_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 04, ISSUE 039 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 28 September 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 Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse O ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) This issue contains articles from NATIVELIT-L, Triballaw-L & NATIVE-L listservers; UUCP & genie email; Newsgroups:soc.culture.native,alt.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. "You tell us that baptism is absolutely necessary to go to heaven. If there were a man so good that he had never offended God, and if he died without baptism, would he go to hell, never having given offense to God? If he goes to hell, then God must not love all good people since He throws one into the fire." "You teach us that God existed before the creation of heaven and earth. If He did, where did He live since there was neither heaven nor earth?" "You say that the angels were created in the beginning of the world and that those who disobeyed were cast into hell. How can that be so, since you say the angels sinned before earth's creation and hell is in the depths of the earth?" "You declare that those who go to hell do not come out of it, and yet you relate stories of the damned who have appeared in the world -- how is that to be understood?" "Ah, how I would like to kill devils, since they do so much harm! But if they are made like men and some are even among men, do they still feel the fire of hell? Why is it that they do not repent for having offended God? If they did repent, would God be merciful to them? If our Lord has suffered for all sinners, why do not they receive pardon from Him?" "You say that the virgin mother of Jesus Christ is not God and that she never offended God. You also say that her son has redeemed all men and atoned for all, but if she has done nothing wrong, her Son could not redeem her nor atone for her." __ Young "savage" seminarians, 12 - 15 years old, to the Jesuit father Paul Le Jeune, late 1630s Excerpted from _NATIVE AMERICAN WISDOM_ by Kent Nerburn & Louise Mengelkoch (c) 1991. New World Library, San Rafael, CA 94903. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! At a recent gathering some vendors were coaxed into breaking their commitments, and set up at another gathering; being promised there were more visitors (customers) because the site was closer to a major highway. When these vendors got to the other site there were, indeed, more visitors (customers); but the potential sales were not materializing because there were no dancers to keep the visitors entertained. The dancers had remained with their friends and the drum they had come to join at the original gathering. There was a lot of unity, good times and sharing that apparently the other did not or could not provide. There are a couple of lessons to be learned from all this....... Now, some good news just in for the Lenni Lenape. Good prayer that you will grow stronger after winning this battle. Date: Tue, 24 Sep 1996 11:42:11 -0400 (EDT) From: LOZEN Subj: Delawares Are Again...Sovereign For those of you who haven't heard, yesterday Ada Deer signed the official papers restoring the Delaware Tribe of Indians to full Federal Sovereignty status. Chief Curtis Zunigha will release an official press release and statement later. We had...one verrrry nice Tribal Council meeting last night! (biggg grin) Lozen, Lenni Lenape (Delaware)/Apache ...and *danged* proud of the folks who fought for the restoration of our rights for almost 20 years...these are awesome leaders and people, folks! Peace! Night Owl , , Gary Night Owl gars@netcom.com (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@juno.com (`-') Marietta, GA 30006, U .S.A. gars@igc.apc.org ===w=w=== gars@genie.com ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- Part A: Usenet and e-mail Part B: NATCHAT and NATIVE-L lists - Peltier Transfer - Conferences and Powwows - online - Leonard Peltier Support Group - Mohawk Immersion Program - Another Letter from Wal-Mart - Defrauding the Western Shoshone - Public law 101-644 - Minnesota Court Strikes Law - Public Law 101-644 - Police as Counterinsurgency - Leech Lake Power Struggle - Temagami Action Alert - Oklahoma Racist Responds - Caravan for Justice Itinerary - Woman w/ AIDS at Chowchilla - Tall Oak Article - Boundaries and Don Maroc - North American Realism - Thakiwa Foundation - Gila River Attorney Opening - Poem: Dances With Pain - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline --------- "RE: Peltier Transfer" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Sep 96 13:38:34 GMT From: lpdc@idir.net (Peltier Defense Committee) Subj: Peltier Transfer Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native The telephone and fax numbers listed for the Bureau of Prisons have been changed. To contact the B.O.P., call the Justice Department switchboard at 202-514-2000. The LPDC will keep the newsgroup updated as the situation develops. Leonard Peltier was able to phone Ron Lessard of the LPFC office in Washington, DC this morning to tell him that prison officials have asked that Peltier "pack his bags". Again, we urge supporters to call 202-514-2000 and ask to be connected to the Bureau of Prisons. Ask why Peltier has thus far been denied his medical records (he filed a request to get them some time ago) and why he has not been able to get a second medical opinion. Let them know that you, as a citizen and Peltier supporter, will hold them accountable for anything that happens to Leonard Peltier! --------- "RE: Leonard Peltier Support Group" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 13:50:16 -0500 (CDT) From: Freedom Heart Rising Subj: Leonard: LPSG UUCP email Hi: Well, maybe I am being optimistic here, but I am hoping I will remain at least well enough to get the updates, etc., about Leonard Peltier out, beginning _very_ soon. I am putting together a list of any and all people who care, are interested, and want to help, on an LPSG/NET GROUP list, so y'all will get the information. If you would like to be added to my net LPSG, please let me know, and I will add you on. Please send me your snail mail address and your phone # as well, as I need to be able to reach all of the people in my LPSG, when and if something comes up, that requires immediate action. (I will always post first.) I will write up a present status report as soon as I can, and also a bit of a background sheet, for those of you who may be interested, but really do not know exactly what happened. Also, for some of that information, it is easier to make copies, and send it snail mail. I can also then send you petition sheets which you can then, in turn, get signed for the Clemency Campaign. Please try and let me know as soon as possible if you would like to be on the list. I will not be posting to anything _but_ that list, re: Leonard. Otherwise, some of you would get double posts, and it might get a bit annoying, not to mention giving you more email to wade through. It would be much appreciated, of course, if you would pass it on to people you think would be interested, and might help us. Leonard deserves to be a free man, and has spent 20 years too long in prison, for a crime he did not commit. It is well past time that he be freed! Thanks, and my very best to you all, as always. Love: Freedom Heart freedom@prairienet.org Freedom LPSG FREE LEONARD PELTIER!!! --------- "RE: Another Letter from Wal-Mart" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 21:44:11 -0400 From: Miketben@aol.com Subj: N.A.S.L. - Fwd: Another Letter from Wal-Mart UUCP email * NORTH AMERICAN SPIRIT LODGE * FOR YOUR INFO SUBJECT: WAL-MART / LEEDS, N.Y. SITE ************************************************** NEWS: WAL-MART OFFICIAL ADMITS IN LETTER HUMAN REMAINS FOUND ON SITE For sometime now the North American Spirit Lodge has been involved in monitoring the developments of this issue - and has been supporting the Mohican Nation in their struggle to stop WAL-MART from building on this site and to instead preserve the site at Catskill (Leeds) N.Y. (via letter-writing campaign) since the area is part of their ancestral territory and that particular site is an old burial ground. On behalf of the North American Spirit Lodge Council a sincere THANK YOU to N.A.S.L. member 103123.2051@COMPUSERVE.COM (MR. ROD WHITED) for sending and allowing us to share the following information he received from WAL-MART in response to one of his letters. Miketben@aol.com - N.A.S.L. Correspondence Secretary/Council Member ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Forwarded message: From: 103123.2051@CompuServe.COM (rod whited) To: miketben@aol.com Date: 96-09-20 18:41:04 EDT Osiyo Mike, I have received yet another letter from Wal Mart regarding letters I've sent to them previously. I am enclosing a copy of this second letter for whatever use or information that would be of positive use in this matter. This seems to be a confirmation that remains have been found. I trust that if this is so, Wal-Mart has as indicated contacted the State of New York and the Mohican Nation. It would probably be wise to confirm this with someone within the Mohican Nation. If Wal-Mart has indeed consulted with the Mohican Nation on this matter, it would be a gratifying sign that something has come of all our efforts in writing letters to Wal-Mart on this important issue. I posted a copy of the first letter to you several weeks ago. COPY OF LETTER ATTACHED BELOW Robert D. (Bob) Cheyne Director of Community Relations Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Corporate Offices 702 S.W. 8th St. Bentonville, AR 72716 September 12, 1996 Mr. Rod Whited 150 Seagrove's Road Lacey's Spring, AL 35754 Dear Mr. Whited: Please allow me to respond to your letter to Mr. David Glass, President/CEO of Wal-Mart Stores. We really do appreciate your concern for the protection of valuable historic sites, especially those of Native Americans. Upon locating human remains at the site we have selected at Catskill (Leeds), NY. we immediately reported the findings to the appropriate(sp) State agency in New York. As a result of these findings, we are committed to protecting these remains in a way consistent with the wishes of both the State of New York and the Mohican Nation. We have not started construction, and will not do so until the plans for protecting these remains are complete. Several alternatives are being considered. You are correct in stating that Wal-Mart has observed this practice in the past. We have many associates now employed by Wal-Mart who trace their ancestry to a Native American past. We could do no less than to honor their heritage. Incidentally, as you already know, we are right in the path of the "Trail of Tears" that the Cherokee Nation took many years ago. Again, many thanks for your letter of concern. Sincerely, Signed Bob Cheyne BC:bk --------- "RE: Public law 101-644" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 01:42:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Patricia Jane Mix Subj: Public law 101-644"Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) There is nothing in this Law addressing the over 2 million (1990 census) unregistered Native Americans.Untold numbers of which are Artisans who will be affected by this law. The Indian Arts & Crafts Board.Fact sheet states. "What certification is needed for an Artist to be Officially recognized as an Indian Artist? The sections of the act that deal with misrepresentations specify that a person must be a member of an Indian tribe to be considered an Indian Artist or for those who are not members,must be certified as an Indian Artisan by an Indian Tribe. For purposes of this law, "Indian tribe" means any Indian tribe,band,nation,Alaska Native village,or other organized group or community which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because of their status as Indians.It also includes any Indian group that has been formally recognized as an Indian tribe by a state legislature or by a state commission or similar organization legislatively vested with state tribal recognition authority. Those who are not members will need to be formally certified as an Indian Artisan by a federally-recognized or state recognized tribe. The law allows this alternative,but tribes are not required to certify non-members." (note. It is my understanding non-members are not being certified) Speaking Heart to Heart. We are discriminated against because our ancestors, did not sign the Government roles.We do not have,and can not get role numbers,for whatever reason. We have all lived with the pain this causes. Coming from Indian People,as well as non-Indian .We know who we are,and stand tall together, with out role numbers. I am a 54 year old Cherokee,Basket Weaver. We have been Self-Proclaimed,all our lives.On Birth Certificates, Death Certificates,Marriage Certificates,School records,Service records,Job applications,Voter registration,Census records.Any piece of paper that asks who we are. Brothers,Sisters,with role numbers. We are all related.I ask you to stand up with us.Help avert another injustice.Ask that we be included in SEC.107. As self-Proclaimed Indian Artisans. With out a role number. Artisans are being turned away as venders at some pow-wows.Even verbally assaulted.Shops and Galleries turn Artisans away.Families are being affected.Livelihoods jeopardized. Contact Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell Representative Jon Kyl (r-AZ) Indian Arts and Crafts Board, U.S. Dept.of Interior,Room 4004 Main Interior Building Washington, D.C. 20240 Even tho our eyes may never meet in the sunshine,I wish to thank all of you,out there. Buffalo Woman --------- "RE: Public Law 101-644" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 18:04:11 -0700 (PDT) From: wolf Subj: re: Public Law 101-644"Ind Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) This was the first subject I wanted to write about on this list. Glad you shuffled the Bones! I'm 47, Choctaw/Chickasaw, (OKLA) and unenrolled. My wife is Cheyenne, (NEB), and unenrolled. We went every route with the BIA twenty years ago trying to work it out, but the clause "recognized in the community, by Elders," etc. was enough. Started our involvement in politics at Pit River, in 1970, a few months after Richard and the other 'All-Tribes' people went to the Rock. DQU was next, and of course Nisqually and the convention at Tulalip. Then to Gallup. It just snowballed after that until the second Knee. (Of course the battles continue everywhere) So many brothers and sisters were killed or went to prison in those days too! Our children were coming in bunches and our warrior Society pulled out and headed for the hills. Out of touch for ten years. The families grew and spread reaching to Canada, Mexico and Europe. Our children have been raised with