From gars@netcom.com Tue Sep 8 23:14:21 1998 Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 19:25:47 -0700 (PDT) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.037 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 037 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, September 12, 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 Innu-L & Nat-Film Lists; Nuevo Amanacer Press; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; UUCP email; Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. 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. "Damn any man who sympathizes with Indians! I have come to kill Indians, and believe it is right and honorable to use any means under God's heaven to kill Indians." __ Colonel John Chivington, Colorado Volunteers, Methodist Minister Commander at Sand Creek where over two hundred sleeping Indians were massacred, three-fourths of them women and children "Where today is the Pequot? Where are the Narragansetts, the Mohawks, the Pokanoket, and many other once powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before the avarice and the oppression of the White Man, as snow before the summer sun." "Will we let ourselves be destroyed in our turn without a struggle. give up our homes, our country bequeathed to us by the Great Spirit, the graves of our dead and everything that is dear and Sacred to us? I know you will cry with me, `Never! Never!'" __ Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! At what point do you throw up your hands in despair and give up trying to bring about unity and harmony in Indian Country? At what time do you decide it is a pointless, endless task to mend the great Sacred Hoop? NEVER! Our ancestors promised the time would come when ego would be set aside for the greater good of the People. Every prophecy I have ever heard promises the chaos and distrust will end and we will come together as one. My lance is planted. I trust my elders and my ancestors. I hold their truths before me as my shield. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Salt Lake Tribune Editorial September 8, 1998 Let the Buffalo Roam It has been a year and a half since the slaughter of 1,100 Yellowstone buffalo repulsed the nation. That should have been enough time for the various government entities to develop a plan to prevent future slaughters. Apparently, it wasn't. The departments of Interior and Agriculture, in conjunction with the state of Montana, have unveiled a bison management plan that rests, ill-advisedly, on the same general principles of the interim plan that permitted the slaughter two winters ago. The federal government, which is taking comment on the interagency plan until next month, has held a series of public hearings this summer, including one in Salt Lake City last week. At issue is how to manage bison who migrate beyond the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park in severe winters to forage for food. The wandering bison are a problem only because some of them are infected with a disease called brucellosis, and Montana livestock interests are fearful that the bison may infect cattle that graze in the areas outside the park boundary, thus jeopardizing the state's critical brucellosis-free status. The differences between livestock interests, who favor an aggressive brucellosis-control program, and environmentalists, who want to preserve what's left of America's last wild buffalo herd, are evident at these meetings. The government's plan favors the cattlemen -- which is difficult to fathom in that there are only a couple of thousand cattle grazing in the areas outside the park borders that the bison sometimes invade. The government's preferred alternative (of seven choices) -- which includes setting an arbitrary limit of 2,500 on the Yellowstone buffalo herd, and the capture and slaughter of positive-testing bison as ``the primary means of managing risk'' -- clearly stems from the primacy of protecting livestock interests. Yet, there has been no documented instance of bison passing brucellosis to cattle in the wild; thus, the plan is overkill for a risk that may not exist. Environmentalists address the idea of bison-cattle separation from the other, more logical angle -- by moving the cattle, not the bison. Their plan would do this through proposals like offering alternative public-land grazing allotments to the affected ranchers and by acquiring available private land near the park's borders. This approach makes more sense, economically and otherwise, than setting up a rerun of the ugly slaughter of buffalo that took place two winters ago. The undocumented brucellosis risk and the minimal amount of affected livestock argue for a plan to give the last free-roaming buffalo herd in the country some breathing room -- certainly more room than the government's interagency plan offers. Copyright 1998, The Salt Lake Tribune =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= September 12th is Leonard Peltier's birthday. Cards, US postal money orders, paper back books, and pictures (not Polaroid) can be sent to: It is NOT too late to send a card to: USPL Leonard Peltier #89637-132 Leavenworth, KS 66044 =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= 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 ---------- - Leonard Peltier - Davis Referendum Toll-free Action - Lower Churchill Solidarity - A Little Matter of Genocide - Native Legislative Updates - Oventic School Dedication Trip - The Four Sacred Mountains - Communique: Fobaproa - Native American Rights - Badger Army Ammunition Plant Open Letter - Taxation Immunity Under Siege - Mt. Graham Sacred Run - Natives Invoke the - Kamloops Band Council Begins Tax Law of the Land - Headwaters Deal - Why the Nisga'a Agreement Must - Story of the Tiny Bird Not be the Blueprint - Native Prisoner - Sac and Fox Nation - A Hundred Years Ago Hold Closed Council - Poem: Dancin' Storm - The Pequots' Latest Gamble - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Tsuu T'ina Occupation Wins Deal - Conferences and Powwows --------- "RE: Leonard Peltier Toll-free Action" --------- Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 11:01:14 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Leonard Peltier: toll-free action (fwd) :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:Forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Leonard Peltier: toll-free action Senate and Congressional offices have been requested to review the information relating to Native American PP Leonard Peltier, and to support clemency, commutation, and/or judicial hearings as soon as possible. The Senate Indian Affairs Committee is reported to be considering asking for judiciary committee hearings. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which would have the authority to approve and schedule, or disapprove the request, is reportedly willing to schedule hearings "sometime next session," which could be anytime next year. And per some If the Senate heard enough Congressional interest, that could help push the request and approval sooner. Regardless of how much e-mail the President gets, if the other politicians don't hear from their own constituents (and they're NOT hearing enough), they don't recognize the issue as important, so don't voice the kind of support Clinton would need to hear to take action. Calls are needed to your Congresspersons and Senators; and to make it really easy, something for our taxes finally, a toll free number to the Capitol Switchboard: 1-888-723-5246 Ask for the Congressperson or Senator of your choice (then do it again, and again, and again...) If you want to follow up your call with a fax, (which usually costs LESS than a stamp) ask the receptionist or the staffer for the correct fax number. For those who need a calling script, try something along these lines: "Who in your office might handle human rights or judiciary/civil rights issues? (Get a staff person name, so you have a contact to refer to now and/or in future calls) "May I speak to that person please? (If they aren't available now, try again until you catch them or ask for someone else so you get a live contact beyond the receptionist. Make some ONE accountable to you, especially if you are their "constituent".) "I'd like _______________________ (name the Congressperson/Senator) to write a letter of support for commutation of Leonard Peltier's sentence, or at least request hearings EARLY in the next session. Could you send me a copy of that letter? (If they hedge, tell them why you want it done now, and ask why they won't support.) If they state they're unfamiliar with Leonard's case, volunteer to send information and articles (available from the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee) and ask, if you send that material today, if you can get confirmation of the materials' receipt and when you can discuss the issue again. Get the results of your call back to LPDC so they can follow up on your followup: either looking for the letter that was promised to you, or answering their questions or overcoming their objections. Leonard Peltier's case requires we continue to keep pushing, in an organized way. Please let them hear enough voices to know it's important! More info: The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee P.O. Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044-0583 e-mail: lpdc@idir.net website: http://members/xoom.com/freepeltier/index.html :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html --------- "RE: A Little Matter of Genocide" --------- Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1998 15:41:51 -0400 From: Louis Proyect Subj: A Little Matter of Genocide UUCP email I am chairing a meeting for Ward Churchill at the Brecht Forum on Thursday, Sept. 10th, 7:30pm (122 W. 21st St., 10th fl., 212-242-4201), where he will be speaking about his new book "A Little Matter of Genocide." This book has more than academic interest to me since I have had some exposure both to neo-fascist holocaust denial and Zionist "exclusionism" on the Internet lately. Both these topics are of central concern to Churchill, an American Indian scholar and activist. Churchill's goal is to show that the genocide against the American Indian and the Jew is rooted in the profit-driven worlds of American "manifest destiny" and Nazi "lebensraum." It is no accident that, according to historian John Toland, Hitler often told people that his model for Nazi Germany was the US policy toward the American Indian in the 19th century. Jim Craven, a economics professor at Clark College in Washington State, brought this book to my attention. The questions that the book raises are of utmost concern to Jim as well. He is enrolled in the Blackfoot nation and has served on a tribunal investigating American Indian residential schools in Canada. Scholar Roland Chrisjohn, a member of the Iroquois confederacy, has said, "Residential schools were one of many attempts at the genocide of the Aboriginal Peoples inhabiting the area now commonly called Canada. Initially, the goal of obliterating these peoples was connected with stealing what they owned (the land, the sky, the waters, and their lives, and all that these encompassed); and although this connection persists, present-day acts and policies of genocide are also connected with the hypocritical, legal and self-delusion need on the part of the perpetrators to conceal what they did and what they continue to do." It's also interesting is that Craven, like Churchill, is also extremely knowledgeable about the Nazi holocaust. When I reported to the PEN-L (Progressive Economists) mailing-list that I had found Churchill's book and the Nizkor web-site to be useful places for rebuttals to the holocaust deniers, he commented: "A la Louis' endorsement of the Nizkor Project, I would also endorse all to visit and read there. Among many things one will find the Red and Blue Book series of Nuremberg Trial documents and transcripts well worth reading. I use this source continually with reference to work I do on the question of Genocide against Indians and the parallels with the most well-known of the Holocausts--by the Nazis. "The Opening arguments of Justice Jackson are well worth reading as well as the transcripts of the examinations/cross-examinations of those being tried at Nuremberg. The case of Julius Streicher is particularly noteworthy and I must admit, that when I am depressed or just frustrated with teaching or whatever, I go home and put on an old U.S. Army Signal Corps Film I have on tape showing the actual hangings of those sentenced to death at Nuremberg--it just gives me a real lift, much better than Prozac could ever do." The other tie-in to the Nazi holocaust that Jim does not mention is that he approaches it not only from an American Indian standpoint, but also from the standpoint of somebody who has connections to Judaism. His very own mother, who was born to Blackfoot parents in Fort Hall, Pocatello, Idaho, was adopted by a Jewish family as a baby and raised in reform Judaism. His mother's step-parents, like his father's parents, were left-wingers as well. They transmitted these beliefs to him. Not only is he knowledgeable about Blackfoot spiritual and ethical beliefs, he is more knowledgeable about Jewish ethical teachings than the average Jew, including me. One belief that he shares with his late mother is that it goes AGAINST Judaism to care more about attacks on the Jewish people than about other peoples. This sort of exclusivism was antithetical to the type of reform Judaism his mother was brought up to respect. This branch of Judaism has always been strongly identified with the European Enlightenment and has often taken strong stands against racism of any sort, including Jewish racism. In recent weeks I have been in a battle with "left-wing" holocaust deniers on the Internet newsgroup alt.politics.socialism.trotsky. Their tactic is to use anti-Zionist rhetoric in order to make their neo-Fascist agenda more palatable. They begin their posts with some sort of critique of Israeli complicity with apartheid or imperialist crimes and then proceed to question whether Jews died in gas chambers. The Zyklon-B was not used to kill people, they argue, but for delousing. Jim Craven explained to PEN-L how these sorts of neo-fascists in "left" covering operate: "... a 'leftist' holocaust denier is an oxymoron; there is simply no such thing. No true leftist could ever deny that the Holocaust against Jews, Gypsies, Homosexuals, Slavic Peoples and others in Conquered Territories, POWs etc. occurred. "There are some populists who appear anti-capitalist and nominally appear 'leftist'--as did the Brownshirts