From gars@netcom.com Wed Dec 17 00:34:57 1997 Date: Tue, 16 Dec 1997 20:24:40 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews05.051 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 05, ISSUE 051 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 20 December 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 AISESnet, NAT-FILM & FoL-L lists; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; NASC News; UUCP email; First Nations News; Newsgroups:alt.native,soc.culture.native Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ 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 am just a common person, ikte wicasa, like anybody else, living day by day. I always visit the old people and learn their stories. I put a lot of things together to live in peace and harmony from what they tell me. It is really oral tradition, from my family and from medicine men. Sometimes we have ceremonies. The medicine men tell me what is going on. That way I keep on top of things. The medicine men do not communicate too much among themselves, but they all try to help me out because I am supposed to use the Sacred Pipe to help my people. Someday, I will pass the Pipe on as my grandmother did." __ Arvol Looking Horse, Miniconjou, Keeper of the White Buffalo Calf Pipe +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! David Swallow, Jr has asked that I tell all that a person is going around claiming to have sponsored the concert at Wounded Knee. David is VERY concerned and has issued an official statement that says that Hoka Hey Productions which includes only himself and Gary Christensen, sponsored the concert and will be sponsoring the future ones. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= We have suffered the loss of more elders. I have been sent word on two of these I will share with you now. Offer prayers of strength for their loved ones left and for safe passage for their crossing to the Spirit World. Date: Fri, 12 Dec 97 15:49:24 -0600 From: John Berry EX CREEK CHIEF CLAUDE COX DIES Tulsa World 12 December 1997 OKMULGEE - Claude Allen Cox, the first modern-day Creek Nation chief who led the tribe through a 20-year period of fast growth, died at his home Thursday. He was 84. His body will lie in state from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Creek Nation Mound Complex, Funeral services will be at 1 P.M. Monday at the New Town United Methodist Church under the direction of Kelley Funeral Home. Internment will be at Okmulgee Cemetery. In 1971, Cox became the first elected chief of the tribe since statehood. In 1991, he said he had tired of the growing demands of the job and told friends he would "be out fishing someplace" when the filing period opened. He did run for a seat from Okmulgee on the tribal council that year but was defeated. During his term, he was credited with leading the fight that brought Indian gaming to Oklahoma. Gaming, he argued, was a sovereign right of Indian nations. The tribe's first bingo hall was opened in the early 1980s in south Tulsa. The number of bingo halls grew to six during Cox's five-term administration. "We ran this place the best we could," Cox said, at the end of his 20 years as chief. He said major accomplishments of his administrations included the construction of the tribal headquarters complex and establishing the first hospital operated by the tribe in Oklahoma at Okemah. He also was credited with starting Indian housing projects which now have more than 2,000 units, and promoting Indian culture. Some have credited him with leading a tribe out of poverty and building it into one of the more successful in the country. "Chief Cox tested tribal sovereignty by bringing bingo to the tribe. He defended the tribe's sovereign right to conduct gaming all the ivy to the Supreme Court of the United States and won," a friend said. Before becoming chief of the tribe, Cox had a career with Public Service Company of Oklahoma. The company was Instrumental in commissioning a bronze bust of him that was unveiled during Claude Cox Appreciation Day in conjunction with the 1997 Creek Festival. He was born June 8, 1913, in Okmulgee, the oldest of seven children. He was the great-grandson and grandson of two men who served as Creek justices at the turn of the century. Survivors include two daughters, Cogee Keith and Billie Sterner, and a sister, Anna Lee Gordon, all of Okmulgee; five grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by two wives, Louise in 1965 and Lillie this year. Date: Mon, 15 Dec 1997 10:31:23 -0500 From: ishgooda Subj: "Services Set For Tribal Leader, 84" 12/13/1997 Lawton Bureau ANADARKO -- A former Apache chairman and longtime tribal officer died Thursday in a Lawton hospital. Houston Klinekole Sr., 84, of Apache was one of the last five people who spoke the Apache language fluently. He also helped write the tribe's constitution in 1971 when it reorganized. Over the last 35 years, Klinekole held offices from chairman to vice chairman to committee member, his son, Houston Jr., said. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Monday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Anadarko. A prayer service will be at 7 p.m. Sunday at the same church. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Those shipping large amounts of materials to reservations may have a great opportunity to facilitate your shipping. This arrived in this week's email, and I have not had an opportunity to pursue it further. I offer it now, in hopes it will help some in the contact list. A lot of reservations are near military facilities. PLEASE let me know how things go if you do attempt to use this service: Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 11:45:42 -0600 Subj: transportation of relief materials Senders name removed by request. FYI For transportation of relief materials by non-profit agencies or groups. Telephone all of your local congressman's offices and request in writing, their assistance in obtaining military transportation assistance. Then contact the nearest military base with an airfield, Public Affairs Office (PAO) and also a written letter to the Base Commander also requesting assistance. The military and in particular the USAF has many cargo aircraft (C-130 Hercules, KC-10, C-141, C-17 and C-5). The State Air National Guard's own C-130's and the US Marines owns a number of C-130 aircraft. Flying Aircrews require a number of training flight hours per quarter to maintain their Flight Proficiency. There is always some aircraft heading in the correct direction. The aircraft cannot deliver to the door but can deliver to within a few hundred miles at the most. Please consider that some of these aircraft weigh 140 Tons or more and will "sink" into concrete less than 18+ inches deep. Therefore they cannot land at just any airfield runway. The shipped materials must be shipped securely fastened on pallets (no loose material, everything sealed in boxes, some restrictions on flammables and no propellents (explosives)). The PAO will provide the necessary guidance. The local Flight Engineers, Loadmasters and even Boy Scouts will help with the inspection, boxing and palletizing. The USAF is always hauling materials (on a non-interference basis naturally) for charitable purposes. No one likes an empty cargo aircraft. I do not know the exact procedure for requesting charitable material transportation but I will find out for the local Oklahoma Air National Guard (C-130 Hercules) Squadron. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= From: Pioquark Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 01:31:23 EST Gary, If I may, make some suggestions... From experience. With the impressive movement of donations and opportunities the following would be helpful. This would apply to donors and donees. 1. Give a physical address for deliveries 2. Give an alternative to the delivery site in case of weather etc. 3. Give an alternative representative to receive the donations if the primary rep is not there. 4. Return phone calls, you could loose opportunity 5. If a truck arrives, find help to unload, the driver is usually already tired 6. If there is no place to store donations, look for people who will share space don't let the donations leave the reservation unless agreed upon 7. If confusion arises, call the originator and clarify directions 8. Try to give clear concise directions. Big trucks are hard to turn around when in tight spaces 9. Don't be embarrassed to tell donors what is needed, they want to share what they have Later, Clay =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Clay Watson sends another report. This one demonstrates even people of good heart, working for the People, encounter obstacles. I can also tell you Clay is back on the road this week, delivering hope to the Elders. Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 14:07:20 EST From: Pioquark Gary, The following is the latest adventure.... 0500 5 Dec 97, depart Cheyenne, Wyoming for Pine Ridge/Rosebud. Starter sluggish, mental note to clean and repair when I get back. Go to Keystone South Dakota, through Black Hills, to meet with advocates and friends... Can't get through the tunnel, truck too big. Back truck up till neck is cramped.... Go around through Hermosa. Hill 15% grade. 20,000 pound load really heavy. Can't find friends, house, head for Pine Ridge. 7 PM Friday nite: Arrive Oglala, at Pine Ridge, 1st stop, Our Lady of the Sioux Church. Sister is happy to receive 21 Boxes of clothes, lots of kids around, drop off exercise bicycle to help burn off kid energy. 23 Bags of food to be distributed to elders. Temperature dropping, food could freeze if not dropped off now... 10 PM Stop in town of Martin. Sleep. 0600 6 Dec 97 Continue to Parmelee at Rosebud Reservation. 0900 Arrive Parmelee. Drop off: 200 Boxes Clothing, 1 large boxes draperies w/rods, 6 venetian blinds, 1 bed box springs, 1 exercise bike, 1 complete shower stall with door, carpentry tools and painting tools, paint, 100 lbs. misc. nails, nuts and bolts and fasteners, 150 lbs. hardware and fixtures, 1 1/2 sheets 3/8 plywood, 1-3'X2' window glass, 4- prefabricated windows 3'X2', 8-boxes of shoes, 2 large boxes of toys, 1-large box of pots n pans, 1 Large box of plastic containers and dishes, 5 light fixtures, 1-Christmas tree with trim, 1 box of electrical fittings, 1-large box of plumbing fittings, 1-box of caulk and weather sealer, 2-5 Gal. buckets paint (partially filled) Spend some time talking to artists and craftspeople and get their names and addresses to send to prospective buyers.(income opportunities) Depart for Norris, smell of gas, mental note to repair fuel pump and hoses.... 1330 Arrive Norris, ask three teenage girls sitting on church steps for directions to Christine's house or other solid citizen of the community.... Go down rutty, washed out dirt road to farmers house. He thinks it might be the next rutty washed out road. Engine running rough, mental note to do a tune up when I get back..... 1430 Arrive Christine's house. Little boy sees the truck and makes haste to get out of the way. (not even close but wise little boy) He's bundled up so much he can hardly move.. I get out and ask for Christine, He replies, "TWO". "Ahh, yes, you are two years old, do you know were Christine is"? I ask. He is so bundled up that he can only speak and move his eyes. His eyes move to the left indicating the direction of Christine. He returns to his little scooter. I meet Christine and intro myself and what I do. I instantly drop off 15 Boxes of clothes, (some for 2 year old boys) We depart for the community hall garage. She stops on the way and explains that the county got FEMA funds to help with the flooded roads and houses last year, but no help came..... Hmmmm 1530 Arrive Community Hall. Key holder missing. We find a loose window and get in... Dropped off: 120 Boxes Clothes, 80 bags of clothes, 1-Short Couch, 3 Easy Chairs, 1-Baby Walker, 1Car Seat, 1-5 Gallon bucket of Hot Wheels cars (gold mine for the kids of Norris) 2-Large bags stuffed toys, 12-mixed playtime plastic castles, houses etc for boys and girls, 5-large bags plastic toys, 1-Ironing Boars, 2-lawn chairs, 8-large boxes winter coats, 5-boxes craft supplies, 2-remaining large boxes draperies and rods, 4-venetian blinds, 2-brooms, 3-mops, 4-large boxes cookware, 2-large boxes Tupperware containers, 4-large boxes decorations, 1-Santa Suit, 2-radios, 1 box electronic toys/games, 2-new mattresses with box springs, 1-TV set, 10 Boxes Baby clothes, 1-large bag of new knitted baby layettes, 3- Piece set of new Sampsonite luggage, 2-used suitcases, finished, take a break.... 1600 Return to Parmelee to take video, meet four elders in a car driven by young man, "Are you the one who brings donations"? "Yes", I ask her to send me a letter listing needs and where to take them. (Mistake here, I should have gotten a name and address right away) She said they are from the little community of Salt Creek, 20 miles east of Parmelee. They never get anything, even from the tribe. I assured her that they will in the future. (Note: I tried to make contact by phone and was told they have NO phone lines) Hopefully she will write... 1700 Depart for Cheyenne, mission accomplished. 2200 Saturday nite: Truck self dis-assembles 166 miles north of Cheyenne in the boondocks. Hitch ride with trucker. Sunday. No evidence of life in parts of Wyoming on a Sunday. Depart for Casper, 150 miles away. Luck lets us snag a starter and fuel pump in Douglas 116 miles away. Wrong starter, return to Douglas. Install Fuel pump and Starter, give up, depart for Cheyenne, Arrive 2 AM Monday Morn. Monday: Spend all day chasing parts. Ford (Found On Road Dead) made two cam gears also with 2 numbers of gear teeth. Return to truck to disassemble timing gear cover, etc. Fiber gear missing half it's teeth. Return to Cheyenne with number of teeth on gear count, get gear, spend the nite. Tues: Return to truck; Ford (Fix Or Repair Daily) need special ford tool # _ _ _ _ Return to Cheyenne. Never heard of this tool. Wed: Return to Truck with every tool I own and a variety of gear pullers. 1100 A.M. Blizzard hits, can't hold tools enough to place on parts, shaking too much. 11 Below with45-50 mph winds. I get a rocket Scientist mental note. Are you too stupid to go home? Brain engages legs, and return to Cheyenne via Ice covered roads. Visibility 50 feet. 1700 Arrive Cheyenne, take long hot shower, eat lots of spicy chicken wings.... The Saga is not over..... I shall return...... When the weather breaks... I am thankful that I did unload the donations for so many people who need so much. The truck was empty when it gave up... Well it is 30 years old... I did pretty good for just one guy. Clay Watson Pioneer Industries 1100 E. 24th St. Cheyenne, Wy. 82001 (307) 778-7860 pioquark@aol.com =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= 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. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I send thanks for those who continue to help. I send thanks for the new contacts that have been sent this past week! There is also an urgent appeal for a driver to take a load. Please respond directly to Sun if you can help deliver this gift. Date: Sat, 6 Dec 1997 13:43:17 -0500 (EST) From: ALBERT SUN BUTLER Subj: Re: NACSN TOY & CLOTHES DRIVE Si yo Gary, Can you get a short appeal in the Res Relief feature for us. Thanks. Mi Takueye Oyasin Sun WE NEED A DRIVER! The Native American Community Support Network located in Raleigh NC has 2000 lb. of toys computers and clothes that need to get to Pine Ridge SD by early January 98. We need a driver w/ truck and hitch or willing to drive rental truck, and share some expenses. Shipment bound for Ti Ospaye, a non-profit educational and relief organization located near Wanblee SD. Contact Sun Butler at (919)737-8478(lv. msg.) or abutler@ncsu.edu --------------------------------------------- ============================================= For additional information or to make donations contact: For the Red Shirt Community: Marvin Helper P.O. Box 312 Hermosa, SD 57744 For Porcupine, Oglala and Wounded Knee: 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. Another contact is actually two projects: One is Santa's Workshop and the other is called Wakanheja Tipi. They are both run by Liam Paterson and his wife. Liam Paterson 1434 Creek Road Manheim, PA 17545 717-665-2727 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.. ** EDITORIAL NOTE ** In the past couple of weeks, while returning from a circuit of delivering donated items to Pine Ridge and Rapid City Lakota, Clay Watson's old Ford truck broke down. For a week it sat on the side of a road 'til finally it could be towed in. The damage to the engine was beyond repair. I thought until this morning that I would be writing to ask that people help Clay find a new (or at least working) engine. This morning we received a note that his brother found one, and they *think* it will work. So I'm not asking for an engine today. What I am asking is that we recognize that Clay not only needs goods to carry to Natives in need -- he needs a working truck to carry them in and fuel. What he's driving is a 60s vintage Ford 600. They're tough old workhorses, but the fact is that something that age breaks from time to time and it costs to fix it. Let's consider sending Clay a few bucks to put in the truck repair and gas kitty to help keep him on the road. From: ALBERT SUN BUTLER Ti Ospaye PO Box 200 Wanblee SD 57577 Supporting the elders through personal contact: 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 For the Cherokee, NC Rez and South FL (Now taking one load/week): From: "lonewolf" Lone Wolf -or- Bob and Linda Crowe 1060 N. Bee St. 2800 West Highway 5 Deland, Fl 32720 Bowden, GA 30108 From BIGMTLIST The Dineh could use some blankets to help with the cold winters. Bonnie Whitesinger Box 1073 Hotevilla, AZ 86030 Since UPS doesn't deliver to PO boxes, you would have to use parcel post. From: The Stones Another organization you might consider adding to your list is: Lakota Link http://rtt.colorado.edu/~cameron/LakxotaKxoyag.html Ellen Stone The following snailmail addresses are included for help to the Cherry Creek and Bridger communities on the Cheyenne River Rez: Craig and Ruth Cameron LakxotaKxoyag P O Box 176 Jamestown, CO 80455-0176 Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Marvin and Veronica Holy Town of Bridger Representatives P.O. Box 172 Howes, SD 57748 Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Keeler and Freidan Condon Town of Cherry Creek Representatives P.O. Box 181 Cherry Creek, SD 57622 UPS ADDRESS: Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Keeler Condon Town of Cherry Creek Representatives House #11 Cherry Creek, SD 57622. From: FNAIC@aol.com Walking Shield in Southern California regularly send truck loads of food, clothing and needed items to many reservations. They are located at 2472 Chambers Rd. Tustin, CA. 922680 telephone 714-573-1434 Hugh Stevens is the boss. they will only take fairly new and clean used items - any new items - and donations form large corps. They seem to be on the up and up and have helped many local reservations and native organizations. Carol --------------------------------------------- From: leslie@neca.com Pathways to Spirit in Fort Collins Colorado Contact: Carmeen Klausner Phone: 970 282 8573 email pathways@webaccess.net This group is non profit and takes tractor trailer loads of clothes and furniture to Pine Ridge several times each year. --------------------------------------------- From: "g hindsman" Subj: Help for Families on Rez Morning Star Fellowship Circle, Inc. All of the donations are sorted and packed for each family according to size, sex etc. This year we are in particular need of blankets, space heaters, fans and linens (towels and sheets). We have many toys and clothing of all sizes but good winter coats are always useful. We are registered as a private non profit, so receipts can be given for donations. We can always use money donations. We deliver in December, June and in August. We also do mail deliveries occasionally. Over the years, we have made many friends at Pine Ridge, Rosebud, the Crow Agency and others. We try to help with special requests when we can. Morning Star has also been a home away from home for students and elders who are temporarily on the East Coast. Our headquarters are located in Delaware but we have other circles in Virginia, New York, West Virginia, Maryland and soon in Florida. For information about Morning Star you can call or write our Outreach Coordinator at: Morning Star Fellowship Circle, Inc. 321 Beverly Place Wilmington, DE 19809 Phone: 302-764-1178 EMail - candy crow@aol.com -------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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. I am especially concerned about the lack of contacts for the Montana Rez's. email to gars@netcom.com =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= 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 ---------- - Land Claims - Friends of Lubicon Transcript - Choctaw, Chickasaw & Cherokee Claims - Time Bomb - Cherokee Crisis Plan - Annual Language Post - First Nations News - Weasels & Plastics - Changes in Bison Plan - Miss Indian - News from Buffalo Nations - Native Prisoner - Brucellosis Vaccine - A Hundred Years Ago - Bison Freed at Panhandle Park - Poem: Pride is Where You Find It - Help Save the Wolves - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - 'S' Peak Name Change Project - Conferences and Powwows - Bear Lincoln Action Alert --------- "RE: Land Claims" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 13:19:52 -0500 From: frosty@frostys.qc.ca Subj: Land Claims Newsgroup: alt.native Here is something that will knock you socks off. For detail information, you can find this on the HOMEPAGE of the OTTAWA CITIZEN and Montreal Gazette. Support your local Newspapers, by reading and placing ads. December 12, 1997 'Major victory on land claims' by Jack Aubry, Ottawa Citizen ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Let us face it, we are all here to stay." Chief Justice Antonio Lamer in the conclusion of his written decision on the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en land claim. OTTAWA In what is being touted as one of its most important decisions, the Supreme Court of Canada has dramatically increased the power of First Nations in land-claims negotiations worth billions of dollars. While ordering a new trial in a disputed British Columbia land claim, the court defined aboriginal title and strongly urged the federal and provincial governments to negotiate with Indians in good faith rather than fight in court. The decision has direct implications for all Indian lands not governed by a treaty. It affects about 235 First Nations that have claims on all of B.C. and portions of Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and Ontario including the Ottawa Valley and Parliament Hill. University of British Columbia law professor Michael Jackson, who represented the native claimants and who has written extensively on aboriginal rights, called the decision one of the most important rulings in Canadian history. Phil Fontaine, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said, "This is a major victory for our people. I think this enables us to speed up the process of negotiations with governments." The ruling gives Indians leverage at the negotiating table and forces governments to take their claims seriously, he said. Fontaine called on Prime Minister Jean Chretien to convene a first ministers meeting with First Nations to discuss the new playing field, adding, "What this decision is about is land, resources and First Nations peoples governing themselves." Herb George, a spokesman for the Gitxsan First Nation involved in the claim, summarized the elation of Indian leaders at the court building in Ottawa: "It's a great day for aboriginal people across Canada. We were given a diamond for Christmas instead of a lump of coal." The landmark case involves the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en bands of Northern B.C. and their 1984 claim for ownership of and jurisdiction over 57,000 square kilometres of land roughly the size of Nova Scotia. The top court ruled that Chief Justice Allan McEachern of the B.C. Supreme Court erred in his 1991 decision rejecting most of the bands' claims, mostly in his dismissal of the First Nations oral histories presented during the three-year trial. McEachern ruled that aboriginal rights were extinguished by colonial government more than a century ago. But more important than sending the case back for a new trial, the six Supreme Court judges waded into uncharted legal waters by defining aboriginal title. Saying Indians should not be "straitjacketed" by constraining their land-use rights only to such traditional customs as hunting and fishing, the court unanimously ruled that aboriginal title gives First Nations exclusive right to occupy the land. The land cannot be sold, and it is held by the community and not by one person, the ruling says. It allows aboriginal title to be surrendered to the federal government, however. It also says that when aboriginal title is infringed upon, "fair compensation will ordinarily be required." The precedent-setting approach addresses land uses by saying: "Aboriginal title encompasses the right to use the land held pursuant to that title for a variety of purposes, which need not be aspects of those aboriginal practices, cultures and traditions which are integral to distinctive aboriginal cultures." But Chief Justice Antonio Lamer, in his written decision, explains: "The relevance of the continuity of the relationship of an aboriginal community with its land here is that it applies not only to the past, but to the future as well." This would prevent, for example, strip mining on aboriginal land that is heavily forested and used for hunting. The court also provided a new test for a First Nation in proving aboriginal title. It ruled that a First Nation only has to prove it occupied a disputed piece of land when Canadian title was established. The old benchmark was generally held to be the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which set aside large portions of North America for Indians and established a framework for the negotiation of treaties to cede that land to non-Indians, with the British Crown acting as the central agent. Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart acknowledged yesterday that the decision will require the federal government to fine-tune some policies, like terminating aboriginal rights in return for a final land-claim agreement with governments. She agreed with Fontaine that the decision might help speed land-claims negotiations. B.C. Premier Glen Clark said the ruling confirms that solutions for aboriginal peoples will not be found in the courts, and repeated his province's commitment to negotiating with the First Nations in his province. The hereditary chiefs of the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en and B.C. Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh said they want to return to bargaining as soon as possible. --------- "RE: Choctaw, Chickasaw & Cherokee Claims" --------- ate: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 15:38:29 EST From: SbrWarrior@aol.com Subj: NASC NEWS: Choctaw,Chickasaw & Cherokee..More for Less <><><><><><><>NASC NEWS MAILING<><><><><><><> Tulsa World On-Line/News All the news on this page was gathered from this source. Three Tribes Own Land, U.S. Says in Filing Suit By Rob Martindale World Senior Writer 12/12/97 MUSKOGEE -- The U.S. Justice Department said Thursday that three Oklahoma Indian tribes hold title through a United States trust to certain lands along the banks of the Arkansas River. In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court here, the Justice Department argued that the Cherokee, Choctaw and Chickasaw nations own the lands along the river's 96-mile navigable segment from near Muskogee to the Arkansas border. The question of ownership rights has been a matter of court disputes dating back to 1970 between state tribes and private residents and companies with interest in lands along the banks of the riverbed. The Justice Department cited two treaties that the tribes entered into with the United States more than 150 years ago to support its case. The department's lawsuit also relied heavily on a 1970 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in a case the Choctaw Nation brought against the state of Oklahoma. The Justice Department argued that some of the formerly wet riverbed, which has shifted over the years, has become dry land that is still owned by the United States on behalf of the tribes. The lawsuit seeks a determination by the court as to who owns the land. It does not seek damages or an order ejecting those now in possession of the land. Leaders of the three tribes greeted the news with enthusiasm, but Bob Rabon, Choctaw Nation general counsel, cautioned that the matter of ownership might remain in the courts for several more years. "It's more than a piece of property, it's our heritage," said Cherokee Nation Chief Joe Byrd, who commended former tribal chiefs W.W. Keeler, Ross Swimmer and Wilma Mankiller for their efforts in fighting for riverland rights. Chickasaw Chief Bill Anoatubby said he is "delighted that they (Justice Department) filed the lawsuit. We are looking forward to receiving our land back." The Justice Department issued its opinion in a quiet-title case the federal government filed against more than 100 defendants. The plaintiffs include several oil, gas and gravel companies, land owners and county and state officials. Rabon said the Justice Department in the coming weeks could file two or more lawsuits in connection with the riverbed. Then, he said, it will be a matter of how many legal challenges are made by nontribal parties with interests in lands along the riverbed. The Justice Department brief said the U.S. government granted title to lands within the riverbed to the Choctaw and Cherokee nations in the 1830 Treaty of Dancing Creek and the 