From gars@netcom.com Wed Jan 14 00:02:28 1998 Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 20:14:28 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.003 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 003 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 17 January 1998 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 Big Mountain and NAT-Film lists; KOLA International; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native; UUCP email Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. IMPORTANT!! ----------- To all who send copywrite protected articles, make very sure you have permission from the copywrite holder (a newspaper, the AP, a magazine, an author) because a new law is now in effect that says you can be prosecuted even if there is no monetary gain. Just because a newspaper has a website where it posts some or all of its editions does not grant permission for their redistribution. Be careful and be sure you pass on the items you do with full permission. <----<<<< >>>>----> 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. "You took our drum, the heartbeat of the people, and called it a war drum. You took our knowledge bonnets worn by our leaders and called them war bonnets. You took our Sacred horses and belittled them by calling them war ponies. You ridiculed our death masks and called it war paint. And you refused to understand the power of the Sacred Pipe but you still called it the peace pipe." __ Harry Charger, Leader of the Fool Soldiers of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Nations +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! I was given these words to share with you by an elder. They are strong words, which I pray will stir your heart as they did mine. Grandmother Probably no one will remember her after her crossing over, except a few who have heard her heart's words throughout her life. There will be no fancy funeral or eloquent words spoken over her body, laying finally, at rest in the breast of the Mother she has always respected and honored. There will be no expensive bouquet of flowers for none who mourn her have the money to buy such things. But there will be tears - shed at the passing of a Traditional Grandmother whose last wish is to live just long enough today, to see the birth of her first Great Granddaughter. Her Granddaughter is in labor today, so the time is near. Who will remember a Elder Lakota Grandmother named Bessie, whose smile and gentle voice encouraged those in despair, seeking to find a way to save their Traditional way of life. A woman who always found just the right words to speak to bring light back into the darkness for many who had lost their way. Who will mourn this woman besides a precious few whose lives she touched with her laughter and her wisdom? There will be those who will look upon the life of this woman and consider that she was not successful - that she did not achieve wealth or fame, or live in a expensive house, or leave many materialistic things behind; and those who might thus say that her life surely must have been a failure. They fail to see that this woman was the richest of us all. For she lived a life believing in her Creator, living the hard Red Journey, walking each step in honor. For each life she touched along the way in her Journey, was blessed with the rare gifts only she was able to give to each. She leaves behind, for those who will deeply mourn her leaving, a history, an honor, of a People who will never be known as 'successful' or 'rich' nor whose names shall ever be written in those books which list the most influential people in this country. Perhaps, a hundred years from now, no one will remember this Lakota Grandmother with the dancing spirit. Perhaps no one will recall the great deeds and sacrifices she did throughout her life. But for today, as the snowy season falls in the Sacred Black Hills I remember, many of the Grandmothers who lived lives, without recognition or fame, who raised families through sacrificing their own needs for the survival of her children. I remember the nameless, forgotten ones who sleep within the breast of our Mother, gently cradled in their final rest and I know, that none of these women of courage would ask, nor seek, memorials, nor places named for them, nor images of them carved into the mountain for all of time. I know, from a sense of just knowing, that we are losing a greatness, a piece of us that will never be replaced. And I think, the sadness my heart feels is that she is a treasure, a precious gift, that may never come again in our lives. And I wonder... How many of us will take the time at her passing, to thank her, and the many Grandmothers, who lived without complaint and who died with thankfulness in their hearts. I wonder.... How many people will remember to thank the Grandmothers for preserving our languages, our history, our songs, our stories, our lives, before they leave us. Not many, I think. We're too busy in our desperate lives to remember to be thankful for the most precious of gifts, which come in many different forms. We are too blinded by our eyes focused only on the goal of self success to see those things given to us which are there for us, given freely. We stash away our elders in 'skilled nursing homes', as unwanted discarded pieces of our lives we no longer have time to care for. We have discarded many precious gifts. And often, we do not remember, until it is too late, their true value. First People love their Elders, honoring them, respecting their wisdom and valuing their wisdom. I wish the world would see and truly understand, that the value of our human spirit is gauged by how we treat others and in the process of discarding the worth of human life, we show truly the integrity of our own souls. She dies poor, sick, in pain; but struggling to survive just a few more hours so she might see the next generation born. I do not think she regrets a moment of her life, nor fears her crossing over. I think, if she could say one thing to you, it might be this. Remember to be kind to others, share your lives with those who have many gifts to give to you, yet unreceived by you. Or perhaps, she might merely smile, knowing that you already know these things. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= WalMart is determined to build on another gravesite. They have a lot of money and a lot of strong public relations material that only your sincere letters can help overcome. Do NOT allow this to continue. Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 10:51:42 -0600 From: Mike Subj: [Fwd: Heads up on WALMART] The following information about the proposed WalMart site in west Nashville Tennessee requires your attention. We have confirmed that the proposed Wal Mart site will not be moved into the federal section 106 process of the Archaeological Protection Act. Termination of cemetery was supposed to have been filed for in October so this situation has now moved into a critical stage. Please step up your actions concerning WalMart and Lowe's as well as your senators and congressmen to stop the destruction of this native burial site. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= This issue and the one next week will be the final time the contact list to help elders and children will be listed this year. Please clip and save it, though. The need never ends. It is only made worse by the demands of winter. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Clay Watson has located some contacts in Montana: Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 17:40:44 EST From: Pioquark Subj: Montana Gary, Here is the first installment for Ft. Peck Reservation in Montana. The site is a homeless shelter/family shelter/abuse shelter/soup kitchen They can only house 10 women and 10 men. They feed from 60-100 people daily. They need warm clothes/ blankets/ Soup stock,beans, macaroni, rice, butter and other soup or kitchen foods. Also needed are personal care kits, and personal items such as towels, soap, shampoo tooth brushes, tooth paste etc. Contact person is: Mike Boyd Box 1597 Poplar, Mt. 59255 406-768-3695 Two more individuals who are dedicated to the people at Ft. Peck in Montana. They are true to the cause. Youth: Rhonda Kirn, works with youth and Foster children. Foster parents do not get additional income in this area due to lack of funds. Arriving kids need a start off kit: Back Pack, clothes, personal care items, school supplies, underwear, sox, bed clothes. These items can be assembled by groups or individuals and sent as a kit. Also needs all other kid support stuff for all ages. Board Games, craft supplies, etc. Rhonda got an area set aside for an ice rink and now needs all sizes ice skates, boot laces, leather care stuff like mink oil, neatsfoot oil etc. (good exercise) any kid supplies are needed. Rhonda Kirn Foster Care Licensing Prog. Ft. Peck Assiniboine-Sioux 200 Block St. East Box 1027 Poplar, Mt. 59255 (406) 768-5155 Ext: 365 (w) (406) 768-5443 (H) Elders: Lonnie Iron Bear works with 325 low income elders and the needs are great. 15 people are in need of housing. The buildings that many live in, are falling apart. The needs for elders are great. Construction materials, weatherization et. Personal care items (kits with tooth brush, tooth paste, soap etc) Blankets, warm clothes, seeds for gardens. Many elders on all reservations don't go outside in the winter due to fear of falling. Clip on or velcro Ice Cleats that strap on to shoes are needed to help prevent falling....Small nutritional food care packages would help. Soup packages, instant single serving type, cocoa, etc.. Lonnie Iron Bear 605 Indian Ave. Box 1027 Poplar Mt. 59255 (406) 768-5155 Ext: 386 (W) (406) 768-5416 (H) =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 09:56:12 -0500 (EST) From: FirehairSS@aol.com Subj: From PAPAPOSSUM- more info re: Elders Program ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Fri, Jan 9, 1998 4:05 PM EDT From: PAPAPOSSUM Subj: Re: Elders program again ok this is a federally, tax exempt, private non profit,charitable non denominational program ran by Linda Meyers POB 3401 ParkCity, Utah 84060 801 649 0535 their e-mail address is http://www.anelder.com/who.htm Right now I am trying to help the elders in Arizona by myself I did not find these people till I started on my own and my name is James C.Cogsdil 1775 W.Gregory dr. Layton, Ut 84041 801 773 5171 my e-mail is papapossum@aol.com my home page is http://members.delphi.com/papapossum I am working primarily to help the navajo elders who are still on big mtn. I hope this is what u need =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= The following message distresses me, but I feel it must be passed on. The entire integrity of this list rests on the foundation of honor and trust. I know this organization was well supported by the people who asked they be included. Maybe they only operated through the holidays; but it is disturbing that a gift has been bought for a child, and the group promoting the giving can not or will not respond to mail. I also received a note from someone living on Cheyenne River Rez asking where the help for there was. If anyone from Laxkota or someone who knows them reads this please help resolve this, and let me know how I may contact you directly to know the truth. I will then share it here. Until then they are stricken from the list. --------- Begin forwarded message ---------- Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 08:15:12 -1000 From: Sahoni Redbird To: gars@juno.com Subj: Rez aid Gary: Don't know if you received my email to gars@netcom.com but I wrote you because I am having difficulties in dealing with the Laxkota group. I went to their site and chose two people to sponsor for Christmas. The little boy I selected - named Ira Hayes - was sent a box from here on Dec. 19 - to the address they gave me for him personally. After Christmas, the box came BACK to me and is still sitting here, waiting to go to this boy. I have written this group three times now via email. The last two were the week after Christmas and I told them about the box coming back and that the address which WAS the one they gave me for him said it was attempted to be delivered but nobody knew who he was so it was returned. Also at that time told them three of us here would like to "sponsor" Ira's whole family of 8 kids. They never replied. Then this week I wrote them again and received BACK a message from their server saying they were not a client. And I sent copies of that letter plus the letter I had written to you via the netcom.com address. Do you have any idea how I should go about getting hold of these people via email??? I would so much appreciate your finding out this for me as there are several people here who would like to send things to The People. I am willing to coordinate here for my island need to know something to tell these people here. Anything you can do to facilitate things going will really be appreciated by me. And if you can't DO anything to link us up - will you please let me know that, too. This is quite difficult but not something which can't be fixed hopefully. A Hui Hou from Sahoni Redbird. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= 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. Christmas has come and gone. Winter has not. The need for clothing and food did NOT take a holiday. 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. From an South Dakota elder: If people will call 1-800-PinDrop they can get free Calling cards and hopefully will send to you to send to the elders. I did not intend to have anything sent directly through me, but my address is at the end of this editorial section if you prefer to use me as your contact rather than any of those listed here. I do not say, "No." to my elders if I can avoid doing so. gary - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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.. MORNING STAR OUTREACH c/o Cassada 320 N. 31st #13 Bismarck, North Dakota 58501 Charitable organization founded and directed by Dawn & Douglas Cassada. MORNING STAR OUTREACH chooses to offer direct as well as mediation assistance to the United States American Indian Reservations in the form of clothing, bedding, food provisions, toys for the children, scholarship funding and household provisions. This also includes craft items, fabrics, beads, patterns, yarns and notions. MORNING STAR OUTREACH chooses, because of the census reports, to Support the reservations of the Native Lakota Sioux Nation within the United States,South and North Dakota. 