From gars@netcom.com Mon Mar 16 23:42:10 1998 Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 19:30:04 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.011 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 011 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, March 13, 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 Hawaii Nation Info, Big Mountain, Innu-L, Nat-Film & Lists; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; UUCP email; A INFOS NEWS SERVICE; Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native; http://www.syracuse.com/news/content/local/0303FIRE1.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. "As a child, I understood how to give; I have forgotten that grace since I became civilized. I lived the natural life, whereas I now live the artificial. Any pretty pebble was valuable to me then, every growing tree an object of reverence. "Now I worship with the white man before a painted landscape whose value is estimated in dollars! Thus the Indian is reconstructed, as the natural rocks are ground to a powder and made into artificial blocks that may be built into the walls of modern society." __ Charles Alexander Eastman (Ohiyesa), Santee Sioux +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! Long Standing Bear Chief is going to put out a paper called the PiKanii Sun. He will be concentrating on news and events more closely related to the Blackfoot, Blood and Pikanii of the USA and Canada. He says, "Our stuff will be from the traditional perspective." I welcome this newsletter and thank my Piegan relative for doing this. I encourage all readers who are interested in news of the Blackfoot People to email Long Standing Bear Chief. Send him your support and ask to be added to his subscriber list. As I stated in my last editorial I often include both sides of a discussion, and let you decide where the truth lies. This is the way of our councils, and it is the way of this newsletter. A great sadness fell on me this week as I read of the troubles in the Onondaga Nation. I include many of the articles in this issue. There is more than one view to this situation. Look at all sides very carefully. Then pray for the People of this great nation. Maybe it is time for the Onondaga to recall the Great law of Peace and restore balance. It is not a thing I must decide. There is also a rebuttal to J. C. York's article which ran in the last issue. You may recall he wrote with some concern regarding the growth of militant views he was seeing expressed in Wotanging Ikche. Again, consider all sides carefully. However, I do ask that you take to heart this grandfather's call for balance. This is the teaching of the Corn Mother we must not set aside. I am now honored to share words from a Lakota elder I respect deeply, speaking of those who stand as warriors in protection of our buffalo relatives at Yellowstone: Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 11:36:05 -0700 (MST) From: Rosalie Little Thunder It feel like my heart's been torn out, not only by the continuing deaths but by the heroism and emotions of the volunteers! I deal with my own grief in my own way, but to see so much pain in other people, I feel so helpless, even though it helps them to feel and understand this tragedy at a very personal level. Comfort is in demand. I think an appeal for words of encouragement to the volunteers would go a long way. They are at buffalo@wildrockies.org. They have given SOOOO much of themselves, the unsung heroes. I am still awed by their commitment and sacrifices!!! They need to be honored for that. Thank you for everything you do, I think of you often. Rosalie (Watch the Today Show Thursday, March 12 for a feature on Buffalo Nations) 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 ---------- - Standing Rock Suicide Watch - Ward Valley Update - Onondaga Nation/Tax Dispute - Peace Camp at Ward Valley - Onondaga/Smoke Shop Dispute - Cayuga Business Thwarted - Onondaga People Don't Cave in to - Innu Leaders Take Common Front Violence - Innu give Bouchard and Tobin - Can the Onondaga Have it Both Ways Surprise - Onondaga Nation Closes Illegal - BC Minister on Gustafsen Lake Smoke Shops - Wal-Mart - Mohawk Nation News on Onondaga - Hawaii Amended Petition Notice - Onondaga: Torching of My Nation - Clothing Drive - Blackfoot Indian Justice Now - Reply to J. C. York Letter - Response from Glacier Co. - Gardening Needs Attorney Epstein - Visions, Realities and Guiding - Suit Vowed in I-81 Tax Protest Principles - Buffalo Nations Update - Ethnic Stereotyping - UN Looks at Religious Intolerance - Native Prisoner - Deaths of Native Youth - A Hundred Years Ago - Queretaro Communique' - Poem: Little Ones - March Zapatista Communique - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Attitude and Chiapas - Conferences and Powwows --------- "RE: Standing Rock Suicide Watch " --------- Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 11:31:38 -0500 From: "D. English" Subj: Standing Rock Suicide Watch UUCP email Please read and forward the following article to all concerned,Thank you. Subject: Standing Rock -- For widest possible dissemination Hello I am sending you this post..... please send it out to anyone you feel may be willing to help in any way. Currently there are over 150 children on Suicide watch at the Standing Rock Reservation. Please hear their call for help. Thank you This is a call to all people of consciousness. The Children of Standing Rock Reservation, in South Dakota, need your help now. The American Indian Movement is looking for individuals with a degree in psychology or related fields or experienced counselors to come to the aid of the children of the Standing Rock reservation. The work would be volunteer work only at this time until funds can be arranged. However, the personal rewards would be tenfold for helping the children. We would do our best to locate housing for you while on the Standing Rock Reservation. For more information please contact : Vernon Foster at AIMAZ@aol.com The AIM Youth Councils of several areas are now working to put together a "pen-pal" program with the young people of Standing Rock. Indian kids talking to other Indian kids and letting them know that, indeed, there IS hope. We ask you to hear the children's call for help. In Struggle, Vernon Foster Southwest Regional Director American Indian Movement - - - - - - Contact AIMAZ@aol.com for further information on the penpal program... If you are a counselor with Native American cultural experience please contact: Morning Star for details --------- "RE: Onondaga Nation/Tax Dispute" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 16:25:48 -0500 From: Sonja Keohane Subj: Onondaga Nation -Tax dispute http://www.syracuse.com/news/content/local/0303FIRE1.html Feud Erupts in Flames On Onondaga Nation Defiant smoke shops are confronted and destroyed. Published March 3, 1998, in The Post-Standard. Onondaga Nation members look through remains of "Drive Thru Cigarettes" on the Onondaga Nation after several businesses were destroyed because of tax dispute over sales. Photo by Dick Blume 3/2/98 By MARY MARGARET EARL and JOHN GRAU A band of Onondaga Nation clan mothers, chiefs and supporters Monday destroyed four smoke shops operating on the nation in defiance of its government. The group - estimated from 30 to more than 100 people - began a march along Route 11 at 10 a.m., visiting each shop and giving operators a final chance to shut down voluntarily, said Joseph Heath, lawyer for the council of chiefs. Operators of two shops refused; operators of at least one other voluntarily agreed to close. The council supporters wrecked all the buildings to discourage business owners from reopening the shops, said a chiefs' supporter, who declined to give his name. Chief Alson Gibson said the Council of Chiefs approved the action, at the urging of Onondaga Nation people. "The people requested the chiefs to move," Gibson said. The band of government supporters knocked over buildings with a payloader, burned them or both. They finished about 2 p.m. A roughly half-mile swath along Route 11 looked like tornado wreckage, with smoldering or battered heaps where shacks and trailers once stood. Piles of partly burnt cigarette cartons were strewn around the rubble. The remaining smoke shop, Freem's, operates with the approval of the chiefs, and was not damaged. The Onondaga County Sheriff's Department gathered a strike force that was ready to move onto the nation. Deputies remained just outside the boundaries, lighted flares and kept the curious away. Almost 12 hours after the chiefs destroyed the four independent smoke shops, one of the bulldozed structures went up in flames. ---see complete article at url above------ --------- "RE: Onondaga/Smoke Shop Dispute" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 16:30:48 -0500 From: Sonja Keohane Subj: Onondaga - Smoke shop dispute http://www.syracuse.com/news/content/local/0303APNCHRO.html Violence Began with 1993 Barricades The focus of the dispute has been over the figures and profits of smoke shops. Published March 3, 1998, in The Post-Standard. By JOHN GRAU The destruction of four smoke shops on the Onondaga Nation Monday was the latest episode in a saga of strife that has torn at a society. The framework for the conflict is the Onondagas' status as a sovereign nation and its bearing on commercial sales, which are exempt from taxes that would apply to goods sold elsewhere in the state. Shops selling cigarettes and fuel, which are heavily taxed elsewhere, have been particularly lucrative. The chiefs wants to open businesses to use profits for the welfare of the nation people. But almost since 1983, when the Council of Chiefs decided to permit cigarette sales on the nation, there have been disputes between the council and retailers about sales figures, profits and regulation of commerce on the reservation. Both sides would say they were using profits to benefit the nation and demand an accounting for those profits from the other. Neither side would comply with the other. -----see complete article at url above----- --------- "RE: Onondaga People Don't Cave in to Violence" --------- Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 17:24:31 -0500 From: Kahn-Tineta Horn Subj: Onondaga People Don't Cave in to Violence - Will Reopen Businesses Tomorrow ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- FROM: The Onondaga People DATE: March 3, 1998 RE: The Destruction of the People's Businesses On March 2, 1998 at 11:00 AM a mob of people arrived at the Onondaga Nation People's businesses and demanded they close. After being refused, Chief Vincent Johnson signaled a bulldozer to proceed to destroy the buildings. People were still inside as this occurred, a few barely escaped as the structures collapsed. Outside the frenzied mob severely beat some of the people who had been inside. The remains of the bulldozed businesses, as well as thousands of dollars worth of tobacco products were set afire. The Onondaga People's monthly disbursements were stolen. In the Haudenosaunee Gayanerekowa (The Great Law) the rights and duties of the chiefs are described as follows: "The Chiefs of the Confederacy of the Five Nations shall be mentors for the people for all time. Their hearts shall be full of peace and good will and their minds filled with the yearning for the welfare of the people of the Confederacy. Neither anger nor fury shall find lodging in their minds, and all their words shall be marked by calm deliberation." (Gayanerekowa, Article 24) The actions displayed yesterday were in violation of our People's law as well as a violation of basic civil rights. March 2nd was an encore performance of the event that took place in 1994 - the burning of businesses led by mob rule. This time the Onondaga County Sheriffs stood by as they witnessed malicious destruction of property, attempted homicide, theft and arson of several Onondaga People's businesses. All this was done in the name of recognizing internal sovereignty. In this particular instance our right to settle our disputes required whatever means were necessary. As stated to the media by Sheriff Kevin Walsh on March 2, "The Chief's Council were merely taking care of business." The fundamental question that any civilized people must ask themselves: in the heart of democracy, where can criminal acts of arson, attempted homicide and sheer terror go unchallenged in full view of state and local police agencies? Why are the country officials selectively enforcing who will and who will not be protected and prosecuted? The truth here is that the Onondaga People will never submit to the acts of extortion and betrayal of the Great Law. There shall be no taxes or jurisdiction placed on the Haudenosaunee. Although this act of violence was discouraging, it will not quell the spirit of the knowledge of our rights as Onondaga People. The Onondaga People 315-638-4355 (235) Eloise 315-638-8421 (Fax) Email egior@aol.com Note: "They may have burnt our buildings and our merchandise, and beat us up. But they have not dampened our spirits. We are opening our businesses again tomorrow, right next to the People's Fire off Route 81 (near Syracuse New York), the scene of a vicious attack on the People by the New York State Troopers on May 18th 1997. --------- "RE: Can the Onondaga Have it Both Ways" --------- Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 13:19:06 -0700 From: Nathan Cole Subj: URGENT PRESS RELEASE UPDATE - Human Rights Violations New York State Does Not Acknowledge -Reply UUCP email I have some questions regarding this latest issue: How can the Onondaga Nation expect to have it both ways? You say that New York State "is using sovereignty as an excuse not to do anything about human rights violations on the Onondaga Territory," and seem surprised at this. In an international parallel, the USA doesn't send troops to Bosnia, etc. without an invitation or request being issued by at least one political group in that nation. So why should New York State intervene without being invited to do so by some recognized political entity living within the sovereign territory? To look at it another way, lots of countries are killing their own citizens (see the China, the Sudan, Iraq, Northern Ireland, etc) due to some faction being in power, or by the existing government of that country refusing to settle disputes between factions. The USA knows of these violations of the right to life, but does not intervene in the affairs of another sovereign nation because they respect that sovereignty. You may argue that this situation is different because the sovereign nation is within the borders of the New York or USA lands and can be more readily seen. However, that still doesn't change the status and enforcement of that sovereign nation. They would still need to be invited in to help provide a solution to the problem (in this case, they'd be asked to provide protection, much like U.N. peace-keeping forces). Above all of this discussion is my main question of: why aren't the people of Onondaga more self-governing, and therefore able to provide for their own protection and resolutions of conflict? At the risk of sounding naive, why is this conflict occurring? Is it due to greed? The haves vs. have-nots? Are people espousing a certain code of life (honor, respect, being willing to reconcile with one another