: (206) 426-9781 Hosted by the SQUAXIN ISLAND TRIBE & Shelton-Mason Chamber of Commerce. ** No Drugs or Alcohol Allowed ** --------- "RE: AIM: In Support of Our Ancestors" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Jun 94 13:09:00 CDT From: "Whitney, Mara" Subj: AIM: In Support of Our Ancestors Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) In Support of Our Ancestors by Joe Schranz and Clare Farrell, AIM of IL Repatriation Committee (In light of the ongoing excavation of our ancestors burial sites, with the subsequent removal. study and storage of their remains and burial goods, we choose to provide a foundation essay on our beliefs in this regard. We seek to set forth a basis for our rights and demands to both educate the public we are working with, and to protect our relatives of the past, with special reference to the current burial site at New Lennox, Illinois.) It is with pain that we must continue to explain ourselves and our ways--and those two cannot be separated--as we struggle to save the burial; grounds of our people. The recent newspaper article in The New Lennox Community Reporter speaks out in support of developing the New Lennox site, listing the recreational opportunities that will upbuild the local community, and the revenue that will be lost if the project is abandoned. On the surface, if the site did not have the rich history of an 11,000 year span of occupation, this a legacy deep within the earth's many layers of a culture utterly distinct from the present one, these are modest goals. But whenever the apparent good of one group interferes with the good of another, the end is debilitating to both. This must be examined carefully. In our age of many cultures sharing the same land, invited or not, we find it necessary to consider the many differences that exist among us in order to identify, thus preserve, our own essential Native ways. Inherent in the struggle to protect our ancestors' burial ground is our world view which traditionally differs from the Western concept of life that developed in Euro-Asian cultures over the past centuries. We continue to experience the complete divergence in understanding that manifests itself in an intrusion and disrespect of our ways, material and spiritual. It is our intense hope that a serious endeavor to delineate these distinctions, coupled with a consistent demand for respect, will touch the compassionate sensibilities integral to every educated human being. We strive to ignite that sleeping awareness that welcomes and celebrates the unique spiritual truth of every people and nation. A critical starting point is the basic fact that there are different ways to view reality and all are valid. This foundation of successful interaction between cultures--the recognition of common credibility--was decidedly lacking in Western thought at the time of the invasion of this land 500 years ago, Its absence marked the genocidal policies that fueled the movement to populate the Western hemisphere with Easter hemisphere peoples. A growing awareness that this Western mind set is not only exclusive, but has serious limitations, has barely begun to alter governing policies and attitudes that affect Native people. We define some of the differences with the explicit goal of clarifying our rights: --The Idea of Progress The vast difference is best expressed in opposing values of adaptation versus control. The hundreds of nations spread across this hemisphere had originally, as pre-industrial people, adapted to each natural location, cultivating the land, hunting, gathering and developing unique identities through interaction with the world, seen and unseen. During the communication that continually occurred among nations, some of them 1,000 miles distant from another, the focus was on an exchange of goods, methods and ideas, without a hierarchy of value. One thing was not better or best, with others being poor or worthless. There was difference and preference, and these attitudes allowed the co-existence of multiple choices, with special recognition and reverence given to what is old. The item or value that had withstood the test of time, proving it was valuable for the good of the whole, held an honored place. The Western concept of progress considers the new to be superior to the old. The English language 'er' adjectives--bigger, faster, higher--express the belief that life is a constant process of making the world better. Taken to its logical conclusion, all is replaceable with something that will surpass it, and old must make way for its successor. --The Concept of Time The traditional Native view of time is that life is cyclical. All is in a continuous flow, a circle that links past, present and future. This brings all reality together, interconnected and interacting. Relationships between people are ongoing, with birth and death as points on the endless wheel of life, which naturally dictates a moral code that embraces both ancestors and the unborn. Western society, on the other hand, is built on a linear time line, with a view that looks away from a past towards a future. The present is a separate unit which, disconnected from past and future, is open to varying conduct that affects immediate persons and events alone. --The Individual and the Community For traditional Native people, the common good is the major concern and goal of all activity, The individual is a link in a