From gars@speakeasy.org Wed May 30 02:10:25 2001 Date: 30 May 2001 01:55:33 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.022 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 022 O o O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse June 2, 2001 O o O Ximopanolti tehuatzin, Cherokee green corn moon O inin Mexika tlahtolli Tewa Pueblo moon when leaves are dark green ( 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.pechanga.net; www.owlstar.com; indianz.com; ndn-aim, KOLA Newslist, Big Mountain, Triballaw, OurRedEarth and Amazon Alliance mailing lists; Native Americas Journal; UUCP email; http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_sid=151812 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.'" Hold on to what is good Even if it is a handful of dirt Hold onto what you believe Even if it is a tree that stands by itself Hold on to what you must do Even if it is a long way from here Hold onto life Even if it is easier to let go Hold on to my hand Even if I have gone away from you __ Pueblo Blessing +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! The lead story in this issue (after notice of elders' crossings) is NOT that big a deal unless you understand historical precedence. The Osage need to read "The Death of Sybil Bolton" by Dennis McAuliffe, Jr., now in reprint under the title of "Bloodland: A Story of Oil, Greed and Murder on the Osage Reservation". They need to remember what happened to their head rights and ways when the government took an "interest in their welfare". Gale A. Norton, the interior secretary, is touring Osage country, making comments about how nondestructive the oil wells there are - how bison graze next to the pumps. This is a `not-too-subtle' pitch on Secretary Norton's part to solicit support for her boss, President George W. Bush, plans to open the Arctic National Wilderness to drilling and pipelines. I understand that a carrot is being held out, offering to improve Osage wells; and thus pour a few more oil dollars their way. Just bear in mind opening the Arctic to drilling will destroy the habitat there and the way of being for the Alaska Natives who call that home. If you can shrug off the cause and effect and allow the government to turn the interests of one Native Nation against another yet again, all I can say is. "Enjoy your blood money." -- - - - Please also note Dudley George's killer may "suffer" the terrible punishment of losing his job. Leonard Peltier sits behind bars for the death of two FBI agents even after his prosecutor agrees it cannot be proven Leonard committed the crime. "Just-us" at work, again, still.... 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 ---------- - Sam Douglas - Community Pursues Navajo OK - Where Bison Meet Oil Rigs for Casino - Alaska Drilling - Tohono O'odham wants U.S. Citizenship will cause Cultural Genocide - Mexico's Indian Rights Plan - Akwesasne Mohawks Have may not bring Peace No Duty-Free Import Rights - Guatemala: - Akwesasne Mohawks lose battle Justice at Last for Disappeared with Revenue Canada - Brazil: People of Roraima - Big Mountain Report report Encroachment - Seminole Chairman Faces Ouster - S.D. Patrol/ - Six American Indians Appear Oglala Officers Unite on DWIs with New Attorneys - First Nation Prisoners - Argus Leader: Lakota should Wide Class Action not have to be Taxed - Eddie Hatcher - Indians and Bison Sentenced to Life Without Parole Come Back to Plains - ICT Editorial: - Samish Nation Reclaims its Place FBI Misconduct in Peltier's Case - Saugeen Indian Band - Native Prisoner Barricades Campground Access -- - South Carolina Repatriations -- Sweetgrass/Sage/Cedar - Eastern Door Editorial: -- Two New Penpals CKR Umbrella - History: Carlisle Indian School - Police Move to - John Rustywire: Fire Dudley's Killer On the Road South of Shiprock - Native Protesters Arrested - Poem: at B.C. Lands Office To a Kansas Grandfather - Children can't get - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Right Health Care in Nunavut - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Sam Douglas" --------- Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 08:54:21 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAM DOUGLAS" http://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: Where Bison Meet Oil Rigs" --------- Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 09:32:36 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BISON/OIL" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm [Editorial note: Please read the editorial in this issue, then read this article, as published in the New York Times.] May 25, 2001 Where Bison Meet Oil Rigs, Talk of Cooperation By DOUGLAS JEHL AWHUSKA, Okla., May 23 - In the green hills of northern Oklahoma, free-roaming bison lumber through the wildflowers of a tallgrass prairie, a 19th-century vista cultivated by private conservationists and disturbed only by the presence of a hundred or so aging oil wells, creaking in the breeze. Gale A. Norton, the interior secretary, paused several times this morning to admire, in equal measure, not just the buffalo and their calves but the grasshopper-style oil pumps as well. "The preservation of this unique habitat, with tallgrass prairie and buffalo being fostered at the same time energy production is taking place, is very encouraging," Ms. Norton said in a three-hour ride through the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve. She spoke softly and cautiously to her small entourage, which included her elderly parents sitting two rows back in a van that bumped along the gravel roads. As head of the huge Interior Department, supervising federal lands that amount to nearly a third of the United