From gars@speakeasy.org Wed May 23 01:57:20 2001 Date: 23 May 2001 00:27:17 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.021 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 021 O o O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse May 26, 2001 O o O Ximopanolti tehuatzin, Pomo seeds ripen moon O inin Mexika tlahtolli Cheyenne moon when horses get fat ( 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; ndn-aim, KOLA Newslist, NativeNews, Triballaw, OurRedEarth, LPDC and First Nations mailing lists; UUCP email; http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/5172001 http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=051101&ID=s961946 http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=052101&ID=s966430 http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=env/5182001 http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/5212001 http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20010511/topstories/561128 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.'" "As yet I know of no species of plant, bird, or animal that were exterminated until the coming of the white man. For some years after the buffalo disappeared there still remained huge herds of antelope, but the hunter's work was no sooner done in the destruction of the buffalo than his attention was attracted toward the deer.... The white man considered natural animal life upon this continent, as "pests." Plants which the Indian found beneficial were also "pests." There is no word in the Lakota vocabulary with the English meaning of this word....[the Indian] was...kin to all living things and he gave to all creatures equal rights with himself. Everything of earth was loved and reverenced....[To the white man] the worth and right to live were his, thus he heartlessly destroyed. Forests were mowed down, the buffalo were exterminated, the beaver driven to extinction and his wonderfully contstructed dams dynamited, allowing flood waters to wreak further havoc, and the very birds of the air silenced. Great grassy plains that sweetened the air have been upturned; springs, streams , and lakes that lived no longer ago than my boyhood have dried, and a whole people harassed to degradation and death. The white man has become the symbol of extinction for all things natural to this continent. Between him and the animal there is no rapport and they have learned to flee from his approach, for they cannot live on the same ground. __ Standing Bear, Oglala +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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! After the report in last issue regarding Alaska Department of Corrections inmate care I received the following from an IHS nurse who provides this report from within the system: In reference to the Alaska DOC/inmate medical care. The IHS has always paid for medical care for inmates if they are from ANY recognized Native Tribe. I know....I worked for them. They even pay for psych court evals for native inmates. I did those as well and IHS was billed. Anyone NOT receiving medical care from ANY state facility who is a recognized Native or Alaska Native American needs to contact their tribe immediately and file a formal complaint through them to the Indian Health Service as well as the Bureau of Indian Affairs. -- - - - Dancers, it is powwow season. Please check your feathers before you enter the arena. Everyone, leave the ya-ya, gossip and bad attitudes at home. Give the circle a chance to heal before you poison it with your real and imagined grievances. Even if you think the arena director is a total idiot, don't create a scene arguing how to run the circle. The committee thought enough of that individual to place them in that position. Respect the committee's decision, or leave. If there really is a grievous breach of protocol, take it to an elder - not the public. 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 ---------- - Leo Chasing In Timber - Blackfeet Develop Wind Power - Sam Douglas - Rosebud Police Force - Apache Tribe wins under Scrutiny Trust Case Appeal - Indians want Norton - Natives Worried held in Contempt as Ministry Withholds Funds - Peltier's Lawyer Needs Help - Burnt Church Refuses to Negotiate - Peltier: Square One - Aboriginals pull out - Peltier on FBI Abuses of Federal Reform Effort - Native Prisoner - Crimes Against Humanity -- Eddie Hatcher found guilty - Western Shoshone: Newmont Campaigns of 1st-degree murder !!! - Lawsuit Filed to - Hatcher's Odyssey: Stop Bison Hazing -- Free the 3 activists - Changes mean Navajo still in Jail IHS Vote has No Hope - History: Carlisle Indian School - Camp Sovereignty: - John Rustywire: Stop the Hog Factory Soft Female Rain - Native Hawaiians Bill - Poem: For Pablo from 2001 moves to House Floor - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Power Line Approved to - Record Number of Sacred Mt. Graham Indians Graduating - Volunteers visit Browning - Umatilla Language to help Vets Struggles to Survive - Amazon Indians wary - Removal of the Cherokees of Looming Globalization to Oklahoma - Alaska Natives square off - Native America Calling over Arctic Drilling - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Leo Chasing In Timber" --------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 08:51:11 -0500 From: Carter Camp Subj: Elders Passing Mailing List: ndn-aim Ah-Ho My Relations, Leo Chasing In Timber, elder of the Sicangu Nation, Leader of Two Strike community and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Camp Crier/Speaker of the Red Nations Sundance Society, my Humble and Gentle Brother, and Brother to Chief Crowdog, has left us for the Spirit World. All Sundancers are called on to touch their Pipes when the Sun rises the next four days. We'll let you know when the family decides to bury him. Mitakue Oyasin, Carter Camp --------- "RE: Sam Douglas" --------- Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 08:54:21 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAM DOUGLAS" www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm First Nations leader fought for aboriginal rights WebPosted Tue May 22 07:00:31 2001 VANCOUVER - A former First Nations leader and advocate of aboriginal fishing rights was presumed drowned on Monday after his boat capsized on the Fraser River on Sunday. Sam Douglas, 60, was last seen clinging to the side of his flat-bottomed aluminum boat at about 8 a.m. Sunday. Crews from local First Nations bands combed the banks of the Fraser River on Monday looking for signs of him. Douglas was chief of the Cheam band and Sto:lo Nation near Chilliwack, B. C. from 1969 to 1992. He is credited with helping put health and family services in place for the Sto:lo Nation. In recent years, he was charged several times with fishing violations and tangled with the law as he fought for aboriginal rights on the Fraser. The Cheam band owns nearly 500 hectares of land on both sides of the river. Douglas is survived by his common-law wife Jody, three sons and a daughter. Written by CBC News Online staff. Copyright c. 2001 CBC News Online. --------- "RE: Apache Tribe wins Trust Case Appeal" --------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 07:13:07 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="APACHE TRUST APPEAL" Indianz.Com. In Print. http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/5172001-4 Apache Tribe wins trust case appeal MAY 17, 2001 Reversing a lower court decision, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that the federal government has a trust obligation to restore and rehabilitate dilapidated buildings it is seeking to hand over to the White Mountain Apache Tribe of Arizona. The case centers around Fort Apache, which was once a military post. Its use as a fort was ended in 1922, when the Department of Interior established a boarding school there for Indian children. In 1960, Congress transferred the 400-acre fort to the tribe, with the exception that the Interior could continue to control the land and school buildings. The Interior eventually offered to give these properties to the tribe. But the tribe wanted control only if the government would rehabilitate the buildings. Like a number of Indian schools throughout the country, the Interior admits that some buildings at Fort Apache are in shambles and some were destroyed because they were unsafe. So in 1999, the tribe sued the government for $14 million in damages, the amount estimated to rehabilitate the site. The Court of Federal Claims, however, dismissed the suit and said the government had no trust obligations involving Fort Apache. The appeals court yesterday found that holding incorrect, saying the government's continued control of parts of Fort Apache created a fiduciary duty to the tribe. Accordingly, the tribe has a right to obtain some form of monetary judgment for the breach of trust. The appeals court added, though, that it must be determined which portions were under "exclusive" control: only on those parts is there a duty owed the tribe. The Court of Federal Claims must now consider this position. The federal court must also consider if any buildings are still controlled by the United States. If so, the tribe's claim might be premature. The government may also try to seek dismissal of the case due to a statue of limitations. There are a small number of students enrolled at the boarding school. The school's status is under reviewed by the government. The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals last week sided with another tribe in a trust relationship case, setting aside a claims court decision. Get the Case: WHITE MOUNTAIN APACHE TRIBE v. US, No 00-5044 (Fed Cir. May 16, 2001) http://laws.lp.findlaw.com/fed/005044.html Copyright c. Indianz.Com 2000-2001. --------- "RE: Natives Worried as Ministry Withholds Funds" --------- Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:17:06 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="FUNDS WITHHELD" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Natives worried as ministry withholds funds Minister says move not linked to lack of support for Indian Act revamp OTTAWA (CP) - Funds to aboriginal groups are being withheld, Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault acknowledged Monday, but not because they won't support a key government initiative. Calling contrary suggestions "spin," Nault said millions of dollars in funding to groups that promote aboriginal causes are simply being reviewed. The national Assembly of First Nations along with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, Chiefs of Ontario, the Atlantic Policy Congress and others are refusing to take part in summer-long consultations on revamping the Indian Act. Instead, leaders have called for a more in-depth, parallel process led by aboriginals. Many are concerned because budgets for such political groups that are usually confirmed by April have still not been approved. "The chiefs asked me a number of months ago to try and put longer-term funding in place," Nault said of agreements that frequently last just one year. "I've asked (Indian Affairs) headquarters to bring all the information from the regions, have a look at it and make some decisions." The government is trying to better assess what each group does and how much money is required, Nault said. He hopes to release budget decisions "in the next number of days," he added. "We were late with our funding this year ... because of a number of very important files and priorities. And sometimes these things take time." Nault denied that the chiefs' attempted thwarting of his Indian Act initiative has anything to do with the funding review. But some who depend on the money are getting nervous. "It creates real uncertainty for staff and the work we're doing," said John Paul, executive director of the Atlantic Policy Congress. The congress represents 35 aboriginal governments and organizations, focusing on community-based policy approaches that reflect tribal values. Of about $700,000 expected this year in federal core funding, just $200, 000 has been received so far, Paul said. The largest aboriginal group, the Assembly of First Nations, received more than $19 million in federal funds last year to promote various causes. It is currently receiving about $1 million a month as it awaits confirmation of a budget some fear will be cut. Matthew Coon Come was elected national chief last July on a get-tough platform that helped him defeat Phil Fontaine and his cosier approach to government. The assembly budget dropped to about $7 million a year in the mid-1990s when relations between former assembly leader Ovide Mercredi and then- Indian Affairs Minister Ron Irwin turned frosty. Nault said he plans to meet with Coon Come on Thursday, in part to assess the chief's plans for a partnership that has yet to gel. "The previous national chief had a particular view of how things should work," Nault said. "There were a lot of joint initiatives. This national chief has a different vision. I'm trying to find out what it is and what resources are necessary." Copyright c. 1996-2001. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. --------- "RE: Burnt Church Refuses to Negotiate" --------- Date: Sun, 13 May 2001 16:21:50 EDT From: Marcel Guay Subj: Canada: Story Carried - "Burnt Church refuses to negotiate" <+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+> Canada: Story Carried - "Burnt Church refuses to negotiate" May 10 2001 This story just in from JJ Bear The Atlantic Policy Congress, First Nations Chief Communications Officer Story Carried - "Burnt Church refuses to negotiate" - May 10, 2001 Dear Editor; I was very distraught to actually read how a Canadian Press reporter decided to write a story about the Gaspeg Band of Mi'kmaq choice to sign an agreement with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans this week. As communications officer for the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nation Chiefs Secretariat, I was asked by a reporter to verify that the Gaspeg Band had signed the agreement, in which I did, and also provided statements to the affect that the current agreements had no affect on the treaty rights of the Mi'kmaq, Maliseet and Passamaquoddy Nations. One of the statements quoted is quite misinterpreted and misrepresented by the reporter in this story. The reporter stated that I said that the Gaspeg Mi'kmaq agreed to DFO rules in exchange for cash, but that I assure you is untrue. That was not even close to the statement I made regarding the agreement signed by the band. I had stated that the Band signed the agreement and that it was the bands choice to do so. I had also stated that the Band was not signing away any treaty rights in exchange for cash or that they were a sell-out. I had stated that the current template agreement, which had been introduced answered the concerns of the Atlantic Chiefs in regards to protecting Treaty Rights and that the Atlantic Chiefs had requested an additional clause that backs up Minister Dhaliwal's continuous statement that his department does not have the mandate to negotiate treaty rights. At this time, I wish to make it very clear that I did not make any statement to the affect that bands who sign the agreements are agreeing to DFO rules in exchange for cash, as the reporter stated in this story. In fact, the Atlantic Policy Congress supports the First Nations in any decisions they may make regarding fishing agreements since they are signing agreements based on meetings with their membership and they have received consensus from their community to sign. It is in no way detrimental to the other First Nations in the Region and it is not a "crack" in the unity of the region, despite what the reporter is attempting to insinuate in this story. In conclusion, I would like to state, as a former reporter myself, that reporters are obligated to report fair and objective stories and are not to take editorial liberties when quoting people, yet it seems that this Canadian Press reporter has. For more information contact JJ Bear at From: JJ Bear [mailto:jj.bear@apcfnc.ca] Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2001 12:11 PM <+>=<+> KOLA Information: http://users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm KOLA Petitions: http://kola-hq.hypermart.net KOLA Greeting Cards: http://users.skynet.be/kola/cards.htm --------- "RE: Aboriginals pull out of Federal Reform Effort" --------- Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:17:06 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="REFORM" May. 11, 2001. 01:01 AM Aboriginals pull out of federal reform effort NORTH VANCOUVER, B.C. (CP) - Canada's largest aboriginal group won't participate in the federal government's proposed overhaul of the Indian Act, saying chiefs will instead come up with their own ideas for change. "For us, we want our own process," Chief Matthew Coon Come, leader of the Assembly of First Nations, said yesterday. "We have stated our views but the minister is not listening. We will not go away." Chiefs from across Canada met all week to hammer out their response after Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault announced he wanted summer-long consultations aimed at changes. Nault said last week he wants to introduce a bill in the fall sitting of Parliament. But Coon Come said Nault's proposals are "about perpetuating the colonial mentality against First Nations." He said the assembly will launch a campaign to make cabinet ministers, senators, the international community and the Canadian public aware of the chiefs' deep concerns about Nault's proposed process. As well, he said, First Nations communities will be asked to boycott Nault's consultation talks. "We will strongly oppose this and any other attempt to impair or hinder our right of self-determination or our aboriginal and treaty rights," he said. The Indian Act has hardly changed since its introduction in 1876 when aboriginal people were called "wards of the state." Nault has said legislative changes would update First Nation voting systems, balance the interests of residents on and off reserves and fine-tune local administration. Nault said a 1-800 number and an Internet connection will be set up to allow consultation. In briefing documents handed out earlier this week, chiefs were warned that rejecting Nault's process and proposing their own could prompt the department to go around the Assembly of First Nations directly to aboriginal people. The proposal could be implemented even without their consent, the document warned. When asked if the assembly is worried Nault might do that, Coon Come responded: "Let him try." Copyright c. 1996-2001 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. --------- "RE: Crimes Against Humanity" --------- Date: 5/16/2001 10:26:48 PM Mountain Daylight Time From: senior-staff@nativenewsonline.org (Senior Staff) Subj: Crimes Against Humanity - The Monarchy: Above & Immune To The Rule Of Law Mailing List: NativeNews From: "Maqtewekpaqtism" ..thanks! The Monarchy: Above & Immune To The Rule Of Law By Jean H. Broeckx - jbroeckx@dowco.com ---------- I find it exceeding strange, that the group of people most responsible for the invasion and colonisation of the world's continental land masses, are being relieved of any and all responsibility for the actions they caused to be imposed upon Aboriginal people around the world. How can it be, that responsibility for the invasion crimes of Monarchs is now being blamed on people who were not there and could not (even if they were there) prevent the will of the Monarch from reaching fulfilment?. . How can it be, that compensatory repayment, for the Monarchy's crimes, now comes from the pockets of innocent people and into the pockets of another people, who are also innocent?. No one disputes, that the crimes of imperial conquest were committed or that those crimes cause untold harm to the original inhabitants of the invaded islands and continents, there is no doubt, those things are recorded historical realities. Why is it then, that the basic culprit behind all of that misery, annihilation and death is being defended against paying the price of their crimes?... The British Queen (the Monarch of today) is a direct descendant of the Monarch of the day in which the crimes (we speak of) were ordered and committed. At least part, if not all, of the British Monarchy's fortunes were built upon and grew out of the profits from the Crown's conquest of foreign occupied nations. Therefore; the Monarchy of today owes it's wealth to it's predecessor's aggressive invasion of other nations, and so their fortunes should not be beyond the grasp of today's surviving Aboriginal. Why is that' reality not being taken into account?... Of the people living in Canada today, maybe a handful can trace their roots to the original invasion of North America by the Monarchy of Europe. Yet! all of these Canadians, (approximately 30'000'000) who are not of Aboriginal blood or partial Aboriginal blood stand convicted of blood guilt. And are being forced (on the bases of that flawed conviction) to pay the full price for the crimes inflicted upon Aboriginal people by foreign Imperial rulers. How can the most innocent party to the original crime, be held more responsible for it, than the very descendants of those who committed the crime and still enjoy the profits of it?.. The people of today's Canada do not mind assisting in the mitigation of the problems faced by the Aboriginal and partial Aboriginal peoples, as a result of the ancient imperial invasion. However, they do not appreciate (and will not long tolerate) being singled out and charged with being the chief responsible party, while the relatives of the actual culprits go on enjoying the perks and profits of the original crime. To me, the injustice of being falsely put to blame and convicted of a crime one has not committed is in itself, a crime against humanity. But, to have ones elected government go so far as to offer a plea of guilty in behalf the innocent party and a plea of innocent in behalf of the guilty party, is an admittance of disloyalty, that cannot be ignored. Is it any wonder or surprise, that governing political parties refer to the jurisdictions of power as "The Crown" ?... It is my opinion, and that opinion is born out in by history, that just as today's organised lords of crime are able to launder their ill gotten gains and have those washed fortunes appear lily white, so too has the world's imperial families. In fact, the Imperial families may well be among the most notorious abusers of humanity and justice, that have ever walked the face of the earth. Think about it, they not only wrote the laws, they were the law and in Canada's case, they still are the law, that (in my view) is why the Crown is held to be innocent, while ordinary Canadians are held to be guilty of imperial crimes against Aboriginal societies and humanity in general. The Aboriginal community should consider the above and recognise the fact, that it is not the modern people of Canada who are their enemy, it the Crown (both old and new). Worry not (my Aboriginal friends) about ordinary people, for they have neither the money or power to harm you or destroy your culture, they have never had such power. Worry long and hard about those who sit in high places, with the power to dictate their own terms, for they are the only ones who are empowered and who will impose, that will, upon all who are below their station, Aboriginal and National alike. We face a common enemy, we must realise that' and begin to work together, so that we might correct the injustices, undemocratic practices and dominance of the Crown. The Crown wins, so long as it can pit us against each other, distracting us from the reality of our deception. Mr. Jean H. Broeckx #6 46003 Mellard Ave. Chilliwack, B.C. V2P-2Y5 (604) 795-5004 jbroeckx@dowco.com ===== List info at: http://nativenewsonline.org/natnews.htm --------- "RE: Western Shoshone: Newmont Campaigns" --------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 11:52:34 +0200 From: Soenke Zehle Subj: Newmont Campaigns (Western Shoshone) Mailing List: Triballaw via www.moles.org (project underground & indigenous environmental network) DIARY: Open Letter to Newmont Management, Board of Directors and Shareholders Ronald C. Cambre, Chairman Newmont Mining Corporation 1700 Lincoln Street Denver, Colorado 80203 Dear Mr. Cambre [former CEO], other Members of the Newmont Board of Directors and shareholders, We send you greetings from Newe Sogobia, our traditional homelands in what you call Nevada. This is what we call our lands, it translates to "the people's earth mother." It says much about how we feel about our home; it is indeed our mother, the breast we feed from. We are writing you out of concern for Newe Sogobia and the waters that flow through her. Like the blood in your veins, the water flows through this land and gives life to all. Without this water there would be no life here. We drink it, we bathe in it, we heal with it, we pray with it. Your mines on our land are removing much of this water, water that has been here perhaps longer than we have, old water , very old water. Recent studies published by the Bureau of Land Management have shown the possibility of waters in the Rock Creek and Antelope Creek drainages being reduced or depleted as a result of the water pumping at your mines along the Carlin Trend. In these areas are springs and waters our people have used since the Creator put us here. We practice our culture and our religion in these places. For many years Lander County attempted to destroy these places by constructing a recreational reservoir. The Shoshone people spoke out to protect this place, and finally the plan for the reservoir was dropped. What we have saved from being buried by water may now have the water sucked from beneath. For many years now various Western Shoshone representatives have asked the Bureau of Land Management to protect the culturally significant places around Rock Creek and the Tosawihi Quarries. We continue to ask that permanent protection be provided to these places. They are necessary for our cultural survival. We have a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the United States, signed in 1863 at Ruby Valley. Within this Treaty we agreed to share our lands with you newcomers. We agreed to allow mining on our lands. We have lived up to our side in the Treaty, yet today the United States and the people we agreed to share our land with do not seem willing to share the land with us. The wealth extracted from our lands has allowed you to expand your mines around the world. We are not asking you to cease mining. We recognize that you bring wealth and jobs to the communities in northern Nevada, we recognize that some our people have good jobs at your mines. But we are asking that you act now to protect our sacred places. We do not want promises to replace the water that might be lost, we do not want promises to protect other places in lieu of the springs and waters that dry up. Our experience with long term promises by the government and others leads us not to trust such promises. We want to see the springs and the creeks run as they always have without human interference. We would like you to take preventative action now to return water to the aquifer and limit the water table drawdown created by your mines. Our people have been here for thousands of years Mr Cambre, and we intend to be here for thousands of more years. But our future survival as a distinct people depends upon our ability to continue our traditional cultural practices. And these practices depend on the preservations of our springs and lands. Our health, our mothers health, and all the plants and animals health depends on pure water flowing naturally. You have enormous responsibility and power in your hands and we ask that you use it to protect our special places. Thank you. Sincerely, Carrie Dann citizen, Western Shoshone Nation member, Western Shoshone National Council director, Western Shoshone Defense Project ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ WHAT YOU CAN DO: Write to the Newmonster and demand they respect communities Write to Newmont's new Chief Executive Officer, Wayne Murdy. Tell him to meet the demands of the communities affected by Newmont's mines since last year when indigenous representatives from the Philippines, Peru and Indonesia attended the company's annual meeting, Newmont has not even written back to respond to them. But they can't ignore all of us! Write to them and demand that Newmont: 1/ Stop expansion of the Yanacocha mine in northern Peru 2/ Stop dumping mine waste in the oceans off Indonesia 3/ Withdraw all applications for mining in the Philippines 4/ Prevent its water pumping practices from affecting the springs and waters identified as culturally important to the Western Shoshone. Send your letter to: Wayne Murdy Newmont Corporation 1700 Lincoln Street Denver, CO 80203 USA NEWMONT CHALLENGED BY MINE-AFFECTED COMMUNITIES, PROTESTORS & FINANCIAL PRESS Shareholders arriving at the swank Inverness Hotel, outside Denver, on May 3rd were greeted by protestors holding signs denouncing "Newmonster" a new name for one of Colorado's largest corporate citizens. Organizers of the "Newmont Shareholder Welcoming Committee" said they were trying to expose problems with this global gold mining company that has controversial operations from the USA to Uzbekistan. "Newmont is trying to hoodwink its shareholders by saying everything is OK when the truth is they are under siege for their operations in Peru, Indonesia, California and Nevada," said Lwazi Kubukeli, Program Coordinator at Project Underground. "We are here to let investors know first hand that many Indonesians, including the Environment Minister, are questioning Newmont's practice of dumping its waste in the ocean; that Peruvian campesinos from around the Yanacocha mine are protesting it to the World Bank; that Western Shoshone people in Nevada want the company to respect their sacred sites and so on. Aside from a lack of profits, Newmont is in big trouble," said Kubukeli. Newmont's financial results for the last quarter showed a net operating loss of US$5.5 million and an almost US$20 million loss in the 2000 business year. While journalists focused on these poor returns to investors, it was the company's triple bottomline social and environmental, as well -- that most speakers wanted to address. Sayokla Kindness, an organizer with the Indigenous Mining Campaign Project, a project of the US-based Indigenous Environmental Network, read a statement from a Western Shoshone leader and Director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project, Carrie Dann. In Carrie Dann demands that Newmont stop sucking the water from various springs and pools that constitute sacred sites to her people but are threatened by mining. "The Western Shoshone and these representatives of the Rondas Campesinos from Cajamarca, who have flown to Denver from Peru, are only asking that Newmont respect their rights as indigenous peoples. In Nevada they want them to protect sacred sites. In Peru, to stop destroying their land, water and culture. Is that too much to ask?" said Kindness. "If this company had any business sense they would respect the communities from whom they take their profit and meet with them to discuss the problems they cause. But we brought these campesinos to the annual meeting last year and Newmont has not given them the courtesy of a response to their demands. The longer management stick their heads in the sand, the more the risks will grow for investors in Newmont." ______________________________________________ Triballaw mailing list Triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu http://thecity.sfsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/triballaw --------- "RE: Lawsuit Filed to Stop Bison Hazing" --------- Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 07:58:25 -0400 From: Pat Morris Subj: Lawsuit Filed To Stop Bison Hazing Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=051101&ID=s961946 Lawsuit says bison hazing a threat to habitat Environmental groups say chasing bison back to Yellowstone harmful to eagles, swans Associated Press HELENA -- A trio of environmental groups filed suit in U.S. District Court on Thursday seeking an injunction to stop the hazing of bison that meander from Yellowstone National Park into the Horse Butte Peninsula near West Yellowstone. The groups argue the state of Montana and the federal government are illegally harming bald eagles, trumpeter swans and their habitat in trying to keep bison inside park borders, all in violation of several federal environmental laws. They seek an injunction prohibiting the hazing and capture of wild bison that move into Horse Butte, on the Gallatin National Forest. Defendants include the Montana Department of Livestock, the U.S. forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. The plaintiffs are Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers; Buffalo Field Campaign; and the Ecology Center Inc. Livestock Department Director Marc Bridges said he had not seen the suit and would not comment. His agency has taken the lead in implementing the state-federal bison management plan on grounds the wandering animals present a threat to the Montana cattle industry. The concern centers on brucellosis, a contagious disease widespread in Yellowstone's bison and elk herds. It causes cattle to abort and can result in undulant fever in humans. Among other things, the environmental groups contend that: +The state and federal agencies have not assessed the cumulative impact of hazing bison on habitat occupied by threatened bald eagles and sensitive trumpeter swans. +The state and federal agencies have repeatedly and illegally used helicopters and all-terrain vehicles to haze bison in and near protected bald eagle closure areas. "We have repeatedly warned the Montana Department of Livestock and the Gallatin National Forest that they are illegally impacting threatened bald eagles and their habitat," said Darrell Geist of Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers. "There is not one biological opinion, environmental analysis, or permit that they are in compliance with, and they've misrepresented themselves in court." In late April, the livestock agency said almost 900 bison had been hazed back into the park from the West Yellowstone area during the relatively mild winter. That count, however, likely includes numerous duplicates because bison rarely stay in the park when they are hazed back, and often have to be pushed back numerous times. During the past winter, 14 animals were trapped and tested for brucellosis, and five of them were slaughtered after testing positive. The plaintiffs said in a statement that since 1984 there have been 3,182 bison either shot or shipped to slaughter by the state and federal governments. And over the next 15 years, the defendants plan to spend up to $45 million to haze, capture, test, vaccinate and slaughter wild bison that migrate into Montana. <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> http://wolfseeker.com http://www.geocities.com/wlfskr http://forums.delphi.com/Wolfseeker <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> "On the ragged edge of the world I'll roam. And the home of the Wolf Will be my home." Robert Service <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> <> 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: Changes mean Navajo IHS Vote has No Hope" --------- Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:17:06 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IHS NO HOPE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Changes mean IHS vote `has no hope' By Sasheen Hollow Horn The Navajo Times WINDOW ROCK (May 10, 2001) - The Navajo Nation Council's Intergovernmental Relations Committee on May 3 voted to recommend several amendments that will make it easier for referendum measures to get on the ballot and pass. The only catch? If the committee has its way, the changes will not go into effect until after the June 19 referendum on whether the tribe should contract health care services from Navajo Area Indian Health Service - a move that some say will make next month's vote a waste of effort and money. The proposed referendum amendments will be considered by the Navajo Nation Council in a special session on May 14 - where anything can happen. The referendum amendments were the most divisive of five resolutions discussed by the IGRC - members of whom weren't quite sure in what capacity they were acting for awhile in the May 3rd meeting. The committee's duties are normally restricted to oversight of the legislative branch, but with the council's sanctions against the Navajo Board of Election Supervisors and the Navajo Election Administration in August, the election board's powers were delegated to the IGRC. Questions about conflict of interest were raised when some of the nine delegates present asked if they were discussing the resolutions as lawmakers or law enforcers, as the board is responsible for administering, implementing and enforcing election laws. The matter seemed to be settled when resolution sponsor Ervin Keeswood (Hogback) said that the council delegated the duties of both to the committee and members could choose not to participate. `Undemocratic,' `unfair' The amendments to the referendum process came about because of criticism that it is "undemocratic" and "inherently unfair," Chief Legislative Counsel Steve Boos said. As the laws stand now, 30 percent of all registered voters must sign a petition to get a referendum measure on the ballot and over 50 percent of all registered voters must participate in the election - a majority of whom must approve the measure for it to pass. The laws also require that the language of the referendum must be "strictly legislative" in nature - written as it would appear in the election code - or risk being read as the voters' opinion and not as binding law. As originally read into the record, the resolution would have recommended reducing of the number of petition signatures from 30 percent to 10 percent of all registered voters. It also recommended requiring the approval of a majority of voters voting in the election - rather than a majority of all registered voters - to pass a referendum, and making voter-approved referenda into laws that can only be changed through another referendum. Keeswood said that the point is to make tribal government more accessible to ordinary Navajo citizens through the referendum process. Some members worried that the amendments would make it easy for small groups that do not represent a majority of voters to get laws passed, saying that if 1,000 people voted in a referendum, only 501 must vote yes for the measure to become law. "If we make it so easy, we'll have anti-government, anti-council, anti- salary groups ... this makes it easier for them to get a lot of items on the referendum," said Freddie Howard (Birdsprings/Tolani Lake). Boos said that the resolution, based on the latest voter registration numbers at the moment, would require that 9,000, rather than 27,000, people sign the petition for a referendum issue to get on the ballot - which is still a lot. "We're not going to have frivolous items because it's an awful lot of work," he said. Referendums impossible to pass Boos asked if it was fair that Dine' Bi Healthcare Referendum Committee, the group that lobbied to get the IHS contracting issue on the ballot, collected 17,000 signatures and still fell short of getting the issue on the ballot. In addition, recent trends show that Navajo presidential elections, let alone referendum elections, failed to elicit the required participation of over half of the 90,000 registered voters - making referendums impossible to pass, Keeswood said. In the 1994 referendum on gaming, 47 percent of the 110,000 registered voters participated. In 1997, 38 percent of the 87,000 registered voters cast votes in a similar referendum. Last year, 21,000 people voted for and 9,000 voted against reducing the size of the council, he said. Annie Descheny (Breadsprings/Church Rock) asked if there were better ways to go about amending the process with the IHS referendum "just around the corner," and asked if lawsuits might be brought if the council hurried its decision. Boos said that many lawsuits are filed against the tribe, some of which are valid and some not, and if the legislative language was adopted (as it was), he couldn't think of any basis for a lawsuit to prevent the referendum from going into effect. That doesn't mean no one will sue, it just means that the suit won't be successful in the long run, he said. Keeswood said that he wanted to make it clear that this resolution doesn't pertain just to the IHS issue, but rather "this is how the Navajo government is going to do business" from now on. Changes delayed to June 20 However, the resolution was passed with two amendments introduced by George Tolth (Prewitt/Baca/Casamero Lake), seconded by Descheny and approved by a majority of the committee. The first amendment left the required number of petition signatures at 30 percent. Lawrence Morgan (Iyanbito/Pinedale) argued that the committee shouldn't "tangle" with the number because people already have another option if they don't succeed with petitions. "Case in point is the IHS referendum," he said. "When they couldn't collect enough signatures on the petition, they turned to the council." The second amendment delayed the date the resolution would go into effect to June 20, despite Boos' warning that the move would mean that the IHS referendum has no hope of passing because the number of voters required is "almost unprecedented" in Navajo election history. "You never know," Tolth replied. "People might come out and start voting." An informal poll conducted by the Navajo Times showed that a majority of the committee members present supported the contracting of IHS health care services - five stated plainly that they were in favor, two were opposed and two didn't comment. Many supporters of IHS contracting worry that, if the issue goes to the