_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 04, ISSUE 049 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 7 December 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 AISESnet,NativeWeb,INDIAN-ROOTS & NATIVE-L listservers; UUCP & genie email; Newsgroups: alt.native,alt.books.reviews, soc.culture.native,igc.indig.education,rec.arts.books.reviews,rec.arts.books 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. "It is said that there is never enough religion in the world to make people love one another--just enough to make them hate one another. As the twentieth century draws to a close, incendiary blends of fundamentalist religion, politics, nationalism, and ethnic zealotry engender countless examples of atrocity in the name of faith and orthodoxy. If anything, religious persecution is more savage now than ever before in the history of mankind." James A. Haught "Holy Horrors: an Illustrated history of Religious Murder and Madness" (New York: Prometheus Books, 1990) "Warriors and friends: I am informed that the great white war chief who of his generosity and comradeship has given us this feast, has expressed the wish that we may follow to-night the usages and customs of my people. In other words, this is a warriors' feast, a braves' meal. I call upon the Ojibway chief, the Hole-in-the-Day, to give the lone wolf's hunger call, after which we will join him in our usual manner." __ Taoyateduta, His Red People "Little Crow", Kaposia Sioux The tall and handsome Ojibway now rose and straightened his superb form to utter one of the clearest and longest wolf howls that was ever heard in Washington, and at its close came a tremendous burst of war whoops that fairly rent the air, and no doubt electrified the officials there present. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! The first articles in this issue are nearly identical. They are about ignorance and subjugation. They are about a society with no center dictating how another culture relates to Mother Earth and Father Sky. It is yet another attempt to answer the "Indian Question" with cultural genocide. There is some question as this goes out over the net about whether South Dakota again stepped forward to wave the banner of ignorance, by trying to deny Native Americans the right to gather on government lands or in groups of forty or more in the Black Hills. Not many powwows, festivals or dances draw less than forty participants. What is important is that the People of the First Nations did come together and make the government of South Dakota aware that there must be a recognition of the rights of the Native People living there. It is possible that there was not such an attempt, as the closing article in part B indicates. It is also possible the outpouring of email and calls created a change of plans. This message may well say it all... -------------------------- Start of Message ------------------------------- Date: Tue, 03 Dec 1996 23:48:10 -0500 From: Ishgooda Subj: Re: URGENT: South Dakota prohibition against Native ceremonies.....SUCCESS !!! The governor of South Dakota cut short his afternoon schedule to appear on Television at six o'clock to announce that the state is forming committees of Native people to address welfare reform issues, preservation of sacred site status and essentially everything the e-mail campaign presented to the governor, in response (IMHO) to the outpouring of e-mails to the governor's office. People - stand proud we HAVE made a difference today. Further details from the meeting will be sent when I receive them from Joe Chases Horses. Thank you from the heart for this outpouring for our First Nations people. In Unity We Stand, Ishgooda Cybersupport Chapter National Field Director's Office -------------------------- End of Message --------------------------------- If, in fact, an attempt is made to limit gatherings of Native People I wonder if the same restrictions will be imposed on Boy or Girl Scouts encamping in State or Federal Parks? Will there be an attempt to also limit the number of bikers at Sturgis to 40 or less? Will bus tours of the Black Hills be limited to 40 or less? This whole issue is about a society that came to Turtle Island seeking freedom, only to build fences. It is about a society that fears and loathes those who do not assimilate to their controlling, smothering way of being. Barbara Munson's excellent examination into the question of logos that continue the misuse of stereotypical images is also included in this issue. I will never understand how anyone can be so naive and insensitive that he or she actually believes it honors one human being to serve as a mascot for another. Read Barbara's words, take them to your heart, and speak them to those who need to understand. 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 - South Dakota to Impose Restrictions - Conferences and Powwows - online - Call for Support - News from Nunavut - Religious Freedom Violations - Oro Nevada Begins Drilling - Success - South Dakota Prohibition - Hydro-Quebec News - Internet Reports Spread - Canada Cops Threaten Natives - Canada's Shame - The Use of Indian Logos - Thought Regarding Leonard Peltier - The Story of Standing Bear - Cherokee Constitution Convention - Morris K. Udall Scholarship - Arts Fellowship - Reviews: Books by/about NA's - Poem: Earth Lessons - Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days - Conferences and Powwows - offline --------- "RE: South Dakota to Impose Restrictions" --------- Date: Mon, 02 Dec 1996 15:57:49 -0500 From: Ishgooda Subj: URGENT UUCP email I Just received a call from Indiana concerning a meeting with the governor of S. Dakota, Bill Janklow, tomorrow afternoon with Joe Chases Horses and Arvol Looking Horse (among other leaders). This meeting involves the prohibition of any kind of Native ceremonies on state forest land. This would also preclude sundances, sweatlodges and limit the number of native Americans to 40 or under in any kind of gathering. Bear Butte, the location of many of the First nations ceremonial sites as well as our people's homes is included in this prohibition. Would like to see several hundred faxes to the governor between now and tomorrow's meeting in support of our Elders and the first nations right to worship on sacred grounds. PLEASE SEND E-MAIL TO: ishgooda@tdi.net for government and media distribution YOUR SUPPORT IS URGENTLY REQUESTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! --------- "RE: Call for Support" --------- Date: Mon, 02 Dec 1996 17:23:00 -0500 From: Ishgooda Subj: URGENT!!! UUCP email The following information comes from Joe Chases Horses who plans if possible to attend tomorrow's meeting. This will be the first time the state of S. Dakota has taken the issue of sacred lands to a public forum. A portion of the land in the Black Hills under discussion was used this past Spring for a ceremony in which over 700 of our young people were in attendance. This ceremony has grown each year and is jeopardized. A few months ago, President Clinton issued an executive order supporting the right to free worship of the people in traditional sacred lands. A local judge in SD has chosen to ignore this executive order and prohibit the use of the Black Hills for gathering of over 40 people. Tomorrows meeting is sponsored by two legislators the representative from the Rosebud Reservation and Rep. Volsky. Arvol Looking Horse and other tribal leaders plan to attend the meeting which begins at 10PM in Pierre, SD. There are a number of ongoing cases involving spiritual and human rights following the June 21, 1996 Proclamation from Arvol Looking Horse. Would like to see several hundred faxes to the governor between now and tomorrow's meeting in support of our Elders and the first nations right to worship on sacred grounds. Please visit the First nations Site to sign a petition at: OR SEND E-MAIL TO: ishgooda@tdi.net for government and media distribution YOUR SUPPORT IS URGENTLY REQUESTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ishgooda Cyber Support Chapter ----AIM-National Field Director's Office --------- "RE: Religious Freedom Violations" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Dec 1996 10:29:14 -0800 (PST) From: Larry Kibbey Subj: Religious Freedom Violations UUCP email State Capitol The Honorable Governor of South Dakota Governor Bill Janklow Pierre, South Dakota Dear Governor Janklow: The State of South Dakota in it's endeavor to prohibit Native American Indian Ceremonies of State Forest Lands would stand in violation of: (1) The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 - Prohibits any agency, department, or official of the United States of any State(the govern- ment from burdening a person's exercise of religion...(P.L.103-141) (2) American Indian Religious Freedom Resolution of 1978(P.L.95-341) - That henceforth is shall be the policy of the United States to protect and preserve for American Indians their inherent right of freedom to believe, express, and exercise the traditional religions of the American Indian, including but not limited to access to sites, use and possession of sacred objects, and the freedom to worship through ceremonials and traditional rites. The Native American Indian rights of religious freedom must not be abridged without just proper cause and South Dakota's infringement of such rights advocates racialism of the worse kind, especially in these modern times. All too often, the Governments, Federal or State undermine the rights of the Native American Indian, and such insensitive and bias acts must be stopped, for such religious practices are in fact an integral part of the Native American Indians culture and tradition and heritage and are indispensable and irreplaceable. The State of South Dakota hopefully will not endorse such religious freedom restrictions on the Native American Indian, for such an act would greatly take all of America back in time, and to fall back in such a manner is not building a bridge to the 21st Century but closing the door on religious freedoms, closing the door of justice, and advocating that only Americans have Religious Freedoms and not the Sovereign Nations of the Native American Indian. Therefore, I ask Governor Bill Janklow and the State of South Dakota to not enforce racial hatred, but to advocate justice of the peoples inherent right to religious freedoms, especially that of the Native American Indian. Thank you. Sincerely, Larry Kibby, Program Director Western Shoshone Historic Preservation Society Elko Indian Colony 1581 Pinenut Circle Elko, Nevada 89801 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ In this, the Sovereign Nations should stand in great solidarity. This oppressive act being advocated by the State of South Dakota must be stopped, and every effort made to assure religious freedoms will continue in the State of South Dakota. Please, in order to suppress this aggressive act by Governor Bill Janklow, and the State of South Dakota, help preserve and protect the Religious Freedoms and Ceremonial sites of the Native American Indian, by taking a stand in solidarity. Thank you. --------- "RE: Success" --------- Date: Tue, 03 Dec 1996 23:58:42 -0500 From: Ishgooda Subj: Re: URGENT: South Dakota prohibition against Native ceremonies.....SUCCESS !!! Mailing List: NativeWeb This in from a participant at today's meeting: Last night I saw First Nations rise and take a stand....after Five Hundred Years of occupation. All night the phones rang...calls from Spiritual leaders across Turtle Island who heard the call to come...come and fight for the People...Oyate. Over and over I listened as leaders shared their hearts...their spirits as One, standing together to say...No MORE...No MORE... In the darkness of that night I saw a fire begin....Traditionals who once might have had differences, put them aside and joined hands to stand together in a fight against the Government of South Dakota who had planned on limiting Spiritual Gatherings to no more than 40 people at one time in attendance. I saw the fire of their words as they dedicated themselves to do whatever was necessary to stop the wasichu from obtaining any power over First Nations. I saw the Spirit of Grandfathers come forth...and I saw the result of that power. I watched a sacred Spiritual leader with no sleep, having driven from Colorado, sit on that phone talking all night and asking for help...I saw him stand tall in pride for The People as we walked up to the State Capital of South Dakota, into enemy territory.... without a moment's hesitation, and I marveled at the courage. I listened as a known sacred leader prayed with the Chanupa, gave us spiritual instructions on what to do as a ceremony and spoke these words to us..."Now as you get there, their words will turn...they will change what they planned on doing to us. When you get there things will change." I had no way of knowing at that moment, how very true those words were. We met, with several legislators and representatives there who did as we expected...denied having to do anything about limiting Spiritual gatherings, thus the words did turn and as we talked...we learned several interesting details. Last night....hundreds of E mails, phone calls, faxes were sent to the Governor of South Dakota who met with leaders there about this. Though we shall never know the truth of what was spoken there at that meeting, I do know that for the first time in their political careers they SAW the Power of the People and they withdrew any possible impending discussions concerning this issue. I talked with an Aide of the Governor today who angrily told me how the E mails sent had jammed the Computer System at the State Capital and who stomped off during our discussion. I knew then...we had WON.....His frustration and anger over the opposition shown in such great force by all those who sent petitions that we hand carried to the State Capital...by the many E mails to them...the faxes...the phone calls spoke loudly for First Nations...and those words rang in the Capital of South Dakota today....through halls where laws have been passed for decades designed to extermination the People of the Lakota Nation....and those words were...NO MORE...NO MORE.....NO MORE....NO MORE.... I read, hundreds of your E mails which were forwarded to me to hand carry today...I read your heart words to Spiritual leaders who struggled with tears in their eyes to find words to speak to you....in thanks. I will be uploading in a day or two to the source site where you now read these words, official words from them....for they do wish to find strong words from their hearts to thank each of you. But...I can tell you now that they now have HOPE....I saw the fires ignited in First Nations as we stood at the State Capital