_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 04, ISSUE 024 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 15 June 1996 O o O K A N O H E D A A N I Y V W I Y A O o O Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin O ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) This issue contains articles from AISESnet, Triballaw, NATCHAT & NATIVE-L listservers; UUCP & Genie email; Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. 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 Thanks to Borries Demeler all _Wotanging_Ikche_ (part a) submissions to AISESnet are archived under AISESnet and can be accessed easily by World Wide Web: 1994: http://bioc02.uthscsa.edu/94_dis.html 1995: http://bioc02.uthscsa.edu/95_dis.html 1996: http://bioc02.uthscsa.edu/96_dis.html This is a searchable index to the AISESnet Discussion mailing list database archive, and the keyword "Wotanging" will retrieve all issues for that year. "There is a timing to everything, just like a giant wheel that is turning. Everything happens at its own appropriate time.. That is the only way it happens. No matter how much we have tried in the past to bring things together, as little as we knew about them, they could not happen. We are doing what we are doing here because it is the time for it." "One of the things that we seem not to notice or take account of is that the spirit people are helping us. We still have to do the work, but they are helping us. They are facilitating the work done at Waseskun House. That is why things are happening now. They couldn't have happened before, not in the way they are happening today." __ Art Solomon, Ojibway Elder +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! June 21 is rapidly approaching. This is the day called by the 19th generation keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe, Arvol Looking Horse, as a day of Prayer. This call has been echoed by many other Elders and Medicine Keepers of many nations. It is the Sacred duty of each of us to add the strength of our own Prayers to those of the many others. This day of June 21, 1996 was not picked out of whim. It has been given. Many of the prophesies of the people have come to be. Many more are on the horizon. The times will be accelerating, and change will come to our Mother, the Earth and all who walk upon Her. Join your Circle to the Great Sacred Hoop. 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 - Trial: - Conferences and Powwows - online Defense of First Nations Territory - Response to - Self-Governance Planning Grants Releases About Big Mountain - Big Mountain Fights Dept. of Justice - High School Graduation Outrage - Gourd of Ash/House of Mica - Battle Point Desecration - BIA Runs Out Of Time - Leonard Peltier Ride for Justice - Indian Health Service Rates - Apache Religious Freedom - North America's Super Lottery - New Age or Old Prophecy - Moonface Bear Crosses Over - Oregon Governor Executive Order - Poem: Morning Water - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline --------- "RE: Trial: Defense of First Nations Territory" --------- Date: 09 Jun 1996 22:32:28 GMT From: pns@sage.uucp (Prison News Service) Subj: Trials set for defense of traditional First Nations territory Newsgroup: soc.culture.native The following article is reprinted from Prison News Service #54 - Spring '96 Trial date set for Stoney Point members charged In defence of traditional territory Twenty-three members of the Stoney Point First Nation appeared in the Sarnia Provincial Court on May 13, 1996. The 23 people face two criminal charges each; one count of forcible entering and one count of forcible detaining of a park. All charges relate to the September 4, 1995 occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park. The criminal charges, which carry a maximum of two years in prison were issued by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) on February 12th, 1996, six month after the shooting death of Dudley George by the OPP. The trial date for the 23 Stoney Point members has been set for two weeks beginning October 21, 1996 in Sarnia. The pre-trial has been set for June 27, 1996. Despite the fact that the federal government released documents on September 14, 1995 indicating that there was an Aboriginal burial ground in the provincial park, the police continue to treat the situation as an illegal occupation. The former Ipperwash military training base and Ipperwash Provincial Park are currently in negotiations to be returned to area First Nations. Charges against the 23 people are part of an overall strategy of harassment and criminalization. According to Marcia Simon, treasurer of the Stoney Point Legal Fund, the OPP have stopped native people driving in the area for alleged traffic violations, detained people and charged Stoney Pointers with hunting violation in blatant disregard of the Stoney Point claim to the territory. Considering the political tensions in the area, the continued increase in police activity has seriously affected the Stoney Point peoples' effort to organize the return of their territory from the federal government. Local residents ON FIRE The Ontario Foundation of Individual Rights and Equality (ON FIRE) formed on October 1, 1995 with a mandate to pressure all levels of government to resolve land claims in South Western Ontario. Their focus has been "law enforcement that's applied evenly to natives and non-natives", thus pressuring the police and local officials to have criminal charges laid against the Stoney Point people involved in the Ipperwash Provincial Park occupation. The Ipperwash Provincial Park is located on Lake Huron, 45 minutes east of Sarnia. The area has always been a popular summer cottage and camping zone. Anti-Native organizing by local cottagers has been an ongoing process which began in 1991 with the formation of the West Ipperwash Property Owners Association to challenge the local Aboriginal claim to the land. The Property Owners Association has spent over $350,000 in legal fees to intervene in the land claims. Richard Shultz a member of the West Ipperwash Property Owners Association is also the current President of ON FIRE. ON FIRE claims a membership of 1,500 people. On March 8, 1995 they delivered a 5,000 name petition to Lampton MPP Marcel Beaubien demanding that the Ontario Government reopen Ipperwash Provincial Park, which is still under Aboriginal occupation. Marcia Simon said "People raised the consideration that this [the occupation] is unlawful. The land was set aside by treaty in the 1800's. [What the Government and police] are doing is unlawful but they don't consider it unlawful." The Ministry of Natural Resources says that the current Aboriginal occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park is a policing matter, but they plan to open the park later this summer. The Stoney Point First Nation has clearly stated that the park will not open this summer and that they will continue to occupy the park. In 1825 a Provisional Agreement was made and entered into between the Superintendent of Indian Affairs and the Chiefs and Principle Men of the Chippewa Nation to surrender South Western Ontario. The Agreement ensured that the following territories remained unceded "Four miles square at some distance below the rapids of the River St. Clair [Sarnia], One mile in front by four deep, bordering on the said River St. Clair and adjoining to the Shawanoe Township [Walpole Island], two miles square at the River aux Sable which empties into Lake Huron [Stoney Point], and two miles at Kettle Point, Lake Huron [Kettle Point]." Clerical error A clerical error was made by the Colonial government in 1919 which defined Stoney Point and Kettle Point as the same band which had two separate reserves. This mistake is clarified by research initiated by Daniel McWatt, senior judge of Lampton County in 1925, which identifies four distinct First Nation reserves in Lampton County; Stoney Point, Kettle Point, Sarnia and Walpole Island. The federal government through the Indian Act, relinquished part of the Stoney Point Reserve through a land transaction and set up Ipperwash Park. Native burial grounds were desecrated during the construction of the Park in the 1930's. In 1942 the Department of National Defence under the War Measures Act relocated some of the people of Stoney Point Reserve, #43 to swampland in the nearby Kettle Point Reserve and #44 became refugees and were dispersed across Ontario. This relocation was supposed to be temporary. The Crown, in the order PC 2652, stated "if, at the termination of the war, no further use of the area is required by the Department of National Defence, negotiations will be entered into with the Department of Indian Affairs to transfer the lands back to the Indians at a reasonable price determined by mutual agreement." On May 31, 1946, the "Advanced Infantry Training Centre" closed. Then in 1960 until 1992, the land was used as a six week summer cadet training camp. On Aug. 10, 1992 the federal government admitted in a statement that the reasons for the continued occupation of Stoney Point land was "Spurious [false] and without substance." Throughout the 1980's the federal government attempted to settle the land claim with the Kettle Point reserve. Stoney Point people protested to the federal government and demanded that the land be returned to Stoney Point. The federal government refused to recognize the Stoney Point People as a separate community and then renamed Kettle Point to Kettle and Stony Point. In May of 1993, 50 years after the relocation, a small group of the original Stoney Point residents and their families reoccupied the Stoney Point Reserve #43. According to Marcia Simon, "the long term goal is for recognition of the Stoney Point First Nation #43" and the return of their territory which was appropriated by the federal government in 1942. Unfortunately the federal government will only negotiate the return of the land with the Kettle and Stony Point Reserve. The media have portrayed the Stoney Point people as a break away group without any legitimate claim to the land. They have attempted to portray the conflict between Kettle Point and Stoney Point as an internal issue. The Kettle and Stony Point Band Council doesn't recognize Stoney Point as a separate Band. Tom Bressette, Chief of Kettle and Stony Point has consistently discredited and undermined the efforts of the Stoney Point Community. On June 9, 1993, Bressette contacted the Premier of Ontario, Bob Rae to demand that the government stop issuing General Welfare to the Stoney Point people occupying Camp Ipperwash. After Gord Peters, Regional Chief of the Chiefs of Ontario, publicly advocated for a resolution to the conflict at Ipperwash, the Kettle Point Council wrote to Peters asking him to "refrain from your involvement with matters directly related to our First Nation." The primary problem is that the government does not recognize the Stoney Point Reserve. Simon went on to say "The Colonial administration which became the Department of Indian Affairs lumped these native communities together for bureaucratic ease in administering their affairs. It was an externally created problem that they now claim is an internal matter." On September 12, 1993, a group of the people occupying the former base walked from Stoney Point to Ottawa to press the government to recognize their treaty rights. The two and a half week walk stopped in Peterborough where the Trent University Native Studies Department organized a rally for the Group. One of the Speakers at that rally was Elder Clifford George. "He told the crowd about when he returned home after fighting overseas in World War II. Upon his return, he found his people and his home uprooted and (mis) placed elsewhere. He said he'd been promised a forty acre plot of land when he returned from the war, and that his father had also written to him overseas telling him not to worry as their land would be returned to them after the war. However, this land was never returned to the First Nations' people of Stoney Point." (Arthur Sept 28th. 1993). Fifty-two years after the federal government appropriated the land, the government announced on February 23, 1994 that it would return the land. The negotiations became bogged down over concerns about an environmental assessment and clean up. From the military barracks that the Canadian Military, in co-operation with the Ontario Provincial Police and Ministry of Natural Resources Enforcement officers co-ordinated a low intensity warfare against the people camped inside the base. The military conducted around-the-clock military surveillance throughout the base. The patrols included low level helicopter flights, military vehicles and nightly foot patrols. Stoney Pointers' camps were harassed, threatened with guns and people were physically assaulted. On a number of occasions cars were hit with military vehicles and tires slashed. The Military Police attempted to prevent local non-native residents from selling supplies to the people camped on the base. The non-natives that brought supplies to the people on the base were threatened with trespassing charges. In one incident, a journalist with the Sarnia Observer was investigating the physical beating of Kevin Simon by over six soldiers. When he contacted the army to verify the allegations he was told that he would be charged with trespassing for going on the base. It was the result of lack of progress with the government negotiations and the continuous military presence that forced the Stoney Point people to evict the last foothold of the army. Two years after the initial reoccupation, around 100 members of Stoney Point moved into the Ipperwash military barracks. Between 15 and 20 military personnel were evacuated from the barracks. The barracks are located on the south-west corner of the reserve. Provincial park occupied On September 4th, 1995 Stoney Point occupied Ipperwash Provincial Park. The occupation of Ipperwash was done in an attempt to return all the territory lost over the past 60 years to the original Stoney Point community. Earlier in August, 1995, Justice Gordon Killeen found that the Ipperwash land transactions in 1927 had "an odour of moral failure about them." The recently-elected Conservative provincial government of Premier Mike Harris had a secret meeting on September 5 of 20 government officials including, Deb Hutton, a key advisor to Harris, officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat the Attorney General and the Ontario Provincial Police. A decision was made to "get those fucking Indian out of the park, even if you have to draw guns." A full day before the police move against the Stoney Point people occupying Ipperwash Provincial Park, the OPP began a massive buildup of force including, snipers, riot squad members and tactical response unit members armed with machine guns. The OPP contacted the Canadian Army to provide additional assistance. The OPP's request to the