privately and publicly), but acting out another (hiding their shame, offenses, bullying others to concede to their wishes)? Is this why we would need outside arbitrators and enforcement of native laws? On an even more sinister note, you ask if "State of New York and the Onondaga Council of Chiefs headed by Oren Lyons is playing a political wargame with Onondaga Nation Citizens as their pawns." I hope you are wrong, but I see too many historical precedents for this. If the chiefs are playing this type of political chess, they are destined to lose for a nation divided against itself is destined to fall. For the State of New York, it would be a win-win situation, for if they can use intervention as a foothold onto the reserve, they manage a win. If the Nation destroys itself through internal squabbling and worse, New York wins again, for then they can argue that you are not a people who can self-govern. This line of reasoning, if applied in other Native-US relationships, could be extrapolated into arguing for the Fed or State governments regaining control or regulation of reservation peoples, and the applications of sovereignty would be weakened if not eradicated. In short, reserves would go back to being wards of the government, and probably again, in that status, be regarded as the most recalcitrant of its governmental step-children. In a more direct commentary on your situation, if Oren Lyons is mistakenly recognized as a duly elected chief, why is this so? Why aren't outside authorities really aware of this? Is he one (of several?) bad apples spoiling the whole barrel? I do not condone the bulldozing of other people's properties, beating people, etc. I must also ask what the possible motivations are for him and his company of clan mothers, etc. taking this action. You seemed to imply that he had taken monies (graft? or payoffs?) from some people, and is bulldozing some of those same people in order to cover his guilt. Or is this supposed to be a reaction towards people he and others feel are being unlawful in their businesses, or who he feels are promoting businesses which bring criminal activities to the reserve? Having only one side of the issue presented makes it impossible to come to some conclusion regarding which side is just. However, if he is not an authorized chief, is violating civil rights or tribal laws, and all of this can be proven via video tape, can these facts be shown to a wider audience? Respectfully yours, "Goodleaf" of the Awkwesasne Mohawks --------- "RE: Onondaga Nation Closes Illegal Smoke Shops" --------- From: mfadden@slic.com Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 15:30:24 -0500 (EST) Subj: Onondaga Nation Closes Illegal Smoke Shops UUCP email Press Release Onondaga Nation - Hemlock Road - Box 319 B via Nedrow, NY 13120 Printed in: Indian Time, Volume 16 #6, March 6, 1998 Onondaga Nation Closes Illegal Smoke Shops ONONDAGA NATION (March 2, 1998)-- The people of the Onondaga Nation closed four illegal businesses today. The four shops never had a license to open which is the law on the Nation. The rules and regulations passed into law by the Council of Chiefs in 1991, were written by the clans. The rules and regulations are to control trade and commerce on the Nation. The illegal Smoke shops opened last November. The Council of Chiefs and people met and sent runners with written letters asking them to close. Their over all reply was no. The Council and people still hoped to solve it diplomatically but received no positive results. This left the Nation and its People with no other option but to personally close them. The toppling of the Niagara Mohawk power lines was the event that clearly indicated that the people responsible for this act of terrorism were beyond reason. Therefore, the Onondaga Nation acted upon its law and closed them down. The men and women moved in unarmed to meet any resistance. Several loaded weapons were confiscated. Never-the-less, the people disarmed them and the closures were effected without serious injury to anyone. Since the illegal smoke shops opened last November, there have been a number of mysterious happenings on our Nation. There was a fire at what we call the guard shack, at about the same time there were some tires set on fire in the driveway of one of our Chiefs. The People of the Nation hope this brings an end to this type of unregulated business to our community. The smoke shop formerly known as Freem's has also been closed. This shop will re-open and will be the only legal Nation owned and operated smoke shop on our territory. Onondaga Nation Communications Liaison, Chiefs and Clanmothers --------- "RE: Mohawk Nation News on Onondaga" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 21:43:46 -0500 From: "Mohawk Nation Office" Subj: Forward from MNN - Re: Onondaga UUCP email OREN LYONS AND HIS ONONDAGA FOLLOWERS TO DEMOLISH HOMES OF SUPPORTERS OF BUSINESSES MNN Mohawk Nation News. 3-Mar-98. Today Beulah Powliss was informed by Ramona Shenandoah that Oren Lyons and his supporters are going to level the homes of Onondaga people who support the running of independent smoke shop businesses. "They are in a panic", Beulah Powliss said. "We don't know what to do. We need help!" The following are quotes from Onondaga residents who are in a state of panic as they watch this threat unfold in front of their homes: "I just got a phone call that they have a big payloader, claw, bulldozer and other big machinery at the Fire Hall. Mona Shenandoah called and heard that they will go door to door to the homes of the smoke shop owners and their supporters to physically remove the men, women and children from their homes and bulldoze the houses to the ground". Yesterday at 11:00 a.m. Oren Lyons and his goons burnt and leveled four businesses and stole thousands of dollars which were to be disbursed to the people. "People were still inside as this occurred, a few barely escaped as the buildings collapsed". This is reminiscent of the event in 1994 when Oren Lyons lead a mob which burnt several businesses and banished their owners from the territory. The owners had previously asked for an accounting of the monies that they had been giving him over the past years. Yesterday, once again, the Onondaga County Sheriffs stood by as they witnessed this same malicious destruction of property which almost killed a woman. Today Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh said, "The Chief's Council were merely taking care of business." The Onondaga people are asking for worldwide attention to stop these human rights violations and to condemn Oren Lyons and his supporters for violating their right to self-employment. This is not an internal matter, it is an international human rights issue. It has been stated over and over again by people of the Iroquois Confederacy that Oren Lyons is not a legitimate chief and despite efforts to educate the public of this fact, he continues to be supported by the state and federal authorities. "The people of the Haudenosaunee of the Confederacy have stated that it is time that Oren Lyons be put on trial by the Iroquois people for treason, war crimes, attempted murder, murder, putting people in jails and organizing the beatings of his people by his supporters and the police. He is being officially protected by them to carry out this terrorism and genocide of his own people". All people who are fearful that their homes might be destroyed are calling the Onondaga Sheriff's Department, New York State Police, New York State Governor George Pataki, the Attorney General of the United States, and even the FBI and President Bill Clinton, to demand that protection be provided. These numbers can be obtained at the following contacts: Contact Fax: 315-492-9556 Contact Phone: 315-492-3882 Contact E-mail: egior@aol.com --------- "RE: Onondaga: Torching of My Nation" --------- Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 18:22:02 -0800 (PST) From: John Shafer Subj: "TORCHING OF MY NATION" ONONDAGA (fwd) ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- MNN forwards this letter which is written with heartfelt respect by Paula Hemlock of the Snipe Clan of the Onondaga Nation and speaks for itself. Letters to the Editor Eastern Door Kahnawake Nation Dear Editor: Words, thoughts and concerns I express are my own. My oratory ramblings are armament nor apologia for no one individual, faction, cult, anti-or-pro gaming group, band council, or longhouse (padlocked or not). My heart and colonized mind struggles to comprehend the madness surrounding the "Torching of My Nation". The smoke rising from the smoldering embers and charred remains representing the end of "illegal business" in the good minds and hearts of those carrying out the mandates of the Great Binding Peace lays like a cloud of lazy innocence over the hills of the Onondaga Nation. The charred embers are residuals of a courageous victory, a triumphant conquest, the strengthening of the Longhouse supremacy, and coercive subjugation at it's very finest, skillfully planned and executed by Chiefs, Clan Mothers, and People of the Onondaga Nation. The Onondaga's stand tall as the victory is completed without the aid of "outside" forces. As fate would have it, there are always exceptions to the rules. Exception to the preeminence was the presence of Nation spokesman and lawyer, Joseph Heath, Esquire. Heath, who is sworn to an oath of allegiance to uphold and protect the laws of the US government as licensed by the NYS Bar Association, is also commissioned by the State of NY, Town of Onondaga as evidenced by his notary public seal. Acceptance of his presence and legal instruments abrogates all Indian Treaties and firmly establishes plenary powers and right of indenture upon our People. Oren Lyons' endorsement of this type of diplomacy gave me an idea. I turned to Lyons for answers via his book, "Exiled In The Land Of The Free". My qualms regarding diplomacy versus violence and vigilantism Lyons writes, "the central story recounts his (The Peacemaker) relentless efforts to persuade men who had been dedicated to a life of revenge and blood feuds to abandon that path and to bring peace to the land. The Maker of Life could not have intended that humans would kill one another and that violence, especially organized violence, must be contradictory to the purposes of life. The true purpose of human political organizations must be to oppose violence. The Peacemaker proposed that a council be formed to provide a forum in which violence would henceforth be replaced with thinking, and disputes would be settled with words." My qualms regarding democracy versus totalitarianism arise from the Council's decision to abolish controlled, licensed, free enterprise by embracing socialistic economic principles by enacting sole authoritarian entrepreneurship Lyons writes, "Among the Haudenosaunee participatory democracy meant that on some level every individual had a right to voice an opinion and to agree or disagree on actions to be taken. Because the Confederacy was organized to meet external threats and not an organ of internal control, it had no organs of repression. In fact, the Confederacy Council had no coercive power whatever over its people. This meant that communities were free to disagree with the decisions of the Confederacy Council, especially on trade issues." My qualms regarding loyalty and commitment to the Confederacy versus allegiance to "outside" forces were heightened when a condoled Chief of the Onondagas quelled fears. He recited the list of support which did not include our brothers or sisters of the Mohawks, Senecas, Cayugas, Oneidas nor Tuscaroras, rather assurances that sheriffs and troopers are on standby from Nedrow to Albany. Disturbing patterns evolve when events of the past are reviewed. The Council proudly proclaims "it was the decision of the Onondaga People" whenever violence is involved. Unfortunately, negotiations with state and federal officials behind closed doors regarding the People's sovereignty, jurisdiction, taxation, rights of indenture, and plenary powers apparently are not worthy of the respect and integrity of the People and our collective and inherent rights. Families of the businesses must also step back and examine their behavior and actions. Taking a stand for accountability, honesty, fairness, and sovereignty does not exempt or excuse anyone from following the code of moral conduct, The Great Law of Peace. Protests and cries against injustices and oppression must be executed and negotiated with the same amount of respect and humility that is solicited. It does not take a hero to die. It takes a hero to live in peace. As mother and grandmother, I refuse to have my name included as an accessory or proponent of the Torching of My Nation. I refuse to stand in defense of the actions taken by leaders and role models of my Nation. I refuse to stand in defense of the continued arguing and ugliness and continuance of divisive factors played out by each and everyone of us in this Nation whether we are active participants or silent observers. I refuse to let my children believe that diplomacy replaced with violence, pillaging and burning, regardless of all the rights or wrongs committed by either side, is acceptable behavior. I refuse to admit that the Confederacy is dead, for when a Nation cannot secure a peaceful resolution with the consensus of the People, the discord will be placed in the hands of the Confederacy Council for unbiased resolve. I refuse to believe that my vision for our children, the future of Onondaga, the coming together of the Confederacy, the Seven Generations, upon whose faces we tread - went up in smoke - the day my Nation was torched. I remain committed to my belief that apathy, hopelessness, conflict of interest, nepotism, and corruption will not survive the honesty and integrity of proud and righteous Onondagas. I remain dedicated to compassion and thoughtfulness so we may become the owners of humanity, humility, peace, faith, hope. My vision is for autonomous sovereignty procured upon the backs of all Onondagas as one, tenaciously entwined in unity, harmony, humbleness, honesty, integrity, virtue, respect and unruffled peace in a circle escorted by our moral code of conduct, The Great Binding Peace, and guided by an honest, entrusted, and fair governance committed to ensuring and protecting Nation freedoms, Confederacy freedoms, individual freedoms, peace and harmony conceived from the "will of the People" through our Clans, without outside intervention and heterodoxy, in order that we Onondaga's may be a healthy, proud, prosperous, productive, flourishing, and peaceful society, presently, and for generations to come. Written with heartfelt respect, Paul Hemlock Snipe Clan Onondaga Nation --------- "RE: Blackfoot Indian Justice Now" --------- Date: Wed., 25 Feb 1998 06:21:39 -0700 From: Long Standing Bear Chief Subj: Blackfoot Indian Justice Now. UUCP email There is a big storm of Indian protesters going to Kalispell, Montana this day. Many Blackfeet Indians have left their homes to give Senator Conrad Burns (R) of Montana their written and oral testimony against a Burns bill in Congress that would prevent Indian tribes from having any jurisdiction over whites on Indian reservations. Supposedly Indians are not capable of giving whites equal justice according to Burns and his followers. It is suspected