Subject: nanews02.033 From: gars@netcom.com (Gary Night Owl) To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Message-ID: _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 02, ISSUE 033 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 13 August 1994 O o O O o O K A N O H E D A A N I Y V W I Y A O ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) This issue contains articles from FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference, UseNet alt.native Newsgroup, NATIVE-L and NATCHAT Mailing Lists, and by members of the Invisible Band. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters 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 ground on which we stand is sacred ground. It is the dust and blood of our ancestors." __ Chief Plenty Coups, Crow +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Play your drum, shake your rattle, sit in silence and look within. Do what you must to make your spirit strong and to strengthen your touch with Creator and all the people. Make your walk a good walk. Be very sure you are leaving a path for others. In this way you will be helping mend the great hoop others seem determined to bend to their way, even if in bending it there is a break. 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 ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- Part A: FidoNet, Usenet and e-mail Part B: NATCHAT and NATIVE-L lists - Tribal Members To Stop Dumping - Conferences and Powwows - online - Eight Named National Advisors - Adopted Mohawk Finds Parents - Prayer Circle, Washington D.C. - Trailer Park Built on Burial Mounds - Poem: Floating - Resisting Imperialism - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline ------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< ------------ --------- "RE: Tribal Members To Stop Dumping" --------- Date: 4 Aug 94 21:10:17 GMT From: milo@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Michele Lord) Subj: Torres Martinez Tribal Members To Stop Dumping Newsgroup: alt.native Indigenous Environmental Network PO Box 485 - Bemidji MN 56601-0485 Ph: 218-751-4967 Fax: 218-751-0561 E-mail: ien@igc.apc.org A Turtle Island alliance empowering grassroots communities towards sustainable livelihoods and protection of our lands, water, air, and maintaining the Sacred Fire of our traditions. +++++++++++ Press Advisory +++++++++++ +++++ EMBARGO +++++ Until Thursday, August 4, 9:45 A.M. Contact: Joe Loya/Torres Martinez/ (619) 399-8110 Bradley Angel/Greenpeace (415) 512-9025 Marina Ortega/CICEP (619) 782-3703 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Torres Martinez Tribal Members Against Sludge and Allies To Announce New Plans To Stop Dumping Thursday August 4, 9:45 A.M. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (Torres Martinez Indian Reservation, Thermal, CA) -- Tribal members from the Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indian Reservation will hold an emergency press conference Thursday, August 4, beginning at 9:45 a.m. sharp. The press conference will take place at the Catfish Farm, 87-900 Avenue 66, Thermal CA near the controversial sludge facilities located on the Torres Martinez Reservation. At Thursday's press conference, tribal members and their Indian and environmental allies will announce unprecedented steps in the campaign to shut the illegal sludge facilities. On Thursday, two dozen Torres Martinez Tribal members were joined by other Indian and non-Indian community and environmental groups in a protest on the steps of the Los Angeles County Supervisors Building. Tribal members and their allies are angry that Los Angeles County Sanitation District refuses to stop sending sewage sludge to the reservation in defiance of a Tribal cease and desist order and a notice from the U.S. Department of Interior/Bureau of Indian Affairs that the sludge facilities are operating in defiance of federal law. Directions From Los Angeles: 10 East to Indio, then south on 86 to the Torres Martinez Reservation. Left on Avenue 66, and proceed about 1 1/2 miles on Avenue 66. Immediately past the sludge operations, you will see the Catfish Farm operations and a large house. Park. ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*+ "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them." -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~* milo@scicom.alphacdc.com Michele Lord Alpha Institute +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ --------- "RE: Eight Named National Advisors" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Aug 1994 10:13:22 -0500 (CDT) From: mwilson@convex.csd.uwm.edu (Michael) Subj: Eight Named National Advisors on Indian Education -Forwarded (fwd) Newsgroup: alt.native THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary ________________________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release August 2, 1994 PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES 8 TO THE NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD ON INDIAN EDUCATION The President announced today his intention to appoint the following individuals to the National Advisory Board on Indian Education: JOSEPH ABEYTA of New Mexico is the Superintendent of the Santa Fe Indian School. AGNES CHAVIS of North Carolina formerly served as Chair of the North Carolina Consortium on Indian Education and has served as Chair of the American Indian/Alaska Native Caucus of the National Education Association. Ms. Chavis is a member of the Lumbee Tribe, which is recognized by the State of North Carolina. ROSEMARY ACKLEY CHRISTENSEN of Minnesota is a Curriculum Specialist with Ojibwe Mekana/American Indian Associates, Inc. She formerly served as the Director of Indian Education for the Minneapolis Public School system. MARK MARYBOY of Utah is a member of the San Juan County Commission and the Navajo National Budget and Finance Committee. ALETA PAISANO-SUAZO of New Mexico is the Coordinator of Student Services/Counseling for the Albuquerque Public School system. She was appointed by Governor King to the New Mexico State Commission on National and Community Service and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the New Mexico Children's Trust Fund. JANINE PEASE-WINDY BOY of Montana is the President of Little Big Horn Community College. SCOTT RATLIFF of Wyoming is a counselor at Central Wyoming College. He formerly served six terms in the Wyoming legislature and as Coordinator of Indian Education at the Wyoming Department of Education. SHERRY RED OWL of South Dakota is the President of the Board of Directors of the Rosebud Sioux Education Society. The National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) advises the Secretary of Education with respect to the evaluation of educational programs and applications for assistance under the Indian Education Act. NACIE also provides technical assistance to local and Indian educational agencies, institutions and organizations; submits nominees to the Secretary for the position of Director of the Office of Indian Education; and makes recommendations to the Secretary regarding the funding and improvement of Federal education programs. --------- "RE: Prayer Circle, Washington D.C." --------- Date: 5 Aug 94 21:34:57 GMT From: milo@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Michele Lord) Subj: Prayer Circle, Washington D.C. Newsgroup: alt.native The Wittenberg Center For Alternative Resources 188 Wittenberg Road, Bearsville, NY 12409 PH: 914-679-9764 FAX: 914-595-7813 Dear Friends, We have reached the time that many indigenous prophecies have referred to as Purification. A portal has been opened, we stand at the doorway. We face a choice of two roads; the one we will take is up to each of us. What will we walk towards, destruction or rebirth? The time of decision is now. The landscape of the coming days will reflect all of our actions. It is not only important to rally to the aid of the Hopi and other precious traditional caretakers of this Earth, but we must commit to being caretakers ourselves now. What actions have we been postponing in our own families, communities and businesses that will bring the Earth back into balance before it is too late? The healing of Mother Earth depends on all of us. She cries out in pain. Where are her children? Why do they not respond? We have been told that this time was coming. Now it is here. Can we summon forth the best of ourselves to effect a healing? Can we join as a circle of love and support, coming from the four directions - red, white, black, and yellow - and bring our wisdom together? The Elders are waiting. They have spent their