Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews04.008 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 008 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 24 February 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 MCLR-L, NativeWeb, Uptowne, INNU-L, NATCHAT & NATIVE-L listservers; Chautauqua Newsletter; Planet Peace; Newsgroups: alt.native, soc.culture.native,alt.activism, alt.org.earth-first First Nations Survival Support Network; UUCP & Genie email 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 "Our cause is as a child's cause, in comparison with the power of the white man, unless we can stop quarreling among ourselves and unite our energies for the common good." __ Chief Spotted Tail, Brule Teton Sioux +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 begins with two strong articles about being human beings, and how some place greater or lesser value on the quality of one human being or group of human beings. Creator makes no such judgements. He looks at the heart of a human being; and, traditionally, so did our ancestors. Is it not time to honor this way of thinking, or is this another tradition that will be lost to the pressures of assimilation or blood quantum? 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 - Bridging Worlds of Misunderstanding - Conferences and Powwows - online - Reverse Assimilation - Adopted Kids - Necessary Illusion - More on Adopted Kids - Crow Nation Alert - Casino Help Anyone? - Why Onesided - AIM/FBI Papers Research - Prayers - Mt.Hood Sun Dance Grounds - Grave Desecration In Tennessee - Urgent: Gustafson Lake - ICWA Appeal to Supreme Court - Fort Reno Update - Muzzle Request - Cowlitz Project - Native Leaders on Quebec - Sacred Instructions - Review: The Rez - Poem: Dreaming Into the Ground - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline --------- "RE: Bridging Worlds of Misunderstanding" --------- Date: 15 FEB 96 08:43AM From: "KING,JOHN" Subject: ARTICLE ABOUT KICKAPU UUCP email [Editorial Note: Sincere thanks to John for the forward and to Roberto for granting redistribution of his article. We too have seen the shame imposed on our beautiful copper ladies by those who would have them assimilate.] O'Siyo Gary! The following was forwarded to me by a friend who is on the Latino-net, and I think it should be shared. I personally have observed the self- loathing that many of our sisters have about their skin color, or their hair and eye color. Walking together, John King ----------------------------------------------------------------- LATINO SPECTRUM To: Multiple recipients of list MCLR-L This message is posted as a service to MCLR subscribers. From: XXXRoberto@aol.com Message-ID: <960208211023_316750237@mail06.mail.aol.com> Chronicle Features, San Francisco RELEASE DATE: On or After February 9, 1996 LATINO SPECTRUM by Roberto Rodriguez & Patrisia Gonzales Bridging Worlds of Misunderstanding Our Uncle Joe remembers how Mama Mencha dried tobacco along a river, raising her hands to pray to grandfather sun. Mama Mencha, our great-great grandmother, was Kikapu Indian. U.S. history books say the Kikapua (as they are known in their own language) were first sighted by the "white man" in the Great Lakes region. Mama Mencha crossed south at "the pass of the eagle" (now Eagle Pass), giving us roots in two countries. She settled in Nacimiento, Mexico, when our people were pushed into Mexico from the United States while fleeing Indian wars. Our uncle, or "Tio Chema," as we call him, remembers her stories about seeing Santa Anna ride by on his horse. The Kikapu (as they are known in Mexico) were given land by the Mexican government and unrestricted passage between the two countries. Mama Mencha died at age 115 in 1937. She's buried without a marker in a private family cemetery in Waco, Texas. Tio Chema, who looks like the Indian head on an old nickel and likes to go to the powwows in Oklahoma, is a keeper of family stories. We are also Comanche from one of our mother's side of the family, but those stories have been lost. A people without stories is a people without memory or history. Sometimes all that remains of a people's history are names on birth certificates, sepia photographs and stone inscriptions that are later misinterpreted by archaeologists. Often we have wondered, when do Indians cease being Indians--when do they lose their memory, their tongue? In the '40s, as the animals they had hunted for sustenance were killed off in Mexico, the Kikapua (which loosely translates as "the people who keep moving") were forced to follow the migrant stream into the United States. They camped under a bridge in Eagle Pass, Texas, and became known as "the bridge people." Our relatives, however, disliked the nickname. "We are not bridge people. We are not cardboard people," they'd say, referring to the cardboard homes that some migrants lived in. But the moniker has new meaning for us nowadays, as we find ourselves bridging nations at indigenous summits. At conferences, we are often asked to translate for Spanish-speaking southern indigenous nations and English-speaking North American Indians. As writers, we are also translators of cultures, within the Latino communities, between native people and mestizos, and between Latino communities and our mainstream readers. At other times, we bring to our readers knowledge from ethnic scholars that might otherwise remain locked in ivory towers. We often say we are "bridge people" who help to bridge wide cultural gulfs of misunderstanding. We remember being on a bus in Mexico City when a fair-haired mother screamed at her child, who was slow to board, "Don't be an Indian." We recall how an instructor friend of ours participating in the mother-daughter program in El Paso, Texas, told the girls they were all beautiful. When one girl asked, "Even if you look like an Indian, Miss?" the instructor replied, "Especially if you look like an Indian." It reminds us of our own childhoods, of thinking we were ugly because we were dark and Indian, washing our skin furiously, hoping we would wash our color away. A friend of ours remembers going to bed at night and praying she would wake up blond. Another friend says that's why some Latinas dress with garish clothes, makeup and baubles--to cover up the Indian. We see Chicanos and Latinos as people from four directions because most of us are a mixture of Indian, European, African and Asian. This mixture, however historically has generally been viewed by both Spaniards and indigenous people as contaminated blood. During the debate over the Columbus Quincentennial in 1992, left out of the discussion were the vast heirs--or rather--the product of the conquest of the Americas, the mestizos. We concluded then that the Americas will heal its racial wounds when mestizos not only stopped hating Indians, but stopped hating themselves. Part of the healing requires that we all start to view mestizos as one group, with multiple identities, cultures and histories, albeit begotten of war and conquest. Perhaps a better term for mestizos is bridge people who, because of their unique experience of coming to terms with the conflict that created their culture, can be bridges over the walls of prejudice. On the tree of humanity, there are many leaves and flowers, but to paraphrase Cuban patriot Jose Marti, our trunk will always be indigenous. (Copyright Chronicle Features, 1996) + Latino Spectrum is a nationally syndicated column, distributed by Chronicle Features. Rodriguez/Gonzales can be reached at (915) 593-2387, P.O. Box 370394, El Paso, Texas 79937 or at XXXROBERTO@AOL.COM or PATRISIAX@AOL.COM + Readers are encouraged to call or write their local editors and encourage them to carry the Latino Spectrum column. --------- "RE: Reverse Assimilation" --------- Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 17:54:40 -0800 (PST) From: cherokee@wolfenet.com Subj: Assimilation UUCP email Gary...can you put the words up? Reverse Assimilation O'siyo.... I keep hearing the words...the arguments...the anger...about a subject which continues to plague First Nations...and so, tonight, in the shadow of the Smokey Spirit Mountains...I speak my heart...and hope that you might learn of this...and perhaps...move on to speak of it to others... Several Decades ago...when the failure to exterminate we of First Nations failed...the second plan..or as one of my young students might put it..Plan "B" was formulated....and it was called...Assimilation...the idea to blend us into the Dominant culture...thus, eliminating...or...exterminating us by a legal means... I have always fought Assimilation...and fought strongly for First Nations Sovereignty....but have never spoken before of my reasons. Perhaps tonight it it time then to speak my heart to you. First...Know that there are many in this circle...who are of different beliefs...different colors...different nations...countries...but all...all have the same dream...to live together in peace upon a Earth which will support us only if we love her...and heal her...and put our own selfish self interests behind. All of us in this circle...care of each other...most not having a idea of what the others "look" like...nor what nationality...and it merely is not important to us...Hold onto that thought as I try and struggle to speak to you.... I was born Indian.....when it was not popular to be an Indian...Before Dances With Wolves moved our First Nations into the public heart...I remember walking down a street and people moving over to the other sidewalk when I passed...at the age of 5....I remember when we were hungry....of a time when we had nothing...nothing..but the love of each other to sustain us...and we would laugh...oh, how we would laugh...for we had the freedom unknown to so many...the gift of seeing the beauty in life...and though poor...I remember swimming in our creek on our land with my cousins..laughing and fearlessly accepting their dare