From gars@speakeasy.org Tue Apr 24 02:14:22 2001 Date: 14 Feb 2001 01:47:44 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.007 _ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ O ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) O o O / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ O o O (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O o o o o O ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ VOLUME 09, ISSUE 007 O o O / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' February 17, 2001 O o O / /-< / /--/ /-- Pima the gray moon O __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, Lakota dark red calves moon 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 Our Red Earth, First Nations, RezLife, TN AIM & ndn-aim mail lists; Newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email; http://www.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=636459 http://www.lakotanationjournal.com http://www.timesfreepress.com/2001/feb/03feb01/webmoccbend.html 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 "Listen to all the teachers in the woods. Watch the trees, the animals and all living things - you'll learn more from them than from books." __ Joe Coyhis, Stockbridge-Munsee +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 `S word' has been struck down in additional states. I can only wonder if it is simply because the residents tired of the rhetoric, the officials became embarrassed to discover what it meant, or just another domino falling. No matter the reason, it's a relief it is happening. There were hold-out bastions that continued to believe it was stylish to have "Jim Crow" stable hand statues in their yard long after the marches in Selma and Greensboro brought home how utterly racist they were. We can hope even the bigots in the remaining states will also come to the realization racist labels don't enhance their state's image or tourism income; and the `S word' will be removed in the holdout states. I hope most readers of the newsletter include the Carlisle archives reproduced by Barbara Landis in their reading. I am constantly astounded by the self-righteous condescension that drips through each one. I have noticed similar rhetoric from the University of Illinois and other places that feel like they "honor" us by naming teams after us and doing stupid Hollywood chants. Dear Bubba... Lose the name. Lose the chants. Get a life that isn't wrapped in velour buckskin, and leave the First People out of your carnival acts. , , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30007, U.S.A. gars@olagrande.net ===w=w=== gars@sdf.lonestar.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Standing Rock Sioux - Alberta Eyes Province-wide Defend Burial Grounds Native Police - Nothing Sacred - Indian Nations back Bend Plan - ICT editorial: - 25 Years of Unjust Incarceration Chiapas and the Mexican Tinderbox - Peltier: - Schools for Chiapas Because Somebody has to Pay - Delewares/Cherokees - Native Prisoner go to Court over Land -- Medicine Teachers Program - Indians Added to -- Internet Gives Prisoners Link Arkansas Scholarship Eligibility - History: Carlisle Indian School - The Mapuce People of Chile Speaks - Rustywire: Kinlani - Ethnic Cleansing in Equador - Poem: Smoke - S**aw Abolished - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days from B.C. Place Names - Language Key to Preserving - Who Is a Seminole/ Native Culture Who Gets to Decide - Upcoming Events - Five Lakota Women Arrested - Native America Calling --------- "RE: Standing Rock Sioux Defend Burial Grounds" --------- Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 07:24:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STANDING ROCK" STANDING ROCK SIOUX DEFEND BURIAL GROUNDS by Bill Weinberg Native Americas Winter 2000 Hemispheric Digest In November 2000, a federal court issued a temporary restraining order that shut down operations at an Army Corps of Engineers hydroelectric plant on the Missouri River in an effort to safeguard Indian graves that had been exposed by record-low water levels. The order, issued by U.S. District Judge Charles Kornmann in Aberdeen, S.D., represents the first breakthrough in a dispute between Great Plains tribes and the corps over Indian graves impacted by hydro-dams on the Missouri. Before building a series of dams on the Missouri decades ago, the federal government promised to conduct an archaeological survey of the impacted areas and move Indian remains. But the low water levels in the reservoirs, caused by drought, have uncovered coffins and other artifacts- evidence that the promise was not kept. In August, more than 100 graves had been exposed along Lake Oahe near Wakpala, S.Dak. Local Indians have responded by posting guards to protect the graves from looters. The suit before Judge Kornmann was brought by the Standing Rock Sioux, whose reservation is bisected by Lake Oahe. The tribe is seeking a permanent limit on the lake's water level to prevent further erosion of the banks and exposure of any more graves. The tribe also wants the government to build a protective wall around graves already exposed. The court order allows no more than a six-inch drop from the lake's current level. The Army Corps of Engineers increased flows at the Fort Peck Dam in Montana and the Garrison Dam in North Dakota to compensate for halting operations at the Oahe but still maintains that the court order will cost the federal government $3 million by forcing the Western Area Power Administration to buy power elsewhere. Standing Rock leaders expressed satisfaction with the court order. "It's a step towards trying to resolve it," tribal council member Jesse Taken Alive told the New York Times. "At least the court system is listening to us in this matter." Copyright c. 2001 Native Americas, the award-winning publication of Akwe:kon Press of the American Indian Program at Cornell University --------- "RE: Nothing Sacred" --------- Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2001 07:24:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BURIALS" Nothing Sacred by Daniel Kraker A DECADE AGO, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) cleared the way for Indian tribes to recover cultural artifacts and human remains from museum collections. After a lengthy Native American lobbying effort, spearheaded in large part by the Hopi, George Bush finally signed the bill in 1990. Under the terms of the legislation, federally funded institutions are required to provide summaries of their collections and release items of cultural and religious significance to tribes that request their return. NAGPRA seemed to be a monumental victory for Native Americans. However, its unforeseen consequences have created a serious health threat: Hundreds of artifacts have been contaminated with arsenic, mercury, and other toxins applied by museums themselves. Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, director of the Hopi tribe's Cultural Preservation Office, first learned about the poisoning in 1995. He was at Harvard's Peabody Museum arranging for the repatriation of three Hopi artifacts known as Katsina Friends. During discussions with Peabody officials, he discovered the unfathomable: The Friends had been poisoned to prevent insect decay. To the Hopi, these objects are much more than mere assemblages of leather and feathers, yarn and paint. "In Hopi," explains Kuwanwisiwma, "these objects have life and spirit. [They] are just like your son, your mother. It's part of our living human community that has been contaminated with poison." By the time Kuwanwisiwma learned about the poisons, the Hopi had already repatriated some sixty objects and returned them to their owners on the reservation, who performed reconsecration ceremonies to welcome the sacred items back to their homeland. Many of the items were restored with new feathers and paint. Most ominously, many artifacts had already been worn and used in ceremonies, stored in clan houses, and even brought into underground, poorly ventilated religious chambers called kivas. MUSEUMS APPLIED pesticides to organic materials from the mid-nineteenth century until the 1970s. Mercury and arsenic were the most common pesticides employed, but other chemicals that are now banned for use as pesticides were also applied, including carbon tetrachloride and ethylene dichloride, which are both classified by the EPA as probable carcinogens. The thinking was that contaminated artifacts would be forever safely ensconced in glass. But that all changed when NAGPRA became a federal law a decade ago. Tribes like the Hopi, the Hoopa of Southern California, and the Seneca Nation of New York are all bringing artifacts back to use them in ceremonies. This has taken museums by surprise and presented a whole host of public-health concerns. And it has underscored a fundamental disparity between museums that have treated these artifacts as relics needing to be preserved at all cost and tribes, especially the Hopi, who see these objects as living, sacred beings. The fact that some artifacts are well over two hundred years old and still exist in museum collections is testament to how well these contaminants have worked. But the residues that these poisons left behind pose serious, and in some cases severe, health risks to Indian tribes. A few years ago, the Hopi tried to repatriate artifacts from a collection in Santa Fe's School of American Research. "One item," says Kuwanwisiwma, "was found to have three hundred to four hundred times the accepted level of arsenic. It is so hazardous that the Arizona Poison Control Center simply told the Hopi tribe, 'Please never ask for it back.'" Lucas Namoki, a Hopi tribal member who works for the Indian Health Service, doesn't understand why collectors didn't tell the Hopi people that they had applied chemicals to their artifacts. He considers this just another example of the lack of communication between the Hopi and non-Indians. Arsenic and mercury, both used well before their health and environmental risks were fully understood, are of most concern to tribes. They "affect a wide variety of target organs," explains Kathy Makos, an industrial hygienist at the Smithsonian Institution. "The predominant symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning include severe gastrointestinal and central nervous system problems, while long-term overexposure could lead to lung or skin cancer. Exposure to inorganic mercury primarily targets the nervous system and kidneys." Making matters worse, it could be a number of years after someone is exposed to a pesticide residue before the symptoms of chronic poisonings are seen. Makos is quick to point out that while a serious concern, with proper tribal education and close communication between museums and tribes, the risk posed by pesticide contamination should be easily controlled. "It's not the fact so much that you have a serious hazardous pesticide on an object," she says, "as much as how is that object going to be handled, where is the contact, what is it going to mean to that person's short term or long term health? That's a classic public health evaluation." In other words, if tribes know what pesticides are present on an object and in what quantity, they can manage the risks involved with handling that object. But for the most part they haven't been able to do this, because museums often don't have accurate records of what has been applied to collections. It is possible to reconstruct pesticide histories through anecdotal information and old records, but according to Micah Lomaomvaya of the EPA- funded Hopi Pesticide Program, it's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. Most museums don't have the resources to go back painstakingly through old archives. One of the few museums that has, the Arizona State Museum in Tucson, was only able to do so with the help of a grant from the National Park Service, which administers NAGPRA. Nancy Odegaard, a conservator at the museum, feels that institutions are "understandably overwhelmed" by the task. Luckily for them, NAGPRA does not require museums to reconstruct pesticide histories of their collections. Pesticides were not even mentioned until the final regulations of the statute, which have only been effective since 1996. The latest revisions of NAGPRA also only require museums to share with tribes what they know, and because of the dearth of historical records and the age of many of these artifacts, most collections managers know very little. While many museums have gone beyond the regulations and warned tribes about what might be present on objects, others, quite legally, have told tribes only what they know certainly: nothing. For this reason, even with the 1996 regulations, many tribes remain unaware of the potential poisoning of their artifacts. With little success, Kuwanwisiwma has appealed to the Park Service to bring national attention to the issue so that all tribes can make informed decisions about how to proceed with repatriation. The Hopi are also actively sharing what they know with other tribes, many of which still have no idea that what they have repatriated may be poisoned. Even the Navajo, whose reservation completely surrounds Hopi land, have only just learned about the issue. In the absence of thorough documentation, tribes are eager to test artifacts before repatriating them. But tests are expensive and without knowing precisely what to look for, broad spectrum tests (costing a few thousand dollars) must be used. While arsenic and mercury are the most common pesticides found on Indian artifacts, according to Nancy Odegaard there are at least ninety-one chemicals that have been used over the past two centuries. Testing also often requires the removal of part of an object, which might not be acceptable to some tribes. Assuming a tribe is able to scrape together funds to test an artifact, and it does come back positive, Micah Lomaomvaya says that it's still unclear what the Hopi should then do. "It's all up in the air right now," he says. "We need to come together, hopefully, to develop a way to create a solution -- whether or not it's just creating a facility to house these items into perpetuity, or if there's a possible way to decontaminate these items, how much is it going to cost, and who's going to pay for it." The "we" he's referring to includes Indian tribes, museums, and the federal government. Only recently have they begun to work together. In the past year, museums have held workshops in Arizona and Southern California to educate tribes about the hazards that pesticides pose. A national symposium that will bring together all parties involved in the issue -- conservators, Native Americans, health professionals, and federal officials -- to map out strategies is scheduled for March. As with many politically charged issues, the devil is in the dollars. Most Indian tribes don't have anywhere near the funds needed to thoroughly document, test, and possibly decontaminate the many