From gars@netcom.com Thu Nov 26 23:29:01 1998 Date: Tue, 24 Nov 1998 19:29:33 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.048 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- VOLUME 06, ISSUE 048 O o o o o O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, November 28, 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 Paths-L, Minn-Ind, & Nat-Film Lists; Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty; InfoHawaii; UUCP email; FirstNations News; Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. IMPORTANT!! ----------- To all who send copywrite protected articles, make very sure you have permission from the copywrite holder (a newspaper, the AP, a magazine, an author) because a new law is now in effect that says you can be prosecuted even if there is no monetary gain. Just because a newspaper has a website where it posts some or all of its editions does not grant permission for their redistribution. Be careful and be sure you pass on the items you do with full permission. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@netcom.com ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org Thanks to Borries Demeler all _Wotanging_Ikche_ (part a) submissions to AISESnet are archived under AISESnet and can be accessed easily by World Wide Web: 1994: http://aises.uthscsa.edu/94_dis.html 1995: http://aises.uthscsa.edu/95_dis.html 1996: http://aises.uthscsa.edu/96_dis.html 1997: http://aises.uthscsa.edu/97_dis.html This is a searchable index to the AISESnet Discussion mailing list database archive, and the keyword "Wotanging" will retrieve all issues for that year. Downloading Wotanging Ikche on AOL From: MAANG1419@aol.com Just thought I would share some info. I could not download on to a .txt because I kept getting the message (when I tried to retrieve it) that the text editor could not handle the volume. This time I downloaded it on to a .doc and when I retrieved it out of file manager, IT WORKED. "Among the Indians there have been no written laws. Customs handed down from generation to generation have been the only laws to guide them. Every one might act different from what was considered right did he choose to do so, but such acts would bring upon him the censure of the Nation.... This fear of the Nation's censure acted as a mighty band, binding all in one social, honorable compact." __ Chief George Copway (Kah-ge-ga-bowh), Ojibwa +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! 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. I can tell you there are elders surviving in ways that you seldom associate with a human being. Dirt floors and a non-leaky roof represent an improvement for many. PLEASE forward contact information for all you know who help those less able to do so make it through the harsh winter months. ============================================= Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 00:58:34 -0500 From: Morning Star Subj: [Fwd: Winter Time Needs] Hau Gary, Would you please post these project's addresses in your next issue, for Winter needs. Would most appreciate it. In Struggle, Kathy Morning Star As most of us are aware, Winter is begining to hit hard in the Dakota's. There already exists the need for warm clothing, blankets, mittens, boots, etc. As well as food supplies to assist with feeding children, elders, and the homeless. This need is becomming more and more pressing with the harsh weather that is still to come. We would like to encourage people to send whatever they can to the projects listed on the bottom of this email. Also, with the holidays coming up there are many of our children who will not be celebrating the holidays as many others do, unless we can ask people to start collecting and donating toys, for ages 1 through 16, to the youth projects. (Even used, but intact toys would be appreciated.) We have needs for both the youth projects and for Seventh Circle, Rapid City projects. We are compiling a complete list of needs and will post that in the near future. In the meantime, if you're unsure what is needed where: For the Youth Projects: Mike at Mike.Wicks@mindspring.com or Kathy at mornstar@bellatlantic.net For Rapid City Projects: dhendren@mint.net mornstar@bellatlantic.net Mike.Wicks@mindspring.com In Struggle, Kathy YOUTH PROJECTS - Standing Rock Rainbow Project C/O Sandra Welch Box 229 210 Main Street McLaughlin, SD 57642 Hunkpapa Youth Survival Project Helmina Makes Him First P.O. box 53 Little Eagle, SD 57639 RAPID CITY PROJECTS: The Seventh Circle 321 Doolittle Street Rapid City, S.D. 57701 ============================================= Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 08:43:33 -0500 From: leslie@neca.com Subj: a little update Dear Gary, Pathways to Spirit wants to say thank you to you for putting up the name of the organization so that folks can contact us. Just an update: we have a website too (www.pathwaystospirit.necaweb.com) and this year we have gone to Porcupine and Red Shirt Table, and will be going to Kyle December 12. We do most of the distribution in the districts Thanks Leslie Robarge Carmeen Klausner ============================================= Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 08:36:20 -0600 From: James Duncan Subj: needs O SIYO'(Greetings) Dear Friend Thought I would pass this on to you. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject:Re: kids have to be uncomfortable Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 06:45:30 -0800 From: Arla Macias Organization: Nayarit Online To: toj@alice.net Thank you James. It is getting cold here in Tepic for the winter. Not cold by the US standards but for here it is. Last winter was very cold for here and I see that we are going to have it again. Most of the children live in poor cinderblock houses with concrete floors. They don't complain but I know the houses are really damp. I just moved out of a place like that. They do not have warm enough blankets and many sleep on dirt or concrete floors. They do not seem to have warm enough clothing. I really wish that a group of their sisters and brothers to the North could join hands and bring the children warm clothing and blankets. They are not starving or anything. Their mothers and fathers work and provide their food but it is hard for the parents especially in many of the families where the alcoholism rate is very high. Thank you for your prayers. Arla ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Our Unconditional Love and Prayers to you and your family and to all our relations as we walk hand in hand, for we care not what you are, only who you are, and you are our relations. Wado !! A Prayer A Journey A Deed A Chance James =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= 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: 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 http://members.tripod.com/~dikani/pioneer.html 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 www.pathwaystospirit.necaweb.com This group is non profit and takes tractor trailer loads of clothes and furniture to Pine Ridge several times each year. --This year we have gone to Porcupine and Red Shirt Table, and will be going to Kyle December 12. --------------------------------------------- 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. --------------------------------------------- From: Morning Star We have needs for both the youth projects and for Seventh Circle, Rapid City projects. We are compiling a complete list of needs and will post that in the near future. In the meantime, if you're unsure what is needed where: For the Youth Projects: Mike at Mike.Wicks@mindspring.com or Kathy at mornstar@bellatlantic.net For Rapid City Projects: dhendren@mint.net mornstar@bellatlantic.net Mike.Wicks@mindspring.com YOUTH PROJECTS - Standing Rock Rainbow Project C/O Sandra Welch Box 229 210 Main Street McLaughlin, SD 57642 Hunkpapa Youth Survival Project Helmina Makes Him First P.O. box 53 Little Eagle, SD 57639 RAPID CITY PROJECTS: The Seventh Circle 321 Doolittle Street Rapid City, S.D. 57701 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 ---------- - Pauline Whitesinger gets - Cherokee Nation Eviction Notice Wiretapping Suit - Hear Leonard Peltier - Ute Tribe Opens New Supermarket - Ottawa Stalls Native - Yankton Sioux Tribe Land Promise Suspends Chairman - Buffalo Contact Update - Penticton File Major Land Claim - Yellowstone Buffalo - Plymouth day of Mourning - Honor our Ancestors - Heart of the Makah/ - Uncle Sonny Court Case Touring the Reservation - Hawaiian Language - Tsuu T'ina Shootings Web Browser Released - Native Prisoner - Delegates Sought for - A Hundred Years Ago Sovereignty Convention - Poem: No News Good News - Gustafsen Coverup Continues - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - UN Commission on Human Rights - Conferences and Powwows --------- "RE: Pauline Whitesinger gets Eviction Notice" --------- Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 23:07:01 -0800 From: Robert Dorman Subj: Pauline Whitesinger gets Eviction Notice ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1998 14:56:17 -0800 (PST) From: SWANEAGLE Mailing List: Big Mountain List Blessings supporters of Dineh Resistance, Yesterday I received a phone call from Bonnie Whitesinger and her husband Bob Chaat. They told me that while Pauline was away, Navajo-Hopi relocation commission officials came to serve Pauline a 30 day eviction notice. ( I have attempted to get the word out, but apparently unless I have "official documentation", it isn't worth posting according to one online activist. All I can say is, what would be done if we were without the technological tools of the white man? Spread the word!) Bob said that the families not signing the accommodation agreement were all served such notices. He said it was creepy because he had never seen these guys before and they knew both his first and last names. >From my perspective as a longtime supporter of Dineh resisters, I feel it is crucial for those of us who care to be continually cultivating in ourselves and in other people of conscience the courage it will require to make stands beyond what white people have ever done in the sad history of this land to STOP THE GENOCIDE! I personally feel that the various lawsuits have been distracting from the traditional way of dealing with the evil which is the ceremonies. Traditional Hopi who came to offer their support to the resisters in March of 1997 emphasized the importance of the spiritual position. Thomas Banyacya said, "No courts, no lawyers, no white man's law. We obey the law of the creator. This is our land. This is your land." The legal system has done nothing but drain the hopes and resources of the resisters. I honor the right of those who feel that the courts are their only recourse, but I cannot emphasize enough the importance of true supporters preparing for very serious confrontations if and when these evictions are attempted. Peabody is going forward with expansion plans disregarding the rights of Maxine Kesoli who isn't even on HPL land! Support resistance. Shut down Peabody coal mine. In peaceful struggle, Swaneagle ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 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: Hear Leonard Peltier" --------- Date: 22 Nov 1998 22:24:30 GMT From: lpcfound@aol.com (LPCFound) Subj: HEAR Leonard Peltier "Live" Newsgroups: alt.native What a wonderful inspiration to hear a live recorded message from Leonard Peltier. Go to the website of the Leonard Peltier Charitable Foundation at http://members.aol.com/lpcfound/homepage.html Click on "Building A Sacred Dream" Allow time for the download. (Remember, Leonard has waited for 23-years, so we can allow time to hear this brief message from Leonard himself). Netscape users: If the message does not play automatically, after the download go to the bottom of the page and double click on the loudspeaker icon. Other browsers may not be currently operable on the AOL sound tags. Please try. I will update it to other browsers, bi-weekly if necessary. This is a temporary highlight to the LPCF Website. To assist Leonard with his Sacred-Dream, we encourage you to click on the LPCF Raffle page. See a beautiful Leonard Peltier original oil painting rendition of "Ribbons and Plumes". Leonard painted this extraordinary work from an image provided to him. It is a favorite at Peltier art exhibits and it comes with a personal Peltier depiction, his personally signed award certificate, and notarized certificate of authenticity. Good luck to all of the participants. We hope that you are the LPCF Raffle winner. What an honor to own this work of art. Thank you. --------- "RE: Ottawa Stalls Native Land Promise" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 13:22:23 -0800 From: "S.I.S.I.S." Subj: Ottawa fears big costs, stalls land tribunal :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: FEARING BIG COSTS, OTTAWA STALLS NATIVE LAND PROMISE Globe and Mail, November 16, 1998, by Erin Anderssen - Parliamentary Bureau (as posted to the Mohawk Nation mailing list, ) Ottawa -- The federal government is balking on its long-standing promise to set up an independent land-claims tribunal because of fears that the new process could lead to skyrocketing damage awards for native bands. After more than 1-1/2 years of negotiations, the tribunal's future is stalled over money: Ottawa wants to cap the amount the quasi-judicial body could award in damages, a move opposed by native leaders. Concerns about the tribunal -- and its ultimate cost to Ottawa -- became an issue after this summer's multibillion-dollar pay-equity decision by Canada's human-rights tribunal. Government officials started to worry that the Crown could end up paying exorbitant amounts if the land-claims tribunal were allowed to award unlimited damages in disputes. It remains unclear how much Ottawa could face paying in such cases; the Department of Indian Affairs is scrambling to calculate a realistic prediction of financial liability. Officials at the Assembly of First Nations, the national native