or S.A. of the Nazis--who are anti-Semites, holocaust deniers etc. They are 'leftists' only on the most superficial levels. "There are some leftists, and I am one of them, who believe that 'The Holocaust' has been cynically and abusively used/misused to promote Zionism or to deflect any criticisms of Israel, but they would also argue, as do I, that for example speaking only of the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, is a desecration of the Jewish as well as non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust (after-all, so many Jews were slaughtered because of artificial and deadly divisions between Jews and non-Jews--and their natural allies--who could have formed effective united fronts against fascism had both Jews and non-Jews not allowed historical divisions and forms of mistrust to be used and manipulated) employed for cynical and manipulative purposes. There are some leftists who also argue, as do I, that Zionism is to real Judaism what the Crusades were to real Christianity or what the Taliban or House of Saud are to real Islam. "But no true 'leftist' can ever promote racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, national chauvinism, Holocaust denials, Zionism, ultra-sectarian/bigoted Christianity or some other religion, imperialism, fascism etc etc." In order to answer the "leftist" holocaust deniers, I made frequent trips to www.nizkor.org, the website of NIZKOR, a group dedicated to exposing holocaust denial. Eventually the people who maintain this site got word that holocaust deniers were spreading their poison on the alt.politics.socialism.trotsky newsgroup and showed up themselves. They did an excellent job refuting the neo-Fascists and invited me to join their mailing-list. It was on this mailing-list that I discovered the unfortunate tendency in the Jewish and Zionist world to make the holocaust something "exclusive." When I showed up on the list I explained that holocaust deniers were using the crimes of the Israeli state as a pretext to apologize for the crimes of Adolph Hitler. This set off a firestorm of controversy. >From the Zionists on this mailing-list, I heard that FDR did not neglect to bomb the railroad tracks to Auschwitz, an act that could have saved thousands of Jewish lives. This was just left-wing propaganda. I also learned that Ariel Sharon had nothing to do with the massacre of Palestinian women and children at Sabra and Shatila. I was also told that I was a troll for even suggesting that these things might be true. In my parting words to the Nizkor mailing-list I said the following: Holocaust deniers try to make their message palatable to left-wing audiences by wrapping themselves in anti-Zionist rhetoric. Jews who deny that Ariel Sharon had responsibility for the massacre at Sabra-Shatila weaken the moral authority that is needed to challenge the neo-Nazis. In order to challenge the lies of Faurisson and company, we have to maintain the highest scruples when it comes to our own history and the history of oppression in general. It would be sheer hypocrisy if we swept uncomfortable facts under the rug. David Stannard, a Jew and author of "American Holocaust", a book about the genocide of the American Indian, points out the following in his preface to Ward Churchill's "A Little Matter of Genocide": "But remembering the Holocaust does remain necessary--as it should. So, apparently, do claims for the historically unrivaled magnitude of Jewish suffering during the Holocaust--which should not. Indeed, so insistent is Israel on retaining its 'official story' of the Holocaust that for decades now some of the most outstanding works of scholarship on Jewish history and politics--including volumes by Hannah Arendt and even Raul Hilbert's monumental study, 'The Destruction of the European Jews'--have not been translated into Hebrew. The reason: they critically discuss the behavior of certain Jews in Europe during the years of Nazi rule, and such criticism can not be tolerated by the Israeli theocracy. As Segev notes, in Israel today the Holocaust, by one measure at least, has an even higher status than religion, since the maximum legal penalty for denying the existence of God is one year in prison, while the punishment for denying the existence of the Holocaust is up to five years imprisonment. "Nor can the existence of OTHER genocides be acknowledged by Israeli officialdom. Thus, the government of Israel has banned from Israeli television a documentary film on the early twentieth-century Turkish genocide against the Armenians, and it has prohibited the Israeli Education Ministry from introducing the story of the Armenian genocide into high school curricula. Moreover, in the United States, Israeli officials of the Foreign Office have joined hands with the government of Turkey in blocking Congressional efforts to acknowledge the Armenian genocide with an official Armenian day of remembrance." Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html) --------- "RE: Oventic School Dedication Trip" --------- Date: Fri, 4 Sep 1998 16:50:38 -0700 (PDT) From: mexicopeace@igc.org (Mexicopeace@igc.org) Subj: Oventic School Dedication Trip UUCP email 1. OVENTIC SCHOOL DEDICATION TRIP Sunday, SEPT. 27 - Saturday, OCT. 2 Participate in the dedication and inauguration of the first autonomous, indigenous junior high school in Chiapas, MEXICO! As a "Tourist of Conscience" you will continue a two year old program of cultural and educational exchange with the indigenous communities of the highlands of Chiapas and help make the dream of authentic, multilingual education a reality for the Maya youth of today's Chiapas. Participants will spend five days and four nights in the civilian Zapatista center of Oventic Aguascalientes II learning about the realities of contemporary Maya life and especially their dreams of a world class education for their youth. The final construction of the first phase of the junior high school will allow 200 students to live and work in Oventic. The leadership of the Maya insurrection insists they have a legal and moral right to open community controlled schools for their children (see attached letter). and the Accords of San Andres, signed by the rebels and the government, clearly give authority for autonomous schools. The Chiapas Schools Construction Teams have been specifically requested to insure that international "Tourists of Conscience" are present in Oventic Aguascalientes II in the week before general elections in Chiapas. Please join us for the experience of a lifetime. Cost is $400 from Mexico City. Book your flight TODAY from your home to Mexico City and call us for an application. (619) 232-2841. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2. Support the Maya school at Oventic by signing the following statement: Together we say, let the children learn and let the teachers teach in Oventic, Chiapas, MEXICO! We the undersigned, support the peaceful efforts of the indigenous communities Chiapas, MEXICO to construct their first junior high school and urge the Mexican government to respect the school at Oventic Aguascalientes II. Most importantly, we seek firm guarantees for the safety of all the indigenous and non-indigenous teachers, students and families working to open the school this fall. Finally, we denounce the harsh detention and deportation of San Diego teacher Peter Brown who is permanently expelled from Mexico for the crime of supporting the school at Oventic. Please send your name, address, zip, phone, email Return completed sheets to: Chiapas Schools Construction Teams, 3909 Centre Street, San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 232-2841 FAX (619) 232-0500 http://www.igc.org/mexicopeace +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 3. Letter from the Education Committee of the school at Oventic Aguascalientes II. AGUASCALIENTES II, CHIAPAS, MEXICO AUGUST 4, 1998 To Democratic Teachers. To Students of all levels. To Independent Unions. To University Students in the entire country. To National Civil Society. In a corner of the highlands in Chiapas called Oventic, known as Aguascalientes II, the first self-developed educational project has begun. In response to the federal government's failure to carry out the the Accords of San Andres Sacamch'en de Los Pobres, the rebel autonomous municipalities of the highlands of Chiapas have decided to create the first educational system for the liberation of our people. With the construction of the Zapatista Autonomous Rebel Secondary School, we are taking the first step towards guaranteeing a multi-ethnic and cross cultural education for the indigenous and non-indigenous of the entire world. With the support of international solidarity and the work of our compatriots, we have raised the first four classrooms, a computer and typing room, a library, and the first dormitories which will house the first 200 young people from different communities, from the autonomous municipalities of the highlands of Chiapas. Nevertheless, there are many and varied needs in order to make this rebel dream a reality. Therefore we are making this call to everyone and to all those who understand the importance of winning this battle against the bad government - a battle dedicated to eradicating both the ignorance and the exclusion of the first of these lands. We need furniture for the classrooms and dormitories, more books, school supplies and the resources for our students to prepare and eat their meals in their own school. We also ask for the knowledge and experience of conscious teachers, to help us to prepare new plans and programs for our rebel junior high school. We hope to receive from everyone as much, or as little as they can give. The realization of this dream can be the beginning of a new educational system for a Mexico which is dignified, just and democratic; a Mexico which fully respect the rights and cultures of indigenous Mexicans. The power of arms and money cannot defeat our indigenous' dignity. Liberty, Democracy and Justice FRATERNALLY THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE GENERAL COORDINATOR OF EDUCATION (hand signed with an official stamp of the school's education committee) ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ English translation by irlandesa & pedro cafe ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Special thanks for first internet publication: Visita las paginas del Frente Zapatista de Liberacion Nacional: http://spin.com.mx/~floresu/FZLN/ (espanol) http://www.peak.org/~joshua/fzln/ (english) http://home.worldnet.fr/ngoc-mai/Front%20zapatiste.htm (francais) NUEVO AMANECER PRESS- N.A.P.To know about us visit: http://www.nap.cuhm.mx/nap0.htm +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ A. To receive updates about the junior high school at Oventic Aguascalientes II at the rate of two or three messages every month, please send the following message to mexicopeace@igc.apc.org: subscribe maya penpals B. To receive am update about the junior high school at Oventic Aguascalientes II about once a month, please send the following message to mexicopeace@igc.apc.org: subscribe mexicopeace C. If you do now wish to receive electronic messages about schools in Chiapas, please send the following message to mexicopeace@igc.apc.org: unsubscribe mexicopeace D. If you also want to receive letters and news via regular (snail) mail, please include your name, street address, city, ZIP, country, etc. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Chiapas Schools Construction Teams Chanobjunetik ta Chiapas Jkoltavanejetik ta Smeltzanel Equipos de construccion para escuelas en Chiapas Craftsmen's Hall AFL-CIO 3909 Centre Street San Diego, CA 92103 (619) 232-2841 FAX (619) 232-0500 http://www.igc.org/mexicopeace --------- "RE: Communique: Fobaproa" --------- Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1998 13:44:20 -0700 From: ncdm Subj: Communique: Fobaproa UUCP email SOME REFLECTIONS ABOUT FOBAPROA [Translator's note: Bank Fund for Protection for Savings, comparable to FDIC], support and a call "I have lived a great deal: the May of my life has fallen into dryness, into the yellow leaf, and what should accompany old age, such as honor, love, obedience, many friends, I do not expect to have, in its place will be curses, not in loud voices, but deep voices, honor by mouthpiece, words which the poor heart would like to deny, although it does not dare." Macbeth, Act V, Scene III --William Shakespeare The catastrophe of Fobaproa cannot be covered up by Arizmendi [Catholic bishop], nor by the enthusiastic declarations of Labastida in favor of the death penalty. The black and battered hang-over of "Russian vodka" in the stock market, and the devaluation of the peso are the cherry which crowns a cake filled with blood and mud: the neoliberal model (the May of the technocrats which each time seems more like fall). As an attempt to explain this rotten reality, we "take some things down" to reflect and make conclusions. May these brief commentaries be useful, as well as the support to what is worth supporting, and may the call for what is necessary be useful. I. FOBAPROA AND THE TECHNOCRATS: NOT POLITICS NOR ECONOMY Bad as an economist and worst as a politician, Zedillo is now a delinquent, a kidnapper of laws which he pretends to carry out as he disposes with the wealth of the nation. Much has been said and written about the grave economic effects which would come as a result of the approval of Zedillo's initiative in the congress of the Union which would convert the debt of the Bank Fund for Protection for Savings (Fobaproa) into public debt. A great deal has been exposed about the true beneficiaries of this "economic rescue". We can add little or nothing to this. But it's worth reflecting about another aspect which is in question: the one about the "state of law," that recurring formula in the speeches of the masters and hunting mastiffs at the hour of raping, beating, destroying, jailing and assassinating indigenous and non-indigenous in the north, center, east, west, south and southeast of Mexico. This economic-political crime (that's what it's about) begins when Zedillo makes an ILLEGAL decision to borrow abroad in order to help the banks which are "broke." Now we know what was behind the "bankruptcies" of the banks: frauds, internal loans, laundering, speculation. But in addition to these crimes is the one committed by Zedillo, because the Political Constitution says (in article 73, section VIII) that in order to ask for loans abroad and to direct economic resources Congress must approve the action. Federal legislators of the parties National Action (PAN) and Democratic Revolution (PRD) have