thousands of artifacts housed in museums around the world. Kuwanwisiwma believes that the museum community is liable to provide this funding. This position, he says, has "caused mixed reaction. Some museums are I'm sure honest by saying that they don't have the financial resources and were typically bewildered in terms of the technical aspects of laboratory testing, because this is a new frontier." Museums also correctly argue that they applied pesticides in good faith to preserve objects, and had no way of knowing that they would someday return to cultural use on reservations. Makos believes that neither tribes nor museums can afford to act alone on this issue. "It's not a question of tribe versus museum resources," she says, stressing that this is her opinion and not that of the Smithsonian, "but whether tribes and museums are willing to organize together to convince Congress and the NAGPRA office to fund this mandate." In the meantime, the Hopi have placed a temporary moratorium on the physical repatriation of artifacts to the reservation. Lomaomvaya is collecting the artifacts that have already been returned to the tribe and bringing them to a temporary storage facility at the Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. The irony isn't lost on the Hopi. A century ago, museum collectors left the Southwest with wagonloads of artifacts, ostensibly to "preserve" them. Now, ten years after the passage of NAGPRA -- an official promise to return these artifacts -- the Hopi are once again seeing their sacred objects leave the reservation. And once again, they're going to a museum. Daniel Kraker is a writer living on the Hopi Indian Reservation. He also reports on Native American issues for KNAU Public Radio in Flagstaff. --------- "RE: ICT editorial: Chiapas and the Mexican Tinderbox" --------- Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 10:26:33 -0800 (PST) From: Paul Pureau Subj: ICT editorial: Chiapas and the Mexican Tinderbox Mailing List: Our Red Earth Feb 07, 2001 Chiapas and the Mexican Tinderbox Within two weeks of the Chiapas uprising of January 1994, two North American Indian delegations had found their way to that embattled corner of southern Mexico, where Maya village people were saying "enough is enough" to 500 years of colonial racist mentality. The Internet and satellite communications, better access to transportation and the growth, over the past 25 years, of an international Indigenous network made such a quick and interested response by North American Indians inevitable. The Zapatista uprising has turned into a controlled, simmering conflict that seven years later shows no sign of abatement or resolution. The Zapatista have organized congresses in the jungle, attended international meetings from New York to Madrid and generated a major democratization movement within Mexico. Their photogenic, masked leader, Subcomandante Marcos, has become a celebrated writer and poet, as well as revolutionary; but he is best identified for his assertion of being under the command of the Maya village elders, whose people make up the Zapatista troops. Named after the Zapotec Indian revolutionary, Emiliano Zapata, whose famous motto, "Land or Death," broadcast the aspirations of millions of Mexican Indians in the 1910s, the Mexican Indian movement called attention to the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) on Mexican campesinos. In particular, the new agreements called for widespread privatization of Indian "ejidos," agricultural lands reserved by villages and regional Indian populations as a result of the Mexican Revolution of the early 20th century. The net effect of privatization by corporations, which tend to grow crops for export rather than local consumption, is to drive out the smaller farming families and to jack up the price of food so that many people can not afford even minimum nutrition. The many dislocated families end up in the larger urban centers, ringing Mexico City with a population of some 20 million people, concentric circles of brown humanity suffering ever more deeply from endemic poverty, unemployment, hunger and disease. (Mexico's Indians are not alone in this; it happens throughout Latin America.) While Native communities have never had easy access to industrial goods, as recently as 20 years ago, Chiapas and other Indian areas of southern Mexico boasted excellent food and other home products markets. People were poor but they were not starving. Their way of life was their social safety net. The "new" globalization economics have upset this apple cart but a new one has yet to be put in its place. Rather than encourage all efforts to sustain, recreate and develop locally productive agriculture that can actually feed people directly - for which there is great agitation among Mexican Indian people - all international policies seem to be working from high-capital, global financing perspectives. The result is to dictate a fully industrialized agriculture, with the consequent displacement of millions and millions of people. This is the migration coming north from Mexico and Latin America. It scares many North Americans who respond by militarizing the border under an anti-drug, anti-brown hysteria, while greatly benefiting from the cheap labor provided by Mexican Indians in California's fields and service industries. Many Mexican people make their way north. More and more they come as Indians - as Zapoteca, as Mixteca, as Maya from various ethnias. As migratory patterns expand, the so-called "maquiladora" or assembly industries of the U.S.-Mexico border create a new in-between land, massing increasingly skilled workers and launching people north. These are trends and realities of the modern age, new migrations that will ultimately change the face of North America. Those early North American Indian delegations were right to seek contact with the Chiapas reality, just as so many Native people have visited each other all over the world. More and more, Native people are aware how issues and situations in far-away places can have important effects whole countries away. More than ever, the sharing of knowledge, objectives and potential futures among Native peoples, is seen as an essential part of future survival. ===== Paul Pureau Thank you for your participation at Our Red Earth. --------- "RE: Schools for Chiapas" --------- Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 20:29:48 -0600 (CST) From: fzln Subj: Schools for Chiapas English version Schools for Chiapas Update Schools for Chiapas has sent you this email because you have personally subscribed to a monthly mailing about indigenous Maya schools in Chiapas, MEXICO. Schools for Chiapas ~ Email Feb. 3, 2001 English Language Index 1. Students, teachers, and peace in Chiapas 2. Report from Oventik, Aguascalientes II 3. Report from Francisco Gomez, Aguascalientes III 4. Chiapas Spanish School and Maya Languages Institute 5. The Little Yellow School Bus for Peace 6. Immediate needs of autonomous schools in Chiapas, Mexico 7. Subscribe / Unsubscribe I. Students, teachers, and the three "signals" for renewing peace negotiations in Chiapas "No one should trust the bad government even if there is a new person in charge," commented a 14 year old student during one late night discussion outside the massive new library at Oventic, Aguascalientes II. "However if Fox sends the three signals then it will be possible to try talking again. " Most students attending Zapatista schools echoed the sentiments of this young woman whose grandfather was killed by paramilitaries in 1998. "The government must release our prisoners, pull its troops back from the seven positions, and honor the accords of San Andres which were previously negotiated", was the often repeated message of teachers, students, and parents during the New Years Education Caravans for Peace. "Without these three "signals" there will be no discussions with the new president or his government." "We probably should have asked for more, but if Mr. Fox will honor these three demands we will send our leaders back to the discussion table," explained a member of the school board at Oventic Aguascalientes. "We're very happy that the bad government has let teacher Pedro Cafe' visit us, but they think this (visit of Schools for Chiapas director Peter Brown) is a very big thing," continued this tiny Tzotzil man as the members of the school board laughed and nodded in agreement. "It is a nice thing for all of us to look at Pedro Cafe' one again; but unless our three signals that we have asked for are accepted we will never, never go back to discussions for peace. Pedro Cafe' should never have been expelled. You must be certain that everyone in Mexico and the other places you come from understands this is the word of all the indigenous peoples of Chiapas. We will never meet with Mr. Fox unless he honors our three signals!" "It is fine with us that our leaders go to Mexico City, but we are very worried that they will never return," was how one particularly articulate 16 year old student summed up her response to the plan to send twenty- three EZLN commanders and Subcommander Marcos to the capital. "Almost every night I dream about the commanders being killed; we students discuss this often among ourselves. We hope that all Mexicans who have a soul and those around the world who care for the indigenous will help protect them on their trip because we cannot travel with them or defend them ourselves." Dozens of indigenous students, teachers, parents, and community leaders made similar requests that autonomous school supporters accompany the Chiapas Peace Delegation when they travel to Mexico City in late February 2001. Therefore Schools for Chiapas has finalized plans to help accompany the Zapatista leadership from Chiapas (Feb. 25, 2001) to Mexico City (March 10, 2001) and back to Chiapas (date still to be announced). Mexican and international volunteers will ride on the Little Yellow School Bus for Peace for as short as a weekend or for the entire journey. "Those supporters of autonomous schools who wish to travel to Mexico City must cover their own expenses, since no school funds can be used for accompaniment or observation activities," explained Peter Brown. "In addition, international supporters who travel with Schools for Chiapas must pledge to follow Mexican law and avoid participation in political activity while they visit Mexico." In cooperation with dozens of Mexican and international organizations and individuals, the Little Yellow School Bus for Peace will leave Northern California on Feb. 1, 2001 as the twenty-second Education Caravan for Peace (see itinary below) carrying school supplies for autonomous schools in Chiapas. After dropping school supplies in the autonomous communities the Education Caravan for Peace will end and the Little Yellow School Bus for Peace will join the accompaniment team to the Chiapas Peace Delegation. Contact peace_bus@hotmail.com. 2. Update on "First of January" Secondary School at Oventik, Aguascalientes II The approximately 140 students who have completed their first semester of studies presented a variety of cultural which were well received during the New Year's 2001 celebrations. These celebrations were attended by over 6000 indigenous people from the highlands of Chiapas including the families and community members of many students. The indigenous teachers report that the students are studying hard and learning. The new curriculum and alternative teaching methods are being refined. A major expansion of the library facility is complete and there are plans for the construction of a new kitchen, latrines, and language studies center. Students will be on vacation until Feb. 26 to help with the harvest in their home communities. A major report about the opening of this school is under preparation and will be available in six to eight weeks. Volunteers are needed for Chiapas Schools Construction Teams and Education Caravans for Peace in April, July, and August! Internationals (619) 232-2841, email: schoolsforchiapas@schoolsforchiapas.org Mexicans living in Mexico 01-5761-4236, e-mail fzln@fzln.org.mx 3. Update on the secondary school under construction at Francisco Gomez, Aguascalientes III Five classrooms now dominate the one hectacre site of the second autonomous, indigenous school in Chiapas, Mexico. Concrete block walls and floor are covered with a tin roof making the school building one of the most impressive structures in this small rain forest center - only the new concrete church matches the school! These classrooms will be used for teacher training as soon as funds are available to install lighting, windows, and doors. Volunteers are needed for Chiapas Schools Construction Teams and Education Caravans for Peace in April, July, and August! Internationals (619) 232-2841, email: schoolsforchiapas@schoolsforchiapas.org Mexicans living in Mexico 01-5761- -4236, e-mail fzln@fzln.org.mx 4. Chiapas Spanish School and Maya Languages Institute Classes in Spanish or Tzotzil begin every Monday in the highlands center of Oventik, Aguascalientes II. Tuition is $90 per week; rustic room and board is $50 per week. Native speaker instruction combined with total cultural immersion program. Volunteer opportunities available. (619) 232-2841.E- mail:schoolsforchiapas@schoolsforchiapas.org 5. The Little Yellow School Bus Press Briefing - Feb. 2, 2001 San Francisco, CA, USA San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano to Greet The Little Yellow School Bus for Peace A ragtag collection of Mexican and U.S. students, teachers, and peace activists have united to purchased an ancient school bus in California with the goal of assisting the Zapatista rebels of southern Mexico in their quest for a better life. (IT WAS A GREAT SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!) Giant puppets and maverick San Francisco politician Tom Ammiano will greet the battered school bus for a press briefing and send off ceremony on the steps of San Francisco City Hall at 12pm on Friday, Feb. 2, 2001. An event at the Unitarian Church in Berkeley on Saturday evening (from 6 to 9pm at the Unitarian Church in Berkeley -near campus on corner of Cedar and Bonita)will raise funds for indigenous schools in Chiapas. "The Little Yellow School Bus for Peace will travel over 8000 miles to deliver school supplies to Maya schools in Chiapas, Mexico and then the bus will accompany Zapatista leaders to Mexico City," explained Berkeley organizer Sylvia Romo. "We are visiting schools in the Bay Area collecting students' letters and artwork which will be delivered to indigenous schools in the Mexican southeast." The Maya peoples of Chiapas, who have been in revolt since Jan. 1, 1994, recently announced their intention to send twenty-three commanders and the eloquent Subcommander Marcos on a peace mission to the Mexican capital. The Zapatista rebels plan to leave Chiapas on Feb. 25 and arrive in Mexico City on March 10, 2001. The Mexican government has announced that Mexican and internationalists, who accept the Zapatistas invitation to accompany the peace delegation, will not be harassed by government authorities. "Get on the bus!," exclaimed Ms. Romo in response to questions of how the public can help. "We need individuals and organizations to make the project their own by purchasing school supplies, buying a tank of fuel for the bus, or sending volunteers to travel with The Little Yellow School Bus for Peace from northern California to southern Mexico." Organizers also explained that supporters who can only travel for short period of time will join the bus at different points on its long journey. The following is a list of events scheduled in Mexico and USA for the Little Yellow School Bus for Peace: Feb. 1, Thursday Santa Cruz, CA: 12:45 School visit at Westlake Elementary School 7-9pm Speeches and Presentations at the Resource Center for Nonviolence, music and food (515 Broadway), 3$ co-sponsored by MECHA of UCSC and SIPAZ Feb. 2, Friday San Francisco, CA: 9am School visit at Oakland Arts/Far West High School 12-1pm Photo-op at City Hall with Supervisor Tom Ammiano and Freedom Rising: Arts and Revolution puppets (meet on Polk St. side) 3:30-4:30pm School visit to Making Waves program at San Pedro School, San Rafael Feb. 3, Saturday Berkeley, CA: 6-9pm Potluck dinner at Unitarian Church in Berkeley (near campus on corner of Cedar and Bonita), please bring a dish or a donation for the bus. Sponsored by Students for Chiapas at UCB Feb. 4, Sunday Santa Barbara, CA: 5-7pm Potluck dinner with speeches at Unitarian Society Parish Hall (1535 Santa Barbara St.), 5$ donation. Co-sponsored by American Indian Airwaves, Coyote Radio, Schools for Chiapas, PAZapatista, Social Justice Commission Feb. 5, Monday Santa Barbara, CA: 9:30am School visit at McKinley School Los Angeles, CA: School visits Feb. 6, Tuesday Los Angeles, CA: 11:30am-1pm Readings and speeches at Occidental College (1600 Campus Rd.) 6-7pm Press conference and rally at Echo Park United Methodist Church (near intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Alvarado at Alvarado and Reservoir) 8pm Potluck dinner at the Peace Center. 