From gars@speakeasy.org Tue May 15 03:01:46 2001 Date: 9 May 2001 00:38:23 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.019 W O T A N G I N G I K C H E Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin KANOHEDA ANIYVWIYA O It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le Ha-Sah-Sliltha O o O ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min Un Chota O o O Aunchemokauhettittea O o o o o O VOLUME 09, ISSUE 019 O o O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse May 12, 2001 O o O Ximopanolti tehuatzin, Mvskogee mulberry moon O inin Mexika tlahtolli Blackfeet flower/blossom moon ( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S ) ==>If you want your Nation represented in the banner of this newsletter<== email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation +-----------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates check | | http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm - also events | +-----------------------------------------------------------+ This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; indianz.com; Big Mountain, KOLA Newslist, ndn-aim, and Native News mailing lists; UUCP email; http://www.bangornews.com/cgi-bin/article.cfm?storynumber=33160 db.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=677117&pic=none&TP=getarticle http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_sid=95554 http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/display/inn_opinion/opin02.txt IMPORTANT!! ----------- 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 As historian Patricia Nelson Limerick summarized in The Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken Past of the American West, "Set the blood quantum at one-quarter, hold to it as a rigid definition of Indians, let intermarriage proceed as it had for centuries, and eventually Indians will be defined out of existence. When that happens, the federal government will be freed of its persistent 'Indian problem.'" "All things in the world are two. In our minds we are two-good and evil. With our eyes we see two things, things that are fair and things that are ugly. We have the right hand that strikes and makes for evil and the left hand full of kindness, near the heart. One foot may lead us to an evil way, the other foot may lead us to a good. So are all things, two, all two. ' __ Eagle Chief (Letakots-Lesa) Late 19th Century Pawnee +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! This week's editorial section will not be my words. Please read both contributions with care. Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 07:22:01 EDT From: Rayann6@aol.com Subj: The Death of Stevie Thompson [Editorial note: Please read the following and know I feel no closure. I only know a human being, Stevie Thompson, was viciously beat to death and one of his attackers received a very light sentence and the other walked free. My only comfort is I know the circles will all be made complete ... and the _one_ true judge will neither be so blind nor so white.] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The second defendant in the beating death of Stevie Thompson is acquitted. Joseph Steinhauser (also known as "GI Joe") was acquitted of charges he participated in the beating death of Stevie Thompson over a pack of cigarettes. Ramsey County Judge Paulette Flynn pronounced Steinhauser not guilty of second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting the second- degree murder of 43 year old Stevie Thompson. Jacob Thompson, who is not related to Stevie, plead guilty Nov. 20 and was sentenced by Judge Flynn to 12 years and nine months in prison. During the trial an eye witness testified he saw Joseph Steinhauser body slam Stevie onto a park bench, his head bounced off the bench and he landed on a cement slab beneath the bench. There was a pool of Stevie's blood beneath the bench for a week. Judge Flynn rejected testimony from the witness. She ruled that Steinhauser tried several times to stop Jacob Thompson from beating Stevie. Thomas Plunkett, Steinhauser's lawyer was quoted as saying "The facts as the came out showed that he was something of a hero is this case. He tried to stop the assault several times. One witness testified to that." Judge Flynn did rule against Steinhauser's requested motion for monetary sanctions arising out of the prosecution's discovery violation. I just sit staring at what I have just written. I don't know what to say. Stevie is dead. Murdered. The animal Joseph Steinhauser AKA G. I. Joe is free. Alive. Didn't the Judge hear what I heard in the courtroom? Why couldn't the Judge, the County Attorney or Steinhauser's lawyer keep Stevie Thompson, the victim and the two animals who beat him to death, robbed him, then urinated on him Joseph Steinhauser and Jacob Thompson straight? All through the hearing and trials they kept confusing the names. Calling Stevie Jacob. Calling Steinhauser Jacob. Didn't the see the crime scene pictures? Did the picture of a blood covered, beaten and kicked Indian mean so little to them that the couldn't keep his name straight? STEVIE THOMPSON His family and friends will remember him. Thank you to all who have kept the Thompson family in their prayers. rayann ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following article, published Friday, April 27, 2001, is how the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported the Steinhauser verdict: Man acquitted in beating death by Paul Gustafson Joseph F. Steinhauser was acquitted Thursday on charges of second-degree manslaughter and aiding and abetting unintentional second-degree murder in the beating death of 43-year-old Steven Thompson in St. Paul last July 19. Ramsey County District Judge Paulette Flynn, who tried the case without a jury, ruled that Steinhauser tried several times to stop Jacob N. Thompson from beating Steven Thompson. Jacob Thompson pleaded guilty earlier to unintentional second-degree murder and was sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison. Flynn rejected testimony from a witness that Steinhauser had "body slammed" Steven Thompson on a bus bench, because it conflicted with other testimony from the witness. All three men were homeless at the time of the incident, which happened late at night outside Landmark Center. The Thompsons are not related. Copyright c. 2001 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. =================================== Date: Tue, 1 May 2001 09:33:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pureau Subj: Cheney pushes production over conservation Mailing List: ndn-aim Indianz.Com. In Print. http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=env/512001-1 Cheney pushes production over conservation MAY 1, 2001 At a speech in Canada, Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday pushed the Bush administration's energy policy of increased production over increased conservation. Citing the nation's looming energy crisis, Cheney said 1,300 to 1,900 new power plants will be needed over the next 20 years, a rate of construction of one every week. He also said drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) was a top priority. Regarding conservation and alternative, renewable energy sources, Cheney said he didn't think Americans should be expected to change their energy consumption overnight. ===== Paul Pureau to subscribe to ndn-aim send a blank mail to: ndn-aim-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.com ndn-aim is now archived on line at Http://www.escribe.com/life/ndn-aim/ FREE PELTIER NOW! STOP ETHNIC CLEANSING OF THE LAKOTA! Some thoughts on the above from my half-side Janet: I wasn't surprised at Dick Cheney's "answer" to the energy problem. Nobody should have been. It's no secret what this man has been. Who could be shocked that he would simply shrug off conservation as a moral issue for goody-two-shoes sissies? Who could wonder that he would shrug off alternative sources as science fiction to be investigated in some far distant future? The unspoken words ring out clearly behind his findings--"No need to conserve and no real rush to find renewable energy resources. Use all the fossil-fuel energy you like and hire my buddies at Halliburton to find and extract more. The financial rewards will soon reach my wallet. As for the future--who cares? By the time the chickens truly come home to roost, I'll be safely in my grave from a heart attack." Has he divested himself totally of Halliburton monetary and stock assets? Probably--retaining them would be all too easy for a reporter or opposition party investigator to discover. But you can bet all the cronies who worked with him at Halliburton are still in place, and no doubt he's counting on them being there when their buddy Dick Cheney leaves office--assuming he leaves alive. Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com Dohiyi Ani Oginalii , , Gary Night Owl gars@nanews.org (*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@speakeasy.org (`-') Marietta, GA 30006, U.S.A. gars@olagrande.net ===w=w=== gars@sdf.lonestar.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ---------- - Beloved Iqaluit Leader Passes - Muskogee Mystery Stone - Passing of Carlisle Student - FZLN May Day Statement Margaret Tarbell - Tongass Help Spruce up - Big Mountain Flyovers Aging Totem Poles - Redeeming a Historic Trust - Indian Country Law Enforcement - Lobster Season Opens Face Rollbacks Amid Uneasy Calm - Book Excerpt: Who Am I - Tribes Take Over - Letter: Tetuwan Lakota Welfare Services Working Group - Supreme Court Rules - Native Prisoner Against Oklahoma Tribe -- Incarcerated Indians - Time to Call -- Persecution at MSP Inquiry into Ipperwash - History: Carlisle Indian School - Roadblock goes up - John Rustywire: in Northern Saskatchewan She was from Shiprock - Chumash wish to Honor Dead/ - Poem: Heresy Church Records Missing - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Omaha Tribe Asks Judge to - Oglala Lakota College Enforce 1865 Land Treaty Emerging as Education Leader - Group buys Farm/ - Native America Calling Offers it for Cayuga Reservation - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Beloved Iqaluit Leader Passes" --------- Date: Tue, 24 Apr 2001 15:03:30 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SIUSARNAQ" April 20, 2001 A beloved Iqaluit leader passes away Iqalungmiut bid farewell to Siusarnaq. Nunatsiaq News IQALUIT - One of Iqaluit's best-known and best-loved Inuit leaders, Ben "Siusarnaq" Ell, died this week at the age of 67, leaving behind a large extended family and a network of friends and acquaintances stretching across all of Nunavut. A lifelong hunter, Ell freely shared his food with those who needed it. He was one of the first Inuit in Iqaluit to own and operate a private business. Recently, Ell operated his own quarry and transport company, transporting soapstone and goods to outpost camps. He was also a commercial fisherman. Ell died of natural causes April 14, during a hunting trip. His funeral service was to have been held yesterday in Iqaluit. He served on Iqaluit's municipal council for more than 20 years, and until last fall's municipal election in Iqaluit held the deputy mayor's position. Iqaluit city councillor Mathew Spence first met Ell when he was covering municipal politics as a reporter for Nunatsiaq News in the late 1980s. "He was fairly outspoken in those days," Spence said. "He was a very popular politician because he represented the silent majority: the Inuit." Ell had a strong influence over town planning of Iqaluit, Spence said. As town councillor, he expressed his opposition when developers wanted to construct buildings on land traditionally used for hunting, and he wanted to ensure that Iqaluit maintained an Inuit identity. "He's created a significant legacy," Spence said. Copyright c. 2001 Nunatsiaq News. --------- "RE: Passing of Carlisle Student Margaret Tarbell" --------- Date: Tue, 01 May 2001 23:29:49 -0400 From: Barbara Landis Subj: Passing of Carlisle Indian Student, Margaret Tarbell To my INDIAN HELPER recipients: It grieves me to report the passing of Maggie Tarbell Lazore (Mohawk), Carlisle Indian School alumnus, who died early last Friday morning at the St. Regis Nursing Home in Massena, NY. Her grandson, Willy Herne was with her. I got the news from Carol Kissam, a journalist who had spent time with Jackie Fear-Segal and me, when we went up to Akwesasne last August to meet Maggie, at the invitation of her grandchildren. On hearing the news, I spoke with Dianne and Willy Herne, who were kind enough to send a copy of the obituary down to the local Carlisle, PA newspaper. Maggie's passing made the front page of THE CARLISLE SENTINEL, and the AP wires picked it up. It was also reported on the NY Times obituary page of their web site. Jackie and I have a couple of distinct and fond memories from our visit with Maggie. When we asked her, "Maggie, what did you do for fun while you were a Carlisle student?" she answered, "we used to go up into our rooms at night and 'talk Indian.'" At Carlisle, the rule was 'English- only' - and 'talking Indian' was against the rules. She also shared good memories of her time as an interpreter for the courts after she returned to St. Regis Reservation. Sometimes she'd be rousted up in the middle of the night to help translate for a recent arrestee who couldn't speak English. She was proud to say that she often would add the caveat, "and he's very sorry for what he's done," to try to bring favor to the suspect's plight. Here's the obituary that appeared in the local paper, THE SENTINEL, Apr 30: Margaret Tarbell "Waienhawi" Lazore, 99, of St. Regis Nursing Home, Massena, N.Y., and formerly of Racquette Road, Hogansburg, N.Y., died Friday, April 27, 2001 at the nursing home. Mrs. Lazore, of the Mohawk nation, was the last surviving female resident of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. She attended the school at Carlisle Barracks from 1915-18. She was born June 3, 1901, at her family home in Hogansburg, daughter of the late John H. and Agnes Bero Tarbell. She was the widow of Albert Lazore, who died Nov. 26, 1977, and her first husband, John Cook. Mrs. Lazore was a member of Hogansburg United Methodist Church. She is survived by three sons, Harvey Lazore and Clark Lazore, both of Hogansburg, and Henry Lazore of Corning, N.Y.; a daughter, Clara King of St. Regis, Quebec; 35 grandchildren; 71 great-grandchildren; and 20 great-great- grandchildren. She was preceded in death by threes sons, John A. Cook, Donald "Muzzy" Cook, and PFC William L. Cook; two daughters, Pearl C. Taracka and Dolores L. Herne; 14 brothers and sisters. Funeral serves will be 11 a.m. Monday at her church, with the Rev. Donald J.B. McCallum officiating. Burial will be in Methodist Cemetery, Hogansburg. Friends may call Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Donaldson Funeral