From gars@netcom.com Mon May 25 08:28:47 1998 Date: Tue, 24 Feb 1998 19:22:00 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.009 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 009 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, 28 February 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, Triballaw, Nat-Film & FOL-L Lists; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; UUCP email; Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native; http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/6181/release.html 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. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <----<<<< >>>>----> 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. Downloading Wotanging Ikche on AOL From: MAANG1419@aol.com Just thought I would share some info. I could not download on to a .txt because I kept getting the message (when I tried to retrieve it) that the text editor could not handle the volume. This time I downloaded it on to a .doc and when I retrieved it out of file manager, IT WORKED. "One of the teachings of our old people was that we shared. We shared and we gave. It was never easy, but we always gave thanks for the things we had. We still do that. Especially, when young men do traditional things, old things. I feel good when my nephews come and bring me a hindquarter of deer or elk. Other people bring me a jar of huckleberries." __ Horace Axtell, Nez Perce +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! This week I read with disbelief a post questioning the integrity of a Lakota Elder who has devoted her entire life to the People. I have spoken before against the careless barking of dogs. Now, I must challenge anyone who will dare to speak against _any_ elder. Before the first word is typed or spoken ask first, "What more have I done for the People?". Make damn sure of your answer. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= As I pointed out during the winter months when this space was devoted to providing contacts for those who wished to help others with needs on the reservations... THE NEED NEVER ENDS. IT IS ONLY MADE WORSE BY THE DEMANDS OF WINTER. The following post was received this week. What it doesn't include is a sad background. Standing Rock has been so desolate that many youth have committed suicide. Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 17:16:27 -0500 From: Morning Star Subj: REQUEST FOR DONATIONS OF FOOD AND CLOTHING, ETC. For everyone who has expressed their concern and interest for the youth in Standing Rock, I am respectfully requesting any donations of food, clothing, and blankets to be sent to the address given below. There is urgent need for food. Even if you can only send 1 can of soup, stew, veggies; or cereals, etc. it would be most appreciated. PLEASE DO NOT SEND MONEY at this time. We are currently working with a bank to set up a relief account and I will post the information when it is finalized. ADDRESS FOR FOOD & CLOTHING, ETC. : Helmina Makes Him First P.O. Box 53 Little Eagle, SD 57639 Thank you for your support in this effort. Kathy Morning Star =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Many of you know the good things Clay Watson has done for many of the elders in Montana and South Dakota, and may have heard the old Ford truck he used to deliver clothing and food finally blew the engine. He send word he has found a motor and has the truck ready to go again, but is seriously strapped for the cash to pay for the repairs. Here's a note from Clay. If you want to help, I am sure he would welcome any assistance. Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 21:37:10 EST From: Pioquark@aol.com Subj: Truck Gary, I need $800.00 for the work to convert from a 6 cylinder 300 CI Ford engine to a 400 Cubic Inch in the big 18 foot box truck. I have the 400. or A rebuilt or low mileage ford 6 cylinder 300 cubic inch Ford engine. I just plain wore it out with so many trips to the reservations. The conversion work would be done by the I-25 Truck Center in Fort Collins, Colorado forty miles south of here. Pioneer Industries Clay Watson 1100 E. 24th St. Cheyenne, Wy. 82001-3246 (307) 778-7860 =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 00:36:02 -0600 From: Bernard & Feather Rock Subj: Passing of Elder Mailing List: Minnesota Indian Affairs White Earth elder Frances Keahna of Naytahwaush passed away on Sunday, February 15. She was 92. Keahna's hand woven baskets earned an international reputation for their delicate and graceful artistry. They are featured in museums in Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and Ireland. She was known for her black-ash baskets, which were hand-hewn from the growth rings of the black ash trees. In her 80s and 90s she taught basketry at Bemidji State University and other colleges and elementary schools >>-------------------------> North Central Minnesota Native American Veterans Outreach and Resource Center "Vets Helping Vets" -------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 09:14:49 EST From: Jswordy@aol.com Subj: Rod Whited Rod Whited, known by many in Native American circles and on the Internet as Eagle Feather, began his journey to the spirit world early Sunday morning, Feb. 22. Rod had suffered a severe stroke Friday afternoon, Feb. 20. he was 48 years old. He worked as a photo editor for The Huntsville Times in Huntsville, Ala. Friends and colleagues of Rod's remember him as a photographer who passionately loved his profession. He died in a local hospital. "Rod was a gentle spirit who understood and appreciated the South and its people," said Times Managing Editor Melinda Joiner. ``He photographed both with his heart. "There wasn't a bit of condescension or phoniness in him, and that's what made his work so pure and so profound. It's also what made him such a comfort to work with," she said. "We at The Times will miss his creativity, his sound artistic judgment and his uncommonly good common sense." Longtime Times columnist Bill Easterling said he will always remember the passion Whited "put into almost everything" whether it was talking about the family he loved so well, taking pictures for The Times or fussing about how stressful his job of being photo editor was. "Rod was more than just a photographer who shot wonderful pictures of some of the people I wrote about. He was my friend. His death is a tragic, tragic loss," Easterling said. Whited joined The Times in October 1974 after working for the Hattiesburg (Miss.) Press and the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer. He was promoted to chief photographer of The Times in 1979. He continued working at the paper until leaving for several years in the late 1980s to manage Huntsville Gym, which he owned from 1982 to 1994. After returning to The Times, Whited was named photo editor in May 1995. He managed the seven-member Times photo department as well as the paper's three-member graphics staff. He won numerous statewide photo awards, including first-place awards from the Associated Press, the Alabama and Georgia Associated Press associations and the Sigma Delta Chi professional journalism fraternity. Aside from his daily news photo responsibilities, Whited pursued many personal interests with his camera, including documenting fading rural lifestyles in North Alabama. A native of Cleveland, Ala., Whited graduated from Snead State Junior College and Jacksonville State University with a degree in biology. Whited, who was predeceased by a daughter, Elizabeth Ann Whited, is survived by his wife, Denise Miller Whited; a son, Charles Edward Ellison Whited; and two daughters, Victoria Pearl Whited and Samantha Ella Whited, all of Lacey's Spring; his parents, Ward and Lottie Whited of Oneonta; and two brothers and two sisters. The funeral was held Tuesday, Feb. 24, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Huntsville. Burial was in Dailey's Chapel Cemetery in Blount County. Visitation will be today from 6 to 8 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church. Whited was a member of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, the New Canaan Baptist Church Sunday School and the Good Medicine Society (the study of Native American culture and herbal medicines). New Canaan Baptist Church has established a fund at Region's Bank in Huntsville for Whited's children. Donations may be made to: Whited Children's College Fund. ------ Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 12:18:00 EST From: Jswordy@aol.com Subj: Re: Rod Whited Perhaps there will be a spot in your e-zine for this short tribute I worte about Rod. Pilamaya. Toksa ake, Kola! Jim ----- There's just no way I can get over the feeling that the crossing over of Rod Whited at age 48 on Sunday, Feb. 22, means the loss of not just the man in his physical robe, but of another connection to the beauty of living in uncluttered simplicity. Most people who communicated with Rod on-line knew his gentle personality and his caring about environmental and Native American issues, but they never knew the equipment he used to get his messages read. Rod was a die-hard Tandy man, steadfastly sticking to his obsolete Tandy laptop computers like Velcro. He had five or six of the old 100 and 200 models, bulletproof but memory-limited. "All I need is the text," he'd say with a gleam in his eye and a smile as he set up one of his antiquated wonders on his desk at work. "Who needs all those graphics, anyway? All you're gonna do is read it." Rod's crowning achievement, the highpoint in his decidedly low-tech computer approach, came when he pored over ads and on-line offerings in a search for a modem to work with his little Tandy buddies. It wasn't just the right modem Rod sought, it was the right modem at the right price. And he sifted through the advertisements like a bloodhound on the trail. Finally, one day a small box arrived for him. "I've got it, I've got it!" he exclaimed in his Southern drawl, beaming. "I got me a brand new modem for my Tandy. And you know what it cost me? Nineteen ninety-five!" He chased down one high-tech computer wiz after another at The Huntsville Times, the Alabama newspaper where we worked together. He waved them over to his desk, ensnared them as they casually passed by, and each time he'd cackle with glee. Then he'd launch into the story, starting with the search, then the chase, and then the capture. It always ended the same way -- "And you know what it cost me? Nineteen ninety-five!" And that's what I learned most from sharing a part of the life of Rod Whited: The hearty enjoyment of the simplest things. The beauty there. And how it is worth preserving. -- Jim Steele =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= A book worth reading: Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 08:56:13 -0500 From: Jordan S Dill Subj: Wounded Knee Airlift Am delighted to announce a new site whereby you can access some "Memories of the Wounded Knee Airlift" written by Larry Levin expressly for the Lakota Student Alliance...this recollection can be accessed at ...some excerpts are below: "It was bitterly cold that early April morning in 1973. We had taken off from Rapid City well before dawn. Our original plan was to land in Hot Springs, remove the rear doors from the three big Cherokee aircraft we were flying, and then head for Wounded Knee at tree-top level, ready to air drop two thousand pounds of food and supplies to its heroic defenders. "But we had a lucky break at the Rapid airport. The control tower was still closed in the pre-dawn hours. That meant that no one was watching us closely. On the spur of the moment, as we taxied to the far end of the runway to prepare for takeoff, we decided to remove the rear doors then and there. I ran around to the side of my plane and removed the bolts and then the door itself, throwing it back inside the plane, while the others did the same to their Cherokees. We took off into the clear night air. We had eliminated the need for a potentially risky landing at Hot Springs, which was probably heavily patrolled because of its proximity to the front lines. We were now ready to let the defenders of Wounded Knee know that they were not alone and had not been forgotten." =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Thanks to Mike Wicks for the following reminder: In Memory (with Respect and Honor) 3.1.1975 Martin Montileaux - killed in a Scenic, S.D. bar. AIM leader Richard Marshall later framed for his murder. Russell Means also charged and acquitted. 3.1.1976 Hobart Horse - AIM member beaten, shot, and repeatedly run over with automobile at Sharp's Corners. No investigation. REMINDER: February 27 marks the 25th anniversary of the re-occupation of Wounded Knee. Remember those who took a stand against the tyranny of the US Government and the GOONs, and for religious freedom. 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 ---------- - Peltier Medical Emergency - Cherokee Enterprise Income Up/ - Letters from Dineh Elders Profit Down - Perspective on the Buffalo - Unrest in Mexico Breeds Resentment Slaughter - Lubicon/Ogoni Human Rights Struggles - Navajo President Resigns - What is an Elder - Navajo-Hopi 'Land Dispute' - Another View on First Americans' - Boycott Wal-Mart Arrival - Canadian Gustafsen Senator - Mascots Redux Under Fire - We Cannibals Must Help Christians - Western Shoshone Alert - Native Prisoner - Elders Set Up Camp at Ground Zero - A Hundred Years Ago - Standoff at Ward Valley/Day 9 - Poem: Buffalo - Cherokee Enterprise Suspends - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Monthly Dividend - Conferences and Powwows --------- "RE: Peltier Medical Emergency" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 1998 21:36:31 -0500 (EST) From: cdumas Subj: Peltier Medical Emergency UUCP email Gary: The Leonard Peltier office asked me to E-mail you because their computer was sabotaged. It is very important that this medical update be released. Please E-mail us and let us know that you will include this in your next Wotanging Ikche Newsletter. Injuh, Santos Hawk's Blood "-Medical Update LETTERS ARE URGENTLY NEEDED Leonard Peltier's medical condition is serious and can only worsen as time goes on. Prison authorities continue to stall refusing him to access to specialized and independent medical diagnosis and treatment. Following the torturous and life threatening experiences at Springfield Medical Center during 1966 Leonard is holding fast - refusing treatment and surgery by prison-appointed medical staff. He is suffering tremendously with severe headaches from his jaw; that can not close with a permanent 1/2 inch space between his upper and lower teeth. He has to mash his food in order to eat, and the prison doesn't accommodate to his diet. This has been going one for more than a year and 1/2. Dr. Eugne Keller a medical specialist in oral and maxillofacial surgery at the renowned Mayo clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, has agreed to take Leonard as a patient and has written directly to the prison Warden of Leavenworth Prison. To date, Dr. Keller has not received an answer. In the past Federal prisoners have been transferred from the Federal Medical Facility in Rochester, MN and sent to Mayo Clinic for treatment. Meanwhile, we have found out that Leonard does NOT have any strain of