8124 W. 3rd. St., between Crescent Heights and La Cienega-. Sponsored by the Chiapas Coalition '98 Feb. 7, Wednesday San Ysidro, CA: 5-6:30 pm San Ysidro Border Crossing: U.S. supporters will enter Mexico to carry school supplies collected in Baja California across the border and place them on the school bus bound for Chiapas. Meet at the trolley stop at 5pm! Feb. 8, Thursday San Diego, CA: 10:30 am Press briefing, Chicano Park 11 am-1 pm Students' Picnic at Chicano Park. Students deliver letters and help paint the bus. 4-6 pm City Heights' Recreational Center, Students deliver sports equipment for Chiapas 6:30-8:30 pm: Dinner &Cultural Program at The Big Kitchen, $10 (3003 Grape, Golden Hill) Feb. 9, Friday Tucson, AZ: 7pm Chicanos Por La Causa Youth Drop-In Center, Speeches, reading of "Old Antonio" by eduacator and actor Ernie McCray , and potluck dinner (250 N. Silverbell, corner of Silverbell and Fresno). Co-sponsored by the Mechistas of Tucson, AZ Feb. 10, Saturday Tucson, AZ: 12-2pm Community and student potluck with speeches, dramatic readings and video presentation at Ha:sa~ cafeteria (1333 E. 10th St.) Feb. 11, Sunday El Paso, TX: 7pm "Party for Peace", dramatic reading of the Story of Colors, music and speeches at The Bridge Center for Contemporary Art (downtown at the corner of Stanton and San Antonio), $3 for a dramatic reading of the Story of Colors, music and speechesco-sponsored by Cinco Puntos Press, Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center and the Immigrant Law Enforcement Monitoring Project of El Paso. Feb. 12, Monday BORDER CROSSING El Paso/Juarez 6:30/9am Radio Show with Paul Strelzin Fiesta en Juarez (to be confirmed) Feb. 12, Monday Crossing the U.S. / Mexico Border, Juarez Feb. 13, Tuesday - Chihuahua Feb. 14, Wednesday, Ji'menez Feb. 15, Thursday, Torreo'n Feb. 16, Friday - Zacatecas Feb. 17, Saturday San Luis Potosi' Feb. 18, Sunday - Leo'n Feb. 19, Monday - Quere'taro Feb. 20, Tuesday - DF Feb. 21, Wednesday Tlaxcala Feb. 22, Thursday - Oaxaca Feb. 23, Friday San Cristo'bal de las Casas Feb. 24, Saturday - La Realidad, Aguascalientes I Feb. 25, Sunday Oventik, Aguascalientes II For more information on events in your city please contact: Santa Cruz - Ukahri Rivas (831)421-9467 Bay Area - Sylvia Romo (510) 858-3600 Santa Barbara - Faviana Hirsch-Dubin via email: faviana5@aol.com Los Angeles - Peace Center (310) 836-6316 or Sherry Klein (323) 874-5356 San Diego - Elizabeth Sa'enz-Ackermann (619) 232-2841 Tucson - Naomi Mudge (520) 624-4130 El Paso - Susie Byrd at Cinco Puntos Press (915) 566-9072 Events in Mexican cities FZLN at fzln@fzln.org.mx or (52) 5761-4236 Donations for the Little Yellow School Bus: Send your checks payable to GRASS ROOTS EVENTS, INC and mail them to: AFSC/The Little Yellow School Bus, 1129 "G" St., San Diego, CA 92101 or bring them personally to Little Yellow School Bus event at your city. Sponsors of the Little Yellow School Bus for Peace include: American Indian Airwaves, Big Noise Films, Casa Bonampak, Chiapas Coalition '98, Cinco Puntos Press, CISPES, Coyote Radio, Perio'dico "El Tiempo", FZLN, Global Exchange, the Human Bean Co., Independent Media Center, Marin Interfaith Task Force, MECHA of UCSC, MECHA of Tucson High School, Mexican Solidarity Network, Office of the Americas, PAZ at UCSB, San Diegans for Democracy in Mexico, San Francisco Zapatista Committee, Schools for Chiapas, SIPAZ, Students for Chiapas at UCB, and the World Beat Center. For more information contact: 6. Immediate needs during the travels of the Little Yellow School Bus for Peace a. Food for the 140 students attending the "First of January" Secondary School at Oventic, Aguascalientes II (approximate cost for food is $2 per day per student.) b. Metal windows and doors for five classroom in Francisco Gomez, Aguascalientes III (approximate cost is $750 per classroom) c. Electrical and lighting systems for the five classrooms at the secondary school under construction at Francisco Gomez, Aguascalientes III (approximate cost is $150 per classroom) d. Sports equipment for the First of January Secondary School, Oventik, Aguascalientes II a. Basketballs and nets b. Volleyballs and nets c. Soccer balls d. CD's for the music programs being developed at both secondary schools. All music styles are welcome. Addition CD players also needed. 7. Subscription and unsub A. To receive an update about the junior high school at Oventik Aguascalientes II and other indigenous schools in Mexico about once a month, please send the following message to : subscribe mexicopeace Schools for Chiapas * Chanob Junetik ta Chiapas * Escuelas para Chiapas Chiapas Schools Construction Teams * San Diegans for Peace in Mexico 1717 Kettner Blvd., Suite 125 San Diego, CA 92102 (619) 232-2841 FAX (619) 232-0500 Chanob Junetic ta Chiapas * Escuelas para Chiapas Calle Emiliano Zapata 1994, Oventic Aguascalientes II San Andre's Sacamch'en de los Pobres, Chiapas, Mexico Donations and pledges to the program are vital! We accept monthly pledges via visa or master card. Schools bonds are also available. Join us! ******************************* schoolsforchiapas@schoolsforchiapas.org www. schoolsforchiapas.org --------- "RE: Delewares/Cherokees go to Court over Land" --------- Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2001 09:02:13 -0800 From: "Jess Hansen." Subj: "Delawares, Cherokees go to court over land" Mailing List: First Nations http://www.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=636459 2001-02-10 By: DON DIEHL, 'Oklahoman' Staff Writer TULSA - "A conflict between two Indian tribes in northeast Oklahoma will go before a federal judge next week. Lines have been drawn between the Cherokees and Delawares over issues that leaders of both tribes say threaten their sovereignty. The 10,500-member Delaware Tribe has headquarters at Bartlesville in Washington County. Chief Dee Ketchum said the tribe would like to advance its economic development programs and maintain its identity but the Cherokee Nation is hindering such plans by challenging its right to own and govern land. Cherokee leaders say they are simply concerned about maintaining their sovereignty. "The issue is land," Cherokee spokesman Mike Miller said. But Delaware leaders say the tribe paid more than $150,000 to the Cherokee Nation in the past so it could have land and a base for its operations. The Delawares became part of the Cherokee Nation in 1867 when they were forced to move to Oklahoma from Kansas." --------- "RE: Indians Added to Arkansas Scholarship Eligibility" --------- Date: Mon, 5 Feb 2001 07:21:42 -0600 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 02-04-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 02/05/2001 07:25 AM Indians added to scholarship eligibility list ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE February 3, 2001 American Indians now are eligible to apply for one of the state's four minority scholarship programs that previously were available only to blacks, Hispanics and Asians. The Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the policy change Friday. Only black students were eligible when the four scholarships were created in 1994 and 1995. The programs were amended in 1997 to include Hispanics and Asians. The Arkansas Department of Higher Education proposed that American Indians be added to the list of eligible minority groups after an American Indian couple were told they didn't qualify for the scholarship and filed a lawsuit. The four scholarships include the Freshman/Sophomore Minority Grant Program, which provides $1,000 to students who major in teacher education; the Minority Teacher Scholars program, which provides $5,000 to students in teacher preparation programs in exchange for a 5-year in-state teaching commitment; the Minority Masters Fellows Program, which awards $7,500 to students in exchange for a two-year in-state teaching commitment; and the Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Scholars Program, which awards full tuition and a $12,000-a-year stipend. In exchange, students agree to teach for every year they receive a stipend. --------- "RE: The Mapuce People of Chile Speaks" --------- Date: Fri, 2 Feb 2001 05:44:17 EST From: MAPULINK@aol.com Subj: THE MAPUCHE PEOPLE OF CHILE SPEAKS Mailing List: RezLife THE MAPUCHE PEOPLE OF CHILE SPEAKS January 27th, 2001 The community Pascual Cona (Lleu-Lleu Region- Chile) and the Mapuche Arauco-Malleco Coordinating Committee would like to denounce to the International community, the following: 1. Yesterday, Friday January 26, 2001, our community started the symbolic process of taking back the Mapuche land stolen, in this case by the Chilean entrepreneur Osvaldo Carvajal, through a peaceful demonstration that lasted only a few minutes. 2. This demonstration was quickly repressed by a large group of the Chilean police (uniformed and plain clothed) who used rubber bullets and tear gas. The protesters left the place and went back to their homes. 3. The police force continued its repressive action by chasing the Mapuche people into their homes. One of the demonstrators was wounded in his right eye by a rubber bullet and has been hospitalized in the Concepcion hospital. Ten people were arrested, 9 men and a woman. 4. Among the people arrested there are three Lonkos (leader of a Mapuche Community): Bautista Ancalao Necul, Lonko of the Tranicura I Mapuche Community, Jose Marihuen, Lonko of the Tranicura II Mapuche Community and Manuel Fren, Lonko of the Kuyinco Mapuche Community. Also arrested was Maria Llanquileo, leader of the Mapuche Arauco-Malleco Coordinating Committee. During the arrestment the police and their weapons threatened the Mapuche people with death. 5. As a result of this brutal repression, Hector Llaitul, a mapuche Social worker, was also arrested. He is now in the Hospital of Canete, in critical condition wounded by rubber bullets in his body, head, face and arm, which has not been extracted yet. 6. On Saturday, 27 of January, the Judge of Canete approved the detention of six of the arrested Mapuche people and one released. The other three has been put under a Military Court (Bautista Ancalao Necul being one of them). The six men are in the jail of Lebu City and the woman in the jail of Arauco City. 7. By order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, last Saturday, the Intendent of the 8th Region, presented a request to impose The Law of Internal National Security against the Mapuche people detained. This will be resolved on Monday, January 29, 2001. We would like to state that our struggle to recuperate our ancestral land will continue, because we are aware that through the struggle, is the only way to achieve our right to land and autonomy, so we can expel from our land the entrepreneurs, the tourist industry and the forest companies that are getting rich with our poverty and the repression exerted against us. Pascual Cona Mapuche Community The Mapuche Arauco-Malleco Coordinating Committee (translated by Hugo Torres-Cereceda ) _________________________________________ Bautista Ancalao Necul, Lonko of the Tranicura I Mapuche Community, visited Winnipeg ( Canada) on February, 2000 and managed to meet with different people and organizations, where he presented the struggle and situation of the Mapuche People in Chile. I urged you to write letter of denunciation so we can get the release of the Mapuche brothers and sisters arrested in Chile. Please write to: Mr. Ricardo Lagos Escobar President of Chile e. mail : presidencia@segegob.cl or: Mr. Jose Miguel Insulza Minister of Internal Affairs e. mail: presidencia@segegob.cl or: Jose Antonio Gomez Urrutia Minister of Justice e-mail: presidencia@segegob.cl Please send copies of this email to friends and organizations that would be interested in supporting this campaign. Also sent copies to: Comapudehuma e. mail : comapu@netexpress.cl And Mapuche Committee on Human Rights, Canete-Chile Fax: 56-41 619830 For more information please contact: Hugo Torres-Cereceda Ph. (204) 453-8581 Fax: (204) 453-8581 e. mail : bhjanijm@mb.sympatico.ca ______________________________________________ Mapuche International Link Enlace Mapuche Internacional 6 Lodge Street, Bristol. BS1 5LR, England. Tel/Fax +44-117-927 9391 Cellular: 07720049628 e-mail: MAPULINK@aol.com http://members.aol.com/mapulink ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> For Rezlife yahoogroups http://www.yahoogroups.com/group/rezlife --------- "RE: Ethnic Cleansing in Equador" --------- Date: Sun, 04 Feb 2001 11:40:10 -0500 From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman) Subj: HEYYYY!! Newsgroup: alt.native .. & now that I've got your attention.. d'laan'te'... The stink of deception & leading people of the Nations on wild-goose/wild whale chases & the euro-invented lunacy of "race", more drivel from govt agents endlessly pretending to care & that they "know the truth" about Leonard & AnnieMae but actually producing nothing but their own hot air, & similar idiocies are still too thick in this ng for me to even consider returning, but since I am told there are still a few true-hearts hanging around here for some reason, & many REAL lives are at stake I will hold my nose & step in here for one (1) post.., for the love of my relations, & with the hope that I can distract a few to take time off from the bullshit & help save Indian lives. I hate to spoil the good time you folks are having here but some, like myself, are still fighting as rear-guard in the WAR OF GENOCIDE & the ETHNIC CLEANSING that happens to be ongoing in this hemisphere gadamit!! Maybe one or two will get their heads out of the stuff many seem to think important, such as exchanging drool with racist trolls & spending precious minutes on ball-team mascots (a bizarre expenditure of time & energy which doubtless has saved many an Indian life, according to the bourgeois values of some self-styled 'leaders'). Listen up... There are, at this very moment, over 13,000 Indians on the verge of being erased from the face of this planet, sitting in the campus of the University of Ecuador in Quito. That's 13,000+ Indian men, women, children & elders. The police & army surrounding them have been sporadically firing thousands of rounds of bullets & tear gas at them for the past 8 days. To date (as I was told before telephone went dead last night) over 30 have been killed & over 600 wounded. They have little food left & only what water remains in the fountains to drink since the water supply was shut off on Thursday. On Friday the govt of Ecuador, under orders from Washington DC, declared an official State of Emergency. It is now illegal for more than 3 people to meet & converse together for any reason, & the army is fanning out across the country & arresting every single Indian leader, elder & voice & "disappearing them" for "security reasons" without any need for due process. Antonio Vargas, elected leader & spokesman for CONAIE, was arrested last week, secured his release via a writ of habeas corpus, but was "disappeared" again when the state of emergency was declared. The situation is desperate & the govt of Ecuador & their masters in Washington, capital of the greatest Whore State in the world today, does not want the world to know what is going on. The CONAIE website [www.conaie.org] was hacked last night to remove all of the eleven (11) boletins posted by CONAIE since 01 January 2001, describing the current crisis & pleading with good hearts (especially those of their North American relations) for attention & support. [Maybe I should pass on your apologies for ignoring them & tell them how busy most are discussing whale-shit again..] As you may recall, [which I seriously doubt] the Indians of Ecuador marched in January, 2000. They marched on Quito in columns that swelled to well over one-&-a-half-MILLION Indians, to protest the privatization of the fresh water supply of their country, & the turning over of control of Ecuador's economy to the Federal Reserve Bank of the USofA, conditions demanded by the IMF & the World Bank for a loan to Ecuador. The need for that loan was created when one single New York City-based investment dealer named Marc Helie, a partner in the Wall Street firm of Gramercy Advisors, who refused to agree to a one month extension of the pay-out on the Ecuadorean bonds that his firm held. He still openly brags that he is, "the man who brought Ecuador to its knees, single-handed". In the single news report describing his "triumph" (The Globe&Mail - Report on Business 19 Jan 2000 pp b1-b8), Helie's firm is described as, ".. specializing in making money from economies on the brink of disaster.." But did Gramercy Advisors or this carpetbagger Helie get a single voice of disapproval or condemnation from a single American citizen, let alone from any Indian in the USA for their destabilization of an entire country? Naahh.. Too busy with whale-shit & sports-team mascots... The Quecheu Indian Nations in Ecuador, who are a 'minority' of 45%-65% of the country's population, marched. They were then as they are now, UNARMED. The students & labour unions joined them, & when several army units joined their ranks (90% of the Ecuadorean army are Indians) the government of President Jamil Mahuad was toppled. After a few days, the Vice-President, Gustavo Noboa, was named President & made promises (signed accords 17 July, 2000) to the Indians that the fresh water of Ecuador would never be sold to the US & Italian-based multi-national corporations that had "bought" it, small farners would be forgiven their debts to the govt & fuel prices would be frozen for 2 years... So the Indians went back to their villages & farms. The army was given a huge pay-raise (US "aid"). With the Indians in uniform bought off, all promises & signed accords were immediately forgotten. Now water for the sheep & small plots of maize in that DESERT climate costs 35-cents (USD) per gallon, when the average Indian farmer/shepherd makes LESS than $500 (USD) per year. And the sucre, the currency of Ecuador that constituted all of whatever meagre funds & savings the Indians held, is now worthless paper, replaced by the US dollar which none but the ruling families of Ladinos can afford, as dictated by the US Federal Reserve Bank & the IMF. Last week's directions from the US govt also resulted in the declaration that the labour unions in mines & oil fields (all 100% USA-owned) were now illegal, & the price of gasoline was raised by 200% (while exports of Ecuador's huge oil reserves to the USA shot up from 65% of national production to 100%). As an added blow, bus fares were boosted by 75%. (That's devastating because 99% of the Indian farmers bring their produce to regional markets by bus.. Their soil is so poor that they can carry their yields in a basket). "Coincidentally", the USA has also completed construction of their new naval base at Manta & is building ten (10) more military bases in Ecuador (3 along the border with Colombia & 7 'elsewhere') under the usual PR cover of "fighting the war on drugs" (ie, to crush the "subversive" Indians) - Can't let the po' folk (esp with skin-tones other than white) mess up the spread of "US democra$$y" by insisting they exist & have rights now, can we? So CONAIE, with the 100% support & direction of the thousands of Indian families they represent, organized another march on Quito beginning the first week in January, 2001. The Ecuadorean army, with US military "advisors" openly in full uniform whispering in the ears of the local army commanders, is now going on a rampage of arrests with no warrants, thousands have been "detained" with no indiaction of whether they are dead or alive, & CONAIE & labour union offices are being trashed & padlocked. And all the self-styled "activists" on alt.native are too busy with whale-shit & the usual crap about "blood-quantum" to notice what is happening to their relations in Ecuador, to denounce what is being done to the right of self-determination of indigenous Nations in Ecuador, or the blood that is being poured into the soil of Ecuador from the bodies of dead Indian men, women, children & elders.. Rights & blood as precious as, & part of, your own... And some still wonder why I left this cyber-place in disgust.. Given a small windfall that permits me the means to travel, I leave for the region tonight. If my contacts are still alive & can get me into Ecuador I'll try to send back first-hand reports somehow, although I doubt what good such efforts would do with the likes of many posts I see here today.. Family & kinship are ignored & whales, "race-crap" & twinkie-fests continue to suck in so many here, so many times, that it's too nauseating to stay. Hasta luego.. y hasta la victoria siempre! jaom/e'ne'thekwe' "..Otra vez siento bajo mis talones el costillar de Rocinante; vuelvo al camino con mi adarga al brazoe"! ps - Those 11 bulletins from CONAIE to the world & erased from their website last night, pleading for support, are en route to my friend Frosty, along with 2-3 newpaper articles about thew situation inadvertently published contrary to the USA-imposed press-blackout.. I hope Frosty will post them on his e-list or whatever the heck it's called, for you to read & distribute.. if you give a damn about relations being butchered in the "U$A's national intere$t", that is.. --------- "RE: S**aw Abolished from B.C. Place Names" --------- Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 09:17:31 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="S**AW" "Squaw" abolished from B.C. place names Victoria, B.C. - A term that has been unintentionally insulting Aboriginal women for centuries has been officially eliminated from all place names throughout British Columbia. The word "Squaw" has traditionally been used by Aboriginal people throughout Canada and the US to describe an Aboriginal woman and was intended with respect. But since the arrival of European settlers to Canada's East Coast in the 1500s, the word has been derived to mean the opposite of what it was intended. The Canadian Oxford Dictionary labels it "offensive." And for that reason Aboriginal groups, including the First Nations Summit and the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, have been struggling to get the 11 place names in B. C. removed. Saskatchewan, Alberta, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon have already removed the word from geological sites. Dozens of American states have also done the same. The derogatory word will soon be taken off the famous wilderness sites of Squaw Creek, Squaw Fish Lake, Squaw Mountain and Squaw Range, along with several others. Before the Atlas is rewritten, people living in the area will be consulted, including Aboriginal groups, historical societies and government officials. And although that won't happen for sometime yet, one change has already taken place. The freshwater fish known as "squawfish" has already been renamed to "pike minnow" by fish scientists. Copyright c. 2001 The First Perspective By Taiga Communications Inc. at Brokenhead First Nation, Scanterbury, MT --------- "RE: Who Is a Seminole/Who Gets to Decide" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 07:15:30 -0600 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 01-30-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 01/30/2001 07:18 AM Who Is a Seminole, and Who Gets to Decide? By WILLIAM GLABERSON The New York Times 1/29/2001 SEMINOLE, Okla. ? Polly Gentry's skin is black. But she says she is an Indian. A black Indian. For generations, a little-known chapter of America's racial history shows, she and other descendants of escaped slaves have been members of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. Even on the tribal council, descendants of slaves have sat alongside descendants of native people. Until last summer. Then, in the middle of a bitter legal battle over $56 million in federal funds, Seminoles with native blood voted to strip the people who call themselves black Seminoles of tribal membership. Suddenly, Ms. Gentry said, "My skin makes a difference." The battle over the place of the black Seminoles is now at the center of two federal lawsuits that challenge basic notions about race in America. Although the issue has been addressed before, the cases give new currency to the question of who is an Indian. Experts in Indian law say the Seminole cases provide a view of often hidden battles over tribal membership across the country, as gambling revenues and federal land payments have given Indians something to fight over. "This has become one of the major hot-button issues in Indian Country: Who is an Indian? And, just as important, who decides who is an Indian?" said Robert A. Williams Jr., director of the Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona College of Law. Few tribes share the Seminoles' unusual history. But many are split by race conflicts, which sometimes pit members with more Indian blood against those with less, said Robert B. Porter, director of the Tribal Law and Government Center at the University of Kansas School of Law. "The future," Mr. Porter said, "has to be tribes clarifying what it means to be an Indian." Here, along the dirt roads in the scrubby countryside east of Oklahoma City, the end of a 200-year-old racial partnership is a raw subject. It was here that both black and blood Seminoles were forced to move from Florida by the federal government in the 1840's. So it is here that cousins of different colors, who still live side by side, accuse each other of racism, opportunism and betrayal. The argument is much the same in courts in Oklahoma City and Washington. The Seminoles' legal battle centers on the $56 million that Congress paid to the tribe in the early 1990's to compensate for the federal government's seizure of much of Florida in the 1820's. When the government of the 15,000-member tribe began distributing the money a few years ago, only Indians by blood were permitted to receive benefits for such things as school lunches, health care and job training. Black and blood Indians say that decision was guided by Interior Department officials. Interior Department lawyers say they were doing nothing more than advising the tribe as it made its own sovereign decisions. The other day, Roosevelt W. Davis Sr. pushed up on the collapsed roof of his two-bedroom shack and said that was what it meant to be a black Indian. Mr. Davis, 75, is a retired laborer who collects old cans to add to his $500 monthly Social Security check. Not long ago, he said, the tribe sent him $5,000 in housing assistance and then demanded he return the check when its officials realized his family was listed on the tribal roll of black Seminoles, not on the roll of blood Seminoles. Black and blood Seminoles have intermarried over the generations. But some blacks who say they have Seminole blood cannot prove their link to registered blood Seminoles. Others insist on preserving their identity as descendants of Africans. The eyes of Sylvia M. Davis, Mr. Davis's 46-year-old daughter, filled with tears as she described how the roof collapsed after a storm last summer, forcing her father out of the shack. Her father, who is staying at a friend's apartment, "calls me every night," she said. "He just talks about how long does he have to wait till he can get his house fixed." The answer to that may depend on how the courts view the claims by the 2,000 black Seminoles that their history shows that they, too, owned the Florida land. Some historians say the escaped slaves lived free as farmers, warriors and political leaders among the Indians, who were themselves exiles and runaways from other tribes. The name Seminole itself, some historians say, meant pioneer or seceder. But Justice Department lawyers and some blood Seminoles argue that some Seminoles owned black slaves before the Civil War. Because the tribe has