denounced the fact that Mister Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de Leon violated the Constitution. The proof of this illegal action is evident and only a constitutional clause "saves" the head of the Executive branch from being subject to a political trial (National Action has a project which would annul this absurd privilege). In addition to not fulfilling his constitutional mandate, under what criteria did Zedillo decide that it was more important to "rescue" delinquents disguised as bankers instead of building schools, hospitals, popular stores and roads? Isn't it more important to better living and working conditions of the people? Why support the rich financiers and not the millions of small debtors who have lost everything, including their future, due to the "errors of December"? For years (the administrations of De La Madrid, Salinas de Gortari and Ernesto Zedillo) the democratization of the country has been set aside. We were told (and Salinas the Great repeated it once and again, while he was killing his opponents) that the political system could wait, that the economy was more urgent and that our rulers were working to reward us with entry to the First World without asking anything in exchange, except for the eternal adoration of everyone for themselves. Today in Mexico, there is no widespread democracy. And there is also no national economy. During the last 15 years it has been destroyed and its ruins have been sold. The economic model whose development demanded the abandonment of the struggle for democracy" has done nothing but increase the poverty and share it with more Mexicans, and concentrated wealth among a smaller number of people. The technocrats (as the members of the gang of rulers call themselves) said that reality would be like their cybernetic macroeconomic schemes. They said their specialty was not politics, but it didn't matter because, in the era of economic globalization, the most important thing was market technology. Knowing how to buy and sell, or traffic was what the country demanded of its rulers. For the time being, they told us and said to one another, they should set to one side the "old politicians" (the so-called "dinosaurs") who had kept the nation far from modernity with their populism. The Dinos were set to one side, but they handed down their long tail of corruption, crimes and ineptitude which had taken them to power and had been the "old politics" to the "neopoliticians." Lurking, and nostalgic for the impunity and wealth which power had given them, the Dinos prepare their return. Meanwhile, in order that there be no doubt about their ability to make politics, the "computer kids" give us samples of their stupidity. Three examples: 1. With the opportunity to resolve quickly and in a dignified manner the conflict in the Mexican Southeast, they opt for mass assassination (Acteal, Chavajeval and Union Progreso), the escalation of the war, the creation of paramilitary groups and the support for the regional political-economic bosses (from here is derived the "Can Gang", as is known the group with Albores Guillen [Translator's note: Chiapas governor] ). 2. Economically allied with organized crime, the technocrats renew a form of making politics as an option to resolve the internal differences of the governing class: assassination. The unresolved crimes of Luis Donaldo Colosio and Jose Francisco Ruiz Massieu are proof that the "substitutes" among the new political class use the same tactics as the Mafia. Such is the cost of modernity. 3. Determined to displace the old political class in order to better "administer" the sale of the country, the technocrats close spaces, arrange their "buddies" and purge in the most rancid style of "nomenclatures." The lack of political oxygen suffocates not only the opposition, but different sectors within the State-party System. Results? Each time more "historic" members of the PRI abandon their party and move on to other parties or positions. Meanwhile, the political vacuum left in the national scheme by technocrats is filled with the protagonism of two forces: the Church and the Army. These three examples demonstrate the stupidities of the group in power who ratify what is already a national conviction: our rulers know nothing about politics. Before they justified it with their "macroeconomic" accomplishment. Then Fobaproa came and with it came the truth: they know nothing about economics either. The Fobaproa affair is a lesson, not for the doctors from Harvard-Yale- -Cambridge, but for all the nation. "No politics or economics" is the slogan which sums up the last 15 years of neoliberal government in Mexico. Fobaproa fundamentally questions the economic and political model imposed on Mexico by the State-Party system. Fobaproa proves that the figures don't add up: we are poorer, there is no financial stability nor stability of the currency, we are less and less sovereign and more dependent, there are no jobs, delinquency rises, the tie of government with criminals grows stronger and broader: in sum, we are worst in micro and macroeconomics. Fobaproa proves, in sum, that the actual political and economic model is not sustainable and indefensible. By insisting in his proposal for Fobaproa, Zedillo insists only in keeping himself and his colleagues in power, at the cost of the opposition, even within his own party. That is why criticism towards the effectiveness and efficiency of the technocrats is necessary, as well as the importance of taking a position against them. It is necessary to stop them NOW. II. FOBAPROA: AN AUTONOMOUS AND INDEPENDENT LEGISLATIVE BRANCH? Mounted upon a rotting political crisis for some time, the technocrats have to suffer the slow liquidation of Presidentialism and an insistent, although battered, growth of the independence and autonomy of the Federal legislative Branch. The national catastrophe produced by the public administration of the "1982-2024 Gang" (Gurria dixit), in spite of the efforts and wheedling of Labastida, can't manage to get supported by honest politicians (there are still some), or by analysts, or by social organizations or by citizens without a party. It's logical: failures (even when disguised as victories) do not have followers. Some legislators of the Institutional Revolutionary Party have warned about the immoral character of Zedillo's proposal. We must salute the struggle for the autonomy and independence of some Parliamentarians in the Legislative Branch. Their critical attitude towards the initiatives of the Executive are beneficial for the life of the republic. The country needs a Congress which is truly independent, as well as representative of the interests of all Mexicans. The struggle for the independence of the powers should continue to its ultimate consequences. In a healthy republican regime, the Executive obeys the Legislative. The Presidentialism suffered by our political system should disappear completely. As long as this does not happen, the democratization will continue in the rubrics of "speeches" and "demagoguery". The Fobaproa affair has served to assay the strong struggle of the legislative Branch for its independence and autonomy; it has demonstrated the growing discontent within the State-Party system, and it is proof of the political and economic stupidity of the technocrats. But it can also be a sign of progress "within the political parties" of the most sensitive currents to popular sentiments instead of macroeconomic indicators. Within the parties of National Action and the Democratic Revolution there are tendencies which seek ways in which to resolve the problem created by the stupidity of the Executive without hurting the population more. III. FOBAPROA: DEMOCRACY FROM ABOVE OR BELOW? With all this, the debate and decision-making about Fobaproa continues to be "above" among legislators, analysts, opinion leaders and party leadership. It is necessary to "lower it" in order that the "rebound" produce effects. If national politics are no longer dictated exclusively by the Executive, if the political parties (not just one of them) participate more and in a better way in decisions, if the professional politicians appear willing to hear or foresee reactions of the people against measures which affect them, it is necessary to hear and feel the citizen voice in such a way that it also make a difference. This is democracy, "government of the people, by the people and for the people." The proposal of the Party of the Democratic Revolution to carry out a citizen consultation about Fobaproa is a serious effort to open a space so that the citizenry can manifest its opinion about this issue. The initiative from the PRD is an example of inclusive and democratic politics and it would be healthy for Mexico. Nevertheless, the mechanisms by which to make the voice of the citizenry heard within the powers of the Union and make its weight felt obliging those who "govern to obey" are still missing. The struggle for democracy in Mexico is not only a struggle for fair, free and just elections; multi-party participation; or a change in power. It is, above all, the struggle for politics to be "citizen-ized" if you will. The struggle to find new ways, to create spaces, to nurture initiatives which give voice and a place to those who make a nation: the workers of the field and the city, the indigenous, the squatters, the housewives, the teachers, students, retired and pensioned, small businessmen, professionals, employees, handicapped, HIV positives, intellectuals, artists, researchers, unemployed, homosexuals, lesbians, youth, women, children and elderly, the everyone who, under different names and faces, dress and name themselves, the people. IV. CONSULTATION ABOUT FOBAPROA: SUPPORT The EZLN salutes and supports the consultation about Fobaproa organized by the PRD and in which other political and social organizations as well as individual citizens participate to be held on August 30th. V. A CALL TO STRUGGLE FOR WHAT BELONGS TO US: DEMOCRACY, LIBERTY AND JUSTICE We call upon the people of Mexico to participate in the National Consultation about the Fobaproa this 30th of August of 1998, and above all, we call upon everyone to struggle for the rights of all: for health, housing, food, decent wages for work, land, education, culture and information, liberty, independence, democracy and peace. We salute the struggle for the independence and autonomy of the Legislative Power; we salute the political organizations who turn their faces downward. We salute the Consultation about Fobaproa. We salute those who open spaces of citizen participation. And above all, we salute those who want to "citizen-ize" politics, to democratize the country. >From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast, For the Indigenous Revolutionary Clandestine Committee General Command of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos Mexico, August of 1998 EZLN COMMUNIQUE To the national press: Ladies and Gentlemen: I include some reflections about the Fobaproa and a political position Over here nothing is new, the helicopters and planes promising war are abundant, as are rains that promise harvests, and dignity that promises a future. The children continue to be children and little Pedrito has re- named me "Up" ( easy abbreviation for "Sup", I understand) while he tries to figure out if my pipe is made of chocolate as were some cigarettes they gave him. While the sea dreams with me in her womb, I remember that in coming days (August 28th) the Ladies celebrate the 20th anniversary of an act which, like everything which comes from below, began in a small way and then grew. 20 years ago a group of determined and discomforting (for the Power) men and women began a hunger strike to demand the liberation of political prisoners and the presentation of the disappeared. All of us, and others who have no memory, owe these women of stubborn tenderness many things. One of these, not the only one, is that tomorrow which is promised and known to those who, like the Ladies, understand that memory does not rest nor does it surrender, nor does dignity have age or size. Then it so happens that Old Man Antonio arrives with one of those gifts for the sea and he tells, just to tell. THE STORY OF THE MEASURE OF MEMORY So say the elders of the old ones of ours, that the first gods, the ones who gave birth to the world, spread memory among the men and women who walked in the world. Memory is good "so said the greatest gods" because memory is the mirror which helps us to understand the present and promises the future. With a gourd they made the first gods made the measure which they then distributed and gave memory to all the men and women. But it seems that some men and women were bigger than others and then the measure of memory did not have the same dimensions in everyone. In the smallest ones, memory shone brightly and in the biggest ones it grew dim. That is why they say that memory is greater and stronger in the small ones and harder to find in the powerful. That is why they say that men and women get smaller as they grow old. They say it is so memory can shine brighter. They say this is the world of the eldest of the elders: to make memory large. And they say that dignity is merely memory which lives. So they say. Vale. Health to you, and may memory carry out its commitment, in other words, that it make justice. >From the mountains of the Mexican Southeast Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos Mexico, August of 1998 IT IS HERE AGAIN! THE ONE! THE ONLY! THE FEARED (by the readers)! The recurring postscripts! Y-e-e-e-s! P.S. Which applauds the memory of Zedillo. In Ocosingo, when he spoke about the legislative reforms on indigenous rights, Zedillo referred to the one by the Cocopa as "The one made by a group of legislators together with the EZLN". All that was left to say was: "a group of legislators who rebelled." P.P.S. Which hands its croquette to whom it may concern. According to the intelligence services a new autonomous municipality has arisen in a place called Tuxtla Gutierrez. The Rebel Autonomous Council is located near the zoo "Alvarez del Toro", and with clear intentions to hide themselves, has put up a sign at the entrance which says : "Cerro Hueco Jail". WE demand the State of Law be applied with rigor, that one thousand policemen and soldiers attack the rebel headquarters, destroy all the jail, and evict all those who are there. P.P.P.S. Which tallies numbers (beyond Fobaproa). The peso is devalued, the stock market climbs downward, the white collar crimes and no collar crimes increase, drug trafficking makes stronger ties with government, the San Andres