and each of your spirits were there with us shouting..NO MORE...and I saw them back down...as they saw that they were being watched. In their arrogance and by history, they thought they could merely enact legislation without opposition. They see now...there is no way it is going to be allowed. For me, the lesson in this was....Surely, if the greatest Spiritual leaders of First Nations can come together in a common cause, the rest of us can put aside our differences...our petty quarreling...our attacks on one another, and join hands for oyate...The People. I have seen the Boot Camp recently opened in Custer S.D. where they take our children again....just as they did at Carlisle Government Boarding School in 1890....Parents, under current S.D. law have absolutely no rights to stop them. They are, by law, able to administer Electric Shock treatments to these children as a form of behavior modification which is washichu term for control. It is time for First Nations to come to the realization that the same washichu tactics are being used again against us...divide and conquer...split us..and take our culture. I call upon each person to rise above their own differences....to stand together in a circle and shout NO MORE... NO MORE.... I heard the beginnings of those words last night...ringing through the halls today....going forth across the winds....I ask you to hear them. If we do not rise as oyate then we shall fall together... We must stand....we must. We cannot defeat ourselves by attacking each other...We are NOT the enemy...the enemy is those who have seen our weaknesses of pride and self interest...and used them against us. For as long as they know we do not find a way to fight together...as long as they can keep us fighting ourselves...we, ourselves...destroy First Nations...not them...we do. You...each of you...have brought the spark back. Become as the winds now and carry the fires it shall ignite to all Four Directions...The Honor of First Nations shone in that fire today...and there are many whom you may never know...may never meet...who felt your love and caring...and were given the courage to stand today. They thank you.... --------- "RE: Hydro-Quebec News" --------- Date: 28 Nov 96 09:37:39 EST From: Ann Stewart <75361.1143@CompuServe.COM> Subj: HQ news 11/27: a turkey of a story? UUCP email What's the deal here...they figure they make partners outta Indians, their electrons will be more palatable to America's northeastern customers? I heard Jacques G. had retired as of October (wonder if he's filing US Dept of Justice foreign agent lobbying forms...). "Respect for M Earth" comes right out of Public Relations 101. Hydro-Quebec and Native Community Agree To Build Hydro Plant In Partnership MONTREAL--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 27, 1996--Montreal-based Hydro-Quebec and Hydro-Ilnu, a corporation owned by the Conseil des Montagnais du Lac St. Jean (Innu Council of Lac St.-Jean), have signed a memorandum of agreement to build a 9.9 MW-hyrdoelectric generating station on the Mistassibi River near the Innu village of Mashteuiatsh in the Lac St.-Jean region, 300 miles northeast of Montreal. The power plant will be built and operated by the Minashtuk limited partnership, owned by Hydro-Quebec and Hydro-Ilnu. The project is the result of a partnership between Hydro-Quebec and the Conseil des Montagnais du Lac St.-Jean, which was established in 1994 to identify business opportunities for the region's Innu Native community. "The Minashtuk hydroelectric project will provide long-term economic development opportunities for our community," said Chief Remy "Kak'wa" Kurtness. "At the same time, our traditional values of respect for Mother Earth will ensure that the project will be built and operated according to the principles of sustainable development." The output of the new facility will be integrated into the Hydro-Quebec power grid over the next 20 years. The agreement also allows the company to move closer to its goal of reaching agreements with private producers for a total of 370 MW within the next year. "We see partnerships such as this one with Hydro-Ilnu as a central component of our vision for sustainable development in Quebec's," said Jacques Guevremont, Hydro-Quebec's representative in the United States. "Agreements of this type are a model for the new business relationships we intend to encourage and develop with our partners going forward." Hydro-Quebec, a publicly-owned utility with a total capacity of close to 34,000 MW, serves 3 million customers in the province of Quebec, generating 96 percent of its electricity through hydropower. Hydro-Quebec also trades electricity with neighboring utilities in Canada and the United States and is a member of the Northeast Power Coordinating Council. --------- "RE: Canada Cops Threaten Natives" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Oct 1996 18:39:59 -0700 From: Brian Hauk Subj: Canada Cops Threaten Natives UUCP email Canada Cops Threaten Natives {back page} from the Militant, vol.59/no.34 September 18, 1995 BY BEVERLY BERNARDO AND JOE YOUNG l00 MILE HOUSE, British Columbia - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are surrounding a group of about 30 Natives and their supporters at Gustafsen Lake, about 500 kilometers north of Vancouver. They are threatening to use force to end the occupation of about two square miles of territory the Natives, who call themselves the Defenders of the Shuswap Nation, consider sacred. In an ominous move, the cops brought in at least four armored vehicles September 5 to reinforce their siege, which began three weeks earlier. For a number of years, Natives have been using the area to carry out a sundance religious ceremony. Until this year they had an agreement with Lyle James, the rancher who owns a 180,000 hectare cattle ranch in the area, which is in the traditional territory of the Canoe Creek band of the Shuswap nation. On June 13, James and 12 of his employees stormed the Native campsite and attempted to serve an eviction notice. The day after, two employees of the Forestry Service claim, the Natives fired on them. James demanded that the RCMP clear the Natives off the site. The confrontation at Gustafsen Lake followed a series of Native roadblocks in this province over land claims in the past few months. In British Columbia, except for a small area, treaties were never signed with Native people. For several years now negotiations have been taking place between many Native bands and the federal and provincial governments, but not a single land claim has been settled. "We don't endorse taking up arms, but these (the Gustafsen Lake group) are frustrated people like many of our people," Frank Bucher, vice president of the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, said. Government officials have threatened the occupiers. Federal Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin said, "They cannot behave with this illegal activity in Canada." B.C. attorney general Ujjal Dosanjh insisted, "This is an issue of law enforcement and I speak as the top law enforcement officer in the province." The big-business media campaign against the Natives and their supporters has heightened a sharp polarization in the area for and against the Natives at Gustafsen Lake. On August 27, about 25 local residents demonstrated against Bruce Clark, the occupiers' lawyer, carrying signs like, "We support the RCMP." In an August 24 press release signed by faithkeeper Percy Rosette, the occupiers outlined their proposals for a "peaceful resolution to a crisis which has been going on for 139 years." They said they would agree to lay down their arms after receiving a guarantee of diplomatic immunity from prosecution for all members of the camp, and audiences between their lawyer Clark and the Queen's privy council and the governor general of Canada to achieve a ruling on the legitimacy of their claims. On August 26, the RCMP cut off all radio and phone communications for those in the encampment. The following day the RCMP alleged that protesters fired on and hit two RCMP officers in the back, but because the officers were wearing flak jackets they received only bruises. However on August 31, Clark was allowed into the camp and emerged with an affidavit by Tonde Halle, a freelance camera operator who has been staying in the camp. Halle says the police fired first. Protests against an RCMP attack and in support of Native claims to the occupied land have taken place in cities across Canada. In Washington, D.C. , Natives from several tribes demonstrated August 29 in front of the Canadian embassy. One demonstrator carried a sign that read, "Honor native treaty rights - No Waco at Gustafsen Lake." Activists opposed to police intervention have been gathering in 100 Mile House, 35 kilometers from the occupation. Neither the press nor anyone else are allowed past a police barricade about 20 kilometers from this site. Outside the Red Coach Inn in 100 Mile House, Shari Bondy, whose husband is in the encampment, showed Militant reporters the bulletin board where messages of support from the Canadian Federation of Students, Canada Alliance in Solidarity with the Native Peoples, First Nations Environmental Network, and other groups are posted. Beverly Bernardo is a laid-off member of the Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees and Joe Young is a member of the United Steelworkers both in Vancouver. 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: Canada's Shame" --------- Date: 9:31 AM Nov 20, 1996 Subj: Canada's Shame (part 1) From: jwalenci@acc.jbu.edu Newsgroup: igc.indig.education Dear Mr. Smith, You have the Ottawa Sun's permission to include "Canada's Shame" in a future issue of your Internet publication, Wotanging Ikche; all we require is that you credit it to us. Thanks. Yours, Andrew Carver editorial assistant The Ottawa Sun | "The Little Paper That Grew" 380 Hunt Club Rd., | e-mail ottsun@ottawa.net Ottawa, Ontario, | 613-739-7000- main switchboard Canada. K1G 5H7 | 613-739-7200- for home delivery | 613-739-3333- advertising [This article has been excerpted.] Canada's Shame By JACKI LEROUX MISHKEEGOGAMANG RESERVE, Ontario, 25 Oct. 1996 (Ottawa Sun): Written in thick, black marker on the wall of Judith Bottle's home are the words: "All I want is everything." No one is sure who wrote the line. Certainly not Judith. She's only two. But as her small, round face -- dirty but adorable -- peers out of the chilly, dank, one-room shack she lives in, the words seem to resonate sadly around her. Far from having everything, Judith has...nothing. Autumn has arrived on this isolated, northern Ontario Ojibwa reserve, and the cold wind that blows through the holes in the shaky wooden shed hints at the bitter Canadian winter to come. As the little girl rolls around on one of two flimsy mattresses on the cheap plywood floor, a tattered blanket is the only evidence of warmth and comfort in the 10-by-14-foot room. That, and the body heat she might get from sharing the so-called bed with two or three other family members. Living under the same dilapidated roof as Judith are her five-year-old sister, their parents Brian and Beatrice, and Brian's father. That number will jump by one once Beatrice returns from the Sioux Lookout hospital -- . ..two hours away --with her newborn baby. Situated on a part of the reserve -- more than 500 km north of Thunder Bay -- known as Doghole Bay, Judith's home has no insulation, no door, and one of the two windows is missing. "They can't live here in the winter," observes Tom Wassaykeesic, the reserve's housing renovations project manager. "They'll freeze." Other than the two beds, all that sits inside are cardboard boxes and green garbage bags used to store clothing. There is ...no electricity or running water. Unlike many of the other dwellings in the community, the Bottle household is not even equipped with a barrel to store water or a wood stove for heat and cooking. In fact, there is no food to be seen. If Judith needs to be fed or bathed, she's taken next door to her aunt's house. It's there...Maybelline Masakeyash, who is just 17, is looking after her niece today, as well as Judith's nine cousins, ranging in age from one month to nine years. They'll mostly play outside, since the 10- by-40-foot storage trailer they live in with eight adults leaves them no room to move around. Every night for the past six years, this clan of 17 has shared four rickety beds and one lumpy couch. "Sometimes the kids sleep on the floor," Maybelline says, pointing to the surface of dirty plywood. What little food there is is stored in boxes or under the beds. No electricity means no refrigerator or stove. "This isn't even a house trailer," points out Dave Picard, hired by the Mishkeegogamang band council to assist Wassaykeesic with renovations. "It's a storage trailer. It's not meant to be lived in." Even water comes in small quantities here. Although a water truck is supposed to deliver to the reserve once a week, it's old and often breaks down. That means Maybelline and her family must trek through the bush behind the settlement to collect water. In the winter, sometimes they'll...melt snow. "Who knows what pollutants are in that?" says Charles Bottle, one of four members of the Mishkeegogamang band council that has been doggedly fighting for improvements in the community. Maybelline's trailer is warm thanks to the primitive-looking wooden stove, but it's only September -- come January many of the kids will develop sickly coughs and other ailments due to perpetual cold. In fact, it's such crowded and unsanitary living conditions that led to an outbreak of Hepatitis A and shigella, an intestinal infection similar to dysentery, earlier this year. "These people aren't living -- they're...surviving,'' says Wassaykeesic, observing the garbage and debris strewn throughout the area. "They think we're here to help them. What can I do? This year we've only been able to get funding to renovate 10 out of 80 buildings. "(The trailer) was on the list for renovations, but it's not worth putting a penny into it. They need a real home,'' he says. As fate would have it, there was no need to debate the issue. Two weeks after his visit, the trailer burned to the ground, critically injuring Maybelline's brother, Robert. "They lost everything,'' says Wassaykeesic. "It's sad for the kids. It's going to be a hard winter for them." Isolation and the battle for survival against the elements have long been basic facts of life for Canadian Natives on reserves. The children... .have never known another reality, except for the mostly white, urban, North American society they see on television. But the crippling poverty and desolation of the spirit...so many feel is something