1835 treaty of New Echota. The Chickasaw Nation acquired the right to occupy a portion of the Choctaw lands and an undivided one-fourth interest in the riverbed pursuant to what is called the Treaty of Jan. 17, 1837, the Justice Department said. The riverbed lands stretch from Three Forks southeast of Muskogee at the confluence of the Grand, Verdigris and Arkansas rivers to the Arkansas state border at Fort Smith. The first major court decision in the battle over riverbed rights came in 1970 when the U.S. Supreme Court held that the tribes had been granted the lands by the 1830s treaties. The Supreme Court decision said the lands hadn't passed to the state of Oklahoma upon its admission into statehood in 1907. In a 1975 lawsuit brought by the Choctaw Nation against the Cherokee Nation, a special three-judge court said that on Nov. 11, 1907, the day Oklahoma achieved statehood, the three tribes owned parts of the riverbed. The 1970 and 1975 court decisions defined the precise boundaries of the riverbed lands owned by the tribes. Because of meanderings by the river, the precise tracts owned in trust by the United States for the tribes have only recently been accurately determined, the Justice Department said. In 1989, the Bureau of Land Management of the Interior Department began a river movement study to locate the boundaries. Defendants in the lawsuit include Oklahoma Natural Gas Co., Mobil Oil Co., Arkansas- Louisiana Gas Co., Sun Oil Co., Arkla Energy Resources Co., Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co. and the Sequoyah County Water Association. The Justice Department said its brief was making no determination respecting interest in lands acquired by the United States through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction of the Kerr-McClellan navigation project on the Arkansas River. These lands of which the Corps of Engineers claims some rights, deeds, bank stabilization agreements and flowage easements "are not at issue in this litigation," the Justice Department said. Assistant U.S. Attorney General Lois Schiffer said that "in filing this suit, we are seeking to honor an historical treaty commitment. We hope that this case will settle once and for all the question as to who owns the land along the banks of the Arkansas River." Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt said he expects the lawsuit to be the beginning of a process "to resolve all the uncertainties that have resulted from the Supreme Court decision that the three Indian nations are the owners of the bed of the Arkansas River." Byrd said tribal leaders dating back to statehood fought to save the lands, noting that they didn't give up rights to the riverbed or the water when Oklahoma joined the union in 1907. "We are excited. It seems like this could go in our favor. Something good has come to the Cherokee Nation. This is a chance for us to utilize the riverbed resources," Byrd said. --------- "RE: Cherokee Crisis Plan" --------- Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 17:45:02 -0600 From: Summerfield/Marvin&Linda Subj: Tribal Crisis Plan Laid Out in Notes-Muskogee Phoenix Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native The following article was published 12/11/97 in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. It is posted courtesy of your only independent Cherokee newspaper, The CHEROKEE OBSERVER. Check out the Cherokee Observer's web sites at: http://www.cherokeeobserver.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TRIBAL CRISIS PLAN LAID OUT IN NOTES Spokeswoman Says Chief Had Nothing To Do With Writing Notes By Donna Hales, Phoenix Staff Writer Cherokee Chief Joe Byrd's top aide outlined a scheme last spring to "defy the tribal court and declare an "emergency and a constitutional crisis," his handwritten notes show. Chief of Staff George Thomas' notes include the subheadings "Goal", "Plan" and "Strategy." Almost all of the steps he outlined have been acted on. Plans included promoting no alliance between the administration and tribal councilors to oust the three justices of the Judicial Appeals Tribunal, the tribe's highest court. "My God, what you have is a plan to overthrow the judicial branch for a dictatorship," said tribal member Nate Young III, a Tahlequah attorney and an expert on Indian law. In a written statement Wednesday night, tribal spokeswoman Lynn Adair said, "I don't believe this deserves a response from Chief Byrd or anyone from the administration. The notes of one individual does not a conspiracy make." Young said the notes leaves no doubt. "they have violated the Cherokee Constitution and violated not only the letter of the law but the spirit of the constitution. "If anything, it's grounds for impeachment." Young likened it to a plot in th movie "Seven Days in May" with Burt Lancaster, which involved a conspiracy to overthrow the president of the United States. The Cherokee crisis - which has pitted the executive branch against the judicial branch and divided the legislative branch - is now in its 10th month. Thomas refused to answer questions about the notes, but Adair said in a phone interview Tuesday he told her he hadn't intended for them to be made public. "In any branch of government, there is always a plan of action. Apparently the chief didn't have anything to do with writing the notes. I understand these were notes Thomas had written to himself. In her Wednesday statements, she said that making the notes public is "just another desperate attempt to bring down the present administration and keep the negative headlines coming." The Phoenix obtained a copy of the original hand written notes. The text also appeared on the Internet. The notes state the administration should be prepared to defy the tribal court and build the case for doing so. Thomas wrote of "triggering events" for no other reasons than to "Protect the chief from arrest" and to protect the administration. "Goal: To solve the immediate problems and emerge with the chief stronger, his administration stronger, the government stronger & those who oppose us weaker." Officials at the Bureau of Indian Affairs "won't get involved," Thomas wrote. "To what limits are we willing to go...what do we put into action if forced to confrontation?" he wrote. Plans included admitting that the Cherokee Nation government "is broken and must depend an outside intervention if it is to be saved. "(That) prompts our actions to go to federal court, mediation, etc." he wrote. The crisis developed soon after Byrd fired tribal marshals Feb. 25 and refused to obey a tribunal order reinstating them. The marshals had executed a search warrant at tribal headquarters and seized copies of financial records. The evidence led to charges of diversion of funds against Byrd in tribal court. Paula Holder of Warner, one of seven tribal councilors, who did not go along with Byrd's defiance of the tribunal, said Thomas notes came as no surprise to her. "I think it was a conspiracy and I would think that would be a crime, according to our law," Holder said. "I think these people are evil." Councilor Don Crittenden, a Byrd supporter, said Wednesday he was not aware of the notes. Councilor Troy Poteete of Webber Falls, commenting on the notes, said it "unconscionable and immoral, but probably not illegal to bring the tribe to the brink of disaster." --------- "RE: First Nations News" --------- Date: Tue, 09 Dec 97 09:23:06 -0600 From: berryj@okway.okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)ACF FirstNations - Part 2 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: 12/8/97 10:17 AM UUCP email ___ _ _ __ _ _ / __(_)_ __ ___| |_ /\ \ \__ _| |_(_) ___ _ __ ___ / _\ | | '__/ __| __|/ \/ / _` | __| |/ _ \| '_ \/ __| / / | | | \__ \ |_/ /\ / (_| | |_| | (_) | | | \__ \ \/ |_|_| |___/\__\_\ \/ \__,_|\__|_|\___/|_| |_|___/ >>>-------------------> < > <--------------------<<< \\\ /// \\\ /// \\\ /// \\v// \\v// \\v// / \ / \ / \ / V \ / V \ / V \ / \ / \ / \ / - - \ / - - \ / - - \ / - - \ / - - \ / - - \ ___/----( )----\____/----( )----\____/----( )----\___ >>>-------------------> < > <--------------------<<< PART II - AM. INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE NEWS FOR December 5, 1997 Roger Iron Cloud 202.260.2889 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Visit the Division of Tribal Services home page on the World Wide Web at: http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/dts >>>-------------------> < > <--------------------<<< CONTENTS OF PART II - NEW BIA ASSISTANT SECRETARY - KEVIN GOVER (although the confirmation of Keving Gover is old news for most folks by now, this background piece can provide some insight into the man who will control the trust responsibility of Tribes - RIC - ACF FirstNations Listserv Mgr.) >>>-------------------> < > <--------------------<<< Gover Looks at BIA Job One Day at a Time A Corrales man praised as an insightful strategist is undaunted by his nomination to head one of Washington's least loved agencies By Leslie Linthicum Journal Staff Writer Kevin Gover walked on his first picket line when he was 10. He was a successful Washington lawyer-and an alcoholic-before his 30th birthday. Now, 42 and sober, Gover is back in Washington awaiting confirmation hearings on his nomination as an assistant secretary of the Department of Interior. Gover, an enrolled member of the Pawnee tribe, will face questioning from the members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in a hearing set for Thursday. His confirmation by the full Senate could come as early as next month. Gover will draw from the righteous indignation of a 10-year-old and the humility of a recovering alcoholic to face the trials of one of government's most grueling and thankless jobs. If confirmed to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Gover will inherit an agency that has been blamed by Indians for losing their money and ruining their children; that has been attacked by Congress and presidents as corrupt, bloated and inefficient; and, on top of all that, operates under the usual political pressures of Washington. "It's a mean town," Gover concedes. "They're waiting for you to make a mistake and to go after you. When you live life day by day, (and) at the end of each day the most important thing that happened is that you didn't drink, it puts things in perspective. It doesn't scare me." Those who have worked with him say his intelligence and instincts will help him navigate Washington's rough waters. "Kevin is one of the most insightful strategists," says attorney Richard Hughes,who has worked with Gover through two sessions of the Legislature and several lawsuits. "He has just an extraordinary ability to know what's at stake, what the lineup is and how to play it. He has a deft touch." Having it all Gover was enjoying the view of the Sandias from his dining-room table on a recent morning, relaxing in the manner of a man who works too hard-with a cigarette, a cup of coffee and a cellular phone sitting nearby-and reflecting on his past and his probable future. Gover has made it by New Mexico standards. He lives in an adobe house on a dirt road in Corrales. From his dining room window he can see a meticulous herb garden, the labors of his only hobby, and a swath of snow-dusted mountains. His resume is top notch: prep school and Princeton. A clerkship for a federal judge, an associate job at a big Washington law firm and a partnership in a respected Albuquerque firm, all by age 30. He has lobbied in Washington and Santa Fe and done legal work for Navajos and the pueblos of Zuni, Pojoaque, Santa Clara, Sandia and Tesuque. "I had it all. I had a wife and a boy and a girl, a house, a great job and I was drunk a lot and did a lot of harm," Gover says. "I was lucky that I never ended up on the streets, but I could have. I drank like some of the people who ended up on the streets. It's just that I had a good education and a good job and so I never had to fall that far." All of his personal and professional achievements were no match for what Gover calls "a sort of psychological trauma that is passed down generation-to-generation" in even the most intact and successful Indian families. Against all odds, Gover went the way of the calichi. "While the stereotype of the drunken Indian is unfortunate, it's not like it was just made up," Gover says. "An alcoholic has low self-esteem. And there's always an excuse to drink if you're an Indian. If someone gives you a crossways look, hey I'll show him. I'll get drunk." It took a legal client to threaten firing him to snap Gover out of his stupor, and friends and family members to help him stop drinking. That was more than four years ago. "It was a very difficult problem for him and one he faced head- on and he has learned and benefited from it," says Cate Stetson, Gover's longtime law partner."He's been the first Indian to do this and the first Indian to do that-and he is human. He has human flaws." LaDonna Harris' first memories of Gover are of a little kid sitting on the fringes of living-room organization meetings in Lawton, Okla., where a collection of Indians, blacks and a handful of Anglos were fighting segregation. It was the early 1960s and Gover's parents and Harris and her then husband, Fred Harris, had been infused with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message of racial equality. When the local swimming pool refused to admit blacks-although they let Indians swim -- 10-year-old Gover took a sign and walked the picket line rather than escape the Oklahoma heat with a refreshing dip. "He grew up in this atmosphere of political action and integration and social activism," Harris says. "It was all around." Growing up Gover's parents met as children in Faxson, Okla., a crossroads and a corner store in the farming country outside Lawton. Margaret Lou Richardson was white, the daughter of poor farmers who had weathered the Dust Bowl. Billy Gover was half Comanche and half Pawnee, raised by a single mother on allotment land. In the segregationism of the 1950s, they married and had three children. Kevin was the oldest, followed by two sisters. Although the children were biracial, their mother worked for Indian causes and the children were raised as Indians. "We were black-haired and brown-skinned," Gover says. "We didn't have much of a choice." Gover excelled in school and caught the eye of a VISTA volunteer who worked with his parents in Oklahomans for Indian Opportunity, a federal civil rights program. The volunteer, a graduate of the prestigious St. Paul's School, arranged a scholarship for Gover, and at 15 he found himself on the bucolic campus in Concord, N.H., surrounded by intellectual challenges. "It was almost idyllic. You're in this beautiful setting and all you're doing is learning," Gover says. He went on to Princeton University and began seeing Indian history and politics in a more radical light. "You begin to take it personally, so you respond in personal rage that is not very productive," Gover says. He smoked marijuana, began drinking and grew his hair long. "I was surly, unresponsive, didn't accept