the Drum! Every year the schools send home the Native American Signup sheets so they can get Govt $$$, we just send them back! They always want to know how come! We go to Indian Health for dental and doctor but not for free! We carry our Pipes as Honorably and Respectfully as we can, sweat regularly, drum and sing and Giveaway, SunDance annually, have our Harvest, Corn Dances, and Solstice/Eqinox's, Offer our Newborn to the Grandfathers, celebrate our Daughters Coming of Age and our Sons-Going the-Mountain at puberty, smudge every morning and say our Prayers! Hopefully we Honor those who have Passed and stay North/South! BUT WE ARE NOT RECOGNIZED BY THE GOVT AS NATIVE AMERICAN!! Many of us are dark skinned, and many of us are light- we don't worry bout that!! We know who we are, our histories go back 25 to 30 years together. We don't care that the authorities don't recognize us or offer us their indian programs and scholarships! what we object to is not being able to ask for Sacred Site protection for our Ceremonial and Dance Grounds- cause we don't have numbers and aren't originally from this area. Even our feathers and ceremonial items are 'illegally' possessed and subject to confiscation. How has this come about! What about the Native American Religious Freedom Act! One of my Brothers was a world renowned artist and maker of Ceremonial Pipes for the Northern and Southern Cheyenne! He is himself an unenrolled Cheyenne by blood and adopted by a Southern Elder. He fought the passage of this bill in the New Mexico/ Arizona area and lost! He no longer could label his art 'authentic, or use his Tribal affiliation publicly. Many of the local fullbloods argued against him. They knew he was Native American but this was a way to eliminate competition and better their economic position. Like many people of all races, they were only interested in 'their' Nation, 'their' well being! After years of working for different Elders, and Nations to establish their 'Rights' and force the U.S. to Honor their Treaties, many of the Nations just turned away from those of us dis or relocated, who live in cities or far away from original homes, fullblood and mixed alike. My brother was so hurt he turned from his public art and went into drug and alcohol counseling where he could make a difference one on one. So also many others pulled back to their own families and groups - not completely withdrawing from the 'Recognized communities" but sitting like shadows on the edges! Hopefully they will someday return to the old standard - where one's history and community recognition will be enough. Until then, our children are singing, "Who cares? Look at us. We are Young and Strong! See the way we live? We will endure!" These are the words of Csimu Muppah. They represent only myself , my family, and my Society Brothers and Sisters! Ho!!!! (sorry for the huge post!) --------- "RE: Leech Lake Power Struggle" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 03:19:11 -0500 From: eaglerok@northernnet.com (feather eaglerock) Subj: Leech Lake Power Struggle -- 9/23 update NEWS RELEASE: NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS OUTREACH AND RESOURCE CENTER September 23, 1993 9/22 -- General Assembly at Leech Lake Leech Lake Chairman Eli Hunt was hospitalized earlier this week at the Cass Lake Indian Hospital. Chairman Hunt, a diabetic, was suffering from exhaustion and dehydration. Hunt has been putting in 18 hour days dealing and coping with the ramifications of the current standoff and power struggle with the Leech Lake Reservation Business Committee (LLRBC). The 30 hour hospital stay gave Chairman Hunt a much needed/earned opportunity to sleep. Petitions for the removal from the LLRBC of convicted felons, Secretary/Treasurer Daniel Brown, (who will begin one year of house arrest on Oct. 4) and District Representative Myron Ellis, (who served 9 month sentence at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary) have been turned over to the area director of the Minneapolis BIA office by the acting director of the Cass Lake office of the BIA. Charges by LL enrollee Pete White against District Representative Alfred Fairbanks along with petition for removal from office, signed by 600 enrolled tribal members living on the LL reservation were submitted to the RBC on September 9. Salaries of top officials of the LLRBC: Alfred 'Tig' Pemberton, former Chairman - $83,830/year Daniel S. Brown, Sec/Treasurer - $74,982/year Alfred Fairbanks, Jr., District I - $72,720/year Jack Seelye, District II - $72,720/year Myron Ellis, District III - $72,720/year Newly appointed Administrative Staff : Gerald White, Executive Director - $50/000/ year Linda Johnson, Deputy Director - $45,000/year Tom Tillisch, Acting Controller - $47,000/year Martin Jennings, Interim Gaming Director - $47,000/ year Burton Howard, Gaming Controller - $45,000/ year Kay Lego, Asst. Gaming Controller - $43,409/year Former Administrative Staff: Roger Aitken, former Exec. Dir. - $71,500/ year Donna Murray, former Dep. Dir. - $47,091/year + $250/month vehicle allowance Terry Hodder, former Controller - $57,000/ year + $300/month vehicle allowance Rob Aitken, former Personnel Dir. - $32,000/ year Charlie Brown, former Gaming Dir. - $66,144/ year Additional Benefits to RBC members: - Health Insurance Coverage (single or family), Dental, & Eye Care (Note: you never see these guys waiting for service at the IHS Clinic) - Pension Plan 4% of salary is contributed by RBC, in Interest Bearing Accounts - Life Insurance of $250,000 - Bonuses: RBC will occasionally receive a special bonus per member: ie Christmas Bonus of $500 or $1000 per member (Note: last Christmas LL enrollees (18 years of age or over) living on the rez received Christmas bonus of $50; but only if they picked them up in person at the Cass Lake Facility Center -this meant many home bound elders did not receive the bonuses.) - Stipends: Each RBC member receives a stipend for sitting on special boards or commissions within the LLRBC organization 1. Bug-o-nay-ge-shig School Board: $250 per meeting ($1500 per year per RBC member) 2. Chapter 260 Board of Directors: $250 per meeting ($1000 per year per RBC member) Chairman Eli Hunt accepted a yearly salary of $60,000. He refused the $250,000 in life insurance. He has refused all honorariums offered to him both from Leech Lake and from the MN Chippewa Tribe. Chairman Hunt's own words: "I believe I receive a generous salary to do my job and should not receive bonuses that other reservation employees do not receive. " Roger Aitken, Donna Murray, Rob Aitken, Charlie Brown are still being paid by the four RBC members (Brown, Fairbanks, Seelye, and Ellis -- who have confiscated the signature plates from the Tribal Office) even though these administrative staff members were dismissed by Chairman Hunt in July. The First National Bank of Cass Lake still refuses to recognize duly elected Chairman Hunt (who is recognized by the BIA and is a full voting member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's Tribal Executive Committee) and his authority as defined in the MCT Constitution to sign checks. At this point the alternative for the Leech Lake General Council and Chairman is to file an injunction against the bank and to freeze all accounts. This action, if taken, would result in loss of income to all reservation and casino employees/families. The 4 RBC members continue to sabotage and stall the licensing process for the interim gaming administrative staff; placing Leech Lake's 2 Casinos in jeopardy of being shut down by the National Indian Gaming Commission. True to form and established pattern, the 4 RBC members continue to meet in special (secret) sessions, without the duly elected Chairman, and continue to pass illegal ordinances to justify and cover (retroactively) their actions and circumvent the constitution and by-laws. Their most recent "retroactive ordinances" rescind the responsibility and authority of the Chairman to sign checks and rescind the responsibility and authority of the Chairman to appoint and oversee the administrative staff. (Note: This is referred to locally by true Anishinabeg as the "Chippewadena style" of governing and government !! ) The 4 RBC members have also contracted a non-Indian accounting firm "to confirm" the signatures on the petitions for removal from office. More stall tactics and waste of tribal resources. This is a task that has already been accomplished by a committee of enrolled members of the band and can, in reality, be accomplished by any tribal members who can read the enrollment records. HEAR THE VOICES OF THE LEECH LAKE ANISHINABEG: General Council Member Louis Boyd asked how was the tribal government run and recognized prior to the adoption of the Constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in 1964. Commenting that when his mother served on the Tribal Council at that time (as Secretary/Treasurer) the local Indian councils were recognized and had a voice in the tribal affairs. Elder Liz Boyd spoke up and clarified for the general assembly, "When I was the secretary and treasurer, we had $300 in the treasury. We didn't have any money. All we got paid was $10 for gas money. There wasn't any money to fight over in those days. Back then we all got along." ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bernard J. Rock, Sr. Leech Lake Pillager Band Spotted Eagle Warrior Society North Central Minnesota Native American Veterans Outreach and Resource Center --------- "RE: Oklahoma Racist Responds" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 11:52:50 -0400 From: "Jordan S. Dill" Subj: Oklahoma Racist responds... Newsgroup: soc.culture.native Good day all... The impact of our email campaign to hold hold The Geary Star and it's racist publisher responsible for his recent comments has surfaced in The Watonga Republican...I am including that data here. Of particular importance, in my opinion, is that the racist has not apologized for his statements. Accordingly, I ask that you continue to voice disapproval via the response site to be found at so as to force Bingham into a "formal" apology and retraction for his racist stance. Here is the latest data re this fight with Bingham...this info can be found at : THE WATONGA REPUBLICAN Wednesday, Sept. 18, 1996 "GEARY STAR GAINS INTERNET NOTORIETY Geary Star publisher Fred Bingham's controversial comments in his Aug. 29 "Ramblin' On" column were posted on the Internet's World Wide Web, where they drew some 150 responses. Bingham had written about inebriated-appearing Indians scaring off visitors to the Kent and Helen Ruth home and suggested dressing them up and putting up a tipi and sweat lodge behind them and charging tourists to go inside. Terms used by internet browsers to characterize Bingham's column included "insensitive", "misguided", "ignorant", and "racist". Bingham responded in his Sept. 12 edition to some of the local criticism by printing a humorous lead story with large headlines ("EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It! STAR Publisher Called Ignorant Racist and Purveyor of Off Color Comments"). The story was about his deciding to do some farm work instead of going to the Tri-County Fair, to avoid possible confrontations, and of patrolling the perimeters of his rural property with some gun-toting friends... He answered some local letters by saying, "I would never 'poke fun' at members of your tribe regardless of condition... If this is the way the item was perceived, you are wrong." He apologized for his ignorance of Arapaho culture. However, the issue didn't stop there. Alton Harrison, an Arapaho leader from Geary, had notified a friend in Ashland, Ore., Joseph Thompson, about the column, and Thompson proceeded to put Bingham's column on the World Wide Web and to invite comments from others. Thompson wrote Bingham, "I have had the great honor to develop a close friendship with an Arapaho elder residing in your community. Through this friendship, and through participation in Arapaho prayer lodges, I have gained a deep and abiding respect for this ancient Native American spiritual tradition. The Arapaho prayer lodge has brought balance and focus to my life and a respect for the dignity and sacredness of all life. "...When I read the insensitive and ignorant remarks in your column, my immediate inclination was to react with anger. The Arapaho prayer lodge has taught me to react with sympathy to your misguided sentiments..." Alton Harrison's comments that were put on the Internet included; "Bingham's attitude is typical of the town government and most of the merchants. One thing that is very irritating is that one of the "street drunks" is a survivor of the Bataan death march and several of the others are war veterans who fought for this country so that Mr. Bingham could be on the US government payroll as a postal worker." One of the comments was from David Bowden, who stated he had been asked by US Senator Edward Kennedy to submit to him concerns on issues he finds important. Bowden said he would make Sen. Kennedy aware of the comments and also would research "to whom in the United Nations this should be made aware of...Freedom of the press is one thing, but stereotyping a race that could lead to racism which can lead to genocide is another". He noted that German journalist Julius Streicher had been convicted of "crimes against humanity" for having written "a series of virulently anti-semitic editorials and news stories that depicted Jews in a derogatory fashion." "The war crimes court found Streicher guilty of dehumanizing Jews, which allowed genocide to occur against them," Bowden wrote. Following are excerpts from other scathing Internet comments, none intended to bolster the Geary publisher's ego: April Houghton, Bellville, Mich.: "I find the depth of your ignorance shocking...Perhaps you felt your comments were satirical and humorous. Pain and anguish NEVER are! ...Why would anyone, especially a well-known citizen, desire to further degrade and lower the circumstances these individuals are in?" Suzanne Fredregill, Des Moines, Iowa" "I can and will NOT tolerate racism in any manner." David Smith, professor of theology, University of St. Thomas, St Paul Minn.: "If you were to accept the invitations offered you to participate in Native American customs such as sweat lodge, I'm sure your readers would be interested in reading your reflections on that experience. That could be a way to offer a sincere apology to the Cheyenne and Arapaho population of Geary...It would help your readers to overcome stereotypes and prejudices." J. S. Haynes, Top[eka, Kan,: "I am always disbelieving whenever I run across something so mindlessly racist and disrespectful,...I understand your town is dying economically. Published racist remarks like these will not attract anything good to help you or your neighbors." R. B. Keohane, MD, Wayne