Home, 100 N. Main St., Massena, N.Y. Memorial contributions may be made to the St. Regis Mohawk Senior Citizens or her church. --------- "RE: Big Mountain Flyovers" --------- Date: Tue, 1-May-2001 13:51:22 GMT From: Robert Dorman Subj: Big Mt. Flyovers Mailing List: BIGMTLIST Moderator's Note: The following was sent to me, PGP encrypted, from a supporter who received this in a letter from Black Mesa. A few very minor changes or omissions were made to conceal the identity of the letter's author. I would strongly suggest that anyone sending me sensitive information should PGP encrypt it (see my web page http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/ for PGP info). There are people conducting resistance-related activities whose security could be compromised if their identities are revealed. I realize that making anonymous posts detracts from their credibility, but I need to do what I can to get the information out and at the same time, protect the source. BTW, I have been given permission to give the identity of the source of the recent post, News from NY from Big Mountain Resister. It was John Benally from Big Mountain. ============================================== I'm starting to get a bad feeling that this land will become sacrifice land by order of Master Bush. I hear on the radio that California needs the electricity and the coal from here is what they use for their generating plants. Little Brother (the industrial culture) will most likely get their way, and the resisters here will be forcibly removed. I hope not, but I feel this is what will happen. I haven't seen any help from the Navajo (Dineh) Nation except for two pickup loads of fire wood. Maybe the Dineh Nation may be doing more behind the scenes but not much visible to the resisters. Now for the rest of the news: On 23 March at 12 noon, there were two F-14s flew over. They were on opposite ridges (on either side of the house) and flying low (20 feet above the trees) and slow. One of them I could see the profile of the pilot (I was out with the sheep and close to the ridge towards the east). They were flying from the north to the south. Two days later, two (2) blackhawk choppers flew over again at a low and slow rate. I could make out the American flag on the fuselage. They were flying from the NE to the SW. The first part of March, there was a Hopi Ranger drive by the house at least once a day that I saw, but haven't seen him since. We are also monitored by the Hopi or BIA aircraft daily, usually twice a day. I feel the feds are getting serious by sending in military aircraft for recon photo missions. With the electrical shortages in California, I think they (the feds) will be making a move to evict the resisters by force so the mine can get this coal. I may be wrong, but I don't think so, especially with a military involvement. Roberta has told me she reduces (by order of the feds) her sheep from 200 to 60 and now they are giving her grazing permits for 10 sheep, thus telling her to reduce more. They (the hopi/BIA) was supposed to be there 3 April to count the sheep, but they never showed up. Today is 04-09-01, and I saw a federal truck at 1600 (4 PM). I don't know if it was Hopi or BIA or federal marshal. The Hopi drive white Chevies (at least what is all I've seen). THis was green like a forest service truck. I couldn't read the emblem on the side. In February I saw a four-engine prop plane flying in the bottom of the canyon here. That was a strange feeling, as I was on the top of the ridge looking down on the plane. The plane was solid black with no markings on it. The plane looked like the old DC-3, those that the airborne jumped out of during WW2. I have done my prayers every day, praying for the earth changes to happen before the feds move in here; but I don't think that will happen. Maybe it is as the Hopi prophecies say: Little brother may have to start removing the liver out of the Earth Mother's chest before she starts her purification. Maybe this deal with China will stop (or escalate) this here. I heard on a talk show last night (4-8, radio) that the Chinese leaders feel that war with the U.S. is inevitable. If that be true, we will have more problems than a shortage of electricity. I don't know. I do know I am not the man in charge, so all I can do is take my feelings at the present time and try to do what they tell me. How I wish I had different orders from the Great Spirit. Then there would be no questions or doubts. All part of our learning lessons? At any rate you have the latest and an update on the situation here. My feelings you can take with a grain of salt. Maybe you'll feel the same or maybe not. I do know things (at this point in time) do not look good for the grandmas and resisters. May your path be straight and easy and may the Great Spirit guide your every step. For all my relations [Your Brother at the Altar] ======================================== Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To post to the list, email your message to redorman@theofficenet.com. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: Redeeming a Historic Trust" --------- Date: Tue, 1 May 2001 08:18:23 -0500 From: John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate Subj: (FWD)Indian News 05-01-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 05/01/2001 08:20 AM Redeeming a Historic Trust NY Times April 30, 2001 In the new federal budget, the Interior Department has requested $27.6 million "for unanticipated reform projects and costs related to the ongoing Cobell litigation." Cobell is Elouise Cobell, a modest, slightly formal woman who grew up on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation just east of Glacier National Park in northern Montana. On behalf of perhaps as many as half a million Native Americans, Ms. Cobell has filed a class-action suit challenging the Interior and Treasury Departments to rectify a collective wrong that is more than a century old. The root of Ms. Cobell's suit is the government practice, begun in 1887 and discontinued in 1934, of giving land allotments to individual Indians as their reservations were being broken up for sale to whites. Though the Indians owned these allotments and often lived on them, the government retained title and generated income for the Indians from oil, coal and timber leases, from easements and ranching, from all the ways that those lands could yield money short of outright sale. That money was paid into a trust maintained by the Treasury Department, and it was supposed to be paid out to the Native American holders of individual trust accounts, a number that steadily grew as the original allotments were passed down. The responsibility for maintaining the records and keeping those accounts current fell to the Interior Department. But as this litigation has revealed, the Interior Department over the years lost track of an untold number of beneficiaries. The account records are in a state of physical disrepair, many either lost or decayed. Beyond the matter of records, there is also the matter of money. What has been doled out ? usually in very small checks ? probably represents only a fraction of what is owed to account holders. At the moment, the actual amount owed can only be guessed at, but it will most likely be in the billions of dollars. Nearly everything has been done that can be done to force the Interior and Treasury Departments to clean up this mess. In 1994, Congress passed the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act to address this very problem. Ms. Cobell won initial legal battles in Federal District Court and on appeal. A special master was appointed to coordinate access to documents and evidence, and recently a court monitor was named whose sole task is to keep watch over the Interior Department's efforts to reform the trust system. The one thing lacking to a solution so far has been political will in the executive branch. This saga is a debacle of historic proportions, a violation of a trust relationship established by the federal government in which the Indians themselves had, and still have, no say. What is needed now is firm political direction from President Bush, from Interior Secretary Gale Norton and from Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill. Before long, the second part of this trial ? the accounting phase ? will begin, and a debate will commence over how to assess the actual value of nearly half a million trust accounts. Ms. Norton agreed with the plaintiffs that a court monitor was necessary. Now it is time for her and Mr. O'Neill to bring an equitable resolution of this case, as swiftly as its complexity and its enormous dimension allow. --------- "RE: Lobster Season Opens Amid Uneasy Calm" --------- Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 08:33:22 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LOBSTER SEASON" http://www.bangornews.com/cgi-bin/article.cfm?storynumber=33160 Lobster season opens amid uneasy calm By Chris Morris, Canadian Press Tuesday, May 1, 2001 FREDERICTON, New Brunswick - The lobster season on New Brunswick's Miramichi Bay opens this week on much calmer waters than last fall. Hundreds of commercial fishermen in northeastern New Brunswick started setting traps Monday for a spring season that promises to be considerably more peaceful than last fall, when boats were rammed, demonstrations were commonplace and shots were fired. Little has changed in the standoff between native fishermen at Burnt Church, New Brunswick, and the Canadian Fisheries Department, but a Micmac spokesman said Monday there shouldn't be too many problems this spring. James Ward, a tribal rights activist and Micmac warrior at Burnt Church, forecast that the tribal fall fishery on Miramichi Bay, not the commercial spring harvest, will be the flash point for tensions over access to the rich lobster fishery. "A few of our native fishermen will go out this spring and exercise their rights," Ward said. "It's for sustainment, not for commercial purposes. They have to supplement welfare one way or another. "I'm assuming there will be small skirmishes based on that, but I don't see real big confrontations. Those will come in August and September." That has been the pattern since September 1999, when the Supreme Court of Canada issued its landmark decision in the Donald Marshall case and changed the landscape of the Maritime fishing industry. The people of Burnt Church and a handful of other Maritime bands have used the Marshall decision to buttress their claim to an inherent, tribal right to hunt, fish and cut lumber on government land as a means of earning a livelihood. The majority of East Coast bands are prepared to negotiate agreements with Ottawa giving them increased access to the fishery, as well as boats, training and money for economic development. But Burnt Church, which sits on the coast of Miramichi Bay, is a holdout once again this year and so far has refused to even consider a management deal with Ottawa. The band insists it has the right to manage its own fishery. It does not recognize the authority of the federal Fisheries Department to impose seasons and regulations. "The situation is unsettled," said Burnt Church band manager Karen Somerville. "Ottawa is still pushing agreements for the First Nation communities to sign and we're still maintaining our position to manage our own resources. There hasn't been any clear communication between us and the government." Without a resolution to the impasse, another period of turbulence looms on Miramichi Bay. Last fall, there were numerous confrontations between federal fisheries officers and defiant Micmac fishermen, who violated Ottawa's management plan for the region and set thousands of traps out of season from August until October. Ottawa recognizes only one commercial lobster-fishing season on Miramichi Bay and that runs from early May until late June. Several people were hurt during the confrontations last year, both tribal members and fisheries officers. Gunshots were fired on a couple of occasions, including one incident where a non-tribal fisherman's boat was hit. No one was injured in that incident. Ward said both sides in the dispute are anticipating trouble this fall. "The government hasn't done anything to change its stance and we're not going to compromise the rights of our children," said Ward, one of the most recognizable figures in Burnt Church with his Mohawk haircut and battle fatigues. "As long as you see this huge divide with no serious action on the part of the government to sit down and recognize our inherent rights, then we're going to have confrontation like we had last year. This isn't something our people want. We're the ones outnumbered and outgunned. But we're going to stand up for what we believe in." Bruce Wildsmith of Halifax, the leading tribal rights lawyer in the region, said the federal government has not moved quickly enough to clarify the situation for bands like Burnt Church and give them a means to negotiate a solution. The Canadian federal government "should be more respectful of what individual bands wish to do," Wildsmith said. "For people who want to fish in accordance with their rights, they have no process that has been put in place to allow them to negotiate and discuss their presence." Andre Marc Lanteigne, spokes-man for the federal Fisheries Department, said he hopes Burnt Church will reach a negotiated settlement and avoid problems. But he said the department is ready if talks fail. "Let me be clear, we will be ready for anything," Lanteigne said. "We're not going to let failure at talks prevent us from doing what we have to do." Copyright c. 2001 Bangor Daily News. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Tribes Take Over Welfare Services" --------- Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 08:13:43 -0500 From: John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate Subj: (FWD)Indian News 05-02-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 05/02/2001 08:15 AM Tribes take over welfare services Riverside County will shift $6.6 million to a newly formed Indian consortium. By DAVID SEATON The Press-Enterprise www.inlandempireonline.com/news/stories/050101/tribes.shtml May 1, 2001 "Riverside County Indian nations took over welfare services for tribal members today, a move Indian leaders see as a chance to better the lives of families untouched by the casino jackpot. The newly formed Torres- Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians Consortium becomes the second Indian-led group in California to assume responsibility for welfare services on reservations. Participating tribes are Torres-Martinez, Soboba, Cahuilla, Santa Rosa, Ramona, Morongo, Agua Caliente, Pechanga and Augustine. The consortium will emulate a San Diego-based association of 18 tribes created in 1998. The 1996 federal welfare reforms allow tribes to administer their own Temporary Assistance to Needy Families programs, giving Indians greater flexibility in spending welfare dollars. Under the reforms, welfare dollars can pay for traditional Indian marriage ceremonies, bonuses for pregnant teens who earn high grades, job training for noncustodial parents and increased benefits for mothers who have additional children while on welfare. The new tribal welfare rules also will include drug testing for those receiving a check. To pay for the tribal welfare, $6.6 million in federal and state funds will be shifted from Riverside County to the consortium, said Virginia Hill, a Seneca Indian directing the effort in Riverside County. There will be no new costs to taxpayers, she said. The ultimate goal of prying people off welfare is the same, tribal leaders said. But instead of pushing people into the work force immediately, as the state welfare system demands, the tribal program will first address personal and social roadblocks to work, Hill said. "Our program is to take care of whatever problem you have first -- alcohol, reading, education," Hill said. "There are so many creative things that we can do with the tribal TANF program, and the services are provided right on the reservation." Indian leaders say taking over welfare programs demonstrates the aggressive push by Native Americans across the country to become self- sufficient nations. "I think the selling point was the sovereignty issue," said Mary Belardo, tribal chairwoman of the 700-member Torres-Martinez tribe near the Salton Sea. "It's exciting. It's frightening. But I think it's a good thing." Belardo said when Hill first approached her about setting up a tribal welfare operation, she blanched. The tribes would have to build an entire welfare department, from finding office space to hiring social workers, job counselors and eligibility screeners. "We're so small, what can we do?" Belardo asked Hill. But Hill, who grew up on the Viejas reservation in San Diego County and helped launch the tribal welfare program there, assured Belardo it could work here. Not to fault Riverside County, Belardo said, but "they're a large bureaucracy, and there's no way they have the intimate contact to know what's going on in each person's home. As the tribe, we do." Riverside County officials said they fully support the transfer. So do state welfare officials, who said the program in San Diego County has successfully cut welfare rolls on reservations. The consortium won approval from the federal government Friday. The welfare caseload of 800 tribal members is based on 1994 numbers, as required by federal law. The program will hit full stride within 90 days when the caseload is fully transferred from Riverside County. Headquarters will be at the Torres-Martinez reservation, with possible future satellite offices in the Cahuilla and Santa Rosa communities, Belardo said. Most welfare cases on reservations are in those three tribes, she said. Tribes with casinos that have eradicated welfare also are part of the consortium because they have nontribal members living on the reservation who don't get a share of gaming earnings, Belardo said. The Cabazon and Twentynine Palms tribes are not included in the consortium. "I guess I just approached the ones that had (welfare) numbers in 1993-94," Hill said. Until recently, as many as half of the Torres-Martinez members were on welfare, Belardo said. The number has dropped because of construction jobs provided by a Highway 86 project through the reservation. But most of the tribe lives below federal poverty level, she said." --------- "RE: Supreme Court Rules Against Oklahoma Tribe" --------- Date: Tue, 1 May 2001 09:12:19 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SUPREME COURT RULING" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Published Monday, April 30, 2001 Court Rules Against Okla. Tribe By GINA HOLLAND / Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- An Oklahoma Indian tribe can be sued in state court over an off-reservation construction project, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday, noting the tribe' s prior agreement to arbitration. While tribal governments generally are protected from lawsuits, the court ruled that the Citizen Potawatomi Nation surrendered its sovereign immunity by signing a construction contract requiring arbitration to settle disputes. The roofing contractor, C&L Enterprises, sued after the Potawatomi decided to use another firm to install a roof on a bank building in Shawnee, Okla. The tribe owned the property, but it was not on the Potawatomi reservation. C&L tried to enforce the arbitration agreement in state court, but the tribe claimed sovereign immunity and asked that the case be dismissed. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for the unanimous court, dismissed arguments that the arbitration provision was unclear, noting that " the tribe proposed and prepared the contract." The tribe changed contractors because the project architect said a different roof was needed and C&L could not build that model. The high court had agreed to hear the case because of conflicting state and federal court rulings over tribal immunity. An arbitrator initially awarded C&L $25, 400 plus legal fees and other costs stemming from the 1993 broken deal. The contractor then won a court judgment in Oklahoma City court requiring the Potawatomi to pay. A state appeals court upheld the lower court, but then reconsidered in light of a separate Indian tribal immunity case decided by the Supreme Court in 1998. In that case, the court held that an Indian tribe is not subject to suit in state court -- even for breach of contract off the reservation -- unless the tribe waives immunity or Congress specifically authorizes the suit. An attorney for the Potawatomi had argued before the Supreme Court in March that " no court" on earth or even on the moon has jurisdiction over the C&L-tribe dispute. An Oklahoma appeals court sided with the Potawatomi, but Monday' s ruling sends the case back to the Oklahoma court. The case is C&L Enterprises v. Citizen Potawatomi Nation, 00-292. Copyright c. 2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 The Day Publishing Company. --------- "RE: Time to Call Inquiry into Ipperwash" --------- Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 09:40:42 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IPPERWASH INQUIRY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm May. 7, 01:01 EDT Time to call inquiry into Ipperwash Ian Urquhart STAR COLUMNIST Queen's Park THE CONTRADICTIONS continue to accumulate in the six-year-old case of the fatal shooting of an unarmed Indian protester (Dudley George) by an OPP officer at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Last week, Premier Mike Harris turned himself into a pretzel on the question of when, if ever, he met with then OPP commissioner Tom O'Grady to discuss the matter. The question is crucial because Harris has insisted all along that he gave the OPP no direction and that the police acted entirely on their own when they launched an assault on Indian protesters occupying Ipperwash park on Sept. 6, 1995. Here is the sequence of statements concerning Harris' alleged meeting with O'Grady: On Dec. 20 last year, The Star reported that one of the thousands of internal documents made public as a result of the George family's civil suit against the government states that Harris and O'Grady met on Sept. 6, the day of the shooting. In response to The Star story, Liberal MPP Gerry Phillips put a question to Harris in the Legislature that day. Replied the Premier: "It (the memo) confirms that the OPP commissioner was at a meeting that I was at, something I indicated quite freely five years ago at the time of the Ipperwash situation." To the best of Phillips' recollection, Harris had not, in fact, ever before acknowledged meeting with O'Grady on the day of the shooting. So Phillips followed up his question with a letter to Harris in January asking for "proof of any such statements confirming that this meeting took place." The Premier's office denies receiving the letter. On Wednesday of last week, Phillips finally got another opportunity to pursue Harris in person on the issue in the Legislature. Harris responded: "I think I may have indicated that we did meet with the OPP commissioner. I'm told we did not meet with the OPP commissioner, and I did not." On Thursday, Harris was asked by reporters about the apparent flip-flop. A testy Premier said that he could not be expected to remember details of events six years ago but added that he had met O'Grady after the shooting. The suggestion was that the Premier had simply mixed up his time frame. But O'Grady subsequently told The Star that he had not met Harris to discuss Ipperwash either before or after the shooting. All of which underlines the need for a public inquiry into this troubling episode. Ian Urquhart is The Star's provincial affairs columnist. His column appears on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Copyright c. 1996-2001 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved --------- "RE: Roadblock goes up in Northern Saskatchewan" --------- Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 16:03:03 From: KOLA Subj: CANADA: Roadblock goes up in northern Saskatchewan <+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+> [from Erth. Thanks!] source: NativeNews 5/5/2001 Roadblock goes up in northern Saskatchewan http://sask.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/05/04/road010503 LA LOCHE, SK - A family from La Loche is fighting for the right to live on traditional land. Members of the Montgrand family have been blocking a road near the northwestern community since Tuesday because the provincial government has told them they cannot build 18 houses in the nearby Clearwater River Provincial Park. "There's absolutely no alcohol going through and no government vehicles are going through `93 and nobody from the south," said Skip Montgrand, describing the roadblock. "This is a peaceful demonstration with no violence." Bob Wilson, a park management specialist, says the province had no option but to turn down the request. "An urban development in a wilderness class provincial park wouldn't enhance the characteristics," he said. Wilson says he hopes the two sides can begin talking again to find a compromise and end the blockade. The Montgrand's say they will continue to stop traffic until they are allowed to build their homes. <+>=3D<+> KOLA Information: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm --------- "RE: Chumash wish to Honor Dead/Church Records Missing" --------- Date: Tue, 1 May 2001 09:12:19 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHUMASH DEAD" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Chumash wish to honor dead but church records are missing MISSION INTO THE PAST 5/1/01 By VICKI ADAME NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER The scattered markers represent nearly 1,700 people believed buried in the Santa Ines Mission cemetery in Solvang. But the 50 wooden or stone markers provide little information about them. The Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians wants to change some of that. Several members of the tribe are working on an identification project, said Elaine Schneider, a tradition elder. The number of Chumash buried in unmarked graves at the cemetery could be in the hundreds. However, tribal members have run into a problem: The burial records kept by the Mission are missing. "We were absolutely positive the Mission would have everything," Schneider said. "It was a shock not to find it." Tribal members traced the records to San Buenaventura Mission, where they apparently had been transferred. The trail then led to San Gabriel -- but that's where it ended, Schneider said. Identifying their ancestors buried in the cemetery is important to the Chumash. "People come out here and don't realize how much this is part of our history," she said. Over the years, various tribal members have worked on identifying the dead. But this year, the project picked up steam as the tribe prepares to celebrate 100 years of federal recognition. On April 21, the Chumash held an honoring ceremony for their ancestors at the cemetery. Although such a ceremony is held every year, Schneider said it usually involves a couple of people. This year, she said, the tribe wanted to involve the community and all other Chumash. The tribe has been working with the Mission in the identification process. Once completed, the tribe plans to erect a memorial with the names of the Chumash buried at the cemetery. "We're not trying to create a big elaborate memorial, just something so families can come and visit their loved ones," Schneider said. The memorial will also serve to let visitors know of the role of the Chumash at the Mission, Schneider said. "We've been here a long time and we're part of this Mission, too," she said. The Chumash used oral tradition to pass down their history. They relied on Mission priests to keep written records of Chumash buried on the Mission grounds, she said. Until the records can be located, Schneider and others are relying on the memories of tribal elders. The oldest member is 95. From the elder's recollections, Schneider estimates the last Chumash buried at the Mission cemetery was 60 or 70 years ago. "There are a lot of elders still surviving who know of relatives buried here, but there is no record," she said. The Mission was founded on Sept. 17, 1804. According to the Mission's Web site, the first entry in the burial register is dated Jan. 23, 1805. However, the Chumash had been burying their people on the site years before the Mission was built, Schneider said. The Chumash buried their people on high ground overlooking the east, she said. The site of the Mission cemetery is that spot, she said. The process of identifying their ancestors will likely take years -- especially with the continuing search for the burial records. As she stood in the Mission cemetery, Schneider said, "We're starting it and I figure our kids will finish it." Copyright c. 2001 Santa Barbara News-Press. --------- "RE: Omaha Tribe Asks Judge to Enforce 1865 Land Treaty" --------- Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 14:05:49 +0100 From: anne.bates Subj: Omaha Indian Tribe Asks Judge to Enforce 1865 Land Treaty Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_sid=95554 Published Wednesday May 2, 2001 Omaha Indian Tribe Asks Judge to Enforce 1865 Land Treaty The Omaha Indian Tribe's effort to boot the neighboring Winnebago Tribe off land in northeast Nebraska had a federal judge Tuesday trying to decipher the meaning of a century-old treaty and whether it is binding and relevant today. At issue is whether the Omaha can invoke a treaty provision that the tribe could buy back the lands that it sold to the United