lifetimes bringing their messages to us. Now, they say we must act. If you ask what you can do to make a difference from where you are, remember the Creator put you there for a purpose, and has given you the gifts you need. Now is the time to use them, lest the time run out for all. Today, in this moment, are we walking our talk? Our we living in accordance with our true values? This life, this Earth, is a precious gift, and now it is up to all of us to preserve that gift. Let us all join in heart and mind with the understanding that we are a family of spirit. Let us commit to the uplifting and transformation of our relationship with each other and our Earth. There are many specific political actions that you can take. You can write your congresspeople, senators, governors, the President, and the Department of Interior, saying that as a voter, as a Native American, you wish to stand in solidarity with the traditional spiritual caretakers of this land, and that you will not vote for anyone who continues allowing the violation of treaties and the desecration of sacred lands. You can become educated on these issues, and use your creativity to make a difference. On Saturday, October 1 and Sunday, October 2, 1994, we are issuing a call to all of those who know themselves as caretakers of this land, this Turtle Island, to show that the hoop can be mended and that all the colors of life have a place on the circle today. We will be gathering in Washington DC to let the government know that we stand united in caring for our Mother, and that these grandmothers and grandfathers are our elders too, that they are precious to us, and that their voices must be heard. To participate, and for more information, call or send SASE to: Northwest - Sacred Life Association PO Box 409, Maple Valley, WA 98038 (206) 432-5030 Southwest - From the Circle 56 Joaquin Court, Oakland, CA 94611 (510) 531-3842 Northeast - The Wittenberg Center 188 Wittenberg Road, Bearsville, NY 12409 (914) 679-9764 May you walk in peace, for all our relations From The Circle Native American Assistance Fund 56 Joaquin Miller Ct. Ph: 510-531-7527 Oakland CA 94611 E-mail ddalcorso@igc.apc.org An Open Letter to: President Bill Clinton The White House Washington DC October 10, 1993 Dear President and Mrs. Clinton, Last night, on the grass between the Washington Monument and the Whitehouse, a unique prayer vigil and an unprecedented historic meeting took place to the sound of drums you may have heard in your sleep. Representatives of many smaller nations within our great nation gathered there to pray for peace and for the future generations of all peoples. There were people of the Dine'h (Navajo), Hopi, Cherokee, Shoshone, Cheyenne, Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, Piscataway, Micmac, Mohawk, Aztec, Mapuche and many other native nations of North and South America. The 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred Pipe of the Lakota, Dakota, Nakota met for the first time with the Keeper of the Sacred Hat of the Northern Cheyenne, who had never before left his nation, but had come with difficulty in his advanced age to negotiate, after long struggle, the return of ancestral bones with the Smithsonian. The Indigenous Americans, including venerated elders, well into their eighties, stood for hours on end in the sun, wind and rain, in the cold night and before dawn to greet the sun on two consecutive days with their prayers for you, Mr. President, and for all people. Hopi and Dine'h embraced as brothers and sisters, the way they always have, despite the ongoing efforts of the government of the United States to separate them with barbed wire fences and to forcibly relocate them from their traditional homes to other sides of an artificially created border. A Mohawk told his fellow Indigenous Americans and the non-Indian supporters gathered with them of suicides among their youth who despair of a future. The people together prayed for a presidential pardon for Leonard Peltier, who remains in prison these many years despite lack of evidence against him. Many other painful events of the past and present were told and forgiven in prayer. While in Washington, these indigenous people were taken on a tour of the Holocaust Museum, and saw the great, if painful, tribute paid to the millions of holocaust victims in this monumental, impressive building. As I pushed the wheelchair of one indigenous elder through the museum, feeling her pain and that of the others, I wondered when our own nation would acknowledge the even greater holocaust here at home against the indigenous peoples of the Americas. We were able to introduce three Dine'h and Hopi elders to Molly Olson, newly appointed Executive Director of your Council on Sustainability, who gave generously of her time. We impressed on her the importance of consulting these elders, who belong not only to their own nations but to all of us as American Elders, as our nation discusses sustainability, for they are the ones who are living testimony to sustainability in all its deepest meaning. Thank you for your attention. Your respectfully, Elizabet Sahtouris, Ph.D. Geobiologist, author, speaker, environmental/sustainability Consultant cc: Washington Post, representatives of indigenous nations, President's Council on Sustainability ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*+ "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them." -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~* milo@scicom.alphacdc.com Michele Lord Alpha Institute +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ --------- "RE: Poem: Floating" --------- Date: 4 Aug 1994 16:41:29 -0500 From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: Floating Newsgroup: alt.native Coyote runs along the river trees offer their roots to the rhythm which is deeper quieter moving with the sun my memories are a 4-legged song Tobacco Indian -- 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: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 94/08/07 14:03 From: Kepola (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of August 14-20 GE Electronic Mail A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of August 14-20 AUKAKE (August) (Mahoe-mua) 14 The fullness of each day is made up of both light, malamalama, and shadow, ke aka. 15 The gecko sings inside my home, blessing it. 16 Tiny lights bob in the darkness as paper boats carry them out to sea on the evening tide -- we are one with our past. 17 The bird of paradise flower erupts with bright color amidst the green coolness of the ferns. 18 Arise with joy to greet the day! 19 Accept what cannot be easily explained. 20 Sculpting molten lava is an act of devotion only a few artists can perform. (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, 11 August 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= =:=:=:=:=:=:=:0:0:0:=:=:=:=:=:=:= From GEnie's Bulletin Boards: A.HOROVITCH [Art/Sue] For the latest on Ontario's Indian culture call 800-461-3786... the last four digits spell out DRUM. Then press 1 for pow wows, 2 for drumming, 3 for Indian culture Brave Star ------------ K.NEWMAN9 [KAY/MAW] De:YO GWA:HAT'E DOH Brighten The Vision Contest Powwow At The Dome Center 2695 East Henrietta Rd. Henrietta, NY September 17 & 18, 1994, Opens 10:00a.m. General Admission: $5.00, Elders & Children (5-12yrs.) $3.00 Sponsored by The Native American Cultural Center for more information call: (716) 482-1100 Indian Summer Festival October 1 & 2, 1994 10:00a.m.-5:00p.m. each day. Iroquois Dancers, Iroquois Smoke Dance Competition, Traditional Pow Wow Dancers, Native American Foods & Crafts, Children's Activities, Guided Trail Walks, and Storytelling. The Friends of Ganondagan (716) 742-1690 Ganondagan State Historic Site 1488 Victor-Holcomb Rd. Victor, NY Admission: $4.00 Adults, $2.00 Children, $2.00 Senior Citizens The George Washington Belt and The Two Row Wampum Belt 200th. Anniversary You are cordially invited to attend the Commemoration Ceremony of the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty between The Six Nations and The United States 3:00p.m. Council Rock November 11, 1994 The County Court House Main Street Canandaigua, NY Parade Preceding Commemoration Speakers Following Treaty Ceremony ------------ September 10-11, 1994 Seneca Indian Fall Festival (716) 532-5777. 9:00a.m.