Penn.: "I'll bet your family reunions would be a real tourist attraction. Maybe you could market that for the town. People could come from all over just to see that people like you still exist." Jerry Marr, Eugene, Ore.: "As a native son of Oklahoma, I am ashamed of your obtuse statements...you owe an apology not only to the C-A people of Geary, but also to the non-Native American residents who do not share your bigoted, misinformed perspectives. Those people nevertheless will be viewed in an unfavorable light well beyond Geary. The whole world is watching, Mr. Bingham." Kristy Offineer, Ashland, Ore.: "When are you Okies going to stop embarrassing yourselves and everyone else who used to live in Oklahoma!...I am also a journalist grad from OU and I am always stunned by the insensitive remarks made by the white-dominated "family" owned press" Dorothy Lippert, Austin, Texas: "The racist comments...are ridiculous and insulting. You bring dishonor on your community by this; it leads outsiders to believe that all people in your town are small minded and ignorant." Hilda Marshall, (no address): "How about a polite retraction of that kindergarten-style smear of your ailing neighbors, and a resolution to regard and portray your C-A citizens as humans, just like you?" Mary-Ann Greanier, Plainville, Miss.: "I find the depth of your ignorance shocking and appalling...I also urge you to get help; consult with and learn from your white brothers and sisters (of whom I am one) who feel shame and disgust at you and your behavior and who might give you some guidance with addressing your racism and hatred. We as white people must deal with each other on these matters; it's not the job of People of Color to educate us about our ignorance, hatred, power and privilege. Please deal with yourself before you do anyone any more harm." Wayne Fielder, Harrodsburg, KY,: "If we follow your logic, why don't we parade sick Jews in front of concentration camps in Germany or hold mock slave auctions in the Charleston Harbor or maybe even charge admission to see the autopsy photos of the people who were killed at the Federal Building in Oklahoma City?" Renn Tulison, Arkadelphia, Ark,: "You stated that 'if we would dress these citizens in native dress...' as though they were Barbie dolls for display and sale. People are not yours to dress and display for profit. If you want such a tourist attraction, it would be better (since the choice would be yours) for some whites to dress up as drunken settlers or cattle rustlers complete with saloon and perhaps even a mock bordello...I loved living in Oklahoma and I remember the image problem with which the state often tried to deal. Your comments do not help such matters. " Penelope C. Mayer, Palm Harbor, Fla.: "You are an insult to humanity." David Evans, Springfield, Va.: "I find the depth of your ignorance shocking." Karen J. Gould, Plymouth, Mich.: "I am non-Native, but whoever you are, whatever your ethnic heritage, I claim no kinship with you and I want no part of your bigotry and racism." Mitch Labuda (no address): "If you want to increase tourism in your community, put your small minds on display. I would be willing to pay to see them." Ayatohihi... 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 American Indian Movement http://www.pobox.com/~jsd/McCloud.html --------- "RE: Woman w/ AIDS at Chowchilla" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 15:47:00 -0400 From: Ishgooda Subj: Alert!! Woman w/ AIDS at Chowchilla UUCP email Greetings, I would like to bring the following to your attention. Thank you for any attention you may care to give this. Ish -=-=-=-=>>>> <<<<=-=-=-=-= ACTION ALERT DON'T LET PATTY CONTRERAS DIE OF AIDS IN PRISON Patty Contreras is a Native American (Apache) woman imprisoned at the Central California women's Facility in Chowchilla, Patty has already served ten years in prison and is now in the very late stages of full blown AIDS. Her CD-4 count is 1 and because of wasting syndrome she weighs only 80 pounds. Even with assistance she can only walk approximately eight feet. It is clear that this woman no longer has the strength or the stamina to be a danger to society, however on September 6, 1996, much to our alarm and dismay she was denied parole. This decision can still be reversed. Therefore we are asking for your help in quickly writing to the Board of Prison Terms and asking for Patty's release to her family and friends who have already agreed to care for her in her last days. (See attached sample letter.) If the Parole Board cannot be convinced to release her on parole, then we need to insist that she be freed on compassionate release. The parole board has the power to grant her early medical release, Please fax your letter to: Mr. James Nielson, Chairman Board of Prison Terms 428 J Street. 4th Floor Sacramento, California 95814 Fax No. (916) 445-6242 For more information about Patty Contreras and the struggle for compassionate release for prisoners with HIV/AIDS and other terminal illnesses, contact the HIV/AIDS in Prison Project of Catholic Charities, (510) 834-5656, ext. 3150. SAMPLE LETTER Mr. James Nielson, Chairman Board of Prison Terms 428 J Street. 6th Floor Sacramento, California 95814 Fax No. (916) 445-5242 Dear Chairman Nielson: We are greatly alarmed and saddened at the September 6, 1996 decision of the Board of Prison Terms to deny parole to Patty Contreras, a woman incarcerated at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla. Ms. Contreras is in the very late stages of full blown AIDS, and is expected to die within the next six months, per the Chief Medical officer at the prison she is in. She can no longer walk without assistance due to neuropathy, weighs only 80 pounds and has a CD-4 count of 1. Additionally, there is a community of AIDS service providers, care givers and friends in the San Diego area who are willing to take care of Patty during the last period of her life. Her medical care would be completely paid for by these agencies. Patty Contreras, a woman dying of AIDS-related complications, is clearly no longer a threat to the community. Please reconsider and grant her parole, or if you can see no way that this is possible, please grant her immediate compassionate release. We urge your immediate attention to this request for reconsideration. Sincerely, <------------------------------------> Prison Activist Resource Center Institute for Global Communications PO Box 3201 Berkeley CA 94703 PO Box 29904 San Francisco CA 94129 Home of JusticeNet & the Prison Issues Desk +++ RESOURCES FOR ORGANIZERS, EDUCATORS, ACTIVISTS +++ http://www.igc.org/prisons - OR - http://www.igc.org/justice <------------------------------------> For progressive/radical info on prison & justice issues, send e-mail to or (auto-reply). For IGC, see above or http://www.igc.org. IGC- INTERNET FOR PEOPLE - NOT FOR PROFIT --------- "RE: Tall Oak Article" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 16:22:57 -0400 From: FirehairSS@aol.com Subj: Tall Oak article, 2nd part UUCP email ---"Preconceived notions and assumptions that result from these images make understanding even more difficult. Because it is a subject a lot of people are uncomfortable with, People are reluctant to discuss it except behind Peoples backs or under the table, but unless it is discussed out in the open, that under current of negativity that breeds distrust will continue to damage our chances for building the kind of Indian Unity that is essential to our survival as a People. In the year 1978, same year as the Mashpee Land Claim Decision, there was much debate among the Federally Recognized tribes, who were primarily in the west at the time, about the issue of expanding Federal Recognition. In the mid-March of that year, N.A.C.I. and U.S.E.t. (United South Eastern Tribes)held a conference to deal with the issue of expanding Federal Recognition to a degree that might include some Eastern Tribes. After considerable discussion that resulted in the unanimous adoption of 12 principals of recognition (not to be confused with the BIA/BAR set of rules FSS) we had the support of our Federally Recognized brothers in our 378 year struggle for survival as a People. If the few negative voices had prevailed, the Mashantucket Pequot and other Eastern tribes may never have gotten the federal recognition that has led to the most successful Indian Reservation and Casino in North America, and the largest Pow Wow, as well, all located today at Mashantucket. (Ledyard, Ct-FSS) Only because we were able to stand together and make that powerful fist was it possible for "divide and conquer" to not work as well as it had in the past to cut off our separated fingers one at a time. Because we learned one valuable lesson from history, we were not doomed to repeat it. Because it is so easy to forget, we have to remember that when Indians fight Indians, the only one who wins is the white man. When we have the opportunity to meet at large gatherings such as Schemitzun, let us leave the disease of white acceptance and all such negativity out of our circles, instead work at the spiritual healing that is mandatory to our survival as Indian People. Respect is the most vital of all Indian traditions. Let us always meet each other with that respect and take advantage of the opportunity to learn about each other, try to understand those things that make us different and why they exist, and to respect those differences. Everything has a reason and is all part of the Creator's Plan. They are not accidents. We only say this when we don't know the Creator's Plan. If we choose to focus on those things that unite us, we will build the unity that is part of the Creator's Plan, instead of going against it. There is so much we can learn from each other, if we meet each other with respect. Let us try to learn more about each other's histories to each understand why we are where we are today and where we can go from there. Here in the East, we have over 500 years of history dealing with the white man and can serve as a mirror of the future for tribes with a shorter experience, if they choose to learn the lessons that our history has to teach, because we have endured a lot in order to survive. What you see with only your eyes is the result of that struggle and survival takes many forms as the circumstances dictate. We do what is necessary with what is available-- until we understand those details about each other, we are not qualified to do anything but make assumptions. Eleven years ago I found I had Cancer, but Creator has blessed me with more time to be here, for which I am always grateful. I don't believe Creator left me here to be mis-treated by other human beings or for me to mistreat them. We all have one basic purpose in being here and that is to prepare ourselves for when we leave here and we do that best by being good to one another. Love has no value until you give it. Let us meet again when our Paths cross for Grand Entry and have good minds filled with good thoughts when we enter the Circle." --------- "RE: Boundaries and Don Maroc" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Sep 1996 19:57:03 -0600 (MDT) From: steve laboueff Subj: boundaries and Don Maroc Mailing List: NATIVELIT Native peoples always had their boundaries too--they just weren't the political and Nationalist ones that keep us apart now. I teach social psychology from a Native perspective and work hard at dissolving the artificial boundaries that we as human beings construct to identify and separate ourselves. My students are from many Native nations in this hemisphere,however, some of the most parochial are Native students from the USA. There is not a recognition of all of the Native people--and they far outnumber us--below the Mexican border. We speak English and they speak Spanish or Portuguese as their second language. In spite of all our teachings to regard all peoples as relatives, we don't walk our talk. They are OTHER--Mexican, Canadian, etc. Yes, 500 years of colonialism, imperialism, and all the other isms have traumatized us--when do we get by it and just embrace each other as brothers and sisters--truly as relatives. I am Blackfeet (Southern Piegan) and was raised 30 miles from the Canadian border--it was mostly a pain to cross over the border, or, a game--many of our relatives lived on the other side. The border was not ours as a people--we simply ignored it. Three years ago, I journeyed to Kamloops to attend a Native American Journalism Association conference. It was wonderful--a lot of sharing of stories and experiences. I sat at a table with two Navajo (Dine) and one Jicarilla Apache and several Dine from the Northwest Territories. They were so excited to compare words in their languages, linking them as relatives. On another night I sat at a table with Ovide Mercredi, Principal Chief of the First Nations of Canada. He sat there, staring at me, then with a grin and smiling eyes, he told me--you guys down there are lazy! I did not reply for I didn't know what he meant. I thought about it for several days and then saw him in the lobby one day. I told him--yes, we are lazy, you First Nations people are so far behind us that you are ahead of us. We talked for awhile--the issues and problems that First Nations people are facing today are ones that Native people from the USA faced 30-40 years ago (land and water litigation, health care, religious rights). First Nations peoples are in the moment!! They are fighting the fight. I get saddened, for with few exceptions the only time we stand together down here is over gambling. We have lost our passion and anger. We have become lazy. I am reminded of the old timey fights when we circled each other and acted tough, but no one really wanted to do battle. The Indian way is becoming an empty metaphor. We are spiritual when it suits us. We trash ourselves, our communities and our land and preen and strut when the romanticized warrior, noble people of the earth stereotype is commercialized and used to stroke us. When we take the time to pray, we know--we know. --------- "RE: North American Realism" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Sep 1996 04:32:19 -0500 From: "Michael Wilson" Subj: North American realism Mailing List: NATIVELIT I have to admit that I'm always a little suspicious when I'm told how I "should" think about issues related to American Indians. The suggestions, as I have understood them, is that there is a narrative leading to ultimate unity among Native peoples in this hemisphere (and beyond) that will result in good things for Native peoples. I'm ambivalent about such a concept. I work in Native telecommunications (my day job is literature) and I expect that the borders (some of which, by the way, have been here prior to the coming of non-Indians) will continue to be much more easily broken down. But if these borders are