From gars@netcom.com Tue Jul 7 23:33:48 1998 Date: Tue, 7 Jul 1998 18:55:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.028 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 028 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, July 11, 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 Triballaw & Nat-Film Lists; NU Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; Info Hawai'i; UUCP email; Newsgroup: alt.native Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. 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. "The white man, through his insensitivity to the way of Nature, has desecrated the face of Mother Earth. The white man's advanced technological capacity has occurred as a result of his lack of regard for the Spiritual path and for the way of all living things. The white man's desire for material possessions and power has blinded him to the pain he has caused Mother Earth by his quest for what he calls natural resources. And the path of the Great Spirit has become difficult to see by almost all men, even by many Indians who have chosen instead to follow the white man." __ Thomas Banyacya, Hopi +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! The quote in this issue is particularly appropriate considering recent events. You may recall the Hopi Council fought very hard for control of Black Mesa so it could then sell mineral rights to Peabody Coal. As the lead article points out, Peabody Coal has rewarded this gift by flooding a Sacred Kiva. I cannot speak clearer than did my half-side, Janet, who was discussing this situation with a friend and made the following remarks: > I wonder if the Hopi Council and the Hopi who support them remain quite > so pleased with their decision to evict the Navajo and collaborate with > the U.S. government and Peabody in their mining. After all, the Kiva is > their Sacred place, and the Anasazi their ancestors. This may bring home > to them a lesson Gary and I were talking about earlier today. They > perhaps should have been more careful what they wished for. They got it, > and I'm sure there were some rewards, but I suspect this consequence was > totally unanticipated. They also perhaps have been reminded of another > lesson that I know the Cherokee teach and it's probably said in some way > in their own culture -- that which you do to others comes back to you > seven times. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Last week I printed, without comment, a letter from Deb Huglin which questioned my list of reasons why Native People have reason not to be too secure in the wisdom of the dominant European culture. Deb made some good points and I felt it only fair to let her words stand, unchallenged. For some reason Deb apparently felt I was attacking people of European descent. This is absolutely not the case. The power hungry, greedy ways of the dominant society imported here by Europeans is that which I attack, and do so without regret. I will share two other responses. The first is from Mark Vosburgh. It says much the same as I heard from a few others. Just want to comment about the one person who responded to a statement you were supposed to have made regarding the inability of non-Indian people to understand our plight and our defense of ourselves. I don't know what world she was raised in, but I don't think she grew up in this one. I don't claim to be an expert on this, but everything I see around me screams of a government that systematically abuses all of it's minorities' rights, and a non-Indian population that doesn't have a clue as to what is going on in Indian America, or cares. While I will grant her that there are millions of us who carry Indian blood, carrying the blood and dedicating yourself to honoring your ancestors by helping your brothers and sisters are two completely different things. She sounds like she is more interested in bragging to the world that she's "Indian" than she is in living up to the responsibility that goes along with it. Walk in Peace, Mark This past week my teacher shared the following response to Deb's letter: Deb states she is not extinct. This is good. I am very happy she is not. But for the over 300 tribes who are *and probably more that we don't know of*, those people are. With only 20 Osages left (and ten of those declared incompetent) that tribe too, shall shortly be "extinct". I think of those 4,000 graves, not so far from you Gary, who hold the dust of peoples long forgotten, now extinct. No, not all people are "bad" nor are all people "forgiving". But the fact is that legal extermination is occurring today and those who do not see, nor understand that, need not worry who is the bad or good guy in life, simply look at those who are promoting the legal genocide of our people and it will speak loudly to them. We are getting back bones of our ancestors from museums now. Bones of those we have no idea of their names or clan. People who had heads cut off by Army surgeons for research not so very long ago...a hundred years. We had people sterilized without knowledge or consent, thus stopping bloodlines for future generations....not so long ago...just a couple of decades ago. We have a higher rate of infant mortality and suicides than any other people. This is today. There is more than one way to exterminate nations, make people extinct. That is what we should be concerned about, and stop those people, regardless of skin color, from destroying all of our nations as is happening now. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= The language project I have started is moving very slowly, but it is moving. The need for this is a thing I truly believe. Without language a culture dies. What is said in any language seldom translates literally to another. It, at best, approximates the meaning. Our languages are dying. Our cultures will not linger long without our own words to describe the events in our lives, the ways passed down by our ancestors and our prophecies. I am collecting language resource information. Please send me all information each of you have regarding language resources. This should include all written teachings including dictionaries, grammar books and stories. Include all audio and video resources. Include the source, how it is distributed, the publisher, ISBN or other catalogue information that might be known. Include cost and current availability if you have it. Finally, include _your_ opinion. Is it good, bad, indifferent? I will keep this information, by language/nation and make what I have available to any who request it. Send what you can via email to gars@netcom.com You may also send info via snail mail to P O Box 672168. Marietta GA 30006. 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 ---------- - Peabody Coal Destroys Kiva - Navajos Oppose Snowbowl Expansion - California Indian Gaming Victory - Tribal Land Transfers Expected - Ontario Withdraws - Big Mountain Sundance 1993 Temagami Offer - Land Deal Rebuffed - La Raza Press Release - Demise of the Old Ways - Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou - Native Wisdom/The Circle - State of Law or State of Impunity - Eight Northern Indian Pueblos - Mohawks in Quebec - Leonard Needs Help - Ward Valley Opposition Increases - Peltier Strategy Meeting Report - Residential Schools - July 1st Peltier Statement Violated UN Law - Native Prisoner - Grand Raise for Grand Chief - A Hundred Years Ago - UN Could Find Canada - Poem: Blanket Weave Guilty of Genocide - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Nebraska NAGPRA Alert - Conferences and Powwows --------- "RE: Peabody Coal Destroys Kiva" --------- Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 19:15:41 EDT From: Robert Dorman Subj: Peabody Coal destroys Kiva Mailing List: Big Mountain List RAPID RESPONSE-Peabody Coal destroys Kiva containing 28 ancient Anasazi burials Please help us get out this Urgent Alert Call for Rapid Response letters and witnesses to travel to Black Mesa Arizona. Peabody Coal Company destroys a Kiva containing 28 ancient Anasazi burial remains We urge individuals and organizations to send this rapid response letter and share it with your friends and networks. It is crucial that the Dineh-UN investigation is supported by individuals, organizations and the international Non Governmental Organization (NGO) community. In September, 1998, Mr. Amor, the UN investigator of the UN Commission on Human Rights will be presenting his report on the US to the General Assembly. But in flagrant disregard of the UN investigation and US law, the US Department of Interior's Office of Surface Mining (OSM) has allowed Peabody Coal Company to begin construction on Hopi Partition Land (HPL), an area in which a 20-year moratorium was in place and prior to a permit approval being granted. Residents living inside the proposed expansion area are being harassed, intimidated and pressured to relocate. They continue to be denied any participation in the permit review process and are unable to protect their homes, cemeteries and sacred sites from industrial activities. A Kiva (Indigenous Church or Synagogue) containing 28 ancient Anasazi burial remains was just destroyed by Peabody Coal Company. Please help the Dineh protect their land by documenting your support of the Dineh peoples' human rights. Please send a letter/fax to each of the following and copy SDN NY Support Group either by US mail or E-mail. We are also asking for human rights observers to travel to Black Mesa to support the elders. Ms. Elsa Stamatopoulou-Robbins, Representative for the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for: Ms. Mary Robinson, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Mr. Abdelfattah Amor, Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, UN Commission on Human Rights Room 2914, Secretariat, UN Headquarters New York, NY 10017 Fax: (212) 963-4097 Phone: (212) 963-5930 AND Professor Saul Mendlovitz, Tribunal Chair and Dr. Clarence Dias, Advisor The International Peoples Tribunal on Human Rights and the Environment 475 Riverside Drive, Room 246 New York, NY 10017 Fax: (212) 870-2392 Phone: (212) 870-2391 AND Mr. Willis L. Gainer, Director Albuquerque Field Office U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Surface Mining (OSM) 595 Marquette Avenue Suite 1200 Albuquerque, NM 87102 Fax: (505) 248-5081=09 Phone: (505) 248-5096 Dear Ms. Stamatopoulou-Robbins, Ms. Robinson, Mr. Amor, Professor Mendlovitz, Dr. Dias, and Mr. Gainer: We believe that the UN Commission on Human Rights and the US government must urgently address the destruction of Dineh (Navajo) lands before it is too late. The Dineh, many of them elderly, do not speak, read or write English, and are denied any right to protect their homes, cemeteries, and sacred sites. The Dineh people have been denied any legitimate participation and redress to those affected. Living in the shadow of Peabody Coal Company, for over 3 decades, they have been denied all services, including electricity and access to water. We are concerned that their culture and human rights are being sacrificed in order to provide short-term profits for a non-sustainable industry that also threatens the regional and global environment. Their sacred land, estimated to contain 21 billion tons of coal within 6 feet of the surface is being destroyed by industrial activities. The Dineh demonstrate the abuse suffered by Indigenous peoples living in communities that are directly affected by mining operations. It was the intent of the Surface Mining Coal Reclamation Act (SMCRA), that no government-sponsored coal mine could evict people. However, in reality, Indigenous people are not afforded this protection because they are treated as tenants at the will of their tribal council governments, whose continuation is dependent upon coal mining revenues. Such policies as they are presently applied allows tribal councils to evict people and Peabody Coal Company to destroy burial sites at a minute's notice if their presence impedes mining operations. The granting of land title to the tribal councils rather than to the homeowner denies the rights of people living in a mining permit area. Currently, the Hopi Tribal Council is in the process of granting approval of a mining permit on HPL in spite of the moratorium. And Peabody, in flagrant disregard of the law, began construction on HPL prior to OSM's approval of the mining permit. OSM must immediately demand that Peabody Coal Company cease all new construction until the permit approval process is completed, first allowing directly affected residents to participate in the permit review process. OSM must cite Peabody for all applicable violations of federal law including the destruction of a Kiva containing 28 ancient Anasazi human remains. The desecration of Dineh cemeteries must stop! Peace Brigades International (PBI) visited the traditional Dineh and Hopi people. In their June 1997 report they state: "The Dineh believe that the Hopi Tribal Council, once it has secured the right to the land, intends to lease it to mining companies, even though the Tribal Council points out that they have had in place a 20-year moratorium on all mining on Hopi lands. We believe that the UN should cite the US for human rights violations against the Dineh and pressure the US to recognize and respect the Dineh peoples' right to protect their homes, cemeteries, sacred sites and ancestral lands. The preservation of the Dineh land-base is essential to the existence and perpetuation of their tribal society and culture. The land, which they regard as sacred must be protected. Sincerely yours, cc: SDN NY Support Group, 231 Frost Street # 2L, Brooklyn, NY 11211 E-mail: sdnation@earthlink.net=09 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To unsubscribe, email redorman@theofficenet.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded message, you may subscribe by emailing redorman@theofficenet.