Agreements remain unfulfilled, the war advances in Chiapas, Guerrero and Oaxaca, the international outcry against the Mexican government for its human rights violations grows, the Legislative Power reveals itself, the Pre-candidates for 2000 are swarming, Fobaproa undresses and with it the illegality of the election of 1994,__________ (space so that you can add anything I forgot), etcetera. Everything is clear but, what will Zedillo say on September 1 - ? His achievements in an underwater search? Vale again. A salute to you and Congratulations! (I mean if you're reading this, it's because you've survived four years of "well-being for your family" [Translator's note: Zedillo's 94 election slogan]. The Sup wrapped like a gift. Translated by : Cecilia Rodriguez --------- "RE: Badger Army Ammunition Plant" --------- Date: Sat, 05 Sep 98 14:34:44 PDT From: Tom Goldtooth Subj: ACTION ALERT!! Environmental Justice/Badger AAP UUCP email INDIGENOUS ENVIRONMENTAL NETWORK (IEN) ALERT - LETTER SUPPORT NEEDED ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ACTION ALERT!! Please join us in supporting the Ho-Chunk Nation's (Winnebago) interest in lands now occupied by Badger Army Ammunition Plant by signing on the following letter. This letter was authored by the Ho-Chunk Nation's Attorney General. This property is within what is called the State of Wisconsin in U.S. This is traditional territories of the Ho-Chunk Nation. Send your name, address, and group (if any) to olah@speagle.com or call her (Laura Olah) at (608)643-3124. Deadline is October 1. Thank you!! Text of the Sign-on Letter: TO: Bureau of Indian Affairs U.S. Senator Russ Feingold U.S. Senator Herb Kohl US Dept of the Interior - BIA Dear Sir or Madam: Through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Ho-Chunk Nation has made a formal request to GSA that approximately 3050 acres of property at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant transferred in trust for the benefit of the Nation. The BAAP land has very important historic and cultural significance to the Ho-Chunk people. The land lies within the heart of Ho-Chunk's aboriginal territory, including villages located within present-day Sauk County, and in particular, along the Wisconsin River, where the Badger Army Ammunition Plant is located. The Nation's primary interests are: (1) the protection of the cultural, historic, archaeological and natural resources located on the property, (2) the restoration of prairie, native plants and animals, (3) the restoration, remediation and continued protection of the environment, both the human environment and the natural ecological environment. The preservation of the history of the Ho-Chunk Nation and successor communities of the great Sauk Prairie Land is fundamentally important. It preserves the past while preparing the future. Land is permanent and stable, a source of spiritual origins and sustaining belief. Land is an important social institution, one intimately connected to the environment, resource management, heritage preservation and economic development. Through community operation and integrated land use planning, it is possible to preserve, conserve and protect the Natural Resources of this State. It is possible through a collaborative effort, joint support and mutual assistance to restore the Sauk Prairie. The efforts of community, farmers, environmentalists, sports-persons, conservation groups, historians and local and tribal government, the restoration, remediation and protection of the environment, history, and cultural resources can be achieved. The Ho-Chunk Nation's goals and objectives are consistent with the uses envisioned at the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant. The goals of this community are achieved with the involvement, cooperation and resources of all interested parties. The land use is the key to this equation. Ho-Chunk, like the voices of the public and WDNR, has stated that its desired use and objectives are to aid in cleaning-up the environment, ensuring a clean green space for people and wildlife. Eco-tourism, restoration of prairie, habitat and wildlife, and the preservation and protection of traditional cultural properties are invaluable to the history of this land and its people. The protection of and preservation of earthwork, mounds, cultural sites, including the re-establishing native plant and animals like Bison, as a native species to the prairie, are essential to the revitalization of Ho-Chunk traditional practices and culture. These desired objectives are consistent with the prairie restoration desired by the area people. It does not conflict with, but compliments the land use practices of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and surrounding neighbors. Our support is offered and in return, we receive support. This is what being a good neighbor is all about. The Ho-Chunk Nation is committed to protect and enhance natural resources. The Ho-Chunk Nation has undertaken a prairie restoration and bison project to enhance the traditional beliefs of the Tribe. The Nation operates resource management programs to "acquire, manage, develop and enhance tribal resources" including "land, water, fish and wildlife, range, forestry, irrigation, and other programs designed to manage, develop and enhance tribal resources." The BAAP facility is located on lands that historically were prairie and woodlands. Since the 1960's, portions of the BAAP lands have been the subjects of wildlife restoration projects. The Nation wishes to expand its prairie and bison projects. The Nation's proposed use of the property is consistent with the interests expressed by many members of the local communities and environmental groups, and would benefit those communities. For all of these reasons, the Ho-Chunk Nation respectfully requests that the Department of the Interior seek to acquire the BAAP in trust for the benefit of the Nation. Sincerely, NAME, ADDRESS, GROUP, TELEPHONE, ETC (if any) -- Send all replies to: Laura Olah, Executive Director Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger E12629 Weigand's Bay South Merrimac, Wisconsin 53561 olah@speagle.com Phone (608)643-3124 Fax (608)643-0005 Website http://www.speagle.com/cswab A member organization of Military Toxics Project Non-Native network group of IEN For information by a representative of the Ho-Chunk Nation: William Boulware Jr. Tribal Department of Justice 1-800-501-8039 AT Ho-Chunk Supported and forwarded by: Indigenous Environmental Network - National Office P.O. Box 485 Bemidji, Minnesota 56619-0485 USA Phone: (218) 751-4967 Fax: (218) 751-0561 e-mail: ien@igc.apc.org Web Site: http://www.alphacdc.com/ien "An alliance of Indigenous Peoples protecting the sacredness of Mother Earth and building sustainable communities." --------- "RE: Taxation Immunity Under Siege" --------- Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1998 18:53:36 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Taxation immunity under siege as policy hardens :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: INDIANS FEAR TAX-FREE STATUS IS UNDER GROWING SCRUTINY Canadian Press, August 10, 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) - When the tax man came calling at a recent gathering of Indian chiefs, he ignited a furor that some aboriginals say shows a hardening of government policy on taxing Indians. The Ontario government inspector, for the first time that Indian leaders could remember, was looking for provincial sales tax to be charged on aboriginal arts and crafts at a Toronto convention and trade show. He left empty-handed. But some Indians fear the surprise visit was a sign their tax-free status is under increasing scrutiny following several recent court rulings that favored governments over aboriginals when it comes to paying tax. "They're trying to change the rules of the game," said one aboriginal representative. According to treaty rights, status-Indians who live or work on reserves have traditionally been exempt from federal income tax, nor have they had to pay GST or PST on purchases made on reserves and in some cases, off reserves as well. But this spring and summer, natives have lost once in the Supreme Court and twice in the Federal Court in cases involving taxation: - A June Supreme Court decision said the New Brunswick government was within its rights to charge provincial sales tax on purchases made off reserves. - The Federal Court ruled in May that Robin Brant, an Ontario Mohawk, had to pay GST to Revenue Canada on the gas he sold to non-natives at the gas bar he operates on his reserve. - A March ruling by the Federal Court ordered a wealthy B.C. native family to pay income tax on their investment income. The court rulings set standards to clear up a patchwork of taxation policy across the country at a time when official policy often conflicts with practice. For instance, a store owner, anxious to make a sale, may decide against charging Indians GST for items they buy off a reserve, even though federal law requires the tax be paid unless the goods are delivered to the reserve. "I haven't paid GST or PST and if they refuse to recognize or respect that right I tell them to put the items or whatever I'm going to be buying back on the shelf," said Leonard Tomah, a New Brunswick Indian leader who initiated the Supreme Court lawsuit against the New Brunswick government. "What we have here is not recognizing a right that native people have." The ruling against Tomah has been the most closely watched native taxation case to come before the courts in years. The decision has prompted some provinces to start reviewing their taxation policies after the Supreme Court ruled the New Brunswick government was not violating the Indian Act when it imposed an 11 per cent sales tax on off-reserve purchases five years ago as the province tried to balance its books. The province brought in the measure two years after the federal government imposed the GST on goods bought off reserves. The tax in New Brunswick, which had already been levied in several other provinces, sparked angry demonstrations during Easter weekend in 1993, when riot squads were called in and dozens of protesters were arrested for blocking highways in the province. Until then, there was a blanket sales tax exemption of everything Indians bought, both on reserves and off. Ontario is one province thats now looking over its rules to decide whether to charge across-the-board sales tax as a result of the New Brunswick case. "That's the issue, really," said Jay Young, a spokesman for Ontario's ministry of finance. But he said there has been no official crackdown so far and the effort to collect tax at the recent chiefs convention was an attempt to enforce existing rules. Revenue Canada says it has not made any changes in tax policy either and that the Supreme Court ruling supported the practice of charging GST off reserves. But adding to the fear among Indians that their tax immunity is under siege is a move by the band in Kamloops, B.C., to start collecting tax on alcohol, tobacco and fuel on the reserve. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Natives Invoke the Law of the Land" --------- Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 10:32:43 -0400 From: "Mohawk Nation Office" Subj: Natives Invoke the Law of the Land UUCP email August 30, 1998 Throughout the Americas, Natives Invoke the Law of the Land By ANTHONY DePALMA Earlier this month, after initialing the first treaty that his people had ever concluded with Canada's Government, Chief Joseph Gosnell Sr. held the document over the seal whiskers of his regal headdress and shouted, "The Nisga'a canoe has returned." It was a reference to a trip to the white man's capital taken by his native American ancestors a century ago, and it was a way of saying that the Nisga'a's long journey for recognition within Canada was over. But the Nisga'a in fact have a long way to go, and in that they are little different from other native Americans in Canada, Mexico and the United States. For the treaty, which gives the Nisga'a title to ancestral lands and the right to govern what goes on there, still must be approved by Nisga'a members, the legislature of British Columbia and the federal Parliament. It has already raised objections from other Canadians about the special rights it would give the Nisga'a. In fact the Nisga'a experience illustrates how much, across all of North America, the original problem that European settlers faced on their arrival in the new world remains largely unresolved. More than 500 years later, Indians continue to demand recognition that they have special rights to live a special way of life by virtue of their having been in North America first. And this is more than a simple question of granting justice, as the native Americans see it. Even where the political will exists to grant such rights, governments and courts struggle to reconcile the needs of Indian cultures with the concept of equality in the constitutions of all three countries. It is a little like the basic political problem with affirmative action programs: While the central goal of righting past wrongs enjoys considerable support, the formulas being put forward are under attack because they seem to grant special privileges to some, but not all, citizens. In Mexico, for example, Indians in the state of Chiapas have taken up arms to force the government to recognize Indian autonomy, but officials worry that doing so too broadly could give Indians rights not available to other Mexicans. And in the United States, tribes are testing the boundaries of their sovereignty by exploiting their land in ways that might not be tolerated off the reservations. Fear of Precedent In the Canadian case, opponents object to the treaty because it would allow elections limited by race. So they are preparing to challenge the constitutionality of the Nisga'a treaty before the precedent is followed by dozens of other Indian groups that are also clamoring for self-government. Despite different histories and vastly unequal populations, these issues all boil down to a demand to control Indian destiny by controlling Indian land. "What makes Indians Indians is the dream of living on communally held lands," said Jose Barreiro, associate director of the American Indian Program at Cornell University, who has worked and studied Indian groups across the American continent. "The issue of land is very, very strong in all indigenous communities." The issue of the land itself has been addressed, fairly or not, in treaties or contracts signed over many years. Now the crux of controversy in all three countries is the way Indians live on the land. Although