From gars@netcom.com Tue Nov 11 23:53:38 1997 Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 20:30:29 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews05.046 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 05, ISSUE 046 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 15 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, AISESnet & Innu-L lists; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; NASC News; UUCP email; Newsgroup: alt.native; NetWarriors 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. "I know my race must change. We cannot hold our own with the white men as we are. We only ask an even chance to live as other men. We ask to be recognized as men. We ask that the same law shall work alike on all men. If an Indian breaks the law, punish him by the law. If a white man breaks the law, punish him also." __ Chief Joseph, Nez Perce +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! There is a great deal of this issue devoted to events that now tear at the Osage Nation. I strongly recommend you read it all carefully. It is the blueprint to yet another answer to the "Indian Question". Last issue included an article describing how many who _should_ belong to some tribes are now disenfranchised. Only recently the Eastern Band of Cherokee had a "house cleaning", with the approval of the BIA and many families that had lived within the Qualla Boundary no longer can. We are letting the dominant society dictate who among us is Native and who among us deserves tribal enrollment; and very quickly we are becoming a "last bottle" club. As each generation is reduced by who may or may not belong, every Tribal Nation is reduced in size until each falls below a magic number required to be recognized. If this continues much longer the last issue if this newsletter will have but one article... "Will the Last Real Indian Please Guard the Sacred Fire?". =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= This letter (with a few changes to protect privacy) was written by my wife and sent to a young woman who wrote an editorial in the University of Pittsburgh's student paper in opposition to a student attempting to change the University's policy that prohibits his smudging in his dorm room. Among her justifications was an incident last year where alleged burning of incense started a room fire. An elder, after reading Janet's letter, felt it was a thing that should be shared with the readers of this newsletter because it speaks so strongly to what we, as protectors and carriers of our traditions, struggle against every day. I agree. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - You accuse a fellow student of insensitivity to the danger he poses to others by persisting in attempts to be allowed to smudge and pray in the Lakota way. I accuse you of rushing to judgement without knowing the person you judge, without knowing any Lakota, and without even taking the time to know exactly what smudging is or why it is done. I accuse you of hypocrisy. You pose a greater risk to your classmates than smudging poses every time you iron a dress or dry your hair. Certainly I know you risk the lives of strangers every time you get behind the wheel of a car. How insensitive of you. For your vanity and convenience, you endanger others, yet you dare to chastise another for seeking to pray in a manner you fear. One intent of the smoldering sage and cedar is to purify an area so that prayers may be offered in a spiritually clean place, and to purify a person, to "wash" from him or her the spiritual "dirt" that has accumulated since the last prayer. It's absurd to claim requiring this to be done in a public place among those who are not also spiritual Lakota is reasonable. Whatever cleaning happened would be immediately undone. This ceremony is traditionally done either in private or among other Indians. It is not a public show. Do you take a bath before you go to Mass? Put on clean, freshly ironed clothes? What if you were forbidden to do this or required to bathe and dress on the sidewalk if you did it at all? Well, you'd probably go to Mass anyway, but you'd feel dirty and it would certainly have an impact on your prayers, and thus your spiritual well-being. Would you attend Mass at the local redneck bar during happy hour if that were the only place it were being said? Perhaps. But what would it do to your soul? Does your soul matter more than that of others who happen not to be Christian? But that's absurd, you say. My bathing can't harm anyone, but smudging might cause a fire. You're more apt to set a fire ironing your clothes or drying your hair. You clearly know nothing about the process of smudging (just as I know nothing about Catholicism and the relative importance of candles for prayer-I will tell you that if candles are important to your spiritual well being and if you need to pray with them in the privacy of your room, then you're no hero for not standing for your right to pray as your faith teaches you). A small amount of sage and other herbs like cedar (the green fronds, not the wood) or sweetgrass are placed in a terra cotta bowl or abalone shell. The bowl or shell is set on a trivet or some other nonflammable object because the bowl bottom may get hot (sometimes does, sometimes doesn't. I've seen them held in hand during an entire ceremony). The herbs are lit causing a brief small flame that immediately subsides to a smolder. None of these herbs are aggressively flammable, and without constant blowing or fanning, even the smolder will die out. This is an important point. At no point in the ceremony can attention be taken away from the smudge because if it is for more than a few seconds, it'll go out completely. There are other reasons the smudge must be tended, but for your purposes, I'll stick to the practical ones. If smudge is left unattended, it won't be a fire hazard; there will be nothing but cold dried greenery within a matter of seconds. Because it will be attended constantly during the ceremony (and not just set out of the way and ignored), and because the herbs don't flame constantly as a candle does, the likelihood of the ceremony causing a fire is more than remote. Unlike smoking cigarettes or burning incense or candles while engaged in some other activity, Lakota do not smudge while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Ask your local fire marshall how many times alcohol has played a role in a cigarette fire. I have never heard of a single instance of a fire caused by smudging, over the centuries in which it has been done, and you cannot possibly IMAGINE the firetrap shacks the Lakota and other tribes live in and smudge in every day. A traditional Lakota isn't some kid lighting a "large amount" of incense. I'd love to know that whole story. Do you know why the kid lit a "large amount" of incense? What was his condition when he did it? Forgive me if I suspect there may have been something else being burned requiring that kind of odor masking--something that may have contributed to the eventual fire a lot more than the incense. You wonder why Indians are so sensitive about their religious ceremonies being curtailed over one excuse or another, even if the rationale appears valid. Because for years our ceremonies have been suppressed for one trumped up reason or another. The Indians have not been free to worship as they chose since the first Spanish explorer set foot on their lands. Your own "Holy Fathers" have a particularly nasty history in this regard. Were your fellow Catholics allowed to build a church? Lakota gatherings for ceremony were illegal for years. Still today in many counties in South Dakota, gatherings of more than 40 Lakota for ceremony are illegal without the purchase of a special permit from the secular government. "Public safety" is the purported rationale, but nobody limits the number of tourists gawking at Mt. Rushmore. Today, there are proposals before state bodies to "license" medicine men. Must your Priest be licensed by the state? Would the Church tolerate such an intrusion? Was your family allowed to teach you your language, prayers, traditions and history as they saw fit? Has any "missionary" or government official ever abducted children from your family (or your grandparents' families) and whisked them thousands of miles away to a boarding school where they were beaten and jailed in windowless stone dungeons for speaking their language and practicing their beliefs? Nearly every Indian family has at least one ancestor who had these experiences. Some of them are still living. We remember the abuses, the uprootings, the stealing of our ways, and we know they may happen again if we permit it. My own grandmother deemed it necessary to deny she was Indian to the point that she claimed that "what little blood there is" was that of an enemy tribe. She died with the secret that she was half Muskogee Creek. Her own children didn't even know. Her father's parents thought it so important their Indian heritage be hidden that they named him after the notorious Indian hater, Andrew Jackson. Why? Because in Georgia, until the 1960s, an Indian could not testify in court against a white person. What did that mean? It meant any white man could simply take our home, our belongings, beat us, rape us, or murder us to force us from our land--and we could not even go to court and bear witness against him. It was suicide to be openly Indian in Georgia. Thus we had to choose to abandon homes and land our families had known for generations or we relinquished traditions that had sustained us for generations. Some of us pretended to be a people we were not. There comes a time when a people say "no more" to those kinds of choices. This is that time. There's a military base not far from you in Pennsylvania called Carlisle. In the late 1800s and early 1900s it was a "model boarding school" for Indians. Some Sunday, perhaps you ought to visit. Take a look at the stockade where Revolutionary war prisoners were held. It's a dank stone building with no windows, so grim the base authorities won't even unlock the door and let you peek in. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Lakota children, some as young as 4-5 years old, were imprisoned there for speaking their language or praying in their own religion. Go visit the museum and look at the faces of the children in the photographs. Look at photos of children, many of whom watched relatives being massacred by U.S. soldiers, forced to wear the same uniforms as those soldiers wore, forced to march in military drills on the same training fields some of those soldiers marched. Visit the cemetery and look at the rows and rows of little white tombstones with crosses on them. Tell me how many "schools" you've seen requiring a graveyard that size over a 40 year history. The dead are all children--Indian children. Then come back and condemn the Lakota in your midst for maintaining that denying him prayer in his own people's way is wrong. About "legitimacy," that's not a soapbox you want me on. I know this young man and I know his people. He's Lakota. I was in South Dakota last summer. I was on the Pine Ridge reservation and spoke with Lakota elders who also clearly know him well. They consider him one of their family. Whose word will you take about whether he is legitimately Lakota? That of the Lakota elders who say they are his grandparents? Or some nameless person who claims "there may be doubt" in the local paper? Even the reporter for Indian Country Today, a Lakota newspaper, supported his claims to be Lakota. What more do you need? Perhaps you need that ID card that the U.S. government decrees must "certify" Indian people? Like my husband, who has already written you, I was recently granted such certification. Am I now "more Indian" than I was as a child? Am I more Indian than I was last week? Would I be "less Indian" if I misplaced the card next week? Do I need that card to prove I was "born to" a particular spiritual practice? Must you be Italian to be Catholic (since that was the country in which the faith was founded)? Do you want to even have to answer that question, or do you find it insufferably insulting? Do you want to have to carry a card signed by the local Cardinal attesting to your Catholicism to prove you have a right to attend Mass? Now do you see why such questions are so horribly offensive? I'm sorry you feel endangered by smudging. There are many dangers in your world, and obviously you feel each one must be removed from everyones' life to guarantee the safety of all. I hope you're ready to lead a search of your dorms to remove every hot plate, coffee pot, heater, fan, hair dryer, electric blanket and iron, since I believe your fire marshall will confirm that electrical appliances are a fire hazard and cause a substantial number of house and other building fires a year. In fact, I suspect if you compare the number of electrical fires in Pittsburgh resulting in death to the number of smudging fires in the entire state of South Dakota resulting in death, you'll see that appliances are FAR more dangerous than prayers. So your hair won't look so nice and you'll have to pay a little extra to have your clothing pressed at the local laundry. Isn't that a small price to pay for your classmates' safety? Your letter was filled with condemnation and innuendos smearing a man whose prayers you do not understand. What you may not know is that among his prayers, are prayers for all the People. They include you. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= After reading last week's trip report from Clay Watson, a reader and friend responded with the following letter. I asked for, and was granted permission to share her letter with you. It is my hope it will awaken those of you who just haven't quite gotten around to helping the elders and children survive this winter. We MUST do it. The dominant society will not, nor should we even want it to. We don't need another damn handout. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Wed, 05 Nov 1997 13:50:16 -0500 From: Philenese Slaughter Greetings, Gary, I want to tell you how much the letter from Clay Watson touched my heart. It is wonderful that he and his young daughter could take this journey to distribute the items they had collected for the folks in the Sioux communities. I pray that individuals all over North America will take this example that you have shared with us to heart. That they will in turn share with the Elders and all those in need close to their home. We need not have vast amount of goods to share that Clay Watson did to be of help. We can take time to help winterize one home. We can make sure that there will be wood for heating that home? We can make sure that there is sufficient food and personal supplies for that home? We can gift that home with our company and love and laughter ... share of ourselves? Warm clothing, pre-paid phone cards, postage stamps and stationery, the list of opportunity is endless. Our Elders and families in need can be found all across the continent. My heart says that we need to look close to home and make sure our own needy are helped as well. We need to follow the wonderful example set for us by Clay Watson. wado, tr -- Philenese Slaughter University of Oklahoma Libraries Serials Acquisitions VOICE: (405) 325-2142 FAX: (405) 325-1893 pslaughter@libsys2.lib.ou.edu - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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 This next is a wonderful organization I am ashamed to say I forgot to include: Adopt A Grandparent Mountain Light Center PO Box 241 Taos NM 87571 TEL: 505 776 8474 FAX: 505 776 8050 For information call 800 291-8474. email: agpmlc@aol.com From: "lonewolf" Lone Wolf -or- Bob and Linda Crowe 1060 N. Bee St. 2800 West Highway 5 Deland, Fl 32720 Bowden, GA 30108 904-736-8050 770-258-1536 I am collecting for the Cherokee N.C. Rez and south Fl. When they call me and request it. Thank You Lone Wolf From: Susanna Shreeve Direct Relief International provides medical-related items, but requires paperwork/assessment well in advance of the emergency. Tribes can call: Laura Carlos 805-730-8610 or voice message 964-4767; fax 681-4838. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - If any of you have addresses/contacts to add to this list for other Rez's PLEASE email me with them soon. Include some name/info for me to verify where gifts will be sent and how. 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) 11.16.1974 Delphine Crow Dog - sister of AIM spiritual leader Leonard Crow Dog. Beaten by BIA police and left lying in a field. Died from "exposure." No investigation. 11.20.1974 Elaine Wagner - AIM supporter killed at Pine Ridge by "person or persons unknown." No investigation. 11.20.1973 Allison Fast Horse - AIM supporter shot to death near Pine Ridge by "unknown assailants." No investigation. 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 ---------- - Wyandot Nation Chief Dies - Labrador News - Gang Warfare on Rez's - Backgrounders on LIA Agreement - Geneva/Self-Determination? - Bison Activists on Call - Inter-Sessional Working Group - Oneida Inducted into Lacrosse Walkout Hall of Fame - Until You LOSE It - Oneida Nation Expands Grants - Osage Resolution 97-07-01 - Mi'gmaq Land Rights Decision - Membership in the Osage Nation - Navajo Nation Rejects Gambling - Democracy for the Osage Nation - Tibet Mirrored By Hawaiian Kingdom - Adams Lake/Charges Stayed - Zapatistas/Solidarity Action - Archer Daniels Midland in - Herbalist Selected for Agriculture Kahnawake Project - Rotiskenrakehte/Warrior - Miss Indian USA Society on ADM - Native Prisoner - Aboriginals Win Right to - A Hundred Years Ago 'Crown' Lands - Poem: So Many, Yet No Answers - Gustafsen Appeal Rejected - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Inuit Reach Land and Royalties Deal - Conferences and Powwows --------- "RE: Wyandot Nation Chief Dies" --------- Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 11:16:38 -0500 From: "D.English" Subj: Wyandot Nation Chief George Zane Dies at age 75 UUCP email From the Kansas City Star Tuesday Nov. 11, 1997 Chief of Wyandot tribe dies by Rick Alm Staff Writer George D. Zane Jr. a longtime Chief and elder of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas died Sunday at the University of Kansas Medical Center. He was 75. A lifelong resident of Kansas City Kan. Zane led a fight in the late 1950's against the sale of the tribe's historic cemetery in downtown Kansas City Kan., by the Wyandotte Tribe of Oklahoma. Those sister branches of the tribe are again at odds over the cemetery, with the Oklahoma Wyandottes recently proposing to build and operate a high-stakes bingo parlor on the two-acre cemetery grounds. "He was very distressed by the actions of the tribe in Oklahoma," said Jan English, of Prairie Village who succeeded Zane as Chief last year. "He was a plain spoken man, but a man of integrity. We're going to miss him a great deal." Services are set for 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. John the BAptist Catholic Church in Kansas City Kan. English said Zane who was first elected Chief in 1957 following the death of his father who also was a chief had been ill. Zane was a member of Hoisting Engineers Local 101. He leaves his wife Ann. In 1959 Zane led a delegation to Washington to testify before Congress in an effort to block the Oklahoma group's sales plan. "Let the dead rest in peace" he told a congressional committee. The two tribes also clashed in the early 1900's over the Oklahoma group's efforts starting around 1906 to sell the Kansas Cemetery tract for commercial purposes. The tribe which migrated to Kansas from Ohio in 1843 under treaty with the U.S. Government split in 1855. ONe faction relocated to Oklahoma, but has successfully pressed its claim as the cemetery's lawful heirs. The local Wyandot branch is challenging that claim in court. ___________________________________ CHIEF GEORGE D. (BUD) ZANE, age 75 passed away Sunday, November 9, 1997 at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 9:30 am Wednesday, November 12 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Kansas City, Kansas. Burial will follow in Maple Hill Cemetery Kansas City, Ks. Friends may call from 5:00 to 8:00 PM Tuesday at the Skradski Chapel, 340 North 6th St. Kansas City, Ks. George was born in Kansas City, Kansas on January 10, 1922 to Albina German and George Zane Sr. He graduated from Wyandotte High School in 1940. He served in the Marine Corp during World War II and was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign wars. He worked for the Hoisting Engineers, Local 101 for 33 years. He served as Chief of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas for 40 years. During his tenure he fought to preserve the Huron Cemetery and to keep it from being sold for commercial purposes. He also belonged to Eagles #87. He is survived by his wife Anna L. Zane, two daughters, Cheryl Silich and Patricia White, two sisters, Mary Jones and Betty Mootz, two grandsons, , Benjamin White and Martin White, a granddaughter Stacy Silich and a Great grandson Austyn White. --------- "RE: Gang Warfare on Rez's" --------- Date: Tue, 11 Nov 1997 01:43:41 -0600 From: lozen@concentric.net Subj: Gang warfare on rez's UUCP email Tribes Struggle With Violent-Crime Wave American Indians: A surge in lawlessness in the Navajo Nation mirrors a rise in homicides and sexual assaults on U.S. reservations hard-pressed to cope. By LOUIS SAHAGUN, Times Staff Writer WINDOW ROCK, Ariz.--Only two years ago, social worker Deannah Neswood-Gishey's neighborhood on a hill overlooking the Navajo Nation's tribal capital was peaceful. Picturesque. That was before many of the hogans--the trailers and shacks surrounding her home of 30 years--became turf-war bunkers for gang members and hide- outs for derelicts who swill a toxic mixture of hair spray and water called "ocean." "A teen in that house was shot and killed a year ago with a shotgun, and over there a gang member recently burned to death in a Jeep when a Molotov cocktail backfired," said Neswood-Gishey, 32. "A person in that trailer was stabbed four months ago. . . . Five young men have committed suicide here over the past two years." What is happening on the nation's largest reservation underscores a tragic reality in many others across the West: An alarming rise in crime-- particularly homicide and sexual assaults on minors--is ripping apart the things that connect people with each other and their culture. The crime wave comes at a time when Native Americans--whose police, investigation and detention services have always lagged far behind this country's poorest jurisdictions--are being blanketed with federally funded pilot programs to reduce social problems and violence. So far, these strategies to curb gangs, substance abuse, alcoholism, chronic unemployment and abject poverty seem to have had little effect on crime trends that on some reservations now rival those seen in large cities. Federal statistics illustrate the stark contrast between public safety throughout so-called Indian Country and the rest of the United States. On a per-capita basis, the nation's homicide rate dropped about 22% from 1992 to 1996. During the same period, homicides on reservation lands rose 87%. On this 25,000-square-mile reservation, which has seen about 75 gangs emerge during the past five years, the murder rate has skyrocketed to four times the national average--and nearly double the rate in Los Angeles. In 1996, the number of murders on the Navajo reservation soared to 67, far higher than the average of 35 per year recorded for a decade. This year, the number hit 40 by mid-October and was expected to wind up in the low 50s. The federal government wants to help. President Clinton has directed Atty. Gen. Janet Reno and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to develop by year's end a comprehensive proposal to improve law enforcement and criminal justice on reservations. "Just throwing money and resources at them may not be the answer," said Tom LeClaire, director of the Justice Department's office of tribal justice. "It may take several types of programs tailored for specific locations and problems before we see a reversal." In the meantime, the murderers are getting younger and the crimes more brutal in this economically depressed reservation of 165,000 people, most of them government workers, ranchers and welfare recipients. In December 1996, two Shiprock, N.M., teenagers were charged with killing a father and son while they slept in the cab of an 18-wheeler loaded with M&Ms. In July, a heavy-equipment operator found the body of a woman who had been beaten, stabbed to death and then buried in a sand pit. In August, a 29-year-old man was slain with a pickax after an argument over a $15 oil change. On Oct. 4, a 16-year-old boy who had been beaten to death with fists, feet and possibly a baseball bat was discovered only a few blocks from Navajo Police Department headquarters. The boy's stepfather, Leroy Nez, is selling scraps of metal, wood and wire at a local flea market to raise money for funeral expenses that totaled $2,625. Seated at the dinner table in his tidy house trailer, the 36-year-old equipment operator winced at the memory of seeing "my boy's bloody face" after police found the corpse dumped beside a woodpile. Wadding up a napkin and tossing it on his kitchen table, he said: "His face looked like that. That's what they did to my boy." The crime wave is stirring up a law enforcement hornet's nest for the 319 Navajo tribal police who patrol a region the size of West Virginia. Essentially, public demands for protection are rising at the same time that budget-strapped agencies are being overwhelmed by realities over which they have no control. For one thing, the Native American population is growing increasingly youthful, largely because of high fertility rates. The median age is 24.2 years, compared with 32.9 years for all Americans, according to the Census Bureau. In recent testimony before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Deputy Assistant Atty. Gen. Kevin Di Gregory warned: "The American Indian population will grow even younger into the next century. "What this means for an Indian tribe like Gila River in Sacaton, Ariz., a reservation with significant gang activity, is that about one-half of the population is projected to be under the age of 18 by the year 2000." In October, police on the Gila River reservation near Phoenix had their hands full investigating drive-by shootings, suspected methamphetamine labs and reports of gang initiations that included mutilations of cats and dogs. The largest obstacle facing reservation crime-fighters is a lack of funding for more officers, basic equipment and detention facilities. That problem is acute here, where Navajo police can only dream of owning a helicopter, a crime lab or cellular phones. "We don't have a homicide unit, a sexual-abuse unit, a gang unit, a property-crimes unit--even macro lenses for our cameras to photograph splattered blood," lamented Dorothy Fulton, chief of criminal investigations here. "And we don't have a travel budget, which means our investigators sometimes have to drive 12 hours to 30-minute federal court hearings in Salt Lake City, Utah." Navajo criminal investigators work out of a dilapidated building where bowed ceilings have leaked for seven years and "air-conditioning" is provided by opening doors and windows. The burglary unit's office is a battered 1989 Chevrolet dubbed "Old Faithful." Police cruisers limp along with faulty engines and cracked windshields. The department's communications system is dangerously inadequate. A year ago, 11-year veteran Navajo Nation Police Officer Hoskie Gene was strangled and beaten to death when he pursued two burglary suspects. Gene's closest backup was 53 miles away when the killers beat him to the ground with a flashlight and then choked him. The Window Rock Tribal Jail is a joke to criminals and police officials alike. It was so bad that 16 prisoners escaped before police learned that the facility's back security door could be opened with a piece of wire. These problems, coupled with increasing demands for overtime, may be starting to take a toll on the personal lives of Navajo officers. In September, two officers were charged with domestic violence, and alcohol- related problems are on the rise department wide, authorities said. The Navajo Department of Public Safety is trying to stretch its annual $17-million law enforcement budget to recruit more officers from the reservation. Trouble is, they have done such a good job arresting drunks and substance abusers that few of the Navajos who apply for law enforcement positions can pass a requirement calling for a clean criminal record. As police officials struggle to clean up their image, Navajo medicine men are warning that the proliferation of gangs, drugs, homicides and sex abuse is a direct result of the steady erosion of Navajo language and traditions--and cultural pollution imported by television and tourists. Daniel