States, Ms. Norton had a principal hand in developing the Bush administration's ambitious energy plan, which emphasizes domestic oil and gas production, even if it involves opening public lands to new development. Vilified by environmentalists from the start as an enemy of the very mountains, forests, deserts and waters she oversees, Ms. Norton says she is not an unblinking champion of private industry. "What we're trying to do is to substitute cooperation for conflict," Ms. Norton said, her hair blown by the winds of an Oklahoma spring during an interview this morning. "We need to have stringent environmental regulation to protect the environment. But this is an example of going beyond regulation and taking steps to enhance the environment. And if you have that kind of cooperative arrangement, you can achieve great things." The preserve, which stretches across some 60 square miles of the Osage Hills, is owned and managed by the Nature Conservancy, a private conservation group. But the mineral rights are owned by the Osage Indians, who have no intention of ending the drilling that has supported the tribe for nearly a century, setting up what Ms. Norton described as an ideal laboratory for coexistence. "We have to find a way to produce the resources that we need and, at the same time, to protect the environment," said Ms. Norton, whose words sound more passionate in person than they may in print. Only last Saturday, she was delivering a speech to the National Rifle Association convention in Kansas City, where she hailed the organization's members as "America's unsung conservation heroes." (Two weeks earlier, she recalled today, she was shooting skeet at Camp David with President Bush, whom she described as a much better shot than her.) Ms. Norton seems undaunted by the attacks on her, even reaching out to critics, including the leaders of environmental organizations who opposed her nomination, as well as to the actor Robert Redford, a committed environmentalist. Aides said Ms. Norton was disappointed when Mr. Redford rebuffed an invitation to witness a planned release of captive California condors into the wild, saying in a letter that he preferred "to use what time I have to focus on the devastating environmental repercussions of the agenda you and President Bush embrace." It will fall to Ms. Norton to carry out what may be the most far-reaching recommendations in the administration's energy plan. She has been directed to identify, to the greatest extent possible, public lands on which restrictions should be eased to allow increased energy development. The review is expected to focus on oil- and gas-rich areas of the Rocky Mountains and the Gulf of Mexico. Ms. Norton said she did not expect that process to result in "any dramatic change taking place." But she said she could not be specific. Ms. Norton would say only that the review would be conducted case by case, with the greatest possible participation by states and local communities. "Getting everyone to sit down together to solve problems is what we'd like to address," she said, "and I think that works a lot better than across-the-board dictates from Washington." Until this week, Ms. Norton's only trip as interior secretary to an energy-producing area was in March, when she and a delegation headed by Sen. Frank H. Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, visited the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which the administration is asking Congress to open to oil production. In this week's springtime warmth in Oklahoma, Ms. Norton remembered that subzero weather with a shiver but said the project here and the one proposed for Alaska shared a commitment to environmental protection. "This is old-style oil production, and what we're proposing for the Arctic is very high-tech," she said. Harvey Payne, director of the preserve, which was established in 1989, and Kerry L. Sublette, a University of Tulsa professor who heads an environmental research project here, said that drilling had harmed the local habitat but that the long-term damage had been minor. "We have had oil spills here, and nobody wants them to happen," Mr. Payne said. "But if the oil producer is conscientious, and if he tends to his business, the impact will be minimal." Dr. Sublette is the head of the Integrated Petroleum Environmental Consortium, which is supported by grants from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. It works with oil producers on plans to mitigate environmental damage. In a telephone interview, Steve McCormick, the chief executive officer of the Nature Conservancy, which is based in Arlington, Va., said he shared Ms. Norton's view that "thoughtfully placed and carefully managed extraction activities" could coexist with environmental protection. Asked about Ms. Norton, Mr. McCormick said, "I think she has an attitude that is genuine in allowing preservation while at the same time allowing human use." But in a separate interview, Bill Meadows, president of the Wilderness Society, said, `We still believe that there are certain places, including the Arctic refuge, and other special places like the Rocky Mountain front, where the conservation values so outweigh economic values that it would be inappropriate to go there." Ms. Norton, who is traveling this weekend to Wyoming to accept a gift of land from the Rockefeller family that will add to Grand Teton National Park, described her first months in office as "a blur." moved from their previous home outside Denver. Unlike James Watt, the Reagan- era interior secretary she worked for in the early 1980's, Ms. Norton does not revel in the fervor of her opponents. But she said she accepted that criticism came with the