From gars@netcom.com Tue Dec  8 22:15:20 1998
Date: Tue, 8 Dec 1998 19:10:08 -0800 (PST)
From: Gary Night Owl <gars@netcom.com>
To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche <gars@netcom.com>
Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews06.050

    _       __  _____  __   _ __    ___    ____  _ __    ___
   ' )   / / ')  /    /  ) ' )  )  /   )    /   ' )  )  /   )
    / / / /  /  /    /--/   /  /  / ___    /     /  /  / ___
   (_(_/ (__/  (    /  (_  /  (_ (___/ '__/_    /  (_ (___/ '        O
      ____   _    ,  ___   _    , ___                            O   o   O
       /    ' )  /  /   ) ' )  / /   '                         O     o     O
      /      /-<   /       /--/ /--    VOLUME 06, ISSUE 050   O o o     o o O
   __/_     /   ) (___/   /  ( (___,    December 12, 1998      O     o     O
   KANOHEDA ANIYVWIYA        Otapi'sin  Atsinikiisinaakssin      O   o   O
  Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse  ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min  Aunchemokauhettittea  O
                ( N A T I V E    A M E R I C A N   N E W S )
   This issue contains articles from Triballaw, Minn-Ind & Nat-Film Lists;
        Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty;   UUCP email;
                  Newsgroups: alt.native,soc.culture.native
 
 Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination
 and/or permission for inclusion has been secured.
 Letters of authorization are on file.  A list of those granting permission
 to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A.
 I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people.
 
 IMPORTANT!!
 -----------
   To all who send copywrite protected articles, make very sure you have
 permission from the copywrite holder (a newspaper, the AP, a magazine, an
 author) because a new law is now in effect that says you can be prosecuted
 even if there is no monetary gain.  Just because a newspaper has a website
 where it posts some or all of its editions does not grant permission for
 their redistribution.  Be careful and be sure you pass on the items you do
 with full permission.
   In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in
 this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
 prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes.
               <----<<<<                           >>>>---->
   This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our
 Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the
 Red Road.
  ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own
     internet addressable account to  gars@netcom.com
  ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org
 
 Borries Demeler advises AISESnet doesn't exist anymore, instead there is now
 NativeNet where people can search for archives of Wotanging Ikche issues:
   _ All past AISESnet archives (1992-1998) can now be found in:
     http://aises.uthscsa.edu/discussion/
   _ All new messages will be archived in:
     http://nativenet.uthscsa.edu/archive/nn-dialogue/archive.html
  The mailing address for AISESnet/NativeNet the lists have changed.
   Please make a note of the new address.
   The old address aisesnet_discussion@listserv.umt.edu should *NOT*
   be used any longer. Instead please use:
         nn-dialogue@nativenet.uthscsa.edu
 
 Downloading Wotanging Ikche on AOL  From: MAANG1419@aol.com <Valentina>
 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.
 
   "A wee child toddling in a wonder world, I prefer to their dogma my
    excursions into  the natural gardens where the voice of the Great
    Spirit is heard in the twittering of birds, the rippling of mighty
    waters, and the sweet breathing of the birds."
   "If this be Paganism, then at present, at least, I am a Pagan."
   __ Zitkala-Sa
 
 +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
 |   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!
 
   One of the strangest winters in recorded history is being casually tossed
 off as a cycle of "La Nina", companion to "El Nino".  Believe that if you
 wish.
   The four leggeds and feathered ones are returning to lay claim on their
 ancestral homes, in spite of the fact some of these den and nest sites are
 now in the thick of metropolitan sprawl.  The bear or lion being
 tranquilized, tagged and returned to the "wild" makes a good op-ed piece
 for the 'Nightly Report' news team, and then is forgotten.  Look past these
 prophesied events if you wish.
   Our Earth Mother trembles from the illness we have brought to her in our
 commercialized, industrialized, souped up, eat more, be more, waste more
 societies.  In one breath the industrial giants and their puppets in
 government give lip service to saving our natural resources.  In the next
 breath the word goes out to stockholders, employees and constituents that
 more must be produced to meet "consumer" demand.  Pretend we aren't the
 disease that infects our Mother if you wish.
   When the final wintercount is taken will you, with your last bitter
 breath, still be trying to deny the truth?
  =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=
   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 08:36:20 -0600
 From: James Duncan <toj@alice.net>
 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 <arla.mx@usa.net>
 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  <http://www.alice.net/tojwalk/prayer1.htm>
         A Journey <http://www.alice.net/tojwalk/jaguar.htm>
         A Deed    <http://www.alice.net/tojwalk/people.htm> 
         A Chance  <http://www.alice.net/tojwalk/echota.htm>   
 James
  =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=
 For additional information or to make donations contact:
 
 For the Red Shirt Community:
  Marvin Helper
  P.O. Box 312
  Hermosa, SD 57744
 
 From: tusweca <tusweca@TWLakes.Net>
  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 <abutler@ncsu.edu>
  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" <lonewolf@totcon.com>
  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" <tasunke@dmv.com>
 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 <jans@future.atlcom.net>
 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
 ---------------------------------------------
 From: POP ACCOUNT <holidays@nightwalker.org>
 
   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.
 ---------------------------------------------
 From Laurel Fry
 Helping the Mattaponi Indian Reservation, and other Reservations, as well.
 E-MAIL:  suneagle@bealenet.com
 URL: http://www.bealenet.com/~suneagle
   If you do not wish to be a Full Time Sponsor, but wish to help a Child,
 Elder or Family have a decent Holiday, PLEASE e-mail or call John or
 Sharen.
 FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE E-MAIL
 JOHN AND SHAREN AT THE FOLLOWING:
             suneagle@bealenet.com
 SNAIL MAIL ADDRESS:
 JOHN AND SHAREN SUN EAGLE
 84 NEE A YA LANE,
 MATTAPONI INDIAN RESERVATION
 PHONE: 1-804-769-1405
 ---------------------------------------------
 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 <jersstone@erols.com>
 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 <jrp05@gnofn.org>
 
 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 <mornstar@bellatlantic.net>
 
 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 ----------
 - Leonard Peltier                    - Cherokees Preserving Language
   Charitable Foundation Raffle       - Yankton Sioux Tribal Court
 - San Francisco Protest                Issues Injunction
   to Free Leonard Peltier            - Clergymen Arrive With Chiapas Aid
 - Greenfield Massachusetts           - Presentation by Enlace Civil
   Protest to Free Leonard              Regarding War Displaced
 - Belgian MP Letter                  - Drug War Casualty
   to Free Leonard Peltier            - Oneida Buy Indian Country Today
 - Canadian Natives Sue Over          - New Innu Nation President
   Veteran's Benefits                 - Gustafsen Lake/
 - Who's Indian in Tennessee            A Classic Coverup Continues
 - Western Shoshone                   - Reed Parole Hearing Coming Soon
   Sue United States                  - Native Policing
 - Indigenous Peoples Gather          - Omaha Indian on Death Row
   at the United Nations              - Native Prisoner
 - US Refuses to Defend Human Rights  - A Hundred Years Ago
 - Indigenous Peoples                 - Poem: Lines
   Statement to the UN                - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days
 - Black Mesa Dine'h                  - Conferences and Powwows
   Evictions Pending                  - Native America Calling
 --------- "RE: Leonard Peltier Charitable Foundation Raffle" ---------
 
 Date: Sat, 28 Nov 98 09:04:41 PST  
 From: LPCFound  <LPCFound@aol.com>
 Subj: LPCF Article
 
   UUCP email
 
 THE LEONARD PELTIER CHARITABLE FOUNDATION 
 PROUDLY PRESENTS THE LPCF RAFFLE EVENT, IN PROGRESS.
 The award is a Leonard Peltier painting: 'RIBBONS AND 
 PLUMES' Actual painting dimensions 18 X 22
   This is a Leonard Peltier original oil painting rendition, portrayed
 by an image presented to him. The LPCF is providing an exciting 
 opportunity for Peltier supporters to own this extraordinary work.
   The painting comes with a notarized certificate of authenticity
 describing the medium and a personal depiction by Leonard 
 Peltier that can be mounted with the painting, along with the 
 award certificate with Leonard Peltier's signature.
   You may purchase as many raffle tickets as you like at $1.00
 per ticket. At this writing, we currently have obtained 272 
 entries. There is no deadline on the raffle. When we have 
 reached a number of entries equivalent to 1,000 the LPCF 
 will reveal the certified sealed raffle ticket number between 1 
 and 1,000 whereas the winner will be notified by mail and/or 
 telephone. No one at the LPCF has any knowledge of the
 winning number, and the LPCF Board and Foundation Members 
 and their families are not eligible to participate. Since this is a 
 non-profit, non-political and charitable event we are honored 
 that Leonard Peltier remains the only one who knows the winning 
 number, and we are all proud that the proceeds reflect the
 best interests of assisting underprivileged American Indian 
 youth. 
   Please sign and hold on to your raffle tickets upon receipt. After
 personal verification's a release form must be signed by the 
 winner. Your beautiful painting and certificates will then be 
 shipped to you UPS at the expense of the Foundation.
   Leonard Peltier is CEO (in-absentia) to the LPCF, incorporated
 with the Secretary of the State of South Dakota on March 01, 
 1996. Through the visions of his artwork, and with tremendous 
 efforts being made to provide educational tools to American 
 Indian youth, the LPCF is especially pleased to announce our
 latest contributions. Throughout this year we personally delivered 
 over $1500.00 in groceries, water and soda supplies, coffee 
 makers, tobacco pouches for spiritual ceremony, LPCF t-shirts, 
 books, a giant Peltier appreciation cake and twenty-two days of 
 research of the distressed areas of Shannon County in South 
 Dakota. We have donated computers, school supplies, winter 
 items and brand new clothing and food items to designated 
 families and teachers in the Oglala district and other areas of 
 the Pine Ridge Reservation. 
   Acknowledging significant private contributors, the LPCF has
 also established a relationship with a California non-profit source 
 that is going to provide more computers, and they will continue 
 to do so as frequently as possible. They have put the LPCF on 
 their priority list out of hundreds of applications. The computers 
 are 486 and 386 Pentium computers, most of them equipped with
 monitors, instruction booklets, and programs installed. We are 
 presently planning on delivering them to the Emergency Youth 
 Shelter and eventually to the Child Welfare Center on Pine Ridge. 
   Also, the LPCF Christmas drive has been a huge success with
 contributors from across the country sending brand new winter 
 clothes, space heaters, blankets, games, food items, decorations, 
 and school supplies to Pine Ridge. We hope that the LPCF has 
 set an example for others to reach out to the American Indian 
 youth and elders who need comfort and support during difficult 
 times.
   We encourage you to visit the LPCF Website for portrayals of
 Leonard Peltier and the LPCF, depictions of Peltier paintings,
 "live" recorded messages and a host of prominent Foundation 
 Members and much more. Our heartfelt thanks go out to 
 everyone who has helped the LPCF to produce results.
 