Deschinny, attorney for the Dineh Spiritual and Cultural Society, put it this way: "The guardian spirits that reside in our hearts and in the air, water, mountains, trees and animals around us have turned their backs on those who are doing violence with their ignorance. "Internalize the great spirit and you will avoid evil and do the right thing for yourself and those around you. Digression from this path is a disaster to oneself and the whole community." Young Navajo gang members, many of whom were reared in severely dysfunctional families, say it may be too late for that. For James Wauneka, 20, the gang is his family. Wauneka is leader of the notorious 200-member Cobra gang at the Rio Puerco Acres housing project, about seven miles north of Window Rock. The gang, he said, "respects me and protects me." Fellow Cobra member Donathan Yazzie, 19, nodded in agreement. "These are my family, these homeboys, these Cobras," he said. "What else is there to do? Where else can we go? We have no recreational places, no pool halls, not even a cinema here." Both young men, however, belong to an all-gang-member work crew that recently was filling potholes with hot asphalt for minimum wage in their 86-unit housing project. The crew--clad in the green-and-black hooded sweatshirts and bandannas favored by Cobras--was organized by Rio Puerco Acres manager Stewart Calnimptewa, a law enforcement officer of 20 years and owner of a security and private investigation agency. "This place used to be a hellhole. Now crime is down and the units are cleaned up," Calnimptewa said. "Why? We hired over 20 Cobras after giving them the skills and responsibility to do dry walling, house-painting, electrical repairs, roadwork." Still, none of these Cobras would even consider calling a truce with their rivals, the Dragons. "As long as Cobras and Dragons are around," one of the young men grumbled, "the gang thing will keep going on." That kind of tough talk breaks Shirley Yellowfeather's heart. Trying not to cry, the 49-year-old Rio Puerco office aide said her 17-year-old son is soon going to become the first minor from the Navajo Nation to be sentenced in Arizona as an adult in a gang-related homicide case. "The Navajos are supposed to be real close, but that way of life is dying away," she said. "I was raised to get up at 4 a.m., greet the sun and then toss corn pollen in the four directions for wisdom and strength. I tried to get my son to do that and it was chaos. He'd yell, 'Leave me alone!' " But she also believes that some Navajo parents are partly responsible for their children's behavior. "We parents failed these kids because we all came from dysfunctional families," she said. Neswood-Gishey, a child protective services social worker who averages 200 clients a month--90% of them on welfare--would not argue with that. But she is not about to wait for things to get better in her troubled neighborhood. Neswood-Gishey and her husband are building a new home in a village about 50 miles away. They expect to move early next year. Until then, her 9-year-old son is receiving shooting lessons from his father because, she said, "you never know what might happen." "When will this violence end?" she wondered aloud. "Maybe we'll have to wait until all these gang members kill each other off." "We've lost a whole generation here," said Navajo Police Sgt. Frank Bradley as he patrolled homes marked with fresh gang graffiti and riddled with bullet holes. "I'm hoping we do a better job with the younger one source: LA Times -- Your visit is welcomed at: http://www.geocities.com/~lenapelady "It is difficult to get the news from poems, but every day, men die for lack of what is found there..." William Carlos Williams --------- "RE: Geneva/Self-Determination?" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 13:48:01 -1000 From: NETWARRIORS - (GUERREROS EN LA RED) Subj: URRUTIA ON ARTICLE 3 ||||||||||| NetWarriors ||||||||||| NETWARRIORS - IWG 1997 This is the opinion of the Chair on Article 3. We have not learned that any decision has been made one way or another. ~k Draft summary of the chair as distributed yesterday evening: -------------------------chairsum3.doc--------------------------------- SUMMARY OF THE DEBATE CONCERNING ARTICLE 3 At its ( ) meeting, the Chairman summarized the results of the informal meetings which had been held regarding the principle contained in draft Article 3. He stated that all States recognised and upheld the right of all peoples to self-determination. This was a right enshrined in numerous international instruments and recognised by international law. He noted that all delegations recognised that it was essential to have a clear understanding of the right of self-determination contained in draft Article 3 as this right underpinned all the other Articles contained in the draft. He acknowledged the position held by indigenous peoples that the inclusion of the unqualified right of self-determination was considered to be indispensable to the Declaration. It was acknowledged by both governments and indigenous peoples that the right of self-determination must apply on a non-discriminatory basis. The Chairman also recognised that States held a number of different positions. Some States supported the principle contained in draft Article 3. Other States, although supporting the principle of self-determination expressed concerns that the recognition of that right could be interpreted as including a right to secede. In this way, those States maintained that the right to self-determination would have to respect the territorial integrity of States. Many Indigenous representatives said that in seeking the right of self-determination they were not demanding a right of secession. >>>>>><<<<<<< http://hookele.com/netwarriors --------- "RE: Inter-Sessional Working Group Walkout" --------- Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 14:12:09 -1000 From: WARRIOR Subject: WALKOUT!!! - LAST REPORT FROM IWG 1997 ||||||||||| NetWarriors ||||||||||| NETWARRIORS NEWS ALERT!!! IWG-1997 Saturday 8 November 1997 REQUEST: WORLD ACTION We can no longer tolerate the activities of member states at the UN when working with Indigenous Peoples... We must not allow this to continue. We must not allow them to think that it is subsided now that the session is done. More than ever now we need to strategize on how we will impact the media and the governments, missions etc. Your strategies etc are welcome. NETWARRIOR ACTIVATION TAKING PLACE!!! will be in touch ------begin forwarded text----- News from the United Nations Human Rights Commission Open-Ended Inter-Sessional Working on the Elaboration of the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples United Nations, Geneva on November 6, 1997 For Immediate Release: Walk-out occurs on the last day of the Working Group on the Elaboration of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples ! On November 7th, 1997 indigenous peoples and their supporters walked out of the last meeting of Working Group on the elaboration of the United Nations draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples during the review of the draft final report of the session. At issue were the provisions regarding Paragraph 42 of the draft final report which addressed the debate of Article 3- the right of self-determination. Several indigenous delegates noted that the report did not present a fair reflection of the debates on this critical article. For example, the report contained no mention that all that the indigenous peoples' delegates supported in consensus the language in the current draft Declaration of this article without changes, alterations or amendments or deletions. Article 3 states the following: "Indigenous peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." This article is the most crucial article in the current draft Declaration and is considered to be the backbone of the entire draft Declaration. Despite the fact that several indigenous peoples delegates had indicated to the Chairman Urrutia their request to speak, he ignored their requests and closed the discussions on Paragraph 42. As a result, indigenous peoples and their supporters walked out of this meeting. After consultations with the Chair, the indigenous peoples agreed to walk-in and to continue the dialogue on Paragraphs 43 and 44 and then returning to the debate on Paragraph 42. All three paragraphs were then discussed and adopted by the chair. Chairman Urrutia officially apologized to those indigenous peoples he had previously not recognised and in one instance had even cut-off during his intervention. Indigenous peoples' delegations also expressed their outrage that the Chairman Urrutia had invited governments to submit their proposed changes to the text of the draft Declaration for inclusion into the annex of this report. The Chairman had previously guaranteed that no changes to the document would be allowed in the final report. He defended his position by stating that although he had agreed not to put amendments into the final report, he never stated that he would not include them in an annex to the report. This annex, however, was challenged by several indigenous peoples and it was asked to have a disclaimer put on it, thus not allowing it to become part of the official final report. This annex was at no time presented to the indigenous peoples' delegations nor will they have a chance to review it before the Chair adopts it into his final report, if he so chooses. The final meeting only came to a positive end due to the prayer given by Melvin Grey Owl, Elder of the Teton Sioux Nation. Ron Barnes for the Indigenous Peoples Media Committee: ----end forwarded text---- ||||||||||| NetWarriors ||||||||||| Peace without Truth is Genocide Una Pas sin la Verdad es Genocidio La paix sans la verite est genocide >>>>>><<<<<<< http://hookele.com/netwarriors --------- "RE: Until You LOSE It" --------- Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 03:19:14 -0500 (EST) From: RATheis2@aol.com Subj: NOT Until You LOSE It, Do YOU Appreciate It. UUCP email TRIBAL MEMBERSHIP I believe most of us believe this, no matter what it has to do with. It is just a part of human nature. Until you lose something, you really do not appreciate it. Suppose that the average person on Main Street, U.S.A., were asked to name the most important factor in his life. If he though about it very carefully, the person would probably answer that his citizenship in the United States was more important than any other thing. From birth to death, every aspect of your life is being touched by the Federal Government in some way. An American Indian, however, might rightly answer that tribal membership is the most significant element of his or her life. To be of Indian ancestry is very special in itself. But to belong to a tribe and to participate in its activities is even more important. And those who have the right to tribal enrollment are likely to value it more highly than any other. For its members, a tribe is the political entity that governs them most directly and expresses their needs and opinions most immediately. It is through their tribal government that people make the decisions that rule their daily lives. They turn to it for protection, stability, benefits, and a voice. Who has the right to take away your membership in a tribe? A COURT, an employee of the Federal government... well, it happened to the Osage Nation of Oklahoma!!! Yes, a 10th Circuit Court mandate, which only read, "Appellees' motion to stay the mandate pending petition for certiorari is denied". In just one sentence, 12-words in length, the Osage Nation of Oklahoma was dissolved. Two days later, the Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs stated in a facsimile to the President of the Osage Nation, "This office has been informed that the mandate has been issued by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals...". Hadn't even seen the mandate, only informed about it. Later in the facsimile it said, "Thus, as of this date the Bureau of Indian Affairs is constrained from recognizing the Osage Nation...". By the stroke of a pen, 13,000 Osage People were told they were not members, their right to vote was removed, and they had no say in their government. From an Osage Nation Government that had provided them protection, stability, benefits, and a voice ... was all gone. Then the really bad things began to happen. Forty plus Osages either lost their jobs or were fired. Some would not sign a "trumped up contract" which stated in the first paragraph, "The term of employment is to end in the sole unlimited discretion of OTC(for those not Osage it stands for, Osage Tribal Council) or its authorized representative, with or without cause". By the way, the Osage Tribal Council was a government ESTABLISHED by an Act of Congress, the ONLY Indian government EVER to be established by an Act of Congress. Now, what does that tell you? In very plain language it says, YOU could be next. This is the way it happened. In the early 1900's, prior to the Osage Act of 1906, the United States government finally, after many attempts, forced the Osage Tribe to accept the governments way of doing things when they were told that their 1881 Constitutional form of tribal rule was not what the United States government wanted them to operate under. Although it was a "democratic" form of rule, they (the United States) DECIDED that it wasn't right for the Osage, even though it was what the United States had used since 1776. Who has the right to say if an Indian Nation is or is not the governing body of a tribe. THE PEOPLE. In the case of the Osage, they voted for the Osage Nation Constitutional form of government, so they should be the only ones who can do away with that form of government... NOT the BIA OR a COURT. This question SHOULD be placed on the ballot for the June 1998 election. Let the Osage People decide. Article 6 of the United States Constitution reads, "This Constitution, and the laws of the United States, which shall be made in persuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the SUPREME LAW of the land; and the JUDGES in every state shall be BOUND thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the CONTRARY not withstanding". [My emphasis]. But a court and a person, who is supposed to uphold the laws of the land, have defiled the Constitution of the United States and said contrary to what it says. Every treaty made with an Indian Tribe has been broken by the Federal Government. When will it stop. The 1906 Osage Allotment Act was just that. An Act, created by the Federal government, and the title was, "An Act for the Division of the Lands and Funds of the Osage Indians in Oklahoma Territory". It said the tribal council could have lease sales, sell land and buildings, and set up the election process for the Osage tribal council. Nothing more, nothing less. It didn't say it could run Federal Pro-grams, establish gaming casinos or bingo, or any other thing to benefit the Osage People. The government DID the land distribution and mailed out the checks to the shareholders every quarter. Guess what the latest rumor is... the present Chief of the OTC was approved by the council to be in charge of the Federal Programs and TO BE PAID $30.000.00 a year for doing it. This is about as illegal as can be. SHAREHOLDERS are you going to stand by and let them get away with this? "The federal government could not give to this IMPOSED governmental entity 'inherent' sovereign immunity, simply because it was BEYOND its power to "give sovereignty". A nation either has inherent sovereign powers or it does not. It cannot be BESTOWED". [William S. Fletcher quote]. So, what is going to happen to the Osage Nation? Is it possible for them to get their right to vote and have a say in their government back? Other Indian tribes have... and so will the Osage. But, one person can't do it. It will take the combined efforts of all our Osage People who presently have a vote in the 1998 election. Are they truly concerned about the "brothers and sisters" here on the reservation? Those that need a helping hand in order to help themselves. Send the word loud and clear to those presently sitting in those tribal council seats. WE WANT CHANGE. If you (the OTC) aren't going to change, and it doesn't look like it, then those seats will be filled by NEW Osages that want change and that will be ACCOUNTABLE. THIS IS NOT THE "END" ........ BUT, JUST THE BEGINNING. --------- "RE: Osage Resolution 97-07-01" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 05:02:44 -0500 (EST) From: RATheis2@aol.com Subj: Resolution Number 97-07-01 UUCP email The following Resolution of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma, Number 97-07-01, was signed and approved by the Osage National Council and President George E. Tallchief on July 3, 1997 at a duly called meeting of the Osage National Council at Pawhuska, Oklahoma in the Osage Nation Council House. This Resolution and attached amendment is provided to you for consideration and requested support in order for the Osage Nation of Oklahoma to continue as the governing body of the Osage People. It has been proposed that it be placed before the United States Senate by Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma as a rider to a Bill that is already on the floor for a vote. Resolution Number 97-07-01 RESOLUTION OF THE OSAGE NATIONAL COUNCIL Title: RESOLUTION RECOMMENDING TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES THE 1997 AMENDMENT 1978 OSAGE ACT WHEREFORE, the Osage Nation is a federally recognized Indian tribe; and WHEREAS, the federal laws concerning the Osage peoples right to membership in the Osage Nation and form of government are contradictory and confusing which results in irreparable harm being done to the political rights of the Osage people; and WHEREAS, the 1978 Osage Act which amended the 1906 Osage Act does nothing except add to the legislative confusion regarding the Osage; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of the Osage National Council to provide guarantees that: the right of every Osage original allottee and their lineal descendants by blood to full membership in the Osage Nation; the right of every such member of voting age to vote and hold office in the government of the Osage people; the right of every Osage headright owner to own and receive income from the headright interest without tax, levy, or interference from the Osage government; the right of the Osage Tribal Council to fully administer the Osage Mineral Estate; and the right of the Osage Nation to unfettered expression of self-determination, self government and economic self sufficiency. NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Osage National Council Assembled: 1. That the United States Congress amend Osage Act of October 21, 1978; Public Law-496[S.1081] so that: a. The Principal Chief, Assistant Principal Chief and eight (8) members of the Osage Tribal Council shall be charged solely with the administration of the Osage Mineral Estate. b. The general governing body of the Osage Tribe is recognized by the United States of america to be that government created pursuant to the Constitution of the Osage Nation ratified by Referendum vote of the Osage people on February 4, 1994 and approved by the Secretary of the Interior on February 10, 1994, as amended from time to time, subject to the approval of the Secretary. c. It be prohibited for the general governing body to tax, regulate, or otherwise interfere with the Osage Tribal Mineral Estate or Osage head- right interest. d. It be prohibited for the Principal Chief, Assistant Principal Chief, or Osage Tribal Council to engage in any acts which purport to affect or actually affect the general governmental operations of the general governing body. e. It be declared that membership in the Osage Tribe or Nation is that recognized as defined by the Constitution of the Osage Nation which clearly states in Article III that membership of the Osage Nation shall consist of those names appear on the final role of the Osage Nation approved pursuant to the Act of June 28, 1906, 34 Stat. 539, and their lineal descendants by blood, within and without the State of Oklahoma, regardless of membership or affiliation with any other federally recognized tribe, band, or nation. 2. The attached 1997 Amendment to the Osage Act of October 21, 1978 accomplishes the purposes set forth above and is hereby adopted as the recommendation of the Osage National Council to the President and Congress of the United States of America as the legislative solution to the conundrum created by the existing laws affecting the Osage Nation. 3. The Osage Nation Council requests that the President and the Congress of the United States of America take immediate action in enacting the attached 1997 Amendment to the 1978 Act into law and to declare an emergency exists so that such law be effective upon its passage and approval. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Presiding Officer of the Osage National Council has hereto affixed his signature. Mark J. Simms, Speaker Osage National Council CERTIFICATION I, the undersigned, certify that the foregoing is a true extract from the minutes of the National Council, comprised of nine (9) members with seven (7) members attending this duly called meeting at Pawhuska, Oklahoma on the 3rd day of July, 1997. Further, that the provisions herein were adopted by a vote of six (6) in favor, No (0) against, and No (0) in abstention, as reflected below: YES NO ABSTAIN ABSENT Jerry Shaw X Edward Red Eagle, Jr. X Anthony P. Whitehorn X Wesley L. Robertson X Dawn E. Pratt X Raymond A. Theis X Virginia M. Bennett X Cecelia Tallchief X Mark J. Simms* *Speaker present votes in ties Margaret M. Gray, Legislative Secretary Osage National Council PRESIDENTIAL CONCURRENCE I, George E. Tallchief, the duly elected President of the Osage Nation do hereby full concur and approve of this Resolution as stated herein and as evidence thereof do affix my signature hereto this 3rd day of July, 1997. George E. Tallchief, President ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997 AMENDMENT TO OSAGE ACT OF OCTOBER 21, 1978; PUBLIC LAW 95-496[S.1081] Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 9 of the Act of June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539, 545), as amended, is further amended to read as follows: There shall be a quadrennial election of the officers of the Osage Tribe charged solely with the administration of the Osage mineral estate as follows: A principal chief, an assistant principal chief, and eight members of the Osage Tribal council shall be elected to succeed the officers elected in the year 1994 at a general election to be held in the town of Pawhuska, Oklahoma, on the first Monday in June 1998 and on the first Monday in June of each fourth year there-after, in a manner to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, and said officers shall be elected for a period of four years commencing on the first day of July following the election. In case of a vacancy in the office of principal chief or other officer by death, resignation, or otherwise, the vacancy shall be filled in a manner to be prescribed by the Osage Tribal Council. In the event of a common disaster and a quorum of five of the Osage Tribal Council does not survive, the Secretary shall appoint a principal chief and/or the number of councilmen necessary to complete a total of eight, to serve until the next quadrennial election. The Secretary is hereby authorized to remove from the council any member or members for good cause, to be by him determined, after the party involved has had due notice and opportunity to defend himself. The principal chief, assistant principal chief and tribal council so constituted shall continue in full force and effect until January 1, 1984 and thereafter until otherwise provided by Act of Congress. The general governing body of the Osage tribe is hereby recognized to be that government created pursuant to the Constitution of the Osage Nation ratified by referendum vote of the Osage people on February 4, 1994 and approved by the Secretary on February 10, 1994, as amended from time to time, subject to the approval of the Secretary. It is prohibited for the general governing body to tax, regulate, or otherwise interfere with the Osage tribal mineral estate or Osage headright interests. It is further prohibited for the principal chief, assistant principal chief or tribal council to engage in any acts which purport to affect or actually affect the general governmental operations of the general governing body. The terms Osage tribe and Osage Nation shall be synonymous herein. Membership in the Osage tribe or Nation is hereby recognized to be that as defined by the Constitution of the Osage Nation. --------- "RE: Membership in the Osage Nation" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 01:45:37 -0500 (EST) From: RATheis2@aol.com Subj: Membership in the Osage Nation - Is it gone forever! UUCP email In order to keep the Osage People at large informed as to what is happening, we plan on sending out information on a regular basis to those who we have e-mail addresses on, FAX numbers, and street addresses. It would assist us greatly if every one who receives an e-mail would copy it and mail it to someone who you think would like to know what is happening, make copies and hand to others at meetings you attend, and in any other way that would see that the Osage People as a whole receive this information. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is taken from the Osage News issue of September, 1997. MEMBERSHIP CONCERN If the issue of the 1994 Constitution and the National Council government goes through the complete legal appeals process and is not affirmed as the government of the Osages, what happens to the 4,000+ who were issued membership cards? In September of 1979, Scott Keep of the Office of solicitor of the Interior, Washington, D.C. wrote a letter to the Field Solicitor in Pawhuska concerning the unresolved inconsistencies in language of the court decision in LOGAN vs. ANDRUS In it he states that in the 1906 act, "Congress intended only to expand the authority of the Tribal Council and to modify the procedure for the election of tribal officers, and neither to abolish the offices already in existence nor created entirely new ones." He goes on to state that, "under the 1881 Constitution, anyone who moved out of the boundaries of the nation(Osage County), lost ALL of his RIGHTS and privileges as a CITIZEN, INCLUDING the right to V O T E. There is no such territorial limitation on the right to vote for the present council (Tribal)." Mr. Keep mentions, "In the footnote, the court goes on to refer to its earlier discussion of Section 1 of the 1906 Act which: 'limited the tribal membership to that class of Osage Indians (those possessing a headright interest).' A reading of Section 1 of the 1906 Act, the 1881 Constitution and the courts' opinion, including the footnote make it impossible to determine with certainty who constituted the membership of the Osage Tribe. Section 1 of the 1906 Act states that the roll prepared by the Secretary pursuant to it 'is hereby declared to be the roll of said tribe and to constitute the legal membership thereof'." Mr. Keep says, "If the courts opinion is strictly interpreted, it means only those survivors of the people on the 1906 roll are legal members of the Osage Tribe. That places the membership at something less than 300 individuals." (There are now 24). "Another possible interpretation, based on a reading of footnote 25 discussed the above, is that any person who possesses a headright is a member of the Osage Tribe." "From the above it is almost impossible to conclude as a matter of law who are the proper members of the Osage Tribe beyond those few remaining original headright holders who REMAIN WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE OSAGE NATION." He goes on to state, "Persons of Indian decent who have either abandoned or never established tribal relations are virtually NON-INDIANS for purposes of the federal laws administered by the Department of Interior. Perhaps the most fundamental issue which the Department must come to grips with is whether it is going to contend that ALL persons of Osage blood who are descendants of someone on the 1906 roll ARE MEMBERS of the Osage Tribe. If it is your contention that all descendants of persons on the roll prepared pursuant to the 1906 Act are members of the Osage Tribe I would like to know in some detail the legal basis for your conclusion. I am not confident, however, that either of these acts RESOLVE my dilemma which is to determine who are the members of the governmental entity known as the OSAGE TRIBE, as opposed to who are those Osage Indians or persons of Osage Indian descent who are entitled to share in certain property interests. Membership in an Indian tribe is a bilateral, government relationship as I have already mentioned. It is a relationship that CLEARLY contemplates something more than mere descendancy." WHY DOES A WASHINGTON BUREAUCRAT HAVE THE RIGHT TO DETERMINE OUR MEMBERSHIP? IS THIS TRIBAL SOVEREIGNTY? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note that this was written in September of 1979. Is not this something that the Osage National Council has been trying to get across to the Osage People for the past 3-plus years. Are you going to stand by and wait on the Department of the Interior to cut off their "trust responsibility" with the Osage People. OR, are you going to bombard Washington with your letters and faxes and telephone calls and tell them, "HANDS OFF", WE want all Osages to have the right to vote and have a say in their government. This should be apart from the minerals estate, BUT should allow all Osages the right to a democratic government. --------- "RE: Democracy for the Osage Nation" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 00:37:25 -0500 (EST) From: RATheis2@aol.com Subj: Democracy for the Osage Nation of Oklahoma UUCP email Dear Osage People of the Osage Nation of Oklahoma: As we continue to strive to save our nation, let us hold fast the faith and persevere to the end. One of our most powerful resources is prayer. Prayer can move mountains...so it shouldn't be to hard to move a tribal council to see the light before it is too late. For your continued information, the following is a statement that you can use as a resource when talking to other Osages and our representatives in Washington as you inform them as to our problems that need to be resolved immediately. The 45-day period for the plaintiffs to file an appeal is July 25th. So between now and then we must continue to send the message loud and clear to the Hill, "that we are a nation, with an approved constitution, and that we want the right that every other American has, and that is the right to vote, ONE Osage, ONE vote". DEMOCRACY IS NEEDED FOR THE OSAGE NATION OF OKLAHOMA HISTORY 1881 - Constitution of the Osage signed 1906 - Congress passes Act of 1906 which created council for mineral rights *Council's ONLY purpose was to oversee the mineral estate *Act established a closed membership roll limited to the original allottees of which there were only 2,229. NOTE: today there are only 26 still living and when the last one dies that will be the END of the Osage Tribe. *NEVER rescinded or revoked the 1881 Constitution. NOTE: the 1994 Constitution is a updated "duplicate" of it and it is a continuation of it. 1990 - Fletcher litigates to establish voting rights separate from mineral ownership 1992 - Fletcher court instructs the parties to conduct referendum to: 1.) Determine IF the Osage People want to reform the government 2.) If so, what form of government 3.) Conduct elections accordingly 1994 - Constitution created and voted for by 65.9% of the Osage People. *Constitution is no way effects the rights of the mineral councils interests in headrights *Constitution ensures for the FIRST TIME that all members of the Osage are voting members 1995 - Federal Register dated February 16, 1995 lists the Osage Nation of Oklahoma as recognized and as eligible to receive services of Bureau of Indian Affairs 1997 - 10th Circuit Appeals Court reverses District Court and invalidates the elected government and Constitution chosen by the majority of Osage and once again limits the rights of the Osage to be involved in their government. The court stated that: "ONLY CONGRESS HAS THE POWER TO PERMIT A FUNDAMENTAL ALTERATION OF THE PRESCRIBED FORM OF TRIBAL GOVERNMENT." EFFECTS OF DECISION Disenfranchises 13,000 of 17,000 Osage People One vote, One person is denied to Osages Links political power to PROPERTY RIGHTS, NOT individuals Assistance programs created by new administration are jeopardized -education -substance abuse -domestic abuse No DEMOCRACY for the Osage PROCEDURAL ISSUES Mandate may be issued on or about July 26, 1997. Minerals council filed to shorten the time period for a mandate. There are ten days to respond to their motion to shorten time period. REMEDY 1. Recognition of Osage Nation of Oklahoma by Secretary of Interior apart from Fletcher Case. 2. Herb Johnson of Senator Inhofe's Office suggested a joint signature letter to the Secretary of the Interior asking them to file an objection to the motion to shorten so that Congress can have time to come up with a legislative solution. 3. A simple amendment, potentially to the Act of 1978, that ratifies the Secretary's recognition of the democratically elected form of government that represents ALL Osages. This is the message. This is our solution. This is our way to tell our representatives in Washington......"WE are a PEOPLE, WE are a NATION, WE deserve a right to vote.....ONE Osage, ONE vote." Again we want to thank you for your help. If everyone just makes a telephone call, sends a FAX, and an e-mail message to all of our representatives in Washington, then we can get the message across to the people on the Hill and we will WIN. --------- "RE: Adams Lake/Charges Stayed" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 01:01:38 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Adams Lake: Charges Stayed :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: [Please note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only. -- S.I.S.I.S.] CHARGES STAYED IN STAND-OFF Kamloops Daily News Online, Tuesday, November 4, 1997 By ROBERT KOOPMANS, Daily News Staff Reporter Saying there was no longer a "likelihood of conviction," a Crown prosecutor stayed all but one charge Monday against two men charged after an armed standoff near Adams Lake two years ago. Randolph Sam and Johnny Guitar were charged with weapons offences and assault after an encounter between residents at Woolford Point and natives at a blockade on Rawson Road on July 17, 1995. Sam pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm while prohibited, but charges of pointing a firearm and possession for a purpose dangerous to the public were dropped. As well, the assault charge against Guitar was stayed. A B.C. Supreme Court jury heard last week how a group of Woolford Point and Dorian Bay residents armed with a shotgun chased a native truck down a public road to a torn-up cattleguard on the edge of reserve land. As the angry residents piled out of their vehicles, the natives pointed three rifles back across the blockade. An off-duty Edmonton RCMP officer at the scene stepped between the two sides, urging calm. He told all parties to lower their weapons and while most complied, Sam kept his rifle pointed at the officer for 30 more seconds before dropping his gun. As the off-duty officer tried to take Sam into custody, Guitar grabbed a shovel and swung it at the hood of a truck, creating a small panic that allowed Sam to escape. Both men then fled onto the reserve. During his address to the jury, Crown prosecutor Stephen Harrison said it became apparent following the testimony of the two accused on Friday they had reason to fear for their safety. After hearing their story, Harrison decided there was no longer a likelihood of conviction, one of the prerequisites needed before the Crown can press charges against an individual. "It is now beyond any dispute that the actions of these particular residents, whatever was intended, caused these two accused to fear for their safety and the safety of those with them," he said He added that with a shotgun in a resident's hand, Sam's actions at the roadblock were not "unreasonable or inherently unlawful." Guitar's version of events as related Friday do not contradict evidence given by previous Crown witnesses and the shovel swinging can no longer be considered an assault. "Unfortunately this determination, in the absence of statements to the investigating police, could not be made until both accused had testified at trial," he said. Harrison said had Sam and Guitar's version of the events been known two years ago, the trial might have been avoided. "There is in my view, no fault to be attributed in matters unfolding as they have," he said. Justice Robert Hunter told the jury this was an "acceptable and appropriate" end to the matter in the circumstances. Hunter then read from a two-year-old ruling by the Supreme Court that upheld the Adams lake band's right to blockade Rawson Road, given after residents asked for an injunction to keep the road open. "Had the provincial and federal authorities carried out the terms of an agreement (with the band) negotiated in 1992, the difficulties and potential for harm would not have arisen," Hunter read. "The residents and natives were ill-served by both levels of government. The governments have failed both the residents and the natives," he said. Outside the courtroom, Guitar and Sam hugged friends and supporters, grateful the matter had come to an end. "It's been a long two years," Guitar said. Sam will be sentenced for the possession-while-prohibited conviction in Kamloops on Nov. 24. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Archer Daniels Midland in Kahnawake" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 16:00:42 -0500 From: "Mohawk Nation Office" Subj: ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. IN KAHNAWAKE "ON HOLD" UUCP email UPDATE: ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. IN KAHNAWAKE "ON HOLD" A Kahnawake Mohawk Band Council press release dated Wednesday October 29, announced that no further progress will be done on the Archer Daniels Midland Grain Storage Facility to be located on the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory until there is satisfactory evidence of support from the community for economic development and certain technical aspects have been addressed. The Mohawk Band Council of Kahnawake expressed concern for future economic development and lead councilor Joseph Norton states that the termination of the project is a step away from the economic development necessary for economic independence. Many community members opposed to the project have stated their concern is not a question of support for economic development, but it is concern for this type of economic development and the conditions it has been implemented under, such as lack of community consultation, lack of an unbiased environmental assessment, and lack of investigation into the history of Archer Daniels Midland Co.. Further to the press release, the Kahnawake Mohawk Band Council addressed concerns about a non-Native company operating on Native land, by stating that Archer Daniels Midland would be subject to Kahnawake's laws and regulations as well as a monitoring board. This makes one question who will enforce these laws and regulations and participate in the monitoring process, the Band Council or the People? Such questions were not addressed in the release. The Mohawk Band Council is adamant the project has not been abandoned and is temporarily on hold until it is determined if there is support for economic development in Kahnawake. WE ARE STILL WATCHING AND CONTINUING TO MONITOR THE SITUATION!! IT APPEARS THAT THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER YET!!! WE ARE ASKING YOU TO CONTINUE WITH YOUR LETTERS OF SUPPORT TO BE SENT TO ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND AND THE KAHNAWAKE MOHAWK BAND COUNCIL!! NIA:WENKOWA FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! Mohawk Nation Office - Kahnawake Branch Visit our new site! http://www.cyberglobe.net/users/mnation --------- "RE: Rotiskenrakehte/Warrior Society on ADM" --------- Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 10:09:15 -0500 From: "Mohawk Nation Office" Subj: Rotiskenrakehte/Warrior Society Press Release Concerning ADM Grain Storage Facility in Kahnawake UUCP email Office of Ayonwehs Mohawk Warrior Society Kahnawake Branch P.O. Box 732 Kahnawake Mohawk State, Iroquois Confederation (Kanonsonnionwe) J0L 1B0 Rotiskenrakehte/Warrior Society Press Release Concerning the Archer Daniels Midland Grain Storage Facility Watkwanonweraton/Greetings, On October 28, 1997, the Women's Council of the Longhouse released a statement determining their position on the Archer Daniels Midland Project proposed by the Canadian Band Council. After much thought and deliberation, the Women announced that they could not support the proposed ADM project due to violations of a policy adopted by the Women of the Longhouse in 1989, which describes certain principles for economic development. The Women have stated that the ADM Grain Storage Facility is a totally unacceptable project, and therefore development must be halted. In response to this statement and, the War Chief and his Men (Warrior Society) are hereby announcing that we will support and enforce the Women's decision and put an end to this unsanctioned industrialization of the Kahnawake Territory. We will do so by any means necessary. The Rotiskenrakehte/Warrior Society will continue to promote the sovereign integrity of our Nation through the principles of Peace, Power, and Righteousness by enforcing the Gayanerekowa (The Constitution of the Iroquois Confederacy). We would also like to thank the young people of Kahnawake for assuming their responsibility to warn the people of the impending calamity as prescribed in the Gayanerekowa. We wish you to continue to be so concerned with the welfare of the Nation and its future generations. In closing, we leave you with an excerpt taken from Article IV of the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty: "We shall resist by every means any aggression, any violations of the treaties, any disturbance of our people, in the free use and enjoyment of our land, any usurpation of our sovereignty, any encroachment and oppression. We pledge that the noise will be heard from one end of the earth to the other." Nia:wen AYONWEHS Rotiskenrakehte Mohawk Warrior Society Kahnawake Branch Mohawk Nation Office - Kahnawake Branch Visit our new site! http://www.cyberglobe.net/users/mnation --------- "RE: Aboriginals Win Right to 'Crown' Lands" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 01:00:01 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Aboriginals Win Right to "Crown" Lands :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: [Please note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only. -- S.I.S.I.S.] ABORIGINALS WIN RIGHT TO CROWN LANDS Ottawa Citizen Online, November 4, 1997, by Chris Morris FREDERICTON (CP) Foresters and government officials reeled in shock Tuesday after a landmark court decision ruled that aboriginals own the Crown lands and forests of New Brunswick. But native leaders were overjoyed. The decision reinforces what