army included: fifty gas masks with carriers, fifty pairs of night vision goggles, equipment for intercepting cellular telephone calls, one hundred bulletproof vests, two Huey helicopters and two Bison personnel carriers. On the afternoon of September 6, 1995, Kettle and Stony Point band Chief Tom Bressette was notified that an order was given to get the protesters out of the park. Bressette did not directly inform the Stoney Point Occupiers. At 7:55pm Gerald George, a Kettle and Stony Point band councillor, was involved in a confrontation with the Stoney Point people in the park. Gerald George had previously written a letter to the Forest Standard on August 30, 1995 saying "I am glad that these Army Camp Indians call themselves separate from my First Nation because I would not want any of my fellow band members to act like animals." Gerald George made a complaint to the OPP at 8:19pm. Two hundred-and- fifty OPP officers were mobilized against about 35 protestors in the park. The OPP was responding to the incident that took place at 7:55pm with the intention of arresting a suspect in the alleged assault. At least 50 bottles of Alcohol were consumed by the OPP before entering the park. The 40 riot police broke formation and attacked the protesters, beating Bernard George also a Kettle and Stony Point band councillor. Bernard was later hospitalized for two days and charged with assaulting police. In an attempt to separate the police from the protestors, a youth drove a school bus between the two groups. At least seven OPP Officers opened fire on the bus, injuring the driver. Over 1,000 bullets were fired into the park. Dudley George who was some distance from the bus was hit by a bullet. Marcia Simon was assaulted and arrested when she attempted to phone an ambulance. Dudley's brother and two others took him to a hospital and were arrested for attempted murder. Dudley George died from the bullet wounds at 12:45am. The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is required to file their report 90 days after a shooting incident takes place. The SIU, nine months after the shooting death of Dudley George have yet to file their report. Part of the delay is because the Provincial Police refuse to cooperate and obstruct the investigation. The SIU arrived within hours of the shooting on September 6, 1995. However the OPP prevented the SIU from entering the park for two weeks. By the time they had seen the site of the shooting the evidence had been contaminated. Then on May 17, 1996 the SIU was denied a request for photographs of police officers who threatened Dudley George shortly before he was killed in September. Fellow demonstrators say Dudley George was told he would be the "first" when police confronted protestors at the park. The court will decide whether or not to grant a search warrant at a hearing on September 18, 1996. Until then the SIU can not complete their report. Besides the 23 people charged with forcible entering and forcible detaining of a park, there are a number of other Stoney Point people facing other charges. Cleve Jackson was charged with reckless driving when it was alleged that he drove a bus through the drill hall doors on July 29, 1996 when Stoney Point took over the Military Base. The Stoney Point people claim that Jackson was not the driver of the bus and that the only reason why the police charged him was because the Military Police saw his picture on the cover of the London Free Press and decided he was the driver of the bus. On May 28, Judge Louis Eddy dismissed the charges In April, Judge R.G. Hunter dismissed the charges against Stacey George and Jeremiah George. The two were charged with mischief causing damages over $5,000 for kicking a police vehicle on September 7, 1995. Co-Accused, David George is still charged and awaiting trial, tentatively set for October 21, 1996. David George is also charged with theft, possession of a weapon, assault with a weapon, and two counts of assaulting a police officer. The weapons charges relate to David George holding a piece of wood when the riot police rushed the people occupying the park. All of the criminal charges that have been laid are part of the campaign to criminalize the inherent rights of the Stoney Point people. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights has called on the Canadian government to investigate the Ontario Provincial Police use of force and their actions throughout the Stoney Point re-occupation of their territory. Despite international condemnation, the people of Stoney Point are still being criminalized. The strategy of criminalization is part of the overall agenda of the colonial federal, provincial, municipal governments, local colonial settlers and the neo-colonial Kettle and Stony Point Band Council to dispossess the Stoney Point people of their traditional territory. - (With files from Stoney Point First Nation, the London Free Press, Toronto Star, Arthur.) by Tariq Hassan-Gordon Anti-Colonial Action Alliance Box 25, 197 Hunter St W. Peterborough, Ontario K9H 2L1 ============================================================= Prison News Service - news, analysis and information from and/or about prisons in the U.S. and Canada, written mainly by prisoners, for prisoners, their families, friends and supporters. Subscribe to Prison News Service, 5 issues, for $10.00. $2. for a sample copy. More if you can, less if you can't. Write: Prison News Service P.O. Box 5052, Stn A Toronto, Ont. Canada M5W 1W4 --------- "RE: Self-Governance Planning Grants" --------- Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 08:55:05 -0700 (PDT) From: "Brenda J. Bellonger" Subj: fwd: HHS/IHS Press Release - Grants (fwd) Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) More IHS news. Brenda -------------------------[Original Message]-------------------------- Please share this information with others. There is no restriction on distribution. A copy on HHS News Release paper is available by contacting this office. Date: June 7, 1996 For Release: Immediately Contact: Indian Health Service, Office of Communications (301) 443-3593 Headline: SELF-GOVERNANCE PLANNING GRANTS AWARDED TO AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES Six American Indian tribes have been selected to receive health care delivery planning grants from the Indian Health Service (IHS). The grants, called Tribal Self-Governance Planning Cooperative Agreements, enable tribal groups to enter the planning stage of the Self-Governance Demonstration Project. The project is designed to provide tribes an opportunity to assume the management and control of health care delivery programs from federal authorities. "These grants are the first step for tribes who make the choice to provide health services to their members based on local tribal priorities," said Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services. "The health problems and needs of Indian people in different areas of the United States vary tremendously, and local management and control of health care delivery have proven to be just as effective in addressing public health needs as when those services are provided directly by the Indian Health Service." The six tribes receiving the grants join 229 tribes already participating in the IHS Self-Governance Demonstration Project. Almost a third of American Indians and Alaska Natives eligible for IHS services are now receiving health care directly from tribal health programs as a result of Self-Governance compact agreements or Self-Determination contracts. Of the IHS 1996 budget authority of $2 billion, $282 million was transferred to tribes through 41 Self-Governance annual funding agreements and $332 million was transferred to tribes through Self-Determination contracts. IHS officials anticipate that in the next three to five years, almost half of American Indian and Alaska Native beneficiaries will receive health services directly from the IHS and the remainder of the IHS budget will be administered and managed by tribes through Self-Determination compacts and contracts. The grants are each for about $50,000. The tribes receiving the awards include the Ho-Chunk Nation, Black River Falls, Wis.; the Redding Rancheria Tribe, Redding, Calif.; the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana, Charenton, La.; the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Shawnee, Okla.; the Skokomish Tribe, Shelton, Wash.; and the Suquamish Tribe, Suquamish, Wash. The IHS, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The provision of health services to federally recognized Indians grew out of a special relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. This government-to-government relationship is based on Article I, Section 8, of the United States Constitution, and has been given form and substance by numerous treaties, laws, Supreme Court decisions, and Executive Orders. The IHS is the principle federal health care provider and health advocate for Indian people, and its goal is to raise their health status to the highest possible level. The IHS provides health services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to more than 550 federally recognized tribes in 34 states. ### Tony Kendrick, Acting Director of Communications and FOIA Officer 301-443-3593, Fax 301-443-0507 SSW: [IHS.TKENDRIC] Internet: TKENDRIC@IHS.SSW.DHHS.GOV --------- "RE: Big Mountain Fights Department of Justice" --------- Date: Sat, 8 Jun 1996 23:48:55 -0700 (MST) From: sky@indirect.com (Sky Crosby) Subj: Big Mountain fights Department of Justice UUCP email Residents of Sovereign Dineh Nation ask for your help to FAX, mail, and broadcast this Support letter to Attorney General Janet Reno, U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). We need to make sure that the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs does not vote on any portion of the proposed Accommodation Agreement (75-year lease), including the lease length portion from 25-years to 75-years. Any passage of this Agreement by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs will help give it validity. There are millions of dollars in the balance that will be paid by the Navajo Nation and U.S. government to the Hopi Tribe in settlement of on-going court litigation. DOJ and the Navajo Nation must know our land and our lives are not for sale. We need your help to make sure that the DOJ knows that this Agreement is Unconstitutional and that the U.S. Department of Justice violated their trust responsibility by signing off on the Agreement and allowing it to go before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs must not vote on any portion of the proposed Accommodation Agreement. Thank you, ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ CC: Attorney General Janet Reno U.S. Department of Justice Box 23795, L'Efant Plaza Station Washington, DC 20026 fax # 202/514-4371 cc: Steve J.W. Heeley, Majority Staff Director/Chief Counsel for The Honorable Senator John McCain, Chairman and Members Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, 838 Senate Hart Office Building Washington, DC 20510-6450, fax # 202/228-2862 David E. Lombardi, Jr., Chief Court Mediator, Settlement Program U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Court, 121 Spear St., P.O. Box 193939, San Francisco, CA 94119-3939, fax # 415/744-9725 President Albert Hale, The Navajo Nation P.O. Box 9000, Window Rock, AZ 86515, fax # 520/871-4025 --------- "RE: Gourd of Ash/House of Mica" --------- Date: Mon, 3 Jun 1996 18:35:24 +0000 From: "David Yarrow" Subj: Gourd of Ash/House of Mica UUCP email close the circle ~ mend the hoop ~ weave the web Gourd of Ashes and House of Mica by Thomas F. Tarbet 1988 (all rights reserved) Shortly before dawn, a light brighter than the noonday sun turned the desert landscape white in all directions, even to the horizon. Indians living nearby saw this light, and through them certain Hopi leaders received their first news of the atomic bomb test at White Sands. Use of this weapon against Japan brought further reports, including descriptions of its power, which convinced these leaders a very old prophecy had been fulfilled. Every Hopi knows of the spirit-being called Maasaw. To the people of Oraibi he is the owner of the world, who gave the human species permission to live here as caretakers. Those who remain loyal to the original Hopi Was base their entire way of life, including succession of leadership, on a covenant they made with Maasaw before their village was founded hundreds of years ago, and on prophecies and instructions he gave them at that time. Over the centuries, stories have grown up around Maasaw, some of which describe a weapon of mysterious force, a gourd filled with ashes which he wears on his belt. For as long as the oldest Hopi can recall, this weapon has been part of the costume worn by the Maasaw katsina dancer in public ceremonies. Legend has it that its force is released with it is thrown to the ground, typically making people go crazy and dance around. The prophecy in question concerns a man-made version of this weapon, capable of boiling the oceans and burning the land, even ending life in this world. The development of such a weapon would indicate that human culture is approaching the end of its natural cycle of existence and is about to enter a stage of purification and rebirth, in which all aspects unsuited to survival will be eliminated through war or natural catastrophe. Depending on how we have been living, this could mean the end of the human species. The new weapon would be a signal for the Hopi to communicate certain information that could enable humanity to emerge from the "world-shaking event" about to unfold. The word hopi refers to an endless and joyful path of life that passes through the stages of purifications and rebirth that separated one "world" from the next. The name of the Hopi people is meant to remind them of their commitment to the kind of life that can travel this path. According to their tradition, the common ancestors of the entire human species once partook of this commitment, and only those who maintain it will be able to emerge from the present purification cycle. The treatment such people receive from those who have abandoned that commitment will serve to indicate the magnitude of the disaster that lies ahead. By the time the atomic bomb was invented, the Hopi had experienced half a century of severe hardship inflicted by the United States in an effort to force them to abandon their way of life. This had already caused a serious division among the people of the village of Oraibi. In 1906, those who preferred to yield to the pressure and accept the apparent benefits forcibly evicted those whose commitment to the endless path was stronger. Under the leadership of Yukiuma, the Fire Clan chief, this latter group founded the village of Hotevilla in an effort to escape the influence of the United States. For refusing to allow the Americans to educate the children of