to fall from the rope we had hung on the tree there. Love...remember this word...for it is all that has held we of First Nations together for so very long...so very long. We have always used the phrase..Mother Earth...long before it was a popular term...we have LIVED that term. We have believed we are the caretaker of Mother..and that all fruitful things are born from her...as from a real woman...she is sacred...the lifegiver.... In this belief...we never believed any one could own her. We rejected the concept of Individual ownership...and the one common theme among First Nations is Communal sharing of the land...and in that...the individual responsibility of caring for it for the good of the whole Nations.... We take that very seriously..... Jerry Mander put it very well I think....about the differences....and why we can never be assimilated.... ECONOMICS Technological Peoples Native Peoples Concept of private property a No private ownership of resources basic value, includes resources, such as land, water, minerals or land, ability to buy and sell and plant life. NO concept of inheritance. State Ownership. selling land. No inheritance. Corporate Ownership predominates. Goods produced for sale...not for Goods produced for use value personal use. Currency System..abstract value Barter system..concrete value Competition..production for Cooperative, collective private gain. Reward according to production. task/wages. Nature viewed as "resource" Nature viewed as "being"; humans seen as part of nature. POLITICS Hierarchical political forums Mostly Non hierarchical, "chiefs" have no coercive power. Decisions generally made by Decisions usually based on executive power, majority rule, consensus process involving or dictatorship. the whole tribe. Laws are codified, written. Laws transmitted orally. No Adversarial process. adversarial process. Laws Anthropocentrism forms basis of interpreted for individual law. Criminal cases judged by cases. "Natural Law' used as strangers. basis. Criminal cases settled by peers KNOWN to "criminal". Concept of "State" Identity as "Nation" SOCIOCULTURAL and DEMOGRAPHIC Large scale societies...most have Small scale societies..all high population density people acquainted; low population density Lineage mostly patrilineal Lineage mostly Matrilineal, Family property rights run through the female. Nuclear two or one parent Extended Families, generations families; also "singles" Sometimes many families live together. Revere the Young things Revere the Old things History written in books, History transmitted in oral portrayed in TV documdramas traditions, carried through memory. RELATION to ENVIRONMENT Humans viewed as superior life Entire world viewed as alive: form; Earth Viewed as "dead" plants, animals, people, rocks. Humans NOT superior, but equal part of web of life. Reciprocal relationship with non human life. ARCHITECTURE Space designed for separation and Space designed for communal privacy activity. Hand edged forms; earth covered Soft forms; earth not paved with concrete Construction designed to survive Construction designed to individual human life. eventually dissolve back into the land; materials biodegradable in one lifetime. RELIGION and PHILOSOPHY Separation of spirituality from rest Spirituality integrated with all of life in most Western Cultures; aspects of daily life. church and state separated; materialism is dominant philosophy in Western Countries. Either monotheistic concept of Polytheistic concepts based on single, male god, or atheistic nature, male and female forces, animalism. Futuristic/linear concept of Integration of past and present. time; de-emphasis of past. The dead are regarded as gone. The dead are regarded as present. Individuals gain most information Individuals gain information from media, schools, authority from personal experiences. figures outside their immediate community or experience Time measures by machines; Time measured according to schedules dictate when to do observance of nature; time to do things. something is when time is right. Saving and acquiring Sharing and giving. Humans viewed as above nature Humans within nature So...you see...the struggle we have to survive within the technological dominant society....where land is viewed as "dead"...we see is as bursting with life....To not be as one with the land is incomprehensible to the People. We are as one with the land.... Now..they introduce bills to take back our lands from us...which to us is to take away our very lives...our hearts...And, I say to you this thing...we shall never give them up...never. You might as well ask for me to stab my own heart as to ask me to give up an inch of the ground my Grandmother is buried in. I will NEVER...never....do this. Nor..will any traditional member of First Nations. Many years ago...we used to dance...sing...as a innocent people..as children will do. We never believed...that those who came to us in Peace..who gave us their words on the written paper would NEVER keep their promises. We did not know the concept of lying. It was unheard of among our People. I remember my Grandmother saying to me.."A Man's word is his Sacred Oath..his Promise forever..." We were stunned...as they began to annihilate us....massacre us in our sleeps....without weapons to protect ourselves. I still...to this day...cannot accept this...I struggle with it...I dream of it..I think of it so many times...and I have never, never understood it...none of it. We, of First Nations believe...three things...That all land, water and forest belongs to all....private ownership is unthinkable. All tribal decisions are made by the consensus of all members of the tribe and we view our leaders as more like teachers...than politicians... No one is "Higher" than another....all people are to be treated as alike..the same...the same laws....and when one is hungry...you feed them...when one is cold...you shelter them...when one is sick..you heal them. THAT is what we believe. And so....now...they introduce legal ways to exterminate us....to take back our lands....our hearts....to kill us again...and I say to you...I shall never give up another inch...never...For we of First Nations are a poor people...but have Honor...and they will have to kill each one of us before we shall ever submit to the death of our ways. I wonder then...if we have been thinking backwards in this country of ours...if perhaps the Dominant Technological Country should assimilate itself into our ways...for I am spoken to so often...so often...by many who come and say I want to find my home...I want to go home....I do not find happiness here...and I open my arms to them and say...come home..come home to us...Heal with us...eat with us...dance with us...come home. I say to you....Peace of heart cannot be bought with a Visa Card...and my Brothers the Cree have warned you...."Only when the last tree has died...and the last river has been poisoned...and the last fish has been caught...will we realize...we cannot eat money." Someone recently told me..."Brooke, your people cannot win. They simply cannot win. You'll probably do something stupid like go out and get yourself shot when the holdout comes. Its stupid to do that. What would you prove?" I thought of that...saw past their words..into their heart and knew they loved me and feared for me...and in that I answered...these words... "Of course we will never "win" a battle of technology...and of course the tanks...the bullets will cut us down as they did at Wounded Knee...of course we know this thing. But, my Cheyenne Brother serve notice to reclaim their lands of Ft. Reno in Oklahoma...My Shawnee Brothers serve notice they shall not give up another foot of their sacred lands...My brothers the Sioux will not SELL the Black Hills...my Navaho Brothers will not give up their lands...and on..and on...Yes, they will take them back..of course they shall...but only after our blood has nourished the land in a last attempt to save it to grow on for our children...and their children...and shed it gladly we shall.... For there is a thing that has not been taught in this generation...that has been forgotten by many...and that thing is Honor...My Sioux Brothers yell out.."IT is a good day to die." Yes...it is. When a Nation of People is lied to...when promises are not kept...then Honor is destroyed....destroyed....and if a country cannot live in Honor then what good is it? Our National Parks are now being sold off to foreign interests...where are the People to stop this dishonor? Our homes are being taken from us...where are the voices in protest? First Nations protests...alone if need be...but they shall stand and plant their staffs deeply and refuse to move...and I say to you this thing...I am a mere woman...I am fearful of the tanks...I do not wish to see the bullets sent to my heart...but I know Honor...and I will stand with my Brothers and Sisters, holding them tightly to me as we fall...and if the People of this country do not realize...that there is little time left to save our Mother..then my heart weeps for their ignorance. We have sat...for 500 years...in patient hearts...waiting for honor to be restored...for promises to be kept...and we still wait....Perhaps we should ask the Dominant Culture to come "Assimilate" with our Nations...to walk in Honor...to share our lands...in honor...and lifegiving...Maybe no one has simply thought of this thing. Gentle winds to your life journey tonight...Dance on...in HONOR...dance on....a'ho --------- "RE: Necessary Illusion" --------- Date: Sat, 10 Feb 1996 22:16:50 -0700 From: "Leo T. Chavez, Jr." Subj: The Necessary Illusion Newsgroups: soc.culture.native The following script is about race not about the political gender issue. A Native American woman has uncovered the parts of the necessary illusion. Today's Planned Parenthood was created by racist intentions. Its founder, Margaret Sanger, said, "Stop bringing to birth children who's inheritance cannot be one of health or intelligence due to the "colored" peril." I have always wondered why there were never any effective programs that were implemented to improve ethnic minorities' economic conditions. See, this is the American mentality of "relieve the symptoms and don't cure the problem". Dr. A.C. Ross has mention similar issue, i.e.: federal reserve system and the welfare programs, that what it comes down to is same substance different method. Be leery, but ask how can I be helped so I can have a decent standard of living. This is not an argument about Pro-Choice and Pro-Life, but because that is the the necessary illusion. Remember when those who are talking about taxes, welfare, military, crime, abortion, school prayers and the environment; what they are really talking about is race. You kill a culture, you kill a people. Learn the lesson from Iktomi, we need to trick the trickster(s). MITAKUYE OYASIN... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Leo T. Chavez, Jr. "Why do people not want to shake the hands of those who cook their meals?" -Dr. Phil Deloria "I am haunted by waters." -Norman Maclean "Why so much land?" -Geronimo --------- "RE: Crow Nation Alert" --------- Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 20:26:30 GMT From: andrea@scicom.alphacdc.com (Andrea Lord) Subj: CROW NATION - ALERT Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native,alt.activism The following bulletin is being posted at the request of: Arlo Dawes, Executive Assistant, Crow National Branch Office, INDIAN NATIONS ALERT ! ABORIGINAL HUNTING RIGHTS THREATENED ! ! On December 1995, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals for the United States, Denver, Colorado, issued a decision against the Crow Tribe of the Crow Nation on a hunting case, which tested the aboriginal hunting rights of the Crow Tribe guaranteed in the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. The case is Crow Tribe of Indians and Thomas L. Ten Bear vs. Chuck Regis, a/k/a the Thomas Ten Bear Case. The 10th Circuit Court based its decision on a controversial U.S. Supreme Court decision in Ward vs. Race Horse, 1896. Thomas L. Ten Bear, a Crow tribal member, was cited by Chuck Regis, a game warden employed by the State of Wyoming Fish and Game Department, for killing an elk on federal lands within the Big Horn National Forest without a State of Wyoming hunting license. As part of his unsuccessful defense, Ten Bear argued that he had an unrestricted aboriginal right to hunt in the Big Horn National Forest (a federal enclave), as "unoccupied lands of the United States" under Article 4 of the Treaty with the Crows, 1868. Arlo Dawes, Executive Assistant to Clara Nomee, Chairperson, Crow Nation, stated that the Ward vs. Race Horse decision of 1896 has been repudiated and has been criticized by courts over the years. "The decision by the 10th Circuit Court is like reaffirming the Dred Scott vs. Sandford Case, which involved the Black American," stated Dawes. The Crow Tribe is filing an appeal in the United States Supreme Court in March. Because of the different mitigating factors between the Ten Bear and the Ward vs. Race Horse decisions, Crow Tribal leaders and tribal attorneys stated that the merits itself would likely warrant the Supreme Court to hear the case. In an unprecedented feat in the history of the Northern Great Plains, the Crow Indians and the Sioux Indians, once deadly enemies, are in discussions to put animosities aside to ally with one another to stand up for a common cause. A medicine peace pipe ceremony between the tribes is tentatively planned at the Crow Nation on June 25, 1996. Indian leaders throughout the United States are urged to write to President Bill Clinton, Bruce Babbitt, Secretary of the Interior, and Janet Reno, Attorney General, Department of Justice to: 1. urge the United States to intervene on behalf of the Crow Tribe, and 2. urge President Clinton, Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Attorney General Janet Reno to make recommendations to the United States Supreme Court to hear the Ten Bear Case. President Bill Clinton 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, Washington, DC 20500 email: clinton@whitehouse.gov or president@whitehouse.gov Attorney General Janet Reno Dept. of Justice, 10th & Constitution NW, Washington DC 20530 Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt 1849 C Street, N.W. Main Interior Bldg., Rm. 6151 Washington, D.C. 20240 THIS IS A RED ALERT!!!!THIS IS A RED ALERT!!!!THIS IS A RED ALERT!!!! For Further Information contact: Arlo Dawes, Executive Assistant, Crow National Branch Office, 2024 3rd Avenue North, Billings, MT, 59101 Phone: 406-248-5820 Fax: 406-248-3341 --------- "RE: Why Onesided" --------- Date: 15 Feb 96 08:34:00 From: Frosty.Deere@igloo.magicnet.com (Frosty Deere) Subj: Why is it things are onesided ? Newsgroups: alt.native Ask any native person living any place in the world and you will hear the same thing over and over. " Why are whitemans' laws always right and we are always wrong ?" Every Treaty ever written has been broken or for some unknown reason the native people mis-understand what they signed. Enter a courtroom and you walk away feeling that you are trying to steal your own lands or some right. Enter the courtroom and learn that one man can remove the rights of a whole nation. Enter a courtroom and learn that you have lost the right to fish, hunt and live as a native person on what you think is your land. What has all to do with anything ? Well it has to do with the separation of Quebec from Canada. At the present time both governments as talking out of the side of there mouths and many of the things seem to be slipping out like butter on a hot knife. First it was Ron Irwin, pointing out that Canada had a right to protect the natives if they wanted to remain joined to Canada. He raised the question, would Quebec use the police if they said "No" to separation. Quebec shot back with they would send in the police. All this leads us to one fact, they are once again screwing with the lives of native people for there own gain. So as there war of words are slung back and forth we sit in the middle and have to live with there crap. The only thing is we are not sitting on our butts watching this. So what is new ? Well now ex-premier Bourassa, comes out of the woodwork and makes the claim that the Cree gave up there rights to the land 20 years ago. I would like to see where its written that they gave up the land to Quebec ? I have the whole document and can not find it anyplace and would like some to point it out to me. Anyway, since then Jerry Peltier is very happy that Ron Irwin, has stated that he will support natives. Next we have Bernard Landry you claims that Chretien, has lost control and that Irwin is acting like a drunken sailor. This is followed by Bouchard that Irwin is an imbecile and a perfect idiot. Then now we have Brassard saying Irwin is irresponsible and ignorant. That he is an arsonist who is fighting fires every-where is dangerous and he is an ignoramus who is uttering nonsense. Irwin predicted bloodshed if force is used on natives from leaving Quebec. But the bottom line is that no Native Nation is Quebecois. ... via DeltaMail v2.20 for SL (#216378) --------- "RE: Prayers" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 11:57:19 -0800 (PST) From: nisqlibr@orcalink.com (Nisqually Library) Subj: Prayers Mailing List: NativeWeb With goodness to all concerns many of the people have suffered great losses because of the floods surrounding the Mt. Rainier. the cleansing of the earth has begun the earthquake I believe will soon follow Through the prayers of the power of the good mind we as Indian people must never forget who we are pray for our relatives who reach high to the creator the sacred cedar tree pray the loggers leave them alone many songs are still inside of them many were used to bury our dead. The murders of the cedars must stop, vision quest sites must be preserved all living thing have spirits all life must be protected or we will all suffer.... our fish along the Nisqually river lay dead along ditches the eagle have no fish to eat...Development conquer and destroy is all I have seen our earth mother is crying to her people for we are the original caretakers of the turtle island....remember your songs and ceremonies...use your medicines in a good way for all the Native people and protection of our earth.. Ska-Da-Wa I can be reached at nisqlibr@orcalink.com --------- "RE: Grave Desecration In Tennessee" --------- Date: 12 Feb 1996 21:46:59 -0500 From: talleagle@aol.com (Tall Eagle) Subj: Grave Desecration In TENNESSEE Newsgroups: alt.native Please, my people and friends of my people, help us out. It will only take a fax. We have an issue here in Middle Tennessee that is disturbing and will affect all indigenous peoples in the near future. The State of Tennessee, the City of Nashville, and a Private Corporation (The Houston Oilers) are making plans to build a football stadium on what is known to be Native American burial sites. The second part of the controversy, and possibly more damaging, is the proposed relocation of all existing businesses in that area to a site known as Cockrell Bend, a well known, and already proven Mississippian burial site. IF you wish to assist us in our endeavors to stop this transgression against our people, please either write or fax to Mayor Phil Bredeson, mayor of Nashville.. address follows: Mayor Phil Bredeson 107 Metropolitan Courthouse Nashville, Tennessee 37201 Phone 615-862-8000 FAX 615-862-6040 Please flood his mailbox and run his fax out of paper.. This is only the beginning. We will be begging for more help in the future... get ready. Thank you very much, Tall Eagle --------- "RE: ICWA Appeal to Supreme Court" --------- Date: 15 Feb 1996 05:53:03 GMT From: icwalaw@maroon.tc.umn.edu Subj: ICWA appeal to US