Subject: nanews02.026 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 026 O o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 23 June 1994 O o O ( N E W S ) O This issue contains articles from NATIVE-L and NATCHAT Mailing Lists, Usenet alt.native Newsgroup, FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference, Native News Network of Canada via web.native, 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. "The 'White Indian' is too susceptible to wrongdoing. He always wants money. That is the reason for such poverty. What is being left for our children - for the future generation? And what then will they live on? __ George Walters, White Earth Chippewa +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ Solar and Lunar reminder: This newsletter is being released on Thursday, 23 June 1994. Tuesday was the Summer solstice. Tonight there will be a full moon. The next full moon is 22 July. Date: 20 Jun 94 23:04:54 GMT From: andrea@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Andrea Lord) Subject: solstice we dreamed in the winter Newsgroup: alt.native sowed and nurtured in the spring at solstice we manifest... the solstice..... good luck to all the dreams that the rainbow .. a bridge walked in our hearts... midsummers eve.. an archway the solstice.. the pathway happy solstice Date: Tue, 21 Jun 94 06:05:27 GMT From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: Solstice:Kaw-ii-su--Skygate Newsgroups: alt.native Solstice the thunder remains in my belly even when no one is watching At first light of day I have seen the sky-gate drumming I have sent a song through it and feet which will stomp the earth I have gathered myself and named myself salt, corn I have counted myself tobacco drum sweetgrass a morning feast feet passed through invisible hands fingers sky-gate opens I will press my belly to the earth just a few feet away and sing from there two-lane highway air-conditioned indifference Tobacco Indian magnificent oblivion Natural Man Runs Down-wind 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 O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! I recently have read some things with great sadness. Some of them I share with you in this issue of The Peoples' News. I pray that the events you read here can be reversed. That others like them can be stopped before they begin. The Hopi have a calendar that tells us what will happen if the greed of man is not stopped and the hoop that is our Mother Earth is not healed. It is not the place of myself or this newsletter to tell any other how to live. It is only for me to share the knowledge of what is happening to the first people all over Turtle Island, and let each of you come to your own decision. Go within and listen. Do you also hear sorrow? 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: Claims Settlement" --------- Date: Jun-11-94 16:30:42 From: Saitmaunte (saitmaunte@f59.n147.z1.fidonet.org) Subj: Claims Settlement FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference ALL YOU CHEROKEES (REAL AND UNREAL:) BETTER CHECK THIS OUT! (THE ARKANSAS RIVER RUNS THROUGH THE HEART OF THE CHEROKEE NATION OF OKLAHOMA) ARKANSAS RIVERBED, SALE OR SELL-OUT? by David Cornsilk I recently had the pleasure of reading the Arkansas Riverbed brochure and listening to a tape recording of Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller's speech before the employees of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma given May 19, 1994. As usual, her talk was beautiful and filled to the brim with moving metaphors and other such verbal medicants that make her talks so interesting to hear. However, the beauty of her message was soured by the content of her talk. Our Chief told the employees that she will continue to work on the so-called, "Arkansas Riverbed Claims Settlement Act", to be introduced by State of Oklahoma Representative Mike Synar. Nicely packaged brochures were handed out to the employees giving them an overview of the proposed settlement and making it quite clear the decision to sell off our Riverbed is already made and no participation from the membership will be tolerated. A letter to the Cherokee people graces the inside of page two. In this letter Mankiller tells us, in a nutshell, the long history of our tribe's struggle to prove the Arkansas Riverbed belongs to the Cherokee people. She talks about litigations, dashed negotiations and a general lack of ability to get the job done or even know what the real job is. What is really disturbing, but not surprising, about this letter is how she describes our Riverbed. She says, "This settlement would trade UNUSABLE LAND for land of practical value". How could it be unusable if in other parts of the brochure she tells us there are approximately 3,000 individuals and companies squatting on our land in just the first 28 miles of the river? By unusable I assume she means she hasn't been able to make any money off our Riverbed. Do we always have to be so concerned with money? What about the plants and animals that live along and in our Riverbed? Couldn't we be stewards and offer our protection to our fellow earthlings who barely cling to life as greedy developers destroy more and more of our natural heritage? What about our children's future? They deserve to have something left to work with, or are we just going to sell it all now and answer their questions later? I'll bet those 3,000 people trespassing on our lands don't think the land is unusable. They must be doing something of value on it or they wouldn't be contacting Congressman Synar to push this settlement through. Ah ha! It must be the political machinery that makes Mankiller so eager to sell out the tribe and turn our Riverbed over to the State of Oklahoma. It would be interesting to see how many of those 3,000 trespassers have made calls to Synar and other representatives to push this settlement through. And while we're at it, see how many of them are wealthy due to their trespassing on our Riverbed, and whether they are using their ill-gotten-gains to push through this vile settlement. Mankiller says we will retain the mineral rights to the first 28 miles of our Riverbed. This is very suspicious to me. First, we already own the mineral rights to the entire Riverbed, so they really aren't giving us anything here. And why just the first 28 miles? If that holds the greatest potential, and the rest of the river holds the least potential, why not keep the whole mineral right. One oil or gas well on the remaining 34-36 mile section is better than none at all. If there is no great chance of obtaining oil or gas, so what, it is ours! Why didn't Mankiller mention tribal hunting and fishing rights in this brochure? She sure made them a prominent part of previous literature. Could it be that she has already sold them and just doesn't want us to know about it? There is no mention anywhere in the brochure of how much money we can expect from this settlement. Several figures have been thrown out, such as $466 million,, $100 million, and so on. As the controversy of the sale of the Arkansas Riverbed heats up, I am sure we will se the figure rise. I suspect there is a concerted effort on the part of our leaders to cover up the true amount. That way we never have to know what happened to all of it and the theft of our Nation is all sanitary and without a trace. Mankiller tells us that she wants to use the cash we might get from our Riverbed for land acquisition, tribal programs and long-term investments. She says, "Because regaining land taken at statehood is a priority,..." Regaining tribal ownership of lands in Oklahoma has NEVER been a priority of the Mankiller administration. With the pitiful growth in tribal land holdings during the Swimmer/Mankiller years, I don't see anyone believing that the money from the Arkansas Riverbed settlement will be used to purchase our lands back. After Mankiller gets through with al of the "compacting" she has done and will do with the State of Oklahoma, Cherokee lands won't be much different from any other lands. She is selling or sovereignty to the state in exchange for a few dollars of cigarette tax money. Even if the settlement amounted to nearly 100 million dollars, as we have been told, Mankiller proposes to use only one third of it for land purchases. After the federal government takes their cut, the tribal attorney takes his cut and the other two thirds are spirited away for "tribal programs and long-term investments", we would be lucky to have any left of buy land. What would we do with this land anyway? Economic development? That's a real joke. We already have large tracts of land, some of them developed as industrial parks, sitting virtually empty. Economic development to the Mankiller administration means sucking down more and more federal handouts and creating more and more dependency for Cherokee