sovereign immunity from lawsuits, the black Seminoles sued the Interior Department alone in the first suit, which was filed in 1996. The department's Bureau of Indian Affairs acts as trustee of the $56 million fund, and the black Seminoles said the bureau should assure that they were not the victims of discrimination. The black Seminoles are represented by a New York lawyer, Franklin B. Velie of Salans Hertzfeld Heilbronn Christy & Viener, and two of his nephews, Jonathan T. Velie and William Velie, lawyers in Norman, Okla. In legal papers, the black Seminoles' lawyers say federal officials and blood Seminole leaders motivated by racism "plotted to exclude" the black Seminoles. Interior Department lawyers and Seminole leaders denied those assertions in interviews, saying that there was no plot and that all decisions had been made in an effort to distribute the money as Congress intended. But the black Seminoles' lawyers discovered a series of memorandums written by federal officials from the 1970's to the 1990's that they say show an effort to deceive Congress. In 1976, as the tribe pressed its land claim, Bureau of Indian Affairs officials prepared a history of the black Seminoles. It concluded that in the 1700's some of the blacks "became essentially free under the Seminoles" and that the "very close relationship" continued in the 1800's. But that report, which was the basis of the battle to follow, concluded that the former slaves did not own the Florida land at the time the federal government seized it in 1823. The black Seminoles were recognized as members of the tribe in a treaty with the federal government in 1866. Their lawyers now say that simply acknowledged a relationship that already existed, while some blood Seminoles say the post-Civil War federal government forced the tribe to accept the blacks. The status of the black Seminoles in 1823 is critical. In 1976 the federal Indian Claims Commission concluded that 1823 was the date of the federal seizure of the Florida land. The commission said Congress should make a compensation payment to the "Seminole Nation as it existed in Florida" in 1823. The Bureau of Indian Affairs memorandums show that beginning in the 1970's, blood Seminoles expressed concerns about sharing any eventual payment with the blacks. In an interview, the Seminoles' chief, Jerry G. Haney, described the issue as political rather than racial in nature. He said the tribe had moved to exclude the black Seminoles partly because modern blacks ? unlike their ancestors, who had dressed as Indians and learned the Seminole language ? had drifted away from cultural identification as Indians. Interior Department officials, he added, had told the blood Indians that the money was to compensate for the stolen lands and "the blacks were not landowners." Dwayne Miller, a full-blood Seminole and a tribal council member, said in an interview that he believed the blacks should be paid by the federal government for their hardship in the forced removal from Florida. But, he said, "I don't think they should take it out of our money." By 1990, the lawyers for the black Seminoles contend, maneuvering to cut the blacks out of the $56 million had become explicit. A Bureau of Indian Affairs official in Oklahoma wrote a report of a meeting that September in which an Interior Department lawyer named Janet Spaulding conferred with Seminoles. The memorandum said the treatment of the black Seminoles was "a very sensitive matter" and hinted that an effort to exclude them might draw resistance in Congress. The report said Ms. Spaulding outlined "options" regarding the black Seminoles. One of them, said the memorandum, was "Possibility of plan slipping through if Congress is busy with the Middle East crisis on their mind" ? an apparent reference to the tensions that would soon lead to the Persian Gulf war. That, the black Seminoles' lawyers say in legal papers, suggested an effort to keep Congress from realizing that the tribe planned to exclude the blacks. In the end, the act appropriating the money said it was "for the benefit of the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma," leaving the status of the black Seminoles murky. In an interview, Ms. Spaulding, who is still an Interior Department lawyer, denied that she had worked to hide anything from Congress or to exclude the black Seminoles. She said the writer of the 1990 memorandum might have misunderstood the advice she gave the tribe. "I certainly didn't plot with them in any fashion," she said. A supervising Interior Department lawyer, Robert J. McCarthy, said federal officials always believed that the black Seminoles should share in the money if they could prove that "their ancestors were members of the tribe in 1823." He pointed to a 1991 memorandum suggesting that the tribe be encouraged to permit the black Seminoles to try to prove such membership. But in the black Seminoles' lawsuit in federal court in Oklahoma last year, Justice Department lawyers representing the Interior Department took a sharply different position. They suggested that only Seminoles by blood could have been members in 1823. "Presuming the plaintiffs have no Seminole Indian blood," the lawyers wrote, "they cannot legitimately claim harm from exclusion of funds to which they are not entitled." In fact, the federal government lawyers have fought the black Seminoles' case aggressively. In 1998 the government won a trial court ruling that dismissed the case on the grounds that the Seminole tribe was an indispensable party that could not be sued because of its sovereign immunity. In 1999, the federal appeals court in Denver reversed that ruling and said the trial court had to decide whether in "good conscience" the case should proceed even without the tribe. The trial judge in that case had taken no new action when the battle grew more heated with last summer's referendum stripping the black Seminoles of tribal membership. After the referendum passed, the Interior Department declared that this disenfranchisement was illegal and said the department would not recognize any tribal government that did not include the black Seminoles. Eventually, that action could mean the federal government could freeze payments. --------- "RE: Five Lakota Women Arrested" --------- Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 12:28:42 EST From: ErthAvengr@aol.com Subj: Five Lakota Women Arrested Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.lakotanationjournal.com FIVE LAKOTA WOMEN ARRESTED Staff tries to protect confidentiality of clients By Karen L. Testerman Journal Managing Editor EAGLE BUTTE - Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal police arrested an office director, several staff members and supporters after they barricaded themselves in an office to protect domestic violence victims and offenders files. Program Director Janet Collins and staff members June Runs After and Georgia Taylor of the Family Violence Prevention Program were charged with trespassing on tribal property and taken into custody January 26. They were released on Personal Recognizance bonds the same evening. Carmen White Horse, an advocate at the Sacred Heart Women's Shelter, and Willie Dolphus, co-director of the South Dakota Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, were also arrested. A restraining order preventing tribal personnel from taking the file cabinet was issued the same evening of the arrest, was dismissed five days later on January 31. The named individuals on the restraining order claimed sovereign immunity, Collins said. The tribal council held meetings January 29, 30 and 31 to determine whether the names could legally be released. A decision was not made by press deadline. "We're still trying to keep the focus on the issue of confidentiality and stay away from the politics," Collins said. "We realize a lot of program directors are watching to see what happens with our program. A lot of them deal with confidentiality issues and the outcome of this case will set precedence." All tribal employees and elected officials involved were told not to speak with the press, Collins said. CRST officials did not return calls by press time. The standoff began January 25 after Treasurer Clark and Administrative Officer LaPlante requested a list of clientele assisted by the program. Collins refused to release the list citing a possible breech of client confidentiality. "The treasurer said she wanted the list to make sure the clients weren't `double dipping,'" Collins said. "I advised her that I didn't feel comfortable in giving her the list and asked her to wait until the contract specialist returned and she agreed. The contract specialist informed me that I needed to provide the list to the treasurer." In an effort to protect the confidentiality of her clients, Collins said she again refused to release the names and also refused to allow access to the file cabinet containing clientele files. "I advised the administrative officer that I was going to contact my program manager in Washington and he told me he wouldn't allow me to make that call. He said, `If you make that call, I'm going to fight you for insubordination.'" she said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> 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 --------- "RE: Alberta Eyes Province-wide Native Police" --------- Date: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 07:24:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE POLICE" Alberta eyes province-wide native police Would be first in Canada: Provincial force could address pay, political problems Rick Mofina Southam News Alberta is considering creating Canada's first province-wide native police service. Insiders say a sense of frustration bordering on crisis has prompted Alberta's Justice Department to explore restructuring its First Nations policing system. Canada has nearly 130 First Nation police agencies, some with jurisdiction over vast areas in Northern Ontario, Quebec and the Northwest Territories, but none are province-wide. An Alberta Justice official confirms the province is in the early stages of studying new First Nation police models and is considering a provincial force. "We think it's something worth exploring, that it may result in a more efficient police service to our First Nations in the province," said Bart Johnson, spokesman for Alberta's Justice Department. Native leaders have suggested a treaty-based model that could reach across provincial boundaries, extending over areas of Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Underscoring the urgency of the issue is the fact two of Alberta's nine First Nation police services, those of the Keetaskenow and Hobbema bands, recently shut down and other Alberta native police agencies are said to be facing difficulties. The federal government hopes the two closures will be temporary, said Peter Fisher, director general of aboriginal policing for the Solicitor- General. Mr. Fisher said his department, the province and native officials are consulting to find solutions to the problems Alberta is facing. "What everyone is searching for is what is the best approach," he said, adding he does not sense "some kind of blanket problem." Sources have cited political influence by local bands, bureaucracy and the administration of funding as factors creating problems for some of Alberta's native police departments. While the province has approximately 90 First Nations officers, it has about 100 First Nations police commissioners, said Bob Krewenchuk, president of the Alberta First Nations Chiefs of Police. Alberta's First Nations police chiefs also cite pay equity as an issue. They can only allot an average of $60,000 to $65,000 for salary and resources for a First Nations officer. That rate is said to be the lowest for First Nation police officers in Canada, far below the Ontario average of $90,000. Forming a province-wide native force would cut the number of commissioners and reduce political influence and financial red tape, while improving salaries, skills and advancement for officers, according to a provincial Justice Department summary obtained by Southam News. Native officials countered with a treaty-based model that would accomplish the same. Rather than one province-wide structure, it would be divided into the three components for the bands under Treaty 6, Treaty 7 and Treaty 8. The treaty groups were established by signed agreements with the Crown in the late 1800s. The treaties established territories and reserve boundaries for such bands as the Wood Cree, Blackfoot and Blood tribes. Basing policing on the treaty structures could extend the jurisdiction of a new native force across provincial boundaries. For example, First Nations Treaty 8 covers 23 native communities in Alberta, but if a native force was extended to cover other bands in the treaty, it would add 15 communities in Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Many officials in the native policing community have questioned the federal government's commitment to its First Nations policing policy, which the federal Solicitor-General's Department began administering in 1992. Copyright c. 2001 National Post Online National Post Online is a Hollinger/CanWest Publication. --------- "RE: Indian Nations back Bend Plan" --------- Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 09:29:15 -0500 From: Tom Kunesh Subj: "Indian nations back Bend plan" Mailing List: TN AIM This story appeared in The Times Free Press on Saturday, February 3, 2001 12:00:00 AM http://www.timesfreepress.com/2001/feb/03feb01/webmoccbend.html Indian nations back Bend plan By Kathy Gilbert, Staff Writer Five American Indian nations agreed Friday to support legislation proposed by Congressman Zach Wamp, R-Chattanooga, to add Moccasin Bend to the federal park system. "We encourage you to proceed expeditiously. Generations have waited for this moment," stated officials of the Five Civilized Tribes in a letter to Rep. Wamp. The Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole nations say they believe they have ancestral homes and burial sites on Moccasin Bend. Rep. Wamp could not be reached for comment. Friday's letter is good news for Chattanooga, said Mickey Robbins, president of the Friends of Moccasin Bend. Friends is a non-profit organization named by the city and Hamilton County in 1996 as an agent to pursue national park status. The park will be linked to the Tennessee Riverwalk and add a "second- night" attraction to the Tennessee Aquarium, Mr. Robbins said. A 1996 economic study estimated the park could attract 600,000 people every year and spark $21.2 million in new spending in the county, he said. "It's going to become a tremendous asset to Chattanooga," Mr. Robbins said. Last week, Rep. Wamp said he planned to move quickly on the park legislation. His proposal excluded a 156-acre parcel owned by the city and county and leased to Wes Brown through 2005 for the Moccasin Bend Public Golf Course. A 1998 National Park