From gars@netcom.com Tue Sep 15 23:47:18 1998 Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 20:07:08 -0700 (PDT) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.038 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 038 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, September 19, 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 Sovernet-l, Innu-L & Nat-Film Lists; First Nations News; 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. "About the turn of the century, the Government decided, well, the Indians are not going to go away after all....We will have to try another method. So they contracted with various organizations, particularly religious denominations, to educate Indian Students." "The policy was...in effect...to stamp out the Indian, to stamp out the culture of the Indian. If you were caught in school speaking Indian, singing Indian songs, if you were caught wearing your hair long, or something like that, you were actually flogged." __ Iliff McKay, Black Foot +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! With the results we have witnessed with our relations in Mexico -- I am speaking of the bloody massacre at Acteal -- it is more than reasonable to ask the sort of questions Jimmie D. Oyler asks on the eve of a NAFTA "dog and pony" show. - - - - - - - - - - - Dear Mr. Secretary: We have been informed that the Canadian government is hosting a "First Nations NAFTA International Summit & Trade Show" at the Calgary Convention Centre (Marriott Hotel) on October 17 to 19, 1998, and that you will attend as the BIA representative for the United States. What is the purpose of subject meeting? Thanks in advance. Jimmie D. Oyler, Principal Chief United Tribe of Shawnee Indians - - - - - - - - - - - Make no mistake about it. The "facts" may say otherwise, but the Mayan people of Acteal, whose tribal/communal lifestyle is strictly prohibited by NAFTA, died because they represent a thorn in the side of the Mexican government, which very much wants the NAFTA accord. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 00:33:30 EDT From: MaDark@aol.com Subj: Jasper Spotted Elk My friends - I need help for a dear man on Pine Ridge, SD. He is Jasper Spotted Elk, grandson of the legendary "Chief Bigfoot" who was killed at Wounded Knee. He has lived in his car for the last two years, has diabetes and is in a wheel chair. He is always in danger of amputation of his legs. He has the chance to have a donated trailer IF the funds can be raised to move it to Porcupine, SD, on the Pine Ridge reservation. The trailer is being donated by Pathways to Spirit in Colorado. They have several to be moved up there and "Grandpa Jasper" has asked for one. There are many in need of housing. If you can help at all, please contact Pathways direct at: Pathways to Spirit 4307 Goldeneye Drive Ft. Collins, CO 80526 (970) 282-8573 Email: pathways@webaccess.net =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 22:21:53 EDT From: PAPAPOSSUM@aol.com Subj: Help for Bucket-Line To The Elders Dear Friends: Today I come to you humbly asking for help for the elders of Black Mesa. I talked to miss Anna this morning and here are the results. Their was very little rain so there was very poor corn crops as well as poor grass for the live stock. We are scheduled to go on our second trip to take foods and clothing to the reservation as of the second week of October. I have a wood stove for her and her aunt and a washer for their cousin who desperately needs it, but we STILL need food stuffs winter clothing in 2x and 3x sizes, gloves, socks, blankets, coffee, tea, sugar, canned meats (this is our #1 priority aside from fire wood) flour, corn meal, sardines, spam, canned ham, turkey, Chicken, beef and any other kinds of meat you may think of. (I raised $450 this week end at a raffle but unfortunately $300 was stolen from my lodge during the night) If any one knows where we can get a manual corn grinder it is needed manual sheepsheers are needed as well. We will also need transportation money I have the equipment to haul but not the funds. The other projects we have planned is to put sheet rock and insulation in one elders home so that it does not take as much fire wood for her to heat this winter. The other is to try and purchase some hay for animals as they will not survive the winter without it Please help in any way you can. If you wish to send food please think of sending money for us to purchase it. As the cost to ship is about the same as what you have bought. Donations may be sent to Bucket-Line To The Elders c/o First security bank 2050 North main Layton, Ut 84041 or boxes to Bucket-Line To The Elders c/o James C. Cogsdil 1775 West Gregory DR Layton, Ut 84041 BUCKET-LINE TO THE ELDERS http://members.aol.com/papapossum/BucketLine.html Thank You For Listening Jim LOL almost we are selling sage bundles 3 for $5 = shipping please send address we will cod to you ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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 =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1998 16:16:21 -0230 From: Larry Innes Subj: Utshimassit chief resigns The band council chief in this troubled Innu community has resigned. Simeon Tshakapesh said he stepped down Tuesday out of frustration with political in-fighting in the band council. Tshakapesh said it wasn't healthy for the community to see disagreements among the band council members. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= 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 ---------- - NAFTA First Nations Summit - Cherokees Accept Settlement - Leonard not Receiving - Flathead to Discuss Medical Treatment Yellowstone Bison - Subsistence Whaling in the Arctic - Innu Experimental Cut Block - Indians, Mountains and Tourists - Elders and Native Values - Circle of Justice/ - Where I Come From, God Is A Woman Statement of Purpose - Help Needed in Rapid City - Prime Ministerial Involvement - Jailed Logging Blocker in Gustafsen Lake - Two Police Murders in Canada - Charges Against MP - Native Prisoner Harm Reform Party - Birthday Poem: Two Eagles Flew - Native Peoples Challenge Borders - A Hundred Years Ago - We Protest Columbus Statue - Poem: The Proud Taino Warrior Man - Threat to Sovereignty - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Sends Tribes to Capitol - Conferences and Powwows - Discrimination Law Covers Tribes - Native America Calling --------- "RE: NAFTA First Nations Summit" --------- Date: Sun, 06 Sep 1998 13:48:15 -0400 From: Kahn-Tineta Horn Subj: CANADA AND US HOLDING NAFTA FIRST NATIONS SUMMIT IN CALGARY UUCP email MNN Mohawk Nation News September 5, 1998 The Canadian government is putting on the "First Nations NAFTA International Summit & Trade Show" at the Calgary Convention Centre (Marriott Hotel) on October 17 to 19, 1998. Their prime concerns are trade relations, creation of an Indigenous trade group, overcoming possible barriers and opposition, making treaties and laws. What a line-up of promoters! Selling the North American Free Trade Agreement will be representatives of the Canadian Government's Indian Act band councils; premiers of provinces; Jane Stewart, the apologetic Minister of Indian Affairs; even US UN representative Bill Richardson; Phil Fontaine head of the Assembly of First Nations, the main Canadian government financed lobby group; Blaine Favel, the world ambassador on Indigenous issues; Ron Allen of the US National Congress of American Indians. Featured is Simon Reisman who made the NAFTA deal for former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; Ms. Nina Sibal of the UNESCO; and Kevin Grover, head of the US Bureau of Indian Affairs. The keynote address will be given by the former Mayor of Atlanta Georgia. Luminaries from Foregin Affairs and International Trade will be paneling with some hard core indigenous band council persons such as Chris Shade, Joe Norton, Marvin Mull, Willie Little Child, Deni Leonard and Jessie Fisher. Elijah Harper is billed as "Ambassador at Large". The Canadian government loves him because he promotes his spiritual religious vision that "Aboriginal people do not own the land, in fact, treaties were visions to live and co-exist with each other and to share our land and resources. The land was created by God to benefit all people". It looks like the Indigenous representatives are about to sign an internal NAFTA trade deal on behalf of the Canadian government. It will look like it's between the Indigenous people of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central and South American countries. Actually it is between Canada and Mexico and Brazil and Nicaraugua and - get the picture? The true traditional Indigenous sovereign nations have, of course, not been consulted on this latest maneuver to sell off their resources to benefit the multinational corporations who are behind this whole thing. Either they've forgotten or don't care. Last February the traditional Mohawk Nation condemned the human rights violations by Mexico against those Indians who rebelled against NAFTA, murdering 45 men, women and children in Acteal on December 22nd 1997. On March 16th they marched to the Kahnawake band council office and presented Joe Norton with a letter of protest. They were opposing the impending theft of Iroquois cultural symbols by these nation states for worldwide marketing, to be made cheaply in labour camps in Oaxaca, Mexico. As well, Joe Norton and the Canadian government announced at that time the setting up of a trade commission to oversee the use of Iroquois cultural symbols and intellectual property so that those wishing to use their own symbols would have to go through this private commission. Now it looks like this commission will control all Indigenous trade. The question comes up as to what can be done with Indigenous collaborators who work with oppressive states to undermine Indigenous peoples' lives, rights and possessions? They are helping Canada and the US find ways to use NAFTA to exploit and sell off more Indigenous resources such as oil, gas, forestry, mining, fishery and agriculture. Rather shouldn't they demand that Canada and the US boycott trade with Mexico over their human rights violations? The Mohawk tried to reach their brothers and sisters, the Mayans, to tell them of their opposition. In fact, real nation-to-nation agreements are possible between true traditional Indigenous governments similar to international contracts which must be honoured. Band councils can only exercise those rights delegated to them by the Canadian government who created them. Sovereignty can only be with the true traditional Indian governments. At a 1977 UN conference, Ross John of the Seneca Nation said, "What do these trade agreements with our nations mean? Is it international trade, nation to nation? Will it be manipulated by large businesses and certain nations? If so, all the dollars will go back to international organizations". Kakwirakeron of the Mohawk Nation asked, "Does the international community and the UN define who a nation is? Or is it only the U.S. and Canada who make the definition so that we shall be continually referred to by other states as an `internal' problem'? This is intolerable". Kahn-Tineta Horn , President of the Canadian Alliancein Solidarity with the Native Peoples, suggested that, "What we need is a structure with a process where true indigenous nations can make decisions that become legal. What is the point of this meeting if the government's policy is to not deal with Indigenous sovereignty?" Is this scheme how Canada and the United States avoids condemning these states for genocide and human rights violations by getting their indigenous nominees to go in and do the trading on their behalf? Dissenters, such as the Zapatistas, have not been invited to give their views on NAFTA which allows Canada, United States and Mexico and their business interests to overrule any U.S. and Canadian laws adopted by any state, tribe, band or local government if they interfere with investments or sale of services or products by any multinational corporation. The Zapatistas and other Indigenous people should give this conference a dose of reality. They should tell these corporate fronts about the damage to workers, farmers and citizens by allowing cheap goods from undemocratic countries to come in, resulting from the murder of labour union and indigenous leaders, the dominance of extremely corrupt military and para-military cliques, and the raw exploitation of women and children sweatshop workers of both sexes and all ages. Has the time come to identify those who knowingly work against their own people and harm them? What did the ancestors do to their spies and traitors? If they have abandoned us and joined the army of the opponents, shouldn't they forfeit all their birthrights and claims on our nation, territory and resources? SUPPORT INDIGENOUS SOVEREIGNTY. SAY NO TO NAFTA. Register your opposition: Canada: Bruce Iron Shirt John Paul Phone: 403-258-1775 Fax: 258-1811 email: gsmith@mail1.treaty7.org United States: Deni Leonard R. Heyman Phone: 415-288-8500 Fax 288-8510 email: DLA1@aol.com MNN Mohawk Nation News email: mohawkns@cyberglobe.net email: mohawknn@hotmail.com Phone: 450-635-7402 Fax: 450-635-2413 see website for books and products: URL: http://www.cyberglobe.net/users/otsira --------- "RE: Leonard not Receiving Medical Treatment" --------- Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 12:21:11 -0500 (CDT) From: arthurmiller50@juno.com (Arthur J Miller) Subj: Please help! - Leonard UUCP email PLEASE POST WIDELY NORTHWEST LEONARD PELTIER SUPPORT NETWORK P.O. Box 5464 Tacoma, WA 98415-0464 USA E-Mail; arthurmiller50@juno.com LEONARD PELTIER STILL IS NOT RECEIVING THE MEDICAL TREATMENT HE NEEDS--URGENT APPEAL--PLEASE HELP! SEPTEMBER 7TH NWLPSN STATEMENT American Indian Movement prisoner Leonard Peltier is being made to suffer the full impact of the U.S. government's historical genocidal policies against the indigenous people of the land now called America. Even though the U.S. government has stated many times that they don't know who committed the act that Leonard is in prison for, even though Leonard's defense has disproved the government's case against Leonard, Leonard remains in prison as an example of what the U.S. government will do to those that stand-up for the people against the interests of the transnational corporations and the policies of the U.S. government. Because Leonard's voice has been strong for over 22 years from inside the U.S. dungeons, the U.S. government is trying to break Leonard by using torture on him. LEONARD PELTIER IS BEING TORTURED! Torture is the act of allowing or causing excruciating pain for the purpose of punishment. Leonard has a medical problem with his jaw. Because of the malicious medical treatment at the Springfield Federal