hepatitis virus. sometime ago a physician's assistant told him that test done months prior had been "miss read" by the doctor who informed Leonard that he was in fairly good health. This physician's assistant insisted that Leonard had hepatitis B and told him that the disease was untreatable and would eventually kill him. This caused Leonard a great deal of mental and emotional anguish. NO new blood test was ordered at that time. Due to a tremendous amount of pressure by concerned citizens, a new blood test was finally ordered and concluded that Leonard DOES NOT have Hepatitis B. This situation is a reminder that prison staff continue to torture and harass him with false information." --------- "RE: Letters from Dineh Elders" --------- Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 16:50:46 -0600 From: redorman@theofficenet.com Subj: Letters from Dineh elders Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native -From BIGMTLIST Please read all the following letters. They not only are thankyous to the NGOs and supporters and Mr. Amor, but also describe the attempted (and even ongoing) sabotage of the Amor meeting and the efforts of the Dineh to regain their human rights and their land. Those dealing with IITC, Andrea Carmen, and Kee Watchman should take heed. --------------------------------------------------------- To: Non-Governmental Organizations From: Carlos Begay, Sr. - Black Mesa, AZ Date: February 12, 1998 I am writing to express my deep appreciation the United Nation's Special Rapporteur Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, the United Methodist Church, the World Council of Churches, and all other organizations which came together to hear the voice of the Dine People on February 3 in the hogan of my mother, Glenna Begay. Most particularly I wish to thank Mr. Amor himself, in the decision to come directly to the People here on the land he was able to hear not only our own voices but also the unique and precious voice of the land herself; we, the traditional Dine, feel much blessed by his sensitivity and respect for our land and religion and culture, which are one and the same in our hearts, and are grateful for the opportunity afforded to speak our truth in such an atmosphere of focused intent and harmony. Additionally, on behalf of myself and my mother, who was honored to host this meeting in our own family's' hogan, as well as the many traditional elders and matriarchs who came to speak with Mr. Amor and the accompanying NGO's, we wish to extend our personal thanks to all the NGO's who set aside so much time to travel to our homeland and meet with so many of us, and see for themselves our circumstances here. For many years now we have been telling people what is going on here, and for so many organizations to witness this firsthand with their own eyes is, to us, a landmark event that brings us much hope for the possibilities of the future. We are grateful. There are many others to thank, and there is much to be said about the beauty and blessings which took place in my mother's hogan that day; yet I must now speak of matters which are weighing heavily on the hearts and minds of the People, in hope that clarity may be brought to the confusion and chaos which has been perpetrated by the vile words and actions of an isolated few, and now jeopardizes all that so many have worked so long and so hard for. I am speaking of the Carmen of IITC Alaska, of Mr. Amor and the NGO van; completely without the approval or foreknowledge of the traditional Dine, who were waiting at the hogan of Glenna Begay to receive Mr. Amor as planned, Kee Watchman all but abducted Mr. Amor, taking him to his own home to meet with a group including several Tribal officials, thereby stealing precious hours from the Dine whose voices have ached for so long to be heard. As was stressed continuously to all concerned in the weeks preceding Mr. Amor's visit, this meeting was to be between Mr. Amor and the Dine People, with the presence of the NGO's to observe and witness the proceedings; NOT the Tribal government, which has opportunities and resources to make themselves heard which are not available to the People. This was our time to tell our truth, an opportunity which we have worked many years for. While there were tentative plans, contingent on weather and road conditions, for Mr. Amor to visit a sacred site in the company of Kee Watchman, in fact Kee drove right by this site without pause and instead went directly to his own home, where Tribal officials were waiting. Also Kee drove right past the home of Glenna Begay, where more than 200 people were waiting as planned to speak with Mr. Amor. Kee Watchman and I belong to the same clan, and my mothers' grandmother and his grandmother were sisters; also, my father, Teddy Begay Sr., and Kee went many times to Geneva in the past 15 years to speak and raise UN awareness of our struggles. Because of this close family tie that exists, when there was talk indicating that perhaps Kee, with the encouragement of Andrea Carmen at IITC, was going in a direction not in alignment with our own evolving plan-by-consensus, in the past several weeks I myself went numerous times to meet with Kee, in order to affirm and stress the imperative-ness of solidarity in all arrangements being made for Mr. Amor's visit. Also I was accompanied numerous times by Ms. Marsha Monestersky, whose has tirelessly worked hand-in-hand with the Traditional people throughout all preparations; also I went in the company of such Dine Elders as Roberta Blackgoat, Katherine Smith, and my own mother, Glenna Begay. Kee continuously assured us that he "supported us 100%", that he was praying for us and that he understood that all arrangements must be made through a consensus of the People in order that the People would be truly represented at this historic meeting which was to take place at the hogan of Glenna Begay; no other meeting site was ever discussed or authorized by the People. IITC and Andrea Carmen specifically were respectfully and firmly reminded, by myself and others, that while they were welcome to be present among the NGO's who came to show their support and witness this historic meeting, all arrangements must be made by and with the consensus of the People themselves, and no interference with or undermining of these efforts would be tolerated. Her deliberate manipulation of events greatly jeopardizes the efforts of all the Dine People who came together in such harmony and united focus at the hogan of Glenna Begay, and her behavior is in direct opposition to the express wishes and hopes of the Dine People; her actions, as well as those of Kee Watch-man, are considered no less than willful sabotage. At this time, meetings are being arranged and conducted in the traditional Dine communities to determine what actions must be taken in response to these betrayals, and when consensus is reached the NGO's will be informed as to what decisions are made. (Note: Editor excluded one paragraph here in order not to endanger an Elder) For my part, I am not able press strongly enough that, without the tireless efforts and dedication of Ms. Monestersky, working at all times on behalf and with the support of the traditional Dine, this meeting that we have hoped for so long would never have become a reality. To speak against her is to speak against the People themselves, and the vicious efforts of an isolated few to discredit her is repulsive to us, all the Dine who stood together in harmony at the hogan of Glenna Begay to bring our truth to Mr. Amor. Ms. Monestersky stood with us then, as she has stood with as through so much else; and we, the traditional Dine, now stand together firmly in support of her and her continued presence in all aspects of our struggle. Despite the glory-seeking, the self-serving efforts of those few whose actions seek to undermine the integrity and truth present in the efforts of the traditional Dine, it must not be forgotten that OUR TRUTH WAS HEARD. Mr. Amor and the NGO's present in my mothers' hogan heard many of us, and witnessed for themselves the sufferings, sorrows, struggles and hopes of the People. It is my deepest hope that it is that truth which will be remembered, and that the seeds planted at that meeting will have opportunity to flourish and grow. The traditional Dine, our most respected allies such as Ms. Monestersky, and your own organizations all united in the effort to bring our truth before the world community, to create the real possibility of justice that we have worked so hard all these years for. We have endured much in our long struggle; and as always it continues to be a struggle to ensure that truth and justice will prevail; and we will not give up. We will not be distracted. We will not rest until we and our beloved land are free to live in beauty, as is the right of all peoples. We ask for your continuing patience and support through these struggles. Together we have already accomplished much, and there is much still to be done. With Deepest Thanks, Sincerely, Carlos W. Begay Sr. Organizers UN SUMMIT ------------------------------------------------- To: Non Governmental Organizations, Date: February 8, 1998 From: John Benally, Facilitator for Dineh/UN/NGO visit, spokesperson from Big Mountain Community I support the NGOs, definitely, 110%. The reason why is because I contact some of you in creating an Inter-faith Coalition. Being a resister, I never get help from any organization. But you are the people I contact and you may my struggle a little bit different. It makes me have more hope for my everyday life and that is why I support you. International Indian Treaty Council (IITC) don't help me. They don't even help me with paperwork or help me fight the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). That's the reason I had to block one of them, Andrea Carmen. This is the people's struggle, not IITC. Sure they can support us and I thank them for whenever they support us. And they are welcome to support us some more. I want to thank the NGOs for coming out and listening to our concerns. On behalf of my people who didn't make it to Glenna Begay's, on behalf of the people who did, I want to thank you. I also want to tell you that it was the Dineh people that put the physical work into the preparation of the site, the local people. It is the Dineh people that did it themselves, the cooking, structural preparation and strategy for this location. As you are aware, I played a major role in this event and also served as moderator. This event was to honor the grassroots, the creation, not credit, "I did this". It represented the coming together of a people for an understanding and ceremony, in a good way. I wanted the NGOs out here, not just physically out here, but to share your information with the people. IITC never did that, never consulted before sending paperwork out. I want to clarify that Marsha Monestersky helps the grassroots, moving the paper. We don't want attacks against her. We have real work to do. The United Methodist Church is our right arm. The World Council of Churches is our left arm and all the NGOs our strength. We would like to have our culture back that was about about 30 years ago, it was a really tight culture then-all these things distort us, governmental laws and laws we're affected by. Our long term strategy is to have our own life. We have a life. Let us live. We don't get help from anywhere. No resource of any kind comes to us. We are always denied. We don't want welfare, government commodity food. We don't want boarding schools run by the BIA. We would love to give our grandmothers a chance to say something to the next generation, the grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers, medicine people, youth, have a chance to say something. That kind of education. Family values. It all comes from the hogan, then the school system. That way we probably decrease a lot of gang related and other problems caused by not being in contact with your culture. We want housing and a place where grandchildren can be with their grandmas. Gangs happen because the grandma is not there. And young learn how to chop wood, sheep, spinning. We as Dineh need to set goals for supporters and how to do service to support us, humbly, so we are empowered. We need your help. We are just being violated, annihilated, terminated, relocated. Annihilated is already there. It gives us problems, mental illness, relocation syndrome when people die of loneliness, despair, alcohol, suicide. We are being gravely disrespected, mentally abused. It causes us great emotional distress, people die of stroke. My mom, Alice Benally and Alvin Clinton who just died, were denied the right to be buried on HPL. Before 1974 and even after we put some of our relatives buried in our homeland. The government forces denial of our relatives at our own home burials. We have other relatives buried in Big Mountain. Water, we don't have water for summer, we have to haul water for our use and our livestock. Water has been capped off, pumps removed by BIA and BLM. There is so much suffering among my people. Thank you for helping us, John Benally Organizers UN SUMMIT ----------------------------------------- To: Non Governmental Organizations From: Bonnie Whitesinger, Spokesperson from Big Mountain Community, Black Mesa Date: February 8, 1998 Re: Thank you for your support I Bonnie Whitesinger, and on behalf of my people, appreciate your time with the peoples on the land. Your presence here has empowered the affected individuals who have took the opportunity to teach and tell their sacred ways, that is Religious Beliefs. Your participation of NGOs by your numbers and billion of people help to give the power to fulfill the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. We honored your reputation, status and sensitivity as human beings. Thanks. I would like to say that we, the traditional peoples of the Black Mesa region want all affected areas to be preserved-the Religion and culture and down the oral traditions that is threatened with extinction. The Independent Sovereign Dineh Nation. Secondly, we need the Special Rapporteur on Displaced Persons. He has to be invited to experience the pain and suffering at Black Mesa. We, also need to clarify that the paperwork with our consultant, Marsha Monestersky should be respected for generous work. Thank you, Sincerely, Bonnie Whitesinger Organizers UN SUMMIT ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ For those wishing to subscribe to BIGMTLIST, email redorman@theofficenet.com with "subscribe" in the subject header. -----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==----- http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading --------- "RE: Navajo President Resigns" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 09:21:35 -0800 (PST) From: "D. English" Subj: Navajo President Resigns under Fire/ New York Times Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) Navajo President Resigns Under Fire By TIMOTHY EGAN c. New York Times 02/20/98 Three years ago, Albert Hale took office as president of the Navajo Nation, promising to end corruption and rancorous internal politics at a reservation the size of West Virginia. Thursday he resigned under fire for personal and political misdeeds, and apologized to the quarter-million people who live