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html Also, for great internet tools please visit: http://www.msw.com.au/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=1271 --------- "RE: California Indian Gaming Victory" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 02:58:45 -0700 (PDT) From: randrade@sprynet.com Subj: California Indian Gaming victory Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) This is the latest from the California Courts regarding Indian gaming. The defeat of Wilson while not a total victory at least splashed mud on his white sheets. Ron Andrade Friday, June 26, 1998 Judge Rules Wilson Can't Regulate Casinos Gambling: Decision says Legislature must ratify compacts between the state and tribes. Meanwhile, lawmakers are wrestling with a bill, whose fate is uncertain. By TOM GORMAN, Times Staff Writer In a ruling that places state legislators squarely in the middle of the pitched debate over casinos on California's Indian reservations, a judge ruled Thursday that Gov. Pete Wilson does not have unilateral power to regulate tribal gambling in the state. Although Wilson has the authority to negotiate agreements governing the operation of Indian casinos--as he did with the Pala Indians in March--so- called compacts between the state and tribes must be ratified by the Legislature, the judge ruled. The decision, by Superior Court Judge Lloyd G. Connelly in Sacramento, came in a lawsuit filed by five state lawmakers. They argued that Wilson was usurping their authority by signing the Pala compact without their ratification. Connelly agreed, saying regulation of Indian casinos is beyond the governor's reach and a matter of state policy requiring legislative review. Wilson had maintained that he has the power, as the state's chief executive, to negotiate and execute compacts allowing Indian casinos. But to cover his bet, his administration has promoted a bill that is intended to nonetheless give legislative blessing to the controversial Pala compact. The state Senate has approved the bill, but the chances of it passing an Assembly vote in the coming week are still uncertain. "We disagree with the court's ruling but we don't think it will have any practical consequence since, from the start, we decided to seek legislative ratification of the compact," said Dan Kolkey, Wilson's legal affairs advisor. "We will continue to negotiate other tribal-state compacts and seek legislative ratification of them." Nevertheless, Kolkey added, Wilson also plans to appeal the judge's decision. Kolkey scolded the many tribes that continue to operate casinos with gambling machines that Wilson deems illegal, while at the same time "vigorously lobbying to kill a bill that would ratify" a compact. The gaming devices commonly used at Indian casinos are considered illegal by Wilson--and U.S. attorneys in California--because they employ characteristics of Nevada-style slot machines, which are banned in California. The Pala compact has been roundly criticized by some Democratic and Republican members of the Assembly's Governmental Organization Committee, which can refuse to send it to the Assembly floor for ratification. The bill has been criticized by the tribes that operate the state's largest casinos. They complain that, among other things, the Pala compact unfairly limits the number of gambling machines they can operate--even though they were not party to the negotiations between Pala and Wilson. The compact states that no tribe in California can have more than 975 electronic gambling devices and limits the total number of machines to 19, 900 statewide. Other tribes--including some that now operate more than 1, 000 machines--complain that the cap on the number of games unfairly restricts the potential income that their casinos can generate. The Assembly committee, which was unable to muster enough support Monday to put the Pala compact to a vote, has scheduled a vote for Monday. Some committee members said there still are not enough votes to approve the compact. Committee member Jim Battin (R-La Quinta), who has steadfastly opposed the bill and was one of the lawmakers who sued Wilson, said politicians are frustrated that they cannot amend the Pala compact to better suit the complaining tribes, but rather can only accept or reject the terms negotiated by Wilson. Battin said he didn't find fault in Wilson's role as negotiator--but said that is where his authority ends. "As the executive officer of the state, he is the one to negotiate matters between one sovereign and another--the state and a tribe," Battin said. "But while he can make the deal, it takes the Legislature to approve it." Another committee member, Joe Baca (D-Rialto), said he opposes the Pala compact because it attempts to dictate terms affecting the tribes in the state. He suggested that a compact more to everyone's liking could have been negotiated if one or more legislators had sat at the table with the governor and the Pala tribe. "We all need to be at the table to come up with a compact that's fair to everyone," Baca said. State Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles), another Pala compact opponent, said he expects legislators to avoid the ratification issue altogether and defer to the outcome of a November ballot measure sponsored by gambling tribes to win voter approval of the types of gambling now available in their casinos. That initiative, which promises to pit the big money of Indian casinos against that of Las Vegas casinos, who fear its passage would cut into their business, calls for allowing the kind of gambling that exists in California without the government's blessing. "Ultimately, we need to get [the issue] out of the halls of Sacramento, where everyone has an interest, and let the people decide," said Polanco, who was also one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit resolved Thursday. "The judge's ruling will give politicians the comfort zone to leave it alone so the voters can decide." The attorney for the Pala tribe said the ruling should have no impact on the tribe's plans to open a casino because, all along, the tribe was seeking legislative ratification. "But this puts more pressure on the need for the bill," said the attorney, Howard Dickstein. He said the opposing tribes have nothing to gain by defeating the Pala compact in Sacramento. "Defeat of the bill would deprive the Pala tribe of its ability to conduct gaming, but it has nothing whatever to do with [the other tribes'] ability to continue to conduct un-compacted gaming." Those tribes, he said, still face enforcement action by U.S. attorneys, who have begun various legal procedures to shut down the estimated 14,000 gambling devices statewide that prosecutors, along with Wilson, deem illegal. Thom Mrozek, spokesman for U.S. Atty. Nora Manella in Los Angeles, said her staff "will carefully review the decision to determine what impact, if any, the ruling has on our litigation and enforcement action." He added, "The decision will not affect our basic position that un-compacted gaming is illegal." --------- "RE: Ontario Withdraws 1993 Temagami Offer" --------- Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 03:13:23 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Ontario withdraws 1993 Temagami Offer :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: LAND OFFER OBSOLETE, ONTARIO TELLS NATIVES Globe and Mail, July 1, 1998, Page A4 by James Rusk [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.] Toronto - The Ontario government may finally get back to the negotiating table with the Temagami Indians, but the prospects of an agreement seems little better than when the two sides last talked. The two aboriginal groups involved in the negotiations announced yesterday that they would now accept an agreement in principle that they were offered by the province in 1993. But Doug Carr, the government's chief negotiator, said the 1993 deal is no longer on the table. The announcement coincided with the expiry of a provincial reservation on a 149-square mile block of land on the east side of Lake Temagami, out of which an area under aboriginal control could be carved. Mr. Carr said that the province will now decide whether there are grounds for holding talks with the Temagami and whether to extend the reservation that has been placed on the lands. He said that the province's position will be that it is prepared to meet its obligations under the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that in the case of the Temagami, those obligations have not been met, primarily because a reserve of 100 square miles, surveyed in 1864, was never created. The negotiations to date have had an extremely complicated legal history. In 1973, the Temagami First Nation, a group of about 600 status Indians who now have a one square mile reserve on Bear Island in Lake Temagami, registered legal claims against 4, 000 square miles in 110 townships in the area in an attempt to forward their treaty claims. In 1990, under a Liberal government, a treaty of coexistence was negotiated between the province and the Teme Augama Anishnabai, a group that represents about 2, 000 native people, including the status Indians of the Bear Island Reserve ands the non-status Ojibwa descendants of the Teme Augama - Deep Water People. In 1993, the NDP government signed an agreement in principle with the TAA that would have put 115 square miles of territory under aboriginal control, put another 500 square miles under a stewardship body, and created a $15 million trust fund. While the TAA accepted the deal, the Bear Island band rejected it in three votes in 1993 and 1994. Now the chief of the band, Jim Twain, and Doug McKenzie, chief of the TAA, want to revive the deal. They told a Queen's Park Press conference that they have negotiated some minor revisions to the 1993 agreement, and that Big Island Band has now accepted them. They expect the TAA will approve the revised agreement in a July 11 vote. However, the legal situation has changed in the five years since the agreement was signed. In 1995, the Ontario government removed the development reservations on all but 149 square miles of the 4,000 on which title had been in question, a decision that has since been upheld by the courts although it is still under appeal. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: More information on the Bear Island case: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Anishinawbeg/main.html http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Clark/verna1.html Letters to the Globe and Mail - mailto:letters@GlobeAndMail.ca 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: La Raza Press Release" --------- Date: 98-07-05 20:56:18 EDT Subj: Press Release From: Diyehii Press Release San Francisco, California June 25, 1998 Jaime Gutierrez, Chairman of La Raza Law Students Association in San Francisco, and National Coordinator of the Ramsey Muniz (Tezcatlipoca) Defense Committees, announces that legal documentation concerning the imprisonment of Mexicano political prisoner Ramsey Muniz has been submitted for presentation at the NACCS Conference in Mexico City, Mexico. It will be a historic day for the case of Ramsey Muniz, because for the first time the miscarriage of justice concerning his imprisonment will be presented on an international level, specifically the Holy Land of Mexico. It is the opinion of Mr. Muniz that the ultimate issue is not his present situation, but most importantly about our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land. During a recent telephone interview, Mr. Muniz states, "You will hear about a new movement as it relates to Latinos, Hispanics, and Xicanos, but it is not a new movement. Ours is a continuous, ancient sacred spiritual movement that began 500 years ago. This sacred movement is about the awakening and rising of our consciousness and our willingness to sacrifice. We represent consciousness and sacrifice -- the Rising of the Sixth Sun into the 21st Century." Mr. Muniz further states, "On this historic date, I am honored and destined through my ancient spiritual ancestors to again declare and manifest the historic struggle and rising of the indigenous Mexi-Kan (Mexicano) Spiritual Cultural Revolution into the 21st Century. It is this movement and this movement only that will bring us together as one race, one nation, and as Mexicanos once and for all. Brothers and sisters at the conference of our Promised Land must know that my declarations and struggles are not to bring divisions, separation or hostility among Hispanics, Latinos, Xicanos and Mexicanos, but to bring truth, unity, destiny, courage, and the ancient sacred spirituality into our hearts as Mexicanos." "The indigenous root is the alpha and omega, and the beginning and the end of our true selves. No in-betweens can survive the power of true cultural heritage. For the spirit must be centered to understand the mystical power of our true ancient spiritual belief. We are the true pure flowers of the indigenous root. We are MEXI-KAXOCHITL!" Ramsey R. Muniz Tezcatlipoca Jaime Gutierrez, National Coordinator Ramsey Muniz Defense Committees 1237 Potrero Avenue San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 826-4127 E-Mail: aou@earthlink.net --------- "RE: Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou" --------- Date: Sun, 5 Jul 1998 17:20:09 -1000 From: Hawaii Nation Info Subj: Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou - Annexation info <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> This message is sent to subscribers of the Hawaii Nation Info service, featuring articles, updates and action alerts on Hawaiian politics and culture, for informational and educational purposes only. Contents represent the views of author/originator of message/article. Redistribute freely. Un/subscribe: mailto:info@hawaii-nation.org <<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>><<<>>> --- begin forwarded text Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 10:30:47 -1000 From: "Kau'i Goodhue" Subj: Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou Education & Media Committees July 1, 1998 Re: Annexation of Hawai'i - Unmasking the Ruse Aloha Kakou, I trust this letter finds you in good health, and in good spirit. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kau'i Goodhue. I am the Communication/Media Chairwoman for the Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou Committee, and it is with restrained exuberance that I am moved to submit the following correspondence. One hundred years ago, on August 12th, 1898, during annexation ceremonies at 'Iolani palace, two figures stood on the platform before an international gathering. Sanford B. Dole, president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Hawai'i and United States Minister Plenipotentiary Harold Sewall exchanged treaty ratifications supposedly annexing the Hawaiian Islands to the United States of America. This is the propaganda which the people of the world have come to accept. Hence, Hawai'i, the 50th State of the Union. Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou is a consortium of Hawaiian organizations and businesses assembled for the purpose of coordinating the celebratory events on August 12, 1998 at the 'Iolani Palace, (the annexation centennial) and is the vision of Mr. Mel Kalahiki. Our goal is to educate and inspire every Hawaiian to participate and honor the kings and queens of Hawai'i, and to celebrate the lives', struggles and accomplishments of our ancestors who endured the tumultuous period surrounding the annexation. The event will begin on Tuesday, August 11, 1998 with a vigil at 'Iolani Palace at 12 noon to 6am the following morning, in the tradition of old, giving prayer and acknowledgement. On August 12th, 1998, we will walk the path of our ancestors with a gathering of one Ka'au. Forty (40) Na Koa are being summoned to take their place as the kia'i koa for the physical and spiritual implements of Liloa and Kamehameha I. The Nakoa will be responsible for keeping the kapu and intercepting disruption for the following: - The sash of Liloa which is over 500 years old and represents the pro-creation of our existence as Kanaka Maoli; - The 'ihe of Kamehameha I, Pai'ea, which through warfare represents our unification. We will offer na pule kahiko, as we call upon our ancestors to walk among us. In an effort to enhance social awareness, an aggressive multimedia campaign (television, radio and print) has be launched here in Hawai'i, intending to clarify once and for all what actually took place a century ago. This unprecedented crusade will begin in Honolulu and advance to the outer islands shortly thereafter. The final objective is to invigorate a climactic gathering on August 12th, as tens of thousands are expected to descend upon 'Iolani Palace to commemorate our Ali'i, and celebrate the annexation "that never was." The Hawaiian Patriotic League, in cooperation with Na Maka o ka 'Aina, Inc., has co-produced a fifteen (15) minute video entitled, We are who we were - From Resistance to Affirmation" as a ho'okupu to help "kick off" the campaign. If you have not had the opportunity to view the video as yet, I might suggest that you not be influenced by the modest length of this work. I trust you are familiar with the "critical mass" principle. Consider Hawai'i a reactor, and Hawaiians the uranium, this video is the neutron which will initiate and sustain the fission process. Pardon the metaphor, but the situation here in our islands is about to go nuclear! I can state in earnest, that representatives from numerous Hawaiian organizations have had the opportunity to view the video before its June 26th debut. The overwhelming acceptance of the information contained in the video, is partly the result of the cooperative efforts of these organizations, and as such, has inspired the concept of a follow-up series of video's designed to address pertinent aspects of the Hawaiian and its history. You may also be interested to know that we have conducted modest demographic studies of the video through private viewing sessions, targeting a wide range of people from various social backgrounds and racial extraction. Our intention was to gauge the video's stamina and affect on an unsuspecting and unsophisticated audience. Initial test results confirms a 99% approval rating by the general viewership. Provocative, artful, haunting and incredible has been the response thus far. If these preliminary indications portend of things to come, we should expect upwards of 50,000 to 75,000 people gathered at the palace on August 12th, to celebrate a day of emancipation, culminating with the raising of the Hawaiian national flag atop the 'Iolani Palace, as a sign to all the world that we are back. If all goes well, we may finally comprehend, as a people, our true identity. All things considered, this may prove to be our generations purpose for being, for our actions are governed not only by the Law of Nations, but the Law of Nature and of Nature's God, and nothing in nature is without purpose. On a more somber note, may we agree, that the struggle for Hawaiian independence thus far, has been for the most part a struggle against disunity. A struggle which has pitted friend against friend, family against family, and father against son. In this war of attrition, we have finally come to realize that, aside from the propaganda which once enslaved our minds, we have been our own worst enemy. But something is happening here that it is difficult to explain. A phenomenon which we have waited patiently for all of our lives. Some say it is the cyclic law now coming full circle. Yet others simply say, it is Providence. In Hawaiian, the term which best describes this sensation is alu like-working in unison. Dare we say, gone, are the days, of the alamihi ways. It is an exciting time to be in Hawai'i, and August 12th, 1998, shall be a day like no other. A day which we intend to celebrate the accomplishments of our ancestors, and embrace our true identity. We would like to take this opportunity to personally invite you to participate in this our hour of emancipation. O ke au i hala ka lama ku o ke ala i ke kupukupu. The past is the beacon which will guide us into the future. In closing, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read this letter, and if it has been untimely than I apologize. However, if it would not be too much of an inconvenience, I would appreciate any thoughts you may have regarding what I have shared. Me ka ha'aha'a, Kau'i P. Goodhue Media/Communications Chairwoman Hawai'i Loa Kulike Kakou Committee The following are just a few of the organizations and businesses who support these efforts: Na Papa Kanaka o Pu'ukohola Halau Hula o Na Lei Kaholoku Ka Lahui Hawai'i Nation of Hawai'i Kanaka Maoli Allies Native Hawaiian Fishermans Association Alu Like, Inc. Perfect Title Company Office of Hawaiian Affairs Na Maka o ka 'Aina The Hawaiian Patriotic League Butch Kekahu and the Koani Foundation Ahupua'a Action Alliance Royal Order of Kamehameha American Friends Committee Hui Kalai'aina 1898 Komike The Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Kukahi Buddy's Sheetmetal Sacred Times, Sacred Places Lightworkers of Mu TILA Seminars Friends of 'Iolani Palace Hawaiian Kingdom Trust Co. Council of Hawaiian Organizations Molama Makua Office of Senator Malama Solomon Property Owners Alliance Na Wahine Koa Holo I Mua Magazine Marae Mana Magazine The Hawaiian News Bishop Museum 'Ilioulaokalani Native Hawaiian Legal Corp Mu cce Holdings Ka 'Ohana Wendell Silva Na Koa Ikaika NFIP, Region Ka Pae 'Aina Alu Like House of Keoua Nui Council of Hawaiian Organizations The Fishing Industry for HI Ka 'Ohana James Kimokea Hale Halawai 'Ohana o Hanalei March on Washington D.C.Committee 'Ili Noho Kai 'o Anahola Noho Like Ilona & Wally Moritsugu Ohana Anahola Ocean Recreation Republican Party of Kaua'i Keali'iaukai Kolo 'Ohana Keohokui Kauihana 'Ohana Jim Carter 'Ohana *The list grows everyday. We hope to add your name to this list. +The video,"We are Who we were," will also be shown on Ka Lahui Hawai'i's, First Friday Show every Friday during the month of July at 6:30pm on 'Olelo's channel 52. Mililani Trask,Kekuni Blaisdell and Manu Boyd are discussing the video and the events scheduled for August 12, 1998. For more information you may contact me at 239-5347, Mel Kalahiki at 235-2727 or Lynette Cruz at 734-8269 or 738-0084. Fax 738-1094 ___________________________________________________________ | 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: State of Law or State of Impunity" --------- Date: Wed, 1 Jul 1998 22:31:52 +0000 From: NUEVO AMANECER PRESS Subj: State of Law or State of Impunity?/part 2 ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN SPANISH IN MEXICO. BY GUILLERMO MICHEL, CORRESPONDENT FOR NAP-MEXICO ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ TRANSLATED BY irlandesa FOR NUEVO AMANECER PRESS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PART TWO: Paradoxically, the struggle to which the zapatistas have invited us, practically from the beginning of the armed uprising, is not violent, rather peaceful. It does not try to arm us with rifles, gunshot, AK-47's and other military paraphernalia, rather to arm us with courage, the courage which rises from our dignity, from the memory of our dead: in Ocosingo, in Aguas Blancas, in Acteal... , in canadas, mountains and jungles, where hundreds of human lives have been cut down by government hatred. . . Which tries to dismantle, by peaceful means, not only the paramilitary groups, but also the State party and neoliberalism, in order to install an authentic State of law, where the power of strength does not govern, rather the strength of reason. That is to say, where money doesn't govern, nor does the lie govern, as has happened up until now. Perhaps it is necessary to remember now how the zapatista utopia was born, and the mythical words which narrated its beginning: "When the EZLN was just a shadow sweeping through the clouds and the darkness of the mountain, when the words justice, liberty and democracy were only those: words. Barely a dream which the old ones of our communities, true guardians of the word of our dead, had delivered to us in the time just when the day gives way to night, when hatred and death were beginning to grow in our hearts, when there was nothing left but desperation... , the true men spoke, those without faces, those who walk in the night, those who are mountain, and they said: It is the reason and the will of good men and women to seek and to find the best means of governing and being governed, that which is good for most, is good for everyone." Such is the ethical task we commit to by being "Indians of the world," - as the Italian observers baptized themselves, who were illegally expelled from our country on the morning of May 11, 1998. It is not an easy task, and if not, ask the women, children and old ones, in refuge in the mountain, subjected to countless humiliations, to hunger, to the cold, to anguish, to pain, to death. Also ask the prisoners in the Cerro Hueco, who undergo, in that repulsive jail, shortages and indescribable suffering. Ask those who are surrounded by the Army, held hostage and vilified by the paramilitaries, laid siege to by the state and federal police. Most certainly all of them would tell us that, truly, the task is not simple... and even less for them, who have resisted for 500 years, and even more so in recent years, the hounding, the threats, the government will to exterminate them, either by hunger or by shootings. It is true, the task is not simple, but by whatever means, it is our task: to stop the war criminals in order to build peace with justice and dignity. Yip ta o'tanil : the Power of the Heart Among the news which has arrived to us from Utopia, perhaps one of the most symbolic has been that which called us to attend the First Encounter for Humanity and Against Neoliberalsim, from July 23 through August 3, 1996. There, from the heart of the Lacondona jungle, more than 4000 spectators attended the birth of the International Network of Hope, initially made up of 42 countries of the five continents of Gaia, our Mother Earth. At the conclusion of this happy event, the CCRI-CG of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, through the voice of subcomandante Marcos, sent us the following message: "Much will be written later about what has happened during these days. Today we can say we have something less than a certainty. A dream dreamt on the five continents can become reality in La Realidad. Who could tell us now that a dream is beautiful, but useless? Who could argue that dreams... cannot become reality? "To whom does it matter how and what is dreamed here, or in what part of the world? Who are those who dare to call with their dream to all the dreams of the world? What is happening in the mountains of southeastern Mexico which finds echo and mirror in the streets of Europe, the suburbs of Asia, the countryside of America, the towns of Africa and the houses of Oceana... ? "The five continents speak and everyone listens. Humanity stops for one moment its silence of shame and anguish. Humanity speaks. Humanity listens... "In their world, those who live in Power and those who kill by Power, the human being is not valued, there is no space for hope, there is no room for tomorrow... " Buried under the dust of their daily lives, of immediate events, of the financial cracks, of the daily scandals provoked and played out by the drugocracy - in Tabasco, in Campeche... , in Morelos... or in Mexico City itself - these words constitute a call, to all of humanity, for them to free themselves from the neoliberal nightmare and prepare themselves to build a space for hope, breaking "on every continent, in every country, on every farm, in every house, the siege of war of Power that closes the rebels in... [Because now] the rebels are walking one towards the others. They find each other and, together, they break other sieges... They continue in their exhausting walk, they walk as they must walk now, that is to say, fighting... " Without strength in ones heart it will not be possible for us to walk that path, nor to sustain the abundance of pain and suffering that awaits us in this battle, which is being joined by battalions of San Patricio who speak French, English, German, Italian, Swiss, Greek, Japanese, Chinese... and who knows how many more languages. However, all of them have understood the zapatista Ya basta, and in many ways have broken sieges, time and again, in order to go on building the Utopia. We are also called on to break the siege of the government-made stupidity, which will not stop demonstrating its will to destroy the zapatista seed. First was Zedillo's treason to his promise of dialogue, on February 9, 1995, and then, one after the other, successive treasons to his contracted commitments, from the Law for Dialogue... , on to the San Andres Accords and the repeated promises of dialogue, of concordance, of peace... But the deeds, also repeatedly, contradict his words. In his reality, without a declaration of war, the rebels suffer from a permanent state of siege, with all the consequences implied in that situation. The State of impunity which prevails in the so-called "conflict zone," especially since the crime against humanity committed in Acteal, merits the formation, at an international level, of a tribunal charged with judging the war crimes committed every day by the Zedillo government, accomplice, if not intellectual author, of the outrages perpetrated by the Army, police and paramilitary hordes. The most recent of those, as far as we know, is that which occurred in Navil, municipality of Tenejapa, just last May 26. The chronicle sent by Hermann Bellinghausen of La Jornada, leaves no doubt as to the arbitrariness, arrogance