Subject: nanews03.007 From: gars@netcom.com (Gary Night Owl) To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Message-ID: _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 03, ISSUE 007 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 18 February 1995 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 NATIVE-L, NATCHAT, EIRP & TRIBALLAW Mailing Lists, Genie (General Electric) & UUCP email, UseNet newsgroups alt.native & soc.culture.native Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. <----<<<< >>>>----> 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 to include in the NATIVE-L lists.(part A) It is echoed on AISESnet, IND-NET, and EIRP listservers and archived by AISESnet. Thanks to Marc Becker, mbecker@uclink2.berkeley.edu, issues of Wotanging Ikche/Kanoheda Aniyvwiya are now being archived at a World-Wide-Web site. The URL is http://ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu/~marc/journals/nanews/ This is a test site, and at some point in the future the location of these files will change. Thanks to Phil Duran, duranp@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu, issues are now being archived at the Washington State University gopher in the following directory: gopher.wsu.edu /WSU Campuses Info /Public Services /Native Peoples "My paw is Sacred, the herbs are everywhere. My paw is Sacred, all things are Sacred." __ Song of the Lakota Bear Doctors +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! This issue contains several very urgent appeals from Brothers and Sisters under attack in all directions. This issue tells of the tall standing ones about to be destroyed for the greed of a few. I have been told the Four Sacred Winds will blow again, the calendar will roll up and Mother Earth will cleanse Herself. I believe this. I have been told the Sacred Hoop must be mended and all The People must be brought into The Great Circle. I believe this. I speak now to those who take but do not give, look but do not see the truth, speak but do not listen. You cannot mend any circle if the circle you bring into it is broken. Peace! Night Owl , , Gary Night Owl gars@genie.geis.com (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@netcom.com (`-') Marietta, GA 30067, U.S.A. gars@igc.apc.org ===w=w=== NativeNet Node 90:133/2501 FidoNet 1:133/2501 ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- Part A: Usenet and e-mail Part B: NATCHAT and NATIVE-L lists - Tell The People!!!! - Conferences and Powwows - online - Mexico: URGENT APPEAL TO THE WORLD - Urgent:Sacred Lands/Mount Shasta - Rose Auger, Prophecies and Music - Alert: SE Alaska Rainforests - Sovereignty in Quebec - If You Want to Know - Bear Butte Land Trust - California Tongva Chief Passes On - BIA Water Resources and Surveyor - Navajo-Hopi Update Training Programs - Poem: Coyote Morning - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline --------- "RE: Tell The People!!!! " --------- Date: Sat, 11 Feb 1995 16:15:52 -0500 (EST) From: nipc@gwuvm.gwu.edu (Ann Parsons) - From: Bob Zenhausern - From: Goodwin@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu (Chuck Goodwin) Subj: Tell The People!!!! UUCP email Dear Night Owl, Please forgive the two screens of headers on this msg, but I repost this because it comes, *not* from any Native American net or source but from a notable doctor of education in New York City. He wouldn't post something which he felt was in accurate, or I don't think so. Anyway, here is the message. Do not let our relations suffer in silence!!!!! Mitaquye Oyasin, Ann P. Date: Sat, 11 Feb 1995 14:45:03 -0500 (EST) From: Bob Zenhausern Subject: Forwarded Message Re: Mexican Massacre Comments: Resent-From: Bob Zenhausern Comments: Originally-From: Rollin Denniston I forwarded this to president@whitehouse.gov and asked if anything was going on here that he should consider in our dealing with Mexico ----------------------------Original message---------------------------- >From: Goodwin@univscvm.csd.scarolina.edu (Chuck Goodwin) >Subject: Massacre in Chiapas >We've just received an emergency call from friends in Mexico. They tell us >that the Mexican army has surrounded the city of San Cristobal in Chiapas, >and that the hospital in the nearby city of Comitan is flooded with >casualties. The press is being excluded from the area. The people being >attacked are the Mayan Indians, and other poor farmers, who've been denied >land and food since the conquest. > >They've asked that we try to get word about this out via email. While we >have no further information beyond this one call I ask you to pass this >message on, or tell anyone you think relevant via any means so that this >does not occur in silence. > >============================ >Chuck Goodwin >Anthropology >University of South Carolina >Columbia SC 29208 > (803) 356-6006 > (803) 777-0259 (fax) --------- "RE: Mexico: URGENT APPEAL TO THE WORLD" --------- Date: Sun, 12 Feb 95 08:44 EST From: usi@infi.net ("Mexicanos Exiliados pro-Democracia") Subj: Mexico: URGENT APPEAL TO THE WORLD Newsgroup: soc.culture.native February 11, 1995 To the peoples and governments of the world, To the United Nations Organization, To the Organization of American States, To the International Red Cross, To the world's nongovernmental organizations, To the media: Once again the Mexican Government is showing its disregard for both the Mexican Constitution and the Geneva Conventions for Armed Conflicts. Ernesto Zedillo, de facto President of Mexico, has issued Federal arrest warrants against six individuals accused of leading the EZLN (or Ejercito Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional). By ordering the Federal Army to execute those warrants WITHOUT PRIOR CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF A STATE OF EMERGENCY, he violates the Mexican Constitution. In addition, Mr. Zedillo's order disregards the Geneva Conventions for Armed Conflict, for the soldiers of a Belligerent Army are treated as though they were common criminals. Moreover, his order disregards the sovereignty of the State of Chiapas, inasmuch as it gives Federal jurisdiction to alleged criminal activities that would otherwise fall within the jurisdiction of the said state, had the crimes been committed by civilians. While Mr. Zedillo based his use of the Federal Army on article 89 of the Mexican Constitution, he was oblivious of the same Constitution (articles 13; 16; 21; 29; 49; 73, fractions XIV and XXX; and 129) which imposes strict limitations and conditions for the use of the military, SPECIFICALLY DEMANDING CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL, PARTICULARLY IF THE ARMY IS SENT AGAINST CIVILIANS; and, according to Mr. Zedillo the soldiers of the EZLN are civilians. The illegal Executive Order will no doubt reignite the Civil War in Chiapas and has the potential to spread the conflict to the entire Mexican territory, and beyond. Mexican Exiles for Democracy urges all law-abiding citizens of the world, as well as their governments and the international organizations to sever all ties between them and the de facto government of Mexico. We urge, in addition, an immediate embargo on weapons and military paraphernalia to Mexico, the garnishment of any and all Mexican assets in your territories, the expulsion of Mexican ambassadors, consuls and other diplomatic personnel from your countries and organizations; we also urge you to call urgent sessions of the UNO Security Council and the OAS in order to demand an explanation from the Mexican government; finally, we urge you to hear the demands of the EZLN. The International Red Cross must be alerted to be prepared for a prolonged and bloody Civil War in Mexico, since the spurious government has shown, beyond any reasonable doubt, its lack of intent for peace with justice and dignity. We urge our fellow non-governmental organizations to send observers to the War Zones in Chiapas, as well as to those that might develop elsewhere in Mexico. We ask the peoples of the world to boycott Mexican products and to lobby your respective governments to protect your countries' interests by not intervening in Mexico and to abide by the principles of non-intervention and peoples' self-determination. "For a Free and Democratic Mexico" Luis Melgoza, for the International Executive Committee. -- Mexican Exiles for Democracy Surface Mail: 386 J S MILITARY HWY, NORFOLK VA 23502 USA Telephone: (804)461-3119 Fax: (804)459-2350 --------- "RE: Rose Auger, Prophecies and Music" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Feb 1995 10:19:11 -0500 From: aj096@freenet.carleton.ca (Michael Patterson) Subj: Prophecies and Music UUCP email Hi Gary Aboriginal VOICES just published our Winter issue. I had written a story on an elder, which got chopped considerably by the editor. I wonder if you would be interested in running it as is: Re prophecies and music Rose Auger is a medicine woman of the Woodland Cree people from Driftpile reserve, near Faust Alberta. We talked about music, although there is no word for music in Native languages. The drum, rattle and flute, the songs, are all used for sacred and other purposes, they are all part of something larger than just music. "People say the Indian way of life is gone after 500 years, but look at me. I'm here." Her music and her ceremonies are used to bring spirits and help the people. The social system today and