- 6:00p.m. =:=:=:=:=:=:=:0:0:0:=:=:=:=:=:=:= From the Internet: From: Barbara Wallace Subject: Schemitzun FROM THE TUESDAY, AUGUST 2, 1994 NORWICH BULLETIN TRIBES TAKE CENTER STAGE Native Americans Nationwide Will Join Schemitzun Festival By Andrew d Blechman--Norwich Bulletin Mashantucket--Thousands of Native Americans will compete for $500,000 in prizes at the Mashantucket Pequots' third annual Feast of Green Corn and Dance, called Schemitzun. The festival once again will be held at the Hartford Civic Center, featuring more than 1,500 Native American dancers from 250 tribes across the United States and Canada. There will also be song contests and 100 Native American vendors. Tickets for the event, running from Sept. 15-18, can be bought at the Civic Center or Foxwoods box office. Foxwoods celebrated the Schemitzun (pronounced Ski-Met-Zun) kickoff Monday with traditional dances performed by the brightly costumed Foxwoods Dance Troupe beside the Rainmaker fountain. The dancers, belonging to 30 nations and ranging in age from 5 to 76 years old, displayed their footwork for reporters and casino-goers. The troupe just returned from a European tour highlighted by a performance at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia. Wayne Reels, a leader of the dance troupe and Schemitzun, said the green corn festival traces back to before European contact. "Schemitzun was celebrated around harvest time," Reels said. "Tribal members prepared for winter and at the same time passed traditions on to their children. Later, the festival was used to revive traditions and keep our culture alive." The casino has been integral in reviving the festival, Reels said. "Without the casino, we wouldn't be able to bring together the largest gathering of Native Americans," Reels said. "It gives us the chance to share our culture because we can afford to." Reels said the vast majority of dancers won't be Pequot again this year. "A lot of our adults may not get on the dance floor this year, but they'll still get the chance to share our culture." Hartford Mayor Micheal P. Peters said the festival was a real windfall for the city. "The economic impact is astounding," Peters said. "Last year the hotels were all full and the restaurants were crowded." The Pequots have declared the first day of Shemitzun to be North American Native Awareness Day, and have given away 14,000 tickets to schools throughout the state. =:=:=:=:=:=:=:0:0:0:=:=:=:=:=:=:= From Gai hwa na ge' (Onondaga Nation newsletter) Aug 13-14 3rd Annual Thousand Islands Pow Wow Captain Clayton Campgrounds, Rt. 12, Clayton, NY Info: 315-446-9128 (night), 315-434-9236 (day) =:=:=:=:=:=:=:0:0:0:=:=:=:=:=:=:= From: Indian Country Today Aug 11-14 34th Annual Kyle Fair & Pow Wow "Honoring the Women" Kyle, SD Info: 605-455-2304 (days) 605-455-2422 (evenings) Aug 19-21 25th Anniversary Celebration, Annual Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community Powwow Mystic Lake Casino, Dakota Meadows Info: 612-445-9058 Aug 19-21 1994 Crow Creek Sioux Nation Powwow Ft. Thompson, SD Info: 245-2537 (evenings) Aug 26-28 20th Annual Baltimore Pow Wow Baltimore, MD Info: 410-675-3535 =:=:=:=:=:=:=:0:0:0:=:=:=:=:=:=:= From News from Indian Country: Aug 18-22 76th Crow Fair, Crow Reservation, Montana Info: 406-638-2601 Aug 19-21 15th Kamloopa, Kamloops, BC Info: 604-828-9700 Aug 19-21 28th Mille Lacs, Mille Lacs, MN Info: 612-532-4181 x 810 Aug 19-21 83rd Chief Seattle Days, Saquamish, WA Info: 206-598-3311 Aug 19-21 11th Grande Ronde, Grande Ronde OR Info: 503-879-2035 Aug 19-21 Chief Looking Glass, Kamiah, ID Info: 208-935-2502 Aug 20-21 38th O-Sa-Wan, Belvedere, IL Info: 815-568-7997 Aug 20-21 12th AIC Traditional, Lebanon, IN Info: 317-482-3315 Aug 20 5th Community Powwow, Rio Linda, CA Info: 916-441-0918 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, 11 August 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 listserv groups= Original Sender: LAGUNA.EPCC.EDU!THADC Mailing List: NATIVE-L Aztlan Gathering in Commemoration of the anniversary of The Last Message of Cuauhtemoc and The Pueblo Revolt. Saturday August 13, 1994 El Paso, Texas Tlalteca School 302 Gonzales More info: (915)594-8683 859-8505 Original Sender: jsigalet@okuc01.okanagan.bc.ca (Jennifer Sigalet) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) CALL FOR PRESENTERS (which includes conference papers, workshop proposals and keynote presentations) ABORIGINAL LITERACY TRAINING EVENT NOV 17-20, 1994 KELOWNA, B.C. CANADA CALL FOR CONFERENCE PAPERS AND WORKSHOP PROPOSALS AND KEYNOTE PRESENTATIONS THE 1994 ABORIGINAL LITERACY TRAINING EVENT, sponsored by Okanagan University College, K'noowenchoot Aboriginal Adult Education Resource Centre, and the Prince George Native Friendship Centre, will be held in Kelowna, B.C. from November 17-20, l994. The Conference has been planned with Theme Days: Thursday November 17, l994 - First Nations Literacy: Languages/Culture Friday November 18, l994 - First Nations Literacy: The First Nations Student Saturday November 19, l994 - First Nations Literacy: Administration/ Technology The Conference outline includes cultural events: keynote theme speakers; breakout session; and social activities. We are requesting proposals for presentations or workshops of one hour in length or keynote addresses of one and a half hours in length. Presentations and workshops are scheduled to be presented twice in one day and presenters are expected to bring sufficient copies of papers and handouts for distribution to participants. An honorarium and travel expense is offered. Please submit proposals to K'noowenchoot Centre by September 15, l994. Acceptance notification will be sent out by October 1, l994. Send Proposals to: K'NOOWENCHOOT CENTRE FOR ABORIGINAL ADULT EDUCATION RESOURCES BOX 610 SALMON ARM, B.C. VIE 4N7 CANADA OR FAX: 604-832-2771, OR E-MAIL jsigalet@okcadm.okanagan.bc.ca (FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL 604-832-3221 OR 1-800-665-9972) Original Sender: Pablo Bellon Mailing List: NATIVE-L 5th ANNUAL SYCUAN POW-WOW - September 9, 10, 11 Sponsored by the Sycuan Band of Mission Indians. Contest Dancing for all categories: Women's Traditional, fancy shawl, jingle dress. Men's Traditional, fancy, and grass dance. There will also be golden age, teen division & junior division, and tiny tots. >>>>>> Drum & Singing contest <<<<<< Motel reservations call (800) 423-3992, (800) 225-7698, (619) 588-8808, (619) 442-2576. For pow-wow info call: (619) 442-2576. ---------> ALL ARE WELCOME <---------- (NO drugs or alcohol allowed) Original Sender: John Berry Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) AUGUST - First Weekend Rocky Boy's Annual Powwow, Rocky Boy's Agency, MT Wadopana Celebration, Wolf Point, MT Ft. Randall Annual, Lake Andes, SD Mud Springs Encampment, Mud Springs, ID Peigan Indian Days, Brocket, Alberta Standing Rock Annual, Ft. Yates, ND _____________________________________________________ AUGUST - Second Weekend White River Cheyenne, Busby, MT Shoshone-Bannock, Ft. Hall, ID N. Arapaho, Ararapaho, WY Ermineskin Indian Days, Hobbema, Alberta Omak Stampede, Omak, WY Big Hole Battlefield Culture Days, Wisdom, MT Nez Perce Dancers Little Shell, Newton, ND Bullhead Annual, Bullhead, SD Lower Brule Annual, Lower Brule, SD ________________________________________________________ AUGUST - Third Weekend Crow Fair, Crow Agency, MT Chief Lookinglass Powwow, Kamiah, ID Crow Creek Annual, Pierre, SD ________________________________________________________ AUGUST - Fourth Weekend Oil Discovery Celebration??, Poplar, MT Wakpala, Wakpala, SD Twin Butte, Twin Butte, ND Rosebud Annual, Rosebud, SD _________________________________________________________ SEPTEMBER Miss Indian Pageant & Art Expo Sept. 25-27, Bismark, ND Original Sender: mail2.lmi.org!gwelker Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ! VIVA ZAPATA ! A Benefit for Humanitarian Aid for Zapatista-Held Territory in Chiapas, Mexico Concert, performances, speakers, Zapatista art and photography, featuring: Sweet Lizard Illtet, Agent 99, Screaming Venus, Latin American Folk Music When: Friday, August 5, 1994 6:00 p.m. Where: THE KOOP 36 Cooper Square (between 5th & 6th Streets) New York City Admission: $10.00 ($5.00 for unemployed) Program begins at 6 p.m. with speakers and open microphones. Music begins at 8 p.m. COME AND DEMONSTRATE YOUR SUPPORT FOR THE ZAPATISTAS' STRUGGLE! THEIR FIGHT IS OURS! Sponsored by Proyecto de Apoyo Zapatista (Zapatista Aid Project). --------- "RE: Adopted Mohawk Finds Parents" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Aug 1994 22:19:00 PDT From: hkoehler@web.UUCP Subj: Adopted Mohawk Finds Parents II (Legal) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ADOPTED MOHAWK FINDS BIRTH PARENTS II (LEGAL) AUG 7,1994 by Dave Morrison The first version of this story was posted on Jul 14, 