From gars@netcom.com Fri Nov 6 17:55:37 1998 Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 19:41:13 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.045 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 045 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, November 7, 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 Minn-Ind, Innu-L, & Nat-Film Lists; MNN Mohawk Nation News; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; SAIIC; Newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email 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. "White men called Indian thieves...and yet we lived in frail skin lodges and needed no locks or iron bars. White men called Indians savages. What is civilization? Its marks are a noble religion and philosophy, original arts, stirring music, rich story and legend. We had these." "We sang songs that carried in their melodies all the sounds of nature, the running of waters, the sighing of winds and the calls of the animals. Teach these to your children that they may come to love nature as we love it." "We had our statesmen...and their oratory has never been equaled. Teach the children some of those speeches of our people, remarkable for their brilliant oratory." "Tell them how we loved all that was beautiful. That we killed game only for food, not for fun. Indians think white men who kill for fun are murders." "Put in your history books the Indian's part in the World War. Tell how the Indian fought for a country of which he was not a citizen, for a flag to which he had no claim, and for a people that had treated him unjustly." __ Grand Council Fire of American Indians, December 1927 +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! Don Feder's opinion column in the Boston Herald on October 26th starts out: "Plymouth styles itself as America's hometown. After its shameful surrender to a militant gang last week, it should change its name to the multicultural mecca or perhaps PC Wonderland." "In the streets of Plymouth on Thanksgiving Day of 1997, a group of 200 or so professional Indians and their radical allies staged a protest against Pilgrim imperialism." (see it online at http://www.bostonherald.com/bostonherald/colm/26don1.htm) Mr. Feder goes on to call the Plymouth Selectmen settlement with the Indians (a cash payment, plaques detailing the Native point of view of the settlement of Plymouth, and funds to teach what he calls "revisionist history"), an act of cowardice and political correctness. He labels Indians sulkers and whiners because we have not "got over" our "conquest" by the superior Europeans--superior because they had invented the wheel and written language, whereas Indian life expectancy was only about 35 years, we warred with our neighbors, occasionally starved in a fertile land, enslaved our own and even, in the case of the Lakota and Plains Indians, engaged in human sacrifice. Mr. Feder is angry because the Selectmen have also agreed that Indians may march on Thanksgiving without permit, whereas other groups will not enjoy this privilege. His comment: "Emboldened by their success, Mahtowin Munro of the United American Indians of New England promised a larger, and presumably more obnoxious, gathering this year." He continues: "They lost this glory (primitive lifestyle) and gained citizenship in the greatest nation on Earth. Not a bad bargain.... Memo to Mahtowin Munro: Your ancestors were defeated. Get over it." The Boston Herald provides a "talk back" page so readers can respond to editorialists. Also, each editorialist has a "guest book" so readers can view other readers' responses. As you can imagine, this editorial has engendered some back talk from Indians who are not "over it," but there are positive comments, too. You can find Don Feder's guest book at http://www.bostonherald.com/guest book/dfeder/guest book.html. The first article featured in this week's issue is the response sent by my half-side, Janet. Her words are strong and right on the mark. It is followed by an equally well thought out response by a young native Hawai'ian now living in Germany. =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= Again, this winter this editorial section will feature groups or individuals who are helping those in need, primarily on reservations and especially those who aid children and elders. Urban help will not be excluded. I have lived in the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis and been a guest in Lakota Housing in Rapid City and in Shiprock. The need to eat and be warm does not end because a person has left the rez. PLEASE forward contact information for all you know who help those less able to do so make it through the harsh winter months. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - For additional information or to make donations contact: For the Red Shirt Community: Marvin Helper P.O. Box 312 Hermosa, SD 57744 For Porcupine, Oglala and Wounded Knee: Joe Chasing Horse % P.O. Box 8392 Rapid City, S.D. 57709 For Truck loads & UPS Shipments: Joe Chasing Horse 714 Paha Sapa Drive Rapid City, SD 57701 From: Lora Czarnowsky Adi Defender Project New Dawn PO Box 616 McLaughlin, SD 57642 This is for the various communities on the Standing Rock Reservation. Another contact is actually two projects: One is Santa's Workshop and the other is called Wakanheja Tipi. They are both run by Liam Paterson and his wife. Liam Paterson 1434 Creek Road Manheim, PA 17545 717-665-2727 From: tusweca Darlene Cross PO Box 52 Kyle SD 577075 From: yona@infi.net Toy drive going on for the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte If you would like to donate a toy or more information, you may contact me by email: yona@infi.net or phone me 757-425-7992..you may also drop off a toy if you are in the vicinity of our store Na-va'kee 618 Hilltop West. biah yazzie From: DORSEY.THOMAS_J+@ALBANY.VA.GOV Norma Grassrope Lower Brule Reservation Lower Brule, South Dakota 57028 (605) 473-5594 She is the chair of a charitable group called the Womens Support Group. From: Pioquark@aol.com Clay Watson Pioneer Industries 1100 E. 24th St. Cheyenne, Wy. 82001 (307)778-7860 pioquark@aol.com These donations will be gifted to the Rose Bud and Pine Ridge Reservations in South Dakota and the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming. I'm on the road a lot, out back loading the truck etc. PLEASE leave a message if there is no answer.. From: ALBERT SUN BUTLER Ti Ospaye PO Box 200 Wanblee SD 57577 Supporting the elders through personal contact: Adopt A Grandparent Mountain Light Center PO Box 241 Taos NM 87571 TEL: 505 776 8474 FAX: 505 776 8050 For information call 800 291-8474. email: agpmlc@aol.com For the Cherokee, NC Rez and South FL (Now taking one load/week): From: "lonewolf" Lone Wolf -or- Bob and Linda Crowe 1060 N. Bee St. 2800 West Highway 5 Deland, Fl 32720 Bowden, GA 30108 770-258-1536 From BIGMTLIST The Dineh could use some blankets to help with the cold winters. Bonnie Whitesinger Box 1073 Hotevilla, AZ 86030 Since UPS doesn't deliver to PO boxes, you would have to use parcel post. --------------------------------------------- From: leslie@neca.com Pathways to Spirit in Fort Collins Colorado Contact: Carmeen Klausner Phone: 970 282 8573 email pathways@webaccess.net This group is non profit and takes tractor trailer loads of clothes and furniture to Pine Ridge several times each year. --------------------------------------------- From: "g hindsman" Subj: Help for Families on Rez Morning Star Fellowship Circle, Inc. All of the donations are sorted and packed for each family according to size, sex etc. This year we are in particular need of blankets, space heaters, fans and linens (towels and sheets). We have many toys and clothing of all sizes but good winter coats are always useful. We are registered as a private non profit, so receipts can be given for donations. We can always use money donations. We deliver in December, June and in August. We also do mail deliveries occasionally. Over the years, we have made many friends at Pine Ridge, Rosebud, the Crow Agency and others. We try to help with special requests when we can. Morning Star has also been a home away from home for students and elders who are temporarily on the East Coast. Our headquarters are located in Delaware but we have other circles in Virginia, New York, West Virginia, Maryland and soon in Florida. --------------------------------------------- From: Janet S MORNING STAR OUTREACH c/o Cassada 320 N. 31st #13 Bismarck, North Dakota 58501 Charitable organization founded and directed by Dawn & Douglas Cassada. MORNING STAR OUTREACH chooses to offer direct as well as mediation assistance to the United States American Indian Reservations in the form of clothing, bedding, food provisions, toys for the children, scholarship funding and household provisions. This also includes craft items, fabrics, beads, patterns, yarns and notions. MORNING STAR OUTREACH chooses, because of the census reports, to support the reservations of the Native Lakota Sioux Nation within the United States, South and North Dakota. For information about Morning Star you can call or write our Outreach Coordinator at: Morning Star Fellowship Circle, Inc. 321 Beverly Place Wilmington, DE 19809 Phone: 302-764-1178 EMail - candy crow@aol.com --------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 17 Dec 1997 14:03:10 -0800 From: POP ACCOUNT We would ask simply that you take a few minutes to visit our web site at http://www.nightwalker.org/holidays and review the information provided there. If you find it in yourself to help these children, there is a link on the site there to our SSL Secure server for online donations, or you can download and print out a form that can be mailed instead. If you do not have access to the World Wide Web, but would still like to help out, you can send an email to donate@nightwalker.org, and a donation form will be automatically sent back to you. Night Walker Enterprises is an all volunteer, 501(c)(3) non profit corporation, and all donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by IRS regulations and current US tax law. --------------------------------------------- Those shipping large amounts of materials to reservations may have a great opportunity to facilitate your shipping. This arrived in this week's email, and I have not had an opportunity to pursue it further. I offer it now, in hopes it will help some in the contact list. A lot of reservations are near military facilities. PLEASE let me know how things go if you do attempt to use this service: Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 11:45:42 -0600 Subj: transportation of relief materials Senders name removed by request. FYI For transportation of relief materials by non-profit agencies or groups. Telephone all of your local congressman's offices and request in writing, their assistance in obtaining military transportation assistance. Then contact the nearest military base with an airfield, Public Affairs Office (PAO) and also a written letter to the Base Commander also requesting assistance. The military and in particular the USAF has many cargo aircraft (C-130 Hercules, KC-10, C-141, C-17 and C-5). The State Air National Guard's own C-130's and the US Marines owns a number of C-130 aircraft. Flying Aircrews require a number of training flight hours per quarter to maintain their Flight Proficiency. There is always some aircraft heading in the correct direction. The aircraft cannot deliver to the door but can deliver to within a few hundred miles at the most. Please consider that some of these aircraft weigh 140 Tons or more and will "sink" into concrete less than 18+ inches deep. Therefore they cannot land at just any airfield runway. The shipped materials must be shipped securely fastened on pallets (no loose material, everything sealed in boxes, some restrictions on flammables and no propellents (explosives)). The PAO will provide the necessary guidance. The local Flight Engineers, Loadmasters and even Boy Scouts will help with the inspection, boxing and palletizing. The USAF is always hauling materials (on a non-interference basis naturally) for charitable purposes. No one likes an empty cargo aircraft. --------------------------------------------- From: The Stones Another organization you might consider adding to your list is: Lakota Link http://rtt.colorado.edu/~cameron/LakxotaKxoyag.html Ellen Stone The following snailmail addresses are included for help to communities on the Cheyenne River Rez: Craig and Ruth Cameron LakxotaKxoyag P O Box 176 Jamestown, CO 80455-0176 Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Marvin and Veronica Holy Town of Bridger Representatives P.O. Box 172 Howes, SD 57748 Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Violet Catches HC 77 Box 500 Howes, SD 57748 Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Kathleen Eagle Chasing Town of Cherry Creek Representatives P.O. Box 101 Cherry Creek, SD 57622 UPS ADDRESS: Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Kathleen Eagle Chasing Town of Cherry Creek Representatives House #245 Cherry Creek, SD 57622. Lakxota Kxoyag c/o Elvira Chasing Hawk Town of Red Scaffold Representatives Box 481 Red Scaffold RD Red Scaffold, SD 57626 or c/o Candace Hollow Horn Box 522 Red Scaffold RD Red Scaffold, SD 57626 --------------------------------------------- From: JRP The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization 402 West 145th Street * New York, NY 10031 212/926-5757 * 212/926-5842 (fax) * ifco@igc.apc.org (email) * www.ifconews.org (web) (earmark your gift for November caravan to Chiapas) Bucketline to the Elders this group provides food and supplies First Security Bank to the elders of the 205 N Main Big Mountain /Black Mesa area. Layton, UT 84041 Redfeather Development Corp This group repairs and winterizes Box 52652 housing for the Bellevue, WA 98015-2652 elders of the Dakotas area. 