the lifestyles of people, particularly in the cities, is putting their spirits and bodies in danger. The 9 to 5 lifestyle for money, the culture of the TV, the inner city life that leaves so many people lost, are all killing people. Rose works to help people see the reality of the red road. "Sometimes I wonder how it can work, with the way we have our lifestyles, they way we eat, the way we abuse our body in all that we do. You know, a lot of people are so tired from a day's work that they'll go home and then they'll try to relax with alcohol or whatever. More abuse ! And then finally they fall asleep in the wee hours, then get up and take off again. That's a very abusive life. And then they wonder why they have all this turmoil in their life, and disease in their body, it's just chaos. "I see this, and try my very best to bring it out to people, to say 'stop doing that, there is a better way.' You know we were here thousands of years, and we know a better way. We have the values of our ancestors, which are in our genes, which are here. Stop using this harmful drink, this harmful drugs, and values. Your values are not good, it's driving you crazy." Governments and society are in a state of denial in regards to the sickness that has fallen on mother earth. As a result, purification foreseen by the Cree in the West has begun. "The purification already has happened. If you pay attention, look at the world and the natural disasters, that's part of purification. Your earthquakes, your floods like the great ones down Florida way and Texas - that's all part of it. The purification means many lives lost and many, many people totally wiped out. You have your air disasters, your wars, your fanatics who wipe out people. "A lot of people think that purification is the end of the world. I don't think that's the way it is. It just a way that's going to change things: The money markets are going to collapse, money is going to have less and less value, and people are going to have to learn how to survive and go back to the old ways and the land, to relearn their natural traditions in order to become whole. "When the holy people were putting out their teachings of prophecy, they told us: 'Go back to the land. Learn how to find your water. Old knowledge. Learn how, so that when purification happens you will be prepared for it.' I've done that, I've led people back to the land to prepare for that purification, but they're just too weak, too weak. They gotta have town, town..." Rose tries to show people how to live with the land and the spirits on the land. Not everybody is ready to learn. Some time ago at Timbers (a sacred site in Alberta), she went out to help people prepare for the purification by teaching them about the land there. "The first year they put in the garden they didn't get much out of it because the gophers got it all, you see ? (laughs) So that's as far as they went, they didn't learn how they had to do it. They could have put up offerings and fixed it so that those ones would not do that, you see, because you're working with the spirits. "And that's the way it went. And that's the way it goes today. People are willing to grasp at our value system, our knowledge, our wisdom. But they can only go so far. When it means changing your lifestyle or doing things differently - that's a very difficult move to make. And then there are some young people are so super eager about saying 'oh yes yes I'm gonna give up my job and go back to the land and be like you were, before white man came. "And I say 'yes that is super, that is wonderful, but let me tell you my dear friend, you must have support in what you do. You can't do it alone.' And you must also know how to relate to mother earth and all the beings, whether it's trees or medicine or water. You have to make that connection. And don't jump into it. Your body cannot take it. Your mind is too unbalanced. Your mind will get the worst of you. So you have to do it in a way that makes the transition wise. "Continue to have some place where you have this (your life today) and then, work at it over there. Because when you get over there and you want to live the right way, you have to know that it's not just for today, but fifty years from now. You will build that place for the generations coming, they they will have a place. To have the natural water, and to have the medicines. "I built a round house, and the beavers kept making dams because that was their area and we came and invaded it. And so they kept making their dams and our land was flooding and we couldn't keep our horses and our cattle there because their hoofs would suffer, it was too damp. So finally I had to do a ceremony and ask the beaver to pity us, and go somewhere else. And they did. They moved, you see... that is the teaching of our ancient ancestors, that we have a way of living in harmony with the beings. "The thing was, some of the people who were there building, said 'Well go get us some dynamite and we'll dynamite the beaver dam and houses and that's how we'll get rid of them.' And I said 'No, no, you don't need to do that, that's destructive, to disturb all the plant life, all the waters." Some people are now waking up, says Rose. "People are just now saying: 'What happened here ?' (speaking of the crisis in the world today). And then when we come in and tell them, they may accept it or they might try to find other ways of looking at it. But most times people just will not make those changes that they need to make in order to know a better way of life. "That better way of life was here for thousands of years. Those days, those times, there were no prisons or hospitals. We always lived in harmony and our people who were medicine people, or people of visions, people of dreams, they played all those parts to keep the nations alive and in harmony. Rose plays her part through her music, her ceremonies, and travels. This things are done to reach people. She has 126 spirits, and she carries a yuipi ceremony, given to her by a Sioux medicine man who had carried it for 42 years. "He came to my land, and passed it to me and one of my brothers. "I have my own sacred songs and they're addressed to different spirit people, and different things. Most of them came to me and the others, that were passed to me, came when the ceremony was passed to me. That's how it works. The music and the ceremony are all one. If you profess to know a ceremony and you don't have the music, then it's not a ceremony." She doesn't use a drum, she uses a rattle. "Me, I have turtle rattles, and I've had a turtle rattle since I can remember. Someone coming up here will say 'how come there's turtle rattles here, there's no turtles here... ' you know, but the spirits are universal. We knew the turtle and we had the turtle in our ceremonies... it's a real ancient spirit. The same as you see shells, we use shells... all these things are everywhere. How it came about is... back there somewhere. I'm just a baby, I don't know." She says that people have been travelling a long, long time. "Turtle rattles, they have them in the West and in the East. I've had different rattles given me like the small ones, I like the small ones, the ones that I work with. I also have a big one, which was given to me by the Onondaga (firekeepers of the Iroquois Confederacy). A grandmother brought me there and I did some doctoring and they gave me this rattle and they gave me tobacco and they gave me a lot of sacred stuff. It's because of love of our ceremonies. "Spirits are so holy, that's why we have rattles. That's why we have a ceremony. We put all these sacred objects there for them to use. To touch us, that's how holy they are. That's why we have what we have, you know - the pipe, the rattles, the sage, all these sacred things. "We put them there for them (the spirits) to come, and to cleanse us, heal us - all that we need. And we always ask for everything, in our ceremonies. We ask for forgiveness for the mistakes we made, anything that we may have inflicted on somebody that caused them pain, or maybe put them off course on their path. "What mistakes we make, we have to ask for forgiveness and ask, you know, to learn. Show me, teach me, have no pity on me - how else am I going to learn ? In my early years I made a lot of mistakes. I kept worrying: 'I can't do this, I'm not holy enough, I wont be able to do this - I've just done too many things that are not good.' And the holy man who passed the lodge to me kept saying 'it's not your choice, the spirits chose you, you have to do it, you have no choice. "Most people have their own free destiny, they can choose. I'm not one of them. This is what I was told, and so, regardless of how I may try to run away and ignore what comes through, it'll keep coming until I respond. And in the beginning I used to really put myself through a lot of pain because I was ignoring the spirit. But I finally learned to realize that there's no other way to go that will leave me this great sense of well being. "In my life, I've gone through so much, so many places, met so many people. So I'm always prepared to hear what people say, what people think, and I want that. I honour it as much when somebody's upset as when somebody's happy. I just honour what's happening with them, and sometimes it's painful, especially when it's from our own people. Those kind of things are painful. "But