Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews04.002 From: gars@netcom.com (Gary Night Owl) To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Message-ID: _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 04, ISSUE 002 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 13 January 1996 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 IND-NET, NativeWeb, NATIVELIT, AISESnet NATCHAT & NATIVE-L listservers; UUCP & Genie (General Electric) email; Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native,alt.activism 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. Thanks to Don Rayment ,don.rayment@uptowne.com, Wotanging Ikche/ Kanoheda Aniyvwiya is being redistributed via a listserver. If you would like to receive Wotanging Ikche via the listserver, you can send a message to listserv@uptowne.com and include, in the body of your message "sub wotanging.ikche " Thanks to Marc Becker and David Cole issues of Wotanging Ikche/ Kanoheda Aniyvwiya are being archived at a World-Wide-Web site. The URL is http://web.maxwell.syr.edu/nativeweb/journals/nanews "I am not angry at any particular white man... But I'm sure angry at the White Man's system he has imposed on us." __Rod Skenandore, Seneca +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! I have publicly thanked those who write the articles that appear in this simple newsletter. I have thanked you, the reader, for giving them eyes and hearts to receive the words of the writers. While it is dangerous to single out individuals or groups when so many do so much for the People, there are a few others I do wish to thank. Many entertainers do benefits and many stand up for their beliefs. The Indigo Girls donated $200,000 from their "Honor the Earth Tour" to 41 Native American environmental groups. I thank them. Many of you wrote letters to the Attorney General and Governor of Tennessee, and the Prosecuting District Attorney regarding the racist assault on Mescalero brothers and their niece that resulted in the death of both brothers and long term rehabilitation for the niece. Their surviving brother, Michael Red Hawk Serna, called us with news that their assailant, Harvey Hester, has been given consecutive sentences of 25, 25 and 12 years. We are convinced your letters made this possible. The authorities knew they were being watched. For my friend, Michael, I thank you for those letters. Leonard Peltier is NOT free, and should be. He is also not in the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta, as the Federal Prison Officials had intended. His parole is being considered. Your letters, phone calls and faxes stopped the transfer to Atlanta and are keeping pressure on the Parole Commission to do what is right. I thank each of you who wrote, faxed or called on behalf of Leonard. I ask you to continue to write, call and fax until he is free. 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=== ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- Part A: Usenet and e-mail Part B: NATCHAT and NATIVE-L lists - Jesse Mehojah Jr. - Conferences and Powwows - online - Native Needs Survey Help - A Massacre, A Tribal Park, A Farce - Hester Convicted - Redskin License Plates in Utah - Peltier Run Europe - Understanding - Peltier France - Univ. of Arizona; Mt.Graham; HIV/AIDS - Leonard Peltier Update - Letter for Peltier's Parole - Will You Join Our Voices - Siggraph-97 Opportunity - The Misery is Real - Review: Solar Storms - Poem: Wanting and Being - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline --------- "RE: Jesse Mehojah Jr." --------- Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 09:30:22 -0600 From: berryj@Okway.okstate.edu (John Berry) Subj: Jesse Mehojah Jr. - Obit Mailing List: IND-NET To all, ====================================================================== Kaw City, OK Jesse Mehojah, Jr., last full-blood Kaw tribal chief by heredity, died Friday, Dec. 29, 1995. Funeral held Jan. 3, 1996 Kaw Tribal Complex. He was born Nov. 10, 1913 on the Kaw Reservation to Jesse and Maggie Habbermant Mehojah. Educated in Kaw City schools and later attended Box Business College in Ponca City. Married to Eva Cassity on Oct. 12, 1937 in Bartlesville, with first home in Washunga. Employed by Civil Service, serving as office supervisor at the Panama Canal. Past chairman of Kaw Tribe; worked for BIA in Collidge, AZ, and in Payne Co., OK.; also, Phillips Oil Co. and did pipeline work before retiring in mid - 1980's. Member of Reorganized LDS Church. Predeceased by parents, one son Tommy; three brothers and two sisters. Survivors are wife of the home, six sons, two daughters, 16 grandchildren, and 23 great-grandchildren; and one brother in AZ. ===================================================================== John Berry --------- "RE: Native Needs Survey Help" --------- Date: Sun, 7 Jan 1996 18:54:07 -0800 From: Alan Mandell Subj: Native needs assessment and demographic survey (fwd) Mailing List: NativeWeb Anybody out there from this area? Should I put this under Native Organizations? ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sun, 31 Dec 95 00:01:41 -800 From: alexa Pongracz To: mandell@thecity.sfsu.edu Subject: Native needs assessment and demographic survey The Lower Columbia All First Nation's Council is now conducting a demographic survey, and needs assessment of the West Kootenay Boundary area. We are a group of off reserve natives who have banded together to restore dignity to our culture, and to provide support for all natives in the area. Could you run an announcement that any person of native ancestry in this area is urged to contact our group. We have a toll free number 1-800-733-8777 this no. is good in B.C. only. Our phone number is 604-365-4860. Or we can be contacted at the above e mail address. Thanks for any help you can give us. Don Pongracz, LCRAFNC president --------- "RE: Hester Convicted" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 08:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.geis.com) Subj: Hester Convicted GE Electronic Mail I have some good news this week for those of us who have been following the trial progress for Paul and Rick Serna's now- convicted killer, Harvey Hester. The story has been told a couple of times in detail earlier in this topic and in earlier issues of Wotanging Ikche. Hester's sentencing was last week, and he was given a sentence consistent with the seriousness of his crimes -- a total of 62 years in prison. A year and a half ago, Hester accosted the two Serna men and Paul's daughter, Angela, at a swimming hole near Chattanooga, TN. After Hester confronted them, saying he didn't want "sand niggers" (the Sernas are Apache) swimming with him, and ultimately accused them of stealing his wallet, the Sernas left the area in their car. Hester followed, ramming the car until he shoved it into oncoming traffic, causing a wreck that killed Paul instantly, and caused Rick's death some months later. (For those interested in such things, no, Hester's wallet was not found in the wreckage, and Angela later testified having seen Hester place it on top of his car.) Angela escaped with her life, but has injuries that will linger. A long period of legal foot-dragging followed, in spite of Hester's long and active history of criminal behavior. Paul and Rick's brother, Michael, made bringing Hester to justice a personal goal, and finally, a year and a half after the accident, he has seen justice done. Hester was convicted last months of two counts of murder and one of assault with intent to kill, and this past week was sentenced to 62 total years in prison (25 years on each murder count and 12 on the assault, to be served consecutively). He has not yet been tried on unrelated felony weapons and drug charges -- which, if he is convicted, will be the third occurrence of felony conviction for him -- and will, under Tennessee "three times and you're out" law, require him to serve life without parole. Chattanooga authorities initially refused to even pick up Hester on outstanding warrants, they freed him on low bail in spite of the serious charges levied against him, and every step along the way was met with delays and postponements. Michael Serna mobilized the news media and, through GEnie and Wotanging Ikche, the online community to the point that the DA's office made comments to him and his wife about the amount of mail that was flooding their office about the case. Michael is positive the international attention demonstrated to the authorities was instrumental in obtaining more aggressive prosecution of the case and a just sentence once conviction was obtained. He asked us to express his family's gratitude to those of you in the online community who wrote or called. --------- "RE: Peltier Run Europe" --------- Date: Tue, 02 Jan 1996 07:29:47 -0800 (PST) From: American Indian Movement Subj: Peltier Run Europe Newsgroup: alt.native FREEDOM RUN FOR LEONARD PELTIER AND ALL INDIGENOUS PEOPLES JUNE-JULY 1996 The American Indian members of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee in the U.S. and the European Support Groups invite all groups and organizations working for indigenous peoples to join the FREEDOM RUN for Leonard Peltier and all indigenous Peoples in 1996S as one of the actions of the United Nations Decade for Indigenous Peoples (1995-2004. Leonard Peltier is an Anishinabe/Lakota one of the leaders of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who is wrongly incarcerated in the U.S. for going join 20 years. for his political and social actions concerning indigenous peoples. Peltier is known worldwide as one of the longest help political prisoners. He has become a symbol of the struggle of Indigenous peoples. Traditionally