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 ---------- - Response to Boston Herald - Ipperwash Exchange in Legislature Editorial - Military Spied on Native - Another Plymouth Was Protesters at Ipperwash History Response - Silence on Gustafsen Lake - Canadian Racist Editorial Explained - Interview with Adrian Tanner - Help Sought for Police Victim - Mission Among the Blackfeet - Hunger Strike to Defend - Navajo Interest in Sacred Dakota Site Implementing Policies - Alberni Res School - Medicine Lake Proposed Civil Suit Resumes Geothermal Project - Dia De Los Muertos - Six Nations Iroquois - Minnehaha Brutality Election Chaos - Native Prisoner - Riots at Neah Bay - A Hundred Years Ago - First Nation Health Problems - Poem: Drumming with Feathers - Editorial from - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Douglas Spotted Eagle - Conferences and Powwows --------- "RE: Response to Boston Herald Editorial" --------- Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 12:25:00 -0500 From: Janet Smith Subj: UUCP email [Editorial note: Please read the editorial for this issue to understand the background for this letter sent to the Boston Herald in response to an editorial attack on "Professional Indian Invaders" by Don Feders.] Sir, Those "professional Indians" who invaded your town were not thugs, they were warriors--representatives for those of us who could not join them, and there are more of us who support them than you imagine. Less than 500 years ago, there were 60 million or more Indians in this country. By your own figures, there are now about half a million of us left. Where are all those Indians today, sir? Where did 55 million Indian people go? How can you say our people are "better off"? Sir, most of us are dead and all of us have been robbed of our lands and way of life. Most of us were deliberately robbed of our language, identities and our very relationship with our Creator. Better off? We can't even count on peace when we go to our graves -- between the anthropologists and the Wal-Marts, we find our bones tossed willy-nilly into boxes for study. Why don't you go dig up John Smith or George Washington or Betsy Ross and see how many teeth they were buried with? If we were so "primitive," and useless, sir, why the great interest in how we lived? The descent of Indians on your town was far less ignoble than the European descent upon that and other Indian towns in this country in past centuries. The Indians returned the favor, gently I might add, and it inconvenienced you and your town's businesses and government for a few hours. Why can't YOU get over it? Did anybody die as happened when YOUR ancestors visited the homes of Indians? Did anybody lose their homes forever when the Indians visited as happened when your people came? You whine that now Indians will be permitted to assemble freely on the streets of land that was stolen from them when other groups can't. It doesn't sound to me like an Indian problem. It's those other groups' problem. If they want to exercise their right to peaceably assemble, then let THEM do the hard work of regaining that right. Even your so-called anthropological defense (the apologia of every genocide perpetrated upon another nation)--that it was for our own good-- is a pack of lies (not uncommon when a member of your culture is talking about or to Indians). The average lifespan for EVERYBODY in the 1700s including Europeans was about 35 years. A 45 year old person was an ancient in Europe. A lot more of European babies died in the 1700s than ours--our midwives and our child care systems were better. We didn't have jails or police. Didn't need them. Our people were noted by explorers to be taller and better nourished than Europeans in most cases. I can point you to a quote by a late 1700s European medical doctor admitting that the medical knowledge of the average grandmother or medicine man in the New World was far superior to that of the greatest European science of that time. Nobody knows what we'd have now if we'd been left in peace. Some herbs "grubbed" by our forefathers have remained in the phar ma copeas to this day, and others, dismissed as useless weeds by their "progressive" supplanters are being "rediscovered" now. They can even help cure the cancers your progress brought with you. You can thank us now, please, for that knowledge, rather than belittle our primitive ignorance. Europeans were gifted with fertile land, too, but the "progress" of the far more civilized Europeans, who, after all had a wheel and a written language, had stripped that land to the point that people starved routinely. Diseases that were never before seen on this side of the world ravaged Europe routinely. Brutal oppressions at any excuse, including disagreements over religion and whether or not technological advances were a good thing saw thousands of you killing each other. Your streets were awash with human feces and violence. Your jails were dungeons of horror. Of course you had the wheel, and thus could visit your wars on others further and faster. And you had gunpowder, which made the killing ever so much faster and more impersonal. Thanks a lot for THAT advance. We've benefited from that more than I can tell you. Why do you think so many Europeans were willing to risk their families lives in the rigors and dangers of an ocean voyage in the 1600s and 1700s when it was hardly quick and comfortable? Enterprising spirit? Sense of adventure? Heroism? I don't think so, sir. Living conditions were miserable in Europe--so miserable that leaving home and family, living for months in wretched ship conditions and then facing the uncertainties of an unfamiliar land were preferable to staying behind in the mess your own people had made in their civilization. We are to be GRATEFUL you imported that civilization to this land, which our people had occupied for centuries without spoiling it? Now I, a Creek woman, cannot swim in the Chattahoochee river unless I want to share my swim with gobs of raw human refuse. I could substitute any number of rivers names for that one--it just happens to be the one I live near. Hundreds of acres of our fertile land are now covered with concrete that grows nothing but road rage. Our children are bringing guns to their schools and slaughtering other children. Our air literally makes our children and elders sick because that wheel your geniuses created grew to burn gas. Your great inventors created weapons of war that can and have destroyed whole cities in a single moment. Our "brutal wars?" Let's visit that. Know how the Cherokee and Creek settled their differences? Ball game. We'd get up on Soapstone Ridge -- whole villages of us, and play stickball (precursor to lacrosse). Yes it was a violent game with few rules and enormous stakes, so a FEW people died or were badly injured sometimes. The winner got the best hunting grounds. Want to know how your people won this land? It wasn't anything so noble as battle, sir. There's a reason Indians keep winning land back in courts, and that reason isn't because your judges and juries have suddenly become PC or cowards or any other such thing. It's that much of our the land was taken from us through such blatant fraud that present-day courts are finally having to acknowledge it--after all, now thanks to your communications advances, the whole world can watch and judge the American version of honor and human rights in our own land. Indians weren't accustomed to dishonor. When a promise or a deal was struck, it was honored by our people. We weren't accustomed to measles, smallpox or the cheating, lying and fraud that was brought by European "civilized" people and stays here until this day, and it's hard to say which one killed or displaced the most of us. If matters had changed over the centuries, maybe we could all call it "bad history" and go home. Unfortunately, matters have not changed much. Some of us managed to take the land the courts granted were wrongly taken and build enterprises that feed our people and even enrich them. Does your culture celebrate our accomplishments? Hardly. Some of your legislators are shifting about desperately even now to find ways to take those enterprises or their incomes away from us. Occasionally we find something useful on those trash land discards you warehoused our nations on--and we see more desperate thrashing about to find ways to ensure that we don't benefit from it. Our charities plead to help the poor of third world nations survive--but won't go look at Pine Ridge or Rosebud or Shiprock or Snowbird. Excuse me sir. Your people's genocide and cheating and fraud and dishonor isn't over. And we won't get over it until it is. Janet Smith Yufala Star Clan of the Muscogee Creek --------- "RE: Another Plymouth Was History Response" --------- Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 11:37:49 -1000 From: Ernest Dichter Institut <106174.3604@compuserve.com> Subj: Plymouth was history; get over it! Mailing List: Kanakamaoliallies Aloha k'kou, (U.S. Thought-Controller-General's Warning: the following contains some statements whose intent is ironic and do not literally reflect the author's beliefs.) As forwarded by Kathie Tennery , Don Feder wrote in the "Boston Herald": > Plymouth was history; get over it! Hmm...well, I guess it's time to tear down the "Battleship Arizona" memorial and museum now. Pearl Harbor was history; get over it! And in the spirit of Henry Ford ("history is bunk"), might as well abolish Veterans' Day, Memorial Day and so on, and plow under Punchbowl and Arlington National Cemeteries for some more condo complexes while we're at it. > Hereafter, the Indians will be allowed to march on Thanksgiving without > a permit, giving them a right no other group (Irish Americans, Italian > Americans) enjoys in the town. I seem to remember Bobby Sands of the IRA being named "Honorary Grand Marshal" of New York City's St. Patrick's Day parade in the early 70s (at the time, Mr. Sands was serving time in a British prison, having been convicted of terrorist acts). There was also an organization in the northeastern U.S. named NORAID which more or less openly collected money for the IRA's less savory (i.e. bloodier) activities. The Irish-American communities in New York, New Haven (Conn.) and, yes, Boston, seemed to think all this was just dandy. British troops were in Northern Ireland; Irish-American passions were running high; politicians with large numbers of Irish-Americans in their districts and U.S. newspapers went out of their way to show they "understood". > Would the world really be a better place if nomadic hunters and herders > with a Stone Age culture (that hadn't managed to invent the wheel or a > written language) had remained the sole proprietors of this continent? An interesting view of things, considering that for tens of thousands of years before the present era, *all* human beings were "nomadic..." etc. Some cultures arrived at certain stages of development earlier than others -- this gives the ones who got there first the right to murder the others? Are we bees, where the first queen bee to emerge from her pupal cell goes around and stings all the other developing queen larvae to death? Insect ethics? Given that his own ancestors were once "nomadic...", what makes Mr. Feder think the "Indians" would have stayed that way forever, if they had been left alone to develop instead of getting the Holocaust treatment? > Would present-day Native Americans be better off with an average life span > of 35 years (most of it spent grubbing for food), periodically starving > in a fertile land, fighting bloody wars with primitive weapons, > exterminating or enslaving other indigenous people, and (in the case of > the Iroquois and certain Plains tribes) practicing human sacrifice? Well, now, let's just recall the story of Abraham and Isaac from the Torah / the Old Testament of the Bible. If I grasp Mr. Feder's logic, Abraham was basically just a "nomadic..." etc. so it would have been no loss if he had been killed. Now Abraham was up there on the mountain a-fixin' to slice his son Isaac's throat -- an act apparently within his fatherly prerogatives according to the traditions of his time and his part of the world -- as a sacrifice to his god, which became the Hebrew and later the Christian God. Now, if the U.S. Cavalry had shown up just at that moment -- maybe as a Hollywood history/sci-fi shtick where Indiana Jones travels back in time? -- it would have been curtains for Abraham. "See? Human sacrifice! Ready... aim...fire!" 5000 years of Judeo-Christian culture including the Pilgrims and current-day Boston would have been cut off at the root. Or take Moses. Now, after Moses led the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt, they were left wandering in the desert for 40 years -- doubtlessly "most of it spent grubbing for food." And when they finally got to the Promised Land, Canaanites and Philistines (Palestinians) were already there. So what did the Hebrews do? Take control of it by "fighting bloody wars with primitive weapons, exterminating or enslaving other indigenous people." How do the Don Feders of this world know that God / the Great Spirit wasn't planning to reveal new things to the "Indians" in His own good time and in His own way, when the time was ripe? "Once a (human-sacrificing, like Abraham) nomad, always a nomad"? How many Abrahams have been killed in North America? How many Moses figures, who would have brought new covenants from the Great Spirit to their respective peoples, were never able to be born? Aside from the fact that the humane, democratic Iroquois seem to have been way ahead of despotic Europe in the 18th century. "Right to Life", anyone? It's not okay to abort the life of an embryo or fetus, but it *is* okay to abort, at an embryonic stage, the life and further development of entire nations and cultures by physically exterminating them? But of course God works in the "Boston Herald" editorial offices. As Mr. Feder was sitting down at his computer to write his piece, it seems he found an E-mail from the Lord Himself affirming the complete lack of any Divine Plan for the "Indians" (except as casino operators and fodder for Western-movie screenwriters). > Would the world really be a better place if nomadic hunters > and herders with a Stone Age culture (that hadn't managed > to invent the wheel or a written language) had remained the > sole proprietors of this continent?" Oh, I see. I suppose Mr. Feder thinks it's okay for a six-year-old to throttle his one-year old sibling in the cradle (since, after all, that infant brother or sister "hasn't managed" to learn to walk or talk yet). If you happen to have a head start in time and development on someone else, make the most of it: you've got "moral Teflon" and are entitled to do whatever you want -- is that the philosophy of the "greatest nation on Earth"? Is that all the wisdom Turtle Islanders have been able to distill from human experience down through the ages? Does Mr. Feder believe that although he was once a baby and became a grown-up, other humans still in their infancy are not capable of that development? Naturally not. Yet he appears to believe that, although some "Stone Age" cultures, given the time, eventually evolved into the European-American dominant culture he finds so praiseworthy, other "Stone Age" cultures deserve to be exterminated because (he assumes) they would not have evolved in any significant way no matter how much time they were given. How does he know this? It sounds like just another round of "Cain slew Abel" to me. Guess I'm just dense. > My own people were enslaved by Egyptians, overrun by