organization involved in negotiations to create the tribunal, estimate the cost of potential judgments at between $200-million and $300-million a year. The tribunal was promised by the Liberals in their 1993 election platform, and is considered by many to be the best solution to the growing number of long, costly land claims. Together with a new land-claims commission to help mediate disputes, the tribunal is intended to be a last resort to settle deadlocks. The current system, where failed talks eventually land in the courts, is frustratingly slow -- there are more than 400 cases outstanding -- and Ottawa is widely seen to be in a conflict of interest, handling claims against itself. The tribunal, proponents say, could settle disputes faster, travelling to the communities involved and deciding cases with a balanced panel of native and non-native members. Its rulings would be binding on both sides. The tribunal would deal only with specific land claims--not comprehensive ones such as the newly negotiated Nisga'a treaty. Specific claims involve disputes where treaties already exist between the natives and the government. For example, bands often file specific claims if they feel the Crown has illegally appropriated land awarded in treaties that were signed generations earlier. In the past two decades, Ottawa has paid about $800-million to resolve 185 specific claims. "How can you cap legal obligations?" said Rolland Pangowish, the AFN official co-chairing the task force charged with developing the tribunal. The task force is made up of native representatives and staff from the Justice and Indian Affairs departments. "All we're seeking is a fair resolution," said Mr. Pangowish, who remains optimistic that the tribunal will go forward. "We're not seeking to exploit Canada's treasury." But in a meeting with chiefs last month, Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart made it clear that a tribunal with no financial limits would be a hard sell to cabinet -- particularly given the current financial climate and recent pay-equity ruling. The Oct. 19 meeting is detailed in a background document written by Mr. Pangowish and Dan Kohoko, a land-claims director with Indian Affairs, who also co-chairs the task force. In the meeting, the document says, Ms. Stewart proposed a "staged approach" -- where the government might first create the new commission and then set up the tribunal later. That suggestion did not go over well with native leaders, who believe the tribunal is a necessary incentive to advance negotiations and remove Ottawa's control over the process. In a letter to the minister two weeks ago, AFN National Chief Phil Fontaine expressed concern that Ottawa appeared to be "backing away from its commitment." The task force, which has been meeting since March, 1997, has reached an agreement on many of the tribunal's elements, including its role and representation. But, according to both native and government sources, the proposal was stopped by senior bureaucrats in the Finance Department and Treasury Board, who believed that a tribunal without financial constraints would cost Ottawa too much money and, in any event, would not pass cabinet. Maneuvering the situation is politically tricky for both sides; while the government's liability concerns make it difficult for Ms. Stewart to successfully pitch a plan that she is largely said to favour to her cabinet colleagues, Mr. Fontaine would have an equally challenging task to maintain support from his chiefs if he agrees to some form of cap that excludes certain claims from the process. Even so, one observer close to government suggests that cabinet is unlikely to ever approve a claims tribunal without some sort of mechanism to anticipate -- and control -- the cost. The task force is now investigating other options to appease financial worries, such as budget allocations or payment plans to minimize the burden of large settlements. CANADA - A NATION FOUNDED AND MAINTAINED BY COLONIALISM, PIRACY & GENOCIDE Letters to the Globe and Mail: :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Buffalo Contact Update" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 12:23:55 -0700 From: Buffalo Folks Subj: quick contact info update...thanks! UUCP email We have received some additional information on contact info for those of you who still want to submit comments on the proposed buffalo capture facility. Comments are due by November 18 for the first phase (construction and operation till January 31, 1999), and December 1, 1998 for the long term (management after bald eagle nesting period begins, February 1, 1999). You can fax your comments to: 406-329-3411. You can email your comments to : mailto:denright/r1_kootenai@fs.fed.us Also: fyi.. Ms Laurie Fenwood USDA Forest Service Wildlife, Fish and Rare Plants P.O. Box 96090 Washington, DC 20090-6090 Phone: (202) 205-1205 Fax: (202) 205-1599 mailto:FSWA/S=WLF/OU=W01A@MHS.ATTMAIL.COM Mr. Dave Garber Dave Garber Gallatin N.F. P.O Box 130 Bozeman, MT 59771 (406) 587-6702 (406) 587-6758 fax mailto:dgarber/r1_gallatin@fs.fed.us I also think it would be good to send a copy to our regional NEPA specialist as they are certainly violating the National Environmental Protection Act with these actions. National Forest System Regional NEPA Contact: Kris Lee Northern Region (R1) Federal Building P.O. Box 7669 Missoula, MT 59807-7669 (406) 329-3511 mailto:klee/r1@fs.fed.us Make sure to include the following points in your comments: + The Forest Service will issue a decision on phase one (probably immediately after Nov. 18) by issuing a categorical exclusion. This means that there will be no appeal of the decision. The only recourse will be to go to court to stop the construction. + The Forest Service says that Phase two it will be accompanied by an Environmental Assessment (EA). This is backwards. The initial phase constitutes the major commitment by the Forest Service, and should contain the EA. The two proposals constitute "connected actions" under NEPA. Therefore they should be analyzed under a single EA or EIS. Anything else is "piece-mealing," which is illegal under NEPA. + The Gallatin NF plans on proceeding with a Forest Plan amendment to exempt the capture facility from bald eagle management guidelines. This exemption is not guaranteed and should NOT be granted. The Gallatin NF knows that their action is illegal because it violates their Forest Plan, and are writing themselves a loophole. The well-being of bald eagles on our public lands should be given much higher priority than the well-being of cattle. + The EIS on Bison Management process is still underway, analyzing over 65,000 comments they received. The capture facility is a part of the EIS. Taking this action subverts the EIS process and is pre-decisional (illegal under NEPA). + Allowing the State of Montana to proceed with phase one of the plan (construction and operation of the capture facility until January 31, 1999) predisposes the Forest Service to allow phase two (a connected action). It also assumes that the mere presence of the capture facility during the nesting season has no impact on bald eagle nesting. Thus, if the second phase of the plan does not proceed, we may be left with a facility that has an impact on a threatened and endangered species. + The Gallatin states in the project proposal the statement that the nesting site has been "unproductive for several years." What they don't say is that they have allowed the State of Montana's hazing operations to violate the nesting site by flying helicopters in and around the nesting site, and landing in the closed area. We have video documentation of this fact. If I were an eagle, I wouldn't want to nest in an area that was being disturbed by helicopters, either! + The site of the proposed capture facility is in the area where grizzly bears are present. + The emergency nature of this project is baloney. The State of Montana could have asked for this facility in a timely fashion, months ago, though they chose not to (presumably so they could invoke emergency status to ram the project through without proper analysis and public input). This capture facility is being studied in the current EIS on Bison Management, a process that was begun almost 9 years ago, with a decision promised two years later. The fact that the EIS has not been timely is only the fault of the same parties that are proposing this action: the State of Montana and the Forest Service. Thanks!! Our web pages are being updated ... http://www.wildrockies.org/buffalo It is time to rally Buffalo allies before the killing begins again! Please pass this update on to 7 friends and if you receive this, please subscribe to stay updated (2-3 updates per month) List-Subscribe: mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter-on@vortex.wildrockies.org List-Unsubscribe: mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter-off@vortex.wildrockies.org News Submissions or Problems: mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter@wildrockies.org --------- "RE: Yellowstone Buffalo" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 22:18:00 -0600 From: "Jean BraveHeart" Subj: Buffalo UUCP email FYI Jean Hazing Operations FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, November 20, 1998 Media Contacts: Mike Mease, Sue Nackoney (406) 646-0070 WEST YELLOWSTONE, MT- Today the Department of Livestock (DOL) began an aggressive and dangerous hazing operation in the Duck Creek drainage of West Yellowstone, MT. Eleven buffalo who have been outside of the park over the past few weeks were chased by DOL officials on horseback east towards the Duck Creek capture facility and back into Yellowstone Park. The horseback riders chased the buffalo across highway 191 without regard for traffic safety on the road. Buffalo Nations volunteers stopped traffic to allow buffalo to cross safely. DOL riders then began to shoot crackerbarrel rounds in order to scare the buffalo back to the park. Highway 191 is a major route for trucks, who gain high speeds on their way down the road to where the road crosses the Duck Creek drainage. This route is also busy with tourist traffic and locals. A Buffalo Nations volunteer on site said that the buffalo were confused by the cars, and that one buffalo was almost hit by a car. A Yellowstone National Park official on patrol stopped by and thanked Buffalo Nations volunteers for their help in stopping traffic and had no idea this was taking place. "The methods that the DOL used today could have killed people or buffalo," stated Michael Mease, Buffalo Nations co-founder. Mease watched the hazing operation and said, "Today 's actions by the DOL show their blatant disregard for their mandate to cooperate with the other bison management agencies. Buffalo Nations is extremely worried that the DOL will cause someone to be killed with this kind of activity." Video footage and still photos available upon request Background information: +On January 22, 1998, the DOL sent five captive bull buffalo to slaughter from the Duck Creek capture facility. Buffalo Nations volunteer Dan Howells locked himself to a trailer of captive bison to protest the slaughter. +Buffalo Nations is a coalition of grassroots activists from all over the country working on the ground everyday to stop the slaughter of Yellowstone's buffalo. +In the winter of 1996-97, nearly 1100 wild buffalo were slaughtered by the Montana's Dept. of Livestock and rangers from Yellowstone National Park. These wild buffalo were leaving Yellowstone National Park in search of food during an extremely cold and snowy winter. At the beginning of Winter 97-98, only 1/3 of the herd remained. PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax buffalo@wildrockies.org --------- "RE: Honor our Ancestors" --------- Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1998 06:32:56 -0800 From: Nancy Thomas Subj: Honor our Ancestors ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: "Sally Tuttle" Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 23:25:33 -0500 Subj: Honor our Ancestors Mailing List: Paths-L Call for Support and Attendance! "HONOR OUR ANCESTORS" Intertribal Protest Rally & Gathering Santa Fe, New Mexico December 10-12, 1998 A Message from Chairman Joseph A. Pakootas Greetings from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribes). We are a confederation of 12 bands of indigenous native people and one of 26 American Indian Sovereign Nations located in the State of Washington. One of the bands in our tribal society is the Palus and the descendants of the Palus may very well be the direct relations of the Ancient One, also know as the Kennewick Man. We believe that the Ancient One was one of our people. The Ancient One was accidentally unearthed along the Columbia River near the city of Kennewick, Washington in July 1996. The 9,200 year-old remains are currently stored at the Burkes Museum in Seattle, Washington. We have been actively involved in efforts to stop scientific examination of the remains and to exercise our sovereign right to rebury the Ancient One in an appropriate manner. We have allocated $20,000 from our tribal coffers for seed money and partial sponsorship of the "Honor Our Ancestors" Protest Rally and Gathering to be held in Santa Fe, New Mexico on December 10-12, 1998, the site of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) Review Committee meeting. Please join us as we voice opposition to the dishonorable treatment of our ancient skeletal remains and the violations of our cultural ways and traditional beliefs. We ask that you send generous contributions to the non-profit fund that has been set up to facilitate this event; and that you come to Santa Fe, New Mexico for our show of solidarity as we protest against the on-going, anti-Native American treatment of our ancestors. Send your monetary contributions to: Honor Our Ancestors, c/o Native Visions Arts Center, PO Box 7322, Albuquerque, NM 87194. For information and assistance, contact Marla BigBoy, Colville Reservation Attorney, Colville Tribes (509) 634-2381 