States more than 136 years ago to create the Winnebago reservation. "The Omahas have always known of this provision," said Terry Pechota, an attorney from Rapid City, S.D., who is representing the Omahas. "We are asking this court to enforce it. That provision says what it says." An attorney for the Winnebagoes argued that its treaty with the federal government, signed two days after the treaty that the Omaha signed, gave the Winnebago the reservation land in perpetuity. "Our treaty says we can have the land forever," Mark Hubble said. Not in dispute is the fact the U.S. government entered into a treaty with the Omaha Tribe in 1865 in which the tribe sold the northern portion of its land. The land then was provided as a reservation for the Winnebagoes, who had been wandering on the plains cold, hungry and destitute after being removed from their ancestral land in Wisconsin. Article 10 of the treaty held that if the Omaha and their new neighbors ever failed to get along, the Omaha could buy back the land under the original terms in which it was sold. The Omaha, upset with the Winnebagoes and the federal government over a recent decision to have a joint hospital for the tribes built on the Winnebago reservation, say the tribes aren't getting along. The Omahas have offered the federal government $50,000 - the amount their ancestors were paid for the large tract of Thurston County land. The hearing before U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon in Omaha centered on arguments by the United States and the Winnebagoes to dismiss the suit on the grounds that the court had no right to hear the case. Treaty provisions make Congress, not the courts, the arbiter of disputes between tribes, they said. They also argued that the Winnebago Tribe is a sovereign nation and is immune from being sued but is an indispensable party in the dispute between the Omahas and the federal government because it now lives on the disputed land. That makes it impossible for the case to go forward, they said. Pechota said it would be unfair to the Omaha Tribe to have the suit thrown out on that basis, when it has a valid treaty with the government. "The Omaha not in their wildest dreams enter this (treaty) only to have the government say, 'We sold you a bill of goods again,"' Pechota said. Bataillon told U.S. Attorney Sally Johnson it appeared that the U.S. government had entered into two treaties with inconsistent provisions. "I don't know how you get out of the problem you're in," he said. Bataillon said he hoped to rule on the request to dismiss the case within 30 days. Should the case go forward, the ultimate resolution would take months or years. ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> 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: Group buys Farm/Offers it for Cayuga Reservation" --------- Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 08:14:37 -0500 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: (FWD)Indian News 05-06-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 05/07/2001 08:16 AM Group buys farm, offers it for Cayuga reservation The Associated Press 5/4/01 SPRINGPORT, N.Y. (AP) -- Cayuga Indian Nation officials reserved judgment Friday on a local group's offer to give the tribe a 70-acre farm for a new homeland. Clint Halftown, a Cayuga spokesman, said the tribe did not want to comment until an official offer is made and reviewed by the tribal council. But the possibility of having a place the Cayugas can call their own within the original area of their ancestors makes Cayuga Nation Clan Mother Bernadette Hill happy. Returning home, she said, "will mean having our own Cayuga ceremonies again." The 70-acre farm property was purchased April 19 for $240,000 by Jonathan M. Rossen, an assistant professor of anthropology at Ithaca College. Rossen said he is a member of the group, Strengthening Haudenosaunee-American Relations Through Education, or SHARE, and made the purchase on behalf of the organization. SHARE expects to announce its plans for the property next week, said Rossen. It is not clear if the land will be deeded to the Cayuga Nation, making it eligible to become a sovereign reservation, or if SHARE will continue to own it and allow the Cayugas to use it, he said. Julie Uticone of Seneca Falls, SHARE president, said the land will allow local residents to meet and learn more about the Cayugas. "This will be something good," she said. The farm is near the Great Gully and Peachtown areas where the Cayugas had major settlements and croplands. Those settlements were burned and destroyed by patriot armies in 1779 on orders of George Washington because the Cayugas sided with the British during the Revolutionary War. The property includes an organic vegetable farm, farmhouse, three barns and a silo. The farm sits at the southern end of the 64,027 acres of former reservation land in Cayuga and Seneca counties that the tribe claims was illegally acquired by New York state in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Last year, a jury awarded the nation $36.9 million in damages for their lost homelands. A decision on adding interest to the jury award is expected by U.S. District Court Judge Neal P. McCurn sometime this summer. McCurn has ruled out returning any land. Attorney William L. Dorr, who represents Cayuga and Seneca counties in the land claim case, said the donation would not affect, and was unrelated to the litigation. Upstate Citizens for Equality, a group formed in opposition to Native American land claims in Central New York, also was taking a wait-and-see approach. "I was surprised when I heard of this, but it was inevitable. Someone was bound to do it," said Connie Tallcot, a Union Springs bookstore owner who co-chairs the group. "It should be interesting. As long as taxes are paid, there shouldn't be a problem. But if it becomes sovereign, there may be concerns." Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, said a recognized tribe, such as the Cayugas, can apply to have land it owns put into federal trust. She said that is the first step toward a sovereign reservation, which would exempt it from any state or local jurisdiction --------- "RE: Muskogee Mystery Stone" --------- Date: Wed, 2 May 2001 08:13:43 -0500 From: John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate Subj: (FWD)Indian News 05-02-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 05/02/2001 08:15 AM Muskogee's mystery stone turns heads The Oklahoman db.oklahoman.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=677117&pic=none&TP=getarticle By: DAVID GERARD Muskogee Daily Phoenix 2001-04-30 MUSKOGEE - "The stone seems destined for history, just from appearances. The face of the white, smooth, rectangular block with cracks and obvious concrete patching boldly declares, "This stone intended for Washington Monument. Muskokee Nation. May 26th, 1850." But the 43-by-18-by-17-inch block is sitting at the entrance to the Muskogee Regional Medical Center, more than 1,000 miles from the nation's capital. No one knows for sure where it came from. No one knows how it got where it is. "I contacted the National Park Service and asked them if they had any recollections of it or records that said it was on its way, but I haven't heard back from them," said Joyce Bear, manager of cultural preservation for the Creek (Muscogee) Nation. Bear added that the Creek Nation did not have any record of the stone, but since it bore the nation's name, they would take it gladly. "I'm going to claim it," Bear said. "It's got the name on it." The hospital, which is on land leased from the city, has no problems with the removal of the stone by the Creeks, said Ched Wetz, a division manager. "If the Creek Nation feels it belongs somewhere else, they can take it," said Wetz, adding that the city would have to make the final decision. Mark Wilkerson, director of the city Parks and Recreation Department, said he didn't think there would be any problem, either. But the stone, half-buried in the lawn at the hospital, has piqued the interest of everyone involved and raised the question: Can the stone join 195 other Memorial Stones on the inside of the monument, a tribute to the first president of the United States? In July 1848, the Washington National Monument Society invited states, cities, civic organizations and patriotic societies to contribute stones for placement within the structure. Later, the monument society asked foreign governments to contribute inscribed stones. Between 1848 and 1936 - excluding the tumultuous years of 1854 to 1880 - the society received 192 stones, with three representing Native American tribes: the Cherokee Nation, and the Tuscarora and Anacostia tribes. Three stones were lost, according to the National Park Service, which maintains the monument. John Lockwood, a park ranger at the monument, said a precedent exists for installing lost stones. The most famous, the Pope Stone, was stolen by anti-Catholics in 1854 and tossed into the Potomac River, Lockwood said. That stone was discovered by workers building a bridge in 1892, Lockwood said, but the stone disappeared a second time. Finally, a new Pope Stone was installed in 1983, Lockwood said. But Lockwood said a lost stone would require documentation that it was intended for the monument before it could be accepted. And no one can show any documentation on the stone at the medical center. Harley Little, a Creek Nation councilor who would like the stone to reach Washington, said he recently heard about it from Clay Harrell, a former city manager. Harrell said he first saw the stone in 1959, when he and then city parks director, Art Johnson, were walking around the site of the future hospital. "I saw this stone laying on the ground with an inscription, and I said, 'What is that?'" Harrell said. "Art said it was a stone cut in Georgia that the Creeks brought with them on the trail (of Tears), and it's supposed to go in the Washington Monument." Harrell said he forgot about the stone until he moved to Washington and climbed the monument and saw all the Memorial Stones. He said when he returned to Muskogee in the 1970s, he saw the stone had been converted to a bench with the addition of an inscribed slab from a garden at the old hospital. The slab, which remembers the George Washington Bicentennial of 1932, lies on top of the Muskogee stone. Harrell said he contacted the Creek chief at the time, who showed little interest in the stone. Later, the Five Civilized Tribes Museum said it would take it, but never did, Harrell said. "But once Little heard about it, he wanted to see it make the destination mentioned on the face," Harrell said. Digging around the stone, other wording appeared below the date and ground level. The line states, "Presented by A.C. Trumbo." Trumbo, a business leader in Muskogee's early history, was born in 1866 near Columbus, Ga., and died in 1954. Harrell said he met Trumbo in Oklahoma City before his death. Steve Morenzetti, who is in charge of the Memorial Stones at the Washington Monument - scheduled to reopen Memorial Day after a three-year renovation said he was not aware of anyone coming forward with any lost stones. "At this point, we don't envision adding any new stones." --------- "RE: FZLN May Day Statement" --------- Date: 5/3/01 8:35:32 AM Pacific Daylight Time From: owner-chiapas95@eco.utexas.edu (Chiapas95) Subj: FZLN May Day statement,May 02 This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . Originally published in Spanish by the FZLN ______________________ Translated by irlandesa To the People of Mexico. On this May 1, 2001, we, the workers of the city and of the countryside ARE DENOUNCING that: THE DEPUTIES AND SENATORS OF THE CONGRESS OF THE UNION USURPED THE POPULAR WILL. The Chamber of the Senate, unanimously, and the Chamber of Deputies, with 386 votes from the PAN, PRI and PVEM, have betrayed the sovereign will of the people, the demand by millions of indigenous and non-indigenous Mexicans who, through a multitude of peaceful demonstrations, have expressed our demand for the constitutional recognition of the rights of the Indian peoples contained in the Cocopa proposal. Heedful of the interests of their party leaders, of their personal and group interests, the Congress is imposing a law which is closer to Zedillo's, which has nothing to do with the Cocopa proposal on Indigenous Rights and Culture, which recognize rights but makes it impossible for them to be exercised, which continues to leave millions of indigenous Mexican brothers as second-class citizens, excluded. How much more indigenous blood do those "representatives," - who live off the people's money - want? How much more blood of honest Mexicans will be necessary for THOSE WHO GOVERN, TO GOVERN OBEYING and FOR THOSE WHO LEGISLATE, TO LEGISLATE OBEYING THE MANDATE OF THE PEOPLE? This same Congress, a fitting heir to Zedillo, is the same one going about putting taxes on medicines, food and schools, while protecting with its laws bankers who continue to take the money out of our country. The same one which is more concerned about changing the laws in order to allow casinos than about the rights of retired persons and pensioners. The same one which is preparing to promote a labor counter-reform which will demolish what was fought for the entire 20th century, and which will leave us completely at the mercy of the savage capitalism which the legislators themselves are protecting. Because of all of this, we are saying: THIS CONGRESS DOES NOT REPRESENT US. We will not be resigned, we have dignity, we shall continue to fight, we shall continue to resist until, in this our Patria, there is: Liberty! Democracy! Justice! for all Mexicans. TRANSFORMATION OF THE COCOPA PROPOSAL INTO CONSTITUTIONAL LAW! LIBERTY FOR ZAPATISTA PRISONERS! NO TO THE IVA! NO TO THE CONGRESS AND TO THE GOVERNMENT WHO SERVE ONLY THE RICH! YES TO DIALOGUE AND ORGANIZATION BETWEEN ALL THE EXCLUDED AND OPPRESSED! Zapatista Front of National Liberation (FZLN) --------- "RE: Tongass Help Spruce up Aging Totem Poles" --------- Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 15:58:15 From: KOLA Subj: Alaska - Tongass Tribe: Natives help spruce up aging totem poles <+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+> [from Erth. Thanks!] source: NativeNews Natives help spruce up aging totem poles PRIDE: Clans from the Tongass Tribe work together to preserve precious cultural pieces. By Darren Friedel Ketchikan Daily News http://www.adn.com/metro/story/0,2633,263479,00.html (Published May 4, 2001) Ketchikan -- For years totem poles have told their stories. Those stories have lasted for generations among the Natives of Southeast Alaska. But while the traditional accounts remain, many of the totems that described them do not. Ketchikan's Chief Johnson and Chief Kyan poles are two exceptions, however, in the form of aging replicas that are still