voters, it will fail. Other resolutions A second resolution recommended the council amend specific sections of the Navajo Nation Election Code so that it is consistent with two resolutions earlier approved by the council. The previously approved resolutions make the Office of Hearings and Appeals and not NBOES responsible for hearing and deciding all election disputes, and allow vacant elected positions to be filled by appointment rather than special election. A third resolution approved the cancellation of 7,585 registered voters who did not vote in either the 1998 Navajo Nation residential/council delegate election and the 2000 chapter elections. A fourth resolution approved the voter registration total after the purging process, dropping the official number of Navajo voters from 93,602 on January 23 to 87,158 as of May 1. The last resolution recommended the Budget & Finance Committee appropriate $129,843 from the undesignated/unreserved funds to the Navajo Election Administration. However, the B&F Committee decreased the amount to $120,174 on Tuesday. The council ordered NEA to identify and make funding available for the IHS referendum election expenses. Acting Executive Director Rose Graham said that the office does not have sufficient funds to conduct the election, that's why the request for supplemental funding was made. The money will compensate temporary employees and pay for supplies, public education, and distribution of ballot boxes and postage, among other things. The resolutions amending referendum provisions and appropriating money for the IHS referendum will be on the agenda of the council's May 14 special session. Copyright c. 1999-2001 Navajo Times/Navajo Nation --------- "RE: Camp Sovereignty: Stop the Hog Factory" --------- Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 11:18:41 -0400 From: Senior Staff Subj: CAMP SOVEREIGNTY Mailing List: ndn-aim From: "Carter Camp" Spread the word where you can. Thanks, Carter !!!! CAMP SOVEREIGNTY !!!! STOP THE HOG FACTORY * STAND UP FOR SOVEREIGNTY * STAND UP FOR YOUR OYATE !!!! TO ALL PEOPLE WHO HONOR UNCI MAKA: A Federal Judge and Bell Farms Inc. have violated the Sovereignty and homelands of the Sicangu Nation. Did you know that Bell Farms is demanding over half of the Rosebud Sioux Tribes, Mni Wiconi water- for free? They demand, and the Judge is backing them, that the RST allow them to operate completely without regulation or control as they pollute the water and air of our lands. Did you know fraud by the BIA allowed the pig factory to be built without the Environmental Impact Statement required by law? Did you know that Bell Farms lied when they said their digester would clean the water? It does not work! The Tribe has tested the water; it is as filthy coming out, as it is going into their 'digester' right out of their filthy barns. Yet the Judge refused to credit the Tribes evidence and restrained the Tribe from their duties. These rulings violate every Treaty and Governmental right this Nation has left! Did you know that the BIA 'expert' says the area is not 'culturally significant'? But they ignored the true words of our Elders and respected Spiritual leaders, who have many reasons why this land IS 'culturally significant' to the people. The RST and the people clearly told Bell Farms and the Judge of the sacred nature of some of the lands they were desecrating. Their words fell on deaf ears. Now our lands stand unprotected before a greedy attack by Bell Farms and the Federal Court. Did you know that the poisonous wastes of each barn full of pigs will be flushed with hundreds of gallons of Mni Wiconi water per HOUR? Did you know they plan to use Thirty-three Giant Waste Lagoons, each one covering FIFTY-ACRES apiece with untreated pig wastes? Bell farms claims their phony 'contract' gives them millions of gallons of FREE Lakota water per year. Water is gold in our land, and just like the gold in the Paha Sapa the wasicu has smelled the riches of the Sicangu and has come to take it away. Only if we stand together can we STOP BELL FARMS AND PROTECT SICANGU HOMELANDS!!! Last week the Judge committed an outrage against the Tribe and the Oyate, which can only be stopped by concerned citizens of this land- WE MUST STAND UP!!! NOW! Beginning today a group of Indian people have established an encampment within sight of the pig factory. The four tipi we have erected to the west will serve as a notice to all that we care for our land and our people and we will not let them be violated! Bell Farms must go!!! We invite you to join us- from now until Saturday, determined people will be moving into CAMP SOVEREIGNTY! We invite all concerned people to join us now. Come help us prepare. We are on highway 44 west of White River past the hog factory; you will spot our four tipi standing facing east onto the invaders. We need your support to win- youth, come stand for the people! Veterans come lend your strength! Join our ceremonies and help in our decisions. Come to the encampment or contact; Rosalie Littlethunder, Russel Eaglebear, Alfred Boneshirt, Oleta Medansky, Eva Iyotte, Eric Nixon, Claudette Arcorn or Carter Camp - mailto:ccamp@gwtc. net our success will be determined by the people who come!!!! We need camping equipment and tools, food and gas money donations are accepted. Warriors - Cooks - Tokala all are welcome-. Also Environmentalists who respect the Earth And Cowboys who hate the pig factory. All will be welcomed-No Booze or drugs tolerated, take that to the pig factory. To the elders and Spiritual people we humbly request your prayers for our success. Grand opening: SUNDAY WE WILL FEED THE PEOPLE !!! ===== 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 Hawaiians Bill moves to House Floor" --------- Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 20:25:40 -0400 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: HAWAIIAN BILL http//www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Honolulu Advertiser: Native Hawaiians bill moves to House floor By Susan Roth Advertiser Washington Bureau May 17, 2001 - WASHINGTON - The Native Hawaiian recognition bill reintroduced in Congress this session passed its first test yesterday with easy approval by the House Resources Committee. It was a small but important victory for the bill's lead sponsor in the House, Hawai'i Democrat Neil Abercrombie. The unanimous committee action moves the bill to the House floor and sets the stage for possible early action. The bill passed the House last session, but hit a Republican roadblock in the Senate. At Abercrombie's request, the House Resources Committee agreed to amend the measure to make it identical to a version that has been introduced in the Senate, cutting out a section of instructions on how Hawaiians should organize their governing body. The measure would set up a federal process for Hawaiians to establish government-to-government relations with the United States, similar to that of American Indian nations. The new version forbids the Hawaiian government to conduct gaming, and does not authorize Hawaiian participation in programs or services provided by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, so as to prevent competition with American Indian nations for scarce federal money. The changes address questions raised in the Senate last year, Abercrombie told the committee. He said he "couldn't be more pleased," about the committee vote. Sens. Daniel Akaka and Dan Inouye, D-Hawai'i, reintroduced the measure in the Senate in January and are waiting to hear the Bush administration's views on it. http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2001/May/17/ln/ln25a.html ===== Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com --------- "RE: Power Line Approved to Sacred Mt. Graham" --------- Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 21:55:26 EDT From: kolahq@skynet.be Subj: Power line to Mt Graham approved by anti-sovereignty court To:>ShngSprt@aol.com <+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+> ONLINE PETITION AGAINST THE MT. GRAHAM TELESCOPES: ===Power line approved to sacred site MAY 17, 2001 A federal judge in Arizona on Tuesday approved construction of a power line to Mount Graham, consider sacred to a number of tribes in the Southwest. The judge said the power line is exempt from environmental and religious protection laws. The University of Arizona and the US Forest Service can now move forward with construction plans. Mount Graham has been the subject of numerous protests by tribes and environmentalists. It is the site of an observatory run by the school and is located in the Coronado National Forest. -- Judge OKs power line for Mount Graham Observatory By Associated Press, 5/16/2001 10:55 TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) Turning aside objections by environmentalists and Indian groups, a federal judge refused to block construction of a 23-mile power line to the university's Mount Graham Observatory. U.S. District Judge Alfredo Marquez ruled Tuesday in favor of the University of Arizona and the U.S. Forest Service. He found that the power line is covered by an exemption from environmental and cultural laws granted by Congress in 1988 that allowed construction of the three telescopes on the mountain near Safford. Members of the San Carlos Apache tribe, other American Indian groups and environmental activists have fought the project in eight other lawsuits, claiming it would harm the endangered Mount Graham red squirrel and the spruce forest of the Pinaleno Mountains while desecrating a mountain that is sacred to some Apaches. Marquez found that the groups failed to prove the power line was part of a second phase of construction that includes four more telescopes. That portion of the project will be subject to environmental, cultural and religious protection laws from which the first three telescopes were exempt. "We believe this validates the work of the university and the Forest Service, and we're very pleased that the court recognized that," said Buddy Powell, associate director of the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory, which oversees the Mount Graham telescopes. But Robin Silver, a spokesman for the Mount Graham Coalition opposing the project, said the university has been allowed to change the rules to fit its needs. "It's really nice when you own the umpires, meaning Congress," he said. === ONLINE PETITION AGAINST THE MT. GRAHAM TELESCOPES: --------- "RE: Volunteers visit Browning to help Vets" --------- Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 08:17:06 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="VETERANS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Friday, May 11, 2001 Volunteers visit Browning to help vets get benefits By JANE McFARLANE Tribune Hi-Line Bureau BROWNING -- A diminutive Indian man hesitantly enters the room of the Blackfeet Warrior Society, his eyes sweeping the cramped room as if for enemies. He's a Korean War veteran, a Marine who took a bullet through the lung during the battle for the 38th parallel, earning him a Purple Heart. He's clutching a small stack of papers, letters from the Veterans Administration dated 1998, denying his claim for disability benefits. Instead of enemies, the Cut Bank man found a group of volunteers called Forward Arrow, made up mostly of veterans from the Lummi Indian Reservation near Bellingham, Wash. The group has been in Browning since May 1, helping veterans and others apply for medical benefits they may not know they were entitled to or understand how to apply for. They leave today, but have taught others how to help folks wade through the maze of government red tape. After hearing the war vet's story, Dr. Tom Williams, a psychologist with a special interest in post-traumatic stress disorder, puts his face in his hands and weeps. "I was all pissed off even before I knew he was a Marine." After he leaves, Williams makes some calls to try to put right what he calls a "clear case of a serious error." Williams, a Marine himself who served two stints in Vietnam, takes his work with Forward Arrow to heart. The author or co-author of eight books on post traumatic stress disorder, he is on hand not only to help with paperwork, but also to help diagnose possible cases of PTSD. They are finding many on the reservation, he said. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition characterized by recurring and often disabling symptoms of anxiety and depression that affects some people who have experienced a traumatic event, such as combat, rape, natural disasters, car accidents, etc. Other symptoms include explosive, aggressive behavior, emotional numbing, guilt, intrusive thoughts and imagery, nightmares and other sleep disturbances. Often, people with PTSD think they are going crazy because they can't stop feeling the way they do. Because symptoms typically occur much later than the actual trauma, sufferers often don't associate their symptoms with the event. The may drink or use drugs to escape their feelings and help them sleep. Forward Arrow, which leaves Browning today also elicited help from Tribal Veteran Affairs Officer Keith Heavy Runner and resident Gary Grant, an Army vet. Grant's daughter, Elaine Grant, also helped. Paul Ridley, a Vietnam Army vet, and his wife, Karen, are two of the 13 volunteers who came to help process paperwork. Karen Ridley has worked with a domestic violence agency in Washington and specializes in processing applications and follow up work. The need on Montana Reservations is great, they say. They estimate there are 870 war veterans on the Blackfeet Reservation alone, and 5,000 veterans and family members on Montana's reservations who are not receiving the VA or Social Security benefits, disability or otherwise, to which they're entitled. "We have World War II veterans getting $200 a month in Social Security, but didn't know (about others) because they can't read and write," Karen Ridley said. Volunteers hadn't counted how many people they'd seen this trip, but while in Browning in October they interviewed more than 100 people and processed 54 claims, which take about six months to finalize. Wednesday, Forward Arrow volunteers were busy interviewing a Desert Storm vet, a Vietnam vet and a World War II vet, all at the same time. George Brown, an 81-year-old Blackfeet, fought with the Army in World War II in New Guinea. His family brought him to see if he could get help with home care. Although he does receive veteran's benefits, he lives alone and needs help, his stepdaughter Leila Sanchez said. She was astounded when Brown opened up and told Williams about fighting the Japanese. "He has never talked about it before, ever," she said. That's typical of victims of PTSD, Williams told her. Forward Arrow volunteer Sam Ell knows all too well the effects of combat and PTSD. Born on the Blackfeet Reservation, he fought in Vietnam from 1966 to 1968 and was decorated eight times for valor, but when he came home, things were different. "It was the typical Vietnam story when I came home to Browning. I was called a baby killer," Ell said. He left the reservation and wandered around the country from job to job. "I probably had 1,000 jobs in my life," he said. "I could always get one, but I couldn't keep it." He battled with the Veterans Administration for 17 years trying to get benefits, living in isolation thinking he was the only one experiencing the sleeplessness and depression associated with PTSD. That's when Paul Ridley found him. His process to gain VA benefits was the guinea pig case for the group, Ell said. Ell's connection to Browning is what eventually brought the group there. While attending Blackfeet Indian Days in July, he ran into an old friend, Gary Grant. Grant, also a veteran, had been diagnosed with diabetes in 1978 and had a kidney transplant. His Medicare ran out after his transplant; he's now on Medicaid and has some private insurance, dialysis and medication is taking its toll. With Forward Arrow's help, he has applied for VA compensation as well. Heavy Runner said he is saddened to see very few women come by for assistance. In many cases, veterans' wives and domestic violence victims also are eligible for benefits. Copyright c. 2001 Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Amazon Indians wary of Looming Globalization" --------- Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 08:17:06 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="AMAZON" http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=052101&ID=s966430 Ready for the world? Amazon Indians wary of looming globalization Michael Astor - Associated Press SAO GABRIEL DA CACHOEIRA, Brazil _ People still paddle to work in wooden canoes and women carry woven baskets strapped across their foreheads, like their ancestors thousands of years before. But telephone and Internet service are coming to the 40,000 Indians in this vast Amazon outback. A radar tower to monitor weather and planes already rises above the jungle. Will globalization be good or bad? Elsewhere in the Amazon, it has meant environmental devastation, misery and the shock of Western culture. But not everyone here thinks the global economy is automatically a bad thing. "If globalization means what's happening with mad cow and foot-and-mouth disease, we don't want it," says Braz de Oliveira Franca, the region's first indigenous candidate for mayor. "But Indians have become dependent on white culture, so we have to define a way of maintaining our culture in the globalized world." Except for the occasional TV satellite dish, that dependence on white culture hasn't advanced much beyond the clothing, steel utensils and Western medicines introduced by missionaries in the 1800s. But Indians in this Tennessee-sized reservation, some 2,200 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro, hope globalization's late arrival will allow them to avoid the mistakes of more modernized Amazon regions. TV sets came here a few years ago, powered by diesel-fueled generators. Then a phone company moved to install pay phones in the grass-roof community houses of villages with over 100 people. Indians can surf the Web now, thanks to the phone company's donation of 10 computers to the area school and a satellite link. Though just 120 people signed up, many are optimistic. Orlando Jose de Oliveira, president of the Rio Negro Indigenous People's Federation, is enthusiastic the Internet will provide valuable knowledge about the outside world. He's also wary it might have the same effect as TV. "When Indians started getting television, they stopped working and only worried about getting money for diesel fuel to run the generators so they could watch soap operas," says Oliveira, whose federation unites the 22 different ethnicities that inhabit the reservation. The encounter with globalization has been cushioned by an influx of doctors, anthropologists and aid workers. Doctors from Unlimited Health, a Brazilian group, have successfully trained Indians to deal with easily preventable diseases. Three days upriver by motorboat, Indians still go naked and hunt with blowguns. But native health workers use computers powered by solar panels and connected to the Internet by satellite to exchange e-mails with doctors back in hospitals. Sao Paulo's Institute for Society and the Environmental is working on sustainable development projects like fish farming to reverse damage from overfishing. It wants Indians to use traditional techniques to make handicrafts for a national chain of furniture stores. "I don't think this region has to go the way of others, because the nonprofit groups got here before the multinationals," said Marta Azevedo, an anthropologist from Sao Paulo. Sheer distance has held off the international logging companies who are tearing down the Amazon at a rate of about 1,200 soccer fields a day. With scant mineral resources, Sao Gabriel hasn't attracted the wildcat prospectors who roam the Amazon poisoning rivers with mercury to concentrate gold dust and corrupting Indians with promises of easy money, alcohol and prostitution. The area also was untouched by the dams and highways built with World Bank funding during a development drive in the 1970s and '80s in the Amazon. Many projects displaced Indians and brought in settlers who later were abandoned to their own devices, leaving ecological disaster, desperation and squalor in their wake. Admitting its past mistakes, the World Bank helped fund the reservation's demarcation -- marking its borders with signs warning visitors they are not welcome without permission from the federal government. Copyright c. 2001 Idaho Spokesman-Review. --------- "RE: Alaska Natives square off over Arctic Drilling" --------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 02:36:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pureau Subj: Alaska Natives square off over Arctic drilling Mailing List: ndn-aim Indianz.Com. In Print. http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=env/5182001 Alaska Natives square off over Arctic drilling MAY 18, 2001 The controversy over opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas development hit Indian Country in a big way on Thursday, as two Alaska Natives representing opposite sides of the battle squared off against each other on national radio. During a one-hour broadcast of Native America Calling, the two took turns accusing one another of cultural genocide and preventing each from exercising their rights, as Native peoples, to self-determination. The program highlighted the intense debate occurring nationally over drilling but also appeared to strike a chord among listeners and host Harlan McKosato, who promised a return to the hot topic. Representing Arctic Slope Regional Corp. was Tara Sweeney, who in February promoted drilling at a press conference along with Senator Frank Murkowski (R-Alaska.). The corporation, chartered under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) of 1971, has about 8,000 Inupiat Eskimo shareholders. "This is a matter of self-determination for the Inupiat people," said Sweeney. "Its a matter of providing safe healthy living conditions for our people and also providing our people with the opportunity to get an education to become productive members of our society." Arctic Slope has mineral rights to 92,000 acres of land within ANWR's 1. 5 million-acre coastal plain, where the Bush administration has proposed development. Drilling could bring a financial windfall to shareholders but also to the Inupiat village of Kaktovik, in the form of jobs and other benefits. The suggested positives have done little to sway the position of the Gwich'in Nation, who have opposed drilling for fear it will damage the caribou here on which they subsist. Faith Gemmill, representing the tribe's steering committee, characterized Arctic Slope's support for drilling as one based on greed. "It seems that [Arctic Slope's] position is that it is alright to sacrifice the Gwich'in way of life for their economic needs when clearly [Arctic Slope] does have other financial opportunities," said Gemmill. "They are one of the wealthiest tribes in America." For Sweeney and other Inupiat callers, however, the issue was more than monetary. Not only can development occur in an environmentally sound way, they argued it will bring "massive social benefits" such as education, fire services, and infrastructure to the north slope. "Its not only about the money, its what we do with that revenue," said Sweeney. The debate was also haunted by a number of historical and factual disputes. Sweeney flatly denied the existence of any Gwich'in villages in ANWR, claiming the Inupiat as the sole occupiers of the 19 million-acre refuge, Gemmill said there were two Gwich'in villages within ANWR's boundaries. US Fish and Wildlife, which manages ANWR, says the region is home to both peoples. Other callers suggested the Gwich'in were hypocritical to oppose development since they had agreed to exploration on their own lands. After Sweeney accused the Gwich'in of not seeking to protect the "conveniently sacred" caribou in the 1980s, Gemmill said development was considered only because it wouldn't affect the herd. Although the energy policy President Bush released yesterday calls for development in ANWR, exploration requires Congressional approval. The administration and supporters generally agree the votes do not currently exist to approve drilling. ===== 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: Blackfeet Develop Wind Power" --------- Date: Fri, 18 May 2001 15:23:03 -0000 From: gaia_2k@yahoo.com Subj: Blackfeet Develop Wind Power Mailing List: OurRedEarth Monday May 7, 7:34 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Bonneville Power Administration First Tribal Wind Farm Proposed on Blackfeet Reservation BABB, Mont., May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- A vision is taking shape for what could be the first wind farm on tribal land. A 36- to 66-megawatt wind power generation facility is proposed for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, Mont. If built, it could generate enough power for up to 22,000 homes. The Bonneville Power Administration will prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed site and will accept public comments through May 25. If approved, the facility will operate between 36 and 88 wind turbines on about 150 acres and could come on line in late 2002. "We are excited about the potential for wind resources," said BPA Acting Administrator Steve Wright. "Wind is becoming increasingly attractive economically, and it can be brought online with relatively short lead times. In the current energy crisis, we need low-cost resources that can produce electricity quickly." "This facility could be a model for other tribes," said Tom Osborn, BPA's project manager. "It shows how a tribe can work with an experienced wind developer to build a wind project on its land and provide substantial economic benefits to the community." Two public meetings about the project will be held May 10. One meeting will be at the Bureau of Indian Affairs main conference room in Browning, Mont., from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The other will be at the Cattle Baron Restaurant on U.S. 89 in Babb, Mont., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Blackfeet I, LLC, which will construct and operate the facility, will provide written information and maps of the proposed project. BPA will accept oral and written comments on the proposed scope of the EIS. Affected landowners, concerned citizens, special interest groups, local governments and any other interested parties are invited to comment. If unable to make the meetings, people can call BPA's toll-free comment line, 800-622-4519. SOURCE: Bonneville Power Administration ===== Thank you for your participation at Our Red Earth. --------- "RE: Rosebud Police Force under Scrutiny" --------- Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 01:08:38 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pureau Subj: Rosebud police force under scrutiny Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=law/5212001 Rosebud police force under scrutiny MAY 21, 2001 The police department of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe of South Dakota is listed as high-risk with the Bureau of Indian Affairs because it has failed to meet a number of federal requirements. Financial mismanagement, lack of leadership, and failure to run background checks on officers are just some of the problems facing the department. The force is also under scrutiny for an incident in which a man died after a brawl on a reservation home. Although the tribe's ambulance service showed up to the home but were sent away, there are conflicting reports of whether or not the police showed up. The BIA may take over the tribe's police force. ===== 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! --------- "RE: Indians want Norton Held in Contempt" --------- Date: Mon, 21 May 2001 07:46:00 -0500 From: John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate Subj: (FWD)Indian News 05-20-2001 ----- Forwarded by