that Burns, by virtue of his anti-Indian rhetoric, has ties to the white racist movement in Montana. It is my serious opinion that Senator Burns has set the stage for a race war in Montana. I am joined in this assessment by Mr. Paul Tuss, who is the Director of the Glacier Action and Involvement Now (GAIN) office in Cut Bank, Montana. Mr Tuss is one of those whose official capacity is to work with the Indian and white communities of Browning (within the Blackfoot Nation) and Cut Bank, Montana (outside the Nation) in Glacier County. The overwhelming majority of Glacier County citizens are Indians as is the land base that makes up Glacier County. Another part of Blackfoot Country, Pondera County, was also created by the State Legislature in 1919, and part of it lies within the boundaries of the Blackfoot Nation. I have a letter in hand dated February 24, 1998 from a Mr. Wyman McDonald, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of Montana, and who is the states Coordinator of Indian Affairs in the Montana Governor's office that confirms my research findings. Mr. McDonald confirmed my research finding that the counties of Glacier and Pondera, lying within the Blackfeet Reservation, were created by the State of Montana without the consent of the Tribe back in 1919. Blackfeet tribal members were not citizens of the United States until 1924, which means the State of Montana acted fraudulently in creating counties in our Nation without our ancestors consent. Indeed, there is no record of such consent in the archives of the State of Montana or the Congress of the United States. In his response dated Tuesday, February 24, 1998, McDonald says in the letter to me, "I do wish to apologize for the long delay in replying to your letters of December 18, 1997, and February 3, 1998. However, the delay resulted form trying to to find any information that might be helpful to you. As of this time, I have been unable to find anything that relates to the questions you have asked. In other words, I believe it is probably the case that the State never requested permission of the involved Tribes, and, consequently, more than likely that permission of the Tribes was never given, just as I agreed in my telephone message to you, and as you earlier so advised me. Please be advised , though, that I am still researching the questions, and will pass on to you whatever I am able to find." The questions Mr. McDonald refers to were mine, stated as follows: 1.) Did the State of Montana get the permission of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes in the Creation of the counties withing its borders? I believe they are Missoula, Lake, Flathead and Mineral Counties. 2.) Did the State of Montana, specifically the Legislature, get the consent of the Blackfeet Tribe in creating Glacier and Pondera Counties within its borders in 1919? Obviously his answer is no. It must also be noted that Yellowstone County was created by the State of Montana legislature at a much earlier date. 1896 to be exact. I know this because this fact was confirmed by the Montana Legislative Council director in a letter to me. In the summer of 1996 I gave a copy of that letter to then United States congressional candidate William "Bill" Yellow Tail. The facts will no doubt reveal that other Montana counties within the borders of the Indian Nations within the State of Montana were also created without the consent of the tribes involved. In order to further prove my findings with regard to Glacier County I visited with Mr. John P. Moore, former Glacier County Attorney in Cut Bank today (February 25, 1998). Mr. Moore acknowledged that it was indeed a fact that "Glacier County was created by whitemen playing God". He described my findings as be "the opening a real can of worms" and my research being the case of finding the "sticky wickett". My brothers and sisters in blood of the Blackfoot Nation, I ask you to send these research findings on to all of our friends and relatives around the world. Let us help each other teach the truth of how the whiteman continues to attempt our genocide through a corrupt political system. Tell them to send this far and wide as well. Tell them we natives are reluctant to step down to the peculiar equality of our corrupt white brothers and sisters. Tell our relatives and friends we have a solution to the fraudulent accusations of Burns and the other white racists. Tell them the United States Government spent millions and millions of our tax money trying to get us to leave our remaining homeland forever. This occurred when the Congress of the United States enacted the Indian Relocation Act. This was the program which was carried out in the 1950's, 60's and 70"s. This was the whiteman's racist law that tried to "relocate" us to the major cities of the United States with the sole intent of removing us from our remaining homeland. Now is the time for Conrad Burn's and his like minded minions to sponsor a "WHITE MANS RELOCATION ACT for the New Millennium 2000", in the Congress of the United States and Montana legislature. This new law move the racist, bigoted and money greedy whites from among us. Since the State of Montana created the problem let it pay the whites for the land they were fraudulently sold within our Nations borders by their scheming and self serving ancestors at a time when we were ignorant of their motives because we did not understand their language. Now we speak, read, and write their language and we know how to research. We have found their crooked records and we find them full of lies and deceit. We find that they do not even believe their own Christian admonitions written into their Bible: THOU SHALT NOT STEAL !! THOU SHALT NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS AGAINST THY NEIGHBOR!! THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE, THOU SHALT NOT COVET THY NEIGHBORS WIFE, NOR HIS MANSERVANT, NOR HIS MAIDSERVANT, NOR HIS OX, NOR HIS ASS, NOR ANY THING THAT IS THY NEIGHBORS !! I am true to the Indian tradition. I am willing to share. And, I shall not cry over a share of the tax money it takes to move the backbiters out of our Nation. In passing this on to everyone, be sure to remind our white brothers and sisters we only seek justice for our people. Tell them that they should not break another commandment of theirs: THOU SHALT NOT KILL. This has been the usual reaction and tactic used by the evil one's who have perverted Christianity in their peculiar practice of body, spirit and mind control. --------- "RE: Response from Glacier Co. Attorney Epstein" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 08:34:36 -0700 From: Long Standing Bear Chief Subj: Response from Glacier Co. Attorney Epstein UUCP email I got a letter from the Glacier County Attorney, Larry D. Epstein dated February 27, 1998 that says: "It is my understanding that you dropped by your letter of inquiry dated December 18, 1997, at my office on the 25th of February, 1998.' Counties were created in Montana as a result of legislative action. You letter and the question presented in paragraph 2 assumes that the State of montana required permission in order to create counties within it boundaries. I don't believe that is the legal case. Originally, in 1`889 counties were created. The area you and I now live in was in Teton County. As you correctly note in your letter in 1919, the State legislature approved the creation of several counties from Teton. These included Glacier and Pondera Counties. The direct answer to your question, no, the State did not obtain consent of the Blackfeet Tribe to create Glacier and Pondera Counties.' Trusting this answers your inquiry, I remain, Sincerely, Larry D. Epstein" * * * * * * * * * March 3, 1998 Oki Niksokowa (Hello, Greetings My Relative): I am sending this letter to you without comment at this time. While there are obvious flaws in Larry's reasoning I want you to enjoy the logic of the ethnocentric mind, and, allow you to come to your own conclusions and send me your response as I am definitely putting together a record of this continuing historical story. - Long Standing Bear Chief --------- "RE: Suit Vowed in I-81 Tax Protest" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 16:26:07 -0500 From: Sonja Keohane Subj: Onondaga Nation - Suit Vowed in I-81 Tax Protest http://www.syracuse.com/news/content/local/0303APNSUIT.html Suit Vowed in I-81 Tax Protest Onondaga indians accuse police of using excessive force on a peaceful demonstration. Published March 3, 1998, in The Post-Standard. By JOHN O'BRIEN About 80 Native Americans plan to sue state troopers and Onondaga County sheriff's deputies over the handling of a tax protest last year on the highway running through the Onondaga Nation. Lawyers for the Indians said they will file a lawsuit today in U.S. District Court accusing police of using excessive force to break up a peaceful demonstration May 18. Elkan Abramowitz, the Indians' New York City lawyer, will discuss the lawsuit at a news conference this morning in Syracuse. The 48-page lawsuit will accuse police of excessive force and of violating the protesters' constitutional rights to free speech, free assembly, and religious freedom, according to a news release from Abramowitz's office. The Indians were protesting a temporary sales tax collection agreement between Gov. George Pataki and the Onondaga Nation's Council of Chiefs. Police arrested about two dozen Indians at the protest after some of the protesters walked onto Interstate 81 from their roadside encampments. An Onondaga Town Court judge dismissed the charges against all but one protester, Kenneth Kappelmeier. He still faces charges of second-degree assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and violating the law prohibiting pedestrians from being on state highways. State police investigated the Indians' complaints of brutality and concluded in November that officers did not use excessive force. Five troopers were injured, including one who underwent eye surgery after being punched in the face. Thirteen Indians were hurt. --------- "RE: Buffalo Nations Update" --------- Date: Wed, 4 Mar 1998 13:12:04 EST From: Buffalo Nations Subj: Buffalo Nations Update UUCP email Watch NBC's Today Show March 9th for a special expose on Buffalo Nations! Join us for a Day of Prayer for the Buffalo on March 21st. Hello from the all volunteer crew at Buffalo Nations. The last few weeks have been very busy. We've been visited by a film crew from NBC's Today Show and by activist Winnona LaDuke. For most of February we maintained a house with between 25 and 30 people and, as planned, we kept dawn to dusk vigil with the buffalo. Over the last few weeks we've been especially thankful for some great media work done by Rosalie Little Thunder and Winnona LaDuke. We also received help from the staff of Patagonia, generous enough to send its employees to work with us throughout the month of March! Robert Blackwolf spent weeks with us putting together a decent field communications outfit. A wonderful person in Bozeman ran a fantastic Ad for us in the Bozeman Chronicle. And people everywhere continue to offer their support for the bison. Right now there are less than a dozen bison out of the park in West Yellowstone and nine close to the border in Gardiner. Snow has been falling all day. I went north last week and felt Spring in the air but here Winter still rules. We continue to stand with the buffalo everyday. We still wish for new folks who want to come out and volunteer with us. So far this winter more than 130 volunteers have visited Buffalo Nations! The Department of Livestock seems hesitant to show their face now that so much of the world is watching and praying. March 21st will be a day of prayer for the buffalo. Through our actions and our spirit we will demonstrate that we want these buffalo to return. Please join us in praying in your own way. Buffalo Nations PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax buffalo@wildrockies.org --------- "RE: UN Looks at Religious Intolerance" --------- Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 08:06:34 -0800 From: Robert Dorman Subj: Navajo-Hopi_Observer_ Forward ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: Condor952 Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 09:14:02 EST Mailing List: Big Mountain List Navajo-Hopi Observer 2-10-98 UN looks at religious intolerance in U.S. By A.T. Steinberg The Observer Despite a storm of criticism from the far right, with Jesse Helms accusing the United Nations of wasting time and crying that there is not a single act of religious intolerance in the United States, the Special Rapporteur for Religious Intolerance, Abdelfattah Amor, working within the UN's Commission on Human Rights, was able to meet with American Indian leaders and people. For over twenty years the International Indigenous Treaty Council (IITC) has been trying to get the UN to address the situation of Indigenous people within this country. In 1993 the UN declared the International Year of the World's Indigenous People. The period from 1995-2004 is considered the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. Amor has a mandate from the 1996 UN Subcommission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. He must assess the situation of indigenous people and their sacred ties to the land and whether land- based religions will be respected as valid belief systems in the world's forum. Amor told the Observer that he is an unparalleled champion of the freedom of belief. He says that this is an absolute right that must be guaranteed all people. He says that there is no limit to this right, and governmental structures need to develop policy to deal with this right. The UN does limit the freedom of expression if others may be harmed in order for the belief system to work. The UN also has a precise protocol to follow, and Amor may not overstep his mandate. His mandate includes all forms of spirituality, old or new, traditional or modern. He is continuing a trip that has taken him through China, Pakistan, Greece, Iran, Sudan, Cambodia, Afghanistan, India, Germany, and Australia, where he has been compiling a report on religious intolerance, tortures, and executions. When Amor completes each report he sends the allegations to the government, which then may work to protect the religious beliefs of their indigenous citizens. American Indians did not become U.S. citizens until 1924. Around the world, if the recent massacre in Acteal, Chiapas is any indicator, indigenous peoples with land-based religions are still not yet considered global citizens deserving the respect of such conservatives as Senator Helms. Andrea Carmen, IITC's executive director, scorns Helm's criticism: "The U.S. presents itself as the bastion and defender of religious freedom internationally. But the original Peoples and Nations of this land continue to be treated with blatant disregard and to suffer violations of our most basic human rights, including our right and obligation to maintain the religious practices and traditional ceremonies given to us by the Creator, and to protect our sacred sites and lands." While in the U.S., Amor has visited Washington, New York, Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In the southwest, Amor has visited numerous trouble spots. The Apache Survival Coalition discussed the telescope on Mt. Graham, and