 LPCF website http://members.aol.com/lpcfound/homepage.html
 To participate in the LPCF Raffle:
 Send $1.00 per ticket (Check or money order) to: LPCF 
 c/o Shannon Collins P.O. Box 681 Rimrock, Arizona 86335 
 (U.S. Currency). We emphasize to please send a self-addressed 
 stamped envelope to return your tickets. 
 Thank you for bringing a smile to an American Indian Child.
 Raffle Award painting can be seen on the LPCF Website at
 http://members.aol.com/lpcfound/homepage.html  
 Click on "LPCF Raffle".
 Also, there is a "live" recorded message of Leonard Peltier. 
 Click on "Building A Sacred Dream". Please be patient with 
 the download of the sound file.
 Sincerely,
 Shannon M. Collins /LPCF Executive Director
 
 --------- "RE: San Francisco Protest to Free Leonard Peltier" ---------
 
 Date: Fri, 04 Dec 1998 08:25:28 -0800
 From: Keith McHenry <foodnotbombs@earthlink.net
 Subj: San Francisco Protest to Free Leonard Peltier
 
 Nonviolent civil disobedience to
 FREE LEONARD PELTIER
 Saturday, December 19, 1998
 Assemble at UN Plaza near 7th and Market Streets, San Francisco at 10: 00 AM
 speakers
 PATTI BEAR ROBIDEAU, Leonard's Aunt
 INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON FOR LEONARD PELTIER
 Leonard Peltier has been imprisoned for the June 26, 1975 shoot-out between
 the F.B.I. and the American Indian Movement ( AIM ) in which two federal
 agents and an Indian man were kill. Four years after his incarceration, a
 Freedom of information Act ( FOIA) suit released documents which prove
 Leonard Peltier's innocence and FBI's use of their infamous COINTELPRO
 program in their efforts to "neutralize" members of the movement.
 DON'T LET LEONARD SPEND ANOTHER HOLIDAY IN PRISON.
 Show your support for executive clemency for Leonard Peltier by attending
 this protest.  The US government has held Leonard for over 22 years. He is
 one of America's most respected political prisoners serving two life
 sentences at Leavenworth Federal Prison in Kansas. He should be free.
 Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
 PO Box 583, Lawrence, KS 66044  785-842-5774  5 <lpdc@idir.net>
 415-386-7041 or 415-826-4127
 Planning meeting Wednesday nights at 6:30 at
 Centro del Pueblo, 474 Valencia 2nd Floor room 295
 Endorsements
 LEONARD PELTIER S.G. SONOMA COUNTY
 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT
 RED NATION BROTHERHOOD DRUM
 ROUND VALLEY INDIANS FOR JUSTICE
 MENDOCINO COUNTY EARTH FIRST
 MENDOCINO COUNTY ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER
 SONOMA COUNTY PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER
 PACIFIC-WESTERN TRADERS
 BROWN BERETS / OLA
 A LA BRAVA PRODUCCIONES REVOLUTIONARIAS
 SAN FRANCISCO FOOD NOT BOMBS
 SAN FRANCISCO LIBERATION RADIO
 SISTER BERNI GALVIN
 OCTOBER 22 NO POLICE BRUTALITY DAY NATIONAL OFFICE
 S.F. COALITION ON HOMELESSNESS
 LA RAZA CENTRO LEGAL
 BELL GARDENS JUSTICE COMMITTEE
 STUDENT COMMITTEE FOR ACCOUNTABILITY (SCA)
 
 http://members.xoom.com/freepeltier/index.html
 --
 Keith McHenry, Co-Founder
 Food Not Bombs
 3145 Geary Blvd. #12
 San Francisco, CA 94118
         -or-
 P.O. Box 442286
 Lawrence, KS 66044
 Toll Free: 800-884-1136
 foodnotbombs@earthlink.net
 http://home.earthlink.net/~foodnotbombs
 
 --------- "RE: Greenfield Massachusetts Protest to Free Leonard" ---------
 
 Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 16:43:44 -0500 (EST)
 From: Jonathan <noflyby@nonviolence.org
 Subj: Press Release - Leonard Peltier
 
 greetings, following is a press release from a Leonard Peltier Support
 Group planning a nonviolent civil disobedience action in Greenfield MA.
 Please feel free to use or forward. best regards, jonathan
 PRESS RELEASE
   Nonviolent civil disobedient actions on December 19, 1998 in support of
 Native American political prisoner, Leonard Peltier
 Contacts:       Leonard Peltier Support Group
                 P.O. Box 1999
                 Wendell Depot, MA 01380
         Jonathan Mark   978-544-7862
         Paul Burton     413-625-8420
 
         Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
         Attn: Gina and Keith
         P.O. Box 583, Lawrence, KS 66044
         Tel: 785-842-5774, Fax: 5796
         http://members.xoom.com/freepeltier/index.html
 Greenfield, Massachusetts
    Supporters of American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier
 hope to win Peltier's release from federal prison after 22 years of
 incarceration. As part of an International effort to spur the Clinton
 Administration to grant Peltier a Presidential Pardon, a group of local
 supporters has organized a nonviolent civil disobedience action for
 December 19th in Greenfield.
    Leonard Peltier is a well-known victim of human rights abuses by
 the U.S. judicial system. Convicted in 1976 of murdering two FBI agents on
 the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota, Peltier has maintained his
 innocence and human rights groups and civil rights leaders have cited his
 case as a grave injustice. Amnesty International cited the Peltier case as
 a glaring example of FBI tampering with the judicial process in a political
 trial; Federal prosecutors have admitted that they cannot prove that
 Peltier was responsible for the agents' deaths and an appeal's court judge
 who upheld Peltier's conviction later called for Peltier to be freed,
 saying the FBI was equally responsible for the agents' deaths. Despite
 evidence of witness tampering by the prosecution and a lack of direct
 evidence of Peltier's guilt, he remains in prison after 22 years.
 Meanwhile, Leonard Peltier's health is deteriorating and many people around
 the world are concerned for his life.
    More than five years ago Leonard Peltier applied for Executive
 Clemency, citing his support among such leaders as Reverend Jesse Jackson,
 55 members of Congress, European Parliament, Nelson Mandela with about
 fifty million letters written on his behalf. Usually the process for the
 review of clemency takes six to nine months. However, Peltier has only
 received a form letter response that states his application is still under
 review. With his appeals through the courts exhausted, Peltier holds out
 the hope that President Clinton will do the right thing and reverse
 generations of injustice to American Indian people by granting Leonard
 Peltier freedom this holiday season.
    Local supporters hope their action will build awareness of the case
 and highlight the importance of justice for Peltier for all Americans.
    One organizer of the Leonard Peltier Support Group in western
 Massachusetts, Jonathan Mark, said, "What better way can I support my
 Country, family and freedom this holiday season than by supporting Leonard
 Peltier? Sure, getting arrested is a hassle, but it is really minor
 compared to the suffering of this man in prison for decades."
    Besides Main Street in Greenfield, MA, more than thirty other
 nonviolent civil disobedient actions are planned, including in Washington,
 D.C., Lawrence, KS, San Francisco, Melbourne, Australia, Brussels, Belgium
 and New York City. Each support group plans to hold nonviolent training
 workshops and will decide how they plan to be arrested by consensus. The
 Greenfield group's training session begins Sunday, December 13 at 1:00 P.M.
 at the Green Fields Market. "After that meeting," says Mark, "we should
 have a better idea about our plans." Mark mentions that they would be
 available for answering questions at their December 17 meeting in the loft
 at the Green Fields Market from 5:00 to 7:30 P.M. and the group plans to
 hold a press conference at a legal rally preceding the nonviolent civil
 disobedient actions on December 19 beginning at 11:00 A.M. in front of the
 Court House on Main Street in Greenfield, MA.
 
 --------- "RE: Belgian MP Letter to Free Leonard Peltier" ---------
 
 Date: 98-11-25 14:24:23 EST
 From: kolahq@skynet.be (KOLA International Campaign Office)
 Subj: Letter Belgian MP Vanoost concerning Peltier
 
   UUCP email
 
         [seal Belgian Parliament|
                 Brussels, November 24, 1998
                 To the Honourable William Jefferson Clinton
                 President of the United States of America
                 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
                 Washington DC 20500
                 United States of America
 
 Your excellency,
 
 On March 18, 1997 and on April 1, 1998 I wrote you concerning
 Mr. Leonard Peltier, who is serving a double life sentence in Fort
 Leavenworth, Kansas since 1976. So far you have not reacted to
 these letters. I therefore once again draw your attention to this
 matter and will repeat shortly. The evidence in support of Leonard
 Peltier is substantial:
 
 + both the US and the Canadian government admit that the
   affidavits used to arrest and extradite Peltier are false
 + Peltier's bullet shell casings did not match those used to kill the
   FBI agents
 + during his trial, there was judicial misconduct and impropriety
   such as coercion of witnesses, perjury, evidence and fabrication
 + additional evidence shows while the agents were shot at point-
   blank range, Peltier was hundreds of yards away at the time
 + the US government has conceded it does not know who shot
   the agents
 
 Two other persons, accused on the basis of the same evidence,
 were acquitted by reasons of self-defense. One other person
 against whom a stronger case could have been built has never 
 been prosecuted (which does not imply his guilt or innocence as
 no trial ever took place). In the firefight of June 26, 1975, a third 
 person by the name of Joseph Stuntz Killsright was also shot dead,
 year a judicial inquiry was never opened. In the period preceding
 and following the firefight more than sixty Native Americans were
 killed. Not a single one of these killings led to an inquiry by the
 US judicial authorities.
 
 Mr. Gerald W. Heaney, United States Senior Circuit Judge, one of
 Peltier's appeal judges, in a letter, dated April 18, 1991 to Senator
 Daniel K. Inouye expressed his concern over the conviction of
 Leonard Peltier. He also stated: "We as a nation must treat Native
 Americans more fairly. To do so, we must recognize their unique
 culture and their great contributions to our nation. Favorable action
 by the President in the Leonard Peltier case would be an important
 step in this regard."
 
 On June 3, 1996 I took the initiative of submitting a resolution
 regarding Leonard Peltier to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
 Belgian Chambre of Representatives. This proposal was the
 subject of several sessions of the Committee. On March 7, 1997
 the Committee approved the resolution which was unanimously
 adopted by the Chambre March 13, 1997. This resolution does
 not in any way express an opinion on the matter of guilt or
 innocence of Leonard Peltier. It is but an expression of support to
 the distinguished colleagues of the US Congress who have 
 advocated a hearing on the case.
 
 On February 6, 1998, I took part in a delegation to the US 
 Embassy in Brussels where the matter was discussed with members 
 of the embassy staff. The Belgian Parliament does not stand alone 
 on this issue. Support for Peltier has been voiced by the Italian
 Parliament, by the European Parliament, by several members of
 the Canadian Parliament and by more than 50 Members of 
 Congress including Paul Wellstone, Daniel Inouye, Ben Nighthorse-
 Campbell, John Conyers, Bill Richardson (now US representative 
 to the United Nations), Don Edwards, Edolphus Towns, Lawrence 
 Mayor, Kevin Sullivan and Joe Kennedy.
 
 In a statement dated June 27, 1995, Congressman Joe Kennedy
 states: "Seeing that justice is upheld for Leonard Peltier would
 amount to a major act of reconciliation for past injustices done to
 the Native American peoples. I urge that he be considered for a
 pardon or that his sentence be commuted. At the minimum, the
 numerous problems found with te evidence are grounds for a
 new trial... Peltier's continued imprisonment is more than an
 injustice to one man. It is an injustice to Native Americans and a
 scar on American history, reminding us of the attempts to silence
 the rising voices of Native American peoples protesting their
 plight... It is never too late to let the voice of truth drown out a
 legacy of injustice. And it is never too late to let the healing
 begin."
 
 I applaud the efforts for human rights all around the world by the
 US government. I do not imply by reference to the Peltier case 
 that the United States might be an oppressive country. On the 
 contrary, in many respects, the United States are the most free 
 country in the world. No democratic system however is perfect. 
 Most certainly not my own country, where scandals about 
 corruption and judicial misconduct at the moment dominate 
 political debate. Human rights however are universal. I therefore 
 consider it my duty as elected representative to assist colleague-
 representatives in your and other countries in their struggle for 
 justice. I therefore urge you to come to a decision on the request 
 for presidential clemency for Leonard Peltier. This procedure 
 normally takes some 6 months. In Peltier's case, after several 
 years, a decision has still not been reached.
 
 I also would like to take the opportunity to draw your attention to
 the medical status of Leonard Peltier at this moment. He is
 suffering heavily from complications of a maxilla-facial surgery at
 Springfield Medical facility in 1996. He was treated there against 
 the advice of prison doctor Collins, who advised against Springfield 
 for lack of proper facilities and who recommended treatment at the
 Mayo clinic in Rochester. He is in need of urgent surgery. Mayo
 clinic doctor Keller is willing to do the surgery but the prison
 refuses Peltier's transfer. May I therefore ask that you intervene to 
 make this transfer possible as soon as possible.
 
 Finally I would like to inform you that initiatives similar to the
 Peltier resolution are planned in the Belgian Parliament regarding 
 the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal, also a matter of grave concern for
 numerous US citizens and people abroad.
 
 Your excellency, you have in your hands the opportunity to take
 historic decisions that will go down forever in the collective memory
 of millions of people in the United States and all over the world.
 