Hotevilla, Yukiuma was imprisoned without trial for more than 17 years in the Keams Canyon jail, and for more than a year in Alcatraz. The children were taken by force, and their fathers placed on a chain gang in Keams Canyon. As a result of several generations of forced schooling, the way of life based on the endless path has been almost entirely eliminated. The succession of leadership based on the covenant with Maasaw is being gradually but forcibly replaced. A puppet government was installed in 1936 on the basis of an election in which the vast majority of Hopi refused to participate. The constitution of this "Hopi Tribal Council" gives the ultimate authority over the Hopi not to Maasaw, but to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. This arrangement has become the legal device by which United States industrial interests gained access to Hopi mineral resources. In every way, Hopi society is being reshaped into a form incapable of surviving from one world to the next. In the light of their traditional knowledge of the pattern of world events, Hopi leaders have protested this process of forced acculturation from its inception near the turn of the century. In 1911, in an interview with President Taft in the White House, Yukiuma tried to explain his prophetic understanding of the devastation that would result if the Hopi Way of Life were eliminated. At the time, such communication was destined to fall on deaf ears. But with the invention of the atomic bomb and the developments that followed, "doomsday" warnings could no longer be dismissed outright. The question whether the human species remains on earth could be decided within the present generation. If the communication of the Hopi holds the key to humanity's emergence from the present crisis, it could not have come at a more opportune moment, which appears to confirm the underlying wisdom of their prophetic instructions. Further confirmation may come from their recent contacts with the United Nations. Following the news of the atomic bomb, leaders from several Hopi villages gathered at Shungopavi to compare their prophecies. One prophecy described "a house made of mica on the east coast" where world leaders would gather to seek a solution to the problems facing humanity. Mica was the only glass-like substance used for windows in early Hopi houses. When the Hopi leaders learned of the United Nations building, which is covered with windows, and of the purpose of the meetings held there, they concluded that it must be the "house" described in the prophecy. Their prophetic instructions indicated they should make "three or four or more" attempts to communicate with the people gathered there. Most of the public statements by the Hopi regarding this have emphasized four as required number of attempts, possibly because of ritual significance. The objective would be to offer information essential to the world-saving efforts of the people in the "hose of mica," and enlist their aid in ending the destruction of the Hopi culture. The first three attempts failed to penetrate the lower bureaucratic levels, which operate on the false assumption that all "Native American" problems are internal matters of the United States, and therefore beyond the jurisdiction of the United Nations. But the traditional Hopi have never relinquished their aboriginal rights to their land or their self- determination, which precede all rights and powers of the United States. The abuse they receive from the US is therefore an international issue. The fourth attempt, which is currently in progress, has produced some glimmers of response. During a large peace gathering in New York in June, 1982, David Monogye, one of the oldest living Hopi at the time, addressed a large audience in front of the UN building. When he mentioned the three failed attempts, this was brought to the attention of Dr. Robert Muller, the Assistant Secretary-General in charge of social and economic affairs. Impressed by the fact that the Hopi nation is dedicated to peace, Dr. Muller later visited the Hopi villages, and met with several elders in the very room where the prophecy meeting was held following the news of the atomic bomb. In 1983, an associate of Dr. Muller, Dr. Mark A. Roy, visited the Hopi, explaining to several groups of traditionally-inclined villagers the fact that conquest is now illegal in the eyes of the international community, and suggesting the possibility of decolonization. But as Dr. Roy see it, to stand as a separate nations from the United States, the Hopi villages would need to unite their respective traditional leaders through some form of political contract, in order to gain recognition apart from the illegal "Hopi Tribal Council." This kind of unification would in itself violate the traditional Hopi system, in which each village is virtually a sovereign state unto itself, united only at the spiritual level. The suggestion left even traditionally-inclined Hopi divided. The response of the most "conservative" (advanced?) traditionals, the successors to Yukiuma's struggle in Hotevilla, is revealing. They refused any involvement whatsoever, primarily because the plan was conceived before they heard of it. This recalls the reason for Maasaw's own refusal to become the leader of the social order of the fist humans. According to the legend, they had come to him with plans of their own. The present crisis of the modern world is viewed as the outworking of these plans, which must be either completed or abandoned before humanity can embrace the greater plan of the endless path. Yukiuma's people counted Dr. Roy's proposal among the cleverest of attempts to get them to abandon the eternal pattern of life Maasaw gave them, and join the maelstrom of a hell bound world. This difference in outlook brings into sharp focus the chasm that not only separates ancient and modern thought, but has fractured the spiritually based unity of the Hopi people since 1906, now almost to the last individual. This condition has thwarted every effort to establish a valid relationship between the United States and the true Hopi leaders, and stop the destruction of the Hopi Way. But the followers of the endless path have long been prepared for the possible erosion of their orthodox leadership, at which point they must take the initiative without the benefit of fully initiated leaders. They warn those who would help that they will have to choose which Hopis are correct, and which are not. The cause of this separation is not arbitrary or abstract. It is a question of which set of alliances can survive the present worldwide cycle of purification. A promising correspondence with the prophetic plan lies in the similarity of purpose between the Hopi Way and the United Nations, and in the agreement between Hopi principles and the growing international consensus reflected in certain aspects of international law, such as the illegality of conquest. But the United Nations itself is the invention of mortal minds, whereas the actual pattern of life reflected in the prophetic oral tradition of the Hopi is greater than any human invention. The magnitude of what the true Hopi offer the United Nations is not readily apparent to the mentality that shapes industrial society. Since that mentality strongly influences the United Nations, the ultimate in intelligence, intuition and "luck" are required to escape it, and effect a genuine understanding between those who champion the original purpose of the Hopi Way and their counterparts within the UN. A small foothold may have been gained, and a surprising lesson learned, with the presentation of a broadcast quality videotape statement by the elders of Hotevilla to the President of the UN General Assembly, Humayan Choudery of Bangladesh, on his first day in office, on the occasion of the First Earth Run benefit for UNESCO, in October, 1986. The video was produced in response to a message from the coordinators of the First Earth Run to David Monogye, offering him the opportunity to address the General Assembly. Before it could be learned that the message had been sent in error, Monogye, who could not attend due to a serious injury, had authorized the video message, and production had already begun. The result was that room was made in the schedule of special ceremonies marking the International Year of Peace for the Hopi statement to be shown to the General Assembly. This unprecedented opportunity to expose the entire Hopi situation before the world was ironically cut short by traditionals from Shungopavi, who have opposed the Hotevilla group since 1906. The Shungopavi group subsequently abandoned their efforts toward the UN, leaving a small number of unordained Hotevilla elders to pursue their own relationship unopposed. It may be unrealistic to expect a serious response through official channels, since recognition of the natural sovereignty of the Hopi, and the consequent disempowerment of the "puppet" Hopi Tribal Council, would tend to undermine the very concept of the United States. The episode with the video message occurred as the result of a curious "mistake" that enabled official procedures to be bypassed. But the prophecy of the "house made of mica" simply indicates the possibility of potential allies through which humanity might actually gain a creative relationship with the world-shaking forces of the purification cycle. Official channels might even prove irrelevant to this process. As the Hopi see it, the violent control of violence, including police and armies, however expedient, can only cause crime and warfare to escalate to the point of self-annihilation. The Hopi practice an alternative of which the industrial world needs to learn, rather than expecting them to join modern civilization. The nations of the world gather in the "house of mica" for the same reason the Hopi knock on its door. By opening the door, the people inside could open the way to the endless path for the modern world. This would mean joining with the Hopi for mutual learning, without bringing plans on one's own. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ for a green and peaceful planet for the Seventh Generation David Yarrow at Turtle EyeLand c/o Broeckx, P.O. Box 6034, Albany, NY 12206 dyarrow@igc.apc.org 518-426-0563 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Birth of the White Buffalo Calf lets us know we are at a crossroads -- either return to balance or face global disaster. It's our duty to return to sacred places and pray for world peace -- if we do not do this, our children will suffer. -- Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Lakota-Dakota-Nakota Nation 19th Generation Keeper of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* ++ WORLD PEACE AND PRAYER DAY ** JUNE 21, 1996 ** JOIN US IN PEACE ++ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* --------- "RE: BIA Runs Out Of Time" --------- Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 05:43:19 -0400 From: "Jordan S. Dill" Subj: BIA Runs Out Of Time Newsgroup: alt.native FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: June 10, 1996 Bob Peregoy or Keith Harper at 202/785-4166 300,000 INDIANS SUE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR MISMANAGING THEIR MONEY Class Action Suit to Address Largest Financial Scandal Ever Involving Federal Government - Billions of Dollars Potentially at Stake BOULDER, CO - Three hundred thousand individual Indian account holders filed a class action lawsuit against the Secretary of the Interior today in federal court demanding a full accounting of a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) trust fund through which billions of dollars in Indian money have flowed for decades. Independent sources say the fund, comprised of fees paid for the use of Indian lands, is in total disarray. In the largest financial scandal lawsuit against the federal government, attorneys including the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) hope to force the Secretaries of Interior and Treasury to determine what has happened to money the government holds for individual Indians throughout the country. "The BIA has spent more than 100 years mismanaging, diverting and losing money that belongs to Indians," says John Echohawk, Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund. "They have no idea how much has been collected from the companies that use our land and are unable to provide even a basic, regular statement to Indian account holders. Every day we wait they are losing more and more of our money." A press conference to announce the major class-action lawsuit against the Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Ada Deer, and the Secretary of the Treasury Robert Rubin, will be held TODAY, June 10th, at 10:00 a.m. (EDT) in the First Amendment Room of the National Press Club (529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC). John Echohawk, Executive Director of the Native American Rights Fund, and Elouise Cobell, Project Director for the Indian Monies Trust Correction and Recovery Project will be available for comment. Should anyone wish further information on this issue please visit http://www.pobox.com/~jsd/bur.html -- Nvwhtohiyada... First Nations/First Peoples Issues (4 Star Magellan site) http://www.pobox.com/~jsd/firstnations.html Wounded Knee Home Page http://www.pobox.com/~jsd/WKmasscre.html --------- "RE: Indian Health Service Rates" --------- Date: Mon, 10 Jun 1996 08:53:05 -0700 (PDT) From: "Brenda J. Bellonger" Subj: fwd: HHS/IHS Press Release - HCFA rates (fwd) Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) For your information, from IHS public affairs office. Brenda -------------------------[Original Message]-------------------------- Please share this information with others. There is no restriction on distribution. A copy on HHS News Release paper is available by contacting this office. Date: June 7, 1996 For Release: Immediately Contact: Indian Health Service, Office of Communications (301) 443-3593 Headline: HEALTH CARE FINANCING ADMINISTRATION UPDATES MEDICARE, MEDICAID REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR INDIAN HEALTH SERVICE FACILITIES In an agreement between two agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) has updated the method it uses to reimburse the Indian Health Service (IHS) for health care services provided to American Indians and Alaska Natives eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. The new method, which is retroactive to Jan. 1, 1996, is expected to produce a $65 million gain in annual third-party reimbursements for the IHS. "These new rates bring the IHS closer to parity with the rates that HCFA uses to reimburse other federal health care providers for the same services," said HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala. "The rates are the result of HHS agencies working together to effectively discharge our responsibility to improve the quality of health care provided to American citizens." Inpatient