From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Apr 24 02:14:00 2001 Date: 7 Feb 2001 00:37:15 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.006 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ O ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) O o O / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ O o O (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O o o o o O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ VOLUME 09, ISSUE 006 O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' February 10, 2001 O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- Kiowa little bud moon O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, Omaha moon when geese come home 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 It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) This issue contains articles from First Nations, LPDC & ndn-aim mail lists; UUCP email Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination and/or permission for inclusion has been secured. Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A. I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people. IMPORTANT!! ----------- To all who send copywrite protected articles, make very sure you have permission from the copywrite holder (a newspaper, the AP, a magazine, an author) because a new law is now in effect that says you can be prosecuted even if there is no monetary gain. Just because a newspaper has a website where it posts some or all of its editions does not grant permission for their redistribution. Be careful and be sure you pass on the items you do with full permission. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes. <----<<<< >>>>----> This newsletter is a way of keeping the brothers and sisters who share our Spirit informed about current events within the lives of those who walk the Red Road. ++ It may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own internet addressable account to gars@speakeasy.org ++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org "Those who put me here and keep me here knowing of my innocence can take grim satisfaction in their sure reward--which is being who and what they are. That's as terrible a reward as any I could imagine." "I know who and what I am. I am an Indian--an Indian who dared to stand up to defend his people. I am an innocent man who never murdered anyone nor wanted to. And, yes, I am a Sun Dancer. That, too, is my identity. If I am to suffer as a symbol of my people, then I suffer proudly." "I will never yield." __ Leonard Peltier, "Prison Writings...My Life Is My Sun Dance" +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! The National Reparations Convention just ended in Chicago. The singular purpose of this convention was to advance the push for compensation for descendants of African slaves by the United States, including support for a proposal by U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich, that the U.S. Congress pass legislation for reparations. While granting that great wrong was done to Africans who were taken as slaves from their homeland, at least for Africans there remain vast sovereign African states still rich with resources, free Africans observing living traditions, and African tribes who are presently unshackled by the United States or any European government. What have our People been left with? The option of abandoning our identity and culture or remaining on the most barren, sterile concentration camps the U.S. could find for us. Even those lands are not truly our own unless we purchase them. They are held "in trust" by the U.S. pending the day they so eagerly await when there are few enough of us to dissolve our Nations. Sovereignty must be pried from the grasp of the Congress and Department of Interior in tiny increments, one expensive, excruciatingly slow court decision at a time. Before the first African was brought to these shores,Indian people were slaughtered, maimed, and taken in chains back to Europe by explorers, many of whom traded the Indians in the Moroccan slave markets. Europeans fleeing oppression were offered food and shelter by our ancestors. In turn we were "thanked" by having our lands stolen from us, our People taken as slaves, our children forcibly taken and stripped of their language, their ways and their family. Our traditions were first derided, then held as unlawful by the same Europeans who fled their own countries to preserve their traditions. Our women were systematically, involuntarily sterilized in IHS hospitals, it can be proven, through 1982 (I suspect beyond...). Our warriors were conscripted to fight wars for a country they were not even citizens of until 1939. Not even one treaty was allowed to go unbroken by the U.S. government. I have a suggestion for Representative Conyers and his proponents. Take a tour to a rez ... get off the main drag ... and take a little lesson in oppression. Then help bring some long overdue justice to the American Indian. Once you have done that maybe we'll consider your issue. Just sign here... -- - - - REMEMBER our brother who was beat to death, then urinated on. DO NOT let another day pass without voicing your anger and protest! Investigators said the men allegedly took a sewing kit, a pair of scissors and 57 cents from the victim's pockets. Contact the St. Paul, MN courthouse and let the prosecuting attorney know Indian Country is watching. Insure a maximum sentence is imposed! .. .. .. .. Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2001 20:00:18 EST From: Rayann6@aol.com Subj: re:Stevie Thompson Today, 1-11-2001 Judge Paulette Flynn sentenced Jacob Thompson to 153 months in prison for the unintentional murder of Stevie Thompson. This means prison time of 102 months and parole time of 51 months if defendant earns all of his good time. Custody credit for time already served of 176 days. Sentencing guidelines are 144 months to 155 months. When the judge ask if Jacob Thompson wanted to say anything to the family of Stevie Thompson, Jacob said "it is unfortunate that this happened" He had the attitude that it was Stevie's fault that he beat him so bad that he ended up dying. The prosecutor, Jan Barker didn't even show up for the sentencing. She sent a law student to handle the sentencing for her. The law student, Maureen Cato-Perry did a good job in spite of not even having the case file with her in the courtroom. She ask the judge to sentence Jacob Thompson to more prison time than the guide lines called for. She also ask for restitution be made to Stevie's family for funeral and travel expenses. Twelve years in prison is not enough for what this animal did to Stevie. The courts still haven't decided what to charge Joseph Steinhauser with for his part in the killing of Stevie. 176 days after Stevie died his family is still waiting for justice. http://hometown.aol.com/rayann6/StevieThompson.html Peace! Night Owl , , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. gars@olagrande.net ===w=w=== gars@sdf.lonestar.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Lawrence Bedeau - Connecticut ups ante - Frederick Morris Crosses Over in Tribal Recognition - Navajo Eviction by U.S. - Little Shell Tribal Election not Likely Impasse Deepens - Park Service Posts Plan - Residential School Abuse for Hopi Eaglet Gathering - No Plans to Hold Ipperwash Inquiry - Atlantic Natives - Statement of Fedelia Cross to Tackle Fishing Rights - Peltier Plan of Action - Townsend Dig Extended - Pressure Congress - Natives Live in to Support Declassification Third World Conditions - Native Prisoner - Camp Justice News Release - History: Carlisle Indian School - Zapatista Fight is Now for Peace - Rustywire: Snow, Wind & Going Home - Innu Leader Blasts Feds - Poem: Companion for Takeover of Finances - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Mohawks pass - School Offers into Another Millennium Lakota Language Course - Blackfeet Council - Upcoming Events Removes College Board Members - Native America Calling --------- "RE: Lawrence Bedeau" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 09:17:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CROSSING OVER" January 29, 2001 Lawrence Bedeau, 56, tribal conservationist Kavita Kumar/Star Tribune Two amputated legs, declining vision and dialysis treatments three times a week did not keep Lawrence Bedeau from going to work every day. Why? Because he wanted lakes to be clean and abundant with walleye. Because he wanted businesses to thrive so his tribe could be economically self-sufficient. And because he wanted all to be housed, healthy and proud. "The strength and dedication of the man was truly amazing -- even when he was so handicapped by the diabetes," said Red Lake tribal Chairman Bobby Whitefeather. "He would always say, 'There's got to be something left there for the children.'" Bedeau, the longest-sitting tribal council representative of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa and director of its Department of Natural Resources (DNR), died Friday of complications from diabetes at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He was 56. As head of the Red Lake DNR for 14 years, he helped the department grow from a staff of five to 50, making it one of the largest tribal natural resource organizations in the country. One of the higher-profile positions he took was to support a moratorium on fishing for walleye on the Upper and Lower Red Lakes after the population declined because of commercial fishing. "It was daring in one sense because commercial fishing on the reservation was one of the most important sources of income for people of this area," said David Conner, who worked with Bedeau at the DNR. "He had an interest in making the tough decision that in the long run was going to benefit the band." As a tribal councilman representing the Little Rock district for 25 years,he worked to improve housing and the band's economic sustainability. "He was like the foundation of the tribal council," said his sister, Alberta Norris of Coon Rapids. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service honored him in 1998 for his stewardship of the environment and named a picnic shelter in his honor at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge. His survivors include daughters Laureen Neadeau, Karen Bedeau, Connie Bedeau and Melanie Siegal, all of Redlake; a son, Brian Jourdain of Redlake, and eight grandchildren. Services will be held at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Red Lake Humanities Center, Hwy. 1, Redlake. Kavita Kumar can be contacted at kkumar@startribune.com Copyright c. 2001 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 Minneapolis Star Tribune. --------- "RE: Frederick Morris Crosses Over" --------- Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 16:47:52 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: Frederick Morris Crosses Over Frederick Morris Lookout of Hominy, Oklahoma, crossed over Saturday Jan 27 Grandfather Lookout was a full blood Osage and active Elder and participant in all Osage Tribal Ceremonies because of his knowledge of tribal customs and songs. He belonged to the Osage Hunka Division, Eagle Clan, one of the last who can perform the Naming Ritual. His Osage name as XHI-THO-KAH-SHA, meaning, 'Caretaker of the Eagles'. He was the grandson of the late Chief Fred Lookout who was the elected leader of the Osage Nation and the last of the Osage Heredity Chiefs. He was a veteran of WWII who served with the 27th Infantry Division, as a Staff Sergeant. --------- "RE: Navajo Eviction by U.S. not Likely" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 08:17:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BIG MOUNTAIN" Navajos' eviction by U.S. not likely Jerry Kammer The Arizona Republic Jan. 29, 2001 BIG MOUNTAIN - Tension crackled a year ago in the crisp winter air of this high desert rangeland east of the Grand Canyon. Time was running out for Roberta Blackgoat and other Navajos defying an order from Washington to leave their homes by last Feb. 1. Blackgoat, an 83-year-old widow, dug in. Supporters from across the United States and foreign countries joined in denouncing relocation as a human rights violation. Rumors swelled that federal marshals were on their way with eviction orders. The deadline passed without serious incident. A year later, Blackgoat says her failing health - not the federal law - may force her to leave her home, a three-room stone building on a pinon- studded ridge 15 miles from the nearest paved road. "That would make it easier for me to go to the hospital once in a while," Blackgoat said, drawing a strand of gray wool through the loom next to her bed in a room illuminated by a gas lamp and heated by a wood-burning stove. "Some people over by Red Lake want me to move with them." The story of Blackgoat and her confrontation with the federal government is symbolic of the recent history of the long and often bitter Navajo-Hopi land dispute. It is a story of a traditional Navajo clinging to the only life she knows. It also is the story of federal officials whose job it is to enforce the law but who are working patiently with the resisters, some of the most traditional Indians in the United States. "Nobody wants to see any of them hurt," said Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., the only American Indian in the U.S. Senate. "They have traditions that go back long before we even had a government in America, and I think we have to respect those traditions. We have to move very slowly." Under a federal law, Blackgoat's land now belongs to the neighboring Hopis, who also hold the land sacred and who have lived in the area far longer. Congress in 1974 divided nearly 2 million disputed acres equally between the two tribes and began relocating those on the wrong side of the partition line. Because Navajos had settled almost the entire area, relocation has hit them harder. It is a force that denies what Navajos call their own laws - their behasaani, literally " things to go by." They say Navajo religion binds them to the land, with its belief that the Diyiin Dine, the Holy People, live in the springs and the canyons and the mesas. As the deadline loomed a year ago, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Lodge, who is overseeing enforcement of the congressional mandate for relocation, said he would seek a court order to evict the resisters. Other Navajos, having signed an "accommodation agreement" that acknowledged Hopi ownership of the land, were allowed to stay as tenants. But Lodge still has not sought the eviction order. He said last week that he's not sure when he will. Campbell, a Northern Cheyenne, says openly what some government officials have acknowledged privately: Sending in U.S. marshals to enforce the relocation would be an international disgrace. "If you ever saw law enforcement go in there and drag grandmothers out of their traditional homes, that would create the biggest backlash you've ever seen," Campbell said. "That simply is not going to happen." What has happened over the past two decades is that about 14,000 Navajos have relocated. The federal government, after acknowledging that its own bungling had created the problem, has spent nearly $500 million in the effort. Ironically, government-purchased relocation homes have provided many young and educated Navajos a leg up on the American dream. Most have settled into new homes