 Sincerely,
 Lode Vanoost
 Member of the Federal Chambre of Representatives of Belgium
 ---
 Lode Vanoost
 Member of Parliament Belgium
 Fax&Tel: +32-2-381-1921 (home)
 Tel: 32-2-549-8938 (parliament)
 Fax: 32-2-549-8798 (parliament)
 email: lode.vanoost@skynet.be
 
 --------- "RE: Canadian Natives Sue Over Veteran's Benefits" ---------
 
 Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1998 02:20:36 -0800
 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
 Subj: Fighting for Canada: Treated Like Indians
 
 :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
 NATIVES SUE OVER VETERAN'S BENEFITS
 The Globe and Mail, December 3, 1998 by David Roberts
 [S.I.S.I.S. note:  The following mainstream news article may contain biased
 or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
 It is provided for reference only.]
   Status Indians from Saskatchewan who served during Canada's foreign wars
 have filed a lawsuit against the federal government, saying they were
 denied tens of millions of dollars in veterans' benefits. About 800 Indian
 men and women from Saskatchewan served in the two world wars and Korea and
 about 100 survive today, said Perry Bellegarde, chief of the Federation of
 Saskatchewan Indian Nations, which began the action in Saskatchewan's Court
 of Queen's Bench.
   The lawsuit asserts that Indian veterans were deprived of tens of millions
 of dollars worth of benefits that were given to non-Indian veterans
 returning from service in various conflicts. "These are very legitimate
 concerns by decent men and women who are just trying to restore some of
 their dignity," Mr. Bellegarde said, noting families of non-natives
 received $75 a month in the 1940s while husbands served overseas. The
 families of Indian veterans got $20 per month. Other benefits such as land
 grants, loans for study, home purchase or improvement, training assistance
 and other professional allowances were not available to Indian veterans in
 the same way they were for others, the claim says, alleging this treatment
 was discriminatory and racist.
   Thousands of Canadian natives volunteered for service during the two world
 wars and the Korean conflict, the lawsuit states. While they could not be
 conscripted for service, they joined in the war effort and fought alongside
 other Canadians. Many were decorated. "Indian agents told them they could
 have land on the reserves for farming," said Mr. Bellegarde. "But that land
 was theirs already. The non-native veterans were given grants and loans to
 purchase farm land and held fee-simple title on that land. It wasn't so for
 Indians." Even those Indian veterans who received cash - to buy farm
 implements, for example - received less (2,320) than their non-Indian
 counterparts ($6,000), he said.
   Delia Opekokew, legal counsel for the federation, said Indian veterans
 were never told what benefits might be available to them. A few even came
 back to find their home reserves had been moved. A spokesman for Indian
 Affairs, Janice Summerby, said the department will investigate individual
 complaints. "Our position is that the legislation doesn't discriminate
 against aboriginal veterans. Benefits are not geared to groups, they're
 geared to individuals."
 :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
 Letters to the Globe and Mail - mailto:letters@GlobeAndMail.ca
 In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
 distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
 a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
 research and educational purposes only.
 :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
     S.I.S.I.S.   Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
         P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
         EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org
         WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
 
 --------- "RE: Who's Indian in Tennessee" ---------
 
 Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 23:10:04 -0500
 From: tom kunesh <tpkunesh@CHATTANOOGA.NET>
 Subj: Battle in TN rages over Who's Indian
 
 Mailing List:    Minnesota Indian Affairs <MINN-IND@vm1.spcs.umn.edu>
 
 folks - would like to get this info passed on to Nations ASAP -
 if it's happening here in TN, then ... next? KY? OH? IN? IL?
 the TN Commission of Indian Affairs meets -this- saturday @ 1pm ET
 in Jefferson City (info on it below this article).
 if you're concerned, call & write Governor Don Sundquist:
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 1. Governor Don Sundquist, Office of the Governor,
 State Capitol, Nashville TN 37243-0001  - (615) 741- 2001
 mailto:dsundquist@mail.state.tn.us
 Daphne Kirksey, Gov's office of Appointments
 2. Milton H. Hamilton, Jr. Commissioner
 Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC)
 21st Floor, L&C Tower, 401 Church Street, Nashville TN 37243
 1-888-891-TDEC (1-888-891-8332)
 mailto:environment@mail.state.tn.us
 ---
 Published by "The Tennessean" [Nashville] Friday, 11/27/98
 HERITAGE
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
         Battle rages over Indian tribal links
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
                 By Leon Alligood / Tennessean Staff Writer
   Native Americans in the Volunteer State are waging war.
   But this is a war of bitter words, not bows and arrows; of bloodlines,
 rather than bloodshed. The debate concerns the most basic of issues: who
 should call themselves Indian.
   The battle cry is recognition, state recognition of one's American Indian
 blood. It is not enough for some Tennesseans to know they have tribal
 ancestors in their family trees. They want the Tennessee Commission on
 Indian Affairs, a five-member panel appointed by the governor, to
 acknowledge this kinship.
   But there is little empathy for these people, whom some call "wannabes,"
 among Indians who are members of one of the five federally recognized
 Southeastern tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole. They
 stand opposite this genealogical dividing line, questioning why anyone who
 was not raised Indian would want to be Indian, worrying about degradation
 of tribal cultures that, by their estimation, have already suffered greatly.
   Simmering for the past decade, the rift has widened in the past year to a
 gulf of discontent. At the center of the debate is the commission, which is
 assigned the duty of fostering and protecting Native American culture in
 the state.
   Just as important, commission members also set the criteria for recognition.
   Since 1990, the agency has employed a two-prong test to determine whether
 a person is issued a wallet-sized card indicating the holder is an Indian.
   Applicants must either be a member of a federally recognized tribe, or be
 a direct descendant of an individual who was previously recognized by the
 state as a Native American.
   While the process sounds simple, it is not. Receiving recognition from a
 federally recognized tribe can take months, if not years, and follows an
 extensive genealogical search that is checked and double-checked for
 accuracy.
   Proving lineage to someone recognized as an Indian by Tennessee is
 somewhat easier, but problematic as well. There are less than 100 people on
 the commission's list of those who have received state recognition. Unless
 applicants can prove they are directly related to one of these people,
 recognition is denied.
   A change may be imminent, however.
   Both the chairman-designee and newly appointed executive director of the
 commission support relaxing the criteria.
   "We're going to look at it from all the legal aspects, to do it right,"
 said Clayton Prest, of Cunningham in Montgomery County, whose appointment
 last summer as chairman by Gov. Don Sundquist awaits ratification by the
 rest of the commission. He has been a member of the panel since 1995.
   Toye Heape, the commission's executive director, noted the agency has a
 responsibility to "provide for recognition of unrecognized groups and
 individuals and to formulate a process for doing that."
   "A lot of people have brought up the fact that they would like to see the
 process re-examined," Heape said.
   While the recognition issue has frequently surfaced in recent years, the
 commission majority squashed proposed changes.
   However, in the past 18 months the commission has changed substantially.
 Gone are longtime members Becky Yahola of Lebanon, Harley Grant of
 Chattanooga and John Martin of Knoxville, each of whom vigorously opposed
 any relaxation of the standard.
   Yahola and Grant are both federally recognized Cherokees. Martin is
 recognized by Tennessee as a Cherokee, but is not federally recognized.
   For several years, these people were the Indian representatives on the
 commission. The agency's charter requires that at least three members be
 American Indians with a blood quantum of at least 25%.
   However, Yahola and Grant were not reappointed to new three-year terms by
 Sundquist during the summer. Grant resigned before his last term ended.
   They have been replaced by Cubert Bell of Henning, north of Memphis, Doug
 Cook of Englewood, near Chattanooga, and Eddie Nickens of Ashland City.
 Nickens is recognized as a member of a state-recognized tribe in North
 Carolina. Neither he nor Cook is a member of a federally recognized tribe
 or recognized as Native American by Tennessee. Bell, a Choctaw, is
 federally recognized.
   Yahola would not comment about her exodus from the commission after
 serving several terms.
   Grant and Martin, however, said their departures have given Prest and his
 supporters an opportunity to push a softer criteria agenda.
   "It's good for people to find they have Indian blood in their history.
 That's very important, but we've got to look at it this way: If a person is
 one-eighth Native American, that means they are seven-eighths something
 else, whether they're European or African-American or whatever," Grant
 argued.
   "Being part Native American does not make you Native American."
   Martin, who resigned last July from the commission out of frustration
 with the group's new direction, said the demands of non-recognized
 individuals grew increasingly strident in his last year on the panel.
   He remembered one meeting in particular, when several men seeking
 recognition made an impromptu appearance.
   "A group walked in wearing chicken feather headdresses, sour looks on
 their faces and wearing buckskin. I was just speechless," Martin recalled.
   "We told them here's the criteria. They said they didn't need a criteria.
 They said they knew they were Indian."
   By lowering the standard, the former commissioners also noted that Prest
 and other newly appointed panel members could then apply for Tennessee
 recognition.
   Prest is not recognized by the state or a federally recognized tribe, but
 identifies himself as American Indian.
   However, it should be noted that's not uncommon among the Tennessee Indian
 community. A 1997 U.S. Census Bureau estimate indicated there were 12,005
 people in Tennessee who identified themselves as American Indian. However,
 the portion of those residents who are recognized by the Tennessee
 Commission on Indian Affairs and/or a federally recognized tribe is "very
 small," Heape acknowledged.
   According to Census Bureau spokesman Noel Clay, the agency does not
 question an individual's response to questions of race and ethnic origin.
 "If the person says he or she is American Indian, we accept that. There's
 no way we could document every person's record," he said.
   Grant and Martin said they do not understand why state recognition is so
 important.
   "It means nothing. It just means they can say they have a card that says
 they are Native American," Grant said.
   "It doesn't really mean anything as far as I'm aware. There are no
 benefits, like medical or housing, unless they are federally recognized,"
 Martin said. Even then, they often have to live on or near a reservation to
 take advantage of those benefits, the Knoxville man added.
   However, American Indians recognized by Tennessee are given minority
 status, Heape noted.
   "So any program that benefits minorities, like scholarships, a recognized
 individual in Tennessee would qualify for," he said.
   Grady Jones of Lyles in Hickman County, who claims Cherokee and Shawnee
 lineage, would like to be recognized so his young children could compete
 for these education enhancements.
   "I'd like to see my children down the road benefit, but I think it would
 also help a lot of other people who aren't federally recognized. A lot of
 us are mixed blood like I am and are having a hard time getting any
 official recognition," he said.
   Jones also wants to go a step further -- to form a tribe in Tennessee and
 receive state recognition. Tennessee has no federally recognized tribe in
 the state, the closest being the Eastern Band of the Cherokee in Cherokee,
 N.C. and the Choctaw in Philadelphia, Miss.
   Jones has a group called the Aniyunweya Nation, which plans to press the
 commission for recognition on Dec. 5 at its next quarterly meeting in
 Nashville.
   Prest said he supports the formation of a tribe in Tennessee as a way to
 unify the Indian community.
   "It may be basically developing a whole new culture, but the bottom line
 is that there's a little bit of (Indian) blood running through many of them
 and they are looking at it as a guideline," the chairman-designate said.
   "A lot of the people outside the recognition system are more traditional
 than some of them in it. I'd just like to recognize them as such."
   But there is adamant opposition to official sanction of a tribe, a
 designation that, historically, has been issued only to Indian groups with
 which the federal government has signed treaties.
   "Understand, these groups are cultural organizations, made up of people
 from every kind of lineage. That does not make them a tribe," Grant said.
   "If the state of Tennessee wants to open that can of worms it's beyond
 belief."
   Others note that Jones and others who support formation of a tribe are
 already members of a tribe if they descend from one of the five
 southeastern tribes.
   "They already have a tribe. Let them prove where they come from and join
 that tribe," Grant urged.
   Bell, who now is the only federally recognized American Indian on the
 commission, is taking a diplomatic approach to the brewing recognition
 controversy.
   "We are going to have to look at how we can help our brothers and sisters
 who are not federally recognized. We have a human resource that is
 valuable, but we need to know who these claimants are," he said.
   At the same time, the West Tennessee man acknowledged he is not "receptive
 to low blood quantums" from would-be applicants.
   "We have a challenge before us. I know who I am. I am Choctaw. I was
 raised speaking the Choctaw language, I was raised in the Choctaw culture,
 but who is everyone else? That's our job in figuring this all out."
 Copyright 1998 The Tennessean
 ---
              Tennessee Commission of Indian Affairs
            7th Floor, L & C Annex, 401 Church Street
                  Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0459
                           (615) 532-0745
 
 --------- "RE: Western Shoshone Sue United States" ---------
 
 Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 13:12:00 -0500
 From: "Paul Nellen, Hamburg" <100445.3606@compuserve.com>
 Subj: WS NEWS RELEASE
 
   UUCP email
 
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 FRIDAY DECEMBER 4, 1998
 CONTACT: CHIEF RAYMOND YOWELL
 TELEPHONE: +1 (702) 744-4381
 Today, through Raymond D. Yowell, Chief of the Western Shoshone National
 Council, the Western Shoshone people filed in the United States District
 Court for Nevada, PLAINTIFFS' OPPOSITION TO DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS
 (SECOND) AND MOTION TO DISSOLVE OR MODIFY PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION, 
 Case Number: CV-S-97-327HDM(RHL), in an ongoing effort to protect the
 Western Shoshone peoples' way of life.
 
   This  litigation  is  an  undertaking  by  the Western Shoshone National
 Council, original traditional form of government of the Western Shoshone
 Nation -to protect the way of life and  main  livelihood  of  many
 individual  citizens  of the Western Shoshone Nation. One element of this
 action is an attempt to prevent further harassment, threats, and
 intimidation by the United States against Western Shoshone citizens. Other
 elements relate to protection against interference or infringement by
 Defendants of older and continuing Western Shoshone traditional life ways
 within  their  ancestral  lands.
   According to Representative John Wells, Southern Representative of the
 Western Shoshone Nation to the Western Shoshone National Council,
  "The United States government would have this matter to be bogged
   down in a myriad of legal complexities in issues of federal civil
   procedure, than rather have to address the core issues arising under
   the United States Constitution, laws, or treaties."
 