discipline and didn't learn very much, unfortunately." Those who worked on political causes with Gover at the time judge his youth less harshly. "He was smart and he had enough sense to keep his mouth shut and listen and not tell everybody what he knew," says Philip S. Deloria, who worked with Gover on the American Indian Policy Review Commission and now heads the Indian Law Center at the University of New Mexico. "I think people knew from the beginning that he was going to make a contribution." By the time he graduated from Princeton in 1978, Gover's family had moved to Albuquerque and he enrolled in UNM Law School. A clerkship with U.S. District Judge Juan Burciaga followed, then a job offer at a prestigious law firm in Washington, D.C. After three years in Washington, Gover came back to Albuquerque to practice law with two friends, Cate Stetson and Susan Williams. They opened Gover, Stetson and Williams, which would become one of the country's most prestigious law firms owned by women and Indians. The firm would concentrate on Indian and environmental law and lobbying for Indian tribes; and Gover and Stetson would become active in local and national Democratic politics. In 11 years with the firm, Gover has specialized in tribal-federal relations, and it is his work on behalf of New Mexico tribes in their legal and political struggle to legalize casino gambling that has put him in the local spotlight in recent years. BIA and the real world Frank Chaves, co-chairman of the New Mexico Indian Gaming Association and a member of Sandia Pueblo, has seen in Gover qualities that he hopes will allow Gover success at the BIA that has eluded past assistant secretaries. "He's very thoughtful on how policies affect people," says Chaves. "He can look at a policy and think of how it may affect somebody in the real world." Entrapped in its own bureaucracy for decades and responsible for policy that affects more than 500 tribal governments and 2 million individual Indians, the BIA has long been criticized for allowing tribal needs to be obscured by politics and bureaucracy. The subject of countless reorganization studies and proposals, it has continued to languish between the often conflicting desires of tribes, Congress and the White House. Gover will take the helm at a critical time, when the influx of casino riches to some tribes and tightened federal budgets have combined to prompt some conservatives to question the nation's trust responsibility to Indian tribes and the necessity of the BIA. Gover is aware that the top BIA job is a killer. Ada Deer, who weathered an agonizing tenure before being asked to resign to make way for Gover, is his close friend. He is taking the job, he says, with the spirit of a recovering alcoholic-change what you can and don't look too far down the road. "I think in the past by trying to be all things to all people, by trying to make everybody happy, the leadership in the bureau has just crashed and burned because it's just never going to happen," Gover says. "You have to be smart and you have to work hard. But I think it requires a certain amount of will and an understanding up front that you're not going to make everybody happy and that you just do the best you can and suffer the consequences. You have to be willing to live with some people taking shots at you." Gover, who is divorced and shares custody with his ex-wife of the couple's 12-year-old daughter and a 14-year-old son, is ready to get to work, although he has promised himself he will see the job only through the end of the Clinton administration and then return to New Mexico. While watchers in Indian country are always cautious about predictions for reform in the agency, they hold out hope that Gover's intelligence and political savvy will take him farther than past directors. "I would hate to say he's going to fix it. I don't know that that's possible," Deloria says. "But he'll come as close as anybody can." Copyright ) 1997 Albuquerque Journal --------- "RE: Changes in Bison Plan" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Dec 97 17:42:06 -0500 From: "J.D.K. Chipps " Subj: Montana officials disagree with change in bison plan UUCP email HELENA (AP) - Montana officials are at odds with federal agencies over one of the proposed changes in the temporary plan for managing bison that wander from Yellowstone National Park bison this winter. Spokesmen for the state wildlife and livestock agencies said they do not agree with a provision that would allow a variety of untested bison to remain outside the park near West Yellowstone. "They're not going to get their way," Larry Petersen, secretary for the Board Livestock, said Tuesday. John Mundinger, bison specialist for the Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said the National Park Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service adopted the revised plan over objections from the state. Modifications in the management plan are intended to reduce the number of migrating bison killed this winter as they leave the park in search of winter forage. Last season, almost 1,100 of the animals were shot or shipped to slaughter as part of a state-federal effort to control the bison and keep them from spreading disease to cattle. The changes include greater reliance on hazing, inside and outside the park, and holding dozens of disease-free bison in a capture site near Gardiner. The controversial part of the revised plan calls for letting what the Park Service considers low-risk bison to remain outside the park in the West Yellowstone area. The federal agency said that includes bulls, yearlings, calves and cows that have long ago disposed of afterbirth, because those pose the least danger of passing brucellosis on to livestock. But Petersen said the state is worried that other states' veterinarians will see it differently and require Montana ranchers to test all their cattle before shipping out of state. Assurances by the inspection service that it will not revoke Montana's brucellosis-free status are not enough, he said. Brucellosis is feared by ranchers because it can cause cows to abort their calves, although critics of bison management efforts contend that transmission of the disease in the wild is unproven. Mundinger said Montana officials would have agreed to the revised plan if the federal government had promised to cover any financial damages the livestock industry would suffer if required to test cattle. The government also could not guarantee Montana that other states would not mandate testing of Montana cattle because of the new policy on bison near West Yellowstone, he said. Petersen said the state will develop its own changes in the plan for handling bison in that area. Mundinger said the state's unwillingness to go along with the federal proposal does not necessarily mean a higher death toll this year. "We are not going to indiscriminately shoot all bison, but we will retain the right to shoot those that cannot be captured near West Yellowstone," he said. A Yellowstone Park spokesman said the federal agencies recognize Montana's concerns over the effect of allowing more bison to remain outside the park in that area. But Wayne Brewster, deputy director of the Yellowstone Center for Resources, added that the risk of brucellosis transmission in that area is "infinitesimal" because no cattle are in that area during winter. He said animal health officials in other states should recognize the minute threat represented by the policy change. "We would hope that, as other states understand better the situation - the relationship between this area and where livestock are - it could be presented to them that this is reasonable," Brewster said. (\######/) J.D.K. Chipps \ o ~ / "Wokiksuye Canpe Opi" (^ ^) (Remember Wounded Knee) \*/ http://www.woptura.com/ --------- "RE: News from Buffalo Nations" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Dec 97 17:28:33 -0500 From: "J.D.K. Chipps " Subj: News from Buffalo nations UUCP email Subject: News from Buffalo nations December 12, 1997 It is hard to explain the level of dedication of the warriors that are here in West Yellowstone, protecting the last free ranging buffalo. Up every morning at 5:30 A. M. and in the field before the sun rises, in temperatures as low as -30 degrees F. These warriors have come from as far away as British Columbia, Canada and San Antonio, Texas. They work out of true love and compassion for all of our children's future. Ten of our over 50 buffalo warriors who have helped so far this winter, are staying until the slaughter stops. With this type of conviction change is inevitable. To date not one buffalo has been killed by the Montana Department of Livestock. In the press APHIS has shown an easement on the buffalo who leave the park, saying that they will tolerate "low risk" animals in Montana without revoking the state's brucellosis free status for cattle. This allows for untested bulls, yearlings, calves and cows who no longer have afterbirth to remain in the state of Montana unmolested. In the spring, bison will be hazed back into the park 60 days before cattle are scheduled to return to the area. Yet the renegade Montana Department of Livestock continues to assert that they will kill all bison who leave the park, an eerie reminder that last year's slaughter is poised and ready to happen again. The harsh weather transcends with awesome beauty. In the stillness of morning the earth comes to life. One by dozens eagles, coyotes, foxes and buffalo appear. Letting us understand this still exists, knowing we must protect this with our lives. Not only for ourselves, but for seven generations yet to come. Buffalo Nations will be here with our all-volunteer crew to protect the last wild buffalo until the killing stops. Please continue to help support us (every little bit counts) and if you care to come join us, all are welcome. Buffalo Nations PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax buffalo@wildrockies.org --------- "RE: Brucellosis Vaccine" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 23:56:40 -0500 From: Sonja Keohane Subj: Brucellosis vaccine? UUCP email Let's see, why don't we call this the mumbo-jumbo-brucellosis-vaccine-country-line dance? Well, maybe not quite a dance, but a lot o' shuckin' and jivin'. APHIS and the government gang have had about 60 YEARS to develop this vaccine......and they still ain't got it right. I have an idea......lets just NOT vaccinate the wild herds......just the cattle. This is not good for my blood pressure.......... http://www.bigskywire.com/gazette/friday/region/reg006.htm State researchers say new brucellosis vaccine will take years to develop CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - It could take five years to complete research on a new brucellosis vaccine before it can be tested on elk at the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, a state biologist said. Scott Smith of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department's Wildlife Veterinary Research Services Division on Tuesday told Wyoming Game and Fish Commissioners research to determine an effective dose of RB51 is essentially starting from scratch. Assistant division chief for the Game and Fish Department's Services Division, Tom Thorne, said research that began in the early 1990s on RB51 has recently raised questions over the duration of the vaccine's effectiveness. Thorne said researchers will be trying to determine the usefulness of higher doses and possibly a booster shot. Earlier this month, National Park Service officials said they would consider vaccinating elk on the refuge if a safe and effective vaccine can be found. The agency turned down a proposal by Gov. Jim Geringer last month to vaccinate several thousand elk on the refuge this winter using the Strain 19 vaccine, which has been used for more than a decade by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Park Service officials maintain that more clinical data is needed on the effectiveness of both Strain 19 and RB51 before a widespread vaccination program on the refuge can begin. -ok, read the rest at the url above- --------- "RE: Bison Freed at Panhandle Park" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 12:10:07 -0500 From: alatia@sldsi.com (Alatia Brodie) Subj: Bison UUCP email Storied bison freed at Panhandle park 12/10/97 Associated Press AUSTIN - A herd of bison whose lineage can be traced back more than a century to the last of the great Southern Plains herds, is getting a new home on the range. Fourteen animals have been relocated to Caprock Canyons State Park near Quitaque, about midway between Lubbock and Amarillo, with more scheduled to arrive there on Monday. "This is really historic," Texas Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman Tom Harvey said Tuesday. The herd is being moved from the JA Ranch near Amarillo. It was started there by pioneer cattleman Charles Goodnight in 1876, when the bison were rounded up for preservation. The bison being moved are descendants of those animals, a herd that has supplied stock for Yellowstone National Park and the Bronx Zoo. "Of all the bison alive today, the JA Ranch bison are uniquely important because they have been kept isolated at the site where they were caught in the 1870s and not crossbred with other bison," said Andrew Sansom, executive director of the Parks and Wildlife Department. They are a potent symbol of the American West, and their addition to the Texas state park system means the heritage they represent will be preserved for future generations," he said. Wildlife officials say the animals are the purest-blooded bison left in North America. Mr. Harvey said officials believed there were about four dozen bison on the JA Ranch when the project began. The animals are being moved to a temporary home, a 330-acre holding area surrounded by what parks and wildlife officials have dubbed a "Jurassic Park" fence. The 10-foot-tall, steel pipe fence strung with high-tensile steel cable is near a Native American archaeological site where prehistoric hunters processed bison kills. For safety reasons, park visitors can't approach the bison now and won't be able to view them until appropriate methods are devised sometime next year, Mr. Harvey said. The Parks and Wildlife Department is working on plans for a visitor program to interpret the ecology of the Plains bison and their relationship with native tribes. Historical estimates suggest that bison herds numbered between 40 million to 60 million at one point, but dwindled to about 500 because of buffalo hunters. Parks and Wildlife officials said there are few pure wild bison remaining in the world. The 14 bison moved so far were confirmed pure through DNA testing. Over the next few decades, the department hopes to develop a herd of several hundred and acquire or obtain access to enough land within the bison's historic Panhandle range to allow the animals to roam free in a natural prairie ecosystem. --------- "RE: Help Save the Wolves" --------- From: "Jennifer" Date: Sun, 14 Dec 1997 01:54:01 +0000 Subj: (Fwd) Help Save the Wolves!!!!! UUCP email Morning