continuous chain of united families across the ages. The aspirations of any one person was not allowed to interfere with the well-being of the nation as a whole, and those who sought power without service, excess property without sharing, or honors without humility were shamed and corrected, or shunned. In direct counter position is the Western society practice of individualism, with its built-in permission to advance without regard to others, to accumulate a disproportionate quantity of goods without guilt, and the ability for leaders to exercise authority without upbuilding the common good. --The Idea of Space The Native viewpoint does not separate material and spiritual, all being one reality. Spiritual facets, though intangible, are present in every aspect of life in complete partnership with the realities present in the five bodily senses. Western though, in contrast, draws sharp distinctions between the visible and the invisible, The things available to the five senses are accorded certain reality, while all that cannot be physically observed is relegated to a range of possible to non-existent. To avoid the clear danger that these categories be taken literally, we state here that this is a general outline of bodies of thought that direct the actions of each respective group. There are variations and differences in individual cases, while intentional manipulation has tampered with traditional Native values. Programs to enculturate and assimilate have deliberately attempted to replace these values--this very mind set--with Western thinking, and has in many cases succeeded. It is therefore clear why the New Lennox site, which will include more burial places by virtue of its longevity of occupation, can be slated for development in today's society, governed by Western ideas. It can be bought and sold, altered and rearranged. The land is seen as a material entity that can be used in the present time for the benefit of part of the people in the name of progress. It will be new, therefore an improvement on the old. Its past is not part of present time, and the spiritual reality of the people buried there cannot be detected, and can therefore be discounted. What is true for us is that the spirits of countless numbers of our relatives abide in this sacred land, which is itself alive, that three major villages occupied over an 11,000 year time span--triple the time since the building of the pyramids of Egypt. We respect and revere these ancestors who continue to stand with us today. We feel their presence and know the power of our unity. And because they are old and embody the traditional values that made our society strong, we honor them and must protect the ground in which they lay. A recent flyer distributed in the New Lennox area calls for support of the recreation project, and the need for the revenue that will result from the golf course for improvement to existing parks. It justifies the use of the ancient village site in this way as a funding source for a swimming pool (scheduled to be built where the remains of three children were already found and removed), and to expand programs for the children, asking the question: "What might they be doing without these programs?" First, it is clear we are talking about finances above and beyond any other consideration--money to be made if the project is completed, and money to be lost if it is not. In our traditional way, which did not include land ownership or a money-based economy, and which focused on sharing all available resources, we cannot accept the desecration of this site to this end. Even if there was not an acre left anywhere which could be used for recreational development in that area--which is not true--we say, enjoy what you have already, You have taken the whole country for your use--leave intact the little, which includes our ancestors' remains, we have left. Secondly, what might your children do? Again, even if there was no other site for a local swimming pool--which is not true--and the land around New Lennox was left as untouched fields, then your children can do the only thing left that will preserve an earth rapidly being consumed by development: they can learn respect--for our way of life that can teach them how to live in harmony with all living things of yesteryear and today, so that they will have a tomorrow. What did our children do when they were deprived, not of a recreation site, but of the land that sustained them? They starved and they died. We want more for your children, for we know that all of us are in this struggle to survive together. For the cry of our hearts has never been exclusive, but recognizes a balance in the universe that includes the four colors of humankind--black, red, yellow and white. It is for all people that we strive to keep our burial sites untouched, that this circle of life may be kept whole for the ongoing life of us all. Ultimately, we do not need to explain ourselves. Without making a judgment on any other world view, the fact is simple: this is our land, our sacred land. But it is part of the Native prophecies that we must be the ones who bring the sacred hoop of all nations back together, and thus we offer this instruction as a gift. As adaptive people, we use this English language, this printed text, and these modern methods of media dispersal to send out this message. Indeed, the ideas that originally set the ships to sail to