I know a way to free myself from that pain. I just take a smudge and smoke my little pipe, then I'm back on track. Because to work in a holy way you always have to be holy, in order for the spirit to work through you." A constant healing process is needed for a healthy life. Her helper Celeste Strikeswithagun equates that with learning kindness: "There are people who say: 'Oh I'll do that, I'll do anything (to get the spirituality).' But they don't know what it takes. It takes your whole life to learn about kindness, about being happy." Rose says that "once you're on it (the road) you just flow with your life. And the part that most people find difficult is the part to give. To give of their time, of theirselves, to give without expectations. When you give you give from your heart. And you know that the creator sees you and watches you, and the creator's going to give you what you need. And you a lot of the time don't even know what that is. But you just know that you do this and it will be given to you. "Someone who is always giving away things, he just walks free. He doesn't accumulate a bunch of stuff that weighs him down. They're just free. They're just so free in life. That's how our people were. They just roamed this world, everywhere. Because they never got weighed down by the materialistic world. They just had survival, what that was about - and the most important part is the spirituality, being able to get from here to there anytime. "I have a car, which was given to me. When I get in my car, I light my smudge, I offer my tobacco for protection from anything harmful. Also for help so I can get where I'm going soon. In that process the police might cross my path, but he's busy with someone else or he fell asleep at that moment I went by there, breaking the speed limit. "When we're in that power, it's just so awesome. Myself, I don't want to be there alone so I work really hard to teach my children, my grandchildren, and all the people who wish to come and learn. Learn and be free to pursue that lifestyle. In this world, it's all connected. We don't separate ourselves from anything. We venture into life with this kind of support and help from our ways. "Learning to be in harmony, especially with the water... you have to be in harmony and connected with all these things because should it be that some kind of disaster happens, then you're going to have that knowledge, and the spirit people helping you. It's not going to work to just go and be there on the land, and not be connected." She has had many good times, teaching the people and bringing the spirit to give guidance. Her way of life and her songs are shared by many people. She describes an experience at Waterhen Reserve in Alberta: "It was so beautiful... we had just put our pipes up and we were fasting, and it was in September, the leaves were just beautiful and the water was incredible. And so here we were, we were coming down from the fast, and the women had brought the food, we were going to have a feast right on the shore of that lake. "And a whole school of loons were there because that's where they lived, these loons. And so they started coming, and they were just talking and telling each other what we were about, what we were doing. And they were very pleased, because the loon man was there, that's my son Dale, he has this gift of the loon call. So he started to call, and they just came right to the shore, and they were just going in and talking back and we were all in awe of what these loons were doing before our eyes. This wasn't just loons, this was sacred beings and we were in their territory. "And my son has the loon song, and then the people sang the loon song and we were in unity with these loons. That was so profound for me, I had never seen that before. That unity, that these beings, these loons, knew who we were. And we had a vague idea what they were about. We know they are very sacred, they are the medicine people of the waters, of the land. We knew that, but there was much more than that between us. "Most people will never really get to know the extent of what everything is about. But everyone can learn things. You learn to be grateful when you have that opportunity to be passed these songs, these rituals and ceremonies - being able to work with these beings. It's a great gift. Even just one spirit." -- Michael Patterson spirit voice radio 93.1 FM 3-137 Columbus Ave. Aboriginal VOICES magazine Ottawa Ontario Canada K1K 1P9 aj096@freenet.carleton.ca fax and phone (613) 748 1636 algonguin territory --------- "RE: Sovereignty in Quebec" --------- Date: 95/02/11 18:44 From: Suzan Horovitch (a.horovitch.genie.geis.com) Subj: Sovereignty in Quebec GE Electronic Mail From Suzan Horovitch St. Jean Baptiste, Quebec Feb. 12, 1994 The Quebec government in moving towards a referendum to decide whether the province is to stay within Canada or go its separate way, has begun a series of sovereignty hearings. The express purpose of these hearing is to hear from the people the form of government/society they would want after separation... however, one in five briefs presented have had a federalist platform. At one hearing, in Lanaudiere, Francoise Barthe, a resident of St. Calixte ( 35 km. northeast of Montreal) suggested that an army was necessary if Quebec was to protect its territory from "foreign aggressors " and suggested such a force might be needed to maintain Quebec's territorial integrity, and to maintain peace with the aboriginals. Deputy Premier Bernard Laundry was on hand to respond. " Don't exaggerate their importance. We have to be realistic and respect our aboriginal people but they represent less than 1 percent of the population and are divided into 14 tribes. We can resolve whatever difference we have with them by negotiation. We will be an exemplary nation." He rejected outright the notion that Quebec needs an army to maintain peace with the natives. In other news, the two nations that the Parti Quebecois was negotiating with to settle land claims, the Innu and Atimakek have rejected the most the recent offer. They say that the land that the Quebec government is willing to give them self government on is too small and much more territory would be required. They would also, under this agreement, fall under the government of Quebec rather than Canada, and this they are not willing to agree to at this time. Brave Star --------- "RE: Bear Butte Land Trust" --------- Date: 95/02/11 21:19 From: James D. Audlin (j.audlin@genie.geis.com) Subj: Bear Butte Land Trust GE Electronic Mail The following is from a letter from Tek Nickerson (Muskogee/Creek), Chairperson and National Director of the Sacred Hoop of America Resource Exchange (SHARE) Bear Butte Lodge Board of Directors. Other members of the Board include Arlene Nickerson, William Giese, Elvin (Silver Bear) Lockwood, David Swallow Jr., and Anita Whipple. The Bear Butte Lodge Council of Elders includes Irvin Red Fox, Charles Little Old Man, Austin Two Moons, and David Swallow Jr. Appendant to the following letter are a number of documents outlining the history of this matter and SHARE's involvement. --Distant Eagle ======================================================================== I hope you are excited about the chance to rescue a pivotal 40-acre property at one of North America's most important Native sites, Bear Bute, in Sturgis, South Dakota. For the Sioux, Cheyenne, Mandan, Arikara, and other Native Americans of the northern plains, Bear Bute has been a sacred vision quest site for over four thousand years. This land has been stolen, desecrated, and misused for generations. We now have a unique opportunity to turn the tide, buy a motorcycle camp (HOG Camp), and return the land to public use as a sacred site. This 40-acre camp will be the impetus for the formation of the Bear Butte Land Trust, a joint activity of tribal governments and non-profit [organizations], with the mission [being to] secure private and state-owned land at Bear Butte and returning this entire area to public use for spiritual and cultural activities. For the Native people across the country, the return of Bear Butte to sacred use would likely be the single most important event in Native American history since the massacre at Wounded Knee, just 103 years ago. Time is of the essence! We must raise the $35,000 down payment for the 40-acre camp before February 28, and the full $350,000 by September 1, 1995. We are certain that the down payment will provide the momentum needed to generate broad-based public support nationwide. We need your help to make this vision come true! The theater in which this drama is unfolding is in the Black Hills... To the Lakota/Sioux, the Black Hills are sacred and therefore are not for sale. The Great Sioux Nation refuses to claim the funds voted by Congress to compensate for the taking of these hills under broken treaties. Two sites are particularly sacred for Native people: > Harney Peak, where the Lakota Holy Man, Black Elk, received his vision and today park attendants charge Indians to enter and pray, and > Bear Butte, where the Cheyenne prophet Sweet Medicine received his instructions, not unlike Moses on Mt. Sinai. Bear Butte, in Sturgis, S.D., rises majestically from the grassy plains - a mountain butte in the shape of a sleeping bear. For Native Americans all across the country, Bear Butte continues to serve as