in towns like Flagstaff and Winslow. Others have moved to Phoenix and Los Angeles. But for most elderly Navajos, relocation is a wretched uprooting. It has spawned hundreds of stories of relocatees who have died of broken hearts or alcohol. Some have been swindled out of their new homes by border town loan sharks. Many complain they cannot adjust to subdivisions where there is no room for sheep or corn, where property taxes and utility bills demand money they don't have, where the doors don't face east so they can greet the new sun with the dawn prayer and a sprinkle of corn pollen from a buckskin pouch. "Relocation is about the worst thing you can do to traditional people who are tied to the land," said Thayer Scudder, a California Institute of Technology anthropologist who has studied relocation projects around the world. Most made room for developments such as dams. Scudder long has been a critic of the Navajo relocation. "It has amounted to an unintended form of ethnic cleansing," he said. Congress ordered Navajo relocation in response to an argument by Hopi leaders that their cultural survival was at stake. A much smaller tribe, which has historically lived in mesa-top villages and relied on farming for survival, the Hopis complained that they had been pushed to the wall by the rapid expansion of the sheepherding Navajos. The Hopis, who now number about 10,000, won a stunning political victory over the Navajos, a tribe of more than 200,000. Repeated calls last week seeking comment from Hopi officials were not returned. But until now, the Hopis have remained patient, both with the Navajos and with the federal government. Tribal leaders have said they have no intention of exercising their power to evict the Navajos. They insist the federal government must ensure their rights are protected. Washington rewarded Hopi acceptance of the "accommodation agreement" with a $50 million payment. Meanwhile, Lodge, the assistant U.S. attorney, is pursuing a new idea to avoid an eviction showdown. He has proposed that Navajo tribal leaders sign an agreement to cover all the resisters. The Navajos have expressed interest, but are reluctant to impose such an agreement over people who already blame them for losing the battle in Congress. "The federal government is exploring every conceivable option to avoid violence," Lodge said. But he noted that the resisters are trespassers on Hopi land. "If we can't resolve the issue, then ultimately the only option left will be to seek an eviction order," he said. At her loom on Big Mountain, Blackgoat said that even if she moves closer to the hospital, she will return every chance she gets. "The main thing is this is where I been born and been told how to use this land," she said in broken English. Unlike many of her neighbors, Blackgoat speaks English, which she learned during several years at a government school in the 1920s. "It's really thick in my mind now, so I have to hold tight to it," Blackgoat said. "These trees, these sheep - they know me and I know them." Reach the reporter at jerry.kammer@arizonarepublic.com or 1-(703)292-7661 Copyright 2001, The Arizona Republic. All rights reserved Gannett Co. Inc --------- "RE: Park Service Posts Plan for Hopi Eaglet Gathering" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 07:17:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOPI EAGLET" Park Service posts plan for controversial Hopi eaglet gathering Walter Berry Associated Press Jan. 31, 2001 A National Park Service proposal to allow the Hopi tribe to collect golden eaglets within an Arizona national monument for religious ceremonies is now up for two months of public comment. At least one environmental group is predicting a lawsuit, calling the issue a "constitutional H-bomb" that could mushroom over the entire park system. Frank Buono of the Washington-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility said Wednesday that the proposed rule was "ramrodded through as one of the last acts of the Clinton administration" and his group wants Congress to ultimately decide the controversy. Every spring for centuries, Hopis practicing their tribal religion have gathered fledgling golden eagles from nests perched on the red-hued cliffs of the Wupatki National Monument northeast of Flagstaff and near the tribe's reservation. The birds, considered sacred emissaries by the Hopis, are sacrificed and their feathers used for various religious ceremonies. But in May 1999, Wupatki officials blocked a Hopi eagle-gathering pilgrimage, claiming federal law doesn't exempt Hopis or other Indians from a ban on killing or capturing any wildlife in the monument. The Hopis previously had permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to gather up to 40 eaglets every year with the tribe's religious use exempt from the 1962 federal law protecting golden eagles. The Interior Department and Park Service considered the issue for more than a year before publishing their proposed rule Jan. 22 in the federal register. Park Service spokesman Rick Frost said the proposal "is very specific" and would allow only certain clans within the Hopi tribe to collect the eaglets and only in one area of the Wupatki. However, some environmentalists claim the proposed rule is hypocritical and could eventually open national parks to widespread hunting. "For them to say this proposal won't have an effect elsewhere, they've put blinders on," said Buono, a retired Park Service official and now a board member of the PEER environmental group. "The argument they are using is a constitutional H-bomb. It'll turn into a mushroom cloud that will extend far beyond the Wupatki. "They're basing their whole rule on freedom of religion. All Indians and all Americans have that right, not just Hopis," added Buono. "This rule is an open invitation for other tribes to say that there are rules that interfere with their religion." Buono said parks should be off-limits to any kind of hunting, religious or not. He also is skeptical of the proposal's timing. Frost said the Park Service issued the proposed rule as a means of seeking public comment, which may shape the final decision. "Public comment is crucial. People have strong feelings one way or the other on this," said Frost. "We'll take public comment until late March and assess where we go next. It'll help us determine if the rule is acceptable or whether another approach is needed." Buono suggests a different tact. "The proper way to do this is let Congress decide. The secretary of the interior should not have the power," he said. Wupatki became a national monument in 1924 but Hopi officials said tribal clans have been gathering eaglets at their ancestral home site for more than 500 years. A statement issued Wednesday by the office of tribal chairman Wayne Taylor Jr. applauded the proposed rule, adding that "the relationship between the eagle and the Hopi is intended to ensure that the day-to-day world of the Hopi remains peaceful and productive for another year. "Depriving a people of their religious practice risk the loss of more than their religious freedom... It robs them of their identity and perhaps even their future." Copyright 2001, The Arizona Republic. All rights reserved Gannett Co. Inc --------- "RE: Atlantic Natives to Tackle Fishing Rights" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 08:17:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FISHING RIGHTS" Sunday, January 28, 2001 Atlantic natives to tackle fishing rights By ALISON AULD-- The Canadian Press HALIFAX (CP) -- A stand against Ottawa's piecemeal approach to signing native fishing agreements is being sought this week at a national native fisheries' conference. Beginning Monday, representatives of bands from across Canada will be in Halifax to discuss a national strategy for upcoming negotiations with Ottawa over fishing rights and treaty implementation. Some Atlantic Canadian band chiefs want other natives to resist signing any more interim or long-term fishing agreements in a show of solidarity and defiance against Ottawa. "I would like to see some sort of support for the implementation of the treaty rights," said Chief Reg Maloney, of the Indian Brook reserve in central Nova Scotia. "And there is a lot of talk of people talking about not signing. But when it comes down to everybody doing it, that has to be seen." Maloney's reserve is one of the few in the Atlantic region that has yet to sign the deals that Ottawa began offering last year and which expire in March. Federal negotiators are preparing for a new round of deal-making in accordance with a 1999 Supreme Court of Canada ruling that said Mi'kmaqs and Maliseets have a treaty right to earn a moderate livelihood from hunting, fishing and gathering. Federal Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal has said he'll be seeking longer-term arrangements with the East Coast bands -- agreements that extend for at least three years. The deals, that often come with money, new fishing equipment and training, also include conditions that restrict when natives can fish and require them to have proper Department of Fisheries tags. Many bands in the area signed the deals, but others, like Maloney's and Burnt Church in New Brunswick, refused, claiming they undermined natives' treaty rights to fish when and where they wanted. Ottawa could be up against greater challenges this year because many of the Atlantic chiefs agreed last fall to not sign any more deals until the contentious situation with Burnt Church was resolved. "The vast majority of chiefs in the Atlantic region are this year going to be following Burnt Church's example -- that they won't sign and they'll be entering into their own management schemes," said Brian Bartibogue, a band councillor at Burnt Church. The impoverished reserve in northeastern New Brunswick was the scene of a weeks-long dispute last year, as DFO officers and native fishermen waged a sometimes violent battle on the water over native fishing. Natives refused to fish in season and followed their own fishery management plan in defiance of Ottawa's insistence that it controls the resource. "We're digging in our heels," said Bartibogue. The fact that other cash-poor bands have signed the deals has frustrated some natives who have fought for the principle of preserving what they say are their decades-old treaty rights. Maloney says the enticement of money and fishing gear was too much for some reserves to resist. "Money is much needed in our communities, employment is much needed too, but employment should be there without us having to sign these agreements, " he said before the start of the National Fisheries Strategy Conference. "Ottawa continually throws up the fact that all these bands have signed these agreements and just a few bands haven't signed. But it is a matter of principle and the honour of the Crown is at stake." The Assembly of First Nations' three-day meeting in Halifax will look at the broad issue of native fishing rights, including how natives develop their own fishing plans and deal with legal issues. Matthew Coon Come, the Assembly's national chief, will open the meeting. Donald Marshall Jr., the man whose Supreme Court of Canada case sparked the fishing dispute, will speak Tuesday. Copyright c. 2001 The Canadian Press --------- "RE: Townsend Dig Extended" --------- Date: Sun, 4 Feb 2001 20:20:50 -0600 From: mls Subj: Townsend dig extended Mailing List: First Nations Townsend dig extended until end of month 2001-02-04 by Iva Butler of The Daily Times Staff Archaeologists have been given until the end of February to gear down and finish the dig at Townsend before work can proceed on four- and five- laning U.S. 321 and Tenn. 73. Since 80 percent of the funding to widen the road from Kinzel Springs to near the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park is federal, the regulations on preservation of historic places must be followed. This necessitated the archaeological dig to retrieve facts about how early man lived in Tuckaleechee Cove before the road work could continue. The dig was to have ended Dec. 31, but Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) gave archaeologists two additional months "to gear down and finish up the work in progress," said Charles "Chuck" Bentz, head of the University of Tennessee Center for Transportation Research, the group TDOT contracted with to do the dig. The gearing down includes mapping the archaeological elements found at the site in front of the Apple Barn. "We haven't started any new excavations since Dec. 31. We are scheduled to be out of the field by the end of February," Bentz said. Archaeologists recently placed different colored plates around a stockade, houses and corn cribs at the site across the from the Family Inn. A plane then flew over and photographs were taken showing what the fortified village, that dates back to 1200 A.D., looked like at that time in history. The plates were placed over post holes that supported the structures and fortifications of the early Native Americans. It is not known what tribe inhabited the Tuckaleechee Cove at that time. It was not the Cherokee because they moved in at a later date. In the center of the village was a bare area which served as the plaza, an area that was split by the construction of the current two-lane U.S. 321. Bentz said the stockade once also crossed the road and circled on land outside the right-of-way the state owns for the road, land that could not be archaeologically explored. Thus far 33 burials have been found at the Townsend archaeological sites, plus a mortuary that contained 25 more for a total of 58. --------- "RE: Natives Live in Third World Conditions" --------- Date: Mon, 22 Jan 2001 07:24:33 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="THIRD WORLD CONDITIONS" Clarkson: Our natives live in Third World conditions Saturday 20 January 2001 'I have to be able to make this real to all Canadians so they understand it,' governor general says Mike Blanchfield The Ottawa Citizen DAVIS INLET, Nfld. -- Gov. Gen. Adrienne Clarkson says Canadians must wake up to the reality that native people across the country are living in Third World conditions. And she doesn't think her non-political office, as head of state, should prevent her from bringing that to the country's attention. "I think Canadians have to be made aware of it," she told the Citizen yesterday during her visit to this impoverished and remote northern Innu community of 550. "It's so easy when you're living a life in a southern city -- you just don't think about the needs of other people in your country." Madame Clarkson made the comments on the second day of her tour of northern Labrador's Innu communities. Davis Inlet and Sheshatshiu, which she toured Thursday, received national attention last fall when television images showed teenagers there sniffing gasoline. The chiefs of the two communities implored the federal government to act, sparking Prime Minister Jean Chretien to promise a new detoxification centre for the region on the final day of last fall's federal election campaign. Madame Clarkson travelled to the two communities at the invitation of Innu leaders to see for herself the effects of poverty, alcoholism, teen solvent abuse and pervasive hopelessness. Despite the fire she has drawn this week for wading into the political arena -- she was criticized for tacitly supporting gay marriage after a staffer sent