the necessity of having permits to pray, with Amor. The Petroglyph Monument Protection Coalition of New Mexico discussed the planned freeway that will cross a sacred site. The Yoemen Tekia Foundation and Alianza Sin Fronteras spoke with Amor about the impact of U. S./Mexican border immigration policies on the Tohono O'odham, Yaqui, and other border tribes. The Havasupai Tribe met with Amor to discuss the effects of uranium mining in the Grand Canyon. The Lakota and Dakota (Sioux tribes) of the Black Hills discussed the long-standing violation of the 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty and the theft of their sacred Black Hills. Presently, the Lakota too are being asked to have a permit to pray. Amor also met with the White Clay Society from the Gros Ventre Nation in Montana to discuss gold mining on their sacred sites. The Western Shoshone National Council in Nevada met with the UN to present their objections to nuclear test and dumping sites on Indian land. Amor talked to other native groups in Salt Lake, L.A., N.Y. and Chicago. Amor made an on-site visit to Black Mesa to observe and to receive testimony by Dineh who have resisted the Congressionally-implemented relocation and the present process for obtaining wood, water, and livestock permits that the Dineh need to live on Hopi land. Hopi Chairman Wayne Taylor, Jr. issued a statement on February 4, saying that "the Hopi Tribe has been working for several years to address these issues, which affect both the Navajo families and the Hopi Tribe, in a peaceful, non-confrontational manner." He also said that this visit was scheduled without regard for the Hopi ceremonial calendar. "Most of the Hopi villages are beginning a significant religious ceremony that marks an important phase of the Hopi ceremonial cycle. Hopi religious practitioners require peace and privacy during this time of year." Amor, a Tunisian native, has said he will give full attention to all details while he is compiling his report. He says, "I take no position on rivalry between different people. I respect everybody. Some people are satisfied with my visit, some are not, others will never be satisfied. Nobody has been denied their freedom of speech. I cannot contact everybody personally, but there was enough time for everybody to be aware of my coming. I will not get involved in internal positions. My goal is to observe intolerance and persecution of people wherever it may be. I believe that patience, generosity, heart, and spirit will bring indigenous people back together. There were those around the country who enjoyed my visit very much; unfortunately there are some people who did not." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html --------- "RE: Deaths of Native Youth" --------- Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 02:19:21 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: How Much longer...? :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: DEATHS OF NATIVE YOUTH 'PROFOUND AND TROUBLING' The Province, March 5, 1998, page A3, by Barbara McLintock [S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.] The number of aboriginal youth dying in homicides and suicides is "profound and very troubling," says children's commissioner Cynthia Morton. Morton told a legislative committee yesterday that in her commission's first-year analysis of children who died in BC, there's a "disproportionate number" of natives. The chance of an aboriginal child under age one dying of sudden infant death syndrome is seven times as high as for a non-aboriginal child, she said. For an aboriginal male aged 13 to 18, the chance of him committing suicide is 10 times as high as for a non-aboriginal youth. For female youth, the figures are even more staggering: A female aboriginal is 20 times as likely to kill herself. "We are in desperate need of a new approach" of reaching aboriginal youth, she said, adding that working with aboriginal communities to do that will be one of the commission's priorities. Overall, a new approach is needed to deal with high-risk youth, many of whom die from some combination of drugs, alcohol and risky behavior, whether that's skiing out of bounds or speeding in the family car. Morton said social workers and others often call these youths "resistant" to being helped, but said that label should not be applied to troubled teens. "Their needs are very complex: they're often very difficult to find," she said, but it's up to the system to find a way to meet their needs. "We must deliver services to youth closer to home," she said, noting that sending young people to the Lower Mainland for treatment is often worse than useless because they're then turned loose on the streets instead and stay there, rather than going back to a community where they have support and roots. Morton reiterated the need for more preventive and early-intervention programs to help children, youth and families before they're in a state of crisis. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to The Province: provedpg@pacpress.southam.ca CANADIAN COLONIALISM KILLS - SOVEREIGNTY IS THE ANSWER CANADA IS THE PROBLEM In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Queretaro Communique'" --------- Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 15:01:57 -0500 From: Carol Liu Subj: FWD: FZLN communique'/Queretaro/Votan-Zapata/FIOZ ________________________________________________ A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E http://www.ainfos.ca/ ________________________________________________ The following is a translation by David of a previous posting to this list: -> Date: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 03:05:51 -0600 -> From: mapache -> Subj: (ca) comunicado del fzln/Queretaro ccd/votan-zapata y del FIOZ ------------------------------------------- Communique' read out during the meeting held on 11 February in the town of Queretaro in Mexico, in order to demand freedom for three political prisoners in the town. ZAPATISTA NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT VOTAN-ZAPATA CIVILIAN COMMITTEE Queritaro, 11 Feb 1998 In view of the events of 5 February 1998 in the town of Queretaro, and their subsequent effects, the Votan-Zapata Civilian Committee of the Zapatista National Liberation Front has several considerations which it wishes to bring to the attention of civilian society; local, national and international political organizations, and to the communications media, here and abroad. These are: 1. That the acts of violence which were provoked by the act of the commemoration of the signing of the constitution are in compliance with a State policy characterized by excessive force as the main face that the regime shows. This was demonstrated that day with a colossal police presence, who provoked, threatened and assaulted members of the different organizations and institutions who were demonstrating. 2. That the violence reported across the country is the product of a process of political decomposition that the government is responsible for, and at the same time, unable to find a solution to. This is because of a lack of political will evident in its response to key problems like State murders, killings of peasants or the drug trafficking which goes on even in its own departments. 3. That the desperation of the sectors hardest hit by neo-liberal policies, which is expressed in the acute economic and social crisis, has been an aggravating factor that has not been dealt with in an efficient and appropriate way, due to the intransigent lack of political will and ability of the various levels of government, whose attitude of denial sets back, in an irresponsible manner, the possibilities of a solution to social questions, condemning the population to precarious conditions of life, considering only the interests of financial institutions and the World Bank. 4. That on 5 February, we, the FZLN's civilian committees in the locality where we demonstrated, declared for the fulfilment of the San Andres Agreements and the incorporation of indigenous rights and culture into the Constitution. This action was carried out firmly but peacefully, as is the character of our organization, which works on the construction of a national political force which struggles by peaceful methods for democracy, freedom and a form of peace with justice and dignity. For no reason must it be allowed to become established that the actions of groups --with or without political affiliation-- which take part in violence, are expressions of civilian zapatismo; the FZLN is in essence a peaceful organization. 5. That the State's response is extremely authoritarian, in attributing responsibility to a specific organization without considering the presence of many diverse towns and groups, even going as far as harassment and assaults perpetrated by provocateurs with military haircuts, dressed as civilians, who are always to be found when such events occur. 6. That civilian zapatismo does not talk with the government. The Zapatista National Liberation Front is part of, and is nourished by civilian society. We do not expect or aspire to gain the permission of the State to form this great force which will contribute to the peaceful transition to democracy, we shall carry on the struggle in the streets and squares without taking fright. Through the above, we declare our support for the political prisoners (Anselmo Robles, Pascual Lucas and Sergio Jero'nimo) and we will monitor the fulfilment of their civil and human rights, moreover we reject any harassing or intimidating of social leaders and we will be ready to resist any attempt at a witch-hunt, condemning the State's trying to avoid its responsibility for the violent deeds of 5 February and for a solution of social problems, by using a spectacle of threats and repression. DEMOCRACY! FREEDOM! AND JUSTICE! /////////////////////////////////////////////////// FIOZ leaflet given out on 11 February at the demonstration for the freeing of the political prisoners. TO THE PEOPLE OF QUERETARO: We, The poorest people in Queretaro, are being savagely beaten by those currently in government, who have at their disposal police forces, insufficient for dealing with crime, but effective for hitting defenseless people and imprisoning social activists. They have the whole judicial apparatus at their beck and call. They have the communications media, which are unconditionally pro-government, who rather that objectively inform of events, only pass on what they feel they want to. Many of us poor people in Querataro don't have what they have, in the best cases our families live on a daily wage of $26.05 pesos. We lack everything; this is why we struggle, to have something of what others have in abundance. WE KNOW THAT DIGNITY IS ONLY THING THEY CAN'T SNATCH AWAY FROM US. We learnt this from our comrades, Anselmo Robles, Pascual Lucas Julian and professor Sergio Jero'nimo Sanchez Saenz, BECAUSE OF ALL THIS WE ASK THE PEOPLE OF QUERETARO NOT TO LET THEMSELVES BE TAKEN IN BY MEDIA LIES. THEY ARE VICTIMS OF A FRAME-UP. THEIR ONLY CRIME IS TEACHING US TO FIGHT WITH DIGNITY. We know our comrades aren't criminals, they're prisoners of conscience, that is, jailed for political reasons, because of which we DEMAND: IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL FREEDOM FOR THE SOCIAL ACTIVISTS, ANSELMO ROBLES, PASCUAL LUCAS Y SERGIO JERONIMO SANCHEZ. FIOZ (Independent Front of Zapatista Organizations) ------------------------------------------------- Information and questions: uvipe@sisnet.com.mx --------- "RE: March Zapatista Communique" --------- Date: 98-03-05 20:49:26 EST From: moonlight@igc.apc.org (moonlight@igc.apc.org) Subj: March Zapatista Communique UUCP email Zapatista Army of National Liberation. Mexico. March 1, 1998 To: The Commission on Concordance and Pacification CC: Congress of the Union. Mexico From: The Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee-General Command of the EZLN Mountains of the Southeast. Mexico Ladies and Gentlemen Legislators: We direct ourselves to you in order to communicate our word in regards to the intransigent posture of the Ministry of Governance, made public today, March 1 of 1998 through the voice of Mister Francisco Labastida Ochoa, and to respond to the letter which you sent us days ago. ONE: The arguments of the government lack a basis and legitimacy. (That is why Mister Labastida refused to answer any questions). They know this and this is why they try to intimidate the Zapatistas and to deceive public opinion. Contrary to what Mister Labastida says, the government has NEVER sought a peaceful and political solution to the problem. It has always resorted to deceit and treachery in order to avoid a serious commitment with the path of dialogue. In spite of its press conferences, official reports and appearances in international forums, this is known in Mexico and throughout the world. What remains unsaid by the government of Mister Zedillo is that the negotiation is stalled because the government never carried out what it signed. The actual situation of crisis in Chiapas is due to the fact that it seeks out a war of extermination and not a peaceful solution. TWO. Lies and threats aside - the former do not deceive public opinion, and the latter do not frighten us-, the announcement of the re-cycled strategy of the Ministry of Governance for confronting the crisis in Chiapas may be summarized in two points: a). Arrive at the maximum consequences in order not to fulfill the San Andres Agreements. b).