the Run was used by Indigenous peoples, in particular by American Indians to carry messages from village to village. the Run was considered sacred and in North America the staff with Eagle Feather was there to protect the messengers and to remind them of their purpose. It is in this way that we want to bring attention to the case and to indigenous peoples' issues. Through this RUN the political demands of indigenous will be introduced and presented to the political representatives in Europe and the people of the European Communities will be informed. While the runners cover the distances from city to city, delegations of indigenous representatives, spiritual leaders and elders will meet with the different city-councils of the towns and villages along the way. The indigenous representatives will present their demands to the political representatives at each stop and ask for their support, the recognition of their specific struggle and freedom for Leonard Peltier. As a result of these meetings we hope to have gathered a comprehensive collection of signatures and statements of support by the visited municipalities. At the end of the RUN they will be presented to the President of the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples at the UN in Geneva. In addition to the meetings with political representatives at each stop events will be staged to inform the general public and the media about the indigenous struggles and the case of Leonard Peltier. The RUN will take place between June and July 1996. It will start in Paris where the International Human rights Declaration was signed. Then it will cross the towns of Lille, Brussels (European Parliament, Bonn (German Parliament), Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Strasbourg (European Parliament) to end at the United Nations in Geneva during the Working Group on Indigenous Peoples. The organizational committee consists of Leonard Peltier, Anishinabe- Lakota, Bobby Castillo, Apache/Mexica, International Spokesperson for Leonard Peltier, The European Alliance for Leonard Peltier (EALP) ASNA, Incomindios, SWITZERLAND, Nitassinan CSIA-LPSG France, France Liberties Foundation, Tribal Act, Colectif Guatemala, Association d'Information et de Soutien aux Indiens d'Amerique, FRANCE. KOLA-LPSG, Walk for Mother Earth, KWIA, BELGIUM. LPSG, Germany, Society For Threatened Peoples, GERMANY. LPSG Italy, Along with a number of NGOSs from around the world. Organizations of countries that are not along the route of the RUN are invited to participate in this effort and are encouraged to organize link- runs, walks, horse-rides or caravan from their countries to join up with the RUN. We depend on the participation of organizations working with indigenous peoples. This RUN is a possibility for you to lobby for the issues your organization is working Jon. In exchange we ask for all participating groups to support the demand for freedom for Leonard Peltier. We do hope that you will join the RUN. There are many ways to support this RUN. Please let us know if your support this initiative and what for of participation your group can offer. North American Office European Office: AIM California-LPDC NITASSINAN-CSIA CO/Bobby Castillo BP 317 2017 mission #303 F-75229 Paris Cedex 05 S.F. Cal 94110 France USA Tel: 0033-143 56 69 98 TEL 415-552-1992 Fax: 0033-1 48 08 43 79 FAX 415-431-1492 email: aimca@igc.apc.org LEONARD PELTIER DEFENSE COMMITTEE EUROPEAN RUN HEADQUARTERS 2017 Mission st. # 303 SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA 94110 --------- "RE: Peltier France" --------- Date: Tue, 02 Jan 1996 07:36:29 -0800 (PST) From: American Indian Movement Subj: Peltier France Newsgroup: alt.native French and Bretonne tour LEONARD PELTIER DEFENSE COMMITTEE FRENCH AND BRITTANY TOUR 1996 by Bobby Castillo, International Spokesperson for the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee First of all I want to thank Stephane Cottier and Patrick Pommie of the Association dU Information et de Soutien aux Indiens d'Amerique (A.I.S.I A. ), and Sylvann Alasandrini and Fabrice Mignot of Nitassinan CISA of France for the hard work that they did do make the tour in Britonne and France such a success. I also want to thank Sylvianne Raffray of French Liberties- Danielle Mitterrand Foundation for arranging the appointment with the Mayors of Rennes, Quimper, Lorient and Nantes along with the meeting with Lionel Jospin, General Secretary, of the Socialist Party and the wife of former President of France, Danielle Mitterand. In June 1995 during the "Walk for Human Rights and for the rights of the Indigenous Peoples" organized by the Collectif Guatemala with the help of Nitassinan CSIA/LPSG, where we had collected numerous signatures of French Political Officials and city councils resolutions supporting Freedom for Leonard Peltier and after the events organized by Nitassinan-CSIA/LPSG for June 26th, in Paris (delegation received at the U.S. embassy in the morning, and in the afternoon with Mr. Alain Girma, sub-director of the North American division of the French Minister of foreign Affairs). I asked Nitassinan-CSIA/LPSG organize a National Tour in France. Their organization has worked hard, especially Fabrice Mignot and Sylvan Allasandrini to make this happen. They have contacted numerous organizations around France which already had shown support in the struggle to Free Peltier. After receiving the answers of different groups Fabrice agreed to act as the National Coordinator for this Tour. Five months later this tour became a reality. I arrived in Paris on the 29th of November, then arrived in Bretagne at Lorient Airport on the 30th. I was supposed to arrive by train to Rennes, but because of the National Train strike there were no trains anywhere in France. From Lorient I went to Rennes and had a public meeting about Leonard Peltier at the Institut Franco-American University. On December 1st, I met with the Mayor of Rennes and received a resolution asking for the release of Leonard Peltier. We then had a press conference at the Club de la Presse in Rennes. I then went by car back to Lorient and we had a Public Meeting at the Arcs de Queven. On December 2nd I again traveled by car to Tregunc and Concarneau where we met with the mayors and also received resolutions for Leonard. From there we went to a Public meeting at Le Sterenn. After the meeting we went to a dance which was really incredible. There were so many young people all doing traditional dances to traditional music. There were at least 2,000 young people in the auditorium. Bretagne is so alive with culture. On December 3rd I had a day off from political life and Stephane and Patrick took me to Tregunc and Trinity where we visited the ancient stones of the Celtic peoples. We had a ceremony and it is something that I will truly remember all my life. There was such a strong power in the stones and the land. I have truly realized that Brittany is not France. On December 4th we drove to Quimper where I met with the Mayor and received a resolution for Leonard Peltier. On December the 5th we drove to Gunigamp and did a radio interview and then had a public event about Leonard Peltier at the salle Porzh Anken. On December the 6th we went to Carhix for a meeting and visited des monts d' Arree and then had a conference and public event for Leonard at Ti ar vro. We also did a radio interview. On December the 7th I departed for Nantes and had a Public meeting for Leonard. On the 8th of December I met with the Mayor of Nantes and was unable to fly to Lyon because of the National Strike, but was lucky to meet someone at the airport who rented a car and gave me a ride back to Paris where I stayed until Sunday. I was able to get a ride to Lyon and made my meeting with the mayor of Lyon. I next attended a public event where I strengthened the run with more support from ICRA, an NGO, and with Association France Amerique Latino. They will help organize meetings at the United Nations at the end of the run. December 12, I then returned back to Paris by plane and had a meeting with Lional Jospin who is the head of the Socialist Party and with Laurence Dumont who is the National Secretary of Human Rights. We were able to secure letters from all the Socialist Mayors in France asking for his release and also support for the European Run. We then had a public Event for Leonard in Paris. On December the 13th I had a meeting with Jean Solbes who is with the office of U.S. Affairs of the Communist Party of France and received support and a letter to President Clinton for Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier. He will be visiting the office in San Francisco and I will try to arrange a meeting with Leonard wherever he will be at the time he comes to the United States. On the 16 I traveled by car to the eastern part of France at the German border and spoke at two Public events for Leonard and to gain support for the run. I met with friends of mine, Gregory Allijann and Alesaenobe Schlub, who live in Strasbourg and who will help in getting our meetings with the European Parliament when we arrive for the run in July. They will coordinate this with Michael Mcgee and Claudia Bussman who arranged the meeting I had with the European Parliament before they met with the 14 US congressmen about the Euro-Parliament resolution for Leonard Peltier. Beside meetings with the European Parliament, we are targeting the American Consulate and the Strasbourg town International Parliament of Writers to create an official reception by the town of Strasbourg. On the 17 I finally had a rest day and stayed at one of the Public official's houses with his family and ate more food than I ever dreamed of. It was really great