 Further Rep. Wells added,
  "The range of legal issues asserted by the Western Shoshone
   National Council through Chief Yowell includes aboriginal lifestyle
   rights which continue to be a live issue in this litigation requiring
   protection, but also extends to the Western Shoshone National
   Council's role as protector of the rights of individual citizens of
   the Western Shoshone Nation."
 
 The Western Shoshone National Council brought this suit as an economical
 and effective way to litigate the stated issues, promoting uniformity of
 decisions as to the persons similarly situated, without sacrificing
 procedural fairness. The instant case is undertaken as a means of survival
 for the Western Shoshone Nation following the agreement in Article VI of
 the 1863 Treaty of Ruby Valley.
 
 Western Shoshone National Council 
 P.O. Box 210
 Indian Springs, NV 89018 NEWE SOGOBIA
 
 --------- "RE: Indigenous Peoples Gather at the United Nations" ---------
 
 Date: Tue, 1 Dec 1998 00:02:46 -1000
 From: NetWarriors@hookele.com
 Subj: Indigenous Peoples gather at the United Nations
 
   UUCP email
 
   Indigenous Peoples gather at the United Nations to defend the current
 text of the United Nations Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
 Peoples
   News from the United Nations Human Rights Commission Open-Ended
 Inter-Sessional Working Group on the Elaboration of the United nations
 Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
 United Nations, Geneva, 30 November 1998
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
   At this 50th Anniversary-Year of the United Nations Universal
 Declaration on Human Rights, indigenous peoples from all over the world
 are gathered at the United Nations in Geneva to defend the current text
 of an international instrument being developed at the United Nations for
 the protection and promotion of their specific rights known as the Draft
 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (hereafter referred to
 as the Draft Declaration). From November 30th through December 11th
 United Nations' member states, indigenous peoples and NGOs will go
 through the current text of the Draft Declaration during a special
 Working Group held at the United Nations in order to proceed with the
 development of a final text of this Declaration. Indigenous peoples want
 to achieve this Declaration`s adoption by the United Nations General
 Assembly, before the end of the current United Nations Decade of the
 World's Indigenous Peoples (1994-2004).
   Indigenous peoples convened a two-day preparatory meeting (28-29
 November 1998), prior to this official United Nations Working Group, in
 order to collectively develop their strategy and to then present their
 own desired agenda to the Working Group`s Chairman. The outcome of this
 meeting was that the indigenous peoples affirmed their consensus in
 having the current text of the Draft Declaration be adopted by this
 Working Group without any changes, amendments or deletions.
   The current text of the Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
 Peoples is already the result of thirteen years of deliberations between
 indigenous peoples and the member states of the United Nations. The
 current Draft Declaration text used by this Working Group was already
 adopted in its current form by the United Nations Working Group on
 Indigenous Populations in 1993. A technical review was then carried out
 by its Secretariat and the entire text then passed the United Nations
 Sub-Commission on Human Rights in 1994. Thus indigenous peoples now
 assert that it is up to the governments to defend any changes, deletions
 or amendments which would change the general principles and therefore,
 72%assert that it is up to the governments to defend any changes, deletions
 or amendments which would change the general principles and therefore,
 the integrity of this Draft Declaration. Of the Preamble and the 45
 Articles that make up this current text, as of today, only Articles 5
 and 43 were passed in their entirety during the last session held last
 November 1997.
   The presiding Chairman, Ambassador Jose Urrutia (Peru) during this
 first day of the Working Group has arranged the order of work, in
 consultation with indigenous peoples, as follows: 1) The Working Group
 will open with a general debate: indigenous peoples and governments can
 make statements on the general principles of the overall Draft
 Declaration; 2) the participants can then debate on the general
 principles of Articles 1, 2, 12, 13, 14, 44, and 45; 3) the participants
 can then engage in a general debate on Article 3, considered to be the
 the most contentious Article by the United Nations member states and the
 most essential Article by the indigenous peoples. Article 3 states the
 following: "Indigenous Peoples have the right of self-determination. By
 virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and
 freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." The
 90%virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and
 freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development." The
 principle of self-determination, its definition, its scope and its
 application to the Draft Declaration can also be debated at this time;
 4) finally, the participants can debate on Articles 15, 16, 17, and 18
 in order to establish enough consensus to pass these Articles,
 hopefully, before the end of this Working Group's session.
 Ron Barnes for the Indigenous Peoples' Media Committee
 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 For more information contact Ron Barnes or Miriam Anne Frank at the
 Intermediary Media Office* at DoCip at the United Nations in Geneva,
 telephone number ++41 22 917 7104 or via email: docip@iprolink.ch
 + DoCip acts as an intermediary between the media and indigenous
 peoples' representatives. DoCip is not responsible for the content of
 the press releases issued.
 ENDpeoples' representatives. DoCip is not responsible for the content of
 the press releases issued.
   To support the defense of the current Draft Declaration on the Rights of
 Indigenous Peoples please contact...
 Dedication to Solidarity >< Calling for World Action
         >>>>>>>>>>> NetWarriors <<<<<<<<<<<
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          Una Paz sin la  Verdad es Genocidio
          La paix sans la verite est Genocide
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 --------- "RE: US Refuses to Defend Human Rights" ---------
 
 Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 17:16:10 -0700
 From: "Kent Lebsock" <ailanm@flash.net>
 Subj: US Refuses to Defend Human Rights for Indigenous Peoples
 
   UUCP email
 
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
 from the AMERICAN INDIAN LAW ALLIANCE delegation at the United Nations'
 Inter-Sessional Working Group on the Draft Declaration on the Rights of the
 World's Indigenous Peoples
 Contact Kent Lebsock, American Indian Law Alliance, New Mexico Office,
 505-341-4230, ailanm@flash.net
 
 US Refuses to Defend Human Rights for Indigenous Peoples
   Geneva, Switzerland: It is with surprise and regret that Indigenous
 peoples heard the General Statement made by Leslie A. Gerson, Deputy
 Assistant Secretary of State for the United States State Department on
 November 30, 1998 at the United Nations in Geneva.  Currently, nation
 states and Indigenous representatives are gathered there to debate the
 articles of the draft Declaration on the Rights of the World's Indigenous
 Peoples for the Commission on Human Rights.  The unfortunate statement by
 the United States once again points out the discrepancies between American
 rhetoric surrounding human rights and their practice of subverting those
 rights to their own national self interest.  Their paternalistic arrogance
 is demonstrated in the fact that they are attempting to subvert
 international human rights law to U.S. federal "Indian" policy.
   In the opening paragraph of the statement, the United States says, "the
 United States hopes that the ultimate adoption of a declaration will
 succeed in focusing attention on the need to protect indigenous rights,
 fight discrimination based on indigenous origin wherever it occurs, and
 foster appreciation for the value of indigenous traditions. . ." Instead
 of taking a leadership role in the protection of Indigenous human rights,
 the United States seems to ask the United Nations to "appreciate"
 Indigenous cultures.  Appreciating Indigenous culture is a far cry from
 protecting Indigenous human rights.  Federal policy "appreciates" Indians.
 It appreciates us so much, it rounded us up and put us on reservations.
   The American meaning is evident later when they make it clear that they
 do not mean to protect the group rights of Indigenous peoples.  Group
 rights, a well established principle of international law, provides for
 the protection of a group's (or Indigenous nation's) right to
 self-determination.  The United States has made several statements opposing
 this concept.  This latest statement is consistent with the others and
 attempts to trample the rights of Indigenous nations.  The U.S. hides its
 true colors by heralding its support for individual rights without
 considering the rights of Indigenous peoples as groups or nations.  Later
 in their presentation they clearly state this:  ". . . the focus [of the
 Declaration] should be to (1) affirm that persons belonging to indigenous
 groups are entitled to exercise fully and effectively their individual
 human rights and fundamental freedoms . . . "
   The ironic inconsistency is that they trample group rights by
 misrepresenting international human rights' standards.  The U.S. states
 that the "new declaration should build upon, and be consistent with, the
 principles established in basic human rights instruments such as the
 Universal Declaration . . . and the 1992 Declaration on the Rights of
 Persons Belonging to Linguistic Minorities."  However, both of these
 international instruments affirm in their first article the common
 principle of the right to self-determination.  The Americans do not explain
 how they can support only individual rights while citing international
 instruments clearly outlining a right to self-determination for groups of
 peoples.  Apparently the State Department believes that Indigenous peoples
 are different from other peoples in the world, and do not have the same
 right to self-determination.  Self-determination, for Indigenous peoples,
 is unacceptable as a matter of policy.
   Unfortunately, the unchallenged power of the United States in
 international forums (despite its failure to pay its UN dues) results in
 its uncommon ability to disrupt progress in international human rights
 standards. Decisions at the United Nations are typically made by consensus
 and the United States is effectively blocking progress.  Although the
 Declaration has been accepted by two United Nation's bodies in its present
 form and with no amendments to its language, the United States is no
 stalling the process.  Its hostile and unenlightened position and the
 resulting delays are also causing divisions within the ranks of Indigenous
 delegates who stand by the Declaration.  This is a tried and true policy
 for the United States: divide and conquer.  Only in standing firmly behind
 the Declaration and in solidarity with other more enlightened nation states
 will Indigenous peoples be able to finally take our rightful place in the
 international family of nations.  Supporting human rights standards is not
 always easy.
   It requires sacrifice.  Our people know this.  We would call on the United
 States and the administration of President Bill Clinton to live up to its
 own rhetoric.  It is time that the Americans are honest with themselves and
 the world on human rights.  Either support the Declaration and its human
 rights' principles or stop pretending to be the world's champion of human
 rights.
 
 --------- "RE: Indigenous Peoples Statement to the UN" ---------
 
 Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 09:55:51 +0100
 From: NetWarriors/WarriorNET Network <netwarriors@span.ch>
 Subj: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES STATEMENT TO THE UN HIGH COMMISSIONER IN
       ENGLISH
 
 THE UN HIGH COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS ADDRESSES THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
 CONFERENCE
 TRANSLATION OF SPANISH SPEAKING DELEGATIONS DELIVERY TO HER IN RECEPTION
 DAY 5 OF THE IWG - 4 DEC 1998
 __________________
 Geneva December 4, 1998
 To Her Excellency the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,
 Mary Robinson:
 In the name of our peoples of Abya Yala, our ancestors and grandparents, we
 give you a heartful salute, wishing you success in all of your endeavors in
 favor of life and human rights.
 In this document, we would like to present you the following:
 1. We are concerned for the way the discussions are evolving regarding the
 Draft Declaration of Indigenous Peoples Rights. Until today, the evidence
 from the discussions demonstrate a lack of political willingness from the
 part of some governments in moving forward for the approval of the Draft.
 During the discussions on Tuesday, particularly, it was of most importance
 to attain the consensus regarding the principles and terms of Article 1 and
 2 of the Draft. Although Mr. President has labored to achieve a consensus
 from the Governments, they instead have opted to adopt a contrary attitude
 to this goal.
   Similarly, we are surprised that, without specifically explaining their
 arguments, the Governments of the United States, France, Japan, and Brazil,
 in particular, have manifested their disagreement regarding the terms:
 Peoples, Self-Determination, and Collective Rights. However, for us, and in
 the philosophy and practice of our Peoples, these terms are the very soul
 of our life and communities.
 2. We are concerned of the lack of assistance demonstrated during the W
 orking Group sessions, from most member Governments of the United Nations
 Commission of Human Rights. Unfortunately, this only reflects a lack of
 interest to dialogue and agree with the issues relating Indigenous Peoples
 and stated in the Declaration. We consider that in the future, this may
 constitute an obstacle for advancing towards the attainment of its
 approval.
 3. Due to all the issues mentioned before, we courteously request you, to
 directly engage in the discussion for the approval of the Draft, urging the
 foremost assistance from the Governments. This may result on the
 furtherance of the discussions, making feasible the immediate approval of
 the Draft.
 Our Peoples can not continue waiting for very long. When will the
 Governments make their decisions?
 Yours Truly:
 Signatures to Her Excellency the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary
 Robinson, from the delegates and representatives of the Working Group of
 Indigenous Peoples regarding the Draft Declaration of the Indigenous
 Peoples Rights.
 Signature:
 Name:
 People or Organization:
 <Dedicacion a la Solidaridad>   <Llamado a la Accion Mundi
 Dedication to Solidarity >< Calling for World Action
         >>>>>>>>>>> NetWarriors <<<<<<<<<<<
            http://hookele.com/netwarriors
            Peace without Truth is Genocide
          Una Paz sin la  Verdad es Genocidio
          La paix sans la verite est Genocide
                     >>>>>><<<<<<<
              Subscribe to   WarriorNET
          A discussion listserve dedicated to
               Indigenous Solidarity
 