or send an email to: res_atty@televar.com. You will receive flyers, programs and other pertinent information about this important event shortly. Please, join us in this critical effort to bring national and international attention to the plight of the innocent indigenous remains of our people. Lend your support to the Honor Our Ancestors protest rally and gathering in Santa Fe, New Mexico during the second week in December. Respectfully, Joseph A. Pakootas, Colville Business Council Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Sally S. Tuttle tuttles@netusa1.net --------- "RE: Uncle Sonny Court Case" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 20:30:28 -1000 From: Hawaii Nation Info Subj: Update on Uncle Sonny Court Case Mailing List: Hawaii Nation Info Update on Uncle Sonny Court Case November 3, 1998 [ Background and court documents located at: http://www.lclab.com/sonny ] On Monday, October 26, 1998 a hearing was held in the Court of Judge Ronald Ibara, and a ruling is expected soon. The State of Hawaii's own Public Defender declared in Court that the State of Hawaii should "withdraw from the Hawaiian Islands." Deputy Public Defender Peter Bresciani effectively argued that the State of Hawaii must prove "beyond a reasonable doubt" that it is in fact a "legitimate" government. The judge was stunned and made comments including, "Mr. Bresciani, if this is true, this court no longer exists." The State of Hawaii failed to introduce any evidence to the judge, and failed to defend themselves regarding their legal status in the Hawaiian Islands. According to sources within the Public Defender's office, Mr. Bresciani has received threats against himself. Now Mr. Bresciani is requesting that Uncle Sonny plead guilty, even though the State of Hawaii has not met its burden of proof, and the judge has not made a ruling regarding his "Motion to Dismiss". For any and all people who are currently facing the State of Hawaii's judicial system, a review of Uncle Sonny's Motion to Dismiss is found at this website, URL: "http://www.lclab.com/sonny/index.html". In order for this palapala to work you must know who you are, a "Hawaiian National," "subject," and "Citizen," or a "Native Hawaiian", foreign (American) "citizen," and "subject." May we suggest a review of Black's Law defining "Citizen," and "subject." According to the Laws of the Hawaiian Islands, everyone in Hawaii is subject to Kingdom Law, but few people actively participate and follow the law of this land (Citizens). We encourage all groups to come together, set our differences and ideologies aside, and move forward as Hawaiians according to the laws of this land, Hawaii Nei. Our hope is that now all of Hawaii's people can move forward with the process of self-determination according to Hawaiian, United States, and International law. Malama pono, The Hawaiian Law Foundation For those who wish to show their support, e-mail letters may be sent to , with the words "Uncle Sonny" in the Subject. These letters will be printed out to be delivered to him. Uncle Sonny may be reached at (808) 889-5622. ___________________________________________________________ | Hawai`i - Independent & Sovereign | | info@hawaii-nation.org http://hawaii-nation.org | |___________________________________________________________| "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep- seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." - Queen Lili`uokalani --------- "RE: Hawaiian Language Web Browser Released" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 19:20:08 -1000 From: Hawaii Nation Info Subj: Fwd: Hawaiian language web browser released ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 04:02:30 -1000 From: Keola Donaghy Mailing List: Hawaii Nation Info Hale Kuamo'o - The Hawaiian Language Center College of Hawaiian Language University of Hawai'i at Hilo 200 W. Kawili St., Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 18, 1998 Hilo, Hawai'i - Hale Kuamo'o has announced the release of Ka Ho'okele, a Hawaiian language Internet browser for the World Wide Web (WWW). Ka Ho'okele is based on the popular Netscape Communicator Internet program developed by Netscape Communications Corporation of Mountain View, California. It is the first such translation completed for any Native American or Polynesian language, and only the second such project completed independently of Netscape. The translation was enabled through Netscape's Universal Localization Program (ULP). "This Hawaiian language browser demonstrates the viability of the Universal Localization Program and the value of our open source code concept," said Rick Elliott, ULP program manager, Netscape. "We believe this marks the beginning of a new wave of customized Internet browsers that will help many people access the Web in their native language." Ka Ho'okele contains a World Wide Web browser, email, news reader, and a module for creating web pages. All user interface elements - menus, dialog boxes, window names, etc. - are in Hawaiian. At this time only a Macintosh version of Ka Ho'okele is available. Translation of Windows and Linux versions of Ka Ho'okele are being considered. Though designed specifically for the students, teachers, parents and support personnel involved in Hawaiian Medium Education programs, Ka Ho'okele will be made available for the Hawaiian speaking community at large and anyone with a Macintosh computer and an Internet connection. On March 31st of 1998, Netscape Communications Corporation publicly released the source code for Netscape Communicator, and shortly thereafter contacted the Hale Kuamo'o to determine if there was interest in providing a Hawaiian language version of the program. Translation and testing of the program was completely done by staff of the Hale Kuamo'o during the summer, and testing completed in late-September. "We have been told that 97% of all websites on the Internet are implemented solely in the English language," says Keiki Kawai'ae'a, Director of Curriculum and Teacher Development for the Hale Kuamo'o. "We are so pleased to afford public access to those who choose to 'surf the net' through Hawaiian and in Hawaiian." Hale Kuamo'o also runs Leoki, a Hawaiian language Bulletin Board System (BBS) that is used by nearly 1,000 Hawaiian language speakers statewide, and which links all of the Hawaiian immersion schools, Punana Leo preschools, Hawaiian language university offices, and other support organizations. In addition, Hale Kuamo'o designed and maintains Kualono, the most complete and diverse source of information on Hawaiian language on the Internet. It uses a unique dual-language format, allowing users to view most pages in both Hawaiian and English. Funding for these technological initiatives is provided by the 'Aha Punana Leo through its consortium agreement with the Hale Kuamo'o to provide curriculum and support to the Hawaiian immersion schools. Ka Ho'okele homepage: Hale Kuamo'o homepage: Kualono: Netscape ULP homepage: FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Keola Donaghy - Director of Media and Telecommunications Hale Kuamo'o, University of Hawai'i at Hilo voice (808) 974-7339 fax (808) 974-7339 Keiki Kawai'ae'a - Director of Curriculum and Teacher Development Hale Kuamo'o, University of Hawai'i at Hilo voice (808) 974-7339 fax (808) 974-7686 --- end forwarded text ___________________________________________________________ | Hawai`i - Independent & Sovereign | | info@hawaii-nation.org http://hawaii-nation.org | |___________________________________________________________| "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep- seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." - Queen Lili`uokalani --------- "RE: Delegates Sought for Sovereignty Convention" --------- Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 19:15:09 -1000 From: Hawaii Nation Info Subj: Delegates sought for sovereignty convention Mailing List: Hawaii Nation Info Native Hawaiian delegates sought for convention on sovereignty issues Honolulu Star-Bulletin Wednesday, November 11, 1998 By Pat Omandam Rose Marie Duey of Iao Valley was among those two years ago who asked, "What's next?" after 73 percent of Hawaiians who cast their ballots in the Native Hawaiian Vote that year said they wanted to elect delegates to discuss sovereignty at a constitutional convention. Today, as the Maui coordinator for the nonprofit group continuing that process, Duey feels the answer to that question is right around the corner. "I think it's important that we take the next step and not leave the people who participated in that vote up in the air," she said. "I myself participated in that vote, and I've been looking forward to taking that next step, and this is our opportunity to do that." Those of Hawaiian ancestry have until Tuesday to file nomination papers to be a delegate at next year's Native Hawaiian Convention, or to register to vote for delegates in an election scheduled for Jan. 17. Eighty-five seats representing Hawaiians here and abroad will be up for grabs by candidates who want a first-hand say in the reconstitution of the Hawaiian government, said Kaipo Kincaid, executive director of Ha Hawaii. Kincaid said the convention -- where delegates will discuss, propose and recommend a native Hawaiian government to Hawaiians for ratification -- will cost between $1.5 million to $2 million, with private grants shouldering the costs. She said the question delegates will focus on is whether or not Hawaii should be a sovereign nation. "If that answer is affirmative by the delegates, then constructing the underpinnings for the nation is what they will be doing," she said. "And there could be no greater achievement than to be able to participate in that process." Kincaid said the convention will be held next year, but the final decision rests entirely on the delegates -- not Ha Hawaii. The group is the successor to the Hawaiian Sovereignty Elections Council, which disbanded in December 1996 after working three years to put on the Native Hawaiian Vote. Of the 81,507 ballots mailed to registered Hawaiians in that vote, 30,783 were returned. Of the ballots cast, 22,294 -- or 73 percent -- favored a plan to elect delegates to a convention. Critics of the group, however, complain Ha Hawaii, like its predecessor, is a state agency that cannot legally restore the Hawaiian kingdom. They warn the Hawaiian convention will not reflect the sentiment of the entire Hawaiian community, and that it may jeopardize chances of international recognition of a Hawaiian nation. But Ha Hawaii Secretary Raymond Pua insists the group is not a state agency and has no agenda for sovereignty. All it wants is for Hawaiians everywhere to decide on self-determination, he said. Proponents also contend a convention will give them a unified voice that could represent Hawaiians in a variety of ways, such as at the United Nations arguing for a UN-controlled plebiscite. More than a dozen Hawaiian groups support the convention, including the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs and the state Council of Hawaiian Homestead Associations. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs a few years ago funded half of HSEC's Native Hawaiian Vote but is still reviewing grant requests from Ha Hawaii. Pua said everyone who was registered to vote in the OHA election last week -- more than 100,000 people -- is automatically eligible to vote in January. The 85 delegates will represent about 3,000 Hawaiians each, based on the 1990 U.S. Census, he said. Interest is picking up, said Molokai coordinator Bert Harris, who had to scramble to supply nomination papers and registration forms to Friendly Isle residents. Running rules To be a delegate to the Native Hawaiian Convention, a candidate must: - Be 18 years old by Jan. 17 - Be of Hawaiian ancestry - Reside in the district they wish to represent - Complete application form - Submit signed list of 15 registered voters - Pay a $25 fee - Apply by Nov. 17 Call Ha Hawaii at (808) 597-1889 for more information. http://www.ha-hawaii.com ___________________________________________________________ | Hawai`i - Independent & Sovereign | | info@hawaii-nation.org http://hawaii-nation.org | |___________________________________________________________| "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep- seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." - Queen Lili`uokalani --------- "RE: Gustafsen Coverup Continues" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 13:21:52 -0800 From: "S.I.S.I.S." Subj: Gustafsen Coverup Continues: BC Premier tells Cupe NO INQUIRY :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: GUSTAFSEN COVERUP CONTINUES: BC PREMIER TELLS CUPE "NO INQUIRY" Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty (S.I.S.I.S.) November 20, 1998 No copyright; distribute freely BC's NDP Premier Glen Clark is mounting a massive PR campaign to promote a positive image of his government respecting Aboriginal rights as supposedly evidenced by the Nisga'a trick-or-treaty. Behind the scenes the NDP machine is still desperately trying to suppress a growing awareness of outrageous actions taken by the state in the summer of 1995 against Traditionalist Shuswap defending sacred Sundance grounds at Ts'peten, near Gustafsen Lake (see http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/gustmain.html). The following letter is in response to the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)'s endorsement of a resolution from the Assembly of First Nations, calling for a public inquiry into "all aspects of the Gustafsen Lake matter." Clark's "one law for all" dissemblings and irrelevant platitudes on not interfering in judicial decision-making clearly don't deal with the issue. The struggle continues. Please add your voice to the demand for a full and open public inquiry into this government's attack upon the Gustafsen Lake Sundance camp. The truth must prevail. To sign the petition demanding an inquiry by email, send a message to with "petition" in the subject header and "I support the petition for a