in the nation's largest American Indian reservation. "I am sorry for my shortcomings and the wrongs I may have committed while in office," said Hale, addressing the tribe in English and Navajo in a broadcast over the tribal radio station. "I ask for your forgiveness and the forgiveness of the Holy People." Hale, a lawyer and one of a new breed of American Indian leaders who move freely from White House meetings to U.N. speeches, was one of the most forceful advocates for the rights of tribes as nations within a nation. He had recently suggested that the Navajo, whose 12 million-acre reservation touches New Mexico, Utah and Arizona, close the roads into the reservation for one day as a demonstration of American Indian sovereignty. But in the end, he was facing potential criminal charges from a special prosecutor looking into allegations that he misspent tribal money, as well as accusations by his former wife that he had an affair while in office. Under the terms of his resignation, hammered out at a late-night meeting at Navajo headquarters in the town of Window Rock, the investigation into the funds was dropped. To some people, Hale's resignation shows that the politics of American Indian Country are no different from any other part of the country, except that everything is magnified by family links and overt spirituality. "Albert Hale became the point person for spreading the issue of Indian sovereignty throughout the world, and he was quite effective at it," said Dr. Lee Francis, a Laguna Pueblo who is a professor of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. "His resignation says to us throughout Indian Country that we have got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot." Hale is the second Navajo leader in the last decade to resign under a cloud. The tribal leader from two terms ago, Peter MacDonald, was convicted in 1992 of bribery and conspiracy charges in tribal court and sentenced to seven years in jail. The Navajo have twice rejected casino gambling and, under Hale, had been trying to build tribal businesses while taking an assertive stance on sovereignty. "He was a very good leader on sovereignty," said Ron Allen, president of the National Congress of American Indians, "on trying to explain to Congress and the president and the rest of the world that we are Indian governments, not just tribes." But under Hale, unemployment on the reservation remained near 30 percent, and nearly three out of 10 members still lived in homes without running water or electricity. "I have seen a lot of suffering," Hale said after being elected president in 1994. "We have to end that." The tribe has an aggressive newspaper, The Navajo Times, which recently published articles about Hale's personal life and about the alleged misuse of a tribal credit card. After the articles surfaced, the Navajo attorney general named a special prosecutor, who for five months has conducted an investigation into allegations that Hale improperly charged the tribe for more than $52,000 in expenses in 1995 and 1996. The special prosecutor, Fred C. Smith, a Santa Fe lawyer, was also looking into complaints that Hale spent tribal money on the woman with whom his wife has accused him of having an affair. Hale, in his resignation statement, seemed to blame political factions for his downfall. "I have never put a cent of tribal money into my pocket," he said. "Yet, there is a continuing vendetta against me on the basis of my expenses." He said he was resigning to spare his family further agony. But Robert E. French, director of the Navajo Nation ethics office, said the evidence against Hale was strong. "It came down to two choices for him," French said. "He could agree to the charges and resign, facing no further investigation, or stay in office and face criminal charges by the special prosecutor." In his statement Thursday, Hale said his push for greater sovereignty had resulted in "new respect for our heritage and our language" both on and off the reservation. "In the future," he said, "the corn pollen bag and the law school diploma can hang side-by-side on an office wall." In the Navajo tradition, other tribal leaders Thursday offered spiritual support for Hale. "Through our clan system, President Hale is my son," said Kelsey Begaye, speaker of the 88-member Navajo Nation Council, the legislative body of the tribe, "and we all know as parents that when our children hurt, we also hurt right along with them. At this time, we all need to remember that we are all Navajo brothers and sisters. We are all united." Hale will be replaced by his vice president, Thomas Atcitty, until new elections are held. --------- "RE: Perspective on the Buffalo Slaughter" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 00:40:31 -0600 From: "James Horsley" Subj: buffalo slaughter UUCP email Hi-- I would like to see your publication do a news story on a perspective of the buffalo slaughter that I think needs telling. I am highly interested in the effort to save the buffalo from governmental slaughter. In my opinion this is just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. This is a continuation of the United States' historical effort to subdue the Native American through the extermination of their traditional food supply, the buffalo. I have done a great deal of study about the plight of the Indian peoples and I believe my research and insights may be of help. I realize this letter is somewhat long, but it is the result of several years of work on the subject and is a complex problem. I believe the operative philosophy behind the slaughter is a root cause of the continued oppression of the Native American, especially the Plains Indians tribes. That philosophy is simply this: deny guilt. The government still fears the Native American because it knows it has dealt unjustly with these people and will not face or rectify its guilt. In the case of the Plains Indians it knows that even though its crime against the Native American occurred over 100 years ago it will not go away--and that crime is that it committed genocide against the Plains Indians (not to mention, of course, other tribes), that it stole the Great Plains from the tribes (Indian Territory--the Great Plains--was originally promised to the Plains Tribes through the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie as a preserve for buffalo hunting) and that it systematically eliminated the buffalo from the Great Plains to wipe out the Indians' food supply and the Indian nations that depended on the bison. You can see this philosophy lurking behind such terms in news reports about the buffalo "breaking out" of Yellow Stone. That rhetoric hints that the buffalo are prisoners of Yellow Stone. Indeed, they are. They are being kept behind bars so they will not migrate, so they will not cover the Plains, so that the traditional food source of the Plains Indians will not again multiply to significant numbers. The very last thing that the government wants to see is large herds of buffalo being followed by Plains Indians on horseback. And it all goes back to a governmental crime that happened over 100 years ago, specifically, the genocidal attack on the Washita River in 1868 that crushed the Plains Indians. It all goes back to a vast, concerted plot to take back the Great Plains. It all goes back to illegally dispossessing the Plains Indians' of their promised land base and the slaughter of the buffalo. That land base, the Great Plains, can be regained and I believe that the key to its restoration is how one deals with the issue of the governmental slaughter of the Yellow Stone bison. Let us look at the facts. That the buffalo are "breaking loose" from Yellow Stone is totally misleading. They are simply following their instinct to migrate. This nation has done all it can to make sure that the buffalo do not migrate, that they don't exist in significant numbers. Why? Because the government decided a long time ago that it wanted what it originally pledged to the Native American--the Great Plains. The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie gives the Great Plains region to a combination of Plains tribes. When gold was discovered in Denver, the military and the government decided to get these lands back. They used genocide to do it. They eliminated the buffalo and they attacked Indian tribes in a state of surrender to get it back. Much of this can be seen on the web at the following sites: http://dickshovel.netgate.net/was.htm http://www.dickshovel.com/genosite.html http://www.dickshovel.com/lara.html To briefly sum up the above sites, General Sherman invited the Plains Indian tribes to surrender at Fort Cobb on the Washita River, saying he would attack all those who did not surrender. Instead, however, of attacking those who did not surrender (who he obviously could not find and had no intent of finding), he attacked those he could find, because he knew where they where, having invited them to the Washita destination to surrender. He then attacked this congregation of a multitude of Plains tribes in the middle of winter, wiping out the head village under Black Kettle and terrorizing the remainder of the people camped along the river below with a charge down that river by military troops. They fled in deep snow, leaving behind the protection of their villages, dieing by untold numbers. All in all, five division were used converging on the Fort Cobb location from north, south, east and west. What does this have to do with the buffalo? Everything. General Sherman knew that the Great Plains was key to the survival of the Plains Indians as powerful nations. The Great Plains was the Plains Indians' food supply due to the presence of the buffalo. Logically, then, it made sense to remove these tribes from the region that helped them survive. Additionally, when gold was found near Denver, it made it even more compelling to have the area free of any opposing forces. However, there were two great factors in the way. The two factors were about equal in magnitude. Let us take the buffalo first. They had to be eliminated to reduce the power of the Plains Indians. This could be done by a policy of slaughter, which was encouraged more and more, ending up with box car after box car of buffalo tongues being shipped to New York and millions of buffalo shot down by commercial hunters and left to rot on the prairie. Another way to eliminated the use of the buffalo as a source of food was to remove the Plains Indians from that source, namely, to Indian Territory. General Sherman did this by inviting in 1867 all the Plains Indian tribes to surrender at Fort Cobb--and then attacking them. That attack effectively crushed the Plains Indians, for by using an irrational attack (attacking those who offered to surrender) he used one of the most devastating methods of warfare--genocide. After this, as General Custer once pointed out, the Indian people would sign anything. And they did. Little by little they signed away their territories in the Great Plains. Which brings us to point two: In 1851 the United States meet with a vast congregation of Plains Indians at Fort Laramie and drew up the Treaty of Fort Laramie. The treaty, signed in the area know as Indian Territory (the Great Plains) was between two commissioners appointed by the President--D. D. Mitchell, superintendent of Indian affairs, and Thomas Fitzpatrick, Indian agent-- and the chiefs, headmen, and braves of the following Indian nations, residing south of the Missouri River, east of the Rocky Mountains, and north of the lines of Texas and New Mexico, namely, the Sioux, Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Crows, Assiniboines, Gros-Ventre Mandans, and Arickaras. Tribes were given specific territory up and down the Plains region, starting at the Canadian border and ending up at New Mexico. Note that the treaty terms this region, the Great Plains, "Indian Territory." It was not until being driven from here that the much smaller region of northern Oklahoma was dubbed "Indian Territory." The government simply redefined what territory was to be Indian. As Governor Evans of Colorado once pointed out, this treaty gave by "organic law" all the Great Plains to the Great Plains Indians, with virtually nothing belonging to the people who were now settling there. This simply would not do, and the Indians Wars were started, namely, attacks, genocidal attacks, against the Native American. Little by little a strategy was mounted to dispossess the Native American of this land specially set aside for them. Little by little the buffalo were killed. Little by little the villages were attacked. Little by little the Indian people signed away the Great Plains for security, thinking, something like Israel is doing now, that if they gave up their land to the enemy for a pledge of peace, they would get peace. What they got instead were a few slices of worthless land. What they got were concentration camps, euphemistically called reservations. What they got was a Great Plains littered with the carcasses of slain buffalo and a procession of box cars with the tongues of their food supply headed for New York restaurants and butcher shops. While the Indian people retreated to the reservations, becoming the greatest percentage of unemployed people in this nation because they had been robbed of their livelihood, the people who settled the land eventually found that most people in this new land could not make the land produce. Look at the abandoned small towns of North Dakota, South Dakota, etc., for proof. While these settlers wagged their tongues at their Native American brothers for not being able to make a living and for taking government money via reservation payments, these very same people ended up taking welfare payments from the government via the Conservation Reserve Program. Since they could not make the land produce, the government, to save face, gave these farmers money to grow weeds. And behind it all, almost at the instinctual level, was one thought-- anything was worth it to keep the buffalo off the land, to let the cow waddle here instead, so that there would not be the traditional food supply of the Plains Indians and the traditional source of their power-- the American bison. However, as clever as the government was, it failed to do one very important thing--to get the signers of the Fort Laramie Treaty to collectively relinquish the provisions of that treaty. Instead, what it did, was attack tribe by tribe, and go to tribe after tribe after the attacks for the purpose of getting the tribes to individually sign away their territories up and down the Great Plains. But, and this is an extremely important but, but they did not collectively get the signers of the Fort Laramie Treaty to convey their property rights. At the heart of this is the concept of the integrity of unity. We fought a Civil War over this concept. Our property laws, further, provide for joint rights only to be relinquished jointly. For that reason, these rights still stand. In particular the right to hunt the Great Plains was specifically never given up. In fact, the entire reason for the Fort Laramie treaty was to secure this land base for the preservation of the buffalo so that the Native American could survive and not starve. Following the specification of the territories for the various tribes, this