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 770-258-1536 From BIGMTLIST The Dineh could use some blankets to help with the cold winters. Bonnie Whitesinger Box 1073 Hotevilla, AZ 86030 Bonnie is Dineh elder and resistor Pauline Whitesinger's daughter. Bonnie, her husband Bob, and their children are at this address. Anything would have to be sent by US postal service, and not UPS as UPS doesn't deliver to PO boxes. BTW, I have been told that often people who send clothes usually send in sizes too small; apparently the Dineh are generally large people. 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. Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 14:03:10 -0800 From: POP ACCOUNT We would ask simply that you take a few minutes to visit our web site at http://www.nightwalker.org/holidays and review the information provided there. If you find it in yourself to help these children, there is a link on the site there to our SSL Secure server for online donations, or you can download and print out a form that can be mailed instead. If you do not have access to the World Wide Web, but would still like to help out, you can send an email to donate@nightwalker.org, and a donation form will be automatically sent back to you. Night Walker Enterprises is an all volunteer, 501(c)(3) non profit corporation, and all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by IRS regulations and current US tax law. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 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 ---------- - Ice Storm/Kanesatake Alert - Update from Chiptic - Countdown/Peltier - Report from Chiapas - Trial of Wendsler Nosie - BC Residential Schools Forum - UN visit to Big Mountain - BC Chief Justice Offers Deal - The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma - Canadian Gun Law - Audit Leads to Charges - Native American Assimilation Act - Shut Down Bingo Devices - New Scientific Discovery - Councilor Demands Release of - AIM/A Personal View Bonus Information - Who Made You? - Big Mountain Resisters - Native Prisoner - Aboriginal Awards - A Hundred Years Ago - Thoughts on the Aboriginal Awards - Poem: In Spirit - BLM vs Western Shoshone - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - More Buffalo Saved - Conferences and Powwows - Acteal Victims: More Than Just Numbers --------- "RE: Ice Storm/Kanesatake Alert" --------- Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 22:56:19 GMT From: ishgooda@tdi.net (Host Site for AIM-Detroit) Subj: ICE STORM..KANESATAKE ALERT..HELP NEEDED Newsgroup: alt.native Khwe, Just got another call from Kanesatake..the generator at the school has gone out...the community has been using this generator to heat and cook for community members without fireplaces, ergo without any heating source. Trees have fallen en masse under the weight of the ice blocking roads into and within the community. The community well operates on electric pumps..so there is also a water shortage... NEEDED: Blankets Power saws potable water portable heaters alternate generator(s) Kanesatake Quebec 514-479-6599 FRANK AND DONNA MAILING: FRANK TIEWISHAW 479 ST. PHILOMENE OKA QUEBEC CA JON 1E0 There is further ice storm activity creating a further weight of ice on trees and roads..temperatures are dropping.. Any assistance would be VERY helpful.. Thank you.. Ishgooda http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/aim1.htm --------- "RE: Countdown/Peltier" --------- Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 15:13:39 GMT From: Pbbmicmac@sedona.net (Robert Branscombe) Subj: Countdown-Peltier Newsgroups: soc.culture.native,alt.native To Peltier Supporters, The Holidays are over, let's go to work, to everyone who ever wrote a letter for Leonard, signed a petition, sent a e-mail or just said good words, LETS DO IT AGAIN AND SEND A LETTER TO: United States Parole Commission ATT: Micheal J. Gaines, Chairman Headquarters Office Park Place Building 5550 Friendship Boulevard, Suite 420 Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815-7286 LET'S SHOW THIS COUNTRY AND LEONARD WHERE WE STAND. LEONARD'S PAROLE HEARING IS THE 2ND OF FEB. 98 DAYLIGHT IS BURNING, THE PARTY IS OVER, LET'S DO IT. COUNTDOWN- 28days WE ARE THE POWER In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Robert A. Pictou-Branscombe DON'T FORGET DONATIONS FOR THE LPDC AND SHOULD BE SEND TO; Leonard Peltier Defense Committee PO BOX 583 Lawerence, Kansas 66044-0583 ATT: Kathleen Christian, Director NO DONATION IS TO SMALL, THIS TIME WE WIN FOLKS, LET'S DO IT --------- "RE: Trial of Wendsler Nosie" --------- Date: Thu, 08 Jan 98 10:21:22 PST From: KOLA International Campaign Office Subj: Trial of Wendsler Nosie set for Jan. 8, 1998 UUCP email Press release - Jan. 8, 1998 TRIAL OF WENDSLER NOSIE SET FOR TODAY, THURSDAY, JAN. 8, 1998 On January 8th at 1:30 PM in Graham County Courthouse in Safford, AZ, former San Carlos Apache Tribal Councilman, Wendsler Nosie, will be tried for praying on Mount Graham, a site sacred to traditional Apache. University of Arizona police arrested Mr. Nosie a short distance from the telescope complex as he was returning from prayer and meditation on this mountain. Dzil Nchaa Si An, a.k.a. Mt. Graham, is long known to be of profound religious significance to Apache people. UofA lawyers and congressional lobbyists have spent millions of taxpayers' dollars in attempts to obtain exemptions from Native American cultural protection laws and U.S. environmental protection laws, such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the American Religious Freedom Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the First Amendment rights of Freedom of Religion. >From the very onset the UofA has attempted to conceal the fact that Dzil Nchaa Si An was sacred to the Apache people. In collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, an environmental impact statement was written that did not contain one sentence or paragraph of this mountain's sacredness. Just three miles from the reservation boundary and tribal homeland for centuries, Dzil Nchaa Si An is the home of the Ga'an, the mountain spirits that bring the Apache their worldview. Nor has the University or Forest Service once in the 15 year history of the telescope project undertaken cultural consultation on the reservation with the Medicine Men and Women, spiritual leaders and elders as required under U.S. law. Voluminous scholarly material is available in Tucson from the archives of the Arizona State Museum, and from a former University of Arizona professor, Dr. Keith Basso, a leading authority on the Western Apache. After the UofA/ Vatican/German telescope construction had started, Coronado National Forest Supervisor Robert Tippeconnic, the official responsible for the environmental studies, admitted that he had known all his life that Mt. Graham was sacred to the Apache. Wendsler Nosie commented before his trial: "It is unbelievable that an institution of higher learning would set such a bad example for its students -- of trying to buy their way around cultural protection laws. They also show bad faith by working together with a government agency in violating cultural and religious protection laws." For more information, please contact: Wendsler Nosie: 520 475-2545 Jeff Bouma, William Foreman (Mr. Nosie's counsel): 602 256-7374 Ola Cassadore-Davis: 520 475 2543 Bob Witzemann: 602 840-0052 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ KOLA (International Campaign Office) Van Boeckel St. 20 B-1140 Brussels Belgium Tel&Fax +32-2-241-8322 Email : kolahq@skynet.be ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FREE LEONARD PELTIER!!! FREE WOLVERINE!!! NO SCOPES ON MT. GRAHAM!!! --------- "RE: UN visit to Big Mountain" --------- From: "Robert Dorman" Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 19:05:16 -0800 Subj: UN visit to Big Mountain ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 13:14:33 -0800 From: Mauro Oliveira Subj: media blitz Mailing List: Big Mountain List On February 2 an historical event is taking place. The United Nations is coming to Big Mountain Arizona where a twenty five year struggle for survival has been taking place with the traditional Navajo elders. Over those twenty five years, 14,000 Navajos have been relocated, many to radioactive lands. Also billions of gallons of water have been drained from the North Aquifer, which has left thousands of wells and villages without water. Testimony of gun-point pressure to sign land away have been documented and tribal and federal law enforcement have continually over stepped their boundaries. The number of human rights abuses is astronomical. Meanwhile billions of dollars are being made by the multi- national energy corporations that are behind the abuses. Never in the history of the Navajo resistance to these abuses has the United Nations been on the land. Strong language in world-wide resolutions, including "Genocide" accusations have forced this summit. Now many of North America's medicine people, scientists and statesmen are preparing to converge on Big Mountain. Reporters from all media are invited to attend. Please call SOL Communications at 818 753-1241 for travel information, maps and other important details. Along with Mr. Amor and his entourage from the United Nations, many NGO's (non-government advisory groups that represent millions of people the world over) will be present. Traditional Elders will be speaking, along with Mr. Amor and the NGO's covering the total range of human rights abuses at Big Mountain. It is time to end the reign of terror at Big Mountain. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To unsubscribe, email redorman@theofficenet.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded message, you may subscribe by emailing redorman@theofficenet.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html --------- "RE: The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma" --------- Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 11:47:04 -0800 From: Nancy Thomas Subj: Concerning the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma! http://www.YvwiiUsdinvnohii.net/ is now "the People's Paths home page!" At [Fri, 9 Jan 1998 20:15:44 -0800] > Concerning the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma > A new message, "Byrd & Cohorts Are Determined To Hand > Indian Country Over To State's Jurisdiction!," > was posted on the The Yvwii Usdinvnohii WebBBS! > ''the People's WebBBS'' > by Kate Browning on Friday, 9 January 1998, at 11:15 p.m. > The message reads as follows: Today's Muskogee Phoenix headlines regarding the dirty deeds of the illegal Tina Glory District court down in Byrd's administrative offices at the complex was enough to make you sick, but what made me real angry, and what should have outraged every tribe in this country is the apparent determination by Byrd and cohorts to hand over our Indian Country to the jurisdiction of the state and District Attorney all in the name of saving Byrd's butt from arrest at all costs! The paper today reported that Bart Fite (the tribal prosecutor back then) said no court date was set [for Byrd by Tina Glory] because Byrd's attorney Bliss planned to file a motion for dismissal. Bliss said he planned to argue the case should be dismissed because the tribal courthouse and the court at the tribal complex were NOT in INDIAN COUNTRY, Fite said. Jurisdiction would be in question if that were the case. This is a very interesting argument... if that is what Byrd's "justice department" attorneys, and his criminal defense attorney are trying to prove, [complex is not on Indian Country] then guess what folks... the tribe is committing a felony right now. They are selling Indian cigarettes and gasoline out there at the tribal complex convenience store! We are surprised that Diane Barker Harrold, the DA hasn't set up her commando troops and raided the place for evidence and then filed charges in STATE court that the Cherokee government is operating illegal smoke shops and gas stations at the tribal complex which the Chief and cohorts have publicly said is under the jurisdiction of the State of Oklahoma and the DA. (Was that why they were out there surveying the land the other day... mapping off the little spot were the tribal convenience store is so that they quickly rush it into "trust" status, while stalling on the same process for the whole complex area so the complex where Byrd committed his crimes is not Indian Country?] Remember the "status conference" back in November 97 called by the federal judge up in the northern district wherein Byrd's attorney tries to argue that our courthouse and grounds were not Indian Country, just so she and R.E. Starr could attempt to save Byrd's behind once again from having to appear in any court for any reason... read it word for word to refresh your memory on the Cherokee News Path, link at top of this page or go right to the November articles at: http://www.yvwiiusdinvnohii.net/Cherokee/Nov97/Nov97.htm The Cherokee News Path carries that report and comments by the Cherokee Press Association (November 97 articles)... part of it says... Purcell, Joe Byrd's staff attorney argues that the DA (Diane Barker-Harrold) has jurisdiction over the Cherokee Nation Judicial Branch Courthouse. (Even the federal judge was amazed with her argument.) Would an Indian Nation anywhere in this country make statements like Byrd's attorney Purcell did to a federal court judge? Byrd, Starr and Purcell have betrayed and endangered every tribe in America with this outrageous testimony and statement to a federal judge!!!! The accurate word for word transcript of status conference proceedings in federal court concerned the civil rights case filed against Byrd ordered city, state, county and federal officials by 18 Cherokee plaintiffs; and the individual civil rights case filed by Chad Smith against same officials including Byrd. Plaintiffs filed suit after the events of June 20th (pre-dawn raid take over by Byrd of the Cherokee Nation Courthouse/ Judicial Branch of Cherokee Nation Government), and August 13th (Service of a Court ordered eviction of Byrd's illegal security/goons from the Judicial Branch Courthouse was executed by Cherokee Nation bailiffs. The defendants prevented the eviction, arrested the bailiff, Pat Ragsdale, and physically injured, abused and violated plaintiff's civil rights by preventing them >from entering the Cherokee Nation Courthouse) If you have friends in Indian Country anywhere in this nation, please call them and tell them that Joe Byrd the Chief of the Cherokees is endangering the sovereignty of every Indian tribe in America. He will do anything to keep from facing up to allegations of misappropriation of federal and tribal funds, even if it means he betrays every Indian in this country. Ask every Indian friend you have to write protest letters about Byrd's treason and betrayal. Pressure must be