Sup Ct Newsgroups: alt.native On Monday, Feb. 12, the ICWA Law Center filed an appeal in the United States Supreme Court of a decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court upholding the adoption of a Cheyenne River Sioux baby into a white home because the child was not being removed from an "existing Indian family." The lower LA appeals court ruled that since (1) the mother (a full blood) had only gone to two pow wows in the last year, (2) the baby had never lived in an Indian home (she was placed for adoption in a white home at birth), and (3) the mother moved off the reservation at the age of seven, the child would not be returned to an "existing Indian family" if returned to the mother. The appeals court ruled that the mother had not demonstrated "substantive tribal contacts." Even the trial court rejected the stupid existing indian family doctrine, yet the appeals court twisted the facts to fit the doctrine (as idiotic) as it is, which only goes to show how slippery the doctrine is. To be safe, we tell our clients to eat lots of fry bread and go to at least three pow wows a year if they want the ICWA to apply to their kids. Be a "real" Indian in the opinion of the learned state court judges. Now this mother's only hope is that the US Supreme Court will accept review of the case and reverse the appeals court decision. At least six states have adopted the "existing Indian family "doctrine, and four have rejected it, and a few others have opinions going both ways. We are asking the Supreme Court to resolve this conflict once and for all. We'll keep you all posted. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Mark Fiddler, Esq. Executive Director Indian Child Welfare Law Center 1433 East Franklin Avenue 18A Minneapolis, Minn. 55404 612-879-9165 (voice) 612-879-0323 (fax) icwalaw@maroon.tc.umn.edu --------- "RE: Muzzle Request" --------- Date: Wed Feb 14, 1996 at 18:08 EST From: Brave Star (a.horovitch@genie.com) Subj: Muzzle Request Genie email Minister of Indian affairs for Canada made another provocative statement on exiting a cabinet meeting today. Ron Irwin said that Indians lands are not part of Quebec Crown Land. This follows a bitter comment by Mr. Bouchard (Premier of Quebec)yesterday asking the Prime Minister to "muzzle" the minister of Indian Affairs . The muzzle request came after a comment that an attempt to keep natives part of a separate Quebec could lead to violence. The possibility of violence in Quebec is certainly being brought out into the open more today. The popular CBC radio noon call in show discussed the question of whether the possibility of violence in quebec should be discussed. Very mixed response from the audience. Spokesperson for the Parti Quebecois said Quebec is very law abiding ( forgot OKA 1990,. forgot the mail box bombings and the killing of a government minister in the fight for separatism in the 1970's). It is dangerous he said, to discuss such things. It is inconceivable that a part of Quebec could be broken off from Quebec as a whole. (He didn't see that many of us feel the same about Canada). Brave Star --------- "RE: Native Leaders on Quebec" --------- Date: Sun Feb 18, 1996 at 20:35 EST From: Brave Star (a.horovitch@genie.com) Subj: Native Leaders on Quebec Genie email Quebec Native Leaders repeated recently their stand of rejection on the issue of territorial integrity of a separate Quebec. Mohawk Chief Billy Two Rivers says that " Quebec can't do what they want to do without our consent.". The statement was given in response to David Cliche who said that Quebec's territorial integrity will be recognized by Canada, the US and some South american countries. Billy Two rivers said" The next step is to distribute this declaration to the widest possible audience both nationally and internationally. We want to make it clear and leave no doubt about our position on Quebec territorial integrity. We own this land and we will not be forcibly included in a separate Quebec". The declaration was passed by the Assembly of First Nations of quebec and Labrador. In part it reads: "We the Chiefs and representatives of the first Nations of Quebec and Labrador declare: For thousands of years we have governed ourselves and our lands and resources as distinct people's and Nations.... The integrity of our societies, lands, territories and waters is fundamental right that must not be adversely affected by unilateral changes to the constitutional and political landscape around us:... We assert our rights to be full and equal participants in any process that may effect us and will not accept any policies or practices by governments, be they federal or provincial, that purport to determine our status and rights in our absence; We respect the right of Quebec to hold a consultative referendum on their future but declare that our Peoples and territories will not be bound or otherwise affected by its outcome." Brave Star --------- "RE: Sacred Instructions" --------- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 1996 09:08:35 -0500 From: Ondamitag@aol.com Subj: Sacred Instructions Chautauqua Newsletter Sacred Instructions to Native People by Spiritual Elder William Commanda and Frank Decontie The Sacred Instructions given by the Creator to Native people at the time of Creation were as follows: A. To Take Care of Mother Earth and the other 3 colors of Man B. To Respect this Mother Earth and Creation C. To Honour All life, and to support that Honour. D. To be Grateful from the heart for All life. It is through life that there is Survival. Thank the Creator at All times for All life. E. To Love and express that love. F. To be Humble. Humility is the gift of wisdom and understanding G. Kindness. To be Kind with one-self and with others. H. Sharing. The Sharing of feelings and personal concerns and commitments. I. Honesty. To be Honest with one-self and with others. To be Responsible for these Sacred Instructions and to be a living demonstration of these Instructions to other Nations. --------- "RE: Review: The Rez" --------- Date: Thu, 15 Feb 1996 00:57:00 +0000 From: kristine donahue Subj: Review: The Rez Mailing List: UpTowne Online Services THE REZ SERIES SYNOPSIS: THE REZ is based on characters first introduced to international audiences by W.P. Kinsella's acclaimed collection of short stories Dance Me Outside. They became further entrenched in our hearts by Bruce McDonald's witty, award-winning theatrical feature of the same name. THE REZ continues our romp though the lives of Silas, Frank and Sadie, three smart and lippy First Nations teenagers. THE REZ is neither a sitcom, although offbeat and funny, nor a political tract, although often provoking. The half-hour prime time series is a swift, sweet sequence of tales the 19-year-old Silas Crow tells of his life, his friends, his family, and the world of the Kidiabanesee Reserve. THE EPISODES: #1 DRESSED LIKE A FISH When Frank and Silas' beloved employer Don Nanibush drops dead from a heart attack, the boys are grief stricken and out of a job at the marina. At Don's wake, while contemplating their inevitable move to the dread city, they are astounded when his long-forgotten wife Eleanor arrives from somewhere deep in the wilds of Las Vegas. She is taking over, and she's going to run the place on her own, thank you very much. "This gal's used to being on her own hook." To lift their flagging spirits the boys begin to discuss their own funerals. Frank quickly realizes that his is going to be so good he doesn't want to miss it. So while the pre-emptory Eleanor manages to seriously annoy all the regulars at the marina, the boys throw themselves full swing into planning a funeral for Frank. #2 GOLF AND POLITICS While Sadie is researching the history of the reserve she discovers an old and unresolved conflict. It seems the true boundary of their land extends another three acres, straight through Eleanor's property, bisecting the bar/marina where the boys work. Sadie promptly organizes a boycott and insists that Silas and Frank quit their jobs. Oddly enough, the boys, in addition to loving their paycheques, feel a perverse sense of loyalty to Eleanor, even if she is a terminally abusive lush. And Sadie finds herself in direct conflict with Chief Tom who has organized a golf tournament and feels her boycott will dismantle this all-important public relations gesture. Unfortunately Sadie's in too deep to get out quickly. Silas sets it up and Sadie and Eleanor go toe to toe. #3 A LITTLE REVEALING Distant cousin Betty Reen is getting married, and Sadie, Lucy and Mad Etta have taken up the challenge of throwing her a stag party. Shocked to discover that a male stripper will cost them over $300 plus expenses, they decide that Silas will do it. They'll pay $50. Silas is somewhat stunned but game. After all, fifty bucks is fifty bucks. Frank on the other hand, is both hurt at not being asked, and rather unsupportive. "Don't pop a woody." On the night of the stag, a brawl has broken out between Betty Reen's sisters and the sisters of her intended. In fact, a couple of ladies have stashed bricks in their handbags. Silas spots this and after smiling briefly, faints. There's nothing to be done. Frank will have to go on. It's a matter of life and death. #4 THE LONGHOUSE When Lucy, Frank's usual squeeze abruptly announces that she's leaving the reserve and heading for the city with bad girl Marni Green, Frank decides he must stop her. Mad Etta tells the boys of an African tribe who lock their children in a "sort of a longhouse" whenever they appear to be making too hasty a decision. The boys then decide to set up an appropriate shack. After being incarcerated for all of two seconds, Lucy bursts though the door to tell Frank, "If I want to walk away from here, there's no way you're going to stop me." He knows. So she decides to stay in the "longhouse." They'll talk, it'll be good for him. This was not the plan. #5 THE LARK While on a trip into town, Silas' mentally challenged little brother Joseph manages to get a bit out of control, and unfortunately comes to the attention of some well-meaning social workers. After attempting to hide him at various places around the reserve, even leaving him briefly with Eleanor, Joseph is eventually discovered and shipped unceremoniously to a group home in Parry Sound. At the urging of Silas' mother, the boys and Sadie decide they'll do whatever it takes to get him back. In the words of Frank: "Balaclavas over our heads, guns if we have to, and we just drag him out of there." #6 DIRTY GIRLS, KILL!, KILL! When Sadie discovers that Frank has hired a team of women to wrestle in tapioca pudding as a fund-raiser for the reserve's boys and girls club she flips out. It seems the boys in holding on to their youth and callow ways are making her feel like "an old bag". She's no longer in on the joke, she's always the heavy. It hurts. When Silas' sister Illianna arrives with her husband McVey in tow, and their relationship promptly explodes for similar reasons, war breaks out. It's the boys against the women. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Internet: donr@uptowne.com (Donr) This message was processed by NetXpress from Merlin Systems Inc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------- "RE: Poem: Dreaming Into the Ground" --------- Date: Wed, 13 Jul 94 06:23:35 GMT From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: dreaming into the ground Newsgroups: alt.native Coming onto the golden belly of this mother the earth where the winds talk and the stones cast no shadows i was dreaming my face in the ground belly to belly i wept into the earth a dreaming but when it was there it was a singing my mouth as wide as the heart of the earth into the ground I was dreaming all dressed in hair Tobacco Indian -- Turtle Heart turtle@soft21.s21.com (Ahnishinabeg) American Indian Computer Art Project BBS 619-374-2100 Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 96/02/17 17:28 From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days Genie Electronic Mail A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of February 25-March 2 PEPELUALI (February) (Kau-lua) 25 Love is a gift that grows only with the giving. 26 What is once found is never truly lost. 27 I return to the earth to find the place of my beginnings. 28 Within me lie the wellsprings of my own renewal. 29 My heart sees what the eye cannot. MALAKI (March) (Nana) March was the season when the malolo, the flying fish, swarmed in the ocean. 1 Everywhere I look, I see beauty. 2 Listen if you would hear the music of the land. (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, 22 Feb 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 Genie email Sender: mosa@netcom12.netcom.com Red Drum Woman Society Singers Hosts The Gathering of Heartbeats Drum Feast April 6 & 7, 1996 - Powderhorn Park Minneapolis MN Contact: Red Drum Woman Society Singers 612-227-3949 or 612-722-1746 Fax: 612-721-8442 Minneapolis - The Gathering of the Heartbeats Drum Feast will be held on April 6 & 7, 1996 at the Powderhorn Park Community Center from 8:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. The gathering is hosted by the Red Drum Woman Society Singers, formerly known as Wikoskalaka - Young Ladies Drum Group, and co-sponsored by the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association. Female, male and mixed drum groups, and dancers are invited to participate in this weekend of traditional Native American drumming, dancing, and honoring ceremonies for drum groups and community leaders. The event is open to the public and a feast will be held Saturday night at 5:00 p.m. The feast is free and open to all. The Red Drum Woman Society Singers of Minneapolis, Minnesota have come together over the past three years to learn the sacred teachings of the Drum. These teaching involve what it means to be the seventh generation, the heartbeat of the indigenous peoples of this land. Their songs are a message to young people across the northern hemisphere. The women of the Red Drum Woman Society Singers are descended from many Native American nations. The group was formed in 1993 when several young women had dreams of being singers at a traditional Native American Drum. They are perpetuating the custom of Native American Dream Societies, believing that dreams hold the key and the power to reveal peoples' paths and purpose in this life. The Red Drum Woman Society Singers sing to keep the Native American culture alive, to instill a sense of pride and identity for young people. The group stands as a model for the children, creating a sense of identity and belonging, to follow the path of the Drum in place of drugs, alcohol or other forms of self-destruction. The purpose and intent of the Drum Society is to mentor young women in their development of leadership and community responsibility through respect for elders, decision making, connectedness to the family and the community, Native traditional awareness, women's cultural awareness, and being drug and alcohol-free. Activities, in addition to traditional Native American drumming, singing and dancing, will include a Native American arts and crafts sale, cultural exchange workshops, and children's activities. The gathering is intended to honor women and the Drum, and to celebrate the right of all indigenous nations to freedom, language and the practice of spirituality. Drum groups and dancers may register to participate between 4:00 and 9:00 p.m. on Friday, April 5, and on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The first four Drum groups registered will be paid and day money will be available for dancers. No phone registrations please. This event is drug and alcohol free and smoking will not be permitted in the Community Center building. +*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~+*~+*~+*~+*+ "When we walk upon Mother Earth, we always plant our feet carefully because we know the faces of our future generations are looking up at us from beneath the ground. We never forget them." -Oren Lyons, Onondaga Nation ~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+*~+~ Michele Lord LoomWork mosa@netcom.com +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ +*+ ================================================================== From: Erick C Johnson Subject: WILDCAT POW WOW in Tucson, Arizona Newsgroups: alt.native Tribal People United presents "The Third Annual" University of Arizona WILDCAT POW WOW March 2-3, 1996. Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona. -----------HEADSTAFF-------- MASTER OF CEREMONIES: Sammy Tonekei White Scottsdale, Arizona ARENA DIRECTOR: Lee Williams Tempe, Arizona HEAD GOURD DANCER: Gary Koshiway Keams Canyon, Arizona HEAD MAN DANCER: Tahlee Redbird Carnegie, Oklahoma HEAD WOMAN DANCER: Theresa Jim Brimhall, New Mexico HOST NORTHERN DRUM: Star Blanket Juniors Balcarres, Saskatchewan HOST SOUTHERN DRUM: Rose Hill Pawnee, Oklahoma FOR MORE INFORMATION please respond or call (520)292-8802 for Gina or Erick, (520)626-4240 TPU POW WOW HOTLINE. ========================================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- 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, Brooke Craig, Andrea Lord, Frosty Deere, Leo T. Chavez, Jr., Roberto Rodriguez & Patrisia Gonzales via John King, Nisqually Library, Turtle Heart (Healing the Sacred Hoop with Song Poems), Tall Eagle, Planet Peace, Brave Star, Mark Fiddler, Kristine Donahue, William Commanda and Frank Decontie via Ondamitagos, Lee Flier, Larry Innes, Mary Dog Soldier, David Burlingame, David Goyette, Joseph Thompson --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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, 15 Feb 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 Genie email Original Sender: ishgooda@tdi.net (Jeff & Linda) Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) American Indian Services of Detroit will be sponsoring an exhibition dance to benefit their First American Youth Program WHAT: CREATOR'S CHOICE : Arts and Crafts Exhibition WHEN: Saturday, May 11, 1996 11:00AM - 6:00PM WHERE: Arthur Lesow Community Center 120 Eastchester Monroe, Michigan ADMISSION: 18 and under free 55 and older free All others $1.00 Vendors Contact Linda at (313) 243-5695 or e-mail ishgooda@tdi.net OR Ken at (313)388-4100 (authentic crafts only no imports or rip offs) space is limited DIRECTIONS: EXIT I-75 at # 13 (Front St.) west on Front to First St. Right on First ST. 2 blocks (past railroad tracks) Left on Eastchester tan brick building on the right ================================================================== Original Sender: 20676mkb@msu.edu (Mary.Ojibway) Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The Lansing North American Indian Center at 1235 Center Street in Lansing, Michigan is sponsoring an "Anonymous Chef" dinner auction with meals provided by any man who has a penchant for cooking, female company or both! Thursday, February 29th at 6:30 p.m. a group of hungry Aanishnaabekwewag will be waiting for the men to bring in their offerings. Who brought what will be a closely guarded secret until the bidding has ended. Only the meal will be described then the bidding will open. The highest bidder wins both the dinner and the company of the cook while she enjoys it! It's going to be a great evening. Please come with all of your friends to help us make this old fashioned social even better. This is a fundraiser to benefit the Center and its programs so please come out and lend your support. And gentlemen, if you can't cook a piece of toast, you're not alone. Stop by Kentucky Fried Chicken if you have to but don't miss what promises to be a wonderful evening. Call the Center at (517) 487-5409 if you have any further questions. See you on the 29th! (Please forward to anyone who might be interested in attending, thanks.) --------- "RE: Adopted Kids" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 12:13:01 -0600 From: lflier@mindspring.com (Lee Flier) Subj: Adopted Kids Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) I find it interesting that most of the discussion regarding non-Native adoption of Native children is centered around the welfare of the individual adopted child. While some valid points have been raised, I feel that any child's response to his or her environment is a very individual, idiosyncratic thing which is very much dependent on the child's basic disposition and personal inclinations. However, there is still something very wrong with the "strongarm" adoption tactics which ICWA was designed to protect against, and the problems are much bigger than any individual child. For every Native child adopted into a non-Native family, 1) there is one less person who will be able to care for the elders of his/her people. 