Service study recommended the golf course property be included in the park. The park service still stands by that recommendation, said Pat Reed, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park superintendent. Tom Kunesh, a member of the Chattanooga InterTribal Association, protested the golf course's exclusion. But the Five Civilized Tribes said the park was too critical to hold out for perfection. "We prefer the National Park boundary include what we consider to be hallowed ground contained in the golf course," states the letter from members of the cultural preservation committee of the Five Civilized Tribes. "However, the goal of creating the park is the most important objective. We ask that appropriate language be made part of the legislation so that the golf course may be added later." Local attorney Mike Mahn and Jay Mills, co-vice president of the Friends, talked to the Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma this week, along with Vicky Karhu, local liaison to the tribes. Ms. Karhu also is director for the Chattanooga Indigenous Resource Center and Library in Red Bank. Moccasin Bend, named for its foot-shaped appearance and location at a curve in the Tennessee River, is rich in American Indian and Civil War archeological and historical sites, Mr. Mills said. Rep. Wamp's legislation would add 896 acres to the federal park system. It grandfathers in the state mental health hospital at the tip of the bend and includes a nearly completed donation of 96 acres from the Rock-Tenn Corp. to the Trust for Public Land. In 1950, Congress enacted legislation authorizing the secretary of the interior to accept a 1,400-acre donation of Moccasin Bend land to Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park. In 1953, Tennessee Gov. Frank Clement blocked the appropriation. Soon after, the city of Chattanooga built a sewage treatment plant near the site of historic Brown's Ferry. Much of the area, including the golf course land, was named a National Historic Landmark in 1969. ------------------------------- Chattanooga InterTribal Association (CITA) http://www.chattanooga.net/cita/ Native American Indian Association of Tennessee http://www.chattanooga.net/naia/index.html Native Nashville http://www.nativenashville.com/ --------- "RE: 25 Years of Unjust Incarceration" --------- Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2001 08:03:45 EST From: Baambi1@cs.com Subj: --25 Years of Unjust Incarceration * my letter to representa... To: ShngSprt@aol.com Dear Senators: Sincerely, This Tuesday marks the 25th year of the unjust imprisonment of Leonard Peltier. Please respond to this injustice by investigating inappropriate actions by the FBI and the Prosecution in the case of Leonard Peltier. I am asking, as my Representative's, for help in the declassification of the 6000 documents pertaining to the Peltier case still being withheld by the FBI. I, as well as all of his supporters, believe these documents contain evidence that will further expose misconduct in the gaining of Leonard Peltier's conviction. There disclosure, could lead to Peltier's acquittal. 12,000 FBI documents were released in the early 1980's pursuant to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Among them was a ballistic test reflecting Peltier's innocence and prompting the Eighth Circuit to conclude: "There is a possibility that the jury would have acquitted Leonard Peltier had the records and data improperly withheld from the defense been available to him in order to better exploit and reinforce the inconsistencies casting strong doubts upon the government's case." What else is being held from the American people concerning this man? I ask again that you help by urging that these undisclosed documents be released. I also urge that you discuss this unfair imprisonment with our new President, in the hopes of finally finding a fairness within a new era, a pulling together of all peoples. What a triumph for a new President. Donna Hastings-NY(aka Baambi) --------- "RE: Peltier: Because Somebody has to Pay" --------- Date: Fri, 9 Feb 2001 07:24:46 -0600 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PELTIER COMMENTARY" Because somebody has to pay By ROSANNA DEERCHILD -- Winnipeg Sun February 3, 2001 The sound was low. Like the rumble of thunder that folds out and fades. It was as though the dark clouds of a harsh, chaotic storm had exhausted itself. The colour was the deep purple streaks of dawn. A long night was over. We could breath long and slow again. Relax. Finally. It was about mid-summer when I first heard. Word from the moccasin telegraph was that after 25 years in prison he would be set free. U.S President Bill Clinton was going to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier as his last act in office. I didn't believe it. Last time he was up for parole, in 1998, supporters rallied. They said this is it. It's different this time. He will be let go. But he was denied. But this time it was different. This was no parole hearing. This was clemency from the president himself. His story is compelling. Full of mystery, myth, drama and events that seem to happen only in Hollywood movies. Leonard Peltier was a member of the American Indian Movement. AIM originated in the United States and seeks to expose the oppressive racism faced by Native Americans. It was at its strongest in the 1970's. The FBI began an aggressive campaign to infiltrate and destroy what they saw as a threat to the American way. On June 26, 1975, FBI agents Jack Coler and Ronald Williams went to Pine Ridge, S.D., looking for someone who stole a pair of boots. They were following a red truck when a shootout broke out. When it was over, the two FBI agents were dead. AIM members Peltier, Jimmy Eagle, Darrelle Butler and Bob Robideau were arrested. Butler and Robideau plead self-defense and were acquitted. The government dropped charges against Eagle. That left Peltier. He was arrested in Canada, where he had fled. He was extradited. Leonard was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life terms. There were serious flaws in the investigation and trial. A woman who claimed to be Peltier's girlfriend said she saw Leonard kill the FBI agents. Later, she recanted, saying the FBI coerced her into lying. In fact, she wasn't even at the shoot-out. Twenty five years later, the call for Peltier's freedom has grown from the single cry of Indian people to include political groups, leaders and celebrities of all races. Again and again he has been denied. Peltier said that at his 1998 parole hearing, they admitted they don't know who killed Coler and Williams. But someone has to pay. Saturday, Jan. 20, 2001 arrived, Bill Clinton's last day. Everyone was positive. Even Peltier himself made preparations. His grandson made up his room. Homecoming parties were planned. The excitement was overwhelming. I started to really believe it might just happen. But it didn't. Leonard Peltier was not granted clemency. Because someone has to pay. But what they don't realize is that they no longer have just Peltier in jail. He is not merely an Indian serving time for a crime he probably didn't commit. He's a political prisoner. A warrior. A living casualty in the unofficial war against the Indian. And if he dies in jail, Leonard Peltier will be called a martyr. Leonard Peltier is living proof of the racism faced by Aboriginal Peoples in both countries. By making him pay, they make all Indians pay. By denying his freedom, they deny all Aboriginal Peoples. The dark clouds roll back in. The sky grows dark. The thunder grows louder. Rosanna Deerchild can be reached by email at rdeerchild@aptn.ca. Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@wpgsun.com. --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, 12 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: Tue, 6 Feb 2001 19:40:11 -0800 (PST) From: orion-c@webtv.net Subj: Has anyone ever heard of this? Mailing List: Iron Natives DRAFT: 14 September 1999; for discussion purposes only. Send suggestions for funding to derrico@legal.umass.edu Medicine Teachers Program for Prisons Submitted To: ____________________________ Proposed Starting Date: Immediate Duration of Project: Ongoing Funding Requested: _________/year Contact: _________________________ Proposal Summary A regional program is needed to provide Native American spiritual guidance in prisons. The program would involve men and women from Pequot, Wampanoag, Narraganset, Nipmuc, and other Native American Nations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. The program would enable Native Medicine Teachers to conduct spiritual ceremonies in prison. It would also support an association of spiritual leaders for continuing work with released prisoners. It would be a source of information for prison administrators and others. The program would foster ongoing spiritual education among Medicine Teachers from all Nations involved in the project. The program would strengthen and enrich Medicine Teachings for the benefit of all persons, not only those in prisons. The program would provide a prototype for other Native American communities and prison programs. The idea for such a program grew from discussions with Slow Turtle and Medicine Story at gatherings of the Native American Spiritual Awareness Council in a state prison at Gardner, Massachusetts, and with Ed Sarabia and Mikki Aganstata, in the context of their work with Indian Affairs in Connecticut. This proposal was drafted by Peter d'Errico of Leverett, Massachusetts, one of a group of attorneys representing inmates in Massachusetts to extend and protect rights to Native American spiritual freedom. Project Description The Legal And Spiritual Situation Courts and other legal institutions have explicitly recognized the significance of Native American spirituality at least since federal passage of the 1978 American Indian Religious Freedom Act. This recognition has extended to jails and prisons across the country. Native Americans in prison are participating in a general resurgence of Native spiritual practices. The law has moved to accommodate spirituality in state and federal prisons, but not without struggle and resistance. Many prison administrators are skeptical about Native American spirituality. They do not understand, for example, that Native spiritual teachings and practices are integrated into daily life, rather than reserved for a special day of the week. Administrators are often hesitant to permit use of sacred pipes and tobaccos, associating such items with a "drug culture." Beads and headbands, which have been recognized by courts as significant aspects of spiritual practice, are sometimes associated by prison officials with the insignia of gangs and considered contraband. Experience shows that inmate involvement in Native American spirituality includes persons who do not have "recognized" status as Native Americans. Spiritual Circles are usually open to all persons, without regard to "blood quantum." This is as it should be in the eyes of Medicine Teachers, who take the view that Native American spirituality is a matter of values and attitudes, not genetics. This is also in accord with United States Constitutional law, which prohibits government from establishing, as well as from interfering with, religion. A Twofold Problem Native American spiritual freedom in prison is a twofold problem: 1. Prisoners need ongoing, regular access to native spiritual teachers; 2. Prison administrators need to be advised by native spiritual leaders. These problems center on one factor: the availability of Medicine Teachers. Traditional medicine men and women are not usually on a prison payroll as chaplains. Many are not willing to be on a payroll. Traditional medicine people usually cannot afford on their own to travel regularly from prison to prison. Prisoners therefore have a difficult time finding and maintaining regular contact with spiritual advisors. Prison administrators are left with no one outside the inmate population to consult about Native spiritual practices. The Regional Context This region is one in which a program to support Medicine Teachers for prison work would be especially useful and practical. Connecticut is the only state in this region to permit a Purification ("sweat") lodge in prison (Over half the states across the country, and all provinces in Canada, permit lodges in prison.) In Massachusetts, Native American spiritual practices are currently the subject of state court action, which has resulted in a preliminary injunction in favor of inmates regarding possession of sacred items and access to the Circle. In both these states, one or two spiritual teachers volunteer their time to work with many inmates in state and federal prisons. Connecticut has hired a Native man to work as a chaplain within the system. This is a positive step, though the need is greater than a single person can handle. The Proposed Solution A program to support Medicine Teachers engaged in prison work would bring together spiritual teachers for learning and training. Their work together would strengthen spiritual practices in many communities, while providing for the specific needs of prisoners. Such a program would also become the basis for inmates released from prison to continue spiritual practices that have become part of their rehabilitation. The program would enable Medicine People in the region to meet, consult, learn from each other and from Teachers from other regions, train new Teachers, and coordinate prison visits. The program would provide a credible source of information for prison administrations. Support would be provided for ongoing work with persons released from prison, with Purification lodges and other ceremonies conducted regularly throughout the region. Travel stipends would help defray costs of prison visits and other activities. Publications about the program and about Native American spirituality would be made available for all interested persons. The administrative structure of the program would be built from a consortium of Native Nation offices in the region. Go to main page, Native American Spiritual Freedom in Prison This WWW page was constructed by Peter d'Errico. Comments and suggestions for funding to: derrico@legal.umass.edu ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 12:34:00 -0500 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: PRISON CORRESPONDENCE from: orion-c@webtv.net August 1, 2000 -- Internet Gives Prisoners Link to Outside World CHICAGO, IL -- The Internet is helping death-row inmates and other prisoners to plead their cases and seek pen pals, sparking outrage among many families of victims and creating a new debate about the rights of the growing number of prisoners, The New York Times reported. According to the Times, no American prison allows inmates access to the Internet, but prisoners use third-party services, usually for a fee, to reach out to a potentially huge audience. In Texas, dozens of inmates like Michael Blue, who