to spend the day with a French family. Their daughter played the cello and did a solo concert for me which was great, and I taught her the Peltier song which she is learning on the cello. On the 18th I had a meeting with the CGT Minors Union which is one of the strongest forces in the 24 day strike which shut down France most of my stay. They agreed to support Leonard's freedom and will organize the International Federation of Miners to demand Leonard's Freedom. I then visited a high school where I had a terrific time with the students and was amazed at how much they were aware of the problems that Native People face in the Americas. I then met with the Mayor. I met with the mayor of Forbach on the 19th. He signed a resolution for executive clemency and sent a personal letter to President Clinton asking for Leonard Peltier's freedom. I then took a train back to Paris, since the strike was over. This was the first time I took a train during my entire tour. On the 20th in Paris, I had a meeting at the French Liberties Foundation with the former president of France's wife, Danielle Mitterand. She agreed to join Leonard's campaign for freedom, and has called a meeting with many NGOs towards the end of January to help coordinate and support Leonard. Danielle Mitterand wrote a letter to President Clinton asking for his release and also sent a letter to Clinton asking to stop the transfer of Peltier to Atlanta Federal Penitentiary. Next I took a train to Tours to attend a public meeting about Leonard Peltier and Chiapas. On the morning of the 21st, I took a train to Geneva, Switzerland. I arrived in the evening where I had a meeting with the support group ASNA. In this meeting we discussed logistics of the run. On the morning of the 22nd, I had a meeting with the World Council of Churches and Foundation North South. I then took a train back to Paris. On the 23rd, I got on TWA flight 850 and flew back home. FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Leonard Peltier Update" --------- Date: Mon, 08 Jan 1996 12:57:23 -0500 From: schwartz@infinet.com (Sara aka Perrrfect) Subject: LEONARD PELTIER UPDATE Newsgroup: alt.native Greetings all. Enclosed, please find update. Peace In Struggle, Michael January 8,1995 - For Immediate Release: ~From: Michael Eckhardt, Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Region IV The second parole hearing of Leonard Peltier was conducted on December 11,1995. A decision is now pending before the full commission. This is a significant difference compared to the initial hearing two years ago. The facts surrounding Leonard's conviction that were presented before the commission at Leonard's first parole hearing have been dispelled. The Government prosecutors have opted for the alternate theory of aiding and abetting. Since no evidence of Leonard's direct involvement in the point blank execution of the agents exists, he should be considered for parole in light of time served versus the charges, not the original conviction. Please search your hearts and support a fair decision. Many, many people are watching and praying for justice. Please help return Leonard to his family, his people and the land. IT BECOMES EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO FOCUS ON THE U.S. PAROLE COMMISSION. This final decision is due any time in the next three weeks. We ask you to respectfully demand a favorable decision from the Commission stating your reasons for Leonard's release. Please write: United States Parole Commission 5550 Friendship Blvd. Suite 420 Chevy Chase, MD. 20815 and/or, even faster Fax (301) 492-6694 Until the law, thereby justice, is applied equally to every individual citizen in this country, all of us remain threatened. The harsh realities present themselves, and the gross mistreatment of Native Peoples and specifically Leonard Peltier threaten the very existence of personal freedom and freedom among Nations. These violations can not be allowed to stand in a just society. If we are worthy, we must take part in the relentless pursuit to right these wrongs. With each day that passes and Leonard remains caged, a piece of our freedom remains in that cell. Until Leonard is free none of us are free. We thank you for your time and consideration. Leonard Peltier Defense Committee - Box 583, Lawrence KS 66044 (913)842-5574 Fax (913) 842-5796 ------------------------------------- A sample letter, Please feel free to duplicate and distribute. Please respond ASAP. __________________ United States Parole Commission 5550 Friendship Blvd. Suite 420 Chevy Chase, MD. 20815 ____________ Date Dear Commissioners: Until the law, thereby justice, is applied equally to every individual citizen in this country, all of us remain threatened. The harsh realities present themselves, and the gross mistreatment of Native Peoples and specifically Leonard Peltier threaten the very existence of personal freedom and freedom among Nations. These violations can not be allowed to stand in a just society. If we are worthy, we must take part in the relentless pursuit to right these wrongs. With each day that passes and Leonard remains caged, a piece of our freedom remains in that cell in Leavenworth, Kansas. Until Leonard is free, none of us are free. The facts surrounding Leonard's conviction that were presented before you at Leonard's first parole hearing have been dispelled. The Government prosecutors have opted for the alternate theory of aiding and abetting. Since no evidence of Leonard's direct involvement in the point blank execution of the agents exists, he should be considered for parole in light of time served versus the charges, not the original conviction. Please search your hearts and render a fair decision. Many, many people are watching and praying for justice. Please let Leonard return to his family, his people and the land. Freedom for Leonard Peltier. Respectfully Submitted, ____________________ Signed _____________________ Printed Name ____________________ Street _______________________________ City, State, Zip -- "Who CARES if Hitler killed six million jews, or sixty million? He identified the problem facing post-WWI Germany, and took decisive action to protect HIS people." The Wit and Wisdom [sic] of Les Griswold --------- "RE: Letter for Peltier's Parole" --------- Date: Thu, 04 Jan 96 00:10:01 EST From: R2JSQ@VM1.CC.UAKRON.EDU (Joe Quickle) Subj: Jan 4 - Letter for L. Peltier's Parole Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native I am mailing a copy of this letter to the Parole Commission. I ask that you please sign and fax or mail a copy of this letter or your own letter of support to the Parole Commission. Or sign this and e-mail this or your own letter of support to me, and I'll print it and mail it to the Parole Commission. Or (better), do both. -Joe Quickle -------------------------- United States Parole Commission 5550 Friendship Blvd. Suite 420 Chevy Chase, MD. 20815 FAX: (301) 492-6694 Dear Commissioner, It seems that when making a parole decision, there are three core criteria for that may be used for judgment: * Would society be better off with this person behind bars? * Has the individual been rehabilitated? * Has the individual paid for the crime? I will address each of these regarding the case of Mr. Leonard Peltier. Would society be better off with Leonard Peltier behind bars? The answer to this is a resounding "NO!". Even while incarcerated Mr. Peltier has been reaching out to help others. Just this last Christmas he arranged for nearly fifty children in need to get Christmas gifts and necessities. This is typical of the kind of man Mr. Peltier has shown himself to be. If he can organize such an action from within the constraints of the penal system, one can only imagine what he might accomplish were he granted the freedom he has so long deserved. Our society needs people such as Mr. Peltier working freely in it. I would consider myself fortunate to have him as my neighbor. Has Leonard Peltier been rehabilitated? If this question is meant to assess Mr. Peltier's current state, he has shown himself to be of the highest character. While he himself has been denied basic needs and liberties, he has worked for the betterment of others. He has shown a dedication to his people and to all people that this world needs more of. Has Leonard Peltier been punished? Mr. Peltier has indeed paid for a massive crime, but the overwhelming evidence of his case shows that the crime for which he has been paying for so long is not his. He has, in effect, been crucified for the sins of the government. But still, it is an inescapable conclusion that he has been punished severely, although undeservedly. Imagine the effect on all of your professional and personal achievements of the last twenty years had you been jailed for that lengthy period. Because Mr. Peltier's freedom would be an asset to society, because he has clearly proven himself to be a humane and compassionate letter to a greater extent than most people walking our streets, and because he has clearly been punished, the path before you is clear. I urge you to take this path and immediately parole Leonard Peltier. Sincerely, --------- "RE: Will You Join Our Voice" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 08:07:01 -0800 From: Wanbli Sapa Subj: will you join our voice? UUCP email Hau Mitakolapi! Kinyan Cu, an elder, has asked me to send this petition out to ask for all who would support us to add their names to it. Please add your name and send it back to me if this is a cause you can support. Share it with anyone who you wish. Spread it as widely as possible. Wopilatichelo! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A PETITION WE, the Mnikauju Tiospaye descendants of Ta' Shunke Witko (Crazy Horse) of the Titon Nation and supporters thereof, do herewith affix our signatures to this petition, expressing our indignation and that we are adamantly opposed to any and/or all entertainment companies attempted portrayal of our ancestor, Ta' Shunke Witko (Crazy Horse), for monetary gain. WHEREAS: We, the Mnikauju Tiospaye descendants of Ta' Shunke Witko (Crazy Horse) of the Titon Nation and supporters thereof, deplore unequivocally in the strongest terms, the making of any movie depicting the life of Ta' Shunke Witko (Crazy Horse), and, WHEREAS: The White Anglo-Saxon Protestant Society's insatiable desire for wealth and greed upon the bones of our ancestors is deplorable now, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: We, the Mnikauju Tiospaye descendants of Ta' Shunke Witko (Crazy Horse) of the Titon Nation and supporters thereof, pursuant to 15 USCS Commerce and Trade =A7=A7 1051-1113 - Lanham Act, do herewith register this formal protest that NO depiction of his life shall be undertaken by any entertainment media. SIGNED, Wanbli Sapa, Minneapolis, MN, signed 1/4/96 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Wopilatichelo! Mitakuye Oyasin! Wanbli Sapa One Earth, One Life Endeavors icabu@ix.netcom.com --------- "RE: The Misery is Real" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 19:14:03 GMT From: gwelker@mail.lmi.org Subj: Chiapas: the misery is real Newsgroups: soc.culture.native,alt.native PARISH OF SAN ANTONIO DE PADUA SIMOJOVEL, CHIAPAS, MEXICO San Diego de la Union, Gto. Monday January 1, 1996. DR.ERNESTO ZEDILLO PONCE DE LEON PRESIDENT OF THE MEXICAN UNITED STATES LOS PINOS PALACE MEXICO D.F. MR. PRESIDENT: From the care I am giving my sick mother, I send you my New Year's word. The extreme and growing misery of the indigenous people to whom I serve and accompany is real. Real is also their hope that very soon they will see justice and they will be given the conditions that guaranties a life with dignity. Real also are the patrols from your army in front of that misery and hope of these pueblo. What can these weapons of war contribute as solution to that misery and hope? I heard through the media that the indigenous people of Simojovel were repressed one more time. I can speak to you to the long history of repression and death that has been imposed to this pueblo. Why more repression? Why not dialogue? There is no more room in the history of the suffering of this indigenous pueblo, for more repression. Don't allow any more repression in any corner of Mexico. We are all convinced that the ONLY WAY to achieve PEACE, is through dialogue. Let us not lose that road. One more time, IN THE NAME OF THE GOD OF LIFE, I beg you: authorize the immediate and just freedom of the "more than 60 indigenous" detained in the police operative that took place in Simojovel. This freedom will keep open the road to PEACE. FROM THE SUFFERING AND HOPE OF THIS INDIGENOUS PUEBLO, I WISH YOU HAPPY NEW YEAR 1996. SINCERELY, Signature Joel Padro'n Gonzalez Pastor of Simojovel c.c. Mons. Samuel Ruiz Garcia, Bishop of San Cristobal de L.C. c.c. Mons. Raul Vera Lopez, Coadjutor Bishop of S. Cristobal L.C. c.c. Lic. Julio Cesar Ruiz Ferro, governor of Chiapas. Translated by: Susana Anibarro. --------- "RE: Siggraph-97 Opportunity" --------- Date: Mon, 8 Jan 1996 12:51:56 -0700 From: Jon Stannard Subj: Siggraph-97 Opportunity Mailing List: AISESnet Discussion List (aisesnet@victor.umt.edu) The Ruth Littlejohn Foundation, Inc. is looking for Indian Artists who use the computer as a means of cultural expression...through any visual or auditory means. Representing Siggraph 97, the Ruth Littlejohn Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit Indian owned and operated corporation, that is dedicated to Indian education through the use of computers. If interested in participating in this global event please direct mail to: rlf@atlanta.com. Please include your tribal affiliation along with your media of expression. Thank you, Tracy E. Monteith, President Ruth Littlejohn Foundation, Inc. 1420 Mount Paran Road Atlanta, Georgia 30327 Email: rlf@atlanta.com --------- "RE: Review: Solar Storms" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 20:17:50 -0700 (MST) From: Steve Brock Subj: Review of Solar Storms by Linda Hogan (fiction, NA) Mailing List: NATIVELIT SOLAR STORMS by Linda Hogan. Scribner, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, N.Y., NY 10020, (800) 223-2336, (212) 698-7007 FAX. 351 pp., $22.00 cloth. 0-684-81227-4 Reviewed by Steve Brock "If you listen at the walls of one human being, even if that one is yourself, you will hear the drumming. Older creatures are remembered in the blood. Inside ourselves we are not yet upright walkers. We are tree. We are frog in amber. Maybe earth itself is just now starting to form." "Solar Storms" is a novel with two parallel stories that take place in the early 1970s. The first is the story of 17-year-old Angel Wing, an Indian girl who runs away from Oklahoma and returns to her birthplace, the boundary waters area of Canada and Minnesota, seeking the mother who had abandoned her after physically and psychologically scarring her when she was a baby. In a parallel story, the Indian people Angel meets in her search confront the white builders of a massive hydroelectric project that is diverting rivers and draining the nearby lakes. Agnes Iron, Angel's great-grandmother, meets her at the ferry dock on the island of Adam's Rib, and she is given a cot in the dilapidated, yet tidy, house that is also inhabited by Dora-Rouge, Angel's great-great-grandmother and the oldest person she has ever seen. Most of the time, Dora-Rouge is lucid, but increasingly she is seen communicating with the other side: the spirit-world that she knows she will soon join. After relating to her as much of her past as they can remember, the two elders decide to send Angel to a small island nearby to live with Bush, the woman who had adopted and raised Angel's mother and briefly cared for Angel (and tried to protect her from her mother) when she was born. Bush, who has lived alone for many years, is so used to the surrounding silence that she can barely communicate with Angel, but she also slowly relates the stories of Angel's childhood and the demons that periodically pushed her mother past the edge of reason. Living alone, Bush is in tune with the natural world and acutely feels the spirit of the region and its people being transformed by the project, which daily exposes more of her island. When she can tolerate no more, Bush proposes a trip to the north to protest the project. In two canoes, Bush and Angel, accompanied by Agnes and Dora-Rouge (Dora-Rouge has dreamed of this event, travelling north to die in the land of her ancestors) head out to join the Inuit and Cree in their battle with the developers that are raping their land. Hogan, a Chickasaw poet, essayist, and novelist, has written a courageous, mesmerizing, and reverberant saga that powerfully (and painfully) depicts the connectedness of the souls of Indians and the soul of the earth, viewed through the eyes of four vigorous women. The message of "Solar Storms" is captured in the words of Dora-Rouge, when, near the end of the book, she says, "For my people, the problem has always been this: that the only possibility of survival has been resistance. Not to strike back has meant certain loss and death. To strike back has also meant loss and death, only with a fighting chance." Hogan should prepare for the arrival of numerous award nominations, and she gets my nomination as the Ed Abbey of the North. "Solar Storms" is destined to be a paragon of native literature reading lists, though Susan Power's "The Grass Dancer" still stands at the apex. Grade: A. Also by Hogan: Novels: "Mean Spirit" (1990), Essays: "Dwell- ings: A Spiritual History of the Living World" (1995), "The Stories We Hold Secret: Tales of Women's Spiritual Development" (1986), Poetry: "The Book of Medicines" (1993), "Savings" (1988), "Seeing Through the Sun" (1985), "Eclipse" (1983), "Calling Myself Home" (1978). ------------------------------------------------------------------ Steve Brock Reviews are Book Reviews on the Internet available for Copyright 1996 syndication 2323 Mapleton Boulder, CO 80304 E-mail for (303) 786-7375 more info. brock@ucsub.colorado.edu Member: National Book Critic's Circle ------------------------------------------------------------------ --------- "RE: Poem: Wanting and Being" --------- Date: Fri, 5 Jan 1996 10:33-EST From: lonz@cs.cmu.edu Subj: Wanting and Being UUCP email [Editorial note: Wado to Deryle Lonsdale, Upper Skagit, for sharing this poem. Let me remind all that your poems and songs of/for the People are always welcome and encouraged. - gary] Wanting and Being Weary, empty, modern men, seek comfort feverishly-- consuming, spending, using up, their passions have run free. They know not what they have become, just what they wannabe. Culture-starved they turn to us and reach out hungrily--- so anxiously to fill the void. Their reaching has them see a past that's filled with blood and lies, that some say couldn't be. Their passion for excitement and their curiosity push them seek out solemn paths that we tread sacredly. Our dances, visions, spells are sought in ways that shouldn't be. Armed with bits of wisdom gained quite disrespectfully and with their newfound knowledge some, proceeding brazenly, then revise our elders' past "the way it oughtta be". While reservations languish and the land no more is free we speak of past injustices, today's indignity. Some hear and tell us things like this just simply couldn't be. But we're so few, our clout is weak, we're just periphery. Their mainstream politics make us a lost constituency. They'd have us realize that it's the way things haveta be. We must retain our tribes' long past, their paths through history, for only then we'll be prepared to right the wrongs we see. With courage, pride and sense of worth these things just wouldn't be. It's up to us, no matter what the obstacles may be. There's no-one else to help us walk towards our destiny. The work we do projects the way our future's gonnabe. --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 96/01/06 19:27 From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days GE Electronic Mail A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of January 14-20 IANUALI (January) (Kaelo) 14 The land was created in the joining of fire and water. 