2) there is one less person who can keep his/her people's language and traditions alive. 3) there is one less person who might be able to speak for his/her people's land, and preserve it. In short, every adoption is one more nail in the coffin of an entire nation and culture. Of course, an individual can make the choice to re- claim the Native heritage, but it's much more difficult later in life, especially without knowing one's family and considering they may well be labeled outsiders or "wannabees" by their own people. Several years ago, I met a 20-year-old Lakota man who made quite an impression on me. He had grown up at Rosebud reservation, endured the poverty and hardship of this life, and had at his young age already succumbed to alcoholism and recovered from it. The part of this young man's story that really struck me was that he told me he had received numerous offers from the BIA to "better himself"; they offered him scholarships, money, a car, all sorts of enticements to get him to leave the reservation. This would seem to be the equivalent of an "adoption" of a different sort, with the added sinister undertone of playing into a teenager's vulnerability by pointing out the hardship and hopelessness of his current situation. I thought my heart would burst when this man (for he is indeed a man) finished his story: "Every time I heard these things from the BIA I told them: But if we young people leave, who will care for the elders? Who will raise the children and teach them the right ways? Who will make sure this land is still here for the people and for the other creatures who live here? Yes, my life here is hard, but my life means nothing compared to the life of my people. If the people die, my life will have meant nothing anyway." The idea of cultural life vs. individual life is a choice that is never in question for the average European or Euro-American; the individual's welfare is always considered more important. But that's only a current luxury because there is in the psyche of the this culture absolutely no threat to the survival of the culture itself. Recently, P.D. James wrote a novel entitled "The Children of Men" in which in one year, not far in the future, every woman on Earth suddenly stops having babies. The book depicts how individuals begin to behave when, 25 years after the last baby was born, they realize there will be no future generations to carry on the larger life of mankind. Far from adopting a "live for today" attitude as might be expected by many, the book paints a probably far more accurate picture: people simply lose, as *individuals*, their motivation to live or accomplish anything. For many cultures around the world, this book is not a work of fiction. Women are sterilized without their permission, babies die or are born with birth defects due to improper medical care, malnutrition and toxic substances being dumped in their homelands, and many of the healthy surviving babies are adopted away or coerced later in life into leaving their families for a "better" life. By the way, I do not mean to imply in any of this that Native people who live in cities or attend school away from the rez are contributing to this cultural death. Some probably are, but so are a lot of those who stay on the rez. The point I make here is about continuity between generations, about giving individuals a CHOICE, a chance, to work for cultural survival. The choice will be difficult no matter what, and some individuals will not be up to the task, but a tough choice is infinitely better than none at all. = Lee = --------- "RE: More on Adopted Kids" --------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996 08:56:41 -0600 From: zzshem@acc.wuacc.edu (sheldon mary) Subj: Adopted Kids Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) On this subject, I must say I am shocked that state court systems are actually ruling that urban Native American people are not Native American so their children can be placed in white foster care or white adoptive homes if they do not a) read tribal newspapers, b) vote in tribal elections, and/or c) practice traditional spiritual ways. What does this mean? Only a few years ago children were removed and placed in boarding schools and white homes because their parents practiced spiritual ways, spoke their language, etc.! As a result, I know some elders and their adult children who still practice traditional spiritual ways in secret because of a fear of mainstream political and social (child welfare) organizations. So now white mainstream America has found it convenient to change the rules to better get their hands on Native American children in 1996? This is an obvious effort at continued forced assimilation of Native Americans, with the final goal being control of the indigenous-held land and its resources. White Americans who participate in this new maneuver should be reminded that they are dupes in the 200+ year effort to destroy Native America. If they want to help Native American children (and babies, as mentioned), they should find ways to help employ the adults, improve educational systems for the children, improve health systems, and end racism in their own communities--starting in their school and criminal justice systems. Another example of lethal racism: I hope these state decisions are appealed! (By the way, how many white children are presently being placed with Native American families if their white parents don't read their ethnic newspapers, vote in elections, and attend church?) Mary Dog Soldier --------- "RE: Casino Help Anyone?" --------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996 13:24:00 -0500 From: frosty.deere@igloo.magicnet.com (FROSTY DEERE) Subj: Casino Help Anyone? Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) She:kon kwe kwe, I am working with a community Casino Group in Kahnawake Canada. I have gone to a few Casino's but I need information about Native owned business that supply the casino. What we saw in our visits were business within the casino but they were not privately owned by the native community members of the band/tribe/nation. If we were to build a casino in this area we want as many of the present business people and new business people to have the choice of doing so. What I am looking for is any possible list of supporting business owned by natives peoples that are directly and in-directly that supply the casino. We are trying to gather a list vs the number of business that are non-native suppliers. In speaking to one casino, I have been told that the private business that comes for the tribal members were. flowers, sand and gravel, policing, and some construction equipment. When speaking with our group we feel this is not enough and that we should be not only building a casino but assisting members with the skill of ower/operator in side. Meaning that members of the band should be running the gift shops, fast food, travel, clothing and any number of business. In supporting the casino with cleaning equipment, heating and air, hardware, construction, labour, and supply the private business with services. We feel that working within the casino and being owers of these will increase the idea that this is not just a free handout of money. That everyone has the choice to work in the casino or run a business that they own. Private ownership is what is supported here. So if you no someone that lives or works in an tribal casino and can get me a listing of businesses that not run by the casino or its management, I would like to here from you. If you happen to work at a small to medium casino and would like to send me information about its operation you can do that also. My address is Ronald Frosty Deere Box 821 Kahnawake Quebec Canada J0L-1BO Treasurer Kahnawake Chamber of Commerce. Member of Kahnawake Peoples Casino Group. FIDO address 1:167/502 Internet frosty'deere@igloo.magicnet.com --------- "RE: AIM/FBI Papers Research" --------- Date: 10:44 PM Feb 7, 1996 From: sfuwki@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us Subj: AIM/FBI papers research project Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) February 5, 1996 Greetings, We are a non profit organization formed to search for information and provide the public with information they need to make decisions. One of our projects is the publication of Red Sticks Press, a national American Indian newspaper. We are researching the recently declassified FBI records on the American Indian Movement in the 1970s. Included is a preliminary index of declassified records. [ I have removed the index, feeling that it is too long to send out in an article on the NATIVE-L list. Please get in touch with David at the address given above to obtain a copy. --Gary *] * Gary Trujillo, Native-L Admin We hope to find evidence of government misconduct. Researching is needed to connect the dots, so to speak, without taking a side. The FBI records, combined with personal experiences may lead us into areas unrevealed so far. Personal records from