our peoples' shores still blow across the face of out land, determining our future, and digging up our past. To those who can hear the truth, Chief Seattle's words for 1854 ring out a cry and warning: "To us the ashes of our ancestors are sacred and their resting place is hallowed ground. You wander far from the graves of your ancestors and seemingly without regret... Every part of this soil is sacred in the estimation of my people, Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished. The very dust upon which you now stand responds more lovingly to their footsteps than to yours, because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch. Even the little children who lived here and rejoiced here for a brief season will love these somber solitudes and at eventide they greet shadowy returning spirits. ...At night when the streets of your cities and villages are silent and you think them deserted, they will throng with the returning hosts that once filled and still love this beautiful land, The White Man will never be alone." To input and support, contact: Joe Schranz AIM of IL Repatriation Committee Suite 144 6348 W. 95th St., Oak Lawn, IL, 60453 (708) 598-1061 Posted by Mara Whitney (maraw@fs-gate.uchicago.edu) --------- "RE: Grad Programs" --------- Date: Thu, 09 Jun 1994 12:01:11 -0400 (EDT) From: zodiac.rutgers.edu!ANDERSON Subj: Grad Programs Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ASAIL (Association for the Study of American Indian Literatures) has recently published *A Guide to Native American Studies Programs in the United States* as a supplement to Volume 5 (1993) of the group's journal, *SAIL*. The guide is a 30-page overview of BA, MA, and PhD programs; however, it is culled from a survey the editor sent to the schools, and as a result some entries are considerably more thorough & informative than others. Some schools didn't respond at all! The guide's editor is Franchot Ballinger of the University of Cincinnati, and the editor of SAIL is Rodney Simard of Cal State, San Bernardino. But if you have specific questions about a program, why not just zip me an e-mail and I'll see whether the guide can help? all best, Eric Anderson anderson@zodiac.rutgers.edu --------- "RE: Saugeen Ojibway" --------- Date: 09 Jun 94 08:00 PDT From: fyre@web.apc.org Subj: Saugeen Ojibway Message-Id: <750400135@web> Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The following is posted by request. ++++++++++++++++++ DIBAUDJIMOH by fax BRINGING NEWS OF THE SAUGEEN OJIBWAY BY FAX MARCH 10,1994 Fax: 519-534-2130 Phone: 519-534-5133 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Why By Fax? Over the past couple of years, the Saugeen Ojibway have had a number of significant advances in protecting their rights and their lands: + Vigil in Owen Sound that resulted in the recognition and return of unsurrendered burial ground lands. + Major court victory (Jones-Nadjiwon, 1993) in which Saugeen Ojibway commercial fishing rights were recognized and MNR regulations found unconstitutional. + The broadening support of non-Native organizations in actively supporting Saugeen Ojibway rights. + Moving aggressively to assert rights and consolidate court and public relations victories. The Saugeen Ojibway feel obliged to share their experiences with other First Nations as much as possible and we are beginning to do this with Dibaudjimoh. But as the name for our land claims building suggests: ktaamgwendaagwad kendasswin (knowledge is power). That building is one of the houses we successfully removed from our burial ground lands in Owen Sound. It is now being used to plan for the return of more of our rights and lands. There is a great need for First Nations to share knowledge and information with one an-other. The government, and others, make good use of our lack of timely information of one another's victories and difficulties. In this fax, you will find news that affects all First Nations in Ontario. This issue and the next few will contain information we have that you might be able to use. However, we intend to include information that you supply us too. We cannot deal with issues in depth in a fax, but we will publish short summaries of facts and include contacts so you can follow up those items that interest your First Nation. When you get this, let us know what you think and send us what you know. It's time to share the power! ++++++++++++++++++++++++ Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters Make Native Rights a Top Priority in 1994 The OFAH has been battling the recognition of Native rights and First Nations' rightful claims to natural resources in Ontario for at least the past three years. Here is a brief guide to its activities on Native issues: + In Feb. 1992, the OFAH assisted in the organization of a major sportsmen's rally in Pembroke Ontario "The Allocation of Natural Resources to Natives" in general and to protest the Golden Lake claim to Algonquin Park in particular. + In 1992, then President Davison Ankney, in a presentation to the Aboriginal Circle on the Constitution appropriated the Native connection to the environment in claiming non-Natives also have a "right" to fish and hunt. + Also in March 1992 the OFAH prominently displayed, at its booth at the Outdoor Show, a series of articles claiming Natives abuse fish and game resources. + In 1992, Davison Ankney wrote to MNR Minister Bud Wildman urging charges