 --------- "RE: Black Mesa Dine'h Evictions Pending" ---------
 
 Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1998 02:20:14 -0800
 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
 Subj: ISCO: Black Mesa Dine'h Evictions Pending
      (Press Release and Statements) 12-1-98
 
 :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:Forwarded message:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
 From: Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon <isco@efn.org>
 
 My apologies to those who receive duplicate postings.  Please share! >
 =o=     ><      =o=     ><      =o=     ><      =o=     ><      =o=
 
 PO Box 11715                                    isco@efn.org
 Eugene, OR 97440                                bigmnt@efn.org
                                                 lpsg@efn.org
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!
 December 1, 1998                                Contact: Beth N
 
 Call to action:  Big Mountain evictions pending
   A call to action is being issued by ISCO and throughout the "Big Mountain"
 or Black Mesa Support Network internationally.  It has been confirmed that
 Pauline Whitesinger, traditional Dine'h (Navajo) Elder and leader of the
 resistance against forced relocation, has received a 30-day notice to
 choose a relocation site on the "New Lands" or one will be chosen for her.
 This is the first step in the forced eviction process, by federal law.
 Fourteen resisting Dine'h families who refused to sign leases or relocation
 contracts are expecting or have confirmed receiving 30-day notices to pick
 out relocation sites.  The latest relocation act of 1996, PL 104-301
 requires them to move or they will be moved, by force if necessary.  If,
 after 30 days they still haven't choose a site, the Office of Navajo Hopi
 Indian Relocation will choose one for them and will build their relocation
 housing at the "New Lands".  Once relocation housing is available the
 Dine'h resisters will get 90-day eviction notices.
 The "New Lands" are near Sanders and Chambers, Arizona, south of the Navajo
 Reservation.  The Rio Puerco runs seasonally from New Mexico, through the
 New Lands relocation sites and into the Little Colorado.  A uranium mill
 near Churchrock was the site of the worst radioactive waste spill in US
 history, when an earthen dam broke spilling 94 tons of sludge and 1,100
 gallons of effluent wastewater into the Puerco in 1979.
 Support groups are calling their communities to action and renewed
 commitment to stop the forced evictions.  The eviction process could take
 six months to begin and years to complete, depending on US court challenges
 and United Nation investigations, and humane intervention.
 Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon (aka "ISCO") needs your help and
 support!  Please consider what you have to offer, even if it is only a few
 hours a month volunteering or a five dollar donation.  We spent almost
 everything we had sending our Fall Caravan to Black Mesa for Thanksgiving.
 Contact us at isco@efn.org or (541) 607-7064 or write to ISCO at PO Box
 11715, Eugene, OR 97440 (write checks payable to "ISCO", thank you.)
 =0=     ><      =0=     ><      =0=     ><      =0=     ><      =0=
 PO Box 11715                                    isco@efn.org
 Eugene, OR 97440                                bigmnt@efn.org
                                                 lpsg@efn.org
 
 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE!                          contact: Beth N
 December 1, 1998                                (541) 607-7064
         Stop Forced Evictions, Genocide and Ecocide!
         Resistance Statement from Board of Directors,
         Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon, Inc.
         =============================================
 WE, the board of directors of the Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon,
 our Black Mesa projects Committee, and long-time supporters of traditional
 Dine'h (Navajo) people resisting forced relocation from and strip mining of
 sacred Black Mesa (HPL) in northeastern Arizona,
 
 DO HEREBY declare our own resistance to forced evictions of Dine'h Elders
 and families from their ancestral homelands of Black Mesa, genocide and
 ecocide;
 
 Call for support and prayers from our communities in Oregon and throughout
 the world;
 
 Call for readiness to mobilize to stop impending forced evictions;
 Demand the immediate halting of illegal and immoral actions by the various
 governments, offices, agencies and corporations leading to forced evictions
 and strip mining at sacred Black Mesa;
 
 Demand the respect of these traditional Dine'h of Black Mesa's religious,
 civil and human rights as acknowledged by the United States Constitution,
 the Convention for the Prevention and Punishment for the Crime of Genocide,
 and other international laws;
 
 Demand the immediate and ongoing restitution by the guilty parties to the
 traditional Dine'h and Hopi people of Black Mesa, Hopi Mesas and former
 Joint Use Area, who have survived US colonialism, and who continue to
 suffer under the United States process of genocide;
 
 Demand the accountability of the individuals, corporations and governments
 who have continued the destruction of the Dine'h and Hopi and their lands
 and traditional identities, despite our warnings.
 
 This we do and call for at the direct request of the traditional Dine'h
 Elders who continue to resist the so-called "Accommodation Agreement"
 leases and forced relocation to the radioactive polluted New Lands,
 standing by their traditions and religious instructions, abiding by the
 Natural Laws, as they have done since time immemorial.
 
 HEREBY SIGNED on Tuesday December 1, 1998 and approved by consensus of the
 board of directors of the Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon,
 
 Beth Newberry, chair            Alice Scherp, secretary/treasurer
                 Veronique Del Valle, assistant secretary
 Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon, Inc.
 <@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>+|+<@@>
 BIYIN BIK'ENGO OODLA'NI'GI'I' (BELIEVERS OF THE HOLY ONES) Nov. 1998
 Quotes from Current Statement & Position Paper
 
 "We will not move from our traditional land uses area....The word *lease*
 is not within our holy ways; to lease our own MOTHER EARTH is a violation
 of our RIGHTS to live as a human being, in the LAND OF FREEDOM  and in the
 EYES OF GOD.
   "We will keep our HOLY LAWS first, then ask for help when we need a peace
 maker....We were here before the greed grew all around us.
   "WE will not be relocated by any means.
   "We cannot turn our backs on our Creator and our religion.  We cannot
 forsake our future generations.
   "We will continue to stand firm that we are going to practice our
 traditional Dine' religion and life ways on our traditional land use area,
 following the laws of the HOLY ONES given to us by our elders.
 "NO HUMAN HAS THE AUTHORITY TO DIVIDE OUR RELIGION AND OUR DAILY LIFE IN
 TWO.  It needs to be understood that *all is one in the eyes of THE HOLY
 ONES*.  The governments must learn tolerance for other people, their
 beliefs, and ways of life.  We should not be persecuted because our ancient
 belief conflicts with their modern ideas and agendas.  That way we can all
 be tolerated by all of us in this UNITED STATES OF AMERICA with justice for
 all, if true justice can be tolerated.
   "This very minute, there are many people who signed the Accommodation
 Agreement Lease that have lots of problems with their religious rights
 being undermined.  The good faith has rotted away and the truth is now
 revealed.
   "We will never sign a paper that states that there is no religious
 significance to the land.  *Never*.  Period.  We will remain in our
 religious way of life, connected to this land of sacred ceremonial practice
 and sites.  We will practice our religious instructions from the Holy Ones.
 We will not be removed by human force or law.
   "Our religion is not separated from us, our land, our natural laws, our
 future, our very breath.
   "We need to continue to be able to fulfill the life cycle of humans by
 burying our Dine' individuals in the land they were raised on.  We need our
 birth rights; those who pass on need to be replanted on this soil.  We need
 our religion and ceremonial ways dealing with this.  So, these needs are
 absolute; there is no compromise possible."
 
 -Excerpted from "Current Statement & Position Paper of the Organized
 "Non-Signers" of the Accommodation Agreement Lease, HPL Navajo Families"
 November 1998.
 For more information: Diyin Bik'ehgo Oodla'ni'gi'i' (DBO), PO Box 922
 Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039.
 To make tax deductible donations:  Media Island International (indicate for
 DBO) Box 7204, Olympia, WA 98507 (360) 352-8526 or mii@olywa.net.
 Submitted by Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon, PO Box 11715, Eugene,
 OR 97440.  Call (541) 607-7064 or e-mail at isco@efn.org.
 %{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%{}%
 >From Condor952@aol.com Mon Nov 30 08:26:45 1998
 Subj: BM Notice by ONHIR & Navajo Times article with addresses for
 letter writing action's...
 
 Yaa e'h teeh, Haastiin, Greetings,
   The following are some address's you all can write to regarding the
 O.N.H.I.R. notice to the BM Elders recently. Please do feel free to write
 your views and feelings on this current situation. In addition, if possible
 send a CC: to my e-mail address and maybe one of these letter's would be
 one that all could send to these officials.
   As of yet there is no "Sample Letter" from the Land, so in the meantime I
 had decided to go forward with sending your groups some mailing addresses,
 listed below this page for your BM letter writing campaign's. I have as
 well enclosed the recent developments from BM, so you could cite any
 comments from either these officials' remarks or their statements or from
 Wendy Young's Special to Navajo Times.
   I thank you all for your desires to do something for the families on BM at
 this time. Please send much needed prayers and if possible, your
 contributions to ISCO so they can continue making a difference for the
 families on BM.
 Haa'gooh'o'ne't, Daniel Zapata
 Peabody Watch AZ./ EU-BM Lobbying Group
 ==========================================================
 Date: Sat, 28 Nov 1998 13:34:17 -0800
 From: Media Island International <mii@olywa.net>
 Subj: "Notice to Vactate" & Nav. Times article 11/12
   The following is a copy of the letter given to 14 HPL residents (4 to one
 family alone!) by agents of the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian
 Relocation, the O.N.H.I.R.  That there even exists such an office is an
 abomination.  It was faxed to us along with a copy of the article from the
 Navajo Times from Nov. 12, 1998, also below.
   There is not now, nor has there ever been, any defendable justification for
 the nightmarish war being waged on these traditional people.  Please keep
 up all your efforts to educate and prepare and act at the request of the
 Elders. Sorry this is not in a more 'action alert' format- more when we get
 it.
 -Jimmy at Media Island Int'l
 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 (seal)  UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT
 OFFICE OF NAVAJO AND HOPI INDIAN RELOCATION
 
 Christopher J. Bavasi
 Executive Director
 
 Date: 11-18-98
 
 (name of addressee)
 
 Dear M. _______ ,
 
 NOTICE OF NEED TO IMMEDIATELY REQUEST RELOCATION BENEFITS
 You did not apply for relocation benefits by July 7, 1986. Our records also
 show that you are a full time resident of the Hopi Partitioned Lands (HPL)
 and potentially subject to relocation. The purpose of this notice is to
 inform you of your choices under the law, regulations and agreements that
 control your eligibility for relocation benefits. If you have not signed an
 Accommodation Agreement with the Hopi Tribe you have 30 days from receipt
 of this notice in which to fill out a Request for Eligibility Determination
 form. The O.N.H.I.R. staff person who gives you this offer will help you
 complete this form or you can do so within 30 days by contacting Joseph
 Shelton at our office at 1 800 321 3114, extension 151 to set an
 appointment to do so.
 
 If you do nor fill out a Request for Eligibility Determination and provide
 the documents, the O.N.H.I.R.. will make a decision on your eligibility
 based on available information and documents.
 
 If the O.N.H.I.R decides that you are eligible for relocation benefits you
 will be contacted promptly to make arrangements for your relocation. If you
 do not agree to work with the O.N.H.I.R. to choose a feasible relocation
 site for your relocation house, O.N.H.I.R. will provide you a house on the
 New Lands. If you do not voluntarily move to this house, you will lose your
 right to be on the HPL as a person "awaiting relocation." If you have held
 a grazing permit from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that permit will
 be canceled and you will be subject to eviction to the house that the
 O.N.H.I.R. has provided. You will be given a Notice to Vacate if you
 continue to fail or refuse to relocate. Your name will be sent to the U.S.
 Attorney for the District of Arizona to the Secretary of the Interior, and
 to the Hopi Tribe for action as they deem appropriate.
 
 If the O.N.H.I.R. decides you that you are not eligible for relocation
 benefits, you will be notified. The notice will tell you about your appeal
 rights.
 
 I hope that we can be helpful.
 