a very popular magnet for traditional worship. Since the arrival of the U.S. Cavalry and gold miners 126 years ago, this sacred land was stolen in defiance of the U.S. Supreme Court and sold for private ranches, a state park, and a motorcycle campground. Tourists litter the sacred vision quest grounds and trails with beer cans. Traditional Native people continue to come to fast and vision quest in record numbers, and to pray for a way to return the land to sacred use. [Because of] the erosion of their land, culture, identity, and self- esteem, Native Americans have the highest percentage of drug and alcohol use (85%), the highest incidence of fetal alcohol effect (70%), the highest suicide rate among youth, and the shortest life expectancy (43 years). In response, a small but important step forward was made in August 1990 when the founders of SHARE (Sacred Hoop of America Resource Exchange) personally bought a 40-acre ranch with a lodge at the base of Bear Butte and turned its exclusive use over to SHARE. An advisory Council [see list above] of Native spiritual leaders who frequent Bear Butte was formed to act as the heart and mind to set policy and programs at the ranch. Meanwhile, SHARE raises the funds to support the Council's programs and the facilities. The Council, as grandparents, requested a safe place where they could bring their grandchildren to restore their cultural pride, identity, and self-esteem. This will help protect the next generation from drug and alcohol abuse as they move into their teens. With the generosity of SHARE supporters, a culturally based youth camp site was created by the Council in June 1991 that i both regional and intertribal, unique yet replicable. SHARE provides school groups with free use of tipis, cook pits, and sanitary facilities at the majestic base of Bear Butte. The schools provide bus loads of kids, bedrolls, food, spiritual leaders with their own agenda and staff. While the campsite primarily serves Sioux, Arapaho, Arikara, and Cheyenne youth-at-risk between 8 and 13 years old, it also hosts cross-cultural exchanges of non-Indian youth groups from as far away as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and California. Bear Butte itself annually attracts thousands of poor "pilgrims" from the urban cores of Portland OR, Minneapolis MN, Denver CO, Oklahoma City OK, NYC, and Canada, as well as the dozens of reservations on the northern and southern plains. They come for vision quest and to restore their spiritual, mental, and emotional balance. Bear Butte is a powerful oasis in a land otherwise hostile to its host culture. Every August the town of Sturgis hosts the Annual Sturgis Motorcycle rally. The Rally creates an instant city of 250,000 bikers, compared to the population of 102,000 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota's largest city. It is estimated that one third of the bikers belong to gangs that deal in illegal drugs, while the balance are weekend "wannabes" from all vocations. Most of the bikers have come for a rowdy vacation and camp in tents. The state police report that the drug trafficking, prostitution, violence, arrests, and injuries, and fatalities are expected occurrences of any "city" of this size. To the casual observer, the Rally is a very noisy, two-week beer party blowout for 250,000 bikers, 80,000 of whom are hardened drug traffickers. People still talk of the time, not long ago, when the portajohns were dynamited by a biker drug gang to prevent police spies from having an excuse to come into their camp. Think of it as the national annual drug traffickers' convention and shopping mall. In 1986, Bernie Micheel founded the HOG Camp (HOG = Harley Owners' Group) at his 40-acre ranch at the base of bear Butte to serve bikers at the Rally. The HOG Camp is adjacent to SHARE's cultural camp; we can hear their sound system blasting away, while fasters are on the Butte trying to concentrate! The cultural camp must close for two weeks during this disruption. Every year Bernie has made substantial improvements to bring his camp into compliance with state [regulations as a year-round camp, complete with 42 RV hookups, 10 cabins, cooking facilities for large numbers, showers and portajohns for 500 biker-campers on 10 acres. During the 50th anniversary, there were as many as 1600 campers at any one time. If SHARE fails to meet the february 28th down payment, the offer of sale defaults to the N.Y. chapter of the Harley Owners' Group, which proposes to develop the HOG Camp more intensely, perhaps much more intensely, as will be demonstrated. The largest biker camp is Buffalo Chips (400 acres), which is noted for its flowing beer and big name entertainment to an audience of 20,000. Women may not enter the portajohns without first baring their breasts. his camp is reputedly so dangerous that the state police avoid entering for fear of their lives. The camp owner, Rod Woodruff, recently lost his liquor license, and offered $100,000 and half the beer sales to HOG Camp owner, Bernie Micheel, in return for bringing Buffalo Chips over to HOG Camp at Bear Butte. Micheel turned him down, but do you think the N.Y. HOGs will decline as new owners, if SHARE fails to purchase? I believe the future of Bear Butte, as we know it, is at stake here, and we are each being tested about our commitment to Native culture as epitomized by traditions that have been practiced at Bear Butte for over 4,000 years. It is time to stand up and make a difference. SHARE is working to raise the down payment of $35,000 to secure the purchase. Our Board donated $3,000 to kick off the capital campaign, and we are proceeding at full speed. We have initiated talks with the tribal councils of two reservations, and plan to extend these talks to all northern plains tribal councils. However, we have not raised much more money since January 16 and I am concerned. We must create momentum immediately to carry us to our goal! If we can make the down payment on February 28th, we will have bought six months to pull all the parties together, raise the balance, and establish the Bear Butte Land Trust in time for the closing on September 1st. We really need all the help we can get! Perhaps there are key people or foundations you know who would find this opportunity worth their serious consideration. Will you help us beat the deadline and put this together? I can be reached at 1-800-WARMTH-9 all day and all night and will send copies of the grant request to those willing to consider making significant contributions. Warmest wishes, /s/ Tek Nickerson, National Director, SHARE, Inc. --------- "RE: BIA Water Resources and Surveyor Training Programs" --------- Date: Thu, 9 Feb 1995 16:09:08 -0800 From: "James Phillip King" Subj: BIA Water Resources and Surveyor Training Programs Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) My name is Phil King and I am a professor at New Mexico State University. I'd like to get the word out about a training program that the BIA is putting on to educate Native Americans about the technical, legal, and cultural aspects of water resource management. The training has several unique points that have made it extremely effective in developing on-Reservation expertise: 1. The BIA pays all training and travel expenses. In addition, they provide funding to the successful participant's home Tribe to employ the individual for one year. First they get trained, then they get that crucial first job. 2. The federal agencies most involved in water resources and surveying participate in the training. Students learn the ins and outs of the government's role, and they develop an excellent network of expert contacts all over the country. 3. Graduates of the programs are working in water quality, flow measurement, water resources engineering, water law, hydrographic survey, and cadastral survey all over the country, including Alaska. You can't argue with success. Graduates become part of this growing family of Native American natural resources experts. Participants must have a high school diploma or GED, be on the rolls of a federally recognized Tribe, and have a letter of endorsement from their Tribe. The application form is the SF171, which is available from any federal office. This program is the brainchild of the BIA's Mo Baloch, who you can contact at (202) 208-6042. I'm handling the applications, so please contact me at jpking@nmsu.edu or (505) 646-5377 for further details or if you have any questions. If you are active on any other relevant discussion groups, please post this there. I'd like to get the word out, but our mailings to the Tribes don't always make it to the individuals who would like to apply. Thank you. --------- "RE: Poem: Coyote Morning" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Jul 94 03:45:59 GMT From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: Coyote Morning Newsgroup: alt.native Old men and old coyote dogs boil their dreams in the sun served steaming within a bowl filled with shadows rolling sticks onto the ground and making wild songs while they smack their lips and spit out the dust blown in by the winds nameless and place-less but hard to ignore 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 Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 95/02/11 16:25 From: Kepola (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of February 19-25 GE Electronic Mail A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of February 19-25 PEPELUALI (February) (Kau-lua) 19 I am a keiki o ka aina, a true child of the land! 20 My hope lies in the future; my strength lies in the past; my survival lies in the joining of the two. 21 Look into the eyes of a stranger, ... and find a friend. 