_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 04, ISSUE 046 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 16 November 1996 O o O KANOHEDA ANIYVWIYA Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin O o O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse Aunchemokauhettittea O ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) This issue contains articles from Activist , IND-NET & NATIVE-L listservers; Newsgroups: apc.indig.info,soc.culture.native,alt.native UUCP & genie email Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. Thanks to Don Rayment ,don.rayment@uptowne.com, Wotanging Ikche/ Kanoheda Aniyvwiya is being redistributed via a listserver. If you would like to receive Wotanging Ikche via the listserver, you can send a message to listserv@uptowne.com and include, in the body of your message "sub wotanging.ikche " Thanks to Marc Becker and David Cole issues of Wotanging Ikche/ Kanoheda Aniyvwiya are being archived at a World-Wide-Web site. - The URL is http://web.maxwell.syr.edu/nativeweb/journals/nanews 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. "We must learn to start walking the red road once more and stop chasing each other down that east road that will lead only to self destruction." __ Chief Peter Guanikeyu Torres, Taino +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Follow this slowly. See if you feel the sense of despair I do, or maybe it is astonishment that people can fall so far into stupidity and disgrace. I then ask if you will take a moment to send a card or letter to the officials in Rapid City, South Dakota and explain quietly and sincerely what is wrong with this idiotic plan. I will begin with a quote from the November 8, 1996 issue of the _Rapid City Journal_ under the byline of Staff Writer Heidi Bell. CITY DEER SHOOTING TO START December Targeted..... "Rapid City officials are aiming at a target date in early December to begin shooting deer in the city. For several years, city residents have complained of deer eating their gardens, injuring their pets and causing traffic hazards. With an estimated 1,800 deer in town, mostly on the west side, city officials have struggled to find a way to thin the herd. The latest herd management program, approved by the Rapid City Council Sept 16, calls for deer to be baited to carefully selected sites, then shot by trained marksmen. Meat will be given to local charities. Among potential kill sites is Meadowbrook Golf Course. Selected sites will be clearly marked. The goal is to shoot 250 deer per year "until such time as the herd is more manageable." This plan authorizes shooting between Dec 1 and March 15, 1997. ... Payment will be $65 per doe and $40 per buck. ---------- end of quoted article material ------------ In the state of South Dakota there are state regulated days of hunting deer. The penalty for shooting a deer outside of season is a $250 fine, three days in jail and one year's loss of hunting privileges. The city penalty for firearm discharge is a $100 fine and 30 days in jail. It appears that those citizens of South Dakota must abide by the intent of the letter of the law, EXCEPT those who are exempted to systematically bait and slaughter animals who are by their very nature, a integral part of the overall design of Mother Earth. In a time when Native Americans face having to purchase state fishing and hunting licenses to hunt food on their own reservations, it is amazingly obscene that they would be fined and jailed if they sought to hunt 250 deer to feed their starving families on the Pine Ridge Reservation. I may be wrong, but I am betting that the "selected charities" this "bait and slaughter plan" will feed don't include many of the elders in need on either the Pine Ridge or Rose Bud Reservations. I sincerely pray I receive a letter of outrage telling me how wrong I am about this, but past history tells us the Lakota and Dakota are not high on the Rapid City Council's "help list". We, in First Nations, know that permission must always be asked to take the life of the deer and it must be thanked for sacrificing it's life so that we may live. Traditionals know that there are severe penalties when this is not observed. We also know deer carry great medicine. Perhaps, at first glance, this article might seem trivial. It takes little math to add up that over 1,000 deer could be slaughtered in a four year period, which is enough deer to feed most of the families of the Pine Ridge Reservation. Twenty Five Thousand Dollars would also go a long way in supporting heating programs for the elderly or winterization. To spend this amount of money for bounty hunters is beyond comprehension. The Washichu mentality of murdering an animal simply because it's hooves dig up their country club golf course is a excellent example of how First Nations are at odds with the Dominant Culture's superficial value system. I strongly urge all those who read these words to write and especially flood the city phones with calls protesting the impending action of deer extermination. South Dakota Fish Game and Parks is at 3305 West South Street, Rapid City, SD 57702 605-394-2391. The Director of Parks Dept who is in charge of this project can be reached at 2915 Canyon Lake Drive Rapid City, SD 57702 605-394-4175. The Rapid City Mayor's Office at 605-394-4110 300 6th St., Rapid City, SD 57701 The TOLL FREE number for the "Poacher's Hot Line" (to turn in potential poachers) is 800-592-5522. I strongly urge you to call this hot line and inform them that potential poachers include the City of Rapid City. Letters of protest against the deer slaughter can be E mailed to the Rapid City Journey at journal@rapidnet.com There are opposing articles representing different factions representing themselves as AIM. Let me make one point very clear again. This newsletter is not established to judge. As in the case of the Hopi-Navajo land dispute both sides of the issue were aired, when articles were made available. The People of the First Nations have always held that all sides must be heard before a consensus may be reached. So it is now with the two camps representing AIM. I am especially uncomfortable with this because I strongly support the goals and intent of AIM. Still, the People must come to a decision knowing all that is being said. Have you called or written on behalf of Leonard Peltier today, this week, this month? 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 - Brutal Police Attacks - Conferences and Powwows - online - Autonomous AIM - Minnesota Chippewa Reform - AIM Tribunal - Landfill to Cover Burial Site - The Edgewood Declaration - Keweenaw Bay Red Alert - Shiprock Wants Independence - New Arctic Council Created - Clinton Signs Relocation Bill - An Ojibwe Queen - Oneida Nation Offers Speakers - American Indian Heritage Month - Scam Alert - Wadena Gang Greed at White Earth - Unity - Curanderos and Shamans - Thanksgiving History - Poem: For the Veterans - Poem: A.I.M. - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline --------- "RE: Brutal Police Attacks" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 18:37:08 -0700 From: Brian Hauk Subj: Brutal police attacks against Native rights protesters UUCP email #35:Canada: Gov't is the criminal from the Militant, vol.59/no.35 September 25, 1995 Brutal police attacks against Native rights protesters in Ontario and British Columbia have left one person dead and at least four more injured by cop bullets. Hundreds of cops and some Canadian army personnel, armed with assault rifles, land mines, and other weapons are being used in a blatant attempt to intimidate and terrorize native people and their supporters. Widespread protests are needed to counter the government campaign, get out the truth about these vicious assaults, and help prevent further attacks by the cops. In Ontario, 38-year old Anthony George was killed when the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) attacked native people from the Kettle and Stony Point Chippewa band who are occupying a sacred burial ground at Ipperwash Provincial Park on the shores of Lake Huron. The standoff by native people against the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) at Gustafsen Lake in northern British Columbia is also about unsettled native land claims. This summer native people have erected barricades and occupied land at seven different points across the country. The federal and provincial governments along with the cops are waging a racist campaign to paint the native fighters as outlaws and criminals and the cops as defenders of law and order. Ontario premier Mike Harris rejected out of hand Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Ovide Mercredi's demand that he negotiate with the protesters at Ipperwash. "It's a matter for the police," he said with indifference toward the lives of Natives. We are "criminals in relation to who?" asked Steve Wolfe, a Stoney Point band councilor. "Who did the shooting? Who died?" The Native fighters are not intimidated. Over one thousand from across North America attended the funeral for Anthony George at the Ipperwash camp. Demonstrations in support of their struggles have been held in cities across the country. Native people justifiably reject the cop investigations of their own actions and are demanding an independent inquiry into the killing of Anthony George. The government armed forces should immediately withdraw from the areas claimed by the Native protesters. The trigger-happy cops that murdered George and wounded others should be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law. The land claims of Native people across the country should be recognized and settled without further delay. It is urgent for all working people to support these demands. In the context of the deepening political and economic crisis facing Canada's capitalist rulers the state force used against Native people today will be turned against strikers on picket lines tomorrow, or working people and students fighting cuts to education and social services. To get an introductory 12-week subscription to the Militant in the U.S., send $10 US to: The Militant, 410 West Street, New York, NY 10014. For subscription rates to other countries, send e-mail to themilitant@igc.apc.org or write to the above address. --------- "RE: Autonomous AIM" --------- Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 18:36:10 -0700 (MST) From: "Leo Chavez, Jr." Subj: Autonomous AIM (fwd) Jordan Dill sent this to me. I do not know what it is about but I am going to check it out. Jordan S. Dill: Autonomous AIM Wed, 06 Nov 1996 13:25 Good day all... As many are aware "Autonomous AIM" has "walked out" of the political indigenous proceedings in Geneva. Note the following: "AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT "AUTONOMOUS CONFEDERATION "GENEVA, SWITZERLAND OCTOBER 24, 1996 "ON THE OCCASION OF THE MEETING OF THE UNITED NATIONS "OPEN-ENDED INTERSESSIONAL WORKING GROUP CONSIDERING "THE DRAFT DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES "The American Indian Movement is a legitimate National Liberation Organization in the original indigenous territories of North America now claimed by the United States. We have been active at the United Nations since before there was a Working Group on Indigenous Peoples and before there was a Draft Declaration. It is because of our long-standing work in this forum that we feel compelled to inform you why we are leaving this process today." ------------------------ The American Indian Movement does NOT recognize Autonomous AIM as a legitimate entity. By definition, autonomous means "self-governing." In an effort to clarify Autonomous AIM's recent Geneva declaration I ask you to note the following. Comments re this are, of course, welcomed on the First Nations List . However, should anyone have any questions that they might like to ask of me send them to me privately: "To: All AIM Chapters Representatives, members, Indian organizations and people and Organizations in Solidarity with Indian People "From: Vernon Bellecourt, National Representative and Founding Board member American Indian Movement "Date: August 7,1995 "This memorandum should be considered by all interested persons and organizations as official notice that a person identifying himself as Bobby Castillo is not now nor in the past a leader, representative, or member of the American Indian Movement (AIM). "Bobby Castillo, after he was released from federal prison, showed up at the office of The International Indian Treaty Council in San Francisco, California offering his services as a part-time volunteer. "Almost immediately upon his arrival, the staff at IITC began to have some serious concerns regarding a pattern of disturbing and disruptive incidents involving Mr. Castillo. For these reasons on December 1, 1993 Bobby Castillo was expelled from IITC activities and office. IITC is the International diplomatic and political arm of the American Indian Movement. "Mr. Castillo then self-proclaimed himself a leader in the American Indian Movement. Which fraudulent representation, he continues to perpetrate nationally and internationally. We continue to get reports from friends and supporters nationally and internationally on how he disrupts and distorts the true philosophy of the American Indian Movement. "Bobby Castillo is a phony, fraud, and a wannabee. According to people who know him, he has always identified with his Hispanic roots. Only upon release from prison did he began to identify with an Indian tribe. "More serious, he is one of approximately fourteen persons, some the targets of American Indian Movement Internal and External Security ongoing investigations as being agent/operatives for the FBI/CIA attempts to divide and destroy the American Indian Movement. "Along with the following suspected government agents, conspirators and/or collaborators or dupes, Bobby Castillo, David Hill, Ward Churchill, Russell Means, Glen Morris, Bob Robideaux, Joe Locust Sr., Sharon Venne, George Martin, Donald Grinde Jr., Dian Million and Shelly Davis have tried to divide and destroy the American Indian Movement. "By declaring the existence of a so called confederation of autonomous american indian movement, they have been able to dupe several Indian people and communities into playing into their game of dividing the movement. "These persons whom are misled are requested to contact the National Office of the American Indian Movement for official sanctioning and recognition. "Bobby Castillo has been put on notice that he