standing. And because of a preservation effort, the two poles should continue to tell their stories for several more years. Three members of the Tongass Tribe, along with the help of a conservator, have started cleaning the two totems, which have become dirty and discolored after years of exposure to Southeast Alaska's harsh weather. "I'm glad the totems are being taken care of," said Robert Jackson, 22, a Tongass Tribe member helping with the project with his father, Willard Jackson, 53. The two are members of the Tongass Tribes Bear-Eagle Clan. The pair helped clean the poles in April and will continue working on them until early this month. "It feels good to take care of our poles. This is our culture. It explains who we are," Robert Jackson said, pointing to the Chief Kyan pole, which stands in downtown Ketchikan's Whale Park. "I've been looking forward to doing this since I first heard about the project," said Andrew Todd, a conservator consulting on the preservation effort. First, moss, lichen and dirt is removed with bristle brushes and soft wood scrapers. Then the poles are washed with a biodegradable detergent. After they're cleaned, a preservative is applied to the totems to prevent further growth of moss and lichen. Once the poles are dry, a special water repellent is added to protect the wood and hold in the preservative. After that, the tribe will discuss whether to repaint parts of the poles, Todd said. This isn't the first time Todd has worked with Ketchikan totem poles. In 1987, Todd said he recommended preserving totems lying in a shed near Ketchikan Creek. Today, some of those totems are on display at the Totem Heritage Center. Willard Jackson, whose brother Israel Shotridge carved the Chief Johnson and Chief Kyan poles, said it's important to have Todd helping with the project because he is recognized as someone who respects the tribes artifacts. "I'm just looking for things to go in a peaceful manner, so that things go well and we can get in touch with our ancestors," Willard Jackson said. "That is what this is all about." The Chief Johnson pole was raised in 1989, and stands at the south end of the Centennial Parking Lot near the location of the original, which was raised in 1901. That pole is now housed in the Totem Heritage Center. The Chief Kyan pole is the second reproduction of the original pole that was carved in the early 1900s. Today's pole was raised in 1993, according to the Ketchikan museum. The first replica of the Chief Kyan pole was carved in the 1960s and now sits in the Totem Heritage Center. Also helping with the preservation of the poles is Bob Johnson, a member of the Tongass Tribe's Raven Clan. Willard Jackson said having his son work on the project is special, but Johnson's help is equally important. Johnson, 41, was surprised he was asked to take part in the project. "I was told it would help to have someone from my clan actually working on these poles," Johnson said. "And the more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea." <+>=<+> KOLA Information: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm --------- "RE: Indian Country Law Enforcement Face Rollbacks" --------- Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 08:20:52 EDT From: ErthAvengr@aol.com Subj: Indian Country Law Enforcement Face Rollbacks Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.indianz.com Indian Country law enforcement face rollbacks MAY 7, 2001 Underfunded and understaffed law enforcement programs in Indian Country face significant rollbacks should the Bush administration succeed in cutting the COPS program from the Department of Justice's budget. Instituted in 1994 by the Clinton administration, the Community Oriented Policing Services program has put more than 110,000 police officers on the beat nationwide. It faces a 56 percent cut beginning in fiscal year 2002 as part of a $1.6 billion slash in funding for programs Attorney General John Ashcroft says has served their purpose. But for Indian Country, it would be hard to find a reason to cut the program. In January, Ashcroft's department released a study showing that American Indians and Alaska Natives are the victims of violent crime at more than twice the rate of other populations. Other studies point to alarmingly high rates of violence in Indian Country. Native women are the victims of domestic violence at higher rates than others, illicit drug use among Indian youth is the highest in the nation, and overcrowded jails are the norm for tribes. And just last week, the Bureau of Indian Affairs added the name of Oglala Lakota Officer Kelmar One Feather to an ever-growing list of tribal law enforcement who have died on the job. BIA and tribal officials attribute the deaths of One Feather and his counterparts to an historic lack of funding for law enforcement. The COPS program includes a grants specifically aimed at tribes. COPS grants are paying for nearly 100 tribal officers in New Mexico, almost 200 in Arizona, including about 80 for the Navajo Nation alone, and about 140 tribal cops in South Dakota. COPS funding has provided for more than 60 officers for the Oglala Lakota Tribe. Still, the boost in funding didn't help pay for a secure police vehicle which could have prevented One Feather's death last July, indicative the wide problems tribes face in funding their police forces. Grants through the program are not designed to be long term, either. After three years, the funding runs out, a problem the Sisseton-Wahpeton Tribe in South Dakota currently faces. The tribe stands to lose half of its police force once the COPS commitment ends. Overall, Indian Country faces a huge loss without the COPS program, says Walt Lamar, acting director of the BIA's Law Enforcement Program. "We're going to step back a thousand officers and put us back to square one," said Lamar last week on the radio program Native America Calling. Law enforcement at the BIA is separate from Department of Justice funding. The fiscal year 2002 budget for BIA law enforcement is about $160 million, although Lamar says the need is $500 million. With about 2,600 cops serving tribal communities today, the loss in COPS funding would cut those numbers in the coming years. But by minimum standards, at least 4,300 tribal officers are needed. In response to concerns raised about funding, Secretary of Interior Gale Norton last week said she would look at ways to coordinate programs across departments. She also said the Bush administration encourages partnerships at the local level between tribes and states. ===== 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: Book Excerpt: Who Am I" --------- Date: Sun, 06 May 2001 11:08:28 -0500 From: Lawrence Sampson Subj: Book Excerpt: Who Am I Mailing List: ndn-aim Unlike others, I will not burden the list with constant postings from a book you should obtain for yourself. But there is one excerpt in particular, I would like to share, since the "WHAT MAKES AN INDIAN" argument seems to come up so often. This expresses my sentiments, only much better than I could ever say it. ----- Who Am I? I am a Blackfeet Indian from Montana. I am more Cree than Blackfeet, and I hardly look Indian, but I am an enrolled Blackfeet. I'm not quite half Indian-some French, Irish, and Scottish too. I was my Granpa's Blackfeet Indian boy. That is all I ever knew. I am a little boy who grew up with drinking and fighting all around him. I remember the sounds of beer bottles hitting the wall. I remember my father thrusting his fist through a glass door in a drunken rage because my mother had tried to lock him out-shattered glass and blood were all over the floor. I remember loud angry voices and the terror of silence, waiting, for the next act of violence. My mother was beautiful with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. She liked laughter, hot jazz, and good times. She dressed in expensive clothes and preferred Chanel #5-most say she was a very classy lady. My father was good looking and a start basketball player. He liked pretty women and he lived fast and fought hard. My mother and father drank and partied all the time. Pretty soon they drank and fought each other. Then I had many stepfathers and stepmothers. Drinking and fighting is what I remember most about growing up. That is all I ever knew. I developed a bone disease in my right hip when I was six. I was in and out of hospitals, on crutches and braces. I spent two years ina hospital in Helena, Montana. I wasn't sick:I had all the energy of any six year old. They strapped me to a metal frame with a canvas covering to keep the weight off my hip. the nurses were mostly kind, but they could not nurture me. I don't remember my mother coming to visit very often, and I never remember my father coming at all. I remember looking out the window, watching other kids play, and crying. Dying cancer and tuberculosis patients were in the next wing. I remember the screams at night. I remember being scared, and my skin yearned for a comforting, loving, nurturing touch. I remember going inside to entertain myself, for eternity. That is all I ever knew. I am a boarding school Indian. When I say this, you KNOW something about me already. I had work details, slopped dishes, mopped and polished floors. I scrubbed toilet bowls and scoured sinks. Memories of nights on hard bunks still haunt me-a scared little kid, eyes wide open in the dark. One night a big boy came to my bed. He told me that if I told, he would hurt me good. He did-pain of penetration, stifled screams, and "lost innocence". The dorm attendant kicked our asses up the stairs if we didn't move fast enough. The kind war vet with the slow mind used to take us upriver and show us how to make fire and boil coffee- the best I ever tasted. That is all I ever knew. I survived on the streets of Portland, Spokane, Cut Bank, and Browning. My parents still drank. I lost count of how many stepfathers and stepmothers I had. I lived in many foster homes, mostly with white folk.Some were good to me, and some were not. They needed money, and a few needed an extra hand with the work. They did not teach me about being a good Indian boy, but they did teach me how to survive in the cities among non-Indian peoples. Once my father came home drunk and beat up a woman he was with. She whacked him with a vacuum cleaner hose. I knocked on the ceiling with my crutches to signal the neighbors upstairs to call the police. the police came. They took my father away to jail. The woman took off. The neighbors went home. The social workers put me ina detention home for six months, because they didn't know what else to do with me. My father came to see me once. he was drunk. I told him I didn't want to see him anymore when he was drunk. That is all I ever knew. I went back to boarding school in Montana. It was the same old stuff. Only now the fights were over whether I could speak Blackfeet or whether I knew my Indian ways was teased because I did not. The ones who did know were called blanket asses and teased or beat up anyway. You weren't supposed to know your ways or speak your language in those days. I went to high school in Browning. I began to drink and party and found I liked women just like my father did. I stayed in town on weekends with my dad at the old Yeagan Hotel. He was still drinking. He slapped me once when i told him that I hadn't been drinking that night. "Don't lie to me boy!". He said with stale booze breath. During my sophomore year I met a pretty girl at a river party in Cut Bank. We got real interested in each other. When I told my dad, he said" No, no, she is your sister!" "Oh," I said, "you never told me about my sister". That is all I ever knew. I left Browning and went to Haskell when it was still a high school. It was pretty good: three squares and a roof over my head for more than a year at a time were new to me. There were over a thousand students from many different tribes at Haskell. Today I have relatives anywhere I go. It feels good. I received a full National Merit Scholarship to the college. My father had a year's sobriety when he came down to my graduation. I was very happy and proud that he was there, but he got drunk and thrown in jail. He didn't come to the graduation. That is all I ever knew. At Kansas, they gave me all my scholarship money at the beginning of each semester! I learned how to shoot pool pretty well, and I learned how to play a good hand of cards. I liked to party, and I still liked women. I ran out of money before i flunked out. After I left school and worked for a while, I came back to Kansas and played even harder. Then I got a rancher's daughter pregnant. That is all I ever knew. As a new father, I tried to be responsible for the first time in my life. I worked at whatever I could find for eight years before returning to Kansas. This time I worked for my degree during the day and worked at night to support my family. I graduated-first in my family! I became a bureaucrat with the federal government. I had mutton chop sideburns and wore wingtip shoes and pinstripe suits. That was the American dream, wasn't it? I drank more and more and ran around on my wife. For me, "Indian affairs" wasn't about politics or the BIA. I played and drank hard. I hurt many people and lost wives number one and two and three wonderful children. Now I was just like my parents. That is all I ever knew. I quit drinking in Tucson, many years later. I had gone to a four-day Indian golf tournament in Phoenix. Stayed drunk the whole time. When I drove home, my bones ached. I quit cold. They call me a dry-drunk because I never went to treatment. I was sober, but not healed. I looked around me. I didn't like my job. I didn't like my friends: we just drank together. I didn't like myself. I knew that I had hurt many people and was not a responsible person-to myself, to my family, as an Indian person, or to my community. I realized that the world would be a sorry place to live in if everyone was like me. That is all I ever knew. I quit a promising career and good money and left Tucson to start over in life-sober. I consulted for different tribal groups for several years. I married a Pueblo woman and went back to school. Also, I learned how to make pottery. I sat on the plaza in Santa Fe for your years selling my wares and PAYING MY DUES. But I still had not dealt with my addictive behaviors. I was still toking so I wasn't clean, nor had I lost my love for women. I lost wife number three. This time I FELT the loss. That is all I ever knew. I met some Lakota friends who began taking me to sweats and teaching me about spirituality and responsibility. I stopped toking and got clean. I went home to Montana to learn about my own ways. It is not easy to humble yourself in your mid-forties to "elders" who are fifteen years younger. " I am ignorant but I want to learn". I learned about Blackfeet teachings, language, an songs. I was brought out from behind the barrier at the Sun Dance and given my Blackfeet name in ceremony. Now I have a Blackfeet identity. The name was given to my father by his father. I have the right to give the name Black Bear to my son, and it has dignity. Today I have a good relationship, a garden, and a HOME. Yes, I know what the Gallup drunk tank smells like. I experienced and survived the boarding school. I understand the pain of abandonment. I know the terror of sexual abuse. I understand the shame of not being a good parent. However, now I try to be a good person and use my experience and understanding to help others. NOW I KNOW WHAT I NEVER KNEW. I know who I am, and it is all I ever knew. Thank you, Creator.... ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> 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: Letter: Tetuwan Lakota Working Group" --------- Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 11:29:13 EDT From: ErthAvengr@aol.com Subj: Letter: Tetuwan Lakota Working Group Mailing List: ndn-aim The following was and is a hand-out at the Lakota Embassy building at Pine Ridge, available to those who visit the Embassy. The Proclamation referred to in this letter was posted previous in this List. TETUWAN LAKOTA WORKING GROUP April 21,2001 " For Urgent Action" United Nations Delegate Teton Sioux Nation Treaty Council Spokesman Tony Black Feather Dear Tony: Grass Roots Oglala Lakota Oyate 2001 are in receipt and full support to a meeting held on March 21,2001 at the former Oglala Sioux Tribal Administration ( also formerly called Red Cloud Building). The meeting was to encourage International Intervention to the Peaceful Takeover here in Pine Ridge. On January 16, 2000, the Lakota people entered into a crisis situation here in Pine Ridge concentration camp #344. Due to many obstacles, we were unable to pursue our request to the United Nations. Now the opportunity is a hand for World Intervention. We hold the United States Government accountable for the genocide inflicted on the Lakota People. All legal remedies have been exhausted here in the United States and the Lakota People have no other choice but to take our case to the United Nations and the World Court for Justice. During this process the Lakota people seek world protection. February 2001, Lakota Headsmen and Tokala Society members sent a Letter of Intent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a Lakota Embassy to be established in the former Administration Building of the Oglala Sioux Tribe. The United States of America is Illegally occupying our Territory and Imposing a Colonial Government system on our people without proper consent. The Lakota people are the most regulated people on earth. Right or Wrong the US still protects it's own interests. Four (4) Months ago new elections were held within the colonial system that is in power here in our territory. Since the election there has been no positive changes for the people, only continued abuse and oppression. This system is viewed to destroy a Race of People. We can no longer tolerate the abuse and neglect of our people. Our demands as a result of the Takeover haven't been met or taken seriously. We oppose the United States agency system ( Indian Reorganization Act IRA Government). The People wish to change to a self-reliant Traditional Government, standing on Treaties with the United States Government. We seek immediate Protection and relief from the oppression of the U.S. Federal System. The Governor of South Dakota has requested Swat Teams and Larger Police Patrols for rural and remote areas. This doesn't look good for the future of the Lakota People, your full support is requested along with other organization support such as: 1. International Rescue Committee 2. International Crisis Group 3. Commission on Human Rights and the Working Group on Indigenous Populations. 4. International Labor Organization convention on Indigenous Peoples Rights Article 4 of the 1989 International Labor Organization convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples goes on to provide that: 1. Special measures shall be adopted as appropriate for safe guarding the person, institutions, property, labor, culture and the environment of the peoples concern. 2. Such measures shall not be contrary to the Freely Expressed wishes of the people concerned. We are convinced that a series of ongoing Human Rights Violations is committed and disappearance of people enforced or involuntary arbitrary detention. In the last few months this has taken place on supporters and members of the Oglalas, their homes, land, employment, health, on and off the reservation within the 1851 and 1868 Treaty Territorial Lands. At the present time, A Proclamation of our sovereignty is being circulated for the people's approval. As Lakota people we claim Full Sovereignty and Restitution of Aboriginal Lands with Punitive Damages. Based on the Takeover, we need to clean up America on Human Rights and Treaty Violations, and for the Lakota People to unite and abolish the IRA System and terminate the US Government to leave our Lakota Territory. We are in a major crisis, and we have suffered long enough, we wish not to further any delays on our lives and safety. We are seeking full protection, and that immediate action be taken. We are requesting a response immediately on receipt of this letter. Thank you. Sincerely, General Council of Lakota Elders and Chiefs Representatives Grass Roots Oglala Oyate Representatives Tetuwan Lakota Working Group Representatives ===== 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: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 20:55:07 -0530 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: Native Prisoner News Tell a Native American Prisoner someone cares! -- - - - Peltier, Leonard #89637-132 Box 1000 Leavenworth, KS 66053 Birthday: 9/12/44 Ancestry: Ojibwa-Lakota -- - - - Date: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 16:55:31 -0700 From: radman Subj: Incarcerated Indians Mailing List: Our Red Earth Incarcerated Indians A continuing series revealing glaring disparities in the judicial systems for American Indians PART 1: A view of the distorted statistics from initial police contact to denial of parole By Ruth Steinberger Problems of racial disparity throughout the entire judicial system raises alarming questions regarding Native Americans in confinement. In February, 2000, the number of people in state and federal prisons in the US topped 2 million, leaving the US with one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world, exceeded by China, Iraq and other countries with notably poor human rights records. Of the two million people in confinement in the US, a seriously disproportionate number are people of racial and ethnic minorities. Issues of racial, ethnic and economic disparity affecting those coming in contact with both state and federal judicial systems are well documented. Statistics show that from initial contact with police to length of sentence, the differences disproportionately punish Native Americans, ultimately affecting families and communities as well. Organizations including the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union call for urgent action to address these problems. Glaring disparities in access to adequate legal representation for the poor has been publicly noted by the American Bar Association. Recognizing disparity as a fact of life, states are required to keep records of the racial component of those who are incarcerated, as compared to the racial make-up of the state or jurisdiction entitled Disproportionate Minority Confinement (DMC). However, while discussion escalates over the causes of DMC, the trend continues and the situation seems far from being addressed. For Native Americans, problems including racial profiling, confessions obtained under questionable circumstances, frequently inadequate legal representation and processing through courts that have historically been hostile toward Native Americans have marred access to equal processing through the courts. While the origin of the problems are complex, and it is impossible to highlight one particular fault, statistics reveal that the sum of those problems places Indians into confinement far earlier, and for less serious crimes than other Americans. Additionally, indications are that being denied parole opportunities may increase the sentences served by Indians even further. Currently there are over 26,000 Native Americans in adult correction facilities including state and federal prisons, as well as jails both within and outside of tribal jurisdiction. While Indians are roughly 1% of the US population, Indians make up 1.6% of the population of prisoners in the Federal Prison System and 1.3% of prisoners in state systems. Comprising roughly 10% of the population of South Dakota, according to the most recent SD DOC statistics, Native Americans comprise 21% of male prisoners and 34% of incarcerated women. Numbers vary from state to state, with Minnesota's population 1.2% Native American, yet Indians represent nearly 7% of prisoners in that state. Across the board, the situation is alarming. Nick Braune is a lobbyist and activist from Yankton, South Dakota who recently ran for State Representative from District 18, SD. Braune said, "Profiling brings individuals into the legal system who otherwise may not be there. Obviously this is just the beginning. It's foolish to believe that once within the system the racial targeting will diminish or disappear. At each level of processing, Indians can be confronted by outright racism, as well as often the problems traditionally faced by low- income individuals." Indeed, each level of processing reflects disparities that account for the ultimately alarming statistics relevant to Native Americans in confinement. According to a 50-plus page report released by the South Dakota Advisory Committee to the US Commission on Civil Rights in March, 2000, no Native American Judges serve within the South Dakota State courts. While 80% of individuals processed through the Federal Court in Rapid City are Native American, only two Federal Public Defender positions serve Rapid City, leaving low-income people processed through those courts seriously underrepresented. The report cited numerous examples of whites in South Dakota given very lenient sentences, or not being charged at all, for causing the deaths of Native Americans, while Indians are incarcerated for theft and other relatively petty offenses. Activist Ted Means commented on the 15 days in jail spent by the white man who, while driving drunk, ran over and killed his 11 year old daughter, Kimberly. Means said, "Had the situation been reversed and I ran over and killed his daughter, I'd still be in prison today." Recent national coverage of the death of "Boo" Robert Many Horses, 24, who died after four white youth placed him head down in a garbage can after he became unconscious, reveals little change in this area. The four youth were not charged and the cause of death was listed as "asphyxiation". In November, 2000, Attorney General Janet Reno said that an investigation would not be opened into that report. Tim Giago, author, publisher of Lakota Journal and founder of Native American Journalists Association has worked in the field of Indian news reporting for years. Reflecting on the endless number of lengthy reports that are periodically compiled and then left to sit on desks in Washington, DC, Giago said, "This is something we're used to. It seems it's done to appease people, and make people think something will be done about the problems." Jennifer Ring is the Director of the ACLU of the Dakotas. Ring receives hundreds of pieces of mail each year from Indians in confinement throughout North and South Dakota. Ring explains, "In terms of the disparity, a lot goes into it. Up front, Indians are facing a lot of racial prejudice. While the worst probably occurs before someone is actually in the courtroom, it is detected at all levels. It begins when you look at what the police choose to do with someone, their actions either mitigate or aggravate the persons circumstances. The person will get their day in court, but in reality, they've already had a trial by the law enforcement." Ring explained her comments further, "This is as simple as the decision of whether to arrest someone or give them a warning. This is further reflected in the seriousness of the charges placed against the person." Ring says that the explanation of poverty sounds simple, but is not. She says that those things that produce mitigating factors are out of reach for many Native Americans living in areas with high unemployment and high poverty rates. The courts will be more lenient on a juvenile who is active in sports or other activities which can be costly or simply unavailable within a reasonable distance. more at http://www.okit.com/Justice4parts/justice1.