- Carry out unilateral actions as a prelude to an attack against the indigenous communities and the members of the EZLN. Upon the decision to submit before the H. Congress of the Union its initiative on indigenous law - elaborated with the Cocopa - the federal executive branch violates the San Andres Agreements in two ways: one because the Agreements stipulate that they should be presented to those cases of national debate all together: and the other because the initiative of the Executive disregards the documents signed by its representatives in San Andres, and is based on the conception held by the federal executive in regards to the indigenous problem, and not upon the project of a new relationship between the Indian peoples and the Mexican nation as signed and accorded at the negotiating table. These agreements received the support of national and international civil society, the two houses of deputies and senators, the National Commission of Intermediation, and the Cocopa. With its "new" strategy, the Ministry of Governance mocks all of you. THREE. The objective of the dialogue and negotiation is to solve a conflict between the parts. This is the purpose of the dialogue and the negotiation which formulates agreements which are then carried out. The fulfillment of the agreements by both parties is what allows for trust and credibility to exist. The unilateral action of presenting a proposal on indigenous law - whose approval has already been arranged with legislators who are attuned to Mister Zedillo- without the consensus of the other party - the EZLN and the Indian peoples-, does not signify that the dialogue process will be disentangled. On the contrary, if this continues, the dialogue will collapse definitively. With this action, confidence and credibility is destroyed: there can be no dialogue and negotiation for arriving at agreements if there is no trust that the parties will fulfill them. What was the point in negotiating for months if the government was going to present its own proposal and not the one agreed to? Why, after two years have passed since they were signed, does the government set the agreements aside and present a unilateral vision of the indigenous question? Because the government has never intended to fulfill the agreements nor to commit itself to dialogue and negotiation. If today the government decides to make public its denial of the agreements, to pass over them, to convert into law its own definition of the indigenous demands, it is because it wants public opinion to favor a repressive action. The government is wrong. The "new" simulation strategy (simulation which resolves the problem WITHOUT THE EZLN OR THE INDIAN PEOPLES, simulation which injects economic resources for bettering the living conditions of the indigenous, simulation which fulfills the legal requirements for an action of extermination, and simulation that the rebellion is due only to personal ambitions of a small group and not a historic demand of a people) will not get popular approval for the military-police action. Nor will it resolve the conflict. It will only prolong, sharpen it, and in other words, intensify it. The lack of responsibility with which the pair Zedillo- Labastida directs the country is not new. There is much evidence that the government has provided which show that it aspires to resolve the Zapatista rebellion militarily. The novelty is the audacity with which it pretends to involve the legislative commission of which you are a part. FOUR. In the public exposition of the governmental strategy, you are invited to become accomplices of the destruction of the San Andres Agreements and the encircling of the EZLN as a preparatory step to the military-police offensive. By proposing that the Cocopa collaborate with the federal executive in writing a new legal proposal, the government not only mocks the work and earnestness with which the legislators worked all this time; it not only seeks an accomplice in order to win the legitimacy it lacks; it also places the legislative commission before the firing squad and prepares, if it does not receive its cooperation, its de-activation, "restructuring", or disappearance. You know well that the so-called "four observations" are neither observations nor are they four. In addition to the fact that they reflect the judicial and historic ignorance of the Ministry of Governance in regards to the demands of the indigenous peoples and the Constitution, they are definitive blows to the negotiating table for peace. You know well that the initiative which you elaborated has none of the defects pointed out in the "undeniable" observations of the government. The Cocopa initiative does not make national sovereignty vulnerable, it does not promote the fragmentation of the country, it is not anti-democratic, it does not provoke confrontations, nor does it generate chaos. The lack of recognition of indigenous rights is what is undemocratic because it denies the original inhabitants of these lands, rights which history owes them. It is the economic, social and political model imposed by the Zedillo government that attacks national sovereignty and fragments the nation. It is the lack of fulfillment of the San Andres Agreements which promotes chaos. It is the warlike vocation of the government which provokes bloody confrontations. For the Cocopa to accept the perverse invitation of the government, is to accept and become a part of a lie. We repeat once again: the re-negotiation of the San Andres Agreements (which is what the federal executive really wants) will be a mortal blow for the path of dialogue and negotiation. If each agreement which is developed is subject to revision and renegotiation, then each part can agree arbitrarily to anything and wait for the most favorable moment for renegotiation. Finally, renegotiation is no more than a pretense to cover up the lack of fulfillment. And if the agreements are not carried out, what can the Zapatistas expect when we agree to re-enter civilian life? Will that agreement be renegotiated while they jail us, while they make us disappear, while they kill us? FIVE. In your letter dated February 23, of 1998 you propose a meeting for a collective "reflection" about the situation of the dialogue. We think that, more than a meeting between the EZLN and the Cocopa, what is urgent and important now is to make the dialogue and negotiation viable. Therefore it is vital that the Cocopa remain firm in its legal initiative and call for the fulfillment of the San Andres Agreements. This way a foundation will be built, not only for a meeting for reflection, but for all that is necessary in order to achieve peace, which is the common objective of all of you, the mediators, the honest civilian Mexican men and women and us: the achievement of peace with justice and dignity. We wait for the same thing that millions in Mexico and the world wait for: that you honor your word and your commitment, that you refuse to be accomplices for the lie and the crime which is being prepared, that you not give up your demand for the fulfillment of the San Andres Agreements - that the initiative which you elaborated with clarity - which demonstrates the independence of the different branches of government in Mexico, is not a bad joke but a dignified reality, and that you not abandon your labor for peace. On the other hand, in that same letter you say that if we refuse that meeting we will contribute to the debilitation of the coadjutation and the mediation. No, we are not the ones who have debilitated and attacked the Cocopa and the Conai. All of the attacks you have suffered have come from the government, not from the Zapatistas. Members of the Cocopa: In the name of all the children, elderly, men and women of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, making echo of the clamor of our indigenous brothers all over Mexico, we demand that you not add yourselves to the strategy of extermination, that you stay firm with your legal initiative, that you not cease your efforts in the coadjutation necessary for peace. You have a historic obligation you cannot avoid, your word will be the measurement of your size. Do not fall into the trap of those who invite you to sponsor a war. Comply, not with those who promised you an accountable and dignified participation, not with the memory of senator Heberto Castillo, not with the hundreds of thousands of indigenous people who support your proposal and make it theirs, not with the millions of Mexicans who trust your vocation and your commitment. Comply with the only peace possible, the one which will, in dignity and justice, recognize the rights of the Indian peoples. Comply with history. Do not become an echo of the war, do not become a part of the intolerance and the intransigence. Sustain your proposal. In it exists not only justice, history and truth, but also the hope of millions of indigenous who wait for a real change and not a new ostentatious simulation. >From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast. By the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee-General Command of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation. Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos. Mexico, March of 1998. Translated by: Cecilia Rodriguez, NCDLJ --------- "RE: Attitude and Chiapas" --------- Date: Sun, 08 Mar 1998 10:22:25 -0400 From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman) Subj: Attitude & Chiapas Newsgroup: alt.native d'laan'te... I wish to set the minds of some readers at ease, or disturb others, by stating that this is really "justanoldman" writing... & yes my tone has changed since I "left for good"... Since my return, at the request of over 100 of you, I have not felt at home here as I used to... and it is the reaction to the pleas for ACTION for relations in Chiapas that has soured me... I am angry, & stressed, & grief-stricken, & enraged... It affects my perspective on many things. I am human... But I am not on this earth to please anyone, to live up to anyone's expectations... I answer to no human on this planet save the one I see in the mirror every morning... For the few that have acted, & keep paying more than lip service to the prayer, "... all my relations..." I have been filled with joy & pride at simply "knowing" each of you... The way you are using this miraculous medium to keep each of the relations of the Maya, (the members of the true-Nations here), informed, encouraged, & motivated is astounding... masi:CHO! The rest of this post is not addressed to you, but to the "do-nothing's"... To you, the "do-nothing's"..., the wonder of this ng, this very screen you are reading, is like a plaything. The horrific news about the diabolical ways the Mexican government's public relations campaign are lulling people to sleep, making light of the death of a people that they are about to inflict, even as you read this, is nothing but words on a screen... some few are still even whiling away the precious minutes & bandwidth to go on with the absurd-as-usual discussions about how many grandfathers fit on the head of a pin, or what's-an-Indian, or other inane topics of blissful ignorance... while RELATIVES DIE !!!!!! D'you think I, & those who ACT, don't have a life to live? Heve chores of everyday survival to take care of? Friends & family that need attention? We too would rather be talking of other things... And yet I, and many like me, still find time, MAKE time to ACT for the Mayan men, women, elders & children being set up for slaughter by Washington's puppet-regime in Mexico City. Yes, that does mean up to an 80+ hr week. So what? We all have an eternity of sleep just around the bend, so we can spare sleep today... to save a life. That is what being a member of a family, a Nation is all about... If Indians don't care for Indians, you KNOW nobody else will! Maybe you thought I was joking, in my first post, about how being Indian is a 26hr/day job... I may chuckle about it but it's no less true... Maybe you, those who are "too busy" just don't get it... Two nights ago I was attending yet another strategy session with one of the five Chiapas support groups I work with, & during a break I overheard 2 young people talking together, with one asking the other if he had ever seen a dead body... I was stunned, unbelieving..., but kept silent because at least they were doing something, even if it was from a sense of justice & not a matter of the heart... But that strange remark made me think. Maybe that is the problem that those who talk but do nothing have with ACTING instead of talking: death is an abstract to you, a head-game of some kind, removed from your experience... How can any Indian live as an Indian & not bury at least one relative each month, if not each week? I find it hard to grasp the fact that there are Indians who are not intimately familiar with death, who think it instead of feeling it, so far removed from its experience that the wiping out of entire villages, entire families..., has so little effect that you say, "Oh well, that's terrible..., but now about the 'true meaning' of the the Hopi Farting Thunder Ceremony..." !?!? Granted, as one who has carried pieces of babies back to the arms of grieving mothers, closed the eyes on the shattered remnants of the faces of grandmothers, & as one who has taken human lives, perhaps I am more familiar with death than many here, but every Indian family that I have ever met has had members die violently, often horribly, too often uselessly... men, women, children, babies, elders... How can people who have cleaned up such tragic bodies, prepared them for burial, mourned & wept by their coffins..., take the death of relations so unfeelingly as to remain unmoved, calm, or apparently unfeeling to the imminent threat of death that hangs over THOUSANDS of RELATIVES in Chiapas?!?! The 85,000 soldiers of the government of Mexico are awaiting their final orders. The Mexican government, US govt & US media are spending millions of dollars since mid-January on public relations campaigns, preparing to tone down the wave of public outrage that will be generated by the pending massacre of Indian people (that will make Acteal look like a sunday-school picnic). The only escape route, across the border to Guatemala, is now sealed off tighter than a drum by thousands of troops. The CIA Bureau Chief in Mexico City let slip in an interview 8 days ago that there are 100's of US-armed forces "advisors" now in Chiapas. Foreign observers are being deported in increasing numbers every day, to ensure that few witnesses are around for what's coming. The so-called "paramilitaries", those hundreds of PRI-paid, USA-trained terrorists that have killed hundreds of Mayan men, women, elders & children in the past 18 mths, are now not only better armed but essentially "deputized" by the Mexican govt, manning roadblocks & patrols right alongside the regular army personnel. And you "do-nothing's" doing, those whose inaction callously ignores the DEATH of relations, how do you dare assume the right to sit among the true-humans? You are not just pitiful excuses for human beings, you are truly accomplices in the deaths of every single murder of every man, woman, elder, child and infant that the Mexican government will kill. And that is why my tone is "harsh" to some sensitive ears... to those for whom "family" means nothing, and for whom DEATH is something in a book or on a tv screen... To all of you "do-nothing's" I say..., don't expect to see compassion or anecdotes & stories from "justanoldman" for a long, long time... All I have for you is contempt. "There is no such thing as an 'innocent bystander' who '..just happens to witness' genocide and crimes against humanity. They are as guilty as the active participants in these heinous and diabolical crimes!" (Chief US Prosecutor at Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal, 1946.) --------- "RE: Ward Valley Update" --------- Date: Thu, 05 Mar 1998 15:25:53 -0600 From: LPP Subj: Ward Valley update (FWD)...please share UUCP email COLORADO RIVER NATIVE NATIONS Alliance AFFIRMS STAND AGAINST RADIOACTIVE WASTE DUMP PROPOSED FOR WARD VALLEY -"WE WILL NOT BE REMOVED FROM OUR SACRED LAND." Needles, CA -- Tribal leaders and Elders of the Colorado River Native Nations Alliance have me in the Fort Mojave Indian Tribal Council chambers and reaffirmed their unwavering stance to protect their sacred land in Ward Valley against further damage and proposed radioactive waste dump. As the occupation of Ward Valley entered the nineteenth day, the Tribal leaders and Elders of the Fort Mojave, Chemehuevi, Cocoph, Quenchan, and Colorado River Indian Tribes expressed their total solidarity and commitment on the following points: 1) President Clinton and Secretary of the Interior Babbitt must reject the land transfer and stop the dump now.; 2) No testing at all on sacred Indian land at Ward Valley., 3) Secretary of the Interior Babbitt must meet face to face with the Tribal leaders and Elders of the Colorado River Native Nations Alliance immediately; please confirm by March 6, 1998; 4) The federal and state government must acknowledge and respect the Tribe's position that Ward Valley is sacred and cannot be desecrated further.; 5) We