full public inquiry into the events surrounding the Gustafsen Lake crisis," your name, and your city & province/state of residence in the body of the message. For other ways to support the Ts'peten Defenders, see http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/GustLake/support.html +++ BRITISH COLUMBIA OFFICE OF THE PREMIER NOVEMBER 2, 1998 President CUPE Local 50 Canadian Union of Public Employees 302 - 2750 Quadra St. Victoria British Columbia Thank you for your letter of August 26, 1998, requesting a public inquiry into the events at Gustafsen Lake. I apologize for the delay in my response. As you know, the police are responsible for keeping the peace in British Columbia and for ensuring the public's safety. When incidents at protest sites involve violence, serious threats of violence or property damage, police act to investigate Criminal Code of Canada violations. The Criminal Code applies to everyone in British Columbia. Those charged with Criminal Code violations as a result of incidents at Gustafsen Lake have been before the Courts. As Premier, I cannot interfere in any particular judicial decision. In Canada, the judiciary function is a separate body and Court rulings are not subject to review by any level of Government. The events at Gustafsen Lake have been dealt with appropriately by our criminal justice system. The Province has no intention of reviewing this matter further through a public inquiry. I appreciate your taking the time to express your views. Sincerely, Glen Clark Premier -:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: MR. PREMIER : WE DEMAND A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THE ACTIONS OF YOUR GOVERNMENT AT GUSTAFSEN LAKE! EMAIL - :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: UN Commission on Human Rights" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 17:59:33 -1000 From: kekula@aloha.net Subj: E/CN.4/1998/106*/ CHR Report Agenda Item 23 - 1 OF 3 Economic and Social Council Distr. GENERAL E/CN.4/1998/106*/ 15 December 1997 ENGLISH Original: ENGLISH/SPANISH COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty-fourth session Item 23 of the provisional agenda INDIGENOUS ISSUES Report of the working group established in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 Chairman-Rapporteur: Mr. Jos Urrutia (Peru) Introduction 1. By resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995 the Commission on Human Rights decided to establish an open-ended inter-sessional working group of the Commission on Human Rights with the sole purpose of elaborating a draft declaration, considering the draft contained in the annex to resolution 1994/45 of 26 August 1994 of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities entitled "Draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples" for consideration and adoption by the General Assembly within the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. This decision was endorsed by the Economic and Social Council in its resolution 1995/32 of 25 July 1995. 2. The working group held 6 formal meetings and 16 informal plenary meetings during the period 27 October-7 November 1997. A total of 346 people attended the meetings of the working group, including 45 Governments and 123 indigenous and non-governmental organizations. 3. This report contains a record of the general debate and the articles of the draft declaration which were adopted by consensus at first reading. The debate which took place in the informal plenary meetings is not reflected in this report. For full and authoritative versions of the interventions, reference should be made to the statements of the representatives, as given. Many delegations made copies of their interventions available to the working group. 4. This report is solely a record of the debate and does not imply acceptance of the usage of either the expression "indigenous peoples" or "indigenous people". In this report both terms are used without prejudice to the positions of particular delegations, where divergences of approach remain. 5. The working group was opened by a representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. 6. At its first meeting, the working group unanimously reelected Mr. Jos Urrutia (Peru) as its Chairman-Rapporteur. Documentation 7. The working group had before it the following documents: Provisional agenda (E/CN.4/1997/WG.15/1); Draft report of the working group established in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 of 3 March 1995 (E/CN.4/1997/WG.15/CRP.1-2); Provisional and final list of participants (E/CN.4/1997/WG.15/Misc.1 and E/CN.4/1997/WG.15/INF.1). 8. The following background documents were made available to the working group: Technical review of the United Nations draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples: note by the secretariat (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/2); Draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples as agreed upon by the members of the working group at its eleventh session (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/2/Add.1); Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities resolution 1994/45 on the draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples (annex). Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 on the establishment of a working group of the Commission on Human Rights to elaborate a draft resolution in accordance with paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994; Commission on Human Rights resolution 1997/31 on the working group of the Commission on Human Rights to elaborate a draft declaration in accordance with paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994; Report of working group established in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 on its second session (E/CN.4/1997/102). Participation in the session 9. The following States members of the Commission on Human Rights were represented: Argentina, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Denmark, El Salvador, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, South Africa, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and Uruguay. 10. The following States Members of the United Nations were represented by observers: Australia, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Spain, Sudan, Sweden and Venezuela. 11. The following non-member States were represented by observers: Holy See and Switzerland. 12. The following specialized agencies were represented by observers: International Labour Organization and World Health Organization. 13. The following intergovernmental organization was represented by an observer: European Commission. 14. The following non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council were represented by observers: General consultative status Franciscans International. Special consultative status Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quakers), Indigenous World Association, International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development, International Federation of Human Rights Leagues, International League for the Rights and Liberation of Peoples, International Organization of Indigenous Resource Development, International Indian Treaty Council, International Service for Human Rights, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Mani Tese '76, National Aboriginal and Islander Legal Services Secretariat, North South XXI, Society for Threatened Peoples, Treaty Four, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and World Council of Indigenous Peoples. Roster Grand Council of the Crees, Indian Law Resource Centre, International Association of Educators for World Peace, International Federation for the Protection of the Rights of Ethnic, Religious, Linguistic and other Minorities, International Human Rights Association of American Minorities, International Peace Bureau, Minority Rights Group, Sami Council and World Organization against Torture. 15. The following organizations of indigenous people accredited in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/32 were represented by observers: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Ainu Association of Hokkaido, Ainu Association of Sapporo, Asociacin Napguana, Asociacin Tea-Amaro Runa, Assembly of First Nations, Association Nouvelle de la Culture et des Arts Populaires, Association of the Shorski People, Black Hills Teton Sioux Nation, Catawba Indian Nation, Chickasaw Nation, Comisin Coordinadora de Organizaciones y Naciones Indgenas del Continente, Comisin Internacional de Derechos de los Pueblos Indgenas de Sud Amrica, Comisin Jurdica de los Pueblos de Integracin Tahuantinsuyana, Comisin Jurdica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Originarios Andinos, Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations, Consejo de Todas las Tierras, Cordillera Peoples Alliance, Delegados Indgenas de Sur- y Centroamrica, Federation des Organisations Amrindiennes de Guyane (Provisional), Finno-Ugric Peoples Consultation Committee, Foundation for Aboriginal and Islander Research Action (Provisional), Ikce Wicasa Ta Omniciye, Indian Confederation of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, Indigenous Initiative for Peace, Indigenous Woman Aboriginal Corporation, International Alliance of Indigenous Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, Ka Lahui Hawaii, Kimberley Land Council, L'Auravetl'an Foundation, Louis Bull Cree Nation, Lumad Mindanaw Peoples Federation, Mohawk Nation Council of Chiefs, Moviemiento Indeo "Tupaj Amaru", New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council, Ngaiterangi Iwi Incorporated Society, Organisation for Survival of Illaikipiak Indigenous Maasai Group Initiatives, Organizacin Mapuche de Chile, Te Whanau Rongomaiwahine Trust Inc. ORGANIZATION OF WORK 16. In his opening statement, at the 1st meeting, the Chairman-Rapporteur said that it was his hope that the working group would be able to adopt some articles during the third session. He expressed the view that it was important for the working group to present tangible results to the fifty-fourth session of the Commission on Human Rights. He also said that it was still necessary to hold consultations with Governments and indigenous representatives in order to define the methods of work of the third session. 17. At the 2nd meeting, the provisional agenda (E/CN.4/1997/WG.15/1) was adopted. 18. Also at the 2nd meeting, the Chairman-Rapporteur informed the working group about his consultations with Governments and indigenous peoples' representatives. On the basis of those consultations, he proposed that the session begin with a general debate in a formal plenary meeting, in order to give the opportunity to make general statements to those delegations which had not been able to do so at previous sessions. Otherwise, formal meetings should be limited to the adoption of articles agreed upon by consensus in informal plenary meetings. In this connection, he proposed that, following the debate, the working group start informal meetings and consider some articles of the draft declaration article by article. He proposed starting with 13 articles in the following order: 15, 16, 17, 18, 43, 5, 14, 44, 45, 1, 2, 12, 13. In dealing with each article, the working group should first consider the principles underlying the article, then the text itself. Furthermore, the Chairman said that, in accordance with the results of his consultations, the working group could hold a discussion on the principles of article 3 on 30 and 31 October 1997. 19. The proposals for the organization of work were approved by the working group. GENERAL DEBATE 20. The observer for the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities listed the references that had to be taken into account in the drafting of the declaration. These were, inter alia, the Charter of the United Nations; all the juridical instruments in the field of human rights that the United Nations and its specialized agencies had drafted and adopted; every pertinent provision in international humanitarian law; the paragraphs relating to indigenous peoples' issues in the Rio and Vienna Declarations; declarations of the indigenous peoples themselves, as well as relevant domestic law. All the most recent trends in international law had also to be taken into account. In view of the fact that all those aspects had been taken into account and that the main objective of the declaration was to ensure the physical and cultural survival of indigenous peoples, it would be advisable to adopt the declaration at the present session. 21. The observer for the Movimiento Indio "Tupaj Amaru" highlighted the risk represented by prolonging the discussions for such a long time. He stressed the need for indigenous organizations to be put on an equal footing with Governments in the drafting of the declaration in order to avoid their being excluded from the process. The declaration should also be thought of in a dynamic way, thus reflecting all the economic and political changes that characterized today's world. The static position of some Governments represented a risk for the development of such an important tool, whose provisions should depend on a democratic vote instead of consensus. The representative also submitted some proposals for inclusion in the declaration. 22. The observer for the Cordillera Peoples Alliance stated that the draft declaration constituted a minimum standard for the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and called upon the working group to adopt the text as it stood. She also expressed some concerns regarding the participation of indigenous peoples in the forum and raised the issue of accreditation which had become a serious obstacle for many Asian organizations. 23. The observer for the Comisin Jurdica para el Autodesarrollo de los Pueblos Originarios Andinos highlighted the seriousness of the situation that many indigenous peoples faced all over the world and, consequently, the need for the declaration to be adopted in its present form as soon as possible. The declaration, which already embodied all the expectations and hopes of indigenous peoples, would thus constitute the right international juridical framework for the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples to be finally acknowledged and respected. 