passage was included: "The aforesaid Indian nations...do not surrender the privilege of hunting, fishing, or passing over any of the tracts of country heretofore described." See the discussion at the following web sites re this right: http://www.fargocity.com/prairie/bia.html http://www.fargocity.com/prairie/response.html This right has never been given up. The signers have never jointly conveyed title. However, this right has not been taken advantage of. With the migration of the buffalo from Yellow Stone, I think it should be. Several attorneys believe that this right still stands. A case, a good case, could be made for the government being petitioned to allow the tribes signing the Treaty of Fort Laramie to follow, herd and hunt the buffalo leaving Yellow Stone National Park on their migratory journey. It could be pointed out that legally, as provided by the Congressionally ratified 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the Plains Indians have the right to follow and hunt these bison over the Great Plains region--and no one else. It could be pointed out that the Plains Indians hold the buffalo sacred, that the desecration of the buffalo by wanton killing is against their religious beliefs and that thus such slaughter by the government should be prohibited. It could also be pointed out that the Great Plains has failed economically and that bison, not cattle, can only realistically survive and thrive here. It could be pointed out that migration is the only sensible way to raise large herds of this animal, since migrating animals are much healthier and free of disease. Keeping animals fenced in makes them prone to reinfection. This can be documented. It could be further pointed out that these bison from Yellow Stone are the only wild buffalo, retaining the instinct to migrate, a very valuable instance, as it would enable large herds to migrate, instead of remaining on the same land and thus infecting themselves with vectors. It could be pointed out that by shooting these wild buffalo the government is eliminating this valuable instinct through the process of genetic selection. There is much more going on here than the government shooting a few buffalo. There is an oral tradition that the prosperity of the Native American will return with the return of the buffalo. I think the Yellow Stone bison are trying to tell us something. I think a legal brief--an injunction requesting the banning of governmental shooting of the buffalo plus governmental recognition of the Plains Indians' exclusive right to herd the buffalo over the Great Plains- -should be drawn up mentioning the above reasons. I think in addition, that something like the following petition should be posted on the internet. What we need is a Great Plains jubilee, that is, the return of the land to its original owners and the freeing of those who have been enslaved by loosing that land. A CALL FOR A GREAT PLAINS JUBILEE-- a petition to the Department of the Interior for the return of the Great Plains to the Plains Indians. Introduction In the mid 1800s, recognizing that the Native American population of the Great Plains region was dependant on the buffalo for its food supply, the United States Congress ratified a treaty that gave the various Indian tribes of the Great Plains possession of that region. That treaty is the 1851 Treaty of Ft. Laramie. The major reason for setting aside this land and assigning it exclusively to the Plains Indian nations was to allow the tribes to follow the buffalo as it migrated across the continent. The area was originally thought to be worthless land. However, when gold was found in the Denver region and when the prairie was deemed habitable by settlers, the military and the government began a program to deplete the region of buffalo by allowing the slaughtering of the buffalo by commercial hunters from the East. In addition, the military began an aggressive campaign against Indian villages. These campaigns were aimed at exterminating the Native American. An undeclared policy of genocide was instigated against the Native American, of which the attacks at Sand Creek and Washita are examples. One of the effects of genocide is to reduce a population to complete submission. When surrender will not even save one's life, one will ultimately do anything to escape that fate. As we have seen in World War II, people were so terrorized by the Nazi genocidal program against the Jews, that some Jewish people would buy time by offering to hold open the doors to the gas chamber. It should be no surprise, then, that tribe after tribe signed away their homeland for ridiculously smaller, alternative reservations, thus one by one giving up their buffalo hunting grounds, their only means of survival, that is, by giving up the Great Plains. No people extremely proud of their heritage and prosperous from the skilled management of the buffalo herds, would have given up possession of the Great Plains without the use of genocide. The Indian Wars were not wars. Instead the Army functioned as mobile killing unites employed to wipe out the Native American. The only trouble was that due to the high degree of resistance by the Indian people, the Army could not subdue the Native American even by attacking its villages. Instead, it instigated a policy of inviting the tribes to surrender, then attacking those surrendered tribes. Our country, under the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution, united as a nation of states, becoming the United States of America. Representatives of the states signed a document uniting the states into one body. We fought a war, the Civil War, to preserve the integrity of that declaration of unity. We fought to defeat the attempt of the South from seceding from that union, sacrificing 600,000 men for that cause. The 1851 Treaty of Ft. Laramie is a kind of Articles of Confederation for the Indian peoples. It was designed to allow the various Plains tribes the ability to survive as a united people. It assigned specific territories to specific tribes from the Canadian border to New Mexico and from the Rocky Mountains to the Missouri River. The document was signed by all the tribes. It was also signed by the United States and ratified by Congress. The treaty included this important provision: "The aforesaid Indian nations...do not surrender the privilege of hunting, fishing, or passing over any of the tracts of country heretofore described." This provision was a key element of the document because it allow all tribes to survive off the migrating buffalo. It gave each tribe the right to go onto the other tribe's territory for the purpose of hunting and fishing. This was a pledge of unity for the survival of all those who signed that document. No tribe or territory could give up its right to hunt or fish that union of territories without the consent of the original signing tribes together, just as the South could not secede from the union of the United States. But what did the United States do? Following the Civil War, fought to preserve the principle of unity, it sought to fragment the confederacy of united tribes bound together under the 1851 Treaty of Ft. Laramie. Using an announced policy of "total war," the military, under the leadership of the very man who helped win the Civil War, General Sherman, launched a five-division attack converging from the north, south, east and west against a multitude of tribes invited by General Sherman himself to surrender at the Washita River in what was termed Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. That attack, along with a number surrounding that event, because of the use of genocidal tactics, crushed the Indian nations, forcing them to sign documents to protect the lives of the remnant that survived. They were forced, however, to sign documents contrary to their pledge of unity, forced to sign away the very principle that we, as a nation, fought so hard a few years prior to uphold as one of the supreme national principles--the obligation to maintain one's commitment to unity. An aggressive campaign was launched by the government to relocate Indian people off much of the Great Plains region to separate, much smaller reservations, such as Indian Territory. They were sent there in box cars, made to march there on foot hundreds of miles, chased there by the military on horseback, often made to flee their villages in mid winter, dieing in countless numbers as a result. Reservations became, in effect, concentration camps designed to detain Indians and to feed them as prisoners of war. A policy of "manifest destiny" was pursued, opening up the depopulated Great Plains to settlement via land grants. Manifest destiny simply means that we, as settlers, were meant to have what was not ours. We were superior people and thus had a right to the land. Hitler later used this principle. The Indian's homeland became "public land," and the public land became private land by allowing settlers to make home stakes. When Indian Territory was deemed habitable by settlers, it, too fell. This last collective refuge of tribes was opened up for settlement by an Act of Congress, allowing settlers to line up at a starting point and at the shot of a gun, to rush across the Indian's homeland to make a stake. Rev. Whipple referred to these actions as one of the darkest pages in American history. What has been the result of keeping this book closed? What is the condition of the Native American today? There is no ethnic group more oppressed in the United States. No group suffers more unemployment or a higher rate of alcoholism. The effects of genocide will do that, for it strikes at the will to survive, at the soul of a nation, at its national heritage, at its traditions, at its land base, at its ability to maintain itself as a human unit. What is the economic condition of the Great Plains? Several of the Great Plains states suffer from annual population declines. Small towns are being abandoned. The entire region is sustained by national welfare programs. One the one hand we have farmers who are encouraged to establish family farms via government subsidy programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This is to keep people on the land growing weeds. And on the other hand, we have reservations, which keeps people on welfare and off the land from which they were removed. It is a failed system. It denies the evolutionary heritage of the land which allowed only the buffalo to survive here as the primary meat producing animal. Cattle die here in the droves in winter. Cattle die here in the droves in the floods. Crops can't grow on the rocky soil. Attempts to carve out fields from the wetlands to raise crops create devastating floods of our cities down stream. This is not Europe, but America. The buffalo is our national meat producing animal, not the cow. And the Great Plains does not belong to the settler, but was set aside by our forefathers for the Native American as provided by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. .. Therefore, we make the following plea: 1. Because the 1851 Treaty of Laramie is a pledge of unity between the signing tribes and the United States of America, 2. Because the use of genocide depopulated the Great Plains of the Plains Indian tribes and of the buffalo, their food primary food supply, 3. Because the use of genocide by the government forced these signing tribes to individually renounce their pledge of unity contrary to the principles fought for in the Civil War, 4. Because the signing tribes never renounced, however, collectively the terms of the treaty, thereby retaining today their joint right to the region, 5. Because the result of these governmental actions has been a failed economy, causing a great number of both settlers and Indian people, and their descendants, to rely on welfare, either through CRP-type programs or Congressional payments to reservations, 6. Because migration is the only sensible way to allow the buffalo in great numbers to survive, We, the undersigned, request that the Great Plains be returned to the original owners, the Plains Indians, for the purpose of raising buffalo in migratory herds across the Plains region. We also ask the government to acknowledge that the Plains Indian tribes are the only people who are allowed by Congress to so herd and hunt these migratory buffalo under the terms of the 1851 Treaty of Ft. Laramie. We further purpose that when the bison of Yellow Stone National Park again attempt to "break out" of the park system, that these buffalo be recognized by the government as, indeed, not breaking out, but simply exercising their migratory instinct. In view of this, we ask that the government cease shooting the Yellow Stone buffalo, since such selection has the potential of eliminating the instinct of migration in this species, and recognize the right of the Plains Indian to follow the buffalo across the Great Plains so as to herd and harvest such animals for both private and commercial purposes. We ask that the government recognize that this has traditionally been the method of survival for the Plains Indians people, that they should have the right to continue that tradition, much as the Lapps have been permitted to follow the migratory reindeer in Sweden. We also ask that the government help promote the consumption of buffalo meat as an alternative to beef, in that it would help stabilize the Plains economy and is more healthful then beef. We also ask that the government recognize that is has a moral obligation to rectify its past actions of genocide against the Native American by this act of reparation. I Support This Call for a Great Plains Jubilee--for the Return of the Great Plans to the Native American People and for the Banning of Governmental Shooting of the American Bison-- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I believe great national support, in fact, even international support, for the above reasons could be mounted for both the banning of the governmental slaughter of the buffalo and for the return of the Great Plains to the Great Plains Indians. My best, Jim --------- "RE: Navajo-Hopi 'Land Dispute' Update" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Feb 1998 14:43:20 -0700 (MST) From: dh88691@goodnet.com (THURSDAY/Jon Norstog) Subj: Navajo-Hopi "Land Dispute" Update: Feb. 17, 1998 UUCP email Navajo-Hopi "Land Dispute" Update: February 17, 1998 I have attached most of the "update" as an ASCII file. The following is a message I wrote in reply to an inquiry, which has been circulated. It has some bearing on the material in this "update." This was the question: Could you explain for me how not having a strong support group presence (like at Big Mountain) means Teesto has always had strong leaders and has been able usually to make its own decisions as a community. I don't understand the connection. Dear Mr. X, I'll try to give you a short answer to your question, which actually needs a long one. The Teesto people had to be their own support group. The Big Mountain Struggle, as it's known to the outside world involved 15 to 20 communities, many of which are now gone. The two strongest were always Teesto and Big Mountain. Teesto had the advantage early on of having strong representation in tribal government from David Clark and Anderson Tully, people who were willing to participate in direct