will continue to occupy our sacred land at Ward Valley and continue to conduct spiritual and religious ceremonies on the land.; 6) The occupation will continue until there is serious and respectful government to government relationship established with those authorized to make decisions and a just resolution of this crisis.; 7) We are dismayed that there is no official word from the Department of the Interior in response to our demands and concerns that were issued on February 13, 1998. "We have not heard any official word from the Department of the Interior on the demands that the Tribes have issued,: said Steve Lopez, spokesperson for the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and the Colorado River Native Nations Alliance. "We hope they stop dragging their feet and start responding to us through proper Nation to Nation policy. We remain firm in our stand in defense of Ward Valley." Save Ward Valley 107 F. St. Needles, CA 92363 -- "Don't booger up your head." Aphorisms (JB) *NEW* NASA's first Native American astronaut,see: http://members.tripod.com/~lenapelady --------- "RE: Peace Camp at Ward Valley" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 15:03:35 -0800 (PST) From: swv1@ctaz.com (Save Ward Valley) Subj: Peace Camp at Ward Valley UUCP email PEACE CAMP AT WARD VALLEY We are at Peace Camp - Saluting the sun as it goes down on our special spot. On this sacred ground We are called protesters, activists and other labels not as nice But we are human beings Who love our Mother - who love each other as we join our energies and make our stand We are blessed We watch a kangaroo rat playing in the sand. The cholla glistens in the morning. A scruffy, dried-up bush hides delicate yellow flowers. We have seen the rain. Storm after storm bringing rain, hail and morning frost and rain, rain, rain. We dig trenches 'round our tents. We dry our clothes when the sun comes out. We shiver in the cold, and huddle close, and thank our higher powers for the fire. The fire never goes out. The BLM evicts us but we do not leave. No heavy hand can stop the run from rising. Weds., February 25, 1998 - The good news come; BLM is gone! BLM has left and Peace Camp remains. See if you can bury nuclear waste in this sacred soil. You - US Ecology, would threaten my grandchildren and your own. You - Pete Wilson, would sell the lives of your constituents for a small amount of money. We will not let you. We stand with Native Tribes and protect you from yourselves. BLM refuses to be your puppet. We sing songs around the fire. The rising sun lights our faces. Weather-worn faces. Tired bodies with loving and courageous hearts. We form a circle with no end or beginning. We talk about the work to come. We talk about our celebration. BLM has gone! Peace Camp remains. Puffy clouds across a blue, blue sky. Fresh new day of life. Smell of breakfast from the kitchen tent. We thank our Mother as we sing our victory song. Pam (a resident of the Ward Valley Village) 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: Cayuga Business Thwarted" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Mar 1998 16:01:40 EST From: Mmcayuga Subj: PRESS RELEASE, TUESDAY, MARCH 10, 1998 UUCP email CAYUGA OWNED & OPERATED BUSINESS TO OPEN IN CAYUGA, NEW YORK THWARTED BY SENECA/CAYUGA COUNTY LAND CLAIM ATTORNEY Plans are underway to open a smoke shop in Cayuga, Town of Aurelius, on 6.3 acres of land recently purchased by the Cayuga Indian Nation of NY to be located at 6029 Route 90. Owner, Michael M. Campbell, Cayuga Indian Nation member, announces that IRO-MEX (pronounced; ear-roh-mex), will be opening soon on this site, bringing tax-free cigarette sales to the area. This will be the first business established on Cayuga Indian lands in over 200 years. A per carton fee will be sent directly to the Cayuga Indian Nation from the distributor, the Oneida Indian Nation of New York. This will allow the Cayuga Indian Nation its first financial income as its people continue to make plans towards relocating in their homeland. No date for the opening of IRO-MEX is available at this time due to the fact the Village of Cayuga has issued a stop work order dated March 6, 1998 signed by Douglas C. Staley, Issuing Inspector. The order states: "Whereas violations of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code No Building Permit or County Septic (hand written on form) have been found on these premises, it is hereby ordered that all persons cease, desist from and STOP WORK at once pertaining to construction, alterations, or repairs on these premises known as On RT 90 Near Manitau Rd 300 yds South Rt 90 (hand written) located at Village of Cayuga Cayuga (hand written) State of New York. All persons acting contrary to this order, removing or mutilating this notice are liable to legal actions. Conversation between Village of Cayuga Mayor Peter Salato, Auburn Sheriff's Department, and the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York have been unsuccessful in reaching a solution to this problem. The Cayuga Indian Nation has been informed by both Mayor Salato and the police that they have been ordered to arrest anyone who continues to work on this site under the direction of William L. Dorr, Esq. of Harris Beach & Wilcox fo Rochester, NY who presently serves as legal counsel for Seneca/Cayuga Counties regarding the 64,000 acre land claim. The Cayuga Indian Nation of New York proclaims it is a sovereign entity and does not require permits and/or permission from New York State to develop its lands. The issuing and enforcement of this Stop Work Order is a direct violation of treaty rights. Such conduct on the part of state officials will directly effect the negotiation process as all parties move towards reaching a conclusion and settlement of the 64,000 acre land claim. In addition, fund raising is presently underway in an effort to raise needed monies to build a longhouse on the 14 acre parcel located at Seneca Falls, NY. Plans are to have the longhouse constructed in early fall of this year. Anyone interested in lending their support to this cause is encouraged to contact the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York and your local government officials. For additional information, please contact the Cayuga Indian Nation of New York Admininstrative Office at (716) 532-3142 *The above press release was issued to local newspapers in the Auburn, Syracuse area. Our mailing address is: Cayuga Indian Nation of New York Chief Frank C. Bonamie PO Box 101 Gowanda, NY 14070-0101 --------- "RE: Innu Leaders Take Common Front" --------- Date: Tue, 03 Mar 1998 10:13:51 -0700 From: Larry Innes Subj: Innu Leaders Take Common Front on Hydro Development Mailing List: Innu People Forum list FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2 March 1998 Innu Leaders Take Common Front on Hydro Development (Sheshatshiu) Innu leaders from Labrador and Quebec met in Sheshatshiu on Friday to discuss the Lower Churchill project and other hydro developments in Innu territory. At the meeting, leaders of both the Innu Nation and Mamit Innuat vowed to take whatever actions were required to ensure Innu rights are respected and protected before any new hydro development talks take place between Newfoundland and Quebec. "We are extremely frustrated with the refusal of the Brian Tobin and Lucien Bouchard to include the Innu in their so-called preliminary discussions about the Lower Churchill project. Premier Tobin has even denied that negotiations are taking place. We are tired of being lied to, tired of being misled, and tired of having our rights ignored", stated Innu Nation Vice-President Daniel Ashini. "The Innu will take whatever actions are necessary to prevent Newfoundland and Quebec from entering into any contracts regarding the Lower Churchill or other hydro developments in our territory without our consent." "Both Premiers have to recognize that Innu interests come first. Any agreements that they have reached are premature, because there will be no hydro-electric development without Innu consent.", stated Guy Bellefluer, the chief negotiator for Mamit Innuat. "This is our common position, and the Premiers can expect a strong, united Innu response if they choose to proceed." The Innu leaders also addressed the issue of compensation from the Upper Churchill. Chief Paul Rich of Sheshatshiu stated: "We were never consulted or even informed about what would happen to our land when Churchill Falls was built, and we have never been compensated for the damage that was done by the flooding. Any discussions about hydroelectric development in Innu territory must include the Innu, and there will be no new projects until the issues of compensation and redress for past damages have been addressed." Newfoundland and Quebec have been in closed negotiations on new hydro developments in Labrador for several months, even though Premier Brian Tobin has denied that talks are talking place. The discussions address the development of the Lower Churchill and the construction of a transmission line to the Island of Newfoundland, as well as the development of other projects on the Quebec North Shore. "Both Provinces need to recognize their responsibilities to the Innu and conclude land rights agreements with the Innu before trying to develop additional hydroelectric projects". concluded Ashini. "But they are living in the past. They can't ignore us any longer. The Supreme Court established in the recent Delgamuuku decision that consultation and compensation with Aboriginal people are fundamental requirements for any development on Aboriginal land. We will not be bulldozed again.", concluded Ashini. FOR MORE INFORMATION: Daniel Ashini 709/497-8398 Guy Bellefleur 418/968-4890 information and background is available on the internet: www.innu.ca Larry Innes Visit the Innu Nation WWW site: Environmental Advisor http://www.innu.ca Innu Nation P.O. Box 119, Sheshatshiu, Labrador, Canada A0P 1M0 phone: (709) 497-8398 email: innuenv@web.net fax: (709) 497-8396 --------- "RE: Innu give Bouchard and Tobin Surprise" --------- Date: Mon, 09 Mar 1998 21:22:20 -0500 From: Subj: INNU GIVE BOUCHARD & TOBIN SURPRISE UUCP email INNU BLOCK BOUCHARD AND TOBIN FROM SIGNING CASNP. 9-Mar-98. Today the Canadian Alliance in Solidarity with the Native Peoples CASNP rejoices with the determined Innu Nation who stopped Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard and Newfoundland Premier Brian Tobin from signing an agreement to develop the Lower Churchill River, which is Innu traditional territory. A crowd of Innu people blocked the vehicle from taking the two premiers to the place where the signing was to take place at 10:00 am Monday, March 9th at Churchill Falls. After hiding out for a while from the Innu, Bouchard and Tobin were secreted away by helicopter and flown to another site for the signing. Unsmiling for the cameras, they looked pale and unhappy that the Innu crashed their party. The Innu titleholders of the land have informed them many times that they should be consulted on whether they want their unceded homelands flooded for another hydro development. Said a source, "Why is it that Quebec and Newfoundland can be publicly so mad at each other and yet sit together side by side cozily planning how they are going to illegally extract Indigenous land and exploit their resources? Why can't they sit with the Indigenous people and discuss this whole thing with them, and maybe ask them for their permission? We hear now they're going to throw few dollars their way. That's not what the Innu want." Innu demonstrators from Labrador and Quebec showed up at Churchill Falls on Monday, March 9, 1998, to peacefully protest this signing by Premiers Tobin and Bourchard of a new proposal to develop the Lower Churchill River. They gave the two premiers a surprise welcome they did not appreciate. Background: The Churchill Falls Hydro Electric Project was completed in 1974 and resulted in the creation of the huge Smallwood reservoir of 6,700 km2, flooding important Innu hunting lands and burial sites. "Substantially all" of the 5500 MW generated at Churchill Falls is committed to Quebec until 2041, and is sold at a fraction of its value. Hydro Quebec resells much of this power to the US for enormous profit, accounting for a large percentage of its total export revenue. Innu Nation President Katie Rich and Vice-President Daniel Ashini can be contacted for English-language interviews. Mamit Innuat spokespersons are available for French-language interviews. Contact: 1-600-700-2789 (satellite phone). --------- "RE: BC Minister on Gustafsen Lake" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Mar 1998 16:36:10 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: BC Minister on Gustafsen Lake :-:-:-:S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty:-:-:-: March 8, 1998 No Copyright; Reproduce Freely NDP MINISTER NAMES RCMP "CENTRAL PLAYER" IN GUSTAFSEN CRISIS BC's NDP Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Andrew Petter named the RCMP the "central player" in the 1995 Gustafsen Lake affair. Petter also deflected responsibility for any public inquiry into the 1995 crisis to the federal government of Canada. "The RCMP was probably the central player," said the BC minister. "The provinces do not have the authority to make Inquiries into the conduct of the RCMP. If there were to be such an inquiry it would come more from the federal government." The Gustafsen issue was raised during a taping for CFUV FM 102, the University of Victoria's radio station, during an interview Thursday regarding tuition funding and appeared to catch the minister off guard. The former Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and current Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs was the first provincial minister to break the silence on the Gustafsen matter and the growing call for a public inquiry. However he avoided the issue of the BC NDP government's central role in the 1995 armed siege of Shuswap traditionalists, the largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history. "I guess I'm just not in a position where I would want to comment. This is a pretty controversial issue. The Attorney General of the Province is closer to it than I am. I don't like to duck questions," said Petter, "but I think at this point I will." Conversely, Solicitor General of Canada Andy Scott, the federal minister responsible for the RCMP, has said that questions regarding Gustafsen Lake should be directed at the province of BC. In a Dec. 5, 1997 reply to a letter which expressed outrage at the Gustafsen affair, Scott wrote, "the administration of justice is within the jurisdiction of provincial governments... These matters do not fall within the jurisdiction of the Solicitor General of Canada." *GUSTAFSEN LAKE WAS AN INTERNATIONAL DISGRACE*DEMAND A PUBLIC INQUIRY NOW* Prime Minister Jean Chretien: Room 309-S Centre Block, House of Commons, Ottawa, Ont. K1A OA6 Canada Phone: (613) 992-4211 Fax: (613) 941-6900 Faxing by email: remote-printer.Jean_Chretien@16139416900.iddd.tpc.int BC Premier Glen Clark: Room 156 Parliament Buildings, Victoria, BC V8V 1X4 Canada Phone: (250) 380-6506 Fax: (250) 387-0087 Email: premier@gov.bc.ca For more information on Gustafsen Lake, visit: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/gustmain.html :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html --------- "RE: Wal-Mart" --------- Date: Sat, 07 Mar 1998 07:21:40 From: TN AIM Subj: Wal-Mart UUCP email This week, 3/7/98, we learned that 35 graves have been located. 