22 Trust in the lessons of our heritage. 23 A dream is a wild bird upon the wind! 24 See the world through the eyes of a child. 25 Love is a gift that grows only with the giving. (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, 16 February 95 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: EIRP News Subject: Fish and Wildlife Conference Announcement ========================================================================= The Southwest Region Native American Fish & Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference will be on March 12-16, 1995 to be held at the John Ascuaga's Nugget Hotel in Reno/Sparks, Nevada. This conference is hosted by the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and their Fisheries Department. For More Information Call: Albert John: (702)476-0500 John Antonio:(505)766-3334 Registration Cost: $75.00 (includes Banquet & Tour of Pyramid Lake) The Agenda is pretty long so, just have people call Albert John for an Agenda. ======================================================================= This information provided courtesy of the Extension Indian Reservation Telecommunication Project and EIRPnews: pablob@coopext.cahe.wsu.edu ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ======================================================================= Sender: root@newsbf02.news.aol.com SENECA NATION OF INDIANS "SOVEREIGNTY WALK FOR PEACE" The SENECA NATION OF INDIANS would like to extend an open door to all tribes and those concerned with the sovereignty of the Seneca Nation being jeopardized in New York State Supreme Court. This action could ultimately affect all tribes across the United States. We pray this does not happen. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1995 8:00 AM WILLIAM SENECA BUILDING ROUTE 438 IRVING, NY 14081 716-532-4900 The above information was sent to me by mail and is the Seneca Nation's call to other Indian Nations to help them in a power struggle within the Nation. A group of people within the Seneca Nation are opposed to the newly elected president and have taken their case to the New York State Court. The New York State Court Judge Doyle ruled in favor of the group and as a result has caused a turmoil within the nation. New York State does not have any jurisdiction over the Seneca Nation of Indians. The Seneca Nation President Dennis Bowen has met with representatives from the federal Department of the Interior to enlist their help. He blames the power struggle and political turmoil on Casino gambling. The Seneca Nation and its people voted in a referendum last year to not have casino gambling. The group opposed to Mr. Bowen are in favor of casino gambling. I know this is short notice to the walk for peace however letters in support of the Seneca Nation can be sent to the above address. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: amt@teleport.com Newsgroups: soc.culture.native Subject: Dine Nation Weaving Collective Rug Show Tour! The Weaving Project, Women in Resistance is a collective established in 1986 to directly support the Dineh women's resistance to forced relocation and genocide. The Dine Nation was self-sufficient before the US federal government intruded upon its sovereignty. For the Navajo (Dine in the Navajo language), land is at the center of life and religion. The Big Mountain rugs are not commercially woven rugs. They are traditional forms of spiritual art, still woven with song and prayer. Each rug pattern is created by the individual, and has its own meaning to the weaver. It may tell a story or symbolize a revered part of Mother Earth. The designs of this area reflect the colors and patterns of the naturally dyed wool, taking from one to three months to complete. Weaving techniques and traditions are handed down through the women from generation to generation. This tour will directly support Women in Resistance. A tentative schedule of the Resisting Relocation Speaking Tour and Weaving Project Rug show follows: If you live in Port Townsend or Santa Cruz and would like to help this tour, WE NEED YOU. We need an individual or group contact to help find a hall and set up show. (Please pass this information on to a local Native American student unions). If you live on the tour route, please come out and see the beautiful rugs of the Weaving Project and hear speaker Louise Benally on the Big Mountain Sovereign Dine Nation. Bellingham, WA Thursday March 30 Seattle, WA Friday March 31 Olympia, WA Saturday April 1 Portland, OR Sunday April 2 Break Mon 4/3 - Tues 4/4 Eugene, OR Wednesday April 5 Ashland, OR Thursday April 6 Arcata, CA Friday April 7 Garberville,CA Saturday April 8 Ukiah, CA Sunday April 9 Break Mon 4/10 - Tues 4/11 San Francisco Wednesday April 12 Thursday, Friday, Saturday OPEN for Berkeley, CA Santa Cruz, CA Please contact Project PEACE, 503.246.5445 or amt@teleport.com if you can help out in Berkeley or Santa Cruz. We would also appreciate help of any kind for the duration of the tour; ie donations for lodging, gas, food, for the Elders and crew! Information and donations for Big Mountain Sovereign Dine Nation and environmental work projects (Spring Gathering at Camp Anna Mae) can be made to: Louise Benally, P.O.Box 1042, Hotevilla, AR 86030 Donations to the Women in Resistance Weaving Collective can be made directly to Weaving Resource Center, P.O. Box 865, Kykotsmovi, Arizona 86039, 602.527.2757 For All Our Relations, Project PEACE ========================================================================= From: EIRP News Subject: Boulder-Denver News From: Wes Wildcat INDIAN COUNTRY TOURISM 2000 Conference Wednesday-Friday March 15-17,1995 at the Holiday Inn Denver Downtown. Conference is sponsored by the Western Indian Chamber. 21st ANNUAL DENVER MARCH POW WOW Friday-Sunday, March 17-19,1995, Denver Coliseum. A groundblessing will be held on Thursday March 16th and special contests, no admission charge on Thurs. ELDERS ARE BEING SOUGHT FOR A CONFERENCE FOR FALL 1995 AISES is presently planning a conference in its Traditional Knowledge series, to center on tribal migration and creation stories. Elders who know stories of strangers, occurring in their own traditions will be asked to come to a small conference in the Fall of 1995. This conference will concentrate on traditions that can shed light on how long Indian nations have been in North America. Call the AISES office at 303-939-0023 and leave names, phone numbers, addresses of elders for Vine Deloria Jr. to contact. NATIVE AMERICAN AWARENESS WEEK Monday-Saturday, April 3-8, 1995 at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Speakers, forums, films, entertainment and a pow wow are some of the events planned. ========================================================================= This information provided courtesy of the Extension Indian Reservation Telecommunication Project and EIRPnews: pablob@coopext.cahe.wsu.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ========================================================================= From: EIRP News Subject: Elders' Gathering: Peterborough, ON. Canada Original Sender: drheault@trentu.ca TWELFTH ANNUAL ELDERS' AND TRADITIONAL PEOPLES' GATHERING "FAMILY GROWTH THROUGH OUR ELDERS" FEBRUARY 17, 18 & 19, 1995 TRENT UNIVERSITY, PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO, CANADA Boozhoo! It is again our great honour to present this year's Elders' Gathering. There will be 17 Elders this year, each presenting a lecture and/or workshop on different Native issues: _Avis Archambault_ is a Native American; Lakota/Gros Ventre from Ft. Belknap, Montana. This Elder is a Traditional Treatment Practitioner and she pioneered the "Talking Circle". _Ernie Benedict_ is from the Akwesasne Mohawk Nation. He is a much sought after speaker on culture and tradition. _Marie Campbell_ was born on a trapline in Northern Saskatchewan. She is the author of _Halfbreed_ and deals with race relations, community development and creative writing. _James Carpenter_ is a member of the Attawapiskat First Nations (James Bay Cree). For the last 20 years he has been involved in working with youth, being an advisor and teacher of traditions, and organizing festivals and ceremonies. _Barbara Clifton (Alaist)_ is the Hereditary Chief of the Ganada Clan (Frog Clan) in Gitwangak, B.C. _Dave Couchrene (White Sun Man)_ of the Eagle Clan is a spiritual leader of the Anishnabe Nation. _Raphael Fireman_ lives in the bush country of James Bay. He will speak to us about the medicinal properties of plants and survival in the bush. _David Gehue_ is a wise man, a medicine man, a healer. From Nova Scotia, he speaks of the traditional way of life and healing. _John Hookimaw_ is respected as a spiritual leader and mediator. He is a member of the Attawapiskat First Nation. _Edna Manitowabi_ is an Odawa-Ojibwe from Wikwemikong, Manitoulin Island, and is the Head Woman of the Eastern Doorway of the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge. _Janice Longboat_ is of the Turtle Clan from Six Nations and is a member of the Cayuga