they travel in pick up trucks, wear jeans and use the Internet, many Indians lead lives on their reserves and reservations that are different from the societies around them. The 2,500 Nisga'a who live on their traditional lands are divided into four bands, which correspond to four villages. Patterns of leadership, land tenancy and even marriage are determined to a large extent by participation in the bands. Some tribes have their own courts, their own methods of punishment and their own preferred style of elections, which is not always democratic. These patterns have persisted despite ferocious attempts at assimilation through residential schools and laws that banned traditional ceremonies. A Generation of Lawyers Over the last 30 years, the recognition of basic human rights around the world has exposed injustices in the way Indians are treated. In the United States, the civil rights movement focused attention on Indians, and affirmative action gave a whole generation of Indian students access to universities and law schools. That generation of lawyers is now testing the limits of Indian sovereignty, and the fight for greater independence is sometimes financed by tax-free revenues from gambling operations. In Canada, the Government is still smarting from a violent confrontation between soldiers and Mohawk Indians in 1990. A report by the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples last year left no doubt about how badly directed Canada's paternalistic handling of Indians had been. Recent court decisions have upheld Indian claims and even the legal validity of Indian oral histories. In the United States, Indians in Utah, claiming sovereign powers, caused a panic with their plan to accept nuclear waste. In Mexico, where there are no reservations, the number of full-blooded Indians is estimated to be around 10 million. Their poverty is as extreme as their marginalization from the rest of society. Much of the current tension can be traced to a constitutional amendment in 1992 that essentially privatized Indian land, which until then had been held by the community. The Government believed it was boosting Indian chances of entering the modern economy but Indians have opposed the change. The Zapatista uprising in Chiapas was based on issues of the land and Indian rights. In negotiations with the Zapatistas, accords acknowledging Indian autonomy were reached in January, 1996. But the government recoiled at what the negotiators had given away. It was particularly concerned that acknowledging the rights of "the Indian people" as opposed to the more limited concept of "Indian communities," infringed on the sovereignty of Mexico and created two classes of Mexicans. The Zapatistas prefer to see themselves as part of a global tribe of Indians. "We have helped create, at the side of men and women in the five continents, a great network," the Zapatista leader, Marcos, wrote in the Indians' latest declaration from Chiapas, "a network that is fighting to build a new world." +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +Mohawk Nation Office - Kahnawake Branch +Our site has been updated! +Please view and let us know what you think! + http://www.cyberglobe.net/users/mnation -------- "RE: Why the Nisga'a Agreement Must Not be the Blueprint" -------- Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 11:02:34 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: UBCIC: Treaties 'Taking Out' Indian Nations :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: WHY THE NISGA'A AGREEMENT MUST NOT BE THE BLUEPRINT Khatou News, August 1998, by Saul Terry - Union of BC Indian Chiefs Dear Citizens of Indian Nations, Canada, and British Columbia: The agreement with the Nisga'a is being desperately pursued by the Federal and Provincial Governments because they fear they are running out of time. First, the BC Treaty Commission is in shambles and second, more and more people (Native and non-Native) are coming to truly understand the push behind both the Federal Comprehensive Claims Policy and the British Columbia Treaty Commission. The main reason that the powers that be in government are imploring religious institutions, corporate associations, trade unions, etc, to support the Nisga'a initiative is that the process may get out of their control before the deal is signed. Whether knowing, or unknowing of government policy I am certain that the general upbeat feeling expressed over the Nisga'a Treaty are genuine. As a leader I am mandated to protect Aboriginal Title, at the same time to explore avenues to settle the outstanding land question between the Federal Crown and Indian Nations fairly and justly through a solution which practically accommodates our Peoples within the state of Canada. But we, that is Native and non-Native people, have begun to really understand what is being done politically, economically and socially in the so called 'land claims' negotiations. Our message may finally be getting through. The truth will have a shocking impact upon our various Nations, indeed all fair minded people should be dismayed when they learn that the agenda is more than creating certainty for the economy. Treaties and their certainty provisions are really about 'TAKING - OUT' (extinguishing) the Indian Nations. Changing Nations to mere delegated village council or federal municipalities. In some parts of the world it is now called "ethnic cleansing". It is practised to a much more subtle level upon our people but it is still genocide. The most deplorable fact in this case is that they expect us to provide our consent. Genocide may seem harsh terminology, but this treaty once and for all, alters the reality of Indigenous Nations. We are being asked to give our consent to eradicating or renouncing that we are distinct Peoples, with distinct identifiable territories, with our own governing systems, with our own distinct languages and histories. We are being asked to use our power of consent to deny to our future generations the benefits of Title from their homelands. The traditional leadership, along with ordinary Indigenous People, have been usurped by neo-colonial leaderships that are working with the settler governments to bring this aberration of settlement to a final conclusion. The thinking seems to be that if we give consent to such an agreement it cannot be seen as genocidal. The rest of us are being held in reserve ghettos until we capitulate to giving up our priceless homelands for a few hectares of settlement land which will soon be too small to be of benefit, much like the Indian reserves are now. The few million dollars being offered by the federal and provincial governments as compensation in these negotiations, will, in a short years, be recouped by taxes collected from our people's income and the newly acquired privilege of fee simple land taxes. Taxes for land indigenous People once owned outright under Indian Title. The Federal and Provincial coffers will be more than replenished. In essence, with such taxes, we will be paying ourselves for the loss of Title. The Federal and Provincial Governments will walk away without concern for financing "land claims" settlements. So much for the settlements bankrupting the economy. Ask now who shall be truly bankrupt? It will be the Indian Nations as we will be forced to surrender over to Canada our territorial integrity and all the riches that that represents. Furthermore, the governance system which emerges from this deal is defined by the settlers, authorized by the settlers and to serve the settlers. Our traditional Indian governments are replaced by the delegated authority of a "third order" of government sanctioned by the Federal and Provincial Governments. This is not self determination,this is permission to be self-administering Canadian laws and systems. What are the division of powers going to mean and are they going to be real division of power? Will such an agreement really mean self-determination for our Nations? We shall also be distracted by involvement in another colonial quagmire of internal renting of what is left of our lands and resources. Our hereditary and elected leadership will have to deal with the resulting socio-economic fall out. This is the stage which has been set for us. I feel there is a drop door to this stage floor. Nowhere in any of the media, is it seriously reported that law suits have been filed by Nisga'a hereditary chiefs and ordinary citizens against the apparent neo-colonial administrations that have been negotiating these treaties of surrender and capitulation. There seems to be a deliberate policy of hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, therefore report no evil. The Gitanyow people, as a part of the Gitk'san Nations have experienced first hand the dishonour of the crown as demonstrated in the land overlap issue. This has exposed the Canadian treaty policy of first come, first served. In this way other communities or Nations are being strategically forced to the treaty table or as in the Gitanyow case to the court to defend their infringed upon Title. One must conclude that this is just another reason not to be involved in this sham of a scheme. In retrospect, to paraphrase a saying after the holocaust of Jewish people: Where were we when they took the lands of the James Bay Cree? Where were we when they took the homelands of the Yukon Peoples? Now that they are coming to take a Nation's land and resources in our own back yard, where are we? Yours truly, Union of BC Indian Chiefs Saul Terry, President. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to Kahtou - mailto:kahtou@sunshine.net :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Sac and Fox Nation Hold Closed Council" --------- Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1998 15:57:35 -0600 From: "John Berry" Subject: (FWD)Indian News 9-01-98 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: 9/1/98 1:11 AM - - - - - - Tribal meeting closed to media, outcome unknown c. Shawnee News-Star 8/30/98 STROUD, Okla. (AP) -- The outcome of the Sac and Fox Nation annual General Council meeting in Stroud was unknown late Saturday night, because tribal members voted to throw out the only reporter in attendance shortly after the meeting began. Tribal members voted 138-7 to oust the media from the meeting, although all other non-tribal members were allowed to stay, the Shawnee News- Star reported. The vote interrupted a parliamentary move amending the agenda to allow immediate discussion of the meeting's most pressing issue: Who is legally the tribe's principal head chief? Dora Young, who was reinstated to that office by the tribe's Supreme Court Aug. 20, claims the title. So does Don Abney, who was elected to the post in a special election last year. The special election was called following the General Council's ouster of Ms. Young and tribal secretary Mary McCormick. Ms. Young and Ms. McCormick were ousted March 1, 1997, after a tribal grievance committee found probable cause for charges that Ms. Young had denied tribe members freedom of speech and Ms. McCormick had neglected her duties. The women appealed. The tribe's Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that Ms. Young and Ms. McCormick were improperly put out of their jobs. The court ordered their reinstatement. The ruling also nullified a special election in August 1997 that put Abney into the position of chief. But Abney claims he still has the job. All non-essential operations of the tribe were shut down by Abney's administration Aug. 25, pending the outcome of Saturday's meeting. --------- "RE: The Pequots' Latest Gamble" --------- Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1998 15:57:35 -0600 From: "John Berry" Subject: (FWD)Indian News 9-01-98 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: 9/1/98 1:11 AM - - - - - - The Pequots' Latest Gamble By Brett D. Fromson c. Washington Post August 30, 1998 At first glance, the new Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center in southeastern Connecticut seems like overkill. Not only is it the largest museum in the country devoted to Indian life and history--at 308, 000 square feet, it is 20 percent larger than the planned National Museum of the American Indian--but it also focuses exclusively on one tribe, the Pequots. It's tempting to see the place as the self-aggrandizement of a tribe of 550 Indians with too much money, courtesy of their ownership of Foxwoods Resort Casino. That would be to sell the Pequots short. The same tribe that unexpectedly built the Western Hemisphere's largest betting parlor in Connecticut, a state known traditionally as the "Land of Steady Habits," has surprised yet again. Yes, they have spent a ton of money, but they have spent it to great effect. They have created a museum that largely transcends parochial navel-gazing. The story of the Pequots is a fascinating look into the history of American Indians, non-Indians and New England, and well worth a visit. The museum, which opened this month in Mashantucket, honors for the first time an Indian tribe's history on a scale equal to the many non- Indian museums and historical reenactments that dot the American cultural landscape. The museum, which cost close to $200 million, is part Colonial Williamsburg, part Holocaust Memorial Museum and part National Museum of Natural History that ennobles the tribe's history while mourning its defeat and near annihilation at the hands of America's European ancestors. The museum has an explicit agenda: to rediscover the history of the Pequots and thereby celebrate and justify the resurrection of a tribe that history books and New Englanders declared extinct a century ago. The museum is also intended to lessen recent tensions between today's Pequots and their non- Indian neighbors who fear the tribe's growing political and economic power in the region--a phenomenon not seen since 1638, when the Puritans defeated the tribe in one of the first and bloodiest Indian wars. Given the museum's multiple goals, a visitor may wonder if major-museum standards of accuracy and scholarship have been met. It would shock no one if the Pequots retouched history a bit to make themselves more heroic than independent research would suggest. But the tribe, assisted by a small army of scholars, librarians and veteran museum professionals, has made an effort to discover the truth of their roots and present the facts dispassionately. The story, until recently forgotten by most tribal members and the outside world, was unearthed from archaeological digs on the reservation, the diaries of explorers and Colonists, tribal records, government archives and artifacts collected previously by