24. The observer for the Consejo de Todas las Tierras stressed the urgency of adopting the declaration in order to protect indigenous peoples' rights. Although the declaration was to be the main achievement of the programme of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, the draft was still under discussion and he expressed his concerns about the delay. Also, he noted with disappointment that article 3 - a cornerstone of indigenous rights - was not the first article to be discussed. Nonetheless, he reiterated the importance of the discussions, which should be open and explorative, and stated that the debate should be seen as a first rather than a final step towards the protection of indigenous peoples' rights. 25. The observer for the Foundation of Aboriginal and Islander Research Action, in a joint statement with all indigenous organizations from Australia, stressed the need for indigenous peoples to participate as equal partners in all aspects of the drafting of the declaration. The most fundamental principle underpinning the entire declaration on which all the other provisions would rest, was the right of self-determination. The declaration was the floor, not the ceiling, of indigenous peoples' aspirations and entitlements and the integrity of the document had to be defended. He recalled the General Recommendation adopted by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on 18 August 1997, in which it called upon all States parties to the Convention to ensure that no decisions directly relating to indigenous peoples' rights and interests taken without their informed consent, and to recognize and protect the rights of indigenous peoples to own, develop, control and use their communal lands, territories and resources. He welcomed the statement made the previous year by the representative of Canada on article 3 and encouraged all Governments to engage in a dialogue with indigenous peoples. 26. The observer for the International Indian Treaty Council stated that the draft was the minimum standard for promoting and protecting the rights of indigenous peoples and urged all Governments to adopt it without amendments. That applied in particular to the concept of "peoples" as expressed in article 3 of the draft. 27. The observer for the Assembly of First Nations reiterated the importance of the right to self-determination and the need to facilitate its implementation. He also stated that the draft declaration constituted a minimum standard for the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. He acknowledged the progress achieved with the Government of Canada, especially its recognition that the indigenous peoples of Canada had a right to self-determination, and encouraged all Governments and indigenous peoples to engage in similar fruitful dialogues. 28. The observer for the Fdration des Organisations Amrindiennes de Guyane reiterated the importance of the right to self-determination. He stated that cultural diversity should not be seen as a negative element but as an opportunity to give indigenous peoples a chance to play an active role. He called upon all Governments, in particular, France to engage in a dialogue with indigenous peoples all over the world and to adopt the draft as it stood. 29. The observer for the Delegados Indgenas de Sur- y Centroamrica in a joint statement, expressed disappointment at the decision to postpone the discussion on article 3, a cornerstone of the draft declaration. The implementation of the fundamental principles included in all United Nations instruments, like peace and development, depended on the acknowledgment of the right to self-determination which, consequently, should be considered as a priority. 30. The observer for the Association Nouvelle pour la Culture et les Arts Populaires, stated that although the General Assembly had seen the draft declaration as a further step in the acknowledgment and protection of the rights of indigenous peoples, the draft declaration could only represent minimum universal standards for the rights of indigenous peoples and should therefore not be weakened. Any attempt to alter the draft would contradict the principles of human rights as recognized by the United Nations in all its instruments. The observer further brought to the attention of the working group several recent meetings: the Second Meeting for Humanity, held in Madrid, Spain in July 1997; the First Amazigh World Congress, held in Tafira-Las Palmas, Spain, in August 1997; and the Twelfth World Congress of Lawyers, held in Mekns, Morocco, in September 1997, at which 358 signatures were collected in support of a petition for the adoption of the declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples before the end of 1997. He also presented the working group with the petition. 31. The observer for the L'Auravetl'an Foundation reiterated that the draft declaration constituted a minimum standard for the protection of the rights of indigenous peoples and called upon the working group to adopt the text without changes. 32. The observer for the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs also supported adoption of the text as it stood. He further expressed his gratitude to the Governments of Denmark and Fiji for their support for the cause of indigenous peoples. 33. The observer for Indigenous Initiative for Peace also reiterated the importance of adopting the draft without changes. He also affirmed that the right of self-determination, as expressed in article 3 and as reflected in every other provision of the declaration, was fundamental. 34. The observer for Ka Lahui Hawaii stated that indigenous Hawaiians continued to seek changes in the United Nations process for indigenous participation in the inter-sessional working group in order to ensure that those peoples most affected could have every opportunity to express, defend and attain the full measure of their political, civil, social, cultural and economic rights. She also expressed the view that the draft declaration should be considered as an entire document and should therefore be adopted as such, especially as far as the notion of collective rights was concerned. Finally, she expressed disappointment at the decision not to debate article 3 first and stated that indigenous peoples and nations could not come to a consensus on the provisions of the declaration unless consensus was first reached on that critical issue. 35. The observer for the Comisin Internacional de Derechos de los Pueblos Indgenas de Sud Amrica and the observer for the International Association of Educators for World Peace stressed the importance of the right to self-determination which was considered as a principle which could not be divorced from the rest of the provisions of the draft declaration. 36. The observer for the Te Whanau Rongomaiwahine Trust Inc. also highlighted the importance of the right to self-determination. She further stressed the need for the declaration to be adopted in its present form as soon as possible. She expressed the hope that the declaration would be adopted before the end of the Decade. 37. The representative of China expressed the view that it was fundamental to define the term "indigenous people" and provide clearly for the scope of application of the draft declaration. The declaration had often been portrayed as the first of a series of instruments in the protection of indigenous peoples' rights. It was therefore important to reach a clear understanding of the group of people to which the declaration would apply. In arriving at a definition of indigenous people, the following factors should be considered: (a) the issue of indigenous people had emerged under specific historic circumstances; it was mainly the result of the colonial policies pursued by the European countries in other regions of the world, particularly in the Americas and Oceania; (b) before the arrival of the colonialists or foreign dominators, the indigenous people had lived for generations in certain countries or geographical regions and had wholly or partly preserved their own social, economic, cultural and political characteristics; (c) indigenous people must not only identify themselves as such, but must also be recognized by the Government and people of the countries in which they resided. With regard to the issue of self-identification, that self-identification should be exercised through certain legal procedures in the context of national legislation. 38. During the 3rd formal meeting of the working group, held on 4 November 1997, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Mary Robinson, addressed the working group. She apologized for not having been able to attend its opening session, and noted that she was an honorary chieftain of an indigenous people in the United States of America. 39. The High Commissioner emphasized the importance of the procedure, as established by the Commission on Human Rights, which ensured the participation of indigenous organizations not having consultative status with the Economic and Social Council. She said that the working group represented an unusual standard-setting activity by which governmental delegations had an opportunity to talk directly with the beneficiaries of the draft declaration. The presence of indigenous delegations added legitimacy to the working group. She said that the draft declaration in many ways represented the acknowledgment of a new generation of rights: it covered the range of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights; it drew on the right to development; it recognized, as it stood at present, the individual and collective rights of indigenous peoples. She encouraged all the interested parties to take their time, maintain an open dialogue, and seek the mutual understanding which was the basis of consensus. 40. The High Commissioner recalled that she was the Coordinator of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People with the responsibility of encouraging action and cooperation on indigenous issues throughout the United Nations system. She informed the working group that an Indigenous Project Team had been established in her Office in order to strengthen its programme in this area. 41. At its 4th formal meeting, the Chairman proposed adoption at first reading of article 43. The following text was adopted by consensus at first reading: "All the rights and freedoms recognized herein are equally guaranteed to male and female indigenous individuals". 42. At its 5th formal meeting, the Chairman proposed adoption at first reading of article 5. The following text was adopted by consensus at first reading: "Every indigenous individual has the right to a nationality". 43. In connection with article 5, the Chairman noted that all States strongly supported the principle that every individual had the right to a nationality. He noted also that a number of States considered the article conferred the same rights as those under article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and article 24, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He acknowledged that a number of States said that article 5 must be read as recognizing the right of every indigenous individual to citizenship within the State to which they belonged, consistent with article 15, paragraph 1 of the Universal Declaration and article 24, paragraph 3, of the International Covenant. He observed that a number of States also identified the need, in due course, to clarify the relationship between the rights expressed in this article and the language of article 32 on citizenship and article 9 relating to the right to belong to an indigenous community. The Chairman noted that one State, which shared this view, noted that entitlement to a nationality within the constitutional framework of the State was consistent with its founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi; it was against this background that it understood the meaning of the article. Finally, the Chairman recognized that approval on first reading of article 5 was without prejudice to the discussions still pending on articles 9 and 32, whose contents had a bearing on the interpretation of article 5. 44. The working group held three informal meetings on the principles underlying article 3. At its 6th meeting, the Chairman-Rapporteur summarized the results of the informal meetings as follows: (a) All States recognized and upheld the principle that all peoples had the right of self-determination, as enshrined in numerous international instruments and recognized by international law. A number of States expressed concern about the implications that an open reference to the right of self-determination might have. States and indigenous representatives considered that it was essential to have a clear understanding of the precise meaning and implications of draft article 3, as this right underpinned other articles in the draft; (b) Indigenous representatives and some States considered that the inclusion of the right of self-determination was indispensable to the declaration. Indigenous representatives and some States also considered that the right of self-determination must apply on a non-discriminatory basis to all peoples; (c) States held a number of different positions. A number of States supported the principle contained in draft article 3; (d) A number of States, while accepting the principle of self-determination of indigenous peoples, required further clarification on the implications of the exercise of this right within the legal and constitutional frameworks of existing States, which should be reflected in the text; (e) Other States that also supported this principle expressed concern with respect to the implications that a wide recognition of that right in article 3 might have, since it might be inclusive of the right of secession, therefore affecting the territorial integrity and political unity of States. They also expressed the need for these concerns to be reflected in the final version of article 3; (f) Other States took the position that the peoples entitled to self-determination were understood to be the entire peoples of a State or those who could constitute themselves as a sovereign independent State, and not subnational groups within an existing State; (g) Some indigenous representatives pointed out that the indigenous peoples they were representing were not aspiring to secede from existing States, and that the right of self determination, as set out in existing instruments, already provided that secession could only be invoked in extreme cases, where the right of self-determination was denied by the State. They stated that article 3 should be adopted as currently drafted, without amendments. 