 Sincerely,
 (signed)
 Christopher J. Bavasi
 
 1998\471.
 B 11-4-98
 (O.N.H.I.R.) P.O. Box KK, 201 E. Birch,  Flagstaff, Arizona  86002 (520)
 779-2721       Fax (520) 774-1977
 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 The following is an article from the Navajo Times:
 ONHIR issuing notices to vacate as part of procedure
 Navajo Times Thursday, Nov. 12, 1998
 By WENDY R. YOUNG
 Special to Navajo Times
   FLAGSTAFF - "It is not an eviction notice. It is a notice to vacate,"
 clarified Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation Deputy Director Mike
 McAlister. "All we're doing is satisfying our regulations."
   Beginning next week, federal ONHIR officials will begin visiting about 14
 residents of Dineh homesites on the Hopi Partition Land where no eligible
 people signed into an Accommodation Agreement lease with the Hopi Tribe.
 ONHIR officials will not be delivering eviction notices, but rather a
 notice which allows the residents 30 days to decide whether to relocate or
 sign an AA. After the 30 days have passed, ONHIR officials will return
 again to deliver a 90 day "notice to vacate" to residents who still have
 not taken any legally recognizable action towards either relocating or
 signing an AA lease.
   After the terms of the 30^^day and 90^^day notices, a total of at least
 120 days, either the US Justice Department or the Hopi Tribe can decide
 whether to go to a federal court to request an order of eviction for Dineh
 HPL relocation and AA resisters.
   "An eviction notice must be issued by a court of competent jurisdiction,"
 McAlister said. In this case, since the reservations are federal trust
 land, the presiding court would be the federal court.
   Neither the US Justice Department nor the Hopi Tribe has indicated
 whether they intend to follow up with requests to federal court for
 eviction notices. McAlister noted that if those parties do file for
 eviction notices, Dineh HPL residents of homesites without an AA lease will
 still have the opportunity to fight the eviction case in the court.
   Katherine Hazard, US Justice Department attorney, encourages residents of
 HPL homesites without a lease and who do not want to sign an AA to work
 with ONHIR.
   "If people want to have a voice in selecting where their relocation house
 is going to be, then they should work with the relocation office to select
 a site," she said. "If people don't cooperate in selecting a relocation
 homesite, a home will be provided in the New Lands."
   ONHIR recently denied certification to a number of AA signers who applied
 for relocation, and those people may have the opportunity to appeal those
 decisions. After February 1. 2000, the end of the three^^year trial period
 for the AA, ONHIR will no longer be accepting new applications for
 relocation.
   HPL residents with our without an AA lease, whether or not they have
 already been certified to relocate, have until that date to continue with
 their federal relocation procedures. Anyone still intending to relocate
 through ONHIR must take action before February 1, 2000.
 ===========================================================
 Write letters to and/or call and fax:
 
 Hopi Tribal Chairman Wayne Taylor
 P.O. Box 123, Kykotsmovi, AZ  86039 USA
 001(520) 734 9497  Fax: (520) 734 6665
 
 Rodney McVey, Superintendent
 Hopi BIA Agency
 P.O. Box 158,
 Keams Canyon, AZ  86034 USA
 001(520) 738 2225 & fax# is: (520) 738-2249
 
 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT OFFICE OF NAVAJO AND HOPI INDIAN RELOCATION
 Christopher J. Bavasi, Executive Director
 P.O. Box KK, 201 E. Birch,
 Flagstaff, Arizona 86002 USA
 001(520) 779-2721       Fax (520) 774-1977
 
 The Phoenix Regional Office of the BIA,
 Wayne Nordwall, Regional Director
 P.O. Box 10, Phoenix, AZ  85001 USA
 001(602) 379 6600 , fax: (602) 379 3886
 email: wayne-nordwall@mail.bia.gov
 
 (Phoenix is the regional office for the BIA.)(His men are making  threats
 and enforcing genocidal confiscation of wood and wood cutting materials)
 They are forcibly withholding vital life sus
 materials from these families. We must stop the harassment and forcible
 relocation, aka genocide of the traditional Dineh resisters. Let your
 voices be heard,  Cry Out for Justice and Take Action!!!!
 
 Kelsey Begaye, President of the Navajo Nation
 P.O. Box 9000,
 Window Rock, AZ  86515 USA
 001(520) 871 6352 = Fax: (520) 871 4025
 (Request a Congressional Oversight Committee Investigation on the
 Relocation Legislation.)
 
 Office of Navajo/Hopi Land Commission
 PO Box 2549,
 Window Rock,
 Arizona 86515 USA
 001(520) 871-6441/6446, fax (520) 871-7297
 (Request a Congressional Oversight Committee Investigation on the
 Relocation Legislation.)
 
 Kevin Grover,  Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Indian Affairs 1849 C St NW,
 Washington DC 20240 USA
 001(202)-208-7163, fax 202-208-6334 [BIA]
 email: webmastr@snake2.cr.usgs.gov
 
 Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit
 Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street
 N.W., Washington, DC 20240 USA
 email Bruce_Babbitt@IOS.DOI.GOV Office of the
 Secretary of the Interior: exsec@ios.doi.gov
 
 Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
 Chair, Senate Committee on Indian Affairs,
 SR-380 Russell Building, Washington, D.C.  20510 USA
 (Request a Congressional Oversight Committee Investigation on the
 Relocation Legislation.)
 :-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
     S.I.S.I.S.   Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
         P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
         EMAIL: SISIS@envirolink.org
         WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html
 
 --------- "RE: Cherokees Preserving Language" ---------
 
 Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 10:54:31 -0600
 From: "John Berry"<berryj@okway.okstate.edu>
 Subj: (FWD)Indian News 11-27-98
    Roger Iron Cloud
    FirstNations Listserv
    202.358.3252
    rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov
 
 Cherokees preserving language
 c.  Tulsa World
 11/27/98
   CHEROKEE, N.C. (AP) -- Robert Bushyhead grew up speaking Cherokee and has
 spent the latter part of his life working to keep the language alive.
   Bushyhead, 85, and his daughter spend each weekday at a log cabin working
 on the Kituhwa Language Project, an effort by the Eastern Band of the
 Cherokee.  Kituhwa is one of the principal dialects of the Cherokee
 language.
   "Dad is my key resource person. There are other native speakers who come
 in and help a lot, but nobody around here is as strong in both Cherokee and
 English as my father," said Jean Bushyhead, the project director. "He hardly 
 hears anymore, but he wants to help any way he can."
   The project started in 1994 through the Cherokee Central School system
 with a combination of state, federal and private grant money. The tribal
 government took over financial responsibility for the project in 1996 as a
 part of its then-new cultural-resources division.
   Recently, the Bushyheads worked on a computerized- voice dictionary of
 the Cherokee language. The dictionary, which contains about 2,000 entries,
 features the pronunciation of a word in both Cherokee and English by
 Bushyhead or one of the other native speakers working with the project. The
 word is then used in a sentence to provide context.
   While making an entry in the computerized dictionary, Robert Bushyhead
 often repeats the word or phrase several times to make sure he gets the
 pronunciation exactly right. In spoken Cherokee, a word or phrase's meaning 
 can change with even a slight shift in tone by the speaker.
   "Inflection is so important. Change the inflection and you've said
 something other than what you wanted," he said.
   Bushyhead, like most members of his generation, learned to speak Cherokee
 as his first language. However, because children at that time would be
 punished by teachers at the reservation's government boarding school if
 they spoke Cherokee, the language began to be replaced by English in daily
 conversation.
   "Many of the older ones didn't teach their children so their kids wouldn't
 have to go through what they did at school," Bushyhead said.
   Lessons now for the Cherokee Central School System feature a native
 speaker, with a wolf puppet and some children. Videotapes ensure that the
 elementary-school students get a daily dose of Cherokee.
   Although resuscitating the language has been tedious work, Jean Bushyhead
 said that she and her father are encouraged by the progress they have seen.
   "The younger kids don't have any trouble with the pronunciation," she
 said.  "They just blurt it out and don't worry about it. If you speak to
 them in Cherokee, they'll speak back."
      
 --------- "RE: Yankton Sioux Tribal Court Issues Injunction" ---------
 
 Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 10:54:31 -0600
 From: "John Berry"<berryj@okway.okstate.edu>
 Subj: (FWD)Indian News 11-27-98
    Roger Iron Cloud
    FirstNations Listserv
    202.358.3252
    rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov
      
 Yankton Sioux Tribal Court issues injunction against new leaders
  c. AP
 11-23-98 
   WAGNER, S.D. (AP)  The Yankton Sioux Tribal Court has issued a temporary
 injunction against those who took office after two leaders were ousted.
   On Nov. 14 the general council suspended the tribe's Business and Claims
 Committee Chairman Steven Cournoyer Jr. and Vice Chairman Robert Cournoyer
 for alleged violations of the tribe's constitution and bylaws.
   Pro-tem Chairman Ellsworth Chytka, of Lake Andes, said there was concern
 about significant pay raises for members of the committee, which is the
 legislative branch of the tribal government.
   But in a ruling issued Friday, the tribal court said the tribe's general
 council did not follow the proper procedure in publicizing the meeting
 during which the leaders were suspended.
   "Immediate and irreparable harm may come to the Yankton Sioux Tribe if
 there is confusion over authority of the committee and its members to act
 on behalf of the tribe," the court wrote in its decision.
   The court said the Cournoyers were back in office, but they cannot vote
 on any matter relating to the injunction or the defendants, including
 Chytka.
 
 --------- "RE: Clergymen Arrive With Chiapas Aid" ---------
 
 Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 10:54:31 -0600
 From: "John Berry"<berryj@okway.okstate.edu>
 Subj: (FWD)Indian News 11-27-98
    Roger Iron Cloud
    FirstNations Listserv
    202.358.3252
    rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov
 
 Clergymen Arrive With Chiapas Aid
 c. AP
 November 26, 1998
   SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (AP) -- Thirty American clergymen have
 traveled to the southern state of Chiapas to deliver supplies and medicine
 to those who sympathize with Zapatista rebels.
   Lucius Walker, a spokesman for the Chicago-based Pastors for Peace, said
 12 tons of aid will be distributed in towns where support for the rebels
 runs high, including in Chenalho, Altamirano, Las Margaritas and San
 Andres Larrainzar. The clergymen arrived Wednesday.
   Mexican law bans foreigners from participating in domestic politics and
 the Mexican government has imposed travel restrictions on foreigners in
 Chiapas.
   Dozens of foreign political activists and observers were expelled
 earlier this year under allegations that they had interfered in the rebel
 conflict.
   In February, Mexico deported the former director of Pastors for Peace,
 Tom Hansen, saying that he had violated terms of his visa. Nevertheless,
 Walker said his group this time had permission to speak to Indian leaders
 and government officials.
   "We are not categorized as observers, but as pastors we are not deaf nor
 blind and we will try to see and listen to what is happening," he said.
   The Zapatista National Liberation Army staged a week long uprising in
 January 1994 to seek greater rights for the state's impoverished Indians.
 The rebels themselves have remained hidden in Chiapas' Lacandona jungle.
   Earlier this week, rebel negotiators ended their latest round of peace
 talks with the government with no conclusive outcome.
      
 -------- "RE: Presentation by Enlace Civil Regarding War Displaced" --------
 
 Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 16:33:45 -0800
 From: NCDM <moonlight@igc.org>
 Subj: Presentation by Enlace Civil, A.C.
 
   UUCP email
 
 Presentation by Enlace Civil, A.C., to the Encuentro between Civil Society
 and the EZLN,
 November 19, 1998
 
 THE WAR DISPLACED AND MILITARIZATION IN CHIAPAS
   The Mexican government has not resolved the structural causes of injustice
 and inequality which gave rise to the armed conflict in Chiapas.  Instead,
 it has opted for the growing militarization of all the rural areas, which
 has led not only to the violation of individual rights, but also to the
 systematic violation of the collective rights of the indigenous
 communities.
 
 A State of Law should fulfill the following points:
   Respect the precepts which derive from the Constitution, the
 Supreme Law of the country, whose observance involves not only that
 the governed should be subject to legislation, but that, primarily, the
 authorities should be subordinate, and carry out their activities, in
 conformity with the law.
   The unrestricted respect for the division of Powers, and the
 fundamental aim of protecting and guaranteeing respect for Human
 Rights.
 