non-Indian institutions. The Pequots, it turns out, have quite a saga to tell--of war and defeat, loss and dispossession and, most recently, rags to riches. A dominant force in southern New England when the Colonists arrived at Plymouth in 1620, the Pequots were vanquished 18 years later in a fierce war against the English and rival Indian tribes, stripped of their lands, confined to a hardscrabble reservation that was a snake-infested patch of swamp and rock, and reduced to poverty and subsistence living. In the centuries following the Pequot War, they intermarried with poor blacks, immigrant whites and others at the low end of New England's social hierarchy. Many subsequently moved away from the economically depressed reservation, and the tribe, in search of a better life. It was not until the early 1970s that a small group of tribal members embarked on a seemingly quixotic attempt to revive the shattered tribe and repopulate the nearly empty reservation. Via smart lawyering and persistent political lobbying, they succeeded in obtaining federal recognition for the tribe in 1983, a move that allowed them to expand the size of their reservation and have greater freedom from state and local governments. By 1986, the Pequots had used federal recognition to open a profitable high-stakes bingo hall, and in 1992 they hit the jackpot when they started Foxwoods, which has a near monopoly on casino gambling in New England. The only competition comes from the nearby Mohegan tribe, who run the fourth- largest casino in the Western Hemisphere, the Mohegan Sun. Today, Foxwoods has become one of the major tourist destinations in the Northeast, and generates annual revenues of about $1.5 billion for the tribe's members. Spending $193.4 million on a museum is no financial stretch for them. The museum building spreads easily, like a great bird, over a slope on the edge of a cedar forest. It is sleek, if not handsome, and offers a 185-foot stone and glass tower at one end of the building that allows visitors to survey the tribe's 1,250-acre homeland. A visit begins in a vast meeting hall whose glass-and-steel ceiling and curved exterior wall are open to the sky and surrounding land. It is a pleasing space, unlike some modernist halls that simply make people feel small. Below the Gathering Space, visitors start by getting a quick review of the contemporary Pequot nation and then travel back in time to the most recent Ice Age via a series of natural history exhibits depicting the region when humans are believed to have first inhabited New England. You descend an escalator through a simulated glacial crevasse, complete with blasts of refrigerated air, recorded creakings from actual icebergs and the drip drip drip of melting ice. There follow several wonderful dioramas, including a stupendous caribou kill, circa 9000 BC, by some Indians--the museum doesn't claim they were Pequots. "Life in a Cold Climate," as this section is called, also includes the biggest and scariest stuffed beaver I have ever seen. The centerpiece of the museum, however, is a 22,000-square-foot re- creation of a Pequot village as it looked at the time of the European invasion. Dozens of life-size models inhabit the village. It's an "immersion exhibit," meaning visitors can wander at their leisure through the village. The overall effect is quite impressive, enhanced greatly by hundreds of distinct sounds and smells of woodland life. The human figures, cast from the bodies and faces of living American Indians, seem about to spring to life. You feel as if you have stepped back in time to a place you never knew existed. The exhibits then present in great detail the events leading up to and including the massacre and defeat of the tribe in 1636-38. The massacre at Mystic, only seven miles away, remains the defining event for the Pequots. The tribe does not stint on presenting all sides of the conflict. Once prepped, the visitor may wish to see a 30-minute docudrama of the massacre. In this fictionalized version, a "Pequot elder" who escaped the massacre retells the story. The movie, unfortunately, sentimentalizes Pequots, oversimplifies the story and, in the end, is oddly unmoving. (Parents, note that the film is quite bloody.) The "Life on the Reservation" section follows--a survey of the trials and tribulations of the Pequots since the massacre. The exhibits capture the difficult reality of American Indian life in the past 350 years. But to my mind, there is too little discussion of the non-Indian ancestors of the Pequots of today. For a tribe that many members rejoined only recently and whose members are at most one-eighth Pequot by birth, it is odd that the other branches of the family tree go largely ignored. The Pequots' black and white New England forefathers remain mostly offstage--a regrettable omission, since the intermarriage of Pequots with poor blacks and immigrant whites, the region's other dispossessed groups, is a fascinating part of the story, and one the Pequots must still grapple with even as they celebrate their new-found tribal identity. One can only hope that with time the museum, which is a work in progress, will more directly address the sensitive issues of race, ethnic identity and social class in New England. For scholars and other students of Indian history, the Pequots are in the process of establishing a serious library. The research center will focus not only on the Pequots but also on American Indians post-19th- century. Its current holdings of 23,000 volumes are slated to increase to 150,000. A children's library offers another 4,000 volumes, and programs on such issues as myths and misconceptions about Indians. One complaint. The Pequots charge too much for admission--$10 for adults. That could deter visitors--but probably not patrons of the Foxwoods casino, who can use their frequent-gambler points toward admission to the museum. A final note. The museum is a mere quarter-mile from Foxwoods, which is easy to overlook because the Pequots have left a forest of cedars between the two structures. Don't. To get a complete picture of the Pequots, drop by the casino, if only to see the financial engine that made the museum possible. It is a jaw-dropping expanse of slot machines and table games. You may be appalled. You may find it electrifying. In any event, you will see how the Pequots have been transformed since the arrival of the white man. The Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center (860-396-6800) is at 110 Pequot Trail, Mashantucket, Conn. Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day. Admission: adults, $10; children age 6-15, $6; children under age 6, free. --------- "RE: Tsuu T'ina Occupation Wins Deal" --------- Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1998 00:15:10 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Tsuu T'ina Occupation Wins Deal :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: NATIVES, CFB STRIKE LAND DEAL Calgary Herald, August 22, 1998, by Mark [S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.] The Tsuu T'ina First Nation "has the keys" to military houses at former CFB Calgary after a breakthrough deal on the week-long native housing occupation was reached Friday night. The band has full and immediate control of the houses and is free to use them for Tsuu T'ina families who desperately need housing, said Maj. Michel Pepin of the Department of National Defence. "Effective immediately they are responsible for the married quarters." The band's responsibility includes the 204 housing units, roads and utilities, Pepin added. The deal came shortly after 8 p.m. Friday after all-day meetings involving Chief Roy Whitney, the tribal council and senior federal officials. It's good news for 45 Tsuu T'ina families -- about 180 men, women and children -- who have taken up residence in the former Harvey Barracks, on the southwest corner of Glenmore Trial and 31st Street S.W. Many families said they're fed up with crowded and sub-standard living conditions on their reserve, on Calgary's southwest outskirts. The community has a shortage of 100 homes for its on-reserve population of about 1,600, band officials say. That includes 900 Tsuu T'ina and 700 non-band members. The band has said some of the 45 families who moved into the vacant houses since last weekend may have to relocate into different units, depending on the ordnance cleanup of nearby land. The defence department agreed Friday to continue cleanup of military ordnance on the land -- including any contamination of the 130-hectare Harvey Barracks site -- until the army's lease expires in March, 2005, Pepin said. "We carry on that route, but they (the Tsuu T'ina) have the use of the married quarters from now on," he said. In describing how the deal was reached, Pepin said the Tsuu T'ina simply asked to take over control of the houses, "and the national defence (department) agreed." Ald. Barry Erskine said the deal includes the Tsuu T'ina establishing regular communications with adjacent Lakeview community. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Davis Referendum" --------- Date: Tue, 1 Sep 1998 23:19:24 -0300 From: Larry Innes Subj: Davis Referendum Mailing List: Innu People Forum list The Band Council in Davis Inlet is now preparing to make bylaws for the banning of alcohol in the community - Interview with Simeon Jacobish. Key Words: ["Simeon Jacobish" Chief Davis Inlet] Media: CFGB-FM Reporter: MIKE POWER, CINDY WALL Date: 8/26/98, 7:40:00 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mike Power: Well last week the people of Davis Inlet made what they hope will be the first step in breaking the cycle of alcohol abuse that's plagued their community for years. But banning alcohol has its own set of challenges. First, the council has to come up with a firm policy and by-laws that will dictate how the ban will be enforced. That's what the local council is now working on. Cindy Wall spoke with Chief Simeon Jacobish. Cindy Wall: Chief Jacobish what have you been doing since this vote to ban alcohol there in Davis Inlet? What kind of preparations have you been trying to make? Simeon Jacobish: We're doing some kind of research - I should call it research on other bans, like the other bans out there, the by-laws and the banning alcohol and that's - we want to get those information for ourselves and see and review the by-laws and how it's done and how it's going to be effective and what work needs to be done in the community. So that's what basically we're doing. Cindy Wall: What other communities have you been talking to? Simeon Jacobish: I talked to a guy in Hudson Bay and this guy was an Inuit guy in Hudson Bay. And also we've been talking to people in the Yukon, on ..... Cindy Wall: And what do they think? I assume then they have had an alcohol ban for while? Simeon Jacobish: That is correct, yeah. Cindy Wall: And how is it working out in those areas? Simeon Jacobish: They did say at first it was very hard. It was very difficult. People find it very hard. And as it go by it's really - it's okay now they said. But they do, like, like problems like the people bring some alcohol into other communities. So that's - we expect that anyway. Cindy Wall: And what do they do? How do they deal with that if somebody brings in *** Simeon Jacobish: They didn't really outline how they deal with it with their people. They didn't say that. Cindy Wall: I mean, that's going to be your biggest challenge. What are you going to do if somebody insists on drinking? Simeon Jacobish: Well if that law is in effect, then we'll - the police will enforce the regulation. That's as simple as that. Cindy Wall: Yeah, well it's interesting isn't it? Because I was reading somewhere that in one community that's tried this and has charged somebody with drinking, they have turned around and said, "Look, you know, it's our constitutional right. You have no right to put in place these laws." So it's kind of interesting isn't it, the legal challenges you could get into? Simeon Jacobish: Yes, it is going to be very interesting. I'm sure you're going to find people challenging the by-law. I'm sure *** did challenge - a lot of Canadian people challenge the Canadian court system now. So this is not going to be new. I think as a community - the community made that decision on the 17th of August, the did make that decision. So there are - we are - like, we're going to enforce this by-law once we get the direction from the community. We do have a yes vote, that means to us as councilors, do your work. This is unresolved. And that is what we're going to do. And that's as simple as that. That's what I intend to do. Cindy Wall: Some people say that these bans just don't work. If we look at all the communities that have tried it, a lot of them fail. I know there was a Grand Chief from Manitoba who was completely against banning alcohol because he said that it drives people to other things like gas sniffing and what not. Simeon Jacobish: Yes, that is correct. I don't disagree with the chief. But you have to look at the reality of Davis Inlet. The people have to look at. And we've done a research project on this issue and we will be releasing the information on what people have said. And one of the young kids said, "I don't like it when people are drinking." And that's the kids. And the elders said they don't like to see people drinking. And that's, to men, I think that's a big message there. Cindy Wall: This Grand Chief in Manitoba said that, you know, you have to get at the underlying problem to the drinking. We need treatment, immediate treatment before you can heal people. And if that doesn't happen, you're going to take those same underlying problems to Shango Bay. You know, it's just by stopping people from drinking now is not really going to solve those problems. Simeon Jacobish: Well, nobody is going to heal anybody. The people are going to heal themselves. And the treatment centre - I've been negotiating with the federal government and the province. I've been talking to people from province wanting to have our own treatment program. And this is not a new stuff and it's been talked about and we've been trying to get our own treatment program. And we are also looking at how we are going to deal with our own people. So if we as a community of people want to do better for our lives, this is where we've got to start. I think the chief and the council, they're going to have to do what the people want them to do. Cindy Wall: And when do you hope to get all of this policy in place now and start enforcing this law? Simeon Jacobish: Well, a lot of people are saying it should happen right away. It doesn't work that way. We have to do the