government agencies may contain information not contained in public documents. If you have any records we could use to cross reference with what we have, we would appreciate getting a copy. If you do not have any, you can file a Freedom Of Information Act request, and we can assist you in that process. The FBI records consist of 18000 pages. The FBI charges 10 cents a page for copies. Funds are needed to finish the research. Documents obtained now may be introduced into evidence during the current Senate hearing on ATF/FBI misconduct in Waco and Ruby Ridge, Idaho. Any monetary donations would be greatly appreciated. In return, if we find your record we can get you a copy, within reason- a volume or so. If enough funds are raised we hope to publish the results in Red Sticks Press. Grants are being written to provide for a repository for the papers and to create an electronic database so they will be available to everyone by computer. The information contained within these records will prove invaluable to organizing efforts and seeking justice for Native people. On 11/27/73 a memo was sent to the CIA recommending further COINTELPRO activities, on 12/4/73 a memo was sent reminding them that the use of COINTELPRO activities was ordered ended in a 4/28/71 memo. Of course this has nothing to do with national security. Fascinating stuff. In solidarity, David Goyette Co-Director Compiled by Minnie Two Shoes & Paul Demain For more information contact: First Nations Resource Network PO Box 59 St Petersburg, Fl 33731 813-821-6604 813-821-8804 fax sfuwki@scfn.thpl.lib.fl.us Report on March, 1995 DC Trip INDEX NOTE: Still in Draft Form 5/20/95 Stack I, Volume 1, 62-116878 AIM dismissed as plaintiff in Lawsuit against Richard Held. Volume 2, 70-0-3045 Milwaukee Coast Guard Station occupation Volume 3, 157-28091 Milwaukee Chapters Wisconsin AIM Neopit Chapter LCO Chapter Hayward Chapter Mike Tribble Monte Diamond Elmer Gouge Jim White Rick Baker Richard Wolf November 8,1973 memo from Clarence Kelly requesting information on Directors of each AiM Chapter in country. [ The rest of the index - nearly six hundred lines - have been removed. ] --------- "RE: Mt.Hood Sun Dance Grounds" --------- Date: Fri, 16 Feb 1996 08:56:28 -0800 From: amt@teleport.com (PLANET PEACE) Subj: Forest Service Revokes Permit on Mt.Hood Sun Dance Grounds Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) [Posted on behalf of the First Nations Survival Support Network] First Nations Survival Support Network P.O. Box 42608, Portland, OR 97242 PH: 503/635-0460 Thursday, February 15, 1996 United States Federal Government, National Forest Service vs. ANPO, Native American Cultural Organization and Encampment, and the Sacred Sun Dance Ceremonial Grounds Located in the Tygh band's traditional homelands (also known as Mt. Hood National Forest), there is a land based encampment for Intertribal Native people to provide for the preservation of these cultures. Permission and prayers from the traditional Elders of the Tygh band (Warm Springs) were given to Devere Eastman aka "Brave Buffalo" and ANPO for this encampment and the Intertribal ceremonies to be held on their homelands. A permit from the Mt. Hood National Forest was acquired in 1982. In 1973, following Wounded Knee, ANPO and the first encampment was established with the instruction and guidance of Frank Fools Crow, Honorary Chief and Medicine Man of the Lakota people, and his adopted son Devere Eastman. In 1982 permission and guidance was given by Frank Fools Crow to Devere Eastman to bring the sacred Sun Dance Ceremony to the west. Permission and prayers were given by the Tygh Elders. ANPO camp has been open to five hundred to seven hundred Indigenous people yearly, three seasons out of the year since 1982, providing ongoing activities and the Sun Dance Ceremony. There are many many families involved who have grown up and whose children have grown up knowing these sacred campgrounds as their own. Many Native people have sacrificed through ceremonies for the health of the earth, the people, and all of creation. In 1985 Devere Eastman resigned, asking the people to oversee ANPO, the camp, and the Sun Dance. Devere Eastman "Brave Buffalo" died in 1987. Since then, the regional and national foresters have increasingly put pressure on the camp, the organization, and the people in forms of restrictions, limitations, and harassments. ANPO, family, and friends have always met these requirements, under the gun of suspension and strict time-lines. Now the regional and national forester have REVOKED the permit to the lease on the land, literally because of an abandoned truck and a fire tool bus were not removed from camp before winter set in. The revocation followed on the heels of ANPO's request through the freedom of information act for the "archaeological findings" from the desecrating digs done by the US Govt. in 1995. Approximately sixteen holes, 4' x 4' x 4', throughout camp and on the Sun Dance grounds were made. Now we are facing the US Govt. again, and this is our peoples' land. We are filing for an appeals hearing on March 13, 1996. We ask for your support, see information below. We will be having a support network meeting Saturday March 9, 1996 at 5 PM at the Greenpeace office, 26th & SE Ankeny, to establish letter writing campaign and phone trees of support. In Spirit, First Nations Survival Support Network ACTION NEEDED! CALL FOR THE REINSTATEMENT OF ANPO NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL ENCAMPMENT Special Use Permit, User # 4217 (Record # 70, region 06, Barlow 01, Wasco County Oregon) with the Mt. Hood National Forest Service, Dept. of Agriculture. WRITE/CALL/FAX: John Lowe, Regional Forester USDA Forest Service, ATTN: 1570 Appeals, P.O. Box 3623, Portland, OR 97208-3623 PH: 503/326-3625, FAX: 503/326-7577 National Forest Service, Dept. of Agriculture ATTN: 1570 Appeals, Auditors Building, 201 14th Street, SW at Independent Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20250 PH: 202/205-1065, FAX: 202/205-0885 Christina Raaendondo/Roberta Moltzen, Forest Supervisors 2955 NW Division St., Gresham, OR 97030 PH: 503/666-0700, FAX: 503/666-0641 Rep. Elizabeth Furse 2701 NW Vaughn #860, Portland, OR 97210 PH: 503/326-2901, FAX: 503/326-5066 Senator Ron Wyden 259 Russell Building, Washington, DC 20510 PH: 202/224-5244, 503/231-2300 Senator Mark Hatfield Special District Center, 727 Center St. NE, Salem, OR 97301 PH: 503/326-3386, FAX: 202/224-0276 -- \Planet Peace http://www.teleport.com/~amt/planetpeace/ /-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\ Nothing Real Can be Threatened. Nothing Unreal Exists. \-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/ --------- "RE: Urgent: Gustafson Lake" --------- Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 20:55:25 GMT From: inobu@aol.com Subj: Gustafson Lake Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Please excuse any errors in this. I was faxed the following, and I scanned it - so the format may be difficult. Some words may have been destroyed as well... Best regards to all - Larry URGENT Legal Aid Desperately Needed for Canadian Indians of British Columbia For attempting to defend their land against illegal encroachment, Native Canadian "Defenders of the land" at Ts'peten (Gustafson LAke) were besieged by the RCMP. They are now being prosecuted in a Provincial court which does not have the jurisdictional right to do so. The government is denying legal aid to the Defenders, Two of the Defenders still remain in prison, and many others face charges. Trial date will be set March 8th, and will probably end up in the Supreme Court. Behind the conflict; rule of law denied. The natives of British Columbia know that in accordance with international law, with specific reference to the British Royal Proclamation Act of 1763, they are the true land holders of all unceded territory (the vast Hunting Grounds) in British Columbia, The 1763 Act stipulates that non-Indians may, purchase native land through the crown to which natives can choose whether or not to cede land. All disputes between native and nonnative must be settled by a third party, which does not include the Canadian government. Nonnatives are allowed onto the Hunting Grounds only if the native people want them there. Rule of Law became Rule by Man when British Columbia ignored the Proclamation Act. They introduced the Indian Act, a subtle form of genocide. Source of current crisis: the summer 1995 siege. During the late summer sundance, traditional members of the Shuswap nation found their sacred CAMP grounds overrun by a Montana rancher's cattle. The sundancers erected fences to guard the grounds. Armed cowboys rode in to rough them up. The normally peaceful Indians surprised them by fighting back. The cowboys called the RCMP, who responded by surrounding the camp grounds and shooting into it. Natives from across Canada along with one young white woman managed to get into the camp to support the Shuswap. At one point, Shuswap leader William Ignace, 55-years old, was chased by an armored personnel carrier. While running, he managed to fire back and hit the vehicle. No one was hurt. After the Defenders surrendered to the vastly superior force, Mr. Ignam was accused of attempted murder and remains imprisoned since October '95 with his son. Both are denied bail. CURRENT : the pre-trial hearings are held at New Westminister in a very racist community. The Defenders will attempt a change of venue. They will also attempt to enter arguments based upon the jurisdictional issue. At this point, Justice Dohm has indicated that this argument will not be entertained at the actual trial in his courtroom. RAMSEY CLARK will come as observer and advisor to the legal team. He has said to Dacajeweiah, one of the Defenders leaders, that he will do all he can to help. Current Needs: American Lawyers familiar with international jurisdictional and/or native issues