From gars@netcom.com Thu Feb 10 23:15:44 2000 Date: Tue, 14 Dec 1999 19:12:42 -0800 (PST) From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews07.051 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ O ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) O o O / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ O o O (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O o o o o O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ VOLUME 07, ISSUE 051 O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' December 18, 1999 O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- Passamaquoddy frost fish moon O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, Cheyenne moon when wolves run together KANOHEDA ANIYVWIYA Ha-Sah-Sliltha Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin Un Chota Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min Aunchemokauhettittea Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) This issue contains articles from Nat-Film, Hawaii-Info, Minn-Ind, Triballaw, Innu-L & LPDC mailing lists; Newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email http://www.charlotte.com/topnews/pub/nativelaw.htm http://www.hcn.org/1999/dec06/dir/Western_Uranium_ha.html http://www.angelfire.com/nm/user1/user10.html http://members.stratos.net/cpetras 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 ++ There is also a hyperlinked version of the Current Issue at http://bearvisions.com/NativeNews/NEWS.html 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 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. "You will see many tears in this country. Then a great wind will come, a wind that will make a hurricane seem like a whisper. It will cleanse the earth and return it to its original state. That will be the punishment for what we've done to the Creation." __ Leon Shanandoah, Iroquois +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! There is a deliberate effort to keep Leonard Peltier's name out of mainstream media. I believe this, though I cannot prove it. Please consider all the many times there have been signs with his name on them, speakers with his false imprisonment as their topic, and yet not a single image or soundbite appeared in newspapers, on radio or television. There is a reason. Lies require darkness. They especially require that truth be kept in darkness. Do not let this silence you, though. Enough voices will be like the ant hill a small child foolishly keeps capping with pebbles. Eventually the force of all those small efforts combine to open a passage through which an angry hoard can then stream. What follows is a recount of one recent lapse by the media. It shows such breeches do occur, and it is important that we continue our efforts to make such occurrances possible. -------- Date: Friday, December 10, 1999 8:53 PM From: IMBURGIA Subj: WOW! Free Leonard Peltier/ Nelson Mandella News! I write this with tears of joy on my face! I just watched a news interview on channel 5 ( KING TV ) out of Seattle. The cameras focused in on some Leonard Peltier demonstraters with their big sign. Immediately, security people started ushering them out. Nelson Mandella was in the middle of his speech, but he stopped and said something like...I would rather you allow those people to stay! I just sat there feeling so grateful for such a wonderful man who made such a courageous stand. I had NEVER even once seen any Free Leonard Peltier signs on the news...even during the WTO conflict in Seattle...and I was watching closely! This was a FIRST! At least to my knowlege! I am overwhelmed with gratitude to Nelson Mandella who served 27 years in prison for being innocent. Surely, he, above anyone else, knows Leonards suffering. Surely he, above anyone else, has the right to say "STOP!" Let those people stay!" BRAVO! Sincerely, Spiritdove ~v~ =/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\= We already know there are still many without homes on Pine Ridge, this because of the tornadoes that struck July 4th. Many are living in tiny RV's on loan from FEMA. In 18 months even they will be gone. There is a simple solution. For a tax deductible donation of $595.00 through Pathways To Spirit, a Colorado non-profit organization, Carmeen Klausner, Director (970) 282-8573 you can place a mobile home on Pine Ridge. _-_-_-_ CRITICAL UPDATE _-_-_-_ I wanted to thank you again for posting the info about the mobile homes.... two are being taken up this morning, and we're not sure, cause of the weather what is next, but carmeen is still receiving donated homes. Unfortunately, the one trucker who was hauling at a reduced rate went to Texas for the winter so the best rate we can get now is 835 for a 12' wide or under. The larger ones require pilot car services and will cost us more. ( like about 1200) But any donation towards this will be very much appreciated. For additional information or to make donations contact: For the Red Shirt Community: Marvin Helper P.O. Box 312 Hermosa, SD 57744 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.. 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 8051 For information call 800 291-8474. email: agpmlc@aol.com >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. ** URGENT NOTE: Bonnie, who has given all for her people, is in need of a kidney transplant, and medical assistance until a transplant is possible. Donations for her kidney emergency may be sent to this same address. Peace! Night Owl , , Gary Night Owl gars@netcom.com (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@nanews.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30417, U.S.A. gars@crl.com ===w=w== Fax: 770-528-9643 gars@wolfstar.com ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Treasury Kept Backup - Minnehaha 25 Trial Resolved Copies of Deleted Data - Treatment from Indian - Agency Boss Slams the Healers for Veterans Bureau of Indian Affairs - Gift of the Iroquois - Mining Again On Navajo Land to the Creation of Nunavut - View from the Hogan Issue #8 - Mayan Indians Oppose - Boycott US Corporations Research into Plants Trading with Mexico - Tobin Eyes Offshore Gas Fields - U.S. Failed to Help in - The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty Fight Against Pima Plague - Anna Mae - Rising to Survival - Dennis Banks Memo - Peyote Law Has Navajos in Bind - In Remembrance of Anna Mae - Archaeologists Dig Up - Peltier's Gift Drive Tribal History for Pine Ridge - Tension Fills the Air at - Native Prisoner Fee Land Hearing - A Hundred Years Ago - Civil Rights Commission - Dancing in Black Hills - Poem: Spirit Dreams..Dust Remains - Hawaii United - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Independence Statement - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Treasury Kept Backup Copies of Deleted Data" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 05:08:16 -0500 (EST) From: gswanson@charlotteobserver.com () Subj: Please check out this story on charlotte.com http://www.charlotte.com/topnews/pub/nativelaw.htm Posted at 5:40 p.m. EST Thursday, December 9, 1999 Treasury kept backup copies of deleted data, government says By MATT KELLEY Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department kept backup copies of deleted computer files that could contain evidence in a lawsuit over American Indian trust funds, government lawyers said Thursday. The federal lawyers notified a court-appointed investigator Tuesday that Treasury workers had deleted computerized check records more than seven years old in June 1998. The Treasury Department has been under a court order since 1996 to preserve all records related to the trust accounts for individual Indians at the core of the multibillion dollar lawsuit. Treasury Department officials did more checking and found the backup copies of the data deleted in 1998, Justice Department lawyer Brian Ferrell wrote to the investigator, Alan Balaran. "The initial fear that data from the system was lost was unfounded," Ferrell wrote. The records at issue would help lawyers for the Indians find checks written to trust fund account holders during parts of 1990 and 1991. A group of Indians is suing over mismanagement of about 300,000 trust accounts now worth about $500 million. The accounts hold the proceeds of government-approved leases on Indian lands for activities such as grazing, logging, mining or oil drilling. --------- "RE: Agency Boss Slams the Bureau of Indian Affairs" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 07:47:13 -0600 From: berryj@okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 12-10-99 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Boss slams agency By JIM MYERS c. Tulsa World 12/9/99 The head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs says its clients have no reason to trust the government. WASHINGTON -- The Clinton administration's top-ranking American Indian said Wednesday that, based on history, neither tribes nor American Indian individuals have any reason to think that the federal government is acting in their best interests on any matter. "That is a reality," Kevin Gover, the head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, said, referring to more than a century of distrust generated between tribes and the U.S. government. "That is a lot of history and a lot of baggage that this agency has to live with." Gover, a native Oklahoman and member of the Pawnee tribe, was responding to a question about a recent report by a court-appointed special master that accused Treasury Department officials of destroying records on Indian trust accounts and then failing to come clean on their actions after they were discovered. The records were destroyed just months before a class-action lawsuit concerning the individual trust accounts went to trial. Citing the suit, Gover limited his remarks on the destruction of the records. "There was nothing indicating that Treasury or anybody else is going out searching for Indian trust records to destroy," he said. "It is sort of part of routine government record management. And so . . . there is not the massive cover-up. I don't think the government is capable of a secret conspiracy under any circumstances." Gover was asked what he would say to individuals whose trust accounts are the focus of the lawsuit and who already distrust the federal government. "Let me say first, after all this history, there is not a reason in the world for any Indian or any Indian tribe to believe that the United States government is trying to act in their best interests on any given matter," he said. "They have a right to be skeptical." Gover went on to express confidence that his agency has accepted the burden of turning those skeptics around. He pointed to the progress made in installing a complex computer system that will allow individuals to walk into any BIA office and ask to see their trust accounts. "It is happening. It is working," he said, conceding, however, that the new system also has had its problems. "We didn't get it exactly right on the first draft, but we are getting it right." Gover and others in the Clinton administration inherited the embattled 19th-century system of 300,000 individual trust accounts worth as much as $500 million, but they have taken their share of hits for its being in shambles. Account holders believe that they and their families have lost billions of dollars because of the historic mismanagement of the accounts. The accounts cover payments on 11 million acres held in trust by the U.S. government. On other issues, Gover also said his agency and the new administration of the Cherokee Nation, led by Principal Chief Chad Smith, are making progress toward resolving problems with the tribe's accounting system. "The change in administration doesn't mean that we are suddenly willing to release without strings attached the funding to which the Cherokee Nation is entitled," he said. Alleged problems with the tribe's accounting system were among those that plagued the tribe in recent years. At times, the BIA and even Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt were forced to try to resolve differences between former Chief Joe Byrd and his critics. "We have certainly sent every signal that we are grateful for sort of the restoration of order and normalcy . . . and we want to help as much as possible," Gover said. "But we've got to know that our money is well taken care of." He did not think the idea floated by Smith to send a delegate from the sovereign Cherokee Nation to Congress would work; at present, delegates are sent to Congress from various U.S. territories as well as the District of Columbia. "It would be wonderful if every tribe could have a delegate to Congress, but I don't think that is realistic," Gover said. "Were the Cherokee Nation to so propose, all 554 other tribes would be right behind them. I don't think Congress is quite prepared for the influx of advice." --------- "RE: Mining Again On Navajo Land" --------- Date: 12/7/99 2:19:40 PM Eastern Standard Time From: wlfskr@leba.net (Pat Morris) Subj: Mining Again On Navajo Land? http://www.hcn.org/1999/dec06/dir/Western_Uranium_ha.html Uranium haunts the Colorado Plateau A mining company promises to do it right this time by Andy Lenderman CROWNPOINT, N.M. - As a trademark New Mexico sunset paints pastels over this high desert town, it's hard to imagine that the poisonous legacy of uranium mining could be repeated here. During the 1950s and '60s, this town of about 2,000 near the Navajo Reservation was hit by a uranium mining boom. It left Navajos with polluted groundwater and high rates of birth defects and cancer, and miners and their families are still battling for federal compensation. "What uranium left is mainly heartbreak," says Mitchell Capitan, a board member of the nonprofit Eastern Dine' Against Uranium Mining (ENDAUM), a group of area residents. In late August, a proposal by Hydro Resources Inc. for three new uranium mines in the area gained partial approval from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It's the latest development in a decade-long fight over the company's plan (HCN, 9/30/96). The Navajo Nation's position on the mines has wavered, but opponents on and off the reservation say the mines threaten groundwater and the health of the 10,000 people, mostly Navajos, who live in the area. "Uranium has been a disaster," says Chris Shuey of the Southwest Research and Information Center, an environmental group based in Albuquerque. "It's hard to point to Navajos who have gotten wealthy off uranium." A new legacy? Yet Hydro Resources says the industry has cleaned up its act. "There is no opportunity for the legacy (of uranium) to be repeated," says former company president Dick Clement. The Albuquerque-based company uses a method called in situ leach mining, which Clement says reduces the spread of radioactive dust and contamination. After drilling underground wells, technicians inject a chemical solution into the aquifer. This removes uranium ore from surrounding rock and sucks it into a treatment plant for removal. "We've had a perfect record in terms of restoring conditions to what they were before we began operations," Clement says. Hydro Resources' parent company, Uranium Resources Inc. operates two similar mines in south Texas. Clement says the company will spend between $30-40 million if the project gets approval and reaches its full production level of 3 million pounds of uranium each year. At full capacity, the mine could employ 300 people in an area where unemployment levels can reach 50 percent. "We're one of the few companies actually interested in bringing economic development anywhere near the Navajo Nation," Clement says. For now, the courts seem to be favoring Hydro Resources. On Aug. 20, a judge for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the first of the mines, located near the tiny village of Church Rock. Larry King, another ENDAUM board member, says the judge's decision did not consider the livestock and people that draw water from the area. "I'm personally angry and upset," he says. "How could the judge refer to Church Rock as a vast desert, despite the fact that there are hundreds of families living within a two-mile radius of the Church Rock site?" ENDAUM and Southwest Research have appealed the ruling. An old battle Hydro Resources got another break on Oct. 27, when the New Mexico state water engineer's office granted the company's water-rights request. The tribe had vehemently opposed the move, since it will take water from ranchers and tribal members in one of the poorest and driest regions in the country. And a legal battle is pending over who can issue water discharge permits to the company. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has yet to grant a permit to Hydro Resources, and the company and the New Mexico State Environmental Department have sued the agency, claiming the state has authority to issue the permit. The long battle is getting old for Hydro Resources, and low uranium prices add to the frustration. Uranium goes for about $9.70 a pound now, but company officials say they need a $15 per pound price to make money. "There's always a limitation on what any company will do," says Clement. Mark Pelizza, who succeeded Clement as company president in October, says that if the price jumps and the water discharge permit fight is still held up in appeals court, the company may consider opening the mine anyway. The battle is getting old for ENDAUM, too. While cowboy tunes twang on his pickup radio, Capitan says he made his decision about the company a long time ago. "They're just like cancer. Once they get established, it's just going to spread." Says Capitan, "I'll never trust them. We're just not going to be pushed around anymore." http://wolfseeker.com http://www.insidetheweb.com/mbs.cgi/mb629759 http://www.sunlink.net/~wlfskr --------- "RE: View from the Hogan Issue #8" --------- Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999 11:48:35 -0600 From: Marc Frucht Subj: view from the hogan issue #8 forwarded by marco, ----====---- The View from the Hogan #8 Skinny Winds Month (November 1999) Notes from Big Mountain Ya'a'tee For new readers of View From The Hogan I offer a glossary of words used whose meaning may not be discernable from a dictionary. Altar The land where these words are written and about which these words are written. The land "formerly known as HPL" Babble-On "Out there", the dominant culture. The people here on the land belong to an oral culture, and one aspect of an oral culture is that the power of words is honored. Not much is said, but when it is it is important that it be the truth. In Babble-On there is a lot of "noise", as if validation for oneself comes from making as much noise as possible. Clowns Politicians. LaLaLand Los Angeles. Spiritual Capital of Babble-On. Also where all the damn pesky aeroplanes fly to and from over our heads. (What on earth can all those people be going to L.A. for?) Men in black The various "law-enforcement agencies" active here on the Altar. The Hopi Ranger uniform is actually a very, very dark green. The Hopi Rangers are the para-military trained, uniformed wing of law enforcement who travel in vehicles with insignia. The "Field Monitors" are plain-clothes, officially unarmed and travel in unmarked vehicles (though with U.S. Govt. plates). The monitors are in essence spies, they are the ones that sneak around and count peoples sheep, see who has been building, who has visitors etc etc. Their findings are reported back to the Rangers. Maybe its because they don't get pretty uniforms and have to hide their guns in their vehicles, but it is the monitors who are usually surly and disrespectful and full of swagger. BIA cops and, when deemed necesary, County Sherrifs make up the rest of the team. Visitors Americans. It was only just yesterday (150 years ago) that the visitors were "knocking on the door" (in New Mexico). And now they are trying to say that they "own" this land. Warmaker Some might call it the U.S. Government. Some might call it the Whiteman. Or the Patriarchy. I see it as the cultural trait that urges us to use conflict and aggression as a Modus Operandi. (my editor says I need to use more latin) Waynes World Hopi Tribal Council Offices. Also a state of mind. For Wayne Taylor, the current chairman. A friend recently wrote me that when she talks to people about the situation here at Big Mountain she sometimes gets the reponse "Well, the land is just desert, why are they so intent on keeping it?". Brings to mind the Clown in "Broken Rainbow" who basically says "Hey! These Indians should get real, Americans relocate every day". I'd like to try and partially answer this query. I won't try and explain how it is to have a sacred obligation to a land, and I won't try and explain how it is to live on land that your family has lived on for hundreds of years, which is, in a very real sense composed of your ancestors bones. I'll try and explain what the land means in a "practical" sense, and I'll try to do it by introducing you to just one of the other species that lives here on the land with us. The humble Juniper tree. Biologists say we live here in the "Pinyon-Juniper Belt". What that means is that the Pinyon and the Juniper are the two dominant tree species round here. Right where I am is mainly juniper with a few pinyons. In the slightly higher places the pinyon dominates. The Juniper is a "gnarly" tree. Nothing straight, turning and twisting back on itself, kind of like frozen turbulence. The hogan where I live, and where these words are written is made from Juniper logs. And mud. The corrall where the flock is sleeping is made from Juniper limbs. As is the Sweatlodge. The fire that is keeping me warm is fed by Juniper. As is the fire for the sweat, the cookstove, and the outdoor fire pit. Juniper boughs are used to constuct summer shelters, and are used in a variety of ways ceremonially. The green tips of the branches, when burned to ash, is added to all recipes using blue corneal. A wide variety of parts of the tree are used medicinally, and also for dye. If there is a couple of feet of snow on the ground, then the juniper is all the flock can get at to eat. The fruit is edible, for the flock as well as the 2 legged. I believe that Gin is made from the fruit. The seeds of the fruit I collect and string as necklaces,,,, this is my source of tobacco money. The bark when scrunched makes excellent tinder, and is also still used as a diaper in the cradleborad. It is said that long ago the bark fibres was used for a skirt. The bark fibre makes a good brush for wetting the mud plaster, and when tied with baling wire is used as a chimney brush. For a simple sheepherder the juniper affords protection, from a searing sun, or a bitter wind. For a simple sheepherder the juniper is a source of beauty, wonder, and lessons. The Juniper is a good ally. And that's just one of the many species that inhabit this "worthless desert" The simple fact is, that the land is life. There are those that think that we can "own" land, but in truth it is we who belong to the land, for, as Roberta says "everything we use comes from the Mother Earth". This is a simple truth, even "out there" in Babble-On Referring back to the concept of Juniper-pinyon Belt, both Pinyon and Juniper are trees, yet they each occupy a slightly different niche in the eco-system. they each have their own way of "being-in-the-world", and I have yet to hear a pinyon demand that the junipers leave because it is not their land. So, we are fast approaching Thanksgiving,... or as it is known around here, "Kishmish Biyazhi", Little Christmas. And we look forward with anticipation to the arrival of the two big annual supply/support runs, the Traditional Support Caravan, and the Clan Dyken Caravan. To all of you who have donated support to these caravans, we thank you and want you to know that your support will go to where it is needed and most useful,..... you ARE making a difference. To all of you who come on these caravans and help organize them, we also send our thanks once again, and a special thanks for making sure that support reaches every single family on the Altar. As I hope you all know, I consider you my relatives, and you are welcome in the Hogan at any time. Things have been pretty quiet round here. No-one I know has had any animals snatched, though everyone I meet knows someone who has been threatened by impoundments. Same old same old, stressing people out with their continous siege tactics. There continues to be a lot of harassment to get more of the people here to sign on with the stupid Accommodation Agreement. As I understand it, a few years ago when the AA was being debated in the Congress, they decided that if 85% of the people here did not sign the AA, then it was back to litigation. A year and a half ago when the deadline for the people to sign the AA passed, amazingly the Feds and the HTC and the Relocation people claimed they just got 85% to sign on. I think the simple truth is that they achieved this magical number by coercion. bribery, and forgery, and, ss cynical as it may sound, I have a sneaking suspicion that they lied, and that they have been spending the last year and half getting more signatures to finally make the magic number. Of course, its possible that I would lie too, if there were a fifty million dollar "sweetener" in it for me. The whole thing seems to be based on "New Math" anyway, something I am unfamiliar with,.... how else can approximately 100 signatures equal 2-3000 people? Back in the real world, the weather has been glorious. And kind. Warm, cloudless, still, days. The silence and the sky broken only by the flying machines rushing to and from LaLALand. The flock are a bit uncomfortable, they have winter coats already. But for now we take advantage of the warmth. Soon enough the wind will turn to the north and we can enjoy winter. A neighbour has had a couple of babies born to her flock, so its getting to be that time of the years again. Some good folks down in Prescott, Arizona have come up with a nice support project. They've gone into the local schools (K-8) and explained about the situation here, and how important the sheep dogs are to the families, and they've organized a "Support the Sheep Dogs" campaign. Already one truck load of dog food has been delivered to the land. This is the kind of support that the people here need and support. If anyone is interested in supporting this project, or in starting up one of their own, please contact Candy on CDrotering@mwaz.com. Some younger Dineh have started a project to create a monument to relocation. Initially based on the experience of the Dineh, the idea grew to encompass all people everywhere who have suffered from relocation. The monument is planned for Window Rock, AZ, and for now they are looking from input and suggestions from any young people in the four-corners region. Please contact Klee Benally on (520) 527 3791 or benally@infomagic.com Another enterprise starting up is a co-operative to market the wool of the local people here. Last year the price paid for their wool didn't even cover the cost of the gas money to sell it. There are weavers "out there" who pay a decent price for wool, either as fleeces, cleaned, carded, spun or dyed, so if any of you are weavers, or have friends who are weavers, and might be interested in helping this economic enterprise, please contact me on this email address. I recently bumped into Kee Watchamn. Like Roberta, Kee has made many visits to the U.N. and to Europe as a representative of the people here. I asked him what message he wanted me to pass on to y'all. His remarks are addressed to international supporters. "We are not asking for money. We want the U.S. Embassies and the U.S. politicians to keep getting petitions and letters. We also want international lawyers to come here and take testimony from the people." I am led to believe that many of you are heading out to the Land this winter. I offer a small piece of advice. You want to bring a good hat, good gloves, good boots, and good socks. You are going to be spending a lot of time outside, and it may very well be very cold. Good gear can make the difference bewtween enjoying yourself, and being miserable. A small thermos flask is also very useful. After a couple of hours in the wind and snow, a cup of hot coffee will let you understand the phrase "nectar of the Gods". I continue to be honored by the email I'm receiving. In the past week I've heard from England, Norway, Sweden, France, Luxembourg, Germany, Australia, Canada, Hawaii, and all over Turtle Island. An obvious sign that what is happening here on the Altar is of significance to people everywhere. This must be the Global Village that I've been hearing about for years.... not the Global Marketplace that is being pushed on us by McDonalds, Coca Cola, Hollywood, and Washington..It reflects, I hope, a growing awareness that as the biological and cultural diversity of our planet is being destroyed in far off places, and is being replaced with Monoculture, each of us is diminished, whether we ever visit those far off places or not. It also reflects (again I hope) the awareness that by the products we buy and the resources we consume we are in fact the cause of this destruction. It is WE who are responsible for what is happening, and therefore it is WE who are responsible for stopping it, and de facto we have the power to stop it. I also note with some interest that many of you writing to me describe yourselves with reference to your ancestory, you define yourselves as Choctaw/Scot, or Irish/Swedish/African-american, or Zapotec/Eyak, not American, or Mexican, or British. We are starting to reject the abstract divisions that are Nation States. Many of us can trace our bloodlines to a multitude of points around the globe. Kind of like a world-wide web huh? Underlying the situation here on the Altar is the matter of abstract definitions being imposed. A U.S. President draws lines on a map and says "this defines such and such", a little later more lines are drawn, then more lines,...... fences,..... names, dividing,....separating. Even the definition of what is "Navajo" and what is "Hopi" is an abstraction imposed on reality, for in truth in the blood of most navajoes and most hopis is the blood of many different peoples and tribes. It is said that the language we use to describe reality also tends to define that reality. What is going on here on The Altar is a conflict between two realities. One seeking to destroy the other and replace it with its own. If we use the word HPL to define the land here, we are already buying into Warmakers reality. In truth the land here is an altar, and to use that word is to deal with the reality Many of us seek to change our reality, our world, to one that reflects our deeper beliefs rather than the beliefs we were taught by Warmaker...... The language we use to define ourselves and our world must surely be one place to start. There is great power in how we define ourselves, as there is also in how we allow others to define us. On the other hand, there are just 2 types of people in the world. Those that have spent time here on the Altar, and those that have not. The readership of this humble newsletter fall in to both categories. To the first group, I would urge you (if you're not already doing it) to tell your stories. I'm not talking about the politics, or the suffering, but the beauty of these people, this life, this land. When you left here, you took a part of Big Mountain with you. Let that part speak. A request for poetry, not rhetoric. With that in mind I'd recommend you point your web browser at the following address: http://www.frucht.org/roberta.html (check out the Fry Bread song) But then, what the hell do I know,........ I'm just a sheepherder. "" Your prayers, support, and correspondence are invited. I thank you for your time that you have given me by reading this. For all my relations Bo Peep reachable via unclejake74@hotmail.com P.S. To all those who have written to me, please be aware that owing to the pressing needs of the flock, the firewood, and the Grandmas, the office is sometimes left unattended for days at a time. It may take as long as a half moon between when you write, and when you hear back from me. Around here the information superhighway is a sandy jeep trail. Please be patient, you will hear from me. If you have received this update as a forward, but want to sure of getting them in the future, please let me know and I will add you to the list. Also if there are any "back issues" you don't have, again, let me know. Please feel free to distribute (unedited) this email. --------- "RE: Boycott US Corporations Trading with Mexico" --------- Date: Mon, 13 Dec 1999 11:50:55 -0500 From: Biah Yazzie-Seminole & Michael Cloud-Butler Subj: BOYCOTT ndn news ========================================================================= sent by michael nephew..... Subj: boycott PLEASE SUPPORT: Boycott US Corporations Trading with Mexico First Nations North & South, an indigenous run organization, is supporting the people of Chiapas against the militarization of their lands and human rights violations by the Mexican government. The Mexican government and international corporations are attempting to displace the indigenous people of Chiapas from their historic lands because of its wealth in oil, and minerals The lands in the Highlands of Chiapas are one of the few remaining wilderness and rain forest areas in Mexico and are being destroyed by corporate greed and government collusion The Zedillo regime has moved 60,000 troops into the Chiapas region and displaced thousands of indigenous people from their communities. Every day people are harassed, attacked, jailed and murdered. Human rights observers are also experiencing harassment and attacks. With this boycott of US corporations we expect to put pressure on the Mexican government. We hope to force the Zedillo clique to remove the troops from Chiapas and to negotiate honestly with the EZLN representatives. Boycott Mexican tourism and the products of the following corporations: International Paper consumer products under the brand names: Hammermill, Springhill, Jamestown, Yorktown, Lightning, and Legacy. Monsanto Corporation products under the brand names: Ortho (lawn & garden products) and NutraSweet sweetener. Nestle products: Tootsie Rolls, all chocolate bars. Boise Cascade under brand names: Rolodex, Fuji Film, Day Timer and At a Glance time management products. Please Distribute as Widely as Possible! First Nations can be contacted at: hertz@atdot.org eulynda@unm.edu ccc27@nmia.com Our web page with fuller documentation is: http://www.angelfire.com/nm/user1/user10.html Martha Dominguez and Larry Hertz for First Nations Lawrence A. Hertz Educator & Technologist Emerson Elementary (505)-255-9091 hertz@atdot.org mailto:hertz@atdot.org http://www.aps.edu/aps/Emerson/Emerson.html http://www.angelfire.com/nm/user1/index.html http://www.angelfire.com/nm/user1/user10.html "life's a stage we're going through" --------- "RE: U.S. Failed to Help in Fight Against Pima Plague" --------- Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 03:09:53 -0700 (MST) From: chris@flamestrike.HACKS.ARIZONA.edu Subj: Indians say U.S. failed to help in fight against `Pima Plague' (fwd) ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Posted at 06:46 a.m. PST; Monday, November 1, 1999 http://www.seattletimes.com/news/nation-world/html98/diab_19991101.html Posted at 06:46 a.m. PST; Monday, November 1, 1999 Indians say U.S. failed to help in fight against `Pima Plague' by The Associated Press GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY, Ariz. - Amputations and blindness are commonplace, and dialysis is a way of life. The spread of diabetes among the 11,500 Pima Indians on this reservation south of Phoenix has become so severe some worry about annihilation - and others claim government researchers contributed to the problem. "Thirty years of research for what?" Franklin Jackson, a community leader, said in The Arizona Republic yesterday. "What did we get for all of this? We were human guinea pigs. They've just been watching diabetes take its course, but the people here have been hoping for a cure." Since 1965, the number of tribal members over 55 with diabetes has skyrocketed to 80 percent from 45 percent, according to figures compiled by the National Institutes of Health. Now, some Pimas are claiming that same government agency didn't do enough to attack what they call the "Pima Plague." Officials with the NIH say they never misled the Pimas or promised them a cure during years of studies. But interviews and government records show that the agency made critical decisions in the late 1970s and early 1980s that set back the fight against diabetes by at least a decade, the newspaper reported. The NIH reportedly decided to focus its resources on Type 1 diabetes, even though that form affects none of the Pimas. Type 1, commonly referred to as juvenile diabetes, affects mostly whites. The Pimas suffer from Type 2, or adult-onset diabetes. Although NIH scientists did study the origins of Type 2 diabetes among the Pimas, they allegedly put off testing methods of prevention until just three years ago. That decision forced the key researcher on the Pima project to test Type 2 prevention methods elsewhere because the NIH would not fund the experiment among the Pimas, the newspaper said. Dr. Phillip Gorden, a director of the diabetes research branch of the NIH, defended the decision, saying that the Type 1 study was more manageable and that new technology had just become available for testing. Michael Mawby, the American Diabetes Association's vice president for governmental relations, believes the agency had a moral obligation to do more to help the Pimas. "As the impact of diabetes was uncovered in the Native American community and in the Pimas in particular, there was a responsibility of the federal government to take more aggressive steps to address the problem, and they haven't done that," he said. The tribe blames the spread of diabetes on dramatic changes in their lifestyles and diets, which had been stable for centuries. Cholla cactus buds and jackrabbit have been replaced by fatty, processed foods. Since hunting and farming have declined, so has exercise. Obesity, a major risk factor, among the Pimas is growing. It is not unusual for Pima kindergartners to weigh more than 75 pounds and adults more than 300. "I shock my people by saying that if we don't get this in check now, we'll become an extinct people 75 years from now," said retiring Pima Gov. Mary Thomas, also a diabetic. Copyright c. 1999 The Seattle Times Company --------- "RE: Rising to Survival" --------- Date: Mon, 6 Dec 1999 08:45:55 -0600 From: berryj@okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 12-04-99 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Rising to Survival By Guillermo Contreras c. Journal November 28, 1999 BAWINOKACHI, Mexico -- Marta Juarez Herrera recalls a time when many of her people, the Tarahumara Indians, wouldn't make it past the age of 5. Malnutrition, tuberculosis and respiratory infections -- ailments for which treatment, food or vaccines are readily available in the United States -- were killing them. "There was a time when we had nothing," said Juarez, 39. "Before, many children would die, almost every day." Yet Juarez, who has had to walk three hours in the night from her slapdash mud-and-wood cabin to Sisoguichi 10 miles away to summon the closest ambulance, knows there's hope for this tiny village in Copper Canyon. The proof is in the hamlet's school, where 15 to 20 healthy children sat down on a recent day for a meal that included pasta salad, beans and crackers. The Tarahumaras grow corn and beans but sometimes don't have enough, and, without outside aid, would succumb to hunger, malnutrition and related ailments, relief volunteers say. The Tarahumara are the poorest of the poor. Four years ago, the average 5-year-old weighed 17 pounds. Like other Tarahumara villages, Bawinokachi, with 700 residents in the immediate area, is learning to persevere with the help of religious groups and Mexican volunteers. But those relief groups aren't the only ones lending a hand. "They have very few resources," said Angelo Tomedi, a family practitioner with the University of New Mexico's Department of Family and Community Medicine in Albuquerque. Tomedi is affiliated with two Albuquerque nonprofit groups that aid the Tarahumaras, St. Jude Express and Peacecraft. St. Jude Express has put thousands of dollars into the Tarahumara communities in the forms of medicine, training and equipment. Peacecraft volunteers buy the Tarahumaras' crafts and resell them at Peacecraft's Albuquerque store to support the Tarahumaras' self-help projects. Tomedi, medical director of St. Jude Express, has made 50 to 60 trips to the sierra over 13 years. Other volunteer doctors and dentists, both with St. Jude Express and in Mexico, lend their services as well. The Tarahumaras are taught about nutrition, sanitation, ways to prevent illnesses and first aid. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- How to help Those wishing to donate to Tarahumara aid programs can do so by contacting: + St. Jude Express, P.O. Box 827, Albuquerque, NM 87103-0827. Phone number, (505) 836-5914 + Peacecraft, 3107 E. Central, Albuquerque, NM 87106-2215. Phone number, (505) 255-5229. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "The purpose is to train the indigenous people themselves within the communities so they can help themselves," Tomedi said. "That helps maintain their traditional lifestyle instead of disrupting it." Final refuge The Tarahumaras are one of more than 30 tribes in Mexico. The Catholic Church and volunteers say an estimated 50,000 to 65,000 Tarahumaras are now spread throughout the sierra. Some scholars theorize that the Tarahumaras are descendants of tribes that migrated through North America and settled here thousands of years ago. Others hypothesize the Tarahumara were Mayans who migrated north because of invasions. The Tarahumaras offer a third theory: They are descendants of an ancient race who have been living in the sierra for as long as anyone can remember. The Tarahumaras call themselves Raramuri -- "foot runners" -- because they are known to run nonstop for up to 170 miles. Americans have brought runners from villages to races in the United States, including New Mexico, to draw attention to their cause. Over the past four centuries, the Tarahumaras have moved deeper into the sierra, or mountains, to elude enemies. Today, their final refuge is threatened by other intruders -- loggers, drug traffickers and tourists. The Tarahumaras live with the barest of means and have managed to hold onto their ethnic identities. Talk of government aid often turns to political bickering among Mexico's ruling party, the PRI, and its opponents, some volunteers and religious workers said. That's why nonprofit organizations, volunteers and the church take it upon themselves to help. Modern medicine In a clinic office in Bawinokachi, Maria Juana Millan took a deep breath as Tomedi placed the cold end of a stethoscope on her back. Hortencia Juarez Herrera, who is learning from Tomedi how to recognize symptoms, listened intently, and her eyes grew wide. "It sounded like there's phlegm, but it's just on one side," she explained later. She said she now knows what the lungs of a person with asthma sound like. It's something she had not done before. Hortencia Juarez, like her older sister, Marta, knows about the 30 herbal remedies in the dispensary -- "hierba de la vibora and hierba del zorrillo," or snakeweed and skunk weed, which are used for flu and fever and diarrhea and colds. But because they are willing to accept modern medicine, the sisters have become keys to their people's survival. They are "health promoters," village workers trained to treat common illnesses before they become life- threatening. Until recently, volunteers faced a challenge with the Tarahumara people, said Juan Paulo Romero, who lived in Bawinokachi for six years as a volunteer. "When children got sick, their parents wouldn't take them to get medical help until the kids were very sick," he said. "For example, when a kid had diarrhea, the parents would wait 15 to 20 days to bring them to us. By then, it was very difficult for a child to recover." By using the Tarahumarans who know the language and the customs, that trend has been reversed. They teach their own people, in their own language, about sanitation, hygiene and disease prevention. About 250 to 300 health promoters work in the sierra. Each village may have one or two advisers. "We don't need to provide the health care," Tomedi said. "We like to further the health system already in place." Solar power In 1998, St. Jude Express received a $20,000 grant from the Red Rock Foundation in New Mexico to buy medicine and supplies at reduced prices and to transport health promoters and advisers to other villages to train more people. While the grant has been of great help, Tomedi said, St. Jude Express relies mainly on donations. St. Jude Express has a solar power system at Clinica San Carlos in Norogachi, which has no electricity. The system already powered a vaccine refrigerator, and St. Jude Express expanded it to help power incubators and oxygen machines installed by the Llaguno Foundation, a Mexican nonprofit organization. The prevention and medical care program is touted as successful, especially when it is coupled with powdered-milk distribution started in 1995 by the Llaguno Foundation. The program is a multifaceted approach that also measures children's weight, height and the nutritional habits of the family. In Choguita, about 15 children died each year before the health and nutrition programs were in place, according to Sister Amparo Velador, a health-promoter program adviser there. "Going back one year, four (children) have died," Velador said of the tiny scattered settlements that make up Choguita Valley. "There