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> Thank you for your participation at Our Red Earth. =================================== Date: Thu, 3 May 2001 17:36:04 +0300 From: Brigitte Thimiakis Subj: Persecution at MSP To:> Native News Gary Night Owl [Please forward to your lists] Greetings, Below are some saddening examples of the violations of the First Nations prisoners' rights and their persecution in Montana State Prison. Manuel Redwoman, Jim Buccelli and Cliff T Lamere wish these examples to be known and used in our letters to the officials and in any research on this case. Please keep supporting this campaign as you have before, and let the prison know that they are monitored. Please ask the officials to have these Brothers released from MAX and to stop their policy of racist profiling !!! It would help if you could cc us with your letters.The addresses of the officials are at the bottom...I'd be happy to post those of the state officials on request. You are welcome to contact Manuel, Cliff and Jim for further details.Letters of support to them would also keep their spirits up.Thank you for your time and support. respectfully, Brigitte >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> From a letter dated April, 2001 << Since I have up been here in MAX, I ran into this older Native Bro who is one of the original Bros to help this place get the sweatlodge and the pipe in this prison long ago. His name is Cliff T. Lamere. He came back from a regional jail or another prison housing facility and he went to the intake block, or fishrow, which is sort of up front of the prison. While he was there, a Sgt Allen Richards confiscated his eagle feather and the obituaries of his family along with the crucifix of his sister who passed away. This Sgt Allen Richards destroyed ALL of this stuff and Cliffy had had his eagle feather for many, many years. The obituaries and crucifix of his sister and this was all he had if them left. He took his complaint to the unit manager at that time. The Unit Manager is HURLBERT and he took it to deputy warden Myron Beeson. They asked Cliffy if he wanted to file a grievance and he said he did not want a problem with this Sgt Richards. Then they asked him if they could pursue it and he said "go ahead'". However, this Sgt slapped an investigation on him and claimed there were some inmates in population who were scared of him. So you know this story already, he was locked up in MAX without a write-up! He has been here now 4 months and about the middle of March this Sgt Richards came in after the 11 o'clock night time count and went to Cliffy T. Lamere's door, opened his hatch and told him he costs him his strips and asked if he filed a grievance on him, which Cliffy didn't, but they didn't need one because this ex-sgt put it in a confiscated property list sheet that he did confiscate and destroy these items. So the Unit Manager and Deputy Warden had his strips removed. Only now this ex-sgt filed a lawsuit I think, and now they came to take statements from us, and even acknowledged there is no reason for Cliffy to be in MAX. Since I have been in MAX ,Jim Buccelli and I were threatened with a write-up if we did not give up our cedar, sage and sweetgrass. Jim Buccelli gave up his sage but when they came to my cell I had the policy that stated I could have these religious items but I was still threatened with a write-up. I did not give them up! The next day I was going out to yard and I had two guards, Russell Simmons, and Mark Lockerly (or Lockerby) jerk on my medicine bag from front and from the back, and I knew this was an attempt to make me do something stupid to get a write-up. One of the MAX Sgts, a Sgt Stacklin watched the whole thing and said nothing. About a week later I sent it all out, because this is something that means a lot to me and I did not wish to be pushed. The Unit Manager of fishrow HURLBERT was moved to another unit: Close 3 ! and he is the same unit manager who at this time is looking over my appeal, and he knows I was going to get it so I could get my groups done. He also knows the unit counselor Deb Hurst got into trouble for not holding them and I am lucky I got documentation or I would have been railroaded. I am still not totally sure I will get a chance but I can hope I will get it seriously reconsidered. [...] Now, all I need is a lawyer to help be push my case into court, and to help me enter new evidence and I will win but I can't seem to find anyone who will help. Will you please add Cliffy T. Lamere # 43073, and Jim Buccelli # 2224 in the letter writing campaign, or at least get their story out somehow? I had to buy a $10 copy card and am sending you the photocopies of my documents with my last stamps and I am hoping you will re-read my letters and figure out the dates and info in the photocopies to use as well as you can. I need a lawyer badly to put this situation in rest once and for all. I am awaiting news from my appeal. I almost did not get to appeal the decision that was made except I had my re-class withheld by the max unit counselor who is Robert Hust, and he is the husband of Deb Hust the Unit counselor who make some serious racially condemning comments about my behavior by stating I was promoting white hatred at the sweatlodge and it was not on there when I was asked to sign it, only afterwards so she tried to mislead the administration and get me to sign the re-class only for this purpose! (but I did not sign it). I hate to have to say it straight out but it looks like I must, she falsified and mislead the re-class committee in hopes of getting me permanently placed in MAX, and her husband illegally withheld it to stop my appeal! That packet I sent to Carol was to prove my behavior was not as she (Hust) claims and it also had photocopies of why she did this. I got Hurst into trouble for not doing her job and holding the rehabilitative groups she is supposed to.There is documented proof that on the same day she got into trouble, she placed me under investigation immediately afterwards - and the only way to keep me locked-up was to make these outright blatant lies about my behavior. The administration did not miss a beat and had the council members locked up . Two of these brothers did deserve to be locked up because they were the ones who got into a fight. Not me or council member Jim Buccelli, but we have been the ones pushing for a sponsor. Manuel Redwoman # 24 920 700 Conley Lake Road, Deerlodge, MT, 59 722 a.. Warden Mike Mahoney: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2200; mmahoney@state.mt.us b.. Deputy Warden Myron Beeson: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2454; mbeeson@state.mt.us c.. Deputy Warden Cathy Redfern: (406) 846-1320, ext. 2455; credfern@state.mt.us d.. Address: 400 Conley Lake Road; Deer Lodge, MT; 59722 --------------------------------- 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: Mon, 30 Apr 2001 23:58:58 -0400 From: Barbara Landis Subj: History: Carlisle Indian School - April 27, 1888 INDIAN HELPER [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, APRIL 27, 1888 NO. 37 =========================== GRANTED WISHES ---------- Two little girls let loose from school Queried what each would be, One said: "I'd be a queen and rule," And one, "The world I'd see." The years went on. Again they met And queried what had been, "A poor man's wife am I, and yet," Said one, "I am a queen. "My realm a happy household is, My king a husband true. I rule by loving services. How has it been with you?" She answered: "Still the great world lies Beyond me as it laid. O'er love's and duty's boundaries My feet have never strayed. "Faint murmurs of the wide world come Unheeded to my ear. My widowed mother's sick bedroom Sufficeth for my sphere." They clasped each other's hands with tears Of solemn joy they cried; "God gave the wish of our young years, And we are satisfied." -Selected. John G. Whittier. ------------- DOES IT PAY TO BE UNKIND? "I can easily answer that question, my children, by telling you a little story of how an unkind Indian boy was served," said Aunt Martha. "Then you can judge for yourselves whether it pays or not." "Good! Good! Another story!" cried the children and as is their custom when Aunt Martha starts a story they knelt on the floor by her side and looked up eagerly into her dear old face expecting to hear something worth listening to. "Yes," continued Aunt Martha. "The boy, I am sorry to say, was from Carlisle, and the incident happened after he went home." "Oh! That's too bad!" said little Pete. "If a Carlisle boy does anything wrong at home the whole world laughs and says, "I told you so. There is no use in trying to educate the Indians." "And they don't say that about the white boys when they do anything wrong, do they?" piped up little Mary. "No, of course they don't," said sober John. "White boys do lots of mean things and we never hear it talked about." "Well! Well! Children. That matters not. Wrong is wrong, and to show you that it does not pay to keep a kind word back when it would save much time and trouble to speak it out, let me continue my story," said Aunt Martha who never liked to be interrupted. "All right," the children cried, only too glad to give Aunty the floor. "This Indian boy after he went to his home at Rosebud, Dakota, thought he would try freighting goods from Valentine, Neb. There were many other Indians old and young at the same business and the Receiving Clerk at Valentine had almost more than he could do to see after them all. They loaded their wagons as fast as the clerk could attend to them. The clerk had no interpreter and was obliged to talk with the Indians by signs and a few Indian words which he happened to know. One day a dispute arose between the clerk and an Indian. The clerk was in the right, but he could not make the Indian understand. The Indian got so angry that he wanted to strike the clerk a blow with his war-club, and all the lookers on thought surely there was going to be a fight. A Carlisle school boy stood there and saw it all. With a very few words of explanation he could have made plain to the Indian what the white man was trying to make him understand. "Did he do it?" asked Pete, the inquisitive one of the party. "Do it? No. The boy stood with his mouth shut and never offered to say a word. ---------------- (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. =============================== Address INDIAN HELPER, Carlisle, Pa. Miss M. Burgess, Manager. =============================== 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. ================================ A man's best friends are his ten fingers. -Robert Collyer. ------- A half-educated man is as dangerous as a half-broken horse. ------- The Chilocco school, Indian Territory has a base-ball club called the Papooses. ------- The Red Man printed by the Indian boys at our school and edited by the faculty gives all the Indian news, for 50 cents a year. Send for it. ------- Josie Vetter sends for THE RED MAN AND HELPER, this week. We should think that all of our girls and boys at home would want both papers. ------- A letter from Alice Freemont says she is now living at Saginaw, Mich., instead of at the Omaha Agency, Neb., her old home, and she is now Mrs. Alice Levering. ------- Elkanah has written from Pine Ridge, Dak., and wants the Red Man and the HELPER. Elkanah says the day he wrote hundreds of Indians were at the Agency drawing rations. We hope he was not with the others. What? A Carlisle boy dependent upon Government rations? Sorry, if true! ------- "I think that sometimes some of the pupils have no appetite for chances, because there is too much of it before their eye to satisfy it. The door of education is wide open, and we Indians are cordially invited to enter and gather all the education we can." -Indian boy in a home letter. The Entertainment. Did you know the Man-on-the-band-stand had a band? Nobody knew it until Tuesday night of this week when he and his whole band came to the Union and Republic Society entertainment. Poor old man! How he has aged since we last saw him! He was only a little gray last year, but on Tuesday night his dear old whiskers were as white as cotton itself. He looked bent and tired, too. No wonder he was tired if he drilled that billed. Wonder if he made his band-uniform! The uniform was not very uniform but it answered the purpose and we had a good laugh. The old man didn't seem to care how much we laughed either, and when one of his boys played a good tune through his tin horn, the delighted old gentleman patted him on the shoulder and said "Very good!" "Very good," which made the others toot louder than before. We were almost afraid that Conrad would burst a blood vessel he blew so hard. The meeting all through was an enjoyable time. After the Man-on-the-band-stand and his band left the room the soldiers under the leadership of Sergeant Carl Leider gave a beautiful drill with wooden muskets and tin bayonets. The dumb-bell and club exercises which followed were a fine exhibition of muscular drill and graceful movements. The debate of Resolved, That Indian education be compulsory, was entered into with spirit and showed that, the boys had thought deeply upon the subject. Henry Standing Bear's declamation and Chas. Wheelock's essay were both good and the dialogue very funny. ============== Thomas Mitchell, writes from his home at Omaha Agency, Neb. that be often thinks of us and would like to come back if his parents were willing. He says the Carlisle boys and girls there are all well. Thomas sends his watch all this distance for Mr. Welty the watch-maker in town, to fix. He says they have no watch-maker near them. ============== It is plain to be seen what Herman Young means in the following newsy squib taken from a letter written since he arrived at Pine Ridge, Dakota and when we remember how little time he has had in school we can readily excuse the English: "All the Indian have been doing nice plow, each band help each other seven plows run so very work fast tomorrow after day will be plow our corn field." ============== It is the thing with the girls to read the first page serial of the Youth's Companion. ======================================== (page 3) --------------------------------------- If all who intend taking the HELPER another year would PLEASE RENEW PROMPTLY after receiving notice that their time is out it would save us much time and labor, and prevent delays. --------------------------------------- Yes, a little too cool to be pleasant! ---------- A few lonesome flakes of snow fell Friday. ---------- Travelling musicians have been quite plentiful of late. ---------- Jack-stones have the right of way at the Girls' Quarters. ---------- Eunice and Katie - the Apache babies will soon be in short clothes. ---------- The girls' yard has been levelled and thickly sown with grass seed. ---------- Some of the girls of the P. I. Society are talking of an Arbutus hunt in the south mountains. ---------- The girls' library is indebted to Mrs. Frances E. Willard for several valuable books of which she is the author. ---------- Ha! Ha! The milk boys came near losing all our good butter-milk when they drove over the crossing Tuesday morning. ---------- Bessie Dixon, the teachers' club cook is making soap again. Girls, that is the way to economize. Turn all the old grease into soap. ---------- The Umbrella man was around Wednesday morning and fixed up a number of old ones. Boys! How would you like that trade? ---------- There is a good deal of flutter among the girls over the prospective out-going of twenty-four of their number upon farms in Maryland and eastern Pennsylvania for the summer. ---------- Miss Patterson went to Harrisburg, Wednesday, to meet her Washington brother who is an invalid. After a brief stay with his sisters here he intends going to Mifflin county to visit friends. ---------- Nancy Cornelius, assistant nurse, has a month's leave from her duties, which she is spending at the Girls' Quarters. Nancy believes that rest comes from a change of occupation so is going to school all day. ---------- Mr. Gould returned Sunday morning, from Ft. Pickens, Florida, and brought with him Katie Diuta a daughter of one of the Apache prisoners confined there. Mr. Gould has a new title now, for down south they called him Dr. Title or not he looks better than when he left and he says he had a good time. Mr. Choate was on the grounds Monday, taking pictures. ---------- Mrs. Campbell favored us with a beautiful Sunday evening. ---------- Miss Seabrook spent Sunday at her home near Gettysburg. ---------- The printers beat the farmers at base-ball Wednesday evening, by a score of 15 to 3. ---------- The open-air concerts by the band the last two Wednesday evenings have been enjoyed. ---------- Capt. Pratt attended the funeral services of the late Dr. Agnew, of New