territory. "You kind of get used to it," she said, "and I understand now that this is not an easy job." Copyright c. 2001 The New York Times Company --------- "RE: Alaska Drilling will cause Cultural Genocide" --------- Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 07:26:23 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ALASKA GENOCIDE" http://www.pechanga.net/ Alaskan Natives claim Bush's drilling will cause "Cultural Genocide" by Ruth Steinberger Native Alaskan villages may be seriously impacted by environmental damage if the exploration and drilling proposed by President Bush's energy plan moves forward. Additionally, claims made by the oil industry and the Bush administration regarding economic incentives for the proposed drilling are being questioned by environmental and consumer groups. The Bush administration claims that the exploration and drilling will impact only eight percent of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a refuge containing a total of 19 million acres of Alaskan wilderness. However, national environmental groups and Native Alaskan tribal members claim that the figure of eight percent is deliberately misleading. National groups voicing opposition to the Bush proposal include the Native American Rights Fund, the National Congress of American Indians, Natural Resources Defense Council, The Sierra Club and numerous others. The1.5 million acres targeted by the Bush administration is the only area of the Alaskan coastal plains that remains off limits to the oil industry. Sara Chapell, Sierra Club's Alaska Representative, explained that the entire coastal plains are the only area potentially useful to the oil. The 1.5 million acres within the refuge is the only portion of the coastal plains to have any legal protection. The remaining 92% is open to leasing and drilling. While the land in question is eight percent of the ANWR, it is only five percent of the coastal plains, the region requiring protection. Chapel told Native American Times that, "This area, this "so called 8%", has been at the heart of the dispute concerning protection of the coastal plains for the last thirty years. The remainder of the coastal plains is available for exploration. The Bush proposal is to remove legal protection from the only region of the coastal plains that is protected. The proposal is to open up 100% of the coastal plai ns to the oil industry. This region is the biological heart of ANWR. The 8% of ANWR proposed for exploration is a region that biologists consistently refer to as the "heart of the refuge". This is the most significant region for maintaining the biodiversity in ANWR, and the impact would be far greater than the figure implies. Much of the ANWR is rocky and too cold, even in summer, for most of the species to use for habitat or for raising their young. The region proposed for oil exploration is where 130,000 caribou return to each year to give birth and to raise their young. It is an irreplaceable sanctuary for white wolves and polar bears. This region remains crucial to Native Alaskans who depend largely on wildlife and the environment for their subsistence. Native Alaskan villagers and environmental groups believe that the information from the administration and the oil industry is intended to allay fears of damage to the ecosystem, particularly the potential impact on caribou herds. Caribou are the mainstay of Native Alaskan culture. Many Native Alaskans hunt for around 80% of their diet, mainly relying on caribou. Faith Gemmill, of the Gwich'in Steering Committee of Fairbanks, Alaska told Native American Times, "The Steering Committee was formed in 1988 to address the issue of development in the birthplace of the caribou. We have a mandate from our people to protect this area." Explaining that the caribou is critical to the lifestyle of the villages, Gemmill said, "The caribou is the core of our culture, our spirituality, nutrition and is the heart of our social structure. We've always lived this way, and don't want to be forced to change our way of life, and development will change our way of life in every possible way. We use the caribou for food, clothing, we make tools from the bones of the caribou, our songs and our dances center around the caribou. Each year, when the caribou are in the region, families go into the mountains to harvest caribou and there we share our stories with our youth, that's where they learn our traditions. We need that time on the land with the caribou, it's part of us. We need that time to keep our culture alive, if we loose this -we loose our life. We've been offered money and jobs, we don't want that. We want to continue to live our lives. Development in the region is cultural genocide." A significant loss of the caribou may also be the beginning of physical genocide. Diabetes, and other medical conditions associated with it, has been linked to the introduction of the western diet in Native Americans. Some tribes experience rates of diabetes in as high as 50% of adults, and the onset of this problem has been documented to begin shortly after a change in diet from a traditional diet to a modern western diet. (Click here for related information) Oil industry proponents cite the expanding numbers of a neighboring caribou herd existing in a region that already has drilling to offer proof that caribou are unaffected by drilling operations. Sara Chapell, Alaskan representative for the Sierra Club, points out that the reason for expansion of the numbers is unknown, but what is crucial is the fact that the female caribou in the other herd have moved to a different calving ground, avoiding the oil field activity. Chapell explained that while the caribou in the herd