From gars@netcom.com Mon Nov 3 02:42:47 1997 Date: Tue, 28 Oct 1997 20:39:24 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews05.044 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 05, ISSUE 044 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 1 November 1997 O o O KANOHEDA ANIYVWIYA Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin O o O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min 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 NAT-FILM, Triballaw, AisesNet, Innu-L, Minn-Ind & Native-L lists; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; NASC News; UUCP email; Indigenous Environmental Network 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. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@netcom.com ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org 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://aises.uthscsa.edu/94_dis.html 1995: http://aises.uthscsa.edu/95_dis.html 1996: http://aises.uthscsa.edu/96_dis.html 1997: http://aises.uthscsa.edu/97_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. "Grown men learn from little children, for the hearts of little children are pure, and, therefore, the Great Spirit may show to them many things older people miss." __ Black Elk, Lakota +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! This fact filled article, just in, should bring into focus what the senseless slaughter of the free roaming bison herd by Montana is really all about. Will we sit idly as this remnant of the great Buffalo Nation is again carried to oblivion through the greed of the dominant society? Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 10:07:50 -0500 From: Virginia Ravndal Subj: The Buffalo Slaughter of the 1990's The Buffalo Slaughter of the 1990's 1. More than one thousand bison (1,084), or 1/3 of the Yellowstone National Park buffalo herd, were killed this winter. 2. They were killed on the insistence of the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL), an entity of the State government charged with promoting Montana's livestock industry. 3. The stated reason for killing the bison is the disease, brucellosis. The majority, almost 90%, of Yellowstone's bison do not test positive for the disease according to the best test available. A small percent of Yellowstone bison have the disease which was introduced into the herd many years ago. These animals could potentially transmit the disease to cattle, but in the 80 years that Yellowstone bison have had the disease, they never have. Dr. Nicoletti, a well-known authority on the disease, states, "Perhaps few situations in life are risk-free, but this one seems near". Montana's Department of Livestock claims it is worried that Yellowstone bison will transmit the disease to cattle and that as a result, Montana will lose its status as a "brucellosis-free" state. The evidence suggests that their real concern is something other than the disease. 4. The much more plentiful elk in and around Yellowstone also carry the disease. Unlike bison, elk have transmitted the disease to cattle (there are six documented cases), yet the Department of Livestock has never suggested killing elk. Elk hunting is a major money earner for Montana. Elk hunters might be annoyed if the Department of Livestock shot "their" elk, and the State would not appreciate the loss of revenues. 5. Meanwhile, the State of Montana is earning revenue by killing bison, and the federal taxpayer is paying for the costs of killing them. The State auctioned off the carcasses of the bison they killed, advertised as "property of the Department of Livestock", and kept all proceeds. They have yet to inform the taxpayer how much it cost to kill this country's natural heritage, or how much they made from doing so. 6. The Yellowstone bison herd is the oldest free-ranging herd of bison in the country. They are the descendants of the few survivors of the mass slaughter of the last century. Much effort was made over the years to save the buffalo from extinction, and today these animals represent the greatest conservation success in American history. Buffalo also represent perhaps the most vivid example of U.S. government abuse of power. Millions of buffalo were slaughtered by the U.S. government in the late 1800's in attempts to dominate Indian people. Today, one hundred years after the first massacre, buffalo are once again the target of the government and, just as before, the reason for the slaughter is political. The current buffalo slaughter is to appease the livestock industry. This time the pretext for the slaughter is disease. 7. Even though a vaccine for cattle is available and reported to be 70% effective, the Montana Department of Livestock (DOL) does not advocate mandatory vaccination of cattle against brucellosis. To protect cattle from the disease, only female calves would have to be vaccinated, and only once in their life. The cost of doing so is estimated to be $6 by the DOL. But, the DOL insists that ranchers should not have to incur any cost to vaccinate their own cattle. Rather, taxpayers should pay for the much more costly approach of protecting other people's cattle by eradicating the disease, not only from cattle but from all other carriers as well (Eradicating the disease from cattle is possible and it is cost-effective to do this. Eradicating the disease from all organisms that carry it, including wildlife, is neither realistic nor cost-effective compared to other options for managing the disease such as vaccinating cattle, surveillance, etc...) 8. In bordering Grand Teton National Park, cattle are allowed to graze inside the Park. Although cattle and bison have been grazing there side by side for the past 40 years, and, although a greater percent of those bison test positive for brucellosis compared to the Yellowstone herd, there has never been a case of transmission of the disease. Those cattle are vaccinated against brucellosis. This long-standing case study, along with that of Yellowstone, suggest that the risk of bison giving the disease to cattle is as close to zero as it could get. Given this reality, should taxpayers incur the substantial costs of striving to attain what many experts consider an unreasonable goal, i.e., total eradication of the disease? 9. There are about 30 times more elk than bison in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. (120,000 elk compared to 4,000 bison at the beginning of last winter). In order to eradicate the disease, it would also be necessary to eradicate it from the elk population. 10. Brucellosis is not harmful to bison. The effect on beef cattle is minor. If cattle contract the disease, they may abort one calf, but after that they usually birth normally. 11. Ranchers are not so concerned about the biological effects of the disease, they are more concerned about the possibility that Montana could lose its brucellosis-free status, a status assigned by APHIS. States that are not brucellosis-free must test cattle before they are shipped across state lines, and some states will even then not accept cattle certified as brucellosis-free from non brucellosis-free states. Thus, additional costs would be incurred by ranchers if Montana loses its brucellosis-free status. More significantly, Montana could lose important markets for its cattle. But, Montana's status and its out-of-state markets do not have to be threatened. There is a much more cost-effective and otherwise reasonable solution to ensure that Montana retains its brucellosis-free status. 12. To avert lowering the brucellosis status of Montana, APHIS could apply its "regionalization" concept to Montana. APHIS can assign a different status to a region within a State without changing the status of the entire state. It would be possible for APHIS to do this in the case of Yellowstone. The concept of "regionalization" has already been formally adopted by APHIS, it just needs to be applied. 13. State Veterinarians may pose the biggest threat to the livestock industry of their own, or other, states in this brucellosis affair. Even if APHIS were to modify its classification so as not to threaten Montana's brucellosis-free status, individual states, through their State Veterinarians, can threaten the livestock industries of other, sometimes competing, states by restricting the import of cattle from states classified by APHIS as brucellosis-free. No scientific justification is required from the State Vets. This should change to prevent State Veterinarians from abusing their powers. Numerous State Veterinarians from Western states wrote letters to the State Veterinarian of Montana threatening to restrict the import of Montana cattle into their states. These letters were all sent within the brief period of several weeks, all covered the same points, often in the same order. Was this mere coincidence, or was it an orchestrated campaign to have states threaten to boycott Montana cattle in order to justify the continued killing of bison? If the livestock industry wishes to threaten itself, should the non-ranching taxpayer incur costs of expensive actions to address unfounded threats? 14. Not all ranchers agree with the actions of the Department of Livestock. Many ranchers are opposed to killing bison. Numerous ranchers, including the former Governor of Wyoming, have said they do not consider brucellosis to be a threat to their cattle. Although some ranchers support the killing of buffalo, generally speaking it is not they, but the Montana Department of Livestock and the livestock industry it represents, which has chosen this extremist approach. 15. Six months after killing more than one thousand buffalo, none of the government agencies involved can say how many of the bison killed actually had the disease, or even how many of them were tested to see if they had the disease before they were killed. They admit, however, that most of the buffalo killed were probably never tested to determine if they had the disease. 16. Male buffalo, or bulls, and calves cannot transmit brucellosis, yet bulls and calves were killed. 17. A large number of the bison killed, were shot when they exited the Park and moved onto land now owned by a religious cult. Last winter was severe. Many bison left the Park in search of food for their survival. The land which was traditional winter range for these buffalo is now owned by a California-based cult, the Church Universal and Triumphant (CUT). The cult moved to what is the largest, most intact ecosystem left in the continental United States, and used this land to construct bomb shelters and to build their "cities". The cult does not welcome the original inhabitants, bison, on the land they now have title to. And, although most cult members are vegetarians, during the height of the brucellosis debate, the cult decided to graze hundreds of cows on its land -- more than ever before. Why? And why would the man who owns those cows, a seasoned rancher, decide to lease that particular land, the very land where if there is any risk of transmission, the risk would be the greatest? Are these the actions of an individual who sincerely believes there is a significant risk that his cattle will contract the disease? No private landowner should be expected to incur costs of maintaining what is a national (not a private) treasure, but compensating the cult for any losses they might incur as a result of bison occasionally moving onto their lands would be much more reasonable and cost-effective than the current scheme. 18. A risk assessment to determine the risk of bison transmitting brucellosis to cattle in the Yellowstone area has never been done, even though this is normal procedure in other cases where costly actions to avert risk are considered. According to APHIS' own regulations, zero risk is no longer an acceptable approach to disease management internationally. This antiquated approach is being replaced with the concept of establishing acceptable levels of risk. Scientifically-based risk assessments are to be used to determine actual risk. Nevertheless, in the case of Yellowstone, at least the Department of Livestock continues to insist on zero risk, and no risk assessment has been conducted. 19. The social and cultural concerns of Native Americans, many of whom consider the buffalo to be sacred, have been ignored. Several tribes have passed tribal resolutions against the slaughter. A National Day of Prayer, organized by the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative, was held on the Park boundary this winter. Native Americans from various tribes gathered to pray for the slaughter to end. Within their earshot, the Department of Livestock shot several buffalo during the ceremony. 20. The only cases involving wildlife transmission of brucellosis to people were from elk (not bison). Over the past decade, two people in Montana have contracted the disease (called undulant fever in people) as a result of gutting elk. No person has ever contracted the disease from Yellowstone bison. Yet, the DOL has also used this excuse to justify killing bison. If the DOL is so concerned about this possibility, why did they allow so many people to gut the bison shot last winter without even wearing protective gloves? Undulant fever is so insignificant that the Center for Disease Control does not require reporting of this disease. Of the few cases reported nationally each year, the vast majority are from a different strain carried by pigs and goats, not the one carried by bison. ********************************************************************* The facts suggest that something other than brucellosis is the real issue. What is the livestock industry really worried about? Does this struggling industry feel threatened? Is that why they are killing bison? Do they feel threatened by the disease, or by the bison? The many years over which no transmission of the disease has occurred, and the surveillance system in place, attest to the risk being extremely small. This suggests that the consequences are not likely to occur. Even if the risk that bison would transmit brucellosis to cattle was much greater than it actually is, the potential consequence, i.e, downgrading of a State's brucellosis status, does not warrant the radical approach that has been adopted by the Department of Livestock, and could be avoided altogether by: 1) applying the concept of regionalization to Montana, 2) curtailing the power of State Veterinarians so that they cannot impose sanctions on cattle from states designated by APHIS as brucellosis-free, 3) modifying the "zero tolerance" policy of the DOL to one more consistent with modern disease management, 4) insisting that APHIS stick to its mandate, i.e., to eradicate brucellosis from livestock (not wildlife), 5) acquiring additional winter range for bison outside the Park, and, 6) establishing a fund to compensate private landowners for losses incurred as a result of bison occasionally moving onto their land. The bison slaughter was unnecessary. Those who advocated it, knew it was unnecessary for disease management purposes, but it was done for a different purpose, i.e., to show that the west still belongs to the cattle industry, and that buffalo and the movement for a more ecological approach to land use have no place there. Perhaps this violent and explicit demonstration will prove to be wrong. There is no reason why the West cannot be shared by both cattle and bison unless the livestock industry continues to insist on fighting unnecessary and costly battle like the battle of brucellosis. In this case, they may well lose the war they wage on the West. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ We know our future lies in the hearts of our children. If there is to be a mending of the hoop it must be with the consent and help of our children. Here is an opportunity to help bring children together. Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 17:18:29 +1300 From: Kohuroa Subj: Interested in connecting my school to one of yours or a number of yours. UUCP email E nga mana e nga reo e nga karangaranga maha kei waenganui i a koutou, tena koutou katoa. Greetings to you the many great ones! I belong to the Apanui Nation of peoples. We are looking to connect with children and young adults from ages 0-18. My name is Kohuroa Ruwhiu and I am a teacher at Whangaparaoa School which is situated in the eastern Bay of Plenty Nth Island of New Zealand. Tena ano koutou katoa. e mail address tihirau@xtra.co.nz ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This week a United Van Lines Van will be pulling up to unload across from the Wounded Knee Memorial. It is with honor I share the letter I received telling how this came to be. I offer it so others can see that love for the elders, determination and effort can make a difference. If these people could send 122 boxes of help, surely you can find a way to send one blanket, one warm jacket, one can of food, one donation toward a fuel bill to one of the addresses that are being run in this editorial space throughout this winter. I cannot let the deaths of our precious elders reach the alarming count it did last winter. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Tue, 21 Oct 97 15:31 EDT From: Shirley.Pharis@mvs.udel.edu Subj: Clothing for Wounded Knee This year employees of the University of Delaware (Willard Hall, Alison Hall and Graham Hall), some employees from Light Industries of Maryland, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, some residents of Cecil County, Maryland, a couple members from a Unitarian Church in Delaware, The College School (this is a group of children with special needs, who are housed here at the University) and my family all donated and gathered for this effort. My daughter and partner Michele collected from Light Industries and Maryland's Department of Natural Resources. She put in a share of the money necessary for the shipping costs. My sister-in-law contributed some money toward the shipping, collected clothing and lent her support however possible. I held 5 yard sales this summer to obtain the rest of the money needed for shipping. Last year we accumulated and sent 107 boxes of clothing and bedding, this year it amounts to 120 boxes. An employee here at the University of Delaware, Mary Lutz, formed a sewing group and they produced some very nice afghans for the residents of Wounded Knee. Dr. Raths and his wife housed and boxed things until I was able to relocated it all to Cecil County. So you see Gary, this is really a joint effort by lots of people who care. Shirley - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I have an additional contact where items may be sent. Sicangu Ring Thunder Clan Appeal Once again a call for help is going out from folks on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. Last year, many people sent clothing. blankets and other items to the Ring Thunder Clan, who in turn distributed the donations to the most needy and isolated people on the Reservation.. But this year trouble has hit close to home. A family in the Ring Thunder Community was burnt out of their trailer home by an electrical fire on November 25th. Thank God, no one was injured, but the family lost everything. The Red Cross has placed the family in a motel room for this week and has located housing that they can live in for a month. Your help is appreciated. Specific items are being requested. Clothing: - The Mother wears size 12 and a an XL blouse. Her shoes are size 8 and she wears a pants size 13-14. - The Father wears 33-36 pants, XL-tall, shirts and size 11 shoes. - The two boys wear size 15 reg and 16 slim and both wear size 7 mens shoes. Also needed by family: Sheets, pillow cases, blankets, throw rugs, kitchenware, pots and pans, silverware, plates, bowls, cups, tupperware...everything! Additionally: Other clothing items, blankets, etc are being accepted and will be distributed o the most needy and isolated on the Reservation. Please ship all materials (UPS or Parcel Post) to... Dwayne Stendstrom East Highway 18 Sinte Gleska University Student Support Services Mission, SD 57555 Please note that all donations will go to where they are needed most. The Ring Thunder Clan is a Traditional Clan of Brule Sioux (Sicangu Lakota) that spans 5 generations. Lila Wopila! Much Thanks... Freddie Blue Fox - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The tragic plight of our elders on the various reservations is so great, their peril so real, their walk so close to the edge that I will continue to feature contact addresses where you can send donations of clothing, food, blankets, money to purchase fuel and repair throughout the winter. As new contacts are received they will be added to the list. PLEASE help the elders. PLEASE help grow this list and help ALL the elders. For the Red Shirt Community: Marvin Helper P.O. Box 312 Hermosa, SD 57744 For Porcupine, Oglala and Wounded Knee: David Swallow or Gerald Ice % Gerald ice P.O. Box 199 Wounded Knee, SD 57794 Or... Joe Chasing Horse % P.O. Box 8392 Rapid City, S.D. 57709 For Truck loads & UPS Shipments: Joe Chasing Horse 714 Paha Sapa Drive Rapid City, SD 57701 From: Lora Czarnowsky Adi Defender Project New Dawn PO Box 616 McLaughlin, SD 57642 This is for the various communities on the Standing Rock Reservation. From: tusweca Darlene Cross PO Box 52 Kyle SD 577075 From: yona@infi.net Toy drive going on for the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte If you would like to donate a toy or more information, you may contact me by email: yona@infi.net or phone me 757-425-7992..you may also drop off a toy if you are in the vicinity of our store Na-va'kee 618 Hilltop West. biah yazzie From: DORSEY.THOMAS_J+@ALBANY.VA.GOV Norma Grassrope Lower Brule Reservation Lower Brule, South Dakota 57028 (605) 473-5594 She is the chair of a charitable group called the Womens Support Group. From: Pioquark@aol.com Clay Watson Pioneer Industries 1100 E. 24th St. Cheyenne, Wy. 82001 (307)778-7860 pioquark@aol.com These donations will be gifted to the Rose Bud and Pine Ridge Reservations in South Dakota and the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. I'm on the road a lot, out back loading the truck etc. PLEASE leave a message if there is no answer.. From: ALBERT SUN BUTLER Ti Ospaye PO Box 200 Wanblee SD 57577 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If any of you have addresses/contacts to add to this list for other Rez's PLEASE email me with them soon. Winter winds have already brought snow. email to gars@netcom.com ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks to Mike Wicks for the following reminder: In Memory (with Respect and Honor) 10.27.1975 Michelle Tobacco - AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge by "unknown persons." No investigation. ************************************************* Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 17:54:38 +0000 From: abenaki@usa.net Subj: Sad News---John Slow Turtle Peters --1930-1997 I have just received word that John Slow Turtle Peters, Mashpee/Wampanoag People, the People of the First Light-- has died in Massachusetts., his passing occuring during the morning hours of today, 27 Oct 1997. His health had been failing for some time, he was spending a day a week, still, in his office. He had been one of the founders of the Massachusetts Indian commission. Planned, as recently as last week, to attend a meeting regarding Indian land. Slow Turtle was a familiar figure at Pow Wows, events, rallies, meetings in Washington, had traveled to Geneva, was a much revered Elder, teacher, Leader, who had done much in the fight for his People, their rights, recognition. Please remember this gallant man in your prayers, fires, in the manner of your own People-- that his death song may be loud, that the Ancestors greet him with joy. Our prayers, thoughts are with his family of grown children, and his youngest-- a 10 year old daughter, who will not know the security and joy of being raised with her Father close at hand. It is we left behind who are lessened ************************************************* Peace! Night Owl , , Gary Night Owl gars@netcom.com (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@nanews.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30067, U.S.A. gars@igc.apc.org ===w=w=== gars@bellsouth.net Fax: 770-528-9643 gars@juno.com ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Thanksgiving History - Boycotting WalMart - Ojibwe Treaties - Traces of the Past - Genocide of the Ute - Letter To The World - Stealing Native Rights - Native Prisoner - Cherokee News - A Hundred Years Ago - Friends of the Lubicons - Poem: A Prayer for the Mother - Tribal Sovereignty Threatened - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Canadian MP Defends Gustafsen - Conferences and Powwows - Rule Changes Deny Enrollment --------- "RE: Thanksgiving History" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 09:41:19 -0400 (EDT) From: FirehairSS@aol.com Subj: Thanksgiving - Teaching the Truth ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: 97-10-15 10:19:03 EDT From: dmcclain@runet.edu Subj: Thanksgiving History UUCP email Here's my annual repost of this piece. T E A C H I N G A B O U T T H A N K S G I V I N G Dr. Frank B. Brouillet Superintendent of Public Instruction State of Washington Cheryl Chow Assistant Superintendent Division of Instructional Programs and Services Warren H. Burton Director Office for Multicultural and Equity Education Dr. Willard E. Bill Supervisor of Indian Education Originally written and developed by Cathy Ross, Mary Robertson, Chuck Larsen, and Roger Fernandes Indian Education, Highline School District With an introduction by: Chuck Larsen Tacoma School District Printed: September, 1986 Reprinted: May, 1987 AN INTRODUCTION FOR TEACHERS This is a particularly difficult introduction to write. I have been a public schools teacher for twelve years, and I am also a historian and have written several books on American and Native American history. I also just happen to be Quebeque French, Metis, Ojibwa, and Iroquois. Because my Indian ancestors were on both sides of the struggle between the Puritans and the New England Indians and I am well versed in my cultural heritage and history both as an Anishnabeg (Algonkin) and Hodenosione (Iroquois), it was felt that I could bring a unique insight to the project. For an Indian, who is also a school teacher, Thanksgiving was never an easy holiday for me to deal with in class. I sometimes have felt like I learned too much about "the Pilgrims and the Indians." Every year I have been faced with the professional and moral dilemma of just how to be honest and informative with my children at Thanksgiving without passing on historical distortions, and racial and cultural stereotypes. The problem is that part of what you and I learned in our own childhood about the "Pilgrims" and "Squanto" and the "First Thanksgiving" is a mixture of both history and myth. But the THEME of Thanksgiving has truth and integrity far above and beyond what we and our forbearers have made of it. Thanksgiving is a bigger concept than just the story of the founding of the Plymouth Plantation. So what do we teach to our children? We usually pass on unquestioned what we all received in our own childhood classrooms. I have come to know both the truths and the myths about our "First Thanksgiving," and I feel we need to try to reach beyond the myths to some degree of historic truth. This text is an attempt to do this. At this point you are probably asking, "What is the big deal about Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims?" "What does this guy mean by a mixture of truths and myth?" That is just what this introduction is all about. I propose that there may be a good deal that many of us do not know about our Thanksgiving holiday and also about the "First Thanksgiving" story. I also propose that what most of us have learned about the Pilgrims and the Indians who were at the first Thanksgiving at Plymouth Plantation is only part of the truth. When you build a lesson on only half of the information, then you are not teaching the whole truth. That is why I used the word myth. So where do you start to find out more about the holiday and our modern stories about how it began? A good place to start is with a very important book, "The Invasion of America," by Francis Jennings. It is a very authoritative text on the settlement of New England and the evolution of Indian/White relations in the New England colonies. I also recommend looking up any good text on British history. Check out the British Civil War of 1621-1642, Oliver Cromwell, and the Puritan uprising of1653 which ended parliamentary government in England until 1660. The history of the Puritan experience in New England really should not be separated from the history of the Puritan experience in England. You should also realize that the "Pilgrims" were a sub sect, or splinter group, of the Puritan movement. They came to America to achieve on this continent what their Puritan brethren continued to strive for in England; and when the Puritans were forced from England, they came to New England and soon absorbed the original "Pilgrims." As the editor, I have read all the texts listed in our bibliography, and many more, in preparing this material for you. I want you to read some of these books. So let me use my editorial license to deliberately provoke you a little. When comparing the events stirred on by the Puritans in England with accounts of Puritan/Pilgrim activities in New England in the same era, several provocative things suggest themselves: 1. The Puritans were not just simple religious conservatives persecuted by the King and the Church of England for their unorthodox beliefs. They were political revolutionaries who not only intended to overthrow the government of England, but who actually did so in 1649. 2. The Puritan "Pilgrims" who came to New England were not simply refugees who decided to "put their fate in God's hands" in the "empty wilderness" of North America, as a generation of Hollywood movies taught us. In any culture at any time, settlers on a frontier are most often outcasts and fugitives who, in some way or other, do not fit into the mainstream of their society. This is not to imply that people who settle on frontiers have no redeeming qualities such as bravery, etc., but that the images of nobility that we associate with the Puritans are at least in part the good "P.R." efforts of later writers who have romanticized them. (1) It is also very plausible that this unnaturally noble image of the Puritans is all wrapped up with the mythology of "Noble Civilization" vs. "Savagery."