45. The working group held nine informal meetings on the principles underlying articles 15,16, 17 and 18. The Chairman noted that there was broad consensus for the principles underlying those articles. He took note that certain States could adopt the articles of Part IV of the draft declaration as currently drafted. He also acknowledged that other States required further discussion. Furthermore, some governmental delegations had submitted amendments to the text of articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 for discussion at a future session of the working group. Those amendments would be contained in annex I to the Working Group's report. Comments relating to those articles by indigenous peoples' delegations would be contained in annex II. One non-governmental organization proposed amendments to articles 15, 17 and 18 and these would be contained in annex III. The Chairman noted that the annexes were provided for information and were not part of the report. 46. The working group held three informal meetings on the principles underlying articles 14, 44 and 45. The Chairman noted that there was broad consensus on the principles underlying those articles. Many States indicated that they could adopt paragraph 1 of article 14 and article 44 without change. Other States explained that they still had difficulties with the articles and required further clarifications. Annex I PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO ARTICLES 15-18 FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION Article 15 State Proposed amendment a/ Australia Indigenous children have the right to all levels and forms of education of the State on at least the same basis as other members of the national community. All indigenous peoples also have this right and the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning in accordance with applicable education standards established at the appropriate level of government. Indigenous children living outside their communities should, wherever reasonable, have adequate opportunity for have the right to be provided access to education in their own culture and language. States should shall take effective measures to provide appropriate resources for these purposes. New Zealand Expects to return to discussion of article 15 and the principles and various textual proposals that have been put forward in respect of the article, before moving on with work on other clusters. United States of America France Japan Indigenous children have the right to all levels and forms of education of the State on the same basis as other members of the national community. All indigenous peoples* also have this right and the right to should be able to establish and control operate their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning. Indigenous children living outside their communities should have the right to be provided reasonable access to education in their own culture and language. States shall take effective measures to provide appropriate resources for these purposes. Canada Indigenous children have the right to all levels and forms of education of the State on the same basis as the other members of the national community. All indigenous peoples also have this right and the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning and in accordance with applicable education standards. Indigenous children living outside their communities should have the right to be provided reasonable access to education in their own culture and language. States should shall take effective measures to provide appropriate resources for these purposes. Brazil Indigenous children have the right to all levels and forms of education of the State. All indigenous people(s) also have this right and the right to (establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing) education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning. Indigenous children living outside their communities have the right to be provided access to education in their own culture and language. States shall take effective measures to provide appropriate resources for these purposes. + The use of the term "peoples" in the declaration has no implications regarding the right of self-determination or any other rights which may attach to the term under international law. a/ Proposed additions are underlined; proposed deletions have a line through the text. Article 16 State Proposed amendment Australia Indigenous peoples have the right to have the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations appropriately reflected in all forms of education and public information. States should shall take effective measures, in consultation with the indigenous peoples concerned, to eliminate to promote the elimination of prejudice and discrimination and to foster promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among indigenous peoples and all segments of society. New Zealand Could accept the wording as it stands. New Zealand understands that the language used in the second paragraph, referring to the elimination of prejudice and discrimination, is not inconsistent with that used in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. On this basis, New Zealand could support the current drafting of this paragraph, although it considers that the meaning of the second paragraph could be clarified by the use of less absolute language. New Zealand makes this suggestion for the purposes of discussion. United States of America France The dignity and diversity of indigenous peoples'* Indigenous peoples have the right to have the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations should be appropriately reflected in all forms of public education and public information. States shall take appropriate effective measures, in consultation with the indigenous peoples concerned, in order to eliminate prejudice and discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among indigenous peoples* and all segments of society. Brazil Proposes that "Indigenous peoples" be replaced by "Indigenous people(s)". + The use of the term "peoples" in the declaration has no implications regarding the right of self-determination or any other rights which may attach to the term under international law. Article 17 State Proposed amendment Australia Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own languages. They also have the equal right to equal access to all forms of non indigenous media. States should shall take effective measures, wherever possible, to ensure that State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. New Zealand Could accept the wording as it stands. However, the wording "equal rights of access" (replacing "right to equal access") would improve the text by clarifying the objective. United States of America Japan Indigenous individuals or peoples* should have the ability right to establish their own media in their own languages to the same extent as other applicants. They also have the right to equal access to all forms of non indigenous media. States should shall take appropriate effective measures, wherever possible, to provide ensure that State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. Canada Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own languages on the same basis as the other members of the national community. They also have the right to equal access to all forms of non-indigenous media. States shall take effective measures to ensure that State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. Brazil Indigenous people(s) have the right to establish their own media in their own languages, in accordance with national legislation and regulations. They also have the right to equal access to all forms of non-indigenous media. States shall take effective measures to ensure that State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. + The use of the term "peoples" in the declaration has no implications regarding the right of self-determination or any other rights which may attach to the term under international law. Article 18 State Proposed amendment Australia Indigenous peoples have the right to enjoy fully all rights established under applicable international labour law and national labour legislation. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any adverse discriminatory conditions of labour, employment or salary. New Zealand Strongly supports the substance and principles. Proposes that the word "applicable" be inserted before "international labour law". United States of America Japan France Indigenous individuals, individually and in association with others, peoples are entitled have the right to enjoy fully all rights established under international labour treaties ratified by the State in which they live law and national labour legislation without discrimination on account of their indigenous origin or identity. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any discriminatory conditions of labour, employment, salary or related benefits. Canada Indigenous peoples have the right to enjoy fully all rights established under applicable international labour law and national labour legislation. States should ensure that indigenous children are protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, health or development. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any discriminatory conditions of labour, employment or salary. Brazil Indigenous people(s) have the right to enjoy fully all rights established under international labour law and national labour legislation. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any discriminatory conditions of labour, employment or salary. Annex II COMMENTS RELATING TO ARTICLES 15 TO 18 BY INDIGENOUS DELEGATIONS Indigenous organizations and delegations attending the third session of the working group supported the texts of articles 15 to 18 as adopted by the Sub-Commission and recommended that they be adopted without amendment. The articles are reproduced below. Article 15 Indigenous children have the right to all levels and forms of education of the State. All indigenous peoples also have this right and the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning. Indigenous children living outside their communities have the right to be provided access to education in their own culture and language. States shall take effective measures to provide appropriate resources for these purposes. Article 16 Indigenous peoples have the right to have the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations appropriately reflected in all forms of education and public information. States shall take effective measures, in consultation with the indigenous peoples concerned, to eliminate prejudice and discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations among indigenous peoples and all segments of society. Article 17 Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own languages. They also have the right to equal access to all forms of non-indigenous media. States shall take effective measures to ensure that State-owned media duly reflect indigenous cultural diversity. Article 18 Indigenous peoples have the right to enjoy fully all rights established under international labour law and national labour legislation. Indigenous individuals have the right not to be subjected to any discriminatory conditions of labour, employment or salary. Annex III COMMENTS BY THE NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION MOVIMIENTO INDIO "TUPAJ AMARU" ON ARTICLES 15, 17 AND 18 Article 15 All indigenous peoples have a collective and individual right to free, comprehensive and diversified education at all levels and in all forms of basic, middle and higher education in their own languages, including bilingual education. They are also entitled to formulate policy for their own education systems and teaching institutions, [and to] manage and administer for themselves the resources assigned to education. States recognize education as their highest function and agree to orient teaching towards the full development of the human personality, providing sufficient resources to carry out and comply with the provisions of this declaration. Article 17 Indigenous peoples have the right to establish their own media in their own languages. They also have the right to equal access to all existing mass communications media, [and to] set up radio and television broadcasting networks in indigenous languages with a view to inculcating respect for their identity in indigenous people and fostering friendship among different social groups. States shall take appropriate action to ensure that State-owned media duly reflect multinational and multicultural diversity. Article 18 Under the international conventions adopted by ILO, indigenous peoples have the right to pursue their material welfare and intellectual development in dignity. Every indigenous person has the right to work without distinction or discrimination on grounds of his identity, and the right to "equal pay for equal work", to satisfactory health conditions and to social security. Pursuant to their labour legislation, States shall take appropriate action to ensure effective