is to cease and desist from fraudulently representing The American Indian Movement. we ask all American Indian Movement members, friends, supporters and organizations world wide to assist us in our efforts to isolate Bobby Castillo and the listed co-conspirators and/or collaborators. "If you have information on any of these individuals write, telephone, or fax." American Indian Movement National Office PO Box 13521 Minneapolis, MN 55414 Telephone: (612) 721-3914 Fax: (612) 721-7826 This letter is sanctioned by AIM's Founding Board of Directors: Larry Anderson-Dine Navaho, Dennis Banks-Anishnabe, Clyde Bellecourt-Anishnabe, William A. Means-Oglala Lakota, Herb Powless-Oneida, Carol Standing Elk-Dakota Further, this letter has been certified as legitimate and current by Vernon Bellecourt as of 11.5.96. A list of "legitimate" AIM Chapters should be available for distribution by the first of next year. Best regards to all, Ayatohihi... First Nations/First Peoples Issues (4 Star Magellan site) Wounded Knee Home Page American Indian Movement PGP public key available upon request... --------- "RE: AIM Tribunal" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 07:58:16 -0800 (PST) From: American Indian Movement Subj: (history) AIM #1 Newsgroups: alt.native THE FOLLOWING IS FROM A TRIBUNAL HELD AGAINST VERNON AND CLYDE BELLECOURT BY THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT. I thought I'd post this to respond to Vernon's Attack on the net about me. I also would like people to read Russell Means's book "Where White Men Fear to Tread." He explains Vernon's behavior. I will let Russell Means, Ward Churchill and others to defend themselves. Vernon and Clyde are the very reason for the split in AIM and we are doing very well and are very alive without them. Bobby Castillo The International Conference Of Autonomous Chapters Of The American Indian Movement On December 17 and 18 of 1993 representatives of the American Indian Movement (AIM) chapters from Florida, Georgia, Oklahoma, Texas, Dakota, Montana, Southern Arizona, Virginia, South East Northwest, New Mexico, Colorado, San Francisco and Los Angeles, California met to revitalize and re-focus AIM. After presenting evidence of acts of treason, fraud, complicity in Genocide and other crimes committed by Vernon Bellcourt, Clyde Bellcourt, the assembled delegates in overwhelming consensus, brought forth an indictment of crimes against the Bellcourts, who fraudulently labeled themselves National AIM officers, Co Conspirators, Tony Gonzales with the International Indian Treaty Council and a Carol Standing Elk who also makes fraudulent claims to "regional" AIM leadership. The indictment will specifically charge Vernon Bellcourt as being a federal agent of the United States. The others will be charged with crimes and conspiracy to disrupt and discredit the American Indian Movement and bring harm to American Indian Peoples. The conference made it perfectly clear. There has not been a genuine national membership meeting of the American Indian Movement since 1974. Therefore, no membership authorization for a national office or national officers can possibly be said to have been obtained since that time. To the contrary, it has been specifically determined on at least two separate occasions during the intervening two decades that such a structure and such titles are antithetical to the interest of the movement and of the American Indian people more generally. AIM Leaderships has always come from the bottom up on a chapter by chapter basis; not from the top down. The series of self-ordained "AIM National Leadership Meetings" conducted during the 1980's and 90's have done nothing to change this essential fact. The conferences also ascertained, contrary to the statements of the Bellcourts and their cohorts / dupes, AIM is not a corporate entity under the laws of the United States, the State Minnesota or any other foreign government, nor is it an entertainment enterprise, personal fiefdom, A "career option", a medium for private profit , or any of the other things this fringe element seems to believe. Consequently, the conference delegates state without hesitation or equivocation that they collectively reject all pretense too legitimacy or authority of those who call themselves National AIM and/or those individuals it has appointed positions of regional or local "leadership" over the past several months. Let it be known that it is the unanimous decision of the conference that an international Tribunal be held in San Rafael, California at Dominican College on 50 Acacia Ave the 26 and 27th of March 1994. At that time the indictments brought against Vernon and Clyde Bellcourt, & co-conspirators Carole Standing Elk, and Tony Gonzales will be heard and tried. For further information call: Russell Means .at 310-396-7764 Bob Robideaux at 505-281-8274 Bobby Castillo at 415-386-4373 --------- "RE: The Edgewood Declaration" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 08:02:01 -0800 (PST) From: American Indian Movement Subj: (history) AIM #2 Newsgroup: alt.native THE EDGEWOOD DECLARATION of the International Confederation of Autonomous Chapters of the American Indian Movement December 18, 1993 We are the American Indian Movement, AIM. We walk into the future in the foot-steps of our ancestors, following the principles of our traditional spirituality, sovereignty, self-determination, sobriety, and mutual respect. Hence, we are firmly committed to the time- honored indigenous political perspective of the inalienable the inherent right of the people to decide for themselves, by grassroots democratic process, the nature of their destiny. It follows that we hereby declare and reaffirm that we are, in the manner of those who have come before us, an international confederation, an alliance of fully autonomous but reciprocally supporting chapters. Accordingly, each chapter of AIM agrees to advance the cause of indigenous sovereignty and self-determination within its own context and regional conditions. Decisions of individual chapters are made independently and, given a legitimate local base and constituency, such decisions are to be respected by other chapters. Our reasons for making this statement, regarding matters which many might consider self-evident, concern certain recent assertions and resulting public confusion fostered by a small group headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, calling itself the National American Indian Movement (N-AIM, or "Name"; an organization founded, by its own account, in September 1993). Because of the nature of the false claims advanced by this clique, and the publicity attending their lies, it has become necessary to publicly address and repudiate them. This is especially true with regard to the notion that there exists either a legitimate AIM "National Office" or "National Officers" with authority to "appoint or remove local AIM members from whatever positions they may occupy on the basis of chapter affirmation, or to dictate policy" to the movement as a whole. Let us be perfectly clear. There has not been a genuine national membership meeting of the American Indian Movement since 1974. therefore, no membership authorization for a national office or national officers can be said to have been obtained since that time. To the contrary, it has been specifically determined on at least two separate occasions during the intervening twenty years that such a structure and/or such titles are contrary to the interests of the movement, and of American Indian people more generally. AIM leadership has always been from the bottom up-on a chapter by chapter basis, not from the top down. And the sporadic and self- proclaimed "National Leadership Meetings" conducted during the 1980s and T90s have done nothing to alter this essential fact. Again we must be clear. AIM is not-despite statements lately issued by Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt Carol Standing Elk and others- a corporate body, under the laws of the United States, the State of Minnesota, or any other foreign government. Nor is it an entertainment enterprise, a personal fiefdom, a "career option," a medium for private profit, or any of the other things this fringe element seems to believe. Instead, AIM is a bonafide national liberation movement-open to the participation of all indigenous people, regardless of the "status" or "recognition" bestowed upon them by our oppressors - oriented specifically and exclusively to reasserting the sovereign and self- determining dignity of our nations. Because of all these factors we state without hesitancy or equivocation that we collectively reject all pretense to legitimacy or authority by N-AIM and those persons it has unilaterally appointed to positions of regional, state or local "leadership" over the past several months. Let it be understood by all those reading this document that we will no longer tolerate the divisiveness and disruption brought about by N-AIM or any similar entity. We have begun the process of doing whatever is necessary to maintain the integrity of the American Indian Movement and the struggle it represents. Anyone considering themselves an ally, supporter or advocate of indigenous rights will respect our position, and respond accordingly. --------- "RE: Shiprock Wants Independence" --------- Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 14:30:30 -0800 (PST) From: "George R. Joe" Subj: shiprock UUCP email Shiprock wants independence Malcolm Brenner Staff Writer SHIPROCK _ The message from Friday's closing session of the Shiprock Partnership for IINA conference was clear: the chapter is demanding that the Navajo government get out of the way and let it develop economically. "If this community wasn't crying out to it's leaders, `Give us a break, let us try some things ourselves,' then my ears were plugged," Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., told the audience during his address. Domenici suggested that the Shiprock Planning Commission, which organized the two-day conference, ask the Navajo Nation Tribal Council to authorize a pilot experience at creating a home-ruled community "more like a city than a collection of chapter houses." The 88-member council largely ignored the event. While Shiprock delegates Genevieve Jackson attended Thursday and Robert Hayes Friday, Tribal Council Speaker Kelsey Begaye appeared to be the only non-Shiprock delegate at Friday's session. "It shows the council delegates are not really putting effort into local government," Chapter President William Lee told the Independent. "They're not interested in Local Governance. They want to retain that power in the central area. It's a negative position." During his address, Begaye said the council is educating itself on the issue of chapter autonomy. The council has proposed a plan, Local Governance, to supplement Navajo Nation President Albert Hale's Local Empowerment Initiative. Hale's proposal has stalled in the council, primarily over issues of financial responsibility and accountability at the chapter level. Begaye asked for the chapter's help developing appropriate legislation that would work for Shiprock and all Navajo Nation communities. Currently, a startup business on the Navajo Nation must go through at least 11 major steps to lease a site, obtain clearances from seven departments and get signatures from dozens of tribal officials before the first clod of dirt can be turned. The cumbersome process, which can take years, has earned the Navajo Nation a reputation of being unfriendly to business in spite of recent Congressional legislation giving tax breaks to employers who locate on Indian nations. Former Shiprock council delegate Duane "Chili" Yazzie, chairman of the Shiprock Planning Commission, expressed the community's frustration at its current state of stagnation and its determination to change the situation, regardless of the obstacles in its way. Yazzie cited statistics that 56 percent of Navajos live below the national poverty level, 34 percent are unemployed, the teen pregnancy rate is the highest of any ethnic group and the suicide rate is 30 percent above the national rate. Alcohol abuse and violence account for most deaths on the Nation, Yazzie said, and despair and frustration have reached pandemic proportions among Navajo youth. While acknowledging that many Navajo families remain strong and retain their traditional ways, Yazzie said that contentment with the current situation would be denying the divine gifts the Navajo people have received and their inherent sovereignty. He called upon the U.S. government to relinquish trusteeship of Indian lands. "So long as we do not surrender willingly any portion of our sovereignty, we should not be of a lesser class than any other sovereign on this earth, except that the United States federal government will continue to hold us subordinate so long as the title of our land is held in trust," Yazzie said. "We recommend strongly that the idea of the federal trusteeship, with America's original people being wards of the government, be re-examined. We refuse to continue to be wards of the government." Yazzie called for legislation to re-recognize and update the federal government's treaties with Native American nations, all of which have been violated by the government, and a review of all federal laws that hold Indian nations subordinate. While Thursday's session dealt with an overview of Shiprock chapter's resources and problems, speakers at Friday's session presented solutions. Speaker after speaker hammered on the idea that Window Rock must begin delegating some of it's authority to the chapters _ or to Shiprock first, as an experimental model of what local autonomy could be. Navajo Vice President and former State Representative Thomas Atcitty, himself a Shiprock native, said the state legislature has finally recognized the amount of revenue, mostly oil and gas taxes, it has earned from Shiprock and District Four. He asked that some of the money be returned to the community. Charley P. Joe, president of the Shiprock Agricultural Council, called for the establishment of a local land office and a new, simplified process for obtaining homesite leases. The five-step process would take two months, Joe said, rather than the two to five years now required. Fees paid for land and water use would stay in Shiprock. Implementing the process would require the Nation's Resource Committee and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to delegate authority to staff at the chapter level. Edgar