they've said all along: that they were here first and ancient treaties preserve their ownership of lands and forests in what are now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. "Our aboriginal treaty rights are finally being recognized," said Len Tomah, a vice-chief of the Assembly of First Nations. "Hopefully the government of New Brunswick will respect and honor them as well." Natural Resources Minister Alan Graham said he expects the province will fight the decision all the way to the Supreme Court. "Inevitably, at the end of the day, we'll probably be in the Supreme Court of Canada on this one." Justice John Turnbull of Court of Queen's Bench in Bathurst, N.B., upheld a lower court decision that said a 235-year-old treaty gives New Brunswick aboriginals the right to harvest and sell trees taken off publicly owned Crown land. The case came about after Thomas Paul, a Micmac, was charged with illegally harvesting bird's eye maple logs on Crown land licensed to Stone Consolidated Inc. The rare maple is prized for its unique grain. But Turnbull went beyond the bird's eye issue to deal with the ramifications of an early 18th-century proclamation called Dummer's treaty. He said it gives aboriginals the right to harvest "any and all trees they wish on Crown lands." "The trees on Crown lands are Indian trees," wrote Turnbull, adding that Crown lands are reserved for aboriginals. The issue has implications beyond New Brunswick. Dummer's treaty applied to what was known as Nova Scotia in the early 1700s now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. "It really has broader implications in terms of reasoning for the whole Maritime region," said Fredericton lawyer Cleveland Allaby, who represents Paul. "So Nova Scotia better open its eyes as well." Blaine Favel, chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations, said the case is of national importance because it affects aboriginals in other provinces. "It addresses the relationship that First Nations people have with the land, particularly on unoccupied Crown land," said Favel, who was at a meeting in Quebec City. The New Brunswick government leases much of its millions of hectares of Crown land to forestry companies with names like Irving, Stone Consolidated and Repap. Forestry is the province's biggest industry, employing roughly 16,000 people. Bev O'Keefe, president of the Juniper Lumber Co. of New Brunswick, which has 350,000 hectares under licence, angrily denounced Turnbull's ruling as "irresponsible." "Not for a minute am I saying the natives shouldn't play a role," O'Keefe fumed. "I know some native people. We have some native people who work for us, both in our woodlands and in our mill. They're very good people. I just think this decision could be detrimental to what we've already put in place." Roger Augustine, a New Brunswick member of the federal Indian Claims Commission, said forestry companies have reason to be nervous. He said if the case goes to the Supreme Court and the First Nations win, then companies like Irving and Repap will be asked to account for what they have taken off and used from Indian lands in the past and present. That would be more than just trees. It would include all natural resources, wildlife and lost opportunities for aboriginal people. "In a lot of cases, we're not really asking for the land back," Augustine said. "We just want to be compensated for the lost opportunities." :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Gustafsen Appeal Rejected" --------- Date: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 12:22:18 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Gustafsen Appeal Rejected :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: [Please note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only. -- S.I.S.I.S.] GUSTAFSEN LAKE APPEAL REJECTED Victoria Times Colonist, Friday, November 7, 1997, Page A 13 OTTAWA (CP) - The Supreme Court of Canada will not hear the appeal of three people sentenced to jail terms following the armed standoff between natives and police at Gustafsen Lake. The high court handed down its decision Wednesday in the case of Jones William Ignace, Shelagh Anne Franklin and James Pitawanakwat. The three were among 13 people convicted earlier this year, almost two years after the standoff ended. Sentences ranged from 4 1/2 years in prison to one year in jail. Franklin was sentenced to one year in jail after being convicted of mischief. Ignace, leader of the standoff, got a 4 1/2 year sentence for mischief endangering life, and other offences. Pitawanakwat was sentenced to three years for mischief and endangering life, and a two-year concurrent sentence for weapons possession. The BC Supreme Court had rejected arguments from the three that the courts didn't have jurisdiction to proceed against native people in most of British Columbia and would not allow the defence of self-defence to be put before a jury. The incident erupted in the summer of 1995 when a group of aboriginals claimed a piece of private ranchland in British Columbia's rugged Chilcotin, near 100 Mile House. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to the Times Colonist: timesc@interlink.bc.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: Inuit Reach Land and Royalties Deal" --------- Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 00:55:10 -0500 From: Sonja Keohane Subj: Inuit Reach Land and Royalties Deal UUCP email November 6, 1997 Inuit Reach Land and Royalties Deal Filed at 12:25 a.m. EST By The Associated Press ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland (AP) -- Labrador's 5,000 Inuit will take control of 5 percent of the region as part of a deal unveiled Wednesday that also gives them a chunk of Newfoundland's mineral revenues. Under the deal with Newfoundland's provincial government, the Inuit -- formerly known as Eskimos -- will be given direct ownership of about 6,000 square miles of Labrador. Labrador is the mainland portion of the province, though more than 90 percent of its people live on the island of Newfoundland. Under the agreement, the Inuit will receive 25 percent of Newfoundland's revenues from mining, oil and gas production. Officials hope the settlement will help clear the way for development of a huge nickel mine at Voisey's Bay in Labrador -- a project that has been slowed by land-claims negotiations. "I feel we've reached a fair deal, one which I believe is as good -- in fact, I believe it's better -- than any other land-claim settlement in Canada," said Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin. Boundaries for the Inuit territory, to be known as Labrador Inuit Land, have yet to be finalized, but they are expected to encompass areas around existing Inuit settlements. The agreement puts a cap on royalty payments. The per capita annual income of Labrador Inuit is $5,600. Once that figure hits the Canadian average of $12,000, the provincial royalty flow will be cut off. Wally Anderson, an Inuit who sits in the provincial legislature, was pleased with the deal. "Today will go down in history as the day we became part of the beautiful province of Newfoundland and Labrador," he said. --------- "RE: Labrador News" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 21:29:26 -0330 From: Larry Innes Subj: Labrador CBC News Mailing List: Innu People Forum list CBC St.John's Regional News - Tuesday, November 4, 1997 PM NEWS ================= What a difference a month makes for the backers of the Voisey's Bay project. It wasn't that long ago that land claims talks with the Inuit were faltering, and there were warnings Voisey's Bay could be delayed or even shelved. Now, the Inuit are looking over an agreement in principle on land claims. That has Inco saying delays may be no more. And it has Premier Tobin saying delays should be no more. Tobin met today with Michael Sopko, the President of Inco, at Confederation Building in St. John's. John Murphy reports: MURPHY REPORT (STARTS WITH SOPKO CLIP): <<<>>> Michael Sopko says Inco is as committed to the Voisey's Bay project as ever. He says despite the ups and downs of land claims talks ... despite a court ruling halting the construction of roads and camps at the mine site . .. Inco hasn't cut back at all on its engineering work or the size of its project team. And now, with real progress on land claims with the Inuit, Sopko is even starting to dismiss the one year delay which Inco itself recently said it's facing. SOPKO CLIP: <<<>>> And Premier Tobin says given developments with the Inuit, it's time to get on with the Voisey's Bay development. TOBIN CLIP: <<<>>> There is still the environment assessment of the project. Tobin says that's underway and once Inco meets it environmental requirements, there's no reason to hold up the project any longer. TOBIN CLIP: And Premier Tobin says he now wants to get land claims talks with the Innu onto a so-called fast track. Tobin says in light of the apparent success of the fast-tracked talks with the Inuit, he's hoping to work out a similar arrangement with the Innu. ---- <<<>>> Tobin says the agreement with the Inuit would serve as a model for the approach the government will take in talks with the Innu. And he also says that as in the case of the Inuit Talks,if there's no agreement the government will take the question of land claims to court to ask for a settlement there. Labrador Metis want in on land claims negotiations. They want their land claim settled before Labrador Inuit conclude an agreement with the federal and provincial governments. The Metis association filed a land claim of its own last year. But the federal and provincial governments haven't yet decided whether they'll negotiate with the Metis. In the past, the province has refused to recognize the Metis. President Todd Russell wants to hear what his members want the group to do next. The first in a series of community meetings will be held tonight. --------- "RE: Backgrounders on LIA Agreement" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 21:25:35 -0330 From: Larry Innes Subj: Backgrounders on LIA agreement Mailing List: Innu People Forum list This release from the Nfld. gov WWW site: http://public.gov.nf.ca/releases/1997/exec/1105n03.htm November 5, 1997 (Executive Council) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LAND CLAIMS BACKGROUNDERS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BACKGROUNDER #1 __________________________ Senior officials of the federal and provincial governments and the LIA have reached agreement on major outstanding issues that will serve to facilitate the completion of an Agreement-in-Principle. The agreed Negotiators' Text includes the following elements. 1) Land Regime The Agreement sets out two categories of land affecting a total of 28,000 square miles in northern Labrador: (a) Labrador Inuit Lands (LIL) - Labrador Inuit will receive surface title to 6,100 square miles of land where Inuit will enjoy a substantial package of rights and benefits including exclusive harvesting rights and control of new developments. (b) Labrador Inuit Settlement Area (LISA) - This area comprises a total of 21,900 square miles and will include the proposed Torngat Mountains National Park of approximately 3,000 square miles. Within LISA, Labrador Inuit will enjoy, among other rights and benefits, priority subsistence harvesting rights and the right to participate with governments in the management of wildlife, fish, plants and environmental assessment. Labrador Inuit will also enjoy rights and benefits in a marine area of approximately 17,000 square miles which will extend to the 12 miles limit. 2) Resource Royalty Sharing (a) Labrador Inuit Lands Labrador Inuit will receive 25 per cent of provincial resource revenues from mining, oil and gas, and quarry developments in LIL. (b) Labrador Inuit Settlement Area outside Labrador Inuit Lands Labrador Inuit will receive $1 million of the first $2 million of provincial resource royalties plus five per cent of remaining provincial resource royalties from mining, oil and gas, and quarry developments in LISA outside LIL. 3) Voisey's Bay Project Labrador Inuit will receive three per cent of provincial resource royalties from the Voisey's Bay project. LIA has committed to use best efforts to conclude an IIBA with the Voisey's Bay Nickel Company. 4) Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreements (IIBA's) IIBA's which are to be negotiated between a developer and Labrador Inuit will be compulsory for developments on LIL and for major developments in LISA outside LIL. A major development is any development that entails capital expenditures of $40 million or 150 person years of employment in any five year period. 5) Cash The federal government will provide Labrador Inuit with $140 million in cash and up to $115 million in dedicated funds to be used for such things as fisheries, economic development and general implementation. 