everyone, Could you please stop by these pages and voice your support of the wolves, please and thank you! Could I ask what is so special about Yellowstone Park that the officials have to kill off the bison and the wolves and who knows what else? Peace! Hugs to all! ------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 22:29:15 -0800 From: Lady Wolf Dear Wolf Friends..... I come to you for your help.... I know that we are all very busy with our holiday festivities, but I ask for your help. Below you will find an article about a federal judge who believes that the wolves that were reintroduced into Yellowstone and central Idaho is illegal. I was shocked when I read this, to say the least. I have posted upon my site a copy of this article along a mail form addressed to all the government officials that I could find. This senseless stupidity must be stopped. I come to you for your help. Please help save the wolves. If this is allowed to happen, then none of wild creatures of this planet will be safe....please pass this on to anyone you know who loves the wolves and other wild animals....the more people that we can get to help, the better chance we have to stop this. copy of the article: Copied from Ralph Maughan's Wolf Update Page. "Federal district judge William Downes of the Wyoming federal judicial district has, after three years of waiting, issued a decision that the reintroduction of wolves from Canada into central Idaho and Yellowstone violated the Endangered Species Act. He has ordered all of the reintroduced wolves removed, including their offspring. This order has been "stayed" pending appeal of his ruling to the tenth circuit US court of appeals. A "stay" means the order will not be carried out until a ruling is issued by this higher court, assuming an appeal is made, and it will be. The "removal" undoubtedly means killing the wolves. Canada does not want the wolves back, there is no money to capture them and take them back, about half of the original wolves are now dead, but their offspring born in Idaho and Yellowstone are numerous. The judges' ruling does not affect the 60 or 70 wolves in NW Montana that migrated on their own down from Canada beginning in the early 1980s. Most people had forgotten about the lawsuit that was filed by the Farm Bureau and the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund (SCLDF) before the first wolves from Canada were brought to central Idaho and Yellowstone, but both organizations, used the argument that there were existing wolves in the area. This was a last gasp attempt argument by the Farm Bureau to stop the reintroduction. For SCLDF (now renamed ) it was an attempt to guarantee that the handful of existing Idaho wolves would get more protection through the endangered species act than the "experimental non-essential" designation the new wolves would have. I have not seen the text of the decision, but I find it grossly in error and an example of judicial law-making of the very kind many congressionals disapprove. No native wolves have been identified in the Yellowstone region. The two possible cases were almost certainly hybrids. There clearly was at least one native wolf in central Idaho. He paired with Idaho number B15F to form the now seven or eight member Kelly Creek Pack in north central Idaho. No other Idaho natives have been confirmed, although there probably were two or three. Several native wolves from the Nine-mile pack in Montana have now migrated to northern Idaho. The native wolves in Montana are genetically the same as the reintroduced wolves. They are not a sub- species, nor even a genetically distinct population. On the ground the ESA has not given the supposedly "fully protected" Montana wolves any more protection as the "experimental" wolves. In fact, if people read my wolf reports, the "native" wolves such as the Murphy Lake Pack and the Boulder Pack have been shot for the same "offenses" as the reintroduced wolves. The fact that the judge waited three years should have made the case "moot, " a judicial term that changes in the facts have made the basis of the case irrelevant. I don't know that "removal" is possible because many wolves have no radio collars, although they could easily track down wolves like famous no. 9 and kill them. While a few groups may say this is really a "victory" of some sort because the remaining wolves will have more protection, consider that: The "fully ESA-protected" wolves of NW Montana have not been protected on the ground any more than the reintroduced wolves. The NW Montana wolves have gotten into more livestock trouble because the areas they reinhabited were reached by chance. For a wolf to find the good wolf country in central Idaho and Yellowstone is purely a hit-or-miss-proposition. Because there is no way to separate a "native" wolf from the largely uncollared offspring of reintroduced wolves, any removal campaign will threaten the native wolves too. All of typical anti- wolf, anti-wildlife, anti-national park, anti-wilderness, anti- environmental politicians are praising the judge's decision: Representatives Helen Chenoweth, Representative Barbara Cubin, Senator Larry Craig, Senator Conrad Burns, etc.. " There is a mail form at http://www.ladywolf.com/stop.html where you can add your comments.....Please I am asking not for me....but all the wild creatures of this world. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season....I am sorry to bring sad news at this time of year..... ~wolf howls~ Lady Wolf ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Walk with the Lady of the wolves at the *World of Lady Wolf* http://www.ladywolf.com ladywolf@ladywolf.com "May the Wolf Spirit guide you on your path" Jennifer heavensent@recorder.ca "Keep Smiling and May Our Creator Bless!" HAVE YOU HUGGED SOMEONE TODAY? We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth. Virginia Satir Concerned? You Should Be! http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/5273 --------- "RE: 'S' Peak Name Change Project" --------- Date: Tue, 09 Dec 1997 20:25:52 -0500 From: AIMAZ (by way of ishgooda ) Subj: "S" Peak Name Change Project Update 12/9/97 American Indian Movement Youth Council of Arizona http://www.dickshovel.com/sq.html On July 2, 1997 the "S" Peak Name Change Project submitted a proposal to the Arizona State Board on Geographic & Historic Names requesting that the name of "S" Peak in the Phoenix, Arizona area be changed to IRON MOUNTAIN. We expect to hear back from the Board in January, 1998. Please support the Project by sending letters or email to: Tim J. Norton, Chair Arizona State Board on Geographic & Historic Names Department of Library, Archives & Public Records State Capitol 1700 W. Washington Phoenix, Arizona 85007 Email: aznames@dlapr.lib.az.us cc: AIMAZ@aol.com As soon as this name change occurs, we want to submit proposals for seven (7) more sites in Maricopa County, Arizona that carry the "S" word in the name of the feature. We need help to find new names for the seven geographic features, preferably names in the original American Indian languages. Please contact us, Delena Waddle or Seipe Flood, (AIMAZ@aol.com) if you have any information on the following place names in Maricopa County, Ariz. 1. Little "S" Creek 2. "S" Canyon 3. "S" Flat (2 sites) 4. "S" Flat Spring 5. "S" Tit 6. "S" Tits The "S" Peak Name Change Project would also like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your support in our work to eradicate the use of the "S" word from geographic place names in Arizona. We particularly wish to thank Michelle, Rose and Andy (you know who you are) for all the diligent historical research and information that you provided; Jordan Dill for maintaining the websites that deal with this issue; KOLAHQ in Belgium for keeping the European Community apprised; the city of Flagstaff, Arizona for your courage and fast action to rename "S" Road to Native Way in your community and a community church in Phoenix, who, last Thursday, changed their name from the "S" Peak Covenant Church, to the Lifesource Community Church. Your understanding and participation in this project is greatly appreciated and we love you for your action. Carrying on the Struggle, Seipe Flood & Delena Waddle AIM Youth Council of Arizona & "S" Peak Name Change Project --------- "RE: Bear Lincoln Action Alert" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 17:55:10 EST From: AIMAZ Subj: BEAR LINCOLN ACTION ALERT UUCP email PLEASE FORWARD ACTION ALERT *** BEAR LINCOLN FACES RE-TRIAL IN UKIAH, CA *** On December 5, Mendocino County, CA District Attorney Susan Massini announced her intention to re-try Eugene Bear Lincoln on manslaughter charges. In September, Lincoln, a resident of Covelo on the Round Valley Indian Reservation, was acquitted of six murder charges. Lincoln could have faced the death penalty if found guilty. The same jury was hung, 10-2 in favor of acquittal, on charges of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter. The case arose out of an ambush by Mendocino County sheriff's deputies of Lincoln and his friend Leonard "Acorn" Peters on the night of April 14, 1995. In that incident, Acorn Peters was killed instantly, and in the nighttime firefight that followed, sheriff's deputy Robert Davis was also fatally shot -- although by whom remains unclear. Despite a massive police dragnet and reign of terror on the Round Valley reservation, Lincoln escaped and lived underground for four months. He surfaced in the offices of attorney Tony Serra in San Francisco, fearing that capture in rural Mendocino County might mean immediate execution. After two years in the county jail, Bear's case went to court in August of this year in Ukiah, about two hours north of San Francisco. In the trial that followed, defense attorneys Serra and Phil De Jong, shredded the prosecution's weak case, while illuminating the long history of anti-Indian racism and police misconduct in the area. After the trial ended, several jurors -- deeply moved by what they had seen and heard -- joined the Lincoln/Peters Defense Alliance. Law enforcement officials, on the other hand, were deeply angered by the acquittal and began planning retribution. D.A. Massini's announcement on Dec. 5 of plans to re-try Bear is one manifestation. Cora Lee Simmons, Chairperson of Round Valley Indians for Justice -- an organization formed in the aftermath of the police occupation of the reservation in 1995 -- and others have expressed concern about the possibility of heightened harassment by sheriff's deputies on the reservation, which is in an isolated area. WHAT YOU CAN DO 1) Send a fax or letter expressing your opposition to the re-trial and calling for an end to anti-Indian persecution in Mendocino County. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE MENDOCINO COUNTY AUTHORITIES KNOW THAT THIS CASE HAS BECOME A NATIONAL ISSUE! Send your messages, as soon as possibly and before the next court date of Jan. 2, to: District Attorney Susan Massini, Mendocino County Courthouse, Ukiah, CA 95482, Fax: 707-463-4687 Phone: 707-463-4211 Sheriff Jim Tuso, 589 Low Gap Rd., Ukiah, 95482 Fax: 707-463-4517, Phone: 707-463-4085 PLEASE SEND COPIES OF YOUR LETTERS AND FAXES TO: Lincoln/Peters Defense Alliance Mendocino Environmental Information Center 108 W. Stanley Ukiah, CA 95482 2) COME TO COURT IN UKIAH ON FRIDAY, JAN. 2!!!! Court is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, at which time the judge will rule on motions, including a defense motion to dismiss the case on the grounds that Bear Lincoln is being subjected to double jeopardy by being re-tried. A RALLY WILL TAKE PLACE OUTSIDE THE COURTHOUSE BEGINNING AT 12 NOON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 2. BE THERE TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! For more information, call the Lincoln/Peters Defense Alliance at the Mendocino Environmental Information Center at 707-468-1660. For information on organizing and transportation in the Bay Area for the Jan. 2 rally and court date, call the National People's Campaign at 415-821-6545. --------- "RE: Friends of Lubicon Transcript" --------- Date: Tue, 9 Dec 1997 08:49:10 -0500 From: fol@tao.ca Subj: Press conference transcript Mailing List: FOL-L Dec. 9 1997 Friends of the Lubicon 485 Ridelle Ave. Toronto, ON M6B 1K6 tel: (416) 763-7500 e-mail: fol@tao.ca Concerned that despite its significance for the right to freedom of expression there had been very little media coverage of the Daishowa v. Friends of the Lubicon trial in Canada, the Humanist Movement organized a press conference featuring several prominent and respected Canadians who spoke out about the lawsuit. Alan Borovoy of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, broadcaster and scientist David Suzuki, and broadcaster, writer and producer Patrick Watson expressed their shared concern that Daishowa's lawsuit against the Friends of the Lubicon could make consumer boycotts illegal in Canada and is a serious threat to everyone's right to free speech. What follows is a transcript of that event. The Daishowa v. Friends of the Lubicon trial is wrapping up on December 10, 11, 12 with closing statements by both parties. People are welcome to attend the final days starting at 10 am at 361 University Ave., Toronto, rm. 4-10. _______________________ Transcript of Press Conference with David Suzuki, Patrick Watson, Alan Borovoy and Roberto Verdecchia -- Toronto City Hall, September 15, 1997 Recording quality prevents clear transcription, that is noted here by ... ??? ... Roberto Verdecchia, Humanist Movement: We have called this press conference here today in support of the Friends of the Lubicon in their current court case against multi-national pulp and paper company, Daishowa. They did not solicit our support, but we offered it any way. We feel that this trial is very important. As most of us know, it threatens the rights of all Canadians to engage in consumer boycotts, for one, and it severely threatens our rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. The humanist movement has been involved with this story for a number of years. We've published articles through our neighbourhood newspapers. I ran as an independent candidate, in the federal election, a couple of months ago and raised this issue. We ran in the election to raise issues like this, that were not being raised by the traditional parties. We wrote articles in the paper, we ran in the election, and waited for this to become a big issue in the press, but it never seemed to become a big issue. Lots of people that we were speaking to, never knew what was going on. So, most recently, we went to the streets and did a petition campaign. A handful of members in Toronto and Montreal organized this campaign, to the heads of the media, the Sun, Star, Globe, etc... It was this petition of about 1,000 signatures of people demanding full and complete coverage of this up-coming trial. They felt that it was a significant trial for Canadian society. So we handed those petitions over to the media waiting for some kind of response. Still, there was not much. There were some notable