Native borders, I'm not convinced that such globalization is completely a good thing. Neither are some of the tribal groups which are resisting global technology. Furthermore, if the issue is "realism," then before we look at global unity, we might do well to consider the success of even local unity on any issue, especially the positive and negative effects of attempts to unify tribal people, on both the local and national level. What, for instance, are the strengths and weaknesses of the National Congress of American Indians, or the National Indian Education Association? Finally, if, as we teach, Native peoples have such varying ideas about philosophy, culture, Native/non-Native relations, identity, and so on, how is unity possible without some sacrifice of local integrity. I guess the question I have is that, if we are looking for global unity, whose conception of unity will we use? Michael Ok Choctaw PS -- I'll be at NIEA. Maybe some of could meet there. --------- "RE: Thakiwa Foundation" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Sep 1996 16:45:28 -0700 From: berryj@Okway.Okstate.edu (John Berry) Subj: Thakiwa Foundation UUCP email The following is "based" on info. from AP, Sept. 15, 1996. ===================================================================== Learning from the Ancestors Traditional agricultural methods are being taught to help tribal families make use of their own land, increase self-sufficiency, and preserve cultural traditions. The program for this was developed by the Thakiwa Foundation which is an independent non-profit group which maintains offices in Drumright and Prague Oklahoma. The agricultural program, and projects, was started in the Spring of 1996 near Cushing, Oklahoma. Dagmar Thorpe, director of Thakiwa, is the great-granddaughter of Olympic athlete Jim Thorpe. She said, "We want to perpetuate our way of life, our language and our culture. Our principal focus is our own community, the Sac and Fox, but we're also linking with people in other places and providing some assistance to people in other places. Thakiwa Deputy Director, Jacob Manatowa-Bailey has studied what types of plantings were done by tribal ancestors and how they were planted. Land management practices are also included, to help with wild life habitat. He said, "Eventually, we want to have a fund where anybody in the tribe can come to us with an idea or project they want to do and we'll be able to help them get the funds to do that. This is very grassroots oriented." This program helps families learn what types of good nutritional foods, are historically part of the tribal diet. The traditional planting methods are encouraged without the use of chemicals or pesticides. Many of the seeds came from the Sante Fe seed company. Jim Wilson, a tribal member, experimented with different planting methods in his garden this year. He tried planting corn in single rows, and in another garden, planted with the traditional three sisters method. In this method you plant corn in mounds and two weeks later plant pole beans on the mounds and squash and pumpkins in between the mounds. The squash and pumpkin's broad leaves keep weeds down, the corn acts like poles for the beans, and the beans fertilize the corn. Comparing the harvest, Wilson said the row corn gave one ear per stalk, and the three sisters method gave three or four ears per stalk. This year there were four gardens in the traditional agriculture program. The program participants are going to use their harvest in four ways,as their ancestors did. The harvest will be used to feed the family, to give away to others, to save some for ceremonial purposes and feasts. Next year Wilson expects the number of people to grow as people find out about the program. Wilson said, "We want to be sure people don't overextend themselves because then people have a tendency to get discouraged. Most of all we want people to have success." ====================================================================== Submitted to the Net by John Berry --------- "RE: Gila River Attorney Opening" --------- Date: Sun, 15 Sep 1996 14:58:18 UNDEFINED From: polharis@indirect.com (Paul Richards) Subj: Job Announcement Newsgroup: alt.native JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: ATTORNEY SALARY: $78,00-$96,000 per annum (33) REPORTS TO: GENERAL COUNSEL, Gila River Indian Community SUPERVISES: LEGAL SECRETARY III OVERVIEW: This position, which is situated in the Gila River Indian Community Law Office, involves management responsibilities as well as those related to legal representation of the Community. Direction and supervision are provided by the General Counsel Recruitment Opens: September 3, 1996 Recruitment Closes: September 24, 1996 DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: 1. Activities for the management of the Law Office attorney and prosecutor staffs, including the distribution of assignments and referral of matters as necessary to the General Counsel; 2. Oversight responsibility with regard to the performance of the Assistant General Counsel I and prosecutor staffs in relation to ethical considerations and other is issues of professional responsibility; 3. Provide legal advice to the Community regarding commercial and industrial development; 4. Provides legal advice and representation to the Community in all legal matters in including representation in the Community Court and state and federal courts in any and all matters in which the Community is involved; 5. Prepares, on behalf of the Community Governor and Lieutenant Governor, position statements and other documents as requested; 6. Assists the Community Council in the development, revision and codification of the Community's laws and ordinances; 7. Drafts and reviews contracts, agreements and other documents of the Community; 8. Performs other duties as assigned; QUALIFICATIONS 1. Graduate of an accredited law school with a Juris Doctor Degree; 2. Member in good standing of a state bar and a willingness to acquire Arizona State Bar membership within a time frame dictated by the General Counsel; 3. At least ten years experience as licensed attorney with specialized and significant experience in application of the principles of jurisprudence and legal analysis; 4. Extensive experience with and knowledge of tribal governments; 5. Ability to work both independently and in intensive concert with others; 6. Ability to clearly and succinctly articulate ideas and logical analysis both orally and in writing; 7. Ability to facilitate and coordinate effective working relationships among people of varied economic, educational and cultural background; 8. Physical and emotional condition adequate to meet the demands of a rigorous legal practice; 9. Must acknowledge and agree to maintain a Drug-Free Workplace as a Condition of employment with the Gila River Indian Community; 10. Must agree that work will be performed pursuant to a contract approved by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, Pima Agency; 11. Preference will be given to qualified applicants of the Gila River Indian Community; Preference in filling vacancies is given to qualified Indian candidates in accordance with the Indian Preference Act (Title 25, Code, Section 472 or 473). The Gila River Indian Community is also committed to the full and equal opportunity without Status, Physical Handicap, Age or Sexual Orientation. In other than the above, the Gila River Indian Community is an Equal Opportunity Employer. DEADLINE: Applications can be picked up at all District Service Centers and the Tribal Personnel Service Office and returned by September 24, 1996 5:00 p.m. to the Personnel Service Office. TO AVOID DELAYS, APPLICATIONS CAN BE MAILED TO: GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY Personnel Service Office P.O. Box 97 Sacaton, Arizona 85247 --------- "RE: Poem: Dances With Pain" --------- Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 19:22:23 -0400 From: "David B. Bowden" Subj: Dances With Pain UUCP email I was watching the movie Dances With Wolves. During the scene when they come across the Buffalo killed by the white hunters tears came to my eyes. I wrote a poem to reflect how I feel about it all. Dances With Pain Wolf is gone Total dread Everything's gone Buffalo's dead. Streams that used To run so clear Everything's gone Buffalo's dead. My pain is real My heart is sad Everything's gone Buffalo's dead. Why don't they Understand Everything's gone Buffalo's dead. Horror filled The people cry Cant you see Why we cry. The buffalo are part of the land so dear Now their gone Our ways not clear. To the Creator I pray To the Creator I cry To see the land renewed Before I die. My heart then sings My spirit soars The land will be renewed For the people once more. The wolf will roam The streams will clear The Buffalo will return To the plains again. David --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 96/09/17 23:33 From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days genie email A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of September 29-October 5 KEPAKEMAPA (September) (Mahoe Hope) 29 Creativity is the key to success in every endeavor. 30 All changes in life, whether we perceive them to be good or bad, hold the seeds for a greater good in the future. OKAKOPA (October) (Ikuwa) October was the last month of the Kau season, which ran from May through October. The most important holiday of the Hawaiian year was the Makahiki, which began in late October or early November, when the Pleiades or Makali'i stars first appeared in the night sky, and lasted for four months. During this time there was no fighting, for the Makahiki was a festival honoring Lono, who was, among other things, a god of peace and of the harvest. It was celebrated by prayers and offerings to the gods, followed by feasting, games, songs and dancing. 1 Lono, grant us the rains to make our crops grow, the sunlight to make them ripen, and the strength for us to harvest your bounty. 2 This land was born in fire and cooled by the touch of the wind and rain. 3 I cast my lei of dreams upon the ocean. 4 Every dawn begins the adventure of a new day. 5 A tiny crab scuttles across the wet sand, searching for places to hide. (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, 26 September 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 Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 13:08:40 -0400 From: sarkozy@mbinter.com Subj: Star Visions Conference Dear all, On behalf of Standing Elk of the Dakota Nation and the organizing circle, I wanted to pass on this important information. Please forward to anyone I missed or was not aware of at this time. Some of you may already have this information, others I may not have ever had contact with. It is for everyone, share at will. Thank you and my best to all. (For any of you who did want this message or future messages, please e-mail me - I apologize in advance.) 'Mitakuye Oyasin' Changleska Wakan Wicasan Here we go: (start) -------------- STAR VISIONS: THE SPIRIT OF ONE* xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "A gathering of Native American Elders, spiritual leaders and others has been called, to share the teachings of the Tunkasila and Unci (Grandfathers and Grandmothers), and the spiritual knowledge of the Star Nations, with the people of the Americas and the world. Through my personal contacts, some medicine men have agreed that it is time, because of the closeness and the fulfillment of the prophecies that are vital for our existence as a human race. The sharing of the dreams and visions of Tunkasila will strengthen the foundation of Nations that are sincerely interested in being that element that will be the foundation of the Thousand Years of Peace. "We are all part of the Sacred Hoop that needs to be mended, and we must make a humble effort in this task, if the seventh generation, our grandchildren and unborn are to survive the next awareness. "MITAKUYE OYASIN" Standing Elk, Dakota Spiritual Advisor xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx "Experiencing the Understanding of Oneness!" Presenters include: Standing Elk, Dakota Spiritual Advisor* Barbara Marciniak, author of 'Bringers of the Dawn' Floyd Hand, Lakota Medicine Man Drunvalo Melchizadek, teacher, past-life-ET walk-in; Merkabah Scout Cloud Lee, Cherokee Medicine Woman, author, researcher, musician Giorgio Bongiovanni, accepted Stigmata; Cosmic Christ and Star Nations (or by video) Robert Dean, on the U.S. Military's and NATO's confirmation of UFOs (or by video) Bashar, channeled by Daryl Anka Richard Boylan, Ph.D., psychologist and researcher into UFO contacts Trish McCannon, researcher into UFOs and Native American Prophecies Alex Collier, Andromedan contactee Deer Man, Dakota Medicine Man Rod Skenandore, Blackfeet Medicine Man Wallace Black Elk, Lakota Medicine Man Bob Gulick. lecturer on Sacred Geometry, planetary and personal grid systems Dr. Angela Browne-Miller, author-lecturer, 'Omega Point,' and 'Embracing Death' Yellow Hand, channeled my Marilyn Carlson Barbara Lamb, regression and hypnotherapy successfully utilized with abductees Phil Jones, Australian musician and composer doing "healing" work with Didgeridoo Nightly sweatlodge ceremonies led by various medicine men, workshops, personal sessions, talking circles, musical performances by a variety of artists, and activities for children will all be integrated into the conference schedule. Additional speakers may be added and changes may occur. Date: November 7-11, 1996 Place: Rocky Mountain YMCA Camp, Estes Park, Colorado For information and registration (see below also): (970) 482-4941 or (970) 226-4246 (Ft. Collins, CO) -------------------------- Star Visions: The Spirit Of One Registration Form: The Star Visions Conference, November 7-11, 1996 will be held at the YMCA of the Rockies in beautiful Estes Park, Colorado. To register today, send this form (or a facsimile of the following information) to the address below. If are receiving this by e-mail, please print out the form to make it easy on yourself. Name: _____________________ Address: _______________________ City: __________________________ State: ___________________ Zip: _________ Fee totals ____ I plan to attend the entire conference. Early registration fee: $150.00 (Received by 15 October 1996) Late registration/ At-the-door registration fee: $200.00 _______ ____ I plan to attend only on the following days, day rate is $55.00 __Thursday __Friday __Saturday __Sunday __Monday _______ ____ I want to be an exhibitor for the conference. Exhibitor and conferee, special $225.00 fee for one participant only Exhibitor only, $125.00 fee. Exhibitor may donate a portion of proceeds to conference. _______ My check or money order for $________ is enclosed. My VISA or Mastercard Number is: ___________________, Expiration date: ______________. Signature: __________________________ Note: A day meal rate of $20.00 is available, whether lodging at the YMCA Camp or not. _____ I prefer a Vegetarian diet _____ I plan to bring my ___ (number of) young children and would appreciate daycare. I heard about the conference from: ___________________________ YMCA OF THE ROCKIES: LODGING INFORMATION AND REGISTRATION ALL YMCA reservations must be made through Star Visions Lodging Coordinator, (970) 221-3123 to receive the low group rates listed below. Please circle your preferred accommodations. Please enclose amount for lodging (tax is included) and registration for all those attending. ++++++++++ Alpen Inn: Each room holds up to 6 with 2 queen size beds, queen sofa, full bath, balcony Prices per person/night: 1/room 2/room 3/room 4/room 5/room 6/room $78.47 $50.59 $40.27 $36.17 $33.04 $30.98 ------------ Mt. Ypsillon Lodge: Each room holds up to 4 with 1 double bed, 1 set of bunk beds and bath Prices per person/night: 1/room 2/room 3/room 4/room 5/room 6/room $56.79 $39.24 $33.04 $30.98 N/A N/A ------------ Eastside Lodge: Each room holds up to 6 with 3 sets of bunk beds and private 3/4 bath Prices per person/night: 1/room 2/room 3/room 4/room 5/room 6/room $52.66 $37.17 $32.01 $29.94 $27.88 $26.85 ------------- Reservation Deadline: Reservations made after October 15th, 1996 will be on a space available basis. We encourage you to make reservations early by returning this completed form with the registration fee as soon as possible. Mail to: Star Visions Conference Registration P.O. Box 272352 Fort Collins, CO 80527 You may also register by phone with VISA or Mastercard by calling: (970) 482-4941 or (970) 226-4246. If you have any questions or concerns about registering or payment, please feel free to call as well. "Mitakuye Oyasin" Endorsed by the Star Knowledge Conference in South Dakota, June, 1996 --------------------------------------- From: Dan Philippon Subj: CFP: 1997 ASLE Conference CALL FOR PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS The Second Biennial Conference of the Association for the Study of Literature and Environment (ASLE) July 17-19, 1997 The University of Montana - Missoula, Montana "The Last Best Place" Featured Writers and Scholars: David Abram, Rick Bass, Shoko Itoh, Thomas J. Lyon, Joseph Meeker, David Robertson, Pattiann Rogers, Louise Westling, and Gary Snyder (presented in conjunction with Wilderness Watch) The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment invites program proposals for its second biennial conference. We welcome: Panels and papers on any aspect of literature and environment, such as nature writing, international studies, individual authors, theory and practice of ecocriticism, interdisciplinary approaches, place studies, new or neglected writers, gender and ethnic issues, religious issues, and bioregionalism. Roundtables on topics of general interest, such as urban nature, professional issues, literature and activism, hunting, fieldwork in teaching, wilderness, and landscape. Poster sessions to showcase teaching, curriculum, or research innovations, as well as cooperative ventures and other institutional projects. Readings of original nature writing. Other Activities and Entertainment: Outings and planned recreation every afternoon Banquet Publishers' Exhibits Authors' Reception Submission Guidelines: Send two copies of the following materials to the address below: For papers and readings, a 1-page proposal/abstract or the full text. Papers should approximate fifteen minutes reading time (ten double-spaced typed pages). For panels, a 1-page proposal including names and vitae of the chair and 3-4 presenters, plus a 1-page abstract for each paper. For roundtable discussions, names and vitae of chair and 6-8 panelists, plus a 1-2 page proposal describing the topic, approach, and intended contribution of each panelist. Deadline for submissions: January 15, 1997 Send submissions to: John Tallmadge, President-Elect, ASLE, 6538 Teakwood Court, Cincinnati OH 45224. Phone: 513-681-0944; Email: jtall@interramp.com Submissions will not be accepted by fax or email. Please enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope for reply. Submissions will not be returned. General information about conference facilities, activities, recreation, or registration is available from ASLE Conference, Conferences and Institutes, Center for Continuing Education, Missoula MT 59812-1900. Phone: 406-243-4600; Email: cni@selway.umt.edu Conference Director: Hank Harrington Further information about the conference is available on the ASLE World Wide Web Site: http://faraday.clas.virginia.edu/~djp2n/asle.html ! stay together learn the flowers go light --Gary Snyder Dan Philippon Department of English University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA 22903 ------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 21 Sep 1996 10:39:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Sahtu@aol.com Subj: 2nd Annual HUD Indian Housing Law Conference The following is from a notice I received recently from ICF Kaiser, 9300 Lee Highway, Fairfax VA 22031-1207. Note that the conference is free and CLE credit may be available. The info number for last year's conference was (703) 934-3392 (I have no idea if it is the same this year). The Second Annual national Indian Housing Legal Conference Sponsored by HUD's Office of Native American Programs November 13-14, 1996 Santa Fe, New Mexico HUD's Office of Native American Programs is pleased to announce its second annual national conference on legal and legislative issues facing tribes and Indian housing authorities. Attorneys, IHA and tribal staff, lenders, and anyone interested in Indian housing law are invited to attend this important event. Conference topics will include: - New and Proposed Housing Legislation and how it will affect housing activities in Indian country. - The Role of Tribal Courts in housing disputes, tenant recognition, and the implementation of tribal housing codes. - Private Lending in Indian Country, including loan guarantee programs, public/private lending partnerships, and the National Homeownership Strategy. Watch For a Brochure Coming Soon! No fee for registration. CLE Credit may be available. ---------------------------------------- From: FirehairSS@aol.com Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 11:11:35 -0400 Subj: New York City Pow Wow Received from my cousin, a poster - Northeastern Native American Association POW WOW October 5th, 6th, 12 Noon to 6 pm Roy Wilkins Park - 119th and Merrick Blvd - Jamaica, NY Admission is Free - Vendors, Native American Dancers, Native American Drummers, Native American food No alcohol, No Drugs permitted on the park grounds For Pow wow Information, call (718)978-7057 For Immediate Release - Wolf Soldier Three Crows Memorial Pow wow Come celebrate Native American Culture at the NorthEastern Native American Association 4th Annual Pow Wow. There will be storytelling, Dancing, as well as beautiful Native American Arts, Crafts, from North, South, Central America and the Caribbean. Host Drum will be the Drum circle Singers. Contact: Whispering Leaves (Clan Mother) (718) 297-7632 ========================================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- 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: Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, Mohawk Nation, Freedom Heart, Ishgooda, Rod Whited via North American Spirit Lodge, Janet Smith, Debra F. Sanders, Bernard J. Rock, Sr. via Feather Eaglerock, Buffalo Woman, Csimu Muppah, Scott Robert Ladd, Firehair, Steve Laboueff, Michael Wilson, John Berry, Ralph Gough, Native Forest Network, -//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Part B of this newsletter has already been distributed via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - online" --------- Date: Thu, 26 September 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 Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 05:30:25 -0400 From: jmm202@is5.nyu.edu (Jessica M Marzagao) Subj: AMAZON WEEK VII in New York City (21-28 September) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ============================================ A M A N A K A ' A Amazon Network ====================================================================== AMANAKA'A AMAZON NETWORK presents... AMAZON WEEK VII Come to New York City Sept 21-28 and meet the Indigenous Peoples yourself. Talk to them and hear first-hand their knowledge, problems and how you can make a real impact. The largest event of its kind in the world, Amazon Week is an annual cultural, educational, and strategic event attended by indigenous leaders, rubber tappers, peasants, politicians, environmentalists, scientists, activists, business people, students and the public. Amazon Week does much more than give the American public a chance to meet indigenous leaders and learn about their culture and issues. Attendees exchange ideas and experiences from different parts of the Amazon (ironically, it is often easier for indigenous leaders to meet each other And Brazilian officials at Amazon Week than in Brazil). We discuss projects and gather support for long-term strategies to save the Rainforest and its peoples. Environmentally sound alternatives for sustainable development in the Amazon are showcased, discussed, and contrasted with the disastrous effects of development for short-term profit only. Amanaka'a works directly with Amazon leaders in support of their projects for survival, human rights, the environment, health, sustainable development, education, and more. Our friends in the forest provide you the most up-to-date news that the press often ignores. To find out more about Amanaka'a and Amazon Week VII and its complete schedule of events visit Amanaka'a Web Site at: http://www.amanakaa.org/ ============================================= A M A N A K A ' A Amazon Network ====================================================================== 60 East 13th Street, 5th floor tel: 212.253.9502 (btw Broadway & University Place) fax: 212.253.9507 New York, NY 10003 E-mail: amanakaa@amanakaa.org --------- "RE: Mohawk Immersion Program" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 10:27:53 -0400 From: mnation@axess.com Subj: Mohawk Immersion Program Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Mohawk Immersion Program On the Kahnawake Mohawk Nation Territory via Quebec, Canada J0L 1B0 Help Save The Mohawk Language Kariwanoron Kanienkeha Owenna Tsi Ionteriwaienstakwa is a Mohawk Language Immersion Program that has been evolving since 1988. It was started in 1988 by a few parents who were concerned about the loss of our language. Prior to this, there have been ongoing programs but no program that takes children before the age of 4 years old. We felt that the best way of learning Mohawk was the way our grandparents learned and taught. It was very simple: bring children into a home environment and have Mohawk speakers with them at all times for them to hear and eventually understand and speak the language as their first, not their second language. Daily repetition, living skills and teaching outdoors in the natural world has made it successful. Of course, with this comes a financial burden. Because the children are young, they are not eligible for any regular government funding because that begins when the students are 4 years old. We feel that money should not be a deterrent. So to continue the program, we constantly need to fund raise to pay our teachers and staff. As of today, we are not even able to provide a bus or a driver due to financial circumstances. Our teachers have even had to take a pay cut. It is urgent and we need your help! If individuals or organizations could somehow help us with fundraising, we would greatly appreciate it. Our language is now endangered. With language comes culture. So if we are to lose our language, culture will follow shortly. We believe that the Mohawk culture has greatly contributed to North America and with your help will continue to do so. Nia:wen kowa, thank you and we hope to hear from you soon. For more information contact: Kariwanoron Mohawk Immersion Program P.O. Box 1439 Kahnawake Mohawk Territory Quebec, Canada H0L 1B0 514/638-0383 --------- "RE: Defrauding the Western Shoshone" --------- Date: Fri, 13 Sep 1996 10:36:22 PST From: scottrobertladd@juno.com (Scott Robert Ladd) Subj: Defrauding the Western Shoshone, September 1996 Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ----------------------------------------------------------------- The author of the following article is a journalist who became aware of the Western Shoshone struggle back in 1992. The article was written at the request of a big-name political magazine; they purchased the piece but have never published it, because, as the author was told by an editor "It's an election year; we don't want Bill Clinton to look bad." Well, Bill Clinton and his administration DO look bad. So I've expanded this piece, adding new information. Please distribute this article widely. This is NOT an official publication of the Western Shoshone government, the Defense Project, or the Dann family. What you're about to read is one man's viewpoint -- my viewpoint -- on a terrible injustice against an indigenous people. =============== Stealing Nevada 10 September 1996 =============== by Scott Robert Ladd. Who owns Nevada? Ask a federal land manager, and she'll tell you that eighty-five percent of Nevada belongs to the nation at large, as a public heritage managed by the Department of the Interior. Hearing that, a Nevada county commissioner is likely to counter that "Washington" lacks Constitutional authority to own land. Also weighing in is the state of Nevada itself, which laid claim to federal properties with laws passed two decades ago. But in the eyes of the Western Shoshone Indians, the various American governments resemble a band of thieves fighting over the spoils of a heist. Many Shoshone believe they are targets of a genocidal campaign involving government fraud and corporate greed. They maintain that their land wasn't taken in war during the 19th century, and that they never sold or otherwise ceded their sovereignty in the Great Basin; instead, the United States used a dubious judicial process to usurp Shoshone dominion in 1979. Now the Shoshone struggle to retain control of their homeland, which they call Newe Sogobia. It is the place where nature placed them, as stewards of the world, a dry and rugged region stretching across twenty-five million acres of central Nevada from Idaho to California's Mojave Desert. "I look at this land from the basic point of our religious beliefs," states Carrie Dann, a leader in the Shoshone community. "This land is not just the land, it's mother to all life, not only to human life but to all life. We never left our land; the United States