a gay couple a polite note declining an invitation to their wedding -- Madame Clarkson made it clear she does not think her largely ceremonial role as Governor General ought to stop her from shining a spotlight on Canada's dispossessed. "I don't think I'm constrained by it," she said in an interview. "I have to be able to make this real to all Canadians so they understand it. I think they want to understand it," Madame Clarkson said. In a letter earlier this week to Bishop Gerald Wiesener, president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, about the gay-marriage controversy, Madame Clarkson said she does not wish to be drawn into public debate on sensitive issues. She credited the media for reporting such problems as those of gas- sniffing children and for raising the public interest. "I'm bringing it along in my own way by saying, 'Pay attention to this. This is really important,' " said Madame Clarkson, a former CBC television journalist. She said she has seen abject poverty in aboriginal communities during her travels in the last year as Governor General, and saw it on her first trip to the north as a journalist in the early 1970s. "This is not an isolated problem. This is not just the Labrador Peninsula. This is a problem for a lot of our aboriginal peoples, coming from isolation, coming from poverty we normally associate with the Third World." Madame Clarkson said she was struck this week by the vibrancy of Innu culture and hoped Canadians would not write them off as a lost cause. But she also acknowledged the dark side that is a way of life here. "I know there are big problems," she said of the gas-sniffing. "They're probably in the woods now, doing it." She doesn't think Canadians lack compassion, or the desire to do something; they just need to be made more aware of the problems within their own country's borders. "I think Canadians should be concerned, deeply, deeply concerned about the way in which children particularly are growing up without hope and without some of the same opportunities, like sports activities, like community centres, all of the sort of things we take for granted that our children can have." Before Madame Clarkson's RCMP Twin Otter plane touched down in Davis Inlet yesterday morning, the community's leader said he hoped her visit would highlight its plight and the pressing need to move the villagers to a new community further inland that would have running water and other amenities sorely lacking here. "I don't call it a community. I call it a graveyard now," Davis Inlet Chief Simeon Tshakapesh said in an interview. "People have no hope in this community." Since the early 1990s, the government has been working on an Innu resettlement scheme. The new community would have running water, a proper landfill and a main access road -- all lacking now in Davis Inlet. However, Chief Tshakapesh said moving would not solve the community's problems of alcoholism, drug abuse, poverty and despair. Last week, Chief Tshakapesh defied Newfoundland's health department by sending 33 drug-addicted teens to an emergency detoxification centre in St. John's. The department told him it would be against the law for him to do that before health professionals assessed the teens. He said convincing Madame Clarkson to visit the Innu communities this week was "a political coup." "It will open the eyes of Canada about what aboriginal people are living like in Davis Inlet," he said. Madame Clarkson met for two hours with Davis Inlet elders, before touring a ramshackle hockey rink and health centre. The elders urged her to support construction of sports complexes in Davis Inlet and Sheshatshiu, which would have modern facilities and help combat the boredom of gas-sniffing youth. The complexes are expected to cost upwards of $5 million each. Madame Clarkson supports their construction and said she would act as the honorary chairwoman of their fund-raising foundation to help raise money for their construction. "What I want Canadians to know is this community needs this kind of centre," she said, adding she doesn't expect the complexes to solve the problems. "I don't know that it's asking too much. It's an important thing to realize this money will be spent in a way that is important for the kids." Copyright c. 2001 Ottawa Citizen Group Inc. --------- "RE: Camp Justice News Release" --------- Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 08:35:21 -0500 From: "Jordan S. Dill" Subj: Camp Justice news release Mailing List: First Nations For Immediate News Release, 01-31-2001 Please send this news release far and wide, especially to media sources. From: Camp Justice, Organizers, Leaders and Supporters of "Camp Justice" and the "March for Justice" to White Clay, Nebraska Date: January 31, 2001 Contact: Spokespersons: Tom Poor Bear, or Loren Black Elk, Webster Poor Bear, Tom Clifford Phones: 605-462-6662, 605-867-2244 or 605-867-2669 Fax: 605-462-6518 or 605-867-2609 Address: Camp Justice, c/o Tom Poor Bear, P.O. Box 823, Pine Ridge SD 57770 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Still Standing Strong and True For Justice Camp Justice has reorganized and now has a new official web site. Camp Justice organizers wish to thank supporter and friend, Jordan Dill for all his encouragement and help in building and maintaining our new site (see ). He will also be helping us with a new Camp Justice mailing list to honor, support, protect our organizers, volunteers and supporters. The "White Clay Six" Warriors for Justice are charged with failure to comply with a lawful order and obstruction of Justice for crossing into White Clay, Nebraska on July 3, 1999 to protest against unsolved murders, liquor sales and to reclaim White Clay. They appeared before Judge Charles Plantz in Sheridan County Court in Rushville, Nebraska on January 21st at 1:00pm. Camp Justice lawyer, Jerry Matthews will not be renewing his licence to practice law in Nebraska and has been granted permission from the court to withdraw as legal council. We appreciate all that Jerry has done for us, pro-bono. He states he will still help us. We wish him well in all that he does. We are in need of a strong, compassionate lawyer licensed to practice in Nebraska. The "White Clay Six" Warriors for Justice who were arrested are still standing strong. They are Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) President John Steele, OST Sergeant at Arms Tom Poor Bear, Webster Poor Bear, Frank LaMere, Benedict "Bennie" Black Elk and Gary Moore. The District Attorney has offered the "White Clay Six" a deal. If one of the six agrees to stand trial, charges will be dropped for the other five. At this time, the six have stated that they will stand strong together to the very end and they want to be tried by a jury of their peers not by the court. Their final decision is expected in about a week. On January 3rd members of Camp Justice went before the OST executive committee to ask them to take a strong position and join Camp Justice in applying pressure to federal, state and local authorities in seeking justice and accountability. This, with regard to all the unsolved murders in Sheridan County and Western South Dakota. They also demanded accountability with regard to the murder investigations. The OST executive committee voted unanimously to help Camp Justice as well as seek justice for our people who are exploited by the liquor establishments in White Clay. We have lost many of our people due to the activities of the White Clay liquor businesses. These businesses do not protect our people, do not offer security, protection or help for those leaving their establishments and do not offer any kind of help or funding to address the alcohol sickness they contribute to. They continue to make millions of dollars per year in liquor sales, mainly from our people. Deaths, beatings, rapes, car accidents and families have been lost and torn apart due to the actions of these businesses. It's time to hold them accountable for the losses and tragedies that have occurred. Therefore, Camp Justice is still actively involved in protesting the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission's decision to continue issuing liquor licenses in White Clay, Nebraska...a town that continues to be a source of destruction and exploitation of the Lakota People... town that is in direct defiance of existing Treaties and Presidential Orders. President Chester A. Arthur issued an Executive Order in 1882 to protect Native American Indians from traveling to White Clay to sell or barter goods for alcohol. This order has been ignored. On February 12, 2001 members of Camp Justice, the Oglala Sioux Tribe (OST) and Nebraskans For Peace (NFP) will travel to Lincoln, NE to address the Nebraska Liquor Commission concerning White Clay liquor sales issues and concerns. The agenda will be released next week. Attorney James Abourezk of Abourezk Law Firm needs money for research. He has been working on White Clay land issues and wrote a letter to Vice President Al Gore (this letter will soon be available at the Camp Justice web site) requesting that President Clinton rescind President Roosevelt's executive orders pertaining to White Clay. Lynn Cutler, the Indian Specialist for the White House stated "That is not going to happen." Mr. Abourezk is now trying to approach the Bush administration to rescind the orders. Tom Poor Bear, with the help of the OST, is trying to get the Native American Rights Fund legal team to help Mr. Abourezk on OST land issues. Camp Justice organizers ask supporters to continue to show support by faxing letters of support to Camp Justice at 605-462-6518 and to local media in their area. We need help with legal fee funding for an attorney. Those maintaining Camp Justice are still in need of donations and supplies to help feed visitors, maintain the camp, buy calling cards, transportation and to continue the occupation. Several elders have moved to the camp. Camp Justice and the weekly Walks for Justice to White Clay were established shortly after Wally Black Elk and Ron Hard Heart were brutally beaten, mutilated and found dead near the Nebraska/South Dakota border on June 8, 1999. They were last seen about 10:30pm on June 6th walking from White Clay back to Pine Ridge. The reward for information leading to an arrest of the murderer(s) of Wally and Ron has been increased to $40,000. We are still trying to get the reward increased to $50,000. Officials refuse to release information specific to the investigation. We want to know what they are hiding and when they intend to inform us of the details or account for missing statements and leads that were made. Several family members of Ron and Wally are filing a law suit against officials for the inadequate way investigations were conducted. Camp Justice goals are to keep the pressure on local, state and federal law enforcement, to solve the murders of Wally and Ron, to maintain a physical and spiritual presence at Camp Justice so as to ensure that no other beatings or murders occur. Camp Justice hopes to create a public awareness campaign within our tribe, the state, and on a national level regarding the issues of the disparity of justice that exists for our Lakota people. Camp Justice wants to highlight criminal activity that is occurring in White Clay; i.e. underage drinking, prostitution, assaults, deaths from drunk driving, thefts, and murders. Finally, Camp Justice wants to reclaim the town of White Clay which clearly belongs to the Oglala Oyate by treaty. Camp Justice organizers wish to thank all the supporters who came to Amherst, Mass. to help raise funds to continue our advocacy efforts. It has been reported to us that $1,300 was raised and given to organizer Loren Black Elk (who maintains the camp). Loren reports funds were used for transportation and to purchase supplies for the camp. Organizers had intended to install electricity at the camp but decided to postpone installation until the ground thaws. They also used a portion of the funds to obtain supplies to keep the camp going through the harsh winter. Members of Camp Justice are now helping with the 28th Annual Wounded Knee memorial activities to be held February 24, 2001. Camp Justice strives to work in a good way with the media and human and civil rights volunteers and organizations. Members of Camp Justice are continuing to assist with security and support to help protect the Sacred Cannupa and the Grass Roots elders, families and visitors occupying the Red Cloud Tribal Building whose mission is to address issues of corruption in Pine Ridge and throughout the homelands. Camp Justice will continue to stand United and Strong in our efforts to obtain the Justice and Accountability our nation deserves and expects. In the Spirit of Human & Civil Justice, Camp Justice, Tom Poor Bear ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Written and Presented on behalf of: Camp Justice Organizers, Volunteers and millions of Supporters protecting and praying for the Lakota Nation. Camp Justice & March for Justice Lakota Oyate Organizers Spokespersons: Tom Poor Bear, Loren Black Elk, Webster Poor Bear, Tom Clifford Elder Spokesperson: Johnson Holy Rock Other Organizers: Ben Black Elk, Wayne Black Elk, Reggie & Faye Cedar Face, Ede Sherman, Dave Clifford, Jun Little, Alberta Black Bear, Chaz Little Bear, Moses Thunder Hawk, Lloyd Fire Thunder, Billy & Rose Beane, Robin Mesteth, Tony Brave, Lyman Red Cloud, Guy George Janis, Tuck LeBeau, Steve Little Sky, Vicky Thunder Hawk, Gary Moore and Sandra Matchen. Legal Advisors: Jerry Matthews,NSBA,155517,Abourezk Law Firm, Native American Rights Fund Send Letters of Support, Donations and Supplies to: Camp Justice c/o Tom Poor Bear P.O. Box 823 Pine Ridge, SD 57770 -- Jordan S. Dill, Editor The Native American Village --------- "RE: Zapatista Fight is Now for Peace" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 09:17:54 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MARCOS/PEACE" January 30, 2001 Mexico Rebel Chief Says the Fight Is Now for Peace By GINGER THOMPSON The New York Times AN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico, Jan. 28 - There was a different kind of fight in the rebel leader's voice. The urgency was unchanged from the day seven years ago when he first declared war against the Mexican government on behalf of a ragtag mob of Indians called the Zapatista National Liberation Army. Their cause, the pursuit of equal rights for all of Mexico's 10 million indigenous people, remained their primary goal. But in an interview in the jungles of Chiapas, his first with an American newspaper in four years, the elusive Subcommander Marcos made it clear that the masked rebels want peace. "We want to stop being what we are," he said, his dark eyes so intense that the ski mask covering the rest of his face could not conceal his expression. "We are people without faces, armed and fighting for what we believe." "We would like to show our faces," he continued. "We would like to put down our weapons, but to keep fighting for our beliefs like people in every other part of the world." Although his words at times shifted from caution to outrage, the message that rang like a church bell was that peace could soon come to Chiapas. In seven years, there have been only a dozen days of combat between the Zapatistas and government troops, leaving 145 people dead. But hundreds have been killed in clashes between rebel