John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate on 05/21/2001 07:38 AM Indians want Norton held in contempt By ROBERT GEHRKE Associated Press 5/19/01 WASHINGTON -- American Indians who contend they were bilked of $10 billion in trust funds are asking a judge to stop the government from shredding documents relating to the case and to hold Interior Secretary Gale Norton in contempt of court. The same judge ruled two Clinton Cabinet officials in contempt in connection with the trust funds two years ago. The Indians hope to use documents in the case to reconstruct how much money is missing from the trust fund accounts, which were created to manage royalties paid for the use of Indian lands. Attorneys for the 300,000 plaintiffs in the class-action case have asked that the government pay the money back. "The (Bureau of Indian Affairs) Office of Information Resource Management and its contractors have been destroying trust documents on a daily basis in violation of court orders," said Dennis Gingold, representing the Indian plaintiffs. Earlier this year, Alan Balaran, a court-appointed investigator, paid a surprise visit to the document warehouse and pulled from a shredder a record of money paid out of the trust fund. BIA officials told Balaran similar documents were being shredded every day, Gingold said. Interior spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna criticized the plaintiffs' latest motion, calling it the "contempt du jour." It is the third time U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth has been asked by the plaintiffs to hold Norton in contempt since she was confirmed as interior secretary. "I think it's ridiculous and people are just using it to generate publicity," the spokeswoman said. Hanna said the document Balaran found was a printout used to test the computer system that stores the records and, since it included a Social Security number, it was shredded for security purposes. "That's a flat-out lie," said Gingold. Even if the document was a duplicate, the BIA would have had to get the court's permission to destroy it, and it did not, he said. A hearing on the motion has not been scheduled. In 1999 Lamberth held then- Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt and former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin in contempt and fined them more than $600, 000 for failing to turn over documents related to the case. At a hearing in April, Lamberth said he was willing to take the same steps if the government doesn't cooperate with the court. The Indian trust accounts came from an 1887 federal law that divided some reservation land into smaller plots for individual Indians. The federal government holds that land in trust for the Indians, meaning it cannot be taxed or sold. Many of the tracts are leased for grazing, logging, mining or oil drilling. Proceeds are supposed to be deposited in government accounts and then paid to Indian landholders. Since the beginning, however, those accounts have been mismanaged, the government acknowledges. Web sites: Indian account holders: www.indiantrust.com Interior Department: www.doi.gov Justice Department: www.usdoj.gov --------- "RE: Peltier's Lawyer Needs Help" --------- Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 14:59:24 -0400 (EDT) From: LPDC Subj: Peltier's Lawyer needs help Mailing List: LPDC PELTIER'S LAWYER NEEDS HELP Dear Friends, Many of you have come to be familiar with Attorney Jennifer Harbury, who joined Leonard Peltier's legal and political defense team over two years ago. Many of you are also familiar with her background and know that she has done extensive human rights work in Guatemala, where she married a Mayan resistance leader who was later disappeared, tortured and murdered by the Guatemalan army in conjunction with the CIA (read SEARCHING FOR EVERARDO by Jennifer Harbury for more information). Since then, she has filed lawsuits against the CIA and the Guatemalan army. One of these cases is currently heating up, and her key witness and others are receiving death threats. It is our policy to use this list for Peltier actions/information only, but all of us are quite concerned about Jennifer and her witness, and Leonard Peltier has asked us to make an exception by asking supporters to help out, if at all possible. She is asking for calls to the Guatemalan Embassy. Details are explained below. Jennifer Harbury has committed extensive time and energy to the Peltier case and she helped bring it to a new level of awareness and concern during the clemency phase. We want to return the support to her now in her time of need. Thank you for your understanding. In Solidarity, LPDC SECOND URGENT ACTION : HARBURY/BAMACA CASE THREATS TO KEY WITNESS AND HIS CHILDREN CONTINUE Dear Friends, I am writing to let everyone know that we need more extremely urgent calls and letters to the Guatemalan Embassy on behalf of Otoniel De La Roca Mendoza and his children. Unfortunately, the threats and intimidation against him and his family are escalating, and I fear that very soon someone will be very seriously injured or worse. For those of you who did not see my last alert, Otoniel was a key witness in the recent Inter-American Court trial of the Guatemalan army in my husband's torture and murder. We won that case last December, with a 100 page unanimous international decision. Needless to say, the army was not amused, nor are they happy about our coming reparations hearing. Since they cannot undo the judgement, they are looking for revenge, and they want to warn all future witnesses to remain silent. Otoniel was himself captured by the Guatemalan military and severely tortured. Among other abuses, he was "hooded" ( a plastic bag filled with pesticides was placed over his head to induce asphyxiation), drowned, beaten with a bat and given electric shocks. Then the army kidnapped his two small children from a church refuge and brought them to the base where he was being tortured. His mother, father , wife, and sister had already been "disappeared" by the military. During his time as a prisoner, he saw Everardo in military hands, being seriously abused. He was also able to learn the real names of many high level officers in the G-2 inner death squad. He shared all of this information with the UN Truth Commission, as well as MINUGUA, and he was a key witness in my OAS trial. Since Otoniel arrived here in 1997 and began to share his information, the threats have been grim. When he first testified to the Inter American Commission in 1998 in Washington D.C., he received frantic calls from friends at home reporting that army officers had come by to leave messages for him, warning that he should think about the safety of his friends back home before he testified. He had the courage to speak out anyway, and has continued to do so. Since then, with a fair amount of difficulty, we have been able to bring his current wife and children and younger siblings here. However, an ex-wife remained in Guatemala with two young sons. Once the court ruling came out, the pressure began to escalate again. A good friend fled Guatemala in December after repeated military "visits". In April, someone broke into my home in Texas, stealing only the laptop and not the money, cd player or credit cards, then called Otoniel from San Antonio, threatening to kill him and his children for what he had done. (As you will recall, an Amnesty representative received death threats in this time frame because of her editorial on the Gerardi trial). Then another call came to Otoniel's home.with someone in a frightening voice declaring in Spanish that the call would be taped. They hung up. Meanwhile, back in Guatemala, menacing cars have been parking near the home of Otoniel's ex wife , watching her and her two sons. Just a few days ago she was followed into her neighborhood by an obvious military person and told she would be seeing them. Otoniel believes that something drastic will soon occur, both to make an example out of him and this silence other potential witnesses, as well as to punish. We are both very fearful for the safety of his sons back in Guatemala. Our State Department tells me a visa could take nearly a month to obtain. PLEASE CALL THE EMBASSY AS WELL AS YOUR CONGRESSPERSON ABOUT THIS AND DEMAND THAT ALL OF THE WITNESSES AND THEIR FAMILIES BE LEFT ALONE AND THAT THEIR RIGHTS BE RESPECTED. I realize that the thousands of calls everyone has made throughout all these years have been exhausting and burdensome. But they have saved lives, including mine, The telephone system does work. Some of you have asked whether or not the police and FBI here have been informed. The answer is yes, we have reported to all agencies. But do not let the Guatemalan Embassy off the hook with this red herring. They used to say they would free Everardo if only I would tell them where he might be. This is just part of their style and strategy of distraction. It is not up to the US law enforcement agencies to locate and identify Guatemalan death squad members who are traveling in this country, using public phones, and false names. The Guatemalan army knows full well who these people are. It is up to the Guatemalan army to reign them in. Please ask you Congresspersons to call the Guatemalan Ambassador as well. GUATEMALAN EMBASSY TELEPHONE : 202-745-4952 ADDRESS 2220 R St. NW WASHINGTON DC 20008 U.S. CONGRESS SWITCHBOARD 202-224-3121 --------- "RE: Peltier: Square One" --------- Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 01:25:34 -0500 From: koga suyeta Subj: Square One Mailing List: ndn-aim Greetings. Dallas Rossowr. Peter Reiland. Mrs. Clayton Hokanson. Ms. Arlene Josal. Ms. Ida Mickelson. Ms. June Kopp. Gerald P. Bommersbach. Ms. Victoria Haaland. Ms. Shirley Klocke. Ralph McKay. Mrs. Irene Hoggarth. Mrs. Beverly Nielson. Somebody help me out here... This was Peltier's "jury of peers." I'm not recognizing any overtly traditional Native American Indian names. How is it, then, that a man who is defined by United States law, via treaty, as culturally separate -- i.e., specifically "Indian" -- manages to be tried before a "jury of peers" when that jury is comprised of non-Indians? ------- Indigenous resistance exists. Air 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: Peltier on FBI Abuses" --------- Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 11:56:30 -0500 From: LPDC Subj: Peltier on FBI Abuses Mailing List: LPDC Greetings Brothers, Sisters, Friends and Supporters, I am writing this statement in the midst of controversy surrounding the FBI's withholding of 3000 documents pertaining to the case of Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City bombing. This incident is only one of many revelations of grave FBI misconduct in recent weeks, all of which expose very serious violations of the Constitution and severe abuse of power by the FBI. In Boston, what started with suspicions that FBI Agent, John Connolly was involved in money laundering and racketeering led to the exposure of much more. As it turned out, almost the entire Boston office was involved in a heavy scheme, which protected notorious gangsters, who were allowed to murder with impunity in exchange for information. That office even put two innocent men, men they knew were innocent and who they very purposefully framed, in prison in order to keep their informants free from prosecution. These innocent men served thirty years in prison and were only released after previously hidden FBI documentation was uncovered. What is worse is, it all could have been prevented. FBI agent Robert Fitzpatrick says he reported the misconduct early on, and was ignored. How much time will the agents responsible serve in prison? What will be done to prevent this type of official criminal behavior from reoccurring? If history is any clue, not too much at all unless we take a firm stand against these types of FBI abuses. Meanwhile, media coverage of Thomas Blanton's conviction for the racist murder of four young girls, which occurred some 38 years ago, is widespread. Since 1965 the FBI knew exactly who the murderers were, and they hid the information. They protected KKK members who murdered children. What will happen to these former agents? How will the FBI be held accountable for their complicit role in such heinous activities? These violations are most serious. There can be no due process, there can be no such thing as an open government, there can be no real justice or democracy when an agency as powerful as the FBI can, decade after decade, break the laws it vows to uphold with no repercussions. The cases covered in the media lately are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many, many more well documented incidences of FBI abuses. It is up to the public to hold the FBI accountable. Clearly, no system of checks and balances is in place and the media rarely reports FBI misconduct unless politicians and judges condemn it first, in which case it is usually too little too late. Don't let these latest disclosures deteriorate into "flash in the pan" news stories. An effort must be forged to stop FBI abuses, and to gain recognition that these are continuations of an all too common pattern. The FBI unfairly targeted Wen Ho Lee, withheld evidence about Waco, and botched its handling of the Ruby Ridge incident. In 1998 the Los Angeles FBI crime lab was exposed for it's routine tampering of evidence, especially in high profile cases. In 1997 Geronimo Ji Jaga Pratt was released after 27 long years of unjust imprisonment - yet another FBI frame-up. In 1990 Judi Bari's car was bombed, and again, the FBI hid evidence proving the bomb had been planted. Instead of finding the perpetrators, they criminally charged the Earth First! activist, who was left crippled for life. (Find out more about the Judi Bari case in this issue). Of course, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation the FBI allowed, and further supported, the murderous GOON squads. Year after year I sit through meaningless parole hearings where I am told that I must take responsibility for a crime I did not commit. All the while, the