people. We learn from the brochure the U.S. Government plans to give us "other federal lands" of equal value to the Arkansas Riverbed, I say there are no lands equal to the spiritual and national value of our Riverbed, even if those lands are within the boundary of our Nation. We can always buy land, we can never regain our Riverbed. Mankiller makes a big deal of the fact that those lands would be placed "in trust" like the other tribes land here in Oklahoma. That means that we turn those lands over to the United States and they hold them for our use and benefit. What good is that? We give them our Riverbed and then have to turn around and deed them the land they just gave us. I'm starting to feel a little queasy. What does it mean to have lands "in trust"? It simply means that those lands are under total federal control and only those things the federal government allows can occur there. Even things Native American tribes are usually allowed to do, may be restricted on land held "in trust". In other words, the Cherokee people become the wards of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and must pander to government officials to develop our (?) lands. The Cherokee Nation, prior to 1907 held tribal lands in common through a fee simple title. Our lands were not in trust then and do not need to be now. Fee simple ownership of lands by the tribal government, within our historic boundary, makes the land Cherokee country and Indian country. In fact, all of the land inside our historic boundary is Cherokee country and Indian country, whether the Cherokee Nation holds title to it or not. The mere fact that we privatized the ownership of tribal lands through allotment does not restrict our right to jurisdiction and sovereignty over those lands. The Cherokees have never been stripped of territorial juris- diction within our boundary. Does the United States give up the right to enforce its laws on the vast land holdings of the Japanese in this country? It would be ludicrous to say that land becomes a part of Japan when a Japanese citizen buys U.S. property. The sovereignty of the tribes is no different. The private owner- ship of land in the Cherokee Nation, by non-Cherokees and Cherokees alike, does not restrict our sovereignty over those lands. The tribes have a sovereignty above that of the states so how could our rights to jurisdiction be any less than that of a lesser government? Our treaties guarantee us the lands within our historic boundary, they guarantee us that we may do as we wish with any white people (U.S. citizens) who come among us and they guarantee us that no territory or state will ever be extended around us. Our tribal government is supreme within our boundary. The Mankiller administration has simply chosen to bow to the wishes of the state of Oklahoma in exchange for a high salary and the mother-load of federal goodies. Mankiller tells us in her brochure that many of the "trespassers" on our tribal lands along our Riverbed are Cherokees. I simply find that hard to believe. And how, for heavens's sake, could a Cherokee be a trespasser on Cherokee land? But in case it is true, there is a simple solution which would solve the problem for both the "trespassers" and the Cherokee Nation. The Eastern Cherokees in North Carolina hold their lands in common, just the same way we hold the Arkansas Riverbed lands. the Eastern Cherokees issues what is known as a "possessory title" to the holder of the lands. This is a fully marketable title and can be sold or deeded to other members of the Eastern Band of Cherokees. Such a plan would keep the land within the common holdings of the tribe, while at the same time offer protection to those members of our tribe who, through no fault of their own, become the owners of property with a clouded title and face eviction by the Mankiller administration. It is my firm belief that those members of our tribe who have lands along the Arkansas River would much rather have a possessory title and continue to enjoy the ownership of their property, than to be evicted, as Mankiller says we must do. Horrible things are about to happen to all Cherokees if Mankiller is allowed to continue on the road she has chosen and sells/trades our Riverbed. What it all boils down to is what value is our Riverbed to us, the Cherokee people? Our Riverbed, like our arms, legs and other body parts, is a part of the whole. No part is useful by itself. What good is a hand that has been severed from the body. But as a part of the body, the hand has built entire civilizations and takes us beyond the limits of our imagination. Our Riverbed, like our hands, is an internal part of the whole we call Cherokee Nation. Our Constitution says in the preamble that Nation means the same thing as tribe. What is the tribe? It is us. The people of the Cherokee Nation make up the tribe. If we cut off our Arkansas Riverbed, we will be severing a part of ourselves. Perhaps that is why the Mankiller administration has never been able to do anything with the Arkansas Riverbed. They see it separately from the rest of our Nation. Such narrow minded thinking only serves to prevent growth and stifles the welfare of our people. How revealing it is to finally understand that the Mankiller administration sees the various part of the body of the Cherokee Nation as several and for sale. Perhaps even we, the Cherokee people are for sale. Or are we already sold and just don't know it? (David Cornsilk is an enrolled 100%, brown, full-blood Cherokee Brother:) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [CUSTOM]: 502 YEARS OF RESISTANCE...... --- VFIDO 6.20.00 Gamma Candidate 5 Origin: -=} CyberZone {=- (1:147/59) --------- "RE: Traditional Healers" --------- Date: Jun-11-94 16:45:02 From: Saitmaunte (saitmaunte@f59.n147.z1.fidonet.org) Subj: Traditional Healers TRADITIONAL HEALERS/GOVERNMENT PROTECT MEDICINAL PLANTS A group of traditional Indian healers has worked with the government of Belize to create a 6,000-care sanctuary in the rain forest dedicated to the protection and use of medicinal plants. Belize is located in Central America and many of the Indians there are descendants of the ancient and powerful Mayans. The sanctuary, called the Terra Nova Forest Reserve, is intended to insure that the plants and healers who depend on them will survive. The scarcity of some species, however, is not the most urgent problem. Most healers are now in their 80's and 90's or older, and few have passed on their knowledge to an apprentice. The same problems fact the Cherokee and Creek peoples. Traditional Cherokee and Creek healers, whom we call Indian Doctors, have also expressed their concerns that many medicine plants are increasingly difficult to obtain. Many of these plants are located along the Arkansas Riverbed. This occurs because as whites encroach more and more on what is our land, the land is being fenced, woods are being cleared, fields are being plowed, and these plants are disappearing. Also, many Indian Doctors cannot go their traditional place for obtaining such plants because of fear of being arrested for trespassing. In addition, as the younger people become more and more involved with white culture, they refuse to learn the old ways, preferring to go to the modern hospitals and use the medicines they obtain there. Many of the traditional Cherokee and Creek healers are now elderly, and few of the young people are willing to dedicate the years it takes to learn the traditional medicine ways of their tribe. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= [CUSTOM]: SAVE YOUR HERITAGE, BUCKLE UP! --- VFIDO 6.20.00 Gamma Candidate 5 Origin: -=} CyberZone {=- (1:147/59) --------- "RE: Planned Destruction of Cherokee Site" --------- Date: Jun-12-94 20:22:02 From: Tom Kunesh (tom.kunesh@f122.n362.z1.fidonet.org) Subject: FLASH! Planned Destruction of Cherokee Site NEWS FLASH!!! for immediate release and action!!! date: sunday, 12 june 1994 from: CITA - the Chattanooga InterTribal Association -= CLEVELAND CITY OFFICIALS PROPOSE TO DESTROY FAMOUS CHEROKEE SITE =- The City of Cleveland, Tennessee (about 30 miles northeast of Chattanooga), wants a bigger airport. But instead of expanding their existing facilities and condemning some 40 houses, they want to build a new airport on existing farmland -- either the Beeler Ridge Site or the New Tasso Site. The problem, as farmers John and Jack Moore, and local Native Americans see it, is that the Beeler Site on the John Moore farm contains -= Rattlesnake Springs =- -- site of the last Council meeting of the Cherokee Nation prior to their "removal", -and- the remains of the "stockade" -- the concentration camp used to warehouse the 13,000 Cherokee slated for then-President Andrew Jackson's program of racial cleansing, and also significant Cherokee burial grounds, -and- is the trail head of the "Trail of Tears". Rattlesnake