supporters and pro- government paramilitary groups. Thousands of others have been forced to flee their homes. "I'm optimistic," the guerrilla leader said. "I think we will have a successful dialogue with the government, that the war will be ended and that we will be able to move on to new work." For a man and a movement that have been shrouded in mystery, it was a rare moment of candor. It comes one month before he and a 23- member commission of Zapatista leaders are planning to march on Mexico City in a caravan snaking across at least six states and more than a dozen cities, and culminating in an address before Congress. The rebels will campaign for the passage of a series of new Indian rights - known as the San Andres accords - which, if passed, would mark the most significant achievement of the movement. It would also mark the Zapatistas' first step toward becoming a legitimate political organization. During the interview, Subcommander Marcos, who has become an idol to leftist groups around the world, shunned his signature theatrics and sharp sarcasm to talk forthrightly about the lingering obstacles to peace, about the achievements of the Zapatista movement, and about his own postwar plans. He and another rebel commander known as Tacho had sneaked on horseback into the tiny village of La Realidad. They came with no body guards, and they did not orchestrate any gimmicky displays of force. Perhaps because of the larger- than-life image of the subcommander that has been perpetuated by leftists around the world, he seemed surprisingly small, perhaps 5 feet, 8 inches, with narrow shoulders and hands that looked ill-suited for combat. His eyes were watery, and he sniffled from a cold. The automatic rifle slung across his back seemed the only threatening thing about him. When asked about it, he said it was not loaded. Seated in a tumbledown mess hall, dimly lit with candles, he acknowledged during the 90-minute interview that a brewing political storm in the Mexican Congress could wreck the prospect for peace. But what worried him most was whether Mexico's new president, Vicente Fox, would respond fully to a list of rebel demands and keep the stalemated Zapatista conflict moving toward a resolution. Copyright c. 2001 The New York Times Company --------- "RE: Innu Leader Blasts Feds for Takeover of Finances" --------- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:17:31 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INNU RESPONSE" Innu leader blasts feds for takeover of finances ST. JOHN'S, Nfld. (CP) - The head of the Innu Nation denounced the federal government Wednesday for taking over the finances of the two Innu communities in Labrador. Peter Penashue, whose group represents the 1,800 Innu in Davis Inlet and Sheshatshiu, said the Indian Affairs Department went too far this week when it hired a private accounting firm to manage their financial affairs. "That's too heavy-handed," Penashue said in an interview. "I have no idea why they chose this route." The new arrangement, known as third-party management, was introduced Monday because both communities have amassed large deficits, said a federal spokesman. "When faced with a challenge of this size, this type of action is necessary," Steve Outhouse said Wednesday. "Third-party management. . . (will enable) community members to work with the managers to learn, and to be trained so they will have the skills necessary to assume the finances themselves." But Penashue said neither community will learn anything from this new arrangement because all financial decisions will be made by strangers based in another city. "All they will be doing is signing cheques," he said. "They'll have no role within the community." Instead, the Innu leader wants the federal department to introduce a more co-operative approach called co-management. Under such an arrangement, the band councils in each community would be consulted before any spending is authorized. The government's bold move comes at an awkward time for both communities. In the past two months, about 35 children from Davis Inlet and Sheshatshiu have been taken away to be treated for chronic gas sniffing. TV images and photographs showing children inhaling gas fumes from plastic bags have shocked Canadians and embarrassed a government that routinely reminds them that Canada ranks as the best place in the world to live. The chief of Davis Inlet continued to heap scorn on the government's move Wednesday. Simeon Tshakapesh suggested the parents of gas sniffers should remove their kids from treatment as an act of defiance. Penashue said both communities are saddled with deficits because the federal government has not provided enough funds to pay for crucial recreation programs. The total budget for the band council in Sheshatshiu is about $12 million, with about $7.2 million coming from Indian Affairs. The budget deficit is about $2 million, Penashue said. "This is not a big problem," he added. "It can be dealt with through remedial management plans." Outhouse, speaking from his office in Hull, Que., said the deficit was large enough "to threaten the delivery of services to community members." Meanwhile, a dissident group within Sheshatshiu has staged numerous protests at the band council office to demand Chief Paul Rich step down. Rich, who has dismissed the group as malcontents, did not return phone calls Wednesday. In Davis Inlet, the deficit is about $3 million on a total budget of about $25.7 million, most of which is earmarked for the eventual relocation of the island community to a new site on the north coast of Labrador. The new management team, led by Toronto-based KPMG, will likely set up shop in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, 33 kilometres south of Sheshatshiu. Copyright 1996-2001. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Mohawks pass into Another Millennium" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 08:17:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="COLONIZERS" Mohawks pass into another millennium Editorial: The Eastern Door By: Kenneth Deer They thought it would never happen. The colonizers that is. They thought that we would fade away, assimilate or just die out before the end of the last century. But we fooled them. We're still here, as feisty as ever. When the Indian Advancement Act was written in 1873, there was no intention to have `Indians' around for another 100 years. We were supposed to have advanced into average Canadians. We didn't think that was much of an advancement so we tried our best to remain who we are. Now that we've survived this long, we have to look at how we will continue to survive into the future. As long as we are a minority in numbers, we will always be threatened with assimilation into the larger society. Assimilation is the greatest threat to our existence. Unlike ethnic groups in Canada who can replenish their culture and language by importing more of their people from their home country, we do not have that luxury. This is our homeland and we are all that there is. As we look back at our situation one hundred years ago and beyond, we have shown that we are a very adaptable people. We have managed to take from the colonizers what we needed (sometimes things that we didn't really need either and which were detrimental to our existence) and, from the time of the fur trade, used our strategic location, knowledge of the rivers and forests, strength of organization, pragmatic diplomacy and, at times, sheer force and intimidation, to ensure our continued survival. In the future, many of these assets, and more, will be needed to continue our existence. In no particular order, we have to be wary about the following issues that impact our existence and draw us toward assimilation in the new century: - Ongoing government policies that intend to achieve the ultimate goals of the Indian Advancement Act; the Canadian governments self-government policy and other policies intended to terminate our nation to nation relationship. - The loss of our language. The foundation of the Mohawk culture must survive at all costs. We can't allow the attitude that the Mohawk language is not important and will not help anyone get a job. - The loss of culture and language through intermarriage. Laws against intermarriage are not enforceable so we must continue to raise our children to understand their responsibility to the continued existence of our language and culture. - The loss of our connection to the land. A fundamental principle of our existence has been and will continue to be our close attachment to the land. We must not relinquish that attachment. We need to continue and nourish this connection. - The erosion of our teachings. We need to protect our intellectual property; our songs, stories, plants, medicines, philosophies and other important parts of our culture. - The loss of our identity. We must remain Mohawk or Kanien'keha:ka which is the real word which describes us. We must maintain our uniqueness through our family, education system and community. - The inundation of outside culture through media. We must re-evaluate our attachment to TV, movies, electronic games, internet, and other devices which threatens to assimilate, not only us but the rest of the world, into one homogenized culture dominated by the United States. - The loss of the extended family. We must keep family and clan ties that have carried us though the centuries. We must maintain our human relationships and not drift into imaginary, virtual realties. - Overwhelming use of modern technology. We must use modern technology to secure our own survival, not the survival of the dominant society. - The fragmentation of the Mohawk Nation. We must reunite as a People again. - The loss of respect and dignity. We must regain the values of respect for one another, to really listen to what others have to say, to be unselfish, to look out for the good of the whole, and to always carry the dignity of your ancestors where ever you go. There are other elements that can be added to this list, but it is a good place to start. Add your own, apply them all and there will still be Kanien'keha:ka at the next millennium. Copyright c. 1997-2000 The Eastern Door --------- "RE: Blackfeet Council Removes College Board Members" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 02:06:38 -0800 (PST) From: Anne Bates Subj: Blackfeet Tribal Council removes members from college board Mailing List: ndn-aim Blackfeet Tribal Council removes members from college board Associated Press BROWNING (AP) - The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council has removed three senior members from the reservation's community college board before the end of their terms, citing concerns over the school's financial stability. "The tribal council felt they needed to bring other folks in to take a fresh look at the college and the financial condition of it," said Joe McKay, an attorney working on contract for the council. The tribal council removed Blackfeet Community College board chairman Wayne Juneau, Stan Juneau and Joe Arrow Top from their posts during a closed-door meeting Tuesday. The council appointed three interim board members until a selection committee can appoint permanent members. Stan Juneau and Arrow Top said they weren't notified of the meeting and learned of their removal second hand. "I have never been provided with a reason or what the alleged charges are against me," said Stan Juneau. Tribal Chairman Earl Old Person has refused to comment on the reason for the board members' removal. McKay said the tribal council had wanted to remove Stan Juneau and Wayne Juneau for months. The two men are brothers, and tribal regulations prohibit one family from dominating a government board. But Stan Juneau and Arrow Top said they're victims of politics. One of the interim board members, Harold Dusty Bull, is the nephew of Old Person, Stan Juneau said. And a year ago, the BCC board voted not to renew Old Persons' niece, Carol Murray, as president of the college, Juneau said. The three BCC board members removed this week were the only remaining members involved in that vote, he said. Old Person strongly denied suggestions of nepotism and political motives. "That has nothing to do with this," Old Person said. "In fact, I didn't want to be part of this, but it's still my duty. ... We're the ones that hire the board. If there's questions about them naturally somebody's going to find out what we can do to help correct it." McKay said staff from the college approached the tribal council with concerns. Arrow Top said some of the staff members were unhappy with hiring decisions made by the college president Dorothy Still Smoking that were backed by the BCC board. McKay said the tribal council also was troubled about Wayne Juneau directing students in the college's vocational program to do improvement work on the Margie Kennedy Center in Heart Butte. Juneau is director of the tribally run center, which serves as a residential center for the homeless or tribal members with drug and alcohol problems. "To those of us locked away in here, there's nothing more important than being remembered." Leonard Peltier Freedom for Leonard Peltier, Standing Deer & Red Hawk http://www.angelfire.com/wy/nainmatessupportgrp//index.html FREE LEONARD PELTIER --------- "RE: Connecticut ups ante in Tribal Recognition" --------- Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 08:48:17 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CONNECTICUT" Connecticut ups ante in tribal recognition By suing the Bureau of Indian Affairs to gain a foothold in the recognition process, the state takes a precedent-setting step. BY ELIZABETH ABBOTT Journal Staff Writer HARTFORD, Conn. -- Gale Norton has her work cut out for her. As the new interior secretary, she inherits a conflict so prickly and intractable, it recently prompted Connecticut's attorney general to take unprecedented action. Fed up with how the federal government recognizes new Indian tribes, Atty. Gen. Richard Blumenthal sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs in U.S. District Court in Hartford. The three towns that surround Foxwoods Resort Casino -- Ledyard, North Stonington and Preston -- are also plaintiffs in the case. "We were left with no other choice to protect our rights," Blumenthal said last week. For the past two years, the state and towns have tried to participate in the recognition process as it applied to two groups, the Eastern Pequots and the Paucatuck Eastern Pequots. But the federal government "refused to recognize valid rights we were asserting," he said. The lawsuit asks for an injunction to stop the Bureau of Indian Affairs from taking any additional action on the petitions of the Eastern Pequots and Paucatuck Easterns. In March of last year, the bureau made a preliminary finding that both groups were legitimate. In addition, it wants the Bureau of Indian Affairs' preliminary findings regarding the two Pequot groups withdrawn. "Only tribes that merit recognition should receive it -- and only through a process that respects the law," Blumenthal said at a Jan. 18 news conference, announcing the lawsuit. That process now is "riddled with irregularities" that do a "grave, lasting injustice to all citizens," he said, forcing him to take this unprecedented step. According to Blumenthal, no state has sued the Bureau of Indian Affairs over tribal recognition