action, if that was what it took. For that reason, community discussions were always led by Dine', without too much need for outside support. These two leaders were also able to secure technical and logistic support from tribal government. The continual community meetings served as a training ground for new leaders who emerged, like Peggy Scott, Alvin Clinton, Elmer Clark, Roger Attakai, David Begay and lately Judy and Sam Keyonnie. They also trained the community in working together, developing and acting on their own agenda, etc. This is not a common condition among the Dine'. Usually people stick with their own families and don't have much to do with their neighbors except for religious ceremonies and land disputes. What politics there is is usually fractious and looks pretty bitter to outsiders. And of course tribal-level politics is extremely dirty and bitter. In the ordinary course of events people say pretty harsh things about each other, but they have to work things out. People who were trashing each other yesterday are working together today, probably against someone else. The people who were denouncing tribal government yesterday are in it today, or else asking it for help. Behind all this activity is the idea of "Na'ataanii", the wise leader and speaker. People respect themselves by respecting the Na'ataanii. The people who count, who do the talking and make the decisions - by consensus - are the mature adults and elders, people who have a proven themselves in their families and communities. This was the way it worked in traditional governance. No one now alive has participated in national (tribal) level traditional governance, and most people's model for action is the chapter meeting. The only place traditional "governance" is really strong any more is among the Hataalii, when they deal with religious matters. And even they have an association that meets in a big room, has officers, follows and agenda and uses Roberts Rules. So that's how real self-government mostly looks among the Dine' at this time. Finally, the role of "spokesperson" doesn't really work for Dine'. The reason is that, in the Dine' way of thinking, one person can not speak for another. If you ask a man what his wife thinks about an issue he'll say something like "she has her own idea" or "I haven't asked her", even if he knows already what she thinks. 1. The support groups change everything when they come in. They will work with a group in a community, and as a result that group no longer has to work out its conflicts - in a sense they have found a new community. 2. The support groups have to do their business in English, so they work with younger, English-speaking Dine'. It is the young people who have access to the money and material items the support groups bring in, and it is the younger people who work with the support groups, setting the agenda, writing the documents, making the decisions. Once things are worked out, the elders are asked to sign the paper. Sometimes what is done is good, sometimes not so good, but always it turns the social order upside-down. 3. The support groups select people, making some of them "spokespersons" and "representatives". Those selected get a lot of attention and other benefits. Other people in the community may resent this, so it deepens the divisions that are always there. Then maybe another support group comes in and selects a different bunch of people. Betty Tso calls this practice "shopping for elders." Support group A and Support group B start trashing each other and inevitable try to discredit each other's chosen spokespersons. So the Dine' have one more thing keeping them from working together, and a support network that makes it possible for them to stay separate. In the end, people meet when the support groups are around, Spring Gathering or Sun Dance. Always waiting for something to happen. 4. The support groups hear people trashing their Na'ataanii. Don't worry, they say, you don't need Na'ataanii, you've got us! And it is true, the support groups can do for the people the things the Na'ataanii should be doing but aren't. This separates people from their Na'ataanii and breaks up another part of traditional life. And eventually the support groups go away. Look at what happened last week: the elders have many times gone to Window Rock asking for the support of Council - and gotten it, if someone is around who can write the resolution. Last week they got a very strong IGR resolution blasting the US. But when the Na'ataanii come out to Big Mountain they are disrespected by a bunch of white people. Do you think this makes it more or less likely that the people will get the support of their government next time they ask for it? The best things the support groups do: When they raise the level of public awareness of the issue. Otherwise, really, no one would care. They do good when people come to the land to help with sheepherding and the chores of day to day life, because the "land dispute" has scattered families and broken the system by which people can be self-sufficient. They do good when they help repair homes, and they do good when they just do their work quietly and let the Dine' do the talking. Probably the worst thing the support groups ever did was organize the letter writing campaign that killed the 1986 land exchange proposal (Udall McCain). I don't know who made the decision to do that, but there were 1, 000 families on the land full-time, waiting to see what would happen. When Udall-McCain went down, 700 of those families decided to relocate. They figured it was all over. That is my answer to your question, why I think the absence of strong support groups forced the Teesto people to organize and do things on their own. jn Navajo-Hopi "Land Dispute" Update: February 17, 1998 Frozen mud all over as wave after wave of El Nino storms pass through. Hardrocks-Big Mountain area had a foot of snow Saturday night, so everything will be moving pretty slow for a while. Sand Spring Community Sand Spring, along Dinnebito Wash is still home to a strong Dine' community. The main families include John Yazzie's and Alfred McCabe's. There was a lot of adoption in those families in addition to their natural children, both families include about 25 children each, all adults now. Who knows how many grandchildren! Calvin Nez and his wife live over toward Yadesgideh, maybe 15 miles from Sand Springs. Ashley Begay's family lives in a little hook of Navajo land that was apparently drawn just for them, at the base of Garces Mesa. There are a few related families also in the area. They get together regularly for ceremonies and family events. The families have lived there for a very long time and have ties to certain Hopi clans and villages. The area is mostly red sand desert and grassland, less than 10 inches of rain a year. There are four strong springs above the wash on the east side, which have made it possible for people to live in this area. Many years ago the BIA came in and "improved" the springs, running them all through a pipe. Then they built a day school. The school is long gone, but the water is still there. John Yazzie, when he was a young man, was among those Dine' who were evicted from their farms below Keams Canyon in 1943. He ended up at Sand Springs and started farming there, using mainly water diverted from Dinnebito Wash. During the summer, he builds dirt dams across the wash to catch the water, then pumps it up to his fields. The wash is cut down about 15 feet there so he has to use a gas-powered pump. Whenever there is a big rain it washes out his dam and he has to make another one. About ten years ago, some Israeli agricultural experts came to visit his farm. They came back the next year and installed a drip irrigation system on about a hundred acres, which is still working. There are a few irrigation projects and farms around the reservation, but most of them are older government projects. This one was made by Dine'. The Sand Springs farm is way over the 10 acres allowed in the "Accommodation Agreement." Mr. Yazzie sells his produce, a lot of it at Hopi. That violates the prohibition on economic activity in the agreement. . The people in the area have always had good relations with the Hopis and are hoping to work out an arrangement so they can continue living as they are used to. Big Mountain Shrine has been Repaired The shrine on top of Big Mountain - Be' Hooghaan Be' Woochidii - was vandalized during the summer, the stones scattered around. No one saw it happen, so different people have different suspicion. The shrine has been rebuilt and is apparently back in operation. Support Groups in a Lather Yesterday I got an E-mail including several letters, mostly from people I know and written about people I know. These letters are being circulated widely on the internet. The sender says "those dealing with IITC (the International Indian treaty Council), Andrea Carmen, and Kee Watchman should take heed." I guess that means me. One of the letters is pretty ugly. I want to point out that traditional Dine' don't spend a lot of time at their computers writing stuff up for the internet. Someone else, probably a white person, probably wrote this letter for the individual who signed it. I hope the support groups and NGOs can work out their differences by themselves and refrain from spreading their conflicts among the Dine'. All of you out there can go on with your lives, but the people on the land will be left to deal with this ugliness by themselves. Last week I got an inquiry asking why I thought the absence of support groups had forced Teesto community to organize and work on their own behalf. I sent a reply, which I've heard has been circulating. For those on my mailing list who haven't had a chance to read it, it is included in this message. Sports Page Ganado Hornets (boys) and Tuba City Warriors (girls) each won their regular season championships and will play at the state tournament, AAA class. In addition, the St. Michaels boys team won a spot in the AAAA class by making the semifinals in the northern regional tournament. Hopi H.S. Bruins (boys) also made the cut for class AA. There may be a few more local teams going as the result of the regional tournaments. When the Times comes out Thursday, I'll check. Ganado has been really hot this year. They're 20-3 overall and 10-0 in conference play. Their last regular season game they beat Window Rock 83-51. Tamara Freddie, who was a standout player for St Michaels girls when they won their state AAAA championships last year and in 1994, is now at Drexel University. She got a full-ride athletic scholarship. She says she is majoring in education. Watch your newspapers for NCAA Division 1 next four years! --------- "RE: Boycott Wal-Mart" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 18:40:21 From: TN AIM Subj: Boycott Wal-Mart http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Lobby/6181/release.html Please copy, distribute, contact, etc., as you can time is short. A full article is available at http://www.darkstartechnologies.com/seals/Wal-Mart.html Boycott Wal-Mart BOYCOTT WAL-MART/LOWES AND JDN REALTY CORPORATION,RAVAGERS OF NATIVE AMERICA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Last summer, 1997, it was announced that construction of a Wal- Mart/Lowe's super center was being planned for a location on Charlotte Pike in the West Meade neighborhood of Davidson County Tennessee, Nashville Tennessee. The construction plans require the destruction of a prehistoric Native American cemetery and Civil War fortifications. The Native cemetery dates to the Mississippian cultural period and is probably around 800 years old. There are at LEAST 40 known Indian graves on this site, and it is believed that the number of burials may be 60 or more. The Civil War fortifications are Confederate cannon emplacements and embankments along the Cumberland River known as Kelley's Battery. These guns overlooked the river and were used to shell Union river traffic." The residents of West Meade, local Native Americans, and others rallied to stop the rezoning of the property. Their bid was unsuccessful despite proving that locating a super center across the street from an elementary school would endanger the children as well as concerns over crime and inadequate road systems to handle the increased traffic. Add to this the destruction of the native site and the Confederate archaeological features, it is beyond belief that the zoning change was ever approved. FACTS: 1) On Monday October 27, 1997, JDN Realty filed a 'complaint versus unknown descendants' in Davidson County Chancery Court, requesting permission to 'terminate the use of land as a burial ground and to remove certain remains and artifacts and rebury these items' {#97-3529II} 2) On January 20th, 1998, the Intertribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes faxed a letter to the court and the Tennessee Department of Archaeology as the 'unknown descendants' of the complaint. This letter was never heard in court and the judge disavowed any knowledge of its existence. 3) On January 23rd, 1998, Davidson County Tennessee Chancellor Barbara McCoy ruled that Native Americans have no 'standing' in Tennessee courts. 4) On January 28th, 1998, Chancellor McCoy terminated the Native cemetery clearing the way for destruction of the site. The ruling was based on Judeo-Christian standards of belief regarding what constitutes an abandoned cemetery. 5) Ch. 468, Part 15; T.C.A., Part 11-1515.]11-6-116" "Excavation of areas containing Native American Indian human remains" and 0400-9-1-.05 Observation of Disinterment" "OBSERVATION OF DISINTERMENT BY NATIVE AMERICAN OBSERVERS" is the legal protocol for observers during Native American grave removal in Tennessee. Tennessee state archaeologist Nick Fielder stated that JDN Realty will not allow any Native American observer during removals other than the one from the Tennessee Archaeological Council. 6) Previously it was thought that an area near the creek was the only Native American site on the property. However, a mound also exists there and is targeted for destruction. Further, this mound has been declared non-mortuary (burial) and therefore does not fall under the scope of any Tennessee law. This means that any artifacts recovered would become the property of the property owner and since it is non-mortuary there is no requirement to 'look' for graves during excavation. 7) Numerous 'prayer ties' and 'prayer feathers' have been removed from the property reportedly because they were disgusting to the property owner. 8) The mound is being looted while Native Americans who wish to honor their ancestors are being kept out with the threat of arrest? 9) Historically Tennessee has seized any artifacts recovered from these sites. In this case it was ordered that any artifacts be reburied with the remains. Yet, the local media and others with the archaeological contractor have stated the state would seize these artifacts too. Further, the normal study period in Tennessee for remains has been 6 months in this case it was ordered to be 1 year. Why, when there are thousands of remains in museums, universities, etc. already studied' is it necessary to take a year to study these? 