Medicaid rates for all states but Alaska are now $736 per day (51 percent increase). In Alaska, the inpatient Medicaid rate is $930 per day (63 percent increase). Inpatient Medicare rates vary, and are based on diagnostic related groupings. Outpatient Medicare and Medicaid rates for all states but Alaska are now $147 per visit (55 percent increase). In Alaska, the outpatient Medicare and Medicaid rate is $233 per visit (47 percent increase). "I am pleased that HCFA staff, working closely with our IHS partners, have come up with a method that will more accurately reimburse IHS facilities for providing health care services," said HCFA Administrator Bruce C. Vladeck. Dr. Michael Trujillo, director of the Indian Health Service, said the new reimbursement rates "will cover more of the costs of providing health services to our Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, so we can redirect IHS' limited appropriated funds to address some other unmet health needs of Indian people." The Indian Health Service, an operating division within HHS, is responsible for providing federal health services to American Indians and Alaska Natives. The provision of health services to federally recognized Indians grew out of a special relationship between the federal government and Indian tribes. The IHS provides health services to approximately 1.4 million American Indians and Alaska Natives who belong to more than 550 federally recognized tribes in 34 states. ### Tony Kendrick, Acting Director of Communications and FOIA Officer 301-443-3593, Fax 301-443-0507 SSW: [IHS.TKENDRIC] Internet: TKENDRIC@IHS.SSW.DHHS.GOV --------- "RE: North America's Super Lottery" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Jun 1996 01:40:21 +0000 From: "David Yarrow" Subj: North America's super lottery: a genetic jackpot UUCP email Dear Valerie at Village Voice, During the afternoon I faxed you several pages about high level spiritual goings on among native Americans. I realize my fellow whites have great difficulty perceiving the awesome significance of the interwoven tales I faxed. We pay closer attention to scientific manipulations of DNA, genetic engineering and embryo transplant technology than we do to the natural "Miracle" of the birth of a white buffalo calf. This white buffalo was born at a full moon just when Hopi blue corn farmer and saint Titus received the unsung half of the Purification Song. This synchrony is complete mystery to whites who still see indians as historical icons and stereotypes to be remembered at Thanksgiving and Columbus Day, and Spirit as "supernatural" and other-worldly. My Hiroshima Day 6000 volt jolt was the new moon in August '92. The white buffalo was born two years, two weeks and a few miles from when and where I was electrocuted in Wisconsin -- further testimony how tight my personal karma is wound around these events. Why me? I've not a drop of indian blood in me. Please digest these materials carefully; chew them well; perceive how these carefully crafted threads weave a greater tapestry of humanity and Earth at its turning -- a planetary solstice at the end of a millennial cycle. Yesterday, trying to highlight, clarify and focus the import of this to the psychologist who visits me every other week as part of my "long term disability care" under the Visiting Nurses of Albany, i said: "Imagine they held a lottery in America where every state that has one agreed to pool their jackpot and offer a joint, one time super lottery. And casinos, sensing a real hot odds opportunity, joined in and put more millions in this one time betting pool. Not to be outdone, bingo halls - - including churches -- chimed in with their prize kitties to up the ante to a billion dollars." "Americans went ape, buying tickets like the last plane out of Saigon- becoming-Ho-Chi-Minh-City." "The odds a white buffalo would be born after its gene pool was depleted to near-extinction in the last century of deliberate slaughter by military and railroads are far greater than the chance someone would win this super all-America lottery." "Anyway, the winner turned up a poor indian from South Dakota with a centuries-old clay pipe....." [My housemate and caretaker George, hearing this, said, "So they changed the lottery rules real fast."] I continued, "That's what happened Aug. 20, '94. buffalo, indians and indigenous native life forms of North America won a 'supernatural' (spiritual) genetic jackpot in a continental chromosomal lottery. Only the prize isn't a billion dollars. Prize in this DNA betting pool is species survival." "One prophecy regarding birth of the white buffalo is this signals a return of the buffalo. Down side to this resurgence of indigenous species bloodlines is decline and extinction of cows. And the Bull -- like Merrill-Lynch on Manhattan's Wall St. -- symbolizes American power: financial, military, dietary, biologic, ecologic, metaphoric, and metaphysic." "Westerns aren't about cowboys and indians. They're about cows. Raised on ranches, herded to rail heads to ship east to feed a rapidly expanding industrial civilization. Think of stockyards of 19th century Chicago -- the Commodities Market there today. Hey, it's Chicago Bulls in the NBA Championship." "Remember the children of Israel in the Sinai wilderness while Moses was up on the mountain? Worshipped a golden calf, did they? Look what it got them then. Forty years wandering the wilderness. Where are we now in the cycles of the ages?" "Closer to our century, remember the Blight which wiped out the Irish Lumper potato -- in one year -- to send one million into death by starvation, and another million to American shores? The potato was not indigenous to Europe, but had been recently brought by Spanish from central America." "To bring this down to our modern moment, consider BSE -- Britain's Mad Cow Disease -- as prelude to a genetic bovine breakdown induced (might I imply on the sly) by our violation of common sense, natural law and divine instructions." "Does this help bring light and coherence to all my pages of faxes?" My psychologist left at end of her allotted hour fumbling and mumbling if all this is true, and whether it means what my words imply........ So, right now a large horseback assembly of indigenous people are riding across Canadian prairies. By Summer Solstice high-light, they will arrive at Devil's Tower -- a volcanic postpile in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Meanwhile, one of Titus moccasins sits atop San Francisco peaks -- sacred volcanic mountain north of Flagstaff, AZ atop the mile- high Colorado Plateau and Painted Desert. The other sits on a sacred volcano on an Asian island across Pacific Ocean and International Dateline. Last Saturday a friend took my broken body to a Peace Pagoda in Berkshire foothills east of Albany to celebrate Buddha's birthday. I told the tale of Titus, Purification Song, white buffalo calf, Global Moccasin Ceremony, and World Peace and Prayer Day to a multi- denominational, inter-religious, cross-cultural audience who immediately began to grasp ad gasp its significance. The pagoda caretaker -- a Buddhist nun from Japan -- was deeply grateful for my news. Already word is circulating across the Pacific about a moccasin on Mt. Fuji..... On June 20 thousands of people world-wide will sing and pray for east- west unity. The next day hundreds of thousands will unite in synchronous prayer for world peace. Quietly, for one hour. Afterwards, humanity begins a new chapter on Earth. I leave untouched the tale of the Great Pyramid Prophecy with its rainbow door. Note my Turtle EyeLand letterhead has two eyes: one an indigenous Star Woman on Turtle's back; the other atop a Pyramid, like on the Great Seal of the U.S.A. This, too, is a mother lode of metaphor and meaning about the hidden forces that shape global destinies. I could go on a whole page about rainbows..... I've got to quit; my back and legs are in awful, painful spasm. My head aches a little from this intensely fun focus. Mull these pages of words carefully and bounce me an email. -- david --------- "RE: Moonface Bear Crosses Over" --------- Date: 96/06/06 07:50 From: DEANDFS@aol.com Subj: Moonface Bear UUCP email Hau, brother and sister -- I've just gotten the news that Moonface Bear, the War Chief of the Golden Hill Paugussetts, has unexpectedly died at the age of 37, of lymphoma. Moonface Bear is probably best remembered for an armed standoff several years ago with the Connecticut State Police, when the state was trying to force its way onto the reservation to close down smoke shops which were not collecting state cigarette taxes. But "Moon", as he was familiarly known, was also a staunch advocate for Native rights and culture. He was the leader of a drumming group that was very popular at area pow-wows. --Distant Eagle --------- "RE: Oregon Governor Executive Order" --------- Date: 08 Jun 96 11:08:00 EDT From: Jim Casto <104102.1112@CompuServe.COM> Subj: OR Gov. Exec. Order UUCP email [Editorial note: Perhaps some other government officials and agencies should be made aware that such simple respect is possible] At least _some_ government officials are trying to improve relations and communications. Jim -=-=-=-=-=-== Office of the Governor - State of Oregon Executive Order No. EO-96-30 State/Tribal Government-to-Government Relations There are nine federally recognized Indian tribal governments located in the State of Oregon. These Indian tribes were in existence prior to the formation of the United States of America, and thus retain a unique legal status. The importance of recognizing the relationship that exists between the tribes and state government can not be underestimated. As sovereigns the tribes and the State of Oregon must work together to develop mutual respect for the sovereign interests of both parties. The relationships between our governmental structures can only be built through trust and mutual respect. The purpose of formalizing the government-to-government relationship that exists between Oregon's Indian tribes and the State is to establish a process which can assist in resolving potential conflicts, maximize key inter-governmental relations and enhance an exchange of ideas and resources for the greater good of all of Oregon's citizens, whether tribal members or not. IT IS ORDERED AND DIRECTED: 1. That the Governor's Legal Counsel, or such other person as the Governor may from time to time designate, shall be accountable to the Governor for the implementation of this Executive Order and be responsible for convening an annual meeting where representatives of the State and the nine federally recognized Oregon tribal governments will work together to achieve mutual goals. 2. That the head of each Cabinet level department who is either appointed by the Governor or who reports to gubernatorial appointees and is made subject to this Order by the Governor (hereinafter "department") shall be accountable to the Governor's office for adopting a departmental State/Tribal Government Statement that: a. Recognizes that Oregon Indian tribal governments are interested in the development of state policy that affects tribal interests (hereinafter "state policy") and recognizes the desirability of dialogue between tribal governments and the state, with regards to those state policies; b. Identifies key personnel of the department as a "key contact[s]" responsible for coordination with tribal governments; c. Establishes a process for the identification of those state policies by designated tribal representatives and key contacts; d. promotes dialogue between Oregon departments and tribal governments on those state policies; and e. That advances the government-to-government relationship by notifying staff and employees of this Executive Order. 3. Through the process established under this Executive Order the key contacts and designated tribal representatives shall identify issues of mutual concern arising from state policy. The departments and each tribal government shall make reasonable efforts to design solutions and develop programs to achieve mutual goals in relation to state policy. 4. That each department shall recognize the opportunity to use a number of tools to achieve mutual cooperation including but not limited to use of cooperative agreements with Indian tribal governments as provided for in ORS 190.110 when it is appropriate to do so. 5. That each department shall provide key managers with periodic training which enables them to better recognize Indian issues and to understand and respect the legal status of tribal governments and of American Indians as citizens of Oregon who also have their own unique and distinct culture. It is important as well as for the tribes to develop tribal training so its members will better understand the workings and process of state government. It is the hope of the state that these training's will enable the tribes and the state to learn about each other's cultures and improve our mutual ability to communicate our interests more clearly. The key contact and designated tribal representatives shall consult on the scope and content of training as well as the coverage of its cost. 6. That the departments shall work cooperatively to accomplish the goals of this order. It is the hope of the state and the tribes that this executive order will result in improving the quality of communication between our sovereign governments. The tribes and the state recognize that this order cannot and is not intended to create a forum for resolving all issues between the tribes and the state. Nor is it meant to replace presently existing lines of communications. Both tribes and the state recognize that issues that are the subject of litigation or that are likely to become the subject of litigation are inappropriate for discussion in this process. Nothing in this order shall require the state or any of its agencies to violate or ignore any laws, rules, directives or other legal requirements or obligations imposed by state or federal law including but not limited to state Public Record laws, Public Meeting laws and procedures of the state Administrative Procedures Act. This document has been adopted for the sole purpose of enhancing communication and mutual cooperation between the State of Oregon and the tribal governments and is not intended to, and does not, create any right to administrative or judicial review, or any other right or benefit or responsibility, substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against the State of Oregon, its agencies or instrumentality's, its officers or employees, its subdivisions or any other persons. Done at Salem, Oregon this 22nd day of May 1996. Signed by: John A. Kitzhaber, Governor Attested to by: Phil Keisling, Secretary of State --------- "RE: Poem: Morning Water" --------- Date: Thu, 23 May 96 13:30 PDT From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart) Subj: Morning Water Newsgroups: alt.native Morning Water in the light of the morning the water flows sweetly and cool finding its way into a belly made warm from the dreaming tied like a feather to a stone the taste of the water in the morning was soft drifting me but holding me close to the waking of the earth (Morning Song) (c)Copyright 1995,AICAP Turtle Heart. Ahnishinabeg Artist. turtle@aicap.s21.com http://aicap.s21.com American Indian Computer Art Project (AICAP) 619-374-2208 PO Box 111, Johannesburg California 93528-0111 Land of Kaw-ii-Su Ancestor. Land of Light. --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 96/06/05 00:36 From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days genie email A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 16-22 IUNE (June) (Kaaona) 16 Acknowledge the duality of life in everything you do. 17 Embrace life with joy, and never let it go! 18 All great schemes were born of dreams. 