protection in matters of hiring and working conditions, especially legal protection for children against illegal exploitation, that might have damaging consequences for their health, education and physical and mental development. --------- "RE: Cherokee Nation Wiretapping Suit" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 10:04:36 -0600 From: berryj@okway.okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 11-20-98 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Tribe officials targeted in wiretapping suit By ROB MARTINDALE c. Tulsa World 11/20/98 Chief Joe Byrd and his administration have emerged as the primary targets of a $1 million wiretapping lawsuit filed against former and present officials of the Cherokee Nation. A partial settlement has been reached in the case, but Byrd is still a defendant in the matter along with his general counsel, a Tulsa attorney said Thursday. Attorney Chuck Shipley said the wiretapping matter would be pursued against Byrd, the tribe's former secretary-treasurer, the general counsel, a former press secretary and a Byrd adviser. The case is in U.S. Northern District Court in Tulsa. Three members of the Cherokee Nation are seeking $1 million in damages in a lawsuit alleging wiretapping of one or more of their telephone conversations. There have been allegations that the wiretapping was instigated at the Cherokee Nation Housing Authority. The lawsuit also named three housing authority commissioners, a former executive director and authority police officers. Shipley said an agreement had been reached with the commissioners and employees. He didn't go into detail but said "the administration had the bad actors. They knew about this." The housing authority's board of commissioners earlier instructed authority employees to cooperate with an FBI investigation into alleged wiretapping activities. Shipley said one of the defendants, Mark McCullough, a Pryor businessman, passed the tapes along to members of the Byrd administration and that Byrd had heard at least part of the tapes. The interception of a wiretap, Shipley said, is a violation of the law. The wiretapping allegations in the Cherokee Nation, America's second-largest Indian tribe, grew out of a controversy that started in February 1997 when tribal marshals raided Byrd's headquarters in search of evidence of misuse of funds. Federal audits requested by lawmakers have questioned tribal expenditures and criticized the tribe's bookkeeping system. --------- "RE: Ute Tribe Opens New Supermarket" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 10:04:36 -0600 From: berryj@okway.okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 11-20-98 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Ute tribe opens new supermarket in bid for economic empowerment c. AP 11-19-98 FORT DUCHESNE, Utah (AP) In a bid for economic empowerment, the Ute Indian tribe opened the doors Wednesday on the new Ute Plaza Supermarket. Euleeta Myore, bakery manager at the market, is glad the store is open. She had worked at a fast-food restaurant in Roosevelt, just a few miles from her home on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. "In Roosevelt there was always tension with whites," said Myore. "There were the derogatory comments like, `Only an Indian would do something like that,' when the employees saw something they didn't like. ... Here we are working among friends and family." A gas station will open nearby soon. It is not the first major business endeavor on the sprawling, 2 million- acre reservation in the northeastern corner of the state. In the 1960s, federal bureaucrats decided that Indian tribes needed resorts to bring in tourist dollars. The Ute tribe built Bottle Hollow, a hotel and conference center, but nobody came and today the complex is virtually a ghost town. The supermarket was built with money received for tribal water rights in a 1992 settlement with the Central Utah Water Project money that the tribe says was promised in the 1960s. Tribal leaders are confident that the grocery store will be a success and the money that would have gone to towns like Roosevelt will now stay on the reservation. "This is something the tribe has needed for a long time," said Ron Wopsock, chairman of the Ute Tribe Business Committee. "This is basically the people's store. If they support it, it will succeed." If it succeeds, it would create much-needed jobs for the tribe. "We need jobs for our people," said Raymond Murray, a member of the tribal business committee. "And the only way we can do that is to do what we are doing today." Of the 40 grocery-store jobs, 38 are held by tribal members, many of whom had been unemployed before the store opened. Two of the four bank employees are Utes. And if Dana O'Crowley the grocery store manager has his way, all the jobs, including his and the meat department manager's, will be filled by Utes. "One of our goals is to train tribal members to take our place," said O'Crowley, an employee of Associated Foods, a partner in the venture. "They are so proud of this store, that it is theirs. The tribal members have a strong desire to work." "We are not experts in business," said Larry Blackhair, a business committee member. "We looked for people who are professionals on how to do this." They found Associated Foods and First Security Bank. Myore said the tribe found the right partners. Associated Store trainers have been like "grandmothers and grandfathers." The tribe is considering developing other projects such as a water-bottling facility at a spring on the reservation. --------- "RE: Yankton Sioux Tribe Suspends Chairman" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 10:04:36 -0600 From: berryj@okway.okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 11-20-98 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Yankton Sioux Tribe suspends chairman, vice chairman c. AP 11-16-98 MARTY, S.D. (AP) The Yankton Sioux Tribe has suspended its chairman and vice chairman while it launches an investigation into a possible abuse of power. Brothers Steve and Robert Cournoyer were suspended Saturday without pay on a 46-0 vote of the tribe's general council. Tribal Chairman Steve Cournoyer led the tribe 10 years ago and was re- elected chairman in 1997. An investigation will be conducted into possible unauthorized expenditures and contractual agreements, the tribe said in a news release. The general council also ordered that Harlan Horned Eagle, the tribal treasurer, be retested for drug and alcohol use. Horned Eagle had failed a previous test for alcohol and drugs, and if he tests positive in this test, he also will be terminated, the tribe said. Members also named Ellsworth Chytka as pro-tem chairman and Lois "Pokey" Weddell as pro-tem secretary. The changes take effect immediately. The pro-tem officers, tribal leaders and tribal members are scheduled to meet with U.S. Attorney Karen Schreier. The release also said tribal members were frustrated that the Business and Claims Committee had refused to recognize the authority and direction of the Yankton Sioux General Council. Members believe the committee acted out of the scope of its authority. Since January, several attempts have been made to convene General Council meetings to allow tribal members to provide input and resolve concerns that may involve unauthorized expenditures and contractual agreements. --------- "RE: Penticton File Major Land Claim" --------- Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 13:21:26 -0800 From: "S.I.S.I.S." Subj: Penticton Indian Band files major claim on city :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-: PENTICTON FACES MAJOR LAND CLAIM The Province, Nov. 15, 1998 Page A7 (CP) Massive parcel lost when cattle baron took over reserve land. Penticton - The Penticton Indian band has filed a multimillion dollar land claim covering almost one third of this Okanagan city. The claim for 445 hectares, almost the size of Vancouver's Stanley Park, is for a parcel of land known as the Timber Reserve, originally made part of the band's reserve in 1877. Some of Penticton's most expensive residential and commercial land is located in the area under dispute. "Obviously we don't expect to get all that land back after all this time," band land manager Joan Philip said Friday. "We do expect to be compensated for it." Penticton Mayor Beth Campbell said the issue is "just another example" of how aboriginal land claims are affecting BC. "We have a very healthy relationship with the band in terms of communication," said Campbell, "and I don't see us handling this issue any differently. Band lawyer Ray Richardson said taxpayers will end up paying millions because of Tom Ellis, a Penticton pioneer who illegally took the land out of the Penticton Indian reserve. The Timber Reserve was established, along with the rest of the reserve, by the Joint Reserve Commission in 1877. It encompassed more than 566 hectares of what is now Penticton and was to be used as a resource area solely for the use of the Pen-tak-ten. That changed when Ellis, an early cattle baron, took over about 120 hectares of the Timber Reserve before 1890 simply by fencing it off. Ellis didn't like the Indians crossing his land to get to the rest of the Timber Reserve and he also wanted the rest of the reserve for himself. The Penticton band won a partial claim on the land in 1982. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ BRITISH COLUMBIA/CANADA - BUILT ON COLONIALISM, PIRACY, FRAUD AND GENOCIDE More info on BC: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Clark/BCgovt.html More info on Canada: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Clark/Cangovt.html :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-: 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: Plymouth day of Mourning" --------- Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1998 12:15:25 -0600 (CST) From: JRP Subj: Plymouth day of Mourning -- please pray It's this Thursday. This is a strange holiday, some want to fast and mourn, some want to feast and celebrate. I am one of those who want to fast and mourn. Every day I give thanks and celebrate life. But the events of how this country was founded, they do not seem to me to be something to celebrate. Someone asked about thanksgiving recipes. I felt like posting how-to's for fasting, and various types of semi-fasts if a total fast is not feasible. But I didn't do this cos who am I? Those who know this, they know. Those who don't know this, they won't want to know. The town of Plymouth has agreed to let the people walk and mourn and talk and pray. They have agreed that the first peoples of this land and their allies don't need a permit to walk this land. A victory. But some say there may still be trouble. Some say the police are angry. I beg of all, whether you fast and mourn, or whether you feast and celebrate, or whether you do both -- please pray for the people who will be walking for us all, at Plymouth, this Thursday. And if you choose to fast you will be in good company, for many of the Plymouth walkers will be fasting too, from sundown the previous day till after the walk, with a feast that evening. Please pray. The police, many of them are former military personnel, and they take an oath to uphold the constitution. The constitution guarantees freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. The true test of our freedoms are exactly in situations like this, where the message is hard and we cannot take anything for granted. Some people of Plymouth may not like the decision, upholding the Indians' and their friends' right to do this. But whether whoever likes it or not, it is the will of the town council, and the will of the people, the thousands of people who have called and written from all over the country all year, in support of this sacred walk. Please pray that all will see this and that the day of mourning walk will be a safe and peaceful event, a sacred event. I cannot be there this year in person as I hoped to be, due to $ limitations and duties here at home. But I will be there in spirit. I will join my prayers with the prayers of many others, let this be good. A sincere thank you also to those who actually will be walking. I know that you are walking for me, and for us all. Thank you. Dee (PS -- I want to post this on alt.native and soc.culture.native but cannot because my Usenet connect is down right now. If anyone agrees with what I've said here strongly enough to make it their words as well, please be so kind as to repost it there. Also please pass this message along to any lists you wish, where you feel it may be appropriate. Thanks -- Dee) --------- "RE: Heart of the Makah/Touring the Reservation" --------- Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1998 23:56:03 -0500 From: Kdawn Subj: Heart of the Makah/Touring the reservation Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native Heart of the Makah: Touring the reservation http://www.seattletimes.com/news/lifestyles/html98/maka_110898.html by Jan Halliday Special to The Seattle Times Posted at 02:54 p.m. PST; Sunday, November 8, 1998 The narrow highway from Port Angeles to Neah Bay was carved between the beach and the cliffs along the Strait of Juan de Fuca in the 1930s; until then the only way to Neah Bay and the Makah Reservation, at Washington's northwestern-most tip, was by boat. The road hugs the curve of inlets and small bays, then straightens as it passes the tribe's cemetery on the left, a sweep of green grass garlanded with flowers and carved-wood memorials, then dips down into the protected harbor and protected curve of beach that once housed the longhouses of Deah, one of the original Makah villages. The 47-square-mile reservation's boundary, newly marked by a white sign posted on the roadside, welcomes visitors. At the top of the sign is an imttage of Thunderbird, with his formidable beak and broad wingspan. He lifts a humpback whale in his talons. In the parking lot of the Makah Cultural and Research Center, Donna Wilkie steps out of her van. The Makah tribal