brought to bear on Byrd to step down, and that he should be banned, shunned and sanctioned from participation on any Indian board, organization, association or congress in Indian America. > For much more information Visit: > ''the People's WebBBS'' > http://www.YvwiiUsdinvnohii.net/cgi-bin/WebBBS/index.cgi > Cherokee News Path! > http://www.YvwiiUsdinvnohii.net/Cherokee/News/Path.html --------- "RE: Audit Leads to Charges" --------- Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 13:42:57 -0600 From: Summerfield/Marvin&Linda Subj: Dahlonegah audit leads to charges-Muskogee Phoenix-By Donna Hales Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native Posted courtesy of your only independent Cherokee newspaper, The Cherokee Observer. http://www.cherokeeobserver.org The following article was published 1/10/98 in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. It is posted with permission from the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dahlonegah audit leads to charges Current, former board members accused of embezzlement State superintendent, prosecutor called for audit By Donna Hales, Phoenix Staff Writer Prosecutors charged a Dahlonegah school board member and a former board member who also is a Cherokee tribal councilor with embezzlement Friday. Member Brenda Ross and former member Dora Mae Watie, both of rural Stilwell, also are charged with authorizing payment of $12,124 in false claims and seven violations of the state Open Meetings Act. The claims involved overpayments that span four years to 11 school employees and board members, including Ross and Watie. Arrest warrants will be issued for Ross and Watie, said District Attorney Dianne Barker Harrold. "I expect to file additional charges against other individuals in connection with wrongdoing at Dahlonegah School," Frank Medearis, an assistant district attorney in Harrold's Adair County office, said Friday. If Watie is convicted of embezzlement, a felony, it could have a major effect on the balance of power in the Cherokee Nation, which has been in a constitutional crisis for 11 months. Watie is one of eight councilors loyal to Chief Joe Byrd. No Cherokee can hold tribal office after being convicted of a felony. Should Watie be convicted and removed from the council, Byrd's balance of power on the council could be 7-7. If Watie should have to be released, councilors would elect a replacement. Harrold said she realizes that the felony charge against Watie "has nothing to do with the cherokee Nation and everything to do with the Cherokee Nation." Harrold, who is Cherokee, said she has no allegiance to Byrd and doesn't perceive herself as having a role with the Cherokee Nation other than as a tribal member. "We did this like we would any other criminal case - by the book - and no one at the Cherokee Nation has been notified," Harrold said. The state audit report released Friday states all illegal payments may not have been discovered because of missing records. Records for two years were missing on Sept. 16, when auditors arrived at the school, although they had been at the school the day before. The missing records "mysteriously appeared" in an area searched two days before, auditors said. But documents relating to board members' travel reimbursements and credit card payments still are missing. Auditors partially reconstructed the records, but some credit card billing receipts still are missing. Ross is charged with two counts of embezzlement, involving a total of $2, 034.30. Watie is charged with one count of embezzling $512.35. State Superintendent of Instruction Sandy Garrett and Harrold asked for an investigative audit in September 1997, at the request of residents and former school district employees. Garrett's staff is operating the school of about 80 students, kindergarten through eighth grade. ------------------------------- THE AUDIT The following are findings of State Auditor and Inspector Clifton Scott's office and refer to an audit of Dahlonegah School: $-Dahlonegah school board member Brenda Ross admitted using a school credit card to pay a collection company and personal cable television bills. She said she reimbursed the school, but the former school treasurer said no payments were received. $-Ross and former board member Dora Mae Watie admitted, to the Phoenix, to charging airline tickets in 1996, for a non-school related. event. The women said they reimbursed the school's treasurer in cash and received no receipt. The former treasurer, in a sworn statement, said she never received payment. $-The school credit card also was used to pay for airline tickets for board members relatives. Auditors recommend the current school board seek full restitution for personal items purchased on school credit cards and excess travel of $3, 195 by Ross and $2,877.50 by Watie. Investigators pointed out an "extraordinary amount of travel expenses" totaling nearly $37,800 in four years. District Attorney Dianne Barker Harrold said that compares to a travel allowance budget of $14,000 for her and 40 employees, excluding the child support division in her four counties: Adair, Cherokee, Wagoner and Sequoyah. $-Board members and administrators charged meals to the school credit card even though they received advance payment for the meals. Dahlonegah school employees and board members were reimbursed $65 a day for meals for in-state meals and $100 a day for meals out of state. State law allows $25 a day in-state and $26 a day when traveling out of state, but only if overnight travel is involved. That wasn't required by Dahlonegah, auditors said. $-Joe King, hired as treasurer of the school in July, was charged in September 1997 with two felonies in connection with alleged improper payments to himself from school funds. $-An encumbrance clerk's signature appeared to have been forged on purchase orders, most of which were made after purchases instead of before. $-Executive sessions were listed on meeting agendas for matters that can't be legally discussed in executive sessions. $-The audit report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1996, is inaccurate. It also appears there was negligence in the preparation of the 1996-97 estimate of needs. ------------------------------ POSSIBLE PUNISHMENT EMBEZZLEMENT: Up to 20 years in prison OPEN MEETING ACT VIOLATION: Maximum sentence of one year in the county jail and/or a fine of not less than $1,000. FALSE CLAIMS: One year in the county jail and/or a minimum $1,000 fine. --------- "RE: Shut Down Bingo Devices" --------- Date: Mon, 05 Jan 1998 08:43:50 -0600 From: Summerfield/Marvin&Linda Subj: Shut down bingo devices running early Thursday-Muskogee Phoenix-By Donna Hales Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native The following article was published Jan 2, 1998 in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. It is posted by the Cherokee Observer with permission from the Phoenix. Check out other top news stories http://www.cherokeeobserver.org Shut down bingo devices running early Thursday By Donna Hales, Phoenix Staff Writer ---------------------------------------------- About 2,000 MegaMania electronic bingo games across the nation shut down New Year's Eve by federal agents were running by 9 a.m. Thursday. Still not in use are more than 300 Megamania machines in bingo parlors in Catoosa, West Siloam Springs and Grove. The federal action targeted Multimedia Games Inc. of tulsa, which makes and operates MegaMania devices used by Cherokee, Choctaw and other tribes in Oklahoma and the nation. Tribes don't like to lose use of the money-making machines and helped move Multimedia's base of operations from a Choctaw bingo parlor in Canadian to a chickasaw bingo parlor in Thackerville. Employees at the Cherokee Nation's Bingo Outpost in Roland said Thursday MegaMania machines were "up and running." Employees at the Swinamish Casino in Anacotes, Wash., and at the Chickasaw parlor in Thackerville said MegaMania machines were back on line by 2 a.m. Thursday. Tribal officials claim the games are legal and cite correspondence from the regulatory agency appointed by Congress, the National Indian Gaming commission. But U.S. Attorney Steve Lewis of Tulsa, chief federal prosecutor in the U.S. Northern district of Oklahoma, convinced a federal judge Wednesday to authorize search and seizure warrants for: *-162 MegaMania machines at the Cherokee Nation Bingo Outpost in Catoosa and 40 machines at the tribe's bingo hall at West Siloam Springs. *-53 machines and other equipment at Seneca-Cayuga Bingo in Grove. *-An automated bingo blower machine and other equipment at the Choctaw Arrowhead Resort at Canadian. Lewis is requesting forfeiture of the MegaMania devices, alleging there is probable causes to believe "they were used to conduct an illegal gambling business" violating federal law. The Cherokee's Roland bingo parlor wasn't included in the federal warrant and is operating MegaMania now that Multimedia's system is on line. But the Cherokees have agreed not to operate MegaMania machines in the U. S. Northern District of Oklahoma, Catoosa and West Siloam Springs, until the matter is settled in court. Multimedia President Larry Montgomery couldn't be reached for comment. Tribal leaders say federal court action is expected to be filed today seeking an injunction barring Lewis from shutting down the MegaMania machines pending the outcome of a hearing. The National Indian Gaming Commission earlier notified the tribes that MegaMania electronic games are Class II gaming "and not subject to a U.S. attorney's review", said Jess Green, an attorney who represents five Indian tribes, including the Chickasaws and the Seneca-Cayura. Lewis contends the machines are classified as Class III games, casino- -style games outlawed in Oklahoma. MegaMania machines operate like slot machines, except a cashier pays the player winnings, investigators said. Gary Pitchlyn, gaming attorney for the Choctaw Nation, alleges Lewis is in conflict with a federal agency which regulates gaming and is acting on his own or "overreacting." Lewis has declined comment because of the active investigation. --------- "RE: Councilor Demands Release of Bonus Information" --------- Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 13:45:27 -0600 From: Summerfield/Marvin&Linda Subj: Cherokee Councilor Demands Release of Bonus Information Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native Posted courtesy of your only independent Cherokee newspaper, the CHEROKEE OBSERVER. http://www.cherokeeobserver.org The following article was published 1/10/98 in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. It is posted with permission from the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Councilor demands release of bonus information Law mandates information release, councilor says By Donna Hales, Phoenix Staff Writer A tribal councilor who was denied information on bonuses to high-ranking Cherokee officials asked the tribe's highest court Friday to order the information released. Harold DeMoss, chairman of the executive and finance committee, which is charged with monitoring the budget and finances of the Cherokee Nation, was deneid the information on Dec. 31. The Judicial Appeals Tribunal ruled in February 1997 that such information is public and subject to disclosure. Cherokee Human Resources Director Ervin Rock wrote in a Dec. 31 memo to release the information would be a "violation of privacy" without employee permission. Employment agreements prohibit the information being given out without a court subpoena, Rock wrote. If that's the case, it is an illegal agreement, said DeMoss' attorney, Nate Young, III. It would be like Gov. Frank Keating trying to keep the salary of one of his aides private, Young said. DeMoss' suit states salaries and bonuses paid to Cherokee officials come from tribal funds budgeted and authorized by the tribal council. "If we can find out the travel, salary and contract amount - why can't we find out about bonuses?" Young said. "It;s outrageous. It's an insult to a previous ruling of the court and an insult to the Cherokee people." Young referred to a ruling in a case filed in February by Councilor Barbara Starr Scott after Chief Joe Byrd withheld financial information on a tribal judge's contract. The tribunal ruled the information was public, but Byrd still refused to release it. DeMoss then asked tribal marshals to obtain a search warrant to seize that information and more. Evidence seized led to two charges of diversion of funds against Byrd in tribal court. The action led to a constitutional crisis now in its 11th month. Byrd's spokeswoman, Lynn Adair, said Friday that the tribe's only response is: "This is confidential employe information and to divulge it would be outside our authority," DeMoss' filing states he is mandated by Cherokee law to use legal action to get the information which is needed for the budgeting process. DeMoss said he especially wants to know who determines who gets a bonus and the criteria for getting one. His suit states the administration's actions are "oppressive, malicious and in bad faith" and a violation of tribal law. DeMoss wants bonus information on: Rock; George Thomas, chief of staff; Jennie Battles, chief financial officer and secretary-treasurer; Rick Robinson, director of education; Bud Squirrel, director of community development; and Gary Stopp, an assistant to Thomas. Defendants are Byrd; Battles; Jamie Hummingbird, special assistant to Thomas; and Rock. "Byrd is suing (former Chief) Wilma Mankiller for paying severance pay - and he's out paying bonuses," Young said. He said of special concern is a bonus to Battles, who earns $81,000 a year and is under investigation by the FBI for allegedly embezzling money from the Cherokee Nation Housing Authority while it's chief financial officer. Authority records show Battles wired money from a Housing Authority account of payments on her home mortgage. Battles said earlier any authority money used by her was due her under an arrangement for extra work. The federal investigation now includes whether housing authority funds were used to further Byrd's 1995 campaign for chief. Byrd, who was a housing authority commissioner at the time, has denied they were. "A well-informed little bird has told us Jennie received a $10,000 bonus, " Young said, but declined to elaborate." He said the timing of any bonus to Battles might be of special concern to federal investigators. ----------------------- HISTORY The Cherokee crisis, now in its 11th month, started in February after a tribal councilor, Barbara Starr Scott, filed suit against the chief for failing to reveal tribal financial information. The Judicial Appeals Tribunal ruled the information was public record, but Chief