be laid against the Delaware of the Thames for their traditional practice of fishing walleye during the Spring run. + Similar complaints against other First Nations (such as the Cree of James Bay, Tyendenaga, the Saugeen Ojibway, Caldwell for the 1993 deer cull at Rondeau Park) have been reported in OFAH literature. + OFAH presentations on Native use of the resources consistently refuse to recognized the prior right of First Nations to the use of natural resources, and insist Natives should be regulated under the "same law" for all Ontarians. + In 1993 OFAH central sponsored ads in Mclean's publications and on a country music radio station in Toronto to protest a "secret deal" between the MNR and the bands of the United Indian Councils to equalize those bands ability to harvest fish and game with other First Nations. The OFAH lobby scuttled the agreement. We see this campaign as being the single biggest roadblock to the recognition of First Nations' rights to and jurisdiction over the natural resources in our traditional territories. Members of the Saugeen Ojibway have joined the OFAH in order to combat the mis-information put out by the head office of the OFAH in Peterborough. We make a distinction between the mis-information coming from OFAH central in Peterborough and that coming from local sportsmen clubs for three reasons: 1. The anti-Native rights campaign is being orchestrated from Peterborough and often the only information local clubs take the time to get comes from OFAH central. 2. First Nations may, one day, have to work with local sportsmen clubs to manage the re-sources in traditional territories. 3. The major concerns of Ontario anglers as revealed in a 1990 survey are pollution and destruction of wildlife habitat, not First Nation's rights. Members of our OFAH Club attended the OFAH's annual convention in Windsor (Feb. 24-27, 1994). There we learned that: + The OFAH spent $144,172 in 1993 on an intervention at the Supreme Court in the Howard Case (a review of William's Treaty rights). + The single most expensive activity (in terms of direct costs and staff time) for OFAH central in 1994 was its on-going battle against the recognition of Native rights in Ontario. + OFAH has hired an "expert" on Native rights, Chris Brousseau who left his MNR position as District Manager at Moosonee to join the OFAH. + The OFAH is circulating its own "fact sheets" on Native land claims. The one on the Saugeen Ojibway was full of errors and misrepresentations. + On the bright side, a club from Guelph circulated a motion it drafted calling on OFAH central to cease its anti-Native lobby. Phone or fax us if you want more information or to discover how you can help our counter campaign against OFAH mis-information. ++++++++++++++ Hampton and OFAH Invite Canadians to Fish for Free in Ontario on July 8th Weekend One of the more distressing sights at an OFAH convention is the degree to which senior officials of the MNR "report" to the OFAH. In fact, the MNR annual report to OFAH is billed, in the OFAH program, as the "Natural Resources Accountability Panel." This year's panel included Minister Hampton, Ray Riley (ADM Operations), and David Balsillie (ADM Policy). During his speech, Hampton revealed: + MNR staff are reviewing every court decision in Canada concerning Native hunting and fishing rights. + The MNR believes the Jones-Nadjiwon case which recognized Saugeen Ojibway commercial fishing rights leaves the government in solid control of the Bruce Peninsula fishery and Ontario's jurisdiction there undiminished. + The MNR is working on a definition on conservation which will undoubtedly find its way into legislation. The danger here is it could be used to restrict First Nations' use of resources. + The MNR has acted on an idea from Rick Morgan, Executive Vice President of the OFAH to open all of Ontario to all of Canada for an orgy of fishing on the weekend of July 8, 9 and 10. Anyone from anywhere in Canada can fish in Ontario, no licence required. We feel this is offensive on a number of levels: + It amounts to an uncontrolled abuse of the resource on a Province-wide scale. + It is particularly offensive coming from an organization (the OFAH) whose top priority for 1994 is to frustrate First Nations rights to natural resources. + It is particularly offensive because it is being put in place by the government agency most responsible for restricting Native rights and criminalizing those who insisted on practicing their rights. + It holds in contempt the Native right to fish for food and ceremony without a licence. We will be protesting this July fish-in. We urge you to protest as well. If you want to join forces, please call or fax us. ++++++++++++++ Chiapas Alert As you know, Natives in Mexico stand to lose a lot with the ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement (not the least of which are their traditional lands). In fact, there are concerns about Native land in the US and whether Crown land in Canada will remain available for settling land claims here under NAFTA. HONOR (a pro-Native rights group in the US) has a lot of good information - phone 414-963-1324. For those of you who are concerned enough about the brutal suppression of the Maya in Mexico to do something, the Turtle Island Support Group is working on a number of actions in Toronto. Contact Ann Pohl, at 416-537-3520. DIBAUDJIMOH by fax March 10, 1994 Published