exceptions, but in general there was not much reported. In order to try to raise the profile of this case, and talk about the importance of this case, we decided to invite some eminent Canadians like Alan Borovoy , Patrick Watson and David Suzuki to give their opinions on this issue. So, that is why we invited them here today. And before I let them speak, we just wanted to state that for us, for the humanist movement, we see this trial as an attempt by a multi-national corporation to use the laws and legal system of this country against Canadian citizens to silence Canadian participation. We see it as a dangerous sort of precedent or dangerous evidence of a continuing tendency for a corporate interest to take precedence over citizens' rights and human rights. We call on all the politicians of this country, at every level, the Municipal level, the Provincial level and National levels, to just take a stand on this issue. There are things on the Multi-lateral Agreement on Investment, that have been negotiated in secret, which also threaten our rights in front of corporate interests, so we are calling on them to take a stand on that issue, and on this case specifically, we would like to hear from them and what they have to say about this case. Now, I would like to let speaker, Alan Borovoy, the general counsel of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association speak. (CCLA) Alan Borovoy: The Canadian Civil Liberties Association takes no position on the merits of the dispute between the Daishowa and the Lubicon, but the CCLA does take a position on the merits of the law governing that dispute. Some of the problems with that law are well illustrated in the interim injunction that the Divisional Court granted to Daishowa several months ago. That injunction restrains the Friends of the Lubicon from intentionally interfering with Daishowa's contractual and economic relations, by unlawful means, including picketing and threats of picketing aimed at Daishowa customers. That is what the injunction says. Now, if it is not unlawful to conduct a boycott why should it be unlawful to picket in support of that boycott? How are the boycotters supposed to line-up support for their position? Of course, I know some people who will say they can always buy ads, or they can advertise on TV, radio and the newspapers, but that is not much help to a lot of people in the real world who cannot afford it. They may also be told that they can picket somewhere else. I know that some courts have sometimes said: Well you can picket somewhere else not at the place of the dispute. This is the way we sometimes do things in Canada. In Canada, we might not ban picket lines, but we might reroute them. So, the picket line becomes an exercise not in freedom of communication but in freedom of soliloquy. In the past number of years, Aboriginal protesters have been told that they may not establish armed barricades as they did at Oka, they may not blockade highways as they have threatened to do in a number of places, and they may not seize or occupy a recreational park as they did at Ipperwash. We do not quarrel with the idea that everyone must obey the law, but we do insist that the law must be fair to everyone. And that means an effective right to conduct boycotts, and an effective right to conduct boycotts must include a broad right to picket in pursuit of such boycotts. As a result of all of this, the CCLA, the other day, wrote a letter to the Attorney General of Ontario requesting a meeting. We are asking for a meeting so that we may begin the process of reviewing and revising the incomprehensible and unfair law of picketing in this country. We thought this was an ideal opportunity to put that issue on the political agenda. We do not pretend that it is not devoid of complexity, but that it is something that requires attention on the political agenda, it is just not enough to leave this on the hit and miss basis that it has been in the courts. David Suzuki: I am here today, I guess, in the role of a friend of the Friends of the Lubicon. I do not know how many layers we are going to be able to build along here. I agree very completely with what Roberto said in terms of the implications of this case for other groups across this country. I already sense a very strong fear and chill among grassroots environmental groups, because of the enormous potential of legal suits that would be extremely costly to just ordinary grassroots people. So the implications of this case are immense. I would like to just briefly indicate that the whole story, of which this is just a part, is a very multi-layered one and I would like to just lay that background on the table for all of you. One of the last great forests that remains on this planet is the northern Boreal Forest that circles the planet from North America, to Europe, to Asia. Canada has a very large part of this last remaining forest. Alberta has decided that its Boreal Forest is one of its great resources to be exploited. We can get an idea of how suddenly the Boreal Forest in Alberta has become a resource. In 1971 less than 3% of Alberta's Boreal Forest was allocated for logging now it is over 75%. I think, for Canadians, the way in which that resource has been offered up to trans-nationals is very significant. We think that we are an industrialized country but basically we are still a resource driven country, and that great ecosystem, the Boreal Forest in Alberta, has been essentially given away to companies like Mitsubishi and Daishowa for $1.40 per ton of pulp which on the market will bring $900.00. Now we are supposed to be not only an industrialized, but also an educated country, but that sure does not strike me as being very educated. To me, we are giving away the Boreal Forest. Part of the Daishowa allocation included most of the territory the Lubicon regard as theirs. The Lubicon up until the early 70's were still basically self-sufficient and basically a hunting society. They have been heavily impacted by oil, gas, roads and now logging. Friends of the Lubicon were then set up . These are grassroots people who were showing their support of the Lubicon. To me, what Daishowa has done has been incredibly vindictive, punitive and basically bullying. I said this in court to some of the people testifying from the company earlier last week. I could not help myself and I leapt up and said, you guys this is shameful and you are bullies and I really feel that. They are using the threat of litigation to try to chill any kind of public discussion or protest against the activities of multi-nationals and, I think, this is the context within which we have to see what's going on here today. Thank you. Roberto Verdecchia: Thank you David. Now let's introduce Patrick Watson, the author (of the book entitled) and producer of the monumental TV series: The Struggle for Democracy. Patrick Watson: I am not here to represent anyone but myself. As a student of democracy, I found myself outraged at what was happening structurally here, as a democratic function. It is absolutely essential to the operation of democracy that citizens be able to assemble in public places in order to declare, not just with their voices and their ideas but with their bodies, the position that they take on public issues. I am just going to present you with a simple analogy and ask you to consider it for 30 seconds or so. Suppose you change the players in this particular structural arrangement. Suppose instead of the Friends of the Lubicon, -- the group of citizens who wish to use their bodies in public spaces, in order to express their opposition to something that is happening in Canada -- suppose instead of the Friends of the Lubicon it was the Conservative Party of Canada. And suppose the people they were opposing -- and this opposition, if successful, was going to cause financial difficulty to the group they were opposing -- suppose the people they were opposing were the Liberal Party of Canada, that happen to form the government of the day. And supposing a court came along and said Sorry, Conservative Party of Canada you can not carry your banners and placards outside the Liberal party headquarters, or outside the Parliament buildings of Canada, because that is going to cause, if you succeed, financial hardship to the people you are opposing.The structure is exactly the same. If a court behaved like that in this country today, can you imagine how the citizens would react. I just asked you to apply your imagination, because to me the analogy is absolutely clear. Roberto Verdecchia: Thank you Patrick. Now are there any questions? There is also a representative from the Sierra Legal Defence Fund (SLDF), here today, to possibly answer any questions about the trial if there are any questions. (The following are selected questions and their answers. Preambles to some questions have been omitted.) Question: ...? ? ? ...politicians...???.. why aren't they standing up for the Lubicon? David Suzuki: I think, that is the most critical question. To me, it is astonishing that we in a democracy elect people presumably to represent us and look out for our interests. When Sergio Marchi was put as Minister of Environment, within two weeks after he became Minister, I met with him and I said one of the most urgent actions that we need is protection of grassroots organizations against the enormous power of these multi-nationals. We are in a time when all the rhetoric is repeated over and over about globalization, about the importance of becoming a part of a global economy. It has never made any sense to me that people who we elect to represent us, immediately rush out to become a part of a global economy over which they have absolutely no control. It doesn't make sense to me. So we have this ludicrous situation of a multi-national company coming from Japan, who is not only given our forests but given massive subsidies to exploit those forests, and now are using the Canadian courts to SLAPP Canadian citizens and prevent them from speaking out. Where the heck are all of our elected politicians in all of this? You have asked the question and I do not know what the answer is. Question: What about the underlying conflict? I think I read the Federal government said it was going to appoint an arbitrator or mediator for this land dispute, what's happened there? Kevin Thomas, Friends of the Lubicon: The Lubicon have been essentially in negotiations with the Federal government for the last two years, and they are currently trying to get a meeting with the Minister of Indian Affairs, Jane Stewart, in order to get those negotiations back on track. Hopefully there will be a meeting between the two parties sometime within the next couple of weeks. Question: What is Daishowa asking in damages? Kevin Thomas: They have been very coy about that, they would not say what they're asking. They're claiming we have cost them about 11 or 12 million in lost revenue, but they will not say specifically how much they are asking from us. I think the reason they're being coy about it, is they do not want the public to fixate on figures, and compare that with the kind of incomes that people like myself have. I think, it is a very nasty public relations move for them. Tom Heintzman, Sierra Legal Defence Fund: In addition with being somewhat coy with the figures, Daishowa has also brought motions to keep the damage documents confidential. Ordinarily, in Canada, the court room is an open place, it is not a Star Chamber, where the public can view the proceedings of justice. They have asked for certain records to be sealed in order to protect their confidentially, despite the fact that they have come to a public forum asking for justice. Question: In the past few years, there have been a number of citizen's and consumer groups that have been doing certain kinds of actions to try to encourage corporations to behave responsibly, I am wondering why some things are okay to do, and others are not? Because I myself about a year or two ago was present at a demonstration in front of the Gap to encourage the Gap to adopt responsible labour practices, I was wondering why is it okay for some people to walk around on sidewalks and ... ??? ... & for others not to ... ??? .. Kevin Thomas: The Gap acted responsibly in that situation, and the difference between them and Daishowa is tremendous, because Daishowa has acted irresponsibly and they have gone out of their way to destroy Friends of the Lubicon. If they are successful in this case, you would not have the right to picket at the Gap either, and any corporation which feels threatened by an environmental group, or consumers' group of any type, you will find the corporations will have the power to shut down those pickets. Question: All I see, was that the Gap looked at the people and thought: well it's better public relations to talk to them rather than to try to squash them. But in this case Daishowa decided that it's better to squash people than to talk to them. David Suzuki: What have you heard about the Daishowa case? Most people I talked to have never heard about what's going on here. The Gap protest got a lot of publicity. That publicity worked. But here is a group that is being hammered and we do not see it. This trial has been going on for a while. Question: What if the company wins this case? What does that mean for democracy and our rights? Patrick Watson: If the company wins this case, I think, the single most important aspect of it is the silencing of citizens' voices in public space. That sounds like very bland language. But it describes something that is absolutely crucial: we cannot have a genuine democracy, we can not have personal liberty, if our courts are prepared to tell citizens that they are not permitted to express opinions. That includes putting their bodies in public places and carrying placards about a matter of public interest, as this one clearly is, because it has to do with a resource that belongs to the citizens of Canada. Question: Perhaps there can be some comment on SLAPP suits elsewhere in other jurisdictions? David Suzuki: The threat of SLAPP suits is very real. We have seen how McDonalds was willing to spend how many millions in order to get at two people and win, I guess, a kind of pyrrhic victory in the end. The ripple effect of that kind of case is immense. I am absolutely sure that groups like the one indicated here, that were protesting the Gap, will be very nervous about continuing that kind of activity in the face of the threat of a suit that can literally wipe you out economically. These are people and citizens who care passionately about an issue, but who simply cannot afford to put all of their savings at risk. It is going to have a huge chilling effect. That is why I talked to Marchi about this, that something has to be done to limit the threat of SLAPP suits, because it would have an enormous chilling effect on the environmental movement. Question: Can someone explain to me the term SLAPP suit? Comment: Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation that is my understanding. David Suzuki: So, this is where