15 At the meeting of the land and the sea, that is where all life begins. 16 Ancient kings walk the mountains at night. 17 In the secret places of the land are found the answers to life's mysteries. 18 My parents taught me the ways of the future; I teach my children the ways of the past. 19 I walk the land in perfect innocence, a child of yesterday. 20 Here, every day is a beginning, every night a remembering. (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 Jan 96 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 Topic 543Anishinaabemowin Conference webkamigDiscussion of Aboriginal Languages 1:34 PM Jan 3, 1996 (at thunderbird.auc.laurentian.ca)(From News system) ANISHINAABEMOWIN CONFERENCE MARCH 28, 29, 30, 1996 WATER TOWER INN, SAULT STE. MARIE, ONTARIO, CANADA The second annual Anishinaabemowin Conference, a conference on the Anishnaabe Language, will be held at the Water Tower Inn in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The Conference will feature a play done by a Native theatre group, in the language after the banquet on Thursday evening. At the General Assembly on Thursday morning, Mr. Ovide Mercredi will give an address. Mr. Mercredi is the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations. Some of the sessions will cover topics such as, Curriculum issues Writing systems and problems How a non-speaker learned to speak the language Teaching the Adult Learner Role of the Elders Curriculum Development-Elementary Grades Story Telling Language Structure Dialects Computers and Language Confirmed Speakers: Mr. Basil Jonhston Dr. B. Ramirez-Shkwegnaabi Ms. Pat Ningwance Mrs. Violet McGregor Mrs. Barbara Nolan Mrs. Doris Boissoneau Ms. Nancy Debassige Mr. Howard Webkamigad We are awaiting confirmation from several other speakers. The Conference was well attended last year. There were over two hundred participants at the conference last year. REGISTRATION FEES: INDIVIDUAL: $150.00 plus 7% GST =$160.50 GROUP RATE: $125.00 plus 7% GST =$133.75 * ELDERS/STUDENTS: $50.00 plus 7% GST =$ 53.50 ** *The Group Rate is for Organizations, First Nations, etc. **Students are those who are considered full time students by their institutions. For more Information Contact: Howard Webkamigad Algoma University College 1520 Queen Street East Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 2G4Canada (705) 949-2301 ext. 215 Fax:(705) 949-6583 Please leave a message if you get the voice mail of Howard Webkamigad and he will get back to you as soon as possible. Please leave a message if you get the voice mail. ------------------------------------- Newsgroups: soc.culture.native From: br975@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (John S. Brack) Subject: Carleton U.'s 4th Annual Pow Wow on January 19, 1996. The Centre for Aboriginal Education, Research, and Culture (CAERC) would like to invite you to CAERC's Annual Pow Wow Celebrating the CAERC's 4th Anniversary Friday, January 19th, 1996 12:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. Porter Hall, 2nd level, University Centre, Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario, Canada For more information, please call Gillian Whyte at: (613)788-4494 Everyone Welcome! Feel free to spread the word! --------------------------------------------------------- From: AISESnet General List Subject: Re: Call for Science Fair Judges! Original Sender: american indian science and engineering society Subject: Re: Call for Science Fair Judges! Reminder: The 1996 9th Annual National American Indian Science & Engineering Fair held March 21-23, will take place at the Bismarck Civic Center, Bismark, North Dakota. This very important information was left off of the original "Call for Science Fair Judges" post ==================================================== From The Indian Trader - Arts and Crafts shows in the Southwest January 12-14 21st Annual Tucson American Indian Arts and Crafts Show and Sale. Info: 415-327-2266 January 12-14 Arizona Super Bowl XXX Indian Festival - Phoenix AZ. Includes powwow, arts & crafts, Native food. Info: 602-945-0771 January 12-14 Colorado Indian Market and Western Showcase, Denver, CO. Info: 303-758-1118 January 19-21 American Indian Arts and Crafts Show and Sale, Bellevue, WA. 415-327-2266 January 20 Gallup Rug and Craft Auction, Gallup, NM Info: 505-722-6963 January 20-21 4th Annual Native American Festival, Phoenix, AZ Info: 602-935-6364 ========================================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- 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: Janet Smith, Debra F. Sanders, Joe Quickle, Jay S. Brummett, Wanbli Sapa, Deryle Lonsdale, John Berry, Don Pongracz via Alan Mandell, Steve Brock, Lisa Faruolo - Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Jordan Dill, Joel Padro'n Gonzalez via Glenn Welker, Mario Feather via Brooke Craig, iitc@igc.apc.org (International Indian Treaty Council)(Release) --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Part B of this newsletter (not included) has already been distributed via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - online" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Jan 96 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 GE Electronic Mail Date: 10 Jan 1996 11:07:05 +0100 From: lpcohan@students.wisc.edu (Leslie Parker Cohan) Subj: UW Indian Law Conference Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) TENTH ANNUAL COMING TOGETHER OF THE PEOPLES CONFERENCE University of Wisconsin-Madison February 23-24, 1996 Memorial Union _Agenda_ Friday, February 23, 1996 8:30-9:00 Welcome and Opening 9:00-9:45 Treating Tribes as States in Federal and Tribal Environmental Statutes Richard Monette, Professor, University of Wisconsin Law School 9:45-10:00 Break 10:00-10:45 Tribal Constitution Writing Arlinda Locklear, Attorney at Law 10:45-11:30 A Historical Development of Tribal Court Systems Frank Pommersheim, University of South Dakota School of Law 11:30-1:00 Lunch Break 1:00-2:00 Oral Arguments: Navajo Supreme Court 2:00-3:00 Discussion with the Navajo Supreme Court concerning the operation of the Navajo Supreme Court and Navajo Law 3:00-4:00 Tribal Courts in Wisconsin Mark Butterfield, Ho-Chunk Nation Judge Stanley Webster, Oneida Appeals Commission Saturday, February 24, 1996 8:30-9:00 Welcome and Opening 9:00-9:40 Indian Gaming Harold Monteau, Chairman, National Indian Gaming Commission Tom Acebedo, Special Assistant to the Chairman, NIGC 9:40-10:20 Minimum Internal Control Standards Sharon House, Attorney, Oneida Gaming Commission Monica Lubiarz, Senior Attorney, National Indian Gaming Commission 10:20-10:30 Break 10:30-11:15 Justice in Indian Country Herb Becker, Director, Office of Tribal Justice, United States Department of Justice 11:15-12:00 Federal and State Employment Laws Applied to Indian Tribes Kevin Wadzinski, Attorney, Dorsey & Whitney 12:00-1:00 Lunch Break 1:00-1:40 Legislative and Litigation Update Michael Anderson, Deputy Assistant Secretary, United States Department of Interior 1:40-2:20 Development of Tribal Administrative Law: Due Process Before Tribal Regulatory Agencies Dean Suagee, Attorney, Hobbs, Straus, Dean & Walker 2:20-2:30 Break 2:30-3:30 Keynote Speech Browning Pipestem, Attorney 6:00-12:00 Pow-Wow (Memorial Union Great Hall) All Conference events are free of charge and open to the public. Public parking is available in the nearby Lake/Frances Street ramps. Wisconsin Continuing Legal Education Credits are pending. A special invitation to University of Wisconsin Law School alumni is extended. HOTEL RESERVATIONS: We have reserved a block of rooms at the Concourse Hotel, 1 West Dayton Street, Madison, WI 53703, (608) 257-6000. Reservations must be made prior to January 26, 1996 to get the conference pricing of $79. When calling, mention the Indian Law Student Association to get this special rate. BANQUET: The Indian Law Student Association will be sponsoring a banquet and awards presentation at the Concouse Hotel on Friday, February 23, 1996, at 6:00 pm. Cost is $30 Non-Student or $20 Student. Scholarships are available upon request. Tickets for the banquet must be purchased in advance. Tickets may be obtained by remitting payment to ILSA, 7409 Timberlake Trail #105, Madison, WI 53719. Please indicate the number of persons attending. If applicable, please include the names of UW Law alumni attending the Banquet. For more information, please call Jessica Kachur at (608) 274-1504 or Mike Murphy at (608) 257-7914. Sponsored by: UW Law Students Association, UW MultiCultural Center, Associated Students of Madison, University of Wisconsin Law School, University of Wisconsin Alumni Association, UW System Institute on Race, Wisconsin Union Directorate, Wisconsin State Bar - Indian Law Section, American Indian Studies Program. --------- "RE: A Massacre, A Tribal Park, A Farce" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Jan 1996 07:36:44 -0500 From: jsd@dickshovel.com (Jordan S. Dill) Subj: A Massacre, A Tribal Park, A Farce... Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) [Editorial note: This is the complete and unexpurgated post.] O'siyo... What follows below might need a frame of reference. While many here have provided that, myself included, I refer those without such to the following World Wide Web site: Wounded Knee. December 29, 1890. A keg of whiskey. Hotchkiss guns. Retribution for Custer's demise. A King of Thieves. Issues, names so common almost a cause to ignore. Enough... Enough? Move on, along. Enough. Chief Spotted Elk. The one of Big Feet. Pneumonia. A peaceful man...certified by Wasichu! The Ghost Dance. A peaceful dance...certified by Wasichu! Anger felt! How to cope?! To deal? A clenching, gritting, tooth on tooth? Suicide? Despair? Ah...poor Richard Cardinal. Dewey Beard. Wasee Maza. Zintkala Nuni. Stolen children. Note: "The general's presents of food in great quantity opened a path that led to the Wounded Knee orphan. When they found the child, the disguised general stepped forward. Black-haired, dark-complexioned, standing erect, eyes hypnotic with conviction and pride, Leonard Colby spoke through an unknown interpreter: "I am a Seneca Indian - my grandmother was a full blood Seneca. I have brought food on behalf of my tribe for your children. I rescued the child who survived the massacre at Wounded Knee. Take pity on me and my wife. We have no children of our own. I want to give this child to my wife. We will take good care of her... "When Colby reached for the child in the Grandmother's arms, she resisted and cried out, 'Zinkala Nuni! Zinkala Nuni!' [Lost Bird, Lost Bird] But she finally released her hold on the sleeping child. Colby looked Indian. He did not appear frightened and ill at ease like a white man with one eyebrow raised. And perhaps it was better to let here go...just to make sure she had food and clothing...The grieving people turned away." Lost Bird of Wounded Knee, Renee Sansome Flood, ISBN 0-684-19512-7 Mass graves. Lost land. Hearts broken. A shattered hoop. A healing proposed by those that caused and continue to honor the assault? Their medals? Their honors? Their rights of war? And, now their gall? A statue. White. Wasichu born the sculptress. No. Their hand no more. No right, no Justice to that. No more must be...ought to be, for whatever reason. No! On what foundation this Park? Whose land to provide such? 1,800 acres. So much so stolen. Theirs of course...the theft continues. In trust? Creator help us. Build the park, on blood, on bones. Solve the problem...a gun to the head, Janklow said. Never forget. A never ending story. Theft. Betrayal. Continuing assaults on The People. Subtlety. Silence. Apathy. Infighting. In the Fort Laramie Treaty of April 29, 1868 it was pledged by Wasichu that the "Great Sioux Reservation, including the Black Hills, would be 'set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians named herein...it established the Great Sioux Reservation, a tract of land [comprising most of South Dakota west of the Missouri River] in addition to certain reservations already existing east of the Missouri. The United States 'solemnly agree[d]' that no unauthorized persons 'shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in [this] territory." But there was gold in the Black Hills. So the Army went in under Custer, Son of the Morning Star (a great book by the way), and as a result of his "descriptions of the mineral and timber resources of the Black Hills, and the land's suitability for grazing and cultivation...," the Wasichu masses started chomping at the bit, wanting in. On the one hand Wasichu attempted to enforce the Laramie Treaty, on the other Congress was petitioned to "open up the country for settlement, by extinguishing the treaty rights of Indians." The Army then backed off on trying to keep prospectors out of the Black Hills, in effect giving them the green light to swarm where they had no right to go. Note [as provided by Wanbli Sapa]: Confidential ...Nov. 9th, (187)5 My dear Gen. Terry, At a meeting which occurred in Washington on the 3rd of November [1875], at which were present, the President of the United States, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of War and myself, the President decided that while the orders heretofore issued forbidding the occupation of the Black Hills country, by miners, should not be rescinded, still no further resistance by the military should be made to the miners going in: it being his belief that such resistance only increased their desire and complicated the troubles. Will you therefore quietly cause the troops in your Department to assume such attitudes as will meet the views of the President in this respect. Your truly (signed) P.H. Sheridan , Lieut. General SOURCE: Supreme Court Briefs, Petition for Writ of Certiorari at 59, U.S. vs. Sioux Nation, Citation 488 U.S. 378 (1980). Lt. General Philip H. Heridan, Commander, Division of Missouri, to Brig. General A.H. Terry, commander, Department of Dakota, November 9, 1875 (Letterpress copy. Confidential), Sheridan MSS., Library of Congress An attempt to purchase mining rights was made. The Sioux rejected an offer of an annual rental fee of $400,000 per year or a one time payment of $6 million for absolute relinquishment of the Black Hills. They wanted a minimum of $70 million. Negotiations failed... That the abrogation of the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie was a farce is no secret. As per Federal Indian Law-Cases and Materials, Getches, Wilkinson and Williams, Jr. pp.359-360: A commission "headed by George Maypenny, arrived in the Sioux country in early September [1876] and commenced meetings with the head men of the various tribes...The commissioners brought with them the text of a treaty that had been prepared in advance. The principal provisions of this treaty were that the Sioux should relinquish their rights to the Black Hills and other lands west of the one hundred and third meridian, and their rights to hunt in the unceded territories to the north, in exchange for subsistence rations as long as they would be needed to insure the Sioux survival. In setting out to obtain the tribes' agreement to this treaty, the commissioners ignored the stipulation of the Fort Laramie Treaty that any cession of the lands contained within the Great Sioux Reservation would have to be joined in by three-fourths of the adult males. Instead, the treaty was signed by only 10 percent of the adult male Sioux population. "Congress resolved the impasse [read that as patently illegal act] by enacting the 1876 'agreement' into law as the Act of Feb. 28, 1877. The Act had the effect of abrogating the earlier Fort Laramie Treaty, and of implementing the terms of the Maypenny Commission's 'agreement' with the Sioux leaders. "The passage of the 1877 Act legitimized the settlers' invasion of the Black Hills..." Note: ..."First, it is not a clear proposition that savages can, for any consideration, enter into contract obligatory upon them. They stand by the law of nations, when trafficking with the civilized part of mankind, in the situation of infants, incapable of entering into contracts, especially for the sale of their country. Should this be denied, it may then be asserted that no monarch of a nation (that is, no sachem, chief, or headmen, or assemblage of sachems, etc.) has a power to transfer by sale the country, that is, the soil of the nation, over which they rule." History of Maryland, p. 569 ..."There are moralists who have questioned the right of Europeans to intrude upon the possessions of the aborigines in any case and under any limitations whatsoever. But have they maturely considered the whole subject? The Indian right of possession itself stands, with regard to the greatest part of the country, upon a questionable foundation. Their cultivated fields, their constructed habitations, a space of ample sufficiency for their subsistence, and whatever they had annexed to themselves by personal labor, was undoubtedly by the law of nature theirs. But what is the right of the huntsman to the forest of a thousand miles over which he has accidentally ranged in quest of prey? Shall the liberal bounties of Providence to the race of man be monopolized by one of ten thousand for whom they were created? Shall the exuberant bosom of the common mother, amply adequate to the nourishment of millions, be claimed exclusively by a few hundreds of her offspring? Shall the lordly savage not only disdain the virtues and enjoyments of civilization himself, but shall he control the civilization of a world? Shall he forbid the wilderness to blossom like the rose? Shall he forbid the oaks of the forest to fall before the ax of industry and rise again transformed into the habitations of ease and elegance? Shall he doom an immense region of the globe to perpetual desolation, and to hear the howlings of the tiger and the wolf silence forever the voice of human gladness? Shall the fields and the valleys which a beneficent God has framed to teem with the life of innumerable multitudes be condemned to everlasting barrenness? Shall the mighty rivers, poured out by the hands of nature as channels of communication between numerous nations, roll their waters in sullen silence and eternal solitude to the deep? Have hundreds of commodious harbors, a thousand leagues of coast, and a boundless ocean been spread in the front of this land, and shall every purpose of utility to which they could apply be prohibited by the tenant of the woods? No, generous philanthropists! Heaven has not been thus inconsistent in the works of its hands. Heaven has not thus placed at irreconcilable strife its moral laws with its