19 Sing with the voice of the wind. 20 In the hidden places are found the rarest of flowers. 21 Summer's moon is rising now above the mountains. 22 Speak softly of your secret joys. (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, 6 June 96 08:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.com) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows not previously posted to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L genie email From: ccstar@tiac.net (Jon Hoffman) Subj: Circle of 1000 drums Newsgroup: soc.culture.native Annual Circle of 1000 Drums Awareness for Mother Earth June 22, 23 "Vision of 1000 drums" Experienced by Gil Tarbox For many years the feelings that burn deep within my heart are feelings of loss and remorse. Loss whenever a tree was cut down or a lot of land dug. THIS FEELING HAS NOW BROUGHT ME TO MY VISION AND QUEST. While driving across New Hampshire, I was listening to the song "For the Children" by Denean. From the inspiration of this song, came a spiraling circle in the clouds. This led to the awe inspiring vision of 1,000 drums beating as one, echoing the heart beat of all for the healing and unity of Mother Earth. I knew then that I had to gather all the Healing Circles together to start the healing of Mother Earth. To bring together 1,000 drums beating in unison for Mother Earth. The Spiritual vortexes across our planet will channel their healing energies at the same time, enhancing the power of our own inner flame. We will be a conduit for the massive powers that echo across the land to reach the core of our planet. WE CAN AND WILL HEAL MOTHER EARTH! "AH HO" -------------------------------------------------------- CATCH THE SPIRIT! Date: June 22 & 23, 1996 Time: Saturday and Sunday 12pm - 6pm EST Place: Winter Island, Salem MA also many circles joining in ALL over the world! Cost: Adults $4.00, Children under 12 & Senior citizens FREE This is a nonprofit spiritual event, proceeds go toward the cost of the Event: Rent, porta-potties, etc... ANY profits will be donated in full to Navaho children on one of the poorest reservations in this country. Last year we came up short but still donated hundreds of T-shirts to the kids! :) :) Saturday, June 22, 1996 Grand entry 12 noon Native pow wow dancing: 12 & 3 Two gatherings of drums for Mother Earth: 1:30 & 4:30 On going instructional workshops 6pm to 7pm Clean up Sunday, June 23 , 1996 Greeting and meditation of the morning star: At sunrise! Grand entry: 12 noon Native pow wow dancing: 12 & 3 Two gatherings of drums for Mother Earth: 1:30 & 4:30 6pm to 7pm Clean up Sponsors, participants and volunteers please contact: Gil Tarbox at (617) 598-4321 or fax: (617) 581-6060 You can reach us by e-mail at:ccstar@tiac.net VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE! http://www.tiac.net/users/ccstar/drums We have lots of neat pictures from last years festival! NOTE: If you can't come to Salem MA, Just form a circle and join in with us 1:30pm and 4:30pm Eastern US Time! There will be circles joining us from all over the World! We CAN heal Mother Earth. ----------------------------- From: mcamp1@ix.netcom.com (MERLYN CAMP ) Subj: Maidu-Miwok BigTime PowWow Auburn Dam Overlook Auburn, CA September 6-8, 1996 Free Event Includes: Competition Dancing Education Day (9/6/96) Vender Booths Craft Demonstrations Food For Event Information, Please Contact Shirley at (916) 888-0329 For Education Day Information, Contact Jill at (916) 477-5797 For Vendor Booth Information Contact Stan or Roz at (916) 346-8112 Absolutely no alcohol, drugs or firearms allowed at this event. --------------------------- From: bmairs@Silk.Net (Brian Mairs) Subj: World Peace and Prayer Day - Kelowna BC, Canada Newsgroup: alt.native The Central Okanagan Indian Friendship Society (COIFS), in downtown Kelowna, British Columbia, in the Heart of the Okanagan Valley, is holding a prayer ceremony starting at 9am for anyone in our area. If you are in Kelowna or plan on being in the Central Okanagan Valley at this time, join us in our common voice to the Creator. COIFS 442 Leon Ave Kelowna BC V1Y 6J3 (604) 763-4905 (PH.) (604) 861-5514 (FAX) --------------------------------------- From: McAfee Chuck Subj: Telecommunications Conference for American Indian Tribes (fwd) Mailing List: AISESnet Discussion List (aisesnet@victor.umt.edu) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 01 Jun 1996 15:14:56 -0700 (MST) From: Olivia Vanegas-Funcheon To: cmcafee@spot.Colorado.EDU Subj: Telecommunications Conference for American Indian Tribes MARK YOUR CALENDARS!!! Telecommunications Technology: The Opportunities and Challenges for Native America September 19-20, 1996 The Grace Inn at Ahwatukee Phoenix, Arizona Workshop topics include: . Steps to owning your own phone company . Ownership through acquisition, leasing and competition . Economic and business opportunities . The basics of telecommunications . Taxation and right of way issues . New/future technologies . Financial resources . The Internet For information call: Center for American Indian Economic Development (520) 523-7320 Co-Sponsored by: Arizona Native American Economic Coalition, Center for American Indian Economic Development, AT&T, APS, Hicks & Ragland Engineering CO., Inc., Southwest Scene, National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development Olivia Vanegas Funcheon, ASU West MBA Student - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- 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: Tom Mahoney, Tariq Hassan-Gordon via Prison News Service, Janet Smith, Debra Sanders, Joe Campagna, Tony Kendrick via Brenda J. Bellonger, David Yarrow, Jim Casto, Turtle Heart (mending the Sacred Hoop with song poems), Sky Crosby, Jordan S. Dill, Distant Eagle, William M. Havens, Arlie Neskahi, Bernard J. Rock, Sr., David Burlingame, Mike & Ola Cassadore Davis -//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 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, 13 June 96 08:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.com) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows already posted to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L genie email From: andrea@scicom.alphacdc.com (Andrea Lord) Subj: Indigenous Environmental Network conference (13-16 June, N Carolina) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK Conference Planning Office P.O.Box 2259 Cherokee, NC 28719 ph: (704)497-5203 fax: (704) 497-5033 National Office P.O.Box 485 Bemidji, MN 56601 ph: (218) 751-4967 fax: (218) 751-0561 email: ien@igc.apc.org NATIVE-AMERICANS TO CONVENE ON THE ENVIRONMENT THIS MONTH: The human health threat of nuclear waste and other man-made pollutants of major concern. Cherokee, NC --- Native Tribes in Ward Valley, Nevada and Prairie Island Minnesota are fighting to save their homelands from environmental degradation. These and other native communities faced with severe environmental issues will join other grassroots organization at the seventh annual Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), Protect Mother Earth conference in Cherokee North Carolina on June 13-16. The IEN, an alliance of indigenous community based people, has a mission to strengthen, maintain, protect and respect the traditional teachings, lifestyles and spiritual interdependence and the sacredness of mother earth and natural laws. The annual gathering, this year, bear the theme, "Our Rivers Are Life," and features educational workshops in areas such as environmental protection, traditional ecological knowledge, natural resource management protection of endangered species, sustainable development and community based organizing. One key focus of the event will be to expose the link between man-made pollutants to global health problems and the decline in the environment, especially where Native Americans live. Another major issue will be the negative impacts of mining on Native lands. A special report will be made available at the conference detailing the extensive water contamination due to mining, as well as the destruction of sacred sites and the decline in habitats and vegetation, including medicinal plants that are relied on by native communities. "Indigenous people are continually faced with threats to our environment. Not only our land but our food we eat and water we drink. Man-made chemical hazards such as nuclear waste and chlorine are not only threatening our environment but our health and our future generations." Jackie Warledo, IEN Conference Coordinator and Native Lands Campaigner with Greenpeace. "As far as mining is concerned, entire Native cultures are experiencing detrimental affects especially since Native culture is a subsistent culture." The residents of Ward Valley have received national attention for their struggle to stop the siting of a low-level radioactive waste dump in that area. Prairie Island nuclear waste storage borders the community who has spent years trying to keep their homes from becoming a dump site. Representatives from both these communities will be on hand to offer organizing tips to other tribes faced with similar struggles. Some of the other workshops offered are; Water and Soil Testing, Stopping Nuclear and Toxic Dumping on Indigenous Lands, Organizing Around Health Concerns, and a Youth Circle of teens and young adults. The conference organizers expect approximately 1,200 people from over a hundred Indigenous Nations and numerous grassroots communities. Workshops and plenaries will be focusing on environmental issues, traditional eco- knowledge community development and community-based strategies. Contact:Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director IEN (218) 751-4967 Jackie Warledo, Conference Coordinator (918) 743-6530 IEN Conference Office (704) 497-5203 ------------------------------- From: wasicuwin@aol.com Subj: Iroquois Festival (Fonda, NY, 22-23 June) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The third annual June Festival will be held at the Kanatsiohareke Mohawk community in Fonda, N.Y. on June 22-23 from 10am-10pm The schedule for June 22 will feature: An Elvis impersonator A chicken barbecue in the evening Live country music June 23 will feature: a quilt and craft auction at 1pm Iroquois social dance Both days will include: Native American and Amish craft vendors Food; Indian tacos, corn soup, clam chowder hot dogs hamburgers Live entertainment Storytelling Activities for children Horse drawn Wagon Rides There will be a special performance of Bharata Natyam (a Sacred Dance of India) by the Lotus Studios dance troupe Admission: Adults $3 Children 5-12 $1 Children under 5 Free Contact me for directions wasicuwin@aol.com Sken:nen kenhak, Sandy --------------------------------------- From: berryj@okway.okstate.edu (John Berry) Subj: NAJA Conference - June 19-22 (Bangor, Maine) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) 1996 Native American Journalists Association 12th Annual Conference Building Bridges of Communication Bangor, Maine June 19-22 Featuring a joint session with the United South & Eastern Tribes Lodging: The main hotel for the 1996 NAJA Conference will be the Holiday Inn Civic Center, 500 Maine St., Bangor, Maine. For reservations call (207)947-8651 or (800)799-8651. Rates are $65/night, single or double. Overflow to Holiday Inn Odlin Rd, (207)947-0101 or (800)914-0101 at $57/night single or double, about 2 miles from host hotel - free shuttle between hotels. Free shuttle between Bangor airport and hotels. Shuttle between Portland, Maine airport and hotels in Bangor is $20.00. NAJA shootout: Photographers will compete for cash prizes in the 2nd annual NAJA shoot-out sponsored by the New York Times. Begins at 8am on Thursday, June 19th for the first 20 contestants to sign up in the conference registration area. Participants must be NAJA members in good standing. Participants must provide their own camera - film and transportation will be provided for contest. Contest will be judged by professional photojournalists on Friday. INVITED SPEAKERS/PRESENTERS: Gary Farmer - actor and magazine publisher Joanne Shenandoah - singer Ada Deer - Assist. Sec. for Indian Affairs Clayton Lonetree - freed ex-Marine convicted of espionage Charlie Hill - comedian and script writer HIGHLIGHTS: Traditional meal on Indian Island Maine Lobster Dinner and Silent Auction Best of Native Journalism awards banquet Free Press Discussion "Troubled Waters," a Newsmaker luncheon on an environmental controversy over Maine's Penobscot River "Meet the Members" Breakfast A Serious look at Indian Humor "A Warrior Returns": Clayton Lonetree tells his story Struggles for Urban Indians Issues in Federal Recognition of Tribes Gaming Issues Repatriation "Native Voice" Student Newspaper project Video Project for Students Radio short-course for beginning professionals Skills-building workshops Critiques for newswriting, radio, television and newspaper design. ==================================================================== For more information contact: Kesley Edmo Jr., Conference Coordinator (505)897-2014 or fax (505)899-5822 WWW Address: http://www.medill.nwu.edu/naja/ Jeff Harjo, Interim Projects Director (612)874-8833 or fax (612)874-9007 or E-mail: Najanut@aol.com ------------------------------------ From: wasicuwin@aol.com Subj: World Peace and Prayer Day P.I.C.T. Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) For those who have requested information on P.I.C.T's (6/21) Summer Solstice Ceremony above the Delaware Water Gap, the location is essentially along the Delaware River on the New Jersey/Pennsylvania border. Rte 80 W. (the last rest area in N.J. at Dunfield Creek) Follow the water that flows over the rocks at that point to the little wooden bridge on the right; Cross the creek and follow the path to the next bridge; cross and go right to the top two miles or so up the trail. There is a clearing at the top. Sken:nen kenhak, Sandy --------------------------- From: rstanfor@frontiernet.net (Ron & Eileen Stanford) Subj: World Peace and Prayer Day (near Rochester, NY, 21 June) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) O'Siyo All, For those of us who live in the Rochester NY area and cannot make the trip to South Dakota for the World Peace and Prayer Day there will be a ceremony in our area on June 21. Ganondagan State Historic Site, a Sacred Site to the Senecas will have a ceremony to respond to Arvol Looking Horse's request for Global Healing. The Ceremony to begin promptly at 12:00 Eastern Time (To coordinate with the Event that will be held in South Dakota). For more information please call (716) 742-1690. Wado Do-na-da go-hv (We will see one another again) Ron rstanfor@frontiernet.com "May the warm winds of heaven blow softly on your home, and may the Creator bless all who enter there." -------------------------------- From: nlclark1@aol.com Subj: Woodland Workshops and Pow Wow, Muncie, Indiana (17-23 June) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The Fifth Annual Woodland Workshops and the Sixth Annual Woodland Nations Pow Wow will be co-sponsored by the 23 tribes of the Prophetstown Council for Great Lakes Native American Studies and the Minnetrista Centers, Muncie, Indiana. The workshops will begin on Monday, June 17 and continue through Friday, June 21. The Woodland Nations Pow Wow will be held on Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23, 1996, both at the Minnetrista Center, 1200 N. Minnetrista Parkway, Muncie, Indiana. Phone is 317-282-4848. The Workshops will feature the following Great Lakes Tradition Bearers: Lu Ellis, Citizen Band Potawatomi, teaching Assemblage Art. Carolyn Beigh, Ojibwa, will be teaching how to make Birch Bark, turkey feather fans, with quillwork. Renda Ballew, Pokagon Potawatomi spouse, will be teaching beadwork medallions. Don Secondine, Oklahoma Delaware, will teach making german silver broaches. Eugene Brown, Miami of Indiana, will teach how to make river cane flutes. George Wieske, will teach the art of yarn finger weaving. Each class will be taught twice. Class one is from Monday through Wednesday at noon, and Class two is from Wednesday at noon through Friday. The registration fee is $60.00 per class plus a supply fee. Detailed information is available by calling Holly McConnell, Minnetrista Center, at 317-282-4848. You must have advance registration for the class. The Sixth Annual Woodland Nations Pow Wow will begin on Saturday, June 22, with a Grand Entry at 1:00pm. Mr. Frank Bush, Potawatomi, will be the Head Veteran Dancer. Ms. Ginger Schmidlkofer, Citizen Band Potawatomi Tribal Princess, Shawnee, Oklahoma, will be the Head Woman Dancer. Mr. Paul Syrette, Ojibwa, Niles, Michigan will be the Head Man Dancer. Honored drums will include the Swiftbird Singers, Detroit, Michigan; The Nemaha Singers, Pete Fee, Lead Singer, White Cloud, Kansas; and the Indiana Twight Twee Miami Singers, Mr. Jay Hartleroad, Lead Singer. Mr. Clarence Syrette, Ojibwa, Niles, Michigan will be the Master of Ceremonies. The Grand Entry on Sunday, June 23, will also be at 1:00pm. Over 40 Native American artists and craftspeople have already registered as vendors and there will be Native American Food. The Ke-Shook-Co-To-Qua Miami Living History Village will be set up both days and will portray village life of the early 1800s. There is no admission charged and the public is welcome. For more information, call Minnetrista Centers, at 1-800-428-5887 if in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois or Kentucky or 317-282-4848. --------- "RE: Response to Releases About Big Mountain" --------- Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 19:06:16 -0700 From: wmhavens@primenet.com (William M. Havens) Subj: Response to Press Releases about Big Mountain Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) THE TRUTH ABOUT BIG MOUNTAIN There have been many Internet postings, newspaper articles, radio broadcasts, and press releases recently about events in the Big Mountain area of the Hopi Reservation in Northern Arizona. Unfortunately, most of these articles and broadcasts have been based on extremely biased and distorted information. Most of the information that the world has had to rely on to formulate their sense of the situation has been provided by a small group of people from the Big Mountain area. This information, biased and distorted from the beginning, then gets picked up by other groups with their own agenda of activism and further distorted until there is no longer any truth in the reports. When you were in elementary school, did your teacher ever whisper a message in the ear of a student and then ask each student in turn to pass that message on to the next student until it reached the last student? Did the final message ever resemble the original message? That's sort of what we have here, except that at each transfer point the person relaying the message appears to have motivation to distort the original message. Usually, that purpose is to inflame the situation and thus justify radical militant involvement and to gain the sympathy and financial support of uninformed outsiders. This article should serve to debunk some of the myths about Big Mountain and the alleged torment of innocent Navajos living in the area. It should also present a perspective more resembling that of the Hopis. I am qualified to discuss this because, not only do I have a solid research based understanding of the history of the Navajo and Hopi reservations and the expansion of the Navajo reservation at the expense of the Hopis, but I am also currently working right in the middle of all of this for the Chairman of the Hopi Tribe. I SHOULD MAKE IT CLEAR THAT I AM SPEAKING FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING AND AM NOT OFFICIALLY REPRESENTING THE TRIBE. I SIMPLY THINK IT IS TIME THE WORLD HEARD ANOTHER SIDE TO THE ISSUE. To begin with, I will address recent Native-L postings. 5/27/96, "Big Mountain Emergency" "RED ALERT--ARRESTS AND VIOLENCE DISRUPT NAVAJO (DINE') GATHERING" The Dineh Alliance would have the world believe that this was "disputed territory." There is no dispute; this is Hopi land. The courts recognize it, the Navajo Nation recognizes it, and most of the residents recognize it. Hopi Rangers did not disrupt a "traditional pipe ceremony." In fact, it was worked out before hand that the pipe ceremony would be conducted with no interference. The group would be allowed to cross over into Hopi Partitioned Land (HPL) from Navajo Partitioned Land (NPL) and back again for the ceremony. All reports are that this was conducted peacefully on Saturday, May 25. Rangers did not "manhandle several elders from the area." No matter what the Dineh Alliance would have people believe, violence was not the theme of the police involvement at the Spring Gathering. "Scores of law enforcement personnel" do not and did not cover the area. There are not "scores of law enforcement personnel" available in the area. The full force of the Hopi Rangers, even if they could all be on duty at the same time complemented by the BIA police from the area could not number more than 20-30 officers. This is hardly sufficient to "surround" an area of thousands of acres. By May 27, when the "Big Mountain Emergency" article was posted, everything was over with. Almost all that was left in the area were residents. Inviting "the media and the American public to come and witness the violence and occupation of their ancestral homelands" was silly; there was nothing to see. Another point: These are not Dine' "ancestral homelands." They are traditional Hopi lands. The Dineh Alliance would have us believe they are living on traditional Dine' homelands, when, in fact, Navajo people are relatively new to the area. It has only been in the last 150 years or less that Navajo people have started to occupy traditional Hopi lands. The pressures to move west from New Mexico onto Hopi land in Arizona increased as settlement in New Mexico by white settlers increased in the fertile Rio Grande Valley and cattle ranching increased. The main thrust of Navajo occupation of Hopi land occurred after the 1864 Navajo treaty with the United States that established the original Navajo Reservation. This reservation was only about 3.5 million acres and straddled the border between New Mexico and Arizona. But, of course, this was long before those territories became states. Pressures from the white settlers to the East and the increased need to expand their sheep grazing areas pushed the Navajos further and further into Hopi territory. The Hopis had been using the area for a thousand or more years before the Athabascans that later became called Navajo ever even entered the Southwest. (The following analyses are based on articles which can be obtained from NATIVE-L mailing list archives at TAMVM1.TAMU.EDU or via the Web archives (http://bioc09.uthscsa.edu/natnet/archive/nl/9605/0153.html). --Gary ] "RESPONSE ONE OF TWO" Regarding posting of Kahn-Tineta Horn, President Canadian Alliance in Support of Native Peoples 24 May, 1996 Another thing really bothers me; there are groups like the Canadian Alliance that don't have a clue about the Southwest or the history of Navajo and Hopi issues, except what they read from the Dineh Alliance, and they take very strong stands on these issues that they don't know anything about. This message from the Canadian Alliance takes the reports from the Dineh Alliance at face value and doesn't even consider that there might be another side to things or that the truth might be being misrepresented. In the matter of the Spring Gathering, people were not abused. The entire state of Arizona is under the worst drought in 100 years. All of the public lands are closed due to extreme fire hazard. The Hopi Tribe issued the same kind of closures and restrictions on its interior. There would be no way, under those conditions, that the Hopi Tribe could allow a gathering that was expected to be anywhere from 300 to 1000 people to take place in a tinder box. Not to mention the lack of available water and sanitation facilities. As it was, the gathering was contained to approximately 50-70 people. The reason non-Indians were turned back (not arrested or abused) was that the Hopi reservation is essentially a "closed" reservation. The Hopi Tribe is usually pretty lenient about this. But, in states of emergency or to control crowds, it becomes necessary to exercise and enforce that "closed" status. The sovereignty of Indian Nations allows that level of control. The Hopi Tribe has no obligation to allow non-Indians onto the reservation under any circumstances, let alone to gather by the hundreds, except legitimate travel through the area on state highways. BESIDES, JUST WHERE DO NON-INDIANS FIT INTO "TRADITIONAL CEREMONIES" EXCEPT TO PROVIDE POLITICAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT? Think about it if you're considering coming out to Northern Arizona to support the "traditional Navajo resistors." Think also about the "traditional Navajos" conducting "sacred" Lakota ceremonies. Where does all this fit into "traditional Navajo homelands?" On the subject of arrests; I believe that there were only a few arrests. Those arrests that did take place were based on valid outstanding warrants. There was an incident at about 1:00 AM in which a car with several occupants and a Navajo driver ran through a law enforcement roadway checkpoint narrowly missing an officer. The car then slid off the road under pursuit. The car was searched and a Chinese assault rifle of the semi-automatic variety was discovered. It was confiscated and the occupants arrested. The rifle was later shown to be stolen. The report from Thad Cunejo that FBI was arresting people is also absurd. Where do these people get this stuff? And to say that arrests were made to "stop the sacred pipe ceremonies" is equally absurd. Was he even there? Like I said earlier, discussions with the organizers of the event led to an agreement to allow the procession into HPL to conduct the ceremony. This was accomplished successfully and without incident. Law enforcement agreed to be in the area but to be at a distance. I agree with Gary that if "unnecessary violence is being used" there would be "good reason for concern." BUT, VIOLENCE IS NOT BEING USED. One reason that you "have rarely, if ever, heard from the Hopi" is that Hopis prefer to adhere to their own values. The propaganda techniques of the Dineh Alliance are fine for them. But, the Hopis would rather not be sucked into those kind of tactics. When you have faith in yourself and faith in the future being whatever it is meant to be, there is not that drive to compete with negative forces. 5/28/96 "Big Mountain Gathering Blockaded" In this posting by the International Indian Treaty Council, the distortions and misunderstandings by outsiders is even more apparent. Rangers did not fire at the camp or at the sign as reported in this article. If shots were fired, no one saw who did it. Ranger weapons are checked for recent firings. Also, the claim that the participants of the "Sweat Lodge Inipi Ceremony were forced to vacate the lodge before the ceremony was finished, because of a 7pm deadline set by the Hopi Tribal authorities on the presence of non-Indian guests at Camp Anna Mae" are clear misunderstandings. I know from personal involvement that on Friday prior to the Saturday pipe ceremony, organizers of the event were asked if it was correct that the ceremony was only to be a one day event and if they would be returning to the NPL site before dark. They acknowledged that this would be the case and when asked what time they would be leaving from the Pipe Ceremony, they said probably by 7:00pm. This was not a time restriction that was imposed on the group by the Hopi Tribe. It was the time that the organizers said they would be leaving. If participants were told that they were being evicted, so to speak, this was misrepresented to them. If an atmosphere of fear resulted from the events of the weekend, it was not the intention of the Tribe or Law Enforcement to create that. I know that a police presence, even a remote one, often creates fear in people who are gathering for the purpose of political activism. [ The following response pertains to an article whose text can be retrieved via the Web at http://bioc09.uthscsa.edu/natnet/archive/nl/9605/0163.html ] 5/28/96, "Big Mountain Statement" From: The International Indian Treaty Council Here I will try to respond in a less verbose way to specific points. --Yes, checkpoints were set up on the main roads to the interior of HPL. --The vehicles that were turned back were non-Indians and non-residents. --There was never an intention to stop food from getting into the area. However, since the vehicles also had food and it was clearly being brought in for the purpose of maintaining a large group of people (which also wasn't authorized), the vehicles that were turned back probably also had food. No one is starving at Big Mountain as activists would have you believe. --Hopi does not have a SWAT team. --It is not a violation of the free exercise