Babylonians, > subjugated by Syrian Greeks, conquered by Romans, evicted by the Spanish > and oppressed by most of Europe for much of a millennium. It's called > history. In Europe we have laws to protect the feelings of persons of Jewish ancestry in general and Holocaust survivors / family members of Holocaust victims. The right of free speech is restricted to the extent that it is illegal, for example, for anyone (such as neo-Nazis) publicly to assert that the Shoah/Holocaust never occurred, to glorify the Nazis or show disrespect to their victims, or indeed to stir up hatred of any ethnic, religious or social minority. The restrictions are so far-reaching that Jean-Marie LePen, the founder of France's far-right National Front, has been indicted for a speech in which, although not denying Jews had been killed, he remarked that "the gas chambers are a mere detail of history." And animal-rights activist and retired actress Brigitte Bardot was just sentenced for a making a "racist" comparison between French Muslims who ritually slaughter lambs at their feasts and the butchery of death squads in Algeria. Mr. Feder is thus in interesting company with his opinions, especially considering his hint that he has Jewish ancestry. Would he condemn Europe's special, legally-prescribed extra consideration of Holocaust survivors and their feelings over the past 50 years as unnecessary and wrong? Perhaps he would be interested in a debate with Mr. Ignatz Bubis, the chairman of the Jewish Community Council here in Frankfurt, on this topic. Still, there is something to be said for the "Get over it" approach. Rather than "defending" the planet's only super-mega-ultra-hyperpower by taking cheap shots at a handful of "Indians", why doesn't Mr. Feder tackle a tougher opponent such as, say, the hard-liners in Israel? Not only would that make a more sporting match; persuading ultranationalist Israelis to get over their historically-rooted anger -- and to stop taking it out on Palestinians -- might well speed the region's advance toward a real and just peace. > Regrettably, the Plymouth protesters aren't alone. Afrocentrists > (still whining about an institution that ended 133 years ago), In the U.S., there was slavery, and then later there was apartheid. Slavery formally ended 133 years ago. However, I was already in my early twenties when U.S. apartheid ended (at least on paper). My entire generation spent its formative years under U.S. apartheid. One of its most vocal supporters, the Hon. Strom Thurmond, is still in the Senate. And at present U.S. foreign policy is at the mercy of his fellow Southerner (and no friend of minorities), Sen. Jesse Helms. The battle is far from over; on the contrary, the evidence seems to be that the issue must be thrashed out anew in the minds of each new generation. > Hispanic activists (who insist the Southwest is stolen property) and > other perpetually aggrieved minorities are also coming, hatchets in hand, "Perpetually aggrieved"? I spent most of *my* life bending over backwards, trying to over achieve / overfulfil Turtle Islanders' expectations (sort of a "more Catholic than the Pope" / "more patriotic than the Pentagon", Hawaiian-Nisei "we'll prove to you we're the best troops you ever had", 442nd Battalion syndrome). If my heart has now turned away from the U.S. and its myths about itself, it is like the heart of a woman married to an abusive man. For decades she is loyal, gives him her all, tries over and over to win his approval, covers for him, and hopes against hope that somehow he will change. Until one day she finally realizes he will *never* change and throws the bum out. > to demolish the greatest experiment in genuine diversity > the world has ever known. Genuine diversity? I think not. The U.S. contains far *less* "genuine" diversity -- that is, diversity of *locally-dominant* languages, ways of life, religions, cultures, political/economic philosophies etc. -- than any other land area on the globe of roughly comparable size and population. Tiny Switzerland has *four* official national languages: French, German, Italian and Ratoromanian, with the latter being the first language of only around 50,000 people. That's what "genuine" diversity looks like. On scales large enough to show up on an ordinary map, "genuine" diversity (as opposed to "a choice of little subculture ghettos") in the U.S. tends to be a Coke vs. Pepsi (or even: Microsoft vs. all-the-rest-put- together) type of deal. Two main choices (which, aside from the emotion- laden single-issue controversies, are actually quite similar) -- a voter- input channel bandwidth of=20 *one bit* (tops), in computer science terms. In contrast, the German parliament just sworn in has *six* parties: the (pro-labor, jobs at any price) Social Democrats, the Greens, the Christian Democratic Union, the Bavarian (and thus strongly Catholic-influenced) Christian Social Union, the (laissez-faire economics) Free Democrats, and the post-communist PDS ("Party of Democratic Socialism"). About 1 in 4 parliamentarians is a woman. The ranks of the newly-elected include young and old; the devoutly religious, vaguely religious, agnostic (quite a few of the new ministers omitted the phrase "so help me God" when taking their oath of office), and atheist; a few "out" gay men and lesbians; one "punk"-styled woman with red and green hair; and a couple of Germans of Turkish descent. No, not perfect, but not bad either for a fairly homogeneous and staid central European country of 80-odd million about the size of New York, New Jersey and New England combined. I remember riding the HRT bus in Honolulu as a kid in the 1950s, looking at the strip of little ad posters mounted above the windows. As filler for unsold space, there were "public service" ads (Smokey the Bear etc.) from the "Advertising Council", the ad industry group. One of their campaigns went, "Worship this week -- in the church or synagogue of your choice." I was only eleven or so but, even then, it occurred to me that there was something wrong with the mentality behind these ads, at least for Hawai'i. The purpose of mentioning "synagogue" was "interfaith pluralism", but pluralism of a kind seemingly limited to Catholic, Protestant, Mormon and Jewish: the GM, Ford, American Motors and Chrysler of U.S. religion, so to speak. Buddhists? Shintoists? Traditionally-minded native Hawaiians, Koreans and Chinese? And perhaps there were few Moslems in Hawai`i, but there weren't that many Jews either. In those days too, people were selling America with slogans like "the greatest experiment in genuine diversity the world has ever known" (TM) (or, in those days, "Trademark Reg. U.S. Pat. Off."). "But then," I wondered, with the naive logical rigour of childhood, "if whoever is serious about wanting to promote 'pluralism', shouldn't the ad read, 'Worship this week -- at the church or HEIAU, TEMPLE OR SHRINE, MOSQUE OR synagogue of your choice'?!" "Did the grown-ups here in Hawai`i responsible for placing these ads really think things through? Or did they just walk around in a daze, following orders, going through the motions, doing whatever Mainland types told them to do?" Small-keed time, I couldn't articulate all this. But I recall feeling vaguely disgusted. The "Boston Herald" item makes me feel disgusted now. Parting shot for Daughters of the American Revolution: "Anarchists and terrorists destroy valuable British cargo in Boston Harbor" -- "Boston Herald" headline reporting on the "Boston Tea Party"? A hui hou, Leilani Akwai Dreieich, Germany "Chryin fo string mana`o lei from da frowah of newspaypah-kine stuffs (get trobble bot: goat-kukae in, goat-kukae out)" --------- "RE: Canadian Racist Editorial" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 02:20:13 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Another classic Canadian racist editorial [Editorial comment: If you thought the racial ignorance and arrogance demonstrated by Don Feders was limited to angry Bostonians attempting to defend the perpetuation of of a celebration based on lies and bigotry, hold your nose and read this Victoria Times editorial.] :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: NATIVES SHOULD FOLLOW SCOTS AND NOT DWELL ON GRIEVANCES Victoria Times Colonist, October 20, 1998, National Issues by John Robson - Ottawa Citizen [S.I.S.I.S. note: John Robson is the deputy editorial page editor for the Ottawa Citizen. The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.] The haunting ballad The Massacre of Glencoe recalls the slaughter of the MacDonalds by the Campbells in 1692 on orders from King William III. A typical piece of Scots folk memory, it records an act of bloody treason motivated by obscure and ancient resentments. It speaks of violence past and future, of resentment of King Billy to match that of Ireland. And the Anglo-Scots border was the scene of much mayhem, which regularly spilled over into Scotland and less frequently into England. But then, as Thomas Sowell notes in Cultures and Conquests, in the 17th and 18th centuries, something very curious happened. The Scots began to recognize in large numbers that the tragedy of their history was largely self-inflicted, not least the endless sterile feuding that left them poor, illiterate and weak. They became acutely aware of an embarrassed by the contrast between themselves and the English, and set about eliminating it. They read the books the English read, and sought to improve their table manners, the subjects of their discourse, their civil discipline and so forth. It worked: They quickly became a leading force in the world. To give just one example, Adam Smith and James Watt were both at the University of Glasgow in the 1760s. By now the population of Scotland is only about five million, but despite Glencoe there are about 15 million MacDonalds and Macdonalds worldwide (the surname, not the restaurant) Our first prime minister was one. Sowell insists that cultures are working tools, and if yours doesn't work very well you should imitate the Scots and fix it (rather than, say, the Irish and the Welsh, who had the same opportunity as the Scots but flubbed it). This is contrary to the received wisdom expressed recently by an Ottawa Citizen contributor, that "cultural appropriation... the taking of ideas, objects or practices from a culture that is not one's own... is based on a relationship of power...on a long history of colonialism in which the colonizing peoples felt they could take whatever they found beautiful and useful, and use it however they wished." These are bitter words, but the really bitter truth is that the colonizing peoples were in a position to colonize because of their ability to borrow in this manner, not the reverse. So I think of the Scots whenever I hear Canadian aboriginal activists say something like the following, from a young Inuit woman: "Our elders say we want to live like white people. That's not true. How did we get this lifestyle we have today? It was our elders who began trading with the white people. They brought us to school too." And during a recent Micmac blockade in Quebec, one elder condemned a compromise-minded leader by saying "I fear we are being ruled by white Micmacs." That phrase is as harmful a cultural artifact as you could want, since it tells young people that going to school, obeying the law, and respecting the rights of others is flat out blood treason. It speaks of Indians, mired in poverty and ignorance, devoting all their efforts to not finding out how other people English who, having absorbed Scotland, pillaged its heritage for haggis, bagpipes and kilts. Rather the Scots, after centuries of illiterate violence, smartened up and pillaged England's. Cultural appropriation does not consist of putting a gun to the head of the downtrodden, saying "Sing me the songs of your people" and then turning them into elevator muzak. It is not the result of power but its cause. The Scots are strong because they borrowed, not the reverse. And what holds many of Canada's aboriginals in poverty is not that they have borrowed too much from the wider world but that they have borrowed too little. As Sowell notes in the context of Third World countries, a major obstacle to such borrowing can be an elite, educated in the soft social sciences, that is hostile to cultural transfers. It is such people who most vocally tell Indians today to stick to their own culture and not act "white" (although they, with their cell phones, law degrees and expense accounts, are very much at home in the "white" world.). But what these people call "white" culture is just the late 20th century, which must be understood or it will run you over or push you aside. And what they call "authentic" native culture consists of a deep sense of racial identity, a belief in collectivism, endless brooding on past wrongs and a sense of entitlement that makes people highly unpleasant and unrewarding to deal with. It does not matter whether it is authentic or not (I say it is not). The point is it is worse than useless today, as it would have been for an 18th century Scot to nurse grievances over Bannockburn or even Glencoe. So forget the snow that swept Glencoe. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to Times-Colonist - mailto:jknox@victoriatimescolonist.com Letters to John Robson: jrobson@thecitizen.southam.ca In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html --------- "RE: Interview with Adrian Tanner" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 07:15:38 -0400 From: Larry Innes Subj: News: Voisey's Bay (Interview w/ Adrian Tanner) Mailing List: Innu People Forum list The environmental assessment panel still continues with their public hearings on the coast and in Goose Bay regardless of some organizations who believe that they should not continue. - Interview with Dr. Adrian Tanner Key Words: ["Dr. Adrian Tanner" Citizens Mining Council, Voisey's Bay Nickel Company] Media: CKOK-AM Reporter: JOANNA DICKER Date: 10/26/98, 14:30:20 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Eva Kojak: The environmental assessment panel still continues with their public hearings on the coast and in Goose Bay regardless of some organizations who believe that they should not continue. The Canada's Mining Council believes that there was not adequate information to carry on into public hearings. Adrian Tanner is with the Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's as well as with the Mining Council. I spoke with him this morning. First of all, Dr. Tanner tell us why you made a presentation to the environmental assessment panel ***. Dr. Adrian Tanner: Yes, I'm a member of the Citizens Mining Council, which, I think you can say, began life as with a concern over the smelter that was spoken of as being located here, but the decision was made to put the smelter under a different environmental assessment process from the mine mill at Voisey's Bay. Eva Kojak: What came out of your presentation? Dr. Adrian Tanner: In addition to our concerns that I just mentioned, we have looked through the assessments. And on several points we are not happy with the job that was done. And I will simplify this down to two main points. Number one, we do not think the EIS, the environmental impact statement, was ready to go to public review because there were things missing that should have been there. Number one, the main instrument to deal with the social impact of the mine are to be contained in something called the impact benefit agreement. Those agreements have yet to be completed. And so we as outside interveners cannot see what . . . we can't read these impact benefit agreements because they haven't been written yet. And so we feel that on that basis it was improper of the panel to send the EIS for public review under the Canadian Environmental Impact Assessment process. An EIS is not ready for public review until all information is available about it. And we feel that the impact benefit agreement is a key, absolutely essential part of how the company proposes to minimize the social impact of the mine. I should say there was a second concern, and that was that everybody knows that mining is an uncertain business; that the price of nickel could rise or could fall. A number of other things are not yet clearly known as to how this mine will develop. They don't know how much ore is under the ground. They know how much ore is in the ovoid, but they don't know yet how much ore is under the ground. There is a way for an environmental assessment to deal with these uncertainties, and this is called scenarios. You make a scenario that says if the *** price of nickel is at such a level, then this will be the result. If it's at a different level, a different result. The same thing with the amount of ore underneath the ground. If they find more ore then they could have told us what the different impact of the mine would be given different assumptions about things like the price of nickel or the amount of ore. They didn't do that. There is nothing in that. The guidelines asked them to do that, asked Voisey's Bay Nickel to present different scenarios. They didn't do that and so that's the second reason why we are not satisfied that the EIS, the environmental impact statement, is ready for public review. Eva Kojak: But the hearings are going ahead and they will be concluded in at least a couple of weeks. So what else do you think can be done? Dr. Adrian Tanner: We have asked for an explanation from the panel. They wouldn't give us an explanation at the hearing. They said they would think about it so that if we get an explanation from them, that we will, presumably we will make it public. I have to talk to the rest of the people in the group before we decide what to do. If we don't get a satisfactory explanation, I'm not sure what we can do. We think these are very serious matters and we are concerned and will . . . if they're not satisfactorily answered we feel we have to go take additional steps to try and get this matter resolved. Eva Kojak: You mentioned additional action. What additional action? Dr. Adrian Tanner: Well, what we asked the panel to do was stop the hearing, stop the process until the IBA, impact benefit agreement, has been signed and published, so we can read them. We've asked them to get the proponents, the Voisey's Bay Nickel, to provide different scenarios. But until those . . . and we also have a court case, which if we win our court case, it will force the smelter to be assessed along with the mine together. We would like that they wait until the court case result is heard and not go ahead and finish the public hearing. Because once the public hearings are finished, then if the IBAs come out, if the different scenarios, the court case comes out, it's too late then. You cannot go back to public hearings. So we're asking the panel to stop the public hearings until these matters are resolved. Eva Kojak: So how did VBNC or the panel respond to concerns from the Citizens Mining Council? Dr. Adrian Tanner: We didn't get any good response from Voisey's Bay Nickel. I think we clarified some points with them, but by and large they didn't respond. The panel did say they would get back to us. That's the best we did get from them. I should say that we do trust the panel. They are very excellent members of that panel who, I'm sure, are very competent and very aware of the problems involved in putting together a good assessment of the project. So at the moment we're trusting in their good judgment that they will not go ahead with the hearings and finish off the hearings until the IBAs have been tabled and until the scenarios, the different possibilities of how the thing will come out, and hopefully until our court case, which should come out . . . we've been expecting it for a long time. We hope it's going to come out soon, until the results of the court case is in. Eva Kojak: Finally Dr. Tanner, you keep mentioning the court case. How far along are you there and how long have you been in court? Dr. Adrian Tanner: The actual hearing in front of a judge took place several months ago. It was basically finished the end of last December, January I'm not quite sure. So the judge is now writing his decision, but it's taking a long time, longer than we had expected. And I have no way of knowing when it will be coming out. But because it's been so many months now, we are expecting it very soon. Eva Kojak: Okay Dr. Tanner, thanks for taking the time to talk to me. Dr. Adrian Tanner: Thanks very much for the interview. Eva Kojak: Dr. Adrian Tanner is with the Memorial University of Newfoundland as well as with the Citizens Mining Council. Larry Innes Visit the Innu Nation WWW site: Environmental Advisor http://www.innu.ca Innu Nation P.O. Box 119, Sheshatshiu, Labrador, Canada A0P 1M0 phone: (709) 497-8398 email: innuenv@web.net fax: (709) 497-8396 ------> PGP Public Key available on ldap://certserver.pgp.com --------- "RE: Mission Among the Blackfeet" --------- Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 21:26:27 -0600 From: Chris Spotted Eagle Subj: MISSION AMONG THE BLACKFEET (fwd) ------------ Forwarded Message begins here ------------ Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 14:59:28 -0500 Subj: MISSION AMONG THE BLACKFEET Mailing List: Minnesota Indian Affairs MISSION AMONG THE BLACKFEET will be reprinted in paperback and be out early next year, perhaps in January. It will be priced at $19.95 and will have the same cover as the previous edition. If you are in touch with the people at the Blackfoot Nation who wanted to use the book in their history classes, would you please let them know the above? They can place orders at any time, and we'll send the books as soon as they are available. Best, Ron Chrisman Acquisitions Editor University of Oklahoma Press Chris Spotted Eagle Spotted Eagle Productions cseagle@maroon.tc.umn.edu Voice & Fax 612/377-4212 --------- "RE: Navajo Interest in Implementing Policies" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 09:39:13 -0800 From: Robert Dorman Subj: BM Update: Navajo Nation interest in implementing policies Mailing List: Big Mountain List The following was submitted by Daniel Zapata (with minor corrections made in spelling). From: Condor952@aol.com Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 06:24:42 EST To: redorman@theofficenet.com Subject: BM Update: Navajo Nation interest in implementing policies... Navajo Nation interest in implementing policies The Navajo Nation tribal government has been long involved in the relocation processes since the Relocation Mandates set by U.S. Congress in 1974. The Navajo Nation (NN) has always tried to present itself as the appropriate and the humane representative of the people in resistance. Today, in conglomerate with the BIA Hopi tribal Agencies, the Phoenix BIA Area Office, and the BIA's (armed) Range Technicians have been bringing more fear upon the traditional resistors on the HPL. Despite, that this Relocation Law is an intent to "resolve a land-dispute" between the two said Indian Nations, the implementation of the final policies are still violating human rights, as well as Treaty Rights. Just imagine for a moment that your elder parents or grandparents are being served notices to forfeit there cultural belongings, foods, religious practices, to stop all family activities in order to conform to a new era and finally on top of that, these Orders are presented to them in some strange and foreign language. We would assume that the Navajos (Dineh) themselves would take a position to protect the rights and cultural interest of their elders who are resisting. Certainly, the resistors would have made much progress in: the courts, at the community levels, influencing the local district councils, and international diplomacy (without the intervention by the US State Dept.), and such progress would have been possible if the NN had provided such financial and political supports. However, one must understand how and why tribal governments were set up during the 1930s when post-depression industrialization began in the southwestern US. Interior Secretary, John Collier, of that time reinstated a very subtle method of "Scorch the earth campaign" or another phase of Genocide. This anti-Indian policy, the Indian Reorganization Act took various harsh and brutal stages, and it also outlined ways to stabilize the "Washington designed" Tribal Council. In the Tribal Constitutions (written by White Anglos), nothing states the protection or the enhancement of the existing centralized, cultural and religious societies of the Dineh. Thus, the sole purpose of the NN or the Hopi Tribal government is to alter and eliminate the powers of the religious and traditional leaderships. What is occurring in northwestern Big Mountain is the final stages of assimilation, and it is carried out without the consciousness of the American public (and with the ignorance of those that know about it in Arizona). Furthermore, it is conducted in away to disturb traditional lives by humiliation and isolation. Northwestern Big Mountain is probably no different than the rest of the HPL, but what is occurring now is just an example of the helplessness that this last aboriginal community is feeling. The Accommodation Agreement (AA) of 1997 was forced into their face despite their opposition and claiming they were being represented by a lawyer, Lee Brook Phillips, who had no interest in their sovereign status, but had interest in the BIA Tribal Constitution's "rational" discussions. Most of the resistors were coerced into believing that the court would issue them continued residency, and that their lives could resume to a normal state like before the Relocation Act of 1974. Now, those who have signed the AA see steel markers and brass-topped markers that have enclosed them within 3 to 6 acre plots. They have been also informed that they must immediately build or move all their property into these plots. Also, all excess cattle, horses and sheep have to be sold or hauled off the reservation with the assistance of the BIA, and any other unauthorized livestock is subject to impoundment. Some of the signers to the AA were told to seek new plots because they were too close to an archaeological site. All other home sites, cornfields, corrals and religious grounds have to be dismantled, and if the residents can't do that the BIA Hopi Agency will have their personnel do the tearing down and disposing of these structures. There are those elders who did not sign the AA, and they are subject to forcible eviction by, perhaps early 2000. The NN's representatives are currently acting as mediators and "the good Samaritans" to assure that their traditional elders have an idea of the processes and to abide by the Relocation Laws. Currents and Outcome of Last Incident: We had discussed previously that, Mayze Katenay Begay was harassed and that her animals were about to be hauled off. Though this is sort of a voluntary situation, she and her family still have the privilege and protection of International Human Rights. She does not want the BIA activities to suddenly or disruptively enter her residency without notifying her in a timely manner. She would like to cooperate in having the excess animals hauled, but this should be done on her time and without abuse to the cows or horses (e.g. compacting them where some get injured or crushed). Since Oct. 16th when the BIA's rescheduled to haul on the 22nd, the BIA Range Technicians just came back to remove the defaced stock trailer (Mrs. Begay insisted a message be written directly on the trailer since her two page letter wasn't adhered to). They simply took the trailer without the excess animals, and they just said the weather might make their future efforts inaccessible. Ye! Mother Nature, she did it again. Also, these resistors need encouragements, like showing them they have the right to state their feelings, and that such feelings be adhered to. However, it is not over. Lets continue to build awareness and support for on-land coordinators, but make sure that such support produces feed back. Preparation is very essential for the planning of responses to the intensification of the final removal and displacement of the resistors. The elders still ask for helpers, witnesses or periodic scheduling of monitoring tours. Please, stay tuned and keep in contact with your nearest Support Networks. Again, Thanks for all the various aspects of support this year, and do understand that the elders are most grateful for your contribution and Prayers. Signed, Bahe Y. Katenay ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To unsubscribe, email redorman@theofficenet.com with "unsubscribe" in the subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded message, you may subscribe by emailing redorman@theofficenet.