Joe Byrd still refused to release it. Another tribal councilor, Harold DeMoss, then asked the chief tribal marshal to obtain a search warrant to retrieve that information and more. Byrd fired tribal marshals after they seized evidence leading to two criminal charges of diversion of funds against him in tribal court. Byrd is accused of diverting $23,419 to pay for services a contract employee of the tribe rendered to the Democratic National Committee. He also is accused of diverting more than $60,000 to outside attorneys, including his wife's brother-in-law. Byrd ignored a Judicial Appeals Tribunal order to reinstate the marshals. Handwritten notes from Byrd's chief of staff recently obtained by the Phoenix laid out a scheme for Byrd to "defy" the court, "work" councilors to impeach the tribunal justices and declare a constitutional crisis in order to gain federal intervention and prevent Byrd's arrest. Chief of Staff George Thomas has refused comment, except to say the notes weren't supposed to be made public. Bureau of Indian Affairs police took over tribal law enforcement in April. In May, Byrd fired the judge who issued a warrant for his arrest, Drew Wilcoxen. Byrd claimed Wilcoxen's term should have been up the month before. Tribal records reflect his terms ends February 1999. Eight Byrd loyalists on the 15-member tribal council illegally impeached the tribunal justices. Byrd then seized the tribal courthouse in a predawn raid on June 20 and closed it. He later fired the tribal prosecutor who filed charges against him. Only after the U.S. Departments of Justice and Interior summoned Byrd to Washington, D.C. in August to negotiate a peace agreement, did Byrd rehire the marshals and reopen the courthouse to the tribunal and court personnel. He still harbors what has been ruled an illegal district court at the tribal complex. Byrd did not reinstate Wilcoxen or former tribal prosecutor A. Diane Blalock. Byrd named J.DeWayne Littlejohn of Stilwell as associate district judge in June. His first official act was to arraign Byrd at the tribal complex and cancel the arrest warrant. Byrd pleaded not guilty and asked for a jury trial, which was scheduled for Dec. 15 but didn't take place. A tribal councilor uncovered the information this week. Byrd declined comment. Littlejohn told the Associated Press Friday that he did nothing wrong. A panel of three legal experts commissioned by the council to give an assessment of what prompted the constitutional crisis, the Massad Commission, agreed with the tribunal that the public is entitled to information on how tribal funds are spent. It was one of their strongest recommendations. Byrd promised U.S. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt he would abide by the Massad Commission ruling. --------- "RE: Big Mountain Resisters" --------- Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 13:00:56 -0500 From: "elaine flattery" Subj: First Nations: Big Mountain Resisters - Midwestern Tour UUCP email For Immediate Press Release Twin Cities Dineh Defense Alliance Three Generations of Big Mountain Resisters on Midwestern Speaking Tour: Dee Watchman, an elder who has represented the Sovereign Dineh Nation at the United Nations; Lawrence Altsisi, a resistor from Big Mountain; and his nephew, Chris Interpreter; will begin a month long speaking tour to rally support to their situation at Black Mesa, near Big Mountain, Arizona. Since 1974, and the passage of P.L.93-531, the Dineh (Navajo) at Big Mountain have been resisting forced relocation by the hands of the U.S. Government and Peabody Western Coal Company. Peabody Western Coal Company has leases with both the Hopi and Navajo Tribal Governments, and through an expensive public relations campaign, has managed to convince the media that this is a simple "ethnic land dispute" between the Dineh and Hopi Peoples. While the media and Congress buy into this misrepresentation of the facts, Peabody Coal Company continues to operate its strip coal mines at Black Mesa to fuel large power plants in the four corners region and 70% of the Navajo Nation has no electricity. The environmental destruction from the mining of coal, uranium and other minerals is a self-fufilling prophesy of the decision made by the U.S. Government in the 1970's to turn the Four Corners region into a Nation Sacrifice Area. Both the Hopi and the Dineh nations are the recipients of a cynical divide and conquer tactic, and the majority of Americans know nothing of the largest forced relocation of Native Americans this century that is being financed by their tax dollars. Let the Dineh speak for themselves and be heard! They believe that if the majority of Americans knew what their tax dollars were financing, they would rise up and stop this destruction of the Sovereign Dineh Nation's way of life. Midwestern Speaking Tour: Dates and Locations Saturday, February 7th, 1998: Lincoln, Nebraska Sunday, February 8th: Omaha, Nebraska Monday, February 9th: Des Moines, Iowa Tuesday, February 10th: Grinnell College, Iowa Thursday, February 12th-14th: Twin Cities, Minnesota Sunday, February 15th: Duluth, Minnesota Monday, February 16th: Northland College, Ashland, WI Tuesday, February 17th: University of Wisconsin, River Falls, WI Wednesday, February 18th: University of Wisconsin, Stout, WI Thursday, February 19th: Chicago, IL Friday, February 20th: Lansing, Michigan Saturday, February 21st: Detroit, Michigan Monday, February 23rd: Cleveland, Ohio Wednesday, February 24th: Pittsburgh, Penn (home of Peabody Coal Company) Thursday, February 25th: Columbus, Ohio Friday, February 26th: Cincinnati, Ohio Press Contact: David Miller or Whitney Fink Phone: (612) 362-5964 --------- "RE: Aboriginal Awards" --------- Date: Fri, 09 Jan 1998 18:45:30 -0500 From: "Robert K. Scott" Subj: Aboriginal Awards Newsgroup: alt.native -- The Centre for Indigenous Theatre | North America's Leading 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 260 | Aboriginal Theatre Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5V 1X3 | Training Centre http://www.interlog.com/~cit/cit.html | cit@interlog.com | EST: 1974 1998 James Buller Awards for Aboriginal Theatre Excellence Nominations are now open for the 1998 James Buller Awards for Aboriginal Theatre Excellence. The James Buller Awards recognize Aboriginal achievement in the fields of theatre, film and television. The awards are named in honour of the late James H Buller, founder of THE CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS THEATRE'S Native Theatre School program, in recognition of the incredible amount of work he accomplished for Aboriginal performing artists. The nomination and voting processes have remained the same as in past years with one difference. The recipient in the Advancement of Aboriginal Theatre category will be selected by the Advisory Council and management of THE CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS THEATRE. Nominations can be made in the categories of Male Performer of the Year, Female Performer of the Year, Playwright of the Year and The Advancement of Aboriginal Theatre. The top three names (by number of nominations) will be placed on the final ballots to be sent to members of THE CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS THEATRE for voting of the recipient. Past recipients of the awards include Billy Merasty, Gary Farmer, Pamela Matthews, Jennifer Podemski, Daniel David Moses, Drew Hayden Taylor, Marrie Mumford and Native Earth Performing Arts Inc. Criteria for nomination is as followed: 1. Each nominee will be of Aboriginal, Metis or Inuit descent and/or be involved in that cultures theatre arts. 2. Each nominee will have shown an overall excellence in Aboriginal theatre (acting or performance development) including promoting and raising the profile of Aboriginal theatre in North America. 3. Each nominee will have demonstrated a commitment to the development and advancement of Aboriginal theatre arts and it's forms. 4. In the advancement of Aboriginal theatre category, the award will be presented to an individual or organization that has successfully raised the profile of Aboriginal theatre in North America or has done groundbreaking work in the filed. If you would like to nominate a person or organizations please send a Letter of Nomination to THE CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS THEATRE and please include as much of the following information as you can. Nominee Information: 1. Name, address and telephone number. 2. A short statement on the nominees involvement in Aboriginal theatre. 3. A short statement on your reason for the nomination. Nominator Information: 1. Name and number (will only be used as a reference). You can nominate as many individuals or organizations that you wish in each category. Please send your Letters of Nominations to: Robert K. Scott 1998 James Buller Awards Co-ordinator c/o The Centre for Indigenous Theatre 401 Richmond Street West, Suite 260 Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5V 1X3 or cit@interlog.com Nominations must be received before March 23,1998. --------- "RE: Thoughts on the Aboriginal Awards" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 23:11:35 -0400 From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman) Subj: Re "Awards" Newsgroup: alt.native In article <34B6B69A.42AC@interlog.com>, cit@interlog.com wrote: > 1998 James Buller Awards for Aboriginal Theatre Excellence > The awards are named in honour of the late James H Buller, > founder of THE CENTRE FOR INDIGENOUS THEATRE'S Native > Theatre School program, in recognition of the incredible > amount of work he accomplished for Aboriginal performing > artists. A suggestion for you folks... Ask Kim Bell (Mohawk Toronto-resident symphony conductor) what happened at the Aboriginal Career Symposium in Ottawa last Nov 13-15. Three Native students were awarded some plaque or trophy by Kim & during his presentation speech, he actually got up on that stage in front of 1200-1500 young people & quite a few elders from right across Canada & stated that the "Aboriginal Achievement Awards" were, "... the highest honour that any Indian could ever receive." In short, he spoke from between his lower cheeks instead of his uppers. The elders were, quite rightfully furious, asked him if he knew what an eagle feather was & walked out. All of them. I brought them feathers first thing the next morning. (Sorry. Nope. Can't send you one. I hold them for elders only.) At the closing assembly of those 1500 young people the elders, lead by Nishnawbe elder Wilfred Peltier from Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island, moved up onto the stage, throwing script out the window. They called up the three who had been given the chunks of plastic & that crap about them being "the highest award any Indian could receive". The elders then explained to the hushed audience about what the gift of eagle represents, how it should be treated, how it should be cared for, and what it means. Then they did a formal presentation ceremony & gave each of those young people a feather. Which 'award' do you think will mean more to those young people & to those 1500 that were there? One award was for recognition by an "institution". The other was recognition by the Creator. One made them feel like achievers. The other made them feel like Indian achievers. Not knocking his memory or your intentions, but if this James Buller Award is anything like the sickly imitation "Oscars" that are the "Aboriginal Achievement Awards" that parade across the TV each year here in Canada, just whose culture do they "promote & enhance"? Give plaques, degrees, certificates, trophies or any other pretty thing you feel like, but if the gift of eagle, to those that one's Creator, one's Nation & one's family recognize, given by one's elders is not in the picture, it's not much of a "Native" prize. with respect... --------- "RE: BLM vs Western Shoshone" --------- Date: Sat, 10 Jan 1998 11:34:16 -0500 From: Western Shoshone Defense Project Subj: BLM vs. W.Shoshone Newsgroups: soc.culture.native,alt.native **URGENT ACTION NEEDED IMMEDIATELY** RUMORS OF BLM CONFISCATION OF WESTERN SHOSHONE LIVESTOCK NEXT WEEK PLEASE CALL OR FAX THE BLM IMMEDIATELY!! January 8, 1998 Next week, the BLM may attempt to confiscate livestock tended by Mary and Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone elders in Crescent Valley, Nevada. Typically, both a Notice of Trespass and a subsequent Notice of Impoundment are issued prior to livestock confiscations. Neither have been issued, yet the BLM may be trying to find a loophole and proceed with the roundup with little public notification. We need phone calls and faxes to the Bureau of Land Management IMMEDIATELY! They need to know that other indigenous peoples, U.S. citizens and the international community will not accept this kind of treatment towards the Western Shoshone. Please inform them of your willingness to stand up for the rights of the Western Shoshone and to hold the U.S government accountable on an international level. Local BLM: Helen Hankins, Elko District Manager Ph:702-753-0200 Fax:702-753-0255 State BLM Director, Robert Abbey Ph:702-785-6590 National BLM Director Patrick Shea Ph: 202-208-5717 Fax: 202-208-4152 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ (Alert Distributed December, 1997.) The United States government has once again resumed it efforts to destroy Western Shoshone sovereignty by moving to impound livestock belonging to Western Shoshone citizens from the Wells, South Fork, Odgers Ranch and Dann Ranch communities. On October 1st 1997, Elko BLM District Manager Helen Hankins gave notice of their intent to confiscate "unauthorized livestock grazing upon public land" for areas used by Western Shoshone from Wells, South Fork and Odgers Ranch. While Western Shoshone livestock had been brought off the range by this date, the notice is legally binding for 12 months. This creates the possibility of confiscation when the cattle are returned to the range in the spring. On November 10th, new Nevada State BLM director Robert Abbey and other BLM officials visited the Western Shoshone Dann Ranch. Mary and Carrie Dann were informed they were in trespass for allowing their horses and cows to graze on land claimed by the U.S. government. Director Abbey explained, "it is our intent to enforce these regulations...it is my goal to have a final resolution." The Danns politely informed the BLM that they would happily comply with the BLM's rules when provided with documentation of how the U.S. acquired Western Shoshone land. Until then, they would continue to use their ancestral land. "There will be a resistance," explained Carrie Dann in response to the BLM's threats. For decades Western Shoshone citizens have defied U.S. efforts to force them to pay money for the use of their traditional lands. In recent years the BLM has attempted to force compliance through various methods including outright confiscation of livestock (Dann Ranch, 1992) as well as presenting individual Western Shoshone enormous fines. The latter strategy has proved fruitful, forcing Western Shoshone from Yomba and Duckwater to sign agreements with the BLM or be bankrupted and forced into debt by BLM penalties. We need to let the officials in Washington D.C. know that U.S. citizens and the international community will not accept this kind of treatment towards the Western Shoshone. Please inform them of your willingness to stand up for the rights of the Western Shoshone and to hold the U.S government accountable on an international level. This most recent escalation by the BLM represents a continuing attack on the human rights of the Western Shoshone people. At a time when the largest amounts of gold in U.S. history are being removed from Western Shoshone lands without a cent in royalties going to the Western Shoshone or the U.S. public, we find it ironic that the U.S. government is expending time and money to force Western Shoshone to pay for the use of these same lands. These lands, defined in the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, have never been ceded or transferred to the U.S. The continuing refusal of the U.S. to consider Western Shoshone land rights is indefensible. Please write or call Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and send copies of letters to the following officials. The WSDP would also appreciate copies of your letters as well as any responses. People willing to assist the Western Shoshone in non-violently resisting round-ups should contact the Western Shoshone Defense Project. Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt, U.S. Department of Interior, 18th and C St. NW, Washington D.C. 20240 ph: 202-208-7251 Fax:202-208-6950 National BLM Director Patrick Shea, 1849 C St. NW, Washington DC 20240 ph: 202-208-5717, fax: 202-208-4152 Nevada State BLM Director Robert Abbey, 850 Harvard Way, Reno, Nevada 89502-2055 ph:702-785-6590 U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno, Dept. of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Ave.,NW Rm 4400, Washington, D.C., 20530-0001 ph: 202-514-2001, fax: 202-514-4371 U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, 2201C St., NW, Washington, D.C., 20520, ph: 202-647-5291, fax: 202-647-6434 President William J. Clinton, The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Washington D.C. 20500 ph: 202-456-1111, fax: 202-456-2461 email: president@whitehouse.gov ================================ Western Shoshone Defense Project PO Box 211106 Crescent Valley, Nevada 89821 Ph: 702-468-0230 Fax: 702-468-0230 http://www.alphacdc.com/wsdp/ and http://www.teleport.com/ ~amt/planetpeace/wsdp --------- "RE: More Buffalo Saved" --------- Date: Tue, 13 Jan 1998 05:32:41 -0700 (MST) From: Rosalie Little Thunder Subj: buffalo nations update- more saved (fwd) UUCP email My name is Rosalie Little Thunder. I am of the Sicangu band of the Lakota Nation. I hold no position of power and I hold no wealth, but I do have an important message for you. Historically, the buffalo were critically essential to our survival and were the center of our culture. We hold them sacred (we, who hold fast to the laws and sacredness of the natural world). For many of our people, especially our elders, the slaughter was a horrendous tragedy, reminding us of similar massacres of our people in the not-so-distant past. I am a descendant-survivor of two massacres: the 1855 Little Thunder massacre in Nebraska (within the boundaries of the 1851 treaty territory) and the Sand Creek massacre ten years later. But that is not unique; all native people in this country have haunting massacre histories. In the late 1800's, 60 million or more buffalo were mindlessly slaughtered, in a very deliberate, calculated move to starve and conquer the native people. The buffalo were slaughtered, we were slaughtered, the buffalo are being slaughtered again.... Like the two sides of the buffalo/Indian-head nickel, we are synonymous; two sides of a single coin. We, and the buffalo, share a common history that we dare not forget. We may be generations and miles removed from the buffalo, but according to the wisdom of thousands of years of existence in the natural world and interdependence with the buffalo, we hold a belief; a prophecy of an inseparable destiny. Surely, as a leader, you must at least understand the challenge of being responsible for not only the people, here and now, but also for future generations. "In every deliberation, we must consider the impact upon the 7th generation" was the challenge of our traditional leadership. If the sacredness of the buffalo is so difficult a concept to understand, then consider this: science recognizes the buffalo as a keystone species of the ecosystem and like us, who serve as "miners' canaries" for humanity, the buffalo too serve as such for the natural world that sustains us all. If this land could support 60 million plus buffalo that were almost completely exterminated, save for those very few that sought refuge in Yellowstone, then we have yet to comprehend, to experience the full impact of their absence. It is happening all over again. Beneath the layers of pathological politics, once that smokescreen of disease is blown away, you will find that same brutal violence that this country was built upon. Mr. President, that violence is not just a faint memory in family history, I've been in Yellowstone, I have seen it. You have signed an executive order, directing your agencies and departments to consult with tribes in matters that affect them. The buffalo are of historic, cultural, and religious significance and we have not been consulted in a meaningful manner. We have not even been participants on the Environment Impact Study team. As the leader who affixed his name on that Executive Order, you must honor Government to Government Relations and tribal consultation in determining the fate of the sacred buffalo; your national symbol. We remain in Yellowstone with many friends; peaceful but determined guardians of the buffalo. Ho, hecetu! Buffalo Nations Forwarded message ---------- Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 14:49:05 -0500 From: Buffalo Nations Subject: buffalo nations update- more saved E-MAIL UPDATE--WEEK OF JANUARY 8, 1998 Volunteers from the group Buffalo Nations declared victory Sunday after successfully defending bison all week from Dept. of Livestock (DOL) agents. On late Monday afternoon the DOL was spotted outside the town of West Yellowstone. Several members of Buffalo Nations were standing with a small group of bison by a housing development when the DOL drove up. The DOL quickly left the scene after spotting us and was subsequently followed through the area by half a dozen vehicles before the state agents went "home" for the night to the private residence of the individual who maintains the capture facility. The next day BN was in position and ready to go. More than a half dozen people took a stand next to nine bison resting on private land a half mile beyond the capture facility. During the course of the day BN was bolstered by news from a park service employee who was able to contact the owner of the land where the bison rested and who reported that the owner didn't want bison killed on his land. When the DOL showed up on snowmobiles they were confronted by 8 people who refused to leave the bison and who carried the message of the landowner to the DOL. The DOL left, threatening to come back and haze the bison into the capture facility with the landowners permission. Fortunately, the DOL never returned and, we assume, never got the needed permission. While standing with the bison, dozens of locals and tourists with camera's stopped by the side of the road and offered support. Over the next several days the DOL showed their vehicles but not their faces. Buffalo Nations declared victory for the week. The situation in W. Yellowstone is getting more urgent by the day. Snow continues to accumulate hourly; more than 250 bison are now inside the park a few miles from the boundary; the DOL has made its intentions clear and continues to stay in the area. Buffalo Nations expects serious confrontations when these 250 leave the park, perhaps this week. They are calling on concerned people everywhere to join them in protecting the bison. Also donations are greatly appreciated. Buffalo Nations PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax buffalo@wildrockies.org --------- "RE: Acteal Victims: More Than Just Numbers" --------- Date: Tue, 06 Jan 1998 11:58:24 -0400 From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman) Subj: Acteal victims: more than #'s on a page Newsgroup: alt.native Something to be read out loud at your demos... IN MEMORIAM "for all our relations" ALONZO VASQUEZ GOMEZ LORENZO GOMEZ PEREZ MARIA LUNA MENDEZ VERONICA PEREZ OYALTE ROSA VASQUEZ LUNA SEBASTIEN GOMEZ PEREZ VERONICA VASQUEZ LUNA DANIEL GOMEZ PEREZ MICAELA VASQUEZ LUNA PABLINA HERNANDEZ VASQUEZ JUANA VASQUEZ LUNA ROSELIA GOMEZ HERNANDEZ JUANA LUNA VAZQUEZ GRACIELA GOMEZ HERNANDEZ MARIA JIMENEZ LUNA GUADALUPE GOMEZ HERNANDEZ SUSANA JIMEMEZ LUNA MARIA RUIZ OYALTE MIGUEL JIMEMEZ PEREZ CATALINA VASQUEZ PEREZ MARCELA LUNA RUIZ CATALINA LUNA RUIZ ALEJANDRO LUNA RUIZ MANUELA PACIENCIA MORENO JAIME LUNA RUIZ MARGARITA GOMEZ PACIENCIA REGINA LUNA PEREZ ROSA GOMEZ PEREZ ROSELIA LUNA PEREZ DOIDA RUIZ GOMEZ IGNACIO PUKUJ LUNA AUGUSTIN RUIZ GOMEZ MICAELA PUKUJ LUNA ROSA PEREZ PEREZ VICTORIO VASQUEZ GOMEZ MANUEL VASQUEZ PEREZ AUGUSTIN GOMEZ RUIZ JUANA VASQUEZ PEREZ JUANA PEREZ PEREZ JOSEFA VASQUEZ PEREZ JUAN CARLOS LUNA PEREZ MARCELA CAPOTE VASQUEZ MARCELA VASQUEZ VASQUEZ MARCELA CAPOTE RUIZ ANTONIA VASQUEZ VASQUEZ - TWENTY-ONE (21) WOMEN (FOUR (4) OF THEM PREGNANT) - FOURTEEN (14) CHILDREN, ONE (1) INFANT AGED 5 DAYS-OLD - NINE (9) MEN with respect... --------- "RE: Update from Chiptic" --------- Date: Mon, 5 Jan 1998 22:52:43 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Chiapas: More reports of Army and Paramilitary Abuses :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Update from Chiptic, Altamirano Following is a translation of a report from Chiptic, a group of villages in Altamirano municipality, about 40 km SSE of the town of Altamirano. Last week, the federal army entered several Chiptic communities, including San Miguel Chiptic, and "discovered" a cache of weapons and communication equipment. The army claimed that these were stockpiled by the EZLN. The EZLN and the people in the community deny that charge. Prior to January 1, 1994 most of the land in the Chiptic area--thousands of hectares--was "owned" by one family in Ocosingo. Following the Zapatista uprising, the land was retaken by the residents of Chiptic and it remains under indigenous stewardship today. A recent communique from the EZLN charged that the federal army tortured campesinos during its maneuvers around the state. This report provides some independent confirmation of that charge. --BK +++++ Our brothers and sisters of Nueva Esperanza, a community in the municipality of Altamirano, Chiapas are requesting the support of civil society in order to be able to return to their community, which at the moment has been completely abandoned. They are also calling for an end to the militarization of Chiapas and the implementation of the San Andres agreements. Altamirano, Chiapas, January 4, 1998 To all national and international human rights organizations; To the Mexican people; To all peoples of the world: We condemn the abuses we have suffered at the hands of the federal army, accompanied by hooded, non-military personnel (who we have reason to believe are members of the PRI) on January 1, 2, and 3, 1998. On January 1, 1998 at 11:00 am, federal soldiers, accompanied by hooded non-military personnel, entered the community of Nueva Esperanza in the municipality of Altamirano in order to evict the inhabitants. The soldiers remained for two days and during that time they ransacked the community store, damaged all the houses, stole the cattle, the poultry, and the horses, and used our homes as toilets. They also savagely beat one person. Some women observed that one of the hooded men led the soldiers to the homes of the community leaders. At 1:00 pm, soldiers entered the community of 10 de Abril but the inhabitants had already left to find refuge in the mountains. Nonetheless, the soldiers stayed until nightfall, at which time they carried off the cattle, poultry, and horses. On January 2, approximately seven-hundred women, from ten communities, who belong to our organization (OMICH: Organization of Independent Women of Chiapas) demonstrated in the community of Nueva Esperanza to demand that the army leave the communities and pay restitution for the damage it caused. On January 3 at 10:00 am, soldiers entered the community of Gabino Barrera, where inhabitants had already fled to find refuge in the mountains. The soldiers turned every house inside out, stealing what little we had. Around 8:00 pm, the army entered the community of Morelia, once again in the company of hooded accomplices whose job was to lead a search and seizure operation at the homes of community leaders. The men of the community managed to escape to the mountains, and the women came together to block the path of the military and prevent them from going on to Aguascalientes. While the women were forming the blockade, they came upon one of the army's accomplices and managed to pull his hood off, and recognized him as a member of their community who is affiliated with the PRI. In Morelia, soldiers tortured four people in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of the community leaders and then finally released the four. The army retreated from Morelia around 11:30 pm. We accuse the following members of the PRI of being responsible for these events: Abelino Lopez and Caralampio Santis, from the cabecera municipal [county seat] of Altamirano; Enrique Espinoza, of the ejido Candelaria; Artemio of the Puerto Rico community; and Julio Torres of the El Natze settlement. These individuals accompanied the soldiers during the military operations that took place in our communities. They have dedicated themselves to dividing the communities and do not let us live in peace. We are demanding monetary restitution from the federal and state authorities for damages caused by the federal army. Damages include the destruction of two cooperative stores in Nueva Esperanza; the destruction of our houses; and the theft of our cooking utensils, our clothing, and