that only began developing midway through this century. Over the decades, it has spread like a plague, says Connie Gray. Gray, 33, a mother of four, remembers her childhood on Mishkeegogamang with a great fondness. She was raised by her grandparents in a lakeside home with no electricity or running water. Life was traditional and simple -- she learned to hunt, fish and trap -- but, she says, exceptionally happy. Like many of her generation, Gray had a mother who drank heavily. When Connie was...18 months old, her mother moved in with a man who "didn't treat me well," she says. She doesn't elaborate, except to say that's when her grandparents took her in. Still, despite their love and guidance, they, too, liked to drink occasionally, so Gray and her siblings learned at a young age to take care of themselves. "We built this log cabin and when the adults were drinking we'd all go there and sleep," she says. "We became adults very early." Today, many of Mishkeegogamang's nearly 400 kids -- half of the reserve's total population -- ...live with their grandparents after being abandoned by alcoholic parents. But, unlike Gray, they do not keep Ojibwa traditions. Where she learned pride from things like a traditional hunt, the kids today know only boredom and the monotony of television. "In terms of culture, I had a better chance than these kids," she says. "Language is very important. Today, these kids are going away from that. They're a TV culture. They don't know how to trap or do things that make you unique as an Indian person and proud of who you are. "The onus is on the community to go back to teaching the culture," she says. Part 2 will be included in next week's issue. My sincere thanks to the Ottawa Sun for granting permission for this article to be shared. --------- "RE: The Use of Indian Logos" --------- Date: 7:10 PM Nov 22, 1996 From: rlmunson@mail.wiscnet.net Subj: common themes and questions about logos Newsgroup: igc.indig.education COMMON THEMES AND QUESTIONS ABOUT THE USE OF "INDIAN" LOGOS By Barbara Munson, a woman of the Oneida Nation, living in Mosinee, WI "Indian" logos and nicknames create, support and maintain stereotypes of a race of people. When such cultural abuse is supported by one or many of society's institutions, it constitutes institutional racism. It is not conscionable that Wisconsin's Public Schools be the vehicle of institutional racism. The logos, along with other societal abuses and stereotypes separate, marginalize, confuse, intimidate and harm Native American children and create barriers to their learning throughout their school experience. Additionally, the logos teach non-Indian children that its all right to participate in culturally abusive behavior. Children spend a great deal of their time in school, and schools have a very significant impact on their emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual development. As long as such logos remain, both Native American and non-Indian children are learning to tolerate racism in our schools. The following illustrate the common questions and statements that I have encountered in trying to provide education about the "Indian" logo issue. "We have always been proud of our 'Indians'." People are proud of their high school athletic teams, even in communities where the team name and symbolism does not stereotype a race of people. In developing high school athletic traditions, schools have borrowed from Native American cultures the sacred objects, ceremonial traditions and components of traditional dress that were most obvious; without understanding their deep meaning or appropriate use. High school traditions were created without in-depth knowledge of Native traditions; they are replete with inaccurate depictions of Indian people, and promote and maintain stereotypes of rich and varied cultures. High school athletic traditions have taken the trappings of Native cultures onto the playing field where young people have played at being "Indian". Over time, and with practice, generations of children in these schools have come to believe that the pretended "Indian" identity is more than what it is. "We are honoring Indians; you should feel honored." Native people are saying that they don't feel honored by this symbolism. We experience it as no less than a mockery of our cultures. We see objects sacred to us - such as the drum, eagle feathers, face painting and traditional dress - being used, not in sacred ceremony, or in any cultural setting, but in another culture's game. We are asking that the public schools stop demeaning, insulting, harassing and misrepresenting Native peoples, their cultures and religions, for the sake of school athletics. Why must some schools insist on using symbols of a race of people? Other schools are happy with their logos which offend no human being. Why do some schools insist on categorizing Indian people along with animals and objects? If your team name were the Pollacks, Niggers, Gooks, Spics, Honkies or Krauts, and someone from the community found the name and symbols associated with it offensive and asked that it be changed; would you not change the name? If not, why not? * [I apologize for using this example but have found no way to get this point across without using similar derogatory names for other racial and ethnic groups.] "Why is the term "Indian" offensive?" The term "Indian" was given to indigenous people on this continent by an explorer who was looking for India, a man who was lost and who subsequently exploited the indigenous people. "Indian", is a designation we have learned to tolerate, it is not the name we call ourselves. We are known by the names of our Nations - Oneida (On^yote a ka), Hochunk, Stockbridge- Munsee, Menominee (Omaeqnomenew), Chippewa (Anishanabe), Potawatomi, etc. There are many different nations with different languages and different cultural practices among the Native American peoples - as in Europe there are French, Swiss, Italian, German, Polish, English, Irish, Yugoslavs, Swedes, Portuguese, Latvians etc. "Why is an attractive depiction of an Indian warrior just as offensive as an ugly caricature?" Both depictions present and maintain stereotypes. Both firmly place Indian people in the past, separate from our contemporary cultural experience. It is difficult, at best, to be heard in the present when someone is always suggesting that your real culture only exists in museums. The logos keep us marginalized and are a barrier to our contributing here and now. Depictions of mighty warriors of the past emphasize a tragic part of our history; focusing on wartime survival, they ignore the strength and beauty of our cultures during times of peace. Many Indian cultures view life as a spiritual journey filled with lessons to be learned from every experience and from every living being. Many cultures put high value on peace, right action, and sharing. Indian men are not limited to the role of warrior; in many of our cultures a good man is learned, gentle, patient, wise and deeply spiritual. In present time as in the past, our men are also sons and brothers, husbands, uncles, fathers and grandfathers. Contemporary Indian men work in a broad spectrum of occupations, wear contemporary clothes, and live and love just as men do from other cultural backgrounds. The depictions of Indian "braves", "warriors" and "chiefs" also ignore the roles of women and children. Although there are patrilineal Native cultures, many Indian Nations are both matrilineal and child centered. Indian cultures identify women with the Creator because of their ability to bear children, and with the Earth which is Mother to us all. In most Indian cultures the highest value is given to children, they are closest to the Creator and they embody the future. In many Native traditions, each generation is responsible for the children of the seventh generation in the future. "We never intended the logo to cause harm." That no harm was intended when the logos were adopted, may be true. It is also true that we Indian people are saying that the logos are harmful to our cultures, and especially to our children, in the present. When someone says you are hurting them by your action, if you persist; then the harm becomes intentional. "We are paying tribute to Indians." Indian people do not pay tribute to one another by the use of logos, portraits or statues. The following are some ways that we exhibit honor: In most cultures to receive an eagle feather is a great honor, and often such a feather also carries great responsibility. An honor song at a Pow-Wow or other ceremony is a way of honoring a person or a group. We honor our elders and leaders by asking them to share knowledge and experience with us or to lead us in prayer. We defer to elders. They go first in many ways in our cultures. We honor our young by not doing things to them that would keep them from becoming who and what they are intended to be. We honor one another by listening and not interrupting. We honor those we love by giving them our time and attention. Sometimes we honor people through gentle joking. We honor others by giving to them freely what they need or what belongs to them already because they love it more or could use it better than we do. "Aren't you proud of your warriors?" Yes, we are proud of the warriors who fought to protect our cultures and preserve our lands. We are proud and we don't want them demeaned by being "honored" in a sports activity on a playing field. Our people died tragically in wars motivated by greed for our lands. Our peoples have experienced forced removal and systematic genocide. Our warriors gave their sacred lives in often vain attempts to protect the land and preserve the culture for future generations. Football is a game. "This is not an important issue." If it is not important, then why are school boards willing to tie up their time and risk potential law suits rather than simply change the logos. I, as an Indian person, have never said it is unimportant. Most Indian adults have lived through the pain of prejudice and harassment in schools when they were growing up, and they don't want their children to experience more of the same. The National Council of American Indians, the Great Lakes InterTribal Council, the Oneida Tribe, and the Wisconsin Indian Education Association have all adopted formal position statements because this is a very important issue to Indian people. This issue speaks to our children being able to form a positive Indian identity and to develop appropriate levels of self-esteem. In addition, it has legal ramifications in regard to pupil harassment and equal access to education. If its not important to people of differing ethnic and racial backgrounds within the community, then change the logos because they are hurting the community's Native American population. "What if we drop derogatory comments and clip art and adopt pieces of REAL Indian culturally significant ceremony, like Pow-Wows and sacred songs?" Though well-intended, these solutions are culturally naive and would exchange one pseudo-culture for another. Pow-Wows are gatherings of Native people which give us the opportunity to express our various cultures and strengthen our sense of Native American community. Pow-Wows have religious, as well as social, significance. To parodize such ceremonial gatherings for the purpose of cheering on the team at homecoming would multiply exponentially the current pseudo cultural offensiveness. Bringing Native religions onto the playing field through songs of tribute to the "Great Spirit" or Mother Earth would increase the mockery of Native religions even more than the current use of drums and feathers. High School football games are secular; The Creator and Mother Earth are sacred. "We are helping you preserve your culture." The responsibility for the continuance of our cultures falls to Native people. We accomplish this by surviving, living and thriving; and, in so doing, we pass on to our children our stories, traditions, religions, values, arts, and our languages. We sometimes do this important work with people from other cultural backgrounds, but they do not and cannot continue our cultures for us. Our ancestors did this work for us, and we continue to carry the culture for the generations to come. Our cultures are living cultures - they are passed on, not "preserved". "This logo issue is just about political correctness." Using the term "political correctness" to describe the attempts of concerned Native American parents, educators and leaders to remove stereotypes from the public schools trivializes a survival issue. A history of systematic genocide has decimated over 95% of the indigenous population of the Americas. Today, the average life expectancy of Native American males is age 45, of women, 46. The teen suicide rate among Native people is 20 times higher than the national average. Stereotypes, ignorance, silent inaction and even naive innocence damage and destroy individual lives and whole cultures. Racism kills. "What do you mean, there is hypocrisy involved in retaining an "Indian" logo?" Imagine that you are a child in a society where your people are variously depicted as stoic, brave, honest, a mighty warrior, fierce, savage, stupid, dirty, drunken, and only good when dead. Imagine going to a school where many of your classmates refer to your people as "Dirty Squaws" and "Timber Niggers". Imagine hearing your peers freely, loudly and frequently say such things as "Spear an Indian, Save a Walleye", or more picturesquely proclaim "Spear a Pregnant Squaw, Save a Walleye". Imagine that the teachers and administration do not forbid this kind of behavior. Imagine that this same school holds aloft an attractive depiction of a Plains Indian Chieftain and cheers on its "Indian" team. Imagine that in homecoming displays, cheers, and artwork you see your people depicted inaccurately in ways that demean your cultural and religious practices. Imagine that when you bring your experiences to the attention of your school board and request change, they simply ignore you and decide to continue business as usual. Imagine that the same school board states publicly that it opposes discriminatory practices, provides equal educational opportunity and supports respect for cultural differences. "Why don't community members understand the need to change, isn't it a simple matter of respect?" On one level, yes. But in some communities, people have bought into local myths and folklore presented as accurate historical facts. Sometimes these myths are created or preserved by local industry. Also, over the years, athletic and school traditions grow up around the logos. These athletic traditions can be hard to change when much of a community's ceremonial and ritual life, as well as