12 removals have been completed and rumor has it a 'giant' was found! This individual's stone box is said to be three times the average size. However, these 35 located graves are from the top layer of a mound said not to exist. Further, we learned that this mound now extends about a quarter mile to the creek site originally pled in the court hearing. It would now appear that there could be hundreds of graves removed! The US has declared war, the war on drugs. Our understanding is that during a time of war the non-compliance with an Executive Order is considered a treasonous act. Would not Tennessees' refusal to comply with Executive Order 13007, Indian Sacred sites then be considered a treasonous act? SEAL http://www.darkstartechnologies.com/seals/Wal-Mart.html --------- "RE: Hawaii Amended Petition Notice" --------- Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 22:20:33 -1000 From: Hawaii Nation Info Subj: Amended Petition Notice and Statement (fwd) ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Fri, 6 Mar 1998 17:55:41 -1000 From: hookele@hookele.com Mailing List: Hawaii Nation Info Aloha, The Office of Regent, pro tempore, wishes to provide the following Notice and Statement to the KMA community. We ask in support of the Amended Petition that you forward this e-mail to other friend and allies who are not on the list, including parties in Hawai`i, the United States and around the world. We also encourage you to cut and paste this file, print it out, and mail or fax it to any parties you believe would be interested in receiving it. The Public Notification, including the contact points, is designed to fit on two pages or a single page front and back, and the attached Statement fits on one page. Please center the non-indented lines, which are the title headings. Our office is handling the release to the news media. If there is any publication that you feel should receive these documents, please inform us at the contact points referenced at the end of the Press Release. Regent, pro tempore, David Keanu Sai, Professor Francis Boyle, and their staffs and associates are presently preparing the case in anticipation of the Supreme Court scheduling the first Hearing for Case no. 97-969. A website focused on these activities and the legal process of restoring the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom is nearing completion. An announcement of the website with another update will be made when the site is finished and released for public release. This will occur some time prior to the March 23 response by the Court. We are also actively raising funds to support the costs of the growing legal services team and related activities such as document and videotape publishing, the outreach network, computer equipment and the staging of upcoming events. Please have anyone interested in this regard contact the Office of the Regent at the contact points below. We welcome all support as a means to restore our Country. Mahalo, Kau`i P. Goodhue, Aide to the Regent, pro tempore ENC: 2 Page Public Notice, 1 Page Statement by the Regent, pro tempore. Address replies to: The Office of the Regent, pro tempore The Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom 850 Richards Street, Suite 600A, Honolulu, Hawai`i, 96813 Phone: (808) 538-3997 and Fax: (808) 526-1991 E-mail: regenthk@lava.net, cc: hookele@hookele.com. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ~ A Public Notification Document ~ from The Office of the Regent, pro tempore The Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom on March 6, 1998 regarding: "The U.S. Supreme Court will meet a third time to arrive at a decision regarding the "Petition for Writ of Mandamus," docket no. 97-969, concerning the reassertion of the legal and rightful existence of the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom." "Puerto Rico is now being offered an option to choose independence; why was Hawai`i denied this option one hundred years ago this July 7, 1998?" On December 11, 1997, a Petition for Writ of Mandamus (Petition) was docketed in the Supreme Court of the United States as case no. 97-969, by David Keanu Sai, Regent, pro tempore (Petitioner), of the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom. That pursuant to the rules set forth in the United States Civil Procedure under Title 28, section 1651, United States Code, and in compliance with the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation, signed in 1850, between the Hawaiian Kingdom and the United States of America, the Petition seeks an order by the Court to mandate the President of the United States to "...Acknowledge the treaty obligations of the United States of America as mandated under Article VI, Section 2, United States Constitution... Immediately execute the laws of the Hawaiian Kingdom...require all officers under the government of the State of Hawai`i and its municipal corporations to sign oaths of allegiance to the Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom...guaranty that all Hawaiian laws and Constitutional principles of the Hawaiian Kingdom shall be in force until amended by the legislative council to be hereafter convened...," unless the President or his counsel can oppose the facts stated in the Petition, and show cause why an order by the Court should not be granted to the Petitioner. On January 9th, 1998, one day before its January 10th deadline to respond, the Solicitor General of the United States, Seth P. Waxman, the United States' top lawyer, on behalf of the Office of the Chief Executive, filed a "waiver" with the U.S. Supreme Court in response to the Petition, thereby waiving the U.S. Government's right to respond to the Petition. Leonard Scheitman, an attorney in the Civil Division of the Solicitor General's Office cited that this was done because the Executive Office was "unable to formulate a response regarding the Petition. When asked to explain the effect of filing a "waiver," Scheitman responded "...it is up to them (Supreme Court) to resolve it, ...then let us know." On February 16, 1998 "A Motion to Amend the Petition for Writ of Mandamus" was filed with the Supreme Court which supplied additional facts strengthening and supporting the original Petition. The Motion to Amend the Petition was initially rejected by Supreme Court Deputy Clerk Francis Lorson, citing that "...there was no rule to amend a petition once the respondent had filed a response." However, the Petitioner in response pointed out to the Deputy Clerk that in accordance with rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a "waiver" does not qualify as a responsive pleading, and as such, the Petitioner has the legal right to amend the original Petition. The Motion to Amend the Petition was thereupon accepted by the Court and placed on the docket. The Amended Petition is scheduled to be reviewed by the Court on March 20, 1998, in a special conference. The results of this special conference will be made public by 10:15 a.m. EST, March 23, 1998. To further substantiate the seriousness and support of the Petition for Writ of Mandamus now before the Supreme Court, George N. Featheran, a private subject of the Hawaiian Kingdom, on February 17, 1998, filed with the Clerk of the Supreme Court over 5,000 signatures from Hawaiian subjects and citizens of the following countries; the Hawaiian Kingdom, the Republic of the United States of America, the Empire of Japan, the Republic of Formosa (Taiwan), the Republic of Korea, the nation of Canada, the Swiss Confederation (Switzerland), the islands referred to as French Polynesia, Rapanui (Easter Island), the nation of New Zealand, the Kingdom of Sweden and the United Kingdom, demanding that the Court hear the Petition. Appended to these signatures were copies of 21,000 signatures of Hawaiian subjects and resident aliens of the Hawaiian Kingdom acquired from the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. These signatures were filed by the signatories in 1897 with the U.S. Senate as a protest against the attempted annexation of the Hawaiian Islands by the United States. Due to their efforts, the Treaty of Annexation of 1897 failed to receive the required 2/3's majority vote by the U.S. Senate and therefore, it was nullified. On the weekend of February 20, 1998, and again on the weekend of February 27, the Petition went before the nine Justices of the Supreme Court for review and discussion without their being able to render a decision or response. Francis Anthony Boyle, a Professor of Law at the University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, is serving as the legal advisor of record to the Petitioner on case no. 97-969. Professor Boyle supports the Petitioner David Keanu Sai's position of representing himself and the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom in pro se, in order to protect the authentic nature of the representation of the case. Professor Boyle, a Harvard JD/ Ph.D. in International Law and the author of several books on the subject, has in the past served in such roles as Lawyer for the President of Bosnia/Herzegovina before the International Court of Justice and advised Palestine in the successful declaration and development of their independent nation state. In his support of the Petition, Boyle has stressed the ability of the power of the law to overrule public opinion, and that the restoration of the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom, operating under its own laws, provides a legally defensible foundation upon which Hawaiians can use the law to restore their rights and assets. According to Boyle: "This is a real case of David against Goliath. The fact that the United States Supreme Court would meet on three separate occasions to consider his Amended Petition disproves the canard put out by legal apologists for the State of Hawaii government that Mr. Sai's Petition is without merit. Certainly, if we were arguing this case before the International Court of Justice, we would win. In these original jurisdiction proceedings, the United States Supreme Court is supposed to be sitting as an international court administering the law of nations; that is international law. If the Justices on the Supreme Court continue to perform their examination of Mr. Sai's Amended Petition in a fair and conscientious manner, as they have done so far, we should be able to get a formal Hearing before the Court on Mr. Sai's claims. That will be a major step towards the restoration of the Independent Nation State of the Kingdom of Hawaii that was illegally stolen from the Native Hawaiian People by the Executive Branch of the United States government with the approval of the United States Congress. We are all hopeful that the Third Branch established under the United States Constitution--the United States Supreme Court itself --will do the right thing for the Native Hawaiians and the Kingdom of Hawai`i. Aloha." The Petitioner can be reached at: The Office of the Regent, pro tempore, The Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom, 850 Richards Street, Suite 600A, Honolulu, Hawai`i, 96813. Phone: (808) 538-3997, Fax: (808) 526-1991, and E-mail: regenthk@lava.net, cc: hookele@hookele.com. Professor Francis A. Boyle can be reached at: UIUC Law Building, 504 E. Pennsylvania Ave. Champaign, Ill. 61820, Phone: 217-333-7954, Fax: 217-244-1478, E-mail: fboyle@law.uiuc.edu +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ David Keanu Sai, Regent, pro tempore of the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom, has prepared the following additional statement regarding the Amended Petition: "The United States' purported annexation of Hawai`i rests solely on Joint Resolution no. 55, enacted on July 7, 1898. This resolution is an internal piece of U.S. legislation. Its force and effect still today ends at the territorial borders of the United States. The jurisdiction of U.S. law did not then and does not now extend two thousand-five hundred miles across the Pacific Ocean just because the U.S. Congress says that it does. By comparison, the U.S. Government cannot now annex any foreign country by passing internal legislation, just as it could not legally do so in 1898. So why is it that we now see the United States considering annexing Puerto Rico as a state, and Puerto Rico, according to International Law, is provided the option of independence, while this option, on multiple instances, was denied the Hawaiian people? A joint resolution is not a Treaty. The Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation of 1850 between the Hawaiian Kingdom and the United States was never terminated. It therefore legally remains in force to this day. U.S. Public Law 103-150, the "Apology Bill," was signed into law by President Clinton in October, 1993. In the St. Thomas Law Review, Professor Boyle accounted in detail how the overthrow of the Hawaiian Constitutional Government was "illegal." This is why the U.S. was compelled by its conscience to offer this formal apology as an act of law. Lodging the Petition for Writ of Mandamus in the Supreme Court provides Hawaiian subjects with the opportunity to demonstrate these facts according to the law before the scrutiny of the international community, a community which features many countries having relationships with the United States based on similar treaties. We can all rest assured that none of these nations would be willing to consider the possibility of any other country annexing them by merely passing an internal resolution. The Office of the Regent in forming this Amended Petition is intent on using the law to restore the Constitutional Government of the Hawaiian Kingdom to an operational status. This will be done irrespective of the positive or negative outcome of the Supreme Court deliberations. We intend to restore and operate this government in order to reform it to a contemporary state of vigor in a manner compliant with the provisions to do so in accordance with our own laws and the law of nations. This will be done through such activities as the reinstating of our Electorate and the re-convening of the Hawaiian House of Representatives. In terms of reflecting on the viability of our efforts to achieve our just objectives, we invite all parties to consider why it is that the statue of Justice atop the U.S. Supreme Court is blindfolded. The law is supposed to be objective, and therefore, unaffected by public opinion, however well funded and historically entrenched that opinion may be. The law, if it is understood and intelligently and diligently exercised, provides a viable path for the remedies of restitution and a guaranteed process for the review and deliberation of the unjust and destructive actions perpetrated on all Hawaiian subjects and their descendants over the last century. Once the remedy is understood, according to the law, the transition can begin. Hawaiian Kingdom Law is the foundation upon which the future for both native and non-native subjects, can be made secure and safe. An independent Hawai`i, for many reasons, will be far more vibrant than the failing economy of the State of Hawai`i. Balance and harmony are better for the mainstay of the tourism industry, better