Springs is on the National Register of Historic Places and, according to local Native Americans and CITA, should be preserved intact and in toto. The land is currently owned by John Moore (Beeler Ridge Site) and his cousin, Jack Moore (New Tasso Site), whose families have owned and farmed the land for 7 generations. Tomorrow, Monday, 13 June 1994, the Cleveland TN City Commission is scheduled to meet to discuss the proposed Airport construction. Meeting times are scheduled for 11:00 am EST and 3:00 pm EST. This information just came to us this afternoon. -= Your help to save Rattlesnake Springs is urgently needed. =- Please call: Mayor Tom Rowland 615/ 476-8931 190 Church Street NE, Cleveland TN 37312 - or - the Cleveland Community Development office 615/ 559-3330 - and express your opinion about Tennessee's continued desire to "develop"/destroy land of significant importance to the Cherokee, keeping in mind that the Cherokee were "removed" from this land specifically so that there wouldn't be any problems of this kind for the White settlers. Plans are still rolling to build an amphitheater for historical dramas on Moccasin Bend in Chattanooga - site of over 1100 opened Cherokee (and earlier) graves and what may be most significant ancient Native American cultural site in the southeastern United States. Your help is appreciated. - tom kunesh, CITA public relations committee 615/ 267-1635 --- MacWoof 1.5.3 Origin: ... think radically, act logically ... (1:362/122.29@fidonet) --------- "RE: Kahnawake History Old & Separatist" --------- Date: 7:56 pm Jun 18, 1994 From: hkoehler@web.UUCP Subj: Kahnawake History Old & Separatist Native News Network of Canada via web.native LA RECONNAISSANCE GRATITUDE QUEBEC STYLE by Johnny Beauvais Regardless of many historical findings to the contrary, this writer remains convinced that Mohawks left their location at what is now Laprairie in the early 1600's to accommodate the newly arrived Europeans. The Mohawks had gathered there from the surrounding areas but mostly from the Mohawk Valley in New York State. This valley is roughly on a plane from what today is Albany to Buffalo, NY. Mohawks were situated here from time immemorial. This region was the easternmost location of a much larger Iroquois territory. Hence, the Mohawks were designated to guard from any intrusion or attack on any part of the Iroquois, then Five Nation's, territory in the east. Mohawks, besides being known as the people of the flint, were labelled guardians of the eastern door. The Eastern Door newspaper has coined its name from this former Mohawk vocation. Kahnawake has relocated on four different occasions since its original establishment at Laprairie, always moving up river westward, until we settled on our present location in 1716. Some of these relocations were to establish more favourable locations. However, two of these moves were to ease the way for the new inhabitants. They settled on this land which had been cultivated and cleared by our people, as it turned out for the benefit and comfort of the new settlers. Contributions and assistance extended by the Indians to the newly arrived European immigrants have been countless. When they first arrived from abroad, they were completely unprepared and ill equipped to cope with the severe Canadian winters. Even by their own conflicting and ambiguous historical records, they readily concede that their survival would never have come to pass, but for the compassionate help accorded to them by the Indians. An interesting point is at variance with the blood thirsty image the Europeans have cast upon natives for that period. Their historians have absolutely no way of knowing, but by their usual methods of assumption. They write that there were ten thousand Iroquois on this land when the Europeans have discovered this land. Usually in the same chapter of these know- ledgeable writings they find that the Iroquois were without regimentation. First, they would see hundreds, then dozens, then all would disappear. Innocence, they were will-of-the-wisps, or untraceable. How then, under these intangible conditions, could these learned recorders of history possibly reconcile a population of ten thousand Iroquois, or any other specific tabulation, for that matter. Regardless of the number of Iroquois on these shores when the intruders arrived, it must be obvious to all students of history, and any other readers, that there was a sufficient contingent of natives here to very easily scuttle or a least turn back these vulnerable little ships with their weary and precarious passengers. No, the Indians did not even consider this option. Instead, they welcomed the exhausted travellers and advised and assisted them in establishing themselves in their new and strange surroundings. One must note that at the outset there were very few conflicts. These only started when the whites began erecting a forest of fences, and in so doing, they contravened the old Indian adage that land was the property of the Creator and was for the common usage of everyone. This was followed by the annihilation and depletion of wild game in our forests. They even recruited many of our own people to participate in this exhausting of our food source. They were only interested in the fur that could be sent to Europe, reaping huge profits, while the meat was left in the forest to rot. European heroes, like Jacques Cartier, lured certain Iroquois aboard their ships, only to kidnap them and take them to Europe in chains. Cartier's rationale for this treachery was simply to display his subservient natives to his royal superiors. These natives died there under elements foreign to their natural environment. When Jacques Cartier returned here, he added to this deception by informing the native people that their dead brothers in Europe refused to return with him because they were enchanted with their life in the European land of gold. At that time our people really had no reason not to believe him. They were yet unaware that it was routine for these particular Europeans to say one thing and mean another. It is now evident that the most deceitful liar of all was Jacques Cartier and many Quebec leaders seem to follow in his footsteps. This can best be exemplified by the antics of the two Quebec turncoats, Lucien Bouchard and Jacques Parizeau. Both were brought into prominence by the Government of Canada and they have since betrayed all their former friends and associates. At the expense of all their countrymen, they have resolved to remove Quebec from Confederation, and attain absolute power for themselves. They insist that Indians must follow if they separate. MOHAWKS will decide as to what company they will keep. The Iroquois then proceeded to enact agreements with this new breed of people now living among them. Those treaties that were respected were only adhered to by the Europeans as long as it resulted in no inconvenience to themselves. Eventually we were coerced into relocating on reservations. To some Indians, this did not at first seem like a bad arrangement, since we would all be together. In exchange for their use of our other land they would assume responsibility for our monetary and other needs. In other words, since we were never conquered militarily, and did not relinquish our land, our sustenance would be a form of rent. The most positive and attractive aspect of the reservation scheme would be the togetherness for Indians along with supposedly being away and free from the white Europeans. This scenario appeared to Mohawks as ideal for this nation to determine its own destiny without interfering with, nor receiving interference from the new inhabitants. In other words, neither nation would impose its culture, religion, or laws on the other. Mohawks have abided by this principal since its inception but the Euro-Canadians pretend to have no knowledge of this concept and these white co-citizens of ours are even imposing their imported culture on each other. Before we come back to today's problems, let's examine other significant contributions by Mohawks that helped bring this country to its present stature. In the War of 1812 Mohawks were instrumental in aborting the American invasion somewhere around Ormstown. Had it not been for this battle, the Americans were headed to take Montreal. Looking back on our experiences with the province of Quebec since then, many of us are not sure that we should have interfered. A museum at the site of this battle leaves no question as to the Mohawk input in this Canadian military victory. World War I and World War II again featured Europeans in conflict over land, greed, money and intolerance. Obviously Mohawks were unaware of what that trouble was all about. In fact, some of the reasons are still vague. We did know that there was a cruel racial purge and that there was a possibility that war could eventually