Medical Center, which came close to killing him, the condition of his jaw is much worse. The prison will not allow any outside doctor to examine Leonard, which is a right that other prisoners have, but Leonard is denied. The Mayo Clinic, which has done medical work on federal prisoners before has agreed to treat Leonard. Leonard is in excruciating continuous pain. He cannot even chew his food. Still the federal prison refuses to allow Leonard to get the treatment he needs. This is nothing short of blatant outright torture! We ask that all members of the NWLPSN, all supporters of Leonard and all those who believe in justice and oppose the use of torture to please, right now, e-mail messages asking that Leonard be allowed to be treated by the Mayo Clinic. Send messages to: Kathleen Hawk, Director, Bureau of Prisons, "attention indicator" via: swolfson@bop.gov. U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell at:administrator@campbell.senate.gov. In your message, please not only bring up Leonard's medical condition, but also, that the prison's refusal of medical treatment should be a part of the Congressional hearings on Pine Ridge and the case of Leonard Peltier. Also please ask him when these hearings will take place. President Clinton at; President@whitehouse.gov The e-mail campaign to end the torture of Leonard Peltier started last July. At that time people around the world sent e-mail messages. So many were sent that the Bureau Of Prisons contacted the NWLPSN with a message that they wanted us to send out our e-mail list in the hope that it would end the e-mail campaign. The NWLPSN will not send out the BOP's lies, nor will we call off this campaign until Leonard receives the medical treatment he needs. The torture of Leonard will continue until there is enough of a public out cry that demands that it end. Please take the time to send the needed e-mails and please pass along this information to other people, organizations, e-mail lists and web sites. Thank you for your time. In Solidarity Arthur J. Miller NWLPSN --------- "RE: Subsistence Whaling in the Arctic" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 10:16:55 +0200 From: Adrian Redmond Subj: Whaling in the Arctic UUCP email Subsistence whaling in the Arctic --------------------------------- It's about time that we of the western world tried to understand the perversity of our influence on Native society. The subsistence whale hunting of Alaska, Canada and Greenland being a case in point. There are many well-founded arguments to support subsistence whaling. First - subsistence whaling is the major source of natural animal protein and fats in Arctic society. This is not fox hunting in the English shires, but a necessary source of sustenance for a population whose alternatives are somewhat more limited that those of the average European or Lower 48th American. The Arctic is not a museum, to be preserved for the green-lobby, but a living environment which has been the homeland for a proud and peaceful people for thousands of years. But they have no garden vegetables or wheat crops - it's dark and pretty cold most of the year. Life in the Arctic - human or otherwise, has been carnivorous since long before the dawn of man. Second - whale meat, in common with other subsistence is good healthy food, which is especially suitable for nutrition in Arctic regions. Most sea mammals have been virtually unpolluted until recent years - now there is worrying scientific evidence that heavy-metal pollution from our countries eventually becomes accumulated in the fatty tissues of arctic sea mammals - the Inupiat people are now having to face the same worries that we have about factory bred animal foodstuffs. But still, their food produce is better nutritionally for them in their climate, and studies have shown that reductions in subsistence activities produce reductions in the general health of the population due to imported diet. Third - The whale species in question - Bowhead, beluga, and the small whales - minke, narwhal and the like, are not threatened. Whatever the green lobby has tried to convince us, the Inupiat people have patiently and professionally proven, through their own scientific research programmes, that their subsistence activities are sustainable. Fourth - the cultural importance of subsistence lifestyles for indigenous populations must not be underestimated, especially in these years where our culture puts a massive influence on theirs. In common with many aboriginal languages, Inupiaq (Alaska) and Inuit (Canada/Greenland) languages are almost useless for communication in a modern workplace or administrative environment - they lack the words and the concepts. However, that is both the weakness and the strength of these languages - they were never developed for the internet or the oil industry, but have served their people well through millennia in the Arctic. Their language, in their world, is poetic, and hugely descriptive, containing nuances which we would never dream of - when describing matters of relevance to their culture. the weather, the landscape, the natural environment and its creatures. Subsistence hunting is the cradle of the culture, the basis for education in the extended family, the basis for an Arctic democracy. Protecting and preserving these cultures so that they may live and continue to develop on their terms and according to their needs is dependent on the language, which in turn, is dependent on its being used for that which it was intended. Fifth - the morality. Whose country is it anyway? The Inupiat people settled there first - 125 years of Russian colonisation (which hardly affected northern Alaska), followed by a 121 years of American colonisation/statehood, are mere ticks on the clock beside the history of these people. If we wish to defend the morality of how we have harness our natural environment in Europe and America, If we wish to defend our morality as regards to the ways in which we treat animals - as pets, farm animals, sport-targets, and subjects for conservation. Then we must respect the traditions of indigenous peoples and their rights to determine their subsistence policies in their homelands. This is not just a matter of respecting Inupiat dignity and intellectual sovereignty - it's also a matter of respecting our own values - freedom of speech, national sovereignty, local and regional democracy, human tolerance and environmental responsibility. Funnily enough, these values which we preach on festive political occasions are integral to Native cultures. If we put our prejudices and racial misunderstandings aside, we would see that native cultures are not that far from our own, they are (luckily for them) less developed - which means that they have not yet lost many of the essential human values which our culture discarded decades - even centuries - before. We could learn a lot from the indigenous peoples of the world. On the moral issue it is wise to point out, that whilst subsistence cultures have a close relationship to the animals on which they sustain themselves, to their life and death - our cultures have remained just as carnivorous, but we have hidden the (for us) fearful process of death behind the tiled walls of the slaughter houses. Our use of living resources is not sustainable. We breed many animals, most of which are slaughtered in childhood, few of which live under anything approaching natural conditions, and none of which ever have a fighting chance in nature. How many farmers or butchers die at work each year - of starvation, cold, accident or at the mercy of their hunted beasts? Only fishermen come anywhere near to the Native's closeness with nature. Any attempts by outsiders to depreciate the importance and neccessity of subsistence whaling rely purely on ethnocentric standpoints "Yes, but they don't need whalemeat now they can import pork" or "the whale is extremely intelligent, and should be protected". Who says they can eat pork? The Jews can't (won't). The vegetarians and vegans can't (won't) what gives these groups the right to choose, and not us. Personally I don't go a bunch on whalemeat - it depends on how it's cooked, and with whom i eat it - but I have a choice, and so do the Inupiat. I find it harder to defend my eating factory beef than to understand Inupiat subsistence hunting. That is why I keep my own sheep, and buy beef from a friend who keeps and slaughters his own cattle. I'm not religious about this, but I try to apply moral values to my larder - and I know that the Inupiat people, despite their consumption of hershey bars and beefburgers, apply their moral values in their kitchen. As to the whale being intelligent - what does that mean - intelligent for what? Compared with humans maybe - but so is the pig. In fact most living organisms are just as intelligent as their biotope demands - except those whose extinction was brought about by their unsuitability for their environment. There are many marine organisms which are more threatened with extinction than the whale, but many of these bethnic sludge like creatures would have little appeal on a poster, sweatshirt or badge for and environmental organisation. let's face it - we like whales because they have been "sold" to us - by clever campaigning and a worrying humanising process - but whales are not teddy-bears - they are huge, majestic yet powerful creatures who are a ample match for their hunters. As to claims of cruelty about whaling - one must remember that the Eskimos are expert hunters - a traditional quality which is reflected in the regulations about whaling. They are not simply allowed to kill and land a certain quota of whales - the International whaling commission rules specify not whales landed, but strikes - actual hits with a harpoon. The quota system means that the bad hunter, who hits and wounds a whale, but does not land it, has used his quota. Nowehere in the world is whaling more regulated, and more self-regulated than in Arctic communities like the North Slope of Alaska. Conclusion - it is not enough that we in the "developed" world merely accept native lifestyles and subsistence activities - our industrial and colonisational plundering of their world, our misguided environmental-political interference in their world has wreaked untold damage. We must put their cause on our political agenda - recognise their sovereignty over their homelands, and establish cooperation in trade, culture and politics on equal terms. We must redress the balance. We must teach our children to respect indigenous peoples, and to learn for us, from them, what we and our fathers have forgotten. Maybe in 50, 100 years time, we will have enough understanding of their world, to even begin discussing and debating their way of life with them. Until then, we should assume a position of humility and responsibility. We forget that human beings are not a passive spectator to the natural environment - we are part of that environment. The Inupiat Eskimos are an integral part of the North Slope of Alaska and the North West Arctic Region - they have survived not only by conquering and slaughtering the whale, but by respecting, fearing and understanding the whale. We may be able to teach then a thing or two about hydrocarbon geology and truck manufacturing - but they are light years ahead of us on environmental issues - and they have not done too badly in the oil business either! Adrian Redmond Channel 6 Television Denmark is currently producing a four part documentary television series about industrial development in Alaska seen from the native perspective - the series - with the working title "Native Experience" is commissioned by the Home Rule Government of Greenland, and is under production on location in Alaska in the autumn of 1998 and the spring of 1999, ready for release in English, Danish and Inuit languages late in 1999. Adrian Redmond is writer/director/cameraman for this production. (c) Adrian Redmond / Channel 6 Television - 1998 --------- "RE: Indians, Mountains and Tourists" --------- Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 23:05:09 EDT From: lnp3@panix.com (Louis Proyect) Subj: Indians, mountains and tourists Mailing List: Sovernet-l A Mountain Comes Between a Tiny Tribe and Its Neighbors in New Mexico By JAMES BROOKE SANDIA, N.M. -- Rising 10,378 feet into the desert air, Sandia Mountain is more than a picturesque backdrop to Albuquerque, a city of more than 400,000 people. It is an escape valve for a booming Sunbelt city. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the mountain, 15 minutes from downtown Albuquerque, plays host annually to 1 million hikers and picnickers, 275,000 cable-car riders, 50,000 bird watchers, 10,000 rock climbers and 10,000 hang gliders. So it was with shock that Albuquerque residents learned in August that a federal judge in Washington had ordered the federal government to transfer ownership of the mountain's western face, 9,400 acres of wilderness in the Cibola National Forest, to Sandia Pueblo, an American Indian tribe with 481 enrolled members. The judge based his decision on 18th-century land grant documents. Alex Lujan, the governor of Sandia Pueblo, on the city's northern edge, quickly promised to keep open "hiking trails and other recreational uses" in the area. Lujan also said the tribe would allow access to three privately owned white neighborhoods, which would be surrounded by pueblo land. The federal government is considering an appeal and has until Sept. 15 to file it. But in the meantime, residents are becoming gloomy about the outcome and fearful that the promises of access might not be kept. Bryan Pletta, owner of the Stone Age Climbing Gym, an Albuquerque business, said he did not believe Lujan's promises that rock climbing would be allowed. "Even though the pueblo claims it will maintain public access to the mountain, just about all the rock climbing areas on pueblo lands in New Mexico have been shut," Pletta said. "There are countless areas in the state that historically have been climbed that are now shut down. There is no place that I know of where I can climb on Indian land." The dispute is not an isolated one. Land-use conflicts between American Indians and whites are becoming increasingly common in the West. In Texas, for example, the Tigua Tribe is seeking to win ownership of Hueco Tanks State Park, a favorite destination for hikers and climbers from El Paso. In Arizona, the Tohono O'odham Tribe is seeking, through a congressional bill, to win ownership of the eastern half of Baboquivari Mountain, which is in a national wildlife refuge near Tucson. In Nevada, the Washoe Tribe is pressuring the Forest Service to ban climbing on Cave Rock, a sacred lava plug overlooking Lake Tahoe. In Wyoming, a federal judge upheld this spring what the National Park Service called a "voluntary ban" on climbing