a company will take on an environmental group, and attempt to essentially push them into penury, by winning . It is a very powerful tactic. What's happening with the Friends of the Lubicon, I think, is just part of a tactic by the business sector. Tom Heintzman: There is an interesting side-note in this case, that you might find a little fascinating. There is a law professor in Victoria by the name of Chris Tollefson who writes a lot about SLAPP suits & in particular has written about this particular case. He also happens to be a member of the board at Sierra Legal Defence Fund. As part of interlocutory relief in this case, Daishowa asked for, in effect, a muzzle order on Professor Tollefson in his teaching and writings capacities, and he was not permitted to make representations because he was not party to the case when that motion was on going. Now in the end, nothing was granted against him, but the possibility that someone, who is not party to the litigation, could have the potential of having a muzzle order put against them, and not be able to make submissions, this is something that might give us all pause to think. Question: With this current case and all the SLAPP suits, it seems to me, that there is a move to give businesses, and their right to make profit, top rights throughout the world. In other words, their rights will count more than any other rights and other rights may never exist. They are taking rights away from the environment and taking rights away from people. The only rights people may have left will be on the interpersonal relationship level. If a business says that we want to enslave you, they will be allowed to do so. It seems to me, these kind of cases are leading towards that. Are there any comments on that? David Suzuki: You said it! Question: I am wondering if you could enlighten me as to why the press has not given this much coverage? Roberto Verdecchia: Anybody reached a conclusion? It is hard to say, There has been some coverage, but not what we think this merits. Comment: A couple of good funerals lately you know ...???... Question: I have been speaking to Daishowa people about this. They have given me their point of view and I wonder if I could kind of repeat it, and have your response? They say they have had the pulp mill in existence, I think, since 1990, and they have the permission from the Alberta government to log in the traditional Lubicon territory, since that time. They have not done so for seven years, except for one instance in 1991(actually it was 1990) by a subsidiary. Their question is: At what point does it cease being corporate responsibility and start being the responsibility on the part of the parties in the land negotiations. In other words, they seem to be tired of being a target, and seems to me what they're saying is: the Federal government and the Lubicon leadership should be the focus of the tension on not having this case resolved. David Suzuki: I think it is absolutely legitimate for them to ask that question. We are asking that all the time. We have elected people in office, and it seems to me, that citizens are raising questions about the implications of their decisions. If I was on the board of Daishowa I would have rushed into Alberta for heavens sake. They're going to give us all those trees for nothing basically, and then subsidize us to the tune of tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. Why not do that? Then I suppose, suddenly by being slapped in the face by realizing, my god, our forest allocation covers Lubicon territory. You know it must be a shock to them because they were assured by the Getty government that this land was theirs to use. Now I think that the degree of public protest, its success is measured by the fact that they have not actually gone in and logged much of the Lubicon territory. But it is up to our political representatives to make a stand on this and they're quite right to raise that question. The question to me is: why though, for a company that is given its pulp, at a dollar forty per ton it is a gift, to now claim that this tiny group of grassroots people must be punished by claiming money back from them. It just strikes me as more then just their saying: Now look here we are doing our business and it is up to your government. They're taking a very aggressive act, a bullying act, I think, that it is meant as a lesson to other people. Question: Could this be a reason that the public ...???... be afraid to speak out ... ? ? ? ... David Suzuki: I think, the people concerned about why aren't the media talking about this, you are under a mistaken notion that the media are in the business of presenting you with the important issues of the day. No seriously, the newspapers are in the business of selling newspapers. TV is in the business of getting audiences, basically. And if you're from outer space and were to judge what Canadians or human beings considered their important issues on the basis how much time is spent in the news, just by looking at news reports you would have to judge that in the last two years the O. J. Simpson trial of course was overwhelmingly crucial. Certainly, for the last three weeks the death of one individual (Princess Diana) is a major, major thing. The media does not reflect the issues that are really critical and, as the media becomes more and more concentrated in the hands of fewer and fewer people, those people are really going to decide what are the priorities that are going to be covered by the media. As someone who has been in science journalism for many years, I decried the fact that the vast majority of people in the positions of power in media are not educated in science and so to them, they are completely blind to the role science plays in daily life. And you see that reflected in the amount of space given to them in the media. It is as simple as that. The people who were deciding what should be reported have their own values and beliefs. Increasingly the world is dominated by two areas, law and business. People see the world that way. I am a geneticist. I cannot help but whenever I'm in a group like this, I see mutants everywhere, I mean, that's my priority. Comment: Thanks a lot!! Nice guy!! Alan Borovoy: David, are you telling us you see mutants here! David Suzuki: Oh! Absolutely!! I want to talk to you Alan. (Ha! Ha!) Roberto Verdecchia: We are going to have to wrap this up. I'm sure more people have questions. I am sure there are people you can speak with here. I would like to thank first of all the counselor John Adams and Dan Leckie for allowing us to be here in the room today, and certainly I would like to thank, Alan, Patrick, Dave, Tom for being here, and lending their time and speaking to all of you. And I would like to thank all of you here for coming as well. Thank you! --------- "RE: Time Bomb" --------- Date: Fri, 12 Dec 1997 12:24:02 -0800 (PST) From: National Commission for Democracy in Mexico Subj: THE TIME BOMB by Cecilia Rodriguez UUCP email THE TIME BOMB By Cecilia Rodriguez "the government bet is clear, but if you believe that misery and military pressure will make us surrender you are wrong...If you believe that the fear of defeat and destruction will oblige us to a sterile and lie-filled dialogue, you are wrong. We have no political future to take care of, no popularity index to maintain, no poll percentage to improve, no political post to win, no rotten political system to salvage. We have nothing, just dignity. Someone had to say enough was enough, someone had to have honor, someone had to be able to keep his word, someone had to be responsible." EZLN Communique, March 1997 "Nuevo Amanecer Press has confirmed that between 1996 and 1999, some 3, 200 Mexican soldiers will receive special training in 23 U.S. military institutions. Later they will become a part of what is called Special Forces Aerial Groups (GAFE). According to information from the Mexican armed forces, a general quarters will coordinate these units, similar to U. S. "rangers", which will each be the size of a company and receive training for developing special operations in the desert, the mountain and the jungle as well as urban zones...their purpose is to fight irregular forces..." With each alarming report we send you, we wonder how much time there is. The government makes cosmetic gestures at a dialogue and simultaneously prepares its military machine Danielle Mitterand's visit is accompanied by significant movement by the Mexican Army, while Hermann Bellinghausen of La Jornada becomes an "accidental" target for an armed patrol in the midst of a rehearsal. Hundreds of indigenous families live the same horror they did in February of 95 in the mountains accompanied only by hunger and cold. International observers in the communities are harassed, persecuted, and even "disappeared" before being deported back to their countries of origins. How much more time must pass before things change for the Zapatista communities which are about to see their 4th anniversary in resistance? How much longer will their patience endure? What will be the decisive action which will shift this conflict out of its stagnation? Will it come from the Zapatistas? Will it come from the federal government? Will it come from civil society, on a national and international level? We are of a mind that this is not the time to become spectators. We still believe that international pressure has a role to play in the outcome of this conflict. We believe that the people of the United States have a special responsibility. The United States has wanted to own "all" of Mexico since before the country won its independence from Spain. The United States is an originator of a strategy called "low- intensity war" and its biggest funder in Chiapas. The United States has always intervened whenever people decide they want to define words like "democracy"(most of the world has a definition beyond the idea that it is just two parties that say the same thing) and "freedom" (which some believe is more than a choice between different brands of soft drinks) for themselves. The United States is also a global "cop", a taskmaster which imposes its consumer culture, and economic model on the world. What is that model? In the United States,1% of the wealthiest Americans have conquered 61.6% of the total national wealth between 1983 and 1989. 80% of the poorest North Americans share only 1.2% of the wealth. There you have it. Injustice deified. Those of us in the United States are of the mind that the Zapatistas are one of the most powerful challenges to that model. They challenge every kind of conformity, even "leftist" conformity, which adheres to time-worn concepts that have already demonstrated their limitations. Their example is simple and clear; it is not only possible to change things, it is our collective responsibility to change things. In response to the difficult situation in Chiapas we propose a mobilization campaign directed at building momentum against the low- intensity war. We believe we must accomplish three things; 1) reach out to sectors of the general public which have as yet not heard about the Zapatista struggle. 2) Utilize a tool which will demonstrate extensive popular support for their struggle. 3) Measure people's willingness to undertake stronger actions in order to exert pressure on the Mexican government. We have the crazy notion that we can recruit 1,111 volunteers in the United States, to get 100 people to sign a ballot expressing opposition to U.S. military aid and concern about the deteriorating state of human rights in Mexico. We think it will mean a lot to have 111,000 people in the United States say that they are willing to consider an economic boycott. The hope is that these 1,111 people through their tenacity would let the governments of Mexico and the United States know that the Zapatistas are not alone, that the movement here is more than a movement of people who only talk. We want to let both government know that we are people who act because we understand that this war is a war against us all, against human decency, against human development. We think our success will mean a great deal. In 111,000 voices we would like to be able to say to the world that the US's economic model is dysfunctional. We are looking for 1,111 people to say enough is enough, to have honor, to keep his or her word, to be responsible to the example and the hope which the Zapatistas have given us with such generosity. It is necessary for 1,111 of us to stand with the Zapatistas not because they need our help but because we need them. We need their tranquillity in the face of enormous odds. We need their confidence in the power of collective action. We need their clarity about the nature of our common enemy for whom borders do not exist. We need for the possibility of political struggle under a new framework to survive and to prosper in a dynamic dialogue which can build our ideas and experience for a different kind of society. Concerned about the imminent war in Chiapas, people in Canada and Europe are carrying out signature campaigns and taking over consulates. In the United States there have been and will be vigils and demonstrations in San Francisco, Denver, Sacramento and Los Angeles. In Los Angeles, AGUASCALIENTES LA has been formed. It is a broad community-based coalition of groups which oppose the world war against the poor. Together they are organizing a Zapatista Festival of Resistance. It began on December 10th with a march, rally and press conference. Following that, the group will sponsor Aguascalientes or Centers of Resistance around LA until January 1st which will highlight and celebrate 4 years of Zapatista resistance as well as local community resistance in LA. We'll be posting the schedule to you. Please try and organize parallel events in your city or consider joining us on New Years Eve for our "Rojo Amanecer 2" Zapatista Bash. In terms of ballots collected here at the NCDLJ, we have approximately 700 in our database, which does not include those being collected around the country. We currently have 204 volunteers, both nationally and internationally. We are undaunted however. For people with no financial infrastructure, and no media profile we have averaged 10 recruits per day and we believe this number will be expanded. WE NEED MORE VOLUNTEERS & BALLOTS--THE ZAPATISTAS NEED YOUR SUPPORT! If all the volunteers keep their word the results will be larger than what was accomplished in September of '95 with the Zapatista Consulta. We still believe it is possible to do more. Students tell us that it is finals time and that they are trapped under books. Families have the responsibility of holidays to deal with. The recruitment of the 1,111 volunteers has therefore been extended. On January 1st we will announce a second tally. We will then announce a third tally on February 9th, which is the anniversary of the military mobilization against the Zapatistas in 1995. Stand up and say "Ya Basta"! --------- "RE: Annual Language Post" --------- Date: Sat, 13 Dec 1997 14:06:59 -0400 From: mail@netrover.com (justanoldman) Subj: my