Nation. She is experienced in the use of herbal medicines. _Sylvia Maracle_ is a member of the Wolf Clan, Mohawk Six nations Confederacy and a member of the Tyendinega First Nation. She is active in education development affecting Aboriginal peoples in Ontario. _Sara Smith_ is Mohawk of the Turtle Clan and has the great gift of her Nation's Oral Teachings. _Chief Jake Thomas_ is an Hereditary Chief of his Clan amongst the Iroquois Nation. He is a carver, translator and consultant on Iroquois language. He recently published _Teachings from the Longhouse_. _Michael Thrasher_ is a Metis from Alberta. He has a great background in the Medicine Wheel, and has worked with orphans and prisoners as well as drug and alcohol consultation. _Rachael Uyarasuk_ comes to us from the NWT. This is only the second time that she has come south in her life. _Shirley Williams_ is a member of the Bird Clan of the Ojibwe and Odawa First nations. She has lectured across Canada promoting language and culture and is now asst. prof. at Trent University. Workshop registrations will start each day at 8:30 am, with the opening ceremonies at 11:30 am Friday, Feb. 17. Registration can be done upon arrival at the University. weekend daily adult $50 $30 students/seniors $35 $20 Children $25 $10 Socials are included in Weekend Workshop rates. Otherwise the socials are $5 each. On Friday night we will have Tom Jackson (North of 60) performing at the Memorial Centre. $10 at the door. Cheques and money orders payable to: (Make cheques out to TRENT UNIVERSITY) Dept. of Native Studies Trent University Otonabee College Peterborough, Ontario K9J 7B8 Canada attn: Kathy Fife For further information please contact Kfife@TrentU.ca or call (705) 748-1443 I hope that many of you will be able to take the time out to visit us. We are now the largest Traditional Gathering in North America with 2000-5000 people coming for this occasion Miigwech, D'Arcy Rheault ============================================================================ This information provided courtesy of the Extension Indian Reservation Telecommunication Project and EIRPnews: pablob@coopext.cahe.wsu.edu ========================================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- Notice of Copyright Clearance by Contributors: The following have granted permission for their original articles to be reposted in order to help mend the Sacred Hoop: Kepola, James Phillip King, Ann Parsons, Bob Zenhausern, Chuck Goodwin, Michael Patterson, Turtle Heart(mending the Sacred Hoop with Song Poems), Suzan Horovitch, Janet Smith, Tek Nickerson via James D. Audlin, Mexican Exiles for Democracy(Urgent Appeal), Ana Holub(Urgent Alert), LightHawk(Urgent Alert), Lance Foster, Charles Phillip Whitedog, Navajo Nation(jn) --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ all items below this line have already been distributed by our brother, Jay Brummett, via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - online" --------- Date: Thu, 16 February 95 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 = From: native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us Subject: pow wow announcement Original Sender: michmaas@mercury.sfsu.edu (MICHELE HELENE MAAS) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The Parent Advisory Council of San Francisco American Indian Education-Title V will host their 4th Annual Pow Wow March 4, 1995 noon to midnight at Potrero Hill Middle School. 655 DeHaro Street, San Francisco, CA, for vendor info or directions contact Debbie Santiago 826-5702 or Dennis Carr, 241-6229.. San Francisco State University Pow Wow and Big Time Gathering March 18 and 19th 1995 at San Francisco State University. For vendor info contact the Student Council of Inter-Tribal Nations at 338-1929. The students have reserved some rooms at the SFSU guest center--for info contact Magda Carranza at 338-1929. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ + michele maas@mercury.sfsu.edu + + student council of inter-tribal nations + + at san francisco state university + + 415-338-1929 all opinions are mine unless + + stated otherwise.. + +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ========================================================================= From: indig.canada@gnosys.svle.ma.us Subject: Protest LLF over Innu lands... Original Sender: chernos@web.apc.org Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Newsgroups: web.native From: chernos Subject: Protest LLF over Innu lands... DEMONSTRATION THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9 - 12 NOON TO 2 PM - TORONTO The Canadian military has announced that Belgium, France, Italy and the United States have been invited to join in low-level military flight training over native Innu land in Labrador-Quebec. Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay costs Canadian taxpayers more than $150-million a year, and training is harming the Innu and the environment. The Innu have never signed any treaties and have not consented to the militarization of their land. Yet, an environmental assessment, due shortly, is expected to favour the military. On Thursday, February 9, the International Campaign for the Innu and the Earth is holding a protest rally in Toronto. It will start at 12 noon at the north-west corner of Bloor and Yonge, at the Belgian consulate. At 1 pm, protesters will move to the French consulate a block down the street at 130 Bloor West. We are encouraging people who can't attend the rally to write defence minister David Collenette and environment minister Sheila Copps, with copies to newspapers and also to ICIE. We also invite people outside Toronto to organize events in their own communities. For more information, please call (416) 920-2656 or (905) 849-5501. Or, write ICIE at 602 Markham St., Toronto, Ontario M6G 2L8 And, we may be reached by e-mail at: chernos@web.apc.org and occpehr@web.apc.org The Innu Nation may be contacted at (709) 497-8398. Our liaison there is Daniel Ashini, director of Innu Rights and the Environment. Thank you! --------- "RE: Urgent:Sacred Lands/Mount Shasta" --------- Date: Sun, 12 Feb 1995 16:58:19 -0800 From: Ana Holub Subj: Urgent:Sacred Lands/Mount Shasta Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) URGENT ALERT! LETTERS NEEDED URGENT ALERT! Rep. Wally Herger (R., CA) introduces bill to destroy National Historic Preservation Act and Mount Shasta's Designation On January 18, 1995, Representative Wally Herger introduced bill HR 563 into the House of Representatives. If passed, HR 563 would severely affect protection of Native American sacred sites under the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). It demands that Mount Shasta's historical designation be removed. Proposed bill bars any site that does not contain "physical evidence of human activity." The gist of the proposed legislation is that any sites left in their natural state, such as those used for spiritual guidance, vision quests, training of doctors, ceremonies and other activities which traditionally left sites the way they were made by the Creator, would not be protected under NHPA. THIS BILL CAN AFFECT ANY SACRED SITE! Even though HR 563 states that previous designations will not be affected by this section, it goes on to say that Mount Shasta's designation (made in March 1994) must be prohibited. HR 563 specifically targets Mount Shasta, stating that "Mt. Shasta...may not be designated by any agency or authority of the United States as a historic district, historic site or national monument" under NHPA or the Antiquities Act. The fact is that Mount Shasta has already been designated and that this bill intends to undo that designation. Rep. Herger is a close ally of developers who have tried for over ten years to put a massive ski resort on Mt. Shasta. He and others in the "Wise Use Movement" (timber, oil, mining, ranching industries together with right wing politicians) have fomented fear and false rumors about property rights and "takings" here in the Mt. Shasta community. Herger has become the darling of the Republican tide in rural Northern California. Mount Shasta is recognized by Native American tribes and by global citizens everywhere as one of the most important sacred sights in the entire United States. The recent historic designation provides some protection for the mountain against large-scale commercial development. WHAT YOU CAN DO 1. Write to the officials below and ask that HR 563 be withdrawn and opposed. The bill discriminates against Native American sites and against Mount Shasta in particular. Mount Shasta needs to be protected and the Native traditions respected. Ask all of your friends and family to write. 2. Demand withdrawal of HR 563 because: a) it destroys the effectiveness of the National Historic Preservation Act's protection of sacred sites. b) it discriminates against Native Americans c) it particularly affects the preservation of Mount Shasta. d) and it violates the trust relationship between Native people and the US government. e) Also, please protest the drastic reduction of the Mount Shasta Historic District (was at 4000 feet - now reduced to the 8000 foot boundary). State your support for the designation of the entire mountain as an Historic District. 