before. Connecticut, of course, has special reason to be concerned about this issue. Federal recognition gives tribes the right to open a casino and the state already has two enormous Indian casinos within 12 miles of each other -- Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun. Based in the same vicinity as Foxwoods, the Eastern Pequots have said they plan to open a casino once their recognition becomes final. But Blumenthal said all states have reason to be worried about the Bureau of Indian Affairs' process, whether they have casinos or not, because recognition has very far-reaching consequences. Recognized tribes are considered sovereign entities with the right to have their own governments, court systems and, in some cases, to take land off the tax rolls. Tribal-owned land is often free from local planning and zoning laws, enabling a tribe to develop it as it wishes. "The issue is larger than simply gaming," Blumenthal said. Prior to suing, last year Blumenthal called for a moratorium on the recognition of new tribes. But the then-head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Kevin Gover, rejected that idea. "We want to stop the process until the people in charge play by the rules," Blumenthal said. The bureau is preparing an answer to Blumenthal's lawsuit, spokeswoman Nedra Darling said last week. Beyond that, she declined to comment on the litigation. Last week, a spokeswoman for the Eastern Pequots said the tribe was disappointed by Blumenthal's action. The tribe was concerned not only for itself, but also for other tribes seeking recognition, Nancy Tyler said. About 200 groups have petitions pending, according to the bureau. At the same time, the Eastern Pequots are confident they will prevail, "no matter what roadblocks are put in their path," Tyler said. They began the recognition process 22 years ago and have adhered to all of its requirements, she said. The Paucatuck Easterns could not be reached for comment. Rhode Island has reason to be concerned about this issue. Although the state has only one federally recognized tribe -- the Narragansetts -- three other groups are now seeking that status, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs: the Pokanoket Tribe of the Wampanoags, the Pokanoket/Wampanoag Federation and the Seaconke Wampanoag. In addition, several Massachusetts-based groups seeking recognition claim ancestral lands in Rhode Island. One of these -- the Hassanamisco Band of the Nipmuc Nation -- received preliminary approval from the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Jan. 19, one day after Connecticut filed its lawsuit. The Nipmucs claim ancestral land in Connecticut, too, as well as in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Blumenthal was outraged by the bureau's action. "The timing and other circumstances of this decision -- issued literally on the eve of the outgoing administration's departure -- does a grave, lasting disservice to the credibility of the entire recognition process," he said in a statement. " . . . the decision's timing -- so lacking in basic courtesy and common sense -- adds a resounding exclamation mark to our call for reform of the recognition process by the new Congress and incoming Administration," he said. Norton succeeds Bruce Babbitt as interior secretary and, as such, oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs. She hasn't had time yet to study the tribal recognition issue, Stephanie Hanna, a spokeswoman for the Interior Department, said on Friday. Norton also hasn't yet named a successor to Gover, who left the bureau with the Clinton administration. Officials in Connecticut, Blumenthal included, say they are looking forward to working with the new administration. "We're hoping that they will be more responsive," said North Stonington's first selectman, Nicholas H. Mullane II. Meanwhile, a hearing is set for this Friday on the issue. Arranged by Rep. Rob Simmons, Connecticut's newly elected Republican congressman, the hearing will focus on the tribal recognition process and the 1983 Land Settlement Act. That act awarded recognition to the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, which in turn opened Foxwoods Resort Casino. The hearing is set for 10 a.m. in Room 1-D in the State Legislative Office Building in Hartford. It is expected to last into the evening. The public is invited. Copyright c. 2001 The Providence Journal Company --------- "RE: Little Shell Tribal Election Impasse Deepens" --------- Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 08:48:17 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LITTLE SHELL" Little Shell tribal election impasse deepens By JAMES HAGENGRUBER Of The Gazette Staff Allegations of election fraud have bitterly divided Montana's Little Shell Tribe, which had until recently been unified by a 110-year quest for federal recognition. The tribe's leaders refused to leave office after the November election, saying candidates that challenged their seats campaigned illegally. The candidates dispute the allegations and have mounted a campaign to remove the tribe's governing officers. While there's little common ground in the disagreement, both sides say they are saddened by the dispute. "I'm just thoroughly disgusted. I'm saddened, and I'm disgusted," said Chinook resident John Gilbert, who was the tribe's officially recognized chairman until he stepped down this week because of the fight. John Sinclair, of Havre, claims that he legitimately won the chairman's seat. A dissident group of tribal members said they would only recognize Sinclair as tribal chairman. The group will meet with Sinclair in Billings Saturday to plan legal action against the tribal leaders. "We tried everything we could to settle this outside of court," Sinclair said. "We will not stop until justice is done." A mediation proposal was given to tribal leaders last Friday. The leaders did not respond to the request and on Saturday held swearing-in ceremonies in Great Falls. "We're taking that as a direct no that they don't want to mediate," said dissident leader Diann Grantham, who ran for office but was later accused of mail fraud in conducting her campaign. Council member Larry Olson said the mediation proposal was not acceptable and the current tribal government is legitimate. "It would not fit in with our constitution," he said. Olson said the tribe has "strong evidence" indicating election fraud. He also said the dissident leaders could face a lawsuit because they are representing their meetings illegally by using the Little Shell name. "What they're tying to do is set up a tribe all themselves," he said. "These are dissidents. They are a faction that's very vocal. We really feel they've overstepped their bounds completely. We will take necessary measures to get the tribe on track again. If they continue on, we will take legal action." The dispute could threaten the tribe's quest for federal recognition, Gilbert said. "Of all the times to do this, It just flabbergasts me. I can't believe this," he said. "We don't need to give these people an excuse to turn us down. History shows us the U.S. government strategy is divide and conquer." In May, the U.S. Interior Department signed an order granting preliminary federal recognition of the tribe, which has about 4,000 members. The tribe is still working to gain permanent federal recognition, which would mean access to federal health, education and housing services. It would also mean respect and equal status with Montana's other 11 tribes. Grantham and Sinclair said the dispute could help the tribe's efforts because it is bringing many tribal members together. Sinclair estimated that 95 percent of the tribe supports the efforts of the dissidents. "The people are behind us," he said. "We are going to go forward this weekend and set up a transition team. I don't think recognition is in danger." Billings resident Ed Lavenger won a seat on the tribe's council and was not accused of election fraud but has refused to take office and has since lent his support to the dissidents. Grantham said she's pleased by the widespread support and feels confident the Little Shell's growing pains will eventually lead to a better government for the tribe. "We're just trying to start out as a new nation on the right feet," she said. "I really don't think it's going to hurt recognition. I think it's going be pulling the people together. I think as a whole we're showing we're united." The recent election dispute will be discussed Saturday at noon in Billings at the Friendship House, 3123 Eighth Ave. South. All are welcome. James Hagengruber can be reached at 657-1232 or at jhagengruber@billingsgazette.com Copyright c. The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: Residential School Abuse" --------- Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 07:17:23 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ABUSE" Sympatico NewsExpress Thurs, Feb 1st Dozens of Inuit men take territories to court over residential school abuse IQALUIT, Nunavut (CP) - Dozens of Inuit men who claim they were sexually abused in northern residential schools are suing Nunavut and the Northwest Territories over acts that predate the two governments' creation. "The root cause is too familiar - a pedophile who is confident that he is in a situation where he can thrive," said lawyer Geoffrey Budden, who was also involved in the Mount Cashel sex abuse lawsuits. "For the most part, (the pedophile) calculated correctly." The lawsuit stems from the acts of Edward Horne, 57, who worked as a teacher in the northern communities of Cape Dorset and Sanikiluaq in the 1970s and 80s. Last September, Horne pleaded guilty to 19 counts of indecent assault and one count of buggery and was sentenced to five years in jail. More than 50 other charges were stayed. The lawsuit, filed on behalf of 49 men, alleges acts from fondling to fellatio and rape. Stephen Rubino, a New Jersey lawyer assisting Budden, says the case will be based on Horne's criminal conviction. As well, he said other evidence has surfaced on how Horne segregated his classes into boys and girls and "groomed" his victims both in the school and outbuildings on the school grounds. "There was not only a failure to supervise Mr. Horne but in effect an acquiescence to the manner in which he gained access to children at the school," said Rubino. The statement of claim filed last week charges the governments didn't do enough to protect the alleged victims from a sexual predator. "The defendants ought to have foreseen they would be exposed to the risk, apprehension or reality of experiencing a sexual assault and other injuries, including irreparable psychological harm," it says. The victims claim the trauma has left many of them prey to drug and alcohol problems, mental anguish and poverty. The federal government is not named in the lawsuit. Sorting out who retains responsibility for Horne will be a big part of the case, said Budden, who expects about another five plaintiffs to join the case. The old Northwest Territories was divided in 1999 into Nunavut and the remaining N.W.T. "When the territory was created, it was not created out of thin air," said Budden, speaking from St. John's, Nfld. "It is the successor in title to school boards and other agencies." Both sides have said they will seek to settle out of court. "Starting a civil action doesn't mean you're closing the door on (alternative dispute resolution) or anything of that sort," said Budden. The government of Nunavut says it's "seeking advice" to determine its options in the case. In a press release, it said it hopes the litigation can be conducted using "alternative dispute processes to arrive at a just resolution in the most reasonable and compassionate manner possible." The statement of claim does not put a dollar figure on the amount of compensation the plaintiffs seek. Damages to the plaintiffs will have to assessed first, Budden said. There has been no comment from the government of the Northwest Territories. Horne, who had been living in Mexico, was arrested in Toronto in March 1999 after the Mexican government refused to renew his visitors visa. Copyright c. The Canadian Press, 2001 --------- "RE: No Plans to Hold Ipperwash Inquiry" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 08:17:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IPPERWASH" Jan. 27, 03:08 EDT Province still has `no plans' to hold Ipperwash inquiry Harris government says it won't call probe as long as suit continues Officer convicted in shooting loses last appeal bid Richard Brennan, Peter Edwards and Harold Levy STAFF REPORTERS Officer convicted in shooting loses last appeal bid The Harris government is still refusing a public inquiry into the fatal shooting of native protester Dudley George even though all criminal matters have finally been dealt with. The Supreme Court of Canada yesterday dismissed an appeal by Kenneth Deane, the acting OPP sergeant convicted of criminal negligence causing death in the Sept. 6, 1995, death at Ipperwash Provincial Park - the last criminal proceeding to be dealt with in the case. But a spokesperson for Attorney-General Jim Flaherty said yesterday the government has no intention of calling for an inquiry as long as the matter is before a civil court, referring to a wrongful death suit launched by the George family. "We have no plans to call an inquiry while there is still outstanding court proceedings," said Peggy Huigenbos, the minister's communications assistant. Huigenbos suggested if the civil suit proceeds, involving Premier Mike Harris and other senior cabinet ministers, it will effectively do what a public inquiry would. "Many of the issues that are being heard in the civil matter are the same as those that would be heard at a public inquiry," she said. For years, the government has said it would only consider an inquiry when all criminal matters were dealt with, but more recently it has used the civil suit as reason not to hold one. "That's nonsense," said Liberal MPP Gerry Phillips, barely able to contain his anger. "That would be like saying the Walkerton (tainted water) inquiry should stop because there are civil cases pending," he said. "It's outrageous." Civil suit isn't legal obstacle, NDP, Liberals say Phillips said there are "overwhelming amounts of evidence" the Tory government and Harris in particular were "inappropriately and recklessly involved in Ipperwash." He said for the government to keep dragging its feet shows "there is a cover-up." NDP Leader Howard Hampton, a former attorney-general, said all the "excuses that the Harris government has been hiding behind to avoid calling a public inquiry . . . have now been disposed of." Hampton said the civil suit is not a legal impediment to an inquiry being held. "There has been an attempt by this government from the beginning to stop the relevant information from getting into the public realm . . . because I suspect there is some quite damaging information (for Harris and the government)," he said. A coalition of human rights and aboriginal organizations, including the United Church of Canada, the Canadian Labour Congress, the First Nations Chiefs of Ontario, Amnesty International and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, has repeatedly called for a public inquiry. "Premier Harris is one of the defendants named in the civil wrongful death suit," coalition spokesperson Ann Pohl said. "How