Devils Tower in June, a month when American Indians from 20 tribes gather there to perform religious ceremonies. "Sandia is part of a trend," said William Pendley, president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, a Denver law firm that lost the challenge to the June climbing ban at Devils Tower. "But what makes Sandia pop up on the radar screen is that you have all those city folks in Albuquerque screaming." Indeed, the ruling in the Sandia Mountain case, by Judge Harold Greene of U.S. District Court, stepped on some of the biggest toes in the Southwest. Gov. Gary Johnson of New Mexico owns a house in one of the three enclaves, Sandia Heights North, a neighborhood of $1-million houses and three-car garages. "My house is up against the edge of the National Forest," said the governor, a Republican, who currently lives in an official residence in Santa Fe. "If this decision is upheld, that land could be developed." Johnson, saying that he had been a contributor to the Sandia Mountain Coalition, asserted, "It was my understanding that the issue was killed and dead and buried." In 1976, when Pete Domenici of New Mexico was a freshman senator, he sponsored legislation that protected as wilderness 94 percent of the mountain land that now is to be transferred to Sandia Pueblo. "I don't believe the judge did this right," Domenici, a Republican who is chairman of the Budget Committee, said recently. Referring to the tribe, the senator said, "From the research I have done, I never thought it owned that whole mountain." But with the advent of casino gambling on the pueblo three years ago, the Indian-white political equation changed. Today, this tiny tribe shows no signs of being cowed. It is using its casino profits to advance its land case, hiring an anthropologist, a Washington lobbyist and three law firms -- one in Albuquerque and two in Washington. Since Greene's decision became public, Lujan has shuttled between here and Washington, meeting White House officials, congressmen, and high-ranking federal officials. "We've been lobbying various agencies to try to avoid an appeal," Lujan said. The dispute dates to 1748, when Spain's colonial governor vaguely defined the pueblo's eastern, or mountain border. Today, 250 years later, documents interpreting the pueblo's boundaries have resulted in dueling reports from two former New Mexico state historians. One, Stanley Hordes, said in a study for the Forest Service that Spanish colonial authorities granted Sandia Indians a standard four-square-league area. He insisted that the grant extended one league -- 2.6 miles -- from the pueblo's church to the foothills of Sandia Mountain, covering an area of about 27 square miles. He added, "There is nothing ambiguous about this." Hordes, a specialist in colonial Mexican history, further asserted that in the 1850s when the new U.S. authorities were resurveying Spanish land grants, the pueblo was given more land than it was entitled to have. Hordes said that a U.S. government translator, suspicious of what he called the "evil disposed Mexicans," expanded pueblo land by nearly 40 percent. The other former state historian, Myra Ellen Jenkins, who prepared a report for the pueblo, had a different interpretation of the original grant. Saying that the pueblo's land extended to the crest of Sandia Mountain, Ms. Jenkins wrote, "The language was equally clear that the Sandia range itself was intended as the east boundary." Greene's ruling, which added the west flank of Sandia Mountain to the pueblo land, followed Ms. Jenkins' interpretation. If the ruling stands, Hordes said, the small tribe would end up with nearly twice the area granted by Spain. It would control 53 square miles adjacent to the most densely populated part of New Mexico. Kim Hill, a University of New Mexico anthropology professor, conceded that "there is a little ambiguity." But he argued: "When in doubt, we should be a little generous with native claims. Native peoples went through massacres." Indeed, soon after Spain colonized New Mexico in 1598, Spanish governors imposed taxes, forced labor and religious conversion on the Sandia Indians. After a pueblo revolt in 1680, Spanish commanders looted and burned the pueblo twice, forcing surviving Indians to flee west, taking refuge in Hopi villages. But at the end of the 20th century, Albuquerque homeowners and hang gliders show little interest in atoning for the sins of 17th-century Spanish soldiers. They say that after 150 years of U.S. rule here, it is too late to start redrawing boundaries, whether for legal or religious reasons. "Are we so self-deceived we presume the tribes 'know' what sacred is, and we do not?" asked Tom Stribling, a resident of Evergreen Hills, one of the three white neighborhoods. Residents there make do with solar power, propane gas and cellular phones because they say the pueblo has refused to allow utilities to cross its land. "Taking this public resource solely for their private religion diminishes and deprives us all of something sacred," Stribling said. Lujan denies the pueblo blocked the extension of utilities. And Montoya, the pueblo land official, retorted: "We are not going to prevent ambulances from going in, we are not going to cut off utilities, we are not going to cut off roads." For 25 years, Mark Mocho has been running along the crest of Sandia Peak and then jumping off, sometimes soaring halfway to Texas on his hang glider. Now, he is afraid that his club, the Sandia Soaring Association, could lose access to what he calls "one of the best flying sites in the world." "We went through this once before," Mocho said, recounting a 1983 transfer of Forest Service land to the Cochiti Pueblo, about 35 miles north of here. Under the transfer, he said, existing-use permits were to be honored for 30 years. "The weekend after the transfer went through, they built a fence across the access, and told us we couldn't fly there," said Mocho, a computer programmer. "There was no way we could sue a sovereign entity. It has happened to us once before. We are afraid it could happen to us once again." Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html) --------- "RE: Circle of Justice/Statement of Purpose" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 01:37:27 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Circle of Justice - Statement of Purpose :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:Forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: From: Kevin Daniel Annett To: SISIS@envirolink.org Subject: Circle of Justice statements for your networks ... The Circle of Justice - Statement of Purpose (adopted 5 September, 1998 at a general membership meeting) 1. To investigate, uncover and publicize: a) the full truth of the atrocities and events at native residential schools in Canada, b) in particular, the complicity of government, church, police and others in the intentional genocide of First Nations people in Canada. 2. To assist victims and survivors of Canadian residential schools in their efforts at winning justice, recognition, and full compensation from church and state for their personal injuries while at these schools. 3. To create healing circles in which victims and survivors of residential schools can share their experiences and testimonies in a safe and healing environment. 4. To investigate and publicize the intergenerational effects of residential schools and the present day legacy of residential school atrocities at every level of society. 5. To bring the full truth of these facts to the attention of the international public, media and human rights organizations. The following declaration was also passed at the same membership meeting: "The Circle of Justice was formed in July, 1997 in Vancouver, Canada because of the failure of government, churches, police and native organizations to unearth the full truth behind the atrocities and deaths at native residential schools. "We are an independent community group of natives and non-natives committed to uncovering and publicizing this truth, and the complicity of the aforementioned agencies in genocide against indigenous peoples in Canada. Accordingly, we are and will remain unaffiliated to, and financially independent from, any church or government body, and from any native organization that receives funds from the government or was created by the Department of Indian Affairs. "The Circle of Justice is a democratic and consensual group that has no permanent or paid officialdom and is completely self-funded and self-supporting. "At today's membership meeting, it was reaffirmed by all present that, while embracing natives and non-natives, the Circle of Justice will reflect and honour the wishes and views of those of our members who experienced and survived the residential schools. Our spokespeople will be these First Nations survivors. "It was also reaffirmed, however, that existing native organizations which are government funded and affiliated, such as the United Native Nations (UNN), are not our consistent allies in this struggle to uncover the truth about residential schools and win justice. Like the RCMP, the UNN and their leaders have shied away from investigating murders and atrocities at the schools, and have vilified some of our members who have tried to seek this truth. "Accordingly, The Circle of Justice will maintain its independence from the UNN, and will communicate with the UNN and other state-funded native groups only through designated liason people. "All of our meetings and healing circles will occur on safe and neutral ground, away from the influence of government, police, church or native puppet bodies which are connected to genocidal practices. This will encourage and facilitate the full and honest sharing and testimony of residential school victims." Circle of Justice weekly business meeting: Wednesdays at 6 pm (phone Amy Tallio at 604-253-1891 for information) Circle of Justice weekly healing circle: Sundays at 7 pm (phone Kevin Annett at 604-874-3690 for information). 5 September, 1998 "Vancouver, B.C." (on occupied Salish territory) :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Prime Ministerial Involvement in Gustafsen Lake" --------- Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 03:48:59 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Prime Ministerial involvement in Gustafsen Lake :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Recently emerged revelations are making headlines that the Prime Minister's office was involved in the pepper-spraying of protesters during anti-Apec protests last year. Yet the involvement of Chretien and other high ranking federal and provincial politicians in the 1995 Gustafsen Lake Affair - the largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history - has not attracted similar interest. In the interest of pointing out that the spraying of machine gun fire at Indigenous people is every bit as worthy of an inquiry as is the pepper-spraying of University students - or should be - S.I.S.I.S. re-releases the following excerpts from documents disclosed during the Gustafsen trial, first publicized a year ago. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: >From the notes of RCMP Assistant Commissioner Brown, August 26th, 1995, File# 95KL -334 95E -6812: 0910 hrs; "Called the CO [Supt. Len Olfert] and reviewed the current status at Gustafsen Lake. He wondered it the military would start moving their stuff early. He would call Major General Addy and see what they might do." 1720 hrs; "Insp. Guy advised the military use of APCs [Bison Armoured Personnel Carriers] is on hold by the Ministry of Defence. The CO is advised and will call me through Major General Addy and the Acting Commissioner." 1818 hrs; "CO called - he had talked to D/Commr. Beaulac. They cannot find the Defence Minister therefore the signing is stalled. Herb Gray is going to the Prime Minister and apparently he will sign on behalf of the Defence Minister which will put everything on track. Military will start to move their equipment very soon." 2130 hrs; "Insp. Guy advised Mercredi is out. Militants are in a bad mood. Mercredi will contact Ron Irwin, the federal Aboriginal [then Minister of Indian Affairs] and John Cashore from the Provincial Aboriginal Ministry [John Cashore is the Minister]... Hopefully all political people will speak with the same position. We have to get the Ministers in line to ensure that they have the proper perspective." 2140 hrs; "[Assistant Attorney General] Stephen Owen called and I briefed him on Mercredi feedback. He will advise the Attorney General and the Premier to ensure that politically they are in line." <=> Free Wolverine <=> Demand A Public Inquiry into Gustafsen Lake <=> To sign the petition demanding an inquiry by email, send a message to sisis@envirolink.org with "petition" in the subject header and "I support the petition for a full public inquiry into the events surrounding the Gustafsen Lake crisis," your name, and your city of residence in the body of the message. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:Forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 01:20:42 -0700 (PDT) From: Jaggi Singh To: apecalert-l@envirolink.org, san@tao.ca Subject: Remember Gustafsen Lake [The documents recently revealed about conduct at APEC by the Prime Minister's Office and the RCMP are obviously very incriminating, and more revelations will be coming in the next days and weeks. However, for some broader context on the nature of our police state, I've written out below just a few quotes that came out at the trial of the defenders of Gustafsen Lake (Ts'peten Defenders) in northern BC in 1997. The defenders miraculously survived a RCMP siege of their land in the summer of 1995. The quotes below confirm the real nature of the RCMP. It is important to remember that while the media and general public have been generally sympathetic to protestors who had their rights violated at APEC, the incredible story of Gustafsen Lake has been relegated to a simple law and order issue and summarily forgotten by the mainstream media. This is despite the incriminating quotes that follow, not to mention shocking physical and video evidence that point to excessive and unwarranted force by the RCMP that escalated into attempted murder of indigenous sovereignists and their supporters. Keep in mind that it was Jean Chretien himself that authorized the use of tanks at Gustafsen Lake, a decision that escalated the conflict to a full-scale military siege. Moreover, BC's NDP Attorney-General, Ujjal Dosanjh, was in day-to-day, sometimes hourly, contact with the RCMP and approved of their tactics, which included the release of false criminal records to smear the Ts'peten Defenders. NDP Premier Glen Clark and Dosanjh have both publicly declared their support of the RCMP at Gustafsen Lake in a manner just as callous as Chretien's uncritical approval of the RCMP at sprAyPEC. For more information about the police state tactics at Gustafsen Lake and elsewhere (such as at Ipperwash, Ontario), check out this comprehensive webite put together by Settlers in Support of Indigenous Sovereignty in BC: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html Also, remember that for some time the supporters of the Ts'peten Defenders have been asking for a independent public inquiry into what happened at Gustafsen Lake. It's a request that the provincial NDP government has consistently ignored. While the protestors at APEC, and their supporters, work hard in the next while to hold the Prime Minister, CSIS, RCMP, NSIS and others accountable for their wrongful actions last November, let's stand in solidarity and in active support with the Ts'peten Defenders who have been working hard for justice. Let's also not forget that as a result of police state tactics at Gustafsen Lake, William Jones Ignace (Wolverine) and James Pitawanakwat (OJ) remain in prison as prisoners of war and political prisoners of the Canadian state for their opposition to genocide and their desire to do something about it. -- JBS] Some RCMP quotes from the siege at Gustafsen Lake: "Smear campaigns are our specialty." -- Staff Sergeant Peter Montague, Chief RCMP Media Liaison Officer for BC. The quote, made on or around August 25, 1995, is from an RCMP internal "training" video disclosed in court during the Gustafsen Lake trial on January 6, 1997. Montague is the same person who was responsible for negotiating with the Indonesian delegation about security for APEC in Vancouver. He has also implied in the media that RCMP officers may have indiscriminately peppersprayed and nabbed demonstrators to prevent them from getting harmed from Suharto's bodyguards (something for which I suppose we should all be grateful). "Is there anyone who can help us with our smear and disinformation campaign?" -- Chief RCMP negotiator Sergeant Dennis Ryan. A comment made on or around August 25, 1995 during an RCMP Management Team meeting concerning the siege at Gustafsen Lake. The source is the same internal "training" video as above. "... kill this [Dr. Bruce] Clark and smear the prick and everyone with him." -- Chief RCMP negotiator Sergeant Dennis Ryan, paraphrasing RCMP Superintendent Len Olfert's instructions to the RCMP Management Team at a meeting on or around August 29, 1995, during the siege at Gustafsen Lake. Clark had just returned from the camp at Gustafsen Lake with physical evidence indicating that the RCMP had fabricated a shooting incident. "[RCMP Superintendent] Len [Olfert] strongly feels that there are a small group that will not give up [six warriors]. It will require killing the hardliners." -- Notes of Chief Superintendent (now Assistant Commissioner) Murray Johnston recorded on a September 1, 1995, conference phone call with Superintendent Len Olfert. Johnston also disclosed that he heard Olfert verbally authorize a "smear campaign" to Staff Sergeant Peter Montague on-site August 31, 1995. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Charges Against MP Harm Reform Party" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 07:14:48 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Reform Party hurt by Sexual assault charges :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: CHARGES AGAINST MP HARM REFORM, POLLSTER SAYS Edmonton Journal, September 5, 1998, Page A5 by Paula Simons [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.] Edmonton, Alberta - Sexual assault charges against Reform MP Jack Ramsay could do serious damage to Reform's credibility, says a political analyst and party member. Faron Ellis, a political scientist at the Lethbridge Community College and a Reform party pollster, said allegations against Ramsay - that he assaulted two native teenagers 29 years ago - come just when the party is vulnerable to because of the recent controversy over MP's pensions. "From an overall perspective, this is yet another blow to Reform, in what we've affectionately been referring to as the Summer of Hate. It's a blow and a pretty substantial one," Ellis said. "Symbolically, here's a guy who's a chief law-and-order spokesman for Reform, and he's having trouble with the law. In the public perception, after a summer of chaos with Reform, it seems it never ends." Ramsey resigned Thursday from Reform's shadow cabinet. He is to appear in court in La Ronge, Saskatchewan next Thursday to face charges of sexual assault, attempted sexual assault and unlawful confinement. The charges stem from Ramsay's time as an RCMP officer on a native reserve in northern Saskatchewan in 1969. But Ellis sees political fallout in the here and now. "The summer of 1998 has made it difficult for rank and file Reformers to come out and defend their party as something different, something principled. For Reform, this is extremely important, because they rely on their grassroots more than any other party does for financial support." Reform leader Preston Manning has been on vacation and has declined to comment on the controversy or the charges against Ramsay. Ellis said Manning should be doing more to reassure members the party is not in chaos. "Manning is doing his standard routine to avoid confrontation rather than manage problems head on, Ellis said. "It's not bad leadership, but it's definitely bad management. Given his lack of response on other issues over the summer, and then this, it definitely creates a pattern." Stephen Harper, a former Reform MP who's now the president of the National Citizens' Coalition, is less concerned about the impact of the Ramsay charges on Reform's future. "I hope these charges will prove unfounded, and have no impact on the party," said Harper. "I know Jack. I've always liked Jack. Like everybody who knows Jack, I'm in shock and disbelief." :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Native Peoples Challenge Borders" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 09:45:12 -0700 From: Xcolumn@aol.com Subj: Mexico: Native Peoples Challenge Borders UUCP email >FROM UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE For Release: Week of September 11, 1998 COLUMN OF THE AMERICAS Mexico: "Native Peoples Challenge Borders" by Patrisia Gonzales and Roberto Rodriguez Mexican, Mestizo, Indian or indigenous. When red-brown people cross the Mexican border into the United States, they may identify themselves as any of these. But to many in the U.S. Border Patrol, they are all "son frijoles de la misma olla" -- beans from the same pot. In other words, they all look alike, and rather than being accorded the dignity befitting people who have been here thousands of years, they are treated as the No. 1 "illegal alien" suspect populations. Migrants from Mexico and Central America are subjected to what we call "Indian removal" -- a continuation of U.S. policies of the 1800s that displaced Indians from their native lands. The people with Indian faces and red-brown skin are the hunted, not simply along the U.S.-Mexican border, but anywhere in the country. Consequently, tribes along the border have been reporting increasing human rights violations by border agents. "It's just like an illegal alien coming across," said Carmen Gerardo, a Cocopah Indian leader. No matter that the families of these tribes have been separated and divided by imposed boundaries that their ancestors and elders never had to abide by. Additionally, it is precisely the border and its rule of law that contributes to their loss of language and traditions, and to their detribalization, creating mestizos or Mexican-Americans with distant memories of Indian grandparents. Among the tribes along the international boundary, the border affects the strength of native peoples and the ability of elders (many of whom reside in Mexico) to pass on sacred traditions to the youth north of the border. Increasingly, elders and medicine people are being harassed at the border on their way to conduct ceremonies on the U.S. side, according to Jose Matus, a Yaqui ceremonial elder and member of the Alianza Indigena Sin Fronteras (Indigenous Alliance Without Borders) in Tucson, Ariz. Some have been accused of smuggling. Others complain of being roughed up and detained and having their documents seized, Matus said. "A lot of elders don't speak English. They're not accustomed to having weapons shoved in their face," said Jose Garcia, Lt. Gov. of the Tohono O'odham nation (formerly the Papago nation). The alliance represents the Yaqui, the Tohono O'odham, the Kickapoo and the Cocopah, who argue that immigration laws violate their right to free movement and their right to practice their religion. "We don't have elders (here in the United States) to do certain ceremonies," Matus said. Now, these nations are exploring various congressional legislation that could include establishing free passage, the issuance of their own passports, or allowing for their members in Mexico to apply for U.S. citizenship. In addition, the Tohono O'odham, whose nation sits right on the U.S.-Mexican border, are considering establishing their own port of entry. To us, it doesn't seem unreasonable. Undocumented migrants often cross Tohono O'odham and Cocopah land as they desperately seek remote entry points in the desert. So does the border patrol. Incidentally, it is this type of desperation that has resulted in the heat-related deaths of more than 1,500 migrants near the border since 1993. In years past, the Tohono O'odham of Mexico often temporarily migrated to the United States as laborers. The Cocopah, like the Tohono O'odham, were divided by the Gadsden Purchase of 1853. But the border was not enforced until the late 1930s, when immigration officials, responding to the depression- driven anti-immigrant fervor, stopped the Cocopah's free movement and split the tribe into two groups on both sides of the border near Yuma, Ariz. Now both nations' relatives on the Mexican side are considered "illegal aliens." "This land has always been ours since Tohono O'odham existed," said Garcia. Since the border was not approved by their ancestors, "to us, it doesn't exist." Nor does the term "illegal alien." But as a result of anti-immigration policies, elders and relatives on the Mexican side are less inclined to travel to the United States, "so our language is eroding," said Garcia. And instead of identifying as a unified nation, they identify each other as Mexicans or "gringos." "There's no Tohono O'odham anymore," Garcia lamented. The problem also lies in U.S. law that attempts to define who is a real Indian. For years, Yaquis were categorized as "Mexican Indians" as opposed to "American Indians." Matus said the elders sent this message to immigration authorities: "We have always been here and we have the right to cross when we want. They must respect us because we are indigenous people." We've often said that migration is part of the creation story of a people. Most indigenous creation stories depict migration as part of a sacred journey. And now the impositions against migration are clearly curtailing the ongoing creation and continuation of Indian peoples. --------- "RE: We Protest Columbus Statue" --------- Date: Wed, 09 Sep 1998 12:17:08 -0400 From: Juan Antonio Perez Subj: We Protest Columbus Statue in our Taino Homeland Newsgroup: alt.native Tau Natiaos Ah Guaitiaos, Hello Brothers And Friends, It seems that the a local Mayor in Puerto Rico is bringing a 300 Foot tall statue of Christopher Columbus in our Caribbean Island homeland. Our Jatibonicu tribe has sent letters of protest to the Governor of Puerto Rico and the Mayor of the city of Catano, Puerto Rico. The campaign to stop this monstrous Columbus statue from being shipped from the Russian Federation in Europe, is being spear headed by the joint members od the United Confederation of Taino People. If you care to help us Tainos, we ask that you contact Mr. Roberto Mucaro Borrero, the UCTP Public Relations officer at Internet e-mail at: mayohuacan@yahoo.com or the UCTP Taino Confederation e-mail at: uctp1493@yahoo.com Please get the word out to anyone can support our efforts to stop the shipment of this monstrous statue an image of genocide and oppression for all Native American people of the Americas. Respectfully, Juan Antonio Perez, Webmaster (Taino Tribal Web Pages) The Jatibonicu' Taino Tribal Caney Longhouse (Jatibonicu' Taino Tribal Council of Arocoels Elders) http://members.dandy.net/~orocobix/caney.html The Taino Tribal Council of Jatibonicu' NJ-US-Region (United States Regional Office of Taino Tribal Affairs) http://www.hartford-hwp.com/taino/jatibonuco.html The Taino Tribal Council of Jatibonicu' Boriken-Region (Boriken "Puerto Rico" Jatibonicu Taino Island Tribe) http://members.dandy.net/~orocobix/jatiboni.html + Other Official Taino Web Pages And Associated Webmasters + The Taino Inter-Tribal Council Inc. NJ-US Region (Educational Branch of our Jatibonicu' Taino Tribe) http://www.hartford-hwp.com/taino/ The Taino Indian Land Review (TITC Taino Newsletter) http://www.hartford-hwp.com/taino/revista/revista.html (Webmaster: Prof. Hains Brown, Hartford Publishing Inc.) The United Confederation of Taino People (UCTP Grand Council of the Taino People) http://www.indians.org/welker/UCTP-US/ The Voice of The Taino People (UCTP Taino Newsletter) http://www.indians.org/welker/UCTP-US/lavoz.htm (Webmaster: Mr. Glenn Welker, Indigenous Peoples Literature) The Artisans of Puerto Rico Home Page http://members.dandy.net/~freddy/ (Webmaster: Mr. Wilfredo Cayey Alvarado) --------- "RE: Threat to Sovereignty Sends Tribes to Capitol" --------- Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1998 08:43:53 -0600 From: "John Berry" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 9-11-98 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Subj: Indian News 9-11-98 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Threat to Sovereignty Sends Tribes to Capitol By William Claiborne c. Washington Post September 10, 1998 Indian tribal leaders from across the nation gathered in the Capitol yesterday and vowed to battle proposed legislation that they say would erode their right of self-determination, including a provision approved by the Senate Tuesday night that would apply means-testing to wealthy tribes receiving federal funds. Some of the tribal chiefs who attended a strategy meeting before fanning out to lobby members of Congress were sharply critical of an agreement between Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), the Senate's staunchest opponent of tribal sovereignty, and Kevin Gover, assistant interior secretary for Indian affairs, to revise federal funding formulas to take into account the economic self- sufficiency of casino-rich tribes. Gorton is chairman of a key appropriations subcommittee