3. Explain to your friends around the country that this bill could affect any site in their area, also. President Bill Clinton Representative Wally Herger The White House House of Representatives 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20500 Bruce Babbitt, Secretary Senator Barbara Boxer Department of the Interior 112 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20040 Washington, DC 20510 Senator Diane Feinstein 331 Hart Senate Office Bldg. Washington, DC 20510 You can also request to be put on the Forest Service mailing list in order to be notified about future actions concerning Mount Shasta. Make your request to: Forest Supervisor Steve Fitch Shasta-Trinity National Forests 2400 Washington Redding, CA 96001 Thank you! Ana Holub Mount Shasta Bioregional Ecology Center aholub@snowcrest.net --------- "RE: Alert: SE Alaska Rainforests" --------- Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 10:17:12 -0800 From: LightHawk Subj: Alert: SE Alaska Rainforests Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Alert from South Alaska Conservation Council (SEACC) SENATOR FRANK MURKOWSKI POISED TO ATTACK ALASKA'S RAINFOREST AND RAID PUBLIC LANDS At 17 million acres, the Tongass National Forest is three times larger than any other U.S. National Forest. It encompasses an area the size of West Virginia and 80% of the land in Southeast Alaska. Stretching 500 miles along the southeastern coast of Alaska, the Tongass embraces hundreds of islands, majestic mountains, sparkling glaciers, and deep fjords. Nestled in this rugged country, along the beach fringes and river valleys, are magnificent stands of temperate rainforest. Huge Sitka spruce and western hemlock tower over a lush understory. The Tongass is a unique national treasure. It is the only National Forest that is an oceanic archipelago, and scientists have recognized its global significance. Alaska Senator Frank Murkowski is poised to re- introduce in Congress a new Alaska Native land claims bill that would be an economic, environmental, and cultural disaster for all the users and communities on the Tongass National Forest. The bill--S. 2539--would undermine 20 years of legislative compromise, from the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) to the 1990 Tongass Timber Reform Act. The bill would jeopardize long-term community economic stability, sacrifice historical subsistence uses, destroy some of the richest wildlife habitat areas and commercial fishing watersheds, and ruin community recreation areas dear to the hearts of Southeast Alaskans--including areas that Congress permanently protected just four years ago in the Tongass Timber Reform Act--all to create a short-term bonanza for the Ketchikan Pulp Company and other private timber corporations. Murkowski is using Native claims as a pretext to raid the most vital public lands from the Tongass. The Tongass Timber Reform Act passed the Senate by a vote of 99-0 and the House by 356-60. Senators Murkowski and Stevens both voted for it. Permanent protection of key areas as legislated LUD II roadless areas was widely supported by Southeast Alaskans, including the Governor of Alaska; Sealaska Corporation (the regional Native corporation); the Alaska Native Brotherhood; the Southeast Conference (a regional business and civic coalition); and many Southeast Alaska communities. Now, Murkowski's bill would cut those areas, gutting the Act and the balanced solution it represented. Murkowski's bill is not aimed at bringing justice to Alaska Natives. It is really a raid on the public lands, and a grave injustice to all concerned. If a fair examination of this issue shows that redress is needed, it should be done in public, with a solution that involves all the people of Southeast Alaska and respects all the users of the forest. Valid Native claims should be addressed in a manner that maintains the integrity of the Tongass National Forest and all it stands for: multiple use and sustained yield; hunting and sport fishing; commercial fishing, recreation, tourism and subsistence. Murkowski's bill would: Create five new Native village corporations in the towns of Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Haines, and Tenakee. These communities did not meet the criteria established by Congress for formation of village corporations under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). Instead, residents enrolled as at-large shareholders of Sealaska, the regional Native corporation for Southeast Alaska. Give the new corporations the right to select a total of around 645,000 acres from the Tongass National Forest. Currently, the ten village, two urban, and one regional Native corporations in Southeast have combined holdings of around 550,000 acres. The new selections would more than double current private corporation holdings. Give each new corporation three to seven times the amount of land allocated to each Southeast village corporation under ANCSA. Because of the earlier, 1968 Tlingit and Haida land settlement, ANCSA entitled Southeast Alaska village corporations to only one township of land each. Murkowski's bill would give each new corporation between three and seven townships, using a formula that ANCSA applied only to villages outside Southeast. This inequity could lead to a landslide of additional claims from existing Southeast village corporations, as well as from villages throughout Alaska that did not qualify under ANCSA in 1971. The bill opens a Pandora's box of new land claims and re-opens the fundamental decisions of ANCSA. Limit new corporate land selections to areas of the Tongass currently managed as off-limits to logging by the Forest Service--including those "roadless" (Land Use Designation or "LUD" II) areas permanently set aside by Congress for their habitat, subsistence, fishing and hunting values only four years ago in the Tongass Timber Reform Act. The new private timberlands would not be subject to sustained yield requirements, and all timber would be sold to the Ketchikan Pulp Company or another Alaska mill. (This timber would be in addition to subsidized timber provided to KPC under its monopolistic and unprecedented 50-year contract.) The selection criteria have nothing to do with traditional use or cultural ties. They have to do with logging. Directly threaten the following areas: Naha*; Deer Mountain and Clover Pass; Eagle River; Berners Bay;* Idaho Inlet; Anan;* St. James Bay; Seal and Long Bays (Tenakee Inlet); Lake Eva; Bay of Pillars; Rocky Pass; Sarkar Lakes; Farragut Bay. The following areas are also at risk: Kadashan;* Trap Bay;* Nutkwa;* Lisianski;* Point Adolphus;* Upper Hoonah Sound;* Calder-Holbrook;* Mud Bay;* Noyes, Baker and Lulu Islands;* Salmon Bay* and others. *Areas permanently protected by Congress in the Tongass Timber Reform Act. Southeast Alaska communities judged these to be among the most important subsistence, recreational, wildlife and fish habitat areas in Southeast Alaska. Allow new Native corporations from one end of the Tongass to select lands on the other end of the Tongass-- including areas traditionally belonging to another Native group. Areas that are traditionally used for hunting and fishing by a local Native community could be extensively clearcut by Native corporations with no traditional ties to the selected land. Guarantee road access to selected timberlands--even across Wilderness areas--and exempt access roads from public review under the National Environmental Policy Act. If history is any guide, selected lands will be closed to public hunting, fishing, tourism, and subsistence, and extensively clearcut within 20 years. This will create another boom and bust timber cycle while at the same time devastating those areas most important to Southeast Alaskans--both Native and non-Native--for wildlife, fish, recreation, and subsistence hunting and fishing. WHAT YOU CAN DO: WRITE OR FAX Please write now! Write your member of Congress or Senator: Tell them you oppose Murkowski's raid on the public's--your--forest, and that you support addressing questions surrounding the bill and its consequences in a full public forum. Please send or fax a copy of your letter to SEACC. Please also write: Senator Frank Murkowski Chairman, Energy and Natural Resources Committee U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 fax 202/224-5301 For more information, contact: Jeremy Anderson Grassroots Coordinator Southeast Alaska Conservation Council 419 Sixth Street Juneau, AK 99801 tel. (907) 586-6942 fax (907) 463-3312 --------- "RE: If You Want to Know" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Feb 1995 14:38:13 CST From: lfoster@iastate.edu Subj: If You Want to Know Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) I will only say what my Cheyenne uncle told me. If you want to know something about the earth. Go out there, be in the nature, on the hill. If Someone wants you to know or do something, it will come. If not, it is good to be a common human being. Dagure Wakanda gunda, da ke. However the Creator wants it to be, that is the way it will be. This is at the foundation of belief and faith. If someone tries to push past that, then they are truly lost. If any seeker doesn't understand that, then they will never approach the rest. You can't push the spirits...they either ignore you...or push back. I do not know Mr. McGaa, I am not disrespecting him. I only pass on what was told me and was told to be our duty in protecting our ways and the last heart of what we are. One precept