of religion to not allow large gatherings of outsiders on HPL. This is well within the jurisdiction of the Hopi Tribe, especially under such extreme fire hazard conditions. Something I would like to point out is that the 1974 Settlement Act which divided the so-called "Joint Use Area" into Hopi and Navajo Partitioned Lands supported the rights of each tribe and its members to continue to practice their traditional religions and to have access to their sacred sites and shrines. It did not, however, allow for members of one tribe to deny the other tribe the use of its land by the establishment of religious sites or shrines. This is something that is going on at Big Mountain. The resisters are establishing "sacred ceremonial sites" that are non-traditional to the Navajos (Pipe Ceremonies, Sundance, etc.) and denying Hopi jurisdiction over these sites. All of the structures at the sites are non-residence type unauthorized structures that were supposed to be temporary. The Hopi Tribe has been tolerant for the last ten years in letting these structures remain. But, now, Big Mountain resisters are laying spiritual claim to these sites and restricting and frustrating Hopi Land Management and Law Enforcement access to them. While I'm on the topic of "Joint Use Area," (JUA) I would like to point out that even though the JUA was part of the original Hopi Reservation, the Navajos that occupied it continued to behave as if it were Navajo land. They continued to frustrate Hopi use of the JUA by rapidly moving into the area and by over grazing with sheep. [ See http://www.primenet.com/~dineh/ for this and other bulletins written from the perspective of the Dineh Alliance. --Gary ] 6/3/96, "NAVAJO-HOPI LAND DISPUTE UPDATE: MAY 27, 1996" From: Jon Norstog This may be at least a little more reasonable report. Though I think the "intimidation" factor is exaggerated. There were not, though, "a lot of arrests." "Harassment" is an inappropriate word. The Hopi Tribe has no intention of denying religious expression, just access by hundreds or thousands of outsiders and non-Indians. The right to religious expression and the right to political expression does not include the right to take jurisdiction and control over land that is not yours nor to invite hundreds or thousands of outsiders into the area that is already in a fragile state both from rangeland and fire risk perspectives. The visitation of Sara Begay by Holy People is a good example. And before I start, you should know that this is a 45 minute drive from the Big Mountain Survival Camps and that Sara Begay claims no affiliation with the resister groups. In this situation, the Hopi Tribe has not interfered, even though it has attracted tens of thousands of Navajo visitors, even though the Begays have essentially taken jurisdiction of this area, even though the rangeland is being threatened by parking of hundreds of cars, even though the President of the Navajo Nation, Hale, brought out busloads of people and made a media spectacle of it (to the disgust of Sara Begay) and even though this complicates Hopi jurisdiction over its own land. In response to the comment that President Hale and Chairman Secakuku both "got a piece of Mrs. Begay's mind" is probably only half correct. President Hale came out with a whole flock of people and tried to make a media event out of it. He also brought out busloads of people, inundating the Begays with people tromping all over her property. Chairman Secakuku, however, came with an interpreter. Mrs. Begay and the Chairman visited for about a half an hour and it seemed to be a cordial visit. Chairman emphasized that he just wanted to know what was going on and to hear it from her himself. He did not try to intrude at the sighting place nor to manipulate the situation. He expressed concern for Mrs. Begay and the number of people taking over her homesite. Mrs. Begay thanked him for coming out personally. Just the other day a BIA road crew was installing a cattle guard almost a mile from Sara Begay's house. Suddenly, up drove Sara Begay, and some younger men. They told the crew not to continue "disturbing the ground" while they were either conducting or preparing to conduct a ceremony. Not wanting to get in the middle of a conflict, the road crew backed out. So, because of Mrs. Begay's expansion of her proclaimed jurisdiction, Hopis who are legally grazing cattle in the next grazing parcel, have to continue to spend a great deal of time and effort running them out of the adjacent area. This wouldn't be a problem any more if the road crew had been allowed to install the cattle guard. From what I hear, the message from the Holy People was something to the effect of warning the Navajo people to go back to their traditional ways and to start living right. This was somehow linked to the drought and future more serious problems if they didn't straighten up. Somebody isn't listening; where does Sundance fit in all this? Where do Plains style tipis fit in all this? Last week it was reported that a large truck delivered some very large tipis to Mrs. Begay's house and that they were in the process of being set up, perhaps of the kind used by the Native American Church. How does the Native American Church fit into Navajo Tradition? IN REFERENCE TO BIG MOUNTAIN, I would like to point out that the most alarming reports are coming from the areas most removed from Big Mountain, like San Francisco, Canada, Cardiff, San Jose, etc. People in those remote locations don't have a clue what's going on out here. I have also seen reports that, thankfully, have not appeared in the Native-L that accuse the Hopi Tribe of "cultural genocide," "police brutality," implementing "ethnic cleansing laws," etc., etc., etc. People of this mind-set should get out their dictionaries and history books. They should visit the Holocaust Museum. They should realize that a handful of people living on someone else's land does not constitute an entire Nation of people. In trying to understand what's going on at Big Mountain, try to remember the following key points: --Navajo people are living on Hopi land, Hopi people are not living on Navajo land. --The Big Mountain area is on Hopi land, this is NOT traditional Dine' homeland. --The Navajo Nation has been swallowing up Hopi lands for the last 150 years. --The resisters at Big Mountain do not represent the Navajo Nation nor do they represent the majority of their neighbors. --The resisters at Big Mountain who want to have Pipe Ceremonies and Sundance can hardly consider themselves "traditional Dine'." --The hard core resisters at Big Mountain do not want to live under any law, neither Hopi nor Navajo. DIFFERENT GROUPS Another thing we need to remember is that there are different groups of resisters out at Big Mountain. One may be more cooperative than the other and one may be claiming to represent the Dineh' Alliance when they don't. There have been recent divisions out there and I think one group may be more cooperative and less prone to militancy than the other. However, it is a fact that "Survival Camps" have been set up out there. These camps have all the makings of Para-Military training facilities. They have "bunkers" on strategic hills, military type radio equipment, are fenced off with warning signs, and have in the past been known to have armed security of the unprofessional type. I don't think the group that I have had discussions with wants to be associated with this para-military type group. The Hopi Tribe does not yet have a position on the upcoming Sundance. We are scheduled to meet on Tuesday with some organizers and "elders" to discuss it. The purpose will be to discuss their plans. This should give the Tribe some real information upon which to determine their position instead of on hearsay. I am looking forward to meaningful and cordial dialogue like in the past with this group. Remember, though, that this is Hopi land. Efforts that seek to destroy Hopi jurisdiction over Hopi land will probably not be responded to well by the Hopi Tribe. I don't anticipate the Tribe being too anxious to surrender hundreds of acres in the middle of a drought and high fire hazard to several hundred or thousands of non-Indians. PROTECTING HOPI JURISDICTION OVER HOPI LAND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE "CULTURAL GENOCIDE." ENFORCING HOPI TRIBAL LAWS ON ON HOPI LAND DOES NOT REQUIRE "ETHNIC CLEANSING LAWS." I bet anyone who has experienced the Holocaust or Bosnia would be offended by the implication that there could be any similarities between Big Mountain and Nazi Germany or Bosnia. I urge everyone to think about what they read; don't just take everything as the truth. Sincerely, Bill Havens --------- "RE: High School Graduation Outrage" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Jun 1996 06:19:41 +0000 From: rnbowlkr@teleport.com (rnbowlkr@teleport.com) Subj: high school graduation outrage Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) [Editorial note: This posting includes an addendum at the request of Arlie Neskahi not included in the original] My daughter graduated Friday night in Salem, OR. I am proud to say, wearing the eagle plumes given to honor her on her mortar board, one from her grandfather, Allan Neskahi Jr., and one from me. She was one of just a handful of Native students to graduate from her high school, but her plume stood proud above the dark hats, moving to the slightest breeze. Everyone there received a blessing that night. I told her about the recent thread on this topic that seems to have taken the path, we should relent since if one is allowed to dress different, then everyone can. I for one say, who cares!!?? If anyone should disagree, I feel it can be Native people. This is our land, OUR HOME. We can dress as we like. My daughter decided she would wait until the line entered the auditorium to attach the plumes. I told her to carry the plumes not just as a personal honor but to show honor to her family, her relatives, and all who have accomplished before her, as well as those who have offered numerous prayers in her behalf in her childhood years. I watched in apprehension as she entered the huge room, and so very proudly did she reach up and pin them on. As she marched by, I saw her wipe the tears from her face. She was one of the front row graduates, due to her receiving an academic scholarship, and the vice principal seated on the podium saw her plumes. I asked my daughter, what did she do? She replied, she motioned with her hand and I saw her say, take it off. What did you do, I asked? She said I shook my head no, and said unh-unh. And the eagle plume danced... Immediately afterwards, I gave my daughter a Pendleton robe. I opened it up to put it on her with all the other people there in their finest dress. My daughter turned and took it over her shoulders. And then as the cameras flashed she pulled it around tight at the waist with her right arm free to hold her gifts and the sacred plumes. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SIGHT!!! She stood there with honor and I saw all her mothers and grandmothers and great-great grandmothers in her smile and joyous dignity. Parents, don't let this chance go by... Take this opportunity to honor your children however you choose, that is up to you and only you. I chose to do this, you choose what you feel is best for your child. I have worked in the field of education for the last 15 years and there is NO HARM in Native students dressing or wearing what is considered their people's ways of honor that they have established over the last 20,000 plus years. In my mind these institutions of what is formal and what is not need to step aside in times like this when the families and communities supporting the student want to show honor upon our own Native children. By the way, no Native persons were ever consulted when these formal institutions were developed, they have their origins in foreign lands to the days of (as anglos describe THEIR ancestral times) medievel times and ceremonies. If we are to regain our rightful role in the EDUCATION of our children, I believe we need to continue to infuse our own ways into the american culture. This so that our children will see that our ceremonies are not dead, they are not hocus-pocus, that their ancestors were not just superstitious uneducated pagans, but that we retain the ageless wisdom that can fill them with the power and courage to face what lies ahead as Native Youth leading us into the next millennium. To the Holy People I say, thank you for my daughter and allowing me to raise her here on Mother Earth, and live to see this day... To my daughter Kinji, you have honored me, your father, and all your relatives. We have been blessed by your accomplishments, courage and determination. Arlie Neskahi Zuni Clan Dine' Nation Hello Gary, You have my permission to distribute the article, one thing I forgot to mention to say. It is important for educators to recognize that what we are doing with our cultural expressions is to ADD honor, reverence, and respect for what is happening. Much different than the students who try to make a joke of the event with crazy clothes, hair, messages, earphones, etc. It seems many are trying to make a mockery of the event in this way. While we as Native people are trying in the highest forms we know how, to mark it as a sacred time of Transition for our Children. Educators should, in my opinion, embrace what we have to offer as adding to the honor of the event, rather than as a threat to what they see as tradition. Please do not judge us as you would those who are trying to trivialize these ceremonies. They mean so much to Native families and communities that we want to bestow upon our Children the highest cultural and spiritual forms of honor that we possess. And in today's crazy world we know that the opportunities for doing this for our Children are not many. I hope that soon all educators will open the doors for families and communities to add to the honor, respect and tradition of these and similar events --------- "RE: Battle Point Desecration" --------- Date: Fri, 7 Jun 1996 19:05:37 -0500 From: eaglerok@northernnet.com (feather eaglerock) Subj: Leech Lake Battle Point Desecration Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Aniin, I am writing this letter to make more people aware of what is happening on the Leech Lake Reservation regarding what is called the Battle Point project. Battle Point (on Leech Lake and located in the Sugar Point Community) is the site of the last 'official' indian war in the United States. This battle was fought when the state tried to take over jurisdiction of indian people on indian land. A grant has been awarded to build an interpretive center at Battle Point. Because the grant cannot be awarded to a 'government agency,' the Cass Lake-Bena School District will serve as the fiscal agent for the funding. In addition, the school district will hold a lease on the land. This is sacred land where