threaten everyone here. This information was enough for our men to volunteer for both conflicts. In 1691 Mohawks had fought for the French regime alongside Frontenac. Many lost their lives in these and other conflicts in support of the French, such as the great Mohawk leaders, Athabaska and Chief Paul. Kahnawake has a very active legion branch that attests to our participation in these and other wars. At a time when the Kahnawake population numbered approximately two thousand, fifty-six of our boatmen volunteered and went to the assistance of the Europeans on the Nile River in Egypt. This saga was fully documented in three previous issues of The Eastern Door. The foregoing gives only a few illustrations of how we have always been ready to lend a helping hand. Now let's examine what we have received in return form our cordial white neighbours. As we indicated previously, to our people, being on a reservation was a promise that should mean privacy and keeping us out of the grasp of our non- Indian neighbours. This probably was the case for a few years until it was noticed that our land was fertile. Then vicious battles ensued with tremendous pressures being applied by the Quebec government to make our farms available to their people. After years of controversy, it was finally resolved by somehow forcing our leaders to permit the rental of these farms to non-Indians and accepting their children into Kahnawake schools. This was the status until the late 1950's. It was only much later that we realized that this was done in part to remove Kahnawake from the self-sufficiency of farming. The Province of Quebec has always resented Kahnawake not falling under their jurisdiction. One provincial government after the other has always vied for authority here. They fail to realize that they were conquered. WE never capitulated and we never will. At the turn of the century, they, with the support of the central government, made possible the infiltration of train lines, power lines and a spider web of highways through the heart of Kahnawake. We now have a more recent threat. The die-hard separatists, led by Bouchard and Parizeau, now realize that for effective separation they must have full control of Indians and especially their land claims. At the present time thy find it expedient to have the governments in power perform the dirty work. Their intention is obviously to achieve this by the economic destruction of Kahnawake because they realize it is the strongest native force. In the meantime the separatists (BLOC and P.Q.), supported by sympathetic french newspapers, radio and television, content themselves with Mohawk bashing. At the outset it was accepted that taxes were not to be imposed on Indians, at least on their reserves as agreed to when Natives allowed use of their vast lands. Gradually, as they noticed commerce develop here, they picked away at this agreed-to exemption. One example, automobiles were permitted on Indian land without licenses. This is now prohibited. Quebec is entertaining the issuance of liquor licenses in Kahnawake where it has absolutely no authority. Their mustachioed police are running through our highways as if they own them. They have now reached another phase of their economical invasion of Kahnawake. This time they want us to collect fuel taxes for them and they have rescinded all permits for receiving fuel until we comply with their directive. This means we cannot receive fuel from a Quebec distributor, or he will have his permit withdrawn. This results in the loss of over one hundred Mohawk jobs. They refuse to permit the use of Quebec roads for importing our fuel from elsewhere. Perhaps we should censure their use of ours. As you can readily see, if Kahnawake succumbs to collecting taxes for Quebec, or for anyone else, it will shortly become necessary for us to be a collection agent for them for everything else. We would then become bonafide Quebecois. This present and latest intrusion by Quebec has to be repulsed by all of us. In recognizing their presence here, we will in essence be relinquishing our home and the future home of our children. They must be convinced that this is our land. What we have here are inherent rights, not privileges, and we have every intention of protecting these rights. We suggest that they collect their own damn taxes. Johnny Beauvais is a Mohawk form Kahnawake. First published by The Eastern Door, Vol 3 No 7 May 6,1994 Please credit Native News Network of Canada in your by-line. Johnny Beauvais can be reached at The Eastern Door, P.O. Box 326, KAHNAWAKE QC J0L 1B0 (514)635-3050 Native News Network of Canada c/o The University of Western Ontario Social Science Centre, Room 3427 LONDON ON N6A 5C2 Voice messages: (519)661-2111 Ext 5083 Harold P. Koehler, Secretary Treasurer 43 Napoleon Drive LONDON ON N5V 4A8 Voice: (519)453-5452, Fax 453-3676 e-mail: hkoehler@web.apc.org modem: by arrangement and rendezvous. --------- "RE: Mohawk Mandate" --------- Date: Jun-14-94 22:24:00 From: John Cross The River (john.cross.the.river@f502.n167.z1,fidonet.org) Subject: Mandate Long ago , when the Creator made all things for us to enjoy Life, He knew that we would have many problems throughout the world with much suffering along the way on this path called life on Earth. So being of Omnipotent Wisdom he provided solutions to our problems, knowing full well in our weaknesses we would miss many of the answers. This is why he instilled within the nations of the world the Answers. No one nation has all the solutions to all the problems, each and every Nation in their primordial memory holds a Key. Of all the Nations in existence the Mohawks are one of them, we like the other nations have a "Mandate" from the Creator to fulfill in this level of existence of our lives. Very few know what that mandate is,but those that do know give a "warning" that incorporating a "Cassino" into our lives here in Kahnawake will take the Nation further from the path which we were intended to walk on to give the "KEY" to the other Nations of the world. In fact, the Mohawks of Kahnawake are the last hope. If they fail, then the great Plan that was designed for this planet will have to change.So let us hope that the people reject the Cassino for this is the hope of the Creator for his people for he has much greater plans for them. So be it, in the Great Law it is Good. Onen, John Cross the River, June 13, 1994 --- SLMAIL v4.0 (#1349) Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502) --------- "RE: Lumbee Continue Efforts for Recognition" --------- Date: 94/06/21 04:28 From: Gayle Swanson (lady.vike@genie.geis.com) Subj: Lumbee Continue Efforts for Recognition GE Electronic Mail CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (and Associated Press), June 20, 1994 LUMBEE INDIANS FEELING OPTIMISTIC o NC-based Native American group keeping efforts for federal recognition on the front burner. After more than a century of trying to win federal recognition and a voice in local politics, North Carolina Lumbee Indians say the tide might be turning in their favor. The 43,000 member Lumbee tribe is the largest in the eastern United States. This summer, it's preparing to form its first tribal government, watch its first candidate take office, and get another chance at federal recognition. "This is going to be the year of the Lumbee Indian," predicted Ruth Locklear, one of the drafters of a constitution the tribe will vote on next week. The Lumbees are concentrated in Robeson County -- where 42% of the population is Native American -- with large pockets in Greensboro and Charlotte. Their struggle for federal status, which began in 1888, is still being waged in the halls of Congress. Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-NC, has announced his support of a bill giving the tribe federal recognition, which could provide members educational and health benefits. Fellow Republican, Sen. Jesse Helms, a vocal opponent of recognition, has helped defeat past versions of the bill through tactical maneuvers on the Senate floor. Helms has argued that Lumbee recognition would require a new government bureaucracy and cost up to $100 million per year. A final vote on the bill is expected this summer. The Clinton Admini- stration does not oppose the Lumbee recognition. Meanwhile, a public hearing was held over the weekend on a constitution that would set up tribal council elections and the first formal government. Straw polls across the state suggest it has a strong chance of passing when balloting begins next Monday (June 27th). The first Lumbee to win a county wide race will be sworn in as clerk of the court in Robeson County on July 1. More significant was the May runoff for sheriff, in which Lumbee candidate Glenn Maynor clinched the Democratic nomination -- virtually assuring his election this fall. "The sheriff's office is The Big Enchilada. That's the top political office in the county," said Connie Brayboy, editor of the Carolina Indian Voice in Pembroke. The turnout by Lumbee voters in the May elections -- a phenomenal 65% -- is one measure of the momentum the tribe has achieved this year, a momentum expected to help carry the proposed constitution later this month. LUMBEE FACTS The Lumbee tribe has 43,000 members concentrated in Robeson County, with pockets of several thousand in Greensboro, Charlotte and Baltimore. They make up 10% of nonreservation Native Americans in the United States. Here are some key dates in the tribe's history: o 1885: Recognized by the State of North Carolina o 1887: First Lumbee school began in Pembroke o 1924: Lumbees granted U.S. citizenship o 1956: Congress bars aid to Lumbees through the Bureau of Indian Affairs or the Indian Health Service. o 1992: Federal recognition fails by two votes. o 1994: Tribe members prepare to vote on a constitution. --------- "RE: Poem: Tobacco Dance" --------- Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 19:49:32 GMT From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: Tobacco Dance Newsgroup: alt.native Sparks fly from my feet as I went whirling into the winds as I went dancing upon the stones as I sang to my toes my belly was hot and the sun touched the golden brown earth of the desert where my heart beats and offers the rhythms I need to remember my dreaming dancing in an old place dancing in an old way inside my skin I have gone all around myself (Tobacco Dance) 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 --------- "RE: Hawai'ian Sovereignty Gathering Momentum" --------- Date: Tue Jun 14, 1994 at 23:09 EDT From: PANTHER (Panther@genie.geis.com) Subj: Hawai'ian Sovereignty Gathering Momentum MOVEMENT FOR HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY GATHERING MOMENTUM 5/25/94 MAKAPUU, Hawaii -- An ancient Hawaiian heiau, a sacred burial ground, on this spectacular stretch of coastline northeast of Honolulu is covered by a marine park and museum. Over another burial site nearby is a state-built bathhouse and toilets for the tourists who come to enjoy the bodysurfing and pristine beach. Now hundreds of Native Hawaiians have made their own mark on the land, erecting a tent city to defy state laws and to occupy a third sacred ancestral resting place along the beach. ''We are Hawaiians and asserting our rights as Hawaiians to live where we choose,'' said Bonnie Silva, 30, outside the open tent where she and her husband, John, have lived for the past year. ''We're going to stay here. These are our sacred sites.'' The Silvas, whose islander ancestors intermarried with Portuguese and Spanish sugar cane workers, are part of a growing political, cultural and spiritual movement demanding self-rule and land for Native Hawaiians. Dismissed as dreamers a few short years ago, pro-sovereignty forces are in ascendancy across Hawaii, where mounting civil disobedience is fueled by impatience with unfulfilled government promises of homelands for descendants of native islanders. The issue gained national attention last year when Gov. John Waihee, a Native Hawaiian, ordered the American flag lowered and the state flag flown over Iolani Palace to mark the centennial of the U.S.-backed overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani that ended more than 2,000 years of Hawaiian self-rule. Since then, activists seeking a semi-autonomous or independent Hawaiian nation have stepped up land occupations and other actions challenging the authority of what they regard as an illegal state. ''It is our land, they've stolen it, and they're not about to return their stolen goods. That's what the struggle is all about,'' said Dr. Kakune Blaisdell, professor of medicine at the University of Hawaii Medical School and a leading independence advocate. Activist Dennis ''Bumpy'' Kanahele and his Ohana Council, among the most militant of the island's more than 40 self-rule groups, fanned out along Waikiki beach and Honolulu's airport earlier this year to urge stunned tourists to go home. On Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii, some residents declaring themselves kanaka maoli, indigenous or true Hawaiians, are refusing to pay for water provided through the local water system. Others sport ''Kingdom of Hawaii'' license plates on their cars in defiance of the state. The largest of the pro-sovereignty groups, Ka Lahui, or Hawaiian Nation, has set up a shadow government, advocating a ''nation within a nation'' autonomy similar to that of Native American reservations on the U.S. mainland. On Makapuu beach, brothers Allen and Maltbie Napoleon, Native Hawaiians who claim descendance from the offspring of a Tahitian princess and Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Lucien, rent out boogie boards and snorkeling gear from an unlicensed stand under an upside-down Hawaiian flag, a symbol used by the sovereignty movement. They were run off Waikiki's beach after they refused to pay the license fee. Now they defy state efforts to shut them down at Makapuu. ''It's a Hawaiian Thing,'' reads the message on the front of their stand. With opinion polls showing most residents support some sort of self-rule, the state plans a plebiscite on the issue next year and hopes to convene the equivalent of a constitutional convention to determine what form sovereignty might take and how to achieve it. So far that has been the chief stumbling block for a movement riven by rivalries and infighting over tactics and goals. ''There are few today who doubt that sovereignty will happen,'' Gov. Waihee declared earlier this year. ''It is a matter of how, when and in what form.'' Pro-sovereignty forces reached a milestone earlier this month when the U.S. Navy turned over control of the small island of Kahoolawe to the state after an 18-year legal and political battle. Long used for target practice, it now will be held in trust for a future sovereign Hawaiian nation. But it will take $400 million and years to clean the island of ordnance so Hawaiians can settle there. More than 1 million Hawaiian natives populated the islands when Capt. James Cook landed in 1778. Afflicted by dismal health standards, low educational levels and widespread poverty, full-blooded Native Hawaiians now total 10,000 and as a people, might no longer exist in 50 years. Some 200,000 of the state's 1.2 million residents claim some Hawaiian ancestry. Sovereignty advocates say living in a world transformed first by Christian missionaries and then by a modern superpower into a tourist haven with commercial values is at odds with traditional Hawaiian aloha aina, love for the land. Hoping to save a dying people by returning some of the land taken from them in what President Grover Cleveland acknowledged was the illegal 1893 U.S. seizure of the islands, Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act in 1921 to set aside 200,000 acres of scattered tracts. The lands were to be leased for 99 years at $1 a year to state residents who were 50 percent or more Hawaiian. Since then, Native Hawaiians have been dying, literally, waiting to settle those homelands. In 73 years, fewer than 5,000 families from the tens of thousands on waiting lists have received homesteads. More than 1,000 others have been awarded lots but denied permission to move onto them because the lots lacked water, sewage systems and other infrastructure the state is supposed to build. Some 16,000 families remain on the list today. Meanwhile, the cash-strapped state Department of Hawaiian Homelands has rented most of the land to a variety of interests, including multinational corporations, the U.S. military, resort developers and some of Hawaii's richest and most powerful families. Civil rights attorney Keone Agard's grandfather died after 40 years on the waiting list without receiving his land. ''What Hawaiians got was all the barren land with no water and no money to develop the properties,'' said Agard, now an analyst for the homelands department. ''It was a farce from the outset.'' Last year President Clinton signed legislation formally apologizing for the U.S. role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. But his failure to address reparations or recognition rankles in Hawaii. The low point came when Clinton recently welcomed more than 200 Native American leaders to the White House but snubbed Native Hawaiians. --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 94/06/19 19:54 From: Kepola (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 26-July 2 GE Electronic Mail A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 26-July 2. IUNE (June) (Kaaona) 26 Be one with the winds, and give your spirit wings! 27 The gifted storyteller brings the past to life. 28 In the chant of the ages lies the secret heart of the people. 29 The mountains stand like sentinels above my valley. 