1994 and gave a very personal account of the search and reunion with all its suspense, heartache, emotion and celebration. This version (II) tells the administrative, legal and bureaucratic side. [Poster's note.] At some time all adoptees wonder about their natural parents. Adoption is a difficult concept for a young child to grasp and often the answers are never available. Even in later life, there are the 'what if's' and 'I might have's' which will never be realized. Starting the process of finding my natural-mother (or birth-mother) in 1981, I was 27 years old. The adoption agency through which I was placed in 1954 had been merged with a larger Children's Center. Calling these people, I was told under NO circumstances would ANY information be given out to me or anybody else without a order from the court which handled my adoption; in this case, Family Court of Monroe County, New York. The people were very apologetic and supportive, but the law guarding the confidentiality of the adoption papers was very explicit and thorough. I could appreciate the concern for protecting the anonymity of the natural-mother and I would respect that. But I also knew these people had information about ME, not some swapped pet from 27 years ago. I wanted to have the same knowledge that the vast majority of the pop- ulation had, namely, who is/was my natural mother and father? What did they look like? And what were the circumstances behind me being placed for adoption? My adoptive parents were very supportive of me finding my natural mother. This was essential in that they could have felt hurt or rejected very easily and after raising me and standing by me for all my life, being an ingrate was the last thing I'd want to be. I didn't have a job and was determined not to ask my parents for the money for an attorney (THAT seemed kind of inappropriate). Going to Legal Aid and explaining my situation, I was told that there were a very limited number of reasons the Court would authorize unsealing adoption records and even fewer reasons to provide any names or detailed information once they were opened. However, there WAS an Adoption Registry overseen by the New York State Department of Health. You paid $75 to register and you would be provided with NON-IDENTIFYING information: no names, just physical characteristics, ethnical backgrounds, hobbies and occupations. Not much help, but anything was better than what was known. (The adoption papers my parents had referred to me as 'Baby Boy Hill' and they were told my natural mother was a Canadian Indian. This would be the only information I would have for almost 30 years.) There WAS a form for IDENTIFYING information, but this would only be given if the natural parent had registered also and the cost was $150. If the parent didn't register, it would be $150 thrown out the window. I spoke with the director of the Adoption Registry and he told me, quite frankly, the odds were very poor that most natural parents ever registered. I procrastinated and finally sent in the $75. Several months later, I I received the non-identifying information. Interested primarily in my natural mother, it told me she was indeed a Canadian Indian and she planned to return to the reserve after my birth. It also showed she was 20 years old when I was born, her height, weight, education and occupation. It also told me my natural father was Polish, blonde, grey-eyed, had been in the Army and worked on cars. Well, there was no doubt who I looked like... I have the dark hair, eyes and skin and can get tanned under Christmas lights. A North American Indian and my mother was from Canada. In my book, that's as proud a background as you can get. Already, my self-esteem rose by leaps and bounds. By now it was 1983 and the goal of obtaining her name wasn't any closer. I had married in 1982 and we were settling into the newlywed lifestyle and I let things slide. I was determined NOT to 'pay' for the information that everybody else knew as a birth-right so the barrier of needing a court order was still in place. Curiosity gnawed away at me, and I made some calls to the judge of Family Court. He told me that there had to be a good reason why he should allow the records to be unsealed; not just curiosity. The adoption records had a lot of details that were of interest and included a medical history of my mother and her family. Was cancer a family trait? Heart problems? Diabetes? The judge said that those were reasons to unseal the records. THAT type of information could be released, but her name would not be revealed. He told me it MAY not be necessary to hire an attorney for this information. I agreed to settle for that for the time being. I sent a detailed request to the judge's office as he had requested and waited. I made repeated calls to check on the status of the request, but after a few months, it was obvious that this wasn't going to be the way to go about it. The judge, out of fear of breaching the confidentiality of the matter, was not going to simply give an OK to release anything without a legal petition from an attorney's office. And the retainer for an attorney started at $500. I was back at square one. On my frequent journeys throughout Ontario, I'd track down government agencies and explain my situation. I discovered an agency called Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and learned more of how the Federal government was involved administratively with the Indian nations throughout Canada. In 1985, I was told about a bill called C-31 and how it related to the offspring of unmarried Native Canadian women. Bulls-eye. Today I understand the arguments both for and against C-31. There are those who probably would have preferred that people in my situation remain off the band lists. There are those who felt that an injustice was righted. There are also those who felt that they as individuals didn't have a hell of a lot of choice in the matter of being born and adopted. All I knew was that I'd been denied my own identity from the day I was born. Here was a chance to establish that identity. There was a blitz of calls and letters to INAC in Hull. After many discussions it was determined that, yes, it certainly appeared that I was eligible to apply for a re-instatement of my status (my WHAT?), but that my natural mother's name was required. New York State had THAT information and they STILL weren't going to give it to me or anybody else. I spoke again with the Family Court judge and explained what was needed in Hull and he groused again. This time he asked that INAC send him a request of EXACTLY what it was they needed to know. I was the courier of these messages and I explained to INAC what the judge wanted. There was a lot of reluctance by INAC to do this. They were as nervous about dealing directly with the New York State judicial system as the judge was dealing with 'a foreign government'. I couldn't imagine a Canadian-U.S. war starting over this thing, but it was apparent that neither side was going to do anything. Back to square one. I pleaded, begged and finally set the whole thing on the back burner. By 1987 my frustration level had peaked and I was getting nowhere. Yes, there was the non-identifying information and the ray of hope with C-31, but without my mother's name, nothing else could be done. In 1989, my marriage began to disintegrate and I was diagnosed with severe esophagitis and chronic esophageal reflux. Sick, depressed and discouraged I filed for divorce early in 1990. Priorities being what they were at the time, finding my mother's name wasn't high on the list of things to do. The divorce went through later that year and again I was at a crossroad. After the divorce the importance of an identity surfaced with renewed vigor. I better understood what attorneys can do (and how much it costs for them to do it) and I felt that I would pay almost anything to get this to completion. My adopted mother's health was failing due to diabetes and the 'voice within' told me that I'd better start to move on this if I even had a chance of finding my natural mother while my adopted mother was still alive. That was important to me. I sat down with the same attorney from my divorce and took cash advances from anywhere I could to come up with the retainer. I'd heard about the Indian Child Welfare Act in New York State which basically said I was entitled to the information in order to determine my heredity. A definite plus for me and my attorney; the only problem was it had never been tested in the court systems and there was no precedent to follow. So the initially quoted attorney fee