is on death row, appear on Web sites saying they were wrongly convicted of murder. One inmate in Alaska, Askia Ashanti, appears on a Web site looking for "a pro bono attorney or $5,000 to $10,000 in funds to hire an attorney." And Beau Greene, who is imprisoned in Arizona, appears on a Web site in a picture, cradling a cat and asking for pen pals. Mr. Greene is described as "bored and lonely with a surplus of time." Victims' rights groups complain that it is humiliating for victims and their families to see prisoners on such Web sites. The groups also complain that some people browsing the Internet might begin correspondence with violent criminals without knowing the details of their crimes. In the face of such criticism, officials in New York and Arizona have enacted policies or laws that forbid prisoners to use third-party Internet service providers. Washington and other states have debated similar measures. But many civil libertarians say these measures violate the First Amendment rights of inmates. Eleanor Eisenberg, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, said her group was considering filing a lawsuit against the Arizona measure. "It clearly impinges on an inmate's First Amendment right to communicate," Ms. Eisenberg said. "It also chills the rights of third parties who have committed no crimes."In one case, Eisenberg said, prison officials censored the mail of an attorney who had sent his client legal documents that he had downloaded from the Web. The Internet has also become a tool in championing the causes of individual inmates, such as Mumia Abu-Jamal, who defenders contend was wrongly convicted of killing a police officer in Philadelphia in 1981. At least a dozen Web sites carry details about the case and history of Mr. Abu-Jamal. One of the largest sites, operated by a private anti-death-penalty group in New York called Refuse and Resist, describes the inmate as "a prominent radio journalist" being punished because he "allowed the angry and anguished voices of the oppressed onto the airwaves." A page on the Web site calls the police account absurd and says that witnesses in Mr. Abu-Jamal's defense were harassed by law enforcement authorities. The site invites people to join marches around the country on Mr. Abu-Jamal's behalf. It also encourages Web site visitors to print and send the posting to others. Except in very few cases, inmates have not been able to raise sizable amounts of money through the Internet, despite their frequent requests for contributions, or to secure pro bono lawyers to defend them. Brian Henninger, a spokesman for the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, said that group had used its Web site to "build a campaign of support for inmates." The anti-death-penalty group has posted online petitions, as well as sample letters to Congress and state governors asking for appeals and clemency for inmates. The Canadian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty allows any American inmate to post background information at no cost. And some defense lawyers have used the Internet to plead the cases of their clients. In most cases, the prisoners are simply looking for people to write to them, a way of whiling away the hours in their cells. American prison authorities have long read inmates' mail, except for legal correspondence and letters to elected officials. But in recent years, prisons have made it more difficult for inmates to have contact with people on the outside, said Steve Bright, the director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, an advocacy group for inmates' rights. "It used to be viewed as a positive to stay in touch with the outside world, since the idea was that people would be rehabilitated and then returned to society," Mr. Bright said. "Now the attitude is to make the prisons as punitive as possible and make the prisoners as miserable as possible." Source: The New York Times, August 1, 2000 Copyright 2000, The American Civil Liberties Union Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com -- - - - 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, 28 Jan 2001 22:54:16 -0500 From: Barbara Landis Subj: Carlisle's INDIAN HELPER: January 27, 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 27, 1888 NO. 24 ============================= DARE. ---- Dare to be brave in the cause of the right, Dare with the enemy ever to fight. Dare to be loving and patient each day, Dare speak the truth whatever you say. Dare to be gentle, and orderly, too, Dare shun the evil whatever you do Dare to speak kindly, and e'er be true, Dare to do right and you'll find your way through. Dare to he honest, good, and sincere, Dare to please God, and then never fear. -[Selected. ---------------- ENGINES AND BOYS ---------------- Last Saturday there was a grand procession from the Junction to the School. The new engine marked, "Uncle Sam, Indian School Carlisle, Pa.," had come, and it took forty boysthat day to draw it to its new quarters. This seems a good many, even for a first class hand engine. But when one comes to think of it, they must be very remarkable boys to have it take only forty of them to run `Uncle Sam.' The business has never been done so cheaply before. It is a very pretty engine resplendent with red and gilt, but the important thing about it is that it will do good work. It is soon to be taken out to be tried. It was made in Brockton, a town in Massachusetts where they turn a great deal of iron into gold. How do they do this? By manufacturing machinery, selling it and making money on it. Talking of engines brings to mind steam engines, locomotives and all the other kinds and this instead of making us say "engines and boys, brings us to a boy and engines. Because we owe almost all the wonderful work that steam engines do to a boy who lived nearly one hundred and fifty years ago he did not do all his work when he was a boy but he began it, for it was then that he found out how very strong steam was, and he resolved to make steam his servant. What did he have to find this out with? Only what everybody else had, a tea-kettle. But he was always asking himself the "whys" of things, why the steam lifted up the top of the kettle, and why it could not be made to lift up something else, too. The Man-on-the-band-stand can foretell one thing. It is the boys and the girls who are always thinking and studying, and trying to answer their own questions who are going to do the most for themselves and others. Is it going to be engines and boys, or boys and engines here? ---------------- BE NEAT. ---------------- You can tell a great deal about the character of boys and girls by looking into the rooms they occupy, or even into their desks. If the books are jumbled together and pushed in, with the slate on top, and crumpled papers in the corner you may be pretty sure that their work is of the same careless, slovenly character. Be neat. Don't throw bits of paper on the floor. Don't be careless with your rooms or your desks, and don't do anything in a slipshod way. It pays to be honest and true! It pays to be police, and it pays to be neat, and orderly. I heard once of a lady who wished to take a little girl and educate her. There were three or four that seemed worthy, and she could not decide which one to choose. At last she invited them to spend a week with her. The first would come down to breakfast with her dress and hair in disorder the second left her books and work lying just where she had used them; the third did not see the dust on the thing in her room, while the fourth not only kept herself and her room neat, but also helped to put away what the others left lying around. Can you guess which one the lady chose? I think I heard you say "The last one!" Yes, and she never regretted doing so, for the little girl grew up to be not only a self-helper but a helper of other people. People wonder how she manages to get so much work done. ------------------------ (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. ============================== The INDIAN HELPER is paid for in advance, so do not hesitate to take the paper from the Post Office, for fear a bill will be presented. =============================== The four pupils who visited in Washington for four days last week saw a good deal of the city in their few days' visit, and enjoyed themselves very much. They went to the Capitol, even to its dome, to the Army and Navy Departments, to the Senate, which however was not in session, to the House Of Representatives, and to Mrs. Cleveland's reception. Here, as one of the crowd, they had the pleasure of shaking hands with that lady. It was a great satisfaction, no doubt, but, like so many other people, they would have liked the sweetness a little longer drawn out, for they were obliged to pass by so quickly that, really, they had no chance to see how Mrs. Cleveland looked. So, after passing out from the Blue Room they doubled on their steps, a practice not altogether peculiar to Indians, and by looking through a window from another room managed to get a good view of the fair hostess. But below all the pleasant impressions, and deepened by all that they saw and heard, is the conviction that what they can do for themselves by the aid of their teachers is the opportunity for them. The Indians may have to wait for Congress to act for them, but they need not wait to learn what will make them ready to meet all the good things that come, this waits for them. So, a little more of Carlisle, please, before they are ready to get all the good of Washington. And the best way to find this out was to go to Washington. ============== Mr. Mason Pratt who since his graduation has been employed at Lehigh at the Phoenixville Pa. Bridge Co., has accepted a higher position in the Johnstown Steel Works, in this state. He is at home for a few days' rest and visit before entering upon the duties of his new position. We send you a short account of the proceedings at the last meeting of the P. I. Society. After roll call, the minutes were read and accepted. The president called for new names for membership. There were none suggested. The chairman of the committee on arrangements read her report. Unfinished business: A letter from Mrs. Campbell, in reply to one written to her by the society, was read. New business: One of the members proposed that we write letters of encouragement to the girls at Haskell Institute, who are trying to start a society. The motion was put before the house and stood accepted. Accordingly, the following committee was appointed to write the letters: Julia Bent, Clara Faber, and Lucinda Clinton. Then came the general program which consisted of songs, recitations, compositions and reading. The critic made her remarks. A committee on arrangements was appointed, and the meeting adjourned. ----------- The Indian Union Debating Society held its meeting in the chapel Tuesday evening, and gave us the pros and cons of the question of running railroads through the Indian reservations. The pros had it, as the judges, and the audience decided. But the cons made the best of their side and showed themselves possessed of the imagination necessary to put themselves in the place of the old Indians on the reservations who are afraid of nothing so much as locomotives, except ideas. The arguments were made with spirit, and the meeting was interesting. ---------------- Mr. Jas. Barr of Paisley, Scotland, has been visiting his cousins, the Misses Wilson, for a few days. He intends to sail from New York for home on Saturday. He had never seen any Indians before, and seemed greatly interested in our work. He thinks if Buffalo Bill would convert the Wild West show into such a school as Carlisle, a very different impression would be made upon the people on the other side of the "big water" as to what the United States Government is doing for the Indians. ---------------- John and Cyrus Dixon keep us in mind. Together with the renewal of their subscriptions to the HELPER comes a club of sixteen subscribers from the Albuquerque school. It would seem as though Henry Kendall knew of the Dixon enterprise, for, not to be out-done, he sends us a club from Rutgers College about the same time. ================================================== p. 3 The carpenters are remodeling the shops. ---------------- We hear that Rosa Dion is at the Genoa School, Neb. ---------------- The herdic has been sent to the blacksmith's shop for repairs. ---------------- The painters have put up the signs over the different shops. This will be a great convenience to visitors. ---------------- The new cart was painted by Burdett, one of the Florida Apache boys, It is a very creditable piece of work. ---------------- The little boys' bagatelle board has been made new again. It has done good service, and has long been a source of amusement. ---------------- Jack Mather who left us three years ago for St. Augustine, Florida, where he has been working for himself, returned last week, sick. ---------------- Mice, mice in the Little Boys' Quarters, two-legged, white-coated mice scampering through the halls. Too bad! Drive them out of the new quarters. ---------------- A sample wardrobe for the boys has been made and approved. Three wardrobes in one so that each of the three boys in the room may have his own wardrobe. ---------------- Where are the diplomas that the harness-makers have from time to time received from State and County fairs? They should be hung upon the walls of the new shop. ---------------- Sweep under the beds and in the corners, boys. The Old Man has been peeping around and did not find things as nice in the new quarters as he would like. Too much play! ---------------- The Assembly and Reading Rooms in the quarters have been lettered, so that hereafter visitors may know where to find them. This work was done by Christopher Tyndall, Omaha. ---------------- When a young man sees a lady drive up to a hitching post, alight, and begin to fasten her horse, why doesn't he go forward and fasten the horse for her? A young gentleman does it. ---------------- A number of boys have been busy all the week cutting wood. They have had to work fast to keep warm. As it is a good thing to work fast when one works at all, this shows us one of the benefits of winter weather. Miss Irvine has come back to us much better, although it will be a little while yet before all her strength returns to her. ---------------- Thursday the teachers of Nos. 7, 8, 9, received an invitation from Dr. McCauley for themselves and their pupils, to attend a meeting of prayer for schools and colleges, to be held in Bosler Hall, Carlisle. But on account of the storm only those who could ride went. ---------------- Later from the shops. The diplomas on the walls of the new harness shop add greatly to the appearance and give credit to whom credit is due. (The Old Man asks in a whisper if it was possible that his remarks were overheard.) ---------------- The large boys have now a table in each room. With those in the