used to be a lot of malnourished children," said health promoter Sebastian Moreno Morales, 37. "But little by little, they are gaining weight." Morales, who supervises the monthly weigh-in, said that on average, the 5-year-old boy who weighed 17 pounds four years ago now weighs 30 to 40 pounds. In Norogachi, 20 percent of the children were underweight in 1996, according to the Diocese of the Tarahumara. Through June, the percentage was 12 percent. Self-respect The Tarahumaras are an agricultural society. Their staple crops, corn and beans, are mostly for their own consumption. As the Tarahumara fled deeper into the sierra, they gave up prime farmland, Tomedi said. They are left with rocky soil, which yields little or poor crops. Harvests from one year don't always last through the next growing season. "When they get desperate, they migrate to the city. You see some Tarahumaras begging; they can't get jobs," Tomedi said. "By giving them income, through the sale of their crafts, they can stay within their own communities." In Choguita, Tarahumara women pull up chairs in a new community center built with money donated by businesses in Chihuahua. Some women, as they are accustomed, sit on the floor. The women, wearing long, colorful, multilayered skirts, watch as Tomedi and Peacecraft board members Delia Rojas and Bill Miller choose handcrafted pottery. Peacecraft buys the crafts wholesale, but pays the Tarahumara retail prices. There used to only be two artisans in Choguita, but they have trained others and now there are 21. In this village, 10 percent of the money earned is set aside for community gardens, where carrots and squash will be grown. "Most populations that live on subsistence agriculture have vitamin A deficiency," Tomedi said. "That's been a problem contributing to infection rates." The pottery is made of clay, then handpainted. Drums made of goat or sheepskin are used in religious ceremonies. Wooden dolls and violins are carved from the trees around them. The Tarahumaras are also known for their basket-weaving. Women use grass found in Copper Canyon to make the baskets and pass on their abilities to girls at an early age. Peacecraft buys those crafts not only from Choguita, but from other Tarahumara co-ops near tourist-saturated Creel. The money buys food and household items, like soap and cooking oil, at wholesale prices from cities or larger towns. The goods are trucked into the sierra and put in a cooperative store closer to home. Reaching more Juan Paulo Romero, one of Tomedi's volunteer contacts, said the efforts at medical and economic health are vital. Peacecraft and St. Jude Express are unlike some groups that donate aid and leave. "Angelo's groups speak with the people," Romero said. "Therefore, they know what the situation is really like." Tomedi estimates that the health-promoter program is reaching about a third of the Tarahumara population. "To cover it all, we need to increase our funds for training more people," Tomedi said. "In the end, it makes it all worthwhile that even with minimal resources and the effort we're putting in, we're seeing these kinds of improvements," he said. --------- "RE: Peyote Law Has Navajos in Bind" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 08:06:57 -0600 From: berryj@okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 12-08-99 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Peyote Law Has Navajos in Bind c. The Associated Press December 6, 1999 SHIPROCK -- As illegal use of hallucinogenic peyote buttons rises, including Navajo teens who are smoking it, Navajo Nation legislators are looking for ways to restrict the drug's usage without obstructing those who use it for religious purposes. Under federal law, only Native Americans can use the hallucinogenic cactus button as part of their religion. Native American Church members ingest the peyote cactus in a tea, mush or powder form. Seeing visions is part of the spiritual experience. Sun Dancers and Navajo traditionalists also use the cactus button for religious purposes. It is the nonbelievers who use peyote to get high or to make money the Navajo lawmakers are concerned about. The Navajo tribal government held its first public hearing late last month in Chinle, Ariz., where the Native American Church of Navajoland's central office is located. The discussion will continue this week in Shiprock. In a Nov. 14 letter, Navajoland Native American Church president Jesse Thompson, said, "It has been documented by law enforcement and the courts of the Navajo Nation that a stricter policy is needed to reduce unauthorized use and discourage abuse of the peyote." Chief Legislative Counsel Steven Boos says some of the problems stem from the current law, which lists peyote as a controlled substance -- alongside hashish and five other substances -- but then creates an exception for the religious use of peyote. If police seize peyote from a bootlegger, for instance, the prosecutor must show that the cactus was not used "in connection with recognized religious practices, sacraments or services of the Native American Church" before the peyote can be destroyed. NAC leaders have asked legislators to remove peyote from the controlled substance list out of respect for what is considered a holy sacrament. Nonetheless, Navajo lawmakers would like stricter criminal laws. A proposed new section of the law would authorize the use, possession, sale, trade and delivery of peyote by an Indian for bona fide ceremonial purposes in connection with a Navajo religion or a Native American Church. An "Indian" would be defined as an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe with 25-percent or more Indian blood. Violators would be sentenced to a maximum of 180 days in jail or fined a maximum of $2,500, or both. Seized peyote would be given to a Native American religious leader or Native American Church leaders chosen by the parents of the convicted person. Boos said the blood requirement must be deleted, because the federal American Indian Religious Freedom Act does not require it. It also would violate the free exercise of religion clause of the Navajo Bill of Rights, he said. The federal law protects the use of peyote as a part of any Indian religion, Boos said. Some practitioners of the traditional Navajo religion and the Sun Dance ceremonies have incorporated peyote into their rituals. In New Mexico and Arizona, there are Anglos who practice the peyote way. An occasional non-Indian can be seen inside prayer meetings on the Navajo Nation, too. So, Navajo lawmakers must decide how strict the law will be for those people, including non-Indian spouses of Indians. Shiprock Council Delegate Wallace Charley suggests that those people can partake in the ceremony if the roadman running the meeting or a NAC leader has invited them. "The bottom line is it's religious," he said. "It has to do with your faith." The Navajo criminal code -- which covers all kinds of offenses -- has not been revised since it was adopted in 1978. --------- "RE: Archaeologists Dig Up Tribal History" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 08:06:57 -0600 From: berryj@okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 12-08-99 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov Archaeologists dig up tribal history at highway site Lance Wynn c. The Grand Rapids Press 12/6/99 GRAND RAPIDS -- Archaeologists are uncovering history of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians at a dig under a highway here. Anna Detz paid careful attention as archaeologists from the Jackson-based Commonwealth Cultural Resource Group Inc. carefully sifted soil, charting the location of every shard of ancient pottery and hand tool unearthed. Ms. Detz has a two-fold interest in the artifacts: she is a member of the Turtle Clan of the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians and an archaeology student at Grand Valley State University. "I think it's very exciting," Ms. Detz told The Grand Rapids Press for a story Friday. "It will help me with my future career." Several items, believed to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years old, have been recovered. The items are Anishnabeg artifacts, which means they are relics of what the Ottawa language calls "the first people," said Ari Adler, Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman. One dig site is a 200-by-35-foot expanse underneath Parking Lot B of Grand Valley State's Eberhard Center. The second is a 100-by-35-foot section across from another parking lot. Small pieces of pottery, animal bones, fire-cracked rocks, chipped stone tools and spear points used for hunting have been recovered, said Mike Hambacher, one of the Commonwealth field directors overseeing the dig. "So far, the array of material we're getting is typical of village life," Hambacher said. In addition to the Anishnabeg artifacts, pieces of patterned ceramic from the late 19th century or early 20th century were found. Hambacher said the excavation will be completed later this month. The artifacts will then be taken back to their lab in Jackson to be cleaned and dated. Security will be provided at the site to ensure it is not disturbed while the dig continues, Adler said. While archaeologists and American Indians have not always seen eye to eye, Ms. Detz' mother, Sharron Detz, said the tribe is pleased that MDOT consulted the tribe about how to handle recovered artifacts. The tribe has an agreement with the state that if any human remains are found, they will be turned over to the tribe for reburial, she said. None have been found. Sharron Detz said she is pleased her daughter will be able to bring an American Indian perspective to the field. "Now we'll have a voice at the table," she said. Tribal chair Ron Yob said out of respect for their ancestors, tribe members have visited the site and conducted a ceremony to "make peace with the spirit of the village." "We came together to celebrate the life that was once here, and let them know that we're still alive ... and that the spirits are alive as long as we keep them alive," Yob said. "Our spirit is the same spirit. It doesn't die." --------- "RE: Tension Fills the Air at Fee Land Hearing" --------- Date: Fri, 3 Dec 1999 01:54:56 EST From: MarthaET@aol.com Subj: Tension fills the air at fee land hearing Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) With Perfect Justice... Nez Perce Treaties - http://members.stratos.net/cpetras The Lewiston Morning Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho) Thursday, December 2, 1999 http://www.lmtribune.com/12021999/northwes/452548.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tension fills the air at fee land hearing By Jodi Walker of the Tribune NEZPERCE -- In an atmosphere of hostility Wednesday, Linda Pike of the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals heard testimony in an appeal of denied tax exemption on fee land owned by a Nez Perce tribal member. A decision in the case is not expected until May 2000. The appeal was filed by JoAnn Kauffman of Kamiah. She and her husband, Tom Keefe, purchased a city lot in 1997. The land had been on the county's tax rolls, but was soon removed because Kauffman is an enrolled tribal member. A U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year left Lewis County commissioners believing the land should be taxed and the annual appeal for tax exemption was denied for the 1999 tax year. The commissioners, sitting as the board of equalization, denied the request unanimously. They also denied exemption on seven properties owned by the Nez Perce Tribe. The first stage in appealing the denial is with the Idaho Board of Tax Appeals; an administrative body made up of three board members from around the state. Pike conducted that hearing this week and will confer with the other two members before making a final decision. Keefe, speaking on behalf of Kauffman, argued the county's case is not relevant. The county's documents, which were not made available prior to the hearing, address the issue of diminishment of the reservation. Keefe said he and his wife arrived ready to discuss whether tribal members are eligible for tax exemption, not whether the Nez Perce Indian Reservation has been diminished. He suggested the county's involvement in the North Central Idaho Jurisdictional Alliance is the motivating factor in the documents. "The North Central Idaho Jurisdictional Alliance have launched on this course to go on a broader assault of the federal treaty," Keefe said. The alliance is a group of 23 governmental agencies that question the tribe's claims of legal authority over non-Indian residents and property within the designated area of the treaty of 1863. Kimron Torgerson, prosecuting attorney for Lewis County, argued diminishment is relevant because if the reservation has been diminished, the property in question is not subject to tax exemption even if owned by a tribal member. "If that reservation has been diminished, it is not designated land, it is diminished," he said. The tension in the air was obvious when Torgerson refused to answer questions by Keefe about whether diminishment was addressed in the county's document that denied the tax exemption. Pike informed both sides the Board of Tax Appeals could hear more issues than those raised by the county's board of equalization. "We are not limited to what happened there," she said. "The case keeps getting bigger the higher up it goes." Because of the misunderstanding of what could be presented, Kauffman has until Feb. 1 to respond to the county's case. The county will then have until Feb. 15 to respond to Kauffman. She will then be allowed one final rebuttal, which is due by Feb. 28. An argument ensued between Keefe and Torgerson over what information is relevant to the case. Torgerson quoted information from a recent opinion that stated the Nez Perce Tribe does not own the water rights to the entire Snake River Basin because the reservation has been diminished. That decision has been announced, but neither party has seen a copy of the actual opinion. "We are practicing law by the newspaper today," Keefe said. In response, Keefe added his own docket of court cases that have not yet been decided. "The axiom that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing has been proven here today," he said. Torgerson noted he disapproved of the tone of Keefe's remarks. --------- "RE: Civil Rights Commission in Black Hills" --------- Date: 07 Dec 1999 17:21:40 GMT From: libyad817@aol.com (Libyad817) Subj: Civil Rights Com. in Black Hills Newsgroup: alt.native from David Seals - "We're scared of the cops," Faith Taken Alive said Monday in Rapid City, testifying before the US Commission on Civil Rights, investigating more murders of Natives throughout the Black Hills region. "I'm scared now they're taking my picture and I'm gonna be targeted after we leave here." Scott German, also a Lakota from the South Dakota Reservations, nodded agreement beside her. "Yeah. Everybody's really scared. They're afraid to talk." The 14 members of the Commission, including 8 from a South Dakota Advisory Committee, didn't seem to know what to think, even though there were a fair representation of Blacks and Asians and an Hispanic on the Commission, and a Native Elsie Meeks. Chairperson Mary Frances Berry asked incredulously of elder Floyd Hand, from Pine Ridge, "With