faces of my brothers and sisters who were killed during that era, loom in my head, as I suppress my bitterness over such blatant discrimination and injustice. One day I know, this too will be recognized and exposed as a result of the efforts of the people. Officials will likely act surprised and outraged, even though we have been telling them all along about what we have experienced and witnessed. Friends, I am not writing this statement out of bitterness, but out of alarm. When will these kinds of abuses be stopped? When will we overcome our fear of the FBI and say, never again. Not one more innocent person in prison, not one more political prisoner, not one more unnecessary death? If the FBI thought that Martin Luther King was a threat to the "American way of life" then we must ask, what way of life do they defend, and do the American people want the FBI to act on their behalf? In the Spirit of Crazy Horse, Leonard Peltier Leonard Peltier Defense Committee PO Box 583 Lawrence, KS 66044 785-842-5774 www.freepeltier.org To subscribe, send a blank message to < lpdc-on@mail-list.com > --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, 21 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: Fri, 18 May 2001 20:36:29 From: KOLA Subj: Eddie Hatcher found guilty of 1st-degree murder !!! <+><+> KOLANews <+><+> [From JH. Thanks!] http://www.charlotte.com/observer/natwor/docs/hatcher0518.htm Published Friday, May 18, 2001 Activist guilty of 1st-degree murder Eddie Hatcher loses verdict gamble of all or nothing in shooting By ANNA GRIFFIN, Raleigh Bureau LUMBERTON -- Defying Eddie Hatcher's claim that hometown jurors would never convict him, 12 Robeson County men and women took less than four hours Thursday to pronounce the Native American activist guilty of first-degree murder. Hatcher, best known for the 1988 takeover at The Robesonian newspaper, stared straight ahead as the verdict was read. Earlier, he'd ignored his lawyer's advice and asked a state Superior Court judge to give jurors just two options: acquittal or conviction of first-degree murder. "The people of this county know I don't lie. They may not like me, but they know me. They trust me," Hatcher said several months ago. "There is no way in hell a jury in Robeson County is going to convict me." Prosecutors will try to persuade the panel of six whites, five blacks and one Native American to sentence Hatcher to death. Sentencing arguments begin Monday. "This is the end of a long saga of lies, manipulation and distortion," said Robeson County District Attorney Johnson Britt. "Eddie Hatcher seemed to think he lived under his own code of justice, that unlike the rest of us, he wasn't accountable for his actions. This jury proved him wrong." Hatcher, 43, was convicted of murder and shooting into an occupied dwelling for the drive-by slaying of 19-year-old Brian McMillian. Prosecutors say Hatcher believed McMillian was one of several people who burglarized his home in the spring of 1999. Hatcher had moved to the small Robeson town of Maxton, about 100 miles east of Charlotte, after serving five years in prison for The Robesonian takeover. "It's a disappointment. It's discouraging," said Tuscarora Indian activist Carnell Locklear, a longtime Hatcher friend and supporter. "I don't know what to think right now." When Hatcher and fellow Tuscarora Indian Timothy Jacobs surrendered after their 10-hour siege of The Robesonian, they were treated as heroes by many in the Native American community. Representing himself, Hatcher moved several jurors in his federal hostage-taking trial to tears in his closing argument. The courtroom rang with cheers when the "not guilty" verdict was announced. (Hatcher later pleaded guilty to state charges for The Robesonian.) The contrast between that trial and this one couldn't have been starker. This time, Hatcher's few supporters were college students and death penalty opponents from outside Robeson County. They tried to rally support and media coverage over the Internet, with little success. Hatcher, who originally wanted to represent himself but changed his mind, declined to testify. His defense was based mostly on attempts to discredit the work of Robeson County detectives. "The prosecution's witnesses are not credible," defense attorney Sue Berry said during closing arguments. "Think about the reasons they're testifying." She said one witness had issued death threats against Hatcher in the past. Two others called by the state were "rifle-shooting, dope- smoking, drug-selling type of people," Berry said. The state's witnesses included a police officer who said Hatcher confessed to him, a State Bureau of Investigation agent who detailed a confession from a man who'd been with Hatcher when the shooting occurred and Hatcher's cousin, Lisa Fore. Fore testified Hatcher knocked on her door a few hours after the shooting, carrying two guns and seeking her help. Fore said Hatcher told her he might have killed someone. A day after the shooting, police caught Hatcher hiding in the back seat of Fore's car. She was in the driver's seat. "I believed in Eddie back when he took over The Robesonian. It was the wrong thing to do, but I kind of understood the desperation he may have been feeling," Fore said Thursday. "But something happened to Eddie, something changed. I hate that everybody had to get up on the stand and go against him. But Eddie laid his own path. "This was a totally different thing. It had nothing to do with activism. It had nothing to do with the rights of Native American people. I'm not sure what happened to Eddie." Fore doesn't want her cousin to face execution. "I hope and pray they don't use it. I know a boy is dead, and I know Eddie brought this upon himself, but that's just too much," she said. "I think Eddie almost wants to be on death row. He's not thinking about anybody, not his mama, just himself. I think he likes the idea of the attention that would bring," Against the advice of his lawyers and the wishes of family, he persuaded Judge Jerry Cash Martin to give jurors the all-or-nothing option - freedom or first-degree murder. His lawyers wanted jurors to be allowed to consider second-degree murder and assault verdicts, in addition to not guilty and first-degree murder. On Thursday, Hatcher laughed with one of his attorneys after jurors left court. Several months ago, he talked about going to death row with a smile on his face. "They're not going to convict me, but imagine if they did. Imagine if I forced the state of North Carolina to put me on death row," Hatcher said then. "They'd want me to go away, go quietly. They know I don't do anything quietly. You know that's got to be their worst nightmare: the execution of Eddie Hatcher." --- [Reach Anna Griffin at (704) 358-5940 or agriffin@charlotteobserver.com] Hatcher's Odyssey: Feb. 1, 1988: Armed with shotguns, Tuscarora Indians Eddie Hatcher and Timothy Jacobs seize 20 hostages inside The Robesonian newspaper office. They surrender after 10 hours. Oct. 14, 1988: A federal jury acquits Hatcher of federal hostage-taking charges. He was the first person charged under the 1984 Federal Anti-Terrorism Act, designed to prosecute foreign terrorists. December 1988: A Robeson County grand jury files state charges against Hatcher in The Robesonian takeover. He disappears. March 10, 1989: After the Soviet Union denies him asylum, Hatcher surrenders in San Francisco. Feb. 13, 1990: Hatcher pleads guilty to 14 state kidnapping charges. He's sentenced to 18 years in prison. May 3, 1995: The state parole commission releases Hatcher, who says he has AIDS and is terminally ill. Spring 1998: Against the advice of friends and family, Hatcher moves back to Robeson County. He says he plans to run for sheriff or the state legislature. May 31, 1999: 19-year-old Brian McMillian dies after someone fires more than a half-dozen shots into his home with a high-powered assault-type rifle. Hatcher is arrested hours later in Hamlet, hiding in the back of his cousin's car. May 17, 2001: A Robeson County jury convicts Hatcher of first-degree murder. Copyright c. 2001, The Charlotte Observer. -- - - - Date: Wednesday, May 16, 2001 11:47 AM From: Shundahai Network Subj: History: Carlisle Indian School - May 11, 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 FRIDAY, May 11, 1888 NO. 39 CARLISLE, PA. ---------------------- WORK A BLESSING. Labor is rest from the sorrows that greet us; Rest from the petty vexations that meet us; Rest from sin promptings that ever entreat us; Rest from world-sirens that lure us to ill. Work, and pure slumbers shall wait on thy pillow; Work, thou shall ride on cares incoming billow; Lie thou not down =91neath woe=92s sad weeping willow; Work with stout heart and a resolute will. -[Selected. ------------ TO THE REPUBLIC DEBATING SOCIETY. ------ The letter below from a Carlisle School girl of the Creek tribe, will be of interest to all our readers, and especially to the many friends of the writer: Eufala, I.T., April 15, 1888. In the midst of a company of noisy, mirthful children of color, I find leisure time to think of my dear friends at Carlisle and introduce you all to my school. It is located seven miles west from Eufaula. Daily attendance from fifteen to twenty, number enrolled thirty eight. The classes grade from first reader up to Sixth Reader, Primary Arithmetic up to Practical Arithmetic, Venable's U.S. History, and Harvey's English Grammar. The pupils are attentive, obedient, and their full vigor excels the native pupils. Singing is one of their greatest pleasures. Examination is nearer every day and I hear a whisper here and there "Teach us new songs." You must give me a comical speech," and so on. I would like to ask you all to do me one kindness. Will you send a recitation to suit a negro boy age fifteen (15) years; careless and noisy boy. One to suit a girl twenty-two (22) years old. Well-behaved sensible girl. The described student is the most advanced in school. Send me a copy of a song, "God be with you." And a select dialogue. I take great pleasure in teaching this school. The scholars also show they are well pleased with my teaching. As I look out toward the East the trees are full of green leaves, and toward the north the fields are ploughed and the men are coming to their dinner wearied and hungry but in due time they shall reap with the sweat of their brow. The apple trees are in blossom and other varieties of fruit-trees are covered with greenness. A patch of early corn is lying South, and the corn-blades seven or eight inches high. Onions aud mustard and greens are the relishing dishes on the table. On the West lies a green prairie with the cattle grazing and resting under the scattered trees. My health is fair and my family is the same. How are the Man-on-the-band-stand and his children? Wishing you nothing but great success in your undertaking. Wishing to hear from you all, I remain. Respectfully, NANCY MCINTOSH. ---------- CURIOSITY. ----- "What is curiosity?" A little Indian girl may have asked this of a larger one as they stood by the band-stand one fine morning this week. "Don't you know?" said the large girl, rubbing her eyes while trying to think. "Let me see! Oh! Yes! It is like this." "Like what? Tell me quick!" insisted the little one anxious to learn the meaning of a word she had heard used so often and never knew what it was. "Suppose, my friend, that you were detailed to clear up Miss Fly's office, and you should see some papers lying on the desk with writing on them." "Well." "Suppose, then, that you wanted to know what time writing was and you just felt all the time as though you must read it." "Oh, is that curiosity," cried the little girl -------------- (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. ------------------------------- The Genoa Indian School, Nebraska, has an art gallery. --------- "When we have a grievance, we must treat it as a weed and pull it up." --------- If one has a teacher kind enough to point out ALL his mistakes, how glad such a person should be! Get mad? Never! --------- Chas. Bird writes a friendly letter from Pine Ridge, Dak., and says that he and the other Carlisle boys and girls there are well. --------- One little mistake in business will sometimes follow you up a long time. 0ne mistake may make your employer lose trust in you. One half hour's careless work sometimes brings such business disgrace that it takes a long time to live it down. Careless work does not pay. --------- We have good news from Annie Menaul who is now at her home among the Pueblos at Laguna, New Mexico. Annie has spent part of the time since she went home at teaching, and for a month or two worked in a family. She is now keeping house for her mother. --------- A young lady may be pretty and attractive, well educated and dress nicely, yet if she should turn on her heel and not speak to a gentleman when introduced to her, just because she doesn't like him, she would be considered a very rude young lady and could not mingle in good society. True politeness requires us to be pleasant with people whom we meet, even if we do not like them. Thos. Kester, one of our Pawnee boys who is teaching at his home in Indian Territory, shows by renewing his subscription to the HELPER that he wishes to keep up with the Carlisle school news. --------- Julia Bent sent a subscription from her farm home. That is right! Boys and Girls, if people ask you questions about the Carlisle school and the Indians, tell them to send for the INDIAN HELPER, ten cents a year, and The Red Man, fifty cents a year, then they may keep well informed. --------- Mr. Chas. S. Watson, associated with the Lambert, Stoughton and Cooper oil firm of Philadelphia called last Tuesday evening and had a pleasant chat with friends here. Lorenzo Martinez lived in Mr. Watson's father's family in Bucks County, and became warmly attached to them all. --------- A very enjoyable feature of the school sociable Friday night was the finding of partners by rosette colors. Some were a little disappointed with the partners they thus found, but, dear me! Can't we be polite with a person who is not our best friend. A sociable is the place to have a good time, no matter whom we have to entertain for a part of the evening. --------- The Man-on-the-band-stand who feels pretty old sometimes and hardly able to do manual labor was brought to shame the other day when he looked over the teacher's quarters and there saw dear Dr. Brown cutting away at a huge tree, with all the vigor of a young man of twenty. If there are any other trees to come down the Man-on-the-band-stand wants the job. --------- Old king tobacco pulled the stripes off of three of the Sergeants this week, and caused other young men to lose their pay for a month. Too bad to let such a poor, weak king as tobacco make us his slaves. --------- The babies faces are getting better from the rash with which they have suffered for several days, and they seem perfectly delighted to be [able to] swing their little fists again after having them so long tied down. --------- Very warm, then cold. A wise person will take care to change his or her clothing to suit the weather, and thus keep from catching cold. ---------------------------------------------- (p. 