that controls Interior Department spending. Addressing a group of chiefs and lobbyists representing about 150 tribes, Gover said he did the best he could to weaken a Gorton amendment to the Interior Department appropriations bill that would have redistributed federal funding from the top 10 percent of tribes in per capita income to the bottom 20 percent. The measure was aimed at reducing federal allocations to tribes such as the Mashantucket Pequots of Connecticut, whose Foxwoods Casino, the largest in North America, earns hundreds of millions of dollars a year. The compromise, endorsed by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colo.), chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, acknowledges that tribes with highly successful commercial enterprises such as casinos have achieved economic self- sufficiency and that federal funding should be "more closely aligned with those tribes having the greatest relative need." However, the new language excludes from the calculation of tribal resources all income derived from lands and natural resources held in trust by the federal government and calls for a task force that includes the Bureau of Indian Affairs and tribal leaders to work out a fair redistribution formula by April 1, 1999. Alma Ransom, chief of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe in upstate New York, criticized Gover for what she said was a failure to consult with tribal leaders before making a deal with Gorton. "You've wasted four months of work," she said, referring to previous efforts by tribal leaders to derail Gorton's appropriations rider. "If you succeed in knocking it out, more power to you," said Gover, a member of the Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. He said attempts in Congress to cut appropriations for tribal law enforcement and school construction are an even greater threat to Indians. "They are trying to hold us at no increase when they know we don't have enough," he said. W. Ron Allen, president of the National Congress of American Indians, urged tribal leaders to lobby members on such issues as an appropriations amendment that would delay proposed regulations allowing the Interior Department to mediate compacts between Indian tribes and the states when negotiations for operating casinos break down. Tribes never have had a stronger presence in Washington than they do now. They made a record $2 million in campaign contributions, mostly to Democrats, in the 1996 election and more recently have marshaled lobbyists and public relations specialists to defend the constitutionally protected Indian sovereignty. The tribal leaders say Congress should openly debate any legislation affecting treaties that assured Native Americans the right of self- government rather than approving "stealth amendments" to appropriations bills. --------- "RE: Discrimination Law Covers Tribes" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 09:06:59 -0600 From: "John Berry" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 9-15-98 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Subj: Indian News 9-15-98 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Discrimination Law Covers Tribes .c The Associated Press By BOB EGELKO 9/14/98 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Indian tribes cannot discriminate against one another in contracts with private employers, a federal appeals court ruled Monday in the case of a Hopi Indian who said he was denied a job because he was not a Navajo. Federal civil rights law bans discrimination based on national origin and individual tribes are viewed historically as a "nation," the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in a 3-0 ruling. Federal law gives Indians preferences for jobs on or near reservations, but not for one tribe over another. The law was intended to "compensate for the effects of past and present unjust treatment, not ... to authorize another form of discrimination against particular groups of Indians," Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote, overturning a lower court ruling. The discrimination suit was brought by a Hopi, Harold Dawavendewa, who said he scored in the top half of 20 applicants for a job at a power plant on the Navajo Reservation in northeast Arizona. The plant's operator, the Salt River Project, was required by its lease with the Navajo Nation to hire Navajos before anyone else could be considered for a job, and Dawavendewa did not get hired. John Egbert, lawyer for the Salt River Project, declined to comment on the ruling, saying he had not seen it. The Navajo Nation was not sued because it is immune from suit under federal employment discrimination law. --------- "RE: Cherokees Accept Settlement" --------- Date: Tue, 15 Sep 1998 09:06:59 -0600 From: "John Berry" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 9-15-98 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Subj: Indian News 9-15-98 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Cherokees accept settlement By Rob Martindale Tulsa World 9/15/98 TAHLEQUAH -- Eight fired marshals of the Cherokee Nation agreed on Monday to a $95,500 cash settlement and said an agreement called for them to receive additional compensation from the tribe. The marshals were dismissed from their posts after they conducted a February 1997 raid on the headquarters of Chief Joe Byrd, seeking evidence of allegations of misuse of funds. After the firing question went to tribal court, the marshals' pay was reinstated at one point, but they were subsequently taken off the payroll a second time. In papers filed in tribal court Monday, the marshals said each "accepts the partial judgment" ordered last Friday by Dwight Birdwell, chief justice of the Cherokee Nation Judicial Appeals Tribunal. The settlement was worked out between attorneys for the tribe and the fired marshals in negotiations led by Julian Fite of Muskogee, a former state prosecutor who was named a "special master" in the case. The fired marshals had brought a lawsuit against the Cherokee Nation in tribal court. In court papers, they said it was their understanding that a "settlement agreement requires that additional compensation is to be paid in order to achieve a final judgment and a final resolution" of their court appeals. The former marshals and representatives of the Cherokee Nation have "signed and committed to abide by the terms of the settlement agreement," the fired officers said in court papers. The partial judgment calls for Pat Ragsdale, director of the fired marshal service to be paid $18,000, while the other former officers would receive from $9,000 to $11,600 for former deputy director Sharon Wright. During the 18-month dispute in the tribe, the Byrd administration frequently said it would put the other marshals back to work but said Ragsdale's termination was "non-negotiable." In his order last week, Birdwell said the tribe should pay the partial judgment by Friday. Birdwell said he will enter a final judgment on Sept. 25 and gave the two parties until that time "to confer in good faith and resolve any discrepancies as to the balance owed appellants based upon the terms of their settlement agreement." Since the February 1997 raid, the tribe has been in turmoil. Several federal agencies are conducting probes, and the Tribal Council has split into factions for and against the Byrd administration. --------- "RE: Flathead to Discuss Yellowstone Bison" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 12:58:40 -0600 From: Wild Rockies InfoNet Subj: Flathead Tribal Council to discuss Yellowstone Bison issue >From the CharKoosta News (Ronan) Yellowstone Bison issue to be discussed PABLO -- The Yellowstone bison issue and the Environmental Impact Statement related to management of the last free roaming bison in America will be the subject of a meeting scheduled for Sept 10 at 2 p.m. in the Tribal Council Chambers here. Federal and state officials are expected to be on hand to take comments related to their jointly prepared EIS and its proposed management alternatives. Tribal nations and Indian groups have been shut out of the process to this point. However, the cowboys have not. The Montana Livestock Association has been vested with a veto authority over any actions because of the potential spread of brucellosis by infected bison. The bison originally caught brucellosis from cattle; however, there has not been a documented field case of reverse transmission. Brucellosis causes cows to abort calves. It can only be spread by cattle eating bison placentas. It is a rare scenario; however, it is one that manifested itself two years ago when the intestines of more than 1,100 bison killed by the Montana Department of Livestock were left laying when the bison were gutted out. Most, if not all, of the Indian nations and other interested groups have expressed indignation at being left out of the process, and opposition to the management alternatives proposed, especially the preferred alternative. The alternatives rely too heavily on bullet management and politics, not science, the tribal groups maintain. Tribes such as the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribes of the Fort Belknap, have offered the use of their land to hold bison in quarantine, and to use surplus bison to supplant existing herds. Others have suggested lease changes in federal and state lands that border the park, acquiring key migration and more range land, and vaccinating the cattle against brucellosis, among other things. Comments will be accepted until Oct. 1. Send to: National Park Service, P.O. Box 2587, Denver, Co., --------- "RE: Innu Experimental Cut Block" --------- Date: Wed, 9 Sep 1998 09:51:20 -0300 From: Larry Innes Subj: News: Forestry Mailing List: Innu People Forum list A commercial logger in Labrador will be taking part in a Innu experiment cut block. Key Words: ["Guy Playfair" Forestry Officer, "Larry Innes" Environmental Advisor for Innu Nation] Media: CBN-AM Reporter: FRED ARMSTRONG, CONRAD LUTES Date: 8/26/98, 8:04:45 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Fred Armstrong: And there's a different kind of wood harvesting taking place on a block of land in Labrador. A commercial logger is getting ready to cut lumber under ecological guidelines set by the Innu Nation. Conrad Lutes reports. Conrad Lutes: Forty kilometers north of Goose Bay there's a piece of land that's called the L-free block on forestry maps. The province has given the Innu control of that block as part of a unique experiment. In partnership with a local wood cutter, they're preparing to harvest timber. But rather than clear cut, the Innu are only allowing thin corridors to be cut. Forester Guy Playfair mapped out the cutting areas for the Innu. Guy Playfair: The distance between the cover of the trees on one side and the cover of the trees on the other side is designed to allow animals to pass from one area to the other without really noticing so much the removal of the trees. Conrad Lutes: Playfair says areas that are fragile or home to large populations of wildlife are also being protected. Larry Innes is an environmental advisor with the Innu Nation. He says clear cutting has become the harvesting method of choice in this province. Innes hopes this experiment can change that. Larry Innes: We're hoping that we can show that you can still have selective wood harvesting operations that are economically viable and ecologically sound. Conrad Lutes: Innes says the Innu want to combine commercial possibilities with a forest that features good growth and ecological diversity. Conrad Lutes, CBC News, Happy Valley-Goose Bay. ---- The Innu Experiment Cut Block is a new kind of wood harvesting taking place in Labrador - Interview with Guy Playfair. Key Words: ["Guy Playfair" Forestry Officer, Innu Nation] Media: CFGB-FM Reporter: MIKE POWER, MICHAEL JOHANSEN Date: 8/26/98, 7:15:00 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mike Power: Well did you know that there's an experiment going on in the forests of Labrador? Forty kilometers down Grand Lake Road a parcel of woodland has been set aside for a special type of logging. It's called the Innu Experimental Cut Block and it's the only one of its kind in Newfoundland and Labrador. A commercial logger will be allowed to cut the wood, but he'll have to follow stringent guidelines. All cutting is to be monitored to protect the land and the forest. Guy Playfair is the forester hired by the Innu Nation to map out the cut block. He gave Michael Johansen a tour of his woods last week. Michael Johansen: Why do you stop here? What did you want to show me? Guy Playfair: This over here is the area that was partially cut last year so we have about a 20 meter opening and a path that goes on for about 700 meters up there. The distance between the cover of the trees on one side and the cover of the trees on the other side is designed to allow animals to pass from one area to the other without really noticing so much the removal of the trees in the middle. And the cut is also designed so that greater pockets of trees are left as the cut trail forks to provide a base for, hopefully, regenerating the area. This are was surveyed by a couple of guys from Sheshatshit. The Innu Nation forest rangers who laid the area out marked off a lot of ripe areas or extreme zones to protect them, steep terrain and other features that we'd like to protect to maintain the integrity of the forest. Michael Johansen: Are you working up there actually choosing the trees? Have you done that up there or are you working elsewhere for that? Guy Playfair: All through it pretty well the regulations state for this cut block that a 20% leave rate is maintained. So that means 20% of all forest cover is left. And that 20% must include good, mature trees that are useful for replenishing the area and maintaining the soil so it is not all washed away. So a contractor cannot get away with saying, "Okay, we've left 20%", and when you look at the 20% and it's all tiny, little bent up trees. Well here we are at the stream and what a nice stream it is. This stream runs from the bottom of the block on the road right up to the top right hand corner. If you can imagine the block as a rectangle, the stream cuts across it on a diagonal line. Now this has been identified as a very key feature of this area. The block is on a general hill where everything pretty well drains into the stream and it also has a feeder from a marsh further up and some marshy flats in the middle, which are what we've decided is the core ecological area in this end of the stream. So this area must be protected. Now you ask me what is experimental about this operation. This stream being a hot spot for animal life and that, everything that affects the stream must also be protected. So that means a good, thorough survey of all areas around the