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html Also, for great internet tools please visit: http://www.msw.com.au/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=1271 --------- "RE: Medicine Lake Proposed Geothermal Project" --------- Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1998 18:50:12 -0800 (PST) From: Marsha E Shaiman Subj: Medicine Lake Proposed Geothermal Project UUCP email Dear Gary, The Native Coalition would like this circulated. There is a deadline on comments of Nov 2, but the forest service will accept comments after that, or so they say. In Resistance, Marsha, On Indian Land Geothermal Industrial Nightmare Threatens Medicine Lake FINAL EIS IS OUT YOUR COMMENTS URGENTLY NEEDED On October 2, 1998 the Forest Service and BLM issued the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on CalPine's Fourmile Hill Geothermal Project. This is only the first of several geothermal plants proposed for the Medicine Lake Highlands, a volcanic caldera in northeastern California - sacred ceremonial, hunting and gathering grounds for the Pit River, Modoc and Shasta Tribes. Geothermal development would have the effect of industrializing the area and drastically changing it forever. Concerned people have till November 2, 1998 (maybe longer, call us) to comment and support the tribes' opposition. The Native Coalition and other groups requested an extension and were told verbally that the deadline may be pushed at least to November 16th (postmark deadline). CalPine's project would produce 50 megawatts of what is misnamed "green energy." Statements to the press indicate that "geothermal generation at Medicine Lake may eventually account for as much as 550 megawatts - equal to 11 plants the size of Fourmile Hill" (Redding Record Searchlight, Oct. 7, 1998). Such statements indicate Forest Service bias in favor of approving this and other developments, and make a mockery of the EIS process which should objectively weigh the impacts and benefits to reach the best decision. A big flaw is that the EIS deals with full-on development without exploratory phases ever having been done by CalPine, so much of the data is just guesswork. Last summer a draft EIS on this project generated some 260 comment letters which voiced concerns about the devastating cultural and environmental impacts of progressive geothermal development in this beautiful, pristine area. All comment letters received on the draft EIS spoke against the project. A number of government regulatory agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and State Water Quality Control Board, wrote that the EIS fell short of addressing important water and air quality and health issues. Following the current comment period, a Record of Decision will be issued on whether or not to proceed with the development. The decision can then be appealed. The EIS admits that there would be severe unavoidable adverse effects on Native American cultural sites with no way to mitigate those impacts. The Forest Service has not even evaluated the area for eligibility to the National Register of Historic Places, a step required to be done early in the review process by the National Historic Preservation Act, as well as by Executive Orders on Sacred Sites and Environmental Justice, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, and the federal Trust Responsibility to the Tribes. The haunting visual beauty, water and air purity, plants, wildlife, trees, silence, and other qualities that make the area outstanding to many people - all this would be drastically affected by the impacts which include pollution, high noise levels, steam plumes, night lights, and by over eight square miles (for each project) of power plants, well fields, toxic sump pools, transmission lines, roads, parking lots, above-ground pipelines carrying 500 degree steam, and industrial blight. Other issues are that the need and economic viability (subsidized by tax dollars) for the development have not been established; cumulative effects of this project with several other potential geothermal plants have not been addressed; leases were improperly issued; and energy conservation must be considered as an alternative to sacrificing yet another beautiful natural area. In fact, the EIS does not provide any meaningful alternatives (except No Action), even though this is required by the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act... Other concerns raised in comments on the draft number over 500 issues and sub-issues! The preparers of the final EIS have whitewashed most of these issues, assuming that people will be happy with verbal assurances and minor revisions (all favorable to development!). The report does not contain much significant new information or alternatives. The Forest Service and BLM simply refuse to consider that the project could be harmful to the area and its users, even thought similar projects in Lake County, California, have had numerous problems including toxic leaks, blow-outs, and health hazards such as increases in the cancer rate. The Native Coalition insists on re-circulation of a new draft EIS before issuing a final, and that any decision must be the No Action Alternative. The conclusions reached in this EIS are not warranted by the information it contains. There are serious omissions on which the public has not had an opportunity to comment. People are not being presented with the real issues, which are major threats to spiritual values, drastic cumulative effects on air, water, plants and wildlife, and health hazards - issues that far outweigh the benefits of this industrial development. We urge all who read this to write against this outrage and pray, so that another unspoiled area - the beautiful, mysterious, sacred Medicine Lake Highlands - will not become an industrial nightmare. The Medicine Lake area is a unique geological area of great spiritual beauty and peace which need not and must not be intruded on by industrial development. For more information contact: Native Coalition for Medicine Lake Highlands Defense, PO Box 1143, Mount Shasta CA 96067. Phone and Fax: (530) 926-3397 or (530) 336-5070, email: shastahome@jps.net URGENT - PLEASE WRITE! Your comment letter should be postmarked by November 2nd (maybe later, contact us). Feel free to write your own letter if you feel moved, but at least sign and send one! Mail to: Randall Sharp, Project Leader, Fourmile Hill Geothermal Development, USFS/BLM, 800 West 12th Street, Alturas, CA 96101. You can also fax it to USFS//BLM at 530/233-8709, or email: rsharp/r5_modoc@fs.fed.us Dear Mr. Sharp: I am writing in response to the final EIS on the Fourmile Geothermail Project. I support the Native Coalition, Pit Modoc and Shasta Tribes in their opposition to this and any other geothermal projects in the Medicine Lake Highlands. The final EIS does not adequately address impacts and objections expressed in public comments, including unmitigated impacts on Indian sacred sites, cultural values and ancestral lands. Impacts cannot be fully assessed until after the area has been evaluated for the National Register of Historic Places, as required by law. Medicine Lake and the Highlands are highly important to the cultural survival of the Tribes, and have been used as religious, ceremonial, hunting and gathering areas for thousands of years. The final EIS lacks the exploratory phase, and does not objectively disclose the impacts on human health and on the visual beauty, clean air, pure water, plants, wildlife that make the Medicine Lake Highlands an area of surpassing beauty. The cumulative effects of all foreseeable geothermal development in the area should be considered in one EIS. The report is biased in favor of the geothermal project and does not disclose all potential impacts on the Tribes and other users. I support the Native Coalition's demand that a new draft EIS be circulated after evaluation to health hazards, and all potential impacts on sacred sites, air, water, visual quality, plants and wild life. The new draft must include meaningful alternatives to the proposed project. The final EIS is in violation of the US Government's Trust Responsibility to the Indian People, Executive Order 13007 on Indian Sacred Sites, Executive Order 12898 on Environmental Justice, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and National Register Bulletin 38 on Traditional Cultural Properties, the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act. Geothermal development is incompatible with existing long-standing spiritual and cultural uses of the area and its national resources. The only right alternative is the No Action Alternative. Sincerely, Information is posted on the Indigenous Environmental Network website: http://www.alphacdc.com/ien. Visit it! --------- "RE: Six Nations Iroquois Election Chaos" --------- Date: Sun, 01 Nov 1998 19:13:51 -0500 From: Kahn-Tineta Horn Subj: SIX NATIONS IROQUOIS ELECTION CHAOS UUCP email MNN. Mohawk Nation News. Kahnawake M.T. 1 Nov. 98. How can Wellington Staats, the head of the Six Nations pseudo council, hold an election under an election code that was made without community consultation or consent, which is illegal? Staats says he'll have an election on November 14th, fix the code, or bring back the Indian Act band council and then maybe have another election. What Staats wants is a three-year term and for non-residents to vote. Doesn't he understand why he had to back off from his illegal "customary council" on the Federal Court House steps in Ottawa? WHAT HAPPENED? In case Staats has forgotten, his "band council" asked to be taken out of Section 74 of the Indian Act and put under a so-called "custom government" three years ago. But they didn't count on Brian Maracle. There he was in his little old log cabin, with its crooked floors. He read the Indian Act and thought. Hey! He wasn't consulted like he should have been! So he and his sister Marilyn took action in Federal Court. Then the Iroquois Confederacy Council got involved. Hey! They said - How can the Indian Act Council turn itself into a "customary council"? The Six Nations already has a customary council and we're it! Suddenly before the trial started Staats and his crew agreed to disband their "custom council" because they knew they would lose the case. There was just one problem. They forgot that three years ago the band council asked Canada to revoke the 1924 Order in Council that violently brought in the band council system. So they took themselves out of the Indian Act so the new custom system could be set up. This is illegal. To bring the former band council back under the Indian Act, they have to start all over - consult the people and win a referendum of a majority of the eligible voters, not just a majority of those who show up.....and they KNEW the people would never vote in an election under Canadian laws like the Indian Act because they are not part of Canada. (Staats doesn't understand? He's forgotten Iroquois history? See below). WHY DEPARTMENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS WON'T DO ANYTHING Why won't Indian Affairs automatically put the band council back under the Indian Act the way they were asked to? asks Councillor Les Sowden. The answer is ....Because Indian Affairs knows it's illegal. In Canada it is contrary to public policy to uphold an agreement that violates the law. How on earth can Sowden dream that he can make a personal deal with two members of the Six Nations about how an election should be done. Brian and Marilyn Maracle's point is that the people should be consulted. Sowden should not twist their words. So the pseudo council sent in a "Band Council Resolution" to Indian Affairs asking to be let back into the Indian Act. The legal way is to go to the people, ask them, and then have a referendum of a majority of eligible electors. If it passes, then they ask Canada for a new Order in Council. Maybe Indian Affairs forgot that a new Order in Council is needed to put Six Nations back under the Indian Act. Today the true democratic principles the Iroquois Confederacy taught to the oppressed refugees from Europe have been accepted at the international level. It is now international policy to promote self-determination and governments that consult the people. Canada is a member of the United Nations and has signed international human rights codes which defend civil and political rights and the right of people to self-determination. Canada can no longer get away with the armed force they used in 1924 to throw out the Chiefs from the Council House at Six Nations. But Canada is still trying to get away with cheating at history. Why else would a bureaucrat like Pilon say that Indian Affairs has been promoting customary councils while it refuses to acknowledge Canada's role in ejecting the traditional Haudenosaunee Council in 1924? In fact, why aren't they recognizing this true customary council of the Six Nations? WILL THERE BE NO GOVERNMENT? Here's an issue. The term of office for the Indian Act Council expires on November 30th. On the other hand, the Confederacy Council has continued to meet all these years. Does this mean if there is no election the Six Nations will have no government and that there is no longer a Canadian government colonial office there? Does it mean that the Confederacy Council is the legitimate government? If so, the Confederacy may be able to once again apply to be a member of the United Nations? If the fraudulently imposed "custom council" and Indian Act band council disappear, Canada may have no choice but to deal with the true traditional government that consults the people that was in place long before the neglected children of Europe wandered over here. Now that Canada has "responsible government" Canada should be responsible enough to correct past mistakes and stop interfering in true Indian governments. CANADA HAS A CHOICE Surely Canada cannot recognize a council which is chosen by a procedure that violates both Canadian and international law. But what can Canada do? There are two easy choices. Either it can quietly recognize the existing Confederacy Council that has continued to operate all these years - or it can ask the United Nations to intervene, consult with the Six Nations and reaffirm a government that has the support of the majority of the people. Which is simpler? Would recognition of the Confederacy really be so bad? International law is moving away from elections towards decisions by consensus. This means the international community is beginning to understand that the people have power, which is the underlying principle of the Iroquois Confederacy Constitution known as the Kaienerekowa (The Great Law of Peace). CAN CANADA IGNORE AN ILLEGAL ELECTION? Canada knows that if it supports an election that does not have full community support, any member of the Six Nations can lodge a complaint against Canada at the international level. Canada surely doesn't want that to happen because the whole sordid history of its theft of Six Nations land and forced colonization of the Iroquois will be exposed to the world. This could harm their image promoters of human rights. LEST WE FORGET The Iroquois developed a Confederacy of United Nations long before Europeans knew that might does not make right. When refugees arrived on ABORIGINAL land they learned about mutual respect and self-government. It took them a couple of centuries, and all of the lessons have not sunk in - but in this century they finally began to realize that if they want peace and prosperity, the people have to