Reading and Assembly Rooms, there are ninety-five in all. Seventy-four of these tables were made by Joel Tyndall, Frank Jannies, William Bull, and William S. Bear in seventeen half days. ---------------- For a few days, a very few days, probably, the morning classes in No. 9 are to be heard by the older pupils, each leader to hear the recitation of his own class. In the afternoon Miss Fisher, the principal, takes the recitation. This is because Miss Bender is on duty at the printing office until the arrival of Miss Cook who was formerly at Carlisle. ---------------- The-Man-on-the-Rand-Stand must be pardoned if he does not exhibit his usual sunniness of disposition and keenness of spirit. He is depressed by the departure of his chief clerk and does not expect to be himself again until the return of that most valued and important functionary. Indeed, the barometer of his mood indicates falling weather, but it is to be hoped for the sake of his dignity that this will prove nothing less stern than snow. ---------------- Wednesday morning Miss Ely and Miss Burgess left us for a visit to the parents of Miss Burgess, in National City, Col. If it were not that they need rest and change after their faithful labors on our behalf, we should be distressed to have them go. As it is, we wish them every pleasure, and added to the amusements the zest of a little homesickness, a tug at their heart strings that shall begin with a silken thread and end with a Cable, or car couplings, drawing them back to Carlisle agam. Tuesday evening they held a reception at which their friends offered with tbeir farewells trifling solaces for their journey; most of these were of a luscious character, but some were restorative, and others valuable simply from their powers of attraction. ======================================================= (Continued front First Page.) and done so well, but the secret is this - she has a place for everything and as far as possible keeps things in their places, so that she loses no time in looking for mislaid articles. Begin JUST NOW to form neat, careful habits, even in doing the smallest things, and soon you will find it much easier to do them in that way than to hurry through them. ---------------- DON'T JERK YOUR HORSE. The formation of the mouth of a horse or a mule seems adapted to the use of a bit, for guiding and restraining the movements of the animal. The absence of teeth just where the bit usually rests favors this controlling. There is a great difference in the texture of the mouth or side lips of these animals. Some are called tender-mouthed, others, hard-mouthed. But sudden jerks and snatches hurt, annoy and irritate the animal, and should be strictly avoided at all times. There is an art in driving, and it is of great importance to the comfort of the animal that the driver understands his business in using the reins. Even a tender-mouthed horse will bear to have a plain bit kept pretty firmly against the mouth or side-lips, if only kept there very steadily, then, with a very little gentle draw, or variation in the tension of either line, the horse may easily be guided to the right or left, or brought to a stop. It is most unfortunate for the horse that comparatively few persons who assume the control of a team understand the art of driving well. Livery stable horses generally fare badly, being hired out and driven by different persons, and subjected to very different styles of handling the reins. As coaching around is becoming so common, it would be well for persons contemplating it to take a few lessons from a good experienced driver [not the jockies] in the art of properly using the reins, and not the whip, both are easily learned and might be a great advantage to both the horse and its owner. Livery stable keepers and others would do well to observe some pertinent remarks that have appeared in The Bird Call in relation to the constant labor and imposition on the hired horses; and their abuse, in the use of the cruel check-rein-one of the greatest, if not the very greatest annoyance, cruelty and injury to the horse. - The Bird Call. [A PENNA. FARMER. ---------------- "There is always room for a man of force and he makes room for many." Enigma. ---------------- I am made of 10 letters. My 5, 10, 4, 3, is not to succeed. My 1, 2, 7, is a comfortable means of conveyance. My 3, 6, 10, 8, is something we should not do too aften. My 5, 9, 8, is a part of a fish. My 7, 2, 9, 3, is a part of the fence. My 5, 7, 6, 3, 4, 1, is what the children do these bright days. My 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 is a place toward which the Man-on-the-band-stand looks very often. ---------------- Conundrums. ---------------- Why does a miller wear a white hat? ---------------- What is the hardest key to turn? ---------------- Sit Erect. Why is it that our young men do not sit erect in the school rooms without being constantly told to do so? Is it weakness of the spine, or weakness of the mind that makes them crook themselves into interrogation points until people wonder what the question is? ---------------- Scene the other morning at the little boys' quarters. Young Apache in Indo-English Two buttons not any me. (English - I have lost two buttons.) Result - Two buttons, a needle and thread change hands speedily, from Miss Patterson's to his. ======================================= 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. --------------- For a longer list of subscribers we have many other interesting pictures of shops, representing boys at work, schoolrooms and views of the grounds, worth from 20 to 60 cents a piece, which will be sent on request. ======================================================================= 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: Kinlani" --------- Date: Thu, 02 Nov 2000 20:54:44 GMT From: rustywire Subj: Kinlani Newsgroup: alt.native Kinlani It was early November and the pine trees were shaggy ready for winter. The place was Kinlani, some called it Flagstaff up in Northern Arizona. The Old Man had gotten up early and shoveled the driveway to the rented home they lived in. The air was clear and frosty, the snow crunchy in the way it sounded under his feet. Let's go to town, he said when he came in and those four kids, three boys and one little girl were dressed and out the door in a minute, pulling stocking caps over their black hair. There was Sonny, Franky and Henry, and there was Sharlene, the little one. They were just in elementary school and they scrambled out after him. He walked fast that Old Man. One time when the kids were home, their Mom was talking liked she used to do when she washed dishes, and the kids were sitting around the table. She was talking about him, their Dad, about how they got together way back when, and that now he sometimes just acted like an old man. She said it like that, he was the old man. The name stuck with him after that. He was their Old Man and he walked with them everywhere. He came from the reservation and his English wasn't too good, he could understand it fairly well but had a hard time speaking it clearly. He talked only when he had to, so he was pretty much quiet most of the time. The place where they lived was a small apartment unit, there were three of them close together and they shared a common driveway. It was two bedroom place but they all fit in there, it was enough room cuz they lived across the street from the forest. The Old Man took them for walks every day into that the place of tall pine trees and pine needles and underbrush that covered the ground making a natural carpet. Those kids knew the forest and all the things about it. They learned to sound like blue jays, making that sound with their lips after hours of trying. The Old Man used to sit on a rock and it seemed he could talk to them and they would come to the place he was sitting. He could sound like a squirrel and the sparrows were just too easy for him. He would just sit there and show them and they would try all day long to make that simple sound. It was Cherry Street they lived on, at the end of it near the park and a stone throw away from the forest. Old Man walked ahead of them and they caught up and they walked all the way down to town, where the stores were. It was a Saturday and there was snow on the ground and they dressed warm as they sloshed through the snow. They liked to go to town with him, because he went to the stores would look at the toys there with them. His eyes would light up as they picked them up and played with the toys too. He was sort of quiet and shy and though he lived in the town, he kept pretty much to himself, just working and then taking walks with the kids. They walked by the bank, the Valley National Bank and there in the parking lot there were all these people standing around, they stopped and wondered what was going on. As they stood there one of the young men from the bank came by them and gave each of them a ticket, be here at noon he said and went the next group. Not much was happening so they left. The oldest boy, Sonny took a pencil out of his pocket and wrote Old Man's name down and dropped the ticket in the basket as they left. They went over to McClellan's and got an ice cream cone for nickel at the lunch counter and Sprouse Reitz to look at the gold fish in the tanks. They dropped by the Candy Box, a small store next to the Orpheum Theatre and picked up sample of salt water taffy and went over to Firestone to look at the bikes. They took their time looking around and thought about Thanksgiving, and wondered if they would have a turkey, a really big one so they could fight over the drumsticks. Thanksgiving was a few days away and they were still looking for a turkey. It was between paydays and Mom forgot to get a turkey and now they were broke. It was quite a worry for the little kids wondering about Thanksgiving. There were turkey pictures everywhere they went, and pictures of pilgrims and haystacks. The kids always wondered about Thanksgiving because they were Indians. Little Sister used to wonder what Indians were like and when she would ask about what Indians were like. Her brothers would tell her she was Indian and they weren't, they were Pilgrims and she was left there with them. She used to cry and Old Man would tell her it was all right to be Indian because he was one himself and they knew things other people didn't know. He would tell her to make sounds like him, and she sure could like that blue jay, just like the ones by where they lived. He told her it is like that, you have a gift. She didn't quite understand it but she quit crying and everything was ok again. As they walked over to the grocery store to buy some hamburger to take home, the stopped by the bank parking lot. It was full of people, maybe a hundred or so. There were all kinds, some were White, and some Mexican, and Billy Ware was there he was Black, and they were looking at the back of pickup truck parked there. A man was standing up calling out names, he said, we have given out nine prizes and have just one more to go. He talked about the bank, and how they liked everybody and wanted folks to come see them on Monday to put their money in there. The kids asked Old Man was going on and he told them they were giving out something. They were going to leave but they had to fight the crowd to get to the other side, which was their way home. As they moved through the crowd, the guy way up front called out a name. It sounded familiar and they stopped to listen better. He said it again, and it was his, Old Man's. He just stood there with a blank look on his face; he was too shy to say anything. He didn't like crowds and being called out like that was not work going up there for any prize. The announcer said, we will call out the name once more and if there is no answer then we will draw again. Sonny yelled out, He is right here! The Old Man stood there as the crowd parted and everyone looked at him. He didn't say a word and Mexican next to him said, Hey, you won. His kids pushed him from behind and he went up there slowly. When he got there the announcer held up a gunnysack and pulled out a big turkey, it was there for all to see. He gave it the Old Man and the crowd clapped and groaned at the same time. Someone had claimed the prize a 28-pound turkey. It was a little after lunch time and the kids stood by and watched as the bank people lined up the winners with their prizes and they took a picture of the winners. They were lined up there all of them, some had big candy canes, one had a sack of potatoes, and another a bike, and one a barbecue grill. Near the end, there was this one guy dressed with a red jacket, and payday overalls, his hair was black and you could say he looked like an Indian guy standing there with a big turkey in his arms and he was smiling. It was the first time he ever won anything anywhere. Just out of the picture those four kids of his were just proud of their dad, the Old Man. It was in the newspaper, most folks didn't pay it any mind. It was a long time ago, and the turkey was cooked for Thanksgiving and after they ate, Old Man took his four kids and they went for walk into that stretch of pines in Kinlani, which is what the Navajo call Flagstaff and they learned to sound like a turkey. -- rustywire www.geocities.com/rustywire --------- "RE: Poem: Smoke" --------- Date: Sun, 28 May 2000 10:29:08 -0400 From: "Dreamwalker" Subj: Smoke Smoke Sage Cedar Sweetgrass wafting high among the stars blessed by worn hands that simply love silent prayers or spoken words rise on the winds of time reaching out to yesterday Hearts unwound each seeking a mystery a solace a Dream each questing for yesterdays answers couched cloaked in today's insanity resting on a prayer spent such a small act one of deliberate hope one of conscious hope of a long tended connection the air is thick with prayer for every living thing everything Wakan everything trusted in tomorrow is a horizon yesterday but smoke on the wind this moment this instant are when our prayers fly prayer the act of hope the trail where we all coalesce the single moment we are one like Eagles cry when we drop the pretense and own wonder when Great Mystery reaches back to touch the Spirit of one Warrior one Mother Crys The Tears/Dreamwalker~Lakota copyright 2000 <><><><> "A Nation is not conquered until the hearts of its women are on the ground.Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors or how strong its weapons." Cheyenne <><><><> Support the Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate/ --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2001 06:23:05 -1000 From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of February 18-24 PEPELUALI (February) (Kau-lua) 18 My hopes are cast, like stars, upon the sky. 19 I am a keiki o ka aina, a true child of the land! 20 My hope lies in the future; my strength lies in the past; my survival lies in the joining of the two. 21 Look into the eyes of a stranger, ... and find a friend.