Tohtsoni, an assistant to the planning commission, was unable to present the long-awaited Master Use Plan. Tohtsoni told the Independent that the computerized plan has 44 layers, including elements such as trees, barbed wire, trails, water pipes, sewage and electrical lines. The plan cannot be printed-out with the current software. The commission is moving cautiously, Tohtsoni said, because it doesn't want to make the mistake other entities have made in the past of developing non-commercial projects on prime commercial real estate. The Master Use Plan would be presented at a meeting in four months, he said. Speaking on the effects of federal legislation on development, agronomist John Blueyes said that parts of the Endangered Species Act have had an adverse effect on Navajo development. Protection of the endangered Colorado squawfish may deter completion of the remaining 40 percent of the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, now running 25 years behind schedule. While supporting the act's intent, "Navajos would like to see a repeal or reauthorization of the act so Navajo farmers can have wet water rather than paper water," Blueyes said. Cecelia Bidtah, director of the Shiprock office of the Navajo Housing Authority, described how the non-profit Shiprock Community Development Corporation had obtained a first-ever, $150,000 loan from the federal Housing and Urban Development Program to renovate housing for the elderly in Shiprock. The experience had established a track record for the chapter as a successful borrower, she said. If the Tribal Council can't agree on Local Empowerment, perhaps it should authorize the decentralization of Shiprock's agency programs, said Philip Nez, project manager of the Northern Navajo Agency Programs Administration. Decentralization has been under study in Shiprock since 1992 and would allow local bureaucrats to serve their own people in the areas of finance, personnel, resource control, legal and policy issues. "It's preposterous to continue the archaic process of driving two hours to Window Rock to process a piece of paper," Nez said. "My dear leaders, allow us to make some progress. Allow us to help people." Shiprock is only 18 months away from becoming the most technically advanced community in New Mexico, said Dr. Stanley Bippus, superintendent of Central Consolidated School District #22. The community is only awaiting permission to run fiber-optic cable on existing telephone poles, and all schools, administrative and government offices will be computer-connected with access to the World Wide Web. Bippus expected tremendous academic gains from the technology. In their responses to the programs and issues presented, tribal, state and federal officials pledged their support of Shiprock's attempt to win economic independence. Wilson Barber, director of the Navajo Area BIA, spoke of the need for an "attitudinal adjustment" in Washington. "Ask Congress to redelegate Washington's authority to Navajos so you don't have to cross 2,000 miles of country to get an answer from Washington, D.C.," Barber said. Yazzie and Domenici praised New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. "You have shown more concern to the Navajo Nation and their sovereignty than any state official I've come in contact with," Domenici said. Johnson, who had taken part in an early morning, nine-mile marathon around Shiprock Peak, restated his administration's commitment to meet with tribal leaders to resolve the issue of dual taxation, and his hope that the state legislature would shortly resolve the legality of Indian gaming. While acknowledging that Shiprock's desire to change was impressive, Farmington Mayor Tom Taylor warned chapter officials against imitating his city's model too closely. "I fight with Santa Fe as much as you do with Window Rock," Taylor said. President Hale said the conference represented what Local Empowerment was all about. "When I heard that the Shiprock community was taking the initiative and saying to themselves, `There is a problem here but we can do something about it,' I breathed a sigh of relief," Hale said. Responding to Begaye's cautions on Local Empowerment, Hale said "It hurts me when I hear people saying we are not ready. That's the words of the federal government, the cavalry, soldiers. We need to rise above that." Hale said at the next council session he will again propose giving $4 million in tribal funds to the chapters so they can begin to implement Local Empowerment. A portion would be designated for economic development, including loans to individuals who want to start businesses. The conference participants, who had come from all over New Mexico, seemed impressed by Shiprock's actions on it's own behalf. Asked what effect the conference had on him, Farmington City Council member Hormuzd Y. Rassam said, "It confirmed my perceptions. The Navajos need more independence, they need more respect. They need to take the bull by the horns." --------- "RE: Clinton Signs Relocation Bill" --------- Date: Thu, 17 Oct 1996 18:00:37 CDT From: Toni Bloodworth Subj: CLINTON SIGNS BIG MOUNTAIN RELOCATION BILL Mailing List: Activists Mailing List CLINTON SIGNS S.1973, THE NAVAJO-HOPI LAND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT ACT OF 1996 According to the Washington-based Shundahai Network, President Clinton signed in to law on Friday, October 11, 1996, S.1973, the Navajo-Hopi Land DIspute Settlement Act of 1996. S.1973 had passed both the Senate and House in September with little opposition. Clinton's actions, which received little attention in the Washington press, solidifies a December 31, 1996 deadline after which time 3,000 remaining Dineh - largely elders - living at Big Mountain can be forcefully relocated. An analysis from Sovereign Dineh Nation, a group based in Flagstaff, Arizona, says that "the key impact of the act is stated most clearly in Sen. McCain's statement introducing the legislation: 'The Agreement recognizes the Hopi Tribe's right to exercise jurisdiction over the Hopi Partitioned Lands where Navajo families are residing.'" In effect this means that the Hopi Tribal Council can now legally call upon its Hopi Rangers who, in conjunction with Federal Marshals and Bureau of Indian Affairs agents, can begin the relocation of the Dineh. An important aspect of this land dispute is the fact that beneath Big Mountain are massive coal deposits which Peabody Coal has economic interests in. It is also important to note that December 31, 1996 is a deadline by which the remaining Dineh must either sign a new restrictive lease agreement or move off the land. The vast majority of the Dineh have no interest in signing the lease. Activists at the Shundahai Network emphasize that while it is not absolutely certain that relocation efforts will begin immediately after December 31, they do say that this threat has been clearly verbalized all year long and in general there is a heightened, albeit ongoing for many years, level of harassment. While as of yet there is no formal call or plea for people to go to Big Mountain at the end of the year, there is a strong recommendation that people around the country reinvigorate interest in Big Mountain. Shundahai Network says that in addition to their office in Washington (which will be moving in December) and the Sovereign Dineh Nation office in Flagstaff, both a west coast and east coast contact for Big Mountain have been established. For more information the Shundahai Network can be reached at 202-588-0912 or emailed at shundahai@radix.net The Sovereign Dineh Nation can be reached at 520-522-8683. --------- "RE: Oneida Nation Offers Speakers" --------- Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 13:41:01 -0800 From: umstead@oneida-nation.org (Dan Umstead) Subj: Oneida Nation offers variety of speakers Newsgroups: apc.indig.info,soc.culture.native,alt.native ONEIDA NATION OFFERS VARIETY OF SPEAKERS ONEIDA NATION TERRITORY, via Oneida, NY -- In response to numerous requests, the Oneida Nation has Members and employees of its enterprises available to speak to various civic and educational organizations. Like its guided tours of Nation lands, the appearances by its Speaker's Bureau participants are free. Scheduling for fall and winter events is under way. Speakers versed in a variety of topics are available. They are able to speak about historic and current issues as well as the Nation's business enterprises and its role in the economic development of the region. Members of the Speaker's Bureau are available to discuss several current issues in the news: the Nation's land claim, taxation, and the purchase of land in Central New York by the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Inc. The history and culture of the Oneida Nation remain popular topics for Speaker's Bureau members. Among the topics which can be addressed are the Oneidas' role as allies to the Americans in the Revolutionary War; the history, culture and traditions of the Nation; and the stories and legends of the Oneida People. Speakers are also available to discuss the Nation's role as a catalyst for economic development; it's leadership in efforts to make Central New York a four-seasons tourism destination; and issues in Indian gaming. The Nation also has available tours of its lands. Its Shako:wi Cultural Center also is open to the public and has on display a variety of cultural artifacts. To arrange a tour or a speaker's visit, please call the Nation's Community Relations Department at (315) 361-7938. Requests should be made at least three weeks in advance of the date of the program. For more information visit the Nation's web page at http://one-web.org/oneida/, email umstead@oneida-nation.org, or contact Ken Zeszutko, media coordinator, Oneida Nation Communications Department at (315) 361-7896. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Daniel Umstead The Oneida Indian Nation Internet Coordinator "A Sovereign Nation Oneida Indian Nation in http://one-web.org/oneida/ Cyber-space!" 315-361-6300 http://one-web.org/oneida/ +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ --------- "RE: Scam Alert" --------- Date: Tue, 05 Nov 1996 13:41:01 -0800 From: Jules Straight Eagle Subj: attachment Newsgroups: soc.culture.native,alt.native I know this is long, but it is important. It may save you quite a bit of anxiety Good day all, This letter grieves me. But it must be posted, so that others of good intention do not get misled. At the UNH Powwow, I met a woman from New Mexico who called herself Yosa Finkel-Aloniz. She said she was the International Coordinator for an organization called "Child of All Nations." She was having trouble because her van had broken down in Oklahoma and needed parts. She said there were some sites that were operating in other parts of the country, and that a coordinator was needed for the Northeast. I, and my wife put her up for several weeks while her proposals were discussed. During that time, she completely cleaned the house; she did earn her keep. However, it soon became clear that the names of people in other parts of the country were not true. Nobody could be found in order to discuss the development elsewhere. NOBODY! Her resume did not even check out. Places where she said she volunteered as a Vice-President of this or a Board of Directors for that were not true. Some places remembered working with her son on different projects. Even a site where there was supposed to be a working project was actually the vision and work of the mother of a tribal chief in Ohio. Two elders who were supposed to be on the Council of Elders for the project denied being associated with it. One of these even said that Yosa had stolen her only winter coat from her. Another spiritual leader had business papers taken along with some gifted crystals. In fact, a fax sent to me was among her belongings. I haven't a clue how she would use it, but I am sure she would have found a way. Even when confronted with this information, Yosa continued to lie about it. One of two things is possible. 1. Yosa is a pathological liar, who cannot recognize truth from fiction, and who is so wrapped up in her mission that she cannot see that it does not exist; or 2. She is a great panhandler, with a story line and wrappings that are sure to get people interested in her project. I feel sorry for her and am praying for her. I am posting this so others do not get caught up in the fraud. Here is some info that may help identify her. Born Virginia Lynn Aloniez on March 3, 1951 Has gone under the following first names: Virginia Yosa Yonsa Yanasa Has gone under the following last names: Ageya Aloniz (notice the missing "e" from her birth name) Finkel Finkel-Aloniz She is a card carrying Etowah Cherokee as is her son. At this time, they may be headed for Texas, having been put on a bus to Ohio after the confrontation. The bottom line is, call people and talk to them. This ruse cannot continue to work without the permission of the victim. Follow-up on information and names, follow-up on resumes. If you talk to elders, remember to be kind and to ask specific questions; most elders do not gossip, and will only tell you about someone if you ask a direct question. --------- "RE: Wadena Gang Greed at White Earth" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 14:20:00 -0600 From: eaglerok@northernnet.com (feather eaglerock) Subj: Auditors Document Wadena Gang Greed at White Earth Mailing List: IND-NET NEWS RELEASE: NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS OUTREACH AND RESOURCE CENTER Information provided by Erma Vizenor, temporary Secretary/Treasurer at White Earth RBC White Earth records show evidence of still more theft by Wadena government. Certified public accountants whose specialty is examining financial records of administrators suspected of perpetrating fraud examined records from January 1995 through June 1996 -- in their judgement similar results would be found in prior years. None of the findings in this current report were brought out at the federal trial of the convicted tribal officials. examples of pattern of theft: --former RTC gave themselves two "bonuses in 1995, although there is no RTC resolution authorizing bonuses or any paperwork to support them, --former RTC gave themselves monthly payments of $600 for "travel" and Darrel Wadena got an additional $200 monthly "per contract." The travel payment was automatic, for example, during the same month Jerry Rawley got one of those payments, he also received an $800 check for travel, another $600 check for travel, a third $358 check for travel (to Cass Lake) and yet another $358 check for travel (destination unknown) --from January 1995 through June 1996, councilors appropriated the following unaccounted-for money *over and above* their salaries: Darrel Wadena $160,961.70 Jerry Rawley $175,473.70 Rick Clark $143,852.65 Paul Williams $130,309.55 Anthony Wadena $158,033.34 On a SINGLE day in March 1995, Darrel "Chip" Wadena received: a travel allowance of $1770 another travel allowance of $320 a third travel allowance of $651 a fake fishing commission salary of $3,125 another travel allowance of $600 an advance of $1184 also give for travel-related reason $2801 and $359 Three days later, he collected $1116 in travel money and his usual $200 "per contract" monthly payment, and his $474 gas bill at Wadena's Convenience Store was paid (a regular occurrence) The pattern is repeated for all councilors throughout the 18 months of records examined by auditors. -- Companies owned by former councilors -- Northern Drywall and One Nation Environment -- received questionable payments amount to $108,629 in 1995. -- Darrell Wadena, Rawly, and Clark took $885,436.82 of tribal money in 1995 to pay their criminal defense attorneys, which they pledged to pay back if they were found innocent of federal corruption charges They were found guilty in June and have paid nothing back. At present Miles Lord and Zenas Baer, legal counsel for White Earth, are preparing lawsuits to recover these stolen funds. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bernard J. Rock, Sr. Leech Lake Pillager Band Spotted Eagle Warrior Society North Central Minnesota Native American Veterans Outreach and Resource Center --------- "RE: Unity" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 14:53:45 -0500 (EST) From: Jere Cox Subj: UNITY UUCP email After reading the several messages on Unity, I must say I am almost speechless. I have a First American and white background, though I choose to live Cherokee. I do not appreciate what was done to my Cherokee and Catawba ancestors in the past, especially the illegal purchases and injustices committed toward them pre1775. That is why I am writing a text about the illegal designs of the white man, and it is documented that the white man was no friend to our people. I must admit that I experience great hatred toward my state for allowing such injustice to occur. Once a proud Tennessean, now I am embarrassed by their ignorance. I can not find one shed of evidence that anyone understood or cared about our people. They either lied or chose to teach other lies so they could learn to lie. It was this way, and even intermarriage often occurred for profitable gain in the trade. While I must admit I experience bad feelings over this era, I also have realized that there are good and bad people in every race. I can show you excellent whites, blacks, Indians, etc, yet in history I can show you each of these groups and their bad elements. The Cherokees had people seeking the truth, and others who sought self gain, yet I am proud to be Cherokee. The Catawbas helped the Americans destroy the Cherokees, and for a long time I held personal feelings toward them for it. Yet then Twokiller visited me one night in a dream. There I was lying in a battlefield, and my only companion was Twokiller. I looked up and saw a band of Catawbas charging at me, and from behind a band of Cherokees. Once they settled upon my heart, they fought. I was both and could not fight my brothers. We must decide what we should follow and not judge others by their evil leaders. I choose to live Cherokee, but can I take away my French or Scottish blood? No I can not, and I dare anyone to try. You may kill that portion of my soul, but you can not keep me alive as well. My heart follows my Cherokee ancestors. Were all Christians bad? Did Jesus Christ steal Indian lands? No he did not, and he was not white. Christianity is not the problem. It was the overzealous peasants who decided to harm the Indians, because they were not accepted in England or where ever. They felt they were better than our ancestors, yet their ignorance was due to persecution in Europe. I choose to live Cherokee, and if my Great Spirit chooses to call upon another to be a part of our family as a white or red, I will love him just the same. He is not guilty of persecuting my people, WE must stand together for if only one cell of native blood exists within a heart, it is needed to defeat the injustices that are continued by the U.S. We can not lose anyone who holds our banner of freedom, and if my ancestors accepted some Frenchmen or Scottish persons as brothers, so can we. This does not excuse the ignorance of America's forefathers, yet can we be as ignorant as them. No we can not. We are the First Americans, and we can not be like those who persecuted our ancestors. Stand up and remember their misery and shame. They had the honor, and we can not have it unless they first give it. YANUSDI --------- "RE: Curanderos and Shamans" --------- Date: Mon, 04 Nov 96 13:54:28 EST From: "Glen WELKER" Subj: Curanderos and Shamans in the Southwest (fwd) UUCP email Source: http://www.english.swt.edu/CSS/ResponseCDV.HTML Response to Cabeza de Vaca's Narratives in Regard to Healing Methods and His Role as a Folk Healer as Compared with Three Curanderos (A Position Paper) Eliseo Torres The University of New Mexico Albuquerque, New Mexico Before Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's initial expedition of 1527, the first Spaniards had already arrived in Mexico in the year 1519 and were amazed that the Aztecs had acquired such a vast knowledge of medicinal plants. Unfortunately, six year before Cabeza de Vaca's arrival on August 13, 1521, the Spaniards destroyed the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, also destroying some three thousand distinct medicinal plants utilized by the natives. Before discussing Cabeza de Vaca's role as a Hispanic curandero, we should first understand who is a curandero. He or she is a folk healer who heals in the material level with herbs, amulets, etc. and/or in the spiritual level using religion, God, saints, prayers, and petitions to heal a patient. The word curandero comes from the word curar which means to heal. The curandero practices the art of folk healing and uses religion and the supernatural. The belief that all healing comes from God makes it religious as does the concept that a curandero can only bring God's will. The belief that certain rituals and practices can effect a certain outcome makes it supernatural. A person can receive a God-given gift or don to become a curandero or the gift can be accomplished through an apprenticeship. Modern curanderos and well known traditional curanderos of the early 1900's such as Don Pedrito Jaramillo (1829-1907), Teresita (1873-1906), and Nino Fidencio (1898-1938) appear to possess many of the qualities described in Cabeza de Vaca's experiences as a healer. Cabeza de Vaca narrates as follows: Our method, however was to bless the sick, breathe upon them, recite a Pater Noster and Ave Maria and pray earnestly to God our Lord for recovery . . . We conclude with the sign of the cross. What did the three well-known curanderos, Don Pedrito Jaramillo, Teresita, and Nino Fidencio have in common with Cabeza de Vaca? First, all three curanderos were considered folk saints recognized by the common people but not accepted nor canonized by the Catholic Church. Cabeza de Vaca was considered a folk saint by the Indians since they considered him and his companions "truly children of the sun...a belief that none could die while we remained among them... We all became healers because so many people insisted." Being a folk saint is a rare phenomenon, especially when that person is still alive as in the case of the three curanderos and possibly Cabeza de Vaca. Second, all three traditional curanderos used a series of rituals in order to heal the sick. Don Pedrito would pray, massage the body, and prescribe simple herbal plants, the drinking of water, and the use of mud to rub on the ailment. Nino Fidencio would prescribe herbs, baths, and prayer. Teresita would also prescribe herbs, baths, prayer, and would use hypnosis. The three curanderos believed that healing occurred through God and that religion played an important role. Cabeza de Vaca also believed that God would restore the Indian's health as he wrote: . . . and we all asked God as best as we could to restore their health... and God was so merciful that the following morning they all awakened well and healthy. Religion and faith play an important role in curanderismo or the folk healing process and is based on the patient's faith. Not being of Christian faith, the Indians may not have believed in Cabeza de Vaca's God but they believed in a spiritual being; therefore, the praying and sign of the cross was part of the healing process as it has been for years in curanderismo. Third, all three curanderos, Don Pedrito Jaramillo, Nino Fidencio, and Teresita were charismatic leaders and healers. Don Pedrito was appointed by the State of Texas to serve as a welfare agent for the people of South Texas during the great drought of 1893 and had hundreds of followers. Nino Fidencio also had a great following and became famous when he healed the President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles and his daughter. Even nowadays, thousands throughout Mexico and the Southwest follow his Fidencista movement. Teresita had a large following of Mayos and Yaquis tribes and her influence in Mexico was so strong that it scared the President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz, who sent five hundred armed men to exile her. She fled to El Paso, Texas, and her charisma continued in the United States until she died in Clifton, Arizona. This charisma is also evident in Cabeza de Vaca. His appointment as Narvaez', royal treasurer, by his role in the expedition, and by his powers as a leader and healer amongst the Indians. His charisma was evident in his healings and cures. Fourth, the three famous curanderos believed they had a gift or don from God to heal. They all gave credit to God for their healing gift and prayed including "laying of the hands" on their patients. Cabeza de Vaca also believed he had a don or gift from God to heal the sick and always asked God to restore the Indians' health. Fifth, the three curanderos performed miracles and possessed extraordinary powers. It is said that Don Pedrito had psychic powers and the ability to detect the unbelievers; there are many stories that he could "read minds". Teresita also had great powers. In one instance, she was traumatized by an attempted rape and began to have seizures; one resulted in a coma appearing that she had withdrawn into death. She was dressed for burial, her hands bound across her chest, candles were lit, and a coffin built. Suddenly, Teresita sat upright as if resuscitating from death. There are hundreds of accounts of El Nino Fidencio's cures including the ability ton make mute men speak and paralytic patients walk. Cabeza de Vaca also revived a dean man. His account states: . . . the man who was dead and whom I had healed in their presence had gotten up well and walked and eaten and spoken to them . . . It appears that all three curanderos as well as Cabeza de Vaca cured psychosomatic illnesses considered miracles during their times. In summary, Cabeza de Vaca could be considered the first curandero or shaman from the old world who healed in the Southwest. This conclusion is based on a comparison of Cabeza de Vaca's healing experience with those of three of the most famous Hispanic curanderos who influenced Mexico and the Southwest. All three traditional folk healers lived and had followers throughout Northern Mexico, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona which covered some of Cabeza de Vaca's route. The commonalties in the three curanderos and Cabeza de Vaca were that: - they all were considered folk saints or saints of the people while they were alive; - they all used rituals in healing the sick; - they all believed that religion and faith played an important role in their healing; - they all were charismatic leaders; - they all believed that they had a gift or don from God to heal; - they all possessed extraordinary powers and performed miracles. In order to emphasize the importance of folk or herbal medicine which is part of the curanderismo practice, we should note the historical events after Cabeza de Vaca's expedition. Sixteen years after Cabeza de Vaca left Mexico City, Martin de la Cruz, an Aztec Indian doctor who was assistant to the head of the School of Santa Cruz Tlaltelolco wrote the first book about medicinal plants in all of the Americans. A student, Juan Badiano, translated the book into Latin. Martin de la Cruz included two hundred and fifty-one medicinal herbs in his book but no mention was made of three most publicized Mexican drugs which were Peyote, Morning Glory seed ololiuhque, and the sacred mushroom tconanctle. It does not appear that Cabeza de Vaca used these plants but some of the Indians were using them during Cabeza de Vaca's ten year expedition. This Aztec herbal book impressed the Spaniards by the number of plants classified by the Indians as remedies, since at the time, many Indians were considered uncivilized and backward. In summary, after comparing Cabeza de Vaca to three of the most influential curanderos who lived and had an influence in Mexico, Texas, and the Southwest, we can conclude that he practiced the rituals of a traditional curandero. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bibliography Favato, Martin A. & Jose' B. Fernandez. The Account: Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca's Relacion. Houston: Arte Publico Press, 1993. Holden, William C. Teresita. Maryland: Stemmer House, 1978. Hudson, Wilson M. The Healer of Los Olmos. Dallas: Southern Methodist Press, 1975. Smith, Buckingham. Relation of Cabeza de Vaca. New York; Readox Microprint Corporation, 1871. Torres, Eliseo. The Folk Healer: The Mexican Tradition of Curanderismo. Kingsville: Nieves Press, 1985. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Posted here in compliance with the FAIR USE DOCTRINE for educational purposes. This is an educational forum. Not for commercial use. --------- "RE: Thanksgiving History" --------- Date: 6 Nov 1996 19:16:16 GMT From: dmcclain@runet.edu (Dennis McClain-Furmanski) Subj: Thanksgiving History Newsgroup: alt.native Here's my annual repost of this piece. T E A C H I N G A B O U T T H A N K S G I V I N G Dr. Frank B. Brouillet Superintendent of Public Instruction State of Washington Cheryl Chow Assistant Superintendent Division of Instructional Programs and Services Warren H. Burton Director Office for Multicultural and Equity Education Dr. Willard E. Bill Supervisor of Indian Education Originally written and developed by Cathy Ross, Mary Robertson, Chuck Larsen, and Roger Fernandes Indian Education, Highline School District With an introduction by: Chuck Larsen Tacoma School District Printed: September, 1986 Reprinted: May, 1987 AN INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS This is a particularly difficult introduction to write. I have been a public schools teacher for twelve years, and I am also a historian and have written several books on American and Native American history. I also just happen to be Quebeque French, Metis, Ojibwa, and Iroquois. Because my Indian ancestors were on both sides of the struggle between the Puritans and the New England Indians and I am well versed in my cultural heritage and history both as an Anishnabeg (Algokin) and Hodenosione (Iroquois), it was felt that I could bring a unique insight to the project. For an Indian, who is also a school teacher, Thanksgiving was never an easy holiday for me to deal with in class. I sometimes have felt like I learned too much about "the Pilgrims and the Indians." Every year I have been faced with the professional and moral dilemma of just how to be honest and informative with my children at Thanksgiving without passing on historical distortions, and racial and cultural stereotypes. The problem is that part of what you and I learned in our own childhood about the "Pilgrims" and "Squanto" and the "First Thanksgiving" is a mixture of both history and myth. But the THEME of Thanksgiving has truth and integrity far above and beyond what we and our forbearers have made of it. Thanksgiving is a bigger concept than just the story of the founding of the Plymouth Plantation. So what do we teach to our children? We usually pass on unquestioned what we all received in our own childhood classrooms. I have come to know both the truths and the myths about our "First Thanksgiving," and I feel we need to try to reach beyond the myths to some degree of historic truth. This text is an attempt to do this. At this point you are probably asking, "What is the big deal about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims?" "What does this guy mean by a mixture of truths and myth?" That is just what this introduction is all about. I propose that there may be a good deal that many of us do not know about our Thanksgiving holiday and also about the "First Thanksgiving" story. I also propose that what most of us have learned about the Pilgrims and the Indians who were at the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Plantation is only part of the truth. When you build a lesson on only half of the information, then you are not teaching the whole truth. That is why I used the word myth. So where do you start to find out more about the holiday and our modern stories about how it began? A good place to start is with a very important book, "The Invasion of America," by Francis Jennings. It is a very authoritative text on the settlement of New England and the evolution of Indian/White relations in the New England colonies. I also recommend looking up any good text on British history. Check out the British Civil War of 1621-1642, Oliver Cromwell, and the Puritan uprising of 1653 which ended parliamentary government in England until 1660. The history of the Puritan experience in New England really should not be separated from the history of the Puritan experience in England. You should also realize that the "Pilgrims" were a sub sect, or splinter group, of the Puritan movement. They came to America to achieve on this continent what their Puritan brethren continued to strive for in England; and when the Puritans were forced from England, they came to New England and soon absorbed the original "Pilgrims." As the editor, I have read all the texts listed in our bibliography, and many more, in preparing this material for you. I want you to read some of these books. So let me use my editorial license to deliberately provoke you a little. When comparing the events stirred on by the Puritans in England with accounts of Puritan/Pilgrim activities in New England in the same era, several provocative things suggest themselves: 1. The Puritans were not just simple religious conservatives persecuted by the King and the Church of England for their unorthodox beliefs. They were political revolutionaries who not only intended to overthrow the government of England, but who actually did so in 1649. 2. The Puritan "Pilgrims" who came to New England were not simply refugees who decided to "put their fate in God's hands" in the "empty wilderness" of North America, as a generation of Hollywood movies taught us. In any culture at any time, settlers on a frontier are most often outcasts and fugitives who, in some way or other, do not fit into the mainstream of their society. This is not to imply that people who settle on frontiers have no redeeming qualities such as bravery, etc., but that the images of nobility that we associate with the Puritans are at least in part the good "P.R." efforts of later writers who have romanticized them. (1) It is also very plausible that this unnaturally noble image of the Puritans is all wrapped up with the mythology of "Noble Civilization" vs. "Savagery."(2) At any rate, mainstream Englishmen considered the Pilgrims to be deliberate religious dropouts who intended to found a new nation completely independent from non-Puritan England. In 1643 the Puritan/Pilgrims declared themselves an independent confederacy, one hundred and forty-three years before the American Revolution. They believed in the imminent occurrence of Armageddon in Europe and hoped to establish here in the new world the "Kingdom of God" foretold in the book of Revelation. They diverged from their Puritan brethren who remained in England only in that they held little real hope of ever being able to successfully overthrow the King and Parliament and, thereby, impose their "Rule of Saints" (strict Puritan orthodoxy) on the rest of the British people. So they came to America not just in one ship (the Mayflower) but in a hundred others as well, with every intention of taking the land away from its native people to build their prophesied "Holy Kingdom."(3) 3. The Pilgrims were not just innocent refugees from religious persecution. They were victims of bigotry in England, but some of them were themselves religious bigots by our modern standards. The Puritans and the Pilgrims saw themselves as the "Chosen Elect" mentioned in the book of Revelation. They strove to "purify" first themselves and then everyone else of everything they did not accept in their own interpretation of scripture. Later New England Puritans used any means, including deceptions, treachery, torture, war, and genocide to achieve that end.(4) They saw themselves as fighting a holy war against Satan, and everyone who disagreed with them was the enemy. This rigid fundamentalism was transmitted to America by the Plymouth colonists, and it sheds a very different light on the "Pilgrim" image we have of them. This is best illustrated in the written text of the Thanksgiving sermon delivered at Plymouth in 1623 by "Mather the Elder." In it, Mather the Elder gave special thanks to God for the devastating plague of smallpox which wiped out the majority of the Wampanoag Indians who had been their benefactors. He praised God for destroying "chiefly young men and children, the very seeds of increase, thus clearing the forests to make way for a better growth", i.e., the Pilgrims.(5) In as much as these Indians were the Pilgrim's benefactors, and Squanto, in particular, was the instrument of their salvation that first year, how are we to interpret this apparent callousness towards their misfortune? 4. The Wampanoag Indians were not the "friendly savages" some of us were told about when we were in the primary grades. Nor were they invited out of the goodness of the Pilgrims' hearts to share the fruits of the Pilgrims' harvest in a demonstration of Christian charity and interracial brotherhood. The Wampanoag were members of a widespread confederacy of Algonkian-speaking peoples known as the League of the Delaware. For six hundred years they had been defending themselves from my other ancestors, the Iroquois, and for the last hundred years they had also had encounters with European fishermen and explorers but especially with European slavers, who had been raiding their coastal villages.(6) They knew something of the power of the white people, and they did not fully trust them. But their religion taught that they were to give charity to the helpless and hospitality to anyone who came to them with empty hands.(7) Also, Squanto, the Indian hero of the Thanksgiving story, had a very real love for a British explorer named John Weymouth, who had become a second father to him several years before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth. Clearly, Squanto saw these Pilgrims as Weymouth's people.(8) To the Pilgrims the Indians were heathens and, therefore, the natural instruments of the Devil. Squanto, as the only educated and baptized Christian among the Wampanoag, was seen as merely an instrument of God, set in the wilderness to provide for the survival of His chosen people, the Pilgrims. The Indians were comparatively powerful and, therefore, dangerous; and they were to be courted until the next ships arrived with more Pilgrim colonists and the balance of power shifted. The Wampanoag were actually invited to that Thanksgiving feast for the purpose of negotiating a treaty that would secure the lands of the Plymouth Plantation for the Pilgrims. It should also be noted that the INDIANS, possibly out of a sense of charity toward their hosts, ended up bringing the majority of the food for the feast.(9) 5. A generation later, after the balance of power had indeed shifted, the Indian and White children of that Thanksgiving were striving to kill each other in the genocidal conflict known as King Philip's War. At the end of that conflict most of the New England Indians were either exterminated or refugees among the French in Canada, or they were sold into slavery in the Carolinas by the Puritans. So successful was this early trade in Indian slaves that several Puritan ship owners in Boston began the practice of raiding the Ivory Coast of Africa for black slaves to sell to the proprietary colonies of the South, thus founding the American-based slave trade.(10) Obviously there is a lot more to the story of Indian/Puritan relations in New England than in the thanksgiving stories we heard as children. Our contemporary mix of myth and history about the "First" Thanksgiving at Plymouth developed in the 1890s and early 1900s. Our country was desperately trying to pull together its many diverse peoples into a common national identity. To many writers and educators at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one, this also meant having a common national history. This was the era of the "melting pot" theory of social progress, and public education was a major tool for social unity. It was with this in mind that the federal government declared the last Thursday in November as the legal holiday of Thanksgiving in 1898. In consequence, what started as an inspirational bit of New England folklore, soon grew into the full-fledged American Thanksgiving we now know. It emerged complete with stereotyped Indians and stereotyped Whites, incomplete history, and a mythical significance as our "First Thanksgiving. " But was it really our FIRST American Thanksgiving? Now that I have deliberately provoked you with some new information and different opinions, please take the time to read some of the texts in our bibliography. I want to encourage you to read further and form your own opinions. There really is a TRUE Thanksgiving story of Plymouth Plantation. But I strongly suggest that there always has been a Thanksgiving story of some kind or other for as long as there have been human beings. There was also a "First" Thanksgiving in America, but it was celebrated thirty thousand years ago.