can he as Premier of the province - for all of the people of the province - make an objective call about whether his actions should be publicly and independently reviewed?" Dudley George's brother Sam said the high court decision supports the family's call to Harris for a public inquiry. Family says government role must be probed "He's out of excuses now," Sam George said yesterday, after driving to Ottawa to watch arguments before the Supreme Court, along with several family members. "I think we need the inquiry to find out the roles of government officials," he said. George said he would like time to think before deciding whether the family would drop a civil suit against Harris and several government and police officials if Harris committed to calling a public inquiry into his brother's death. Chief Tom Bressette of the Kettle and Stoney Point Indian band said there must be an inquiry to probe what went wrong in the police action, as well as to investigate widespread allegations of high-level government interference in the massive police operation at the park. Brian Adkin, president of the Ontario Provincial Police Association, said his group remains opposed to calling a public inquiry into the events at Ipperwash. "There has been a lengthy court trial about it, and the evidence has been before us," Adkin said yesterday . "I sat there the entire trial, and we thought that the circumstances were gone over at that time in sufficient detail." An OPP official said Commissioner Gwen Boniface was unavailable for comment. Adkin said Deane, who was not present at the courthouse, would not be commenting on the decision "for now." Deane, a member of the Ontario Provincial Police elite tactics and rescue squad, was convicted of criminal negligence causing the death of Anthony Dudley George, in April, 1997. Deane was given a two-year conditional sentence and ordered to perform community service. George, 38, was the only Indian killed in the last century in Canada in a land claims dispute. In Deane's original trial, Ontario Court Judge Hugh Fraser ruled Deane knew George didn't have a gun when the police officer opened fire with a semi-automatic sub-machinegun on about 20 Stoney Point Indians who had occupied the park in a land-claims dispute. The Indians claimed the park contained a sacred burial ground, a claim later confirmed by the federal government. Copyright 1996-2001. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Statement of Fedelia Cross" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 17:14:01 -0600 From: "LPDC" Subj: STATEMENT OF FEDELIA CROSS (OGLALA LAKOTA) Mailing List: LPDC STATEMENT OF FEDELIA CROSS CITIZEN OF THE OGLALA LAKOTA NATION I cannot express the sadness and anger that I felt when I heard that my brother, Leonard Peltier was not given a presidential pardon from Clinton. At first I could not believe Clinton's lack of courage, but now I know that he is not an honorable man. Freedom for Leonard would have been freedom for all of us Indigenous People here on our own home land. I would like to know why Clinton did not give him his freedom. Clinton came here to Pine Ridge in July of 1999. I thought he had a little compassion for the Lakota People and all Native Peoples of this land. Clinton broke our hearts and made us cry on January 20, 2001. We also cried for all of our ancestors whose lives were taken by the white man who came to this continent over 500 years ago. We as Lakota People have four values that we live by every day of our lives. They are bravery, wisdom, generosity, and fortitude. Although Clinton didn't give my brother Leonard his life back, we must continue to be brave and continue the battle to bring him home. We must educate Clinton and all the US government officials about our culture. We as Lakota people have a form of government ruled by our sacred pipe and our laws are all natural. We must remind the federal government that we still have treaties with them. We must be kind and compassionate to the US government officials because we were born with the gift of kindness, love and generosity. Clinton witnessed this when he was here on our homeland in July of 1999. Our forefathers were all honorable men just like my brother Leonard Peltier. One of our greatest leaders was Crazy Horse. He protected and loved his people until he was killed in jail by the federal government. Crazy Horse asked us to remember him when we look toward our sacred Black Hills. We also remember our brother Leonard Peltier when we see the Black Hills. Some day Leonard will be singing Crazy Horse's praise song while looking toward the Black Hills. That's what keeps us going. We are all very resilient. Although Clinton broke our hearts, through our prayers and our spirituality, we will survive. When we thought Clinton was going to give our brother Leonard his life back we had plans to build a Lakota school here in Oglala. Through Leonard's demonstration of our Lakota values, we plan to develop his dream and plans for the betterment of our people even though he is not here with us. I heard one of our respected elders of our tribe talk on KILI radio about Leonard the other morning. He said although Clinton slapped our faces, we must remain strong and show them how to forgive and pray for them so they will understand us. He also stated that we should educate our children so they could become lawyers and help us in the future. At Leonard's school we hope to accomplish this. I would like to thank all of you for loving and supporting him. All he wants is to be is a terrific grandpa and a good relative. May God bless all of you. Mitakuye Oyasin All my relations, Fedelia Cross *Fedelia Cross is the niece of Roselyn Jumping Bull and a survivor of the Pine Ridge Reign of Terror. She is a school teacher, a mother and a grand mother. 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: Peltier Plan of Action" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 16:58:37 -0600 From: "LPDC" Subj: Peltier Plan of Action! Mailing List: LPDC Mailing List: Minnesota Indian Affairs Dear Friends, We are writing to update you on some of the strategies that will be undertaken to continue the effort to free Leonard Peltier. These strategies will be strengthened as more research and development are invested, but meanwhile, we would like to set forth some of the basic plans with initial supportive actions. 1. As many of you have suggested, the most immediate action will be in response to the denial of clemency. Those responsible for prolonging this injustice need to hear from us. Send a letter to Bill Clinton and Senator Tom Daschle to express outrage over the handling of this case. Senator Daschle is a leading democrat in Congress. He bowed to pressure from the FBI in South Dakota and suggested to Clinton that clemency be denied, thus ignoring the tribes of his state who have long supported clemency. A message will follow with the addresses to write to as well as sample letters. 2. The main message of the new campaign will be a call to declassify the 6000 documents pertaining to the Peltier case still being withheld by the FBI. We will also call for Congressional investigations into the official misconduct of government officials in the Peltier case and on Pine Ridge during the surrounding period. Support for this and all other efforts will include intensive educational outreach and lobbying support from officials in congress. Write to your local Reps and Senators and ask them to support an act to declassify the documents and to hold hearings. A message will follow with a sample letter and a link to a site where you can find contact information for them. This is only the start; much more will be come! 3. February 6, 2001 will sadly mark 25 years since Leonard Peltier's arrest, which means he has spent the last quarter century unjustly behind bars. Let 's dedicate this day to renewing the freedom campaign. To commemorate February 6, hold meetings to regroup local supporters and/or hold vigils, teach-ins, or video showings, and send press releases to your local media. We know that February 6 is only a short time a way, and it will be difficult to organize major events, but we can use this day to springboard into an even stronger campaign and an even broader network, which we can all work to develop and intensify in coming months. A message will follow with a press release, which you can send to your local media on the eve of February 6. If you will be holding an event which will be of interest to the press, include the "what, who, and where" in the release as well as your group's contact information. Please let us know the details of any events organized so that we can assist in publicizing them. 4. Meanwhile, Leonard Peltier's legal defense team is researching specific legal actions. The best way to support any future litigation is to build up public awareness and support. We will be updating all of our materials to coincide with the new strategies. Send a self addressed stamped envelope to us if you need literature to copy and distribute. Visit our website to find out about obtaining educational videos, books, and materials. Stay tuned. There will be much more to come and each one of you is needed. As we said before, Leonard Peltier is not giving up, so neither will we! Thank you for your continued commitment and support. In Solidarity, LPDC 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: Pressure Congress to Support Declassification" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 18:11:57 -0600 From: "LPDC" Subj: pressure congress to support declassification Mailing List: LPDC WRITE TO YOUR SENATORS AND REPS PUSH FOR DECLASSIFICATION AND INVESTIGATIONS To find out contact information for the officials in your state, visit these sites: www.house.gov www.senate.gov or call: 202-224-3121 To : United States Senator ______or Representative_____ United States Congress Washington D.C. >From : NAME AND ADDRESS Dear _________________, I am writing to express my shock and outrage over the recent denial of clemency to Mr. Leonard Peltier. I am also writing to ask for your help and support in this tragic case. As you know, Mr. Peltier is a Native American citizen of this country who has now been incarcerated for twenty-five years, following his highly controversial conviction of the 1975 murders of two FBI agents. He has never received the benefit of a fair trial, despite the worldwide outcry of human rights and religious leaders. Despite disturbing evidence that vengeful FBI officials coerced witnesses, utilized false testimonies and withheld a key ballistics test reflecting his innocence, Mr. Peltier was denied a new trial on technical grounds. Today even the United States Attorney admits that no one knows who fired the fatal shots. The Judge who denied the new trial has written to firmly support Mr. Peltier's release. Meanwhile, Mr. Peltier himself is long overdue for parole and in failing health. This case is an embarrassment to our nation. To make matters worse, Mr. Peltier's highly controversial conviction is deeply rooted in the Pine Ridge "Reign of Terror", when FBI-backed vigilantes killed 64 AIM members and supporters, and terrorized, assaulted and battered scores of others. There has never been any adequate investigation or redress of this grim chapter of civil rights history. For all of these reasons, Mr. Peltier has become a symbol of ongoing U.S. repression against the first citizens of this country. Given all of the above, I am asking for the following : 1. Please press for a thorough and bi-partisan investigation of this case, together with the FBI abuses which occurred during the Reign of Terror on Pine Ridge Reservation, 1973-1976. 2. Please press for a Congressional Act declassifying all of the FBI and related files in Mr. Peltier's case. Some 6000 documents, remain in secret files, despite the fact that twenty five years have passed and the investigation and court proceedings ended long ago. Given that some of the files released earlier contained the critical and exculpatory ballistics test which the FBI had concealed from the defense, we are convinced that these secret files contain critical information. We thank you for your time and consideration to this matter. Sincerely, 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: Mon, 5 February 2001 20:55:07 -0530 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: Prisoners' Pen Pal List 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 at the following web site: http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/9118/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 jansatlcom.net@mindspring.com. My thanks to Laura Brooks for giving this list a home on the web. -- - - - Peltier, Leonard #89637-132 Box 1000 Leavenworth, KS 66053 Birthday: 9/12/44 Ancestry: Ojibwa-Lakota -- - - - Date: Thu, 1 Feb 2001 05:22:42 -0500 From: "Kay Lee" Subj: ANOTHER INJUSTICE TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT Mailing List: ndn-aim >From Kay Lee Most of you know how much it hurts to find out that authority cares nothing for the truth. That pain is very real in me right now. I feel betrayed by authority because it is very possible that the remainder of the nine muscled up and armed prison guards who, two years ago, viciously and brutally murdered a skinny little inmate named Frank Valdes are about to walk free - Not because they are innocent but because they wear the uniform of the Florida D.O.C. ...and corruption of the truth and justice is just as rampant in Florida as it is throughout the land. The murder we speak of occurred in Florida State Prison in July of 1999. The prison is located in a remote little Florida town near Gainesville/Jacksonville called Starke. As is the custom with today's massive industrial prison complex, the prison is the small town's primary source of income, from federal dollars that count inmates as residents, to the motels and diners that make their living from the inmate families visiting on the weekend, to the prison itself, the great employer of too many undertrained, undereducated, prejudiced people who have, in too many cases, forgotten that they are keepers of human beings. The accused are going to trial only because the murder couldn't be denied, but they are to be judged by their buddies and families - even as they are apparently protected by the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections, Michael Moore; the Warden of Florida State Prison, who himself allegedly has dirty hands; and our own remiss governor, Jeb Bush, all of whom seems to feel that these particular murderers should not own responsibility. The bandaide they are using to cover the ugly truth is a real danger to justice: The state intends to conduct the trial right there where the jury will be culled from guard families and friends, where daddy, son, uncle and aunt, from generation to generation, have buttered their bread with state money. If this is allowed to happen, and the guards go free, no one will pay for the death of the pathetic little man lying in his grave, nor his grieving widow's pain. The message that will reverberate throughout the Florida DOC will be... you can get away with murder if you wear the DOC uniform. The abuse inside will intensify, damaging the spirits, minds and bodies of prisoners who may one day walk among us, angry and sick and demented. sigh... Many of us have worked for nearly two years to discover and