must be realized: If someone is charging you money to attend a workshop where they will teach you native spiritual ways, then you had better watch out. The Creator all gave us ways to live here, and God doesn't have a bank account. --Lance Foster Baxoje Ukiche (Ioway Nation) Enrolled member, Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska --------- "RE: California Tongva Chief Passes On" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Feb 1995 07:46:00 -12455 From: charles.p.white@jpl.nasa.gov Subj: California Tongva Chief passes on Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Sparky Moralis, Chief of the Tongva people of California (San Gabrielino Indians) crossed over a couple of days ago. Services will be held Friday 10 February 1995 at 7:00 at the San Gabriel Mission and funeral set for the next day. Bob Rivera (Chumash Chief) will be officiating. The Tongva people are the original people located in the Los Angeles County, Inland Empire, Santa Catalina Islands and Orange County area. They are very close to the Chumash people to the North. There are several bands of Tongva people in the Los Angeles area. One of the bands have been working on a te'at (Tee-oght), a traditional ocean going canoe and soon they will be making a historic trip back to the Island. --Charles Phillip Whitedog (Ojibway) --------- "RE: Navajo-Hopi Update" --------- Date: Tue, 7 Feb 1995 09:17:25 -0800 From: Navajo Nation Subj: NAVAJO-HOPI UPDATE:2/7/95 Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) From: Navajo Nation NAVAJO-HOPI "LAND DISPUTE" UPDATE: FEBRUARY 6, 1995 Meeting with the Hopis This is slightly old news by now, although it probably has not been reported in the press. On Friday the 13th (January) there was a meeting between the Dine' family representatives and the Hopi tribe in Flagstaff, Lee Phillips presiding. The meeting was pretty well wiped out by weather. Field staff called in to ask if they should go, what with the snow, ice, wind and mud. We told them to try to make it and pick up as many of the elders as they could reach. Betty Tso and Mae Tso made it, along with David Begay from the Dine' Bikeya Committee, also Alfred McCabe and the unstoppable Louise Begay, accompanied by her husband, Betoney Bahe. The greater part of the Hopi Tribal administration was there, including Chairman Secakuku and Eugene Kay (who is now on Chairman's staff), also Clayton Honeyumptewa, Director of the Office of Hopi Lands, and Robbie Honanie from Hopi Resources. It was an all-star cast. I got in a little late. The Hopis had gone to lunch and the Dine' families were caucusing. The Hopi Chairman had presented a letter he sent president Zah on Jan. 6. It reiterated the Hopi Tribe's demand that the Navajo Nation begin paying 'interim rent" for the HPL lands, and told the people that there would be no relaxation of the housing construction freeze until the Navajo Nation made a forward payment of $200,000 in anticipation of the future implementation of the Agreement in Principle. The Hopi Tribe sent us a letter in November informing us that home repair and construction would require Hopi approval under the terms of the 1988 and 1989 court orders in Masayesva v. Zah, the so-called "illegal construction" case. This is a long, involved process. It takes months, sometimes years to get approval, and the Hopi Tribe requires statements from a certified building inspector and a nurse or doctor regarding the need for improvements. It is essentially the same process that was imposed on the Dine' living under the "Bennett Freeze" from 1966 until 1992. Eased rules on home repairs was one of the benefits that was supposed to flow to the Dine' families under the Agreement in Principle. It was supposed to take a maximum of seven days to secure routine approval. This was supposed to have been put in place as part of an "interim implementation" process while the rest of the AIP was being worked out. The rules were never relaxed, even before the August 5, 1993 rejection of the AIP by the Dine'. The Hopi Tribe's November letter - actually it came from Tim Atkeson, of Arnold and Porter - just made explicit what had been obvious for almost two years, and put another nail in the AIP's coffin. The Hopi Tribe came back in after lunch. They announced they had approved another 12 housing repairs under Masayesva v. Zah. It was mainly Betty Tso and Lee Phillips who did the paperwork on these. They said they were willing to meet with the Dine' families to "discuss how we are going to implement the AIP." Chairman Secakuku also mentioned the Navajo Nation Council's december resolution, asking the families to lobby their council delegates to get it rescinded. This is pretty interesting. All along, it has been the Dine' families who have been objecting to the AIP and the lease, and who have been highly critical of the Navajo Nation for giving away the store. Scores of Dine' from the Hopi Partitioned Lands DID come to Window Rock to lobby Council, and to speak on the record. They did NOT lobby for the AIP and lease. I am left wondering if the Hopi Tribe just misunderstands the situation, of if they are offering the Dine' a face-saving way to back off from the position they have taken. There really were not enough people at the meeting to decide anything. Also, most of the communities had not been formally notified about the Council's resolution on the land settlement (see the last UPDATE). Every community sent representatives to speak at Council, and most people know in a general way what Council did. The way people think, that doesn't count. Window Rock has to go before the People in a formal ("duly called", is how it is written on resolutions) meeting. By Window Rock, they mean senior people. Like the President. Things must be done in the right way. Accordingly, the Dine' that were there asked for time to hold meetings where the Council resolution could be formally read and explained. They also noted that there was a new Council - a majority of the delegates are new. The new administration has not had a chance to review its position, and there is no Land Commission to recommend changes. There was a general consensus among northern and southern families that the families still don't know what the Hopis and the U.S. mean by "implementation", but that in any case religious needs should be addressed next. The Manybeads case was about religious freedom, but it seems that land and money issues are overshadowing religion. The families want to get things back on track in that regard. Meanwhile, Tensions are Building Again Unfortunately, the BIA has been out raiding again. Mae Tso had five beautiful horses impounded two weeks ago. Down in Teesto, there is a place where the HPL-NPL boundary fence is open. NPL livestock walk through there, then the BIA impounds. Ross Nez, a prominent medicine man from Teesto, and Mr. Gishe both had livestock impounded. The weather has been clear the last few days, and as the roads dry out we can expect more impoundments. The Hopi Rangers are also stopping everyone driving through the HPL with firewood. If you don't have proof of purchase or origin, they seize the wood and any wood cutting tools. This has caused a lot of friction. Most of the time we don't hear about it until later, unless one of the HPL people is busted and calls us for help. A lot of people are getting frustrated by all this. Mae Tso said in a meeting at Hardrock Chapter House that she was afraid the Hopi Rangers or police would start a violent confrontation. I have heard rumors that Hopi and BIA rangers/police are carrying more heat lately, but have not been able to check them out. As always, when things get tense, rumors circulate that weapons are being moved into Big Mountain. I don't know who spreads these rumors, but often they are followed by some kind of federal action. For instance, when the BIA impounded all the livestock on Chambers Ranch in 1988, somebody first circulated a rumor, which got into the press, that "AIM was going to send in some soldiers". So the BIA sent in a VERY heavy SWAT team, roughed up a bunch of elders, killed or lost a few cows and calves, etc. etc. Here's One for the Attorneys In the ACLU's 1992 book "The Rights of Indians and Tribes", it has a chapter on the Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968. According to ACLU, this Act "protects the rights of all persons who are subject to the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe." It also provides an avenue of appeal to the U.S. Courts for people who feel their rights have been violated. The question is, if the Dine' families accept Hopi jurisdiction under the AIP, does the ICRA protect their rights. If so, which rights? Can the U.S. Civil Rights Commission be brought in? Is unequal or discriminatory enforcement of tribal law (a major fear the Dine' have regarding Hopi jurisdiction) covered under ICRA? What does ICRA say about contracts such as the proposed Hopi Lease Agreement? I would really like to hear. Also, I'll bet Dine' Bikeya Committee and Lee Phillips would appreciate your thoughts. The background documents can be downloaded through jburrows at the Fourth World Information Center. He's on the net. More meetings There was a very good north-south meeting at Teesto this Sunday, which I will write up soon. I have to hit the road, as Dine' Bikeya Committee is meeting today. More later. jn