and outrage against the constitutional and human rights of the residents of Navil. Let us think about Bellinghausen's word: "Around 8 yesterday morning several federal Army vehicles arrived in Navil, whose forces, armed and uniformed, entered in to the community and arrived at the school, questioning the campesinos and the teachers over the existence of a zapatista camp, and whether they knew 'Bishop Samuel.' "Less than two hours later more Army vehicles arrived, accompanied by state and judicial police. According to one woman, who insisted on the fact, there were a total of 34 trucks. "Juan Gomez Santiz, 18 years old, was 'kidnapped,' according to the women. They took him to the school, put a ski mask on him, a gun in his hands, 'and took photos and filmed him.' Afterwards, they also put him on the trucks. "Besides 'sweeping' the presumed camp, police and military searched nearby family homes. They stole 5000 pesos from one, destroyed the furniture, took away dresses and skirts, product of the women's artisan work, who took them through their kitchens. "Clay pots broken into bits, china plates turned to dust, cooked beans thrown on the patios. Bedrooms looted. Pillows ripped open. "They took all the personal documents that they could find; identifications, birth certificates of even the children, school certificates. Also clothes, a Bible, tools, and even a toilet seat. One of the few things they left was a large loom for making rugs... " These few paragraphs, from the extensive chronicle, are enough to document the unconstitutional violence established by the Zedillo government. The reason of force, with complete impunity, with all its pride and human insensitivity, violates human rights, the famous Law of Dialogue, the individual rights consecrated in the Constitution, and who knows how many more laws of positive rights... And, however, we read or we hear about, for more than three years now, this and other atrocities, as if it were one more chapter in a Made for TV movie. Have we perhaps lost, we as well, the capacity for indignation? Have we perhaps erased from our memory the Face without a face, multiplied by 1,111, going through our streets, and heard the multitudinous roar, crying out: "You are not alone! You are not alone!"? Perhaps fear, indifference, racist contempt, or all of that together, have left us paralyzed, prostrate, surrendered, on our knees in front of Power? What we have seen and heard up to now, from January 1, 1994 to now, has been a kind of Chronicles of Utopia, which resists, which does not surrender, which keeps the call of Hope alive, Hope that, certainly, demands innumerable actions so that the impossible dream that calls to us can become reality: then today, even more than yesterday, the words of farewell at the First Encounter for Humanity... continue to be valid. "Brothers and sisters: "We continue being inconvenient. What the neoliberal theorists tell us is false: that everything is under control, even that which is not under control. "We are not the escape valve of rebellion which neoliberalism can destabilize. It is not true that our rebel existence legitimizes the power. "The Power fears us. Because of that they persecute us and besiege us. That is why they jail us and kill us. "In truth we are a possibility that can destroy them and make them disappear. Perhaps we are not many, but we are men and women who struggle for humanity, who struggle against neoliberalism. "We are men and women who struggle all over the world. "We are men and women who want for the five continents: "Democracy! "Liberty! "Justice! Upon arriving at this point, what more can be added? I think that everything has been said, that the zapatista silence - which is not that, if we have learned to listen to the clamor of the spilled blood or to the cry for help coming from Taniperla - well-deserved on our part, also, a moment of silence to meditate on this news that reaches us every day from Utopia: much of it tragic news, pregnant with pain, bathed in tears, but always a call to Hope, to struggle, to resist, to solidarity, to love. Answering this call is our task, our responsibility, our commitment. May 31, 1998 BIBLIOGRAPHIC NOTE The news printed here has been taken from the volumes edited by Era, titled Documents and Communiques, whose author is the EZLN. The three texts published up to now, have prologues by Antonio Garcia Leon, and contain an article by Carlos Monsivais. Other news items come from personal communications, thanks to email. At times they are from Enlace Civil, A.C., and others from Nuevo Amanecer Press - a news agency specializing in indigenous problems, but especially the chiapeneco. Finally, some of them have arrived to us from La Jornada, one of the few Mexico City newspapers which has given voice to those without voice in many ways, and which has been accused, like don Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of San Cristobal de Las Casas, of being pro-zapatista. The magazine Ce-Acatl, cited here, is also a permanent source of contact for the indigenous movement. __________________________________________________ NUEVO AMANECER PRESS- N.A.P.To know about us visit: http://www.nap.cuhm.mx/nap0.htm General Director: Roger Maldonado Director Europe: Darrin Wood Coordinator: USA-Mexico-Europe: Susana Saravia (Anibarro) Advisory and support team: Mexico *When reproducing NAP's translations; please give credit* *NAP's team works on a volunteer basis and does not receive any funding from any source* --------- "RE: Mohawks in Quebec" --------- Date: Sat, 04 Jul 1998 13:16:40 GMT From: frosty@frostys.qc.ca Subj: Quebec Newsgroup: alt.native Over the last few weeks the Mohawks living in Quebec have been insulted. Let me explain to some of you the reason behind this. The province of Quebec wants to separate from Canada. The one thing that stands in there way are the natives of Quebec. Mohawks, Cree and Algonquins have said they will not stay with a united Quebec. These nations feel they should have the same right, is to remain or separate as the French people of Quebec. They on the other hand have said if they separate no borders will change. The Cree and Mohawks have said they will. So Quebec has tried to get some deals signed and it was learned that some of the deals were tricks to get the signatures they need for the courts. In the mean time anything that is news about Mohawks is used to promote the idea that Mohawks are criminals, cheats, smugglers, and what ever. One person caught for breaking and the law and it is presented as if all Mohawks are the same and criminal. They enjoy lumping us all together. The problem is that when speaking to some of Quebec's people they do not listen to anything useless it comes from the elected government. So if the government tells them we are criminals they are not smart enough to think and work things out and learn the truth. I have posted in that news group many things and some you have seen in Interested thread. This problems is expanded by the fact we have what is called the language police. Yes real people going around and making sure that anyone that has business must have all written signs in French twice as big as English. That along with restricting parents from the choice of where and what language of education they can give their children. All this has done, is create a very interesting place to live. Signs of tensions are always seen. But the second a native person steps out of line, the media has a field day. From time to time I hope to post interesting things about what is going on between Quebec and natives. So don't take my message about read that NG, so personal. It was done only to show then that Mohawks, Algonquins, Cree, Abenaki, Innuit, Montagnais, Mic-mac and Huron are not alone and forgotten by our brothers and sisters in the rest of the world. At least, I hope we are not. --------- "RE: Ward Valley Opposition Increases" --------- Date: 98-06-25 20:33:15 EDT From: swv1@ctaz.com (Save Ward Valley) Subj: Ward Valley Opposition Increases! UUCP email Opponents level new attacks on nuclear dump By Jack McCarthy The Press-Enterprise Opponents of a proposed nuclear dump at Ward Valley turned up the heat Wednesday, warning that the dump would cost taxpayers $1 billion and would harbor plutonium in quantities equal to dozens of nuclear bombs. Dump proponents immediately called both estimates wild exaggerations that were evidence of calculated efforts to sidetrack the project, which Gov. Wilson has pursued for more than eight years. Wilson has been battling the Clinton administration to force the U.S. Department of the Interior to transfer 1,000 acres of land near the Nevada border to California for use as a dump. The state has resorted to filing a lawsuit to compel the the U.S. Department of Interior to hand over the land. Anti-nuclear activists and Indian tribes have protested the proposed dump, saying nuclear waste would leak into the Colorado River drinking water supply about 20 miles away. The Department of Interior said last month it was suspending work on the land transfer until the lawsuit is resolved. In the latest criticism of the dump project, Rep. George Miller, D-Martinez, cited a U.S. General Accounting Office report on the possibility that 124 pounds of plutonium would be kept at the dump -- enough for an arsenal of nuclear bombs. "These findings . . . and ongoing environmental concerns must raise very serious questions about the wisdom of going forward with the Ward Valley project at all," Miller said. "I would hope that Gov. Wilson would terminate this project and end this very contentious and litigious controversy once and for all." However, Wilson administration and U.S. Ecology representatives said plutonium would be stored at the dump in small, safe amounts. "We expect no more than one pound in all the millions of pounds of cubic feet of material that will go there," said Scott Peyron, spokesman for U.S. Ecology, the company licensed to operate the dump. The manager of the state's low-level waste program, Carl Lischeske, said projections of the amount of plutonium bound for the dump were based on overestimates in the late 1980s from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the state Department of Health Services, which is overseeing the Ward Valley project for the Wilson administration The GAO report said that, although estimates on the amount of plutonium varied -- the most authoritative conclusion came from the Congressional Research Service, which said about 1.3 pounds of plutonium -- most probably would end up at the dump. On a second front of attack, Democratic leaders in the state Legislature said state utility companies would have to pay more to store nuclear waste at Ward Valley than they currently do at a facilities at Barnwell, S.C., and Clive, Utah. The legislators cited a report from the state Public Utilities Commission's Office of Ratepayer Advocates that said Pacific Gas and Electric Co. may be forced to raise rates. "PGE's forecasts indicate that a requirement to use the Ward Valley facility will cost Californians hundreds of millions of dollars unnecessarily," the report said. The cost would reach $1 billion if the cost of nuclear waste disposal of all utilities were taken into consideration, legislators said. Pacific Gas Electric Wednesday denied making such a forecast, said PGE spokesman Jeff Lewis. "We did not forecast it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more." Lewis would not say what the eventual cost to electricity consumers would be, except to assert it would be far less than $100 million. "We don't know what it will cost," Lewis said. "If it does cost more, we believe it's a tradeoff in creating a reliable place to take our low-level nuclear waste." Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles; Senate President John Burton, D-San Francisco; and Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica, repeated previous calls for an end to efforts to build the dump. "It's time -- in fact it's way past time -- the governor had some serious second thoughts about this project," Villaraigosa said. Published 6/25/1998 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 http://www.wildrockies.org/cmcr --------- "RE: Residential Schools Violated UN Law" --------- Subj: IHRAAM and BC Res-School genocide Date: 98-07-05 00:07:54 EDT From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS VIOLATED UN LAW Windspeaker News, July 1998, Page 2 by Paul Barnsley The man who will write a report to the United Nations on Canada's residential school system said he has seen evidence that the system was an example of forced assimilation, genocide and forced removal of peoples from their traditional lands. All of those actions are contrary to international human rights conventions, said Rudy James, a member of the International Human Rights Association of American Minorities. James reached that conclusion after observing three days of testimony in front of a 15-member tribunal made up mainly of Indigenous people, a majority of whom were from the United States. The tribunal hearings were completed on June 14 at the Maritime Labor Centre in east Vancouver. Tribunal members took note of the fact that the federal government, the churches which operated the residential schools and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, all of whom James said were asked to appear for questioning, did not have any official representatives in attendance. Witnesses included several former residential school students and a United Church of Canada minister who was delisted (fired) after criticizing the Port Alberni church executive board. Many of the witnesses told the tribunal they have knowledge of suspicious deaths which occurred in the residential schools. No hard evidence which could lead to criminal charges was provided. Several witnesses said those who attended the residential schools were transported to the schools by the police and therefore had no reason to believe they were safe to take their concerns to the police at the time the alleged deaths occurred. The International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM) is one of 1,356 non-governmental organizations in the world with the standing to issue reports to the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, and the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. A United Nations official confirmed that IHRAAM is one of the 666 organizations worldwide listed on a roster of organizations consulted by the economic and social council. James, the tribal leader of the Kuiukwaan people of south-eastern Alaska and a tribal judge with the Combined Tribal Court of Tlingit Law, is a member of the North American branch of IHRAAM, whose northwest regional office is located in Seattle Washington. James told Windspeaker that former United Church minister Kevin Annett asked IHRAAM to investigate potential human rights abuses connected to the residential school system. After recording seven hours of interviews with victims of abuse at the Port Alberni school, James decided an inquiry into the system and Canada's treatment of the victims of the system was appropriate. The human rights infractions that Canada, several churches, organizations and individuals associated with the schools need to address are: the forced removal of Aboriginal people from traditional lands and waters, institutional racism, psychological warfare, genocide and murder. James said Prime Minister Jean Chretien, Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart and church officials had been asked to appear as witnesses at the inquiry. The Prime Minister's office said no invitation was received, something James said is not true. An organization with consultative status does not work at the direction of the United Nations and is not funded, but it is fully screened and follows a written mandate. James said Canada and the churches will be asked to answer for what he believes are serious human rights abuses. "No one can punish a nation," James said. "But so much of what is done by our organization is done through world public opinion. A report will be sent to the High Commissioner and the Secretary General. Canada could be asked for a formal response to the report in the General Assembly." James said he expects to complete his report by late July. He said he may send a preliminary report to the churches involved and to the federal government. "We'll be keenly monitoring the response of the church entities and the Canadian government," he said. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: More tribunal sessions are being looked at for other BC locations. For more information please contact Kevin Annett - mailto:kdannett@unixg.ubc.ca and visit: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/resschool/main.html 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: Grand Raise for Grand Chief" --------- Date: Fri, 3 Jul 1998 01:30:32 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Grand raise for Grand Chief :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: FONTAINE GETS RAISE AFTER FIRST YEAR AS GRAND CHIEF Canadian Press, July 2, 1998, by Janice Tibbetts [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.] OTTAWA (CP) - The grand chief of Canada's most powerful Indian group is getting a raise of almost 50 per cent after his first year on the job, bumping his salary up to the equivalent of almost a quarter of a million dollars since his income is tax free. The Assembly of First Nations voted last week to raise Phil Fontaine's salary to $125,000 from $85,000 for running the federally-funded organization representing Canada Indian chiefs. But some aboriginals are questioning the raise because of its size and because less than four per cent of 630 chiefs were on hand when the salary vote occurred in the final hours of the assembly's annual convention. Fontaine distanced himself from the raise, saying its one he never asked for. He said its been in the works since last summer at the insistence of some chiefs who felt he deserved more, particularly because pay for the job had been frozen for more than a decade and because he has no pension plan. "I never, ever once raised the issue of my salary, never, ever," said Fontaine in an interview. "I would never, ever pursue this because there's nothing in it for me in terms of public perception. "I'm sure that in the eyes of some people it would be seen as a substantial raise, and if the chiefs wanted to revisit this I wouldn't argue against it." Fontaine said he was satisfied with earning $85,000, since it was more than he made in his last job as head of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs. As a status Indian, Fontaine does not pay federal tax on his salary, so $125,000 would be the equivalent to a taxable income of about $240,000. That means his take-home pay is higher than Prime Minister Jean Chretien's, who has a taxable salary of $137,000 and receives another $21,300 tax free to cover expenses. Federal cabinet ministers receive $113, 265 in salary plus $21,300 tax free. Federal politicians recently voted to give themselves a two-per- cent increase after a six year salary freeze. Fontaine said he isn't making more than they are, all things considered. "Its no different than the raise that was given to members of Parliament when you look at it in its totality with all the benefits and the perks and all of that," he said. He also suggested it would be unfair to focus on his salary increase when executives across the country are making so much more. The chief who initiated the motion to give Fontaine the raise argued the raise is justified because the national chief does not have the same benefits as politicians and that Fontaine has done a good job in his first year representing Canada Indian bands. "The responsibility of the national chief is immense and if you look at comparable salaries for those kinds of executives, they are in the $200,000-plus range," said Ron Ignace, of the Skeetchestn First Nation in Savona, B.C. "If were to attract good solid people and were going to keep them, were going to have to compensate them appropriately." The assembly operates on a budget of $16 million, funded by the federal government. Fontaine's job is to improve the lot for the country's 500,000 status Indians by dealing with the federal government and the private sector. He must also balance the often conflicting demands of individual bands on everything from land claims to tax battles. Fontaine proudest accomplishment since being elected to replace former grand chief Ovide Mercredi last summer was securing a $350-million healing fund and apology from Ottawa for victims of physical and sexual abuse at residential schools that existed to assimilate Indians into mainstream culture. Chiefs also credit him with rebuilding a relationship with the federal government that had fallen apart years ago. There is some question, however, about whether Fontaine salary increase should have been approved. Only about 30 chiefs of the more than 200 registered at last weeks convention were still there when the vote took place. And about one third of those left either opposed the raise or abstained. One opponent was Randy Kapashesit of the Mocreebec First Nation at Moose Factory, Ont. But he said the raise is a done deal that should not be dissected in public. "I think a lot of that stuff should be debated internally," he said in an interview. Roger Obonsawin, a band consultant who left the convention before the vote, said he has trouble with both the raise and how it was approved. "I guess if you co-operate with the federal government, you get more money," said Obonsawin, who said the assembly doesn't effectively represent natives interests because it is too cosy with bill-footing Ottawa. In a sign of thawed relations between Ottawa and the assembly, the groups funding has been bumped up by about $6 million in the last year. Bill Erasmus, an assembly vice-chief from the Northwest Territories, said the funding increase means the organization, after years of running deficits, is finally in a position to give the national chief a raise. Erasmus, one of several regional chiefs, is also in line for a big raise. He said it would be unfair to focus on the tax-free factor, since its an aboriginal treaty right. "You might call it tax-free, but from a First Nations perspective its more of a right that a privilege," said Erasmus. "The reason we have taxation rights is because it is part of our treaty agreement." :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: UN Could Find Canada Guilty of Genocide" --------- Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 23:28:05 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: UN Could Find Canada Guilty of Genocide :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: A UN-AFFILIATED TRIBUNAL COULD FIND CANADA GUILTY OF CULTURAL GENOCIDE BC Report, June 29, 1998, Page 27 by Joel Schlesinger [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.] About 100,000 Indian children passed through Canada's church-run residential schools. While it remains unproved that a significant number of them suffered physical or sexual abuse, Indian leaders have claimed the schools' legacy is cultural genocide. Earlier this year federal Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart apologized on behalf of the federal government for residential school abuses and announced a $350-million reconciliation fund in compensation. Yet according to those who testified two weeks ago at a UN-affiliated tribunal in Vancouver, Ottawa's contrition is insufficient. The International Human Rights Association of American Minorities (IHRAAM), a non-governmental organization with consultative status at the United Nations, empanelled a tribunal of 12 judges - mostly native leaders from the United States - to investigate allegations that the Canadian government, along with the United Church, Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, had committed human rights violations against Indians. IHRAAM North American director Rudy James attended the hearings as an observer and will be sending a report to the UN. It will likely be condemnatory. "[The reconciliation package] is equivalent to a group of people injured in a train accident and the insurance company giving money to the bystanders to give moral support and a pat on the back to the victims," he says. "[Witnesses] stated that if the funds go to organizations related to the government they will never see the money. Essentially the government is employing people to hold seminars and meetings." Mr. James refused to criticize any native organization by name, but it is the Aboriginal Healing Foundation, an Indian non-profit corporation, that will decide how the $350 million will be spent. [AFN Grand Chief Phil Fontaine, and Wendy Grant-John, the #2 BC bureaucrat in the Department of Indian Affairs, are members -- S.I.S.I.S.] The AHF, which is independent of both government and native political organizations, would not comment on Mr. James' allegations. According to the Department of Indian Affairs website, the foundation's day -to-day operations will be carried out by a modestly sized staff designed to keep administrative costs to a minimum. It will allocate the money over four years. Former United Church minister Kevin Annett is a member of the Circle of Justice, an Indian rights organization which brought the residential schools issue to IHRAAM's attention. Mr. Annett, who was removed from his Port Alberni ministry in 1997 because of his outspoken criticism of his church's involvement in the residential school system, agrees with Mr. James that funding will not go to those who need it most. "About $190 million is going for healing projects and the rest will likely go towards administration," he claims. Mr. Annett insists the tribunal's purpose is to ensure that the federal government does not abjure full responsibility for the alleged victims of the residential school. But others have pointed out that IHRAAM's report to the UN could tarnish Canada's reputation as an international leader in monitoring human rights compliance. An even more dire possibility for Ottawa is that the tribunal will find it guilty of genocide under the United Nations Genocide Convention. "Canada could be charged in an international court of justice," Mr. Annett points out. "And if [any individual] is found guilty, they could be punished by up to 20 years in prison - if the ruling is enforced." Ironically, Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy is campaigning for the UN to create just such a world criminal court to prosecute countries that violate the act. Should any country's national courts fail to deal with a human rights violation, the international court would try that government. This may be a moot point for Canada however, because the BC Supreme Court ruled this month that both the Canadian government and United Church are equally responsible for compensation due to activities by Plint at a United Church residential school in Port Alberni over 20 years ago. The ruling sets a precedent making employers liable for crimes committed by their employees in the workplace. Canadian churches and the federal government fear the ruling could result in a torrent of litigation. Already, over 1,000 civil lawsuits have been filed since the federal government apologized formally. Gerry Kelly of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops warns that if the decision is allowed to stand, churches and other social agencies will face a level of liability that would threaten their existence. "It could mean the end of community sports," he says. He argues that all parties who were involved in the residential schools system must work together for reconciliation through more productive methods than the courts. Last week's resolution of the criminal charges against former Prince George bishop Hubert O'Connor might be an indication of just such a shift to non-legal alternatives. Bishop O'Connor participated in an aboriginal healing circle to apologize for allegedly sexually abusing Indian women at the St. Joseph's residential school near Williams Lake (where he was principal) over 30 years ago. The BC Ministry of the Attorney General, the complainants and Indian leaders chose the healing circle instead of pursuing further prosecution. Bishop O'Connor had been charged with six counts of rape, involving five former students and employees of the school, but after seven years of legal wrangling, only one charge remained before the courts. For some of the witnesses who testified before the IHRAAM tribunal, however, apologies and community-based healing initiatives are not enough. One woman who alleges residential school victimization, Sharon Blakeborough, argues there is only one method of restitution. She declares, "I want a humanitarian suit because I think we deserve that. Our people still remain silent and they're dying and I hate it." :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to BC Report - mailto:bcreport@axionet.com 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: Nebraska NAGPRA Alert" --------- Date: Wed, 24 Jun 