(11) At some time during the New Stone Age (beginning about ten thousand years ago) Thanksgiving became associated with giving thanks to God for the harvests of the land. Thanksgiving has always been a time of people coming together, so thanks has also been offered for that gift of fellowship between us all. Every last Thursday in November we now partake in one of the OLDEST and most UNIVERSAL of human celebrations, and THERE ARE MANY THANKSGIVING STORIES TO TELL. As for Thanksgiving week at Plymouth Plantation in 1621, the friendship was guarded and not always sincere, and the peace was very soon abused. But for three days in New England's history, peace and friendship were there. So here is a story for your children. It is as kind and gentle a balance of historic truth and positive inspiration as its writers and this editor can make it out to be. I hope it will adequately serve its purpose both for you and your students, and I also hope this work will encourage you to look both deeper and farther, for Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving all around the world. Chuck Larsen Tacoma Public Schools September, 1986 FOOTNOTES FOR TEACHER INTRODUCTION (1) See Berkhofer, Jr., R.F., "The White Man's Indian," references to Puritans, pp. 27, 80-85, 90, 104, & 130. (2) See Berkhofer, Jr., R.F., "The White Man's Indian," references to frontier concepts of savagery in index. Also see Jennings, Francis, "The Invasion of America," the myth of savagery, pp. 6-12, 15-16, & 109- 110. (3) See Blitzer, Charles, "Age of Kings," Great Ages of Man series, references to Puritanism, pp. 141, 144 & 145-46. Also see Jennings, Francis, "The Invasion of America," references to Puritan human motives, pp. 4-6, 43-44 and 53. (4) See "Chronicles of American Indian Protest," pp. 6-10. Also see Armstrong, Virginia I., "I Have Spoken," reference to Cannonchet and his village, p. 6. Also see Jennings, Francis, "The Invasion of America," Chapter 9 "Savage War," Chapter 13 "We must Burn Them," and Chapter 17 "Outrage Bloody and Barbarous." (5) See "Chronicles of American Indian Protest," pp. 6-9. Also see Berkhofer, Jr., R.F., "The White Man's Indian," the comments of Cotton Mather, pp. 37 & 82-83. (6) See Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving," pp. 3-4. Also see Graff, Steward and Polly Ann, "Squanto, Indian Adventurer." Also see "Handbook of North American Indians," Vol. 15, the reference to Squanto on p. 82. (7) See Benton-Banai, Edward, "The Mishomis Book," as a reference on general "Anishinabe" (the Algonkin speaking peoples) religious beliefs and practices. Also see Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving," reference to religious life on p. 1. (8) See Graff, Stewart and Polly Ann, "Squanto, Indian Adventurer." Also see Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving." Also see Bradford, Sir William, "Of Plymouth Plantation," and "Mourt's Relation." (9) See Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving," the letter of Edward Winslow dated 1622, pp. 5-6. (10) See "Handbook of North American Indians," Vol. 15, pp. 177-78. Also see "Chronicles of American Indian Protest," p. 9, the reference to the enslavement of King Philip's family. Also see Larsen, Charles, M., "The Real Thanksgiving," pp. 8-11, "Destruction of the Massachusetts Indians." (11) Best current estimate of the first entry of people into the Americas confirmed by archaeological evidence that is datable. --------- "RE: Poem: For the Veterans" --------- Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 09:42:38 -0800 From: berryj@Okway.Okstate.edu (John Berry) Subj: For the Veterans UUCP email Folks don't usually pay attention, as everyone lives and works, from day to day. There's a small fraternity, of brothers and sisters, those who have been in harms way. Sometimes, it is but a glance, or a nod in passing. Sometimes, in uniform, sometimes, a patch, or perhaps a pin. Sometimes, it is a look, or a stare, of a thousand yards, or so. Sometimes, it is when talking, and someone else comes by. When no one, says another thing, until that person passes by. Sometimes, it's sharing a drink, and sometimes just a smoke. Sometimes, it is that eagle feather, that you can't see there. Sometimes, it is in their stride, or horizon glances, on land, at sea, in air. There are warriors among us, and if you see them, be thankful, that they are there. John Berry Oklahoma 1996 --------- "RE: Poem: A.I.M" --------- Date: Fri, 25 Oct 1996 16:51:44 -0700 (PDT) From: Larry Kibbey Subj: A.I.M UUCP email Written January 5, 1991 by: Larry Kibby "A.I.M" America you thought the Indian was a dying breed, you thought the Indian was gone and laid to rest and then you met A.I.M.! A.I.M. whose Indian leaders did carry to you with a strong voice of our nations, words of militancy, action of violence, a way of life that came from the past. A.I.M. a strong voice, that did speak words from the past words of the present, words of our forefathers that you had heard before. A.I.M. many did not understand. A.I.M. many turned away. A.I.M. made many listen and once again the Indian is alive. Alive because of the AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT!!!! --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 96/11/05 21:13 From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days genie email A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of November 17-23 NOWEMAPA (November) (Welehu) 17 If I can hear the ocean's song and feel the wind's caress, then I am at peace. 18 All things return to the ocean at last. 19 Wishes made by starlight are wishes born of the heart. 20 The fairy terns are pale ghosts against the night sky. 21 The pueo's haunting call invokes the spirit of the wind. 22 The full moon is rosy with the glow of the setting sun, and the clouds surrounding it are royal purple. 23 Heed well the cycles of your life. (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, 14 November 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, 11 Nov 1996 09:29:25 -0500 From: Mike Dashner Subj: Lansing CC Pow Wow October 2l, l996 Aneen niijke'wok, It's time again for our 4th Annual Citywide Anishinaabek Cultural Celebration and 2nd Annual Pow Wow in Lansing. This year we have moved the event to our beautiful downtown Lansing Center. We were able to move to this larger center as a result of the Mayor and City Council's continuing support for our growing celebration. As before, we will begin on Friday (November l5) with a conference at Lansing Community College and an evening of Storytelling, music and comedy. Then we move to the Lansing Center for the weekend. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER l5: Lansing Community College Dart Auditorium l0:00 a.m. Repatriation and Revitalization with Dr. James Riding In, Pawnee Historian, author of the Legislative History of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (l990). l:30-3:00 p.m. The technological future of Native American Education and Leadership Preparation with Pat Turcotte, Turtle Mountain Chippewa, LCC CAD Faculty and Contract Training Specialist. 7:00-9:00 Storytelling time featuring Great Lakes Anishinaabek and West Coast Mountain Payute and Miwok teachers. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER l6 AND SUNDAY, NOVEMBER l7: Honor our Ancestors Pow Wow. Grand entries at l:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. on Saturday and l:00 p.m. Sunday with special displays of Great Lakes Anishinaabek Artists featuring Blake Debassige from West Bay First Nation, and more than fifty Native American Traders and Crafters. This year we are honored to have seven invited drums hosted by Rainbow. Activities include dance demonstrations, art displays, craft shows, traditional foods, and more. Note: Saturday morning breakfast with Mayor Dave Hollister, The Pow Wow Committee, and other sponsors and community leaders begins at 9:30 a.m. For additional information, please contact CLIMB partner. . . Tom Biron Native American Leadership Program Lansing Community College lll0 Registrar's Office/SPS Building l02 P.O. Box 400l0/Lansing MI 4890l-72l0 Phone: (5l7) 483-9803 Fax: (5l7) 483-9795 E-Mail: TB9803@LOIS.LANSING.CC.MI.US Donation at door: $3/day adult; $5/weekend adult. Children under l2 years, senior citizens and special needs groups free. Additional donations accepted with thanks! Michael A. Dashner, CICNet Sales & GLRAIN Directr 2901 Hubbard Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48105, Ph: 313/998-6103 Fax: 313/998-6105, E-mail: mdashner@cic.net CICNet Customer Services, URL: http://www.cic.net GLRAIN Project Director, URL: http://glrain.cic.net ----------------------------------- Date 11/11/96 4:40 PM Subj: Winona La Duke at Rutgers University From: Colleen O'Neill at SMTP Winona LaDuke to speak at Rutgers University On Friday, November 15th Winona La Duke will be speaking at Vorhees 105, at 7:00 pm on the College Ave Campus, at Rutgers University. She is delivering the keynote talk for the Center for the Critical Analysis of Contemporary Culture Graduate conference: Ecologies: Rethinking Nature/Culture The title of her talk is: "The Seventh Generation Fund Amendment, Sustainability, Native People and Environmental Justice." LaDuke is probably most well known as Ralph Nadar's VP running mate (except in NY, NJ, and CT) in the recent presidential election. She is a member of the Mississippi Band of Chippewa of the White Earth Reservation (in Minnesota) and chairs the White Earth Land Recovery Project, a program that supports sustainable economic development, reservation based land acquisition, and cultural preservation. She is also the program director for the Seventh Generation Fund's environmental Program--a national Native American Grant making and advocacy organization, a board member for Greenpeace, has written extensively in the academic and activist press and is a co chair of the Indigenous Women's Network. Please come and hear what she has to say! If you would like to attend the Conference--it will begin at 10:00 am on Friday at the Graduate Student lounge on the Rutgers College Ave Campus in New Brunswick. For more information contact Colleen O'Neill-- (908) 932-6748 or Vanessa at (908) 932- 8426 or email Colleen at the address below. - Colleen O'Neill History Department Rutgers University New Brunswick, NJ 08903 ----------------------------------- From: "RASMUS OLE RASMUSSEN" FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT NARF SYMPOSIUM March 19 - 24, 1997 Nuuk, Greenland DEPENDENCY, AUTONOMY, AND CONDITIONS FOR SUSTAINABILITY IN THE ARCTIC Changing regulations, management and socio-cultural processes in the arctic The 6th Symposium of the North Atlantic Research Forum (NARF) will be held in the cultural centre (opening February 1997) in Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, from March 19 - 24, 1997. It is organized by professor dr.jur. Hanne Petersen, Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland, and Birger Poppel, Chief Statistician, Statistics Greenland, under the Greenland Home Rule Government. The title of the 1997 symposium is: Dependency, Autonomy, and Conditions for Sustainability in the Arctic (Changing regulations, management and socio-cultural processes in the Arctic) NARF is a research association established in December 1990 for multidisciplinary research in contemporary Arctic problems and issues. The objectives for NARF are the following: + To promote and stimulate Nordic research cooperation, to increase the participation of Nordic research in international Arctic research and to establish networks among researchers and other people and institutions concerned with Arctic research. + To promote and stimulate Nordic education and education programmes for students studying Arctic problems. + To increase public awareness in the Nordic countries of development in the Arctic and of Arctic research. + To cooperate and communicate with the public and private sector in the Nordic countries, with local and indigenous peoples, and with institutions and organizations interested in Arctic Matters and development. The choice of the title of the symposium indicates some of the stages and considerations which have been important during several decades for a North Atlantic society like Greenland, which acquired Home Rule in 1979, and which since has seen its natural resources such as seal hunting and fisheries threatened by international fur boycotts of (baby) seal fur and dwindling and very instable fishing resources. Furthermore it reflects the political process taking place during these years in the Canadian Arctic, where negotiations are going on about the establishment of a form of Self-government of the Canadian Inuit, the Nunavut Government. The legal relations between home rule or self- government seem to pose intricate problems, which will be treated in the symposium. The judicial system has been highly criticized in the Canadian Arctic, and is under review in Greenland during these years. - Having gained Home Rule in the North Atlantic has practical implications amongst others for the administration and implementation of regulations issued by home rule authorities. This aspect will also be dealt with in the seminar. The issue of sustainability is increasingly being viewed as related not only to natural resources but also to culture. The symposium will deal with whether culture can also be understood as a resource in a sustainable development. We expect participants from both Scandinavia, The Faroese Islands, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, and the United States. - Due to the topic and the scope of the North Atlantic Research Forum the composition of participants at this conference reflects the closeness of Greenland to Canada and the USA. The choice of Nuuk as a site for the seminar reflects the importance of Greenland within the North Atlantic Research Forum, and furthermore reflects the fact that Greenland since 1987 has established a small but increasingly active university situated in Nuuk. The Greenlandic name of the University is Ilisimatusarfik. The seminar is organized as a joint effort by a professor from Ilisimatusarfik, and the chief statistician of Statistics Greenland. This joint undertaking is due to the importance in a Greenlandic setting of linking research activities to general societal activities and concerns of the Home Rule Government. Statistics Greenland furthermore has an obligation to perform research as have other statistical offices in the Nordic countries. PROGRAMME: Wednesday March 19, 1997 - Travel and arrival. Registration - Welcome reception by Minister of education, culture and church affairs, Konrad Steenholdt Thursday March 20, 1997 Official welcome by Minister of Health, Environment and Research, Marianne Jensen Morning programme Autonomy, Dependency, Sustainability - Lars Emil Johansen, Prime Minister of the Greenlandic Home Rule Government: Autonomy, Dependency and Sustainability - a Home Rule Perspective - Jack Hicks, Director of Research, Nunavut Implementation Commission (Canada): The Land Claim and the Nunavut Government: Perspectives on the Implementation of the Inherent Right to Self-Government in Canada's Eastern Arctic - Bjarne Lindstroem (Director of Nord-REFO, Stockholm, Sweden): A "post-sovereign" political landscape - Gail Fondahl (Assistant professor, University of British Columbia, Canada): Autonomous Regions and Indigenous Rights in Transition in Northern Russia Lunch Afternoon programme: Conditions for sustainability - Lise Lyck (Associate professor, Copenhagen School of Business, Denmark): Sustainable post-sovereign economies - Rasmus Ole Rasmussen (Associate professor, Institute for Geography, Roskilde University Centre, Denmark): Conditions for sustainable development - a general perspective - Milton Freeman (Senior Research Scholar, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada): Sustainability and Equity - Hakan Hyden (Professor of legal sociology, University of Lund, Sweden): Sustainability and law Evening: Dinner - Ingmar Egede (Chairman of the Board of the Cultural Centre of Nuuk): Presentation of Nuuk Cultural Centre - West Nordic Women's Choir (?) Friday March 21, 1997 Morning programme: Socio-legal relations - Dalee Sambo (Ph.D., University of British Columbia): Indigenous Rights and Claims for sovereignty - Ande Somby (Sami lawyer and Ph.D. student, University of Tromsoe, Norway): Legal rhetoric - a Sami perspective - Mille Scvndahl Pedersen (magistrate judge, Nuuk, Greenland): Greenland's legal system revisited - Henrik Zahle (professor of constitutional law, University of Copenhagen, Denmark): Constitutional Relations between Home Rule Territories and Mother