30 All space and time live within me. IULAI (July) (Hinaiaeleele) July was the month in which the ohia fruit began to ripen. 1 I am the moon's child, born of starlight and dewfall. 2 The beauty of the wilderness renews my spirit. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - offline" --------- Date: Thu, 23 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= From the Internet and commercial on-line services: Sender: news@ultb.isc.rit.edu (USENET News System) Black Creek Native American Powwow Two Weekends - Sat and Sun June 25 + 26 - Fri thru Mon, July 1,2,3,4 Six days of dancing, storytelling, game demostrations and native art Hosted by Ver Hulst Cobble Creek Farm 5161 West Ridge Road NY (7 miles west of Greece Ridge Mall) Ph: 723-8344 =:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:= Sender: daemon@gnosys.svle.ma.us (Admin) Original Sender: John Berry 301-443-5988 FAX 301-443-6385 12th ANNUAL POW WOW AND FESTIVAL - July 2,3 Garrett County Fairgrounds, Rt. 219, McHenry, MD INFO. - write AIITCO, Twinbrook Station, POB 775 Rockville, MD 20848-0775 HOST DRUM: CEDAR TREE SINGERS MC: Ezra Fields (Pawnee) HEAD MAN DANCER: Clint Cayou (Omaha) HEAD LADY DANCER: Lisa Drum (Omaha) NATIVE AMERICAN SINGING, DRUMMING, DANCING, FOOD, ARTS & CRAFTS ADULTS: $4.00, Children under 12: FREE, FREE PARKING CAMPING ON SITE FOR PARTICIPANTS ONLY NO ALCOHOL, DRUGS OR PETS HANDICAPPED PARKING & SEATING AVAILABLE For non-participant lodging or local info. contact (301)334-1948 AMERICAN INDIAN "POW WOW" AND FESTIVAL - July 2,3 Arcadia Volunteer Fire Fighters Co. Fairground, Upperco, MD 21155 HOST DRUM: Lords of the Plains - Lawton, Oklahoma MC: Otto Mansetky (Commanche) Lawton, Oklahoma DANCE COMPETITION: > $8,000.00 in Prize Money NATIVE AMERICAN DANCING, DRUM COMPETITION, FOOD, ARTS & CRAFTS AZTEC DANCERS - from Mexico City WORLD LONGBOW CHAMPION - Sam Zimmerman, coach of 1996 Olympic Team HISTORIAN - Harold Dillinger ADMISSION: Adults $5.00, Children (5-12) $3.00 INFO.: (717)632-5246 =:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:= From: "Mary.Ojibway" Subject: Ashishnabe Pow Wow The Lansing (Michigan) North American Indian Center is having their "17th Annual Anishnabe Pow Wow : Honoring the Generations" June 18 & 19 at Lake Lansing Park North in Haslett, Michigan. Head Veteran Dancer: Jack Chambers; Head Man Dancer: Andre D'Artagnan ; Head Woman Dancer : Rosie DeLand ; Host Drum : Two Hawks Singers. Special children's activities tent open from 2-5 on Saturday for stories/arts/crafts. Traditional, family oriented pow wow. Come by the kids tent and visit me! Adults (non-senior) $3.00. Seniors and children $1.00. =:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:= From: a.horovitch@genie.geis.com Abenaki celebration at Odenak (near Sorel, Que.) on July 1-4. The main activiies occur on Sunday, starting with an inter-nation march, followed by exhibitions,crafts sales, a presentation of Abenaki dances, story-telling and totem carving. Information: Rick or Donna O'Bomsawin (514)-568-5551 or (514)-568-0869. The traditional spiritual gathering at Kahnesatake (Oka). July 8-11. I have attended this one for two years now, and it is excellent for a more traditional gathering, and away from some of the pow-wow competition dances. (great for local color and meeting some of the Mohawks first hand, but somewhat thin on the more spiritual aspect.) It had usually been held in the Commons area of the Pines, but according to my sources at Kahnesatake, it may be moved to the area south of highway 344 between the Lemennais school and the Lake of Two mountains. More details as they become available. Pow-wow at Kahnewake July 8-10. This is THE big one in southern Quebec. It was attended by 15-20,000 people last year. It is a great place to meet the Mohawks, see some spectacular costumes at the dance competition, and peruse the craft stands. The artists are extremely friendly, and you are encouraged to ask questions about what you see. They are eager to share. Info at (514)-632-8667 =:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:= Sender: [Eric] e.bow@genie.geis.com There is a K-W First Nations Pow Wow scheduled for the Kitchener Auditorium June 18 & 19 that sounds interesting! From: shupe@crazyhorse.rchland.ibm.com (Jim Shupe) Subject: Pow-wow List Oglala College Grads June 23-26 Kyle, SD 605/455-2323 Honor the Fire Keepers Jun 24-26 Lake Geneva, WI 414/472-7748 12th Anishnabe Way Jun 24-26 Hayward, WI 715/634-5806 17th Great Lakes June 25-26 Hannahville, MI 906/466-2342 Strengthening Our Traditions July1-3 Sault ST. Marie, MI 906/635-6050 Red Lake Nation Jul 1-4 Red Lake, MN 218/679-3341 16th Red Cliff July 1-3 Red Cliff, WI 715/779-5746 From the Fidonet: From: Frosty Deere POUNDMAKER POW-WOW JULY 15 -- 17, 1994 POUNDMAKER CREE NATION CONTACT 306-398-4971 ENOCH ANNUAL POW-WOW 10 MINUTES EAST OF EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA JULY 15 -- 17, 1994 CONTACT 403-470-4471 WHITEFISH BAY POW-WOW JULY 8 -- 10, 1994 CONTACT 807-226-5411 HANNAHVILE, MI JUNE 25 & 26, 1994 CONTACT 906-466-2342 MUSKEG LAKE POW-WOW JULY 29 -- 31, 1994 CONTACT 306-466-4959 ALEXIS FIRST NATION POW-WOW JULY 8 -- 10, 1994 CONTACT 967-2225 ( SORRY NO AREA CODE LISTED ) 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, 23 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 listserve groups= Original Sender: Pablo Bellon Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) June 17-19, EAGLE SPIRIT POW-WOW, White Swan pavilion, Yakama Reservation. For info call: (509) 877-6754 June 18, RAINWATER SOBRIETY POW-WOW, Bingo Plaza Hall, 1214 6th Ave, Tacoma. June 23-July 4, XAPNISH CREEK ENCAPMENT & CELEBRATION, White Swan Pavilion. For info call Helen or Hattie Wahsise at (509) 874-2892, or Wendell Hannigan at (509) 865-5121, x660. July 1-4, 4th of July Pow-Wow in Toppenish, Washington, Yakama Reservation. For more info call Barb Brost at (509) 865-4033. June 29-July 5, 4th of July Pow-Wow in Arlee, Montana, Flathead Reservation. For info call Pat Pierre, Mona Ebensteiner, Joann Durgeloh at: (406) 745-3525. June 24-26, Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days, Warm Springs Reservation, Oregon. For more info call: Art Mitchell, 553-1883 or write P.O. Box 124, Warm Springs, Oregon 97761 --------- "RE: Indians, Wannabe's, and Others..." --------- Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 15:47:14 EDT From: Joe Quickle Subj: Indians, wannabe's, and others... Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Fellow NatChatters, It seems to me that in Indian Country there is almost a dichotomy - people either _are_ Indians or they are against us. People seem to be either "Indians," "wannabe's," or "anti- Indian." (I know many of us don't think this way, or this extreme, but I do see this a lot.) In my mind, rigidly defining people like this will potentially cut us off from a lot of support. I'd like to offer an expansion of this, not as rigid labels but conceptual tools - to enlarge our perceptions of what people could be. Indian - depending on whose definition, this could include "Full Bloods," "Mixed Bloods/Metis," "traditionalists," "adoptees," "progressives," and "sell-outs*." Each may be validated or denied as Indians based on their situation, and whose definition is being used. Ally - many people label all non-Indians who take an interest in us as "wannabe's." This cuts us off from a lot of support. Allies should be carefully cultivated, so that they have an understanding of our past, our issues, and our goals without being attacked or scared off. While it is up to us to pull ourselves up, part of doing this lies in educating the wider society. (Not all non-Indians who wish to "help" us are allies, though; see "missionary" below). Wannabe - someone who tries to / wants to be Indian but isn't. May be hard to distinguish from those with genuine, respectful interest in our cultures. These (IMO) are often people who want to look Indian to other non-Indians, as a status symbol. If they have a genuine but misguided interest, it _may_ be possible to cultivate them into allies.* The "Sleeper" (unless someone else has a better term) - the majority of the mainstream population. People who may or may not be basically "good" or "bad" people (on the individual level), but are ignorant of the real history of Turtle Island, of what is currently being done to Natives, and of how they are supporting it. These are the people who fully buy the vast array of lies and distortions that makes up mainstream knowledge of who and what we are and were.* The Missionary - those who appear to want to "help" Indians because they know what's best for us. These people may have misguided intentions of actually helping, they may be "saving" us to fulfill some personal need, or their "aid" may be just attempts at assimilation. Regardless of intent, their ignorance and subsequent actions are often (usually) harmful. They could potentially be developed into true allies (sometimes), depending on their motivation at the beginning.