10) Recovered Native American remains are stored in cardboard boxes until reburial. When they are reburied these boxes then become their coffin not the stone boxes they were originally placed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~~~~~ BOYCOTT WAL-MART/LOWES AND JDN ~~~~~ Your support is urgently need to stop the destruction of this site. Contact your congressional representative and the offices listed below. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JDN Realty Corporation 3340 Peachtree Road, NE Suite 1530 Atlanta, Georgia 30326. Phone: (404) 262-3252 Fax: (404) 364-6446 JDN Wal-Mart PO Box 1039 Bentonville Ark. 72712-8096 501-273-8793 Email Wal-Mart Lowe's Robert L. Strickland, Chairman of the Board Robert L. Tillman, President and Chief Executive Officer Lowe's Companies, Inc. P. O. Box 1111 North Wilkesboro, NC 28656-0001 phone: (919) 651-4000 Email Lowe's Senator Bill Frist United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510-4205 Phone number: 202/224-3344 TDD number: 202/224-1911 Email: Senator Frist Tennessee Governor Don Sundquist Governors Office State Capital Nashville TN 37219 O) 615/741-3763 Fax: 615/741-1416 Email: Governor Sundquist Senator Fred Thompson 523 Dirksen Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 202) 224-4944 Email: Senator Thompson ----------------------------------------------------------------- Please copy this fact sheet and pass it along as necessary. --------- "RE: Canadian Gustafsen Senator Under Fire" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 23:16:23 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Canadian Gustafsen Senator Under Fire :-:-:-:S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty:-:-:-: February 19, 1998 No Copyright; Reproduce Freely SENIOR BC SENATOR INVOLVED IN GUSTAFSEN AFFAIR CITED FOR POOR ATTENDANCE Senator Len Marchand, a senior senator from BC involved in the Gustafsen Lake affair is under attack for his abysmal attendance record in Canada's Upper House. Mr. Marchand has been present only 5 sitting days out of 35. The senior senator's role in the summer 1995 paramilitary operation against Shuswap traditionalists who were defending sacred, unceded Sundance grounds came to light during questioning of a senior RCMP officer during the trial of the Ts'peten defenders. Superintendent Len Olfert testified that on August 26, 1995, he had received a call from Marchand urging the RCMP to attack the camp. "Marchand supports action we may have to take..." Olfert noted after the call. Olfert testified that Marchand characterized the traditionalists as "no better or even similar to the Branch Davidians" at Waco, where 80 people were killed. The RCMP's consulting Psy-ops advisor at Gustafsen Lake, Dr. Michael Webster, also advised the authorities at Waco as well as the MRTA standoff in Lima, Peru. Despite pressure on the Canadian and British Columbia authorities both domestically and internationally to conduct an inquiry into the role of Marchand and other senior Canadian and BC officials in the standoff, the domestic authorities have thus far refused to comply. As well, calls for the release of imprisoned Ts'peten defenders OJ Pitawanakwat and 66 year old Shuswap elder Wolverine have also gone unanswered. Ex US Attorney- General Ramsey Clark, the European Parliament's Green Group, and numerous Human Rights organizations, advocacy groups and individuals have all condemned Canada's actions and called for an internationally supervised public inquiry into "all aspects of the Gustafsen Lake matter". For further information: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/gustmain.html What you can do:http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/GustLake/support.html FREE THE TS'PETEN DEFENDERS! DEMAND A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO GUSTAFSEN LAKE! Prime Minister of Canada Jean Chretien: pm@pm.gc.ca Premier of British Columbia Glen Clark: premier@gov.bc.ca Senator Len Marchand: remote-printer.Len_Marchand@16139969943.iddd.tpc.int :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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 --------- "RE: Western Shoshone Alert" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 19:48:22 -0500 From: Paul Nellen _Hamburg/GER_ <100445.3606@compuserve.com> Subj: !Western Shoshone Alert! ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: Western Shoshone Defense Project, INTERNET:wsdp@igc.org !ACTION ALERT***ACTION ALERT***ACTION ALERT! BLM TARGETS WESTERN SHOSHONE FOR "ILLEGALLY" USING THEIR LANDS FEBRUARY 19, 1998---NOTICE OF TRESPASS AND UNAUTHORIZED USE ISSUED ___________________________________________________________________________ On February 19th, 1998 the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) served notice to the Western Shoshone National Council, the Western Shoshone Dann family and the Western Shoshone Defense Project of their "unauthorized use" and "trespass" on lands disputed by the Western Shoshone and the BLM. Please contact the officials below immediately and let the Western Shoshone Defense Project know if you can be on "Standby Alert" in case civil disobedience is necessary. ___________________________________________________________________________ In October, 1997 the BLM ordered the Western Shoshone who graze cattle in the South Fork, Odgers Ranch, and Wells area to remove all livestock not authorized by the BLM. Yesterday, the Crescent Valley Western Shoshone were served notice to do the same within 5 days-"failure to comply with this unauthorized use notice and order to remove may result in impoundment of the unauthorized livestock." On February 19th, the BLM also issued a notice of trespass against the "unauthorized" occupation of a spiritual and cultural encampment established in 1991 by the Western Shoshone National Council and the Western Shoshone Defense Project on disputed lands in Crescent Valley. Ceremonies and gatherings are held at this encampment throughout the year. The Western Shoshone National Council's response to the BLM is to pose the same question they have asked for years: How did the US acquire title by legal means to Western Shoshone lands? The BLM and the US government claims jurisdiction over Western Shoshone territory, yet they have never provided any documentation on how the land was acquired. The Western Shoshone, however, point to the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley, the 1787 Northwest Ordinance, the Territorial Act of Nevada, the 1847 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and international human rights laws that all uphold Western Shoshone rights and responsibilities to their lands. The Traditional Western Shoshone Cattle Grazers state that they will not pay the BLM for grazing animals on Western Shoshone territory until the United States presents documentation on how the US acquired Western Shoshone lands. BLM harassment against the Western Shoshone has persisted for decades. To this day, the Western Shoshone have remained open to participating in honest, meaningful dialogue with the proper representatives of the United States government-this has been to no avail. The Western Shoshone have a pending international human rights complaint against the United States, as well as an Intervention in the 9th Circuit Court (US v Nye County) and an Injunction against the BLM in US District Court. Until these cases are resolved, the BLM should end their threats, harassment and intimidation tactics. Please Contact: Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt ph: 202-208-7351 fax:202-208-6956 BLM Director Patrick Shea ph:202-208-3801 fax:202-208-5242 Nevada State BLM Director Robert Abbey ph:702-785-6500 fax:702-785-6601 Elko BLM District Manager Helen Hankins ph: 702-753-0200 fax:702-753-0255 Your State's Congressional Representatives ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Western Shoshone Defense Project PO Box 211106 Crescent Valley, Nevada 89821 Ph: 702-468-0230 Fax: 702-468-0237 http://www.alphacdc.com/wsdp/ and http://www.teleport.com/~amt/planetpeace/wsdp --------- "RE: Elders Set Up Camp at Ground Zero" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 10:36:35 -0800 From: "Walsh, Pat A." Subj: FW: URGENT POSTING UUCP email Back in the day, our voices were heard during the occupations of Wounded Knee and Alcatraz. Yet ... we continue our struggle for the survival of our people and culture. As we have experienced from the past, our practice of [American Indian] religious freedom is not always guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. Interestingly, our right to practice our spirituality has been continuously disrespected, violated, and unprotected IRONICALLY by a governmental system that includes specific Amendments, Mandates, Acts and Statutes which are supposed to allow us [or all but us] the right to enjoy freedom of choice of religion. About 200 plus years ago, a major motivation for most people who fled Europe, arrived here in North America hoping to escape religious persecution they suffered in their homeland. Now there is more at stake than just the desecration of American Indian religious practices on sacred homelands - a healthy living environment is at risk and that too must preserved and protected. Without further adieu, the Colorado River Native Nations Alliance consisting of 5 nations, including Fort Mojave, Chemehuevi, Quechan, Cocopah and Colorado River Indian Tribes, has issued the following press release: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DATED FEBRUARY 13, 1998 [The Feds' extended the deadline on an eviction order expired yesterday, February 19, 1998.] HUNDREDS OCCUPY GROUND ZERO. TRIBES AND SUPPORTERS DECLARE, "WE ARE NOT LEAVING WARD VALLEY! NO NUCLEAR DUMP!" Needles, CA--Joined by 200 supporters, Tribal leaders and Elders of the Colorado River Native Nations Alliance challenged President Clinton to stop the proposed Ward Valley radioactive waste dump. As the U.S. Department of Interior's February 13th and February 19th deadlines for closure of Ward Valley expired, hundreds of tribal members and supporters joined the occupation of the proposed dump site. Indian Elders set up their camp directly at ground zero despite the Interior Department's order to vacate. "We have been forced into this position, and we have no other options," said President Michael Jackson of the Quechan Indian Nation. Although proper permits have been obtained for the occupation and assurances have been made that the occupation will "This is a serious direct action, and firm commitments have been made by Indian Nations and the Save Ward Valley Coalition that we will not be moved," said Steve Lopez, speaking for the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. "I will do this for my people and my children, even it if means giving up my life." Paddy McGuire of the U.S. Department of Interior heard the pleas of the Tribal leaders and Elders and agreed to relay their request that President Clinton meet directly with them. The Indian Nations are asking President Clinton to act now to stop the dump and uphold executive orders, mandates and statutes protecting Indian people and sacred areas. Despite protests, the Interior Department has given the tritium tests at Ward Valley a green light. (Tritium: a radioactive isotope of hydrogen with atoms of three times the mass of ordinary light hydrogen atoms.) The nuclear industry plans on burying radioactive waste in shallow, unlined trenches in Ward Valley, an area of the California Desert that is a critical habitat for the threatened desert tortoise, and which is considered sacred homeland for the three Native American tribes. Ward Valley is 18 miles from the Colorado River, and situated over a major aquifer. The Ban Waste Coalition is mobilizing to prevent Ward Valley from becoming a nuclear dumping ground. [Emphasis added.] Please visit these sites if you would like more info: http://www.shundahai.org/SWVAction.html http://earthrunner.com/savewardvalley http://www.ctaz.com/~swv1 If you have heard anything on the current status of the above situation, please send me a reply note. In struggle, Pat Whitehorse Walsh To Dich ii nii, Dineh Paw@hogefenton.com Direct Dial: 408-938-3811 --------- "RE: Standoff at Ward Valley/Day 9" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Feb 1998 12:21:14 -0700 (MST) From: swv1@ctaz.com (Save Ward Valley) Subj: Standoff at Ward Valley - Day 9 UUCP email COLORADO RIVER NATIVE NATIONS ALLIANCE Fort Mojave, Chemehuevi, Quechan, Cocopah, Colorado River Indian Tribes FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FEBRUARY 20, 1998 Contact: (760) 326-6267 STANDOFF AT WARD VALLEY: DAY 9 INDIAN RELIGIOUS CEREMONIES CONTINUE AT OCCUPATION OF PROPOSED NUCLEAR DUMP SITE. BLOCKADE HOLDS FIRM INDUSTRY'S CLAIMS OF A DRY DESERT CLIMATE SAFE FOR NUCLEAR WASTE DUMPING ARE WASHED AWAY WITH MASSIVE RAINS, WINDS AND SNOW Needles, CA-- As the Indian and environmental occupation of the proposed Ward Valley radioactive waste dump enters its ninth day, protesters remained dug-in at the site despite massive rains and wind. Snow fell on the hills around Ward Valley, and roads flooded from heavy rains. The wet weather and high winds have demonstrated the inaccuracy of the claims by the nuclear industry and Governor Pete Wilson that Ward Valley was safe for dumping nuclear waste in unlined dirt trenches due to the alleged lack of rain in the area. As those participating in the occupation at the proposed dump site have experienced first hand, Ward Valley has been battered by the harsh and very wet weather. Twisters were seen around Ward Valley last Saturday during another massive rain and hail storm. "As difficult as it has been for us to be camped at Ward Valley during the last nine days due to the severe storms, we are glad that the nuclear industry's claims of a dry, arid environment have been washed away with the heavy rains, hail and high winds," said Steve Lopez, spokesman for the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe. "Our Creator is angry, and his way of expressing this is through the elements. He has given us good weather for our ceremonies and demonstrations, yet he reminds us to keep up this struggle in his defense with the difficult weather." "We wish Governor Wilson and the high-paid executives of the nuclear industry were here to see the heavy rains and flooding at Ward Valley," said Marion Pak, spokeswoman for the Save Ward Valley Coalition. "These heavy rains and wind prove once and for all the insanity of dumping nuclear waste in unlined dirt trenches above an aquifer with pathways to the Colorado River." The Colorado River Native Nations Alliance and the Save Ward Valley Coaliton are asking supporters to come to Ward Valley and join the occupation, protest and ongoing ceremonies. Save Ward Valley 107 F St. Needles, CA 92363 ph. 760/326-6267 fax 760/326-6268 http://www.shundahai.org/SWVAction.html http://earthrunner.com/savewardvalley http://www.ctaz.com/~swv1 http://banwaste.envirolink.org http://www.alphacdc.com/IEN/wardvly4.html --------- "RE: Cherokee Enterprise Suspends Monthly Dividend" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 11:26:44 -0600 From: Summerfield/Marvin&Linda Subj: Cherokee Enterprise Suspends Monthly Dividend to Tribe -Muskogee Phoenix (2/20) By Donna Hales Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native The following article was published 2/20/98 