(2) At any rate, mainstream Englishmen considered the Pilgrims to be deliberate religious dropouts who intended to found a new nation completely independent from non-Puritan England. In 1643 the Puritan/Pilgrims declared themselves an independent confederacy, one hundred and forty-three years before the American Revolution. They believed in the imminent occurrence of Armageddon in Europe and hoped to establish here in the new world the "Kingdom of God" foretold in the book of Revelation. They diverged from their Puritan brethren who remained in England only in that they held little real hope of ever being able to successfully overthrow the King and Parliament and, thereby, impose their "Rule of Saints" (strict Puritan orthodoxy) on the rest of the British people. So they came to America not just in one ship (the Mayflower) but in a hundred others as well, with every intention of taking the land away from its native people to build their prophesied "Holy Kingdom."(3) 3. The Pilgrims were not just innocent refugees from religious persecution. They were victims of bigotry in England, but some of them were themselves religious bigots by our modern standards. The Puritans and the Pilgrims saw themselves as the "Chosen Elect" mentioned in the book of Revelation. They strove to "purify" first themselves and then everyone else of everything they did not accept in their own interpretation of scripture. Later New England Puritans used any means, including deceptions, treachery, torture, war, and genocide to achieve that end.(4) They saw themselves as fighting a holy war against Satan, and everyone who disagreed with them was the enemy. This rigid fundamentalism was transmitted to America by the Plymouth colonists, and it sheds a very different light on the "Pilgrim" image we have of them. This is best illustrated in the written text of the Thanksgiving sermon delivered at Plymouth in 1623 by "Mather the Elder." In it, Mather the Elder gave special thanks to God for the devastating plague of smallpox which wiped out the majority of the Wampanoag Indians who had been their benefactors. He praised God for destroying "chiefly young men and children, the very seeds of increase, thus clearing the forests to make way for a better growth", i.e., the Pilgrims.(5) In as much as these Indians were the Pilgrim's benefactors, and Squanto, in particular, was the instrument of their salvation that first year, how are we to interpret this apparent callousness towards their misfortune? 4. The Wampanoag Indians were not the "friendly savages" some of us were told about when we were in the primary grades. Nor were they invited out of the goodness of the Pilgrims' hearts to share the fruits of the Pilgrims' harvest in a demonstration of Christian charity and interracial brotherhood. The Wampanoag were members of a widespread confederacy of Algonkian-speaking peoples known as the League of the Delaware. For six hundred years they had been defending themselves from my other ancestors, the Iroquois, and for the last hundred years they had also had encounters with European fishermen and explorers but especially with European slavers, who had been raiding their coastal villages.(6) They knew something of the power of the white people, and they did not fully trust them. But their religion taught that they were to give charity to the helpless and hospitality to anyone who came to them with empty hands.(7) Also, Squanto, the Indian hero of the Thanksgiving story, had a very real love for a British explorer named John Weymouth, who had become a second father to him several years before the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth. Clearly, Squanto saw these Pilgrims as Weymouth's people.(8) To the Pilgrims the Indians were heathens and, therefore, the natural instruments of the Devil. Squanto, as the only educated and baptized Christian among the Wampanoag, was seen as merely an instrument of God, set in the wilderness to provide for the survival of His chosen people, the Pilgrims. The Indians were comparatively powerful and, therefore, dangerous; and they were to be courted until the next ships arrived with more Pilgrim colonists and the balance of power shifted. The Wampanoag were actually invited to that Thanksgiving feast for the purpose of negotiating a treaty that would secure the lands of the Plymouth Plantation for the Pilgrims. It should also be noted that the INDIANS, possibly out of a sense of charity toward their hosts, ended up bringing the majority of the food for the feast.(9) 5. A generation later, after the balance of power had indeed shifted, the Indian and White children of that Thanksgiving were striving to kill each other in the genocidal conflict known as King Philip's War. At the end of that conflict most of the New England Indians were either exterminated or refugees among the French in Canada, or they were sold into slavery in the Carolinas by the Puritans. So successful was this early trade in Indian slaves that several Puritan ship owners in Boston began the practice of raiding the Ivory Coast of Africa for black slaves to sell to the proprietary colonies of the South, thus founding the American-based slave trade.(10) Obviously there is a lot more to the story of Indian/Puritan relations in New England than in the thanksgiving stories we heard as children. Our contemporary mix of myth and history about the "First" Thanksgiving at Plymouth developed in the 1890s and early 1900s. Our country was desperately trying to pull together its many diverse peoples into a common national identity. To many writers and educators at the end of the last century and the beginning of this one, this also meant having a common national history. This was the era of the "melting pot" theory of social progress, and public education was a major tool for social unity. It was with this in mind that the federal government declared the last Thursday in November as the legal holiday of Thanksgiving in 1898. In consequence, what started as an inspirational bit of New England folklore, soon grew into the full-fledged American Thanksgiving we now know. It emerged complete with stereotyped Indians and stereotyped Whites, incomplete history, and a mythical significance as our "First Thanksgiving. " But was it really our FIRST American Thanksgiving? Now that I have deliberately provoked you with some new information and different opinions, please take the time to read some of the texts in our bibliography. I want to encourage you to read further and form your own opinions. There really is a TRUE Thanksgiving story of Plymouth Plantation. But I strongly suggest that there always has been a Thanksgiving story of some kind or other for as long as there have been human beings. There was also a "First" Thanksgiving in America, but it was celebrated thirty thousand years ago.(11) At some time during the New Stone Age (beginning about ten thousand years ago) Thanksgiving became associated with giving thanks to God for the harvests of the land. Thanksgiving has always been a time of people coming together, so thanks has also been offered for that gift of fellowship between us all. Every last Thursday in November we now partake in one of the OLDEST and most UNIVERSAL of human celebrations, and THERE ARE MANY THANKSGIVING STORIES TO TELL. As for Thanksgiving week at Plymouth Plantation in 1621, the friendship was guarded and not always sincere, and the peace was very soon abused. But for three days in New England's history, peace and friendship were there. So here is a story for your children. It is as kind and gentle a balance of historic truth and positive inspiration as its writers and this editor can make it out to be. I hope it will adequately serve its purpose both for you and your students, and I also hope this work will encourage you to look both deeper and farther, for Thanksgiving is Thanksgiving all around the world. Chuck Larsen Tacoma Public Schools September, 1986 FOOTNOTES FOR TEACHER INTRODUCTION (1) See Berkhofer, Jr., R.F., "The White Man's Indian," references to Puritans, pp. 27, 80-85, 90, 104, &130. (2) See Berkhofer, Jr., R.F., "The White Man's Indian," references to frontier concepts of savagery in index. Also see Jennings, Francis, "The Invasion of america," the myth of savagery, pp. 6-12, 15-16, & 109-110. (3) See Blitzer, Charles, "Age of Kings," Great Ages of Man series, references to Puritanism, pp. 141, 144 &145-46. Also see Jennings, Francis, "The Invasion of America," references to Puritan human motives, pp. 4-6, 43-44 and 53. (4) See "Chronicles of American Indian Protest," pp. 6-10. Also see Armstrong, Virginia I., "I Have Spoken," reference to Cannonchet and his village, p. 6. Also see Jennings, Francis, "The Invasion of America," Chapter 9 "Savage War," Chapter 13 "We must Burn Them," and Chapter17 "Outrage Bloody and Barbarous." (5) See "Chronicles of American Indian Protest," pp. 6-9. Also see Berkhofer, Jr., R.F., "The White Man's indian," the comments of Cotton Mather, pp. 37 & 82-83. (6) See Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving," pp. 3-4. Also see Graff, Steward and Polly Ann, "Squanto, Indian Adventurer." Also see "Handbook of North American Indians," Vol. 15, the reference to Squanto on p. 82. (7) See Benton-Banai, Edward, "The Mishomis Book," as a reference on general "Anishinabe" (the Algonkin speaking peoples) religious beliefs and practices. Also see Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving," reference to religious life on p. 1. (8) See Graff, Stewart and Polly Ann, "Squanto, Indian Adventurer." Also see Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving." Also see Bradford, Sir William, "Of Plymouth Plantation," and "Mourt's Relation." (9) See Larsen, Charles M., "The Real Thanksgiving," the letter of Edward Winslow dated 1622, pp. 5-6. (10) See "Handbook of North American Indians," Vol. 15, pp. 177-78. Also see "Chronicles of American Indian Protest," p. 9, the reference to the enslavement of King Philip's family. Also see Larsen, Charles, M., "The Real Thanksgiving," pp. 8-11, "Destruction of the Massachusetts Indians." (11) Best current estimate of the first entry of people into the Americas confirmed by archaeological evidence that is datable. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What Is Thanksgiving? by Thomas A. Ferguson What do you think of, when asked about Thanksgiving? We learned from the wisdom of our elders to thank the Creator for; Mother Earth... Father Sky... Grandfather Moon... our Uncles the Four Winds... our Cousins the Stars, and... our Brothers and Sisters the animals. The Algonquin believed that humans were not distinct from or superior to nature, but rather part of nature. We also believe that animals could take human form. Moreover, we believed that a long time ago, humans and animals spoke the same language. Then there was a cataclysm that upset the universe and only a few shaman retained the ability to speak with the animals. We thank the Creator for all our relatives, for what is good in the world, and for all our harvest, not just one crop, but all. We give thanks for the strawberry, it is the first berry of the new spring, we give thanks to the tree spirit, for the warmth it provides in our fires and the saps that flow in the fall, we honor the animal spirit, who laid down its life in order for the people to go on. Subsequently we give thanks for each harvest year round. It is said, when the Creator created the Universe, "He placed his hand on the Whole thing... so everything is spiritual." He never told us to separate anything... but to look upon everything that he has made us as holy and sacred and act accordingly with respect. The Thanksgiving the greater society celebrates, occurs during a beautiful time of the year; thus, Thanksgiving time means, as Joyce Sequichie Hifler so eloquently writes, ... the first hard freeze, the first spitting ice to rattle the dry autumn leaves. Early morning frost crystallizes grasses in rods of light. The last bit of bright color is gone from the woods... thus; a time of great solitude and for giving thanks for all the gifts provided for us by the Creator, especially for our families health and well being. Thanksgiving traditionally denotes a harmonious time in the cycle of seasons; further examination of the times suggest otherwise. For Algonquin, the beheading of King Philip, son of Chief Massasoyt, and the sale of the Wampanoags into slavery has a different connotation then being harmonious. During the time of the Puritans; every Church, every Synagogue, and every Quaker Meeting House was built on money generated from Indian slavery. (Professor Robert Venables) Not many of our young understand the true history behind this most sacred celebration. Traditionally the many indigenous cultures that inhabited North America gave thanks to the Creator, not once a year, but after every harvest, be it agriculture or game. These celebrations would last for several days. One such celebration happened at Patuxet, alias New Plimmoth, now known as Plymouth Rock, in November of 1621. It is this celebration that many of us were taught to picture as the "First Thanksgiving." This view is based on the mythological concept and approach Western minds have when dealing with the various Native Populations . There are interesting events leading up to what is termed "Thanksgiving. " What is being celebrated in the USA and Canada is based on a mythological concept that must be addressed. To create an example of this myth, I decided to do some research. I asked middle school, and university students: what comes to your mind, when I ask you about Thanksgiving? Most then gladly answered, in sort of the same fashion: "Some Pilgrims, who arrived at Plymouth, were fed by some Indians," and most of these students had the opinion that the Pilgrims were very religious and both the Native and the Pilgrim lived in harmony. The myth is perpetuated and evolves from the lack of understanding the true history - ninety-nine percent of North America's history is before contact. November 11, 1620, a cold, and windy night, the Mayflower forced to anchor in the Bay of Paomet, alias Cape Cod. The Pilgrims were traveling to Jamestown, Virginia. As their precursor, Columbus, they too were lost. Running low on supplies, they anchored in the Bay of Cape Cod. On November 15, 1620, religious leaders such as William Bradford and Edward Winslow following a guide book published in Europe by Richard Hakluyt titled Virginia Richly Valued, lead these God-fearing Pilgrims to raid graves.