* The Pretender - the non-Indian who falsely claims to be Indian or have some vast knowledge of Indian culture or spirituality for some personal gain or profit. These people and their "knowledge" often displace real Indians because they are more compliant and fit the mainstream stereotypes better.* The Knowing Taker - unlike the sleeper, these people intentionally take from or other wise work against Indians, be it in taking land, cultural, or spiritual practices, disparaging us in popular images, etc. The Pretender is one form of this.* The Destroyer - These are the people working towards ridding the country of Indians in one way or another. They actively perpetuate images of Indians, past and present, that denies the genocide and other wholesale illegal actions against us. Whether intent is required here is questionable; many Destroyers are indoctrinated so thoroughly into well-veiled systems that they have no idea to what end they are truly working.* * - denotes that these are harmful / potentially harmful in regards to Native issues. There are probably people who fit into none of these; this is not meant to be comprehensive or definitive. I just believe that in oversimplifying those with whom we interact, we create an unrealistic picture of what we face and how we should face it. I'm interested in starting this thread just as an illustration that there are more ways of looking at things... That is all I have to say (but whoa - that was a lot!). Anyone else have any opinions? Joe Q. Two Crows ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Joseph S. Quickle \--|--/ r2jsq@akronvm.uakron.edu r2jsq@akronvm.bitnet _/__\|/__\_ "All things are connected. Whatever befalls the earth \ /|\ / befalls the children of the earth." -Chief Seathl /--|--\ --------- "RE: AIM Honor Guard Prayer" --------- Date: Thu, 16 Jun 94 07:59:00 CDT From: "Whitney, Mara" Subj: AIM Honor Guard Prayer Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The Honor Guard--A Prayer and A Stand by Joe Schranz and Clare Farrell, AIM of IL Repatriation Committee (In the consistent desire to communicate with the New Lennox community, knowing that we live in a multi-cultural society, we endeavor to explain, at least in broad terms, our present actions and eventual goals regarding the proposed golf course and recreational development site.) The sun continues to rise hot and bright on the New Lennox excavation grounds, site of the proposed golf course. Members of the Honor Guard regularly arrive to stand at the entranceway, a volunteer group of people who recognize and embrace the basic foundation of Native American belief from generation to generation: Our people live in a circle, joined together across the generations. The spirits of those who have gone before us, and those yet to come, join hands with us on our journey in life. We cannot be separated, and the strength of our unity is a power that upholds the earth. To disturb our ancestors is to break a link in the chain that holds us together. And when our lives are broken, all of creation suffers, for we are the keepers of this sacred land. The above statement, so clear to Native American people, continues to be misunderstood by others. There is still enormous work to be done in educating a public that has not learned the truth about our life and ways. To date, most people have been denied the truth via distorted history lessons of early school years, yet most are satisfied to rely on TV specials and movies to fill in the gaps too wide for an endless stream of feature- length films. We hope to touch a few areas that are key to understanding our people's intense concern and dedication to preserving this ancient village and burial site. Far from being a "security force", the Honor Guard is true to its name. All who take part respond to the age-old tradition of "honoring" the ancestors by respecting their gravesites, knowing that these relatives who have passed into the next world continue to live in very real unity and ongoing relationship with their present descendants. "Guard" has a very specific meaning here: to stand in spiritual tribute, "guarding" the dignity of the ancestors' memory, their right to an undisturbed journey to the world beyond this visible realm, and their desire to see their children of today respected as the original inhabitants of this land. Time spent on the Honor Guard is prayer in action--a constant prayer for the people's well-being, yesterday, today and tomorrow. Everyone, of all races and nationalities, is invited to join this growing family of supporters who ultimately represent the rights of all, for the disrespect of one people is always the sign of a deep-set disregard for all. Passers-by who have now become familiar with the "American Indian flag" posted sideways along the No Trespassing sign-a show of distress in military language-are invited to stop and visit with the rotating group that is there every weekend and a growing number of weekdays. These volunteers are willing and eager to answer questions and extend the friendship that has always been the Indian way of approaching outsiders. It is only when our people and our ways have been violated and trampled upon that the full meaning of "warrior" is felt with intensity. Too many have the wrong definition of warrior, i.e.., one who initiates battles, aggressively attacks for personal gain and glory, or takes the offensive for national goals. This is not true for our Native people; a warrior is one whose basic responsibility is to protect and preserve life, and this continues with urgency to this day. It is our plan and hope that the project slated for the 230 acres can be organized to benefit all parties involved. The return of our people's remains and a halt to further excavations of our gravesites is a set demand which is not open to negotiation--and certainly shouldn't be. But there are possibilities of a "living museum", the reconstruction of a ceremonial longhouse, and the cultural and educational opportunities that arise from the serious commitment to preserve what is valuable at the core of our tradition. In the Native American way, it is the children to come who must be considered when making any plans. Indian and non-Indian alike, their need for meaning cannot be filled with mere recreation. We want to provide for all children the real meaning of that word: the re-creation of a life way that has invaluable lessons to teach about devotion and interrelationship with a land that we reverently call our mother. Sharing is part of the basic Native American lifestyle, but it must be remembered that sharing is the option of the ones in possession of the gift. As this village site and our peoples' remains belong to us, we choose to share ideas, plans, and after all, part of the land. This is something we have always been willing to do., and we have much to share as a people who have survived and thrived for thousands of years, while ever remaining the warriors who will protect our own. 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 for Joe and Clare by Mara Whitney (maraw@fs-gate.uchicago.edu) --------- "RE: Protect Innu Land" --------- Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 16:00 EDT From: LARRY INNES Subj: PROTECT INNU LAND Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Protect Akamiuapishk! Oppose the Ptarmigan Trail! ================================================ Support the Innu in our struggle to protect one of Nitassinan's most important natural areas: Akamiuapishk (the Mealy Mountains). This roadless mountain region is home to both the Innu people and the Mealy Mountain caribou herd, but it is threatened by a proposed 246 km snowmobile trail that would cut through the heart of this sensitive area. The proposed trail would link Goose Bay to Cartwright, running south through the Kenamu river valley and east across the southern slopes of the Mealy Mountains to Paradise River and Sandwich Bay. This route threatens important winter moose habitat, and bisects the winter range of the Mealy Mountain caribou herd. The trail would also provide easy access to an area that is of special significance to the Innu Akamiuapishk has sustained countless generations of Innu. It is of vital importance to us. We hunt, trap, and fish here, and we want our children to be able to do the same. It is also an area of spiritual significance to us. There are many sites where shaking tent rituals and mokushan feasts have been held, and many of our relatives are buried there. We fear that the proposed trail will increase the human presence in Akamiuapishk. Easy access into the area will create new conditions: increased hunting pressures and new cabin construction will