to act as co-counsel to the three lawyers currently on board. Researchers with similar knowledge. Please Call: Indian leader Dacajeweiah, or "Doc," in Hinton, Alberta, 403-865-1784 @ phone, Or "Ann" in Hinton, Alberta, 403-865-7549. Or the Canadian Alliance in Support of Native People, "CASNP" at 416- 972-1573, Fax = 416-972-6232. Tell them you want to work in support of the Defenders of the Land in British Columbia. Indians under Increasing attack. Since NAFRA. Indians have been fighting stepped-up, violent attacks on their sovereignty in Canada, Mexico and the USA. They have fought back in places such as Chiapas, Connecticut, New Mexico and all Canadian provinces. Governments respond to resisters, such as Defenders of the Land, with brutish tactics that recall the 1973 siege at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Indians, "the canary in the coal mine." In the words of Martin Niemoller, Concentration camp survivor: 'They arrested the trade unionists, but I did nothing because I was not one. Then they arrested the Jews, and again I did nothing because I was not Jewish. At last they came and arrested me, but by then it was too late." If we act now, it's not too late for us. --------- "RE: Fort Reno Update" --------- Date: Tue, 20 Feb 1996 10:32:12 -0800 From: cheyarap@mind.net (Joseph Thompson) Subj: Fort Reno Update Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Dear Friends, It is important that President Clinton be continuously reminded of the Fort Reno situation. Please take a moment to respond. It will make a difference. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma seek your support on an issue which is now of critical importance to our people. We are seeking the return of tribal lands which were taken by the United States government in 1883 through an Executive order from President Ulysses S. Grant. These lands were originally taken for the purpose of building a military fort for the protection of the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. In 1908, the War Department declared the lands surplus. It is our contention that the lands should have reverted back to the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes at that time. Over the past 67 years, we have exhausted all of the judicial and legislative remedies available, to no avail. We now seek the return of our land through an Executive order from the President of the United States. The Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma need you to voice your support at this critical juncture by e-mailing the following message to the White House (Please Cc to cheyarap@mind.net): Copy and Paste the Following --------------------------------------------------------------- The Honorable William J. Clinton The President of the United States The White House 1600 PennsylvAnia Avenue, NW Washington D. C. 20500 Dear Mr. President, I strongly support the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma in their efforts to regain possession of the Fort Reno lands through an Executive order. Sincerely, (Place your name here) ---------------------------------------------------------------- End Copy and Paste HOW TO REGISTER YOUR SUPPORT To e-mail this letter of support to the President, please follow these steps: 1.) Type your name into the space provided in the above letter of support. 2.) "Copy" and "paste" this letter of support into your e-mail program as a "new message" (Please copy only the material between the dotted lines above.) 3.) Add any additional words of support or leave as is. 4.) Write in the subject "Return Fort Reno" 5.) Write in the President's e-mail address which is: president@whitehouse.gov 6.) Please include the following e-mail address as a "Cc". This will help us gauge the volume of support letters going to the White House. cheyarap@mind.net 7.) "Send" the message to the President. My Friends, We have an opportunity today, to test the power of the internet as a tool for focusing the "Voice of the People". We have an opportunity to directly shape the human rights policy of our nation through democratic action. Please help us in our appeal to the heart and conscience of the President. If you would like more background information on the Cheyenne Arapaho/Fort Reno Petition, visit the "First Nations/First People Issues" Website at: http://www.sover.net/~jsd/firstnations.html Joseph Thompson, thompson@mind.net --------- "RE: Cowlitz Project" --------- Date: Wed, 14 Feb 1996 11:34:25 -0800 From: davidb@spl.lib.wa.us (David Burlingame) Subj: Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Got an interesting fax today, though I'd share...and ask a favor. "COMING SOON TO TOLEDO! "An organization called Second Chance is proposing to develop a 48-bed, medium-security, residential JUVENILE OFFENDER BASIC TRAINING CAMP at St. Mary's Center. This beautiful facility has served our community well, most recently housing the elementary and middle schools during their remodel." blahblahblah... What is most interesting is this: My uncle (my Mom's uncle), an elder with the Cowlitz Tribe, remembers this site well. It seems that many years ago, when smallpox was busy wreaking havoc upon my people, the Catholic church would not allow burial with the "normal" bodies. Instead, they were buried nearby, on the same land. The headstones have since been removed, and memories are not as sharp as before (although I'm sure they have records in their basement). The plans for this facility call for new construction, probably where our Grandfathers rest. This project is backed mostly by private parties, although I know of two: the Washington Department of Social and Health Services, and Ramtha channeler J.Z. Knight, who lives in nearby Yelm. What to do? Public hearings, slated for 13 & 15 Feb., are too close at hand to do much about. However, there is an advisory board that will meet quarterly to discuss issues, make recommendations, etc., so there is an opportunity to make one's voice heard. I do not need to tell you good people how important it is to hold builders and developers responsible for their undertakings. I have no illusions about being able to actually halt construction, but I do believe we can locate the gravesites and prohibit the development of same. Question: is this feasible under NAGPRA? Favor: I need input. Anyone with ANY insight re: how to proceed (my Cowlitz brothers are attending those meetings (I'm 85 miles away), so we'll draw attention on that front). Also, if anyone with the time could, email me, or write directly to the addresses listed below (and I'll snail them myself), so that these people will see they must be accountable for their actions. Any help is greatly appreciated. I'm typing all this in a hurry, so that I can still catch the last bus home, but I hope it makes some sort of sense... ADDRESSES: developers: Second Chance Angela Rinaldo, Director of Development Security Building P.O. Box 10220 Olympia, WA 98502 (206) 443-8002 (360) 754-4568 owners of St. Mary's: Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity Attn: Sr. Michele Mangan P.O. Box 1028 Redwood City, CA 94064 Most Reverend Thomas J. Murphy Archdiocese of Seattle 910 Marion Street Seattle, WA 98104 18th Legislative District (senate_18@leg.wa.gov) Sen. Joseph Zarelli 401A Legislative Building Olympia, WA 98540 (360) 786-7634 FAX(360) 786-7520 Rep. Betty Sue Morris 338 O'Brien Building Olympia, WA 98504-0600 (360) 786-7850 FAX(360) 786-7317 Rep. John Pennington Olympia, WA 98504-0600 (360) 786-7812 Lewis County Commissioners: Richard Graham (206) 740-1283 Glen Aldrich 740-1286 Carl Hemenway 740-1288 Sample Letter: Dear __________________________: The Cowlitz Indian Tribe and its people should need no introduction to you. They have been a part of this region since before the coming of settlers, and in fact were instrumental to the survival of the newcomers. When the Cowlitz met their first white man, a Plomondon, they welcomed him with open arms, and in doing so, help ensure the survival of the newly arrived. You should also be aware of an important part of the history of the Cowlitz People. Like many tribes, the Cowlitz fell prey to diseases against which they had no protection, diseases from across the oceans; smallpox, most notably. The Cowlitz lost as much as eighty percent of its people -- entire families, entire villages, an entire region had been robbed of its original inhabitants. Some who fell, as you also may know, were buried at St. Mary's Center. The bodies were not allowed in the cemetery proper, however; instead they were interred elsewhere on the property. Sadly, the headstones have since been removed, and the only records are believed to be in the hands of the proprietors of the property. A relatively recent act, the Native Artifact and Grave Repatriation Act, NAGPRA, has taken effect. It states that any owner of any collection of Indian artifacts must make every available effort to return that collection, those artifacts to the tribe from whence they originated. It also has specific guidelines for dealing with the graves of aboriginals. It is believed that neither the developers nor the owners of St. Mary's have taken any action that the law, and common sense, deem necessary. Please look into this matter, and belay any further development until the graves of Cowlitz past can be located and protected. No one wants their ancestors violated in the name of progress. You can make sure it doesn't happen to the Cowlitz. Thank you for your time and cooperation. +Please modify this letter as you see fit, as it helps to get as many different versions of the same message across as possible +LET ME KNOW IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT COULD BE BETTER SAID +I realize I may have taken liberty with the definition of NAGPRA. Notify me, please, of what I can or need to correct. Thank you. All My Relations dAVe Burlingame Cowlitz Indian Tribe Cowlitz Indian Peoples Coalition