6) Self-Government Agreement has been reached on Inuit Community Governance which guarantees Inuit political control over the communities of Nain, Hopedale, Makkovik, Postville and Rigolet while protecting the political rights of non-Inuit residents of the communities. Inuit and existing non-Inuit residents, at the date of the Agreement-in-Principle, will be guaranteed at least 75 per cent of all council seats in each of the five Inuit communities. Up to 25 per cent of council seats, but no less than one, will be set aside for new non-Inuit residents who take up residence after the date of Agreement-in-Principle. Negotiation of other aspects of self-government including the law making powers of the Inuit Government, provision of programs and services to Inuit, and funding of the Inuit Government will be concluded prior to the Final Agreement ______________________________ BACKGROUNDER #2 ______________________________ A comprehensive land claim agreement is a modern treaty which provides Aboriginal groups with a wide range of land and resource rights and benefits. Negotiated agreements provide a defined package of treaty rights and benefits which receive constitutional protection. Comprehensive land claims negotiations proceed through a series of stages: Framework Agreement; Agreement-in-Principle; Final Agreement and Implementation. In November 1990 the federal and provincial governments and the Labrador Inuit Association (LIA) satisfied the first stage with the signing of a Framework Agreement which set out the process and subjects for negotiation. The provincial government's objective in negotiating comprehensive land claim agreements is to achieve certain and final settlement of Aboriginal claims to territory within the Province. Certainty as to the ownership of lands and how such lands are to be managed will provide a more stable environment for development and investment. It is government's position that final settlement will be achieved by defining Labrador Inuit rights and benefits in a land claim agreement, in exchange for the release of all Labrador Inuit claims to provincial lands and resources. Settlement of the land claim is necessary to provide for the long term economic and social development of the province, and contribute to the economic, social and cultural development of Labrador Inuit claimants. Negotiations are intended to accommodate the interests of Labrador Inuit, governments and third parties. Negotiations to reach an Agreement-in-Principle commenced in December 1990 with a plan to complete this stage by the end of 1994. Progress was very slow. In an attempt to accelerate the process, the Province and the LIA agreed to exchange comprehensive proposals in 1993. Although this exchange of proposals did provide the parties with a better understanding of their respective positions on all subjects, it did not result in the desired acceleration of the negotiation process. The prospect of a major mine development at Voisey's Bay prompted the parties to again focus on the importance of achieving an Agreement-in-Principle as quickly as possible. In fact, the LIA have taken the position that the Voisey's Bay INCO project cannot proceed prior to achievement of an Agreement-in-Principle. In July 1996 Premier Brian Tobin, President of the LIA and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development agreed to fast-track negotiations. Parties agreed to centralize negotiations in St. John's and work towards a March 31, 1997 target date. Meetings of senior officials from all three parties were held in Ottawa from October 20-29, 1997. These meetings resulted in a basis for an Agreement-in-Principle, which was ratified by all three parties. From there, the lawyers, financial experts and land claims specialists will work toward a finalized Agreement-in-Principle. ________________________________________ BACKGROUNDER #3 INNU NATION LAND CLAIM NEGOTIATIONS ________________________________________ + The Innu Nation first filed their land claim with the Government of Canada in November of 1977. There was insufficient historical and land use documentation at that time in support of their claim so the federal government provided financial support to the Innu to research and complete the necessary documentation. This was submitted and accepted by both governments in October of 1990. [Nfld. neglects to mention that until 1990, there was a 'short list'. Canada's policy was to only accept 6 comprehensive claims for negotiation at one time. For Innu Nation to enter the process, a 7th claim table was established, effectively ending the short list. - ed] + Framework negotiations began with the Innu in July of 1991. + While a Framework Agreement was officially signed by the three parties (Innu Nation, Canada and Newfoundland) at a ceremony in St. John's on March 29, 1996, substantive negotiation of an Agreement-in-Principle (AIP) had already commenced in mid-1995. + The Innu Nation and both governments have also agreed to negotiate comprehensive self-government arrangements. A Framework Agreement to this effect was signed on February 27, 1997. These negotiations are being conducted concurrently with the Innu land claim negotiations. + In general, the negotiating sessions last a full week with the first two days set aside for the negotiation of self-government and the next three days spent on land claim issues. The parties spend the next two to three weeks in preparation for the next week long session. Drafts and other discussion papers are also often exchanged in between formal sessions at the negotiating table. + A work plan has been established by the three parties which anticipates an AIP on land claim settlement in the fall of 1999 and an AIP on Innu self-government about nine months later. + Preliminary discussions between government officials and the Innu Nation to establish a fast-track negotiating process on this land claim have occurred. 1997 11 05 1:05 p.m. --------- "RE: Bison Activists on Call" --------- Date: Sat, 8 Nov 1997 16:51:01 -0500 From: Sonja Keohane Subj: Bison activists on call UUCP email I hope this indicates that things will be different for the Yellowstone bison this winter because of these folks, but until the government stops saying they will shot bison who test "positive", imo no progress will be made. Bison who test positive for brucellosis are not communicators of the disease, any more than cattle are who would also would test "positive" if they have been vaccinated against the disease. The test they use only shows the presence of antibodies, which is NOT an indicator of active disease. This article is from the Billings Gazette. Friday, November 07, 1997, 5:43:10 PM Bison activists say they'll be on call this winter to haze bison BOZEMAN, Mont.(AP) - A coalition of activists says it will have volunteers on call this winter to haze errant bison off private property near Gardiner and West Yellowstone, in hopes of avoiding more bison killing. "We've got volunteers coming from as far as Hawaii," said Mike Mease, who co-founded the organization Buffalo Nations with Rosalie Little Thunder, the Lakota Sioux activist who was arrested during a bison protest last winter. Almost 1,100 Yellowstone National Park bison were killed when they left the park in search of forage last winter. Livestock officials fear the bison will spread the disease brucellosis to Montana cattle. Mease said his group wants to make sure killing on that scale doesn't occur again. "No one has learned a lesson after killing 1,100 bison last year and that's completely unacceptable," Mease said. "People aren't going to sit by and watch the state of Montana kill off the last wild buffalo." He said there will be a core group of 10 volunteers available all winter and as many as 25 people on the ground at some times. Volunteers will include members of the Sioux, Blackfeet, Crow, Nez Perce and other tribes as well as non-Indian people, Mease said. The group has offices in both Gardiner and West Yellowstone and has a cabin and a teepee set up near West Yellowstone. The teepee will be the group's "base camp" and is on private land near Horse Butte, which is where the state Livestock Department plans to set up a bison capture facility this year. Mease said the group now has 5,000 members in all 50 states and "they are perturbed at what happened last year." Volunteers, who will spend from one week to a month or more in the area, will haze the animals from snowshoes, skis and snowmobiles. They will not chase the animals back into the park, where deep snow and hunger drive them out in most winters, but instead will "shepherd" them to "areas where they're a lot more safe." They also plan to intervene if bison are seen heading toward the bison traps. Montana and federal officials this summer announced they had reached a tentative agreement on a long-term bison management plan that included a quarantine facility and trying to acquire more winter range for the animals. However, an environmental impact statement outlining that plan has been delayed until late December or early January and a final plan cannot be put in place until several months after that at the earliest, park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said. That means last year's interim plan is still in effect for this year. It calls for capturing and slaughtering all bison that try to leave the park in the Gardiner area on the west side of the Yellowstone River. In the West Yellowstone area, all bison that can be captured will be tested for brucellosis, with only positive animals being killed. Animals that can't be captured will be shot. --------- "RE: Oneida Inducted into Lacrosse Hall of Fame" --------- Date: 97-11-09 01:00:09 EST From: FireSpeak Subj: NEWS:Nation Employee Inducted Into Lacrosse Hall Of Fame <><><><><><><>NASC NEWS MAILING<><><><><><><> Travis Cook For Immediate Release October 27, 1997 Nation Employee Inducted Into Lacrosse Hall Of Fame ONEIDA INDIAN NATION -- Longtime Central New York lacrosse player Travis Cook, an Oneida Indian Nation employee, was honored at the inaugural induction ceremony at the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame and Museum in St. Catherine's, Ontario, Canada. He joins a long list of outstanding athletes who have played this traditional game originated by the Iroquois. Cook, a member of the Mohawk Nation who works as director of the Oneida Indian Nation's Recreation and Youth Development Department, was nominated for the honor by his home territory of Akwesasne Mohawk Reservation, which is straddled between New York State and Canada. The award is given to those players who have demonstrated outstanding ability over an extended period of time. Cook played lacrosse in both high school and at SUNY Oswego. In 1974 he played with the Syracuse Stingers, a National Lacrosse League team, and the following year he played with the Quebec Caribous, also a professional team. He was instrumental in helping the Oneida Nation Silverhawks lacrosse team in joining the Iroquois Lacrosse Association and continues to play with the team. Travis also works with youth in the Nation's Junior Hawks Lacrosse Team. As one of 73 inductees of the inaugural class, Travis said he was thrilled with this recognition. "There will never be another first time for this honor," said Travis. "It was rewarding to even be considered for induction, actually being inducted makes me extremely proud." Travis has worked for the Nation since 1994 and lives in Fulton with his wife, Claudia, and three children. For more information, contact Mark Emery, media relations manager, Oneida Nation Department of Communications at 315-361-7896. --------- "RE: Oneida Nation Expands Grants" --------- Date: 97-11-09 01:00:09 EST From: FireSpeak Subj: NEWS: Nation Expands Silver Covenant Chain Grants <><><><><><><>NASC NEWS MAILING<><><><><><><> Oneida Indian Nation For Immediate Release October 28, 1997 Nation Expands Silver Covenant Chain Grants ONEIDA INDIAN NATION -- Counties, cities, towns and villages in the Oneida Nation's 270,000 acre land claims area will now have the opportunity of participating in a voluntary grant program that makes it possible for them to receive revenue far in excess of the monies they would have received if sovereign land held by the Nation were taxable. At a news conference held today, the Oneida Nation announced an expansion of its Silver Covenant Chain Grants to participating local governments in the Nation's 270,000 acre reservation, as defined by the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. The grant monies from this program in most cases nearly doubles the amount of lost tax revenue. In one case, the grant monies are nearly 17 times higher. The Nation has been discussing the expansion of the Silver Covenant Grants program with Town of Verona Supervisor Maurice Deeley for over a year and with Oneida County Executive Ralph Eannace, Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito and State Senator Ray Meier since the beginning of the year. Under the 1998 Silver Covenant Chain Grant program, the Town of Verona will receive $55,229.75 or nearly 17 times the value of revenues that would have been due as property taxes on lands the Nation has repossessed, while Oneida County will receive $71,082.25 or nearly double what the taxes would have been. These grants will relieve participating county governments of the burden of having to reimburse local governments and schools because sovereign land is exempt from taxation. First started in February, 1996, as a voluntary grant program with gifts to local schools, the Oneida Nation Silver Covenant Chain Grants will now provide monies for local governments which operate within the Nation's 270, 000 acre reservation as defined by the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua. Local governments in the two county area that fall within the Nation's reservation can participate in the program if they agree to remove from the tax rolls the sovereign land that has been repossessed and if they have a government-to-government relationship with the Nation that is characterized by a covenant of cooperation and goodwill. "Once again, as the Nation and its enterprises have grown and we are better able to provide for our own people, we are now better able to extend that good fortune to surrounding governments," said Oneida Nation Representative Ray Halbritter. "These grants mark the friendship that has existed between our people and the non-native residents of this area for over 200 years. These grants are a gesture of friendship --something the world certainly needs to see more often. This gesture of friendship will help relieve the burden facing local property taxpayers." Two local officials present for the announcement had praise for the program. According to Town of Verona Supervisor Maurice Deeley, "The expansion of the Silver Covenant Chain Grants to local governments is clear evidence that great things can happen when leaders cooperate. The scope of this program demonstrates the friendship of the Oneida People and their commitment to rebuilding the area's economy." "The Oneida Nation has again developed a program that shows their intention to be good neighbors, " stated Oneida County Executive Ralph Eannace. He added, "Cooperation is once again benefiting all of us." Background on the Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship The grants are named in recognition of the historical Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship which dates to the time when the Oneida Nation, by itself and as a part of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, made treaties with the fledgling United States and other foreign nations. Both in history and in the cross-community actions undertaken by the Nation, the Oneidas are unique among the Haudenosaunee in remaining true to the bonds of friendship created two centuries ago. That bond has been represented in recent times by the Nation's many efforts to share the benefits of its economic growth and expansion with surrounding communities. These efforts include the Silver Covenant Chain Grants made to local schools since the beginning of 1996, and the regional tourism program launched in September of this