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. ------------------------------------------- Mrs. Campbell and Irene are in Philadelphia. --------- Croquet is the thing uppermost now among the girls. --------- The lawn mower humeth, and the grass down cometh. --------- The latest craze among the small boys is "pop-guns." --------- The new saddle-blanket with Cavalry trimmings is fine. --------- Wilmer Kester, of Columbia county, voted the school last week. --------- Dessie Prescott aud Etta Robertson have returned from the country. --------- Some lady friends of Mr. McFadden from Harrisburg, visited the school Saturday. --------- Annie Lockwood has gone to spend the summer months with friends at Westtown, Pa. --------- A photograph of the two Apache babies can be had for twenty cents. Address INDIAN HELPER. --------- Miss Fisher and Miss Bender spent yesterday at the Manual Training Exhibition, Philadelphia. --------- The first game of tennis this year, Tuesday night. J. B. Given and Miss Crane beat Mr. Goodyear and Miss Burgess. --------- Lost.-Capt. Pratt's bound of The Morning Star. Any person bringing it to the office will be suitably rewarded. --------- Miss Edge, of Downingtown, sent some of our girls in whom she is interested a box of rare pansies, and the girls are very grateful. --------- One of the Apaches who is quite sick, asked his teacher to please show him how to write "Thank you." He wished to thank his sister for a favor. --------- Base-ball clubs are starting up all around among the boys. There are the Regulars, the Printers, the Black-smiths, the Farmers, and the Young Americans. --------- A new pupil in No. 1 this week - Herbert Campbell. Herbert feels almost as big as a man now for he jumped into his first pants last Monday morning. --------- The Normal girls, under Miss Leverett's supervision, are making picture scrap-books, from which thy intend to get a good many language lessons for their classes. Kish Hawkins led the service Sunday evening. --------- Mr. Jordan says the small boys are good workers. --------- Our lawn now is in splendid condition and looks beautiful. --------- Only five 2-cent stamps for the INDIAN HELPER, one year. --------- The board walks have walked off and the grounds look the better. --------- The girls' "line" presents a straggling appearance. Brace up, girls! --------- The Genoa Nebraska Indian pupils set out two hundred trees Arbor day. --------- Miss Rote took charge of No. 9 school while Miss Bender was in Philadelphia. --------- Miss Irvine has gone for a day to Mifflin County to look after some girls there in country homes. --------- A small boy on the grounds asking for scissors made the remark, "My hair too big one, I don't like him." --------- Real maple-sugar and right from Vermont. Miss Leverett was the happy recipient and we were all made glad that she knew us. --------- Maurice Walker has gone to White House, Pa. From an Indian camp to White House! but not THE white house, as we hope to see some day. --------- Miss Rote's clock is so ashamed of the unearthly early market hour which began this week, that the alarm will not go off unless the face is turned down. --------- If the small boys were wise they would not play ball in front of their quarters and thereby lose their balls, but would go to the ground made for that purpose and have a good time. --------- Out door pleasures have drawn heavily upon the reading-room patronage, among both boys and girls. Some time out of school must be set aside for self-improvement or we shall go backwards. --------- A large proportion of the out-going pupils last week were Apaches. And when the class in No. 4 were sent to the board next day at school, the gaps were so noticeable that a mischievous one of the number could not resist giving the order "close up!" As they do the ranks when the line spreads. --------------------------------------- ( Continued from First Page.) just beginning to see into the meaning. "Yes, that is curiosity, and it is not a good kind of curiosity, either." "Is it always bad to have curiosity?" "No, my little friend, if you turn it in the right direction, curiosity is a good thing to have." "What is the right direction?" "I mean when we have enough curiosity about our studies to make us want to dig deeply into them and work hard to find out all there is to learn about them, that is a good kind of curiosity. "I see," said the small one opening her eyes thoughtfully. "The meanest curiosity of all is to want to read what we know was not written for us, and if I ever work in Capt. Pratt's office, or Miss Ely's office, or Miss Irvine's office or in any of the teacher's rooms - no matter where I work, I shall not read a single paper that I know was not written for me." "And I shall not, either," piped up the little girl who was being led in the right way by the older girl, and the Man-on-the-band-stand believes that they both meant what they said, for they seemed to talk so earnestly. --------- A minister who loved to smoke, one time while preaching noticed some of the people in his audience were sleeping. He leaned over the pulpit and said in a loud voice: "Brethren there is no sleeping-car on the train to glory." One of the men who had been asleep and whom the minister had aimed to hit spoke out and said; "No, brother; no smoking-car either." --------- "What makes that girl walk so funny?" inquired De Smythe of Browne. "Is she intoxicated?" "Oh, no; she's not intoxicated," responded Browne. "It's only her shoes that are tight." --------- A little boy, having caught a bad cold, said to his mother, "Oh mamma, I feel dreadfully bad; my eyes are leaking, and one of my noses won't go." --------- There never was such a time as this for the young man who will trust God and do his level best -Talmage. --------- A man of business should always have his eyes open.-[Chesterfield. A MISTAKE. The Pipe of Peace, published at the Genoa Indian School, Nebraska, says in its last issue: THE INDIAN HELPER quotes the following from a Carlisle pupil. "Take away from us all the supports found in the civilization round about us, and cast us as most of our returned pupils are thrown, into a cess-pool of vice, filth and idleness, with nothing to do but to stay in it and breathe its loathsome air at every breath. Do you suppose that we could remain the same spotless saints as we now claim to be worthy examples to the Indian?" If our brother towards the setting sun will put on his leather spectacles and read again the article published April 6, 1888, in the INDIAN HELPER, he will see that nothing in the piece from which he excerpts indicates that the remark came from a Carlisle pupil. --------- Enigma I am made of 9 letters. My first letter is in hat but not in shoe. My 2 is in rat, but not in you. My 3 is in tow but not in silk. My 4 is in pie but not, in milk. My 5 is in tin but not in gold. My 6 is in hot, but not in cold. My 7 is in wine but not in spruce. My 8 is in vine but not in juice. My 9 is in bell, and when it rings, we jump about as if on springs. My whole is what the teachers' club girls are, and which trait will fit them to be useful most anywhere. --------- ANSWER TO LAST WEEK'S SQUARE WORD: - 1. Fish; 2. Idea; 3. Sell; 4. Hall. -------------------------------------------------------------- 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 5 cents to pay postage. Persons sending clubs must send all the names at once. ----------------------------------- 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. For 1, 2 and 3 subscribers for THE RED MAN we give the same premiums offered in Standing Offer for the HELPER. Address, THE RED MAN, Carlisle, PA. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Transcribed from the newspaper collections of USMHI, Carlisle Barracks, Carlisle, PA. For more info see http://www.carlisleindianschool.org. - Barbara Landis --------- "RE: John Rustywire: Soft Female Rain" --------- Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2000 19:07:07 GMT From: "rustywire" Subj: Soft Female Rain Newsgroup: alt.native It was about this time of year, the dust had been blowing the sun was shining down, it was dry and sand clouded up when walking through the sage. There was a big rock, one with carved names in sandstone, initials and dates, telling of others who had come this same way. What is this place called, slowly it comes to mind...Hooshtah, a place of soft blowing sage, moving gentle in the wind even on this hot afternoon. Walking through them you get the urge to reach out, extending your hands out to the side and feel the gentle tips of these sage as you wind your way through them. The red sandstone, Navajo sandstone they call it calls you to it and so you walk up to it and feel it with your fingers. All those initials, come new and some faded of an earlier time. How smooth they feel, they talk silently of the young lives of the people here at home. Touching the rock it is warm, and this makes it softer to the touch. Standing there, looking at it and the valley below I can see the gentle sheep trails, the small paths used over the long days of summer and the cold of winter to herd sheep over the rocks, hills and mesas around. Holding onto the rock, standing against it the clouds come over slowly and you can watch the shadow race across the ground. Turning and heading off through the sage, it slowly comes, just a drop and then two. It falls, and the sun breaks through the clouds and there the drops fall ever so slowly onto the ground. They drop one by one on your face, and then your back and a few on your neck. It feels so good, the colors of the rainbow guardians to the East stretch their long fingers across the horizon. Rain, soft gentle rain covers everything. It is time to change, and things will grow. Softly the wind blows through the sage and cools the earth, now covered with gentle rain. Yasho, it is good to see it so, I look around one more time at the valley below and see that the colors have gone pink, blue, glowing gold and the sun makes it way down over the mountain leaving the rainbow to paint it's colors all over this land and so it is with such things in Navajo land, my home, my place and turning I run on home...... rustywire --------- "RE: Poem: For Pablo from 2001" --------- Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2001 14:09:06 -0600 From: "John D Berry/grad/res/Okstate" Subj: New Poem For Pablo from 2001 I have gazed, Upon the everlasting hills of Oklahoma, It's smoky slopes and wide skies, Cloaked in verdant woods or grasses, Since my birth. I have stood , At the abyss, of the Grand Canyon, in wonder. Fallen like an angel in pain, From the rocky face of the Sierra Nevada, And lived to tell. I have wandered, Like a wolf alone, through the canyons, Of New York, LA, San Francisco, Pale urban echoes, Of Creators mountains. I have been, A Pilgrim and walked in the Negev desert. Bathed in the Jordan River, And tasted the waters, Of the Galilee. I have seen, Homer's wine dark sea, And nimbly jumped, Upon the rocks Of the Acropolis. I have tasted, The waters of Plenty Wolf's spring, And paced the gullies, Of the Greasy Grass, Where many fell. I have heard, The winds of the Mojave, And given my bodies water, To it's blast furnace heat, In August. I have, Heard, tasted, felt, seen, done, And been many things, in many places. The best of all of these, Are in you, my son. John Berry, Oklahoma, 2001 --------- "RE: Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days" --------- Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 06:18:06 -1000 From: Debbie Sanders Subj: Hawaiian Book of Days A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of May 27-June 3 MEI (May) (Ikiiki) 27 No act of kindness ever goes unrewarded. 28 I have walked this land before in a child's dream of freedom. 29 Today's memories will be cherished tomorrow. 30 We are all voyagers in life's ocean. 31 In the tiniest of shells is found the eternal cycle. IUNE (June) (Kaaona) June was the time when the fishermen got their a-ei nets in readiness for catching the opelu, procuring in advance the sticks to use for keeping its mouth open. 1 To walk between the islands is a secret of the ancients. 2 Summer rain is illuminated by the beauty of a rainbow. 3 Time is little more than a kiss of wind upon the land. (c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue (With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream) --------- "RE: Record Number of Indians Graduating" --------- Date: Fri, 11 May 2001 06:28:55 -0700 From: Jess Hansen. Subj: "Record number of Indians graduating" Mailing List: FIRST NATIONS http://www.greatfallstribune.com/news/stories/20010511/topstories/561128 Friday, May 11, 2001 Record number of Indians graduating By SONJA LEE, Tribune staff writer "A record number of Native American students -- 62-- is graduating this year from Great Falls Public Schools. In the next few weeks, 28 students will graduate from Great Fa