York, held in that city on Saturday last. ---------- The Man-on-the-band-stand was sorry to see some of the wee girls making red ink out of their pretty red ribbons. ---------- Arthur Johnson entered the printing-office this week and from the way he begins, the Man-on-the-band-stand thinks he will do good work. ---------- There is a great deal of religion in this World that is like a life-preserver, only put on at the moment of immediate danger and then half the time put on hind side before. ---------- When we think we know all about even the simplest thing we are on dangerous ground and more apt to go backward than forward in the line of progress. ---------- Mr. Campbell and Mr. Goodyear spent yesterday at the Big Spring fishing for trout. At last report they had not finished counting the fish so we cannot give the exact number caught. ---------- Belinda Archiquette sent a club of fifteen subscribers for our little paper this week. If the rest of our boys and girls in the country Would do well, how our list would grow! ---------- Misses Fisher and Phillips spent Sunday at Mr. Lions, out near the mountains. They brought back a quantity of lovely Arbutus which they distributed around among their friends. Miss Phillips was kind enough to give the Man-on-the-band-stand a bunch, which pleased him all over. "My! But that does smell `mountainy' and good," he was heard to exclaim. ---------- A very interesting letter from Eliza Bell, was received this week. She speaks of her work at Nuyarka Mission, Indian Territory, and tells other news of our returned Creek boys and girls. The letter is too long for the HELPER, but will be printed in full in the May Red Man. ================================================ (Continued from First Page.) After a great deal of trouble and many angry words and loss of valuable time, the Indian drove away. Then it came the Carlisle boy's turn to load his wagon. He spoke to the Receiving Clerk in Plain English and told him what kind of goods he wanted to haul. "Were you standing over there when I was trying to make that Indian understand?" asked the clerk not yet over his excitement. "Yes, sir." "Did you hear all those angry words that the Indian said to me?" "Yes, sir." "Did you understand what I was trying to tell him?" "Yes, sir. I understood it all." "And you did not come forward, and help us when it could have been so easy for you to have made the matter plain!" "No, sir." "Why didn't you?" The boy made no reply. He could not say anything for he know that he had done a very mean thing. He had a chance to do a kind act both for the Indian and the white man, but because the Indian did not happen to be his relation, he thought, 'Let `em fight it out. I don't care.'" The Receiving Clerk wished to teach that boy a lesson and so sent him away without any goods to haul. So you see, my children, the boy lost $25 by not doing a kind act when he had the chance and when it was his duty to do it. It never pays to be unkind. If we do not lost money by it we lose a good name. ----------- Changed her mind. ---------- We receive a great many business letters every week and nearly every one has some good encouraging word about our little paper. The Man-on-the-band-stand is very much obliged to his friends for these kind words. The following is from a little girl away down in Maine, and speaks for itself: "I like the INDIAN HELPER and I should like to take it another year but have not got money enough to pay for it but as i can't take it a another year please stop it. From, _______, _______, ______. I have changed my my mind I will take it another year. _______, _______, ______." People who never have any time are the people who do the least. -Lichtenberg. A Note-Carrier -------- "Take care, there! What's that you are doing?" The speaker was the man-on-the-band-stand and the one he spoke to was a boy going along the balcony of the school-rooms. When he heard the voice he looked around to see who was speaking. "What are you doing, I asked," the old man said in sharp tones. "Nothing!" replied the frightened boy. "What is that in your hand?" "A note, sir!" "Who gave it to you?" "My teacher, sir." "Did she write it for you?" "No, sir! She told me to give it to Miss Fisher." "Then what right have you to read it?" "I just wanted to see what my teacher said in the note." "You are a dishonest boy, and a dangerous one to have around. No one but a sneak would read a note that belongs to some one else. No, matter, if nobody sees you, don't be guilty of doing such a mean thing again." The boy promised that he would not, and passed along to the book-room. --------- Enigma. I am made of eight letters. My 6, 7, 2, is what water turns to in freezing weather. My 3, 6, 4, 8, 3, is what a large stream of water is called. My 7, 1, 5, 6, 3, is a part of our school that the Man-on-the-band-stand loves to hear sing. My whole is something that Miss Sparhawk lost this week but found again! ANSWER TO LAST WEEKS ENIGMA: On Bucks County farms. ================================== 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. ------------------------------ At the Carlisle Indian School is published monthly an eight-page quarto of standard size, called THE RED MAN, the mechanical part of which is done entirely by Indian boys. This paper is valuable as a summary of information on Indian matters and contains writings by Indian pupils and local incidents of the school. Terms: Fifty cents a year, in advance. SAMPLE COPIES SENT FREE. Address, THE RED MAN, Carlisle, PA. For 1, 2 and 3 subscribers for THE RED MAN we give the same premiums offered in Standing Offer for the HELPER. ==================================================== Transcribed from the newspaper collections of USMHI, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA. For more info see http://www.carlisleindianschool.org. - Barbara Landis --------- "RE: John Rustywire: She was from Shiprock" --------- Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2001 17:33:56 -0000 From: "John Rustywire" Subj: She was from Shiprock Mailing List: RezLife She was from Shiprock Sitting at work and listening to the radio and it reminds me of something, a story about this one boy and his girl. She was from Shiprock, her mother worked at the hospital there and they lived not too far form the hospital. It was during a time of many changes and she was going to go to school up North to a small place in Utah to live with a foster family. Her boyfriend was from somewhere near Burnham, not too far from the old school there, just to the East and he was going to boarding school, they were both in high school. It was during a summer sing, the second night near Teec Nos Pos that they met. He had gone to visit a cousin who said let's go over there and get something to eat. He was sitting on the hood of a truck when a young Navajo girl came up to him. She was dressed in red velvet, her shirt and skirt were soft, and she had on an old time concho, with a coral bead necklace. She was wrapped in a Pendelton blanket with fringes. She walked up to him and touched him with her fringes and that was all it took. He had to go out into the clearing and they danced in the way of the their people. Her hair was tied up in a bun with white yarn tied to hold it in place. She grabbed his arm and shirt and they danced. The singers were good that night, the stars were bright in the night sky and the smell of cedar smoke was thick in the air. The sound of the drum gave them rhythm and they danced well together. She was shy and did not say much. She was from the Towering House People and he was from the Coyote Pass People and they made a good match. She took him to a small rise and they talked until dawn. She was from there originally she said, and pointed to a place to the South, the base of a ridge she called home. She stayed with her mother in Shiprock and would be leaving to school in the Fall. It was their first night of a long summer. He lived way out on the flat and they would get together when they chanced to see each other. It seemed when anyone around the community needed a driver to take someone to the hospital he would be there. He got to know this quiet shy girl and they talked about where they wanted to go, the places they would visit and what they wanted to be. Her eyes sparkled so, dark and the seemed to smile on their own. He knew her the way she walked, and the laughter of her voice. They had no money, but they had time and her mother an old truck. They spent a summer day going to the Navajo Car wash by Little Water; it was a well with a pipe coming out of ground where people could fill their water barrels. They would park underneath and let the water fall all the truck and them, washing it and enjoying the feel of it. There was Sing near Newcomb and they met each other there, and helped out with the getting ready of it. He went up on the mountain and she went with him, and she chopped wood along beside him and they loaded it up. The smell of cedar was thick on them, and they said it was a sweet smell. She slept on the way back on the seat next to him. Her skin was brown and smooth. Her eyes closed looked delicate and her cheekbones were high. What a sight she made her face dirty just like his and yet her hair was sticking out here and there and yet she looked good laying there. They rode on down the mountain and the place was made ready. Cleaning themselves up they saw the horse riders coming and a group met them and brought the yarn back to the second night. It was a warm evening, and the shade was full of people from all around. Cars and trucks were parked here and there and people gathered and the singing began. Her family was there, her grandmother and mother and they worked to feed all who came. As the night went on, the hogan where the sing was being done was busy; a medicineman had his helpers moved about. Outside the singers began to sing the songs of restoration, of life and of traveling by horse. A little ways off, not too far from here were red rock ledges surround a small reservoir and as the night wore on, she brought him to an overhang and they talked about the things of summer. A blanket was spread out and they stretched out, and she layed her head against his chest and they looked at the stars=85 "Where to you think we will be someday, maybe when we are old? Will we still be here?" she said. "We will always be here, no matter where we go, don't you know that?" "Ah, you're just saying that, you liar," she said teasingly. "No, really, this is our spot and this time is ours, no one can take it." Where do you think we will go from here=85I am leaving tomorrow you know. I know I won't be going back to Ignacio dorm till next week. It was quiet for a long time, they layed there and the stars were shining way up there, so bright, a million of them. You know when the Holy People were putting the stars on a rug to arrange them and that Maii (Coyote) came along and grabbed a corner of it with his teeth and threw those stars all over the place, to where they all are right now. I know where there happened. She looked at him and said, "Eeyohcheed, (You Liar), Where then?" Just over there, he pointed to the East across the reservoir with his lips without moving his head. "Haahdi'? (Where?) Just over there by those old ruins", he said. She poked him with her elbow and she said, "You're no good", and they laughed. There was a time when she layer there next to him, her eyes just a few inches from his and they were so clear and bright. They were not like any he had seen anywhere before. They didn't talk, not a word was said, and she just looked at him for the longest time. Her hair as a black as the night, long and dark. She smelled like cedar wood and she was something so real, and yet so unknown to him he didn't what to say. He held her, and felt the strength in her back, as she layer on his arm. He kissed her nice and slow and they held each other for the longest time. It was the last time he saw her, she went away and never came back his way. It was this song that way on the radio when they washed the truck, and it reminded me of that story, that boy and his girl from a time, a night full of stars, watching the night go by. ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> For Rezlife egroups http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rezlife --------- "RE: Poem: Heresy" --------- Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2001 12:44:00 -0600 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: New Poem - Heresy Heresy (From the Greek: Choice, Adherence to a religious opinion contrary to Church dogma) I worship one Creator, There is only one, Creator has made everything, We are Creator's children. Creator speaks to me in the wind, From the grasses and trees, From the bones of the earth, In the laughter of children. Creator speaks to me, In earth and sky, In the voices of my elders, In the voices of medicines, And dreams. My prayers rise, In the smokes, Of Cedar, Tobacco and Sage, Carried to Creator, on the four winds. I will wear Creator's eagle feather, In my hair or on, My cowboy hat or, My glengarry if I wish, Or Egret or Hawk, As is proper for, The time and place. I do not presume, To speak for Creator, Or understand, Many things, That I feel in my heart, Or see or hear. But I will speak, To Creator, Myself. Others may do as they wish. John Berry, Oklahoma, 2001 --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date : Tue, 01 May 2001 06:25:21 -1000 From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of May 13-19 MEI (May) (Ikiiki) 13 Never close your mind to possibilities. 14 The fruits of the land sustain me. 15 The sun bathes me in its perfect warmth. 16 All needs draw upon the Source of mana within. 17 A lei of blessings I weave for you. 18 Come to me in the first light of dawning, when all things are begun anew. 19 The setting sun flashes briefly green upon the surface of the ocean. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: Oglala Lakota College Emerging as Education Leader" --------- Date: Sat, 05 May 2001 16:56:31 From: KOLA Subj: KOLANews - Oglala Lakota College emerging as education leader <+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+> [from JH. Thanks!] Rapid City Journal: Opinions Column http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/display/inn_opinion/opin02.txt May 5, 2001 Oglala Lakota College emerging as education leader By Don Trent Jacobs, head of Teacher Preparation programs at Oglala Lakota College at Kyle. KYLE - Oglala Lakota's education department's innovative programs are leading the way in South Dakota. It is the first in the state to have a "Professional Development School Model" where interns student teach for two years instead of 16 weeks. It is the first in South Dakota to offer dual degrees in special education and elementary education simultaneously. And it may be the first in