physical creation." John Quincy Adams, December 22, 1802 Long before the Laramie Treaty farce, Wasichu had established that it was his law that mattered. A law that was arbitrary, convenient, and entirely concocted to serve the interests of the colonizers: I quote Chief Justice Marshall [again!], generally regarded as the foundation layer of Federal Indian Law. This from Johnson v. M'Intosh, 1832, 340 years after the Admiral of the Ocean Sea (Columbus) hit the beach..."On the discovery of the immense continent, the great nations of Europe were eager to appropriate to themselves so much of it as they could respectively acquire. Its vast extent offered an ample field to the ambition and enterprise of all; and the character and religion of its inhabitants afforded an apology for considering them as a people over whom the superior genius of Europe might claim an ascendancy. The potentates of the old world [and the new] found no difficulty in convincing themselves, that they made ample compensation to the inhabitants of the new, by bestowing on them civilization and Christianity, in exchange for unlimited independence." Of course, inherent here is the "given" that "civilization and Christianity" were filling a void and that the "compensation" and legitimacy of the "bestowing" was anything other than a fantasy, which of course it certainly was. The dear Justice goes on: "But as they were all in pursuit of nearly the same object, it was necessary, in order to avoid conflicting settlements, and consequent war with each other, to establish a principle, which all should acknowledge as the law by which the right of acquisition, which they all asserted, should be regulated, as between themselves. The principle was, that the discovery [of America] gave title to the government by whose subjects, or by whose authority, it was made, against all other European governments, which title might be consummated by possession. The exclusion of all other Europeans, necessarily gave to the nation making the discovery the sole right of acquiring the soil from the natives, and establishing settlements on it. "...Conquest gives a title which the courts of the conqueror cannot deny, whatever the private and speculative opinions of individuals may be, respecting the original justice of the claim which has been successfully asserted. "...The title by conquest is acquired and maintained by force. The conqueror prescribes its limits." What's my point here? Well, it's just to underline that the very legal foundation of the Wasichu/First Nations relationship is based upon the opinion that "...the tribes of Indians inhabiting this country were fierce savages, whose occupation was war, and whose subsistence was drawn chiefly from the forest. [That] to leave them in possession of their country, was to leave the country a wilderness; to govern them as a distinct people, was impossible, because they were as brave and as high-spirited as they were fierce, and were ready to repel by arms every attempt on their independence." Because there was no way in hell Wasichu could deal with such people, because there was no precedent...he resorted to a "new and different rule, better adapted to the actual state of things..." Simply put, he rewrote the book. We're talking perspective here. Cut in stone with blood as lubricant. Acts never to be forgiven. Facts. Never to be wiped away. Never. No. Never. Note: "On a day so bright it seemed to hide no secrets, the 500 or so landless men, women and children of Santa Elina thought they had won in their occupation of a virgin forest belonging to an estate more vast than Manhattan and the Bronx combined. Faces painted with coal, brandishing sticks, slingshots, sickles and chain saws, they had faced down the military police sent to evict them, and drawn hope from a hint that they might win the soil of their common dreams. Euphoric after 24 days together, the homesteaders hugged, lit firecrackers and raised their hunting rifles to the sky. But the scene just a mile away would have stopped their celebration cold. Soldiers were pitching tents and unloading ammunition and tear gas. Some strolled with machine guns on their shoulders. "That night, the military police, bolstered, witnesses said, by hired guns working for local landowners and a special forces team wearing black ski masks, stormed the encampment in a surprise attack. "The police battered and killed the squatters, using women as human shields and torturing, executing and stomping on prisoners, according to victims and medical and autopsy reports. They shot a 6-year-old girl dead as she tried to walk to safety by a towering tree, forced one prisoner to eat soil mixed with his blood and another to eat the brains spilling from a battered corpse they had ordered him to carry, the victims said....The New York Times,Date: Tuesday, 19 September 1995 Pain. Despair. A People - THE FIRST PEOPLE! - devoid of Justice, Rights. Gone. Wiped away as cleanly as one might wipe images from a slate. A People rolled over, and on, as a bug might be by the stomp of a heavy boot. Each not understanding the impetus of the other. The pain..., the loss... The First Nations/First Peoples stood no chance. Never. Ever. Not from that first outstretched hand fair taken in good will. Oh Creator, we rue that day! Who's to know? Who's to care, til time numbs? Til time allows the truly "righteous" and deserving their day in that Sun provided by the Lord of Lords? Til that time when Justice might prevail and His will be done? Note: "On the eight of November, 1519, Hernando Cortes and four hundred Spanish soldiers...approached the Aztec Byzantium-Tenochtitlan, Mexico City." The city was scattered with "great aviaries where thousands of birds - white egrets, energetic wrens and thrushes, fierce accipiters, brilliantly colored parrots - were housed and tended. They were captivating, as fabulous, as the displays of flowers: vermilion flycatchers, copper tailed trogons, green jays, blue-throated hummingbirds, and summer tanagers. Great blue herons, brooding condors. Three months later, because of "Cortes's psychological manipulation of Montezuma and a concomitant arrogance, greed, and disrespect on the part of the Spanish military force had become too much for the Mexicans, and they drove them out." Eleven months later a vengeful Cortes returned to lay siege to the city. "On June 16 [1521] in a move calculated to humiliate and frighten the Mexican people, Cortes set fire to the aviaries." I say again...and do remember these words: ...the First Nations/First Peoples must come to grips with the reality of life in the Wasichu Sea. I suggest that one must define terms and establish a fresh legal environment within which Wasichu can be held accountable for past and present fictions: "Today, principles and rules generated from this Old World discourse of conquest are cited by the West's domestic and international courts of law to deny indigenous nations the freedom and dignity to govern themselves according to their own vision. Thus as a first step toward the decolonization of the West's law respecting the American Indian, the Doctrine of discovery must be rejected. It permits the West to accomplish by law and in good conscience what it accomplished by the sword in earlier eras: the physical and spiritual destruction of indigenous people." The American Indian in Western Legal Thought, The Discourses of Conquest, Rober A. Williams, Jr., paper, ISBN 0-19-508002-5 Oh Creator...The People need an avalanche of Justice, a rolling of the ground such as Wovoka predicted, a cleansing, a return to the Right... a Justice recovered, long lost. We need...we need. Oh Creator, we need... Nvwhtohiyada... http://www.pobox.com/~jsd (Best viewed w/Netscape) --------- "RE: Redskin License Plates in Utah" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Jan 1996 09:28:51 -0700 From: jay@utw.com (Jay S. Brummett) Subj: Redskin License Plates in Utah Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Hau, About a year ago, I wrote articles to NatChat and Native-L concerning the fight by non-Native attorney Brian Barnard to have the word Redskin removed from Utah's vanity license plates. His effort ultimately ended up in the Utah Supreme Court, where Mr Barnard lost his fight. The Court reasoned that although Mr Barnard was probably correct in his contention that the term Redskin is offensive; as a non-Indian, Mr Barnard lacked legal standing to be offended by the slur and therefore had no standing to make a legal complaint seeking the removal of the word from license plates. Mr Barnard has asked Mr Michael McBride and myself to pursue the complaint. Our first stop will be before the Utah Tax Commission. I have enclosed a copy of the formal complaint letter with this post. I have also set up a Web site to deal with info on the issue: http://www.utw.com/~jay/rword.html I would welcome any input or support from NativeNet subscribers, and stereotype project participants (Jim, y'all out there??). Warmest Regards, Jay Brummett Cecala Ptehincalaska-Calf jay@utw.com +++++++++++++++++++ Moderation Note: This post does not represent an official position of the NatChat or the NativeNet. -Jay Brummett NativeNet Moderation Staff nnet@utw.com +++++++++++++++++++ ++++Attached letter++++ Letter of Complaint to the State of Utah This is the letter that Mr Barnard sent to the State of Utah. Mr Barnard is not a Native; however, he began the fight to remove these offensive plates from Utah. Mr Barnard did not understand that both of us are Lakota, but it really is not important as the letter lays out the legal challenge to use of the offensive "R"-word. I offer my my heartfelt thanks to Mr Bernard who began this fight and has agreed