our animals in the communities of Nueva Esperanza, 10 de Abril, San Miguel Chiptic, Gabino Barrera, and Morelia. With complete disregard for our rights, the federal army invaded our homes and destroyed everything.. We demand the immediate withdrawal of the army, the security police, and the guardias blancas [white guards] from our communities. We demand that the Zedillo government respect our rights and our dignity as human beings. While we are indigenous, we are no less Mexicans and inhabitants of Chiapas, and we deserve respect. We demand that the Zedillo government comply with the agreements of San Andres Sacam'chen de los Pobres, and disarm all the paramilitary groups of Chiapas who are waging a dirty war against us. For the rights and dignity of all indigenous peoples. Organizacion de Mujeres Independientes de Chiapas OMICH [Organization of Independent Women of Chiapas] Organizacion Campesina de Solidaridad Social TZOMAN [Social Solidarity Peasant Organization] --translated by Marie-Claire Picher, New York, New York toplab@mindspring.com :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. --------- "RE: Report from Chiapas" --------- Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 23:34:54 -0800 (PST) From: prashkin@jps.net (Peter Rashkin) Subj: Kerry Appel--report from Chiapas UUCP email This report was prepared in order to elaborate on the attempt by the Human Bean Company to engage in fair trade with the indigenous peoples of Chiapas and the events and consequences of doing so. Written by: Kerry Appel, Director, Human Bean Company January 6, 1998 The drive to Chiapas was more than difficult. We had left Denver on December 15th, stopped in Guadalajara to videotape a friend's wedding, and arrived at the state of Oaxaca on December 22, 1997. We had experienced many breakdowns in my 1971 Volkswagen bus nicknamed the "Relampago Rojo" or "Red Lightning" and now we had to deal with the hurricane-damaged roads in Oaxaca. Almost every bridge was destroyed and we had to take detours around all of them as well as around the long stretches of highway that were washed out. ++++December 22, 1997, Acteal, Chiapas, a Tzotzil Indian village where the coffee for the Human Bean Company is grown, "...as women and children fled down the steep mountain path towards the valley, armed men shot them from behind...Some who reached the underbrush by the river below were discovered by the assassins when the babies' cries gave them away...The assassins cut open the stomach of a young pregnant woman, tore her unborn baby out and cut it up. A baby less that one year old survived because her mother covered her with her own body and received all the bullets. One baby was shot in the head at close range...It was not possible to identify the bodies torn to pieces by machetes. The Red Cross found many of the bodies hacked in pieces and thrown in the underbrush in an attempt to hide the immensity of the crime..." December 22, 1997. While dozens of armed civil guards stood on the road above and did nothing...there are still three people missing from the group of 300 refugees that were attacked by men in black, with red masks...A physician in one hospital in San Cristobal de las Casas said he had never seen such big bullet holes. "They looked as though something had exploded inside the body." "Antipersonnel" bullets were found at the scene that do explode on impact. The guns have been identified as M-16s, used exclusively by the Mexican Army." (The text in quotes above was written by Maria ---------. Her last name is blacked out to protect her from the Mexican government) Note: Don't those M-16s come from the United States? Aren't they supposed to be used to fight drug trafficking? We made it through Oaxaca in spite of the breakdowns and the damaged roads and arrived in Chiapas on December 23rd where the motor on the Relampago Rojo gave up the ghost. It died in a little Tzotzil village only 15 miles from our destination of San Cristobal de las Casas. It was nighttime and we had little choice but to make a deal with a Tzotzil mechanic to replace the engine. We left the bus there and continued the next day, Christmas Eve, into San Cristobal where we heard the news. Forty-five of our coffee producers had been massacred and as many as 5,000 were refugees in the Tzotzil community of Polho. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas sick in bed. My symptoms were those of a fever but I believe it was also due to grief and despair. At this point I'm going to say that I'm going to skip most of the statistical details of some reports. There are plenty of reports filled with statistics. I'm also not going to fill this report with references and sources. You can either believe me or not. The governments and the mainstream media try to control the flow of all information that you receive. I don't care about them nor do I care for them. They are involved in the process of this low-intensity war that is being waged against the indigenous peoples in Chiapas for their own profit motives (NAFTA, etc.). ++++December 25th, Christmas, Acteal. "When the procession arrived at the small hamlet of Acteal in the highlands of Chiapas at 8:00 in the morning, Maya men were digging the first of two 50 foot long graves...The men dug as other Mayas carried the coffins on their backs from the trucks on the road down the steep, rough, mountain path, through coffee trees to the area that was cleared and carefully smoothed to receive the dead with dignity. They dug as 15 small, white coffins were carefully placed side by side before Don Samuel (Bishop Samuel Ruiz who was there to bless the bodies). They dug as 21 more coffins were carried down and placed beside those of the children, and then 9 more coffins holding the men were placed beside those of the women..." "The men dug as the bishop left. They were digging at 12:30 when I climbed the steep, mountain path to my truck and left with a truck full of Mexican and foreign supporters of the Mayan struggle for Peace and Justice with Dignity for all the poor of the world." "We left the men digging. We left the survivors to their grief. We left the "People of Corn" to bury their dead according to the ancient Mayan traditions. We left them to return their dead to the sacred ground, the same ground that soaked up their blood three days earlier." (Maria ------) I talked to the president of the indigenous coffee producers of Chenalho, which is the municipality where the massacre occurred. I was told that there was no coffee available for me to buy. The same Mexican government- backed paramilitary groups that had committed the massacre with the assistance of the Mexican government were now stealing the coffee of the dead and the refugees to sell it and buy more guns to use against the people. The Mexican Public Security Police were protecting the murderers and the same Public Security Police at a roadblock. When they came to the window of my bus (I had a new engine now and the Relampago Rojo was alive again) they saw that I was videotaping them and they hid their faces in shame and waved me on. We continued to Polho, the site where the refugees from the death squads were. Since the national and international press was there the Mexican Army and the Judicial Police and the Public Security Police were using the opportunity to act as if they were protecting the refugees but when the press wasn't looking they roamed the refugee camps intimidating the survivors with guns and dogs. When a woman from the civil society questioned their actions they struck her with the butt of a gun. Though the Mexican government could afford the presence of thousands of soldiers for the press in order to look as if they were trying to protect the people, they couldn't afford to give the refugees potable water, food of medicine. Yesterday a baby died there of pneumonia without any medicine while thousands of soldiers and police stood around with machine guns and huge banners that claimed that they were doing "social labor." We went on to Acteal, where there was a mass going on for the dead. On the way to Acteal we passed the coffee processing plant where our coffee for the Human Bean Company is processed. It was occupied by the Mexican Army. In Acteal we stood in solidarity with the survivors and we walked around the site of the massacre. There were still shoes on the ground that had come of the feet of the people as they were being murdered. There was a small cave at the head of the ravine where the massacre took place. This opening to this cave was only about one and a half feet high. I was told that some women and children had crawled into this cave in terror to escape the slaughter but that members of the paramilitary group had crawled in the cave after them and killed them. We walked through a tiny, rough church which was little more than a shack and counted 22 bullet holes in the walls. This is the "drug war." This is what the arms and weapons that the United States is supplying to allegedly "fight drugs" is being used for. The only crime of the dead and the refugees and indigenous people who are being occupied by 60,000 Mexican Federal Army troops is that they won't give up their customs and their culture at the orders of the United States and Mexican governments. For nearly four years I have been traveling regularly to Chiapas. I have been in the sites where this dirty war is being carried out. I have seen the suffering of the indigenous people there. I have learned from the dignity and the hope and the determination of the members of the Zapatista National Liberation Army as they struggle for indigenous rights and culture, justice, democracy and dignity. I have admired them as I have watched this small group of poor Mayan people hold up the efforts of the US and Mexican governments to exterminate them as indigenous peoples. Tens of thousands of members of international civil society have done what they can to be in solidarity with the goals and objectives of this small group of rebels with dignity. I have watched and documented as the indigenous peoples of Chiapas spoke the truth and always kept their word while the Mexican and US governments have waged a campaign of lies and deceit and murder. And I have watched and read the mainstream media of the US and Mexico as they play their roles in this destruction of indigenous peoples with their omissions of the truth and their broadcasting and printing of the lies of the governments and the corporations. I recall now the statements that have been made to me by members of the press and the United States government: Rick Salazar, Channel 4 (at that time in 1994), Denver, Colorado: "I don't think that our producers would be interested in your footage of Chiapas, Kerry. We have a business relationship with a Mexican government TV station and we wouldn't want to jeopardize our business relationship." Kerry: "Are you telling me that the truth of what you show us is influenced by your business relationships?" Rick: "I'm afraid so." Henry Solano, US District Attorney, State of Colorado (When I asked him if it was true that the US had required Mexico to change their Constitution to end the indigenous land system so that US corporations could buy their land): "Yes, that's true Kerry. We're going to take their land, but they're not making it productive and someone has to make it productive. But they'll be better of in the long run because we'll build factories and give them jobs." What he is referring to is the "Mega-Project of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec," for one thing. The United States, Europe and Japan have devised a plan to move the indigenous people and peasants off their land in the south of Mexico in order to build ports and railroads across the isthmus, kind of like a Panama Canal. The US has already made deals with the Mexican government for the oil, uranium, wood, fishing, railroads, ports, hydroelectricity and the other resources that are currently on Indian land and had Mexico change their laws to allow these deals to be "legal." In order for international public opinion to not be negative toward the corporations, they decided to make the Indians "partners." The Indians would give up their land and rights to the resources and the corporations would give them jobs in return. He doesn't understand that indigenous people don't necessarily want to trade their land and culture for a job in a factory. Besides, nobody asked them their opinion. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American Indian US Senator from Colorado: "As you know Kerry, I am indigenous myself and I'm doing all that I can for the indigenous peoples of Chiapas." When I tried to find out what he was doing his aide told me that Ben was testifying on committees and panels that dealt with the issue. When I pressed him for a list of these committees and panels he admitted that there were none and that Ben wasn't actually doing anything that he knew of for the indigenous peoples of Chiapas. Later, Ben's assistant, Rita, asked me why I was picking on Ben. "He hasn't done anything worse that the rest of the elected officials." (This in regard to the US exploitation of the indigenous peoples of Chiapas and the rest of Mexico.) Finally Ben Campbell sent me a letter telling me to stay out of Chiapas and leave it to the "proper authorities to fix the problem of Mexico's impunity in regard to human rights violations at the proper time and in the proper manner." I wonder when it will be the "proper time and manner" for Ben Nighthorse Campbell. The truth is it will never be the proper time and manner for the governments or the multi-national corporations to be interested in justice. It's not their job any more, if it ever was. Maximum profit is the only thing that has validity to them. The blood of the 45 Tzotziles massacred on December 22, 1998 is on their hands as well as on ours. It is the price they have to pay for our greed. This is the racist and arrogant philosophy of "Manifest Destiny." Holger Jensen, international editor for the Rocky Mountain News, told my friend Jeff that "Kerry is crazy. He can't make a difference. Not one US citizen would pay a dime more for a hamburger to save a million Indians." Now is the time for us to tell them and to show them that they are wrong. I don't believe that they are right that people don't care about justice for indigenous people . I don't believe that people would knowingly accept the extermination of indigenous peoples. But we are going to find out very soon. The US government and the corporations are getting impatient to end this rebellion of indigenous peoples. They feel that they've been successful in undermining international support for the Mayan people and they've been working hard for the last