the talks all last year from the President's Panel on Racial Reconciliation, surely you're having weekly or even daily meetings with the police and other groups about this?" Floyd shook his head, "Not that I know of." "Nothing?" "Nope." Tom Poor Bear sitting beside him also shook his head, and so did Elaine Holy Eagle. "I'm a fullblood. We're not supposed to talk against anyone. That's how we were taught. And that's why we keep getting pushed around." Racism was the common theme of dozens of grassroots people, mostly Lakota Ki, who testified all day and well into the evening. By nightfall at least 500 were politely listening to the testimonies, many waiting their turn as well. The FBI also testified, as well as US Attorneys, Rapid City and Pennington County police, the BIA Superintendent for Pine Ridge, and Tribal Police Chiefs. The non-Natives said they weren't racist, the problem wasn't racism, but rather, lack of funding for more law enforcement, lack of communication, lack of education, etc. "No, it's racism," Rosalie Little Thunder reiterated, after listening to them. "Racism is a prejudice we all have.Racism is not just prejudice but the power to exercise it. The police have that power over us more than anyone in Rapid City, and they use it." Eileen Iron Cloud added, "We're afraid to drive at night to the border towns, or to walk alongside the roads in South Dakota. The cops always stop Indians and assume we been drinking. But they let white people go." One after another they told heartbreaking stories of Indians murdered and lives ruined by unfair criminal sentences, inequities in their civil liberties and civil defense suits, discrimination in jobs and hiring practices, routine prejudice against them in restaurants and on the streets of Mobridge, Sisseton, Whiteclay, Gordon, Rapid City. Peggy Redday told the excruciating story of her son Justin run over by a pickup truck by a white man and killed, and the white man got only 30 days (I believe it was). She was sobbing in the hearings room, and, more than once, Chairperson Berry asked the FBI and US Attorneys, "Why haven't you investigated this? I have never heard such unawareness of how much people mistrust you." Her remarks drew applause from the usually polite audience. Local white rancher Marv Kammerer also drew applause when he said, "I hope this Commission sets the West on fire. I'm squatting on Lakota land over here by Ellsworth Air Force Base, and my grandfather squatted in 1880, and we've always known this was Treaty Land. We respect that. I honor my red brothers and sisters. The western cowboys are gonna be the next generation of Indians destroyed by these real estate thieves if we don't watch out." Elder Richard Grass gently chastised the Commission, saying, "This is not your jurisdiction though. We thank you for coming here today, but this Tribunal is in the hands of our traditional Government. We are recognized internationally as a sovereign Nation, and we're not going to beg from the United States." "We hope you will not sugar-coat this Report," Floyd Hand added. "Get your hands dirty and dig into these cases," Scott German said, handing them documents of many cases of civil rights violations, as did many other witnesses like Phyllis Hollow Horn, Mark White Bull in the case for Boo Many Horses murdered in Mobridge by 4 white man who were acquited for stuffing Many Horses upside down in a trash can, David Seaboy, Darlene Renville Pipe Boy, and Ted Means. The remarkable thing about the 2 days of testimony - including a visit by the Commission on Sunday to White Clay, where Wilson Black Elk and Ron Hard Heart were murdered last summer - was that it was almost unique as an occasion for people to be heard who are rarely if ever allowed to be heard. We heard the Zephiers of Yankton tell of an FBI Agent (whom several Commissioners would not allow them to name publicly) who molested their little daughter, the father wailing painfully in the room, his cries like a gunshot in the air, "That guy destroyed my little girl's Spirit! And nobody's doing nothing about it!" A white artist said, "Loren Two Bulls was my friend, and an exceptional artist. He was found drowned head first in the Creek, and there are Skinheads patrolling up and down Rushmore Street; and none of the art galleries around here even honored his work with a showing." Another white woman said, "Anybody with a brain or a heart around here can see this is racism. But they don't. The people in Rapid City don't care. They just don't care." Pine Ridge BIA Superintendent Robert Ecoffey responded to a question from the asian woman on the Panel, when she asked him that surely the recent Economic Revitalization Act was helping the Reservation with creation of businesses to alleviate the 90% unemployment. "No. I don't know of a single lending institution in South Dakota or Nebraska that doesn't just red-line any application for a loan from anybody with a Pine Ridge address." The Commission looked shocked again. Regional Director John Dulles said, "Well, in California I know the small Indian Reservations are doing much better now with Casinos. They're making donations to political candidates and meeting regularly with the Governor. Can't that happen here too?" Floyd Hand said, "I don't know. It's not. We're dealing with Governor Janklow here." Chairperson Berry asked, "I don't know him. But couldn't you try to do something like that here?" Tom Poor Bear laughed, along with the rest of the audience. "Janklow? It would be a hard sell. For now all I can think of is to demand an investigation of Sheridan County, Nebraska into the murders of my brothers. That's what Camp Justice is doing now, that's our focus." Elaine Holy Eagle explained it further for the perplexed Panel, "Money is not our priority here. It's not what we were taught. We're fullbloods." Dennis Banks and the Bellecourts and Michael Haney showed up to draw some attention from the people, though. It was ludicrous to watch Clyde running after the TV cameras out in the hall of the luxurious Holiday Inn, and the 4 of them butted in to testify, joking with the Commission and shaking their hands. But it was too bad the only thing that made the KOTA News at 10:30 (after Monday Night Football) was Clyde and Michael talking about their organization protesting the Washington Redskins. After they testified and got interviewed they left. They didn't listen to the people. And the media barely covered the real story. I suspect, like many others, that nothing will come of this Commission hearing. They promised to write a Report in 90 days, and maybe follow up with more hearings and subpoena some witnesses. But their bylaws only allow them to monitor civil rights enforcement by federal agencies. The last time they were here was February 1973, just before the Wounded Knee Occupation, and there have thousands of uninvestigated murders and imprisonments and lives and hopes ruined since. --------- "RE: Hawaii United Independence Statement" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 19:46:34 -1000 From: Hawaii Nation Info Subj: Hawaii - United Independence Statement Mailing List: Hawaii Nation Info [Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary M. John] Berry said he will not intervene with any actions by Hawaiians to obtain self-determination through either an international tribunal or at the United Nations level. "We recognize that native Hawaiians are not American Indians. They are unique, and we appreciate that." "There is a great ignorance on the mainland to the history of Hawaii, to the history of the sorry treatment of native Hawaiians by the United States, and that needs to be elevated," he said. "We need to be about educating Americans, because Americans are a justice-loving people." - Honolulu Star-Bulletin, December 11, 1999 ______________________________________________________________________ Ka Pae`aina o Hawai`i Loa United Independence Statement December 9, 1999 Kaumakapili Church { http://hawaii-nation.org/united-independence.html } We, individuals, organizations, and representatives of the nation of Hawai`i, though diverse in our various opinions of strategies and pathways to the achievement of Hawaiian sovereignty, hereby unite in our common voice for the independence of this Pae`aina O Hawai`i Loa. We have faith that our nation continues to live as long as we remain steadfast in support of our national life, regardless of the years of colonization, the massive military occupation, the economic domination and the many other efforts to wipe out our national memory and resistance to this occupation. The United States of America (U.S.) which committed an act of aggression against our sovereign national territory on January 17, 1893 has itself confessed to its delinquent act through the person of U.S. President Grover Cleveland in his joint message to the Congress of the United States on December 18, 1893. [ http://www.hawaii-nation.org/cleveland.html ] The U.S. has confirmed the message of President Cleveland, confessing to its delinquency, by apologizing to the "Native Hawaiian people," declaring on November 23, 1993 in Public Law 103-150: The indigenous Hawaiian people never directly relinquished their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people or over their national lands to the United States, either through their monarchy or through a plebiscite or referendum. [ http://www.hawaii-nation.org/publawall.html ] U.S. Public Law 103-150 echoes the Memorial adopted by Kanaka Hawai`i (Hawaiian citizens) on October 8, 1897, who met in mass rally at Palace Square, Honolulu, protesting contemplated annexation of the United States, by stating in part: That your memorialists humbly but fervently protest against the consummation of this invasion of their political rights; and they earnestly appeal to the President, the Congress and the People of the United States, to refrain from further participating in the wrong so proposed; and they invoke in support of this memorial the spirit of that immortal Instrument, the Declaration of American Independence; and especially the truth there in expressed, that Governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed - and here repeat, that the consent of the people of the Hawaiian Islands to the forms of Government imposed by the so-called Republic of Hawaii, and to said proposed Treaty of Annexation, has never been asked by and is not accorded, either to said Government or to said project of Annexation. That the consummation of the project of Annexation dealt with in said Treaty would be subversive of the personal and political rights of these memorialists, and of the Hawaiian people and Nation, and would be a negation of the rights and principles proclaimed in the Declaration of American Independence, in the Constitution of the United States, and in schemes of government of all other civilized and representative Governments. Wherefore your memorialists respectfully submit that they, no less than the citizens of any American Commonwealth, are entitled to select, ordain and establish for themselves, such forms of Government as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness; and that questions of such moment to the Hawaiian people as are proposed to be settled by said Treaty, are questions upon which people have the right, in the form of Conscience, to be heard; and that said Hawaiian people have thus far been denied the privilege of being heard upon said questions. [ http://www.hawaii-nation.org/memorial.html ] As our ancestors of a century ago also joined together asserting their unified devotion to their Pae`aina o Hawai`i Loa (Hawaiian nation), we too gather, in the steps of our ancestors, firmly devoted to our human rights and fundamental freedom to self-determination and self-governance. As the Commission on Reconciliation visits our Hawaiian Islands, taking testimonies of the depth of the injuries we suffer, asking us to submit our views for proper remedy and consideration, we present the following united statement: 1. No submission to jurisdiction. We come before this commission as Kanaka Hawai`i (Hawaiian nationals) and not as citizens of the United States of America. We do not admit to jurisdiction of this commission or the United States of America as being the final arbiter of the depth of our injury or the recourse appropriate to the injuries. 2. Proper alignment of parties. Hawai`i, a sovereign nation recognized in the international community of nations, has been invaded and occupied for over a century by the United States of America, a sovereign nation equally recognized. International violations have occurred. The U.S. Congress and two presidents have so confessed. The proper parties to a process of reconciliation for these illegal acts are the representatives of these two nations. The current U.S. commission attempting to take testimonies of the Kanaka Hawai`i Maoli (Native Hawaiian people) does not arise to the appropriate process for a true reconciliation of the delinquent acts against Ka Pae`aina O Hawai`i Loa. At most, this process can only address a partial attempt to relieve the current distress of the people's day to day plight. 3. Diminished status of commission. The members of the current commission coming from the Departments of Interior and Justice have competence only over the internal affairs of the United States of America. They have declared as much. The appropriate department to sit over matters of these international affairs should be the U.S. State Department. 