(Mourt's Relation 1622) In the midst of this sacrilegious act they were discovered by the Nausets, the local indigenous band of Algonquins who subsequently chased the Pilgrims off the Cape. This is when the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth. The Algonquin band of Wampanoags, openly welcomed the Pilgrims, taught them how to farm thus, providing them with food and saving them from starvation. The first Native American to encounter the Pilgrims was Samoset, who was a sagamore or chief of a distant band of Algonquin - the Morattiggons, he was on an extended fishing trip visiting the Wampanoags, when he boldly walked into the Pilgrims camp saluting them in English, bidding them welcome. The Englishman noted, that on Friday February 16, 1621, that Samoset by himself entered boldly into their camp saying "hello Englishman," and bidding them welcome. They also noted "he was a man of free speech, as far as he could express his mind." Samoset spent that first night with the Pilgrims describing to them the whole Country side, and of every Province, and of every sagamore, and their number of men, and strengths. Samoset stayed the night, leaving the Pilgrims the next morning. Samoset returned, March 22, 1621, with Squanto, who is most popularized by American schools. He was the only surviving native of the Patuxet, known to the Pilgrims as New Plimmoth. Squanto had just returned from London (he was one of the first twenty captives sold by Hunt, a Master of a ship, who then sold them to Master Slanie who took them to Cornehill, England) and found, upon his return, that his people who had inhabited Patuxet had succumbed to an extraordinary plague. (this is the same village the Pilgrims are calling New Plimmoth) It was Squanto who taught the Pilgrims how to plant corn, and to fertilize earthen mounds with fish i.e., herrings or shads. The following fall, after hunting fowl, the Pilgrims harvested 20 acres of corn, six acres of barley and peas all according to the manner of the Algonquin agriculturist, they invited the Sachem Woosamaquin otherwise known as Chief Massasoyt, (the Wampanoags chief who first welcomed the Pilgrims to share the land) to celebrate their harvest. Accepting, Chief Massasoyt brought five deer, and ninety of his men with him to the feast. So now we can sort of figure what was feasted on at the "First Thanksgiving:" a bird, corn, peas, roasted venison, and beer. This feast lasted five days and was celebrated as a treaty, which was supposed to benefit both Algonquins and Pilgrims. Whether Massasoyt would have welcomed, let alone enter into an agreement with these Pilgrims had he known that the past November when the Mayflower crew were lost, hungry, and cold, they had blasphemously raided Indian graves in search for corn - to eat, and the personal artifacts of the dead - to reduce their enormous debt, no one will ever know. But within a generation of that treaty, the children of the Pilgrims who were at the first Thanksgiving, children not even born at the time of the feast, beheaded King Philip, son of Chief Massasoyt. They placed his head on a pole and left it in the fort for 25 years, as in a celebration. These children of the "First Thanksgiving," then sold the Wampanoag's and other Algonquin bands of people, without whom their parents would have almost certainly starved to death, into slavery in the Mediterranean and the West Indies. The events over the years leading up to this betrayal paint a clearer picture of how this turn of events could of happened. Chief Massasoyt had fathered two girls and three boys, and before his death he asked the General Court in Plymouth to give English names to his two sons. The Pilgrims subsequently named the former "Alexander" and the latter "Philip." After Alexander died, probably of poisoning, Philip became chief, and became known as "King Philip." According to Josephy, (The Patriot Chiefs, 1976) King Philip was as racially proud as an Indian ever was. He saw clearly what the colonists were doing to his people, and from the beginning recognized them as enemies who would have to be stopped. Despite the friendship between Massasoyt and the colonial authorities, and although, he was out numbered two to one, King Philip went to war. The interracial friction that resulted in this conflict had actually begun to spread years before his father's death. This was mostly because of trespassing issues, in which the natives had no such laws or understanding of such laws. Anger, mixed with anxiety, lead to an explosive situation. Anxiety with the continuing and regularly numbers of Englishmen who were arriving more and more often and who were providing material attractions that lured natives to them. Anger that Christianity was undermining the authority of the chiefs, and dividing the people. Time and again the Indians patriotic attempts to maintain life and freedom were undermined and defeated by ancient animosities between the various tribes who were forced to deal with new European influence. The whites readily recognized the hostilities that existed among the various tribes they met, and from the beginning were quick to use these native rivalries, jealousies, enmities, and ambitions to their own advantage. They followed the "divide and conquer" policy and played ancient foes against one another for the benefit of themselves. This attitude, stemmed in part from the Aristotelian theory that some persons were by nature meant to be masters and others slaves, it combined with the divide and conquer tactics that worked so well for Columbus in the Caribbean and in Mexico for Cortes. Both of these pitting native against native. It is no wonder these divide and conquer tactics worked so well, with King Philip's War, in the treachery committed by the traitor Alderman. To the God-fearing Puritans of New England, Philip was a satanic agent, "a hellhound, fiend, serpent, caitiff, and dog." Somehow, in their panic and wrath, they conceived of him as a rebel, leading a conspiracy and an uprising against established authority. It was as if invading Indians had landed on the coast of England and had then considered rebels and Englishmen who might have risen to throw them out. On August 12, 1676, the English, guided by Alderman who surrounded King Philip, and Annawon, Philip's war chief, while they slept. In the morning Philip was shot by Alderman, a traitor against his people. We also learn from reading Josephy that when it was discovered that it was indeed Philip who was assassinated, the English broke into a cheer and exultantly decapitated and quartered the sachem's body and carried his head back to Plymouth, where in celebration, it was stuck on a pole and remained on public display for twenty-five years. These are the actions of the people who considered themselves to be "civilized," and the Native American to be "Savages." In the end, my question: (what comes to your mind, when I ask about Thanksgiving?) turns out not to be so simple especially when one takes a closer look at the true history of this holiday which we are celebrating this week. What we should consider is that the Thanksgiving Celebration can actually be divided into three distinct celebrations; (1) traditional celebrations of thanksgiving to the Creator by the indigenous population, (2) the thanksgiving celebrated between Massasoyt, the Algonquin Chief of the Wampanoags, and the thankful pilgrims for the knowledge received by the natives; and, (3) the beheading of King Philip and the selling into slavery the offsprings of the natives of the first thanksgiving. --------- "RE: Ojibwe Treaties" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 13:54:21 -0400 (EDT) From: FirehairSS@aol.com Subj: Ojibwa---Chippewas ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: 97-10-18 04:14:23 EDT From: SbrWarrior <><><><><><><>NASC NEWS<><><><><><><> MTN - A History of Strawberry Island (Keyword to: http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/berry_is.html) PROTECT STRAWBERRY ISLAND Sacred Burial Ground at Lac du Flambeau A History of Strawberry Island A Colorado real estate developer is planning to dig up a historic Native American battle site located on the Lac du Flambeau . The reservation got its name when French explorers saw Ojibwe spearfishing with a torch (flambeau) on a lake at night. Strawberry Island on Flambeau Lake has been continuously inhabited since the Middle Woodland period, about 200 BC, and is a rich trove of pottery and tools. The area was later home to the Dakota (Sioux), who were driven west by the Ojibwe (Chippewa) -- under pressure by European settlers to the east -- in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The last major Ojibwe-Dakota battle in Wisconsin took place on Strawberry Island, leaving behind many dead, and a huge canoe now on display in the tribal museum. Tribal members report that, ever since, they have been told by their elders not to step on the Place Where the Spirits Visit, in respect of those who fell there. The island has also loomed large in the historical accounts of the Dakota. In 1966, Dr. Robert Salzer of Beloit College reported to the State Historical Society that the island is the most important archaeological site in northern Wisconsin. In 1978, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is on the state register. Lac du Flambeau Reservation was established under the 1854 Treaty. In the Allotment Period (1887-1928), choice tribal lands throughout the country were transferred to private white ownership, through a combination of fraud, forced debt creation, and manipulation of alcoholism and illiteracy. The result is a "checkerboard" of tribal and non-tribal ownership on many reservations. Strawberry Island was signed over by a child in 1911, who died shortly afterward. Though still part of the reservation, it was placed under the jurisdiction of a non-Indian township. However, the main owner over the decades understood the significance of the island to the Ojibwe in the town only a few hundred yards away, and he chose not to develop it. The Threat to Strawberry Island The owner 's heir, however, has today opted to build homes on the sacred island. Mr. Walter Mills of Aspen plans to subdivide the 26-acre island into 16 lots, and build quarter-million dollar homes on the properties. The tribe has offered to buy the island, but Mills has steadily upped his asking price to two million dollars -- far above its market value. The township has granted Mills a building permit, even though he has not completed the necessary septic and other tests on the inaccessible island. The elders, youth, and other tribal members see Strawberry Island as priceless in terms of its cultural and spiritual significance, and have organized an Island watch to report imminent movement of equipment to the island. Environmentalists and treaty supporters have mobilized to support Lac du Flambeau. Some state and federal agencies have also been supportive, but they are largely powerless to stop the destruction of archaeological sites on private lands unless their funding is involved. The island is now on the state's Ten Most Endangered Properties list. On July 4-6, 1995, Ojibwe and Dakota from around the region came together at Lac du Flambeau for a "Healing of the Nations Gathering" to protect Strawberry Island. How would veterans feel if a developer chose to dig up European war cemeteries for vacation homes? On October 3, 1995, the Vilas County Zoning Committee surprisingly voted to deny the Mills permit, after listening to testimony from tribal members. (The vote took place at the same time as the O.J. Simpson verdict, but everyone stayed in the room to hear the committee vote.) Members of the committee were subsequently removed by the county chairman, and a second vote was held in March that unanimously approved the permit. The tribe is appealing the decision. The County Board of Adjustments voted in favor of the tribe, but Mills is in turn appealing that decision. The issue is not yet resolved, and public pressure can help immensely. How You Can Help Today You can write the developer a respectful letter: Walter Mills, P.O., Box 4859, Aspen, CO 81612. (It is especially important to write if you are from Colorado). You can write Mills' firm: Beaver Builders Inc., 1534 River Glen Ave., Rhinelander WI 54501. You can write or call Wisconsin state legislators and your federal representatives about your concerns. You can write your local newspaper, or TV/radio news, or a newspaper in Colorado. Please send a copy of letters and a contribution to: Strawberry Island Preservation Committee, c/o Tribal Council, Box 67, Lac du Flambeau, WI 54538. (Also ask for a petition and a Lac du Flambeau News.) For more information, call toll-free 1-800-964-4300. Your letters are a simple gesture that can help in protecting a cultural and natural treasure for future generations. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Minnesota 1837 Treaty Rights (Keyword to: http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/1837trty.html) MINNESOTA 1837 TREATY RIGHTS BASIC ISSUES AND FACTS When ceded territory treaty rights are first implemented, people often have many questions about their nature and the harvest that will take place. Below are basic facts about treaty rights, the 1837 Treaty litigation, and implementation plans. Treaty Rights were reserved by the Bands, not given to them. In the Treaty of 1837, the Chippewa Bands ceded the land to the United States but kept the right to hunt, fish and gather that they, as nations, always had. The United States did not give these rights to the Bands. The 1837 Treaty rights are jointly held by eight Chippewa Bands Each of these Bands signed the 1837 Treaty: the Mille Lacs and Fond du Lac Bands in Minnesota, and the Bad River, Lac Courte Oreilles, Lac du Flambeau, Red Cliff, St. Croix, and Sokaogon (Mole Lake) Bands in Wisconsin. The Federal Court has upheld the continuing existence of these rights and has recognized the Bands' self-regulatory system. The 1837 Treaty litigation was divided into two phases. Phase I determined the nature and extent of the treaty rights. In 1994, the U.S. District Court in Minnesota ruled in Phase I that: 1.the treaty rights continue to exist today; 2.except for commercial timber, the Bands can sell the natural resources that they harvest; 3.both traditional and modern harvest methods can be used; 4.the Bands may self-regulate under their own conservation codes that are enforceable into the Bands' courts; and 5.state regulations can be imposed on treaty harvest only as reasonable and necessary for conservation, public safety or public health. Phase II of the 1837 Treaty litigation addressed regulatory and allocation issues. In January 1997, the District Court completed its handling of the case and issued a final judgment in Phase II. In its ruling the Court: 1.approved the Bands' proposed Minnesota 1837 Ceded Territory Conservation Code and accompanying fish and wildlife management plans; 2.ordered the State of Minnesota not to take any action that would interfere with the exercise of these rights; 3.refused to allocate natural resources between treaty and non-treaty harvests until it can be demonstrated that either the Bands or the State are being deprived of their "fair share" of the resources; 4.held that State harvestable surplus determinations are