can claim anything it wants, but the reality is that we're still here." She isn't espousing some New Age philosophy; her views stem from an ancient set of beliefs that drives her to defend her people's indigenous rights. The acquisition of Nevada by the United States is, at best, problematic. Most textbooks say that Mexico ceded the Great Basin to the United States through the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. But to cede lands, Mexico would have had to control them -- and Mexico had no permanent settlements in Shoshone country. Official U.S. government maps from the 1840s show a blank space between central California and the Colorado river; beyond the occasional priest or surveyor, non-Indians had no interest in the deserts of the Great Basin. Even more telling is the federal legislation creating the Nevada Territory, which states "nothing in this act shall be construed to impair the rights of person or property now pertaining to the Indians in said Territory." "The United States didn't want this land," said Raymond Yowell, Chief of the Western Shoshone National Council. "Look at the Congressional debate of the time, and you'll see how Senators argued against the expense of taking more land from the Indians. Their goal was to clear the way for moving gold from California to the East, to pay for the Civil War; they didn't want to expand U.S. territory." Indeed, in dispatching agents to Shoshone territory, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs admonished them that "It is not expected that the treaty will be negotiated with a view to extinguishment of the Indian title to land." So it was that representatives of the United States signed "A Treaty of Peace and Friendship" with the Western Shoshone, at Ruby Valley, Nevada, in October 1863. The treaty allows the U.S. to locate mines, ranches, railroads, telegraph lines, towns, and military posts within Shoshone lands -- but nothing in the document even suggests that such establishments extinguish Shoshone sovereignty. The federal government never acted on a Treaty clause allowing for the creation of Shoshone reservations, and did little to protect the Indian's interests. Life for the Shoshone inevitably changed as their nomadic lifestyle became increasingly incompatible with EuroAmerican settlement. Game animals fell to the newcomer's guns while cattle quickly denuded the arid valleys of life-sustaining plants. The Shoshone survived by working at mines, ranches, and railroads, often moving into communities on the outskirts of white settlements. "The Shoshone kept their end of the bargain," Yowell states. "The United States did not. As more and more emigrants settled on our lands, the promise of peace wasn't enough for the United States. Instead of dealing with us as a sovereign nation, the United States implemented a scheme to acquire title unlawfully." That scheme was embodied in the Indian Claims Commission (ICC), a court-like body established by Congress in 1946 to adjudicate outstanding compensation claims by Native Americans against the United States. The law allowed the Commission to recognize any "identifiable group" -- even a small minority -- as representative of an entire Indian people. Lawyer Robert Barker entered into a contract with a few members of one small band of Shoshone, the Te-Moaks; in their name, he filed an ICC claim in 1951 on behalf of all Shoshones. "You have to understand our leaders of that time," Raymond Yowell said. "They had a limited education, and they had no idea of what things were all about; they were very limited in their knowledge of what the government was doing." Yowell remembers hearing, in his youth, how pressure and threats from the Bureau of Indian Affairs left Shoshone leaders feeling they had no choice but to file a claim action. The ICC was not empowered to extinguish operative Indian title -- but all ICC cases included a tacit assumption that aboriginal title had been lost at some earlier date. Barker belonged to a law firm that helped create the ICC; he must have known how the Commission would interpret the Shoshone case. But Barker didn't explain the ICC's perspective to his clients, and the Shoshone continued to believe that the case asserted their existing title. Ignoring the Ruby Valley Treaty, the ICC commissioners determined in 1962 that Shoshone title had been extinguished by the "gradual encroachment" of white settlers. An official "taking" date of July 1, 1872, was agreed upon by the Commission, government lawyers, and Barker. The date does not correspond to any official or legal act; it was chosen for the purpose of placing a value on Shoshone lands. Census records from the late 18th century show that the Western Shoshone outnumbered EuroAmerican settlers, nearly thirty years after the purported "encroachment." "Nothing happened in 1872," said Glenn Holley, a Shoshone leader from Battle Mountain. "No land was `taken' by the government. We never lost that land, we never left that land, and we're not selling it. In our religion, it's forbidden to take money for land. What's really happening is that the U.S. government is stealing the land from us right now." In 1976, the Te-Moak Band Council fired Barker and hired a new lawyer in an attempt at stopping or delaying the legal proceedings. The ICC refused to recognize the new attorney or allow the Te-Moaks to terminate Barker's contract. When the Te-Moaks and other Shoshone entities tried to stop the ICC proceedings, the Commissioners ruled that a delay would not be in the Indian's best interests. Barker actively opposed actions by his erstwhile clients, working with the ICC and government lawyers to finalize a monetary settlement. "The ICC said that traditional Shoshones couldn't intervene because they weren't part of the Te-Moak bands," said Raymond Yowell. "But when the Te-Moak bands tried to stop the claim, the ICC wouldn't listen to them, either. The court told us that we shouldn't upset the apple cart after the fruit had been so neatly stacked. Never mind the law; never mind what's right." While most Americans take for granted the right to choose one's own legal counsel, that right was denied to the Shoshone based on the "special status" of Native Americans in government eyes. In calculating a settlement amount, the ICC categorized Shoshone lands, paying a few cents per acre for the majority of the land and slightly more for territory rich in minerals. The final settlement amount was just over $26 million. On December 12, 1979, the ICC granted an award to the Shoshone -- who refused the money. "What's most ironic about this," according to Carrie Dann, "Is that the U.S. offered the Shoshone people something like 15 cents an acre, while the gold companies are paying $2.50 for that same acre! The land is valued in mining law at the same date, in 1872, yet the government gets ten times the amount that it tried to pay us." In a 1995 speech, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt called the evaluation of land under the 1872 Mining Law "a flagrant abuse of the public interest." But in recent talks with the Shoshone, Babbitt hasn't expressed any qualms about paying them a tiny fraction of the Mining Law price. Adding insult to injury, the ICC paid ten percent of the judgment fund to Barker in recognition of his "extraordinary" efforts in the face of opposition by his clients. The remaining money was deposited in a Treasury Department account, in the name of the Secretary of the Interior as the government-appointed "trustee" of the Shoshone. Unwilling to give up, the Shoshone continued their battle in the courts. A game of judicial Ping-Pong ensued, as courts remanded, reversed, and otherwise confused the issue. The most significant case was decided in 1985, when the Supreme Court declared that payment to the Secretary of the Interior constituted payment to the Shoshone. A lower court subsequently decided that Shoshone title was valid until the money was awarded in 1979 -- even though the ICC award was based on a purported loss of title a century before. "The federal government really did defraud the Western Shoshones, and has left them essentially landless in their own homeland," said Tom Luebben, a lawyer for the Duckwater Shoshone Tribe. "The outcome in the courts only confirmed to the Western Shoshone that they have been egregiously wronged by the federal government -- not in ancient times, but within the last ten years." Beyond the gambling havens of Reno and Las Vegas, Nevada is largely treated as a natural resource by mining companies and cattle ranchers. Among those cattle ranchers are Shoshones who graze their livestock on lands administered by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Federal law requires ranchers to pay fees for the use of public range -- and the Indians refuse to pay based on their belief that the land is still Shoshone territory. In August 1994, an internal BLM memo calculated that the Te-Moak, Yomba and Duckwater Shoshone Tribes owe more than $3.5 million in back fees and penalties; the independent Dann family of Crescent Valley was assessed more the $400,000 for illegal grazing. The focus of government's anti-Shoshone campaign is the Dann's cattle operation in Crescent Valley. While other Shoshones quietly violate federal law, sisters Carrie and Mary Dann openly defy federal mandates, taking their case to international forums and the media. The BLM claims it is protecting the land from over grazing by two thousand head of Dann-family cattle -- yet anyone visiting the sister's ranch will find a herd of only three hundred animals. And before his retirement in 1994, former Nevada BLM director Billy Templeton admitted that his agency lacked hard evidence of Shoshone over grazing. Carrie Dann's feisty determination defines her people's resistance. In April 1992, during a BLM attempt at confiscating her cattle, Carrie argued and struggled her way past officers into a cattle chute, blocking cowboys from loading her livestock onto waiting trucks. "I have a right to defend my livelihood," Carrie admonished Eureka County Sheriff Ken Jones. "My land has never been for sale; it's not for sale now, it's not for sale tomorrow, either. And that's that way it is, Mr. Jones." Moments later, the BLM agents released her cattle, ending the confrontation. Jones was less charitable when escorting a BLM convoy the following November. That BLM operation focused on removing horses, both wild and Dann-owned, from Crescent Valley. Clifford Dann, Carrie's 59-year-old brother, used his vehicle to block a road, stopping a convoy of BLM livestock trucks from leaving the valley. Standing in his pickup's bed, Clifford poured gasoline over his arms; as county and federal officers approached, he threatened to set himself afire if they did not unload his family's livestock. When Carrie arrived, in the company of several non-Indian supporters, a debate ensued. Clifford was coaxed from his truck, assured by Sheriff Jones that none of his family's cattle are being confiscated. The Shoshone man began walking, gasoline and lighter in hand, toward the BLM convoy to see for himself what was in the trucks. Coming up behind the partially-deaf Shoshone man, BLM special agent Terry Somers tried -- and failed -- to take the gasoline jug from his hand. Amateur video of the incident shows a white spray of fire extinguishers erupting around Clifford and the surrounding officers. As several men struggle with Clifford, Sheriff Jones can be heard to yell "Get him down! Get him down! Break his fucking arm if you have to!" As Carrie ran to aid her brother, an unidentified BLM officer grabbed her from behind. He pinned the 58-year-old grandmother's arms behind her back, and dragged her to the edge of the road. "You're hurting me!" Carrie cried out. "I've got a bad shoulder!" "Then be a good old lady and quit struggling," officer Somers instructed Carrie. As Carrie struggled before a camera, another law officer walked into view, expositing that "We're only holding her so she won't jump in front of the vehicles." Moments later, the livestock trucks escaped. Clifford, glasses askew and face streaked with blood, was rushed away by police. Four months later, Clifford refused to defend himself during his trial, declaring that the United States lacked jurisdiction in Newe Sogobia. Federal Judge John McKibben rejected that defense, and a jury quickly convicted Dann of assaulting a federal officer with gasoline. Although Clifford had no prior arrest record, he would spend nine months in maximum-security federal prison. McKibben handed down the stiff sentence "to send a message to journalists, activists, and the Western Shoshone." The courts have ruled time and again against the Shoshone -- but those same courts are seen by the Indians as instruments of the United States government and its policies. "We don't need lawyers who are sworn agents of the U.S. courts," said Yowell. "We need Indian lawyers who present Indian law." And there, perhaps, lies the salient issue: That the Shoshone do not see themselves as citizens of the United States, but as citizens of their own nation. In Yowell's view, international law should apply in his people's dispute with the United States. Yowell leads the Western Shoshone National Council, which describes itself as the original government of the Western Shoshone people. "We're the same entity that signed the Treaty of Ruby Valley," Yowell states. The United States disputes the legitimacy of the National Council, preferring to work with tribal governments it embodied under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act. In Newe Sogobia, nine federally-sponsored tribal governments -- known as "IRAs" -- speak for 2300 Shoshones living in urban enclaves and on rural ranches. "The IRAs cannot call themselves nations," said an agitated Carrie Dann, the National Council representative for her clan. "The IRAs are nothing more than corporations of the United States. How can they be sovereign nations when they can't do anything without the permission and money of the United States?" She isn't alone in questioning the independence of tribal governments; throughout Indian country, traditional Indian leaders often distrust and eschew participation in IRA entities. Tribal governments receive direction and funding from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) -- making them inherently unpalatable to those who question American motives. The Interior Secretary can veto tribal laws; all reservation land is owned by the Department of the Interior and held in "trust" on behalf of Native Americans. The National Council allows participation by all Shoshones, including those, like the Danns, who have no connection to federally-recognized tribes. While it does not accept federal money, the National Council does include representatives of several Shoshone IRA governments. Two tribal