to continue to help the Native people who reside in Utah to continue to fight against racism. Please note typos/mistakes in this letter my fault. Regards, Jay Brummett Utah Legal Clinic 214 East Fifth South Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84111-3204 (801) 328-9531 December 24, 1995 STATE OF UTAH UTAH STATE TAX COMMISSION DIVISION OF MOTOR VEHICLES ATTN: Rick Leimbach, Director PERSONALIZED PLATE DIVISION STATE FAIR GROUNDS 1095 MOTOR AVENUE SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84116 Dear Mr. Leimbach: I represent Michael McBride and Jay Brummett. Mr. Brummett is a member of the Lakota Sioux tribe. Mr McBride is a member of the Oglala Sioux. They are American Indians. With regard to state issued personalized license plates, pursuant to Ut. Code Ann. 41-1a-411(2) (1953 as amended), the Utah State Commission and the Motor Vehicle "division may refuse to issue any combination of letters, numbers, or both that may carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency . . ." Pursuant to Administrative Rule R873-22-34M(B)(1), the Utah State Commission shall not issue a personalized license plate that contains a combination of letters with any connotation that is vulgar, derogatory, profane or obscene. Pursuant to Administrative Rule R873-22-34M(B)(4), the Utah State Commission shall not issue a personalized license plate that contains a combination of letters that express contempt, ridicule or superiority of a defined class of person, including but not limited to race or ethnic heritage. My clients have been informed and have seen photos of a Utah license plate on a private automobile bearing the word "REDSKIN". Apparently there are two (2) other personalized plates that have been issued in the past and bear the words or letters "REDSKN" and "REDSKNS" which convey the same meaning. These three (3) words and plates violate the two (2) rules and statute cited above. The terms are derogatory and express contempt and ridicule for American Indians. The word "REDSKIN" is unquestionably an offensive ethnic slur. That there may be other meanings to or uses of the word is irrelevant. The fact that the Washington, D.C. National Football League team continues to use a derogatory and distasteful term as its team name does not change the underlying nature of the word "REDSKIN." That the holders of these personalized license plates may be avid supporters of a football team does not change the offensive nature of the word. The Division and the Commission must act based upon good taste and decency and not the personal claims of the individuals that seek to have distasteful terms on personalized license plates. The Utah Court of Appeals recently indicated that a determination as to the nature of a term on a personalized license plate must be made with reference to the target of the insult. Barnard v. Utah State Tax Commission, et al, P.2d, 275 Ut.Adv.Rep. 47 (October 19, 1995). According to that Court, only the target of a slur has "standing" under law to complain to the Tax Commission, therefore the determination as to the offensive nature of the term, must be reviewed from the viewpoint of the targeted group. Id., 49. On behalf of my clients, please consider this letter a formal complaint under Administrative Rule R873-22-34M(G) that the personalized license plates "REDSKIN", "REDSKIN", and "REDSKNS" are in violation of Administrative Rule R873-22-34M AND Ut. Code Ann. 41-1A-411 (1953 as amended). The Tax Commission and the Division should, pursuant to that rule and statute revoke the plates and ask for surrender of the personalized license plates. Members of the Native American community may desire to express their opinions on this issue when the matter is considered by your division and/or by the Tax Commission. I have attached for your consideration a copy of an editorial written by Tim Giago and published in the The Salt Lake Tribune. That editorial may give you some insight into the problem. I request a full hearing and full record before your division so that the Tax Commission and the Utah appellate court may review your actions. Barnard v. Utah State Tax Commission, et al, P.2d, 275 Ut.Adv.Rep. 47, 49 (October 19, 1995) Thank you for your prompt attention and action. BRIAN M. BARNARD Attorney at Law Enc. (1) cc: Clients Val Oveson, Chair, Utah Tax Commission 210 North 1950 West Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84134 Susan Barnum Assistant Attorney General Janet Graham Attorney General 50 South Main Street #900 Salt Lake City, Utah 84144 Janice Perry Public Relations Department Utah State Tax Commission 210 North 1950 West Street Salt Lake City, Utah 84134 ++++end of attached letter++++ --------- "RE: Understanding" --------- Date: Thu, 4 Jan 1996 20:18:30 -0800 From: cherokee@wolfenet.com Subj: Understanding Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) O'siyo, My Friend, Feather, a Yankton Sioux, wrote this for me tonight for my homepage at http://www.wolfenet.com/~cherokee I would wish to share it with others for the message it contains should be heard by many hearts. Date: Thu, 04 Jan 1996 17:37:29 -0500 (CDT) From: bagolaml@CAA.MRS.UMN.EDU To: brooke Understanding Two men were out walking. Neither not knowing of each other's presence. One was a red man. The other a white man. The white man spotted the red man and hid. The red man killed a deer and thanked the deer for giving his life up for him so that he might eat. The white man, upon seeing this, wondered what he had just seen and fear was instilled in his heart. But hunger being more powerful than his fear, he approached the red man. The red man seeing the white man and also seeing his hunger, offered him some meat and they ate. The red man done eating, again thanked the deer and also thanked the Great Spirit. The white man, again felt fear as he watched the red man pray. The red man looked towards the sky and pointed out an eagle to the white man. The red man seeing this as a sign from the Great Spirit began to sing. The white man, NOT KNOWING OR UNDERSTANDING the red man, felt the fear growing inside of him. The red man, done singing, stood facing the white man and an eagle feather fell between them. The white man, upon seeing this, picked up the eagle feather and offered to the red man. The red man nodded no and said with his eyes, "it is yours to keep." The red man saw the eagle feather as a sign of peace and friendship between the two and the red man began to sing again. The white man, NOT KNOWING OR UNDERSTANDING the red man, began to feel the fear grow inside his heart. The fear spreading from his heart to his mind. The fear being too much, the white man slayed the red man. The eagle soaring above looked down and wept for both them. The white man was left standing alone, holding the eagle feather......NOT KNOWING OR UNDERSTANDING the red man. Upon returning home, the white man told his son of the story of him and the red man. The white man told his son that he had met a red man in the forest and the red man talked to the animals and prayed to the devil. He also told his son that he took the eagle feather from the red man as a remembrance of his courage and Godly duty to kill the red man and he called the red man a savage for living as he did. So the father gave the feather to his son. The white man's son passed the story and the feather onto his son and both were passed on from one generation to the next. All, NOT KNOWING OR UNDERSTANDING the red man. The story and the feather were lost over time but history books and films still depict the red man as a "SAVAGE." The black child, the white child, and the yellow child read this books and watch these films. All, NOT KNOWING OR UNDERSTANDING the red man. ALL, NOT KNOWING OR UNDERSTANDING......................ME. --------- "RE: Univ. of Arizona; Mt.Graham; HIV/AIDS" --------- Date: Wed, 3 Jan 1996 00:45:05 -0800 From: iitc@igc.apc.org (International Indian Treaty Council) Subj: Univ. of Arizona- Mt.Graham - HIV/AIDS Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) CONGRESSMAN KOLBE TRADES INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE HIV - AIDS PREVENTION FOR UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA'S MT. GRAHAM TELESCOPE In a sick twist of irony, telescopes on Mt. Graham have eliminated an AIDS-HIV study that was intended to benefit Native Peoples' efforts to prevent the spread of AIDS-HIV. This is the latest blow by the University of Arizona to Indigenous peoples religious freedoms, health and well being. Below is the text of Rep. Jim Kolbe's Amendment to the House Interior Appropriations Bill as reported in the Congressional Record - House, December 12, 1995 (p. 14309). "Amendment No. 178: Deletes Senate language requiring the Indian Health Service to prepare a report on HIV-AIDS prevention needs, and insert in lieu thereof a provision which allows the construction of a third telescope on Mount Graham, in the Coronado National Forest, Arizona, to proceed under the terms of the Arizona-Idaho Conservation Act of 1988." This rider was attached to the Interior Appropriations Bill and has the effect of exempting the University of Arizona's Observatory Project from all U.S. environmental and cultural protection laws. Fortunately, President Clinton vetoed this bill yet the rider is still attached to it and the University of Arizona's administration and congressional representatives are determined to see it enacted into law. Please call and demand that the University of Arizona's Mt. Graham rider be dropped and the Indian Health Service HIV-AIDS prevention study be restored. Chairman - Ralph Regula (R-OH) 202-225-3876 202-225-3059 (fax) University of Arizona President Manuel Pacheco 520-621-5511