 Militarization and Paramilitarization
   The number of Mexican Army troops in the state of Chiapas is estimated
 to be 70,000, almost a third of the entire national army (figures from the
 National Intermediation Commission, March of 1998).
   The counterinsurgency orders established by the Federal Army, as the
 Department of National Defense's "Chiapas Campaign Plan 1994" makes
 explicit, notes as a key objective: "The breaking of the support
 relationship which exists between the population and the transgressors of
 the law."
   On December 22, 1998, in Acteal, municipality of Chenalho, 45 indigenous
 persons were assassinated in cold blood by paramilitary groups, created
 under the protection of the militarization.  The Mexican government
 considered this massacre to be a consequence of "intra and inter-community
 conflicts", and, instead of pursuing the guilty and holding them
 responsible, it exploited it in order to reinforce the military presence in
 the entire state.
   The chiapaneco indigenous communities have suffered the excesses of the
 groups which make up the so-called Mixed Operations Bases (BOM), which
 include the Federal Army, the State Public Security agencies, the State and
 Federal Judicial Police, in addition to the immigration police, most
 specifically in those places where there are Zapatista Army of National
 Liberation (EZLN) sympathizers.
   The consequences of this practice have been the forced displacement of
 the population in various municipalities, which has risen to 20,000, and
 the proliferation of the paramilitary bands.
   In Chiapas there is not a state of law, but rather a state of latent war.
 Daily life is affected in all arenas by the military omnipresence and by
 the threat of incursions, detentions, assassinations and rapes.
   Freedom of movement does not exist in Chiapas:  the military, police
 and paramilitary checkpoints prevent the campesinos suspected of being
 zapatistas from moving about the roads.
   Prostitution and drug addiction, nonexistent prior to 1994, are leading
 to the breakdown of indigenous communities close to the military camps.
 Illnesses previously unknown to the campesinos, such as AIDS, are spreading
 with the soldiers' presence.  Involuntary pregnancies, the destruction of
 the nuclear family, abuse and the selling of women - are some of the
 consequences of this state of war.
   United States congressperson, Bobby Rush, after a trip to the indigenous
 communities of Chiapas, indignantly exclaimed last June:  "When the schools
 are turned into barracks, democracy is a farce".
 
 THE WAR DISPLACED OF THE SELVA
   With the February 9, 1995 military offensive, and the army's incursion
 into the Selva Lacandona, thousands of indigenous rebel sympathizers, or
 those opposed to the official party, took refuge in the mountains in order
 to avoid repression..  The majority of them managed to return to their
 villages a little later, when the army left their villages and established
 themselves on the roads.  But in some parts of the canadas, the army never
 withdrew:  such is the case in Guadalupe Tepeyac, where the army set up two
 large barracks and checkpoints.  The residents of Guadalupe have still not
 been able to return to their homes and are living in refuge in the selva,
 in a new village.  They have paid dearly for having been the rebel capital
 during 1994.
   Currently, 2000 persons (according to surveys made by Enlace Civil, A.C.)
 still remain in refuge away from their homes, in other towns in the Selva
 Lacandona.
 
 THE WAR DISPLACED OF THE NORTHERN ZONE
   At the end of 1995, with the San Andres talks consolidated and with the
 entire state militarized, the government begins a dirty and shameless war
 by the hands of the paramilitary groups.  In the Northern zone, the Peace
 and Justice paramilitary group brings death and terror to the campesino
 EZLN sympathizers and Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) activists. 
 Thousands of chol indigenous flee from their communities.  Along the roads
 and the highways, Peace and Justice establishes checkpoints parallel with
 those of the Mexican army and prevents freedom of movement with absolute
 impunity.  Only those opposed to the government and zapatista support bases
 are detained and jailed.  The Cerro Hueco jail, in the capital of Chiapas,
 Tuxtla Gutierrez, is filled with zapatista sympathizers and "The Voice of
 Cerro Hueco" prisoners organization is born.
   As a consequence of Peace and Justice's impunity, 5000 indigenous in the
 Northern zone abandon their villages and are living in refuge.
 
 THE DISPLACED OF LOS ALTOS OF CHIAPAS
   From the time the San Andres dialogue was interrupted, in September of
 1996, the same counterinsurgency strategy as in the Northern zone, began in
 Los Altos of Chiapas, implemented by the army and the police.  PRI youths
 are recruited and trained, and special benefits are offered to those who
 participate in the newly formed paramilitary groups.  Little by little,
 fear and coercion begin to claim their first victims:  thousands of
 indigenous families are displaced from their communities, for not wanting,
 or being able, to pay the fees charged by the paramilitaries, after
 repeated death threats and the firing of intimidating shots.  Their houses
 are burned, their harvests looted.  The number of war displaced in the
 municipality of Chenalho grows at a horrifying rate during 1997, without
 the government taking any action.
   The Acteal massacre was a massacre foretold.  Forty-five persons, the
 majority women and children, members of Las Abejas civil organization, died
 at the hands of paramilitaries.
   The news of the massacre spread throughout the distraught municipality of
 Chenalho.  An exodus of thousands and thousands of campesinos began after
 Acteal, and the result is that 10,5000 persons are currently living in
 refugee camps around Polho, the rebel capital of this municipality.
   With each government offensive against the Autonomous Municipalities, the
 number of displaced grows.
 - On April 11, 1998, a military and police operation dismantled the seat of
 the Rebel and Autonomous Municipality of Ricardo Flores Magon, in the
 community of Taniperla.  This operation left dozens detained and
 imprisoned, foreigners expelled from the country and hundreds of men
 displaced in the mountains.
 -  On May 1, 1998, a similar operation attacked the Autonomous Municipality
 of Tierra y Libertad, on the Guatemala border.  The establishment of the
 police and the military in the towns, and the constant patrols and
 checkpoints, led dozens of families to seek refuge away from their homes and
 villages.
 - On June 10, 1998, the police and army, along with some paramilitaries,
 attacked the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan de la Libertad, and
 assassinated 9 campesinos.  The women and children fled to the mountains,
 terrorized.  And so the numbers of the displaced increase.
 
 CONCLUSIONS
   The indigenous communities of Chiapas are suffering the consequences of
 the low intensity war being carried out against them, which is expressed
 through the high level of militarization, the appearance of paramilitary
 groups and the forced displacement of the people.
   The Human Rights violations are not happening in isolation:  they are
 provoked by the state of conflict and the climate of violence which prevail
 in the State.  The indigenous communities are living in resistance under
 psychological torture by the military agencies.
 IT IS FOR THIS THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR THE MEXICAN NATION TO DEMAND AND TO
 PROMOTE THE RENEWAL OF A DIGNIFIED PEACE PROCESS, WHICH WILL END THE DIRTY
 AND CONTINUOUS WAR WHICH THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES OF CHIAPAS ARE
 SUFFERING.
 
 --------- "RE: Drug War Casualty" ---------
 
 Date: Tue, 01 Dec 1998 00:48:59 -0600
 From: AKICITA <Akicita@nstar.net>
 Subj: I lost my job today.
 
   Newsgroup: alt.native
 
   Some of you know that I was the supervisor for the Shawnee Tribe's
 drug prevention program for tribal housing. Our program did anti-drug
 education, elder outreach, cultural preservation, arts, counseling,
 domestic violence prevention, nutrition counseling, homework assistance,
 and social programs with residents of Indian housing. We all know how
 under-served Indians are in rural areas.
   Well, all that came to a screeching halt today. The simple fact is that
 our funding has been pulled, and we had no warning. In fact, this is yet
 another casualty of Republican budget cuts for Indian programs and drug
 prevention grants. HUD, who funded us, called our program "one of the
 most exemplary and praiseworthy programs we've funded," and our housing
 manager praised us as some of the most ethical and effective workers in
 our area of concentration. The best rewards I ever got were the drawings
 and candy the kids brought us as gifts after we'd helped them, and one
 elder gave me a hug and said "Bless you! You're helping us and you're
 not stealing from Indian people!"
   I am writing these things not to brag, but to remember the triumphs that
 we Indians accomplished in an age of struggle. The program was not MY
 program, it was a collaboration between many people, like tipi poles
 that depend on one another to make something strong. 
   Today, without warning, we were told that our positions were no longer
 funded, effective immediately. Our town has NO other comparable services
 for Indian people. We were the sole source of medical transportation for
 many, and the sole force to promote sobriety and cultural pride in a
 run-down town. Now there is nothing.
   I am hurt and angry. I was angry to hear Newt Gingrich give his
 stepping-down speech which said "we need to spend less money on drug
 wars and more money on drug prevention"--when HE led the party that cut
 prevention funds. John McCain (R-AZ) was right: "Indian people are
 taking it in the neck." 
   That town is suffering, and kids were just starting to respond to our
 message and change how they were living their lives. We are in the grip
 of alcohol and drug abuse, with no remaining defense. We were the
 Shawnee tribes ONLY anti-drug program. 
   I think prayers are needed. I need your help. I am paralyzed with shock
 and hurt, and I hope you can understand my need for your prayers. I'm
 not wanting to impose on your time by asking for lengthy replies or
 anything, just a note of prayer and maybe put some kinnikinnic outside
 for me tonight.
 
 --------- "RE: Oneida Buy Indian Country Today" ---------
 
 Date: 98-12-04 11:20:32 EST
 Subj: N.Y. Tribe Buys Indian Newspaper
 From: AOL News
 
 N.Y. Tribe Buys Indian Newspaper
 .c The Associated Press
   SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Indian Country Today, one of the only American
 Indian newspapers financed independently of a tribe, has been sold to a
 wealthy New York state tribe that owns a thriving casino.
   The sale of the weekly paper was announced Thursday by publisher Tim
 Giago. The purchase price was not disclosed.
   Giago, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, started the newspaper as the
 Lakota Times in 1981. It was sold at all reservations in South Dakota,
 North Dakota, Nebraska and Montana. The paper changed its name in 1992,
 and later opened bureaus in New Mexico and Washington state, to reflect
 its intent to serve a national tribal readership.
   Ray Halbritter, chief executive officer of the Oneida Indian Nation,
 which purchased the newspaper, said the paper's editorial goals will
 include addressing the mass media's stereotypes of American Indians. He
 said he hopes it will be a voice for all American Indians.
   His tribe operates the Turning Stone Casino, a resort near Syracuse, N.Y.
 , popular not just for its gambling but for its many retail shops,
 restaurants and 285-room luxury hotel.
   He said the tribe has set up an independent corporation to run the paper.
   "It is important to keep tribal politics out of it," Halbritter said.
 "It is our goal to maintain it as an objective, credible newspaper. If
 it's not perceived as objective and credible, it cannot succeed."
   However, Linda Kenney, communications professor at the University of
 North Dakota in Grand Forks, N.D., said the newspaper may lose its unique
 voice.
   "Tim has had the luxury of scolding people and talking his mind and
 saying whatever he wants," she said. "I don't think that could happen
 under a tribally run paper."
   Giago said he would remain with the paper for six months and as a
 consultant for three years.
   He said the tribe plans to keep the South Dakota office but may move the
 main operation to New York state next year. The tribe also plans to reopen
 its news bureau in Washington and hire more employees, he said.
 AP-NY-12-04-98 1119EST
 
 --------- "RE: New Innu Nation President" ---------
 
 Date: Thu, 3 Dec 1998 07:59:57 -0330
 From: Larry Innes <innuenv@web.net>
 Subj: News: CBC National feature on new Innu Nation president
 
 Mailing List:    Innu People Forum list <INNU-L@YORKU.CA>
 
 [For those of you with RealPlayer capabilities on your browsers, CBC Online
 has the video footage for this interview on their www site:
 http://www.newsworld.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/
 news/1998/12/02/innu981202
   In the full clip, the reporter also congratulates the Innu for 'ending
 low-level flying over their territory' in the report. This, of course,
 hasn't happened. At least not yet. - ed]
 
 New Innu leader overcomes criminal past
 WebPosted Wed Dec 2 21:55:16 1998
 SHESHATSHIU, LABRADOR -  David Nuke is the new leader of the Innu nation.
 He took on the role this week. But it's a job he got in spite of his past..
   New leader has lengthy criminal record Nuke has an extensive criminal
 record, with more than twenty convictions, including rape, assault robbery,
 forgery and fraud.
   It's not a past he's proud of, but he doesn't shy away from it either. "I
 have nothing to hide," he told CBC News, "my people know where I came from,
 what my life was like and to grow up in a small community everybody knows
 about me and yet they chose me to be their leader."
   It seems people in his hometown see him as more of a victim than a
 criminal; a victim of alcoholism.
   In fact, Nuke says alcohol was behind all of his criminal problems. Now,
 though, he says he's been sober for four months, and that he plans to stay
 that way.
   Even the man who lost the Innu leadership to Nuke hopes things work out. I
 don't see it as a big issue." says Peter Penashue I think it's one of those
 things that you just have to put the past behind you."
 There are others in the community who agree. They feel that Nuke's history
 could make him good leader. He's experienced the problems of alcohol and
 crime first hand, overcome them and moved on.
 