blood has been spilled. There is an indian cemetery at this site and there are many indian burial sites that are known only to the elders from that community. An 'interpretive center' means paved roads, parking lots, boat ramps, tourists, cigarette butts and trash on the ground and in the water. There is an otter, a sacred doo-dame of the Anishinabe people, that makes its home at this point on Leech Lake, and the area has many medicines and natural foods growing there. An 'interpretive center' means easements and changes in jurisdiction. It is truly tragic and shameful that jurisdiction of this Sacred site and the resting place of our indian ancestors, where our grandfathers fought a battle over jurisdiction of indian people on indian land, is now being given to the public school district (land that isn't even in that school district) by our so called indian leaders in the name of 'culture.' It's not about culture or heritage -- it's about money. Respectfully, Mesh-Che-Quad Bernard J. Rock, Sr., Anishinabe Ojibwe Enrolled member of the Leech Lake Pillager Band feather eaglerock, leech lake rez english is a foreign language. reclaim the language of your people and send it to the future as your gift to your grandchildren's grandchildren. di-ka-ne'-tsv a'-qua-tse'-li ha-htv-gi, wa-do' do-da-da-go'-hv --------- "RE: Leonard Peltier Ride for Justice" --------- Date: Tue, 11 Jun 1996 17:56:44 GMT From: tom@admin.fandm.edu (Tom Mahoney) Subj: Leonard Peltier Ride for Justice Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) HELP FREE NATIVE AMERICAN POLITICAL PRISONER LEONARD PELTIER! American Indian Spiritual Riders for Justice on horseback will be traveling from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Massachusetts to Washington D.C. for a rally and then on to Atlanta Georgia, to bring attention to the plight of American Indian Activist Leonard Peltier, who has been in prison for 20+ years for a crime he did not commit. It has been proven in court that every piece of evidence used to convict him is false. Yet the government refuses to grant him a fair trial because they could not get who they wanted, so they got who they could. The significance of Leonard Peltier's cause to every person upon the face of the earth is that if a government can imprison an innocent man for its own purposes, and we as a free and just people cannot, in a peaceful way, free him, then the freedom of all people is in grave danger. Apathy is the first cause of te deterioration of justice and freedom. Indifference to your fellow human beings' pleas for justice will eventually bring about loss of justice for yourself. Leonard Peltier's attorneys have for 20 some years legally attempted to bring about a fair trial. Millions of people all over the world are familiar with Leonard's case./ At this time President Clinton continues to consider executive clemency for Leonard. He has been "considering" this for 3 years now. Because of the political influence of the F.B.I., it will take letters and petitions and the involvement of as many people as possible to influence the President to do the right thing and free Leonard Peltier. The American Indian Spiritual Riders for Justice will be demonstrating on horseback in all the major cities from Oklahoma to Washington D.C. They will officially begin their ride on June 10? There are many small towns where we will be stopping briefly. To locate the riders, call the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee or Teri at 717-233-8070 or 717-730-9480. We will also be traveling frontage roads and taking side routes, depending on traffic and safety considerations. May we live in harmony with the Great Spirit, the Mother Earth, and our fellow man and respect our brother's vision. Most Sincerely, David Hill National Spokesperson Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Member of International A.I.M. Confederation (Oklahoma Division) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The horses are stuck in Knoxville TN because of lack of funding!!! [ NativeNet has a policy of not permitting solicitations of funds, even for clearly worthy causes. Therefore, I am eliminating some of the following article that is not essential to the meaning. --Gary ] ...The ride is very expensive, moving horse trailers and keeping the horses feed is very hard. Right now they are grazing at a truck stop on I40 right outside of Knoxville. Any help would be appreciated.... [ Please send a reply via e-mail to "tom@admin.fandm.edu" or call 717-233-8070 or 730-9480 for more information on this appeal. --Gary (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ] --------- "RE: Apache Religious Freedom" --------- Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 10:18:31 -0700 From: amt@teleport.com Subj: Meeting at San Carlos in Support of Apache Religious Freedom Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Greetings Everyone! I've been away - now i'm back! Mike Davis called this morning to update the site (see posting below). Much is happening down there - they are currently considering several options etc. Here's the scoop. See supporting info on the ASC site i.e. recent Clinton bill, background, at http://www.teleport.com/~amt/planetpeace/mt_graham/ . In the Spirit of Friendship, Andrea Web-Diva, Planet Peace ___________________________________________________________________________ Apache Survival Coalition Mike & Ola Cassadore Davis P.O. Box 1237, San Carlos, AZ 85550 520-475-2543; 520-294-1863 June 6, 1996 For Immediate Release "Historic Meeting at San Carlos in Support of Apache Religious Freedom" In an event unprecedented in southern Arizona, several pastors from Tucson churches were invited by traditional Apache spiritual leaders to attend a Holy Ground Summer Blessing ceremony last weekend, May 25 - 27, 1996. The ceremony took place at the Bylas Holy Grounds on the San Carlos Apache reservation. Its purpose was to renew the call to support for religious freedom and the rights of the San Carlos Apaches, which are being violated by the University of Arizona's telescope project on Mt. Graham. The Blessing is an annual Holy Grounds event, an integral part of Apache spiritual life. This year it brought together around 150 Apaches from Bylas, San Carlos, Cibecue and Whiteriver, and some 50 non-Apaches, mostly from Tucson; also including three members of the National Council of Churches' Racial Justice Working Group from New York, North Carolina and Los Angeles. Holy Ground medicine man and outspoken critic of the observatory project Franklin Stanley, who led the ceremony, said it was the largest gathering at a Blessing in recent times, indicating a resurgence of traditional Apache religious practice. this year's Summer Blessing was co-sponsored by the Mt. Graham/Sacred Sites Inter-Faith Alliance, the Apache Survival Coalition and the Holy Grounds, and was also the occasion of the Inter-faith Alliance's "First Gathering in support of Apache religious freedom." It rained during that evening. On April 26, while President Clinton was signing a bill approving the University of Arizona's construction of a third telescope on Mt. Graham, a fire raced through the Coronado National Forest to within a mile of the observatory. This fire destroyed 6,317 acres on Mt. Graham. Plans for the University of Arizona (UA) to go ahead with the telescope construction before the fire's effects have been evaluated is totally irresponsible. Mount Graham is home to an endangered subspecies of red squirrel found only on the mountain. It is predicted that the squirrel population will be found to have decreased by at least 50 percent. And despite Judge Alfredo Marquez's decision May 31, to lift his injunction on construction of the "Large Binocular telescope" (a decision to be taken before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals), a movement is growing within the religious community to support the protection of Native American sites, of which Mt. Graham is one of the most hotly contested. These sties are, in the words of noted Lakota scholar Vine Deloria, "the foundation of all other beliefs and practices because they represent the presence of the Sacred in our lives." On May 24, President Bill Clinton signed an Executive Order to protect Indian sacred sites on federal land. This Order was long-awaited by protection advocates, who have waited in vain for Congressional action as they have witnessed a series of court decisions undermine Native American religious freedom. The religious community expressed its profound regrets at not having come sooner to the aid of the San Carlos Apaches, and for the historic failure of the church to speak out and act in defense of Native American tradition and culture. Michael Davis, Apache Survival Coalition said: "Apaches and Religious communities/leaders gathering represents an awareness of the U.S. government's lack of real commitment to fully protect basic human rights of Indian people to practice their traditional religion on their sacred sties. Regardless of government actions which are increasingly bringing their laws into line with human rights standards and public pronouncements of those rights, they are at the same time, through their actions, exposing their own laws and words to be a cynical facade." ___________________________________________________________________________ 1996 Planet Peace, amt@teleport.com URL:http://www.teleport.com/~amt/planetpeace/ /-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\ Andrea Thein "Nothing REAL Can be Threatened. Director, Planet Peace Nothing UNREAL Exists." Native American Community Internet Project http://www.teleport.com/~amt/planetpeace/ E-mail: amt@teleport.com \-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/-\-/ --------- "RE: New Age or Old Prophecy" --------- Date: Sun, 9 Jun 1996 09:47:16 -0800 From: davidb@spl.lib.wa.us (David Burlingame) Subj: Re: New age or old prophecy Mailing List: NATCHAT (natchat@gnosys.svle.ma.us) dolphins@viper.nauticom.net (******) writes: > > Would someone please define "wannabe" for me, I find it so amazing that so > many of you would judge me for wanting to live a spiritual, natural > existence just because I am a non-native. You asked in your message that you prefer replies by private mail. Sorry, but I hope that in answering your question in the same forum that it was posted (public), it will save the next person from asking the same question and everyone else from wasting time trying to answer it...(My Kingdom for a FAQ!) White people, new agers, environmentaliSSts, etc., etc., sometimes see with clearer vision than they have grown accustomed to, and with these temporarily hazeless eyes realize what many others (mostly aboriginal cultures, in AmeriKKKa and abroad) have known for thousands of years: it is much more beneficial to live with the land, to let it provide for you so that you may provide for it, than to take from it and offer no compensation. What happens is that in order to save this land, to care for it, love, and respect it as NAtives do, many narrow and small-minded outsiders want to be inside, to "be Indian," as if adopting the ways of the Humans is the pathway to enlightenment. What really happens, time and again and almost without exception, is that the rock that is NAtive spirituality is constantly being chipped away at by outsiders who think that owning a piece of that rock is as good as owning the whole thing. They never realize the true nature of the rock: that like all else on this planet, it belongs to all, and is owned by none. The outsiders are looking for Heaven, for salvation, for answers to the Universe, and think that our dreamcatchers, our prayer bundles, our smudgings are direct pathways to their Gods. All these thoughts chip away at our rock, because the outsiders fail to see that we do not do things to gain some God's favour. We take care of our land and our people, because in doing so we take care of all of us, including ourselves. And nothing else is more important. Ever. Ever see the movie "Lost in America?" Albert Brooks' character was obsessed with driving out West and "touching Indians." We are treated as religious icons, as holy artifacts. Not as people. That we know how to take care of our land is beyond reproach. What is appalling is when others want to take part in things that they have no right to. They believe our ceremonies to somehow be public domain, that anyone with a shell and a feather can "be Indian." The rock is chipped even further. This rant comes very close to dividing right from wrong down racial lines. But for all the supposed sympathy and empathy given us, outsiders are still trying to tell us what is NAtive and what is not. AmeriKKKa's campaign of genocide continues... If non-NAtives ARE GENUINELY CONCERNED about what is being done, they will ignore the problems of race, of what constitutes a wannabe, or a newager, or an environmentaliSSt, and focus instead on what to do in their own back yards, in their own governments, to affect the change that is so sorely needed. None of us can ever be united, none can hope for a true mending of the circle, if instead of taking action, we sit around discussing and using labels. It is action, and action alone, that will reveal your true nature. NAtives' concerns about wannabes, etc. aren't meant as remarks or attitudes based on racial divisions. We've all seen Indians who do not act Human at all, who trade the objects and materials of their culture, of their heritage, for a wallet of green paper. Just as there are NAtives who do not treat their people or land with respect, there are many non-NAtives who DO care, who understand what is happening today and are taking steps to stop (and hopefully reverse) the damage already done. However, a caring attitude is not an entitlement to the "trappings" of a native culture. Outsiders cannot and should not be the ones to decide what things they are ready to learn from NAtives. It is the sole province of the Keepers of the Ways to find who is worthy of knowledge and, more importantly, who is not. Final Word: what is needed, above all else, is respect. For the land, for the self, and (most importantly) for our Elders. Don't demand that an Elder provide you with answers, with stories or legends, for secrets of their Ways. There is no respect in making such demands. Simply sit and listen. When it is truly time for you to learn, the Elders will know. The Grandfathers will know. The Grandmothers will know. And you will be taught, and you will never forget, because they can see that you are worthy. The same thing goes for the land. Make no demands. Sit and listen, and when the land knows you are truly ready to listen, it will tell you what needs to be done. The land is always speaking to us, but it also decides if you will understand its words. I hope I in some small way have begun to answer your question. I have made some gross generalizations and said things perhaps out of anger, but I nonetheless take r