research. We have to set the by-laws in place. We have to show the people this is how it's going to be done. Do you approve this? Do you want to make any changes to this law? And so the people have to make that choice themselves. So if they make that choice, the chief and council will take that direction from the community. Cindy Wall: Do you have any time frame on when to get this started now in Davis Inlet? Simeon Jacobish: Well I would say probably looking at a couple months. We have started working on the by-law now. We have to contact several people and who is going to be working on the by-law. And that's done. And the next step is how we're going to do it, what the by-law is going to state. What are the penalties? What are the fines? What are *** so these are the questions we have to ask ourselves. Cindy Wall: And what's it like on the ground there in Davis Inlet these days? Simeon Jacobish: I can see after the referendum - I can see people start, you know, talking about sobering up, a little bit, you know, very consciously thinking what's going to happen to them if they drank. So we have been receiving, met some people saying why are the chiefs not doing anything about the drinking. Well I don't have no authority to do anything when people are drinking at this time, at the present time. People expect everything is going to happen overnight. No, it's not going to happen like that because we as a chief and council have to find something in place for our people and we are now working on the treatment centre for ourselves as Innu. And I am doing everything to get a treatment centre in place. Cindy Wall: Chief Jacobish thank you very much. Simeon Jacobish: Thank you very much. Mike Power: Simeon Jacobish is chief of the Band Council in Davis Inlet. Larry Innes Visit the Innu Nation WWW site: Environmental Advisor http://www.innu.ca Innu Nation P.O. Box 119, Sheshatshiu, Labrador, Canada A0P 1M0 phone: (709) 497-8398 email: innuenv@web.net fax: (709) 497-8396 ------> PGP Public Key available on ldap://certserver.pgp.com --------- "RE: Lower Churchill Solidarity" --------- Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 15:48:48 -0300 From: Larry Innes Subj: Lower Churchill Solidarity Mailing List: Innu People Forum list [Sorry this was circulated late, but as they say, better late than never...the editor was out canoeing the Lower Churchill at the time this went to 'press'...- ed] DATE THURSDAY, 27 AUGUST 98 LE JEUDI, 27 AOUT 1998 TIME 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. 10 h 30 - 12 h 30 PLACE Native Friendship Centre 2001 boul. St-Laurent Montreal (tel 499-1854) WHAT? Press Briefing on Lower Churchill proposals MORE ... Tom Holzinger, tel/fax 514-271-0564 Dear Friends of the Lower Churchill river, As many of you know, a group of 10 solidarity volunteers has just finished a dramatic descent by canoe of the Lower Churchill river in Labrador, to show concern for the damage already done -- "a partially de-watered river" below the huge dam at Churchill Falls -- and to protest the plans by Quebec and Newfoundland to carry out even further destruction there. The canoe journey began August 12th and finished August 22nd. The participants are now on their way to their various homes in Labrador, the USA, and the UK, filled with stories of long rapids followed by equally long flat water, swarms of blackflies still going strong due to the extended summer heat, swarms of intruding helicopters manned by surveyors and potential dam-builders, but above all the sheer beauty and timelessness of an untouched region that deserves to remain forever wild, habitat for plants and animals and the hunting/fishing grounds of traditional peoples. Three of the American canoeists -- Alexis Lathem, James Higgins, and Betty Quick -- are passing through Montreal tomorrow evening (Wednesday the 26th) and Thursday the 27th. You are invited to sit down with them and hear some of their stories. From 10h30 to 12h30 Thursday they will brief the press and others about the issues at stake in the Lower Churchill proposals. The meeting place is the library of the Native Friendship Association, 2001 Boulevard St-Laurent, Montreal (corner with Ontario). It will be a relaxed setting, definitely not a press conference! The Innu Nation office in Sheshatshiu, Labrador, and Alexis Lathem of Friends of Nitassinan in Vermont USA, were the organisers of this trip. A more detailed press release concludes this message; some of you have already seen it. A French version is available upon request. Feel free to phone me for further details. If our visitors come in early enough on Wednesday (tomorrow), there will be a PARTY in the evening at my place, 5160 Jeanne-Mance. For you Montrealers -- hope to see you at the party or at the press briefing. For you non-Montrealers: this message is meant to help keep you up-to-date (and feeling militant about wilderness destruction!) For Nitassinan, Tom * * * * * Montreal, 20 August 1998 INNU NATION -- LOWER CHURCHILL COMMUNIQUE' DE PRESSE Montreal, 20 August 98: An international support committee for the Churchill River, together with the Innu Nation of Labrador, are pleased to announce that ten of its members are about to complete a descent of the threatened Lower Churchill river in Labrador. The members of the expedition witnessed the loss of land by the Innu people and the environmental degradation that occurred as a result of the construction of the original Churchill Falls dam and the Smallwood Reservoir in the 1970s. The group also intends to raise public concern about the potential consequences of further development of the river for the unique communities of plants and animals that live in the threatened lower Churchill River valley. In solidarity with the Innu people, the group will oppose any attempt by Hydro-Quebec, Newfoundland Hydro, or the governments of these two provinces to further dam and divert the waters of the Churchill, La Romaine, and Saint-Jean rivers without Innu consent and environmental safeguards. On August 12 the party of 10 people put into the Churchill river near the Labrador community of Wabush, below the existing dam at Churchill Falls, and began the 11-day descent in a group of canoes, passing the proposed construction sites of Gull Island and Muskrat Falls on their way. They are due to arrive at the mouth of the Churchill near the Innu community of Sheshatshiu on Saturday August 22nd. Three members of the returning party will be available for press and radio interviews in Montreal on Thursday, 27 August 1998. Members of the international group include Alexis Lathem and James Higgins, founders of Friends of Nitassinan and long-time solidarity volunteers from Vermont, USA; Betty Quick of the Atlantic Chapter of the Sierra Club, New York, USA; Sara Goldberg, professional photographer, New York City, USA; and Jonathan Cummings, founder of the Innu Support Committee, London, England, UK. Innu participants include Elizabeth Penashue, an Innu elder and one of the leaders of the Innu struggle against military low-level flights over the Innu homeland. Elizabeth Penashue is accompanied by her husband, Francis, and by two other elders of the Innu community of Sheshatshiu, Domenic and Philomena Pokue. All of these people experienced personal loss as a result of the flooding of the Smallwood Reservoir. Philip Nuna, a young Innu videographer, is also participating in the expedition to document the voyage for the Innu Nation. When the party pulls out of the river over the weekend, they will meet with representatives of the Innu Nation political leadership based in Sheshatshiu and will speak to the Newfoundland and Labrador press. Most of the Americans will then travel overland back to Wabush, Labrador City, Sept-Iles, Quebec, Montreal, and the United States, speaking to Quebec and Canadian press on Thursday 27th August in Montreal. * * * * * For more information and for scheduling Montreal press interviews, please contact Tom Holzinger of Vigie-Energie, phone/fax 514-271-0564 or e-mail to energie@netaxis.qc.ca . For information about Innu participation, please contact Daniel Ashini or Larry Innes of the Innu Nation, Sheshatshiu, phone 709-497-8398, fax 709-497-8396, e-mail innuenv@web.net . For information about Friends of Nitassinan in Vermont, please phone Anne Peterman of the Native Forest Network, tel. 802-863-0571, fax 802-863-2532, e-mail nfnena@igc.org . Larry Innes Visit the Innu Nation WWW site: Environmental Advisor http://www.innu.ca Innu Nation P.O. Box 119, Sheshatshiu, Labrador, Canada A0P 1M0 phone: (709) 497-8398 email: innuenv@web.net fax: (709) 497-8396 ------> PGP Public Key available on ldap://certserver.pgp.com --------- "RE: Native Legislative Updates" --------- Date: Fri, 04 Sep 1998 16:23:07 -0600 From: "John Berry" Subj: (FWD)ACF 1stNations - Part 4 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Author: at SMTP Date: 9/4/98 5:16 PM ___ _ _ __ _ _ / __(_)_ __ ___| |_ /\ \ \__ _| |_(_) ___ _ __ ___ / _\ | | '__/ __| __|/ \/ / _` | __| |/ _ \| '_ \/ __| / / | | | \__ \ |_/ /\ / (_| | |_| | (_) | | | \__ \ \/ |_|_| |___/\__\_\ \/ \__,_|\__|_|\___/|_| |_|___/ PART IV -AM INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE NEWS FOR Sept. 4, 1998 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov This post contains inline ASCII graphics which look best in a monospace font like New Courier set at 10pt. >>>-------------------> < > <--------------------<<< LEGISLATIVE UPDATE QUESTIONNAIRE >>>-------------------> < > <--------------------<<< FCNL NATIVE AMERICAN LEGISLATIVE UPDATES FOR SEPTEMBER 4, 1998 The following are updates from the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) regarding Indian affairs legislation for the coming two weeks. These messages focus on selected legislation which Congress is considering now, and suggest some points that you may wish to make in your communications with Congress. For more information, or to request the FCNL Indian Report and other background documents, please contact Aura Kanegis, FCNL Legislative Associate for Native American Affairs: (202) 547-6000 ext. 113; 245 2nd St. NE, Washington, DC 20002; aura@fcnl.org. FY99 APPROPRIATIONS. The annual process of appropriations horse-trading is well underway, and more negative riders may now be added to the list of concerns for tribes in FY99 Appropriations bills. In addition to existing funding concerns and legislative riders that we have previously reported on, including threats to self-determination contracting, changes to tribal priority allocations, and a prohibition against the Shakopee tribe taking lands into trust, other unforeseen amendments may be possible when the full Senate considers its version of the FY99 Interior Appropriations bill. Amendments may be offered in the Senate to: --Restrict tribal sovereign immunity --Tax tribal revenues or place a moratorium on taking tribal lands into trust --Extend the moratorium on federal implementation of a subsistence priority in federal waterways in Alaska, a move which may critically jeopardize efforts by Native Alaskans to preserve their subsistence hunting and fishing rights (See related NALU item below) --Block the Secretary of Interior from enacting procedures for negotiating agreements between state governments and tribes under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. ACTION: Please contact your Senators to exercise your democratic right regarding any controversial riders such as these which may be introduced to the Interior Appropriations Bill when it comes to the Senate floor. CENSUS 2000. The census provides information that is the basis for virtually all demographic information used by educators, policy makers, and community leaders. Census data is used to guide the annual distribution of hundreds of billions of dollars in critical services, to monitor and enforce compliance with civil rights statutes, and to reapportion congressional seats and legislative districts. Federal spending decisions for schools, crime prevention, health care, and transportation are often based on population data. In the 1990 census, Native Americans living on reservations were estimated to be the most disproportionately under counted population in the nation, with an estimated net undercount of 12.2%. As a result of this inaccuracy, many individuals were denied both federal benefits and an equal voice in their government. Following the 1990 census, there was consensus among the Census Bureau, professional statisticians, and Congress that significant changes were required for the 2000 census. A National Academy of Sciences Panel to Evaluate Alternative Census Methodologies studied the issue carefully, and recommended a plan that combines a more aggressive enumeration effort with modern scientific sampling techniques to eliminate the pervasive undercount of people of color, children, and the urban and rural poor. The Republican leadership in Congress is now seeking to block full funding for the Census Bureau to implement these scientific sampling methods. ACTION: Please contact your senators and representative to exercise your democratic right regarding your position on full year of funding for Census 2000, which would ensure that the upcoming census is as accurate as possible by using the best, most up-to-date scientific methods as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences. SUBSISTENCE FISHING RIGHTS FOR NATIVE ALASKANS. Throughout much of Alaska, Native peoples continue to rely upon hunting and fishing to provide their day-to-day sustenance. To Alaska Natives, subsistence hunting and fishing are not simply a means of survival but an integral aspect of their culture. Because of this, Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) was passed in 1980 to protect those subsistence rights. Now Sen. Murkowski (AK) has introduced legislation that would once again extend a moratorium on federal implementation of a subsistence priority in federal waterways in Alaska, a move which may critically jeopardize efforts by Native Alaskans to preserve their subsistence hunting and fishing rights under Title VIII of ANILCA. It is likely that he will offer this language as an amendment to the Interior Appropriations bill when it is brought before the full Senate for consideration. Sen. Stevens (AK), who offered the moratorium in recent years, had promised not to extend the moratorium again if the Alaska State legislature did not take the steps necessary to bring the state into compliance with Title VIII in their last session. They have failed to take that action, and further extension of the moratorium now would demonstrate that the state need not make serious efforts to come into