of $300 started to climb. When all was said and done, the final fee was $900. Throughout the remainder of 1990, I badgered my attorney to get this petition presented to Family Court. We had to show that INAC would be the only agency which would see my natural mother's name and that they would promise not to divulge the name to me or my attorney. The reason her name had to be released was to ascertain whether she was a status Indian in Canada and whether I was eligible to apply for status under C-31. This sounded simple enough. I was in weekly contact with the people of INAC to let them know what was going on down here. The petition was finally ready to present to the court and then the wait started to get scheduled for a date in court. Weeks passed and I was pleading with the court secretary to try and bump the priority on this as I STILL had a wait of a some six months AFTER the name had reached INAC. Finally, the judge read the petition and approved it; the name would be released to Hull. On to the next step. I realize that INAC may not be looked upon favorably all the time, but allow me to say these were some of the most concerned government workers I've ever worked with... definitely more so than down here. These people put a rush on my application to determine my eligibility to apply for status and within six weeks, it was determined that I was not only ELIGIBLE to apply for status, I was already BANDED as an Upper Mohawk of the Six Nations of the Grand River. I was stunned. I had BEEN on Six Nations for several years, but I'd never imagined it was my reserve. No time to bask; on to the next step. I went to Six Nations the following weekend and I can't begin to explain how I felt when I crossed the train tracks onto the rez for the first time after finding out it was my reserve. The history and knowledge that part of me was from here. I had found an ancestral home... someplace where I could truthfully say my ancestors lived, died and were buried. This is something a non-adoptee takes for granted. An adoptee has to fake it with their adopted family because it's no secret that no part of them ever walked on the adopted ancestral land. Roots. I went to INAC on St.Clair East in Toronto to get my status card on 2 August, 1991. It was a great summer day and there must have been a lot of Torontonians who wondered what the hell that guy was grinning about. Even if I couldn't find my mother at least I was now and forevermore known as a Native Canadian. It meant a lot to me then; it means more to me now. The CNE that year was special; VERY special. Going to the Ontario First Nations display with pride and a definite sense of belonging, I spoke with whoever would listen. The dancers and singers now meant more to me; I had started a learning process which will last the rest of my life. Not knowing where or how to start finding my mother (if she were alive AND living on Six Nations) I went to the Administration Building in Oshweken. With a last name of Hill, it would be tough to find my family. I worked with a very supportive social worker who suggested I take out an ad in the reserve paper, The Tekawennake. Ten days passed after the classified ad first appeared and in October of 1991, my mother saw it and responded. We were reunited a week later and I began to meet the family, MY family. There was one more thing I wanted to do which many people (including my mother) have a difficult time understanding. Since my mother wasn't a U.S. citizen at the time of my birth, I was born a Canadian 'citizen' even though I was born in Rochester, New York. I wanted to have, or at least be able to claim, Canadian citizenship. I understand that I'm a member of the Haudenoaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and as such, I may not have to consider myself either an American or Canadian. Over here the government says I'm an American, period. I'm not a Native American because my reserve is in Canada and the status card is not accepted because it's issued by a 'foreign' government. I need to show a letter from my Council stating that my mother is at least 50% Indian. I say that's bull. I know of no other ethnic group who needs a 'letter from the principal' to determine that they're whatever they are. Insults are provided free of charge to Indians here. Citizenship Canada required a copy of my mother's birth certificate showing she was born in Canada. My mother found her certificate and I made copies to send to Sydney, Nova Scotia for my Proof of Citizenship certificate. Since I was already a Canadian citizen I wasn't actually going for a 'grant' of citizenship but rather 'proof' of citizenship. It could have been interesting had I been required to take an oath of alligiance to the Queen. That would be considered grounds for expatriation or loss of my U.S. citizenship. (Her Majesty and I have a secret.) I have a copy of my Canadian citizenship certificate along with a Mohawk calendar prominently displayed at work. The original is at home framed in birds-eye maple. What did I learn from this whole bureaucratic challenge? Patience and perseverence. 'Red tape' is easier to deal with than 'white tape'. Canada is more open and amenable to Native issues than the United States. Don't become discouraged and give up when someone tells you, 'You can't'. Native Canadians are a proud, organized, lively and fascinating society with a heritage that's as rich and colorful today as it's ever been. These are the things I learned. To those adoptees who are thinking about beginning a 'search', I'd say above all, be sensitive. My reunion was one of the greatest joys of my life. I was welcomed 'back' to a warm, loving family. Not all reunions are pleasant. Even though I live in Rochester the pride I have of being even a small part of the fabric of Native Canadians borders on obnoxiousness. My focus and orientation is North. There'll come a time when I'll be able to make the move and live in a place where I think, look and act like the people around me. Dave --------- "RE: Trailer Park Built on Burial Mounds" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Aug 1994 00:07:46 EDT From: aol.com!MordecaiSp Subj: Trailer Park Built on Burial Mounds Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Lawsuit targets Minnesota trailer park built on burial mounds by Mordecai Specktor (mordecaisp@aol.com) Ottertail, Minnesota -- "You want to see the desecration?" Jim Schultz asks sarcastically. He shows me back behind his neatly kept mobile home, and points past a white birdbath to a prominent grass-covered hillock in a corner of the lot. The small upthrust is identified as Indian burial mound number 32 on a land survey map. It's one of 23 burial sites lying within the OTC Residential Park, a mobile home development in Ottertail, Minnesota, about 200 miles northwest of the Twin Cities. In an uncultivated area nearby, covered by sumac, wild raspberries and poison ivy, Schultz shows me burial mound number 33. There's an orange flag with "33" written on it attached to a surveyor's metal rod stuck in the center of the mound. A small trailer loaded with construction debris sits to the side of the mound. Not everyone has two Indian burial mounds in their backyard. And not every retired couple from a Twin Cities suburb retreats to a lake- studded resort area, and then finds themselves being sued for encroaching on a legally-protected Indian burial ground. Jim Schultz (not his real name -- he requested that his name be kept out of this story) says that he's the victim of "harassment." He feels that he hasn't done anything wrong, he's been careful not to harm the mounds on his lot, yet he now has to bear the expense of an attorney to answer charges in a lawsuit. He and his wife fear they will be forced from the trailer park. "I had been parking my boat on top of the mound and I didn't know where the mound was," Schultz recalls. He says he talked to Roger Head, former director of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, who suggested that he park the boat and trailer somewhere other than on top of the burial mound. "I cleared some trees out a little bit between the mounds so I could park the boat, and that's just about the way it is," Schultz says. That's the way it was until June 21, when the White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP) -- a non-profit cultural and educational group based on the White Earth Ojibwe (Chippewa) reservation -- and two individual plaintiffs sued Schultz, Carr Enterprises, Inc., which is developing the mobile home park, and 15 other individuals who own lots. "What the plaintiffs