periodically by the Communications Department Saugeen Ojibway Nations Chippewas of Nawash RR5 Wiarton Ontario N0H 2T0 PH: 519-534-1689 FX: 519-534-2130 Chippewas of Saugeen RR1 Southampton Ontario N0H 2L0 PH: 519-797-2781 FX: 519-797-2978 Send comments, queries, letters, donations to: Eric Johnston or David McLaren c/o Chippewas of Nawash RR5 Wiarton Ontario N0H 2T0 PH: 519-534-5133 FX: 519-534-2130 Please copy and distribute this fax freely. --------- "RE: Howard vs. Howard" --------- Date: 09 Jun 94 08:02 PDT From: fyre@web.apc.org Subj: Howard vs. Howard Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) dibaudjimoh by fax Bringing News of the Saugeen & Nawash Ojibway by Fax Communications Department, May 27, 1994 Fax: 519-534-2130 Phone: 519-534-5133 The Strange Case of Howard vs. Howard This edition of Dibaudjimoh by fax tries to lay out some of the facts of the Howard case without comment on the judgment of the Supreme Court. We do, however, have a lot to say about the MNR's decision to subject the Williams treaty First Nations to the Provincial Game and Fish Act. On May 12, 1994, the Supreme Court, on appeal from lower Ontario courts, found against George Howard, a member of the Hiawatha Band near Peterborough, on charges of unlawfully fishing on the Otonabee River during a period prohibited by the Ontario Game and Fish Act. The Supreme Court upheld the lower court decisions and found Howard guilty on the grounds that: There was no overriding error or new evidence presented that could have affected the original trial judge's assessment of the facts. The terms of the 1923 Williams Treaty and the circumstances surrounding the signing of that treaty represent a clear surrender of "any remaining special rights" to hunt and fish for the six bands who fall under that treaty. All the courts have relied on the Treaty's so-called "basket clause" for their rulings against Howard. This clause says: ... the said tribe and the Indians composing the same ... do hereby cede, release, surrender and yield up to the Government of the dominion of Canada ... all their right, title, interest, claim, demand and privileges whatsoever, in, to, upon, or in respect of the lands and premises described as follows ... And Also all the right, title, interest, claim, demand and privileges of the said Indians, in, to, upon or in respect of all other lands situate in the Province of Ontario to which they ever had, now have, or now claim to have any right, title, interest, claim, demand or privileges, except such reserves as have heretofore been set apart for them by His Majesty the King. MNR Will Charge First Nations Under Game & Fish Act In spite of an agreement that had already been negotiated between the MNR and the United Indians Councils who represent the Williams Treaty First Nations, and in spite of the MNR's declared intention to realize this agreement under the new "community licence" legislation being developed in Ontario, Howard Hampton has already told the bands the MNR will proceed in a different way. In mid-June, MNR Conservation Officers will begin to charge Williams Treaty people for offences under the Game and Fish Act. Strangely, the MNR has apparently chosen to ignore an earlier Ontario court decision (called Howard II) that found George Howard not guilty on other Game and Fish charges. That court ruled that it was neither against the law nor inconsistent with the Williams Treaty for Mr. Howard to fish in waters adjacent to his reserve if there were no waters on his reserve that could supply fish for food or ceremonial purposes. That decision the government chose not to appeal. The Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters intervened at the Supreme Court in Howard. They spent a little over $144,000 trying to persuade the Court to re-think its traditional view of Sparrow. Specifically, the OFAH wanted to redefine First Nations' priority right to natural resources in an attempt to subject First Nations to OFAH's own definition of conservation. In its ruling, the Supreme Court did not mention the OFAH. Besides, the determining focus of the ruling was the text of the Williams Treaty, not notions of priority rights and conservation. Nevertheless, the OFAH is hailing the decision as a "victory for conservation." In our opinion, the decision to charge First Nations' peoples under the Game and Fish Act is especially insulting when you consider the MNR (acting on a suggestion from OFAH) has picked the weekend of July 8 to turn the whole of Ontario into Canada's fishing hole. On that date, anglers from across the country are invited to come to Ontario to fish for the weekend without a licence. Ramifications According to the Supreme Court, the 1923 Williams Treaty stands and the Bands, by signing it, extinguished their rights. This means: The seven Bands under the Williams Treaty (Rama, Georgina Is., Christian Is., Hiawatha, Scugog, Alderville, Curve Lake), have no section 35 Constitutional rights. Hampton has chosen to treat the Williams Treaty people completely differently from the other First Nations that surround the Williams Treaty territories by subjecting them to the Game and Fish Act. Beginning mid-June, each band member, even if he or she would hunt or fish for food or ceremonial purposes will have to apply to the MNR for fishing and hunting licences and be subject to provincial legislation governing seasons and catch and bag