4. No extinguishment of our right to Self-Determination. Whatever the outcome of the current commission's hearings, including legislation which may arise therefrom, should not be construed as a concession by us or an extinguishment of our right to Self-Determination. We reserve the right to seek proper redress to our self-determining rights before an appropriate, impartial international forum. Reconciliation may properly occur only when certain basic requirements have been met. The overthrow injured Ka Pae`aina o Hawai`i Loa (Hawaiian nation), not simply individual Kanaka Hawai`i Maoli ("Native Hawaiians.") Therefore, a precondition for reconciliation must be the restoration of the sovereign Pae`aina O Hawai`i Loa (Hawaiian nation), after which proper reconciliation between the United States and the Pae`aina O Hawai`i Loa (Hawaiian nation) may proceed. We call on the United States to remove all impediments to Kanaka Hawaii (Hawaiian nationals') free exercise of their nationality, and to cooperate in a peaceful and rational process for restoring the governing powers of a sovereign Pae`aina o Hawai i Loa (Hawaiian nation.) The above statements concur with the position of the United States Secretary of State, W. Q. Gresham, when he wrote to President Grover Cleveland on October 18, 1893: The Government of Hawaii surrendered its authority under a threat of war, until such time only as the Government of the United States, upon the facts being presented to it, should reinstate the constitutional sovereign ... Should not the great wrong done to an ... independent State by an abuse of the authority of the United States be undone by restoring the legitimate government? Anything short of that will not, I respectfully submit, satisfy the demands of justice. Can the United States consistently insist that other nations shall respect the independence of Hawaii while not respecting it ourselves? Our Government was the first to recognize the independence of the Islands, and it should be the last to acquire sovereignty over them by force and fraud. [ http://www.hawaii-nation.org/gresham.html ] We demand the United States honor its own laws, as well as international and customary laws, and begin the process of restoration of the independent and sovereign Pae`aina o Hawai`i Loa (nation of Hawai`i). We stand united and steadfast in our commitment to Independence for Ka Pae`aina o Hawai`i Loa. E mau ke ea o ka `aina i ka pono. E `onipa`a kakou e na pua o Hawai`i. Aloha `aina. Norman E.P. Aweal, Native Hawaiian Delegation Kekuni Blaisdell, Kanaka Maoli Tribunal Komike Lynette Hi`ilani Cruz, Ahupua`a Action Alliance John M. Dudoit III, Hawaiian Kingdom Larry Eclarin, Purdy Ohana - Molokai Kau`i P. Goodhue, Hawaiian Kingdom Fred Gowen, Tlingit & Haida Eunice O. Kaho`okele/McElroy, Ka Leo Ku`oko`a Kalei Kailikini, Purdy Ohana - Molokai Kalikolehua K. Kanaele, Sr., Aloha `aina Life & Education Center / Royal Order of Kamehameha Pu`uhonua Bumpy Kanahele, Nation of Hawai`i S. Kaleikoa Ka`eo, N.O.A. David K. Keanu, Hawaiian Patriotic League Homer Keanu Rebecca Mikala Kekahu, Koani Foundation - Kauai John "Butch" Kekahu, Koani Foundation - Kauai Harvey Keliikoa, Hawai`i Pae `aina Coalition - Hawai`i Ku`ulei A. Kiliona, Cititzen of Ka Lahui Hawai`i Poka Laenui, Hawai`i Vernal P. Lindsey, The Lawful Hawaiian Government James N. Nakapa`ahu, Kanaka Maoli Liberation Barry Napoleon, Kingdom of Hawai`i Kihei Soli Niheu, Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Kunani Nihipali, Hui Malama I Na Kupuna O Hawai`i Nei Ho`oipokalaena`auoNakea Pa, Ke Kia`i / NHAC Rev. Kaleo Patterson, Hawai`i Ecumenical Coalition A`o Pohakuku, Spiritual Nation of Ku / Hui Ea: Council of Sovereigns Troy Auld Reikow, The Hawaiian News - Ko Hawai`i Pono`I Peggy Ha`o Ross, Ohana `O Hawai`i Irma P. Sai, Hawaiian Patriotic League Keanu Sai, Hawaiian Subject Noenoe K. Silva, 1897 Palapala Ho`opi`i Ku`e Ho`ohui `Aina (Anti-annexation Petitions) Henry E. Smith, Jr., Hawaiian Convention Rev. Thomas M. Van Culin, Hawai`i Ecumenical Coalition Jimmy K. Wong, Ohana O Komomua - Kona Toni Auld Yardley, The Hawaiian News - Ko Hawai`i Pono`I Po`okela, Spiritual Nation of Ku Kana`i, Spiritual Nation of Ku In response to Rice v. Cayetano [http://www.nativehawaiians.com/] and the federal "reconciliation" hearings [http://www.oha.org/reconciliation/], Kanaka United for Action, a network of maka`ainana Kanaka Maoli organizations, with the support of the Hawai`i Ecumenical Coalition and Ke Kia`i convened a series of three meetings with leaders of various Hawaiian independence organizations and entities from the different islands. The purpose was to unite the proponents of Hawaiian independence and put forth a joint position on independence. This statement on independence was the product of these meetings. We invite others who support this statement to sign on. Contact: Hawai`i Ecumenical Coalition c/o 766 N. King Street, Honolulu, Hawai`i 96817. (808) 845-0908. ________________________________________________________________________ Visit our web site for links to local and national coverage of the federal "reconciliation" hearings. { http://hawaii-nation.org/ ] ________________________________________________________________________ Any interested party may submit written testimony to the Committee on Reconciliation prior to Jan. 7, 2000, to: Assistant Secretary M. John Berry c/o Document Management Unit Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W., Mailstop 7229 Washington, D.C. 20240 Fax: 202-208-3230 ___________________________________________________________ | Hawai`i - Independent & Sovereign | | info@hawaii-nation.org http://hawaii-nation.org | |___________________________________________________________| "The cause of Hawaii and independence is larger and dearer than the life of any man connected with it. Love of country is deep- seated in the breast of every Hawaiian, whatever his station." - Queen Lili`uokalani --------- "RE: Minnehaha 25 Trial Resolved" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 15:03:51 -0600 From: power4u Subj: Minnehaha 25 Trial Resolved Press Release Minnehaha 25 Trial Resolved. Intimidated by the prospect of a mass political trial for the 25 people accused of defending Minnehaha Park and sacred sites in the path of the proposed reroute of Highway 55, city prosecutor Steve Heng offered the defendants an exceptional plea bargain on Monday, December 6th, 1999. By the early afternoon of the first day of trial, Heng offered all the accused a $50.00 fine for the plea of guilty to a noncriminal petty misdemeanor. Protestors accepted this deal while dictating the following restrictions: -all charges would be dropped against two defendants -as Alfred plea ( no contest ) could be entered rather than guilty. -each defendant would have the opportunity to enter a statement into the record explaining her/his actions. -each defendant would reserve her/his right to pursue civil charges against the State for discriminatory arrests and police brutality. The defendants expressed that it is their priority to actively defend the sacred land and waters in the path of the proposed reroute rather than participate in the inefficient bureaucracies of the court. They condemned the physical violence used by law enforcement officers against nonviolent protestors and bystanders. The defendants cited federal laws and treaty rights which the MnDoT reroute violates. They clearly demonstrated that the true criminals in the project to reroute Highway 55 are those who have put out the orders to mow down the trees in Minnehaha Park, to de-water MInnehaha Creek and to dig up the graves of ancestors and destroy sacred sites. Press Contact: Jim Anderson (612) 910-0730. live simply --------- "RE: Treatment from Indian Healers for Veterans" --------- Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1999 12:54:59 EST From: MarthaET@aol.com Subj: Veterans agency agrees to provide treatment from Indian healers Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu) Veterans agency agrees to provide treatment from Indian healers By Lubna Khan SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ It is dark and hot. The silence is broken by the crackling of cedar against fired stones. Water is poured over the stones and steam seeps out inside the sweat lodge. A drum beat slowly builds, accompanied by the staccato rhythm of a Lakota spiritual as the Native American purification ritual begins. "When we are here, we are relations, we are one family, we leave everything else outside," said Robert Dorin, a Lakota who leads weekly sweat lodge ceremonies at St. Mary's rehabilitation center, a halfway house for drug addicts and alcoholics. The religious ceremony dates back centuries, but now it has a bureaucratic seal of approval from the Veterans Administration, which has agreed to provide it as a treatment for Native American veterans. Dorin will conduct sweats for the Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center's patients. The sweat lodge is a wood framed dome covered with heavy blankets. Heated rocks placed in a pit in the middle of the floor provide the heat. About one year after the Utah Intertribal Veteran's Association made the request, the center has agreed to consider the sweat lodge ritual and other traditional native treatments for its patients, said Nancy Imhoff- Smith, spokeswoman for the medical center. "We believe that a person's spirituality is a large part of their ability to achieve good health," Imhoff-Smith said. "This an area we had not branched into." Utah is following the lead of veteran's hospitals in South Dakota and Minnesota that have been offering sweat lodges and other traditional practices for years, said Paul Sherbo, a spokesman for the Veterans Administration in the Rocky Mountain and Midwestern states. "One of the reasons it's important for us to do this is that there are a lot of Native Americans veterans," Sherbo said. Native Americans are three times more likely to have served in the military than the general population, he said. Dorin is not charging for the ritual, so the only cost to the veterans hospital will be driving patients across the city to St. Mary's. Utah is home to at least 45 different Indian tribes, each with slightly different traditions. But the sweat lodge is common to all of them. Getting the VA's approval for sweat lodges is a victory for the intertribal association because it brings official recognition to native religions, said Clifton Oppenhein, commander of the Utah Intertribal Veterans Association. "The VA hospitals have long since had chaplains and people from various religions who go and meet with patients, yet it's been difficult to establish that a Native American healer represents a religion," Oppenhein said. The VA is recognizing sweat lodges but it is careful about the term "healers." "I don't profess to be a healer or to have any special powers," said Dorin. "There's no magic, but a lot of people do seem to feel different when they come out of a sweat." Utah Sen. Pete Suazo, D-Salt Lake City, is part Native American. He was among a group of six who attended a sweat lodge with Dorin in early November. "The sweat lodge ceremony is as much about physical healing as it is emotional," said Dorin. "In our culture, you can't separate one from the other." The sweat lodge tradition is generations away from modern medical practices. It is said to be one of seven sacred ceremonies Plains Indians believe was passed downto them by a spiritual messenger sent to help the Lakotas during a famine, according to Forrest Cuch, director of the Utah Division of Indian Affairs. Cuch, who also runs a sweat lodge, said it is not known where the tradition began, but that it spread through out the High Plains into Utah, Colorado, Montana, the Dakotas and Canada. "Providing the sweat lodge is an excellent gesture and it represents an extremely high level of cultural awareness on the part of the veteran's hospital administration," Cuch said. "And for us, it's a form of mental, spiritual and emotional healing." -- c. The Associated Press. All rights reserved --------- "RE: Gift of the Iroquois to the Creation of Nunavut" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 07:47:13 -0600 From: berryj@okstate.edu Subj: (FWD)Indian News 12-10-99 Roger Iron Cloud FirstNations Listserv 202.358.3252 rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov >From the Gift of the Iroquois to the Creation of Nunavut Martin O'Malley CBC NEWS ONLINE Updated: October, 1999 Major news events involving aboriginal Canadians have become a regular feature of Canadian life. Early in 1999, there was the creation of Nunavut, the first territory or province in Canada with an aboriginal majority. As 1999 was drawing to an end, more aboriginal news: Tension between aboriginal and non-aboriginal fishermen resulted from a Supreme Court of Canada decision giving year-round fishing rights to Mi'kmaq and Maliseet people in Atlantic Canada . The Court based their judgment on a 100-year-old treaty. A new battle involving aboriginal fisherman in British Columbia, with police in boats pulling in fishing nets during a violent confrontation on the water. The Samson Cree of Alberta have launched a $1.4 billion lawsuit against the federal government, alleging mismanagement of the band's petroleum resources. The case is expected to come to court in June, 2000. And more to come. It is part of the fabric of Canada, a brave federation of differences: multiculturalism official bilingualism, minority rights, cultural and geographic diversity, ancient grievances. Managing these differences is a constant juggling act, a high stakes poker game, an act of faith. There was the dangerous standoff between police and Mohawks at Oka near Montreal, the threat of a breakaway partition by the Crees of northern Quebec if separatists take the province out of Canada, the Inuit and Innu in Labrador blocking development of Inco's massive nickel find at Voisey's Bay. And back, back in time, the plains rebellion led by Metis leader Louis Riel. On Nov 30, 1998, an event of political, historical and cultural significance occurred when Chief Joseph Gosnell led his Nisga'a people to the doors of the British Columbia legislature in Victoria. The Nisga'a delegation brought with them a canoe, which they placed on the steps of the legislature. "The canoe symbolizes a cargo of hope," one of the Nisga'a explained. The last time they made the trek, in 1887, barricades blocked their way to "The Big House" and they were unable to sign the treaty they had been promised. The Nisga'a returned home empty-handed, after paddling 750 kilometres up the wild coast to the remote Nass River Valley. The return trip in 1998 was far more than symbolic. This time, Premier Glen Clark escorted the the Nisga'a into the Big House where Chief Gosnell had been invited to make a speech, an honour reserved for visiting heads of state. The Nisga'a are expected to get their treaty, though it requires approval of both the British Columbia legislature and the House of Commons. The treaty gives the 6,000 Nisga'a title to 2,000 square kilometres of the lower Nass Valley, limited self-government, extensive fishing and logging rights, and $340 million. It is the first treaty negotiated by the B.C. government in more than a century, a momentous event in the history of aboriginal Canadians. And there's more to come: 50 other aboriginal groups are waiting to negotiate other treaties with the B.C. government. Paul Tennant, professor of political science at the University of British Columbia, says the Nisga'a treaty marks a social shift in the province. "It means a new view of what it means to be a British Columbian," he said. "It really marks the death of the old white tribe." Chief Jim Antoine when he was 26, talking to Judge Thomas Berger in 1975. Antoine is the new Premier of the Northwest Territories. Back, back in time... If you fly beyond Old Crow Flats in northern Yukon you can see the remains of ancient logs that form massive, man-made structures once used to catch caribou. Aboriginal Canadians call them "the caribou corrals." The corrals were designed to capture migrating caribou. The log walls of the corral were higher than the caribou. The animals entered at a place where the corrals were about five kilometres wide. The corrals gradually narrowed until the caribou were trapped, providing a convenient bin of live meat, enough to feed dozens of families over the long Yukon winter. Finding the caribou corrals excited archeologists, anthropologists and paleontologists. They discovered that some of the logs used for the corral walls had been fashioned by stone axes, which suggested the corrals might have been used in prehistoric times. By carbon-dating fossil bones by the corrals, scientists determined they were 30,000 years old, which proved to be a rare instance of direct evidence of human activity in the Western Hemisphere. There is more to be learned from aboriginal culture than caribou corrals and stone axes. The federal systems of government in Canada and the United States are modeled on the system of government devised by the Iroquois. The Iroquois system took care to protect individual liberties and freedoms, including