in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. Copyright 1998 Gannett Co., Inc. Reprinted with permission ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cherokee enterprise suspends monthly dividend to tribe Audit firm says tribe's books can't be audited. By Donna Hales, Phoenix Staff Writer TAHLEQUAH-Cherokee Nation Enterprise has suspended its $250,000 monthly dividend to the tribe for up to 60 days, CNE PResident Jerry Holderby told councilors Thursday night. "That's a major hit to us on the other side...in our (tribal) programs," said Chief of Staff Gary Stopp. Also, at least $800,000 CNE owes the tribe for past-due dividends and for gift shop inventory can't be paid yet," Holderby said. That wasn't the only bad news councilors received. The tribe's books for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1997, are not auditable, said Don Williams, vice president of the national audit firm Deloitte & Touche. Outside accountants and computer contractors will have to come in and reconstruct the books before an audit can begin, Williams said. He cited problems with the tribe's computer software programs and a lack of internal controls as the problems. Fannie Livingston, a tribal member from Muskogee blamed the administration for not having the books in order. "It's like writing checks on your personal account-you need a balance or you're going to be bouncing checks all over everywhere," she said. The council has been approving loans from the tribe's fuel tax account to the general fund to keep checks from bouncing since October. The general fund now owes the fuel tax fund $2.9 million," Councilor Harold DeMoss announced. The committee voted to allow DeMoss and Councilor Bill John Baker to continue authorizing loans to the general fund for the next 30 days. Some financial questions went unanswered because the tribe's secretary- treasurer, Jennie Battles, was in Washington with the chief. She avoided giving councilors information last week on outstanding legal bills and her contract, saying she would be at the Thursday meeting with the information. "We have a secretary-treasurer that flies all over the country, makes her house payments out of housing authority funds and tells us she'll be at this meeting and then doesn't show up," Councilor Barbara Starr Scott told the committee. Scott later told the group she was in favor of dismissing Battles, who is appointed by the chief and confirmed by the council. Battles is under FBI investigation for making a wire transfer from the Cherokee Nation Housing authority to pay her home mortgage company in Texas. Battles said earlier that the funds were due her for extra work she did while chief financial officer at the authority. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ For the latest in the ongoing Cherokee Constitutional Crisis-check out your only independent Cherokee newspaper, THE CHEROKEE OBSERVER. http://www.cherokeeobserver.org --------- "RE: Cherokee Enterprise Income Up/Profit Down" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Feb 1998 11:59:49 -0600 From: Summerfield/Marvin&Linda Subj: Cherokee Enterprise income up, profit DOWN -Muskogee Phoenix-By Donna Hales Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native The following article was published 2/21/98 in the Muskogee Daily Phoenix. Copyright 1998 Gannett Co., Inc. Reprinted with permission ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Cherokee Enterprise income up, profit down Audit report bad news for ailing tribe By Donna Hales, Phoenix Staff Writer TAHLEQUAH - Cherokee Nation Enterprises made less than 1 percent on operating revenues of $37.5 million in 1997, an outside audit shows. That is bad news to an already financially strapped tribe. A financial report released on Jan. 29 showed the tribe logged a $6.4 million deficit in a four-month period. CNE's net income for 1997 was $218,151 - less than half of what it was in 1996 ($557,470) when net operating revenues were almost $10 million less, the audit shows. The report, by the national accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche, was released Thursday to tribal councilors. One effect of CNE's declining financial condition is that CNE is suspending $250,000 monthly dividends to the tribe for up to 60 days. CNE President Jerry Holderby gave councilors the news Thursday. The loss in dividends will be a "major hit" to tribal programs, said Chief of Staff Gary Stopp. "They come in and tell us they're no longer going to do our dividends and we can't see where they've made any cuts in their corporate expense," Councilor Harold DeMoss, chairman of the council's executive and finance committee, said Friday. "We'll have to see where the chief makes the cuts in his budget," DeMoss said when asked what programs would bear the brunt of the loss in CNE dividends. CNE already owed the tribe more than $800,000 in unpaid dividends and for inventory in its Indian gift shops. That money can't be paid right now, Holderby said. CNE opened two convenience stores in 1997, but its sale of gasoline at those stores (in Catoosa and between Muskogee and Fort Bigson) was on very low margins, Don Williams, vice president of Deloitte & Touche, told councilors. "There was no significant amount of profit in those stores," he added. There also are no internal controls and no internal audit function at the tribe's bingo halls, Williams told councilors. The same finding was made last year, but there has been no improvement, he said. Holderby promised controls would be put in place. Councilor Barbara Starr Scott told him that is what he promised earlier. The audit doesn't show net profit from each business activity at CNE, but the 1998 fiscal year audit will, Williams and Holderby said. The audit also reflects the tribe's restaurant in Tahlequah showed a gross profit - but not all expenses were considered, Williams said. In actuality, CNE financial reports show e restaurant lost more than $300,000 in 1997. CNE didn't follow National Indian Gaming Commissions rules that each bingo hall have a separate audit, Williams said. There was no balance sheet at the beginning of the year and no cash flow record, Williams said. The tribe's bingo hall at West Siloam Springs lost more than $500,000 for 1997, the audit reflects. CNE has no strategic business plan for its multibillion dollar business, "a real significant issue - CNE needs to put together a two-or three-year business plan," Williams told councilors. "I just think the facts came out (with the audit)," DeMoss said. "CNE - I think they're in trouble and it's snowballing. That in turn creates a greater financial burden at the Cherokee Nation." ------------------ Posted courtesy of your only independent Cherokee newspaper, THE CHEROKEE OBSERVER. A summation of what the auditor's found can be found on the Cherokee Observer's home web page. http://www.cherokeeobserver.org --------- "RE: Unrest in Mexico Breeds Resentment" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 15:49:00 -0800 (PST) From: NCDM Subj: UNREST IN MEXICO BREEDS RESENTMENT OF OUTSIDERS UNREST IN MEXICO BREEDS RESENTMENT OF OUTSIDERS By JULIA PRESTON CHENALHO, Mexico -- The new county mayor whipped up a crowd of his followers with a message they loved to hear. "We are tired of seeing so many foreigners around here!" cried Mayor Pedro Mariano Arias Perez, bringing a roar of approval from the Tzotzil Indians packed into the town square for his inauguration Feb. 5. All were supporters of the government in its confrontation with the Zapatista rebels in southern Chiapas state. And all were convinced that the many foreigners who have flocked through the county recently are hard-core Zapatistas. "They just come to twist the minds of the Indian people," Arias said, shaking his head emphatically and showing off the multicolored ribbons flowing over the brim of his hat, emblems of his new authority. Other Mexican officials express the same sentiments. In a speech in January to Mayan Indians, President Ernesto Zedillo accused foreigners of exploiting tensions in Chiapas to further their own causes. "Foreigners who meddle, not to help find a solution to the conflict but to use it as a political banner, would do better working to correct the injustices left behind in their own countries by authoritarian rule, and by the exclusion of their forefathers," he said, in a dig at the United States and its treatment of Indians. The deepening polarization in Chiapas has brought out a zealous nationalism sometimes bordering on xenophobia in pro-government political forces both humble and mighty. The attitude towards outsiders has soured significantly since international attention was trained on the state by the Dec. 22 killings of 45 unarmed Indians by pro-government gunmen in a hamlet in Chenalho county. A prominent Chiapas journalist has devoted his newspaper columns to decrying the "satanic intervention" of unnamed foreigners. A local labor federation called for foreign residents to be rounded up and expelled from the Indian highlands. They are reacting to what is, in fact, a new level of foreign involvement in Mexico's affairs as a result of the Chiapas conflict. Zedillo is facing unprecedented scrutiny from foreign governments of his actions to bring peace. And in Chiapas, the wrath of government supporters is directed at thousands of young foreigners who report back to non- government organizations about political events. The foreigners who have descended on Chiapas since the Zapatistas' brief but spectacular uprising in 1994 tended to come through international church, human rights and volunteer groups. Many responded to calls issued in 1995 by Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia, the embattled leader of the Roman Catholic diocese that includes most of Chiapas' Indian regions. Ruiz has set up 26 "civilian peace camps," mainly in out-of-the-way, pro-Zapatista communities that fear attack by the Mexican army. The camps are staffed by observers, about half of them foreigners, who send reports to a human rights monitoring center run by the diocese. The Rev. Pablo Romo, who runs the camps for the diocese, said the observers operate under rules that bar them from becoming protagonists in Mexican politics. "We tell them that they are not here to make history or throw themselves in front of any tanks," Romo said. "We Mexicans will make our own history." International Service for Peace, a coalition of pacifist religious groups headquartered in Santa Cruz, Calif., publishes a newsletter in Chiapas and provides unarmed chaperones for any opposition figures who have received death threats. Global Exchange, a private organization with headquarters in San Francisco, wires news of Chiapas by electronic mail to 850 subscribers mostly in the United States. After the December massacre, the group organized a Christmas holiday "reality tour" for 21 U.S. citizens to visit the site and hear more about the background to the violence. Global Exchange volunteers acknowledge that they are partial to the Zapatistas. But they said they do not take any active part in politics and are only monitoring Mexico's compliance with internationally accepted principles. "We have to be on the side of the group that is most vulnerable, as a shield to protect their rights," said David Huey, 30, a volunteer from Northern Ireland. The Mexican government is so uneasy about these visitors that it has not granted them formal permission to stay or work. Most foreign observers have only tourist visas, which authorize them only to be sightseers for up to six months. Mexico's top immigration official warned earlier this month that many foreigners in Chiapas are breaking the law. (Tuesday, a U.S. citizen, Maria Darlington, of North Carolina, was taken into custody by immigration authorities in Chiapas and deported to McAllen, Texas. The authorities said they had videotapes showing she participated in a Zapatista demonstration in April, in violation of her tourist visa. Ms. Darlington was whisked out of Mexico without being allowed to take a car and other possessions she brought with her. A day later, immigration agents conducted an unusual sweep in San Cristobal de las Casas, the main city in the Indian highlands, asking any foreigner on the street for immigration papers. Immigration checkpoints have appeared in tense areas like Chenalho, where officials make lists and video records of foreigners who pass by.) Saturday, February 14, 1998 Copyright 1998 The New York Times ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe from this mailing list send mail to gx-mexiconews-action-request@globalexchange.org with the word "unsubscribe" in the body. --------- "RE: Lubicon/Ogoni Human Rights Struggles" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 14:05:18 -0500 From: fol@tao.ca Subj: Lubicon/Ogoni struggles highlight Human Rights conference Mailing List: FOL-L Lubicon, Ogoni Struggles Highlight Human Rights Conference (For Immediate Release: Toronto - Feb 12, 1998) From Nigeria, Owens Wiwa coordinator of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People and from Alberta, Fred Lennarson advisor to the Lubicon Nation are the keynote speakers kicking off a human rights conference marking the 50th anniversary year of the signing of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Speeches will commence after 7 pm Friday February 20 at the Steelworkers Hall, 25 Cecil St., one block south of College, east of Spadina. An 18 country UN Human Rights Committee, after 6 years of deliberation, charged in 1990 that Canada was in violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights stating that "recent developments threaten the way of life and culture of the Lubicon and constitute a violation of article 27 so long as they continue". Fred Lennarson will outline the nature of the ongoing violations of Lubicon human rights by government, oil, gas and logging interests. Ken Saro Wiwa, Ogoni playwright and activist, was executed in 1995 by the Nigerian government as a result of his protest of the widely known human rights and environmental abuses inflicted upon his people. Owens Wiwa, a medical doctor, has taken up his brother's mantle and campaigns for international pressure to bring an end to the abuses pointing the finger at not only the Nigerian government but also Royal Dutch Shell. The silencing of Ken Saro Wiwa sparked a global outcry against the actions of the Nigerian dictatorship and Shell on Ogoni land. Recent attempts of forestry multinational Daishowa to judicially silence effective citizen criticism of Daishowa's plans to clearcut on Lubicon land have also met with escalating public opposition. A decision in the trial of Friends of the Lubicon is expected next month. If you can't make it Friday night, we are currently confirming interviews with Fred Lennarson for Saturday Feb 21. Please contact Friends of the Lubicon 416-763-7500. Friends of the Lubicon 485 Ridelle Ave Toronto ON M6B 1K6 T: 416-763-7500 F: 416-603-2715 fol e-mail: fol@tao.ca Lubicon supporters' web page: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Lubicon/main.html FoL trial updates web page: http://www.tao.ca/~fol/ --------- "RE: What is an Elder" --------- From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman) Subj: What's an "elder"? Date: Thu, 19 Feb 1998 02:13:41 -0400 Newsgroup: alt.native d'laan'te'h... There seems to me that some folks are confusing the terms "elder" & "medicine-person" on this ng & "out there" too. So here's my thoughts on that... An elder isn't necessarily a medicine-person. Most elders I know (couple or three-hundred) don't know squat about medicine. They can & sometimes do refer folks w/ specific problems to a medicine person, but none that I know as elders claim to be medicine people. 