1998 04:28:57 -0500 From: THUNDERHAWK Subj: Nebraska Update UUCP email June 24, 1998 Enclosed are materials related to the current issues at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In this package you will find a number of newspaper articles on the issue; an overview statement, etc. PLEASE give careful reading to this material, and bring it to the attention of your NAGPRA representative, your tribal council, and your elders. This situation involves all the Nations. UPDATE: As of Friday, June 19, 1998, information has been accessed which indicates that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is in possession of the remains of over 2,000 Native Americans. Investigation continues into other remains which have not yet been identified. THIS IS A CRITICAL ISSUE!! An explanation of this situation follows: When, in the past, non-native people began digging up Native American burials, little regard was given to either the skeletal remains or the materials buried with the individual(s). Generally, whatever was found with the person in the grave was split up - to be sold, stored, or displayed somewhere. What this means is that, for example, a persons moccasins might end up in a collection of moccasins, with no information kept on which burial they were from; other regalia, materials, tools, weapons, pottery, jewelry, etc, which would give information on the Tribal Identity of the person, was also scattered into private sales and collections, or has wound up in Museum collections. The result of this is that the skeleton of the person - the human remains, were left stripped of everything which had been buried with the person, and which could have helped in identifying their tribe. Now - for example, there are the remains of over 2,000 Native American people lying in boxes in a basement at the University, and are considered unaffiliated because all the things they were buried with are gone. When NAGPRA became law, the various Museums, University's, etc. were required to publish information in the National Register which made public the Native American remains for which they had Tribal Affiliation information. This would allow those tribes to recover the remains of their dead for repatriation and reburial. The Native american remains for which those institutions did not think they had enough information to indicate a Tribal Affiliation were not included in the publishing of that information. However . . . In many, if not most cases, there is some information available as to WHERE these people were buried before someone came along and dug them up. It is not considered, by the Museums and Universities, etc., important to bother to consider the fact that Native Peoples know where they have been in the past; where they camped, hunted, and traveled. NAGPRA law includes a section which says that if a Native American Tribe requests remains, considered by the Museums, Universities, etc. as unaffiliated, to be repatriated to them for reburial, then the remains must be returned to them. In the present situation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, little or no effort has been made to contact all the tribes to whom these people might belong. No effort at all has been made to contact the tribes who were definitely in the parts of the country where these people, buried and at rest, were dug up, desecrated, and now stored in cardboard boxes in a basement. In the following pages, there is mention of remains belonging to the Omaha Tribe, because when the situation erupted at the University, one set of bones found were marked as Omaha. Consequently, it has been an Omaha individual here in Lincoln who has been pressing for the return of those remains. However - there are, as stated earlier, over 2,000 other people known to be stored here - and more which have yet to be determined as definitely Native American. Documentation is available which indicates where most of these peoples remains came from. The area involved in primarily the Northern, Central, and Southern Plains, in areas which, since the United States were created, have come to be called : Nebraska South Dakota Iowa Missouri Kansas Colorado Wyoming and moving further out from here {Nebraska as the center for this situation) North Dakota Minnesota Illinois Arkansas Oklahoma Texas New Mexico Montana. IF YOUR NATION EVER HAD VILLAGES, SETTLEMENTS, OR CAMPS; OR TRAVELED IN THESE AREAS FOR HUNTING, MIGRATION, OR RESETTLEMENT ON RESERVATIONS; OR IF THESE AREAS ARE A PART OF YOUR ORAL HISTORY AND STORIES . . THEN THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN DUG UP FROM THEIR GRAVES, STRIPPED OF THEIR POSSESSIONS, EXAMINED, HANDLED, TESTED, AND ARE NOW STORED IN BOXES IN THE BASEMENT OF A BUILDING AT THIS UNIVERSITY MAY BE PEOPLE WHO WERE MEMBERS OF YOUR TRIBE IN EITHER RECENT HISTORY OR IN THE PAST. Some Tribes have made statements they they are willing to take all these remains and rebury them. BUT . . . These remains could belong to YOUR people, and to other Nations. This can only be figured out from the information available on the database which gave us the numbers. However - Do you not want the chance to at least attempt to recover those remains which might be from areas in which your own relatives were buried? IT IS CRITICAL that you contact the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, as well as the the other people for which you have information in the following pages, if you are to have ANY chance at repatriating and reburying those who might be your ancestors. BECAUSE at such time as this University relinquishes those people - those remains - to whatever Tribe is willing to bury them - there will be no further chance to attempt to get your own people back. Once they go back in the ground somewhere, they will not be available again for recovery by you. It seems that your Nation, and all the Nations to whom these people might belong should at least be given the opportunity to find out this information, and then decide to request some of the remains for repatriation and reburial. It seems that there is a trail of events which reads like this: These dead Native people, and their Nations, were given no choice or information when someone decided to dig them up; the same thing continued as these people were moved around, tested, mishandled, and shoved in a basement. Perhaps it is time for the Nations to be given some say, some chance, at what will happen to all these people now - before someone else takes it upon themselves to make a unilateral decision about where these people will go - again - and where they will be buried - without ever even talking to you about it. As it said in the beginning of this statement: PLEASE - GET THIS INFORMATION TO YOUR NAGPRA REPRESENTATIVE, YOUR TRIBAL COUNCIL, AND YOUR ELDERS - TO THE COMMUNITY. There are people here at the University who will assist you in the research if you decide you want to find out what is going on, where the people in the basement came from, and wether or not any of those people are from areas where you Nation was historically. PLEASE CONTACT US FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. Email address on this issue is: ceyapi@hotmail.com Mitakuye Oyasin. Pilamayaye. Regina ThunderHawk senior student University of Nebraska-Lincoln CONTACT INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA - LINCOLN, ANTHROPOLOGY DEPT. (These are the people trying to work on the issues with the Tribes.) Dr. Robert Hitchcock, Dept. Chairman - (402-472-2480) Prof. Berkely Bailey - (402-472-2711) Dr. Luann Wandsnider (NAGPRA Funerary Remains Advisor) (402-472-8873) Helen LongSoldier (Multicultural Affairs - Native Students Advisor) (402-472-2027) Regina ThunderHawk, student (402-474-1402) NATIVE COMMUNITY IN LINCOLN AND CALIFORNIA (These are the people pursuing these issues on a State investigation level.) Randy Thomas (Santee/Omaha) (402-467-5546) Ralph Thomas (Santee/Omaha) (707-678-6821) --------- "RE: Navajos Oppose Snowbowl Expansion" --------- Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 11:14:47 -0700 From: Robert Dorman Subj: Navajos oppose Snowbowl expansion Mailing List: Big Mountain List This from The Arizona Republic June 24, 1998 http://www.azcentral.com/news/0625valbos.shtml Navajos oppose Snowbowl expansion A Navajo traditional singer, Alfred W. Yazzie, plans to conduct special blessings today and Friday in opposition to a proposed expansion of the Arizona Snowbowl ski resort atop the San Francisco Peaks near Flagstaff. "We want to protect, preserve and defend sacred places," said Yazzie, one of only 12 Navajo traditional singers who know how to conduct the Nightway, a ceremony for physical healing. Arizona Snowbowl Partners last year proposed to upgrade its facilities across the 777 acres it leases from the U.S. Forest Service on the southwestern slopes of the peaks. The upgrades would not require more land, but would require the cutting of hundreds of trees, said John Nelson, recreation officer for the Mormon Lake and Peaks Ranger District. The Forest Service recently required the developers of the ski resort to conduct an environmental impact statement, a review that could take two years or more to complete. The peaks are among the four sacred mountains of the Navajo Nation. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To unsubscribe, email redorman@theofficenet.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded message, you may subscribe by emailing redorman@theofficenet.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html Also, for great internet tools please visit: http://www.msw.com.au/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=1271 --------- "RE: Tribal Land Transfers Expected" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 02:01:19 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: "Dramatic Change" to BC's Trick or Treaty Process :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: TRIBAL LAND TRANSFERS EXPECTED IN TREATY TALKS: Sources say officials have agreed on a radical method to speed up land claims that allows tribal groups to control lands while talks to resolve other issues go on. Vancouver Sun, June 20, 1998, by Stewart Bell [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.] Representatives of the federal government, provincial government and First Nations have agreed that land-claim negotiations must be speeded up -- and Ottawa has proposed a radical plan that aims to accomplish just that, sources close to the talks said Friday. At a closed-door meeting this week, tribal, federal and provincial officials reached an understanding that the highly-sensitive land and resource portion of treaty talks must be accelerated. Ottawa and Victoria are to submit a proposal to native chiefs next week on how best to do that. The plan will be voted on at a meeting of the First Nations Summit in North Vancouver starting Wednesday. Although it's unclear what the governments will propose, a senior official said the federal government is putting forward a new strategy that would dramatically change the way treaties are currently being negotiated. Under the proposal -- part of an effort to kick-start B.C.'s ailing treaty-making process -- government and tribal leaders would move quickly to identify the lands to be transferred to tribal ownership. Tribal organizations would then assume control of those lands while talks aimed at resolving the remaining treaty issues (such as cash, self-government, aboriginal courts, museum artifacts and fisheries) continued. The proposal, called "pre-implementation" because it would see the land part of treaties implemented before the other issues were resolved, is being portrayed by officials as a fast and effective way of resolving ongoing uncertainty over land claims. First Nations would benefit by gaining earlier access to their treaty lands, allowing them to create jobs and stimulate stagnant reserve economies, while the resource industry would gain by finally knowing which lands are on and off the treaty table. There's also a carrot for the B.C. government. Currently, Victoria is to provide the land for treaty settlements and Ottawa will compensate the province with cash once the treaty is finished. But under the new proposal, Victoria would get cash from Ottawa as soon as a tribe assumed control of its treaty lands, which would be easier on the provincial treasury, sources said. The plan would use the existing structure of the B.C. Treaty Commission but would involve a radical new approach to negotiations that would require the Nations Summit, sources said. The proposal is an attempt to revitalize the effort to resolve the longstanding grievances of B.C. First Nations, which has largely collapsed since December, when the Supreme Court of Canada handed down a decision that liberally defined aboriginal land rights. Ruling in the Delgamuukw case, the court said tribes have to be consulted about logging, mining and other land-use activities on their ancestral lands -- and in some cases they may even have to give their consent. The decision has caused widespread confusion in government and the resource industry and has upset the stability that took hold in the province after the B.C. Treaty Commission was established in the early '90s. Also fueling the pressure for changes to the treaty process are concerns about its slow pace. Although four dozen tribal groups are involved in negotiations, the talks have yet to produce a single treaty after five years. Federal, provincial and tribal officials met Thursday to discuss ways of getting treaty negotiations back on track. The First Nations Summit, which represents bands in treaty talks, said the meeting was "encouraging." Meanwhile, the provincial government is said to be upset about the treaty commission's 1997 annual report, which is to be released Tuesday. The province has sent a letter to land claims officials complaining about how the report interprets the Delgamuukw decision and characterizes the state of treaty talks, as well as the departure of chief treaty commission Alex Robertson. Robertson left the job after the provincial cabinet refused to renew his contract for another full term, prompting Robertson and the commission to question the province's commitment to the treaty process. The provincial government said it wanted to renew Robertson for 60 days, while it reviewed the future of the treaty negotiations. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: More information on the BC Treaty Process: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Clark/BCgovt.html http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Clark/switlo.html 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: Big Mountain Sundance" --------- Date: Mon, 06 Jul 1998 18:01:29 -0700 From: Robert Dorman Subj: Big Mountain: SUNDANCE Announcement Mailing List: Big Mountain List This is to let all BM supporters know of the July Sundance at Big Mountain. This information was give to me by telephone from Grace Smith today. She gave it to me at the request of Ruth Benally, a traditional Dineh elder and sponsor of the sundance. The sundance will be held at Camp Anna Mae in the Big Mountain, AZ area. Signs will be posted along Hwy. 264 (between Hotevilla and Tuba City, I believe). Tree Day will be July 15th, and the dance will last until the 19th. There are usually 3 days of purification, then Tree Day (when the sacred tree is harvested and erected), then 3 days of sundancing. In any case, there are 500 native dancers expected and 100 non-native supporters needed for cooking, cleaning, setup and cleanup, and these will be needed starting several days in advance. Lakota medicine man, Joe Chasing Horse, will be in charge of the Sun Dance. Security will be provided by local Dineh; not from outsiders. As usual, there is to be no alcohol, drugs, or firearms. No photographs, videos or tape-recording of the dance or associated ceremonies will be permitted. Supporters are asked to bring their own food and water (lots of water). Because of the dry land, no open fires will be permitted except for the sweat lodge fires, so only kitchen cooking is permitted. Supporters (both those attending and those who cannot attend) are asked to send contributions, if they can, to help with gas money and food for the dancers. The Hopi tribe has agreed to allow the sundance and the permit is in the works. This Sun Dance is not a Dineh tradition, but one of the Lakota (and other tribes, as well). The Lakota dancers have been coming annually to Camp Anna Mae to dance in solidarity with the Dineh. [These are my words.RD:] This is sacred ceremony which they are sharing with the Dineh to pray for healing of the earth and all its relations. It is a gathering of Spirit. It is a sacrifice of the flesh in a sacred way to come into harmony and love with the Creator and all our relations (all living things, including rocks, the wind, etc.). It is NOT a war dance against Peabody Coal or the Hopi Tribe. It is a gathering in love and peace, so if you come, please come in a sacred way and walk in a sacred manner while you are there. If you must have more information, you may contact Grace Smith at 520-289-4968. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To unsubscribe, email redorman@theofficenet.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded message, you may subscribe by emailing redorman@theofficenet.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html Also, for great internet tools please visit: http://www.msw.com.au/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=1271 --------- "RE: Land Deal Rebuffed" --------- Date: Tue, 23 Jun 1998 02:00:53 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: "Land not money." Stoney Pointer says :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: LAND DEAL REBUFFED BY BAND MEMBERS - AGREEMENT SIGNED DESPITE PROTESTS Times Colonist, June 18, 1998, (CP) [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.] Sarnia, Ont. - Members of the Stoney Point aboriginal band, who have fought 56 years for the return of Camp Ipperwash, say they won't be at the table today for the signing of a $26.3 million land deal between the federal government and band officials. "They didn't involve us in the past two years, why should we go over there to legitimize their actions?" said Rod (Judas) George, whose family was removed from the reserve in 1942. The federal government hopes the deal, which requires ratification by Kettle/Stoney Point band members, will end the dispute over the southwestern Ontario land taken from the natives during the Second World War and later turned into a military base. Hundreds of natives gathered Tuesday to hear specifics of an agreement in principle transferring land ownership to the natives. George wasn't in the crowd. "Deal? What deal?" he asked. "We don't know the contents of the so-called deal. We've been saying for the past two years we need representation, legal or otherwise. We haven't had it. He says natives occupying Camp Ipperwash since May 1993 asked federal negotiator Ralph Brant for representation. "He said 'Nobody's asked me,' but we've asked him countless times." Along with Camp Ipperwash's return, the deal brings millions of dollars in individual and community compensation for the natives. Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart has asked for a gag order to prevent specifics of the deal from being leaked. But a band source told the Sarnia Observer the agreement in principle includes $12.9 million to rebuild the native community at Stoney Point, individual compensation for band members ranging from $157,000 to $405,000 and $3 million for a trust fund. The deal could also pave the way for Ottawa to try to negotiate the transfer of nearby Ipperwash Provincial Park, where Ontario provincial police shot and killed native protester Dudley George during a 1995 confrontation. But Maynard T. George, who describes himself as "saddened by the process", says there is no deal. "This (agreement in principle) has never been submitted to anyone at Stoney Point," he said. "Why has no one been allowed to review the exact contents?" He added that the 18 families relocated to Kettle Point and promised the return of their homeland after the Second World War hadn't been compensated. "They were left out because they were of strong opinion to move home. They wanted their land, not money." Stoney Point Reserve, established by the British Crown in 1827, was expropriated by the federal government under the War Measures Act in 1942. In 1980, the federal government paid Kettle Point $2.5 million for use of Camp Ipperwash. On May 5, 1993, a handful of natives moved to Camp Ipperwash and shared the land with military forces for two years. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Demise of the Old Ways" --------- Date: Sunday June 14 1998 2:22:44 AM From: Quadia Subj: Essay: Demise of the Old Ways of the Indian This is an essay written by my college-aged daughter for her American History class. I was impressed, and asked if I could share it, and she gave me permission. I am half-Cherokee; she is one-fourth. Her AOL name is LanceMom. Quadia ^^^^ << ====== >> ^^^^ ESSAY: Demise of the Old Ways of the Indians The following will discuss the conflicts between the United States (US) and the Indians. I will also explain "Manifest Destiny" and why it was used to justify the territorial expansion. I will explain the Indian Removal Act of 1838, which was the final treaty between the United States and the Indians, which led to the US declaring war on Indians and the ultimate demise of Col. Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn The conflicts between the Indians and the US was over land, and the belief that Indians were inferior to white Americans. In 1845, John O'Sullivan coined the phrase "Manifest Destiny." O'Sullivan said that, "It is the will of God that the American people expand from ocean to ocean." "Manifest Destiny" meant to the American people that they should bring Christianity, civilization and order out of chaos. The white Americans believed that they were superior and that other races were inferior. Americans believed that the Indians would either adapt or that they would become extinct. As the population grew, the settlers demanded the land that the Indians had. They believed that the Indians had too much land and that they didn't need it. So began a pattern of the relationships between the Indians and the US. First would be friendship between the Americans and Indians; then, confrontations over land; and, finally, war between the two. After every war with the Indians ended, there would be a treaty. The treaty always had the Indians losing land. The treaties were always broken. In the history of the US there were 371 treaties and the US broke every one of them. By 1828, Indians had lost almost all their land. There was a group of Indians who did try to adapt to the way of the Americans. That was the Cherokees. They had their own newspaper, horses, farms, etc. They also had a large area of good viable land. Once settlers discovered gold, they wanted the land and the Cherokees off it. The State of Georgia dissolved the Cherokee Nation and claimed that the land belonged to the State of Georgia. The Cherokee Nation thought this to be wrong and took the State of Georgia to court. The case went to the Supreme Court of the United States. The Cherokee Nation vs. Georgia in 1828 was a victory that really didn't help the Indians. The Supreme Court said, "Indians are a domesticated dependent Nation." They ruled for the Cherokee Nation, saying, "They have an unquestionable right to the lands they occupy until they willingly give it up." President Andrew Jackson did nothing to enforce the Supreme Court's ruling. Settlers' pressure to remove the Cherokees brought forth the Indian Removal Act of 1830. Congress passed this bill, stating that the Indians had to move from east of the Mississippi River to the west of the Mississippi. The Indians were told that they could have that land forever. Some Indians went willingly; others resisted, and fought. In 1830, Georgia had passed a law saying that in order to go onto what was formally Cherokee land, one had to swear allegiance to the State of Georgia, thus recognizing Georgia's power. In 1831, a Protestant man named Worchester wouldn't swear allegiance. He was arrested, tried and found guilty. The case went to the Supreme Court because Worchester said that the State of Georgia had behaved unconstitutionally by violating the treaty with the Cherokees. The Supreme Court ruled in Worchester's favor. In 1835, the Indian Removal Act was enforced with forced marches from east of the Mississippi River to the west. The most infamous forced march was called "The Trail of Tears." 16,000 Cherokees were forced to march from their homes in Tennessee in the dead of winter. One-fourth of them died from cold, lack of food, and diseases. So began the Indian wars that lasted from 1865 to 1868, small wars between Civil War veterans going west in search of glory, promotions and land, and Indians defending what was their way of life and their lands. In 1868, the last treaty between the US and the Indians was drawn. The treaty gave many rights to the Indians, but also included items they were not told about. The treaty gave the Indians the right to the land known as the Black Hills in what is now South Dakota, and government protection in food, clothing, education and shelter. What the Indians didn't know was that the treaty had a stipulation. Article 11 stated that by agreeing to the treaty the Indians would reside on the reservation. The treaty also protected the Indians in that it stated unless one-fourth of the Indian males agreed to it, there could not be another treaty. Pioneers moving west went around the new reservation territory. The pioneers demanded that they be allowed on the Indian land. Many influential men believed that the Indians would either move out of the way of civilization or be exterminated. Once again, they used Manifest Destiny as the justification. Gen. Sherman believed that to kill the buffalo would bring about the destruction of the Indians as this was the Indians' main source of food, clothing, and shelter. So began the destruction of the buffalo. At the beginning, there were approximately 50-million buffalo. By 1888, there were only about 1,000. In 1874, gold was found in the Black Hills by Col. Custer. Custer took 1, 200 armed men and reporters into the Black Hills. He did this under orders from the US government, violating the treaty that stated that non-Indians could not go onto Indian land without permission. In the newspaper, it was stated that Custer had found gold in the Black hIlls. Settlers demanded that they be let onto the land to search for gold. The government wanted a new treaty with the Indians, one that would allow them to purchase the Black Hills. Because of the Treaty of 1868, there could be no treaty. Three-fourths of the Indian male population said, "No." Two of these were strong Indian leaders. They were Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, both of the Sioux Nation. Sitting Bull was the ultimate chief of the Sioux (Lakota) Indians, a spiritual leader, holy man and strong tribal member. Crazy Horse was trained by the best warriors to fight, hunt and track. These two were of the non-reservation Indians. Red Cloud, a reservation chief, went to Washington DC along with other chiefs to discuss a new treaty. The chiefs said, "No." The US asked for a meeting to discuss buying or leasing the Black Hills. When the government representatives came, they were met by the largest gathering of Indians in their history. The answer to the offer to lease the Black Hills was still "No." The US, to force the eviction of the Indians, issued an ultimatum. The non-reservation Indians were to report to the reservation by January 31 or the Indians would be considered in violation of the treaty. Because it was the dead of winter, none could or would attempt to return. The US declared war against the Sioux Nation for not following Article 11 of the Treaty of 1868, which required the Indians to reside on the reservation. The government planned an attack on the Sioux Nation to occur on March 26. With three platoons coming from the south, east, and west, the US thought they had a sure victory. They had the latest weapons, and 800 men from each platoon. All would have probably gone as planned if Col. Custer hadn't gone against orders and had stayed with Gen. Terry's platoon. Instead, Col. Custer, seeking glory for a sure victory, put his men on a forced march and arrived a day early. Custer split his group. He ordered Maj. Reno to attack the camp. He told another officer, Benteen, to go to a position south of the river and kill any Indians who tired to flee. Custer and his group of men planned to go around to the back of the camp and kill the women and children. None realized the size of the Indians gathered. The attack began by Reno. The Indians fought back. One lucky shot hit an Indian scout called Bloody Knife in the face. Because he was next to Reno, when his head exploded it left brain tissue on Reno's face. Reno panicked and ordered his men to dismount. They were defeated. Crazy Horse, realizing Custer's standard method of attack, went to the back of the camp. He and his fellow warriors waited in ambush for Custer. When the battle was over, Col. Custer and his men lay dead. Two-hundred- sixty-one men died. No one knows for sure who killed Custer. In conclusion, the Battle of Little Big Horn was a major victory for the Indians, but it also caused more harm than good. In outrage for the "massacre" of Col. Custer and his men, the Indians were forced into exile and eventually onto reservations. The Black Hills were lost to them and the old way of life was over. --------- "RE: Native Wisdom/The Circle" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1998 21:22:54 EDT From: Lupospirit@aol.com Subj: Native Wisdom UUCP email THE CIRCLE You have noticed that everything an Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round. The Wind, in its greatest power whirls. Birds make their nests in circles.... the sun comes forth and goes down again in a circle. The moon does the same, and both are round. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood and so it is in everything where power moves. Hehaka Sapa (Black Elk) Oglala (Teton) Elder The world is not linear. Life is not linear. Our understanding is limited when it is linear. Native American wisdom always works in circles. Many people use the Medicine Wheel, which is a powerful teaching tool and way of understanding ourselves and our world. There are four directions: East, South, West, North. There are four seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter. There are four faces of humankind: Red, Yellow, Black, White -- all my relations moving together. There are four things that breathe: The ones who crawl, the winged ones, the 2 legged, the 4 legged. There are four elements: fire, water, air, earth. There are four things above the earth: sun, moon, stars, planets. There are four parts to plants: root, stem, leaves, fruit. There are four cycles of life: child, youth, adult, elder (who returns to the child). There are four parts of our being that need care: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual. All are interconnected. The universe is round. We come from the earth, it nourishes us even in our mother's womb, and we return to the earth. We view life differently when we think in circles. --------- "RE: Eight Northern Indian Pueblos" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jun 98 04:39:11 -0700 Subj: Coyote Creek Newsletter Group R From: Ben Goodman UUCP email Coyote Creek Southwestern Products: Newsletter June 30, 1998 A free newsletter about American Indian culture, history, and arts and crafts of the American Southwest. If you get it, you subscribed to it. If you wish to cancel your subscription send email to ben@coyotecreek.com saying so. We welcome comments and suggestions. Please do not hesitate to drop us a note or give us a call. Your email address is never sold, rented, leased, loaned or otherwise given out-even if we're starving! Of course, if you would just keep buying stuff, we wouldn't have to worry about starving quite so much :). We also welcome submitted articles, book reviews and opinions. Please do not hesitate to contact us. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Table of Contents 1. Strength Through Unity <--- Included with permission in this issue of Wotanging Ikche. Thanks Ben. 2. Newspaper Scandal 3. Major Arts & Craft Shows This Summer 4. Special Deal +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1. Strength Through Unity Eight Tiwa and Tewa pueblos in northern New Mexico have joined together in an organization called the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council (ENIPC). In this article I shall examine several of the eight pueblos. The main purpose of the Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council is to create economic opportunities for the pueblo people. The eight pueblos are Nambe, Picuris, Pojoaque, San Ildefonso, San Juan, Santa Clara, Taos and Tesuque. If you are planning a trip to northern New Mexico this summer you may want to consider attending the Eight Northern Arts and Crafts show on July 18 & 19. This is one of the major arts and crafts events of the year in the southwest. The show rotates each year to a different pueblo, which makes it very interesting if you attend on a regular basis. One of the most active pueblos is the San Juan Pueblo, which has a long, interesting history. You may remember in one of our newsletters we mentioned the pueblo revolt of 1680 was led, at least in part, by a person called Pope'. Pope' was a member of the San Juan Pueblo, or as they are traditionally known, the Ohkay Owingeh. History aside, this pueblo should be known as the capitalist pueblo. These guys know how to market. Should you drive from Santa Fe to Taos you will pass through the San Juan pueblo. One of the first things you will notice is the Ohkay Owingeh Casino which is operated by the pueblo. This casino, like all Native American owned casinos, has been somewhat controversial. In spite of that, the casino has contributed greatly to the local economy and given a boost to the other tribal enterprises. The tribe operates several other businesses. One is the Ohkay Owingeh Towa Gardens Co-operative, which raises food for the tribe. Another is the Oke Owingeh Arts and Crafts Co-operative, which markets a mixture of goods from T-shirts to pottery and offers classes for tribal members. The Buffalo Project maintains a small herd of buffalo for religious/traditional purposes. And last, the Tsay Corporation funds different businesses for tribal members, several of which have gone on to become very successful. The purpose of all of these businesses is to enable tribal members to participate more actively in the local economy. This is an excellent example of a pueblo being located in the right spot with a government that is responsible enough to reinvest casino profits back into the tribe. Many tribes are missing one of these factors. They may have a casino, but not enough business to make a substantial profit. They may have a government that won't invest in the people, etc. San Juan seems to have all the pieces. Another of the more well known pueblos is the Taos pueblo. Famous for its beautiful setting at the base of the Taos mountains the pueblo has been immortalized in numerous postcards. While the actual pueblo land includes a great deal of land besides the actual pueblo building, the pueblo is still occupied and accessible to the general public on most days. This pueblo has traditionally been rather conservative in religious matters but has been most cooperative in attempting to remain accessible to tourists. Many families live there full time. There is still no electricity, although many homes do have gas now, and no running water, other than the stream that runs through the middle of the pueblo. Be sure to review our article regarding the proper etiquette when visiting all pueblos. The Taos pueblo is particularly sensitive to unauthorized photographs, etc. Many of the residences have been converted to shops selling handcrafted items. While you're there, get some fry bread (if there is any left after my last visit)! One of the less well known pueblos is the Picuris pueblo. Located northeast of the city of Espanola, Picuris is not as easily visited as some of the more well known pueblos. With a total population of only 375 people, Picuris is the smallest of the eight pueblos. Due to its rather remote location, Picuris has a difficult time attracting visitors. The area is economically challenged but the tribe has an attractive visitor center, restaurant and museum. There has been a revival of arts and crafts in the pueblo, many of which are for sale in the visitor center. Gee, this is fun, but I see a book length newsletter coming! Next month, more about the Eight Northern. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Thanks for subscribing! Please feel free to tell us what you think of the newsletter, pro or con. Ben Ben Goodman (and Petroglyph Pete) Coyote Creek Southwestern Products sales@coyotecreek.com http://www.coyotecreek.com 4207 West Avenida del Sol Glendale, AZ 85310 Toll Free: 1-888-780-2153 Native American jewelry, pottery, fetishes, contemporary sterling silver jewelry,original art and a newsletter on Southwestern Native American culture and artists. If you need it, we can find it! --------- "RE: Leonard Needs Help" --------- Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 10:20:50 -0500 (CDT) From: Freedom Heart Rising Subj: LEONARD NEEDS HELP! From LPDC: UUCP email LEONARD PELTIER NEEDS HELP CALL LEAVENWORTH FEDERAL PRISON BEFORE TUESDAY JULY 7TH!!! 913-682-8700 Dear Leonard Peltier Supporters, Upon arriving back to the LPDC office after the June 27th freedom rally, we were informed that Leonard's phone privileges had been suspended. Prison officials are clearly targeting Leonard, looking for anything they can find to harass him. As you may know, Leonard's phone use is strictly regulated and he is only allowed to call people who are on his authorized list. Leonard called a supporter who is on this list. The supporter's assistant answered and transferred the call to the supporter who was on a mobile phone. The prison considered this to be a 3-way call and suspended his phone privileges because 3-way calls are unauthorized. Leonard did not know that the number he was being transferred to was different to the one which he dialed. Obviously this is a petty violation. Now we are unable to communicate with Leonard and we are, of course, very worried. On Tuesday prison officials will be making a decision as to how long the suspension will last. Please call the prison and let them know that we are looking out for Leonard. Ask them why they are holding such a petty charge against him. Tell them that they seem to be acting out of maliciousness since Leonard did not call an unauthorized number and he was clearly not intentionally breaking any rules. In solidarity, The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Gina --------- "RE: Peltier Strategy Meeting Report" --------- Date: Sat, 4 Jul 1998 10:23:31 -0500 (CDT) From: Freedom Heart Rising Subj: Peltier Strategy Meeting Report: from LPDC: UUCP email LEONARD PELTIER STRATEGY MEETING REPORT The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee met with Leonard Peltier Support Groups on June 26th in Washington DC to strategize for Leonard's release. We met for several hours in a room packed with Peltier supporters. The meeting was led by Bobby Castillo, Ramsey Clark gave a medical report, and Steve Robideau gave a brief history of the case. The topics that took precedence in the discussion were Leonard's current health status, civil disobedience, and getting Leonard's case back into the courts. Also discussed was the continued fight for clemency and Senate Hearing Investigations. The last half of the meeting was used to discuss the Leonard Peltier Chiapas Food Drive. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE While we must continue, as Ramsey Clark advised, to write letters regarding executive clemency, getting Leonard transferred to the Mayo Clinic, getting Leonard's case back into the courts, and initiating Senate Hearings, it was also decided that we must take Leonard's case to the streets using civil disobedience. Without this all of our strategies will go without notice as they have for all of these years. The first date we will be planning civil disobedience will be December 23rd. We want to disrupt the busiest shopping day of the year, hitting corporations in the pocket book and bringing much needed attention to Leonard's case. The next date will be on February 6th, 1999. On this day we will be doing civil disobedience internationally in our communities. LAW SCHOOLS We will be contacting law schools and law professors asking them to study Leonard's case and find ways by which we can get it back into the courts. We will provide a letter that supporters can present to schools in their communities doing this. It has been agreed that Criminal Attorney, Tony Serra will argue the case once it is back in the courts. HEALTH Leonard continues to be in excruciating pain because of treatment he received on his jaw at the Springfield Medical Facility. He can not open his mouth enough to bite or chew his food, nor can he close his mouth completely. Besides the fact that the constant pain is torturous, this condition could prove to be life threatening if infection should occur. We will continue to write prison officials urging them to transfer Leonard to the Mayo Clinic (NOT SPRINGFIELD) for treatment. Again, this will be backed by civil disobedience. SENATE HEARINGS We are continuing to ask Peltier supporters to contact their senate and congress people, encouraging them to push for senate hearing investigations that would expose the illegal involvement of the FBI in the Pine Ridge murders and the incarceration of Leonard Peltier. We are also doing research trying to find the best way to ensure that the investigations happen. Not all Congress people have the authority to initiate investigations, though their support is definitely needed. We are researching exactly which committees and subcommittees have this authority and the most strategic route to take in making sure the investigations happen. (If you have information that could help us with this please contact the office). We will soon give an update on this. EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY As you probably know, we have been waiting five years to hear from Clinton regarding Leonard's petition for clemency. We have hundreds of copies of a form letter which his office sends out when people write to him about Leonard. These letters are the same word for word and tell us nothing. Again, civil disobedience may be the only way we can get them to take us seriously. LEONARD PELTIER CHIAPAS FOOD DRIVE Keith Mc Henry led a meeting about the food drive for Chiapas. A different caravan bringing humanitarian aide to Chiapas will be leaving at the end of July. After we find out how their trip went and what kind of Visas they had to obtain we will be able to make more definite plans. So far we know that people will be gathering in front of Leavenworth prison on September 10th. Then people will gather in Brownsville, Texas on the 12th and leave for Chiapas where they will arrive on September 16th. We are asking people to organize events to raise funds to buy food from local farmers in Chiapas. For more information contact Keith M