gender equality. Thomas Jefferson, America's third president and one of the drafters of the U.S. Constitution, observed that among the Iroquois "every man, with them, is perfectly free to follow his own inclinations. But if, in doing this, he violates the rights of another, if the case be slight, he is punished by the disesteem of society or, as we say, public opinion; if serious, he is tomahawked as a serious enemy." Jefferson used this to draft his First Amendment, which allows freedom until it violates another person's rights. In their 1991 book Occupied Canada, authors Robert Hunter and Robert Calihoo devote a chapter to "The Great Gift of the Iroquois," in which they describe some of the workings of the Iroquois Confederacy: "Factionalism with the confederacy was reduced by building in a system of clan kinships that transcended the borders of different tribes. Thus, the clans of the Hawk, Turtle, Wild Potatoes, Great Bear or Deer Pigeon would have had members among the Mohawks, Seneca, Onondagas, Oneidas, and Cayuga alike, and these individuals would view each other as members of the same family." Benjamin Franklin was so impressed by the Iroquois Confederacy that he championed it as a model to unite the new colonies, urging that each colony become a state with control over internal affairs, with a federal council responsible for external matters. This became the basis of the Articles of Confederation. The story is rich, vast, confusing. Consider, for a start, the nomenclature. Is it "aboriginal Canadians" or "first peoples" or "natives" or "Indians" or "First Nations People" or "indigenous people"? They're all correct, with some mild fretting over politically-correct hemlines, which at least has eliminated such clunkers as the English "redskins" and the French sauvages. We still call it "the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs." Aboriginals find demeaning the use of possessives such as "Canada's aboriginals" and "Canada's natives," though "native" is acceptable if used to modify "people" and "leaders" and "communities." Consider the languages. The largest aboriginal language group is Algonquian, spoken by some 100,000 people. The Algonquian language group actually contains nine aboriginal languages: Abenaki, Blackfoot, Delaware, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet, Montagnais-Naskapi, Ojibwa, Potawatomi, and Cree. The Crees are spread across Canada in various groupings, each with their own dialects: Plains, Swampy, Northern, Woods, Moose, and East. On the matter of the Mi'kmaq, the word comes from "nikmaq," which aboriginals gave to the French and Basque fishermen and explorers in the 17th century. Essentially it means "my kin-friends." The Mi'kmaq, when referring to themselves, use the term "L'nu'k," which means "the people" or "humans." Mi'kmaq is pronounced Mig-mow(as in "owl"). The complexity cries out for perspective, which I found one afternoon in May, 1975, in Inuvik where the Mackenzie River empties into the Beaufort Sea. I was talking to an Eskimo named Abe Okpik. Abe and I were both on assignment with the Mackenzie Valley Pipeline Inquiry, popularly known as the Berger Inquiry after the chairman, Mr. Justice Thomas Berger. "Three times this morning I heard someone say Inuit," Okpik told me. Then, with exquisite timing over his mug of coffee, he added, "The anthropologists must be early this summer." Okpik died early in 1998, by which time he had comfortably embraced the use of "Inuit" to describe "Eskimos," a southern aboriginal expression for "eaters of raw meat." And why not? "Inuit" means "the people," as in "people everywhere." It is also plural; one Inuit is an "Inuk." Abe told me an Inuk can denote two Inuit by somehow saying Inuuk. The Berger Commission was a watershed event in the history of aboriginal Canadians, examining the lives and living conditions of the people of the Mackenzie Valley and further north to Sachs Harbour and Holman Island. Judge Berger held formal hearings in Yellowknife, and community hearings in scattered villages and encampments across the western Arctic. He ended up taking his commission across southern Canada, all the way to the Maritimes. "We possess a terrible self-centredness, even arrogance, as a people," Berger said, referring to non-aboriginal Canadians. "History is what happened to us. We dismiss as a curiosity what has gone before. The culture, values and traditions of native people amount to more than crafts and carvings. Their respect for the wisdom of their elders, their concept of family responsibilities extending beyond the nuclear family to embrace a whole village, their respect for the environment, their willingness to share - all of these values persist within their own culture even though they have been under unremitting pressure to abandon them." The next big story about Aboriginal Canadians will be Nunavut. On April 1, 1999 the Northwest Territories divided into two parts: the eastern portion will be called Nunavut, the western part has not yet decided on a name. It will be the first time the map of Canada will change since Newfoundland joined confederation in 1949. Nunavut means "our land" in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. The territory of Nunavut will be fives times larger than Alberta, with a population of 24,000, of whom 85 per cent are Inuit. Ottawa has agreed to pay Nunavut $1.2 billion over 14 years, ending in 2007. Expect to hear snickers and complaints from southern Canada about so much money going to so few people. I heard it often during my time in the Mackenzie Valley working on a book on the Berger Inquiry, which was titled The Past and Future Land. I finally found a way to reply when we were in Fort Liard and I met Chief Harry Deneron, who testified at the inquiry that the local nurse had posted a sign on the door of the Hudson's Bay store that warned: DO NOT DRINK THE WATER. "Well, it's okay for us - like a doctor can tell us this because we're humans," Chief Deneron told Judge Berger. "Most of us will probably know what they're talking about, but what we can't get at is, how can we get the message across to the animals that are depending on this water, the fish and that?" In the book I wrote: "It is a good question, one that confounds those white people who like to put a priority on things, with humans and their things definitely at the top and all the rest, the beasts and fishes, definitely lower down. The whole of the Northwest Territories, they say, could easily fit into Toronto's CNE Stadium, and it's true if by 'whole' you mean only the humans. For sure you won't get the land in, not the land that is one third of Canada, or the animals, not the herds of caribou that thunder by in numbers exceeding 100,000. But just the humans, yes. It is like measuring a Caesar salad by counting the croutons." At the start of 1998, the Canadian government formally apologized to the aboriginal Canadians for they way they have been mistreated. This was in response to the 1996 report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, a massive document that recommended a new era of partnership. A section of the report titled "Looking Forward, Looking Back," begins: "After some 500 years of a relationship that has swung from partnership to domination, from mutual respect and cooperation to paternalism and attempted assimilation, Canada must now work out fair and lasting terms for coexistence with Aboriginal people." As a starting point, the royal commission listed four reasons why this must be done: 1. Canada's claim to be a fair and enlightened society depends on it. 2. The life chances of Aboriginal people, which are still shamefully low, must be improved. 3. Negotiation, as conducted under the current rules, has proved unequal to the task of settling grievances. 4. Continued failure may well lead to violence. Other recommendations: 1. The creation of what would essentially be a third order of government: an aboriginal parliament. 2. An independent tribunal to decide on land claims. 3. More money to be spent to improve housing, health, education and employment. 4. Establishment of a native university. 5. An "immediate and major infusion of money" that would see $2 billion added to the present government spending of $6 billion a year on aboriginal Canadians. The report cites the Royal Proclamation of 1763 as a defining document in the relationship between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in North America. The document, signed by King George III, says: "It is just and reasonable and essential to our interest and security of our colonies that the several nations or tribes of Indians with whom we are connected and who live under our protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the possession of such parts of our dominions and territories which, not having been ceded to or purchased by us, are reserved to them or any of them as their hunting grounds." --------- "RE: Mayan Indians Oppose Research into Plants" --------- Date: Wed, 8 Dec 1999 15:07:01 -0500 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: On CNN online today Need I tell you what I think? Mayan Indians oppose university research into medicinal plants December 8, 1999 Web posted at: 8:46 a.m. EST (1346 GMT) ATHENS, Georgia (AP) -- A group of Mayan Indians in the Mexican state of Chiapas is demanding that a University of Georgia anthropologist abandon a $2.5 million research project on the medicinal value of plants used by the Mayans. The Council of Indigenous Traditional Healers and Midwives of Chiapas, a collective of 11 local Mayan groups, said the scientists are stealing local knowledge and resources. Council spokesman Sebastian Luna said the project's purpose is "producing pharmaceuticals that will not benefit the communities that have managed and nurtured these resources for thousands of years." UGA ethnobiologist Brent Berlin has refused to comply with the request. "This project is completely focused on the long-term well-being of the Highland Maya, with whom I've been working for more than 35 years," said Berlin. "Once full information about what the project is about is known, then there won't be opposition to it." Berlin is part of a team of scientists exploring the pharmacological value of a group of plants in the Highlands of Chiapas. Other agencies involved in the project include the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and a Mexican university, El Colegio de La Frontera Sur. Molecular Nature Ltd., a British company, is the project's commercial partner. Berlin said the project has established a nonprofit trust, PROMAYA, to make sure possible financial benefits "flow back to the communities." --------- "RE: Tobin Eyes Offshore Gas Fields" --------- Date: Fri, 10 Dec 1999 22:54:08 -0400 From: Larry Innes Subj: News: Tobin on offshore gas, hydro Mailing List: Innu People Forum list December 10, 1999 Tobin eyes offshore gas fields ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) -- Newfoundland will scrap plans to connect the island province with its vast hydroelectric resources in Labrador if its natural gas reserves prove cheaper to develop, Premier Brian Tobin said Friday. A $2.2-billion transmission line, which would stretch from the proposed Gull Island generator on the Lower Churchill River to south of St. John's, is a key part of a $10-billion hydroelectric project first announced in March 1998. "At the end of the day, we have to look at what is the cost to bring electricity to the island," Tobin said during a news conference. "I don't have any obsessive need to have Labrador hydro powering our lightbulbs on the island." Husky Oil Ltd. announced last month that its North White Rose field on the Grand Banks contains two trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That's roughly the same amount that spurred development of the Sable Island field off Nova Scotia. Tobin also pointed out that many U.S. states in the northeast have shown a keen interest in buying natural gas instead of energy from oil- or coal-fired hydro plants. Tobin made the comments after a meeting in his office with Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard. The meeting, which was supposed to focus on the hydro project, took on special importance Friday as the federal government stunned the country by tabling its referendum legislation in the House of Commons. Bouchard was supposed to hold a joint news conference with Tobin after their meeting. However, the Quebec premier didn't show up because he was intent on answering questions in Quebec about the legislation. He later spoke briefly to reporters at the legislature but refused to answer questions about the referendum bill. Bouchard was asked why members of the Innu communities in both provinces weren't allowed to sit in on his meeting with Tobin. "There are a lot of partners there and we have to decide a lot of things between partners," he replied, adding Tobin doesn't sit in on meeting Quebec has with the Innu. Although the new legislation stops short of describing what Quebec's referendum question should look like, it gives Parliament the power to decide whether it is legal. Tobin, a committed supporter of the federal government's strategy, said the two men talked about the proposed law, but he revealed few details. "I've never hesitated to indicate where I stand on the sovereignty question. Mr. Bouchard has never hesitated to say he disagrees with me." On the matter of Labrador's borders, a hot issue earlier in the week, Tobin said it didn't even come up. "Mr. Bouchard has made it clear that Quebec de facto recognizes our borders," Tobin said. After Tobin posed awkwardly for a photo with Bouchard, the two men met with leaders of the Innu communities of Labrador and Quebec. It was the first time all four groups had come together to talk about the impact of the Lower Churchill project, a major milestone for a project that infuriated the Innu when it was first announced. The Lower Churchill project is considered crucial to Tobin's future in politics and the province's bid to become a "have" province. It was more than 30 years ago that Quebec signed a deal for the original Churchill Falls project, which now has 11 generators in operation. Under the terms of the deal signed by former premier Joey Smallwood, Newfoundland gets a pittance from that project while Quebec reaps hundreds of million of dollars in profits. Tobin said Friday a so-called memorandum of understanding could be signed as early as next February. That would set in motion a series of formal negotiations. That document was supposed to be signed by the end of 1998 but negotiations have been held up by technical wrangling and two provincial elections. --------- "RE: The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty" --------- Date: 09 Dec 1999 19:31:57 GMT From: libyad817@aol.com (Libyad817) Subj: The 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty - it's the Law! Newsgroup: alt.native [A fullblood Lakota elder, Richard Grass, asked me to post this letter. The letter includes a number of signatures of elders and warriors from the 1991 Bear Butte Council. I believe Ishgooda was building a map-site with details of these treaty Lands, which stretch from the Nakota-Stoney territory in Alberta to the Arkansas River in Colorado of the Arapaho Nation, east-to-west from the