90% don't even have the power to run a sweat, & don't pretend to either. Up north "elders" are referred to as "Old Man" &/or "Old Woman", in almost every Nation language I ever heard... (note capitals in english... that's why I'm "justanoldman"... in small-case, 'cause I figure I'm 'way too young to even capitalize "Man", let alone "Old". Maybe 20-30 yrs from now, when I walk w/ a stick...). "Old man" & "Old Woman" are recognized as such by their families, & the Dene language has a word that is different for these folks than for ordinary old persons. The "Old Man" &/or "Old Woman" of a family are its record-keepers, historians, herbalists, child/adult/family therapists, story-tellers, song-holders, dance-masters, recipe keepers, expert hunters/gatherers/fishermen/trackers/seamstresses/musicians, etc... & just plain nice people everyone in the family/clan respects & admires & who they go to for any of the above duties & data. There are ordinary grandmothers & ordinary grandfathers, but elders are those referred to in english as "family-grandfather" &/or "family-grandmother". There is a big difference. As big as the family, which may number up to 2000 people or more. (Maybe too many people think of the tiny, sadly-shrunken, "white-model" family when they think of grandparents...) Some families have more than 2 "Old Man"/"Old Woman"...; up to 10 or 20 or 30 with the big clans of the families that make up the Nations in BC & the US northwest... One thing they all have in common besides a heck of a lot of patience with questions & a great sense of humor, is that they have wisdom... that magic mix of knowledge & experience. Wisdom takes seasoning, so they are all older folks too. But not all older folks are considered elders. Like I said a zillion times; that's up to the family or clan to decide. No one can "appoint themselves" as "Old Man" or "Old Woman". The qualification & title doesn't come from the person; it comes from the family/clan of that person. As for the medicine-people, they may or may not be elders. They are people who have decided to pay a HUGE price of sacrifice for the good of those around them. Forget the "simple" 4-day fasts you & I ordinary people can choose to do; these folks go 7 or even sometimes 10 days, plus the many years of total commitment to "apprentice" (close word) w/ a real medicine-person... Just "having a vision" doesn't make a medicine-person. Hehaka Sapa had his first vision at age 10 or so, if I recall his story right. That sure didn't make him a medicine-man. He was in his late 30's or early 40's before he OR his people/family considered that he'd been long enough learning to be truly "plugged into" the power. He could have had 100 visions & proclaimed himself a medicine-man until he was blue in the face, & it would have meant absolute zero (0) if his family had known otherwise & ignored him. Neither elders or medicine-people "walk on water". By that I mean that elders make as many mistakes & have all of the same strength & weaknesses that you & I do. So if anyone's looking for saints they should head for a church, not look foe elders. The medicine-people are more "holy" (lousy english language!). They have to be much more careful about how they act, all the time, because their every action can have consequences, good or bad, small or earth-shattering, for themselves or for those around them. They are not bothered by folks who want a story told, or who want to hear a legend, or for any other "non-medicine" matter. You go to an elder for that stuff. Elders can talk about a "wrongness" but medicine-people fix it. Or rather, they can focus the power on fixing it. Does that humble offering of an explanation of what "elder" & "medicine-person" means help anyone out there? Anyone want to add to or correct what I wrote? The door's open, cups on the shelf & the pot's on the stove... come on in... masi:cho... --------- "RE: Another View on First Americans' Arrival" --------- Date: Mon, 16 Feb 1998 17:19:04 -0700 From: "Leo Chavez, Jr" Subj: New Evidence Offers Another View on First Americans' Arrival (fwd) ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: C-bcn@clari.net (BCN / Bay City News Service) Newsgroups: clari.local.california.sfbay.education Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native -ADVISORY A University of California at Berkeley professor has gathered new evidence suggesting that the first Americans may have migrated from the south 40,000 years ago. Contrary to the popular belief that the earliest Americans arrived from the north through Siberia, Professor of Slavic Studies Johanna Nichols is suggesting an entirely different story. Nichols' research into indigenous American languages suggests that the first Americans were already developing their culture in the tropical south and moved northward to settle as the glaciers retreated. New evidence out of Monte Verde in Southern Chile has been dated at 12, 500 years old, indicating signs of life during the Ice Age, says Nichols. Nichols also found in her studies that Native American languages are so diverse that they would have taken at least 35,000 years to develop. "From the Sierras and the Andes mountains all the way to the Atlantic, American languages share distinctive endemic features," Nichols says, "This indicates a common history of a people so ancient that we cannot hope to trace their linguistic descent." Nichols presented her theory in an annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, held this morning in Philadelphia. -=-=- Want to tell us what you think about the ClariNews? Please feel free to <> . --------- "RE: Mascots Redux" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Feb 1998 11:26:10 -0500 From: Steve Russell Subj: Mascots redux Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) A couple of people on the list have seen this privately, and the mascot talk has gone on long enough that I can no longer resist. This kind of thing gets no respect where I have to live to make a living, so now and then I just have to pitch one out on triballaw for a reality check. Steve Russell Dreaming I could not tell if I was dreaming. You know how it is. You wake up but something about reality doesn't seem quite right and you think you might still be asleep but you can"t really tell? I stumbled out of bed and punched the coffee machine into burbling life and collected the newspaper from the front yard. The sports page told me that the New Jersey Niggers had beaten the Boston Micks. Some player on the Houston Hebes had accused the San Antonio Spics of dropping their last game to get a higher draft pick. The league was expanding to Toronto, and since they had already honored African-Americans, Irish-Americans, Jewish-Americans and Hispanic-Americans, they wanted to name a team to honor Native Americans. They sent out notices to all the tribal leaders, and they told us we could have whatever we wanted: Prairie Niggers (if the New Jersey team did not object), Redskins, Savages, Warriors, Heathens, Braves, Bucks--and of course the cheerleaders would be the Squaws, unless we wanted to modernize the language and just call them the Cunts. But the tribal leaders voted for a write-in candidate, the Treaties. "Toronto Treaties." It has a nice ring to it. But the league was puzzled. What kind of a name is that? "If the United States and Canada want to honor the First Nations," said the tribal leaders, "honor our treaties." And there was a sidebar story. It seems that the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of Canada had heard this and called a joint press conference. "We had no idea," they said, "that our countries have violated so many agreements with Native Americans. We have formed a joint commission to recommend how to make it up to the survivors, and we have each proposed legislation tendering a formal apology." And it was at that moment I knew I was dreaming. --------- "RE: We Cannibals Must Help These Christians" --------- Date: Sun, 01 Feb 1998 20:06:54 -0500 From: Louis Proyect Subj: "We cannibals must help these Christians" UUCP email Chapter three of Moby Dick, titled "The Spouter Inn", contains one of the most famous scenes in American literature. The narrator Ishmael awakens to find the heavily tattooed, South-Sea Islander, harpooner and sometime cannibal Queequeg in his bed. In a few days he and Queequeg have overcome their initial shock and have become good friends. Chapter thirteen, titled "Wheelbarrow," is not as well-known, but deserves to be since it is very relevant to contemporary discussions of multiculturalism, western "civilization" and other hotly contested issues. This chapter begins with the two men making their way to the docks where they have booked passage on a packet schooner. The small ship will bring them to Nantucket, where Ahab's whaling-ship, the Pequod, awaits them. Queequeg has borrowed a wheelbarrow, which is loaded with the two men's gear, including Queequeg's harpoons. As they make their way to the docks, Queequeg lets Ishmael in on his comic mishap with the first wheelbarrow he ever saw. Now that the South-Sea Islander feels comfortable with his white companion, he doesn't mind letting him know about his occasional difficulties with white civilization. One time, after Queequg had just arrived in the port of Sag Harbor, his captain lent him a wheelbarrow so he could get his heavy chest from the ship to the boarding-house in town. Queequeg didn't quite know how to use the contraption, so he loaded his chest on the wheelbarrow and then carried both the wheelbarrow and its contents into town on his head. Ishmael says, "Queequeg, you might have known better than that, one would think. Didn't the people laugh?" This leads Queequeg to tell him another story. On his native island of Rokovoko, there is always a ceremonial large calabash at wedding feasts that is filled with the fragrant water of young coconuts. One day a large merchant ship docked at the island on the occasion of Queequeg's sister's wedding, to which they invite the captain. The feast began with a ceremonial blessing of the calabash, which includes the tribal high priest dipping his fingertips into the bowl before passing it around so people can fill their cups with the blessed nectar. The captain, who is seated next to priest, views himself as being more powerful than the priest and consequently takes it upon himself to wash his hands in the bowl. "Now," said Queequeg, "what you tink now?--Didn't our people laugh?" Once Queequeg and Ishmael are on the deck of the packet schooner, Ishmael notices the other passengers gawking at Queequeg. Some are so rude as to make disrespectful gestures behind Queequeg's back. He catches one of them out of the corner of his eye and throws him bodily into the air. When the startled young man lands on his feet, he goes running to the captain crying out, "Capting, Capting, here's the Devil," referring to Queequeg. The captain approaches Queequeg and lectures him for nearly killing his tormentor. Queequeg explains that the young man he threw in the air was a only a "small fish-e" and that he only kills big whales. At that very moment, the mainsail boom become unlashed and begins swinging wildly back and forth. Not only does it throw the crew into a complete panic, it knocks Queequeg's tormentor into the water. Everybody is frozen in panic at this point. At this point, Queequeg goes into action. He grabs hold of a rope and secures one end to a bulwark. With the other end, he fashions a lasso and tosses it on the wayward boom which he brings under control. As soon as this is done, he jumps into the water in the general direction of the man overboard. Melville writes: "A few minutes more, and he rose again, one arm still striking out, and with the other dragging a lifeless form. The boat soon picked them up. The poor bumpkin was restored. All hands voted Queequeg a noble trump; the captain begged his pardon. From that hour I clove to Queequeg like a barnacle; yea, till poor Queequeg took his last long dive." Queequeg took all this in stride and didn't understand what all the fuss was about. He didn't seem to think that he deserved a medal. He only asked for some fresh water to wash the brine off with. Once that was done, he put on dry clothes and began to smoke his pipe. Ishmael thought that the expression on Queequeg's face seem to say "It's a mutual, joint-stock world, in all meridians. We cannibals must help these Christians." Melville was a very careful, deliberate writer who chose words carefully. Why would he have the cannibal describe the world in these commercial terms? Doesn't joint-stock seem to describe the world that Ishmael was fleeing: the isle of Manhattan, "belted round by wharves as Indian isles by coral reefs--commerce surrounds it with her surf." The words "joint-stock" are chosen in irony. Melville was very familiar with the South-Sea island societies and knew that stock ownership of any sort was alien to such peoples. Melville was no social scientist, but his alienation from American capitalism was clearly expressed through his fiction. Moby Dick was written in 1851 and by this time there could be no mistake about the direction of the country. It was becoming wealthy through slave labor, subjugation of the Indian and domination of the world's oceans, just as England had done before it. This would very likely explain why three of Moby Dick's most sympathetic characters are Doggo, an African, Tashtego, an American Indian, and Queequeg. It would also explain why Ahab and his fellow Christian profiteers are so villainous. I have never understood why American literary critics equate the great white whale with evil, when it seems so obvious that what disturbs Melville is commerce itself and not the hunted animal. We must remember that nobody has really analyzed the system at this point. European novelists and poets simply regarded it as the "factory system", but didn't quite understand what made it tick. Meanwhile, America's greatest writer takes as his subject the whaling factory of the open waters. It is not an oppressive place, but nonetheless there is something about the single-minded desire to kill whales that troubles the writer. Perhaps Melville understood the final logic of such expeditions--they would lead to the extinction of one of the world's noblest creatures. Since Melville wrote literature rather than propaganda, we can not be sure. This ambiguity, of course, is what gives Moby Dick so much power. The slaughter of whales, like the slaughter of beavers and buffaloes, were key elements in the development of American capitalism. In the final fifty years of the 19th century, capitalism in the United States became better understood as a social system. European socialism was imported into the United States as the labor movement took root. In the next fifty years, from 1900 to the mid-century mark, this system gained hegemony all over the world. The American Indian h