governments, however, chart independent courses. The Te-Moak Tribal Council continues to define itself as the representative of all Shoshones, even going so far as to declare its leadership on the Internet. The Duckwater Shoshone Tribe was once affiliated with the National Council; it broke away in the late 1980s to pursue its own solutions to Shoshone problems. "One of the greatest problems the Shoshone face," Tom Luebben told me, "is chronic disunity." While Luebben's assessment is accurate, his solution requires all Shoshone, including the National Council, to join with the Duckwater IRA that he represents. The National Council demands a true government-to-government relationship with the United States. "You sign treaties with nations, not tribes," Yowell states. The negotiating process is as old as the problem. Even as the ICC moved toward a final judgment, Jimmy Carter's Secretary of the Interior, Cecil Andrus, talked to Shoshone leaders about creating a three million acre reservation. Andrus broke off talks in 1979, after the Defense Department announced plans to site the mobile MX missile in Nevada. The MX would have placed two hundred nuclear warheads on trucks traveling a vast network of desert roads. The Western Shoshone vigorously opposed the MX, and the project was eventually scrapped in response to additional opposition from no-Indian Nevadans and the Mormon Church. Carrie Dann notes that some high school history books now credit the Shoshone with stopping the MX. She also sees the MX fight as a turning point in Shoshone affairs. "When the United States wanted to put the MX in, it opened the eyes of some Western Shoshone people." During the Reagan-Bush years, another series of abortive negotiations accomplished little. Some Shoshone expressed optimism about Bill Clinton, since he made many promises to Indian leaders during his campaign. Hope flared as the Clinton's Interior Secretary, Bruce Babbitt, began a negotiating process at the behest of Senator Daniel Inouye. Babbitt sent one of his long-time associates, Don Moon, to talk with the Shoshone and assess their needs; Moon met with several Shoshone groups, including the National Council, and he soon offered to represent the Shoshone in the negotiations. "Does the government acquire title to your backyard because your neighbor trespasses?" Moon asked Bruce Babbitt in a memo. "What happened here was a cold-blooded land rip-off that could never have happened to a non-Indian, or even a well-represented Indian." Moon appealed to Babbitt's sense of idealism, advocating traditional Shoshone views and urging redress of historic wrongs committed by the United States. Simultaneously, Babbitt was reading internal government analyses, which contain strategic omissions and factual distortions supporting the federal government's acquisition of Shoshone land. Babbitt held a January 1994 introductory meeting in Denver. Attendees included Raymond Yowell, Carrie Dann, and representatives of Shoshone tribal governments. The conference lasted little more than an hour, and each Shoshone faction had only five minutes to present its case. As the meeting closed and Babbitt hurried away, he promised to continue the process through his chief counselor, John Duffy. Subsequent meetings have accomplished little; Duffy emphasizes the distribution of the ICC judgment funds while the Shoshone demand a resolution of land and water issues. Moon has since quit working in the issue in frustration over Duffy's intransigence and Shoshone discord. The National Council is no longer involved with the negotiations. "We monitor what's happening through our friends," said Chief Yowell. "But we don't see much point in taking part. The government wants to disburse the money, as soon as it can, so it can say that the land is really sold." Salt Lake City attorney John Paul Kennedy is one party who seeks immediate distribution of the ICC funds. Claiming to represent 1,400 unnamed Shoshones, Kennedy characterizes members of the National Council as "extremists" while demanding that the government pay his unidentified clients. Several Shoshone, in turn, describe Kennedy as an old-style Indian lawyer who will receive a substantial percentage of any award granted his clients. Over the vociferous objections of the IRA governments and the National Council, Secretary Babbitt expressly included Kennedy in the negotiations. Representatives of state and federal governments invariably answer questions about the Shoshone with "We can't say anything because it might affect the negotiating process." Letters of inquiry go unanswered, and unreturned phone calls are the rule. The only hint about the government's thinking comes through documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act -- and those requests meet with stone walls, often taking more than a year to be partially filled. Even State Department meetings seem to enter the Twilight Zone when the Shoshone are involved. Last April 3, Raymond Yowell participated in a Washington human rights conference. The event was hosted by the Carnegie Institute, lead by Assistant Secretary of State John Shattuck, and addressed by Warren Christopher and UN Ambassador Madeleine Albright. Two hundred attendees from around the world focused on the resolution of conflicts in the post-Cold War era. Repeated inquiries have not found anyone at the State Department who is willing to explain the reasons for Yowell's invitation. Does the federal government fear a domestic version of Mexico's Zapatista revolution, where armed rebels have taken over privately-held ranches? "We have no issue with private land holders," Yowell said. "And our paperwork states that clearly. Our interest is only in the federal public domain lands, and in some lands held by the corporations." The Shoshone consistently point out that armed resistance is futile. "A handful of Shoshones out here are fighting the mightiest nation on Earth. If the United States really wants to do us in, they have the power to do it." If something has the federal government nervous, it may be the National Council's campaign to assert its independence in the international arena. In December 1994, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali received a Shoshone statement of sovereignty based on the UN charter and international treaties. Copies of that statement were then delivered to government officials ranging from President Clinton to district attorneys in Nevada. Postal reply cards verify that the documents reached their destinations, but only one recipient, a California federal judge, responded to the Shoshone declaration. In 1993, the Dann sisters filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, a body of the Organization of American States. The United States responded by declaring that Shoshone land had been purchased in the ICC proceedings; the case is still pending. German and English networks have shown two Shoshone documentaries narrated by Robert Redford. The National Council maintains liaisons overseas and regularly sends representatives to visit the European Community; in April 1993, a delegation from the European Parliament came to Newe Sogobia on a fact-finding mission. Further recognition came when Carrie and Mary Dann received a 1993 Right Livelihood Award in Stockholm. On December 9, 1993, the Swedish Parliament lauded the Shoshone sisters for "their courage and perseverance in asserting the rights of indigenous peoples to their land." Officially, the federal government frames the conflict in terms of the Dann family, even though the true picture involves a complex set of issues. The Western Shoshone organized numerous anti-nuclear demonstrations at the Nevada Nuclear Test Site, where more than 900 nuclear explosions scarred Newe Sogobia. While the bombs have stopped exploding, the Department of Energy plans to construct a permanent nuclear waste dump in Shoshone territory at Yucca Mountain. On the environmental front, thirsty Las Vegas and Reno threaten to suck the water from beneath Nevada's arid valleys. Geothermal mines tap geysers for energy while violating a Shoshone belief in the sanctity of water. At Rock Creek, Lander County plans to construct a dam that will flood traditional Shoshone gathering grounds. And the ever-present U.S. military sends its warplanes swooping across the valleys, loudly disrupting the desert peace. Carrie Dann sees multinational corporations as the enemy, and the United States as their puppet. She bases her belief on experience with several gold mines that lie near her ranch. These giant, open-pit operations use cyanide to leach gold from crushed mountains. Mines of this type are responsible for several recent, highly-publicized environmental disasters. In August 1995, a dam failed at a cyanide-based gold mine in Guyana, poisoning a major river and threatening 15,000 people living nearby. Three years ago in Colorado, leaking cyanide from the Summitville mine devastating 17 miles of the Alamosa River; the clean-up now costs taxpayers millions annually. The Dann ranch has a clear view of three massive gold mines. Their property, an 800-acre spread homesteaded "under white man's law" by Carrie's father, stands astride the Carlin Trend, one of the world's richest-known gold deposits. She attributes the disappearance of the valley's natural springs and streams to the destruction of aquifers by mines, and her anger focuses on a federal government that does little to restrict mining operations. It is her family's future that is being ground into pebbles and soaked in poison, all to provide gold for strangers. In August 1996, the Danns became aware of an old enemy in new clothing: gold prospectors, calling themselves Oro Nevada Mining Company declared a desire to begin test drilling near the family ranch. Oro Nevada is wholly-owned by Oro Nevada Resources of Toronto, Ontario, Canada -- and that company, in turn, is financed by MVP Capital Corporation, to the tune of US$40 million. After buying a 48,000 acre ranch next to the Danns for US$15 million, Oro Nevada Mining staked claims on 94,000 more acres nearby. Oro Nevada's operating plan calls for drilling to begin in September 1996. While Oro's President, Bob Jones, disclaims any knowledge of "indigenous issues," he and other Oro representatives have visited and talked with the Western Shoshone. The Dann family and the National Council have declared Oro's test drilling to be a violation of the Ruby Valley Treaty and international law. Oro Nevada has not been dissuaded; it recently paid US$350,000 to the U.S. government for maintaining its claims. Oro Nevada's test drilling will take place within sight of the Dann homestead -- and will occur on top of a hot spring and Dewey Dann Creek. The later is named for Carrie's late father, and it is the only year-round water supply for the ranch. The hot spring is a sacred site for the Dann family. Many other Shoshone hot springs have been destroyed by test drilling, which releases the geothermal pressure that drives the hot water flows. Once again, the greed for gold is moving to destroy the natural world so loved by the Western Shoshone people. For more than ten thousand years, nomadic Shoshone clans have drawn a living from their homeland; what EuroAmericans see as forbidding desert, the Shoshone see as a beautiful land of great contrasts and powerful forces. Carrie Dann has lived her whole life in Crescent Valley; her family and ancestors reside there, and her goal is to protect the land for future generations. "When they ask me about sacred places, I tell them it is all sacred," Carrie explained, waving her hand across the landscape. "I am working for the future, for my grandchildren, so they will have a place to live." ------------------------------------- Scott Robert Ladd Coyote Gulch Productions P. O. Box 617 957 Empire Street Silverton, CO 81433 970/387-0271 voice 970/387-0277 fax ScottRobertLadd@juno.com --------- "RE: Minnesota Court Strikes Law" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 12:57:17 -0400 From: rpwgough@aol.com Subj: Crazy Horse: MN Court Strikes Law Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) MINNESOTA APPEALS COURT FINDS FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT FOR BEER COMPANIES TO USE CRAZY HORSE LABEL. STATE LAW CAN'T PROTECT ONLY NAMES OF AMERICAN INDIAN LEADERS. ST. PAUL, Minn. (Sept. 17, 1996) - The Minnesota Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of the G. Heileman and Hornell Brewing companies, won an appellate court victory that will allow beer companies to resume selling a malt liquor named after Crazy Horse, the famed Sioux Indian leader and an outspoken opponent of drinking. The Minnesota court of appeals overturned a 1994 state law banning use of American Indian leaders' names as brand names. The court said the law was too specific and violated the free speech rights of the brewer, New York-based Hornell Brewing Co. The beer brand, labeled: "The Original Crazy Horse Malt Liquor" was introduced in 1992, by Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons, who also make "AriZona Iced Teas." A national boycott of all G. Heileman products, including the "AriZona Iced Tea" products, which also exploit American Indian designs, has been active over the past 18 months. The malt liquor features a portrait of Crazy Horse wearing a feather bonnet and a brief description of the Lakota Sioux and their Black Hills homeland. Another beer also now permitted by the court decision is Chief Oshkosh beer, named for the famed Menominee Indian chief, who's family also opposed the unwarranted appropriation of his name on a Wisconsin beer. The state's Liquor Control division, which originally approved the brand name, revoked state approval based upon the 1994 legislation. Supporters of tribal descendants of Crazy Horse, the 19th-Century leader of the Lakota who spoke out about the damage alcohol was doing to his people, had pressed for the revocation under legislation which restricted the false or misleading use of the names and images of "American Indian leaders" on alcohol products. The court said the state of Minnesota: "failed to explain why a statute that prohibits only false and misleading labels that the state or imply a connection with an American Indian leader is necessary to serve the state's asserted interest in prohibiting the false, unauthorized, or unsupported appropriation of individuals' names. Absent any rationale for acting to protect this interest only when the name appropriated is within a narrowly described category, we cannot conclude that there is no realistic possibility that official suppression of ideas is afoot." A federal law seeking to protect only the name of "Crazy Horse" was previously found to be in violation of the First Amendment. With "American Indian leaders" now also found to be in violation of the First Amendment, state legislatures