are seeking is, basically, protection of the Indian burial mounds," explains Laura Lundquist, an attorney employed by the prestigious Faegre & Benson law firm. Lundquist says that the OTC Residential Park has "been developed over the course of approximately seven years. And in that time period there were attempts to protect the mounds. I know the state archaeologist came out, the mounds were identified and marked, and the state archaeologist [in 1992] submitted management plans to the current owners to try and work out some kind of agreement with them so that the mounds would be protected. "Unfortunately, it appears that it just didn't work out, and none of the individual residents ever submitted those signed documents back to the state archaeologist." The problem, according to Lundquist, is that the trailer park is "a currently developing, ongoing project. Every time a well is dug, or a septic tank is dug in a mound or close to a mound there is the potential that the mound can be adversely impacted." The lawsuit brought by WELRP, Suellyn Hashaw, a former resident of OTC Residential Park, and Richard LaGarde, an Ojibwe community organizer for WELRP, asks the court to declare that Carr Enterprises, Inc.'s mobile home development and the activities of the other defendants have "impaired, destroyed, adversely affected" a state historical resource -- the burial mounds, referred to in the lawsuit as the Otter Tail County Indian Cemetery. The plaintiffs are suing under Minnesota's Environmental Rights Act, which allows any citizen to bring a civil action to protect an environmental or historical resource. The complaint filed by the plaintiffs describes the burial mounds as a "type of cemetery built by Native American people between 1000 B.C. and circa 1500 A.D. Human remains are found generally with the mounds or in graves below the mounds." The Otter Tail County Indian Cemetery is characterized as a "unique and irreplaceable historical resource that survives as a vestige of and a source of information about the culture and beliefs of Minnesota's indigenous people." The lawsuit requests the court to stop Carr and the other defendants from undertaking any further construction or planting, "or any similarly destructive activity," on the mounds or within a 50-foot buffer area around each mound. Lot owners who are named defendants -- because they have burial mounds on their property -- would be prohibited from using "septic systems, driveways and temporary structures." In addition, the lawsuit asks that the court require Carr to offer substitute properties, located within five miles of the OTC Residential Park, or buy out lot owners who have mounds or buffer areas on their lots. This last demand is based on the premise that some lot owners "were kind of duped when they bought the property," explains Laura Lundquist. They didn't know about the presence of burial mounds when they bought their property, "so, they should have the ability to, either, rescind their contract, get their purchase price back, or have the ability to exchange that property with another piece of property that doesn't contain Indian burial mounds." For example, Suellyn Hashaw, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, bought a lot at OTC. In an affidavit submitted to the court, Hashaw stated: "We were informed of the existence and location of the Indian burial mounds located in the OTC Residential Park only after we had lived in the Park for several months." Hashaw "became disturbed" about the situation and in 1992 called Christy Hohman-Caine, the state archaeologist, who sent Grant Goltz, a soil scientist, out to Ottertail to examine the mounds. Goltz has examined hundreds of Indian burial mounds in Minnesota, under contract for state agencies and private developers. There are thousands, if not tens of thousands of these sites in the state, and as development continues, particularly in Twin Cities suburban communities, the dreams of capitalizing on land is colliding with Minnesota state law protecting cemeteries, including ancient Indian burials. Goltz had journeyed to the mounds at Ottertail first in 1986, at the request of Anderson Surveying of Fergus Falls, Minnesota. According to his affidavit included in the WELRP lawsuit papers, Goltz used "small diameter hand soil probes" and studied the profiles of soil borings, which can reveal the existence of a burial mound, even when the characteristic shape has been obliterated by agricultural or other alterations to the land. "In the case of Ottertail, those mounds were mapped in the 1880's by Theodore Lewis," Goltz said. "We do have those original survey notes, so we know how many [mounds] are supposed to be there and where they're supposed to be. Some are still visible, we can use the ones that are visible to tie into the original survey notes, which have compass bearings and distance from mound to mound." By taking measurements Goltz can locate the mounds that are no longer visible. He said that the dark topsoil used to form burial mounds "never goes away," and the thickness of various soil layers "and other characteristics in the soil" can be used to locate where a mound once stood. Are there human remains under the trailer park lots at Ottertail? "There may or may not still be human remains," Goltz responded. "For the purposes of the law, no one ever needs to demonstrate that, indeed, there are still human remains. We've been asked in the past, 'Aren't you going to dig these up to see if there are still bones there?' "The interpretation by the state is that this law was designed to protect these sites. If we've got to dig them up to protect them, that is not really within the spirit of the law, that is not necessary to do." Goltz's initial investigation results, back in 1986, were given to Anderson Surveying, which had been hired by Carr Enterprises, Inc. So, Carr had information about the location of the burial mounds when it began to develop and sell lots at OTC Residential Park. Six years later, after Sue Hashaw had complained to the state archaeologist about continuing disturbance to the mounds, Goltz was sent out again to look at what was happening at the trailer park. On March 19, 1992, Goltz found that it was "immediately apparent" that there were new developments at OTC Residential Park: a concrete driveway had been constructed within 10 feet of mound 35; mound 31 had "three holes filled with garbage" on the north end of the mound; mounds 27, 45 and 51 had red pine trees planted on them; mound 46 had an "entry deck for a mobile home placed on top of it." There were other disturbances on and around the mounds. "Some mounds had picnic tables or other portable items stored on top of them," Goltz reported. "Most mounds are located in yard areas where they easily can be damaged by routine landscaping." In his affidavit of May 27, 1994, Goltz recommended that "court ordered relief, including an immediate injunction that prevents further desecration, is needed to protect the mounds." Following the investigation by Grant Goltz in 1992, state archaeologist Christy Hohman-Caine wrote to Otter Tail County attorney Wally Senyk, suggesting that he investigate the possibility of bringing a criminal prosecution against the officers of Carr Enterprises, Inc. -- prominent Ottertail businessman Ted Carr, president, and his son Bruce Carr, vice president -- for desecrating an Indian cemetery, a violation of Minnesota Statute 307.08. Senyk, however, in a letter dated Sept. 14, 1992, informed Hohman- Caine that he didn't think that the letter of the law had been violated by the Carrs, so he wouldn't file charges. The Minnesota Attorney General also declined to bring about a criminal prosecution. * * * * * The first court hearing in the WELRP lawsuit against Carr and the lot owners in Ottertail was heard in Hennepin County district court before Judge Daniel H. Mabley on July 22. Mabley granted a defense motion to move the case to Otter Tail County district court. He reasoned that the OTC trailer park is in Ottertail, so justice would best be served by having the trial there. Plaintiffs' attorney Laura Lundquist said that she will refile the request for a temporary injunction in the Otter Tail County district court in Fergus Falls. This legal action -- "just to preserve the status quo, the mounds, to prohibit any further destruction until this lawsuit can be resolved" -- had been filed in Hennepin County before the change of venue. Lundquist said that the next hearing might not take place until late August or September. Tim Thornton, attorney for the Carrs, has demanded that