exercise power. The Charter of the United Nations, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and countless other international agreements, treaties and declarations now recognize the right of all peoples to self-determination. Some international organizations are even learning to make decisions by consensus.....the Confederacy way! All of this modern development can be traced to the lessons learned by people like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson when they sat at Haudenosaunee Council meetings. Eventually the American colonies took the example of their Iroquois allies and developed their own form of democratic federal government. It wasn't quite up to Haudenosaunee standards - American democracy suffers from tyranny of the majority, and the American state still thinks might makes right. But it was a step forward. American settlers were after Indigenous land - and the Six Nations were important commercial and military allies to Britain. Because of this alliance, the Mohawk left their traditional territory during the American Revolution and moved north with Joseph Brant. Under the Haldimand Treaty Britain guaranteed Mohawk title to the land for six miles on either side of the Grand River - They had to fight hard to keep this. They never forgot their independence. They never became subjects of Britain, Canada, the United States or anyone else. Meanwhile, Britain saw it had to give settlers in its other colonies a voice or lose them too. So Canada slowly developed its own form of responsible government. Its people were so accustomed to dictatorial rule that they let hidden bureaucrats become `mandarins' - but without the moral education of Chinese scholars. The bureaucrats pretended that they represented the will of the Canadian people even though Canadians didn't know what was going on. Never mind, they too can learn. While the settlers were busy stealing Amerindian land and learning about democracy, the Confederacy continued to govern while they modernized their economy. Britain continued to recognize their independence. That is why the Confederacy was not included in the British North America Act (BNA). It's called the `Constitution Act 1867' now. Remember - as they learned about governing themselves, the first Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Ontario and Quebec) joined together copying the democratic union the Six Nations already had.....but that act concerned THEIR constitution - their internal self-government. The Iroquois did not join the settlers' union because they are independent sovereigns and the titleholders of North America. The settlers were really ignorant about history and they didn't know anything about international law. They forgot about being the allies of the Iroquois. They ignored their promises to them and to other Amerindian Nations. They started telling themselves that they owned everything. When they made their own laws, they started making laws for the Indigenous nations, the sovereigns of North America! The Iroquois immediately objected. And they objected. And they objected. And when that didn't do any good they ignored them as best they could and got on with life. After World War I the bureaucrats were too much. They started granting Iroquois land and mortgages on their land to returned soldiers. They wanted to assimilate the Iroquois and for their land to be part of Canada. They interfered with every Confederacy Council decision. They stopped paying the interest on the Indian trust funds. They refused to account for a couple of hundred thousand dollars that went missing because they made a bad investment in the Grand River Navigation Company against the Confederacy Council's wishes. The more the Iroquois tried to get justice, the more the bureaucrats interfered in their affairs. The Iroquois asked for a Supreme Court reference. They refused. The Iroquois appealed to the Governor General. He ignored them. The Iroquois appealed to the King in England. His bureaucrats said it was Canada's business. The Iroquois appealed to the League of Nations. Many countries supported them. But Britain and Canada were too threatening and manipulative. They did everything they could to stop the Iroquois' legitimate case from being heard by the International Court. Canada's bureaucrats must have gotten desperate. They quickly got an Order in Council and sent in the RCMP to throw out the 60-member traditional Confederacy Council. The Iroquois could not stop this invasion. According to their way, the chiefs were appointed by the clan mothers in consultation with the people. An election was held. Only 25 votes were cast. The Confederacy Council continued to operate, but Canada ignored it. That is how the "elected" Indian Act band council got its start. The Iroquois don't vote because they are not Canadians. They are not British subjects. They are not anybody's colony. And they do not recognize pseudo governments that are put in by brute force. Today the international community does not tolerate such an imposition. Canada has deliberately forgotten all this history. It likes to think it's a big promoter of human rights. The Iroquois have not forgotten what really happened. COMMENTS ON THE ABOVE APPRECIATED. MNN Mohawk Nation News Box 991, Kahnawake Mohawk Territory (via Quebec, Canada) J0L 1B0 mohawkns@cyberglobe.net 450-635-7402 Fax 450-635-2413 http://www.cyberglobe.net/users/otsira --------- "RE: Riots at Neah Bay" --------- Date: Mon, 02 Nov 1998 05:26:10 -0800 From: Amelia Davisson Subj: Makah Update: Riots at Neah Bay Sunday, November 1, 1998: Riots at Neah Bay. Tensions have been high at Neah Bay. A Sea Shepherd boat has been camped out in Makah waters for a month now. This is a gesture from Sea Shepherd as to their opposition to Makah whaling. Obviously, this constant reminder leaves the residents of Neah Bay "on edge". Earlier today, a member from the Sea Shepherd boat came to shore to go to lunch with a Makah tribal member. She [member of Sea Shepherd] was pushed off the dock into the water by others. This began a riot on the waterfront of Neah Bay Harbour. The riot included rocks being hurled towards Sea Shepherd, seizure of a Zodiac [boat], etc. The Makah tribal member who had planned to meet with the Sea Shepherd representative was threatened with arrest. Currently, the tribal member has not been arrested, although was advised if found at the marina again tomorrow, an arrest will be made. Makah Law & Order was unable to site a specific reason for the arrest. After a brief calm, protestors began gathering around Makah Law & Order (Tribal Police). It is unclear whether these protestors are against whaling or against Sea Shepherd and their presence. The Makah Nation has a legal right to hunt whales, as spelled out in the 1855 Treaty. This is a treaty between the Makah and the US Government. If people feel the treaty ought to be amended or interpreted differently, it ought to be handled in a legal manner and setting -- not through hand-to-hand violence in the streets (or on the water). Many of the men originally involved as members of the Makah whaling crew have become inactive. Much of this revolves around some members being paid handsomely for their involvement; while others are not receiving a dime. (http://www.geocities.com/Yosemite/7431/whaling.htm) -=-=-=-=-=- >From KOMO 4 News (http://www.komotv.com/news/nwnews/): Anti-Whale Protests Bring Arrests Blood was spilled on Sunday in Neah Bay. But it wasn't the blood of a whale. Makah tribal police arrested four protesters who set foot on reservation land Sunday afternoon as tensions grew over a planned historic whale hunt. One of the protesters, who was bleeding from his head, says officers pushed him down before taking him into custody. All four protesters, who came from the Sea Shepherd boat, were held on trespassing charges and were turned over to the Clallam County sheriff's office. Tribal Council Chairman Ben Johnson said this was a sad thing,but that the Makah people were very frustrated after weeks of being taunted by the protesters offshore. -=-=-=-=-=- KOMO 4 News: More Whale-Hunt Protests (http://www.komotv.com) Makah tribal police made arrests both days this weekend, after confrontations with the most vigorous opponents of their upcoming whale hunt, which may be getting closer as migrating gray whales heading south to winter breeding grounds approach Makah waters. -=-=-=-=-=- November 2, 1998 Community Meeting Last night, at Neah Bay, there was a community meeting held to try and calm everyone down after the riots. Prior to the meeting, some tribal members, having just taken part in a confrontation with Sea Shepherd, were talking about banishment for other selected tribal members who did not share the anti-Sea Shepherd sentiments. --------- "RE: First Nation Health Problems" --------- Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 23:23:46 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: The Killing diet of Canadian Colonialism :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: STUDY FINDS SERIOUS FIRST NATIONS HEALTH PROBLEMS Victoria Times Colonist, Sept.27, 1998, by Marlene Habib (CP) [S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is provided for reference only.] Toronto - An innovative screening and treatment program has uncovered alarming rates of cardiovascular and kidney disease as well as diabetes among First Nations communities in Saskatchewan, says the head researcher. One study of more than 600 adults from seven reserves found that 22 per cent had diabetes, compared to five per cent of the general population, said Dr. George Pylpchuk of St. Paul's Hospital in Saskatoon. The most shocking finding was the high incidence of cardiovascular problems and related risk factors, which previously haven't been a major issue in the First Nations population, Pylpchuk said. The scientist was interviewed this weekend at the annual meeting of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. "People (on reserves) are living longer - about 10 years longer - than 10 years ago," Pylpchuk said in offering one reason for the higher incidence of health problems. "Smoking as a big risk factor is also high in our sample." But he also blamed a "shift to a westernized style" of living - including freer access to store-bought processed food - for the problems. Twenty-six per cent of the 600 people screened for the study - or about one-third of the reserves' adult population - had high blood pressure (hypertension), and half had elevated cholesterol, which is a risk factor for heart and other cardiovascular problems. One of four diabetics studied also had signs of early kidney disease. While in Toronto, Pylypchuk planned to meet with health officials from other parts of Canada who are interested in early screening and prevention strategies to raise awareness about health issues plaguing aboriginal communities. They're intrigued by the program overseeing the study, which was launched by the Battlefords Tribal Council Indian Health Services. The council delivers health services to member bands in the North Battleford area about 130 kilometres west of Saskatoon. In 1996, the council noticed a dramatic jump in the number of patients with kidney disease. Recognizing the need for early detection to delay or prevent end-stage disease that requires dialysis, the council approached Pylypchuk and his colleagues to develop a screening and treatment program. The program is named Diabetes Risk Evaluation and Microalbuminuria (D.R.E.A.M.) and funded by a research grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Miroalbumin is a protein secreted by the kidneys, and its presence in screening is an early indication of kidney disease. The first part of the program focused on determining the prevalence of diabetes and modifiable risk factors - "things we could do something about" - such as smoking, cholesterol and being overweight. The second part will focus on addressing the risk factors, and that will include developing prevention programs that promote exercise and healthy eating and living. Some members of the community may also receive drug therapy to lower cholesterol and blood pressure. "The other thing about this program that has been important is awareness of the community - people are now asking about their cholesterol. These issues have not really been forefront in their minds before," said Pylypchuk. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Letters to Times-Colonist - mailto:jknox@victoriatimescolonist.com In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html --------- "RE: Editorial from Douglas Spotted Eagle" --------- Date: Sun, 1 Nov 1998 23:53:49 EST From: MOONCLOUD@aol.com Subj: Editorial from Douglas Spotted Eagle UUCP email Greetings Gary and All, I came across this editorial on Spotted Eagles home page (which I visit often because I'm a great fan of his) and I am very honored, with his permission, to share it with you.. If anyone would like to respond to him about the editorial, I would be happy to forward it to him Mooncloud@aol.com +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ EDITORIAL By: Douglas Spotted Eagle http://www.spottedeagle.com Dear friends, Occasionally, I have something to say about the status of the world in general, and can't keep my mouth closed when I hear about hate crimes, racist issues, and poor treatment of children. With this in mind, I've asked our webmaster to put up these words in an editorial page. As I sit here wanting to say these things, I can't keep myself from weeping, after watching the news, and reading the newspaper. Today, I learned that the young man who was beaten in Laramie, Wyoming, died. He was beaten, clubbed, whipped, and tied up to a barbwire fence like a scarecrow. He was found the following day by bicyclists going down the road, barely alive. He was flown to the hospital, where he remained in critical condition for 5 days, finally passing on this morning. 