two years to make it appear that the rebellion is just a local conflict. Mexican army commanders have been traveling to Ft. Benning, Georgia since 1994 to learn counterinsurgency tactics at the "School of the Americas," also known as the "School of Assassins." The tactics learned there are now being used against the people of Chiapas. The massacre of these 45 unarmed men, women and children is just the beginning of a new level of violence against the civil population. It is critical for us to make a stand now. This is the end of the second millennium. This is the beginning of "the next 500 years" for the indigenous peoples in the Americas. We have all been made to be participants in "the new Indian wars" by what we buy, or by what we watch on TV, or by what we say or don't say in regard to these massacres and other human rights violations. Everything about our current social and economic and political systems makes us participants in the dirty wars that the US and other governments wage either by active participation based on the distorted information presented to us or merely by ignorance of what is going on and the consequent silence as a result of that ignorance. I have received a lot of communications from people who are clients of the Human Bean Company or from people who have seen my documentaries. A lot of people have said that they agree with my work toward fair trade or human rights. A lot of people have said that they wish they could do something to help the indigenous peoples of Chiapas. All of the communications that I've received have been extremely critical of the US and Mexican governments actions against the Zapatistas and the indigenous peoples of Chiapas and Mexico. You who read this know who you are and how you feel about these issues. I am addressing myself to you right now. By reading this message to this point you have been presented with a choice. That is unavoidable now. Sorry. You decide. I know that this affects a lot of people deeply and the recent slaughter of the 45 Mayan peoples by the Mexican government's proxy forces has made you even more aware of the urgency of this situation. I imagine that some of you might use that extra dime that Holger Jensen says you won't spend on a hamburger to make a phone call to the local Mexican Consulate or to the US government to strongly protest the continued violence with impunity in Mexico. I imagine that some of you might get together with others and talk about the issues and then talk to others and still others. I wouldn't be surprised if some of you organized demonstrations and marches in the streets. Personally, I wouldn't blame you if you committed acts of civil disobedience or took over and occupied the offices of elected officials or of newspapers or television stations. Or maybe someone will call Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell and ask him what he is doing or what he is going to do. As for me, I'm going to keep doing what I have been doing and that is to keep buying the coffee and weavings from the indigenous people who are under siege by soldiers with tanks and guns that originate from my country and I'm going to continue making documentaries that show what it is that I see and experience while I'm here in Chiapas. Right now I'm going to send this message to you and leave the Cyber Cafe and then I'm going to pick up a few bags of coffee that we were able to find from some Tzotzil-Tzeltal indigenous producers and then the Reampago Rojo will start the long trip through the militarized country of Mexico to bring the coffee back. That reminds me of an incident that occurred two days ago on the way to visit friends in Oventic, Chiapas. This is a Tzotzil community in resistance, as they say here, and the Mexican Army was creeping closer and closer to Oventic with their roadblocks and their machine guns and their tanks. We drove up in my bus and the army stopped us. "Get out of the vehicle," they said. "We're going to search it for guns or explosives!" "First let me ask you if that is constitutional," I said, "Do you have probable cause to think that we're violating the law?" "Constitutional?" he responded looking irritated, "You're in Mexico now you know." Kerry Appel, Chiapas, Mexico, January 6,1998 * * * * * * * Peter Rashkin PO Box 3008 Long Beach, CA 90803 Read THE DAGGER on line at http://www.wavenet.com/~prashkin/ CONQUEST OF MEXICO http://www.wavenet.com/~prashkin/conquest.htm --------- "RE: BC Residential Schools Forum" --------- Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 17:29:36 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: BC Residential Schools Forum :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:Forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Date: Tue, 6 Jan 1998 15:31:13 -0800 (PST) From: Kevin Daniel Annett Subject: Please send through your network A PUBLIC FORUM ON LAND THEFT, MURDER AND COVER-UP IN B.C. NATIVE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS: EYEWITNESSES SPEAK OUT ... Monday, February 9 at 6:30 pm at the Simon Fraser University Harbour Centre Campus, 515 West Hastings, Vancouver, in the Fletcher Challenge Lecture Hall, Rm. 1900 ... For the first time, three separate eyewitnesses to the murder of Native children at the Alberni Residential School will give their testimony at a public forum. Harriett Nahanee, Harry Wilson and Dennis Tallio either saw the killing of children or discovered dead bodies at the Alberni school, run by the United Church, between 1945 and 1967. The RCMP knew of these incidents but covered them up, according to new evidence. Also speaking will be former United Church minister Kevin Annett, who was fired and expelled from that church in 1995 after he helped unearth the murders and criticized the church for its illegal sale of ancestral native land to white businessmen. These testimonies indicate that senior officials in the United Church and RCMP are directly implicated in murder of native children and profiteering in plundered native land and resources. For more information, and to assist in this public forum and a future Tribunal into Crimes against Humanity in B.C., contact Kevin Annett at (604) 251-2542, e-mail kdannett@unixg.ubc.ca :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:End forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: More information on Canadian residential schools atrocities: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/resschool/main.html :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. --------- "RE: BC Chief Justice Offers Deal" --------- Date: Fri, 9 Jan 1998 01:09:07 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: BC Chief Justice Offers Deal to Ts'peten Defenders :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: CHIEF JUSTICE OFFERS 'DEAL' TO TS'PETEN DEFENDERS The Martlet, Thursday, Jan. 8, 1998, by Chris Morabito Armed guards outnumbered spectators during the 14-minute hearing of Ts'peten defenders James 'OJ' Pitawanakwat and Wolverine (aka Jones William Ignace) on Dec.11, 1997, at the BC Court of Appeal. After Wolverine and Pitawanakwat addressed the court separately and explained their desire to drop their appeals of conviction, BC Chief Justice Allan McEachern several times urged them to reconsider. McEachern said, "I am not persuaded that it is in your interests to do so..." Pitawanakwat, sentenced to four-and-a-half years, and Wolverine, sentenced to eight years, withdrew their conventional right to appeal their convictions in order to challenge the court strictly on the grounds that it has no legal jurisdiction over unceded Aboriginal nations and territories. When Wolverine tried to address McEachern about the failure of the court to recognize international and domestic law regarding jurisdiction, McEachern interrupted him and then ended the hearing. Before adjourning, McEachern added: "I wish to record the fact they are making a mistake in my view." Wolverine said the Chief Justice offered him and Pitawanakwat a deal. "They offered me freedom if I abandon the jurisdiction argument and go ahead with the colour of right or self-defense [on appeal]," he said. The color of right, self-defense, and the main defense argument challenging jurisdiction, were not considered by the court, during the Gustafsen Lake trial. Trial Judge Bruce Josephson instructed the jury to ignore these arguments prior to their being sequestered. Colour of right means that a person cannot be convicted if they believed they were acting lawfully. This defense acquitted many of those charged in the Stony Point (aka Ipperwash) incident in Ontario - also during the summer of 1995. "It's funny how this judge here [McEachern] admitted we had a good chance under the color of right," said Wolverine. Native sovereigntist Tsemhquw of the LiL'Wat People's Movement said the BC government has made it clear that in order to be released from prison, Wolverine and Pitawanakwat have to give up their jurisdiction argument. "I could be out at this time," Wolverine added, "but since I stand on the jurisdiction issue, I feel it's not right for me to abandon that fight. I want to prove to the politicians that they are wrong in law. "There's nowhere for any judge to hide anymore," said Wolverine. "I just hope [Aboriginal] people don't start making deals. I hope they can hold out a little bit longer until we can settle the jurisdiction issue." Tsemhquw said indigenous people are indebted to Wolverine for pursuing the honest truth of the law. "He [Wolverine] has the capacity and the willingness to sacrifice his freedom and life in order to raise the issue [of jurisdiction] again," said Tsemhquw. Despite being imprisoned for over two years, Wolverine remains optimistic: "We're still struggling in order to have the jurisdiction [argument] in British Columbia heard," he said. "But I think we got them pretty well cornered now because of the ruling that came down for the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en case known as Delgamuukw. It was sent back to BC for retrial on a technicality. Delgamuukw was a long-running land claims case which began as an argument for jurisdiction and ownership. In the BC Court of Appeal it was transformed into an argument for land title and self-government. Before being promoted to Chief Justice, Allan McEachern was the trial judge for Delgamuukw. He ruled that Aboriginal rights were extinguished by the colonial government of BC and that the precolonization life of the Gitxsan was "nasty, brutish and short," because they had "no written language, no horses or wheeled vehicles." Both Pitawanakwat and Wolverine are representing themselves because the BC courts have denied them their counsel of choice, Aboriginal-rights lawyer Dr. Bruce Clark, who specializes in constitutional law. According to Clark, since the standoff, he has been subjected to an ongoing smear campaign by the BC media and judiciary to distract the public from his legal arguments. Clark alleges the BC judiciary is guilty of perpetrating genocide through a massive fraud against Aboriginal nations. When Clark attempted to present his legal argument days before the standoff at Gustafsen Lake ended, he was assaulted by police in court and charged with contempt. He was imprisoned and claims to have been subjected to sleep deprivation during the three days prior to his own court appearance for contempt before Judge Nicholas Friesen. After passing the psychiatric assessment ordered by Friesen, Clark and his family, fearing for their lives fled Canada for Europe. Clark was arrested and imprisoned when he arrived in Vancouver in 1996 to appear at the Gustafsen Lake trial. Among the evidence revealed at the unreported trial were reports the RCMP were planning an invasion of Shuswap territory as early as January 1995. Letters to the Martlet: martlet@uvic.ca :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Here are the Oral Reasons for Judgement of the Chief Justice of BC Allen McEachern and the BC Court of Appeal: Date:19971211 Docket: CA023439 and CA023441 Registry: Vancouver BC COURT OF APPEAL FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA - ORAL REASONS FOR JUDGMENT: Before: The Honourable Chief Justice McEachern, The Honourable Mr. Justice Cumming, The Honourable Mr. Justice Braidwood December 11, 1997 Vancouver BC Between: REGINA (Respondent) And: JONES WILLIAM IGNACE and JAMES ALLAN PITAWANAKWAT (Appellants) T. Arbogast appearing as a friend of the Court CF Willms and G.Fitch appearing for the (Crown) Respondent [1] McEACHERN,C.J.B.C.: I understand what you wish. Speaking for myself only at the moment I am prepared to accede to the wishes of the two appellants to withdraw their non-jurisdictional Notice of Appeal and Sentence Appeal. [2] I am not persuaded that that is in your interests to do so and I believe that they are wrong in thinking that you cannot have both appeals, that you cannot have your conventional grounds of appeal and your jurisdictional appeal, but I do not think that we should stand in your way of withdrawing the conventional or non-jurisdictional grounds of appeal and Sentence Appeal and I would so order. [3] But in saying this I wish to record the fact that I think you are making a mistake in doing so and in my view this Court should give very careful consideration to allowing you subsequently to apply for an order to extend the time to refile those Notices of Appeal and to proceed with those appeals if at some time in the future you think you would like to deal with them on the grounds originally filed. I speak only for myself in that regard. [4] Cumming, J.A.: I agree with the disposition proposed by the Chief Justice and with the observations he has expressed. [5] Braidwood, J.A.: I too agree with the observations and disposition mentioned by the Chief Justice. [6] McEachern, CJBC : That means gentlemen that your notices of appeal are withdrawn, that is the notice of appeal on non-jurisdictional grounds and the Sentence Appeal and we have indicated that so far as we are concerned those notices of appeal could possibly be reinstated if at some time in the future you wish them to be reinstated. [7] I think that is an order we should probably make but I am not going to direct that this panel be the panel that decides those matters. I will designate a panel to hear those appeals on the material that has been filed and on a very early date. The Honourable Chief Justice McEachern :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html SOVERNET-L is a news-only listserv concerned with indigenous sovereigntist struggles around the world. To subscribe, send "subscribe sovernet-l" in the body of an email message to For more information on sovernet-l, contact S.I.S.I.S. --------- "RE: Canadian Gun Law" --------- Date: 4 Jan 98 