reviewable by the Court; 5.ruled that the Bands may fish throughout Mille Lacs Lake; 6.ruled that, at this time, the only private land open to treaty hunting is land enrolled in the Minnesota tree growth tax program; and 7.retained continuing jurisdiction over the case so that any unresolved disputes in the future could be addressed by the court. The District Court's Judgment will be appealed. The State, the counties, and the landowners involved in the case are asking the U.S. Court of Appeals 8th Circuit to overturn the District Court's final judgment. In addition, the State asked the District Court to suspend its judgment until late May 1997, and the counties and landowners asked the Court to suspend the judgment while the case is on appeal. The court denied these requests. Thus, the District Court judgment stands, and the Bands may proceed with exercising their rights. The Bands may begin to exercise the rights as soon as they adopt regulations that comply with the Court's rulings. Unless the Court's final judgment is suspended, treaty harvest may begin once the Bands adopt ceded territory codes that comply with the regulations approved by the Court. The Bands have voluntarily placed conservative limits on their harvests of walleye and deer for the first five years. The Bands' fisheries management plan limits the harvest of walleye in Mille Lacs Lake well below 50% of the average annual angling walleye harvest. In 1997, they have imposed a 40,000 pound ceiling. This may increase incrementally each year up to 100,000 pounds in 2001. The Bands and State have agreed that the average annual harvest level for Mille Lacs Lake walleye is 450,000 pounds. The Bands' wildlife management plan limits antlerless deer harvest to 900 per year. This represents less than 10% of the average annual state antlerless deer harvest in the ceded territory. The Bands' Fish and Wildlife Management Plans provide for a gradual implementation of the rights. By incorporating conservative management measures for an initial five-year period, including the restrictive walleye and deer quotas, the Plans allow for the orderly development of treaty harvests and, if necessary, provide the State with ample opportunity to adjust non-treaty harvests while accumulating new information on the status of the resources. This will ensure resource protection during an initial phase-in period and allow new information about the status of the resources to be collected. Even without taking into account Band harvest, adjustments to the State-licensed sport fishery will be necessary in Mille Lacs Lake to keep harvest within acceptable levels. For example, in 1997 the State estimates a 320,000 pound walleye harvestable surplus for Mille Lacs Lake. Without even taking into account what the Band harvest of walleyes might be, the State must take steps to reduce this year's estimated 430,000 pound angler walleye harvest by about 110,000 pounds just to stay within the 1997 harvestable surplus. All fish taken by open-water spearing and gill netting will be counted via on-site monitoring. Special open-water spearing permits are required, and permits may not be issued unless the designated boat landings will be monitored. Similarly, special gill netting permits are required and permits may not be issued unless a monitor is available either at the designated boat landing or at the location of the net lift. All fish taken by open-water spearing and netting must be counted. Sex and weight data also will be compiled. The Minnesota DNR must be notified in advance of open-water spearing and gill netting. The Bands must notify the Minnesota DNR no later than noon of the bodies of water which the Bands have designated for open-water spearing that night and must "promptly" notify the DNR of the location of any gill netting. Gill netting permits may be issued for Mille Lacs Lake, other lakes over 1000 acres in size, and eight other lakes. The other lakes are Shakopee, Ogechie, Whitefish, Grindstone, Eleven, Pine, Razor, and South Stanchfield lakes. Spring netting is limited to Mille Lacs Lake. All other lakes are only open to summer, fall, and winter netting. Gill netting will be strictly regulated by specified length and mesh size requirements and by closures when a quota has been taken. Regulations agreed upon by the Bands and the State provide particular mesh sizes for various times of the year. Also, the length of gill net that may be set will be determined by the amount of quota remaining or by other agreed-upon formulas. When the quota for any species of fish has been taken, whether by spearing or by netting, gill netting in that water body must cease for the remainder of the season. The Bands' regulations may be enforced by GLIFWC, Band, and Minnesota DNR wardens. The Bands have authorized the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), Band, and DNR wardens to enforce their ceded territory codes. Ceded territory enforcement of the codes is being coordinated by GLIFWC, which developed an enforcement plan to ensure that sufficient wardens will be on-duty during spearing and netting activities. The Bands' regulations will be enforced into Band courts. Joint Band/State technical committees will be the primary cooperative management bodies. These committees are comprised of Band and State representatives. Their primary purpose is to facilitate free and open communication regarding resource management in the ceded territory. They will be responsible for trying to reach agreement on resource issues, making harvestable surplus determinations, coordinating resource surveys and research, reviewing proposed changes in regulations, and attempting to resolve any disputes before mediation is invoked. Treaty harvest in Wisconsin has not harmed the resources and presently takes place without the threat of violence or protest. Since the mid-1980s, when the Voigt decision reaffirmed the 1837 and 1842 treaty rights in Wisconsin, treaty harvest has been undertaken without harm to the resources, under strict regulations. Wisconsin ceded territory regulations are basically the same as the Bands' regulations for Minnesota, including the strict on-site fish counts and other monitoring for open-water spearing and netting. The types of anti-treaty violence and protests that took place in the initial years are no longer experienced, and the treaty harvest takes place peacefully. Treaty harvest has not hurt property values or tourism in Wisconsin. Studies have shown that: 1.lakefront property values in the most heavily-speared Wisconsin counties have increased considerably since 1983, the year of the Voigt decision, and 2.tourism has increased substantially in Wisconsin since the reaffirmation of the treaty rights. Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission Public Information Office PO Box 9 Odanah, WI 54861 (715) 682-4472 or 682-6619 Please feel free to contact GLIFWC for further information on treaty rights and resource management issues, including the 'Masinaigan' newspaper. For a GLIFWC history of 1837 Chippewa Treaty rights in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, see http://conbio.rice.edu/nae/docs/chippewa.html. --------- "RE: Genocide of the Ute" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 13:20:31 -0400 (EDT) From: NASC Swan Subj: America's Hidden Genocide of the UTE >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "AMERICAN'S HIDDEN GENOCIDE II" (*Please, feel free to copy and pass on the following article.) Five hundred years ago, the quest was begun to exterminate the Indigenous people of North American. This hidden genocide of Native Americans continues today. The "past" has never ended. Every treaty, every promise made by the "white man" has been and continues to be broken. The horror stories of our generation can rival or surpass atrocities committed in any other part of the world. How can the United States, World Police, point the finger when her own soil is soaking with the blood of her own Indigenous People? This silent genocide took another step forward on Sept. 8, 1997 by the State of Utah, Duchesene County, Uintah County, Roosevelt City, and Duchesne City. http://www.ubatc.tec.ut.u s/duchesne/(Welcome to Duchesne County) http://www.uwin.com/roosevelt/(Roosevelt City Homepage) More lands were stolen from the Ute Indian Tribe's reservation located in the north-eastern part of the state of Utah, U.S.A. This was done by the above parties using a 1994 U.S. Supreme Court Ruling (Hagen v. Utah) to make the finial cut. http://fatty.law.corn ell.edu/ (to find Hagen v. Utah, 1994) This land grab was headed mainly by local government officials in Uintah and Duschesne County. This was done in order to over-rule a 1985 10th Circuit Court decision which ordered "that all the lands retained their reservation status and remained Indian country, subject to the jurisdiction of the Tribe". http://www.state.ut.us/ (10th Circuit Court of Appeals Ute Tribe v. Utah can be found in 'State of Utah Navigational Network') Hungry for more, Utah's State and local leaders can go back to the Courts and take MORE Tribal lands. They want it all. Why? The stretch of barren lands given the Tribe in 1864 contains oil and coal. The State of Utah and those "white" towns and counties within the original boundaries want the money and control at any cost. http:/snake2.cr.usgs.gov/oilopps/u_and_o.html (BIA-DEMR Oil & Gas Opportunities) According to newspaper reports in the Salt Lake City area, Utah State and counties have until Sept. 29, 1997 to appeal for MORE land. The Ute Tribe began a boycott of the "white" run town of Roosevelt, which WAS located on Ute Reservation lands. http://www.desnew s.com/ (Deseret News Utah's locally owned daily new...) http://www.sltrib.com/ (The Salt Lake Tribune - Utah's Statewide News...) THIS IS ALL YET ANOTHER LAND GRAB. Every time this happens, someone is breaking promises made in the name of all U.S. citizens. This is what the United States government is hiding from all of us! This is what elected officials do when they think no one will know or care! This same scenario is happening over and over to Indian Nations in the United States. Can this Land Grab in Utah set a precedent making it possible for all U.S. states to do the same? The Indigenous People ARE being exterminated. It will not stop until America's secrets are exposed and they are shamed before the rest of the world. The United States media only presents what THEY decide the public will hear. THEY decide what we will know AND how we will feel about it. We must DEMAND to know what the United States government is doing to the Native American citizens of this country. The media has become nothing more than the "brain police". Please send your letters of support and outrage to: Yttrash@aol.com Your emails will be immediately forwarded to ALL guilty parties!!! These letters are being forwarded, en masse, to several media sources as well as leaders in Utah's State and Local governments. These forwarded emails are DEMANDING this genocide stop; that the American press cease in the cover up; that the US live up to the "standards" it has imposed on the rest of the world; that the lands originally promised on May 5, 1864 be returned to the Ute Tribe. These letters show support for the Tribe and their boycott of the cruel town of Roosevelt, Utah. To shame these State and Local leaders, these emails will continue to be passed on to : Brad Hancock of Roosevelt City, John Swasey of Duchesne Co., Rep. Jack Seitz of Uinta county, Rep. Beverly Evans of Duschesne county, and Utah State Gov. Mike Leavitt, just to name a few! And, of course, to U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, who also "happens" to be a member of the "United States Indian Affairs Committee", the leaders of this continuing Genocide, created under the guise of deciding "what is best for the Native Americans" . It hasn't happen once. UTAH - SITE OF THE 2002 WINTER OLYMPICS LET THEM KNOW THE WORLD IS WATCHING!!!!! Send letters to be forwarded to: Yttrash@aol.com State what part of the World you are from! INFORM YOURSELF: http://www.uwin.com/roosevelt/ (Roosevelt City Homepage) http://www.ubatc.tec.ut.us /duchesne/(Welcome to Duchesne County) http://www.uwin.com/swasey/ (Land grabbing poster-child) Links to Olympic info: http://cc.weber.edu/~mcarlile/Links.htm http://fatty.law.cornell.edu/ (can find Hagen v. Utah) http://snake2.cr.usgs.gov/oilopps/u_and_o.html (BIA-DEMR Oil & Gas Opportunities) http://bialaw. fedworld.gov/history/hisftn.htm#133 (Indian Law Enforcement History Footnotes) http://mercury. sfsu.edu/~cypher/genocide.html (International Convention for the Prevention and the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948) http://fatty.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ (United States Codes) http://www.concentric.net/~jkowal/ilipages/ (Indigenous Law Institute) http://www.state.ut.us/ (State of Utah Navigational Network) http://www.ecola.com/news/press/na/us/ (access to media info world wide) http://dickshovel.netgate.net/AIMIntro.htm (American Indian Movement) http://www.id.uscourts.gov/doc.htm (Public Access to Case Documents) http://www.le.state.ut.us/~code/code.htm (Utah Code -- Statutes and Constitution) Please read the following excerpts from letters of world wide support: FROM NEW ZEALAND: This letter represents all the concerned people of New Zealand who have been informed over the passed months of the activities of government officials in Utah and their gang of Marauding thieves! As well as all activities regarding the senseless bullying of the Indigenous Indian people of America. Today "We" were disgusted at the report made that UTE tribal land is to be denounced and placed into the hands of a greedy minority, whose only interest is the mineral deposits situated within the land, the revenue ($) this will bring to themselves, and the virtual destruction of the only surviving indigenous tribe in that area! This has got to stop! Your Government is the most corrupt we have ever come across. If you go ahead with this deal then it would be no surprise that many countries will boycott American goods. Your economy is not the best as we are sure you are very much aware of. Many countries and important people within them know and have been keeping an eye on your uncouth display and reckless regard for human suffering, and countless more are finding out daily. You cannot keep this secret for much longer, and you cannot hide behind your feeble excuses neither. What is even more disturbing to us is the nature of American society which has made this scandal almost invisible to the people of America, concerned with their own Government scandals of which there are many, and of which we are certainly aware of. This is one reason why the people of have decided to concentrate efforts upon one of the most longstanding scandals in American history, to make the world look at America for what it really is and what it is doing to it's own people. You must remember, native American or not, the Indian people are American's too. They have sided with the white for prosperity and for peace and have gained nothing in return