2 young men, and two young women have been arrested in connection with his assault/death. What was his crime, the reason for his assault? This young man was gay. His lifestyle didn't meet with the standards as accepted by a particular group of people. It wasn't the environment, because Laramie, WY has it's own share of homosexual men and women, many of whom were stunned at the hate crime. Perhaps it was that he was not a large person, and an easy target. Perhaps he looked at one of the assailants with a smile, a wave, a bright face, or even just a passing glance. In any event, someone took some kind of offense to his very existence, and chose to snuff out the candle of this young man's life. By all accounts, he was a creative person, a well-liked artist, and willing to get involved in social and community affairs. While I never knew this young man, I know hundreds like him, and know of thousands more. And I know that everyone has something to contribute to this world. For this reason, I weep, at not only his family's loss, not only at the hate that motivated his death, but for our loss, for the things that we will never know because of his erasure. I weep for those that have gone without choice, for reasons of racism, such as the young black man that was dragged behind a truck in Texas last spring. And for the baby that was left to die in a dresser drawer, because the mother didn't want her parents to know of her pregnancy. All of this tells me that we are failing as a society, as mothers, fathers, teachers, and friends. We are not teaching our children correct principles of love, tolerance, acceptance, and fear. An ignorant person is a fearful one. And a fearful person will strike out at the unknown, much like a cornered animal. We cannot afford ignorance. We cannot afford to continue to allow television and a heavily taxed school system be responsible for the upbringing of our children. We cannot afford to allow our children to go out into the world ignorant of other lifestyles, societies, religions, or cultures. It is this fear that nearly drove indigenous Peoples to extinction less than 100 years ago. Spend time with your children, not watching television, but asking them questions about their world. As a presenter in the drug and alcohol field, I assure you, the world they live in is MUCH different than yours. Learn how they feel about other cultures, races, and political issues. Ask their opinions of nearly anything, and most often, even a 6 year old will offer some perspectives never viewed by an 'educated adult'. Life is simple for them, true, but only simple by your standards, not by theirs. If we don't teach our children the correct principles, that all that moves is sacred, that all living things are human, and that all things deserve the most basic level of respect, then we'll not only see people persecuted for their sexual preferences and race in the near future, we'll have people being persecuted for the kinds of shoes they wear, for the way they comb their hair, and for the music they listen too. Creativity will cease, because of fear. Fear is the greatest tool that evil wields. Fear is the means by which wars are begun. Education is the key to fear. We don't have to love someone to accept them. I don't like vegetables, I don't like strong perfume, and I don't like many other things in the world around me. Yet I also recognize that there are many who may not approve of, or like all that I do as well. And just as I know my perspective has merit, as much as I hate to admit, so does theirs. Only by knowing of the dark, can we know of light, and only by knowing of hot, can we know cold. There must be balance in all things, even opinions and lifestyles. I'm not commenting on the validity of gays, lesbians, rich people, poor people, black people, white people, homeless or not. Only that all are creations of our Creator, God, and Supreme Being, and therefore have an inalienable right to exist, with or without your approval. When you reduce things to the lowest common denominator, as 5 fingered humans, we are all the same. WE ARE ALL THE SAME! It stops with you. It stops with me. In a world where everyone is screaming about yours, mine, theirs, ours, we must at some point take responsibility. You cannot afford to have me keep my mouth shut when a crime occurs, even if it's at the peril of my name. I must speak, and I pray that when you see an injustice, you speak too. Take back our world, by spending less time on the internet, less time in front of the television, and more time with your children, neighbors, friends. Become a part of your community, and allow your community to become a part of you. We can all easily live together, if we only become more aware of what we have in common, rather than what differences there are. If we don't take responsibility and teach our children to speak up and to do the right things, then we are just as responsible for that young man's death as the actual assailants. Remember, a beautiful life is merely prayer in motion, and a world without prayer has no center to it. God bless us all. HAND IN HAND, TAKE A STAND, FOR GOODNESS. GO OUT AND DO ANYTHING GOOD FOR THOSE AROUND YOU!! Douglas Spotted Eagle --------- "RE: Ipperwash Exchange in Legislature" --------- Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 10:25:35 -0700 From: "S.I.S.I.S." Subj: Oct.20,1998 Hansard of Ont. Legislature - Ipperwash :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: NOTE: Please send inquiries or comments about this post to the original sender, , *not* S.I.S.I.S. ----------Forwarded message--------- Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 08:52:34 -0500 From: Sandra Mitchell Subj: Oct.20,1998 Hansard of Ont. Legislature - Ipperwash Oct.20,1998 Hansard of Ont. Legislature - Ipperwash IPPERWASH PROVINCIAL PARK Mr Gerry Phillips (Scarborough-Agincourt): My question is to the Premier. It has to do with Ipperwash and the shooting death of a First Nations person and the conviction of an OPP officer and criminal negligence. It has been three years now, and we've been pushing for an inquiry. Our worst fears are coming true, and that is that key records essential to Ipperwash are being systematically erased. That is a serious problem. I will give you one specific which we found out about only a few weeks ago. The key person who was the liaison between your interministerial group and the police command post left the ministry on April 19, 1996. As soon as he left, his files were erased, and 30 days later the backup files were erased. Key documents required for an inquiry into Ipperwash are being systematically erased. Premier, will you at least agree to this: that you will send all your cabinet ministers and your ministries that are affected by Ipperwash an instruction that all Ipperwash files that have not been destroyed be retained for the foreseeable future? Hon Michael D. Harris (Premier): Yes. Mr Phillips: I appreciate that. I'll follow up on the specific files that went missing and ask you how it could possibly happen. I'll just say to you that the individual who was involved in this, a well-regarded OPP officer, left the ministry on April 19, 1996. Immediately after that, these key files were erased. The Solicitor General said this about those files: "Indeed we are concerned about the loss of these files in terms of our ability to retain very important and critical files. I share your concern with respect to that. The current deputy has initiated a review of this situation and a review of the retention policy." My question to you, Premier, is this: Nothing could be perhaps higher profile than your involvement in Ipperwash, the first death of a First Nations person in a dispute with the government at least in the last 100 years. Yet a mere few months after it happened, right in the Ministry of the Solicitor General, key files were allowed to be erased. Prior to that, had you made any instructions to ensure that those files would be retained so we could have a fair and obviously unbiased inquiry into this sorry Ipperwash affair? Hon Mr Harris: I'll refer this to the Solicitor General. Hon Robert W. Runciman (Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Services): With respect to the inquiry - and the member raised this earlier - the hard copies of the significant e-mails were printed by the former employee referenced by the member in the deputy minister's office, as was his professional practice. Those copies remain in the possession of the ministry. As a result of the FOI request, the privacy commissioner was satisfied with the employee's explanation of the manner in which he managed his paper and electronic record. This order recited parts of an affidavit of this employee, who had a practice of printing significant e-mails and deleting unimportant ones. The e-mail account was closed by staff in accordance with normal office operating procedure, and this practice is consistent across government and predates the term of this administration. The privacy commissioner was satisfied with the manner in which these records were managed, and the ministry remains in possession of all documents and has released all responsive records to the privacy commissioner, consistent with the act. In conclusion, the government has complied with the - The Speaker: Thank you. New question, third party. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL : WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html --------- "RE: Military Spied on Native Protesters at Ipperwash" --------- Date: Sat, 31 Oct 1998 12:02:15 -0800 From: "S.I.S.I.S." Subj: Military unit spied on native protesters at Ipperwash ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Wed, 28 Oct 1998 21:44:23 -0500 From: Sandra Mitchell (by way of Sandra Mitchell ) Subj: MILITARY UNIT SPIED ON NATIVE PROTESTERS AT IPPERWASH http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/06_n1.html :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: October 25, 1998 MILITARY UNIT SPIED ON NATIVE PROTESTERS AT IPPERWASH Canadian Press OTTAWA -- A special unit of Canada's military spied on native protesters and soldiers and installed secret video cameras to monitor Defence Department employees suspected of theft even though it didn't have warrants to do so. Files obtained by the Ottawa Citizen through access to information legislation show the special operations branch of the Canadian Forces special investigations unit installed secret surveillance cameras to monitor soldiers and civilian employees on at least six occasions between 1993 and 1995 at bases across the country. The branch's mandate is to investigate espionage and terrorism and gather information on immediate security threats. Lawyers say the military is required to obtain warrants before using secret cameras to spy on employees. The documents reveal only one warrant was issued to the military for the use of covert video cameras during that period. Documents covering the period 1990 to 1995 also show that: * Defence Department spies tailed current and former employees suspected of minor theft or selling smuggled cigarettes, although the missions appear to have unearthed little evidence of improper conduct. * The unit spied on native protesters at Ipperwash in 1993; the next year, it was put on alert to sneak into Oka, Que., and the surrounding native reserves when tensions there increased. * The surveillance team searched the luggage of soldiers catching flights at the Ottawa airport for weapons but found nothing. * The military used a hidden camera to catch an employee stealing nuts and bolts from a workshop at Canadian Forces Base Trenton. It obtained a warrant. * At Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake in Alberta the team's equipment was used to record communications of individuals whose names were deleted >from the documents. In that case, the military stated it did not believe it needed a warrant. Capt. Alain Bissonnette, spokesperson for the Canadian Forces Provost Marshal, said the department's special operations section consults with military lawyers on whether warrants are needed for its missions and strictly follows the law. "The support section conducts all their technical surveillance according to Canadian law and the Charter of Rights," Bissonnette said. Officials with the Judge Advocate General's office declined to be interviewed. But civilian lawyers say that under a 1990 Supreme Court ruling, the military should have obtained a warrant for every use of secret video cameras. "If their purpose is to gather evidence for a criminal offence then there has to be a warrant," said lawyer Clayton Ruby. "There's a privacy interest which can only be overturned by a warrant." Eugene Oscapella, a legal specialist in privacy rights, agreed. "The whole notion of video surveillance is troubling. Just because we have the technological means to track people doesn't mean we should be doing it." The unit is armed with more than $1 million in high-tech surveillance gear. The surveillance at Ipperwash was one of the unit's most extensive missions. The land had been taken from the natives during the Second World War for military training. The protesters were frustrated the federal government was stalling in returning the property. Thirty native protesters were allowed to live in tents at one end of the camp; soldiers and protesters agreed to stay out of each other's way. But in fact, a special operations team hid in the bushes, photographing and recording the natives' every movement. Less than a year later, the special operations team was preparing to spy on natives in Quebec. Tensions at the Kanesatake reserve near Oka were mounting and in late January 1994, Mohawks fired as many as 60 bullets at two military aircraft. The spy teams were told to be ready to move out within a few hours; they were assigned to collect intelligence for military commanders and police. They were armed, but were warned to "use discretion." ---------- Copyright C 1998 The London Free Press a division of Sun Media Corporation. :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2 EMAIL : WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html --------- "RE: Silence on Gustafsen Lake Explained" --------- Date: Thu, 29 Oct 1998 02:04:38 -0800 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.) Subj: Subject: BCCLA: Hand maiden to the BC settler-state :-:-:S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty:-:-: October 27, 1998 No Copyright; Reproduce Freely BC CIVIL LIBERTIES ASSOCIATION'S SILENCE ON GUSTAFSEN LAKE EXPLAINED The BCCLA president Andrew Irvine wrote the following response to a letter which asked why BCCLA questions the "official abuses of power" in the case of the 1997 Apec protest, yet has been silent on the far more brutal abuses of power at the Gustafsen Lake siege of 1995. Irvine's letter makes the answer very clear. Though the necessary precondition of an effective monitoring body is plainly an arm's length distance from the state, the BCCLA, due to its membership, is effectively an adjunct to the state. Even in their letter of response, BCCLA avoids the question of their silence regarding Gustafsen, which was the main point of the original letter (included after the BCCLA response below): :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: Vancouver Sun, October 23, 1998, Letters: Letter of the Day: B.C. Civil Liberties Association not just for NDPers John Shafer does not explain just why he thinks that the B.C. Civil Liberties Association has a "cosy relationship" with the New Democratic Party (APEC protests weren't just about entertaining dictators, Letters, Oct. 