that has expanded had the option to move to a different calving ground, there is no such place for the herd that uses the area proposed for drilling by the Bush administration. Sara Chapell said, "It would force these caribou to move into the mountain region [the Brooks Range] for calving. This would put them in a colder climate, with far less forage and with greater opportunities for predation of their young. The grasses and forage in the coastal plains provide optimum nutrition for the mother, and this would force them away from that." Chapell explained, "Biologists observing Prudhoe Bay know that caribou avoid oil field activity, especially regarding calving. Those that do calve within the oil fields experience higher rates of problems with their infants, including low birth weight." Adam Colton, of the Alaska Wilderness League, told Native American Times that the proposed area is in precisely the most ecologically sensitive part of the refuge. Colton said, "Known as the biological heart of the refuge, this is where polar bears den in winter, it's the caribou calving grounds, 135 species of migratory birds use this region for nesting or resting along their way to or from nearly every state. There are fifteen Native Alaskan villages along the caribou migratory route that will be impacted by changes in the herd." Colton cites activities peripheral to the drilling likely to have extensive environmental impact. Gravel mining would be needed to build pads for drilling rigs. Fresh water would be needed to build ice roads necessary for travel in the region. Water for these roads would be dredged from local streams, impacting fish and water quality. Colton summed up the impact on Native Alaskans saying, "What this boils down to is that any claims made by the administrati on are inconclusive and damage will have a major impact on a herd that's vital to the survival of 7,000 native people." Colton concluded that, "Saying that it's only eight percent-this is the entire coastal plains that would become open to the oil industry-it's like loggers saying we only want to log in the national forest where there happen to be trees." Gideon James, of Tribal Services of the Ventie Tribal Government told Native American Times that this issue is a decisive one for people everywhere. James said, "I was born and raised here. I am an elder and have seen a lot of changes, especially with the weather and the animals that the native people around here depend on. It's hotter, the plants are affected, the colors of the leaves are changing. People that use this land notice this. They [the Bush administration] keep leaving us out of the picture. The administration says we don't have scientific facts...what is this? The scientific facts are already here. It's right in front of us. Bush is an oil man and people have to decide which side they're on, destruction or conservation." Shawn Martinez, of the Ventie Tribal Government, reflected on the agenda of the proposed drilling operations. Martinez told Native American Times, "Drilling in the caribou calving ground is like forcing a woman to give birth in an automotive shop." Referencing the 1988 gathering to discuss prevention of development in the region, Martinez explained, "We worked together to prevent development and to discuss what the carabou mean to us- spiritually and financially as well. For thousands of years our people have subsisted off the caribou, our culture is based on the caribou and we still depend on the caribou. The same thing was done to the buffalo, it's beyond me, it's beyond all of us. The oil industry claims they can explore and drill without affecting us, but this will affect us." An April 26, 2001, Wall Street Journal article reveals that oil spills occur in neighboring Prudhoe Bay, only 60 miles away, at the rate of 400 spills per year. The article also revealed that 10% of safety valves in the Prudhoe Bay oil drilling rigs failed to pass inspection. The benefits of drilling in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will not be realized for seven to ten years, if at all. The US Geological Study that was released refers to oil that is "technically recoverable", not economically recoverable. This distinction means that it may be recoverable, but not in a cost effective manner. While the Bush administration touts the lowering of prices at the pump, the quantity of oil that is potentially in the region is so small that it will not, at any time, affect the price of oil at the pump. Elliott Negin, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, offered strong words on the agenda of the Bush administration. Negin said, "The Bush plan pays lip service to efficiency, but basically his plan is a wet kiss to the coal and oil industries. The plan pushes oil industry profits at the expense of the environment and public health. Oil prices are part of a world economy and prices at the pump will be untouched by the small amount of oil that may ultimately be present in the refuge. If we increase our fuel mileage by 3 mpg over ten years, this will equal any potential from the proposed drilling." Negin continued, "The Bush/ Cheney plan is crazy and it's a gift to the oil and coal industries- principal donors to the Bush campaign. We call it the "more pollution solution", the only people who will benefit from this are the oil company executives." ===== Native American Times is Copyright c. 2000-2001 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: Akwesasne Mohawks Have No Duty-Free Import Rights" --------- Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 09:52:24 -0700 From: Martha Elizabeth Ture Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MOHAWKS