limits. These limits will be enough for neither food nor ceremony, which means the Williams Treaty First Nations will be prevented from practicing the spiritual aspects of their societies. The OFAH, emboldened by this decision (albeit for the wrong reasons), will begin to flex its muscles in other areas. The letter below can be used to let Canada and Ontario know how you feel. It is based on a letter from Chief Akiwenzie to the press. It suggests Ontario has a number of options besides inflicting the Game and Fish Act on the 7 First Nations of the Williams Treaty. Please use this letter to make the same suggestions yourself to Ontario and Canada. Here are the addresses you will need: Hon. Howard Hampton, Minister of Natural Resources 99 Wellesley West, Whitney Block, Room 6301 Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1W3 (ph: 416-314-2301; fax: 416-314-2216) Hon. Bud Wildman, Minister of Native Affairs 135 St. Clair Ave. West, 12th Floor Toronto, Ontario, M4V 1P5 (ph: 416-323-4370 ; fax: 416-323-4682) No stamp is needed for mail to federal MPs: Hon. Brian Tobin, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans House of Commons Ottawa, Canada, K1A 0A6 (ph: 613-992-3474; fax: 613-990-7292) Hon. Ron Irwin, Minister of Indian Affairs House of Commons Ottawa, Canada, K1A 0A6 (ph: 613-997-0002; 613-992-6410) A Letter to Canada and Ontario Dear Minister: Although the Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled against the seven First Nation signatories of the Williams Treaty, I feel that treaty is seriously flawed. There is no way the "basket clause" in that treaty represents how I think we should be dealing with First Nations in 1994. Whenever the rights of an individual or of a people are extinguished, for whatever reason, the rights of all the rest of us are diminished. The Supreme Court decision leaves the First Nation signatories of the Williams Treaty without the rights guaranteed by the Constitution to all other aboriginal peoples in Canada. This inequity will be intolerable if Ontario conservation officers begin charging Natives in the Williams Treaty territories under the Game and Fish Act. There is another court decision, also involving George Howard, you should use as your guide. In that 1991 case, the Ontario court judge confirmed Mr. Howard's right to fish for food, social, ceremonial or barter purposes in waters adjacent to his reserve if there were no suitable waters on his reserve. The judge ruled that doing so would be neither against the law, nor inconsistent with the Williams Treaty. Ontario has not appealed this decision. In its recent judgment, the Supreme Court drew a comparison between the way Bear Island was lost and the Howard case. Yet the Ontario government had the wisdom, the Bear Island judgment notwithstanding, to negotiate a draft "treaty of coexistence" with the Temi Augama. There is no reason why this cannot be done for the seven First Nations who must labour under the Williams Treaty. There are, then, a number of options open to Ontario and Canada: Negotiate a separate agreement with the Williams Treaty First Nations. Issue a community licence to these First Nations with terms that will meet their food and religious needs. (Canada has already told Ontario it may proceed with this if it wants to.) Honour the unappealed 1991 "Howard II" case that recognizes these First Nations' rights to fish for food, social, ceremonial or barter purposes in waters adjacent to their reserves. Renegotiate the Williams Treaty itself to bring it into line with Sparrow and other, more enlightened views of First Nations' rights. Canada already has a policy and procedure in place to do this -- the Treaty Renovation Process -- that is part of its land claims process. The MNR's choice, of applying the Game and Fish Act to the Williams Treaty signatories, is repugnant. These First Nations people will, forever, be restricted to catch and bag limits totally insufficient for food or ceremonies. By thus interfering in the harvest of game and fish for ceremonial purposes, the government is interfering with the freedom of these First Nations people to practice their religion. The freedom to practice the spiritual aspect of life is a constitutional right guaranteed to all in Canada. Yet, anyone who is forced to live under the draconian terms of the Williams Treaty will not have that freedom. If they try to hunt and fish outside of the narrow limits of the Fish and Game Act, they will be fined or jailed. Surely, this is not in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution in its recognition of the rights of a people who were in this land first and who lived in harmony with this land for thousands of years before Ontario was even dreamt of. I urge you, if only for the sake of the honour of the Crown, to act in the spirit of the Constitution by negotiating an arrangement with the bands of the Williams Treaty that we all, Native and non-Native, can live with. Don't forget to sign your letter and include your address. And as long as you're pasting stamps, send us a copy too: Saugeen & Nawash Ojibway Communications, RR 5, Wiarton Ontario, N0H 2T0. Thanks. Please copy & distribute this fax freely ... from the Saugeen Ojibway, 05-27-94 Dibaudjimoh / Saugeen Ojibway News, December 1993 _____________________________________________________________ fax: 519-534-2130 phone: 519-534-5133 eric johnston or david mclaren