13). So we are left to guess. Is it because the BCCLA is privileged to have people such as former premier Mike Harcourt and Member of Parliament Svend Robinson serving as honorary directors? Likely not, since we are also privileged to have people like broadcaster Rafe Mair and former Tory prime minister Kim Campbell serving in this same capacity. Is it because we have championed the free speech rights of people on the political left? Again, likely not, since we have consistently done the same for people of all political persuasions, as many of our high-profile court cases attest. Is it because the current attorney-general, Ujjal Dosanjh, is a former board member? Again, likely not, since Mr. Dosanjh returns our calls no more frequently than any of his predecessors. The simple fact is that the BCCLA is a local nonpartisan charitable organization whose mandate is to protect and promote the basic democratic rights and freedoms of all British Columbians. For more than three decades, we have done so by becoming involved in public education, individual case work, government lobbying and public interest litigation. We are also proud to be able to say that we receive much-needed support from people across the political spectrum. As BCCLA president, I would work to change things if this were not so. Andrew Irvine, Vancouver :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: (Original letter:) Letters, Vancouver Sun, October 13, 1998, Page A19 JS Russell and AD Irvine ask important questions regarding "official abuses of power" (APEC protest raises new questions on who's doing the spying. Forum, Oct.2) This is appropriate and necessary given the serious implications of the issues and their position as directors of the BC Civil Liberties Association. Why then did not the association demonstrate any similar concerns with respect to actions taken by the state at Gustafsen Lake? Can it have anything to do with the cosy relationship the association has with New Democratic Party Attorney-General Ujjal Dosanjh? Some of the same RCMP brass and officials cited in Spray-pec were also involved in Gustafsen-Gate, including the Indonesian delegation's RCMP liaison Peter Montague. Mr. Montague's famous "smear campaigns are our specialty" line was one quote that should not be forgotten from his time as the palsy-walsy RCMP media spokesperson at Gustafsen, the largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history. Clearly, unlike the unfolding Spray-pec affair, there is no stomach for a long overdue and similarly probing review of the "blunt instruments of state power", intelligence gathering, and political involvement in the Gustafsen matter. We should all be asking ourselves why. J. Shafer :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: On October 15, the Sun ran a letter from a participant in anti-Apec activities who similarly questioned the lack of attention to the Gustafsen issue. Many of the protestors involved have noted the "double standard" of Spray-pec vs Gustafsen Lake and joined the call for an end to the coverup of the largest paramilitary operation in Canadian history against the Ts'peten Sundance Camp in the summer of 1995. The letter from Aziz Choudry follows: RCMP Not Always Under Same Scrutiny Last November I was a speaker at the APEC Alert - organized teach-in a day before the outrageous pepper-spraying incident at the University of BC. I have been interested in The Sun's recent coverage in part because New Zealand will host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum next year. But given the massive media interest and public sympathy towards the victims of last year's security operations at APEC, I am intrigued that there has never been the same level of scrutiny, public outrage and hard questions in relation to RCMP tactics during the massive paramilitary operation against a small group of indigenous peoples at Gustafsen Lake in 1995. There are plenty of parallels between the two operations, such as excessive force, widespread surveillance, and the involvement of a number of key senior RCMP officers in both operations. While November showed Canada's security forces playing the role of willing muscle boys for APEC's free trade, free market agenda, from what I have seen and heard, their politically directed, heavy-handed actions are unlikely to be news to people who continue to struggle for self-determination and sovereignty. Aziz Choudry Christchurch, NZ :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: BC CIVIL LIBERTIES - AN ADJUNCT TO THE CANADIAN SETTLER-STATE! "I must, therefore, ask that you requisition the following additional equipment from the Canadian Forces: Four (4) .50 calibre McMillan Sniper Rifles, complete with 4 x 40 Leupold Scopes, accessories and ammunition. Your urgent attention and consideration is appreciated." -- Former BCCLA board member and present BC Minister of Human Rights and Attorney General Ujjal Dosanjh, in a Sept. 15, 1995, letter to the Solicitor General of Canada, requesting arms for use the Gustafsen siege. "Gustafsen Lake could help propel BC into a fall election, political analysts said Sunday... NDP support has strengthened over the summer, a phenomenon analysts say shows voters approve of the way the government of Premier Harcourt has handled native Indian militants... One high placed government source predicted Harcourt will call an election before next week." -- Vancouver Sun, September 18, 1995, Page A3. Former NDP Premier Mike Harcourt is now working with the BCCLA. Email for BC Civil Liberties Association - mailto:BCCLA@mindlink.bc.ca Please cc to us at Information on Gustafsen Lake: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/gustmain.html Information on the Apec protests: http: //www.canuck.com/rose/trans :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Help Sought for Police Victim" --------- Date: Tue, 3 Nov 1998 10:11:35 -0600 From: JRP Subj: Help Sought for Police Victim I have been asked to repost this... thanks -- Dee --- A Statement from Keith First In Trouble's Grandmother, Ida R. Quintana Foraci Trashing the Truth Officers Breneman and his partner led by the Devil to lie were exonerated by their peers from shooting a troubled young man on 9-16-1998. There is a higher court that will judge them if the don't tell the truth and God will deal with liars. God commands me to pray for my enemies. Keith First In Trouble survived 6 bullets, saved by God our Redeemer. Now Keith faces charges based on lies and a cover-up by liars to protect themselves. They are -Trashing The Truth-. Keith had no weapon and the truth will come out. That terrible night we asked the police for help, not a shooting. These policemen need more help than Keith. They were led by the Devil who uses evil men to do his dirty work. That night became a nightmare as we prayed for Keith's life and our prayers were answered. Now I come to the public for financial help and I know God will send us a good public defender to fight the lies. Send your donations to: Keith First In Trouble account # 43690-2 Diakonia Credit Union 1275 S. Federal Blvd. Denver Co 80219 Keith's Grandmother Ida R. Quintana Foraci 1750 S. Federal # 607 Denver, Co 80219 --------- "RE: Hunger Strike to Defend Sacred Dakota Site" --------- Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 07:56:22 -0500 From: "Native American Press" Subj: hunger strike to defend sacred Dakota site MN Indian Affairs Council sanctions plan to run highway through sacred Dakota site By Dale Greene After a recent visit to the University of Minnesota appointment, my father wanted to stop at a "camp of Indians" he had heard about on the Friday television local news cast. The protest camp, located in South Minneapolis (Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota), is known as Camp Coldwater and is aimed at forcing the state to abandon plans to run Highway 55 through Phillips neighborhood and a site held sacred to the Dakota people. As this paper goes to press (Oct. 29), two women and two men from the camp are in the 16th day of a hunger strike they vow to carry on until their demands are met. Camp Coldwater is a historically important area of Minneapolis. It was the original site of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota tribe and is considered very sacred. The word Men-do-ta means "where the waters meet." It is where the State of Minnesota began. Upon entering the Camp, we were met by an Anishinabe' Inini, who was introduced as "Bear." Bear showed us around a part of the main camp, part of a large and quite spread-out area along the river. Bear introduced us to a Dakota man named Jim Anderson RedSky, cultural chair of the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota. Jim RedSky treated us very warmly during our visit, to the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota camp. When greeting us, RedSky introduced himself and gave us his Dakota names in his native language. During our visit Jim RedSky gave us much information about Camp Coldwater. Before we left the camp, Jim RedSky gave us a booklet and an VCR tape of the Camp. After visiting and listening to Jim RedSky, I gained an understanding of what the demonstrators are trying to accomplish. I wished them luck and any future support we could offer them. If you want to learn more or to offer support please visit the MendotaMdewakanton Dakota, Camp Coldwater.They will treat you warmly and give you a History lesson that people need to hear and know about. On the videotape were some local newscasts from Minneapolis stations covering the Camp. The most disturbing interview was that of a Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDoT) official named Bob Mcfarlin, who instantly reminded me of a comment Jim RedSky made during a conversation at camp. Jim RedSky had said the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council had sided with MnDOT officials, offering its blessings to plans to pave over these historical and sacred sites. Mcfarlin stated that "appropriate American Indian agencies" have discarded the protestors' claims. The newscast interview implied that the appropriate "American Indian Agencies" are the Minnesota Historical Society and the state Indian Affairs Council. After viewing the MnDoT officials' reliance on the minnesota Indian Affairs Council's investigating--then discarding--the claims of camp members in favor of the Highway 55 construction plan, I started thinking about the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's Indian Affairs Council members. I wondered if Jim RedSky Anderson and the Camp Coldwater members, were aware of who they were dealing with. The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council (MIAC) includes at least six members from the MCT's Tribal Executive Committee, including the RBC chairmen of the six reservations. These TEC members are preoccupied with Indian gaming interests. Recent MCT president Wadena and former MIAC president and Leech Lake chairman Pemberton were convicted in federal courts in 1996 for their IRA criminal acts. So when I think of the MIAC, I always think of the six MCT TEC members, who constitute a majority of the 11-reservation Indian Affairs Council. These six TEC members are also Minnesota Indian Gaming Association (MIGA) members who appoint themselves or their IRA RBC peers to sit on MIGA. Former Leech Lake RBC member Myron Ellis was once MIGA president/chairman. Remember, Ellis and former state senator Skip Finn were partners in the crime of defrauding the Leech Lake people. Ellis was another appropriate American Indian agency leader of MIGA. Beware of unseen gaming interests. Indian gaming will rear its ugly head in strange places and with strange bedfellows. Did I mention that in state/tribal compacts, the Minnesota Indian Affairs agency is the go-between? Are these the same appropriate Indian agencies that killed the Hudson Casino deal for the impoverished bands of Ojibwe from Wisconsin?The Mille Lacs Lake RBC was rumored to be involved in killing the Hudson Casino deals, fearing competition. Did the appropriate Indian Affairs Council have any thing here? Personally, I don't feel the IRA Indian gaming interests have anything to fear. The Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota are not doing this to create a Indian gamings tate, they are attempting to reclaim their ancestral sacred homelands. And they are asking for people's help and understanding of their plight. One would hope the MIAC would be supportive and understanding, but I see that the appropriate american Indian agencies are driven by Indian gaming interests that see everyone and everything as potentially jeopardizing their casino revenues. Sadly, this occurs even when it is their own Indian people hurt in their rush to protect their IRA goldmines at the expense of other Native people's dreams. One does not have to be a historian to realize that above Fort Snelling along the Mississippi River's western banks, there are several large Dakota village sites, gathering places and evidence that other Autochthonous people have had large villages or sacred sites there. Our ancestors camped and had villages where bodies of water met. The Minnesota and Mississippi Rivers' meeting place is an historical Autochthonous village site or sites up and down the two rivers' banks. Just check out a comprehensive history book about Minneapolis, Minnesota. In the beginning of these books, they'll describe who lived in these watershed regions before the Euro-American settlers surrounded our ancestors. Today, Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota camp is for real. The people of that camp have a dream that deserve the people's help and understanding. Go and visit them to see for yourself..Offer to sit and listen and when done listening,offer to help. The following is a brief statement explaining the purpose Camp Coldwaters by Jim Anderson: "Oyate. Many of you may have heard of our encampment and liberation of our stolen lands in Minneapolis near Minnehaha park. There are two areas of great concern to our people in the way of the Minnesota Department of transportation's (MnDot) plan to reroute Highway 55 through sites sacred to our people.Chris Leith called my people to defend these sites. One site has four Oak trees planted in the four directions and was used by our people for our vision quests. The other site is an artesian spring that the white people call Camp Coldwater spring. This spring is medicine water, or pejuta mine. I have brought many spiritual people to this site, and they all feel the same about this place. They all know this is sacred ground. In order for our lawyers to stop this, we need all of the people in the way of the Red Road to come to these sites and to provide us with their thoughts