its pride, becomes tied to high school athletic activities. Finally, many people find it difficult to grasp a different cultural perspective. Not being from an Indian culture, they find it hard to understand that things which are not offensive to themselves, might be offensive or even harmful to someone who is from a Native culture. Respecting a culture different from the one you were raised in requires some effort. Even if a person lives in a different culture - insight and understanding of that culture will require interaction, listening, observing and a willingness to learn. The Native American population, in most school districts displaying "Indian" logos, is proportionally very small. When one of us confronts the logo issue, that person, his or her children and other family members, and anyone else in the district who is Native American become targets of insults and threats; we are shunned and further marginalized - our voices become even harder to hear from behind barriers of fear and anger. We appreciate the courage, support, and sometimes the sacrifice, of all who stand with us by speaking out against the continued use of "Indian" logos. When you advocate for the removal of these logos, you are strengthening the spirit of tolerance and justice in your community; you are modeling for all our children - thoughtfulness, courage and respect for self and others. "Is there any common ground on this issue?" All of Wisconsin's public schools are required to have a non-discrimination statement and a policy to provide enforcement. Through Act 31, all schools are required to provide education, (in the classroom, not on the basketball court), about Wisconsin's Woodland Indians. Many schools have adopted strategic plans emphasizing cultural sensitivity and awareness. These measures should establish considerable common ground between Indian people requesting the removal of the logos and the public schools. Until the logos are removed, however, they are no more than broken promises and hollow, hypocritical rhetoric. --------- "RE: Thought Regarding Leonard Peltier" --------- Date: Sat, 30 Nov 1996 12:08:23 -0800 From: "Linda C." Subj: Leonard Peltier Newsgroup: alt.native Just a thought - I was talking to a long distance friend last night and the comment was made: "If Clinton is willing to pardon everyone involved in the Whitewater mess, couldn't he do the same for one, solitary Indian?" I later signed on to the NET and saw LPDC's request that we all continue our efforts through the month of December. Perhaps we could all use this logic in our letters, emails, and faxes. Doesn't the constitution read "liberty and justice for all"? To echo LPDC's request, please, if each of us who reads this NG would email a few times during the month of December, we could make a difference. Personally, if I felt that my letters contributed to Leonard finally being able to spend a holiday with his family in the privacy of their home, I would feel as if my life had not been in vain. Please, write, call, fax, or email. Let's make it happen guys! In the Spirit, Linda C. -- Isn't it time we all took a stand? Demand Executive Clemency for Leonard Peltier! Check out our web site at http://bare-wisdom.org and . . . sign our guest book please. --------- "RE: The Story of Standing Bear" --------- Date: Sat, 30 Nov 1996 14:11:14 -0500 From: Ishgooda Subj: The Story of Standing Bear UUCP email In 1994 a special committee was formed to establish a memorial with the purpose of educating all nationalities of the importance and the place in history of the Native American community. A memorial image was established honoring Chief Standing Bear because of his place in history when he won the battle for himself and for all Native Americans to become persons under United States law. The Story of Standing Bear The story of the Ponca Chief Standing Bear's fight for his land and his dignity is a fascinating link in the struggle for civil rights in America. Standing Bear was a chieftain of the Ponca tribe. The nation was a peaceful tribe of farmers and hunters living on lands along the Niobrara River in northeastern Nebraska. In January, 1877, Indian Inspector Edward C. Kemble arrived from Washington, D.C. and told the Indians that they were to be moved to the Indian Territory. The Poncas adamantly refused. Standing Bear said, "We do not wish to sell our land, and we think no man has a right to take it from us. Here we will live and here we will die." Incapable of offering resistance, Standing Bear and the chiefs had no choice but to travel by train with Kemble on an inspection of the "Warm Lands." However, they were unaccustomed to the climate and sickened. The chiefs told Kemble they would not bring their people to die in these lands. Kemble's reply was to abandon them. The Ponca leaders walked more than 500 miles in winter toward home without money or food and only one blanket and pair of moccasins for each person. The Poncas arrived back at the Niobrara nearly two months later. Soldiers were waiting to move them to Indian Territory by force. The dreaded journey began on May 21, 1878. The soldiers formed a line at one end of the village and drove the people like cattle before them. All their belongings, seed and household goods were taken by the soldiers. The old, the sick and the children suffered most. Standing Bear's daughter died. On July 9, they reached the "Warm Lands." No provisions had been made for the support of the tribe by the U.S. Government. Food was scarce. By the end of 1878, 158 of the 730 Ponca tribe members had died from pneumonia and malaria. Standing Bear's 12-year-old son died. On his deathbed, he made his father promise to bury him on the Niobrara rather than in the Indian Territory. Taking the body of his son, Standing Bear began the return journey in January, 1879. The little band of thirty walked for ten weeks. It was a hard trip through blizzard conditions. General George Crook's soldiers arrested the Poncas in Nebraska. General Crook, upon receiving word of the band's "pitiable condition," was outraged at the treatment the Poncas had received. He turned to Thomas H. Tibbles of the "Omaha Herald" for help. Tibbles sent the details of the Poncas' arrest to major newspapers and raised great public support for the Poncas. He also concluded that a case should be brought to trial that centered around the 14th Amendment which states, "... nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," which meant no person could be held under arrest, as Standing Bear was, without having committed a crime. There was, however, a question of whether or not an Indian was a "person". The trial between the magnificently-dressed Standing Bear, in full chief's regalia, and General Crook in dress uniform, lasted two days. The nation's attention was focused on the small courtroom where each side told the story of lost homes, dying children, fear, starvation, sickness, and orders relentlessly obeyed. At the end of his testimony, Standing Bear held out his hand to the judge and pleaded for recognition of his basic humanity. "My hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be of the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both." Judge Dundy ruled in favor of Standing Bear declaring, "... the question cannot be open to serious doubt. Webster describes a person as, '... a living human being: ... an individual of the human race.' This is comprehensive enough, it would seem, to include even an Indian." Standing Bear had won the battle for himself and for all Native Americans to become persons under United States law. NAMF Mission Statement To educate all nationalities of the important role and heritage of the Native Americans in the development of our country's diverse culture. To promote better relations, understanding, and communications with Native Americans. To increase economic and educational opportunities for Native Americans. To provide a catalyst to improve and enhance the self-worth of Native Americans. NAMF Objectives To erect a memorial to Chief Standing Bear. To erect a memorial honoring all tribes and a sculpture garden of principal chiefs. To build a Native American cultural center in phases including a museum, a learning and entertainment center, a Native American hall of fame, a trading post, and a Native American village. To establish a scholarship program. The choice of Chief Standing Bear as the image for the monument was based solely on his philosophy for the human race and for what he accomplished when he won the battle for himself and for all Native Americans to become persons under United States law. Recalling at the end of his trial Chief Standing Bear stated: "My hand is not the color of yours, but if I pierce it, I shall feel pain. If you pierce your hand, you also feel pain. The blood that will flow from mine will be of the same color as yours. I am a man. The same God made us both." The long term goal of this project is not only for the Native American community but for all mankind. Through knowledge and awareness do we grow to make a better world in which we all live as one human race under God. Native American Memorial Foundation P.O. Box 111 Ponca City, OK 74602 --------- "RE: Cherokee Constitution Convention" --------- Date: Sun, 01 Dec 96 08:32:00 -0800 From: marie.jackson@filebank.cts.com (MARIE JACKSON) Subj: CHEROKEE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION Mailing List: INDIAN-ROOTS o si yo brothers and sisters.... The Cherokees of California have published in the October/November 1996 edition of The Eagle Newsletter a great message of hope for all who are interested in the Cherokee people! On Saturday, October 12, 1996, Joe Byrd, newly elected Principal Chief of The Cherokee Nation, attended The Cherokees of Northern California annual picnic. Chief Byrd appealed to all Cherokee to remain strongly committed to each other regardless of the distance between us.. his quote follows: "Unity is your theme today. I believe that our success depends upon our capacity to work together. We all know that a house divided cannot endure. I firmly believe that a Nation of Cherokees whether in Sacramento, Albuquerque or Tahlequah, who work together cannot be, and will not be, denied their vision. My goal is to establish a Nation that operates in the best interest of ALL Cherokee People." Joe Byrd Another item in this newsletter addressed by Chief Byrd was the Cherokee Constitutional Convention held every 20 years. His message on this topic: The next one will be next year to make changes to the Constitution of the Cherokee Nation. It will be a time for all members of the Nation to re-think what changes need to be made as to how the Cherokee Nation is to be governed as it enters into the 21st century. Community meetings will be scheduled in areas throughout the U.S. where groups of Cherokees can assemble to discuss the issue of making changes to the internal structure of the Constitution. During this time of internal review, Cherokees can look at other options to the current Dawes Rolls registration -- and the possibility of using other rolls or means to decide a person's right to citizenship. Citizenship in the Cherokee Nation has nothing to do with a degree of blood quantum. If you are a citizen of the Nation, you are a Cherokee. Some enrollees do not have any Cherokee blood. We need to play the numbers game. There are two and one-half million Indians throughout the U.S. We must keep that unity so that Congress will pay attention to who we are. We have to increase our numbers... in numbers there is power. Joe Byrd You can see the importance of getting involved now in some way to be a part of this process...... our efforts today may mean the difference for our future generations identities. The Cherokees of California have a webpage at: http://www.Powersource.com/cocinc It lists state by state Cherokee organizations, and encourages all to become members of your local chapters. Joe Byrd's message is not published on this webpage. The Cherokees of California, Inc. is a non-profit organization. Banded together as descendants of a common Cherokee heritage, their primary purpose is to preserve and pass on to the next generation the traditions, history and language. They invite all interested people who want to re-new ties with their Cherokee heritage to join them. There is no cost for membership. For a membership application, send a self-addressed, stamped business size envelope to address below. The Eagle newsletter costs $4.00 per year to subscribe for 6 editions. Cherokees of California P O Box 2372 Marysville, CA 95901 Sometimes looking for our Cherokee ancestors is like tracking where the wind blew over buffalo grass...... Unity in Peace, Marie marie.jackson@filebank.cts.com --------- "RE: Morris K. Udall Scholarship" --------- Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 19:50:50 -0700 From: Michael Price Subj: Morris K. Udall Scholarship Mailing List: AISESnet Discussion List (aisesnet@victor.umt.edu) The Morris K. Udall Foundation is offering a scholarship of up to $5,000 to students who are pursuing degrees in environmental policy, health care and tribal public policy. Awards will be made on the basis of merit of two categories of students: 1. students with outstanding potential who intend to pursue careers in environmental public policy; and 2. Native American and Alaska Native students with outstanding potential who intend to pursue careers in health care or tribal public policy. The eligibility requirements are: 1. a sophomore or junior enrolled in a degree program at the time of nomination; 2. a college GPA of at least a "B" and be in the upper 4th of the class; and 3. a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien. If you are interested in applying for this scholarship, please contact the AISES College Department for more information. The deadline for this scholarship is February 1, 1997. The Morris K. Udall Foundation will make the final scholarship recipient selections. The applicants will be notified in May 1997. Megwetch, Michael Wassegijig Price Director of College Programs --------- "RE: Arts Fellowship" --------- Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 20:11:47 -0700 From: mpbmstd@alaska.net Subj: Arts Fellowship (ascii) Mailing List: AISESnet Discussion List (aisesnet@victor.umt.edu) 97-665 The School of American Research is accepting applications for the Harvey W Branigar Jr Native American Internship at the Indian Arts Research Ctr, which annually supports a Native Amer student with a career goal of working with collections in a museum or cultural Ctr. Applicant must have a BA or equivalent. Applications are being accepted through Dec 1, 1996 for a 9-month tenure beginning the following Sept. Stipend & housing are provided. Please contact SAR, IARC, PO Box 2188, Santa Fe, NM 87504-2188; 505/982-3584, iarc@sarsf.org. [11] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MPB SCIENCE & MANAGEMENT M. Pamela Bumsted, Ph.D. (907) 458-0118 (voice/fax) (e-mail) mpbmstd@alaska.net (snail-mail) PO Box 70214, Fairbanks, Alaska 99707-0214 USA --------- "RE: Reviews: Books by/about NA's" --------- Date: 30 Nov 1996 03:28:03 GMT From: brock@ucsub.Colorado.EDU (Steve Brock) Subj: Short reviews/mentions of new/recent books by/about Nat. Amer. Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.reviews,rec.arts.books,alt.books.reviews, alt.native,soc.culture.native Here are several short reviews and mentions of new and recent books by and about Native Americans. All are written by Steve Brock: FROM A NATIVE SON: SELECTED ESSAYS ON INDIGENISM, 1985-1995 by Ward Churchill. South End Press, 116 St. Botolph St., Boston, MA 02115, (617) 266-0629, FAX: (617) 266-1595. Illustrated, index, maps, notes. 608 pp., $22.00 paper. 0-89608-553-8. In his characteristic biting fashion, professor/activist Churchill comments on the Navajo-Hopi land dispute, plastic medicine men, the movie "Dances with Wolves" (which he calls "Lawrence of South Dakota"), and Indians as team mascots, from an indigenist perspective. Insightful and controversial. Grade: B+. PUEBLO BONITO by George H. Pepper. University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, (505) 277-2346, FAX: (505) 277-9270. Illustrated, index, maps. 413 pp., $45.00 cloth (0-8263-1735-9), $19.95 paper (0-8263-1639-5). A room-by- room anthropological inventory of the Anasazi Pueblo in Chaco Canyon, which produced an astounding variety of artifacts. Originally published in 1920. Grade: A-. POWER OF A NAVAJO: CARL GORMAN: THE MAN AND HIS LIFE by Henry Greenberg and Georgia Greenberg. Clear Light Publishers, 823 Don Diego, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (800) 253-2747, FAX: (505) 989-9519. Clear Light's e-mail address is clpublish@aol.com. Illustrated, index, selected bibliography, glossary, appendix. 212 pp., $25.95 cloth (0-940666-82-0), $14.95 paper (0-940666-80-4). An engrossing biography of the esteemed Navajo leader, oldest living Code Talker, and father of the celebrated artist R.C. Gorman, revised from the Greenberg's earlier "Carl Gorman's World." The Navajo pride of this hero shines on every page. Grade: A-. THE TURN TO THE NATIVE: STUDIES IN CRITICISM AND CULTURE by Arnold Krupat. University of Nebraska Press, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472-6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. Index, references, notes. 165 pp., $30.00 cloth. 0-8032-2735-3. A highly selective overview of Native American literature and its criticism, with chapters addressing non-native critics, multiculturalism, and the relationship of Native American literature to post-modern theory. Included writers are Leslie Marmon Silko, Giane Glancy, N. Scott Momaday, Louis Owens, James Welch, and Gerald Vizenor. Many, though, including Adrian Louis and Louise Erdrich, are left out. Grade: B. A SONG TO THE CREATOR: TRADITIONAL ARTS OF NATIVE AMERICAN WOMEN OF THE PLATEAU, edited by Lillian A. Ackerman. University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019, (800) 627-7377, FAX: (800) 735-0476. Illustrated, index, references. 190 pp., $18.95 cloth. 0-8061-2877-1. A colorful celebration of Plateau (an area of the Northern United States between the Cascades and the Rockies) storytelling, weaving, hideworking, embroidery and ornamentation, and music, with interviews. Grade: B+. NAVAJO AND PHOTOGRAPHY: A CRITICAL HISTORY OF THE REPRESENTATION OF AN AMERICAN PEOPLE by James C. Faris. University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, (505) 277-2346, FAX: (505) 277-9270. Illustrated (263 black-and-white photographs), index, bibliography, notes, appendix. 408 pp., $39.95 cloth. 0-8263-1725-1. A critical examination of the Navajo as photographic subject, which concludes that Western assumptions have governed their representation from Bosque Redondo to the present day. Includes many rare and never before published photographs. Grade: A. CORBETT MACK: THE LIFE OF A NORTHERN PAIUTE, as told by Michael Hittman. University of Nebraska Press, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472-6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. Illustrated, index, bibliography, notes, maps. 406 pp., $45.00 cloth (0-8032-2376-5), $18.00 paper (0-8032- 7290-1). A moving portrait of a "stolen child" (Paiute of mixed ancestry), whose life story includes tales of forced attendance at an Indian boarding school, opium addiction, and life as a migrant field laborer. Tragic, but meaningful. Grade: B+. PEOPLE OF THE PEYOTE: HUICHOL INDIAN HISTORY, RELIGION, AND SURVIVAL, edited by Stacy B. Schaefer and Peter T. Furst. University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, (505) 277-2346, FAX: (505) 277-9270. Illustrated (123 black-and-white photographs), index, bibliography, glossary. 574 pp., $59.95 cloth. 0-8263-1648-4. A collection of eighteen essays on the culturally persistent Huichol of central western Mexico, scrutinizing the tribe's ethnography, ethnohistory, religion, and art, as well as their ceremonial use of peyote. Grade: A. N. SCOTT MOMADAY COMMEMORATIVE EDITIONS: HOUSE MADE OF DAWN, THE NAMES, THE WAY TO RAINY MOUNTAIN, all by N. Scott Momaday. University of Arizona Press, 1230 N. Park, #102, Tucson, AZ 85719, (800) 426-3797, (602) 882-3065 in Arizona, FAX: (602) 621-8899. The University of Arizona Press online catalogue and order form may be accessed from the Internet by telneting to INFO.CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU. Login as INFO. From the Main Menu choose 5 (On-line Information Services), 3 (University of Arizona Information), 1 (Campus Services), and 4 (University of Arizona Press). Illustrated. "House" is 218 pp., $29.95 cloth, 0-8165- 1705-3; "The Names" is 178 pp., $29.95 cloth, 0-8165-1700-2; "Rainy Mountain" is 95 pp., $24.95 cloth, 0-8165-1701-0. The University of Arizona Press has reissued these three titles (a novel and two memoirs) by the Pulitzer Prize-winning Kiowa novelist, painter, and poet, in hardcover commemorative editions. Grade for all: A. PLACE OF THE PRETEND PEOPLE: GIFTS FROM A YUP'IK ESKIMO VILLAGE by Carolyn Kremers. Alaska Northwest Books, 733 W. Fourth Ave., Suite 300, Anchorage, AK 99501, (907) 278-8838, FAX: (907) 278-8839. List of related readings. 240 pp., $22.95 cloth. 0-88240-478-4. A sensitive memoir by a woman who worked and taught in the village of Tununak on the Alaskan coast. Kremers tells of her encounters with the Yu'pik and includes several of their stories and songs. Grade: B+. MEDICINE OF THE CHEROKEE: THE WAY OF RIGHT RELATIONSHIP by J.T. Garrett and Michael Garrett. Bear & Company, 506 Agua Fria St., Santa Fe, NM 87504-2860, (800) 932-3277, FAX: (505) 989-8386. Illustrated, bibliography. 235 pp., $14.00 paper. 1-879131-37-1. The authors trace several medicine paths (mental, natural, spiritual) according to the teachings of Cherokee elders, with stories and activities. Primarily for new-age advocates, especially the section on crystal healing. Grade: B-. PEOPLE OF LEGEND: NATIVE AMERICANS OF THE SOUTHWEST, photographs and text by John Annerino. Sierra Club Books, 100 Bush Street, 13th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, (415) 291-1600, (415) 291-1602 FAX. Illustrated, bibliography, map. 144 pp., $30.00 cloth. 0- 87156-433-5. A respectful photographic documentary of the native peoples of the mountains, mesas, deserts, and river regions of the American Southwest. Commentary puts each tribe in a cultural context. Includes several tribes of Mexico. Grade: B+. THE PAWNEE GHOST DANCE HAND GAME: GHOST DANCE REVIVAL & ETHNIC IDENTITY by Alexander Lesser. University of Nebraska Press, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472- 6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. Illustrated, bibliography, notes. 364 pp., $17.50 paper. 0-8032-7965-5. To the Pawnee, the revival of the ghost dance in the 1890s signaled a cultural rejuvenation. In this reissue of the 1933 original edition, Lesser focuses on a guessing hand game, and its place in the Pawnee worldview and the process of acculturation. Grade: A-. WHY I CAN'T READ WALLACE STEGNER AND OTHER ESSAYS: A TRIBAL VOICE by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn. University of Wisconsin Press, 114 N. Murray St., Madison, WI 53715-1199, (608) 262-4928, FAX: (608) 262- 7560. Selected bibliography, notes. 172 pp., $17.95 paper. 0- 299-15144-1. Cook-Lynn, a Crow Creek Sioux and professor of English and Native American Studies at Eastern Washington Universi- ty, provides book reviews ("The Broken Cord," "Black Hills White Justice," and others), critiques the development of tribal literacy in academia, and portrays Stegner as a fiction writer who has been "successful in serving the interests of a nation's fantasy about itself." Self-indulgent, but deserving of consideration. Grade: B+. GERALD VIZENOR: WRITING IN THE ORAL TRADITION by Kimberly M. Blaeser. University of Oklahoma Press, 1005 Asp Ave., Norman, OK 73019, (800) 627-7377, FAX: (800) 735-0476. Index, notes, list of works, list of works cited. 272 pp., $29.95 cloth. 0-8061-2874-7. An inspiring critical analysis of Vizenor's extensive works, concentrating on "the participatory quality" of his writing. Grade: A-. THE ANASAZI OF MESA VERDE AND THE FOUR CORNERS by William F. Ferguson. University of Colorado Press, P.O. Box 849, Niwot, CO 80544, (800) 268-6044, FAX: (303) 530-5306. Illustrated (200 photographs in color), index, bibliography, glossary, maps. 221 pp., $49.95 cloth (0-87081-375-7), $29.95 paper (0-87081-392-7). A colorful overview of the Anasazi culture and architecture (with an abundance of maps). Some of the material, however, is under dispute. Grade: B+. THE THUNDER MOON SERIES: THE LEGEND OF THUNDER MOON, RED WIND AND THUNDER MOON, THUNDER MOON AND THE SKY PEOPLE, FAREWELL THUNDERMOON by Max Brand. University of Nebraska Press, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472-6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. "Legend" is 176 pp., $25.00 cloth (0-8032- 1269-0, Red Wind" is 170 pp., $25.00 cloth (0-8032-1268-2, "Sky People" is 220 pp., $25.00 cloth (0-8032-1264-X), and "Farewell" is 90 pp., $25.00 cloth (0-8032-1267-4). The University of Nebraska Press has reissued these four Brand (Frederick Faust) novelettes, dealing with the Cheyenne Indians and their encounters with white settlers, originally published in "Western Story Magazine" in 1927- 28. Grade for all: A. NATIVE AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE by Peter Nabokov and Robert Easton. Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Ave., N.Y., NY 10016, (800) 451-7556, (919) 677-1303 FAX. The Oxford University Press home page on the WWW is at http://www.oup-usa.org. Illustrated, index, bibliography, glossary, map. 431 pp., $29.95 cloth. 0-19-506665- 0. Nabokov and Easton describe (with archival photographs and drawings) the wide diversity of structural detail in Native American buildings and relate how each type is intimately connected to the social customs and worldview of each tribe. The book won the 1989 Bay Area Book Reviewers Award for Arts and Letters. Grade: A. THE CHEROKEE PEOPLE: THE STORY OF THE CHEROKEES FROM EARLIEST ORIGINS TO CONTEMPORARY TIMES by Thomas E. Mails. Marlowe and Company, 632 Broadway, Seventh Floor, N.Y., NY 10012, (212) 460- 5742, FAX: (212) 460-5796. Illustrated, index, bibliography, appendix, maps. 382 pp., 27.50 paper. 1-56924-762-5. In this updated edition of the 1992 original, author/artist Mails presents the history, ethnology, and culture of a tenacious people. Though some important recent events are glossed over, this is an important work. Grade: B+. SONG OF THE TURTLE: AMERICAN INDIAN LITERATURE 1974 TO 1994, edited by Paula Gunn Allen. Ballantine Books/One World, 201 E. 50th St., N.Y., NY 10022, (800) 733-3000, (800) 659-2436 FAX. The Random House home page is at http://www.randomhouse.com. List of supplementary readings. 365 pp., $25.00 cloth. 0-345-37525-4. A companion to Allen's "Voice of the Turtle," this volume is an authoritative introduction to the abundant body of literature that has accumulated during this period. Bearing Allen's distinctive editorship (she includes several emerging native writers), the thirty-three narratives, memoirs, oral legends, poems, short stories, and excerpts from novels are guaranteed to transform classes in Native American literature at universities across the country. Grade: A-. HOPI BASKET WEAVING: ARTISTRY IN NATURAL FIBERS by Helga Teiwes. University of Arizona Press, 1230 N. Park, #102, Tucson, AZ 85719, (800) 426-3797, (602) 882-3065 in Arizona, FAX: (602) 621-8899. The University of Arizona Press online catalogue and order form may be accessed from the Internet by telneting to INFO.CCIT.ARIZONA.EDU. Login as INFO. From the Main Menu choose 5 (On-line Information Services), 3 (University of Arizona Information), 1 (Campus Services), and 4 (University of Arizona Press). Illustrated (over 100 color and black-and-white photo- graphs), index, bibliography, glossary, map. 226 pp., $45.00 cloth (0-8165-1613-8), $19.95 paper (0-8165-1615-4). Teiwes, a retired museum photographer, describes how native plants are gathered, dried, and woven into breathtaking, functional works of art. Included is commentary on the lives of several Hopi weavers. Grade: A-. HANDBOOK OF NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE, edited by Andrew Wiget. Garland Publishing, 717 Fifth Ave., N.Y., NY 10022, (212) 751-7447, FAX: (212) 308-9399. Index, bibliography, notes, map. 616 pp., $22.95 paper. 0-8153-2586-X. A selective and occasionally dated guide to Native American authors, including essays, short commentary on specific authors, and bibliographies. This volume replaces "Dictionary of Native American Literature." Grade: B. ZUNI: A VILLAGE OF SILVERSMITHS by James Ostler, Marian Rodee, and Milford Nahohai. Published by the Pueblo of Zuni Arts and Crafts and the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center, Hwy. 53, Zuni, NM 87327, (505) 782-5531. Illustrated, index, bibliography, map. 143 pp., $40.00 cloth (0-912535-11-3), $29.95 paper (0-912535-08-3). A splendid guide to Zuni work in silver, with artist profiles and interviews. Grade: A. VOICE OF THE OLD WOLF: LUCULLUS VIRGIL MCWHORTER AND THE NEZ PERCE INDIANS by Steven Ross Evans. Washington State University Press, Pullman, WA 99164-5910, (509) 335-3518, FAX: (509) 335-8568. Illustrated, index, bibliography, notes, map. 208 pp., $32.00 cloth (0-87422-129-3), $19.95 paper (0-87422-128-5). A splendid and captivating history of the treaty and non-treaty Nez Perce and Yakima Indians, from the perspective of a white advocate and friend. Grade: A-. SON OF TWO BLOODS by Vincent L. Mendoza. University of Nebraska Press, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472-6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. Illustrated. 