share the truth that the beating administered that morning almost two years ago to Frank Valdes was not an isolated incident, as Michael Moore immediately claimed, but a frequent, sometimes daily, occurrence at many of the numerous prisons in Florida's panhandle (also well known as the 'Redneck Riviera'). I refuse to sit idly by while authorities make the world more dangerous for my grandbabies. I will be at the trial and I urge and encourage everyone who can possibly be there to come. The trial is currently scheduled for July 16th, one day less than two years after the murder. And it is still scheduled to be heard in Bradford County. Unless pressure is applied and the trial is moved, this case will be another farce, another nail in the coffin of justice. Therefore, I have written this petition and beg you with aching heart to take just a moment to sign it. Kay Lee ####################### The Petition is addressed to: Jeb Bush - Governor and is located at: http://www.angelfire.com/la/kaylee/valdespetition.html FOR THE SAKE OF TRUTH, MOVE THE VALDES TRIAL! In July of '99, nine Florida DOC prison guards handcuffed and brutally murdered an inmate. One guard broke Frank Valdes' jaw and left him in pain throughout the night of July 16th, 1999. The next morning nine more guards woke him up and viciously broke his arms, legs and ribs. According to the coroner, boot marks were imbedded in his chest and his testicles were swollen to the size of a man's head. When asked how it happened, the guards said in unison, 'He jumped off his bunk over and over until he did it to himself.' Immediately the tiny town of Starke, Florida rallied around the accused with a local church sporting a large sign that read, 'Correctional Officers, Look up! God Loves you.' Four of the guards who joined in the murder of Mr. Frank Valdes' are due to go on trial on July 16, 2001 in the remote community in Bradford County where they live and work and play. If we are looking for justice, we will not find it here. In the name of truth and justice, we request that you use all your influence to move the Valdes trial of the four guards out of Bradford County and the immediate area of any prison community. Visualizing Responsibility, The Undersigned Concerned Citizens http://www.angelfire.com/la/kaylee/valdespetition.html ############## NOTE: Although there are a couple of petitions in place to move the trial of the guards who murdered inmate Frank Valdes, they are on locations that everyone cannot access with ease or that move exceedingly slow. Therefore a third petition is added. http://www.e-thepeople.com/affiliates/national/index.cfm?PC= PETFV1&PETID=493412 http://www.123petitions.com/cgi-bin/system/viewsigs.cgi?username= Lindylou0728@aol.com&pname=Lindylou0728@aol.com2&number=0 and http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?iwpr4m&1 Please sign any of the three. We desperately need your support. Visualizing Transparent Walls, Kay Lee 2613 Larry Court Eau Gallie, Florida 32935 321-253-3673 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ********************************************************** WEBSITES FOR FRANK VALDES AND FLORIDA DOC ABUSES Read more about the flagrant disregard for laws and rules going on in Florida's prisons: STOP FLORIDA TORTURE http://www.oranous.com/florida/ Making the Walls Transparent site for Frank Valdes: http://www.angelfire.com/la/kaylee/fsp.html CCADP Reports of Abuses at Florida Prisons: http://members.nbci.com/ccadp/reportsFLabuse.htm PRUP Valdes page by Linda Miller: http://www.geocities.com/prisonmurder/frank_valdes.html Abuses in Florida's system: http://www.angelfire.com/ia/justice/mediacoverage.html Stop Florida Torture: Valdes Investigation: http://www.angelfire.com/ia/justice/valdezinvestigations.html Jeff Dicks Group: http://www.angelfire.com/nc/jeffdicks/fvaldez.html THE SMUGGLER'S TALES FROM JAILS http://www.angelfire.com/la/kaylee/tales.html and at: MAKING THE WALLS TRANSPARENT Accessible from the parent project page JOURNEY FOR JUSTICE at: http://www.journeyforjustice.org ********************************************************** ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY CONTACT INFO: ATTORNEYS FOR THE LAWSUIT NEAL LICHTBLAU AND STUART GOLDENBERG 631 US HWY 1 SUITE 306 NORTH PALM BEACH, FL33408 PHONE 1-800-863-9192 1-561-8639100 FAX 1-561-8630822 VICTIM ADVOCATE DAVID REMER PHONE 1-352-374-3627 SENATOR ROD SMITH SHAYS.TONYA.S05@leg.state.fl.us Mr. Smith began as the Valdes attorney. Bill Cervone, State Attorney of the 8th Judicial Circuit cervone.frank@mail.state.fl.us STATE ATTORNEYS OFFICE 120 WEST UNIVERSITY AVE GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA 32601 PHONE 1-352-374-3670 FAX 1-352-491-4488 WARDEN OF FLORIDA STATE PRISON: FDOC Warden Crosby crosby.james@mail.dc.state.fl.us Phone: 904-964-8125 Fax: 904-368-2732 SECRETARY OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF "CORRECTIONS" FDOC Michael Moore moore.michael@mail.dc.state.dl.us OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERAL BOB BUTTERWORTH STATE OF FLORIDA THE CAPITOL TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-1050 Main office telephone numbers VOICE: 850-487-1963 FAX: 850-487-2564 STATEWIDE PROSECUTION - Jacksonville Office OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL SUITE 405 1300 RIVERPLACE BLVD. JACKSONVILLE, FL 32207 VOICE: 904-348-2720 FAX: 904-348-2726 Gov. Jeb Bush Phone Number: (850) 488-4441 jeb.bush@myflorida.com State of Florida - Good List of Resources Office of Statewide Prosecution http://legal.firn.edu/swp/index.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> To subscribe, send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER -- - - - Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 16:43:26 EST From: JTRoad@aol.com Subj: War Chief Garry Rowland in 8th day of Hunger Strike ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- From: Libyad817 Mailing List: ndn-aim press release news analysis by David Seals Rapid City, South Dakota - Garry Rowland, Akicita Itanscan of the Mato Paha Okolokicye, and the traditional Lakota/Dakota/Nakota [LDN] OCETI SAKOWIN Council, has requested that all AIM chapters be contacted for support of his Hunger Strike for traditional rights, now in its 8th day in the Pennington County [Rapid City] jail. Garry is a long-time veteran of AIM for 30 years. Anyone who knows Garry, a fullblood Lakota/Cheyenne, 49 of Wounded Knee District, knows he is deadly serious when he says, "I have staked myself to the ground. I know the death-songs, and I sang one [the morning of January 26 when the Fast and hunger strike began]. I am ready to die." "Any day is a good day to die." "During the Ghost Dance Uprising, they tried to take everything away, and they're doing the same to us [here in jail]." He and 6 other warriors are on Hunger Strike because they have been denied adequate medical treatment. 2 of the warriors have been put in isolation, and we can't get in to talk to anyone of them. Among other atrocities Garry is being denied his cardiac medicine unless he pays for it himself, since he had a quadruple bypass surgery 10 years ago, and of course he can't begin to afford the outrageous prescription costs. Also, Darren Brings Plenty almost bled to death and the cops only then, when he was found in a pool of blood, rushed him in a cop car to the emergency room of the regional hospital. This of course is only the latest in a series of civil rights violations in South Dakota, including the murders of Indians in Rapid Creek, at White Clay, Mobridge, Sisseton, and recently the collusion of Senator Daschle and Governor Janklow is recommending against a pardon for Leonard Peltier. Garry sees this as the time to stand up finally for Traditional Government and our ancient Spiritual Freedom, both being denied by the criminal american and christian establishments. As Time Lame Deer said in a call of support from the Northern Cheyenne Nation, "It's repression every day here, from morning to night on the Concentration Camps. I can't understand why AIM and the Elders don't just declare Traditional Government. All we gotta do is do it!" This latest struggle in a lifetime of great work for the people began on christmas day when the racist Rapid City Journal ran a cliched mugshot of Garry on the obituary page, quoting the cops saying he was a fugitive and "should not be approached, as he is armed and dangerous." What was his crime? Failure to appear in US Court on a charge of marijuana possession! He had protested the jurisdiction of the Feds, and on the night of January 3 he and his family were stopped by armed FBI, BIA, and US Marshalls at Red Shirt Table where they were on their way to Buddy Red Bow's grave to do a honoring Pipe Ceremony. He and his family were brutally thrown to the cold ground and road at gunpoint. This was on sovereign Oglala Lakota territory. Garry was not busted for possession of marijuana - he was busted for being a warrior, a traditional warrior, standing up for the sovereignty and jurisdiction of his Nation according to the Treaties, and for being a leader of the warriors, the Akicita Director of the Bear Butte Council, according to the 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty with the Confederacy including Cheyennes, Arapahoes, Crow, and Mandan among others. Garry is an uncompromising opponent of the Wounded Knee National Memorial planned by Daschle and some of the IRA Tribal Council people, on his home land. He is opposed to the countryfication of KILI Radio, originally organized by AIM in 1983 as a traditional Lakota Voice of the Nation, and the continuing CIA presence of his non-Native program manager Tom Casey. Garry and I have been down many good red roads together, and I know he is deadly serious about this Warrior Hunger Strike. Many of us here are heartbroken that the genocide and hatred of americans has gotten so bad that we are driven to such desperation. We ask for your Prayers and I'm sure Garry in his remaining few days will have a few more messages about strategy to Renew our People. Khwe, Piva, Wastelo! ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> To subscribe to this group,send an email to:ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER ----- To subscribe to this group,send an email to: ndn-aim-subscribe@egroups.com Archived on line at: http://www.eScribe.com FREE LEONARD PELTIER -- - - - New! Native American Prisoners' Penpal Network: http://members.tripod.com/~foltz.k/pages/atlantahome.html Right now, it contains applications submitted by native inmates of the USP Atlanta federal prison with the high hopes of obtaining pen pals and communication with the outside world. Most, if not all, these men, are incarcerated very far from home, isolated, and away from their families and contact. Remember, when contacting an inmate, if you want to send something to them, make sure ahead of time what can and cannot be sent. Items such as money, stamps, tobacco, sage, etc. cannot. Some items have to be designated for group use rather than individual, so please be sure to check ahead of time. Keep them in your prayers and let them know they are NOT forgotten. Janet Smith Yufala Star Clan of the Muskogee Creek Owlstar Trading Post -- www.owlstar.com --------------------------------- Please especially remember Leonard. Leonard Peltier #89637-132, Box 1000, Leavenworth, KS 66053 --------------------------------- Dear Janet, Eddie Hatcher was moved from Central Prison in North Carolina to a county jail. His new address is: Eddie Hatcher, Robeson County Jail,122 Legend Road, Lumberton, NC 28358. Thanks, Marsha Shaiman On Indian Land, PO Box 2104, Seattle WA 98111 --------------------------------- Standing Deer's new address: Robert H. Wilson #640539, Estelle Unit, 264 FM 3478, Huntsville, TX 77320-3322 --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Sun, 21 Jan 2001 21:37:00 -0500 From: Barbara Landis Subj: CARLISLE'S INDIAN HELPER: FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1888 [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ----------------------------- ~~ FOR OUR BOYS AND GIRLS ~~ ============================= VOLUME III CARLISLE, PA. FRIDAY, JANUARY 20, 1888 NO. 23 ============================= FOR THE INDIAN HELPER. "BIG FRAID" AND "LITTLE FRAID" ------------- Hastening in the room last night, Stopping there - struck with a'fright - Sounds most dreadful fill the house, "What is that?" A mouse! A mouse! Dire dismay her soul doth fill, Stops she not an instant, till Safe within a distant house She's escaped her foe - that mouse. Mousie o'er that room holds sway Till, when comes the morning gray, Back, the owner dares to creep Timidly into the room to peep. All is quiet, still, serene. Silence reigns, there now supreme; But with evening, in that house, Again will come that dreadful mouse. GUMPTION. ================== ANOTHER PLEASANT EVENING IN THE CHAPEL. ------------------ On Monday evening, at the ringing of the bell, all happily gathered in the chapel to listen to the singing and speech-making of the boys and girls. The Man-on-the-band-stand did not go, but he saw and heard everything from his stand. The opening piece by the choir delighted his dear old heart, for it was beautifully sung; but when Job Hunter Boy said in a speech that every exhibition was the best, the old man felt that Job was making fun of him. Of course every exhibition is the best. We are growing better all the time. But who is that skipping out on the platform. Little Jack Standing, as I'm alive. "Pussy in the well," he is saying, and all the while he speaks he almost dances because he is so glad to give us his first speech and that salute of Jack's brought down the house. The boys and girls thought they could bring him out the second time by clapping hands and waving handkerchiefs but no, Jack had done well once, and he was satisfied. All the cheering did not move the little hero of the evening. Hartley Ridge Bear's "Hammer" piece was well spoken. Hartley showed an earnestness of purpose and a manliness that pleased the old man. Ruth Kisero although far away in New Mexico, was represented by a nice composition which she wrote before she left. Louisa Smith read it. A class of little Apaches from No. 3 did well. The Alpine song by the school was followed by a recitation from Henry Phillips, our brave little Alaskan, who is the farthest from his home of any boy here except his friend who came with him. Then Stiya gave a recitation, not very well heard, and Harry Raven read a composition on "Education." Another class of Apaches told us what they like to do. It is astonishing how plainly they speak. Some of the other tribes will have to watch out or the Apaches will come off ahead in English speaking. "The song of the forge," by Jemima Wheelock was nicely recited, while the Wind Song, by the choir charmed every one present. After this Talbot, an Apache who came last May, spoke. James Paints Yellow gave a recitation. Mary Bailey, Belle Logan, Madge Mason and May Paisano were together in a Colloquy, and did their parts in a way that pleased. Thomas Metoxen spoke for the first time. His piece was well selected and plainly delivered. Tazoski gave a Temperence speech, and then Miss Leverett and Miss Shears refreshed the audience with a very pretty duet. Henry Standing Bear did not read his composition as well as he might have, but Lida Standing did her best and made us feel sorry for the poor