but hate, pain, and anguish. This is neither the pattern of or for a democratic society and places every single effort your Government and your country makes via Aid and support, militarily or diplomatically in the world state of affairs on peace, all appear to be in vain. In turn this reasoning has provided a stable cornerstone for support by non-American peoples globally and has only strengthened the campaign that will no doubt reveal this scandal publicly in every society, in every institution, and in every mind that holds a grudge against America. FROM CANADA: (full text of 1948 UN convention: http://mercury.sfsu.edu/~cypher/genocide.html ) To Officials of Roosevelt City and Duschesne County, Utah, and USA "....Please also be advised that these are internationally protected peoples no longer subject to the cruel and arbitrary practises of racist and tyrannical state terror, for which your country and your state are so notoriously well known. Please familiarize yourself and your associates with the international Convention for the Prevention and the Punishment of the Crime of Genocide 1948. . This UN convention stipulates that: Article 2. In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:.... ....You should also be aware that news of the activities of Roosevelt City,Dechesne County, state, government and US judicial decisions have been communicated to the international community for their information, follow up and the pursuit of both domestic and international remedies. This should be communicated to Mr. Orrin Hatch and others involved in these outrageous and objectionable adventures. Rest assured I shall do whatever I can further spread word of this completely unacceptable situation and the arguably genocidal actions you have unfortunately chosen to participate in." FROM ENGLAND: "....Such unilateral action by a powerful and privileged group (the Gov of Utah) against a small but important and highly significant part of the history and culture of the land (the Ute people) would surely be found offensive by any God I know. I can certainly imagine the wrath of my God being raised against such a dishonourable and unjust action. Treaties made in good faith are being broken and the Government is taking upon itself the role of dictator. Hitler declared Austria was no longer independent, but a part of the Third Reich, and look what happened to him. The name of Utah will come to be reviled as his was and that revulsion will be associated with the United States too. Future generations will feel shame and disgust whenever the name is mentioned, unless action is taken to repeal this law and restore this town, central to the reservation and to the lives of the people who live there, to Indian control. Yes, I am writing from England. Yes, word of your ignominious action has travelled half way across the globe already. Yes, these actions do have repercussions beyond state boundaries. The WORLD is watching, not just a minority group. This sort of action will not be tolerated....." Macclesfield Cheshire England ******* "This is just to let you know that there are a lot of us here in the uk who care more about the native inhabitants of north america than the states who occupy it. We support you in your struggle and realize it is the same struggle we are all engaged in, to free ourselves from the grip of western civilization and to live properly. I realize that we will need the knowledge kept by indigenous people around the world if humanity is to survive. If we do survive, we will owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the ancestors and those now who hold the traditions against overwhelming force of ignorance and heartlessness. I feel the loss of those branches of humanity who are gone forever..... With Love FROM GERMANY: "All Good Powers grant, that this protest against Sen. Gortons new law, find approval and will lead us to victory over greed and corruption. Know that the world is watching ,that we support the actions of the UTAH TRIBE in their boycott. We inform the German press about every new act. There is taken enough ---- It`s time to give the AMERICAN NATIVES Peace and Freedom and finally a change to live their WAY . Sincerely" FROM FINLAND: Hello from Finland! I just wanted to make it very clear that the finnish environmental and humanitarian organisations are on your side 100% US governments continuous oppression on the native people, the Real people, of N. America is not to be left unnoticed and this recent attack on the rights of indians in Roosevelt, Utah on the land that they live on just proves that US government has not changes it's policy of "500 years of genocide". The native people are the last people on Earth who know how to live upon it and thus have the RIGHT to live upon it! We who have lost our heritage, our history and our knowledge of the true way of living will soon die anyway so the most irrational thing we can do is to destroy humanity's only possibility to continue to exist. Finland FROM ITALY: "Dear sirs, representants of the different powerful white American political and economical institutions... THE WORLD IS WATCHING YOU The United-States of America has been built on colonialism, on genocide, on slavery and on economic greed. That is still its way to proceed and to keep its power on the rest of the world. But it is time for you to realize that a bottle of Coca-cola and a bright pink Cadillac don't make us dream anymore. We know too much what is behind: The violation of civil rights, the violation of every statement of your own constitution, the destruction of the planet, the annihilation of the human souls through your consumist philosophy. THE WORLD IS WATCHING YOU THE WORLD IS JUDGING YOU And whatever your dreams are, be aware that a new people is waking up, all brothers and sisters of the five continents. We are not linked by blood but by our souls, fed with the words and faith of Gandhi, Chief Seattle, Henry David Thoreau... and all the men and women who found happiness in LOVE and SIMPLICITY...... .......However you'll try to take the power, and destroy the others under the power of your oil-concrete-nuclear-dollar pyramid, don't forget, that the slightest blade of grass can come through a road of tar. My voice may seem as small as a blade of grass... but there is a whole prairie watching you, a prairie with a heart beating at the rhythm of the buffalo dance. Roma-Italy" FROM BELGIUM: ".....As an international human rights organization, with Native American roots, but based in Europe, we call upon you to put an immediate stop to these violations of human rights; and we demand the American press cease in the cover up. We are demanding that the United States government lives up to the "standards" it has imposed on the rest of the world. We demand that the lands promised be returned to the Ute Nation. Shame on you America! Sincerely, Brussels Belgium FREE LEONARD PELTIER!!! FREE WOLVERINE!!! " FROM: TURTLE CLAN EASTERN LENAPE NATION OF PA "During the past years I have hoped (no dreamed) that the circle would begin to heal as in Black Elk's vision. With education and the acknowledgement of the civil rights of Native Americans I naively thought that the "greed" of the white man would be subdued, if not buried in his past. But, unfortunately, it seems that the Government of and by the White Men has not changed from the 1700s, 1800s, and 1900s. The "give ME, give ME" and "I WANT, I WANT" attitude still prevails. The little land which is owned by some of the Nations is precious to us, even if it is uninhabitable to most of the descendants of the European immigration of the 1500s and 1600s. Let us, please, keep what is left of the land of our Mother, the Earth. We have never harmed the land, we have never polluted the land, or abused the land. Please, let us live in Peace. Doris RiverBird Woman Turtle Clan Eastern Lenape Nation of PA FROM AUSTRALIA: "TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN I have heard here in Australia of the push to take MORE land away from the Native Americans, in this case the Utes. From over here we see the big picture, and we read the odd article and we read the history books and nothing's changed...... ....... They are not fools and neither is the rest of the world. We will be watching the 2002 Winter Olympics and we will know the hypocrisy. We see the the United Nations on television and Mr Clinton with his compassion for the atrocities of other countries. We know that the American Indian has not been treated well, that in some parts they are still refused to be served in bars, that they have been tricked into signing papers in the past, that they look after their land and as soon as it looks as though money can be made out of it, the government wants it....." ------------------------ You are welcome to copy and pass on the above information: "America's Hidden Genocide II" ADD YOUR VOICE! Please send your letters of support and outrage to: Dontstel@aol.com Be assured, your emails will be immediately forwarded to ALL guilty parties!!! --------- "RE: Stealing Native Rights" --------- Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 07:16:13 -0400 (EDT) From: Jordan S Dill Subj: Stealing native rights... UUCP email Good day all...please visit where you will find a discussion centering on the "On the Art of Stealing Human Rights:" [Note: The following extracts are from a speech given by Gerry Gambill at a conference on Human Rights at Tobique Reserve in New Brunswick, in August, 1958. In this speech, he warned native people about how Wasichu goes about taking away the human rights of native people...] The art of denying Indians their human rights has been refined to a science. The following list of commonly used techniques will be helpful in "burglar-proofing" your reserves, and your rights. GAIN THE INDIANS CO-OPERATION - It is much easier to steal someone's human rights if you can do it with his OWN co-operation. So..: 1. Make him a non-person. Human rights are for people. Convince Indians their ancestors were savages, that they were pagan, that Indians were drunkards. Make them wards of the government. Make a legal distinction, as in the Indian Act, between Indians and persons. Write history books that tell half the story. 2. Convince the Indian that he should be patient, that these things take time. Tell him that we are making progress, and that progress takes time. 3. Make him believe that things are being done for his own good. Tell him you're sure that after he has experienced your laws and actions that he will realize how good they have been. Tell the Indian he has to take a little of the bad in order to enjoy the benefits you are conferring on him. Visit the site for the balance... Best regards... jsd@sover.net System status SoVerNet Technical Support --------- "RE: Cherokee News" --------- Date: Tue, 21 Oct 1997 16:14:06 -0400 (EDT) From: FirehairSS@aol.com Subj: Fwd: NASC- Cherokee......Vets........Apache......Crow... ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Subj: NASC NEWS: Cherokee......Veterans........Apache......Crow... Date: 97-10-16 10:17:06 EDT From: NASC Swan <><><><><><><>NASC NEWS<><><><><><><> Oct14VilesCommentary PHILIP H. VILES, JR. P.O. BOX 700414 TULSA, OKLAHOMA 74170-0414 918-625-1407 fax 918-496-1792 Tuesday, October 14, 1997 Constitutional Convention, Cherokee Advocate, and Other Mirages COMMENTARY On this six-month anniversary of Chief Joe Byrd's declaring the emergency that has plunged the Cherokee Nation into turmoil and controversy, let me offer some personal observations, not as a tribal official, but one who has observed Cherokee affairs for more than forty years. 1. The turmoil and controversy continue. 2. Now that "Constitutional reform" is in the news again, it might be helpful to revisit the May 6, 1997 issue of the Tulsa World and the article "Changes sought by Chief". Chief Byrd wanted a committee created in the fall to revamp the constitution adopted by the tribe in the 1970s. In the fall? Well, fall is here and I have heard nothing further. It is important to remember two things. First, the Constitution of 1975 called for the people to decide every 20 years whether or not to have such a convention [Article XV, Section 9 concludes "The question of such proposed convention shall be submitted of the members of the Cherokee Nation at least once in every twenty (20) years]. Second, the people did approve a Constitutional Convention in the elections held on June 17, 1995 over two years ago. What has the chief done since? In April '96, he floated several names for a commission and a four-year timetable (now very seriously behind) and in October '96, a working plan appeared. The Constitutional revisions are to be voted on in the summer of 1999, I understand. Much work is required. A Chief committed to Constitutional reform would be much further along with the process. 3. "The constitutional convention issues was something I campaigned on" in 1995, he said. "It was a plank in my platform." A quick reading of the tribal newspapers in 1995 doesn't include this "plank" anywhere, either in his written responses to editors or in two or three newspaper ads. How do you campaign on something which is already on the ballot by virtue of the Constitution in 1975 saying it would be? You sure don't campaign AGAINST it. It's like apple pie and Motherhood. 4. Who will work on this constitutional convention? Tribal Council members? Lay members? Attorneys? Over the last six months, many inside and outside attorneys have been used for various purposes. One estimate says that over $1.4 million has been spent on attorneys in Washington and in Oklahoma. Has any of this work been to strengthen the Constitution or plan for its revision? Not to my knowledge. Most of the work has been to weaken the tribal court system by staging a kangaroo court of removal and to draft legislation to cripple the Judicial Appeals Tribunal's power. 5. Where is the Cherokee Advocate newspaper in all this? The official tribal newspaper distribution was changed by the Tribal Council, as announced in the January-February 1997 issue, "in order to better serve the citizens of the Cherokee nation". The Advocate would be published every two months by printing and mailing the Advocate by the first day of each odd-numbered month". So far, under this system, I have copies of the "January-February 1997", "March-April 1997". May-June 1997", and July-August 1997" issues. The "September-October 1997" issue by my reckoning should have come out September 1st and I don't have it. Of course, preparation and distribution of a newspaper is made much more difficult when the staff is laid off. Published interviews with Dan Agent, Advocate editor in late July, said that he had been placed on administrative leave and the rest of his staff would be laid off on August 15th. Report indicated that tribal officials had concluded that "the Advocate's mission was mis-directed" and that "the Advocate would be 'farmed out' to an established newspaper" for writing, editing, layout, etc. The Advocate is a successor to a newspaper which started in Georgia about 1828, I believe. Since the Cherokee Nation was re-established in 1975, there has been a monthly newspaper available by subscription and by once-a-year free mailout to all tribal members. Only now that the Council has opted for totally free distribution has the Advocate needed to go to semi-monthly, when it comes out late, if at all. Many people out-of-state depend on the Advocate for their tribal news and they need a tribal newspaper. 