compliance, increasing the momentum of those who would rather do away with the subsistence priority altogether (Please see page 3 of FCNL's Spring 1998 Indian Report for background information on the Alaska subsistence issue). ACTION: Contact Sen. Stevens and your senators to exercise your democratic right regarding your position on any effort to further extend a moratorium on implementation of the important subsistence priority called for in Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA). --------- "RE: The Four Sacred Mountains" --------- Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1998 18:55:50 -0600 (MDT) The Four Sacred Mountains as Told by Paul Crane Tohlakai Ne Ha Hane Vol 1 No.1 Traditionally, the Four Sacred Mountains of the Navajo are spoken of as the posts of a hogan, the traditional rounded earth home of the Dineh people. All of life is contained within the hogan of creation, and its four sacred mountain "posts" circumscribe the world. On the East, the Dineh world is bounded by Mountain Blanca. At its creation, Mountain Blanca was fastened to the Earth by a bolt of lightning and was decorated with white shells, white lightning, white corn, dark clouds, and male rain (heavy rain). To the South is Mountain Taylor, which was fastened to the Earth by a great stone knife and adorned with turquoise, dark mist, female rain (light rain), and game animals. In the West, Dinetah is bounded by the San Francisco Peaks which are fastened to the Earth by a sunbeam and adorned with abalone shell, black clouds, male rain, yellow corn and wild animals. To the North, Mountain Hesperus was fastened to the Earth by a rainbow and adorned with black jet, dark mist, and many kinds of plants and animals. Also within the Dineh world lies Mount Huerfano, which was fastened to the Earth with a sunbeam, was decorated in precious fabrics. Gobernado Knob, another sacred mountain, was fastened to the Earth by a cord of rain, was decorated with pollen, dark mist, female rain and was clothed in sacred jewels. From the sacred mountains and the vast stretches of land that lie between them, the Dineh people draw strength and life. Many Elders believe they can never venture beyond the boundaries of these sacred mountains without being in danger of losing their souls. So sacred is the land to the Dineh that just about every landmass, be it a mountain or a small rock outcrop, is part of a legend or myth that recounts the creation of humanity and the Earth. When the Dineh say that the land lives, they are not speaking symbolically, for the Creator is found everywhere, in all things, from the highest peak to the tiniest flower of the desert. --------- "RE: Native American Rights Open Letter" --------- Date: Wed, 02 Sep 1998 00:06:56 -0700 From: Robert Dorman Subj: NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS NETWORK Mailing List: Big Mountain List According to Robert Lippman the Broken Rainbow video (mentioned in the previous post) is available for viewing at NAU Cline Library Media Center, Flagstaff. The following is a copy of a letter from the Native American Rights Network. NATIVE AMERICAN RIGHTS NETWORK P.O. Box 379 Ocotillo Ca 92259 (760)358-7232 An Open Letter to The Support Network for the Traditional Dineh Dear Friends, It has been a year now since the frenzy of correspondence that was sent out regarding the Federal District Courts hearings in Arizona dealing with the "Accommodation Agreement". I have been monitoring the Internet and waiting for some clear direction to pursue. I've attached an Update/Action guide that I hope you can use to continue your support work. April 15, 1998 I had a telephone conversation with Bob Malone, an attorney working with Bruce Ellison on the Manybeads case. I asked him why Judge Carroll did not issue a ruling following the proceedings last April. He informed me that the Attorneys for the Elders "withdrew the case from Judge Carroll's consideration" in order to avoid what seemed to be a certain adverse ruling. Now the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to review the Manybeads case and rule on Judge Carroll's original dismissal of the case. A favorable ruling by the 9th Circuit Court would send the case back to Judge Carroll for trial. A ruling is expected by the fall of 1998. The April deadline for signing the Accommodation Agreement dispersed the interests of the families. Many Dineh households signed the Agreement. There are 14 households which did not sign; some of these have applied for relocation. The process left the Elders in a divided state, each searching for their own solutions. Some have hired their own lawyers. Many people have been completely left out of the settlement process and other legal proceedings. There are many families that were forced to leave the land without officially "relocating" and are not eligible to return to the land under the current agreement. The struggle on the land has splintered and now as supporters we must accommodate the Elders' needs. Attorneys, para-legals, and law students who wish to assist an Elder or group of families can contact the Native American Rights Network. The United Nations visit to Black Mesa now offers new hope that international pressure may prompt the government to create new policies. Such pressures may even help as the mediation continues or as the government ponders its own legal response to litigation by the Elders. As supporters it is important that we not cause further division amongst the people. The Native American Rights Network is committed to following the direction of the Elders. Our Travel Fund will help them travel to make court appearances, to meet with public officials, and the United Nations. Food Certificates will go to Elders only, based on need. Please join us in our continuing efforts to support the struggle of the Dineh Elders. Copy and distribute the attached Update/Action Guide and feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Thank you. Sincerely, Bob Holzman, Native American Rights Network P.O. Box 379, Ocotillo, CA 92259 (760)358-7232. -------------- Note: I will try to copy and post the Update/Action Guide mentioned in a future BIGMTLIST posting. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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: Mt. Graham Sacred Run" --------- Date: Sun, 06 Sep 98 11:20:52 PDT From: KOLA International Campaign Office Subj: Mt. Graham Sacred Run UUCP email Dzil Nchaa Si An Sacred Run -- August 15, 1998 =+=++=+=++=+=++=+=++=+= Anxious about protecting its $200 million telescopes complex, the University of Arizona recently required a "prayer permit" for American Indians who want to visit the summit of Mount Graham. However, in the first test of the new permit policy, San Carlos Apache and other native people who participated in the August 15th Sacred Run were allowed to pray without interference near the summit of the 10,700-foot sacred mountain. Wendsler Nosie, former tribal council member, led more than 70 people to the top of Dzil Nchaa Si an to pray and protest the telescopes. "I don't think I should have a permit. We are the original inhabitants of this land," Mr. Nosie said. "We are not going to vandalize their telescopes. They know that for all these hundreds of years, the Apaches have gone there to pray." Last year, Wendsler Nosie was arrested for trespassing when he went to pray near the telescope site. After he was acquitted in county court, Mr. Nosie said he hoped the University of Arizona would liberalize its visitation policies. Instead, the UofA began requiring permits. "We made a policy to make it clear to the public -- or in this case, Indian people -- that if they want to come in, we encourage that, but that we would make permits available to them," said Michael Cusanovich, UofA vice president. "It's not meant to be restrictive," he added. "It's meant to be inclusive." In the end, the university deferred any permit requirements to the Forest Service. Wanting to avoid a confrontation, the Forest Service allowed the Sacred Runners to observe their prayers in peace. On August 15th more than 70 people, American Indians and non-native supporters, ran the 96 miles from Peridot on the San Carlos Apache Reservation up Dzil Nchaa Si An. The night before the Sacred Run, participants were blessed at the starting point near the San Carlos River. On Saturday, the runners departed at 4:20 a.m. Sprints were limited to a half mile per runner which made the staff move quickly. The runners endured intense summer heat and gnats as they reached 7500 feet at which point it began to rain. The rain soon changed to hail and snow. At the high Mt. Graham campsite, prayers were said for all people and all Usen's creations. Thanks were given to all who helped make the Sacred Run possible. Those honored included Phoenix attorneys Jeff Bouma, William Foreman and Gilbert Venable who had defended Mr. Nosie last fall after he had been arrested by the UofA police. The attorneys were present throughout the entire spiritual run. Where previous Dzil Nchaa Si An prayer events and Sacred Runs had suffered delays by local police, university police, and U.S. Forest Service police, this time a firmer Apache strategy seemed to help. Wendsler Nosie firmly stated that they would be undertaking the run on Aug. 15 but would not be requesting the permits. The attorneys were helpful on the sacred mountain because negotiations were needed with the USFS who stated that the Apache people needed to obtain and take the permits with them to pray on the mountain. These officials said it would be setting an undesired precedent to FS policy if permits were not received. The attorneys disagreed saying that accepting the permits would be a demeaning and humiliating precedent which the Apache people were not to prepared to accept. In the end the Dzil Nchaa Si An runners went to the mountaintop without permits, without further harassment, and had a very reverent and profound spiritual event. [sources: Bob Witzeman - Mount Graham Coalition; High Country News - Aug. 31; San Carlos Apache Moccasin - Sept. 1| <+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+> 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. <+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+> If ever you wish to be removed from this mailing list, simply send a message to with *unsub* in the text or subject body. <+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+>=<+> "Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere" FREE LEONARD PELTIER!!! FREE WOLVERINE!!! NO SCOPES ON MT. GRAHAM!!! --------- "RE: Kamloops Band Council Begins Tax" --------- Date: Mon, 7 Sep 1998 11:02:00 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Kamloops Band Council begins taxing own members :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: FIRST NATION TAX KICKS IN ON TUESDAY Kamloops Daily News, August 21, 1998 [S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.] The Kamloops First Nation Tax, a controversial levy on any goods purchased on the reserve, takes effect Tuesday. Legislation passed earlier this year by the federal government allows the band to tax both natives and non-natives for any tobacco, alcohol and fuel purchased. Ottawa will continue to collect the seven per cent tax and then transfer it back to the band. Native customers will pay about 10 cents more for cigarettes and see a slight increase in the cost of gasoline and alcohol. For non-native customers, there will be no impact, as the GST is simply going to the band and not the federal government. Chief Manny Jules said the money collected will go towards education, language development and land claim litigations. Roughly $700,000 will be collected under the new tax. The tax was scheduled to take effect Aug. 1 but a group of band members opposing the legislation have launched a lawsuit against Jules and the rest of band council. The group, spearheaded by band members Alice McCaleb and Marie Baptiste, alleges band council failed to notify band members on the impending tax and it is therefore illegal. The group also says the tax violates the Indian Act, which affords natives tax-free status. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: "Manny Jules is the biggest sell-out in the Shuswap Nation." -- Imprisoned Shuswap elder and Ts'peten Defender, 'Wolverine' aka William Jones Ignace SOVEREIGNTY IS THE ANSWER - CANADA IS THE PROBLEM In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html --------- "RE: Headwaters Deal" --------- Date: Thu, 3 Sep 1998 17:38:46 -0800 From: Headwaters Update Subject: A Deal is struck. W E E K L Y . H E A D W A T E R S . F O R E S T . U P D A T E Update 09-03-98: 1 -- Headwaters Deal is struck 2 -- New Luna treesit website 3 -- We want your feedback [No Action Alert this week.] ------------------------------------------------------------ 1 HEADWATERS DEAL IS STRUCK Eleventh hour negotiations produce Headwaters compromise Just a few hours before the legal deadline the California Legislature passed a Headwaters deal early Monday. The biggest surprise is an additional purchase of 2,000 acres -- the Owl Creek and Grizzly Creek Groves, increasing the total purchase area to almost 10,000 acres. The biggest loss is the compromise on streamside logging buffer zones, which were shaved from 170 (the Sher bill) to 100 feet on either side of fish-bearing streams and from 100 feet (Sher) to 30 feet on either side of non-fish bearing watercourses. Here's what else the Deal will do... It will NOT purchase, but WILL set off-limits for timber harvesting (including salvage logging) the tracts termed Murrelet Conservation Areas "for the 50 year life of the incidental take permits that are in effect." These areas, inhabited by the endangered marbled murrelet, are: + Cooper Mill (722 acres) + Allen Creek (1,421 acres) + Allen Creek Extension (301 acres) + Road 3 (659 acres) + Shaw Gift (548 acres) + Right Road 9 (322 acres) + Road 7 and 9 North (501 acres) + Booth's Run (776 acres) + Bell Lawrence (634 acres) + Lower North Fork Elk (531 acres) [A total of 6,415 acres] The Deal WILL set up a three-year preliminary period for the above buffer zone restrictions. This will require Pacific Lumber/Maxxam and government agencies to conduct habitat studies on the 60 streams and creeks on the property. After this, the buffer zones can be altered to between 30 and 170 feet. [Significant constraints beyond these zones may be implemented, but may not be no-cut.] The Deal WILL allow agencies to decide what the no-cut buffer should be on fish-bearing streams after the studies are completed. The Deal WILL allow logging roads on steep slopes to be used even during the rainy season. The Deal WIL