annual post re language Newsgroups: alt.native greetings to friends & relations.. I first posted this on Frosty's bbs in Dec '94. In Dec 95 I had no phone & in Dec 96 I was travelling back up north visiting, so here it is once more (before my phone gets cut off again) (g).... I have a suggestion for New Years resolution for members of our electronic Circle; consider learning the language of your Nation, if you don't already speak it. If it was beaten out of you or your parents or grandparents, don't feel shame - get angry! And use that anger to drive you to take time, to make time to remember your mother-tongue, before it is too late. Language is more than simple words; it is a way of seeing the world and acting in it. Words are like packages for thoughts and feelings, and the imported 'packages' offered by English, Spanish or French are so pitifully limited in comparison with the only languages really Native to this land. They only have 4 seasons for example, & only one word, "snow" to describe what most *real* languages of this land can describe in 10 or 30 different ways, each different. "Brother" "sister" and all the other terms of kinship that bond a people's hearts together are so much richer in feeling than they will ever be in any euro-language. The immigrants will never *ever* know what this land really is, what feelings it gives, will never ever feel its warm pulse and loving heartbeat with the limits of their languages. Take the time. *Make* the time to save this incredible treasure which has been since the world began. Make the effort to learn, and use, your own, real mother-tongue. There is no truer way to let your Grandfathers and Grandmothers guide you. It is their greatest gift to you. It would be the greatest gift you could give to your children, and to their children... In Br... About my suggestion to learn *& use* your language... Well, no one says it's easy, but nothing of value usually is, right?. Please think about it, no matter how old or young you are. I speak no more than a few words of 6 or 10 languages of true-peoples, except for Chipwyan-De'ne' where I massacre about 500-1000 words. My family, (those who "re-borned" me so long ago I've lost my beforetime in the mists of Yesterplace) were very, very patient with my learning. Since a few knew some english but refused to use it with me when I became family, I complained like I'm sure your children will complain, because what the school & tv & all their friends use is SO much easier! A small voice inside you will complain too, really loud. Hang in there! Try first using your language just at mealtimes, when you are all together, then all mornings, or start with one day a week, etc. Remember it's the little everyday phrases that count most, so stop answering your phone with "hello", etc. The important thing is to stick to it. We each have a responsibility not just to our children but to all those who are gone-but-still-with-us, who died with the hope that at least their way of speaking, of seeing, of being, would be passed on. Not by "the other guy', not by archaeological records. By us. And we have an even bigger responsibility to those-to-come... It sure isn't easy being Indian today. 25hrs a day, day in & day out..., no time off... It makes me as angry as it does you, & life would be SO much easier "...being Indian on Saturday night at the 'Y'..." (as Buffy puts it in her song, "Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee") but what's the alternative? Now I live far away from home for longtime, my De'ne' is so bad that it cracks up children when I speak on the all-to-rare occasions I get back to De'ne'deh (but I've always so much loved hearing little people laugh, pure & from the belly, maybe I do it on purpose I think). Anyway, the latest figures ('96) from AFN (Assembly of First Nations) here in Canada say that 23%-25% of all people in Native language classes are adults, so if they are mostly Indian (I hope!!) then the songs of this land & its true-humans, the song-since-forever, will go on. Of course there are going to be words you think impossible to translate. But that's not true. ANY english phrase or word can be translated, & it will turn out to be fun to try. I sat in (as Executive Director of The Flip-Charts & Coffee Coordinator) when De'ne' elders from all the De'ne' communities wrestled with "computer", (among many other english terms). It took 4 days for 20-30 people there to agree. It translates (loosely, sort of) as "the writing/talking/thinking box-full" & takes even longer to say in De'ne'. They were "ROTFL" a lot of those 4 days. Now it's accepted usage. I'm not even going to start telling you how they finally translated "toilet paper"... when the elders noticed that I blush easy they showed no mercy whatsoever! (Ever noticed how teasing is so much of family-talk in Indian country? But it's not "poking-fun-at" words like in settler-families. It's more caressing, sort of like tickling babies.) What I'm trying to say about avoiding translating words like "computer" is that there is always a way, always someone to help. Believe in yourself, in your people & your elders. It can be done. You CAN do it. YOU have to, because nobody else will. I'm not much for shopping so I don't believe in Christmas, but if these 2 posts brings even one family to *consistently* speak to their children in their mother-tongue, I will feel like Santa filled my socks full of chocolate! (& as I get older I find that chocolate is even better than sex! ... Well..., almost). (;-) I am finished, with respect... masi'cho... --------- "RE: Weasels & Plastics" --------- Date: Wed, 10 Dec 1997 14:49:57 -0400 From: mail@netrover.com (justanoldman) Subj: weasels & plastics etc. Newsgroup: alt.native greetings to friends & relations... I've been dealing with the issue of the place of Euros in the rites & ceremonies of the true-human peoples of this land for a lot of years, & I suggest that even the plastics have a useful role. Hear me out... (yes it's a long talk, but I'm a baby-old-man & need the practice.) And to the whiners that are about to scream, "Racist!" at my use of the term 'true-human' - I remind folks that I know of & have met at least 2 black people, a 4 or 5 Japanese, 1 Saami & 10-12 Euros who were adopted into Indian families *by proper ceremony* & THEN sponsored into certain rites & ceremonies *as family members*. Race isn't the issue at all: family/clan/Nation/tribal bonds are everything. You can't just "take the good parts" of Indian life. You live as one with your family/clan/Nation, laugh, love, work, cry & die with your people... THEN you may merit sharing their "good parts". Family, including those who are gone-but-still-with-us & those-to-come, isn't part-time, Sunday-morning stuff to true-humans: You walk your talk 24hrs/day from your first breath (by birth OR by REAL adoption) until your last. No vacation, no time off for 'other stuff'. Years ago, when I was a young pup wandering around the western plains part of my-one-true-love (this land), I began to hear of a few young men of the Cree, Lakota, Siksika & other Nations who just got it in their heads that they were medicine people. They ignored the elders of their Nations/clans/societies and families. No one sponsored them. They just up & decided that they were "holy men" & set up their own sweats & held all sorts of ceremonies & left out all the steps of 'sponsorship' by which a normal true-human was brought into contact with such matters. By 'sponsorship' I mean the way that an uncle/aunt or other family/clan member, after judging your character, needs and/or capacity, brings you to so-&-so's sweat, or such-&-such Clan's/Society's ceremony(ies) & thus introduces you to the grandfathers unique to each setting. If the grandfathers present there don't like your spirit, you'll never return. Anyway, at about the same time that these would-be medicine men started up (I first saw this strangeness in the 1950's) the anthros & "seekers" began to realize that instead of going to Tibet or some other "depository of spiritual truths" they had "something similar" right here in the western hemisphere, & they began to show up thicker than fleas on an old dog's ass. This created a big dilemma for elders of all the Nations: What the heck to do with these poor fools that didn't realize that "spiritual truths" are in the heart & blood, passed from generation to generation? Most of these "seekers" had amputated themselves from the only true pipeline of such knowledge..., their families. The immigrant folk were (& still are) suffering from the delusion that "family" is mom, pop & 2.2 kids (grandma & grandpa optional). On the other hand, among the true-human peoples of this land I know of no one who has is part of any family of less than one or two hundred to three thousand persons. How sad life is for these lost Euro-folk. They've had to invent stuff like 'governments' & 'religions' & 'pensions' & 'social assistance' & "seniors' homes' & 'police' & 'prisons', etc...., all that construction to do what REAL families did (& do) for many hundreds of thousands of years. What is a 'tribe' or a real 'Nation' but a family of families? All other types of "nation-states" & "societies" are sham & bullshit created by man & as such cannot, & will not last. But to get back to my story..., here they came, these "seekers", asking to participate in ceremonies of the true-humans, & coming up with exactly the kind of bullshit reasons that supposedly gave them the "right" to do so that I've been reading from the "seekers of spiritual truth" on this electric gizmo for the past few months. It's the same old, "You must be racist if you refuse!" & "Spirituality is universal! Nobody owns it! We are all one! etc." crap now that they spouted 'way back then. Back then, being young & foolish, I would simply beat the hell out such "seekers" & stuff their inevitable tape-recorders & notebooks where the sun don't shine & that would be the end of their "quest". (And yes, I did get reprimanded big-time by my elders for my hot head & lack of good manners when they heard of my 'solution' to their dilemma.) The dilemma stemmed from the sense of total hospitality & sharing that are the basic foundation for the true-people of every Nation of this land. If someone, even a fool, expresses a need, how can one refuse? That's where the would-be medicine men came in & saved the day. We didn't have to really refuse. Sort of. We simply began passing on all these "seekers" to what the elders then called "the cowboy sweats". We'd say, "You won't find much here... We don't speak english so good... We're not too sure what we're doing, just a bunch of dumb poor people & old folks... but if you want the 'real thing' you should go to so-&-so's place down the road. They even have reels of 'real prayer songs' & pipes for sale over there!" etc. (Believe it or not, one clown even had a light bulb in his "sweat"!) The misguided fools who ran these pretend-ceremonies were happy because somebody was finally showing up & treating them seriously, & the anthros, 'seekers of truth & enlightenment' & other idiots were happy because they finally got to participate in "real Indian ceremonies". And the true-humans of this land got peace & quiet when they wanted to be with their grandfathers. Years later, I even kept a whole bunch of literature from that clown who called himself "Sun Bear" in my car, so that if a "seeker" showed up while I was doing pipe I'd rush to my car after I finished & set him/her/them on the "real Indian way". It worked like a charm. It still works. Now that I live with my grown children in eastern Ontario, I send "seekers" to "John Doe" a "high-falutin'" Indian who says he's "plugged into" the grandfathers. (I was fasting in Wind River, Wyoming, with the guidance of a real medicine man, when he first showed up with his "visions & voices". He was told to shutup, listen, watch & learn but he ignored the elders & sort of "ordained" himself as an "Indian High Priest". First sweat he ran the rocks blew up & put 3 in hospital & he didn't clue in. He still hasn't... Asshole.) Anyway, they can "harry krishna" & "halleluja" all over the place at his "sweats" & "ceremonies" & they're all happy as clams. So he writes "authoritative books" on "true Native spirituality"? Big deal. Who but a fool would turn to a book to find the spirit? Sometimes I get fliers from the traveling "authentic-Indian-in-a-former-life" idiots that pass through town with their bag of crap at $500 per "healing" & made-in-Taiwan drums & I hand those out too. (Like the turkey-feather hats I used to make in 15 minutes & sell to scavenger-tourists as "authentic ancient eagle war bonnets" when I was broke as a kid.) The real seekers that the grandfathers send my way, those of the true-human peoples who are really lost, (& they're few & far between) I turn towards the elders of their home-Nation/family. So you see? Don't put the plastics out of business. They are useful as hosts for the parasites. And there's another reason to stop giving this non-issue so much attention; my grandfather will tell you... One break-up-time (the season between winter & spring) I was out hunting with my grandfather-in-law. One rifle, 3 shells. Our village was Lutsel'ke' (Snowdrift), on the eastern arm of Tu'cho (Great Slave Lake) in De'ne'deh (NWT). It had been a really bad winter, 50-60 below for about 2 months straight. Hardly any fish, lynx & skunk-bears got every rabbit in every snare & no ptarmigan flew into the nets in the willows. There were 12-15 adults & 15-20 kids in our 3-room cabin & we were weak from hunger (no 'welfare' then & all in the families had shared all their winter stores, down to making ground-bone soup. Even ate a few dogs.) We'd been lying absolutely motionless in the snow for hours & this moose he'd called was almost close enough for one good shot. He had it in his sights. If he missed it was getting too dark to got after it. Then a crazy weasel ran up into his parka & it must have been really hungry-crazy 'cause it started chewing on him. He didn't move. 5, 10 minutes later he dropped the scrawny moose with one shot THEN he killed the weasel. We all ate that night (moose, not weasel). If he'd paid attention to a few little weasel bites we'd have risked sick/dead kids. He kept his attention on that fact, not his little hurt. His lesson is for us here today. Know what I mean? We have children & elders still starving for food, still dying for want of warm, safe homes, still dying of drink & drugs & bottled-up rage & pain. We have huge governments & corporations still hell-bent on genocide. The Struggle, the REAL Struggle continues & needs our attention. (We haven't heard any of these "oh-so-genuine-&-oh-so-respectful-seekers" wanting to share THAT part of the "Indian way", have we now? Part-time if at all.) I humbly suggest that readers from the Nations spend precious time & energy of this all-too-short life dealing with realities & let the foolish play together with their China-made drums & "shamanism". Let them go play make-believe-Indian with their cowboy sweats & "authentic ceremo