must now consider whether they wish to confer protection from "false, unauthorized, or unsupported appropriation" of anyone's name. Attorneys for the state of Minnesota and the Estate of Crazy Horse, as Intervenors in the court action, are reviewing the decision in consideration of an appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. Apparently, in Minnesota and in many states, companies have a guaranteed "free speech" right to take the name of an real person, living or dead, and use it commercially without permission of the person or of his or her family, even on regulated products which may be personally offensive to that individual. It would seem that the United States, and thus all member states, have a legal and moral responsibility, through the federal trust relationship deprived from treaties which turned the very countryside of America over to the states, for the protection of remaining Indian property rights. The Minnesota decision places the First Amendment over recognition of this responsibility. It is ironic, that the very same First Amendment protections now guaranteed to beer companies, were completely overlooked when it came to the programmatic government suppression of native religions and the prohibition and elimination of Indian languages through government schools. Persons interested in supporting these issues of Indian cultural rights should contact the "CRAZY HORSE DEFENSE PROJECT" at 2306 Rockwood Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55116 or call 715/425-0004. --------- "RE: Police as Counterinsurgency" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Sep 1996 16:08:37 -0500 From: odonnels@ccmail.dcu.ie Subj: Mackenzie Institute - police as counterinsurgency force Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Subject: mackenzie institute - police as counterinsurgency force Update on the Aazhoodenaang Enjibaajig, the Stoney Point people. by Tariq Hassan Gordon Anti-Colonial Action Alliance In memory of Dudley George, the Stoney Point First Nation held the 1st Annual Traditional Gathering on September 6. It was one year ago that the Ontario Provincial Police opened fire on members of the Stoney Point First Nation during a peaceful occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park. When the OPP pulled out of the park, many people had been beaten, one person had been shot and wounded and Dudley George was fatally injured by a bullet to the chest. After a 10 month investigation the Special Investigations Unit released its report in August on the shooting death of Dudley George. Out of that report, OPP officer Kenneth Dean was charged with criminal negligence causing death. Dean was second-in-command of the Tactics and Rescue Unit operation at Ipperwash Provincial Park. The officer's first court appearance was on August 13th, 1996 at the Sarnia Provincial Court House, th e same court room that 26 Stoney Point people are facing over 30 charges relating to the occupation of the park. During the court appearance the Ontario Foundation of Individual Rights and Equality [ON-FIRE] held a rally to have the charge against the OPP officer dropped. ON-FIRE Linked to the Mackenzie Institute At the rally, members of ON-FIRE were passing out The Ipperwash Protests- An Unfinished Drama, a briefing note produced by the Mackenzie Institute. The Mackenzie Institute for the Study of Terrorism, Revolution and Propaganda is a right wing think tank founded in 1986. The Institute is linked to the Northern Foundation, the Centre for Conflict Studies, the North American Region World Anti-Communist League, Citizens for Foreign Aid Reform and many other far right organizations as well as the Reform Party and the Canadian Armed Forces. John C. Thompson, the author of the briefing note has also written briefing notes on the Mohawk Warrior Society and the Oka Crisis. In the Legacy of Oka, published by the Mackenzie Institute, it was suggested that the Army's involvement at Oka gave the Warrior Society a moral victory in the eyes of the public. It was then recommended that the Canadian state hire, equip and train police forces with the idea of using them as a counterinsurgency force to be used for any future confrontations with First Nations. These heavily-armed police forces would be used quickly, with no time taken for "prolonged negotiations" (Mackenzie Institute Exposed 1995). The role and actions of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police during the standoff at Gustafsen Lake and the Ontario Provincial Police at Ipperwash Provincial Park last summer suggests that the recommendations of the Mackenzie Institute have been read by members of the government. The direct link between the current president of ON-FIRE, Rick Shultz (also a member of the West Ipperwash Property Association) and the Mackenzie Institute clearly illustrates the right wing agenda of ON-FIRE. Rick Shultz is quoted extensively by John C. Thompson and described as `the self-restrained leader of ON-FIRE, and a leading light of West Ipperwash.' Dudley George Memorial Fund Closed Unfortunately the actions of ON-FIRE are not the only opposition that the people of Stoney Point are currently facing. The Toronto Dominion Bank unilaterally closed the Dudley George Memorial Fund. Harry Verburg, the Bluewater Regional Manager for the Toronto Dominion Bank stated in a letter of correspondence to Marcia Simon, treasurer of the Fund, that the bank did not agree to have the TD Bank `being a reference point' for donations. The bank has been pressured by members of the Kettle & Stony Point band council to close the account. Kettle & Stony Point is funding a public relations officer to coopt and counter the public support for the recognition of Stoney Point First Nation, reserve # 43. According to Marcia Simon, there are "two First Nation communities with one band council administration." This was an externally imposed situation after the federal government appropriated the unceded territory of Stoney Point in 1942 under to War Measures Act and relocated some of the Stoney Point families to swamp land on the Kettle Point reserve (others became refugees across Ontario). The federal government only recognizes the Kettle and Stony Point band council. They will not negotiate with the people living on Stoney Point territory. The Federal government is manipulating the divisions of the two communities and using the Kettle and Stony Point band council to undermine the position of the Stoney Point people and fight a proxy public relations war. The Stoney Point people need urgent support for their struggle for self-determination. The trial date for the 26 Stoney Point members has been set for two weeks beginning October 21, 1996 in Sarnia; they are in critical need of funds for their legal expenses. In Canada send donation to: "Stoney Point Legal Fund" c/o The Canadian Alliance in Solidarity with Native Peoples 39 Spadina Rd. Toronto, ON M5R 2S9 (416) 972-1573 fax (416) 972-6232 income tax receipts will be issued In the United States "Stoney Point Legal Fund" c/o Indian World 1732221 Telegraph S. 207 Detroit, MI 48219-3143 (313) 535-9728 Fax (313) 535-7822 income tax receipts will be issued For More Information Contact: Marcia Simon RR #2, Forest, ON N0N 1J0 (519) 786-4052 Fax: (519) 786-6642 Anti-Colonial Action Alliance Box 25, 197 Hunter St. W. Peterborough, ON K9G 2L1 email: thassan@trentu.ca --------- "RE: Temagami Action Alert" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Sep 1996 14:03:04 -0700 From: nfnena@igc.apc.org (Native Forest Network-ENA) Subj: Temagami Urgent Action Alert Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) From: Native Forest Network-ENA The NFN has just received this communique from the Kingston Temagami Action Group) at (613) 541-1823 or by e-mail at "cafe003@intcafe.kosone.com" or "4kem@qlink.queensu.ca" For further info please contact them directly or Earthroots at (416) 599-0152 or by email at "eroots@web.apc.org" ----------------------- Recent Ontario government actions threaten 48% of North America's remaining old growth red and white pine forests, all of it on native land. STOP THE DEVASTATION IN TEMAGAMI "We are not giving up our struggle for justice. We can't; we have not and never will. This land is our land, as well as that of our descendants 6,000 years from now; there is no other motherland for us on earth." Chief Gary Potts of the Teme-Augama Anishnabai in 1988 BATTLE-LINES DRAWN IN TEMAGAMI First Nations and environmental groups have begun the fight against the Provincial Conservative (Tory) government's plans to destroy one of the world's last remaining old growth pine forests in the Temagami region of Northern Ontario, Canada. The battle's opening salvoes have seen a logging bridge bombed, several others set on fire, blockades set up with 35 protesters arrested, and court action launched against the Minister of Natural Resources. Showing no concern for the environment, native sovereignty or common sense government subsidization of new roads in the area will allow forestry companies to begin logging as early as this fall. Their plans subject an alarming 77% of Temagami to mining and 71% to logging with a mere 24% of the actual old growth guaranteed any sort of protection. TORIES FOR A TREELESS FUTURE The present situation is critical. The remaining old growth pine stands of Temagami represent less than 1% of the forest's original range, which covered most of the St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes area. These stands are woven into a unique and remarkably diverse ecosystem which cannot simply be "replanted." Tory plans virtually ensure the destruction of more than two-thirds of the forest, lakes, rivers, brush and muskeg of the region. They endanger one of the highest quality trout fisheries in Ontario, the last accessible wilderness in Eastern Canada and habitat for a variety of endangered plant and animal species including the aurora trout,the golden eagle and the eastern cougar. AND WHOSE LAND IS IT, ANYWAY? N'Daki Menan (Temagami) has been the homeland of the Teme- Augama Anishnabai for more than 6,000 years. Seeking a treaty with the Canadian government since 1877, they have struggled for 120 years against the exploitation and destruction of their traditional lands. Teme-Augama blockades against logging on their land in the spring of 1988 were continued in the spring of 1989 with the participation of environmentalists. More than 350 people were arrested. Despite the government's strong-arm tactics, the blockades saved the Temagami forest and forced the Peterson government into serious negotiations with the Teme-Augama in 1990. The present government has set the clock back to 1988 by unilaterally ceasing these negotiations and is disregarding international law by allowing resource extraction to proceed on contested land. TREES FOR A TORYLESS FUTURE Whether cutting social programmes or old growth forests, the Harris government is showing little regard for anything other than its narrow set of corporate interests. Left unchallenged the Tories will do irreparable damage to the social and ecological fabric of this province. Urgent action is required. Citizen action during the previous Temagami campaign was highly effective and was a major factor in the Liberal defeat in the 1990 election. The goal of the present campaign is clear: the Tories must either halt logging and resume negotiations with the Teme-Augama or suffer the fate of their Liberal predecessors. You can send letters, faxes or phone to protest the destruction of Temagami to: Premier Mike Harris Room 281, Legislative Building Queen's Park, Toronto, Ontario Canada M7A 1W3 fax (416) 325-3745 phone (416) 325-1941 Chris Hodgson, Minister of Natural Resources 6th floor, Whitney Block 99 Wellesley St. West Toronto, Ontario Canada M7A 1W3 fax (416) 314-2216 phone (416) 314-2301 You can participate in the civil disobedience campaign in Temagami by contacting Earthroots by e-mail at "eroots@web.apc.org" or by phone at (416) 599-0152. They're presently blockading the road construction in the Owain Lake old growth area. Temagami web pages can be linked by going to www.uoguelph.ca/~rolajos/temagami.html. You can reach us (the Kingston Temagami Action Group) at (613) 541-1823 or by e-mail at "cafe003@intcafe.kosone.com" or at "4kem@qlink.queensu.ca" We are working with other groups like ours in southern Ontario to build a campaign of CD to take place in the south. This is where the government offices and the politicians who are leading the assault on Temagami are. A Columbus Day action is scheduled: Action: October 15 at noon at the Ministry of Natural Resources head office in Peterborough. Buses from Kingston. Phone/e-mail to reserve a seat or to arrange CD training. Other actions are in the works, so keep your eyes open or get in touch with us now so we can keep you up to date. ---------------------------------------------------- Information transferred via: NATIVE FOREST NETWORK Eastern North American Resource Center POB 57 Burlington, VT 05402 USA (802)863-0571 (802)863-2532 Fax email: nfnena@igc.apc.org --------- "RE: Caravan for Justice Itinerary" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Sep 1996 16:03:22 -0500 From: cliu@queens.lib.ny.us (Carol Liu) Subj: Pine Ridge to Wall Street: Caravan for Justice itinerary Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 21:52:56 +0000 (GMT) From: Ted Glick Subject: Caravan for Justice To: Multiple recipients of list ACTIV-L The Caravan for Justice Below is the itinerary for the Caravan for Justice. The Caravan left the Pine Ridge Lakota Sioux Indian reservation in mid-September and is traveling across the country towards Wall Street, scheduled to arrive on October 29th for a mass demonstration there. Since the Caravan is on the road, if you want to make contact with it you should contact the national office of the Independent Progressive Politics Network at 718-624-7807 (t), 718-643-9603 (f), or indpol@igc.apc.org. We will be in regular contact with Inila-Wakan, the main initiator and organizer of the Caravan, as it travels. Sept. 20-21--CfJ arrives at Hoopa Valley Indian reservation, northern California Sept. 22--Arrives at Carson City, Nevada for rally at the State Capitol in support of the Treaty of Ruby Valley. Support for native sovereignty and the western Shoshone. Sept. 23--Arrives at Flaggstaff, Arizona. Traveling to Big Mountain in support of the Hopi and Dine people. Sept. 25--Arrives at Santa Fe, New Mexico for rally at the state capitol. Stop the dumping of nuclear waste on native lands. Support the Mescalero Apache resistance! Sept. 27-28--Arrives at Fort Laramie, Wyoming for treaty meetings during the nine-nation treaty meeting to reaffirm the 1868 treaty! Sept. 29--Arrives at Lawrence, Kansas. Demonstration for freedom at Leavenworth on the 30th in support of Leonard Peltier Oct. 1-2--