18:58:55 GMT From: dhammond@cadvision.com (Dave Hammond) Subj: Canadian gun law will be used to repress native culture ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: "David A. Tomlinson, NFA" Newsgroup: soc.culture.native I see, in recent CFDs, that the tempest in the teapot is brewing up again. People think that the aboriginal peoples have some sort of exemption regarding the provisions of Bill C-68. There are minor but important points involved here, and one gigantic time bomb. I will deal with the minor points first: They do NOT. C-68's Firearms Act section 117(u) authorizes the Governor in Council (a thinly-disguised Minister of Justice) to issue Orders in Council (with force of law) "respecting the manner in which any provision of this Act or the regulations applies to any of the aboriginal peoples of Canada, and adapting any such provision for the purposes of that application." There are several interesting points to be made about that little gem. First, it may APPEAR to be a provision enabling the government to discriminate IN FAVOR of aboriginal peoples -- but look again. It is EQUALLY a provision authorizing the government to discriminate AGAINST the aboriginal peoples. For example, an "aboriginal people" (which can, for example, be taken to mean one tribe or the residents on one or more reservations) may block a highway over some dispute regarding land claims, forest rights, etc. Hey -- it HAPPENS. FA s. 117(u) then apparently authorizes the Minister to revoke every firearms licence and registration certificate held by any member of that "aboriginal people," so that they can be disarmed by the police or army without having to bother getting a court order. Note the wording of FA s. 117(u): It does not say, "any aboriginal person of Canada." It says, "any of the aboriginal peoples of Canada." That allows discrimination between any of the groups forming "aboriginal peoples" -- lawful(?) discrimination on a tribe-by-tribe basis, if one cares to recognize each tribe as an "aboriginal people." That, in turn, opens any attempt to exercise the powers given in FA s. 117(u) to court action based on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms - -- which requires that everyone be "equal before and under the law." Everyone has the right "to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination, and, in particular, without discrimination based on RACE, NATIONAL OR ETHNIC ORIGIN, COLOUR, religion, sex, age, or mental or physical disability [CCRF 15]." Therefore, any attempt to USE FA s. 117(u) is likely to run head on into Charter conflict for discrimination based on "race" or "national of ethnic origin" or "colour." Note that FA s. 117(u) CANNOT be used to alter anything that is written into C-68's Firearms Act or Criminal Code alterations. An Order in Council CANNOT alter legislation, it can only do what the legislation SPECIFICALLY authorizes the Governor in Council (actually, the Minister of Justice, acting alone or almost alone) to do through Orders in Council. The CFC and Department of Justice do not seem to have grasped that basic principle of law. When the NFA was consulted by the CFC last spring, several proposed Orders in Council were disclosed to us -- OICs that CLEARLY violated that limitation. That is enough on the SMALL problems built into C-68. The BIG one is probably going to blow the entire Act out of the water the first time it is used by a lawyer representing an aboriginal person. When the government negotiated the James Bay Treaty with the aboriginal peoples, one of the provisions was that the Treaty would become a part of the Constitution of Canada. Therefore, any violations of the terms of that Treaty are unconstitutional -- and legislation enacted WHILE violating that Treaty is void from its day of birth. The Treaty requires that any legislation that will have any effect on aboriginal hunting must be presented to and scrutinized by a council set up by the Treaty itself, BEFORE being presented to Parliament for action. That was not done -- although C-68 clearly DOES heavily affect aboriginal hunting. During the House Committee hearings on C-68, Reform MP and Justice Critic Jack Ramsay brought that out very clearly. The government admitted that it had not done what the Treaty required. Liberal Chairman Warren Allemand refused to allow the Committee to drop the consideration of Bill C-68 for unconstitutionality, and the Committee's Liberal majority voted to ignore the entire problem. That was an incredible demonstration of arrogance, ignorance and incompetence. It is going to come back to haunt the Liberals. The first time an aboriginal person is up on charges under ANY provision of C-68, his lawyer is going to be able to claim that C-68 was never legally before the House, therefore could never have been legally enacted, and it is therefore null and void in its entirety. I do wonder what the Supreme Court of Canada will do with THAT mess. Dave Tomlinson, NFA --------- "RE: Native American Assimilation Act" --------- Date: Sun, 11 Jan 1998 23:51:27 EST From: NISHNAWBE Subj: Fwd: Please help(this is important) ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: GreywolfT UUCP email O'siyo Friends and Family, January10,1998 I'm writing this to you in hopes that what I just received will get passed on to as many people as possible. Ignorance is the best ally the government can have at this point. What this law, if passed, will do is devastate our lands. It will teach our children that there is no room for diversity, abolish some of the richest culture this nation could have, not to mention tie the final knot in a drive to exterminate the indian Heritage. We are going into a new era and fast. Is this the way we want to start it?? I urge you to please pass this on to as many people as you know. Not just forwarding it to others E-mail but print it out and let it be seen. Those of you who know me, know that I am a halfbreed. German-Cherokee. Yes this affects me and not because I'm half indian but because this will affect all nations and colors. If you don't think this will affect you because you have no indian lineage think again. So please pass this on with a good heart, and good intentions. Walk in beauty and light, Tobin Greywolf ___________________________________________________ The Native American Assimilation Act of 1998 (Pending) Deidre McDaniel-Miller wrote: To: NCAI Representatives and Interested Parties: The Native American Assimilation Act of 1998 is pending US Congress when it convenes in January 1998. This legislation if it should become federal law is a mandate to disband every Native American Tribe in the United States through a sweep of a pen...it is the government's last ditch effort to destroy once and for all time Native American Culture, Language and Independent Nation status. I urge you to write and fight this Act of Congress as unjust and immoral and to demand that the US Congress honor historical treaties that preserve Native Americans rights to self-determination and self-rule as separate Nations. Though this law looks innocent enough it will make any future offsprings automatic US Citizens with no tribal affiliations. It will massacre the future of many young Native Americans whose hopes and dreams depend on tribal monies to obtain higher educations; higher standards of living and continued health services. If this legislation is allowed to pass it will dissolve tribal lands and they will be state-owned not tribal owned\operated. The Native American Assimilation Act of 1998 will disavow tribal law and statues; it will not permit cultural traditions to continue, but will be more a betrayal of Native America( it falls near the 100 anniversary of than was Wounded Knee. We must voice against this effort to undo all the gains Native Americans have made in the last century. I urge you to fight to preserve what our forefathers fought for and died for and defended in every war since before the Civil War: Freedom. Why should I get involved? First, I am Cherokee by Blood through my Maternal Grandfather and Great-Grandmother (who was full-blood). Second, I believe in Native Americans' ties to earth and nature believing than humankind can not continue without contributions of such cultural teachings. I ask you: no, upon honor, I demand you contact as many individuals and groups letting them know of this devastating effort of final genocide against native peoples. I am only one person and I found out this information by accident while surfing the web. I need your help!!!! If you get this please forward to as many Native American links at your location.Thank-you for your time...May the sun never set on Native America!!!! Sincerely, Deidre McDaniel (nee' Everly)- Miller <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> Friends and concerned parties (and we all should be concerned, if we have a conscience and a heart) : This is information that I became aware of that shoots my heart through with sadness and fear for the future of our children . I am adding my opinion and words to this document that was forwarded to me, and sending it to as many people as possible. I am also taking a copy to the campus branch of AIM at Portland State University, where hopefully it will be distributed and widely responded to . Please take action immediately -- the future is at stake. I only hope it is not too late. Walk in peace . Shehowtchs Jan. 10th, 1998 _________________________________________________ To Whoever reads this, Please send this to as many friends as you can and in your own words ...tell the U.S government what you think of this piece of legislation. Please use good words,good heart but .....PLEASE DO IT !!!! TAL0N W0LF ___________________________________________________ Ya ta say friends, this is the Assimilation Act which is pending. I have notified everyone I can in local area and national but no one is listening! Send out to your radio and TV stations, we need everyone's help on this. Ashoge, ApacheMa --------- "RE: New Scientific Discovery" --------- Date: Wed, 07 Jan 1998 01:54:58 -0400 From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman) Subj: New scientific discovery (by me) Newsgroup: alt.native Kwee friends, Reading all those posts from people who don't know the bloody history of LBH, Wounded Knee, etc. made me remember something I read a long time ago, about how some react to things they find threatening. I think it fits those who believe that actually doing something about the Acteal massacre is useless too. It sort of fits with our discussions about the origin of man, too. I learned it from an animal. A very small animal that lives on another continent... In the jungles of the Philippines and Borneo lives a tiny, fur-covered, fruit-eating animal, 3 to 6 inches long with a fluffy tail twice that. It is nocturnal & falls prey to snakes & many other predators. It's called a Tarsier, a tree-dwelling mammal with huge soft brown eyes full of innocence and fear, and hands that are *the exact duplicates of human hands in every detail*! The hands are not surprising, given that the Tarsier is the earliest direct mammalian/primate link to Homo Sapiens known to science that is still alive as a species. Britannica says that ". . . the skull specialization and hind limb development "[are]" clearly indicative of our common stock." But I have noted another similarity Britannica doesn't mention at all; a similarity between these two species that is, in my opinion, of *much* greater importance than those astounding little hands or "skull specialization", a characteristic of significance that is typical of and unique to both species. When threatened, even to the point of imminent destruction that could be easily be avoided by fast and simple action, the Tarsier's primary instinct is to immediately covers its eyes with its little 'human' hands and, . . . Presto ! The threat disappears !! To mankind's great misfortune, philosophers, psychologists, and other "learned persons and other experts," seem to have taken all too little notice of this second similarity, so, "... clearly indicative of our common stock." This discovery of mine explains the attitudes of "If I can't see it, it ain't there," I think. Let me know if you agree. with respect... masi:cho... --------- "RE: AIM/A Personal View" --------- Date: Mon, 12 Jan 1998 16:54:13 -0400 From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman) Subj: AIM (a personal view) Newsgroup: alt.native For what it's worth in the discussion re AIM... Nelson Small Legs Jr. The name came back to me as I prayed for the dead in front of the Mexican embassy. I don't know if too many here remember Nelson. (He was often called "Junior" since Nelson was also his dad's white-name). He was a fine young man & a strong, smart warrior in the early years of The Struggle. Southern Alberta AIM coordinator if I remember right. I don't recall whether his family was Siksikawa (Blackfoot) or Kaiinawa (Blood) or Peigan. It is one of the families of the 3 Sisksika Confederacy Nations in Southern Alberta/northern Montana. I first met Nelson in the 50's (I think?). Didn't talk to him much then 'cause he was a little kid & I was just a bigger kid then. But when he was a man I ran into him again. I was gathering food & blankets to run into Wounded Knee from families up north & the AIM chapter he was part of was organizing getting it across the border to those who had the job of getting supplies in through miles of redneck vigilantes, GOON squads & the inner circle of 2000+ US Army troops, FBI & US marshalls. The supplies wasn't just for the folks inside the Knee but also for those in Pine Ridge who were on the FBI/Tribal Council blacklist. All the traditional families, most with children, all the elders too beat-up or terrorized to go get wood or food... (A good dozen of those "packers", bringing the supplies for many miles on foot at night, were caught, killed & buried on the spot, by the way. That's something few outside of AIM remember or commemorate today, unfortunately. They also deserve honor songs.) Anyway, I was thinking of Nelson & AIM in the back pew of my mind while the front pew was praying. And I had the thought that Nelson & AIM suffer from the same curse. They care so much, it's sometimes too much. They take on so much of the burden of pain they see & hear that something sometimes breaks under the weight of it all. One time during that summer of '73 I was sitting with Nelson 'way after midnight. I had just delivered another load of supplies & he'd made calls, got the border crossing & pick-up on the other side arranged & we'd loaded it all up & it was finally on its way. He was really tired, but he didn't/couldn't stop. People kept coming with problems, as they had all day. As they did every