destroy or seriously degrade this important environment. The area is also designated by Innu Nation, Parks Canada, and the Government of Newfoundland for a National Park Feasibility Study. The proposed trail threatens the very values that a National Park would protect. Innu Nation opposes the proposed trail on the grounds of the serious effects that it would have on our land, the animals we depend on, and the rights of the Innu people. We call on other groups who are concerned about the future of this important roadless area to support our efforts and oppose this proposal. ACT NOW - the project proposal is currently being reviewed under the Environmental Assessment Act. Innu Nation is calling on the Minister of the Environment to require a complete Environmental Impact Statement for the project. Currently, the proponent has only been required to prepare an Environmental Preview Report. Formal public comments on the Environmental Preview Report are due June 16th, the Minister's decision will be made after this time. Before June 16th - contact Colleen Leader, Chair, Ptarmigan Trail Environmental Assessment Committee. Request a copy of the Ptarmigan Trail EPR. Write down your concerns and fax them to her: phone (toll free) 1-800-563-6181 / fax (709) 729-1930 After June 16th - CALL or FAX the Newfoundland Minister of the Environment, Pat Cowan. Tell her your concerns, and request that a complete Environmental Impact Statement be required for the Ptarmigan Trail: phone: (709) 729-2574/ fax: (709) 729-1930 For more information, contact : Innu Nation PO Box 119, Sheshatshiu,Nitassinan A0P 1M0 (via Canada) phone: (709) 497-8398 / fax: (709) 497-8396 --------- "RE: Alert: Clayoquot Activist" --------- Date: 16 Jun 94 16:59 PDT From: Rainforest Action Network Subj: Alert: Clayoquot Activist Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) URGENT ACTION ALERT Clayoquot Sound Activist Stands Trial on June 20 for "Aiding and Abetting" over 800 Acts of Civil Disobedience On Monday, June 20th environmentalist Tzeporah Berman stands trial in Victoria, facing charges related to anti-logging protests in Clayoquot Sound. From June through October 1994, Tzeporah Berman worked for the Friends of Clayoquot sound coordinating protest efforts to oppose clearcut logging there. During that period over 800 protesters were arrested for acts of non-violent civil disobedience. If convicted she faces serious jail sentence. In addition, this case could affect the freedom of other organizers and activists in Clayoquot Sound and throughout Canada. Please take a moment to write a letter asking for the charges to be dropped (Sample letter enclosed). Write to: the Honorable Colin Gabelmann, Attorney General of British Columbia, Room 232, Parliament Buildings, Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4, Canada. Phone (604)387-1866, Fax (604)387-6411. You can also send a copy of your letter to or call your nearest Canadian Consulate. Throughout the period of protests, Ms. Berman's role was to inform and coordinate the efforts of individuals and ensure the orderly and peaceful conduct of daily demonstrations. On July 16, following a concert by the rock band Midnight Oil and a demonstration of over 3000 people at the blockade site, Ms. Berman was arrested. On July 19 and again on August 9, lawyers for MacMillan Bloedel, attempted to convince the courts that Ms Berman was guilty of "aiding and abetting" protesters at the blockade site. Both attempts failed. On one occasion the presiding judge refused the presecution's requests, stating that "To my mind, the tapes I saw did not really reveal counselling, or aiding and abetting, or contempt. What I saw was a mere political speech. >From a practical point of view too, if she was useful to the police in keeping the peace previously, she would probably continue within that role if she is on the ground as she was at the time." In her role as peacekeeper Ms. Berman scrupulously avoided violating the terms of a court injunction which restricted protest actions at the site of the blockade. Throughout the period of protests Ms. Berman did not violate the court injunction or any other laws. It is clear that the Crown has targeted Tzeporah Berman for the key organizing role she played in the Clayoquot Sound protests. For this reason the case has serious implications for all activists involved in organizing protests and coordinating non- violent civil disobedience actions. The fact that Ms. Berman faces a potentially serious jail sentence is a direct threat to the right to protest and organize as well as the right of freedom of speech guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Tzeporah Berman, who currently works as Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace Canada, is 25 years old. The protest at Clayoquot Sound was the largest demonstration of mass civil disobedience in recent Canadian history. As a result, Clayoquot Sound and the struggle to halt clearcut logging in this remnant of temperate rainforest has become a global environmental issue. SAMPLE LETTER The Honorable Colin Gabelmann Attorney General of British Columbia Room 232 Parliament Buildings Victoria, B.C. V8V 1X4 Canada Phone: (604)387-1866 Fax: (604)387-6411 Dear Attorney General Gabelmann, On Monday, June 20 environmentalist Tzeporah Berman stands trial in Victoria, facing charges related to anti-logging protests in Clayoquot Sound. It is my understanding that Ms. Berman acted solely as a peacekeeper and that she broke no law or court order. Nevertheless she faces criminal charges and a potentially serious jail sentence for "aiding and abetting" protesters who on their own free will blocked a logging road to voice their opposition to the clearcutting of Clayoquot Sound. I am writing to express my concern over these charges. The current charges clearly violate Ms. Berman's right to free speech, right to protest and her freedom to organize other people who freely participate in acts of non-violet civil disobedience. Singling out and arresting a protest organizer in this way is an act of intimidation and harassment. Although such tactics are common in countries where basic individual rights do not exist, one would not expect them from Canada, a leader in the free world. The fact that over 800 people from throughout Canada committed acts of civil disobedience and thousands more continue to protest the clearcutting of ancient forests in British Columbia indicates strong public opposition to the B.C. Government's forest policies. In light of this opposition, the Government should be re-considering its logging decision instead of prosecuting its critics. People must have the right to express their opinion and peacefully organize for what they believe without fear of arrest and potentially long jail sentences. I appeal to you to instruct the Crown Attorneys in your department to drop the charges immediately. Sincerely, --------- "RE: "Cry of the Earth" TV Premiere" --------- Date: Tue, 14 Jun 1994 11:08:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Queens Library Subj: "CRY OF THE EARTH" TV premiere 7/2 Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) For Immediate Release (cross-posted to several lists) ----------------------------------- World Premiere Broadcast of CRY OF THE EARTH ( A Crescentera Production) PBS / WNET Channel Thirteen (NY/CT/NJ tristate area) Saturday, July 2, 1994 12:30 a.m. (Watch for additional future PBS broadcast dates & locations.) In November of 1993, spiritual leaders from seven indigenous nations of North America came to the United Nations to speak their prophecies about the environment to an audience of UN delegates and invited guests. CRY OF THE EARTH is a six-hour documentary record of the event. In words both fiery and poetic, the leaders stressed the urgent need to return to a basic reverence for the planet if mankind is to avert global ecological catastrophe. The broadcast features presentations by Elders representing the Hopi, Iroquois, and Lakota nations from the United States; Algonquin and Mi'qmaq nations from Canada; and the Huichol and Maya nations from Mexico. CRY OF THE EARTH also includes appearances by Pulitzer Prize-winning author N. Scott Momaday, Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Ada Deer, and messages from United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Vice President Al Gore. **To record, set your VCR on Slow Play and Time Shift** The official six-hour broadcast version is also available for purchase for $110.00 through Crescentera, the not-for-profit corporation which presented the conference and produced the video set and other official conference documentation. The CRY OF THE EARTH video was produced by Carina Courtright and John Phillip Santos. For more information, contact: Crescentera 459 Columbus Avenue Suite 201 New York, NY 10024 e-mail: crescentra@aol.com