little goose she told about. "Revolutionary Rising," a declamation by John Londrosh, had in it much that was strong and manly, and Katie Grinrod's composition on colors was true and to the point. No. 7 school varied the exercises by singing. --------------------------- Continued on Fourth Page. ========================================== (p 2) The Indian Helper. ----------------------------- PRINTED EVERY FRIDAY, AT THE INDIAN INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL, CARLISLE, PA. BY THE INDIAN PRINTER BOYS. ----------------------------- Price: - 10 cents a year. (Five cents extra for every change of address after once in the galley.) ============================== Address INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle, Pa. ============================== Entered in the P.O. at Carlisle as second class mail matter. ============================== THE INDIAN HELPER is PRINTED by Indian boys, but EDITED by The-Man-on-the-band-stand, who is NOT an Indian. ============================== "A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body." ========= Through the Omaha visitors last week we learned of the death of Joe Esau, A Pawnee Indian of good standing in his tribe. ========= "Once doing is enough," seems to be the silly motto of some pupils. The greatest scholars have become so great by patiently doing things over and over again. ========= The Literary Society in town, of which J. R. Given is president, has a nice report of what they do each week, in the "Sentinel." If our debating and Girls' Literary societies wish to keep up to the time they should send a report of their doings weekly to the Man-on-the-band-stand. Of course the old man knows everything they do, but he is polite enough to give the boys and girls a chance to write their own reports. We hope after this to get weekly, a short account of the proceedings of each meeting, and then we will print the most interesting parts. ========= At a meeting of the Y.M.C.A. the following officers were elected for the ensuing term: President, Levi Levering; Vice-President, Frank Lock; Recording Secretary, Wm. Morgan; Corresponding Secretary, Samuel Townsend; Treasurer, Percy Kable; Devotional Committee, Chester Cornelius; Chairman, John D. Miles, Stacey Matlack, Howard Logan and Wm. Tivis; Membership Committee, Chas. Wheelock, chairman, John Londrosh, Harry Raven, Timber Y. Robe and Wilkie Sharp. Meetings were ordered for Sundays at 2 P.M. and Thursdays at 6 P.M., each week. It is fun and work, too for Number 7 school to "make up' examples. --------- That was a "noble" sleigh-ride of about 20 feet long that one of the lady employees of the school indulged in when asked by one of the printer boys to take a ride on his hand-sled. --------- Which company marches the best out of chapel? Company A. The Sergeant takes the lead. He keeps perfect step with the music and all the rest follow in good order. --------- Miss Irvine, who is suffering from a bilious attack and hard cold, has gone to her home in town for a few days, and the girls are doing nicely in her absence. Miss Campbell is a sort of step-mother to them. --------- Where are the toboggan slides this year? The girls and little boys have as good a time as it is possible coasting on the little hills around and they monopolize the slides, so the big hogs think. --------- The Man-on-the-band-stand would like to hear the pupils say "Yes, sir," and "No, sir," every time when they answer a gentleman. Politeness goes a long way with a person wishing to make a success in life. --------- One of the small boys who has spared no pains in fixing his room nicely, has placed upon his door a card on which are printed in bold type the ten commandments. Opposite one is a hand pointing, and near it these words, "Please look at 8 command." --------- The little boys are taking an interest in fixing up their rooms. Some have gone so far as to buy bordering and curtains. They have a better chance to keep their rooms in order than the large boys have as there are but two in a room while in the large quarters there are three in each room. --------- Number 1, 5 and 7 schools report compositions just written, and they are better than ever. Very good "first ones," from some of the little people have been handed in. Some of the number 7 pupils draw explanatory pictures at the beginning of their compositions. --------- Wm. Springer, Jamison Schanandoah, Herman Young, Jose Nadilgody, Charles Dakota, have finished a fine set of single harness and a set of silver mounted driving double harness, for Mr. W.H. Wanamaker of Philadelphia. The same boys are at work on a set of fine rubber and gilt mounted single harness for a Philadelphia lady. In addition to this the main force of the shop consisting of 29 apprentices, many of whom are beginners are at work on a contract of 20 sets of double harness. ====================================================================== page 3 Still cold. Blizzards out west. Clear, splendid weather here. A good talk Saturday night. Some of us are dying for a sleigh ride. Jack Mather has returned from Florida. Capt. Pratt and daughter, Miss Marion, are in Washington. --------- Wm. Baird made a pair of pincers that would do credit to a master mechanic. --------- Dr. Rittenhouse of Dickinson College, now preaches for us Sunday afternoons. --------- The large farm sled takes the place of the Herdig as long as the snow lasts. --------- A number of our employees attended the Lutheran church supper last night. --------- The new air pump has a case made by Henry Kendall during his vacation visit. --------- Four of the teachers took a sleigh ride to Holly and return, Saturday afternoon. --------- Three volcanic eruptions last night. Place - school rooms. No property destroyed. --------- William Morgan led the service last Sunday night. Frank Lock the Sunday before. --------- The carpenter boys are fitting up an office for Mr. Goodyear next to the new tailor shop. --------- Kias Redwolf is busy making a wagon-bed, while Frank Lock and his helper are ironing it. --------- Mr. Mason Pratt was home part of a day this week. He looks well and is in the best of spirits. --------- The half-curtains at the windows in the Large Boys' Quarters add much to the coziness of the rooms. --------- Dick Wallace is doing a woodwork and William Baird the ironing of a cart for use at the school. --------- Mrs. Gaddis, who for some time has been doing missionary work among the Pawnees in Indian Territory is visiting the school. --------- Esther Miller, Edith Abner, Phebe Howell, and Nellie Aspenall are in Washington for a few days, the guest of Mrs. L.H. Patterson. --------- Rather cool these nights for a guard to walk around the grounds, but they are mostly brave young men and don't mind the cold when there is a duty to perform. The room occupied by John D. Miles, Staily and Frank West is kept the neatest of any of the boys' rooms. --------- We hear the complaint that some of the large boys lounge too much. The best way is to be up and doing all the time. --------- A foolish speech - "Map drawing is of no use." When that boy has more education he will see that map drawing is of use. --------- The fitting up of the bathrooms in the Large Boys' Quarters moves slowly on account of other work for the carpenters. --------- Richenda Pratt has been sick in bed for a day or two, but the Man-on-the-band-stand is glad his little pet is getting better, fast. --------- Mr. Jordan and his force of boys have been busy the past week repairing some leaks that were discovered in the big cistern. --------- Staily has made a very creditable forging hammer and is now at work at tongs. Jesse Cornelius is turning out trace chain-hooks. --------- One Wednesday six schools from a neighboring township came in sleighs and bob-sleds to visit our school. They were a merry party. --------- Wilkie Sharpe, John Kitson, Francis Lee and Abe Sommers do the best in the tailoring department. Abe is busy cutting out jeans pants. --------- One of the teachers found a dead mouse on her school-room desk. It is very evident that the pupils of that room would like to study natural history. --------- There is a great difference in the way the sergeants of the guard make out their morning report. Some write neatly and keep the page of the book clean. --------- Mr. W. H. Sears, of Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas, spent Sunday and Monday with us. He examined closely into the workings of all our departments. --------- Fred Harris, the little Alaska boy who was placed in the tin shop two days before Christmas, can now make a dozen-and-a-half of very good tin cups in a half day. --------- Mr. Reighter reports that the new apprentices taken into the tailor shop this year are doing well. Tankirk[?] and Francis Ortis are already making coats. The rest of the beginners are still at work on vests and pants. ======================================================================= page 4 [last page missing] ================================= STANDING OFFER: - For FIVE new subscribers to the INDIAN HELPER, we will give the person sending them a photographic group of the 13 Carlisle Indian Printer boys, on a card 4 1/2 X 6 1/2 inches, worth 20 cents when sold by itself. Name and tribe of each boy given. (Persons wishing the above premium will please enclose a 1-cent stamp to pay postage.) For TEN, Two PHOTOGRAPHS, one showing a group of Pueblos as they arrived in wild dress, and another of the same pupils three years after, or, for the same number of names we give two photographs showing still more marked contrast between a Navajoe as he arrived in native dress, and as he now looks, worth 20 cents a piece. Persons wishing the above premiums will please enclose a 2-cent stamp to pay postage. For FIFTEEN, we offer a GROUP of the whole school on 9x14 inch card. Faces show distinctly, worth sixty cents. Persons wishing the above premium will please send 6 cents to pay postage. ======================================== At the Carlisle Indian School, is published monthly an eight-page quarto of standard size, called THE MORNING STAR, the mechanical part of which is done entirely by Indian boys. This paper is valuable as a summary of information on Indian matters, and contains writings by Indian pupils and local incidents of the school. Terms: Fifty cents a year, in advance. Sample copies sent free. Address, MORNING STAR, CARLISLE, PA. For 1, 2 and 3 subscribers for THE STAR we give the same premiums offered in Standing Offer for the HELPER. ======================================================================= Transcribed weekly from the newspaper collections of the US Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA. For more info see http://www.carlisleindianschool.org. - Barbara Landis --------- "RE: Rustywire: Snow, Wind & Going Home" --------- Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2000 02:57:51 -0000 From: "John Rustywire" Subj: Snow, Wind & Going Home Mailing List: indigenous_peoples_literature In 1972 I was going home from college. Like most Indians my family lived way off the beaten path, no car or phone. I caught the bus home but due to a snow storm the bus missed a connection because we were late. I ended up hitchhiking to Shiprock, New Mexico it was blowing and cold. I went to a small store there called Bonds & Bonds which was a bus stop and eating place. It was toward evening and since I couldn't find a ride I started walking. You know the area, barren landscape, high rock formations and a lonely road, no one coming or going. I started to walk. It seemed I walked forever, the wind was blowing, it was cold and there was sleet beginning to fall, I walked about 12 miles South to a place called Table Mesa. It was getting past 10 or so. The wind was picking up, a slow cold wind and sleet, the kind that clings to you was falling. I was thinking I would probably end up walking all night. It was the kind of storm where you keep moving all night long, you could not stop but had to go on til morning. There wasn't a good place to lay down and take cover. I was walking and heard the whine of a small motorcycle coming from behind me, it went by me and went on. On it was an old Navajo man on his way to check his sheep. I could hear the sound coming back and it slowed and stopped by me. The old man said get on and I rode back down the road from where I had come. We rode and I could see us drive up to a simple two room house lighted by kerosene lamp and wood stove. It was a small place, not much really. He spoke to his wife and bid me to come in. His wife fixed me a warm meal and a bed roll. I ate and layed down and was out like a light. I slept well that night. In the morning they fed me and he took me up the road to where he picked me up. It was light and the storm had passed, the ground was covered with snow. I caught a ride and got home for the holidays. He didn't tell me his name. A few years later I went back looking for him and his wife, the small shacks that were in the area were all torn down. I'll never forget him, that they didn't have much, but what they had was more than what I needed that night long ago. He saw a young man, cold and wet and took him in. I remember this kindness given to a stranger on a cold wet night. Sometimes we think we don't have the ability to help someone, but then really we have enough if we want to and it maybe more than someone needs. It could be a kind word, a ride, a visit or a warm place, a meal and a place to sleep. Now I try to keep him in mind as the holidays approach each year and wish him well for his kindness has stayed with me all these years and I try to remember this during the winter. rustywire http://www.egroups.com/list/indigenous_peoples_literature/ --------- "RE: Poem: Companion" --------- Date: Mon, 25 Sep 2000 12:28:26 -0500 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: Poem for Dog Gone on Companion (For Ofi) Adoration shown, in your eyes, As you found, gangly footing, Trying to follow us, Everywhere. You grew quickly, A ball of snowy fur, Then suddenly, Full grown dog. The shore, was best. You would swim, Long beyond our capacity. You trembled, with exhaustion. You would mind, Sometimes. All in all you, were your master. You did not like your leash, But suffered it, for us. You liked best, To drive with your head, on my lap. Or, stuck out the window, Into the wind, and smells. You would go, Every where. If we would let you, if not, You waited restlessly. For we, were your family. You saw your job as protecting, Our home and ourselves, Regardless of threat, Whether perceived or not. There is no perfection, You ate, what you should not. You chased things, you should not. There were no conditions on your love. We will remember, You and your life, Your trusting love, We should not have expected better. You traveled on, To wait for us. While I stroked your grizzled head, You did not fight your passing. I buried you with my own hands, With turquoise and those things, Which were yours. In a shady spot with tobacco and prayers, Beneath a Redbud tree. We will see you again, our companion. Along the White Dog's Way. John Berry, Oklahoma, 2000 --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date: Mon, 29 Jan 2001 06:26:50 -1000 From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of February 11-17 PEPELUALI (February) (Kau-lua) 11 To a place of worship, a heiau, always bring a gift of stone.