Mississippi/Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains. David] The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie signatory Red Indigenous Nations NAKOTA/ASSINABOIN - CHEYENNE - HIDATSA CROW - ARIKARA - DAKOTA - ARAPAH0 -LAKOTA MANDAN - SHOSHONE Hau Mitakuye Oisin, Greetings to all our Allies, Brothers & Sisters! We are sending this letter out in a new way, by computer, to show that we are still alive and our hearts are not diminished in any way. This is a general introduction of ourselves, and expression of warm regard to all our Indigenous Allies engaged in ongoing War with the USA and Canada, all around the Sacred Earth. The Bear Butte Council has long been silent because our Prophecies said we had to wait, until now. But as our elder Joe Flying By has said, "It is time." The Bear Butte Council (Mato Paha Okolokiciye) is an ancient counsel of the many Allies of the holy Black Hills (H'e Sapa) bioregion, in what has been illegally occupied and desecrated by the 'United States of America' and 'Canada'. We are what these euro-judeo-christians call 'Red Indians'. We call ourselves Tsistsistas and Suhtaoi (Southern and Northern Cheyennes), A'anninin (Gros Ventres), Nakoda Ki (Assiniboines and Stoneys), Lakota Ki (Titonwin Sioux), as well as Mdewakanton, Hidatsa, Crow, Mandan, Arapaho, Shoshone, Kiowa, Ponca, Oto, Omaha, Cree, Ojibwa, Blackfoot, and Arikara. We know there is a need for INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE with our many other Indigenous brothers and sisters throughout the world who are being slaughtered by these Evil Invaders. They have massacred at least 100 million Native Peoples in this hemisphere since Columbus brought his diseases and priests in 1492. They deliberately slaughtered 75 million of our sacred Buffalo in this northern continent. Countless massacres of our little children were perpetrated by their glorious Cavalry; and they are still glorifying their genocide in racist/religionist Hollywood movies. We have been holding WAR COUNCIL with our Allies of the Cree and Iroquois Confederacies, who have joined us in battles from Wounded Knee in 1973 to Oka and Kanesatake in 1990, and Gustafsen Lake in 1995. This has been an ongoing War ever since they violated the sacred Treaty of 1851 signed at their Fort Laramie, Wyoming territory. Our allied Red Nations utilized the Black Hills, Bear Butte, Grey Buffalo Horn, and other Sacred Sites for millions of years for spiritual and sacred purposes, with such unlimited and undisturbed use and access unconditionally agreed upon byt the government of the United States through the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. With the threat of the encroaching Whites, the nine Red Nations of the Sacred Black Hills Region were prompted to PROTECT, SECURE, AND INSURE OUR TERRITORIAL HOMELANDS THROUGH THE SIGNING OF THE 1851 TREATY OF FORT LARAMIE. The Agreements and Guarantees set forth and mandated by the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie are INDISPUTABLE, NONCONTROVERSIAL, AND DO NOT ALLOW FOR "RENEGOTIATION". Our sincere feelings and beliefs with regard to the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie - which is also known as "The Treaty of Long Meadows" and, to the Cheyenne "The Great Horse Creek Treaty", are that: 1) IT IS A SACRED DOCUMENT, unanimously agreed upon by each camp and each Band of each of the nine Red Nations Signatory to the September 17 signing, with the presence of the Sacred White Buffalo Calf Pipe of the Nakota/Dakoda/Lakota, the Four Sacred Arrows of the Cheyenne, as well as the Sacred Bundles of the other five Indigenous Red Nations Signatory to the 1851 Treaty; 2) IT IS A UNIFYING DOCUMENT, with nine Red Nations Allied to protect their territorial homelands, the center and very heart of those territories being the Sacred Black Hills Region; 3) IT BINDS THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO HONOR the 1851Treaty of Fort Laramie, as mandated through Article VI of their U.S. Constitution, which states explicitly that "Treaties made with Indian Nations are the SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND", which not even U.S. Supreme Court 'Rulings' (adverse or otherwise) can legally affect; 4) All so-called 'Acts, Treaties, and/or Agreements" concocted after September 17, 1851 are continued day-to-day VIOLATIONS of the sole legitimate 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, and are TOTALLY ILLEGAL; 5) Each of the nine Red Nations present at and signatory to the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie were properly represented with their PRINCIPAL CHIEFS AND HEADMEN, with the parents of the great Medicine Man, TATANKA IYOTAKE (SITTING BULL), and the great War Chief TASUNKE WITKO (CRAZY HORSE), present andwitness to the signing; 6) IT GUARANTEES THE NATURAL, HUMAN, AND LEGAL RIGHTS OF THE NINE RED NATIONS TO THEIR TERRITORIAL HOMELANDS AS DEFINED IN THE 1851 TREATY OF FORT LARAMIE AND RELINQUISHES NOTHING. 1851 Treaty violations by the U.S. Government CONSTITUTE GENOCIDE upon and against the nine 1851 Treaty signatory Red Nations. In 1988 U.S. President Bush signed into public law 'The Genocide Convention Implementation Act (Proxmire Act) of 1987 (U.S.P.L. 100-606)" which adopted the "International Genocide Convention", and which prohibits the Commission(s) of the crime of Genocide against the nine Red Signatory Nations. On December 6, 1999 I presented this Statement of our Sovereignty before the US Civil Rights Commission hearings in Rapid City, South Dakota, and demanded that they review the Genocide committed by the US Government against our Red Nations. Submitted, Respectfully, Richard Grass Descendent Treaty Chief [signatures to same, July 14, 1991 Bear Butte John W. Long Archie Fire Arvol Looking Horse, Bill Tall Bull Richard Grass Rema White Cheek Joseph A. Walker Reginald Bird Horse Pete Fills The Pipe Sr. Huron Red Dog Rodney Lee Randall Heidi Lee Randall Robert Grey Eagle Gilly Running Anthony Running Cecelia Parker Tony Black Feather Philip Sounding Sides Merle Whistler Two Crows Dave Yakima Chief Bernard Peoples Garfield Grassrope YasuLuta Red Hail Irvin Red Fox Mark Soldier Chief David Seals Ken Wallowing Bull Elva Stand in Timber Adeline Whitewolf Lee Lonebear Joe Bear Alfred Strange Owl --------- "RE: Anna Mae" --------- Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 08:41:24 -0800 From: "Robert A. Pictou-Branscombe" Subj: Anna Mae (12-12-75) Newsgroup: alt.native I made a promise to Anna Mae along time ago and that promise will be completed. I sometimes wish some of you knew me better, but you can count on one thing, if I say it, I will do it, It will get done. Today, I just renew what I have already said. Today, is the anniversary of Anna Mae's death. There is not a day that I don't feel what she might have felt in those last moments. I also believe in the position she was found, she also had a few more moments to think about it. Maybe this is a day for all of us to remember. A Hero, a Warrior, a Mother, a Cousin and a Friend went down. No one did anything to stop it, they closed their eyes and walked away. Well, today nobody walks, this could have been resolved as soon as March of 76. It is sad, we as a Nation, have taken so long, fear is no longer an excuse, the only excuse now is guilt. And that don't cut it. The door to the Grand Jury is still open and my advice is get there and do it. I have always said, "I will stand for those who speak with TRUTH", that doesn't mean I am going to like it, but I will. Most of us know what took place and that has to be explained. It is not going away and everyday I just become more dedicated. There is only one way I will go down, and to be honest, they are not that good. I will close with this, just take a moment of silence, think about it and say a prayer if your inclined, Annie deserves it. In the Spirit of my Cousin, Anna Mae Robert A. Pictou-Branscombe The 12th of December 75 comes from witiness testimony, one of the killers. I believe it to be true. --------- "RE: Dennis Banks Memo" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 15:08:00 -0500 From: "Jordan S. Dill" Subj: D. Banks Memo, Re: Robert Branscombe (fwd) Mailing List: Minnesota Indian Affairs My name is Jordan S. Dill. I am aligned with no one. I owe no one. I am Tsalagi and have no allegience to anyone but The People. I state from my heart the following: Ranking AIM leaders know who killed Anna Mae Ranking AIM leaders continue to hide unders rocks Dennis Banks does not tell the truth... I support Robert Branscome...who closer to Anna is he? From: Kathy Morning Star Subj: FWD: D. Banks Memo, Re: Robert Branscombe From: "Vernon Bellecourt" MEMO TO: Vernon Bellecourt, AIMGGC Clyde Bellecourt, AIMGGC Michael Haney, NCRSM All AIM Chapters and Supporters FROM: Dennis Banks, AIM National Field Director DATE: December 7, 1999 SUBJECT: Robert Branscombe During the last three (3) weeks, a considerable amount of press activity has been generated surrounding the death of Anna Mae Aquash. This activity is being generated by a man claiming to be a relative of Anna Mae, as well as a close confidante of Leonard Peltier. His name is Robert Branscombe. I have met this man twice. Both times in Phoenix, Arizona during the Peltier tour. This man is recklessly accusing the leadership of having first-hand knowledge of Anna Mae's death. He further is stating that, not only did AIM's leadership know of the death, but also allegedly ordered her death. Moreover, he has taken this information, as wrong as it is, to a grand jury through his operative, Russell Means. His whole appearance, demeanor and behavior is reminiscent of the FBI informant, Doug Durham. Therefore, I am advising all chapters and support groups to be aware and cautious of this man. All chapters, support groups, and their members are to look upon this man with scrutiny, and to refuse him admittance to any AIM meeting, function, or ceremony. All leadership must refrain from talking to this informant else he distort any information to fit his version of the facts. Robert Branscombe must be viewed as a general informant who is very reckless in his actions, and does not care who he accuses of wrongdoing. --------- "RE: In Remembrance of Anna Mae" --------- Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 17:39:51 GMT From: Suyeta Subj: Anna Mae A couple things for Anna Mae. Not so much to Honor her -- I don't know that she'd care too much for all that goddam weight -- but just because I can, and I will, but mostly because I figure she'd get my meaning. The second item is in Honor of four old trees, whose kind were here long, long before our silly asses. Anna Mae Pictou's philosophy on this walk can be summed up in a real short sentence: Live what you are. "he was a braids-and-shades dog soldier "AIM all the way "reduced to telling white women "about coup counting "in a hotel room "late "where they wanted his style "and he wanted the reporters "back again "so he seduced them with lectures "on the degrees of Sioux adoption "trying to make the talk "pass for battle "when the others came in "Indian women and not his tribe "they knew what kind of war was being fought "and one asked "when he was finished "what degree were you adopted in "when he shook his fist at her "it didn't make headlines "there's no good day to die "in these wars" - Rayna Green, "Another Dying Chieftain" "Sometimes I wrap myself "in an old overcoat and go wild "in an open field and let the wind do "what it wants to me. In possession of "my powerful Indian medicine, I have nothing "to fear. See, I often sing "close to the trees "and leave them in exactly "the same way I did when I first came here. "If they want help, they'll have to ask as men. "That is all there is to it." - Gus Palmer, Jr., "Language & Other Redemptive Things" "I am undestroyed..." - Peltier TRUTH for Anna Mae FREEDOM for Peltier REMEMBER the Murdered --------- "RE: Peltier's Gift Drive for Pine Ridge" --------- Date: Tue, 7 Dec 1999 14:51:45 -0600 From: "LPDC" Subj: Peltier's Gift drive for Pine Ridge Mailing List: LPDC PELTIER HOLIDAY GIFT DRIVE Native American Political Prisoner, Leonard Peltier has organized his usual annual gift drive for the people of the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation, in South Dakota. You can send gifts such as practical, new clothing (gloves, jeans, T-shirts, socks, thermal underwear, sweat-shirts, hats, scarves, jackets, boots, etc.), blankets, pillows, tools, children's toys, etc. to the following address. All sizes, from infant to adult (XXL) are needed. This will be distributed to the people who live on the Pine Ridge Reservation at Leonard's request. Please encourage others to do the same! Thank you. Send the gifts to Geraldine Janis, member of the Elders Council of the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee. Geraldine Janis PO Box 525 Pine Ridge, SD 57770 For more info contact the Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Tel (785) 842-5774, Fax (785) 842-5796, Email lpdc@idir.net, http://www.freepeltier.org - - - -- We recently sent out a message for Leonard Peltier's Holiday Gift Drive to Pine Ridge. If you are able to send gifts to Pine Ridge, please send half to Geraldine Janis, the address which was previously listed, and send the other half to Rosaline Jumping Bull, whose address was not listed (address below). This will make the equal distribution of gifts easier since they are on different parts of Pine Ridge. Please do not send used clothing as gifts. If the quality of the used clothing is good, it can be sent to these addresses later in the year. (Rosaline is especially requesting toys for the kids). Thank you---LPDC Rosaline Jumping Bull Box 207 Oglala, SD 57764 It's 1999, why is Leonard Peltier still in prison??? Leonard Peltier Defense Committee PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044 785-842-5774 www.freepeltier.org To subscribe, send a blank message to < lpdc-on@mail-list.com > --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 19:41:37 -0510 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: Contacting those in the Ironhouse Tell a Native American Prisoner someone cares! The following is a portion of the list of Native American Prisoners incarcerated in prisons throughout the United States. The full list is found at the Native Prisoners Pen Pal list the following web site: http://www.brooks.simplenet.com/penpal.html. The list is compiled from contributions by Wotanging Ikche readers, other friends and from Laura Brooks' research on Native American Spiritual Freedom in Prison. If you know of a Native prisoner who would like to be included here, please e-mail Janet Smith at jans@atlcom.net. My thanks to Laura Brooks for giving this list a home on the web. Satterfield, Charles A Scott, Brett Kevin CV-1549 #184-464 10745 Rt. 18 PO Box 740 Albion, PA 16475-0002 London, OH 43140-0740 Date of Birth: 4/6/65 Date of Birth: 3/19/58 Ancestry: Cherokee Ancestry: Apache Savol, Anthony Self, Terry AP9394 SCI - Albion #253-474 10745 Rt. 18 PO Box 69 Albion, PA 16475-0002 London, OH 43140-0740 Date of Birth: 5/3/54 Date of Birth: 6/20/93 Ancestry: Cherokee/Blackfoot Sequoyah, NI # H27800 Schmidt, Pogey L. San Quentin State Prison #29239 - S-D-139 San Quentin, CA 94974 609 E. Pence Rd. DOB: 1/03/52 Western Missouri Corr. Center Ancestry: Cherokee Camern, MO 64429 New! Native Am