Nations Afternoon Programme: Autonomy and administration - Agnete Weis Bentzon (Prof.em., University of Roskilde and Copenhagen): Links between science and administration in small societies - Birgit Kleist: Bilingual legislation - a linguist's critique - Hanne Petersen (Professor of law and legal sociology, Ilisimatusarfik, University of Green- land): Implementation of transplanted administrative law under Home Rule - Kasper Lytthans (Department of Trade and Industry, Transportation and Public Works) Evening: Workshops to be organized by interested participants Saturday March 22, 1997 Morning Alternating workshops Cultural Conditions for Sustainable Development - Marianne Stenbeek (Professor at McGill University, Montreal, Canada): Mass Communication in the arctic - content and consequences for the discourse on sustainability - Jens Dahl (Associate professor, Institute for Eskimology, University of Copenhagen): Culture as a resource in a sustainable development - Carl Kristian Olsen (Puju): Language and Sustainable Development - Jens Helgi Toftum (The Faroe Islands): Sustainable Fishery Political, International and Regional Conditions for Sustainable Development - Finn Lynge (Representative of Greenland's Home Rule Government in Brussels): Political and cultural (re)presentation of Home Rule Societies - a perspective of sustainability - Bjcrn Hersoug (Professor, University of Tromsc): Regional conditions for sustainable development (tbc) Lunch Afternoon Open sessions Evening Dinner on your own Sunday March 23, 1997 Church Service Late morning: Social and economic conditions for sustainable development - Torben Agersnap (Prof. em. Copenhagen Business School): Social conditions for sustainable development. - Gerard Duhaime (Prof., Universite Laval, Quebec): Arctic Communities and Sustainable Development. - Fred Roots (Prof. em. Government of Canada): Ressources and sustainability (tbc) - Ivar Jonsson (Ass. prof., d.phil. Ilisimatusarfik, University of Greenland): Westnordic Societies. - Andrew Siggner (Statistics Canada): Experiences from Aboriginal Peoples' Surveys Lunch Afternoon Open sessions Evening Closing dinner Monday March 24, 1997 Departure For further information, please contact Birger Poppel Chief Statistician Statistic Greenland Greenland Home Rule Government P. O.Box 600 390 0 Nuuk tel: + 299 23000 fax: + 299 22954 e-mail: birger@gs.gh.gl Hanne Petersen Professor of Law and Legal Sociology Ilisimatusarfik University of Greenland P.O. Box 279 3900 Nuuk tel: + 299 24566 fax: + 299 24711 e-mail:Ilisimatusarfik@greennet.gl To minimize travelling cost, joint travelling will be arranged from Copenhagen and Ottawa/Montreal and Toronto via Iqaluit. ----------------------------------- Date: 3:16 PM Nov 8, 1996 From: kfranbe@ccit.arizona.edu in igc:indig.language Subj: "18TH Annual AILDI Program 1997 (2-2" THE 18TH ANNUAL AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE The University of Arizona, Tucson JUNE 2-27, 1997 Linguistic Diversity & Pluralism: Family, Community, and Tribal Perspectives The University of Arizona, Department of Language, Reading and Culture and the American Indian Studies Program will host the 1997 American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI). Offering 6 graduate or undergraduate credit hours, the AILDI involves linguists, tribal elders, bilingual/ESL specialists, teachers, aides and school administrators in an integrated, holistic learning experience focusing on American Indian languages and cultures. All courses lead toward regular degree programs and toward bilingual and ESL endorsements. 1997 SUMMER COURSES/TOPICS: * Bilingual Materials and Curriculum Development for Native American Classrooms * Parent, Community, and Tribal Roles in Maintaining Heritage Languages * Language and Culture in American Indian Education * Indigenous Literatures of the Americas * Southwest Native Languages * Creative Writing in Indigenous Languages * Linguistics for Native American Communities * Readings by American Indian Writers and Poets * Tribal, National and International Guest Speakers * Teaching and Appreciating Linguistic Diversity among Native American Communities Approximate Costs and Housing Accommodations: * Tuition = $662 for six credit hours * Books and Supplies = $150 * Meals = on your own * Housing = $300-$700. Campus housing and privately owned apartments with cooking and family facilities can be arranged. TO RECEIVE REGISTRATION AND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE COMPLETE AND RETURN FORM BELOW * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Name:____________________________ Daytime Phone:(____)_____________ Mailing Address:___________________________________________________________ City:_________________ State:_____ Country:________ ZIP: __________ Your place of employment and position:___________________________________________ RETURN TO: AILDI, Department of Language, Reading and Culture, College of Education, Room 517, P.O. Box 210069, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721-0069; or call (520)621-1068; FAX (520)621-8174; http://AISP.harvill.arizona.edu The University of Arizona: An Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer ------------------------------------------------------------- ============================================================= Date: Wed, 6 Nov 1996 09:28:46 -0600 From: AIRPI Subj: 1996 Fall Forum Announcing the American Indian Research and Policy Institute's 1996 Fall Forum TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS: What Will They Be Like in The Year 2010? WHEN: November 15, 1996 WHERE: Regal Minneapolis Hotel 1313 Nicollet Mall Minneapolis, MN 612-332-6000 800-522-8856 Schedule of Events: 8:00 am Registration - Continental Breakfast 8:30 am Introductory Remarks: John Poupart, President, AIRPI Welcome: Dean Krause, Hamline University Law School 8:45 am Invocation: Larry Cloud Morgan 9:00 am MORNING KEYNOTE: Erma Vizenor, Ed. Phd. 10:15 am Break-out Session [first session] TRIBAL ENROLLMENT: Elliot Moffit, B.I.A. TRIBAL ELECTIONS: Paul Day, Attorney TRIBAL GAMING: Jim Genia, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe TRUST LAND ISSUES: flo wiger, Metro State University 12:00 pm Luncheon. KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Judy Moe, Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Operations 1:30 pm Break-out sessions [second session, same topics as AM session] 3:15 pm Break-out session reports 3:50 pm Closing remarks REGISTRATION: $10.00 BEFORE November 8, 1996 and $15.00 at the door. Pre-registration will guarantee a lunch. Fee includes conference, continental breakfast, lunch and a summary report mailed to you after the forum. For more information:(612) 644-1728 or airpi@gold.tc.umn.edu Mail registration and conference fee with your name, organization, address and phone number to: The American Indian Research and Policy Institute 749 Simpson Street St. Paul, MN 55104 ========================================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- 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: Leo Chavez, Jr., Brian Hauk, Janet Smith, American Indian Movement, Larry Kibby, Yanusdi Cox, Debra F. Sanders, Dan Umstead, Glenn Welker, Jules Straight Eagle, Bernard J. Rock, Sr. via Feather Eaglerock, Eliseo Torres via Glenn Welker, Dennis McClain-Furmanski, Jessica Olson (Alert), John Berry, Laura Whitt -//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Part B of this newsletter has already been distributed via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - online" --------- Date: Thu, 14 November 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, 8 Nov 1996 16:17:37 EST5EDT From: jcadoret@heps.lan.mcgill.ca (Jose Cadorette) Subj: Aboriginal Peoples Report conference (1/31-2/2/97, Montreal) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) FORGING A NEW RELATIONSHIP Conference on the Report of The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples McGill Institute for the Study of Canada McGill University 31 January to 2 February 1997 During the last five years, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples has engaged in the most extensive inquiry ever undertaken on Aboriginal rights, policy, communities, and prospects for change. It has issued six special reports addressing such crucial issues as suicide, the justice system, and Aboriginal self-government. Its long-awaited Final Report will be presented in the late Fall of 1996. The Report will canvass the history of Canadian Aboriginal policy in all its dimensions. It deserves intensive discussion and debate. This major Conference will provide a forum for that debate. The Conference will focus on the structural recommendations of the various reports - those on governance, justice, and Aboriginal land rights. It will bring together leading experts in the field, people involved in current initiatives, and representatives of many interests that have, to this point, remained outside the discussion of Aboriginal issues. There will be skeptics as well as advocates. A large number of experts in the field will be speaking at the Conference. Those who have already confirmed their participation include the two co-chairs of the Commission, Justice Rene Dussault and Georges Erasmus, Richard Bird, A. Rodney Bobiwash, John Borrows, Alan Cairns, David Cameron, Marlene Castellano, Rt. Hon. Joe Clark, Bernard Cleary, Matthew Coon-Come, Thomas Courchene, Justice Jean-Charles Coutu, Brian Crowley, Kenneth Deer, Olive Dickason, Thomas Flanagan, Phil Fontaine, Allen Gabriel, Hon. A.C. Hamilton, David Hawkes, Paul Joffe, Will Kymlicka, Andree Lajoie, Joe B. Marshall, Ovide Mercredi, Brenda G. Miller, Patricia Monture-Angus, Zebedee Nungak, James O'Reilly, Ghislain Otis, Ernest Ottawa, Ghislain Picard, Geoff Plant, Thierry Rodon, Jean-Jacques Simard, Brian Slattery, Neil J. Sterritt, Blair Stonechild, Debbie Thomas, James Tully, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, and Sylvie Vincent. Registration fees (includes taxes): - regular registration received by December 13, 1996 (includes lunch on Sat. and Sun.): $90 - regular registration received after December 13, 1996 (includes lunch on Sat. and Sun.): $140 - student registration: $25 To receive a registration form and a conference programme, please contact: Jose Cadorette Conference Coordinator McGill Institute for the Study of Canada 3463 Peel Street Montreal, Quebec H3A 1W7 Tel.: (514) 398-2658 / Fax: (514) 398-7336 E-mail: jcadoret@heps.lan.mcgill.ca --------- "RE: Minnesota Chippewa Reform" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 14:19:47 -0600 From: eaglerok@northernnet.com (feather eaglerock) Subj: UPDATE Minnesota Chippewa reform movement--11/11/96 Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) NEWS RELEASE; NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA NATIVE AMERICAN VETERANS OUTREACH AND RESOURCE CENTER November 7 Tribal Executive Meeting held in Brainerd, MN A broad-based group of more than 100 tribal activists headed off a proposal by the White Earth RBC to authorize individual reservations to decide whether to allow primary elections. The TEC rescinded Election Ordinance #5, replacing it with an amended version of Ordinance #4 which schedules primaries 60 days before general elections and 30 days before special election. Origin of the "totalitarian government" can be traced to the passage in 1980 of Constitutional Interpretation 1-80 by which the TEC bestowed upon themselves the sole right of interpretation of the constitution, a right that does not exist in that document. Although several TEC members acknowledged the arbitrary nature of the act, none would introduce a motion to strike it down. In its defense, the TEC said eliminating the interpretation would allow federal courts to impose their own definitions. Franklin (Doc) LaRose said the argument is a ruse, since Anishinaabe people are forced to individually resist the imposition of civil regulatory laws in state courts without any official support. "You're hiding behind 1-80, calling it sovereignty--but only against the people, not against the county, state or federal government. Its gotta be amended to say the people have the exclusive right to interpret the constitution, not the TEC. Activist Dale Greene agreed: "When we go into court on those damned issues, we don't have the protection of the Constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe which guarantees our rights. You guys are holding our rights hostage." The TEC passed a resolution to set a special meeting in January on the subject of 1-80. Kevin Dupuis of Fond du lac said he is challenging the RBC's regulation of hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the ceded territories. Dupuis said he is also intervening with other Fond du Lac members in the reservation's treaty rights lawsuit. "We going to represent ourselves. We already talked to Judge Davis and we can do that. We're going to find out who's the inherent sovereign. The TEC did not formally recognize the Leech Lake General Council, but did agree to hold a special meeting with Council representatives before the next regular meeting. Council officer Louis Boyd: "At a meeting in Bena on July 12, 1922, the constitution and bylaws of the General Council were 'made permanent.' Made permanent, that means laid down in solid rock. There has never been nothing, as far as we have found, that rescinded that." ************************************ U.S. District Court Grand Jury has subpoenaed all Leech Lake Gaming financial records for the period January 1, 1992 to July 31, 1996 ************************************** The Leech Lake Reservation General Council will hold a cleansing feast on Wednesday, November 20, 1996. The Feast will be held at the Veterans' Memorial Pow Wow Grounds Building and will begin at noon. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bernard J. Rock, Sr. Leech Lake Pillager Band Spotted Eagle Warrior Society North Central Minnesota Native American Veterans Outreach and Resource Center --------- "RE: Landfill to Cover Burial Site" --------- Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 15:31:10 -0500 From: jolson@virtu.sar.usf.edu (Jessica Olson) Subj: Osceola County, Fl. Landfill to cover burial site. Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Alert: Osceola County, Fl. has expanded their Southport Landfill over an Indigenous burial site in Kissimmee, Florida Osceola County claims this was an accident, despite the fact that the burial site has been known for at least 11 years - the last time Janus Research conducted a survey, and was "preserved" by a chain link fence. Even so, Osceola County has hired Janus Research to excavate the mound. On October 26, 1996, Sheridan Murphy of Florida AIM and Florida Indian Alliance, Bobby Billie, Spiritual Leader of the Independent Traditional Seminole Nation, and Bobby Billie's assistant Shannon Larson met with Ken Hardin and Robert Austin of Janus Research. they agreed to Bobby C. Billie's request for repatriation and argued that excavation was the only option since the mounds had been greatly pot hunted. Ms. Larson and Mr. Billie visited the site later that afternoon and reported the pot hunting was not extensive. Further, they learned that the State Archaeologist James Miller had contacted both the Seminole and Miccosukee Tribes of Florida; excluded the Oklahoma Seminoles Nation; and was referred to Bobbie Billie by Seminole representative David Jumper. Neither Tribe contacted approved or authorized the excavation. When asked why he allowed it to continue anyway, Mr. Miller informed Ms. Larson that he only contacts the Tribes as a courtesy, and that he does not have to talk to them. He further implied that he had no control over the excavation. Florida State Statue 872.05 defers authority to either the County Medical Examiner (if the remains are less then 75 years old) or the State Archaeologist. At least 12 Indigenous peoples remains have been dug up and are being held at Janus Research and the RA Grey Bldg in Tallahassee. More are certain to have their graves robbed unless something is done. Florida AIM and the Florida Indian Alliance are planning direct action for the week of Nov 11-15th if the digging is not ceased and a target date for repatriation is not set and agreeable to Mr. Billie. We have informed Osceola County, Janus research, and Jim Miller's office. The FIA asks all people of conscience to contact Osceola County Manager Robert Magnaghi's office (407-847-1208) and demand that the excavations halt. Janus Research Vice-President Bob Austin can also be reached at (813-821-7600) We also ask that humane beings contact Florida Governor Lawton Chiles at (9040 488-4441 as ask that State Archaeologist Jim Miller be removed from his post he has held for nearly two decades. Mr. Miller has held Indian peoples skulls for the cameras (Windover 1986) and despite passage of Florida's Unmarked Burial Law, Miller has only utilized the law to justify degreed grave robbing and has yet to prosecute a pot hunter. Florida AIM caught an individual pot hunting on tape with four eye witnesses, and still this individual was not prosecuted. If you need more information please contact the Florida Indian Alliance State Office at 33 4th Street N Suite 202 St. Petersburg, Fl. 33701. (813) 823-3534 Fax:(813) 822-3501. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ a bullet in the head, now he's dead a friend of a friend, some one said he was an activist with a very short life i think there's a lesson here - he died without a fight in the war over land where the world began prophecies say it's where the world will end but there's a tremor growing in our backyard fear in out heads, fear in our hearts prophets in the graveyard. -indigo girls "jonas & exekial" jessica olson new college aim support jolson@virtu.sar.usf.edu --------- "RE: Keweenaw Bay Red Alert" --------- Date: 9:01 PM Nov 10, 1996 From: lawhitt@mtu.edu Subj: Keweenaw Bay Red Alert Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The situation at the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community is deteriorating. We have word that the Tribal Police have been ordered to enter Catholic Church property and serve warrants on Father John Hascall (the pastor of Holy Name of Jesus Church who has been providing the group Fight For Justice with sanctuary for the past 14 months) and members of Fight For Justice. The KBIC Tribal Police is now a largely non-Indian force, hired after the dismissal of a number of Indian tribal police who earlier refused to follow orders to raid Church property and serve the warrants. We are expecting an assault on the Holy Name of Jesus Church, convent and rectory within the next week. The Witnesses For Non-Violence will be returning to the compound in the hopes of preventing violence. We are issuing a call to all those who have been monitoring the situation here to join the Witnesses at the Church (located on US 41,several miles northwest of Baraga, Michigan) and to call or fax the following numbers, urging negotiations and a peaceful resolution to this dispute. Representative Bart Stupak Fax: 202-225-4744 Senator Carl Levin Fax: 202-224-1388 Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Chair, Fred Dakota Fax: 906-353-7540 Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Tribal Police Fax: 906-353-6838 For background on this situation, please consult earlier postings to this list. Detailed information, including a chronology of events, can be found at http://www.edwards1.com/rose/native/ffj/ffj.htm --------- "RE: New Arctic Council Created" --------- Date: Fri, 8 Nov 1996 09:39:58 -0800 From: berryj@okway.okstate.edu (John Berry) Subj: New Arctic Council Created Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The Nordic countries, Canada, the United States and Russia agreed on September 19, 1996 in Ottawa, Canada to form a pact regarding the Arctic Region. The new pact is planning to seek protections for the fragile environment of the region and aide conditions of the indigenous populations of the region. This pact will provide participating countries and their Arctic regions with a permanent forum for the development of common guidelines and strategies. The Arctic Council is the first common forum which brings together on a regular basis, top diplomats and polar region experts from the eight member nations. -- Abstracted from "News of Norway, Oct. 1996, p.3" --------- "RE: An Ojibwe Queen" --------- Date: Mon, 11 Nov 1996 14:20:11 -0600 From: eaglerok@northernnet.com (feather eaglerock) Subj: Quay ke gwon ay beak way Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) typed this up for the outreach part of what we do with the schools. thought some on this list might find it interesting. feather SOURCE: De-Bah-Ji-Mon Leech Lake Reservation Monthly Newspaper November 1994 QUAY KE GWON AY BEAK WAY: An Ojibwe Queen by Priscilla Buffalohead Indian Education Resource Specialist Anoka-Hennepin School district No. 11 Several years ago, when I was conducting research on roles of women in Ojibwe history, my husband (Roger Buffalohead) brought me a copy of an 1890 Congressional Report he had located at The Minnesota Historical Society. One short paragraph of that lengthy report sparked great interest on both our parts. The report entitled Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, documented both the economic conditions of Minnesota's Ojibwe bands at the time and the issues between the bands and the U.S. government which need resolution. A short paragraph about the Leech Lake Ojibwe stayed in my memory. The paragraph read: "The head chief of the Pillagers , Flatmouth, has for several years resided in Canada, his sister, Ruth Flatmouth, is in her brothers's absence the acknowledged Queen, or leader of the Pillagers; the other women of hereditary right acted as leaders of their respective bands, and at the request of the chiefs were permitted to sign the agreements. " Executive Document 247. 51st Congress, Message to the President of the United States, March 6, 1890. I did not follow up on this intriguing bit of historical information until the summer of 1994. At that time, my son, Eric, an I received a small grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to conduct research on the annuity rolls of the Chippewa and Sioux. The annuity rolls consists of records kept by the U.S. government. These records include census data as well as the amount of money paid to each band member each year as specified in treaties. Quite by accident, as I was recording information from the Leech Lake rolls, I came upon the name Quay ke gwon ay beak way. Next to her name, underlined in large print was the title, Queen! The information connected. Of course, this must be Ruth Flatmouth, sister of Flatmouth, the Queen mentioned in the 1890 Congressional Report. I wanted an accurate translation of her Indian name and so I paid a visit to my friend, Ojibwe elder, Jim Clark. Jim translated her name as meaning "Female Feather That Turns Around." In the year 1885, Quay ke gwon ay beak way was 57 years old. She lived with her eleven your old daughter, Ogemah quay, and three of her grandchildren. Her name first appears in the 1858 annuity rolls where she is listed as a member of the Cass Lake, or possibly Winnibigoshish band, under the leadership of Ain ne we gaw bow. The 1867 annuity roll provides the recorded indication that Quay ke gwon ay beak way held the title Queen. The 1871 annuity roll lists the chiefs by number. Quay ke gwon ay beak way is the fourth chief mentioned in the roll. Interestingly, chief number 17 is also a woman Her name, according to the recorder, is Ne gon e kee shig o quay. Between 1871 and 1885, Quay ke gwon ay beak way is regularly listed in the annuity rolls as Queen (perhaps Head Chief) of the Leech Lake Ojibwe. Her name appears in all documents which required the signature of the chiefs. In 1878, the third woman chief appears listed in the annuity rolls. Mong once, Little Loon, was 24 years old when she signed the annuity receipts. Besides her name is the underlined title, "Chiefess." The annuity rolls provide further proof that, indeed, three women served as cheifs among the Leech Lake Ojibwe during the last half of the 19th century. That women could serve as chiefs was apparently a problem for the government agents who felt compelled to explain why they allowed women to sign official agreements. It does not seem to have been a problem for the chiefs or band members of Leech Lake. When Jim Clark read the statement, "at the request of the chiefs" (these women were permitted) "to sign agreements," he shared the following thought with me: He had always heard that if a male leader, for whatever reason, was not able to perform his duties of office, he could ask his sister or daughter to take his place. This observation is remarkably similar to the explanation given by other Algonkian speaking tribes who periodically selected female leaders. The title "Queen" is quite obviously a Euro-American understanding of the leadership role of women in American Indian history. However, there is little doubt that women did serve as chiefs in the past. Among the Eastern Algonkian tribes, linguistic relatives of the Ojibwe, Indian women who served in leadership roles were also referred to as "Queens" by transplanted Europeans. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Bernard J. Rock, Sr. Leech Lake Pillager Band Spotted Eagle Warrior Society North Central Minnesota Native American Veterans Outreach and Resource Center --------- "RE: American Indian Heritage Month" --------- Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 01:10:01 -0500 From: "Jim Lockhart" Subj: NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1996 Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary _______________________________________________________________ For Immediate Release October 30, 1996 NATIONAL AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH, 1996 - - - - - - - BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA A PROCLAMATION Throughout our history, American Indian and Alaska Native peoples have been an integral part of the American character. Against the odds, America's first peoples have endured, and they remain a vital cultural, political, social, and moral presence. Tribal America has brought to this great country certain values and ideas that have become ingrained in the American spirit: the knowledge that humans can thrive and prosper without destroying the natural environment; the understanding that people from very different backgrounds, cultures, religions, and traditions can come together to build a great country; and the awareness that diversity can be a source of strength rather than division. As we celebrate American Indian Heritage Month this year, we take note of the injustices that have been suffered by American Indian people. Even today, few enjoy the full bounty of America's prosperity. But even as we look to the past, we must also look to the future. Along with other Americans, American Indians and Alaska Natives will face new challenges in the coming century. We can ill afford to leave any of our people behind. Tribal America must figure as prominently in our future as it has in our past. Let us rededicate ourselves to the principle that all Americans have the tools to make the most of their God-given potential. For Indian tribes and tribal members, this means that the authority of tribal governments must be accorded the respect and support to which they are entitled under the law. It means that American Indian children and youth must be provided a solid education and the opportunity to go on to college. It means that more must be done to stimulate tribal economies, create jobs, and increase economic opportunities. Our bridge to the 21st century will rest upon the foundation we build today. We must teach our children about our past -- both the good and the bad -- so that they may learn from our successes and mistakes. We must provide our children with the knowledge and skills to permit them to surpass our own achievements and create a stronger, more united American community. We must provide them greater opportunity. It was the Iroquois who taught that in every deliberation we should consider the impact of our decisions on the next 7 generations. In recognition of the important contributions of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples to our country and in light of the special legal relationship between the tribes and the Government of the United States, and obligations pursuant thereto, we celebrate National American Indian Heritage Month. NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim November 1996 as National American Indian Heritage Month. I urge all Americans, as well as their elected representatives at the Federal, State, local, and tribal levels, to observe this month with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-six, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and twenty-first. WILLIAM J. CLINTON