6. I read that registration has started for the 1999 elections. You'll recall that of 30,000 tribal members registered to vote in 1995, less than 12,000 voted amid complaints that election snafus or confusing registration requirements prevented their voting. Now I read that the Administration has instituted an optional voter photo ID card system. My preference would have been to spend efforts and budgets on a system that would allow more Cherokees to vote easily and quickly, before instituting new technology. The "new computer system" which accompanies the photo ID card system may help, I don't know. /signed/ Philip H. Viles, Jr. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ parker. html at www.geocities.com U.K.B. OF CHEROKEE INDIANS IN OKLAHOMA September Issue Vol. 5 No. 9 (Re-printed from an earlier issue of the Cherokee Observer) by Sandra Sac Parker (former staff member) Recent legal action against the Horsebend Bingo Hall, Sperry, Oklahoma, by the Tulsa County district attorney's office has brought to public attention a Cherokee Tribal Government previously hidden from view, the 2sgby or The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. The publicity surrounding the case prompted John Hair, [from the Kenwood Area of the Cherokee Nation] (former) Bi-Lingual Chief of the the 2sgby or The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees, to give an interview about his tribe. "I still don't want to give it", he said, but due to the litigation going on, reporters are continually asking, 'Who's the United Keetoowah Band? And 'Who's the Chief?' People need to know who we are." The United Keetoowah Band of Cherokees, a federally recognized tribal government organized approximately 50 years ago, consists of a Chief,(Present-John Ross) Assistant Chief,(Present-Jim Henson) and a Tribal Council of nine members elected by district.[they are the original nine districts within the Historic boundary lines of the Cherokee Nation] Headquarters are in Tahlequah. Its current membership is around 7500, all of whom are at least one-quarter (1/4) Cherokee. The 2sgby or United Keetoowah Band should not be confused with the Keetoowah Society, also known as Nighthawks, a major traditionalist religious society with which many people are familiar. Nor should the Band be confused with the current Cherokee Nation, another governmental organization established much later than the Band. Because the Keetoowah Society is a religious society which can be compared to any other major religion, and the two tribal governments do not prohibit membership in the other, it is possible for a Cherokee to belong to all three organizations. --------- "RE: Friends of the Lubicons" --------- Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 20:20:34 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Winnipeg: Demo Supporting FOL :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:Forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: ACTION ALERT AFTER READING PLEASE SEND THIS ALERT ON TO YOUR ORGANIZATIONAL E-MAIL LIST On November 3, 1997 supporters of the Friends of the Lubicons will be holding a informational picket at the Diashowa Packaging Plant at 1750 Inkster Blvd. at 5:00 p.m. in the city of Winnipeg located in the province of Manitoba, Canada. We are holding the informational picket to expose Diashowa's attempt to quash the Friends of the Lubicons fundamental democratic right to free speech by SLAPPING them with a lawsuit . The Friends of the LubiconS are a support group who are helping to bring public attention to the blight of the Lubicon First Nation in Alberta, Canada. Should Diashowa win this court case against the Fiends of the Lubicons we are all next. We are asking for your support in two ways: First, please send us your organizational endorsement for the informational picket so that we can usE your groups name on our press release. Please email your organizational endorsement ASAP to; sullivan@mbnet.mb.ca Secondly, please pass this message on to your organizational e-mail list. We would like to have broad support locally, nationally and internationally. By passing on this message through the internet we hope to accomplish this objective. Should you require additional information about what is happening to the Friends of the Lubicons in order to endorse our informational picket please visit the Friends of the Lubicons Website Page at: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Lubicon/main.html or phone (416) 763-7500 Thank you for your support. Don Sullivan 2-70 Albert Street Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3B 1E7 Phone: 204-947-3081 Fax: 204-947-3076 Email: sullivan@mbnet.mb.ca :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. --------- "RE: Tribal Sovereignty Threatened" --------- Date: Wed, 22 Oct 1997 07:49:23 -0400 (EDT) From: FirehairSS@aol.com Subj: Tribal Sovereignty Threatened-from NASC ><><><><><><>NASC NEWS<><><><><><><> Subj: NEWS:Pueblo Suit Threatens Tribal Sovereignty Date: 97-10-21 12:29:05 EDT From: FireSpeak Saturday, October 18, 1997 Pueblo Suit Threatens Tribal Sovereignty Dispute Centers on Civil Rights By Leslie Linthicum Journal Staff Writer ZUNI -- It began as a dispute over treatment at the Zuni Pueblo drug and alcohol treatment center. It swelled to an employee walkout and exploded into a chain of firings and resignations that would grow to include the tribe's administrator, its personnel director, health director, finance director and lieutenant governor. Now, the recent events at the Pueblo of Zuni may reach into federal courts and strike at the concept of Indian nations' sovereign immunity, a core tenet of tribal rights that protects tribal governments from civil lawsuits and effectively eliminates federal civil rights on Indian reservations. Three of the six tribal employees who were dismissed in the fracas -- the fired director of the Zuni Recovery Center, the director of the Department of Health and the tribe's finance director -- have gone to Zuni Tribal Court to argue that their civil rights were violated by the tribe. The tribe's attorney argued -- and the judge agreed in a decision handed down in late September -- that the women had no case because there are no federal civil rights guarantees on Indian lands. Imagine, says Margaret Garcia, the tribe's fired health director, being terminated from your government job, alleging you were fired wrongly and being told in court that you cannot argue your case because you have no rights. "It hurts me to the core as a Zuni person to be told by my government that I have no individual rights," says Garcia. "Isn't this the United States of America? Aren't I a citizen?" Constitution boundaries As a member of the Zuni tribe, Garcia has the full rights of a U.S. citizen -- anywhere but inside the boundaries of the reservation she was born on or on other tribal lands. The same goes for non-Indians. Off the reservation they are protected by the Bill of Rights, but on reservations there is no guarantee that tribal governments must recognize those same rights. That issue will bring the Zuni fracas into U.S. District Court in Albuquerque and likely will be the focus of congressional hearings next year. The women's attorney will argue in a lawsuit that the U.S. Constitution cannot be applied to people living in some areas of the country and applied differently or not at all to people living elsewhere. Her argument will turn on the definition of Indian country -- whether Indian reservations are "territories" where federal rights do not apply. Lana Marcussen contends they are not "territories." Various federal courts and state courts have interpreted Indian lands differently on the matter, and the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on the issue. Marcussen envisions the Zuni case as a test of the principle. "You can have constitutional rights here, but if you move 20 miles in another direction you don't have those rights," Marcussen says. That argument also will be voiced at congressional hearings next year on the issue of the degree of sovereign immunity afforded Indian tribes. At the core of Marcussen's argument will be the Indian Civil Rights Act, enacted by Congress in 1968 in an effort to extend to people living and working on Indian lands the same freedoms guaranteed to others. It required tribal governments to enforce the basic principles of the Bill of Rights -- among them due process and equal protection and the freedom of speech, the press, worship and assembly. The Indian Civil Rights Act was not 10 years old before it was stripped of authority in a Supreme Court decision resulting from a New Mexico case. At issue was a tribal law at Santa Clara Pueblo that said the tribe would extend membership to children of male members who married outside the tribe but not to children of female members who married non-Santa Clarans. Julia Martinez sued the tribe, saying her half-Navajo daughter was being discriminated against by being denied tribal membership. A federal judge denied her claim, saying that tribal sovereignty allowed local decisions even if they ran contrary to federal laws. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed, and further ruled that the Indian Civil Rights Act did not authorize a lawsuit against a tribe in the federal courts. It said the principle of self-determination outweighed the extension of constitutional requirements to tribal governments. "It wasn't anyone's intention," says Marcussen, but the Indian Civil Rights Act resulted in Indians specifically not being protected by the Constitution in dealings with tribal governments and tribal enterprises by withholding federal remedies for violations. "Congress doesn't have the authority to segregate the Constitution into different territories," she says. "If we allow the Congress to decide who gets which rights, then what Constitution? The Constitution has to apply to everybody." No basis for claim Albert V. Gonzales, the Santa Fe lawyer who represents Zuni Pueblo, says he is confident that the Supreme Court intended extreme limits on who could sue for damages against tribal governments in federal courts. "The Supreme Court has been very clear on the issue -- that because Indian tribes were pre-existing sovereigns, existing before the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they are not held to those," Gonzales says. The Supreme Court's ruling on the Martinez case extended to tribal governments power much greater than that enjoyed by state and federal governments: Free from the threat of damage awards in federal courts, tribal governments can act without regard to the basic fundamental rights enjoyed by other Americans. What that means at Zuni is that the complaints of Garcia, Recovery Center director Patricia Davis and finance director Amelda Bowman will not be considered on their merits because they have no basis for their claim. While it has ballooned into an issue involving the Constitution and sovereign rights, the dispute at Zuni began among the staff at the Zuni Recovery Center over patient care. Zuni Recovery Center is an out-patient counseling service for tribal members who have drug and alcohol addictions. It is federally funded though the Bureau of Indian Affairs but is run under a contract by Zuni Pueblo. Problems began to arise in July, when a client who had been referred to the center by the tribal court filed a complaint, saying that a counselor had used confidential information about him to win the affections of his girlfriend. His complaint was reviewed by Davis, Garcia and Gerald Byers, the tribe's personnel director. The counselor received a written reprimand, was suspended and returned to work under probation. Another counselor would not refer that same client to the Indian Health Service Mental Health Center when Davis thought he showed signs of being suicidal. That counselor was also reprimanded, suspended and put on probation. At a Nov. 5 staff meeting at the center, Davis pressed a third counselor to make a mental health referral for another client and he refused. Seven counselors walked out and left requisition slips for sick leave, averaging about 30 hours each, on Davis' desk. Tribal personnel policies require a doctor's statement when an employee takes 24 hours or more consecutive sick leave and require approval before leave is taken, Garcia said. Tribal officials held a meeting two days later to decide how to proceed. Garcia attended, along with Byers, Davis and the acting tribal administrator, who was replacing Tribal Administrator Hayes Lewis, who was out of town. Tribal attorney Gonzales spoke to the group on the telephone from his office in Santa Fe and, they say, advised them to follow Zuni Tribal Code. Gonzales said the workers had been absent from the center without permission for 16 hours, which constituted abandoning their jobs. He recommended terminating the employees. Zuni Gov. Donald Eriacho agreed and the seven were fired. When he returned days later, Lewis recommended solving the dispute through mediation and sent Garcia a memo outlining his wish. She responded that tribal policies do not allow mediation after a termination has been processed. In the meantime, the seven turned to the Appeals Board in an internal administrative process and the board ordered them reinstated. The administration appealed that decision to the tribal council, saying the employees had violated their contract and that the appeals process was invalid because the board ruled without holding a hearing. The council, with two members not voting because of conflicts of interest, voted 5 to 1 to deny the administration's appeal. The governor was the only member voting against reinstatement. On March 11, Lewis fired Davis and Garcia, citing their refusal to approve the mediation process. On March 18, Davis was served with an order of "exclusion and removal" -- told essentially to leave the pueblo and not return. The order was based on an affidavit from Lewis, who complained Davis had threatened to "cause serious harm" to him, the lieutenant governor and others. Before a tribal judge could rule on the order, Lt. Gov. Bobby Shack intervened, submitting his own affidavit that Davis presented no harm to him. Shack fired Lewis and also reinstated Garcia and Davis. That same day, the six tribal council members told Shack in a memo that he had no authority to fire Hayes and that they were reinstating him. Two weeks later, the council members called a public meeting. It drew about 50 Zuni tribal members, lasted nine hours and resulted in Shack resigning and council members firing Garcia and Davis again along with Byers and Bowman for their involvement in the Recovery Center firings. When Garcia, Davis and Bowman went to court to argue they were wrongly terminated, the tribe's lawyer described the April 6 meeting as "the Zuni traditional way." "I've heard of instant coffee and instant tea," Garcia says. "This must be instant tradition. A mob scene is no tradition that I have ever heard of." An unusual case Non-Indians have advocated for years placing restrictions on the authority of tribal governments. U.S. Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., proposed earlier this year that tribes give up their immunity from civil lawsuits or lose federal funding. Congress will hold hearings on the issue next year. The Zuni case is unusual because it involves Indian people arguing for the limits. Garcia is Zuni and Bowman and Davis are Navajo. "It's interesting when you've got people who usually are arguing for Indian rights who are arguing tribes' rights should be restricted," Gonzales says. If Marcussen's arguments get a hearing in a higher court, he said, "She'd be turning Indian law on its head. I just don't think it will go that far." --------- "RE: Canadian MP Defends Gustafsen" --------- Date: Thu, 23 Oct 1997 20:22:23 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Gustafsen "Completely Justified" says Canadian MP :-:-:-:S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty:-:-:-: Oct. 23, 1997 Bulletin CANADA'S 'OFFICIAL OPPOSITION' DEFENDS GOVERNMENT ACTIONS AT GUSTAFSEN A Member of Parliament in Canada's 'Official Opposition' says that Canada's actions at Gustafsen Lake were "completely justified". Furthermore he characterized the well-documented offensive tactics against the small group of Shuswap traditionalists by the largest paramilitary operation in Canada's history as "a lot of stories" which "were never proven to have taken place". Dr. Keith Martin, Reform Party member of Parliament for Esquimault-Juan de Fuca, was provided with documentation of the offensive use of Armoured Personnel Carriers against the Ts'peten Sundance Camp in the summer of 1995, as well as of the use of the army's C7 automatic rifles in a massive assault on the 21 member Sundance Camp involving thousands of rounds of ammunition. He was also provided with the Rules of Engagement for the operation written by Canada's General John De Chastelaine, clearly prohibiting the offensive actions of the military. According to the evidence of high ranking RCMP, it was the Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, who authorized the use of the military upon the request of the BC's NDP Attorney-General and Human Rights Minister Ujjal Dosanjh. A review of army involvement is mandatory under the Defence Act, but has not thus far been complied with by the Canadian authorities. The Defence Minister at the time, Doug Young, advised Martin that the army's Rules of Engagement for 'Operation Wallaby' had not been violated, in blatant contradiction to the evidence at trial. Martin refused to pursue the matter further, demonstrating that the conspiracy, cover-up, and refusal to investigate the actions of the authorities, including a refusal to convene a public inquiry into the Gustafsen matter, is ongoing and comprehensive. Dr. Keith Martin was a participant in the Canadian Government's recent international initiatives to ban land mines, yet he appears to be unconcerned that Canadian used command mines against Shuswap traditionalists at Gustafsen Lake -- an incident which was captured on the RCMP's own video-tape and broadcast on cable television. The complete text of Martin's letter to CFUV Radio's John Shafer follows: :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Rm. 676 Confederation Building. House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario K1A OA6 Office: (613) 996-2625 Fax (613) 996-9779 Email martik@parl.gc.ca Dr. Keith Martin, M.D., M.P Esquimault - Juan De Fuca October 17,1997 Mr. John Shafer c/o CFUV-FM Radio Box 3035, University of Victoria Victoria, BC. V8W 3P3 Dear Mr. Shafer: Thank you for your email concerning Gustafsen Lake. From what I have seen, the interventions that took place by the government were completely justified. There were a lot of stories about the use of land mines and other activities that were alleged, but were never proven to have taken place. It would appear the military did what they had to do get this most difficult situation under control. I spoke to my Executive Assistant on this matter, and he has pursued your concerns. As well I have written to the Minister of Defence, asking for information on the situation. I would suggest, Mr. Shafer, that since you still have concerns over Gustafsen Lake, that you continue to write directly to the Minister of Defence Art, Art Eggleton, for the answers you require. Sincerely, Keith Martin, M.P. Esquimalt-Juan de Fuca :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: === CANADA: A NATION BUILT ON RACISM, LIES AND INDIGENOUS GENOCIDE! === OOoo__________ A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO GUSTAFSEN LAKE NOW! __________ooOO Keith Martin, M.P. Phone: (613) 996-2625 Fax: (613) 996-9779 Email: martik@parl.gc.ca Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien Room 309-S Centre Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ont. K1A OA6 Canada Phone: (613) 992-4211 Fax: (613) 941-6900 Faxing by email:remote-printer.Jean_Chretien@16139416900.iddd.tpc.int For more information on the Ts'peten (Gustafsen Lake) siege: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/gustmain.html http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/GustLake/support.html To sign by email the petition for a public inquiry, send a message to with "petition" in the subject header, and "I support the petition for a public inquiry into Gustafsen Lake," your name, and your city of residence in the body of the message. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. --------- "RE: Rule Changes Deny Enrollment" --------- Date: Sat, 25 Oct 1997 09:28:45 -0400 (EDT) From: FirehairSS@aol.com Subj: Rule changes for Indians leave some without tribes <><><><><><><>NASC NEWS<><><><><><><> Rule changes for Indians leave some without tribes They lose benefits and a sense of belonging. By Gwen Florio INQUIRER STAFF WRITER BROWNING, Mont. -- Arlene Sinclair is an Indian, a mixture of Blackfeet and Cree. She married an Indian, a man part Chippewa, part Cree. Together, they have three children. One is an Indian. Two are not. Because of a 1962 change in the criteria for tribal membership, her two youngest children -- born and raised on the Blackfeet reservation here, with the same ancestry as their older sister -- were deemed not to have enough Indian blood from a single tribe to qualify as Blackfeet or Cree or Chippewa. Two ancestors -- a white great-great-grandfather and a half-white great-great-grandmother -- diluted the Indian blood just enough to tip the balance the wrong way. Sinclair's youngest children are among a growing number of American Indians who, because of generations of intermarriage with whites or members of other tribes, legally are no longer Indians -- even though, in a few cases, they have 100 percent Indian blood. Their exclusion from tribal rolls means they cannot use the free Indian Health Service. College scholarships earmarked for Indians are closed to them. They cannot vote in tribal elections, even though they might have spent their entire lives on reservations. If their tribe profits from gambling, the revenues are off-limits to them. Perhaps worst of all, in a culture that prizes family ties above material wealth, is the sense of being discarded by their own people. "It's a sad situation. The little kids play together, but they'll hear their parents talking, saying who is Blackfeet and who is not," said Sinclair, who works in the Blackfeet tribe's enrollment office and deals with the issue daily. "You'd like everybody to be treated equal, but they're not. It's chaos." The situation dates to the turn of the century, when the Indian Wars ended and the tribes were herded onto reservations. The Blackfeet are among four tribes assigned to the windswept region of northern Montana known as the Highline. The Blackfeet reservation is the westernmost, hard up against the imposing limestone spires of Glacier National Park. As desolate as the land is, whites still wanted it, and many maneuvered their way onto tribal rolls as a way of ensuring property for themselves. "So, from the start," Sinclair said, "there was some confusion." The tribe sought to end that confusion in 1935, the year of the federal Indian Reorganization Act, by declaring anyone already on the rolls to be a Blackfeet. After 1935, the Blackfeet, like the 554 other federally recognized tribes in the United States, set their own qualifications. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ No central listing ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Because of that, there is no central listing of Indians, although about two million people identified themselves as Native Americans on the last census, said Ralph Gonzales, a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman. Members of those tribes benefit from about $1.5 billion in federal spending each year, an amount that provides everything from reservation-road maintenance to the free health service. A lot of people try to register as Indians to take advantage of those benefits, said Dolores Magee, who heads the Blackfeet enrollment office. "People think that you get a free ride if you're an Indian," Magee said. "There are a lot of wannabes who try to register for educational [ scholarship ] purposes." The wannabes are mistaken on two counts. First, few Indians are getting rich on federal money, Gonzales said. As a group, Indians are the poorest people in the nation, with a 49 percent unemployment rate. Nearly three-quarters of adults identifying themselves as Indians earn less than $9,048 a year. Second, it is up to each tribe to determine how to distribute its federal funds. The Blackfeet, for instance, do not guarantee college scholarships to every young person who wants to go. Until 1962, individuals proved they were Blackfeet by tracing their ancestry to the 1935 membership roll. But then the tribe voted to change its requirements. Now its members must be at least one-fourth Blackfeet. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ A 'descendancy' form ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Anyone, regardless of the blood-quantum requirement, who was on the membership rolls before 1962 stayed on. Those, such as Sinclair's children, born after 1962 who did not meet the requirement could fill out a "descendancy" form, allowing them to apply for some benefits, Magee said. "But it made them feel kind of deprived," she said. "You have so many people who live on the reservations who look like Indians and think like Indians but, technically, they aren't." Several tribes have similar blood-quantum requirements, something that could pose problems after a few more generations of intermarriage, said James Mills, of DCI Training in Hanover, N.H., who runs tribal-enrollment workshops. "It is becoming a major problem," he said. "Some tribes who have a restrictive blood-quantum requirement, such as one-fourth or one-half, are recognizing that, over time, they're going to be eliminating a lot of potential members. "Tribes with a higher blood-quantum [ requirement ] fear that too much dissolution of blood means a loss of tribal cultural values, while the more inclusive tribes will feel just the opposite," he said. The Oklahoma Cherokee, for instance, have no blood requirements. Each of the tribe's 188,000 members must be able to trace his or her ancestry to rolls established around the turn of the century, when the tribe was forced out of North Carolina and onto the Oklahoma reservation. Still, the tribe rejects about a third of those who apply for membership, certification clerk Darlene Pritchett said. Connecticut's Mashantucket Pequot turn away even more. A tiny tribe, numbering 522 people, it could increase its membership exponentially if it were to accept everyone who applied. The Pequots run the Foxwoods Resort, the most profitable casino in the country, and each Pequot reaps a portion of the profits, based on his or her contribution to the tribe. Tribal spokesman Byron Quann said no records are kept on how many people apply for membership and are turned away. "But there are lots of anecdotes about people calling up and claiming membership and not even being able to pronounce the name of the tribe," he said. Those calls are sure to increase now that the Pequots have dropped their blood-quantum requirement. "Now, [ membership ] is just a matter of tracing your tribal heritage," Quann said. "Otherwise, there was a mathematical certainty that we would go into extinction." Money is not the issue for those seeking Blackfeet membership. Most of those seeking to enroll cite the importance of heritage. Last month, Sinclair punched numbers into a calculator while a woman and her young grandson watched anxiously. Black Crow, a Blackfeet who married a Gros Ventre, was eager to enroll her 6-year-old grandson, Kyle. "It's his heritage, his culture," she said. "Now [ without membership ] , he feels left out, as young as he is." She figured that, even with his white blood, Kyle had enough Gros Ventre, Blackfeet and Rocky Boys blood to qualify for tribal membership. Black Crow, the last enrolled Blackfeet in her family, was hoping to enroll him as a Blackfeet, too. She figured wrong. Sinclair ran the numbers again and again. Finally, she sighed. "He's one-sixteenth short of being [ the required ] one-fourth," she said. She looked at Kyle, as the boy pressed close to his grandmother, and sighed again. "This," she said, "is what makes us cry." --------- "RE: Boycotting WalMart" --------- Date: 97-10-22 15:24:35 EDT From: AIMAZ Subj: Boycotting WalMart: WalMart Signs Deal with Banks <><><><><><><>NASC NEWS<><><><><><><> I believe it's time to pull our savings out of the banks listed. We can't boycott WalMart and support them through our banks at the same time. In Struggle, Andy If you bank at one of the banks listed below, you are supporting Walmart........ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Monday October 20 11:58 AM EDT Company Press Release Wal-Mart Signs Record Deal with Minority-Owned Banks BENTONVILLE, Ark., Oct. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT), has entered into a revolving line of credit agreement that makes the retailer a major customer of 38 minority-owned banks in 19 states and the District of Columbia. Gateway Bank, the only African-American owned bank headquartered in Missouri, formed the consortium that created the $72.5 million credit facility for Wal-Mart, the nation's fourth largest corporation and the nation's number one private employer. "This is the largest credit facility ever put together by a minority-owned bank,'' said Sharnia "Tab" Buford, Gateway's president and chief executive officer. "I want to congratulate Wal-Mart and every bank in our consortium for forming a partnership that strengthens the ability of minority-owned banks to invest in our communities." "Wal-Mart is committed to developi