year. The "chain" is actually represented by a series of treaties made between the Haudenosaunee nations and the United States. The Haudenosaunee decided the chain should be represented by silver since it is a white, pure metal representing their sincerity and the attachment of great value to the bonds of friendship so created between men and nations. The Haudenosaunee made sure the parties involved in the treaties met often, thus sustaining the bonds. Indeed, they chose the phrase "covenant chain" because the word covenant means a mutual exchange of promises. In other words, both parties must keep their word and meet frequently to "polish the chain" (i. e. review their covenants to each other) in order to keep it bright and free from tarnish. Most importantly, the idea that the parties would meet to again pledge their friendship meant the words of the treaties would remain intact. - For more information, contact Mark Emery, media relations manager, Oneida Nation Department of Communications at 315-361-7896. --------- "RE: Mi'gmaq Land Rights Decision" --------- Date: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 12:25:06 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Editorial on NB vs. Mi'gmaq Land Rights Decision :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: [Please note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only. -- S.I.S.I.S.] LAND CLAIMS, UP A TREE The Globe and Mail, Editorial, Thursday, November 6, 1997 The initial reaction to the decision of a New Brunswick court has been subdued, considering the potential ramifications. It is yet another case involving native rights to harvest natural resources pursuant to treaties that are, by Canadian historical standards, ancient. The uncertainty that results, however, is very current. In this case, Thomas Paul, a Micmac Indian, was charged under the New Brunswick Crown Lands and Forest Act with illegally cutting a valuable bird's eye maple tree on Crown land - land on which a license to harvest timber had already been sold to somebody else. Mr. Paul took the position that, according to the terms of Dummer's Treaty of 1725, the land, and all that it grows, belongs to the Indians. The province took the view that Crown land is not subject to any such claims. Stepping into the breach, the judge characterized himself as an "activist judge," one working to place this case in the larger historical context. He commented that Indians in New Brunswick have enjoyed the right to live on Crown land, and perhaps even cut timber there for personal use. To assess the scope of the use, however, it is necessary to look at the historical conditions that existed at the time the treaty was made. The judge concluded that in 1725 not a single English person resided in present-day New Brunswick. Neither Dummer's Treaty nor the Royal Proclamation of 1763 extinguished native rights in the land. And, on that basis, he came to a bold conclusion, that "the Indians of New Brunswick do have land rights and that such are treaty rights... It does not matter what such rights are called. It is not a right restricted to personal use, but a full-blown right of beneficial ownership and possession in keeping with the concept of this is our land - that is your land." This seems to mean that New Brunswick natives enjoy a right to harvest trees on Crown land, with no restriction. A commercial enterprise may have a licence to cut, but the treaty right apparently takes priority, throwing existing arrangements into some turmoil. How far do such rights extend? Is the native treaty right limited to cutting trees - or does it extend to all sorts of other activities? The New Brunswick government reportedly fears widespread poaching of trees and is considering an appeal of the decision. It is unlikely that the 15,000 New Brunswick Indians pose an overnight commercial challenge to the established logging interests. What this decision does give them, though, is a lever to use in negotiation with government, or private companies. Judicial restraint, particularly in such complex circumstances, where the fundamentals of land use are in question, is imperative. Ultimately, our elected representatives may be faced with the difficult task of negotiating an equitable resolution to address native claims. Whether or not this decision stands, it sharply focuses the pressing national need to work to resolve the competing interests laying claim to Crown land and resources. One year ago, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples recommended that Ottawa reject the doctrine of terra nulluis, which says that Canada was vacant land when European settlers arrived. After examining the applicable treaties in this case, the judge seemed to agree. It is time for a concerted leadership effort to determine the scope of treaty rights, to bury the uncertainty that flares up each time they are litigated. Treaties have to be respected, but through negotiation they can be adopted to suit modern circumstance. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to the Globe and Mail: letters@GlobeAndMail.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: Navajo Nation Rejects Gambling" --------- Date: Wed, 05 Nov 97 17:21:48 -0600 From: "John Berry" Subj: Navajo Nation rejects gambling UUCP email Navajos reject gambling in referendum Copyright c 1997 Nando.net Copyright c 1997 Agence France-Presse WINDOW ROCK, Arizona (November 5, 1997 2:11 p.m. EST http://www.nando.net) - Navajo voters for the second time in three years voted against opening gambling casinos as traditionalists held out against what they saw as opening the door to greed. Unofficial vote tallies Tuesday night showed 18,087 voters opposed gambling and 15,305 supported it, little changed from the vote three years ago despite a $50,000 tribal council campaign favoring gambling. Some 33,390 Navajos went to the polls, according to unofficial totals. The turnout was less than the 49,000 who voted in the 1994 gambling referendum but higher than tribal predictions. Navajo officials had hoped that opening casinos near tourist areas would create jobs on the reservation, where unemployment hovers around 50 percent, and generate revenues for badly needed services. But Navajo elders said their history has shown that nothing good ever happens when Navajos gamble, and they worried that it would create gambling addicts, domestic squabbles and teach their young poor ethics. If gaming on the reservation had been approved, it would have earned $60 million annually, according to a 1993 feasibility study. Despite the second defeat for gaming, its supporters say they have not given up the cause. --------- "RE: Tibet Mirrored By Hawaiian Kingdom" --------- Date: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 16:41:00 -1000 From: "Bee Llewellyn Evans" Subj: U.S. Stance on Tibet Mirrored by Hawaiian Kingdom UUCP email U.S. Stance on Tibet Mirrored By Hawaiian Kingdom +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ While the heated issue of Chinese imperialist oppression and genocide in Tibet sweeps the United States, few Americans seem willing to check out the thorny issues of sovereignty hidden beneath their own cultural carpet. In 1893, a coalition of supremacist missionaries, merchants, and industrialists,on behalf of and backed by the U.S. military, staged an armed insurrection against the sovereign Kingdom of Hawai'i and the legitimate government of Queen Liliuokalani. After her Royal Palace was surrounded by U.S. Marines aiming cannons at her, Queen Liliuokalani agreed to step down to avoid violence, but never relinquished the sovereignty of her realm; she in fact appealed to us, the future citizens and representatives of the U.S., to make amends for this blatant act of racist imperialism (called "Manifest Destiny" back then). The Hawaiian people are still waiting. In 1993 the Clinton Administration and the U.S. Congress acknowledged the illegal overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, and apologized, but made no move toward restoration or restitution. There are hereditary royalty (alii) all over the islands of Hawai'i, and every year each island celebrates a royal court, with full cultural sacredness and pride. How much different is this situation than the displaced court of the Dalai Lama? Only the degree of cultural genocide one chooses to define... History speaks clearly in the case of the Kingdom of Hawai'i... a sovereign nation overthrown for military and racial supremacy. Very interesting that President Jiang made his first stop at Pearl Harbor, the seat of U.S. military might on which the Marines planted their flags first. Pearl Harbor is now the base of planet-melting nuclear aircraft carriers and submarines, leading Hawaiians to conclude that ridding their Kingdom of the U.S. military machine will be an uphill battle on the scale of David vs. Goliath. Aloha and Namaste.... Bee Llewellyn Evans EarthSeed Sanctuary POB 6271 Hilo 96720 HAWAI'I ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Surf on In to Hawaiian Independence WebSite: http://www.hawaii-nation.org/index.html --- May the Love of the Goddess surround You On Earth as in Heaven the Beauty Way Power and Wisdom flow through You Healing and Blessing our World this Day ALOHA from {{{EarthSeed Sanctuary}}}!!! {{{EarthWisdom MotherShip}}} http://www.earthwisdom.com --- end forwarded text [Note: another parallel between Hawaii and Tibet is that 1959 is the year in which Tibet was forcibly incorporated into China and also the same year that Hawaii was fraudulently incorporated into America. To understand the total lack of legitimacy of the 1959 "plebiscite" by which America claims Hawaii chose to become a state, consider this parallel: If China were to hold a vote today, giving the choices for Tibet to 1) become a province of China, or 2) remain an occupied territory; and allowing their own military personnel (who now outnumber the native Tibetans around the holy city of Llasa) to vote, but not allowing any Tibetan to vote who refused to become a citizen of China, this would be considered blatantly fraudulent and invalid in the international community. Yet this is precisely what happened in Hawaii in 1959. - SC] Free Tibet * * * Free Hawaii - ___________________________________________________________ | Hawai`i - Independent & Sovereign | | info@hawaii-nation.org http://hawaii-nation.org | |___________________________________________________________| "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep- seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." - Queen Lili`uokalani --------- "RE: Zapatistas/Solidarity Action" --------- DATE: 7 November 1997 FROM: NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR DEMOCRACY IN MEXICO ON BEHALF OF THE EZLN http://www.igc.org/ncdm/ http://spin.com.mx/~floresu/FZLN/ Subj: Zapatistas: Solidarity Action UUCP email We have been sent this letter by the NCDM on behalf of the EZLN requesting your support. This is an option for you we hope that everyone can support this effort. This is a first step in the Netwarriors activity to begin raising greater awareness for the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico due to their current risk. Your support is required and your demands are appreciated and we will eventually impact. You are all truly Netwarriors!!! Just reply with the letter below in the message area. OPTION: cc NCDM or the other way around. You may also forward directly to these Heads of State on your letter head by mail. Please let us know so we can keep a count as we monitor our effectiveness this way and shift if we aren't getting it!!! frontline necessity. If you want your email address to remain anonymous, put "anonymous" in the subject header. Netwarriors will send it out without depicting your address, but your name and/or organization should be included. La lucha sigue! In solidarity and resistance, NDCM ~k nw Again: anyone wishing to remain outside of this issue just send a note and we'll put your contact information in the other file which will continue to serve the international standard setting arena. ------ begin template----- To President Clinton To President Zedillo It has come to our attention that hundreds of communities throughout Mexico, particularly in Chiapas and other southern states with large Indigenous populations, have been militarized during the past four years, and human rights abuses occur with impunity across the country on a daily basis. Recently we have been made aware that conditions have grown particularly critical in Chiapas and other southern states, where a virtual civil war and state of siege exist as the result of the activities by government-backed paramilitary groups and the Mexican military's occupation of the Indigenous communities. Just since the elections in July, reported human rights violations in these communities have included: 5,000 indigenous have been displaced in the last felt months because of the virtual civil war in northern Chiapas; 800 just during the past month. There have been significant troop movements in Chiapas. One new base, composed of more than 500 soldiers has been established less than 5 miles away from the Zapatista Village of La Realidad On November 4, 1997 paramilitary troops attempted to assassinate Bishop Samuel Ruiz, a member the CONAI, who has been a proponent for a just and dignified resolution to the war in Chiapas More than a hundred people have been killed in the last three months more than 12 international human rights observers have been expelled from Chiapas in the last 6 months Human Rights organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have come out with recent reports documenting the widespread use of torture, disappearances, extra judicial killings and other acts of violence by the Mexican military and paramilitary groups in Chiapas and throughout Mexico Yet U.S. foreign policy as well as national media have been virtually silent regarding these profoundly disturbing events. President Clinton and President Zedillo, the low-intensity war in Chiapas and the resulting human rights situation are intolerable. As peoples, from many different nations, we want you to know that we are aware of the war in Chiapas and of the genocidal policies which the Indigenous peoples of that state are subject to. Sirs, a just and peaceful resolution to the demands and needs of Mexico's Indigenous peoples is long overdue. The war and disregard for the lives and rights of those peoples has gone on for too long. It is time for the United States and Mexico fulfill its moral and legal co