before any injunction is issued, the judge must go to the site and take a look. During a telephone interview, Thornton, who is with the Briggs & Morgan law firm in Minneapolis, said that the lawsuit is "specious." He argues that the burial mounds at OTC don't exist -- and they're not being disturbed. "Most of the property was farmed for over a hundred years, and there certainly aren't any mounds there in a topographical sense -- there are no mounds," Thornton said. "And whether there are burial places there or not has certainly not been established. No remains have been identified, no artifacts have been identified." There are visible mounds at OTC Residential Park. Jim Schultz has two in his backyard. The mounds amount to a conversation piece for Schultz, who doesn't see a problem with having them right outside his back door. "It don't bother me," he remarks. "Why? They were from, I understand, they were from 4 to 900 years before. It don't bother me at all. I don't think it would if I was that close to a white cemetery." Schultz and his wife pin the blame for their current legal problems on Sue Hashaw, plaintiff and former trailer court resident. She is characterized in a brief filed by Tim Thornton as a "disgruntled ex- resident." The Schultz's say they think she's out to get Ted Carr. Sue Hashaw denies that she is motivated by ill will toward Ted Carr. She said that she simply didn't "think it was right for mobile homes to be sitting in a cemetery." During a telephone interview from her home in Dent, Minnesota, Hashaw said that she and her husband took "a great loss" when they sold their lot back to Ted Carr. "It was worth it to us just to get out of there," she said. "And we wouldn't have felt right just selling it on the market, because we don't feel that people should be living there." Some strange events in the OTC Residential Park convinced Hashaw that the living situation wasn't quite normal. According to Hashaw, a neighbor had "lights going off or on, the thermostat being turned up. And then there was a cough she heard, and her cat kind of went crazy. "And then one day I went over there because she was pretty upset, she had her baby sleeping in her bedroom in a crib, and she put a mirror in with the baby to entertain it," Hashaw recalled. "When she came to get the baby, the covers were pulled up and the mirror was tucked into the bed. . . ." Hashaw stayed with the woman. When her husband returned he heard the story, then they walked back into the bedroom. "You could really feel the energy in the hallway and into the bedroom," Hashaw said. "They went back there and the mattress to the crib had been stood on end; of course, the baby was out of the crib at that time. That pretty much did it for her." The family moved out of OTC Residential Park. "There were a lot of different occurrences," said Hashaw. "There was another man who had a spirit who danced on his roof." Hashaw said a Native American man lived in the house for a time, and he recognized the traditional dance steps. For her part, Hashaw had "surround-sound flutes" in her house "a couple times." It wasn't coming from another trailer, she went outside and heard nothing. "I went back in and there it was: pretty, beautiful flute music. . . . It was rather calming." These stories resonate with many Indians. The WELRP lawsuit also asks the court to grant access "over the properties that contain mounds to Native Americans for the sole purpose of performing Indian ceremonies near the mounds." Last year a "yuwipi" ceremony was held at the Ottertail trailer inhabited by spirits. I was told that the ceremony discovered that the "paranormal" manifestations were the result of four Indian graves that had been disturbed. The respected 92-year-old Anishinabe elder and ceremonial chief of the St. Croix tribe, Nee-Ba-Geshing, Archie Mosay of Balsam Lake, Wisconsin, stated, "When an Indian is buried, he's buried. You're not supposed to dig him up again. . . . A person that digs up a grave, you also have problems, different things about his health, if you dig up a grave," Archie Mosay explained. "Something could happen to their health or their body. . . . An Indian passes away, you have a lot of problems if you don't do something right, like give a feast when you have a funeral. And four days after you have a funeral, you have to have another feast." Mosay has been called to various reservations around the Great Lakes where people have been disturbed by the spirits of their departed ancestors. I talked with Mosay during the July meeting at White Earth. He presided over a "ghost feast," a ceremonial meal held at the conclusion of the gathering. "I think it's a good idea the people here in White Earth should have a feast for these people that's been dug up," Mosay said. "That's the way the Indian people was put on this earth. A person passes away today, this evening, you have to have a feast for him, so he goes one way, where the Indian people was told to go." * * * * * The desecration of Indian burial sites brings out strong emotions, from people who find themselves situated on different spokes of the issue. Some Native Americans say the thought of digging up ancient remains is completely abhorrent. Some non-Indians see a mound and wonder what's in there. Maybe there's something cool inside, some arrowheads or artifacts from long ago. Perhaps there could be an opportunity to cash in, create a tourist attraction around the site. Ted Carr's attorney argues that his client should not be made to suffer a financial loss because of unproven allegations that he developed trailer lots on land containing burial mounds. "They talk about loss of money, how it impacts them by their losing money," said Richard LaGarde of WELRP. "It impacts us emotionally, sorrow, a lot of sorrow with this, because it hurts us that they continue to do this over and over." LaGarde knows it'll be a long haul to get a satisfactory resolution at Ottertail and at other sites where similar contentions exist. But he says that he can't "turn his back" on the issue. "It's hard to win in a court that's never been favorable to us as Indian people in any way," he commented about the lawsuit. "But it's something that we have use because it's there. Whatever happens there, I just hope that we get the message out to people -- they may read or hear of it -- that's it's not okay to disturb our cemeteries. They deserve the same respect as any other traditional denominational cemetery." --------- "RE: Resisting Imperialism" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Aug 1994 17:53:08 -0400 (EDT) From: Sean Purdy Subj: Louis Riel: Resisting Imperialism Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) [*******PNEWS CONFERENCES*********] To: PNEWS ARTICLES Unpublished article on native rights and the fight against imperialism by Greg Waters and Sean Purdy LOUIS RIEL: Resisting Imperialism The rise of capitalism in the "New World" began with the brutal expropriation and subjugation of native peoples. When describing this barbaric process Marx observed that "capital comes into the world dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt ..." Though the weapons of conquest varied from warfare and deliberate starvation to legal sleight of hand, by the late nineteenth century, the land, resources and ways of life of native peoples throughout the Americas were thoroughly devastated. In areas where this process was accomplished the quickest and most decisively, an economic system built on wage labour and driven by the pursuit of profit was able to sink deep roots. Thus, by the 1880s, an industrial order centered in what is now the eastern part of North America had emerged. In the northern half of the continent, a new ruling class of British financiers and Canadian industrialists was on the move. After establishing an industrial base in central Canada, they began looking to the rich and untapped farmlands of the west. Opening up and settling the west was crucial in the competitive scramble for profits with the burgeoning industrial power to the south, the United States. What these aggressive capitalists, backed by the Tory government, were not expecting, however, was massive resistance by the indigenous peoples of the region. Racist myths maintain that natives were passive victims of European imperialism. Yet the real history of native peoples in America is a history not only of oppression, but also one of militant struggle and rebellion. The Metis rebellions of 1870 and 1885 stand as particularly brilliant testimonies to this tradition of native resistance. Rallying the indigenous