stream and back up to the marsh further on the back of the block. Michael Johansen: Does that mean there's no cutting done in the vicinity this stream? Guy Playfair: Well that's right. This area of the block, actually, is quite wet. We have another stream that comes up in here so we have two buffer zones. A buffer zone being the protected area, the *** zone, that is, around the stream. Here we have a little dry spot. The tree growth is smaller. So it looks like this whole piece here will be protected. That is, no cutting and no entrance. What we are trying to do here is move the operation a little bit further up into where the soil isn't so moist, where the earth has a smaller cooling depth, and just keep - we generally keep operations in a place where sensitive areas like this can't be destroyed. I should have also said that it's not just the question of wet and dry, it's also a question of individual stand characteristics, which is one of the things this program monitors. Up here we have a fairly stable slope, a lot less moist than around the stream areas back there. We have some good sized trees because we've moved into another stand area which probably established itself at a different time than that last area we were at. Keeping that in mind, perhaps a stand that is developing could be left alone and a stand that has reached maturity and is on a good area could be open to harvest. Michael Johansen: Let's go up there. Can I go up there and have... Guy Playfair: Sure. Michael Johansen: A more detailed look? Okay. Okay now, if you were up here doing a job, what would you be doing, what would you be looking at? Guy Playfair: Well, to start off, I'd look at the ground and by the looks of this we've got what they call feather moths and this stuff: creeping snowberry, bunchberry. In patches here we've got some good regeneration of spruce, so that's positive. Now up in the air with the trees, mostly we've got an even aged stand of probably about 140 year old spruce trees here. There's no bakeapples, which are common to wet areas and no sphagnum, so the site is not really wet. So it would be this strip that runs along the ridge that would be suitable for some limited cutting, probably in a strip about 25 meters wide running from an entrance point from the road into the woods. Yes, here we are at the other end of the stream. This area here gets a lot of drainage that comes down to this marshy band, which runs back down to the road. We've got some good, strong, healthy trees. This is what you call old growth, virgin forest, and this is a useful resource. It provides a little bit of diversity across the block. So we've got the smaller, younger stands or we've got some old stands, which didn't make very good growth. And we've got this super productive area back here, which is almost like a bank account that if something else goes wrong over there, you've still got this to repopulate the area down there. So this area, this is preserved. Michael Johansen: Now how would this block be different if you weren't here and there wasn't an experimental block? Guy Playfair: I think that it might suffer death from 1,000 wounds, if I could use that expression. If you pick away at something in lots of little ways, it affects the integrity of the whole area. I think that the opportunity that I have for on site monitoring and to gather as much available data as I can is part of the start of looking at the woods in a bit greater depth. So that's an essential difference of the project right there. Michael Johansen: Thanks Guy. Guy Playfair: Oh, you're welcome. Mike Power: And Michael Johansen with that report and he will be back tomorrow with part two of that report. And tomorrow we'll have a look at the experimental forestry operation and we'll here about the nuts and bolts operation of the deal that led to this experiment being set up in the woods in Labrador. A project called the Innu Experimental Cut Block is underway in forests in Labrador - Interview with Larry Innes. Key Words: ["Larry Innes" Environmental Advisor for the Innu Nation] Media: CFGB-FM Reporter: MIKE POWER, MICHAEL JOHANSEN Date: 8/27/98, 6:48:00 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Mike Power: Well 40 kilometers into the wilderness down Grand Lake Road a forester worker for the Innu Nation is mapping a special plot of woodland. Yesterday Guy Playfair took us on a tour of the Innu Experimental Cut Block. Now we'll be hearing from an official of the Innu Nation about why the block was set up. Larry Innes is an environmental advisor. He spoke with Michael Johansen. Michael Johansen: Mr. Innes, tell me about the Innu experimental cutting zone there. What's the purpose of it? Larry Innes: Well basically, it's intended to provide information for a management planning process that was initiated by the provincial government, a process in which the Innu Nation is participating. Our objective is to, through a practical trial, to try and determine whether or not a more ecologically acceptable form of harvesting can be shown to be commercially viable. And so to this end we entered into an arrangement with both the Newfoundland government and Labrador Timber Products to operate an experimental block on the L3 Road. Michael Johansen: And what's happening inside that block? Larry Innes: Well right now it's being laid out. It's being pre-planned by our forestry technician, Guy Playfair. And it was also worked on last year by two of our other forestry technicians, Greg Pone and Simon Michel, under the direction of our forestry advisor, Herb Hammond.. And essentially what they did was they laid out a series of control lines on the block and they've identified within the block areas that are ecologically sensitive, and these include riparian areas around streams, wet areas where harvesting equipment would cause damage, as well as areas within the block that are ecologically sensitive in that they either support wildlife habitat or they support unique, ecologically important or fairly rare plant communities. And the block has all been ribboned off so when the operator starts work on the block it will be very, very clear to the crews where they're to cut and where they're not to cut. And the cutting will be quite a bit different than a standard clear cut in that the openings will be much smaller and there will be a lot more trees left standing when they're done. Michael Johansen: Why did you pick that particular parcel of land? Any special reason? Larry Innes: Well basically, it's a block that's in the Newfoundland government's schedule for operating areas. And we basically just allowed the Newfoundland government to identify the site. Our view is that if it can work on this site it can probably be applicable to other sites in other operating areas in Labrador. Michael Johansen: So eventually this experiment will be extended to larger and larger pieces of land? Larry Innes: Well the intention, actually, is to treat it as a pilot and then to feed the results of the experiment back into the management planning process. And it's our hope that what this experiment will tell us will allow some harvesting to continue in Labrador. I mean, obviously, there's an important economic component to forestry for several communities here. But at the same time, the Innu Nation has a strong interest in protecting the forest, so we're trying to achieve a level of compromise. It's our hope that the methods that we're pioneering on this block with Labrador Timber will be very useful inputs into the management planning process. And in this process, which is a multi-stakeholder planning process that involves timber interests, the operators, it involves tourism, it involves Crown lands, it involves wildlife, it involves the Innu Nation. And it's pretty much open to other members of the public who have an interest in the forest. We hope that the results of this experiment will go into that process and people will be able to ask, "Well what have we achieved?" And we're hoping that, you know, we can show that, you can have selective wood harvesting operations that are economically viable and ecologically sound. Michael Johansen: What would you consider a failed experiment? Larry Innes: If we don't achieve either of these goals, if these things don't happen, well, we're obviously going to have to go back and, you know, learn from what we've done here with the goal of, perhaps pursuing another experiment to remedy what we've failed to take into account this time around. The process here is very much one of adaptive management. We are trying to, through these small experiments, learn more about how to manage human activities in the forest, how to manage harvesting operations so that they actually improve, both from the perspective of ecological protection and also from the perspective of economic viability. And we are sort of pursuing different possibilities towards those goals. We hope that we can improve forest management in Labrador. Michael Johansen: You mentioned that Labrador Timber Products is participating in this experiment. What do they get out of it? Larry Innes: Well basically they get access to that block of wood. In the normal course of permitting in Labrador, until this management plan is completed, no additional wood can be allocated. They were operating under Newfoundland government's standards on another block. What they get by participating in this experiment is the opportunity to harvest some additional wood under some very stringent standards. Michael Johansen: So otherwise they wouldn't get any more wood? Larry Innes: That's correct. Michael Johansen: Is this experiment being conducted anywhere else? Larry Innes: Basically we're taking it one step at a time. We're trying to, in terms of the design of our standards, take into account experiments which are conducted in similar forests that also are in Canada. So, you know, we're certainly not starting with a blank slate here. We're trying to take into account the best sites and the best practical experience from other model forests and other trials of this nature and to incorporate them into the Labrador context. And, you know, on the basis of what we know about forests, we think that barring something unforeseen, that this experiment will be a success. But it is an experiment so obviously we're going to wait to see what the results are. Michael Johansen: Okay. Well thanks very much for this. Larry Innes: You're very welcome. Mike Power: Larry Innes is an environmental advisor with the Innu Nation in Labrador. --------- "RE: Elders and Native Values" --------- Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 10:16:55 +0200 From: Adrian Redmond Subj: Elders and Native values UUCP email A thought for the day - on the subject of Elders and Native values ------------------------------------------------------------------ The role of the Elders in indigenous societies is interesting, and inspires many contrasting thoughts - all of which are of value to those of us in "the industrial world", where values and realpolitik about how we respect, relate to and treat our elderly are very different. My comments and thoughts on this subject relate mainly to the Inuit peoples of the Arctic, though I am sure that, with exceptions, these ideas apply to other indigenous societies. In many ways - the role of the Elders is the foundation for the truly classless yet peaceful society. All living creatures need a hierarchy - and even if they don't need it, if they don't have it, they create it. Before indigenous peoples had contact with the outside world - or at least the White man and the concept of the sovereign state, the only true and pervading status in native society was that of Elder. Without a cash economy - there could be no status based on material wealth. Without land ownership, there could be no status based on property (real estate). Without warring factions, there could be no status based on warrior success. But humans need some form of status - something to respect and aspire to, values personified. What options were open to Inuit communities? The only true test of human quality is how we treat each other - and for the hunting society that implies, how well an adult is able to take responsibility for themselves, their children, their aged parents, and their extended family or community. Such a human quality is dependent on two factors - the will to live as a responsible, caring, tolerant and wise human being, and the ability to use that will in practice. Both of these qualities were traditionally related to subsistence activities - finding, hunting, and killing animals, fish and birds to provide clothing, food, light and heat. Short lived success was not enough to prove the worth of the hunter. The true Great Hunter had to show first that he could follow his elders and learn from them, later that he could pass this knowledge onto his children. Hunting skill is not about the size of the catch (although in bad years that is important) it is about the values - hunting wisely, respecting and understanding the hunted beast and the land which is the cradle of life for the beast and the hunter alike, protecting the children from the dangers of the natural environment, teaching them to survive, and - by example - staying alive in the process. Such qualities are not acquired overnight - they demand time - and patience. Only with time could an individual prove his abilities and human qualities, and achieve the recognition of his people. Thus becoming an elder. There were no "short cuts" to such promotion - no "academic route" or political or economic influence which could be brought to bear, thus speeding up the "career" of the hunter. In many ways, such values survived in Europe and the US until quite early this century - in fact many of these values were still evident in England when I was a child in the 60's. Respect for the elders, the value of their wisdom was not (only) a reactionary mindset maintained to keep children and youth in their place (Although one did hear "Small children should be seen and not heard") - it was a valid part of our culture - we recognised that our elders had the experience of years behind them, from which we could benefit. Industrialisation and human mobility changed that for us - we started studying, working and marrying out of our communities, establishing new lives for ourselves in early adulthood, lives in which there was no place for our parents or grandparents - except on the occasional Sunday afternoon. We developed a welfare state, in which the collective responsibility of the small community - village, tribe, clan, extended family - became replaced by the collective responsibility of entire nations. No longer did we have to suffer the pain of seeing our parents grow old and senile, of reversing roles to nurse them as they once nursed us. We found new values - entertainment, sport, and a form of personal egoism which kept us too busy to respect and honour our elders. Gradually, our world grew up knowing that this was the way such matters were organised - normality. Without the elders to take their role in the family - and to contribute in the many ways which elders can - helping in the home, advising the young and the youngest, and passing on the traditions and values - we had to construct new structures - schools, kindergartens, and the like, to replace them. This is not only a "white man's problem" - even in native societies, this gradual development is taking place. We have lost the true value of our elders - we have lost the things which they can give us. Parents must now deliver a fully-baked 18 yr. old adult into the world, and then stand back and let him or her live his own life. How many of us, at the age of 40 or 50, consult with our parents when making vital decisions about careers, children, marriage, religion, nature. No - we may ask for financial advice - especially if it's accompanied by financial help - but otherwise, we know our world better. But do we? Can a state education system and the media - especially television, replace the upbringing that the elders can offer their children. OK many of the elders know little of technology, the internet, or the stock market, but they know a lot about life, about the real issues which should govern human decision making. They have made their mistakes, and can look back, and ask themselves if it was worth it, if what they did or chose to do was right. And they can answer that question with the confidence of years. That does not mean that every society should always ask for and always follow the advice of the elders - but asking for help and advice is the best way of admitting that one maybe isn't totally prepared or equipped to make a decision - and that admission is often a good foundation for listening to, and following good advice. We have many experts who can advise us - but most of these have a vested interest in the decisions we reach. Our elders have a more untarnished motivation for speaking the truth. Our problem is that our society can only solve today's problems by growth - economic growth, population growth, development. We cannot stand still. But growth for today makes problems for tomorrow - problems which our children may not thank us for. One symptom of growth and the quest for same is education - an admirable and valueable human right, but also a political tool for meddling with the system so that growth results. making children into adults, who produce sellable, billable, useable results earlier and earlier. When I was a child, I regarded 40 as old and 50 as ancient. I did not expect to reach any position of social or professional responsibility until I reached at least 40, and did not expect to peak until well past 50. I grew up understanding that childhood, and education are not finished at 18, but continue, throughout life. But as the world changes, and the young generation faces issues, problems and opportunities which their elders did not have, and as the peak of professional ambition lowers to below 30, it becomes easy to discard the wisdom of the elders as a thing of the past. But remove all the symbols of status and class - consider a world where we once again had to live off the basic resources around us, and within us, and the values of our elders would once again become urgent and relevant. So does my understanding Windows98 render the lifetime of experience of my parents obsolete? Does my speaking several languages render my mother's stories and memories useless? Does material wealth and security mean that I no longer need to know how to make a piece of meat last a week? Does owning a GPS receiver make it unnecessary to understand the weather, the landscape, and the seasons? I would say no. I would say that our world has forgotten many things which the native world is fortunate to have retained. I hope that through my work as a journalist on Native Arctic issues, I may show my world - or at least my child, the value of a lifelong experience, of an awareness of the unchanging foundations of our existence - the land, the air, the sea, the wind and weather, the sun and stars; and the value of stories told and retold - not by professional storytellers like myself, but by people who were there, who felt and understood the meaning of the moment. The Elders are not "holy" - without responsibility or choice. They, like me, must accept and embrace the changing world, and accept that that world has made it possible for Elders to become older and greater in number. In turn, we must accept, that the benefits of development which we and our elders have harvested (often at great personal cost) give us the responsibility to wait for our turn before wanting the privileges of Elderhood - and to respect, honour and value their lives in the meantime. Only natives can teach us that again. I sincerely hope - and believe - that it is not yet too late. So "what can I do?" you may ask. The way is clear - turn off the television, close the door, sit down with your child, and tell them a story, then another, then another. Every day. Tell them about their childhood, your childhood, your parents childhood - lest they forget it. The rest will follow. Adrian Redmond Channel 6 Television Denmark is currently producing a four part documentary television series about industrial development in Alaska seen from the native perspective - the series - with the working title "Native Experience" is commissioned by the Home Rule Government of Greenland, and is under production on location in Alaska in the autumn of 1998 and the spring of 1999, ready for release in English, Danish and Inuit languages late in 1999. Adrian Redmond is writer/director/cameraman for this production. (c) Adrian Redmond / Channel 6 Television - 1998 --------- "RE: Where I Come From, God Is A Woman" --------- Date: Tue, 8 Sep 1998 16:45:52 -1000 From: Sueko Sakai Subj: worldview UUCP email I would like to suggest that we begin with these ideas, and they are from Paula Gunn Allen's essay *- which you will find below. 1. that this worldview is about our people *-* meaning your people are your people by blood and also whoever's around you at the moment. That's your job. You have no choice.... 2. I think the white man's rage against the Indians is against this female force. I've never believed it was for land, because there's too much land still not being used. And Idon't think it was about money because the Indians didn't want the gold. I think itwas allthe powerful women we had; their connection with the gods and the spirits just scared the bejeezis out of the whites. I heard that Native American women are having a difficult time getting back in touch with this primoridal tradition. Database: Expanded Academic Index Backfile Key Words: Where I come from God is a woman Library: Hamilton Library / Manoa ____________________________________________________________________________ Source: Whole Earth Review, Spring 1992 n74 p44(3). Title: Where I come from, God is a woman. (goddess religion) Author: Paula Gunn Allen Abstract: A Laguna Pueblos Indian explains how her religion is centered around the female goddess 'Grandmother Spider.' All objects in nature are given either male or female identities. Subjects: Goddess religion - Analysis Native Americans - Religion Magazine Collection: 64A4637 Electronic Collection: A11891384 RN: A11891384 Full Text COPYRIGHT Point Foundation 1992 Adam Phillips interviewed Wendy Doniger in WER #71 ("Public Myths, Private Dreams"), and has a continuing interest in Goddess spirituality. Phillips traveled around the US in 1988, conducting interviews for "Goddess in the USA," a National Public Radio documentary (reviewed on p. 61 of this issue). He interviewed Paula Gunn Allen in October, 1988; the following article is excerpted from the transcript of that conversation. Paula Gunn Allen, the daughter of a Lebanese father and a Laguna/Sioux mother, grew up on a New Mexico land grant next to the Laguna reservation. A preeminent literary critic, editor and poet, she teaches English at UCLA. Keep in mind that this is the edited transcript of an interview, not a prose composition; for a taste of Allen's writing, see the excerpts from Grandmothers of the Light, pp. 46-47. --Howard Rheingold For the Laguna Pueblos, everything has male and female manifestations. Rocks and hard things, salt, crystals, cohesiveness, and thought are female. The soft gardener's rain that goes slowly into the earth and waters everything: that's female rain. Male is the rain that goes Wham! and runs down the arroyos. It's wonderful and terribly exciting, but then it's gone. Female lightning is sheet lightning that fills everything. Male lightning is the jagged arrow, the bolt. The female seems to be more inclusive, and it's always big. The female never dies; the male is born and dies. And both things are true. Things are always coming into being and passing away. That's male. But things are always staying right where they are in a sense, and that's female. Men are warriors because it's important to them to go out and keep testing their transitoriness. I don't think it's that men get to do all the exciting things and women have to do all the dull things. That's not how my grandma thought. In America, the ones who get on radio and TV and get to be president are the men, and they've convinced us that's really important. But at Laguna it was important, maybe more important, to grind the corn and feed everybody. Where I come from, the earth is female; you look at the landscape and it's stone mesas, it's vast and huge and terrifying powerful. Unlike England, which is gentle and tiny and sweet and lovely. Now Mother Earth is going to mean a very different thing in England from what it's going to mean in New Mexico. You're looking at these enormous mountains and these vast plains, where in the old days before smog you could see 150 miles. Where I come from, God is a woman. To understand native people you have to understand female force, female intelligence in native systems. It is tribal and female-focused or female-centered. It's not about all these tough women who beat up on men. It's about balance and mutual respect and reciprocal obligation. Our relationship to the Animal People and to the Spirit People is reciprocal. Where I come from, God who is the woman is not Mother Earth, but Grandmother Spider. We don't call her Mother Earth. We call her I-yati-kooh or Corn Woman. Before her, in the beginning, there was Thought Woman; she had two medicine bundles, and in each of these bundles was a woman, a spirit, a god. And each of these God women had sacred bundles. And the Spider sang them into life. She's not their mother. She's their sister! It's about sisters. Into their bundles, they sing the heavens, the firmament, the languages, the mountains, the rivers, and all that into being. I think the white man's rage against the Indians is against this female force. I've never believed it was for land, because there's too much land still not being used. And I don't think it was about money because the Indians didn't want the gold. I think it was all the powerful women we had; their connection with the gods and the spirits just scared the bejeezis out of the whites. But for us it's not just reducible to gender. Gender has to have a multiplicity of parts because the universe is multiple. There are never just two stars or two planets. There are probably millions of genders. I can only think of a few because I'm not as big as Grandmothers is, I'm just not as smart as she is. The people who have congress with spirits don't think that pregnancy comes about as a consequence of fucking, for example. They figure there has to be something else going on because a woman doesn't get pregnant every time she has sex: a very rational position in a way. The magic I know is about medicine and ritual. Nothing goes on that's economic, political, or material because there's really no such thing. That's a white fantasy. It's about the power to sing, the power to make. Spider Woman is the only one who can make. We make what she lets us make. If we sing and if we walk in a balanced way, we can make sacred, which is to remember that it's all about the Spirit. I'm not making much sense in English, am I? In the only depiction I've ever seen, she looks like a hawk with a woman's face. She created everything: architecture, social systems, religion, human relationships, language. You name it, she set it out. And there's a sense of affection and love. When you use power you're using her power because that's the only power there is. Political and economic power come about as a consequence of spiritual power. The word magic sounds bad but it's more accurate. She lives in Shepop, the place of origins. It's like the underpinnings of the universe where the Four Rivers come together, the four rivers of life. Doesn't it all sound Celtic? Don't ask me how everyone comes up with the same system. There's two possibilities. One is what what anthropologists call "spontaneous diffusion," and the other is that they're all talking about the same reality. My house here. I got my house because Grandmother gave it to me. Not because I was a good girl, and she wanted to be nice to me. It doesn't work that way. I think I'm doing all these things that are my bright idea, but they're hers because she dreams. Sounds like predestination, but where I live everything is fluid. It's all constantly forming and reforming and dissolving and resolving all the time. It's always open-ended. Because Spider dreams. She advises I-yati- kooh and I-yati-kooh tells the Elders and connects them and the people, like the body of the spider connects her six legs. Hard to explain but if you listen to how your heart works and how your throat knows, then you know what I mean. "It's like cooking dinner. There's something in the hands, in the eyes. It's very practical magic. You don't need to go dance under the stars and howl under the moon. Where I come from you take care of the seeds, you cook the meals, you make some pottery, you take care of the kids, you gossip with your friends. But you never forget where you are and what it is that you're doing. You're always attentive. If you live that way, then everything'll go along fine. And if you don't it won't. What does fine mean? It means you have peace in your heart. It doesn't mean you don't get old or you don't have pain, it doesn't mean you don't die. It just means that your heart is peaceful. Americans want peace in their hearts, but tend to think that means a VCR. You have to walk in beauty. There's beauty everywhere around me all the time. For example, people say "New York City? Yuk!" But New York City is utterly beautiful! And it's especially beautiful when you realize the cockroaches made it. Grandmother dreamed. Who am I to say "Grandmother! You shouldn't have!"