member, grandmother and former professional jazz singer greets me with a welcoming song, as Makah villagers once greeted strangers: The musical exchange between visitors and villagers was the way of asking and granting permission to beach their canoes. This is Donna's fourth year guiding tourists around the reservation, and the most troublesome: Her private telephone number is posted on the Internet as a "person of interest," by anti-whaling activists, and she's been getting harassing phone calls and threats about the Makah's proposed whale hunt since early summer. She asked one caller from Los Angeles if she knew whether there were kids living in LA who were homeless or who didn't have enough to eat. "Then," Donna says, "I ask her, `Well, why are you more worried about one whale, then about all those hungry kids?' "And that's all I'm going to say about whaling." Touching the past Inside the cultural center, built in the 1970s as a museum and repository of Makah material culture, is a scale model of a typical Makah village. Massive cedar-planked longhouses, with removable roof planks that worked as both chimney and skylight, once lined the most protected crescent beaches in Makah territory. (Average houses were 60 feet by 30 feet, with 15-foot-high ceilings.) Whalebones were sunk into the ground at the dripline, helping to drain rain water from between the longhouses. It was a creative and essential device in the rain forest where it pours an average of 146 inches a year. In the next room there's an example of the drain made of real whale bones; it sits next to a full-size, furnished longhouse smelling pleasantly of smoked salmon dried on racks overhead. Almost everything else in the museum is installed behind glass. But huge whaling canoes, once cut from a special grove of ancient cedars more than 1,000 years old, shaped with adzes and pulled to the shoreline for steaming and shaping, are freestanding here and filled with whaling gear. One can feel the marks chipped into the wood. More than 7,000 artifacts exhibited here were recovered from Ozette at Cape Alava, about 15 miles south of Cape Flattery. It's one of the most important archeological sites in North America. Entombed for 500 years after an earthquake liquefied a hillside and buried the village in mud, Ozette was excavated in the 1960s and 1970s. About half of what was unearthed at Ozette - like Deah, one of the Makah's five traditional village sites - were whalebones; the remainder were the tools of a village immersed in food gathering: fishing pouches, fishnets, fishhooks, harpoons, tools and storage containers. The presence of whales The objects found in the village support the Makah's oral history that Ozette was home to the strongest whale hunters and their families who supplied all the Makah people with whale meat. Whales were harpooned at sea, then towed to the shorelines of four major Makah villages for butchering. The only access to the Ozette site at Cape Alava is by hiking trail. The most challenging way to the village is from Shi Shi beach (about 12 miles south of Cape Flattery; a new trail to Shi Shi is scheduled to open next spring) then across the headlands to Ozette. An easier way is to drive from highway 112 across the south end of the reservation from Seiku to Ozette Lake, park at the Cape Alava trailhead, and hike three miles over a boardwalk to the beach. The boardwalk meanders through old-growth hemlock and cedar, swamp, and wildflower-filled meadows. The village site is about a quarter-mile north of the trail's end. It faces the rocky beach, towering haystack rocks and beds of bull kelp that seem to breathe with the incoming tide. It's a lonely, serene place, especially in a driving rainstorm. Artists preserve culture On this day's reservation tour, Donna will join me in my car for a trip from the tribal center to her home at the old village site of Sooes, a crescent of white sand between Hobuck and Shi Shi beaches. Her son, Rich Sones, will accompany me to the new Cape Flattery Trail overlooking Tatoosh Island. But first we head to Washburn's, a modern supermarket that also carries fishing gear and Makah cedar bark baskets and masks, and buy deli sandwiches wrapped to go. In the store's parking lot, Donna introduces two cedar carvers, David Della-Strong and Ralph Cox, under their car's hood and up to their elbows in engine grease. At first glance, Neah Bay looks much like any other coastal fishing town, and it's easy to think that the Makahs are so assimilated into white culture that little culture of their own remains. But, Donna says, it's the tribe's artists who make Makah culture more visible. Well-known to collectors who whisk artwork off the reservation are artists such as Greg Colfax (whose monumental Thunderbird is installed above the doorway of Evergreen State College's longhouse in Olympia); woodcarvers Micah Vogel and Micah McCarty; totem carver Frank Smith; canoe carver and longhouse builder Lance Wilkie; the Parker family of cedar-bark basket weavers; and John Goodwin, who silkscreens jackets and rainwear with totem crest signs. The tribe has begun to invest more heavily in its artists' work to revitalize Neah Bay. It's happening, Donna says, because it is finally safe - not shameful anymore - to be Indian. Nearby is the new 200-slip marina. It's the first marina inside the Strait of Juan de Fuca, on the lee side of Cape Flattery - welcome shelter from howling Pacific storms. Today, midweek, there's no one in sight. Tribal member's fishing boats are docked here, grounded because the price of tuna, salmon and halibut is so low that fishermen can't afford to spend the gas to catch it. The Makah tribal council granted them free moorage this year, to help offset losses. Besides fishing, timber-cutting and jobs with the tribal government, there is no economic base in Neah Bay. Unemployment averages about 75 percent. About 800 of the tribe's 2,200 members live on the reservation. As we stand on the beach, Donna's eyes follow an ambulance wailing past us. We climb back in the car, and drive past the senior center, arguably the nicest building on the reservation, and with the best view. It overlooks the bay; with a pile of split and quartered firewood out front that's higher than the windows. Distracted, Donna points out the new log-loading dock, then asks to slow down as we pass the clinic. Medics are carefully wheeling an elderly woman on a gurney from the ambulance to the door. This is a small community. It matters when someone is in trouble. "I'm not sure who that is," Donna says - but she'll check as soon as she finishes the tour. Tours are never routine Donna's tours of the reservation follow a route - the cultural center, the waterfront, the tribal center, Cape Flattery, the beaches - but they're never routine. The content of tours depends very much on what's going on at the moment and who's leading them. For instance, Donna's house has been moved to a new location and is being remodeled, so this day we're going out to her property. An unmarked road leaves Neah Bay, circles behind Cape Flattery and follows the Waatch River downstream. The clear stream, flush with the first run of spawning salmon, oxbows through a grassy meadow before it spreads across the sand and fans into the Pacific Ocean. Within the sound of breakers crashing on the beach is the Tribal Center. Until 1988 it was an Air Force radar station and barracks and now is converted into administration offices. A former council member, Donna has been an administrator of various programs within the tribe for more than 20 years after graduating from the University of Washington. Her duties, in the past five years, include tourism planning, and she sits on the state's 11-member tourism committee. After we visit her office on the second floor, we're back in the car, heading down a washboard gravel road to her home overlooking Sooes Beach. A wedding story Fishermen at the mouth of the Sooes River are casting for the first run of spawning salmon. The road crosses the river to Hobuck Beach, open to the public for camping during the summer. Like Hobuck, Sooes was a thriving village until the smallpox, measle and flu epidemics killed thousands of Makah people in the last century. Families were buried nearest the longhouses where they died. This road along the beach is built over the bones of hundreds of villagers, their longhouses long ago burned by missionaries. Donna's family lives today in single-family homes scattered over 50 acres bequeathed to her and her brothers by her grandparents. It was at Sooes where, in the 1800s, she says, her great-grandmother arrived from Ozette to be married in the last traditional Makah marriage ceremony ever performed. After the mudslide buried Ozette more than 500 years ago, people continued to live on the site, rebuilding houses on the bank above the beach. This is where Donna's great-grandmother, Alice Anderson Kallappa, was born - and the place left at a very young age to be married at Sooes. The marriage was arranged by the families of two wealthy chiefs. Before the wedding, the bride was sequestered in a small building made of cedar planks and allowed only to see her aunts, sisters and mother until her wedding day. The day of the ceremony, she was dressed from the top of her head to her toes in strands of slender, white dentalium shells, probably strung on twined nettle fibers. Dentalium shell is about an inch long, hollow, and straight, flaring at one end. Raked from deep water off the Pacific coast of British Columbia by the Nuu-Cha-Nulth people, the rare shells were used as currency, to keep track of gift exchanges, and in ceremonies all up and down the Pacific coast and along inland rivers. The bride was seated in a bearing chair, and carried over the rocks and into the surf to the huge canoe. Still seated on the wedding chair, she was borne by paddlers through the ocean troughs, around Cape Alava and past Shi Shi Beach to Sooes, a distance of about 20 miles. When she landed, to the welcoming songs of the village, she stepped out the canoe and onto a carpet of tanned black-bear skins draped over the backs of men and women kneeling in a line all the way to the marriage house. Donna doesn't elaborate on the ceremony, except to say that, after four days of feasting and celebration, the bridegroom had to throw a harpoon at a thick cedar door and split it apart in order to consummate the marriage. Some bridegroom's families hired the strongest whaler in the village to perform this feat, but Donna's great-grandfather did it himself. Donna recently received an hourlong tape of her grandmother's voice from curators at the Royal British Columbia Museum. The recording was made in 1955 when Alice Anderson Kallappa was 95 years old and is filled with songs of love, mourning, celebration and dance. The family land Donna and her extended family - her brothers' kids, her own children and grandchildren, some of whom are blue-eyed blondes - live on various lots within the 50 acres of old growth hemlock and meadow between Sooes Beach and the Sooes River. From a clearing in the woods where her house has been moved and is being remodeled she'll have a clear view of the ocean. She's currently landscaping the yard for the salmon dinners she serves during the summers: "I give them the works - bread, salmon, salad, corn on the cob, potatoes, dessert." Donna, her son, Rich, and I sit at a picnic table on the grassy berm above Sooes beach and eat the sandwiches from Washburn's store. "This village, Sooes, was where the warriors lived who protected the other villages," Donna says. "The people of Deah village, where Neah Bay now sits, were traders who took goods inland. In the old days, we not only had a caste system with slaves, we had a division of labor between the interdependent villages." Assault on resources After the smallpox and measles epidemics in the early 1800s, the villagers, staggered by their losses, consolidated at Neah Bay to hunt whales and other sea mammals together. By the mid-1800s they hunted less for personal consumption than to meet commercial demand. Dentalium shell was not acceptable currency for white merchants and the Makah, like everyone else, were forced to earn cold cash by mining their resources, in this case processing whale and fish oil for sale. Missionaries burned down our longhouses," says Donna, "because they wanted us to live in single-family houses." Potlatches and even marriage ceremonies were outlawed by the federal government and punishable by imprisonment. The reservation, which had at first included Ozette and lands as far east as the Elwha River, was reduced to a fraction of its original territory; prime old-growth forest fell to private timber companies and Olympic National Park. By the 1920s, whales were no longer hunted because commerical whaling companies, most of them out of New Bedford, Mass., had taken the majority of whales at their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. The assault on natural resources has continued in this century. Tankers and cargo ships; anchored offshore at Cape Flattery, spilled oily bilge water that destroyed mussel beds and other delicate sealife. Drag-netting by commercial fishers has both depleted fish stocks and made barren ocean floor. In the 1980s, the most visible part of the reservation was logged by a private contractor who bid on the timber offered for sale by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The bureau, once a division of the federal Department of War and now under the Department of the Interior, once negotiated timber sales to outsiders on all reservation lands. Today the tribe makes its own decisions and controls what happens on their land. Culture unfolds Donna is wearing earrings she's made of a single white dentalium shell strung with a seed pearl and crystal beads that catch the sun. It seems to me, as she talks, that traditional Makah culture, intact for thousands of years, was pulled through a keyhole by the survivors of those early years of white contact and epidemics. On the other side of the last two cen