for our beloved lands, our aina, and for the spirit. Harmony rather than discord speaks more invitingly to international commerce. Most people in Hawai`i knew the day would come when this longstanding issue would be deliberated at the appropriate levels and resolved once and for all. We knew this because the scope of the struggle and injustices associated with this situation are so immense, so unreasonable and so unnecessary, that it is only logical that what was made wrong, will at some point have to be made right. That day has now come." --- end forwarded text ___________________________________________________________ | Hawai`i - Independent & Sovereign | | info@hawaii-nation.org http://hawaii-nation.org | |___________________________________________________________| "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep- seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." - Queen Lili`uokalani --------- "RE: Clothing Drive" --------- Date: Wed, 04 Mar 1998 09:50:06 -0500 From: Rebecca Durbin Subj: news letter article.. UUCP email heya can you please put this in your newspaper? CLOTHING DRIVE: Native American Student Association at The University of Toledo is currently collecting any clothing for a clothing drive to send to various reservations. So far we have sent tons of clothing to Pine Ridge Reservation. If anyone has any donations they would liek to contribute towards our drive please reach me either by email,or reach us by mail. Here is my email address:rdurbin@uoft02.utoledo.edu NASA's Mailing Address is: Native American Student Association The University of Toledo 2801 W. Bancroft The Student Union Building Box147 Toledo,Ohio 43606 *Please no ripped or torn clothing,only good clothing* Please visit our website at:http://www.geocities.com/CollegePark/Campus/3600/utoledo2.html wopida ni'ye koda, Rebecca M.Durbin (vice-president & Founder of Native American Student Association) --------- "RE: Reply to J. C. York Letter" --------- From: "mel rasmussen" Date: Mon, 9 Mar 1998 15:38:07 -0700 Subj: Reply to J.C. York letter to the editor UUCP email Mr. Gary Night Owl: Here is a letter to the editor for you. Mel Rasmussen aka, Ask Your Grandpa Letter to the Editor: Boozhoo, NiiJii: Recently, I was reading your rag and came across the comments written by a J.C. York. It struck me as interesting that someone would find fault with your approach to journalism. Having written a few articles myself, I felt it is imperative to respond to his, in my opinion, attack upon your credibility. The first point is in the viewing of all information. If parties refuse to respond to an issue then you will only have one side. There are enough other rags out there who espouse the dogma of the times and work hard at taking down and belittling the views of the Indigenous survivors in this land we call "Turtle Island." Your approach is correct as it allows all to voice their views. So it is when we sit in council and discuss an issue. The circle is filled and all who have something to speak are given that right as it is the right of being a human being. All will be heard before there is concenus on an issue. Such it is with your paper. Never lose sight of this, continue with your format and give the people the vehicle to speak from their hearts. The second point forgotten by J.C. York is the view of perspectives. There are many perspective to this world. If you only view an object in the center of a circle form one point, you will have a limited view of what this object is. You have to move all around the circle throughout the 360 degrees of its existence to view the object in its entirety to understand it. Without this view, there is the limiting view of the current view of the world by most of its inhabitants. It is one that is linear, analytical, and limiting in nature. It does not allow for the views of others, and will suppress, destroy, and eliminate all who question the prevailing mind-set of society. It does not allow room for knowledge or for a people who follow the nature of the world and how it is viewed. Kind of smacks of "Manifest Destiny", doesn't it. Let's keep those dirty ole' blanket asses on their rez's and just forget about them. WRONG!! We are still here as a people and now the dominant society is realizing that there is something to offer from the Nations who were here first. The third point that must be looked at is the one concerning the "traditions and practices of various nations and the bizarre amalgamation of generic 'Indian' practices which characterize so called 'New Age Philosophy'". This is a bug-a-boo in many ways and should not be overlooked lightly as it concerns many traditions and tribes, both here on Turtle Island" and abroad. It is part of a malaise that affect society and more specifically the Chamokaman. It is a part of cultural diversity and influences all aspects of life. It is inter-connected. I have written about this issue and think you should hear it now. "Cultural diversity is a hard thing to address in the ten second society who has been spoon fed with the stories of Daniel Boone, Natty Bumbo, or Red Ryder and Little Beaver. A perfect example of this type of understanding was pictured in a cartoon recently. It showed a white tourist, talking to a drum group at a pow wow. The caption stated, "Gee, that was great, but do you know any Johnny Mathis tunes?" Perhaps we are stuck with the age old idea that all of our products are art and not anything else. Perhaps we must be forced into those confines for the sake of convenience in the world of the ten second sound bite. But regardless of the direction, whether it be a lower case native American from lower Manhattan or a up0per case Native American from the world. The letters are all the same. Maybe we can learn from this lesson that we need the letters and the words in order to teach one another. We all march to different drums. But the bottom line is this. Yes, we are all related. These articles are an example of a societal breakdown of ethics, responsibility, and understanding. The resulting turmoil with today's society is directly related to this point of view and way of life. The breakdown of society's mores' is based upon this individualism, materialism, and centralization of control and power. The lack of concern of the natural order of community and its concenus of thought and understanding has been damaging to the nation's, no, the world's overall psyche. In essence, the dominant society has lost its ability to center and focus. It is adrift on the sea of time. The dominant society with its set socio-economic order has lost touch with its roots. It has lost touch with its own purpose of creation and birth, yet alone its beginnings. It has given its spirit to an unnatural way of life that is linear and materialistic in nature. Two such examples are the points of religion and its interpretations and the gathering of wealth. It has been touched upon briefly but must be expanded within the context of the understanding of community and self. But first let us digress to this point of being centered and in balance. It must first come from within one's self. It must come from the heart. Without this balance it is impossible to see the forest for the trees. Balance comes from many parts. We come from two parts that must be in balance. One is our female half given to us by our mothers. The second half is our male part, given to us by our father. Each half when it comes together to give us life, must be in balance. Without balance, we are out of touch, out of sequence, out of phase, or more succinctly, not wrapped to tight. We are given this balance in the beginning. But for some reason or another, the current social standards, education, and existing linear way of life, changes, impacts our learning, knowledge, and the life force direction. People become all screwed up because of these influences. If you have too much male energy, or as my lady says, testosterone energy, you become Joe Jock. On the other hand, if you have too much female energy, you become Sister Mary Butch. Ya gots to have balance! Even jocks got to learn to eat Quiche and to sew too. Yet alone learn to be able to have feelings and to cry also. Even females have to be able to stand up and have a pair that clank. Without this balance you cannot become whole and understand ourselves or the world around us. When the individual is able to look within themselves and find this balance they will be able to perceive and understand all of the teachings and gifts that have been place in front of them. Both the good and the bad. Or the dark and the light, as it is described by some. There is a dual existence of knowledge. It is the choice of the individual to delve into whatever stuff he or she wants. But let it be known that if you do mess with the dark stuff, it will take your spirit and destroy you. Take your choice. Whatever you do will be on your karma. All we can do is offer you the teachings and the knowledge. Do as you will, but let it not harm others. This extension of the two parts of balance is further seen when you bring it into relationship. When a couple forms a bond it must be with harmony and conjunction. In other words, both parts must complement and fit together completely. Without this balance and meshing of their spirits, minds, and bodies, there is disharmony. This balance extends from personal self, to couples, to families, and to communities. It is all pervasive in the world. The days of the good ole' boys, the macho man, mano y mano, macho-woman, femo-man, femo-woman, gay bashing, lesbian gashing, anti-feminism, anti- machoism, anti-woman, anti-man, anti- kids, anti-parents, anti-anything are unacceptable. We cannot continue with this way of life. It is too deadly to the natural order of life as it creates a disjunctive spirit, mind, and body. it is very deadly to the community and its way of life. This dysfunctional malaise and lack of balance and by extension, a breakdown of beliefs, is a major cause of the chaos within today's society. People have lost their ability to co communicate with their Creator. Call him God, Allah, Jahwah, Jesus Christ, Gaia, or whatever, it has been given to someone else to handle. The dominant society has lost their ability to talk and communicate with their Creator. They have lost their telephone up-down link to their god. Imagine that in today's society of mass communications and sophisticated telecommunications. I guess cellular phones don't cut it anymore. This function was given to the priests, rabbis, ministers, popes, and bishops who now dictate what is correct and proper. People go to their churches once a week for an hour and go out and sin like hell after that. They have given their time to their Creator and now it is time to go party and make money for their material existence. This is the pattern of the religions that were brought to Turtle Island. These religions are foreign here and their use here was not checked out nor approved by the ancestors and spirits of this land. Its existence here is in direct conflict with the ways of Turtle Island and its inhabitants. This conflict is the subject of many books and stories. The legacy of today's society is wrought with the destruction of this country's inhabitants. The exiting thing about this move to dominate and destroy this way of life is that it didn't succeed. After some five hundred years of domination and trying to subjugate, exterminate, assimilate, and destroy the heathen godless savage, we still exist. Now the times have seemed to change for the First Nations. There is a driving force by the dominant society to seek out and find their roots and walk in a good way. People in this dominant society seem to be lost and wandering around. There has been a burst in the New Age Yuppie syndrome of exploring for what is lost. "Let's find a quick fix!!" Whether it be from the likes of the PTL Club on one end of the spectrum to Reverend Ike on the other end, People are becoming IOWAN's in a big way. Oh yes, the definition for IOWA is, "Idiots Out Wandering Around." In Injun Country we are seeing these individuals, the crystal toters showing up at our pow-wows, ceremonies, sun dances, sweat lodges, and sacred sites across the land. They are looking for the instant fix and gratification of their self identity and lost ways. The same is true of the increase in the new-age search for self and the exploration of the older pagan religions of their world. The word pagan should not be viewed with the negative context as the Christian mind-set and its controlling influences would have one believe. When viewed from their true roots, it is evident to see their religious practices and beliefs were based on earth based philosophy and cosmology. You have to find your roots first. However, the true problem comes when the new-agers start mixing traditions and confusing their paths with the bells and spells approach of Magick. This is an unacceptable quick fix that endangers the very spirit of the individual who dabbles with this knowledge. It will take their spirit and destroy them. There are people who cast these spells and open doors that are best left untouched. They do it because the knowledge for this is written and practiced by some. Once these doors are open, they don't know how to close it or just don't give a damn if they6 do or not. When this occurs, things are brought out and the damage starts. We see the same activities with the Chamokaman when he misuses our ceremonies and teachings. We see the problems and destruction that occurs from the misuses of our sacreds and practices. When it happens, it becomes the problem of our community, as a whole, to clean up the mess. This gets a little old with time, so there is a certain validity to the mistrust and suspicion of the Chamokaman coming to our ceremonies seeking and demanding answers. In some instances, it is down right hilarious and pitiful. The saddest part is the books, charms, classes, giving of names for money, ceremonies and inductions for money, and the false hope for finding one's true inner self by buying this garbage. I don't know where to draw the line anymore. It has become a big business and is out of control Something is going to fall down soon and I sure as hell don't want to be underneath or near it when it splatters out across the world. But I suppose drum making classes with Bobby Jo Running Bear, Hare Krishna, Crystal Mo-Jo, Rainbow Warrior, Seneca Rainbow Wolf Clan, Tsalagi Dance of Life, spell casting, and going skyclad are your gig then go for it and do it. You all missed the boat. You are locked up in ritual and bells and spells and have not looked into your hearts and at the world around you. I get real tired when I hear that some Chamoke says he is going to have a sweat lodge and he was given this right to run it because he read the books and sat in circle with Running Fool of the Fugawe tribe, who was the 32nd degree grand poobah of the Rainbow Nation. Give me a break, people. I think your elevator doesn't quite go all the way to the top floor. If it even gets off the first floor, you're lucky. Here is a true story about this kind of individual. I was talking to a friend of mine who was at a Sundance in South Dakota recently. He told that he had run into a group of Chamoke's who were bragging about this being their fifth Sundance they had been to that summer.