176 pp., $25.00 cloth. 0- 8032-3188-1. A lean, and at times superficial, memoir of growing up between two cultures (Mendoza's father is Mexican and his mother is Creek) in the 1950s and 60s. The book won the North American Indian Prose Award in 1995. Grade: B-. THE FINE ART OF CALIFORNIA INDIAN BASKETRY, edited by Brian Bibby. Heyday Books, P.O. Box 9145, Berkeley, CA 94709, (510) 549-3564, FAX: (510) 549-1889. Illustrated, bibliography. 128 pp., $20.00 paper. 0-930588-87-8. An impressive catalog for an exhibition of 62 baskets, dating from 1822 to the present, at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. The exhibition will appear at the Autry Museum for Western Heritage in Los Angeles from March 22 to June 1, 1997. Grade: B+. SOUTHWESTERN POTTERY: ANASAZI TO ZUNI by Allan Hayes and John Blom. Northland Publishing, P.O. Box 1389, Flagstaff, AZ 86002-1389, (800) 346-3257, (800) 257-9082 FAX. Northland also has a line of southwestern design T-shirts and other gifts. Illustrated (130 color photographs), index, bibliography, maps, afterword. 197 pp., $40.00 cloth (0-87358-663-8), $21.95 paper (0-87358-656-5). A stunning and comprehensive documentary of Indian pottery, from the earliest times to the present day, with commentary on popular potters. Written primarily for collectors, includes purchasing tips. Grade: A-. STANDING IN THE LIGHT: A LAKOTA WAY OF SEEING by Severt Young Bear and R.D. Theisz. University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472- 6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. Illustrated, index, bibliography, map. 225 pp., $12.00 paper. 0-8032-9912-5. In this paperback reissue of the 1994 original edition, the late musician, teacher, and activist speaks of living a balanced and meaningful life within the four circles of the Lakota culture. Grade: A. A ZUNI ARTIST LOOKS AT FRANK HAMILTON CUSHING: CARTOONS BY PHIL HUGHTE. Published by the Pueblo of Zuni Arts and Crafts and the A:shiwi A:wan Museum and Heritage Center, Hwy. 53, Zuni, NM 87327, (505) 782-5531. Illustrated, list of readings. 125 pp., $24.95 paper. 0-9641401-0-1. A humorous and insightful portrayal, in caricature, of how the Zuni may have interpreted Cushing's four year residence at the Pueblo as an ethnologist for the Smithsonian Institution. Grade: B+. WISDOM SITS IN PLACES: LANDSCAPE AND LANGUAGE AMONG THE WESTERN APACHE by Keith H. Basso. University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, (505) 277-2346, FAX: (505) 277-9270. Illustrated, index, references, notes. 199 pp., $40.00 cloth (0-8263-1723-4), $14.95 paper (0-8263-1724-3). A thoughtful and distinctive discourse on the significance of place in Western Apache narratives and names. The book won the 1996 Western States Award for Creative Nonfiction. Grade: A. CLAIMING BREATH by Diane Glancy. University of Nebraska Press/Bison Books, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472-6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. 129 pp., $12.00 paper. 0-8032- 7066-6. A reissue of an uneven memoir in the form of a journal, written as the Cherokee author crossed Oklahoma teaching creative writing (and seeking her lost cultural heritage). The book won the 1991 North American Indian Prose Award. Grade: B. DRESSING IN FEATHERS: THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE INDIAN IN AMERICAN POPULAR CULTURE, edited by S. Elizabeth Bird. HarperCollins/Westview Press, 5500 Central Ave., Boulder, CO 80301- 2877, (303) 444-3541. Illustrated, index, notes. 331 pp., $19.50 paper. Bird presents eighteen compelling essays challenging the depiction of Indians in sport, film, television, photography, and other media. Included are discussions of "Pocahontas," "Dances With Wolves," "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," and "Northern Exposure," as well as historical depictions. Grade: B+. INDIAN AMERICA: A TRAVELER'S COMPANION (FOURTH EDITION), by Eagle/Walking Turtle. John Muir Publications, P.O. Box 613, Santa Fe, NM 87504, (505) 982-4078, FAX: (505) 988-1680. Illustrated, index, bibliography, glossary, maps, appendix. 477 pp., $18.95 paper. 1-56261-238-7. A comprehensive sourcebook for the traveler, providing information to more than 300 American Indian reservations, communities, museums, and cultural centers, with short histories, lists of events (a new chapter provides details on powwows), and many archival photographs. In this book are many ways to heal the sacred hoop, and always remember: these are sovereign nations: here, you are the foreigner. Grade: A-. WHITE MAN'S WICKED WATER: THE ALCOHOL TRADE AND PROHIBITION IN INDIAN COUNTRY, 1802-1892 by William E. Unrau. University Press of Kansas, 2501 West 15th Street, Lawrence, KS 66049-3904, (913) 864-4154, FAX: (913) 864-4586. Illustrated, index, bibliography, notes, maps. 190 pp., $25.00 cloth. 0-7006-0779-X. An examination of Indian alcoholism in the nineteenth century. Contrary to popular opinion, Unrau says that alcoholism was one of the results of acculturation, rather than white subversion. Grade: B+. LUSHOOTSEED TEXTS: AN INTRODUCTION TO PUGET SALISH NARRATIVE AESTHETICS, edited by Crisa Bierwert. University of Nebraska Press, 901 N. 17th St., Lincoln, NE 68588-0520, (800) 755-1105, FAX: (402) 472-6214. The University of Nebraska Press WWW home page is at http://www.unl.edu/up/home.htm, and their email address is press@unlinfo.unl.edu. Illustrated, index, bibliography, notes. 337 pp., $40.00 cloth. 0-8032-1262-3. Seven annotated stories, each with its own introduction, that symbolize the diversity of the Lushootseed oral literature. The language, originally widely spoken by tribes living along the northern coast of Washington, is threatened with extinction, as fewer than a dozen speakers remain. Grade: A. NAMPEYO AND HER POTTERY by Barbara Kramer. University of New Mexico Press, 1720 Lomas Blvd. N.E., Albuquerque, NM 87131-1591, (505) 277-2346, FAX: (505) 277-9270. Illustrated (47 total, 12 in color), index, bibliography, notes, maps, appendix. 238 pp., $39.95 cloth. 0-8263-1718-9. An extensive biography of the Hopi- Tewa potter, includes a stylistic analysis. Grade: A-. --------- "RE: Poem: Earth Lessons" --------- Date: 96/12/01 13:05 From: a.horovitch@genie.com Subj: genie email Night Owl: I was at a prose and poetry reading last night and was most taken with the quality and intensity of some of the young McGill University students poets. After David read this one I talked to him and he gave me permission to submit it to Wotanging Ikche for publication. Brave Star ------------------------ Submitted by Suzan Horovitch Written by David Neudorfer: Jazz-poet for Montreal's rhythmic Missionaries (a jazz-poetry ensemble featuring four poets and four musicians, Trumpet, Saxophone, Bass and Drums) @ email : neudorf@discovland.net DEFENDERS OF THE SHUSWAP NATIONS (SUNDANCERS AT GUSTAFSEN LAKE, B.C.) " It is important for those people given the power to enforce the law to refrain from using force and to be patient above all else." -Assembly of First Nations Chief - Ovide Mercredi 1. treaty land? non-treaty land? who knows? (they ain't my people so...) who cares? 2. BNA ACT,INDIAN ACT, ACT 1, ACT 11, ACTS, FACTS, ETC. royal declaration of wrongs or royal right to genocide or simply royal SHIT!) 3. dancing sun blood negotiates 4. modern rcmp: clickclick Bang! Bang! shoot em up clickclick Bang! Bang! Put em up oops - you dead we win - victory victory! 5. CONSTITUTIONAL COLONIALISTS! what's new legal victims? CONSTITUTIONAL GENOCIDE! 6. CENTURIES of WHITE JUSTICE by David Neudorfer --------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" --------- Date: 96/11/25 01:39 From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days genie email A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of December 8-14 KEKEMAPA (December) (Makalii) 8 In the mirror pool, you will see reflected your own spirit. 9 Learn all that life has to teach you. 10 Seek love, knowledge, and above all else -- happiness. 11 If we can achieve a meeting of minds, then all our other differences are meaningless. 12 Welcome new possibilities -- they are the zest of life. 13 Enjoy your dreams, for they come from a very special part of you. 14 Be creative in every aspect 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, 5 December 96 08:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith (evestar@juno.com) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows not previously posted to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L UUCP email Date: Nov 28, 1996 From: jon.reyhner@nau.edu in igc:indig.educatio Subj: "Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium" Fourth Annual Stabilizing Indigenous Languages Symposium: Sharing Effective Language Renewal Practices duBois Conference Center, Northern Arizona University (NAU), Flagstaff, Arizona, May 2-3, 1997 sponsored by NAU's Bilingual Multicultural Education Program and Navajo Language Program This Symposium is designed to allow preschool, K-12, college, and university American Indian language educators and activists through panels, workshops, and papers to share ideas and materials for teaching American Indian languages. The results of the conference will be shared with a wider audience through a monograph. Deadline for proposals is January 10, 1997 Contact Jon Reyhner, Box 5774, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5774 (Phone 520 523 0580; e-mail Jon.Reyhner@nau.edu) for more information on the symposium and the call for presentations. Copies of the 256 page monograph "Stabilizing Indigenous Languages" (the proceedings of the first and second symposiums in 1994 & 1995) are still available for $7.00 (includes postage within U.S.). Contact Debbie Hawthorne, Box 5774, Flagstaff, AZ. 86011; Phone 520 523 2127. ----------------------------------- Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 21:17:05 -0700 (MST) From: "Chris Milda (_Akimel O`odham_)" Subj: HOLIDAY POTLUCK THE AMERICAN INDIAN GRADUATE CENTRE & THE NATIVE AMERICAN RESOURCE CENTRE INVITE YOU * * * TO A * * * HOLIDAY POTLUCK * * * DECEMBER 6TH, 1996 5:30-8:30 P.M. 1610 E 7TH STREET MAIN DISH, BEVERAGES, AND DESERTS WILL BE PROVIDED PLEASE BRING A SIDE DISH! ========================================================================== -------------------------------------------------------------------------- --//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- 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: Ishgooda, Brian Hauk, Marie Jackson, Ann Stewart, Scott Robert Ladd, Jack Hicks, Debra F. Sanders, David Neudorfer via Suzan Horovitch, Janet Smith, Barbara Munson, Michael Wassegijig Price, Steve Brock, M. Pamela Bumsted, Larry Kibby, Joe Campagna -//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//-- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Part B of this newsletter has already been distributed via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists. --------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - online" --------- Date: Thu, 5 December 96 08:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith (evestar@juno.com) Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows already posted to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L UUCP email Date: Mon, 2 Dec 1996 16:54:50 CST From: wbabchuk@unlinfo.unl.edu (Wayne Babchuk) Subj: Call for Papers: Indigenous Peoples Symposium (UNL, April 1997) Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) CALL FOR PAPERS INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will be held in Lincoln, Nebraska on April 8-9, 1997. Walter Echo-Hawk, Native American Rights Fund senior staff attorney, will be featured in a general session in conjunction with the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues. Proposals are due January 15, 1997, for concurrent session presentations or panel discussions on topics related to indigenous peoples. Notice of acceptance will be made by February 15, 1997. Presenters will receive a discounted registration fee. Please direct inquiries to: Academic Conferences and Professional Programs, Division of Continuing Studies, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, 68583-9600, (402) 472-2844, Fax: (402) 472-9688, E-mail: acpp@unl.edu, WWW URL is http://www.unl.edu/conted/acpp/ --------- "RE: News from Nunavut" --------- Date: Fri, 29 Nov 1996 14:21:17 -0500 From: jhicks@nunavut.ca (Jack Hicks) Subj: the news from Nunavut... Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) Hi everyone, The following articles -- Leaders embrace gender parity, Race narrows for Nunavut's interim commissioner job, Leaders want elected government at Nunavut's birth, How many MLAs will Nunavut have?, Nunavut leaders reflect on suicide & Editorial: The Royal Jelly -- are from today's (Friday, November 29, 1996) Nunatsiaq News, Iqaluit's excellent weekly newspaper. Their website -- http://www.nunanet.com/~nunat -- is definitely worth a visit. There's no better way to keep on top of the news from Nunavut, no matter where you live. Have a great weekend, Jack --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leaders embrace gender parity TODD PHILLIPS Nunatsiaq News IQALUIT -- Nunavut's leaders moved closer last weekend to creating the world's first legislative assembly that guarantees an equal number of seats for men and women. After two days of intense debate, 72 per cent of delegates at a Nunavut leaders' meeting in Iqaluit voted in principle for the Nunavut Implementation Commission's "gender parity" proposal. Under that idea, each constituency in Nunavut would be represented by two members -- one elected by all voters from a list of males, and the other elected by all voters from a list of females. Not a done deal The results of last weekend's vote aren't binding on any government. And the proposal still has hurdles to clear - including approval by the federal cabinet. Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin said this week more discussion is needed, and he expects leaders will talk about it again at a February meeting. The minister added that the leaders who met in Iqaluit made it clear they were a "discussion group" and hadn't reached any firm decision. "We are watching and listening. It's a very difficult decision that has to be made," Irwin said in Iqaluit Wednesday before heading a 28-member trade delegation to Nuuk, Greenland. A historic vote But Nunavut leaders and officials at the meeting described the debate, and the outcome of the vote, as "a historic moment." "If it goes through and we go ahead with this, I think other Canadians should appreciate that we are breaking new ground," John Amagoalik, the NIC's chief commissioner, said last Sunday after the vote. "I sincerely believe that this is the direction where the world is heading." Amagoalik changes minds Amagoalik, a strong backer of the proposal, was urged by several leaders to step aside as chairman of the meeting to speak freely about the proposal. The man who's often called "The Father of Nunavut" said it's important to restore balance to Inuit society by bringing about a reconciliation between men and women. "We all know that our society is in a mess. It's in a mess because we have been out of kilter," Amagoalik said. "In the old days when we were living in camps, the father and mother always had equal value. Their work was considered to have equal value." That was disrupted when Inuit began to move from their outpost camps into communities about 40 years ago, he said. After that, Amagoalik said, men and women found they didn't necessarily need one another. But if the people of Nunavut are to fix their society, he said they have to restore the importance of the family, and of equal respect for men and women. Not a merit system Amagoalik dismissed criticisms that adopting the commission's gender parity model means people won't be elected on merit. "People say that if we accept this system that it somehow will take away from the democratic rights of people. I don't see that. It doesn't prevent anyone from running," Amagoalik said. "People will still vote for people they think is the best, and people who deserve it will continue to win." The 25 leaders represent a cross-section of Inuit and non-Inuit from Nunavut's three regions. In a secret ballot, 18 voted in favor, 3 against and four abstained. Seven of those votes, however, came from unelected members of the NIC. Leaders had finished talking about gender parity on Saturday, but reopened debate the next day. That's when Amagoalik surprised everyone with his decision to conduct a straw poll, which, he assured them, isn't binding. Anawak still opposed Nunatsiaq MP Jack Anawak down played the significance of the vote, saying it only reflects the views of the 25 people who sat around the table last weekend and not the views of the majority of Nunavut's elected leaders. "There is no decision made," Anawak said in an interview Sunday. Anawak said several times during the meeting he doesn't much like the idea. "I think it should not matter whether you are female or male. I think the people should be given the option to choose," Anawak said in Inuktitut on Saturday. Anawak did say that he would respect the wishes of the majority of his constituents, and help make the necessary changes to the Nunavut Act NIC officials say the vote gives them the mandate they need to recommend gender parity in a supplementary report they're expected to present next month to Ottawa, the GNWT, and Nunavut Tunngavik. They also say that if the leaders had rejected the proposal at this meeting, it likely would have died. Amagoalik sent Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin a letter on Sunday briefing him on the debate and the outcome of vote. Pleased with outcome "I feel very good about it. Until now, it was very difficult to gauge as to where this issue was in terms of public support," Amagoalik said. "After two days of intense negotiations, we're finding that the leaders are now beginning to get behind the proposal." For Amagoalik, that means the more people understand the proposal, the more they are in favor of it. Amagoalik said the commission will now try to explain the issue to the public. The Nunavut Implementation Commission makes recommendations to Ottawa, the Government of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut's Inuit land claim body on the make up and design of the Nunavut government. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Race narrows for Nunavut's interim commissioner job: Ron Irwin says he's ready to sit down with Premier Don Morin and Jose Kusugak to pick Nunavut's interim commissioner. TODD PHILLIPS Nunatsiaq News IQALUIT -- You couldn't throw a snowball inside Iqaluit's Parish Hall last weekend without hitting a potential interim commissioner for Nunavut. That's where many of Nunavut's political leaders had gathered for a two-day meeting on Nunavut's future legislative assembly. At least five people there are being seriously considered for the prestigious and powerful job. The interim commissioner is expected to play a vital role in the period leading up to the creation of the Nunavut territory on April 1, 1999. When appointed, the commissioner will oversee a budget of about $10 million until 1999. He or she will have the power to hire the senior staff of Nunavut's public service, negotiate funding and labor agreements on behalf of the Nunavut government, make decisions on the division of assets and liabilities between Nunavut and the NWT, and deal with other administrative issues. Who's in the race? Nunatsiaq MP Jack Anawak has already been interviewed for the job. People working for Caldwell Partners, the executive search firm hired to conduct the search and to screen candidates, have also interviewed other people -- some in Iqaluit last weekend. Other contenders who were at last weekend's meeting are Peter Ernerk, a member of the Nunavut Implementation Commission, Iqaluit Mayor Joe Kunuk, Ken MacRury, the former regional director for the Baffin region, and Marius Tungilik, formerly the regional director for the Keewatin and now acting communications director for Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. Helen Klengenberg, a wildlife coordinator with Nunavut Tunngavik in Cambridge Bay, has also been nominated as a candidate. Sources have told Nunatsiaq News that the other candidates are former high-level bureaucrats with the federal government, and another from the Alberta government. NIC commissioner Kenn Harper denied a persistent rumour that he too was being considered for the job. "Absolutely not," Harper said on Saturday. Irwin ready to pick Indian Affairs and Northern Development Minister Ron Irwin is expected to make the appointment sometime next month. In an interview this week in Iqaluit, Irwin said it's now up to him, NTI president Jose Kusugak, and GNWT Premier Don Morin to "sit down and agree" on one candidate. "We can do that, I think, fairly quickly, now that we have a list of people who are qualified and interested," Irwin said. The right stuff Whoever does get the job will have been deemed to have been the best candidate to meet the following list of qualifications: + Proven management skills and experience; + Proven negotiating skills; + Proven diplomatic abilities; + Proven communication skills; + Bilingualism (Inuktitut/English) preferred; + Knowledge of government design and operations; + Understanding of national, northern and Nunavut issues; + Familiarity with Inuit culture and values; + Experience with -- and demonstrated sensitivity to -- working in a multi-cultural environment. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Leaders want elected government at Nunavut's birth: Many people in Nunavut say they want to vote directly for their premier. But some Nunavut leaders say that could disrupt consensus government and lead to party politics. JASON van RASSEL Nunatsiaq News IQALUIT -- Kenn Harper says he wants a premier -- not a bureaucrat -- to pick up the phone when dignitaries call to celebrate Nunavut's birth. "April 1, 1999 will be the greatest day in the history of Nunavut... unfortunately, there won't be a government to congratulate," Harper, an NIC commissioner, said Sunday during debate at a Nunavut leaders' meeting in Iqaluit. Leaders were trying to figure out how and when Nunavut's first government will be elected. Harper and other leaders don't like the current plan to have Nunavut's government elected after April 1, 1999. So it now looks like Nunavut's first election may be held in January or February 1999. Directly elected premier? It's now up to the Nunavut Implementation Commission to draft a recommendation for the federal government, the GNWT and Nunavut Tunngavik to approve. If the three parties agree to make the election sooner, then the Nunavut Act has to be amended by Parliament to reflect the decision. But the question of how Nunavut's first premier will be chosen -- by MLAs or by the people -- is still open to debate. In the NWT's system of consensus government, the legislative assembly's 24 MLAs pick the premier from among themselves. Some leaders at the table last weekend, however, were in no hurry to change the system, saying having a directly elected premier is fraught with potential problems. "I think if you elected a premier directly, it would lead to party politics," Municipal Affairs Minister Manitok Thompson said, adding that candidates for the premiership will want to organize supporters among the crop of MLA candidates. What about gender parity? Thompson also questioned the cost of having a directly elected premier removed from office, because a new election would have to be held, rather than simply having MLAs pick another member to become premier. Having a directly elected premier could also undermine the principle of a gender balanced legislature, Thompson said. If Nunavut decides to guarantee an equal amount of seats to women and men, the old system of picking the premier from among the MLAs should remain in place, she said, so a woman candidate has an equal chance of becoming premier. Directly electing the premier doesn't get rid of the traditional barriers that have kept women out of the highest levels of politics for so long, she added. Consensus gov't doesn't work? Iqaluit MLA Ed Picco says he thinks directly electing the premier is a good idea. Consensus government isn't working anymore, he says, because the system only works when the government has enough money to satisfy everyone's needs. In the GNWT's current cash-strapped state, MLAs squabble over shrinking dollars and there is no consensus, he added. A directly elected premier with the power to hire and fire cabinet ministers would be a better system for Nunavut, considering the territory will inherit a large chunk of the GNWT's financial woes, Picco said. By 1999, the NWT's accumulated debt -- which will have to be split between Nunavut and the west -- may reach $85 million. "When you're looking at difficult decisions, you've got to be in a position where you can operate autonomously," Picco said. In a news release Tuesday, the NIC said it will take more research and consultation before it can reach any sort of consensus on the issue among Nunavut's leaders. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- How many MLAs will Nunavut have? TODD PHILLIPS Nunatsiaq News IQALUIT -- There will be at least 18, and possibly 24 faces gazing at one another from the floor of the first Nunavut assembly. Nunavut's leaders didn't decide how many MLAs will be needed to run the government, but they did narrow it down at a meeting in Iqaluit last weekend. The balance is between meeting the needs of communities that don't feel they are now getting adequate representation, and the cost of having more MLAs. Deputy Premier Goo Arlooktoo told leaders that each MLA will cost the new Nunavut government about $150,000 per year. That includes salary, travel costs, and constituency costs. "You need a balance between the number of ministers and the number of MLAs who can keep those ministers accountable," Arlooktoo said. Other leaders called for a system where the number of MLAs in a region would be based more on population. Iqaluit MLA Ed Picco, who represents about 4,000 people, said it's too much for one person. He said the day before the meeting he had 52 phone calls and 15 meetings. If Nunavut's leaders adopt the Nunavut Implementation Commission's two-member gender parity proposal, that would affect how many MLAs there are. Under that plan, each riding would have two MLAs -- one male and one female. If existing electoral boundaries are kept, then Nunavut's assembly would have at least 20 MLAs. If two more ridings are added, then that number could swell to 24 MLAs. That's how many MLAs there are now to govern the entire Northwest Territories. The Nunavut Implementation Commission will include the leaders' comments in an upcoming report. The territorial government will soon appoint members to an electoral boundaries commission that will tour the NWT and consult with people about what changes they might like to see. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nunavut leaders reflect on suicide JASON van RASSEL Nunatsiaq News IQALUIT -- Jack Anawak read out the names one by one, a tragic roll call of some of Nunavut's most recent suicide victims. Suicide in Nunavut has reached "crisis proportions," Anawak said, and it's time for leaders to act. "We have lost so many young people to suicide and we have to not just talk about it, but do something about it," he said at last weekend's Nunavut leaders' meeting in Iqaluit. Many of the people sitting around the meeting table shared their own painful stories about how their lives had been touched by suicide. Couldn't offer enough Raurri Ellsworth, a youth delegate from Iqaluit, said attending suicide prevention workshops made him feel like he knew a lot about suicide -- until his sister killed herself. "I only realized last summer when I kissed my little sister for the last time that I know very little," he said. He said his sister was "living in fear, living in pain," and no one -- including himself -- was able to fix things or show her the love she needed. "I never provided her with a reason to live, my family wasn't able to provide her with a reason to live, Iqaluit wasn't able to provide her with a reason to live, BRIA wasn't able to provide her with a place to live, NTI wasn't able to provide her with a place to live, Canada wasn't able to provide her with a place to live, our world wasn't able to provide her with a place to live." "I guess there's no real solution," Ellsworth said, except to be good to people and hope people will treat each other with compassion. "I love everybody," he said quietly in closing. Take time to talk Nunavut Tunngavik president Jose Kusugak told of having to console one of his daughters, who was crying and clutching a photo of a friend who had committed suicide. "I didn't know whether to take the picture away or let her keep it," he said. "The only thing I could do is talk to her." Setting aside some time every week to talk with your children and tell them you love them is probably one of the best suicide prevention tactics, Kusugak said. "Too many people would rather water their flowers, to make sure they grow up properly, rather than watering their children, so to speak," he said. It's "a little corny" at first, Kusugak said, but if people stick with it, it becomes a natural part of family life. You haven't failed Nunavut Implementation Commission chief commissioner John Amagoalik ended the discussion with a message of hope. Although the problem of suicide is complex and often overwhelming, Nunavut's leaders shouldn't feel as if they're not doing enough to fight the problem. "The reasons [for suicide] are many. The reasons are big enough to fill this room," Amagoalik said. "Why are we trying to create Nunavut? It's to improve the lives of our people and their children. It's to give them back the control they have lost," he added. "Don't feel as if you have failed." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editorial: The Royal Jelly It's much easier to describe what leadership isn't than to nail down exactly what it is. But two dozen elected and unelected leaders gathered at Iqaluit's Parish Hall on Saturday and proved they have "the right stuff" to lead people into Nunavut and beyond. The skilful way they handled a sensitive debate on the make-up of Nunavut's future legislative assembly was a masterful display of how consensus government can work. People with differing views on an emotional topic were able to bounce their ideas around and respectfully learn from one another without unnecessary grandstanding or posturing. Let's hope the five Nunavut MLAs at the meeting took some notes they can bring back to Yellowknife to show their colleagues. The best performance came from the chairman of the meeting, NIC chief commissioner John Amagoalik. He showed he has no shortage of the "Royal Jelly" -- that elusive and magical substance that separates generals from foot soldiers and prime ministers from press secretaries. At the urging of NTI president Jose Kusugak and Deputy Premier Goo Arlooktoo, Amagoalik put aside his chairmanship and spoke with passion about why he supports his commission's proposal to guarantee an equal number of seats for men and women in Nunavut's legislative assembly. Amagoalik spoke frankly and clearly about the need for a reconciliation between men and women. He said Inuit society began to go astray when people stopped assigning equal value and respect to work done by men and women. Amagoalik also said the gender parity plan isn't only about the role of men and women in politics, but it's about restoring the importance of the family unit. In politics, timing is everything, and Amagoalik had only a few brief moments to help turn the tide in favor of the proposal. He did. But the critics of the proposal did just as well expressing their views on why Nunavut's assembly shouldn't have a guaranteed equal number of seats for men or women. To her credit, Aivilik MLA Manitok Thompson tackled the thorny issue of whether women will get elected because they are women -- or if they will get elected because they are the best people for the job. She also used specific examples to show there are so many barriers keeping women from entering politics that many aren't yet ready to take up the challenge. For his part, NTI president Jose Kusugak did an admirable job lobbying for gender parity and in summarizing the idea that there is nothing to be gained by delaying a decision on that issue. In a more adversarial political setting, changing your opinion on a key issue can be a career-ending move. Usually, if a leader of a federal or provincial political party changes his or her opinion on a key issue, critics call it waffling and indecisive. But perhaps one of the true tests of leadership is being able to let go of an idea you no longer believe in, once you recognize that a better one has come along. Goo Arlooktoo, the NWT's deputy premier, said on Saturday that he needed more time to consider the proposal. On Sunday, he said he had done some more thinking and had talked with some of his constituents, who had been listening to part of Saturday's debate on CBC radio. Overnight, Arlooktoo went from fence-sitter to solid supporter. Iqaluit MLA Ed Picco spoke out against the proposal on Saturday, but says that on Sunday he voted for it. Over the weekend Nunavut's leaders hashed out their differences, reasoned their arguments out publicly, invited others to react to their viewpoints, and sought the opinions of others. There were only a few of the mean-spirited put-downs and pretentious rhetorical flourishes we're used to seeing in the NWT legislative assembly. If this is how contentious issues will be dealt with in Nunavut's assembly, the people of Nunavut can look forward to an excellent government. The biggest leadership test faced by Nunavut's leaders, however, is if they can do as good a job convincing the people of Nunavut as they did convincing each other. TP --------- "RE: Oro Nevada Begins Drilling" --------- Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 17:06:40 PST From: scottrobertladd@juno.com (Scott Robert Ladd) Subj: Western Shoshone Alert: Oro Nevada Begins Drilling near Dann Ranch Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) 21-Nov-96, 16:50 MST The following information is preliminary. I just spoke with the Western Shoshone Defense Project. Oro Nevada, a Canadian Gold Mining company, has begun test drilling near Dewey Dann Creek above the family ranch of Carrie and Mary Dann. A mobile drilling rig began work a few days ago. The creek is the primary source of water for the Dann ranch, and drilling activities pose a serious threat. Oro has also formulated plans to drill near a sacred hot spring in the area. The drilling rig arrived without any notification from Oro Nevada or the Bureau of Land management, in spite of assurances from the company and the government that drilling would only take place after the Shoshone were notified. Two days ago, the Defense Project's base camp was visited by three police agents of the federal Bureau of Land Management. One was in uniform; the others were plain clothes. The federal officers expressed concern for the safety of the drilling rig and Oro Nevada personnel. Defense Project personnel reiterated their adherence to peaceful resistance, as directed by the Western Shoshone. I will be learning more in the next few days, and will post a more detailed article as soon as possible. The Defense Project is in desperate need of funds! They cannot afford to send out a newsletter alert about this situation; their resources are very limited. Please contact them if you can help. Western Shoshone Defense Project P. O. Box 211106 Crescent Valley, NV 89821 702/468-0230 voice 702/468-0237 fax --- Scott Robert Ladd ScottRobertLadd@juno.com 957 Empire Street voice: +1 970 387 0271 P.O. Box 617 fax: +1 970 387 0277 Silverton, CO 81433 USA --------- "RE: South Dakota Prohibition" --------- Date: Mon, 2 Dec 1996 17:23:00 -0500 From: ishgooda@tdi.net (Ishgooda) Subj: URGENT: South Dakota prohibition against Native ceremonies Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) The following information comes from Joe Chases Horses who plans if possible to attend tomorrow's meeting. This will be the first time the state of S. Dakota has taken the issue of sacred lands to a public forum. A portion of the land in the Black Hills under discussion was used this past Spring for a ceremony in which over 700 of our young people were in attendance. This ceremony has grown each year and is jeopardized. A few months ago, President Clinton issued an executive order supporting the right to free worship of the people in traditional sacred lands. A local judge in SD has chosen to ignore this executive order and prohibit the use of the Black Hills for gathering of over 40 people. Tomorrow's meeting is sponsored by two legislators the representative from the Rosebud Reservation and Rep. Volsky. Arvol Looking Horse and other tribal leaders plan to attend the meeting which begins at 10PM in Pierre, SD" ....clipped for brevity ------------------------------------------------------ the letter continues.... The United Native American Television Broadcasting Council strongly condemns the actions of the South Dakota justice who has chosen to disregard Mr. Clinton's Executive Order, and any such decisions which violate the God-given religious freedoms of all Indigenous Peoples. We feel that in this case presides an immoral prejudice against our people and our religious rights. This ruling is not only against the laws of the creator but is a violation of the Constitution of the United States. We stand with our Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota people, and all our Native American brothers and sisters on this and any such assaults on Native Americans' right to worship, and, we call for an immediate overturning of this and any subsequent regulations, restrictions, and interference with our right to worship. Voting to issue and pass this motion: 6 for 0 against 4 not available This motion is hereby passed and entered into record as such. signed___Joe Campagna volunteer recording secretary/internet --------- "RE: Internet Reports Spread" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Dec 1996 20:11:38 -0500 From: aconcert@carroll.com (Joe Campagna) Subj: URGENT: South Dakota prohibition against Native ceremonies Mailing List: NATIVE-L (native-l@gnosys.svle.ma.us) [ Linda J. Lemonde ("ishgooda@tdi.net"), who posted the original alert has submitted an article which I have chosen not to relay, because it contains only a copy of the following article plus a statement concerning the person posting this article, which I have asked her to document and re-submit. NativeNet takes no position on the veracity of the claims of either side in this dispute, not being in a position to check the accuracy of any of the stories. However, if information from an independently credible source is received, it will be passed on. --Gary (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ] Dec. 3, 1996 Internet Reports Spread Worldwide Inaccuracies South Dakota State Electronic Mail Services Shut Down An internet message which has claimed that a judge in a South Dakota lower court issued a ruling that no more than 40 Native Americans may practice their religion on public lands has turned out to be false, according to a reporter from the largest Native American owned and operated newspaper. The internet message which reported that the Lakota Nations spiritual leader was to attend the Dec. 3, meeting in Pierre, South Dakota was confirmed false by the newspaper reporter who has verified that not only the spiritual leader was in another part of the country and had no knowledge of the meeting, but that several inaccuracies have caused worldwide pandemonium in a flurry of support for the Native American people via internet messages from the news media, organizations, and individuals demanding justice for Native Americans regarding the issue. The meeting said to be a public hearing regarding claims that a judge in South Dakota overturned a Presidential Executive order issued by President Clinton supporting religious freedom was actually in fact a meeting sponsored by Paul Valandra and Representative Volensky for *economic development* A proffer who wrote a book about economic development called the meeting. A source close to the investigation, a trained journalist, suggests that no such ruling was ever made in a South Dakota Court of Law. The fact that there are ongoing cases regarding religious freedoms and any connections with today's meeting on economic development have been negated. Any court case or ruling similar to what is being claimed was a federal case which was immediately overturned in the 1970's. The only discussions that are on-going, are negotiations with the US Dept. of Fish and Game to give control over to Native American elders who would determine who would have the right to authorize and practise ceremonies on public land in South Dakota, ie: keeping new agers and non-Indians from using/abusing these lands for their own ceremonies. According to South Dakota Governor Janklow, there were, are, nor will be any such actions or meetings to curtail Native American religious practises, and that he has proposed to turn Bear Butte over to Native Americans for religious use. He was quoted today as saying "there should be special place in hell in hell for people who live off the tears of others" siting todays barrage of internet mis-information. While claims of verification of the alledged ruling have been spread via the internet, no corroborated evidence such as paperwork, or contacts to persons initializing said claims could be attained or verified. The internet messages originated from an individual who jointly runs a Native American listserve in contact with an elder of which the spelling of the elder's name did not correspond to that of any Native Americans of the region and tribal affiliation. The email message was distributed to at least six Native American listservers, some which only allow verified information, or known to screen internet posts for accuracy. At the time the post was read over the telephone on a six-way conference call by a volunteer for Native American elders from South Dakota it seemed legitimate given the circumstances and the usual reliability of the electronic points of origin. The post was read from the computer screen to the Lakota, and Dakota Native American elders who trusted the reliability of the volunteer that the internet, or at least this post in its content was fact. An elder was then delegated by of the group known as the United Native American Television Broadcasting Council (UNATBC) to travel to Pierre to attend the meeting and investigate. During this call the group of Native American people formed a consensus to issue a response via the internet and a fax condemning the actions of the South Dakota Court. By the next morning the original post had spread to encompass the world and wake up Native American supporters to action which have overwhelmed the emailboxes of nearly all South Dakota's state agencies as well as colleges from around the country, Native American organizations, and have since encompassed the globe. Although the volunteer for the United Native American Television Broadcasting Council recalled the post he sent out around 11:00 pm e.s.t. on Dec. 2nd (the night before) it is not known that this post inflamed the situation. It is the estimation of the UNATBC volunteer, Joe Campagna, that because the post he sent out had correct names of Native American people supported by addresses and phone numbers for their offices, that this post along with the initial post sent by the point of origin and which used the widely recognized name of the La