? Grandmother is telling a story. And her story has Oakland and New York in it. And she gets a big kick out of it. You have to respect her, you have to care for yourself and you have to care for your people. Your people are your people by blood and also whoever's around you at the moment. That's your job. You have no choice. Well, you could choose not to do it, but you're going to be miserable, and most human beings don't want to be miserable. White people have always thought of Indians as stupid. Maybe it was our uncritical acceptance of what is. "Here's rain! Okay!" "Here's drought! Okay!" It's not uncritical. We have a lot of deep intense conversations. You can discuss but you can't complain. You maintain a friendly calm demeanor no matter what is going on. You're not beautiful in your heart when you're in conflict. Think about it. Western Civ thrives on conflict. Every story, poetry, every advertisement is about conflict. We want a lot of intensity, but this is not for the Lagunas. I think of Grandmother Spider as old but not aged. The term "Grandmother" connotes respect because she knows something that I don't know. Trees are grandmother and grandfather because they're really old and they know a lot. And a lot of the animals are called grandmother and grandfather. This is very different from the Western view, where we say animals are dumber than us and we should just forget plants because they don't have any intelligence at all! Where I come from rocks are smart. It reminds me that I'm not very smart. We're the youngest. We don't know anything. It's important to be respectful because survival as a community and as a people depends on knowledge. Mind you, Indian systems are about information. They love information. Pueblo culture is about intelligence. Without knowledge we can't interact, can't walk in beauty and maintain balance, because beauty is the fact! The earth, the universe, the galaxy are beautiful. Their fundamental identity is beauty. If you walk in beauty, you know who you are. And if you're not in beauty then you're sick. She has this weird sense of humor. She likes to make stories, and she likes to make jokes, and she likes to complicate things and she likes people to act silly. She also likes them to act respectful, but basically she just has a heck of a good time. And that's important. You can't be alive if you're not having a good time. One thing about the Goddess movement that makes me a little nervous is that it's all so blooming serious! You can't walk in beauty if you don't laugh and have a good time. The Earth is alive and it's a she alive and she is very smart and she loves us and she wants us to love her. And loving her means taking care of your garden or loving your children or going upstairs and taking a wonderful bubble bath so that you will feel good. That's what matters. Pleasure is terribly important. You can't walk in balance if you're miserable. If you're torturing yourself, you're miserable. And if you're miserable, you're making the planet sick. That's why you have to stay peaceful in your heart: if you're negative you're making her sick. If you want her to get well, then you have to get happy. -- End -- --------- "RE: Help Needed in Rapid City" --------- Date: Sun, 13 Sep 1998 23:20:16 -0400 From: David Hendren Subj: Help needed in Rapid City UUCP email Earlier this summer Darell Young, a Lakota youth, escaped from the Rapid City Jail. If his treatment since his return to custody is any indicator, I don't blame him for squeezing through an eight inch window and dropping two stories to get away. He is being denied his medication, kept isolated and tortured. And it doesn't end there, when Darrell was returned to the jail, his personal effects were gone from the property room, which is the responsibility of Captain Anderson and Sgt. Severson. Some where along the line, Administrator Scott Schuft has allowed these incidents and the mayor of Rapid City, Jim Shaw, denies any problems. Ignorance is a real problem, Darrell has some tattoos on his stomach that show his pride in his heritage, one says "Lakota Pride" while the other is the "Trails End", the states attorney swears they're gang tattoos. Darrell' s mom, Carol Hatton is hard of hearing and often uses sign language and when Darrell signed back, the states attorney said they were gang signing. At one point upwards of ten corrections officers grabbed him, shackled him, held his eyes open and sprayed him with pepper spray. They then left him shackled for three hours with the burning chemicals in his eyes and on his face. During this time he was taunted by these goons with badges even though he was pleading with them to wash his eyes out. During this three hour period his mother attempted to visit him and was told that he was refusing all visitors. The pepper spray has been used against Darrell several times since then, and combined with the isolation and limited food he finally agreed to plead the way the D. A. wanted him to. When his mother asked him why, he stated that he just wanted to stop the torture. His attorney has proven to be useless as he only works when he gets money and at the moment that is scarce. He pled on Friday and goes before Judge Tice on Monday. I would certainly call physical and psychological torture a problem and one that must be dealt with swiftly, leaving no doubt that we will not tolerate this abuse any longer. If the justice system will not abide by it's own laws we must make them responsible for their misdeeds. The American Indian Movement office in Rapid City is asking for the support of all nearby AIM offices and chapters in this matter. Let's do something about this! -- The Seventh Circle http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Pointe/7293/index.html --------- "RE: Jailed Logging Blocker" --------- Date: Wed, 2 Sep 1998 15:17:01 -0400 From: Dayna Subj: help needed :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Hello, this is a message from Winnie Jagodics. This morning, my husband Gilbert Chingee was arrested for blocking a logging road to defend the last intact valley in Tsek'ehne territory. Gilbert's family has used Colbourne Valley since time immemorial for hunting, food gathering, medicines, and spiritual healing. On Tuesday, August 25, the Canadian Government granted an injunction to Carrier Lumber Ltd. to remove Gilbert from the valley- his own land! We need your help to defend this last valley. Eighteen of the nineteen watersheds in our territory have already been lost. We need: money- all of our costs have been covered out of our pockets. Our huge phone/fax bill, our gas back and forth from Colbourne Valley to Prince George, all of this has left us broke. If someone wanted to help us out with a fundraiser, we'd be glad to give them any additional information they need. people- we have not given up our fight for the Colbourne. We desperately need more people on site as soon as possible. Please call for directions if you can come up here- if you can make it to our house, arrangements can be made to get a ride to Colbourne Valley. Please note: this is a non-violent blockade. Also, it is drug and alcohol free. lawyer- Gilbert is in jail, and needs legal advice. Please call me if you know any lawyers. Please call (250) 750-4557 for more information. Dayna @ Forest Action Network Box 625, Bella Coola, 'BC', V0T 1C0 ph: (250) 799-5800 fax: (250) 799-5830 website: http://www.fanweb.org :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Two Police Murders in Canada" --------- Date: Mon, 14 Sep 1998 01:36:32 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: 2 Police Murders in Canada 1. Kwanlin Dun man shot in head by Whitehorse cop 2. Aboriginal teen shot by police? [S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news articles may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. They are provided for reference only.] :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: MAN DIED OF HEAD WOUND, CORONER SAYS Whitehorse Star, September 11, 1998, by Chuck Tobin A gunshot wound to the head caused the death of 23-year-old Harley Timmers, says Yukon coroner Kent Stewart. Stewart issued autopsy results at 12:26 p.m. today, indicating Timmers was shot three times. "The cause of death was related to a gunshot wound to the head," Stewart said in a statement. This morning was also the first time RCMP released the name of the officer involved. Const. Wayne Foster has been with the force for about nine years, and has been posted in Whitehorse for the past three or four years, Cpl. Al Lucier said. He said Foster is free to return to work but whether he will right away is something he will have to decide, given the emotion that flows from these incidents. Whitehorse RCMP are expected to release more details of Tuesday's fatal shooting on Friday, Lucier said. Officers investigating Timmers' death interviewed Foster on Wednesday, then re-enacted the incident at the scene, Lucier said. Timmers was shot during an altercation with Foster following a short car chase in the Logan subdivision that turned into a foot chase at around 1:45 a.m. The Mount McIntyre subdivision resident died early Wednesday morning at Vancouver General Hospital. RCMP representatives were scheduled to meet this afternoon with the family and aboriginal leaders to give a detailed account of what occurred. Those details will be made public once they've been reported to the family and representatives of the Council of Yukon First Nations and the Kwanlin Dun First Nation, Lucier said. "It's the only way we can allow the public to understand." Lucier reported previously that Timmers was shot twice in the lower part of his body and received a wound from a shot that struck his scalp. This afternoon, CYFN Grand Chief Shirley Adamson and Kwanlin Dun Chief Joe Jack were to be presented with a list of senior RCMP officers from across Canada. From it, the pair can choose an officer to act as an impartial liaison with the local detachment. Lucier said the list contains some aboriginal officers ranking as high as superintendent. "The requirement for the liaison partner for the first nations comes from the aspect that there is ... first nation interest here, and we want to ensure to the first nations that this investigation will be impartial, it will be factual, that there will not be any bias taken, and it will be borne out to be as truthful as possible." Lucier said he's not sure how many of the officers on the list are of aboriginal ancestry, but that there are at least a few. It was essential, he said, to provide senior officers as candidates so they would have the ability to translate technical details of the investigation to the first nation community. And it was also essential to select candidates that have proven credibility with first nations, he said. The liaison officer, Lucier added, will be available for as long as deemed necessary, presumably. He or she would likely return for matters such as the coroner's inquest that will be held sometime in the future. Lucier said that when an RCMP officer is involved in the death of an individual belonging to a particular ethnic group in Canada, attempts are made to liaise with the group to provide assurance of a thorough and unbiased investigation. Police reported this week the shooting occurred after Foster came upon a stolen vehicle in the Logan subdivision driving in the opposite direction. As the officer turned his vehicle around, the vehicle reported stolen from downtown Whitehorse continued a short distance, then drove off the road and became stuck. There was a short chase on foot, then the altercation occurred, police reported. Police have not said how many shots were fired. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: TEEN SHOT DEAD BY REGINA POLICE Saskatchewan Sterling Network, September 11, 1998, by Anne Kyle REGINA - A 15-year-old Regina boy was shot and killed by a Regina city police officer early Thursday afternoon at a north central Regina intersection. While one eyewitness questioned the police actions, acting police Chief Larry Toupin told reporters at a hastily called news conference the department's preliminary investigation indicates the youth had lunged at the officer with a knife. The officer responded by firing his gun. Lonny Selinger, who watched the drama unfold from the front deck of his Highland Park neighbourhood home, said there was a lot of yelling and he saw the teen waving a knife. "The boy was shouting: `Leave me alone. I'm just trying to leave. I'm just trying to leave.' " Two shots rang out, he said, and he saw the teen hit the ground. Selinger said a woman who had earlier pursued the boy through the front yard of another house onto the street yelled at police: "You didn't have to shoot him. Why did you shoot?" "I think it might have been his mother and it was some kind of domestic dispute. She was yelling and screaming, `I can't believe you shot him.' " Police said they received a complaint at about 1:30 p.m. indicating that a male youth wielding a knife had threatened a woman. Patrol officers were dispatched to the area and at 1:44 p.m. located the teen, carrying the knife. Toupin could not confirm whether police had yelled a warning to the youth to drop his weapon before shots were fired or how many shots were fired. "Police were involved in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old Regina youth at 1:48 p.m. Thursday. The youth was transported to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 2:39 p.m.," Toupin said. Selinger questioned whether police needed the fire power to stop the youth. "It was just a kid, I'm sorry to say. There were five grown (police)men and two dogs. It was just a kid. I don't agree with what happened," Selinger said. Toupin said the police service has stringent guidelines where use of force is concerned and the file will be reviewed by police, the Justice Department and the coroner's office. "It would be inappropriate to comment or speculate while this matter is under investigation," he said, explaining the name of the dead boy and information about the officer involved in the shooting will be released as the investigation unfolds. The last shooting incident involving Regina police occurred on Jan. 28, 1996 when 20-year-old Denice Cyr was shot and killed in a gun battle with a police officer. The latest incident raised questions as to whether police could have used some alternative, less deadly method of disarming the youth. Police wouldn't confirm reports that the youth was aboriginal, but representatives of the Saskatchewan Coalition Against Racism attended the police news conference. "It's our worst nightmare again to see this type of situation, especially when it's a young person with a knife," sai