peoples of the region, Louis Riel led a anti-imperialist rebellion which checked the advancement of hungry land-grabbers ruthlessly pursuing profits and property. Uniting the oppressed French-speaking population and native peoples, the Metis rebellions highlighted the necessity of solidarity and mass struggle from below in the fight for national self-determination. The Metis people were the French-speaking descendents of French settlers and aboriginal peoples and comprised a large percentage of the population of the Canadian west. They were mostly nomadic buffalo hunters who supplied the sparse agricultural settlements of the region. Some Metis had set up small farms and others worked as carters and boatmen for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), the fur trading enterprise which exercised total political and economic control of the west. By the 1860s, the Metis were a distinct native-born group united by the French language and the Catholic religion. The traditional fur-trading economy of the west was on its last legs, however. Declining markets and over-exploitation of natural resources paved the way for the westward expansion of agricultural settlement. The Canadian state, newly formed in 1867, was prepared to do the bidding of its industrialist benefactors. They duly purchased the huge territory from the HBC, hoping to replace their rule with federal state control and undertake settlement programmes. With the stroke of a pen, political freedoms and land rights were erased. In the words of one historian, "One of the greatest transfers of territory and sovereignty in history was conducted as a mere transaction in real estate." In this context of dispossession and disenfranchisement of native peoples, Louis Riel emerged to lead a resistance movement. Riel was born into a family which combined a deep sense of religious conviction with a unyielding commitment to Metis rights. At the age of 14, he travelled to the largely francophone province of Quebec to study. In 1865, Riel was expelled for failing to conform to the harsh discipline of the conservative Catholic seminary which he attended. He moved on to study law with a prominent Quebec nationalist politician. There he was exposed to the vibrant currents of nationalist resistance to Confederation--the 1867 constitutional arrangement that formalized the national oppression of native peoples and francophones. In response to hardships imposed by drought and famine for the Metis community and his family he returned to the west in 1868. The next year the Metis rose in armed rebellion. The spark which set off the rebellion was the federal government's illegal dispatchment of land surveyors into the region to carve up their newly acquired territory. Under the leadership of Riel the Metis formed a disciplined military organization structured along the lines of the traditional buffalo hunt. A National Committee was struck, and a provisional government was elected. The core of the resistance movement was comprised of the rank and file of the community--hunters and boatsmen--not the wealthy Metis traders who refused to support the actions of the elected National Committee. On December 5, 1869 the Metis government published a "List of Rights", proclaiming the necessity of consulting the inhabitants of any plans to become part of Canada. In addition to seeking protection for their land, other demands included guarantees for the French language and Catholic education. The Tory Prime Minister John A. Macdonald responded by extending a velvet glove which concealed an iron fist. The area was given provincial status, the provisional government was recognized, an amnesty was granted to the insurgents and the Metis were promised land rights. Yet all the while Macdonald was preparing to crush the rebellion. "Should these miserable half-breeds not disband," he fumed, "they must be put down." In another letter, he wrote: "These impulsive half-breeds have got spoiled by this disturbance, and must be kept down by a strong hand until they are swamped by the influx of settlers." In central Canada, the virulently anti-French and anti-native Orange Lodge was organizing with the Tories to foment racial hatred between the white minority and the Metis. It was not long before Macdonald unleashed thousands of troops to quell the uprising. Canadian troops raped Metis women, pillaged and then destroyed many Metis settlements. White racists unleashed a virtual reign of terror in many towns in revenge for the uprising. Riel and the Metis leadership fled to the United States. Nevertheless his stature as a resistance leader remained. In 1872 he was acclaimed to a seat in the Canadian Parliament, but was refused by a vote of the House and was officially exiled. During the next decade and a half the Canadian state committed itself to a policy of land settlement which was consciously intended to reduce the Metis population to a small minority. The existence of the Metis population and their rights as a French-speaking minority were put in peril by legal trickery, outright repression, lies, and the massive influx of white settlers who enjoyed privileged access to the best land and resources. By the 1880s the Metis had been swindled out of their land rights and forced to move west to eke out a livelihood. Riel was well aware of the Metis' dire situation. In a letter addressed to the citizens of the US he declared that the Metis "lands of the North West Territory, the possession of which had been solemnly guaranteed to us by the government fifteen years ago, have since been torn from us, and given to land grabbers who have never seen this country." The Metis and native peoples in the region were in serious danger of mass starvation as they were deprived of most rights and resources. After countless petitions and legal wrangling to redress economic and national grievances were ignored, a delegation of Metis convinced Riel to return to the Canadian west to lead the struggle for self-determination. On March 17, 1885 Riel was declared president of a new provisional government. Despite a number of brave military battles in which 700 Metis fought off over 5,000 troops, the rebels were crushed. The Metis determination to fight for national liberation inspired local native bands--who had been consciously starved and forced into reserves by the government--to rise spontaneously in armed revolt. Given their common interests and their willingness to resist, the tragedy is that there was no coordination of the native and Metis uprisings. Vicious savagery against Metis settlements accompanied the military victory. The Metis and native peoples were soon forced onto reserves and subject to a pass law system--in operation until 1930--which served as the model for South Africa's racist apartheid system. After the defeat of the 1885 rebellion a jury composed of exclusively white settlers convicted Riel of high treason and sentenced him to death. A massive, but unsuccessful, campaign was launched for a pardon of Riel. French-Canadians in the rest of the country saw Riel and the other Metis as heroic martyrs for the cause of self-determination. On the occasion of his execution there was a 50,000 strong protest demonstration in Montreal. Glimpses of solidarity with the Metis rebellion were evident in the emerging workers' movement. The Knights of Labour--the mass based North American union and labour party--wrote articles in support of the Riel rebellion. One of the key non-Metis supporters of Riel, his secretary during the rebellion, became an active militant in the labour movement and travelled throughout the US speaking on the necessity of solidarity between workers and native peoples. Despite the attempt by the far right racist Reform Party to appropriate the memory of Riel for the cause of so-called regional rights, the real legacy of the Metis rebellions is evident today in the militant struggles over land claims and aboriginal self-government. Over a century later--against overwhelming odds similar to the balance of forces in 1885--Oka, Quebec witnessed Mohawk warriors taking up arms to defend ancestral lands which were slated to become a municipal golf course. For over three months the warriors withstood a siege by the state's tanks and soldiers. In doing so, they brought to the fore the issue of native rights and garnered widespread support across the country. The battle at Oka proved once again that mass actions from below and solidarity among the exploited and the oppressed is the only successful strategy in the fight for indigenous peoples to freely determine their own futures.