 --------- "RE: Gustafsen Lake/A Classic Coverup Continues" ---------
 
 Date: Sun, 6 Dec 1998 00:07:48 -0800
 From: SISIS@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
 Subj: Gustafsen Lake: a classic coverup continues
 
 :-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
 GUSTAFSEN LAKE: A CLASSIC COVERUP CONTINUES
 The Unacknowledged Source, University of Victoria Graduate
 Students' Society Newspaper for December 1998. gsscom@uvic.ca
 by
 c. morabito
 More than three years after the largest para-military operation in Canadian
 history, national and international support for an independent public
 inquiry into all aspects of the Gustafsen Lake standoff continues to grow.
 Federal NDP leader Alexa McDonough, National Campus/Community Radio
 Association (NCRA), Teaching Support Staff Union of Simon Fraser University
 (TSSU), the UVic Graduate Students' Society, and Victoria's CUPE Local 50
 are some of the latest groups to demand government accountability for the
 actions the RCMP and army took against 18 people, mostly native, to remove
 them from the Ts'peten Sundance site on unceded Shuswap territory in the
 summer of 1995.
   Also, Democracy Street, a group comprised of APEC protestors has formally
 expressed outrage over the abuses of power at Gustafsen Lake. In an Oct.
 29, 1998 letter to premiers Clark and Harris, and Prime Minister Chretien,
 Democracy Street demanded an independent public inquiry into Gustafsen
 Lake, Ipperwash, and APEC. They noted that: "Gustafsen Lake was the largest
 para-military action in Canadian history and a heinous abuse of force as
 77,000 rounds, including [internationally prohibited] hollow point bullets,
 were fired into a small group of traditional Sundancers occupying unceded
 Shuswap territory. Armored personnel carriers and land mines were deployed.
 Yet according to Premier Glen Clark, in his response to CUPE Local 50
 (shown below), the events at Gustafsen Lake were dealt with appropriately
 by the criminal justice system."
   Anthony Hall, a Native Studies professor from the University of
 Lethbridge, disagrees. He wrote in the April 1997 Canadian Forum that:
 "The allegations of police and government wrong-doings are so serious that
 there is no question there should be a public inquiry into whether or not
 the rule of law was respected."
   Bill Lightbown, co-founder of the United Native Nations and spokesperson
 for the Ts'peten Defence Committee, accuses the NDP of a massive coverup of
 the crimes alleged to have been committed by the RCMP at Gustafsen Lake.
 According to Lightbown, "The NDP provincial government cannot ignore its
 duty to the Canadian public by continuing to stonewall the requirement for
 an independent public inquiry into what happened at Gustafsen Lake." Even
 the federal government has placed the responsibility for an inquiry onto
 the province. Recently disgraced Solicitor General Andy Scott, in a Sept
 15, 1998 letter responding to a demand for a public inquiry, wrote: "As you
 may be aware, the administration of justice is within the constitutional
 jurisdiction of provincial governments... Such matters fall outside the
 jurisdiction of the Solicitor General of Canada... I would like to point
 out that all levels of government who have responsibility for law
 enforcement concentrated their efforts toward a peaceful resolution of the
 events at Gustafsen Lake."
   It seems, then, that stonewalling is precisely what premier Clark and the
 NDP are doing now. Last March, however, Andrew Petter, Intergovernmental
 Affairs Minister for BC, insisted that: "The provinces do not have the
 authority to make inquiries into the conduct of the RCMP. If there were to
 be such an inquiry, it would come more from the federal government." If
 both levels of government are going to play hot potato with Gustafsen Lake,
 then what body or commission, independent of state power, can British
 Columbians or Canadians rely on to hold governments and police accountable
 for crimes against humanity, whether committed domestically or
 internationally? Some people believe that if Canada is to progress as a
 rule-of-law nation, it must openly confront its past and present in some
 kind of Truth Commission.
   South Africa, which has as dark and ugly a racist history as Canada, has
 recently subjected itself to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to
 address the past criminal abuses of state power in the hope of preventing
 recurrence. Canada, however, is a settler state that still lives in denial
 of its genocidal past and present. As well, most Canadians know little
 about their government's Indian policies, or that the policies of the
 present are a continuation of those of the past; or even that this land is
 still being stolen from the Indian peoples, who remain jurisdictionally
 sovereign on territories not purchased by Canada through treaty.
   A TREATY is a formal agreement between two or more sovereign nations.
 Since neither British Columbia or any Indian Act Band Council constitutes a
 sovereign nation, Canadians don't have to think too hard to understand that
 the modern treaty-making process is fraudulent and illegal. And in the face
 of what the Canadian and BC governments have admitted, both past and
 present, the treaty process isn't just fraudulent and illegal, but
 genocidal.
   In 1920, Duncan Campbell Scott, of the Dept. of Indian Affairs, stated the
 Canadian government's intention toward Indian peoples with amazing honesty:
 "Our object," he said, "is to continue until there is not a single Indian
 that has not been absorbed into the body politic of Canada and there is no
 more Indian question. That is the whole purpose of our legislation."
   In 1998, the information used to sell the Nisga'a Final Agreement
 completely and proudly affirms this genocidal intention by declaring that
 the sovereign Nisga'a nation will be reduced to the equivalent of a
 municipality, still effectively controlled by BC and Canada. Since most
 British Columbians are unaware of the international and constitutional laws
 that guarantees Indian sovereignty, they cannot appreciate the genocidal
 triumph of the Nisga'a Final Agreement (NFA). Even the right-wingers,
 either for appearance or their own ignorance (or bottomless greed), are
 complaining that the Indians are getting too much. And the left-wingers,
 through their own ignorance, insist they must support the Nisga'a Final
 Agreement (i.e.demise of the Nisga'a nation), because the right-wing
 appears to oppose it. Regardless, few non-Indians understand the severity
 of it all; however, many Indians do and their opposition to the NFA has
 been effectively silenced by mainstream media.
   Saul Terry is the past president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.
 Recently he wrote an open letter to all Indian peoples and Canadians to
 explain the real purpose of the BC treaty process. Terry wrote: "Treaties
 and their certainty provisions are really about `TAKING OUT' (extinguishing)
 the Indian Nations. Changing Nations to mere delegated village council or
 federal municipalities. In some parts of the world it is now called ethnic
 cleansing"...It is practised to a much more subtle level upon our people
 but it is still genocide."
   Understood in this context: extinguishment, the simplicity of the
 Gustafsen Lake siege burns right through the propaganda and misinformation
 that criminalizes any native resistance to Canadian genocide. Don't natives,
 like all other human beings, have the right to resist policies that seek to
 destroy them quickly through violence, or slowly through legislation?
 Hasn't the United Nations declared decolonization and self-determination an
 internationally recognized right of all peoples?
   Before the RCMP began their assault at Gustafsen Lake, they were informed
 their attempts to evict the Indians from the Ts'peten Sundance camp would
 be illegal according to international and constitutional law. In a letter
 Aug. 8, 1995, the lawyer for the Indians, Dr. Bruce Clark, wrote to RCMP
 Staff Sgt Sarich that: "The domestic courts from the Supreme Court of
 Canada on down are just refusing to address the law because it finds them
 personally guilty of complicity in treason, fraud and genocide. Those
 courts have assumed a jurisdiction that clearly and plainly they do not
 lawfully enjoy, and have exercised the usurped jurisdiction to implement
 domestic laws' which are in fact not laws but crimes." Dr. Clark, an
 internationally renowned authority on international and constitutional law
 pertaining to Indian peoples, went on to write: "My clients and I now turn
 to you, the police, for protection against a legal establishment that in
 willful blindness has set its face against the rule of law. There is no
 middle ground. You may choose just to follow orders that are criminal or,
 alternatively, to defend the rule of law against those orders."
   The RCMP responded by just following the orders of the BC government,
 namely BC Attorney General and Human Rights Minister, who at the time of
 the standoff said he was "in constant contact with the RCMP."
   The RCMP would soon declare war on the Indians and proceed, with massive
 force, to attempt to kill the men, women, children and elders at Gustafsen
 Lake, and to set an example for Indians in general about the dangerous
 consequences of challenging the continuing colonialism and genocidal
 control of the Canadian settler-state. The federal and provincial
 governments both rejected any involvement by an impartial, independent,
 international adjudication process to settle the conflict at Gustafsen
 Lake. They even rejected the presence of neutral peacekeepers because both
 the BC and Canadian governments know BC has been in violation of
 international and constitutional law for most of its history. This is why
 Ujjal Dosanjh responded to the possibility of outside observers with the
 infamous declaration: "There shall be no alien intervention into the
 affairs of this state."
   Dosanjh, like all other politicians, knows that in an independent court,
 the legal arguments of the Indians could not be suppressed. The domestic
 system has effectively silenced these arguments for decades, and in the
 subsequent court processes relating to the Gustafsen Lake siege, the BC
 judiciary revealed that it is capable of anything. Irregularities, not
 believed possible in any jurisdiction, were legion in the barely reported
 8-month trial. Irregularities such as denying several defendants their
 counsel of choice, Dr. Bruce Clark. Though this is an internationally
 recognized human right, virtually nobody in Canada said anything about this
 violation. Surely it is worth asking why this was so.
   But before the trial, Dr. Clark was assaulted in judge Nick Friesen's
 court for attempting to represent his clients: the first Indians who came
 out of Gustafsen Lake. He was also subjected to an RCMP smear campaign in
 an effort to discredit his legal arguments; and in the spring of 1997 he
 was imprisoned for three months by Judge Friesen for refusing to recant his
 jurisdictional arguments and indictments of the domestic crown courts. Dr.
 Clark recently called BC, "A theatre of the absurd operating totally
 outside the rule of law."
   Historically, the BC judiciary, when dealing with Indian issues, has
 lied outright and contradicted itself repeatedly in order to stonewall the
 challenges to its jurisdiction. This was clear again during the Gustafsen
 Lake trial when William Ignace, known better by his Shuswap name,
 Wolverine, challenged the jurisdiction of the BC courts. Ignace cited the
 Indian Provision of the Royal Proclamation Act of 1763 (partially shown
 below), which clearly states that until an Indian territory has been
 purchased by the Crown, non-Indians cannot legally occupy land, never mind
 subject Indians to the jurisdiction of the Crown. The Gustafsen trial
 judge, Bruce Josephson, eventually disallowed all defence arguments before
 sequestering the jury.
   Months later, the BC Court of Appeal would respond to Ignace's legal
 challenge by maintaining: "The Royal Proclamation has never applied to this
 Province, the appellants cannot rely upon the Royal Proclamation as support
 for their position."
   On November 11, 1998, the Vancouver Sun reported that Prime Minister
 Chretien, after promising to quickly implement the Nisga'a Final Agreement,
 said: "It [the NFA] is an important thing.... I believe in it personally
 and it is an obligation of the government and it is a constitutional
 obligation [the Royal Proclamation]. . . that the King of England gave us
 in 1763." This from a man, who in his 1985 autobiography, Straight from the
 Heart said that his time as Minister of Indian Affairs [under Trudeau in
 1969] was "like being one of the last emperors of North America." No wonder
 the Indians have demanded their cases be argued in an independent court.
   In a Report from the Federal Minister of Justice to BC, dated January 19,
 1875, in which BC was informed of the illegality of its policies toward
 Indian lands, Canada quoted to BC the entire Royal Proclamation Act and
 then said: "Considering then, these several features of the case, that no
 surrender or cession of their territorial rights, whether the same be of a
 legal or equitable nature, has been ever executed by the Indian tribes of
 the Province, that they allege that the reservations of land made by the
 Government for their use have been arbitrarily so made, and are totally
 inadequate to their support and requirements, and without their assent,
 they are not averse to hostilities in order to enforce rights which it is
 impossible to deny them...."
   Apparently, over the last century BC has found it pretty easy to deny
 Indians their constitutional rights because Canada, legally obligated to
 guarantee such rights, and to protect Indian territories from encroachment
 by its provinces, has treasonably assisted and collaborated with the
 genocide in BC instead of stopping it.
   In an Aug 24, 1995 interview on CHNL Radio, Kamloops, RCMP Sgt. Peter
 Montague, who was the media liaison during Gustafsen Lake, said: "Basically
 the very foundations that Canadian society are built on, are threatened
 here and the RCMP is well aware of that."
   The RCMP were created 125 years ago for the express purpose of putting
 down Indian resistance to settlers spreading west, so the seriousness of
 Montague's statement cannot be disregarded. Genocidal policies are never
 accidental but they are rarely as openly celebrated by politicians as they
 are in Canada.
   So now, here we are, three years after Gustafsen Lake. Indian peoples are
 still under siege by British Columbia through a fraudulent treaty process
 that seeks to legitimize the theft of sovereign Indian lands. And William
 Ignace, a 67-year-old organic farmer, remains a political prisoner for
 opposing Canadian genocide. And the existing constitutional law with which
 he, and many other Indian people have challenged BC's jurisdiction in the
 past decade continues to be stonewalled by all levels of government and
 judiciary, national and provincial.
   In the face of growing national and international demands for a public
 inquiry into the Gustafsen Lake siege, the BC NDP continues to stonewall.
 It must be, then, that they oppose an open and independent inquiry into
 Gustafsen because such an inquiry would reveal their crimes while also
 potentially uncovering the dirty deeds and dirty history that guides
 Beautiful BC in its quest to extinguish the rights of Indian