LOSE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Akwesasne Mohawks lose battle with Revenue Canada http://cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/05/24/mohawk_010524 WebPosted Fri May 25 09:32:41 2001 OTTAWA - Residents of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory near Cornwall, Ont. are not exempt from paying duty on imported goods, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday. "I conclude that the aboriginal right claimed has not been established," wrote Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin in the 7-0 judgement. The decision overturns two Federal Court judgments siding with the Mohawks. The case began in 1988, when Akwesasne's Grand Chief Michael Mitchell refused to pay duty on goods he was bringing in from New York. He argued that he had a historic treaty right to transport goods duty- free. Revenue Canada was joined by Quebec, New Brunswick, Manitoba and B.C. in appealing the earlier rulings to the Supreme Court. The lower court rulings said Mohawks could bring in goods for personal or collective use and for non-commercial trade with First Nations in Ontario or Quebec. Thursday's decision orders Mitchell to pay duty on the goods he imported, which included Bibles, blankets, used clothing, food and a washing machine. At the time the bill from Revenue Canada came to $361.64 in unpaid duty, sales tax and a penalty. Mitchell said he was disappointed by the ruling, saying he "just lost faith in the Canadian system." Written by CBC News Online staff Copyright c. 2001 CBC News Online --------- "RE: Big Mountain Report" --------- Date: Thu, 24-May-2001 00:33:51 GMT From: Robert Dorman Subj: BIGMTLIST Big Mt. report/letter to editor Mailing List: Big Mountain List >From: "Marsha Monestersky" Dear Big Mountain Supporters, I bring you greetings from the Dine' resisters living on HPL, especially from Ruth Benally, a matriarch from Big Mountain, AZ that is hopeful you can help distribute her LETTER TO THE EDITOR. Please network this LETTER to your local and national media contacts. There is a local phone number to verify the letter for publication. It was a blessing that I was able to travel to the rez with an attorney, meet with the people and attend a meeting the Hopi Tribe and BIA had with HPL residents regarding present and future plans to implement a highly restrictive and discriminatory Hopi Tribal Grazing Ordinance 43. I am collaborating on an update about our trip along with an analysis of the grazing ordinance. We will send it out to you as soon as it is completed. In the meanwhile, I would like to ask you to pray for Rena Babbitt Lane, a Dine' matriarch from Red Lake, Tonalea. When I saw her, she was having health problems severe enough to require me to bring her to a hospital. A few days later she was able to return home but I remain concerned about her health. Thank you for your support, Marsha Monestersky Consultant to Sovereign Dineh Nation ----------------------------------------------------------------- LETTER TO THE EDITOR "Dine' History of Occupancy in the Hopi Partition Land (HPL)" May 14, 2001 To Eugene Kaye, spokesperson for the Hopi Tribe I would like to say that I do not believe you know your own history. To you I say, "You were probably not breast fed or you would know your history. This is a history I know. I am 78 years old, I am Dine' and I live in Big Mountain. When my daughter, Elvira was 5 years old she herded sheep with my great great grandfather who had a Navajo name the Twin's father. I knew him for many years until he grew old. He lived with us in Big Mountain. The Twin's father told me he was 5 years old when he went to Fort Sumner in 1868. He survived the Long Walk and came home to grow old. He was born in 1863. He died when he was over 100 years old. He is the one that taught me this history of Navajo occupancy of the region before any Hopi lived out here. I believe this why there are no remains of Hopi on the land we live on. The Twin's father told me, When he was young he didn't notice any Hopi living on the land. But he did notice the Spanish people that were here traveling around on the land and they had stores they opened. My husband Joe Benally was friends with some of these people. There was a place called "Above Spring" near Polacca., where all the Navajo would herd their sheep to wash them. At that time I noticed some Navajos actually living there, the Red Bottom People Clan. I noticed it because my father was Red Bottom People and they lived there. I observed then, that there were 5 old stone houses on top of Polacca mesa, not many houses there, at Polacca there I noticed 4 old stone houses built so I knew the Hopi were there. At Polacca Tewa I noticed a few more houses and these were the Hopis. I noticed some Hopi men, one called He Talks Much and another was Talks Too Much's brother and another was called Crows Son, and other men like Miho, Sheepskin and Ghost Boy who was the star gaz! er of the Hopi Medicine Men. I used to go to him. Then I knew more Hopi men. Generations upon generations I know. For generations we lived with the Hopis near each other. At that time, when we had our sheep dip there I used to meet the Hopi there. These were the great Hopi Medicine Men. Miho, a Hopi man said District 6 was Hopi land. We used to talk to each other. My father used to talk Navajo, Hopi, Spanish and some English. His name was Levi Robinson. They had to be together to learn the language. We knew the Navajo that lived there, the Red Bottom People, then later some of my father's clan moved to the Polacca and considered themselves Hopi but they were Navajo. This is the way we made more Hopis. Jack was an albino, Hopi man was the head snake dancer. He said they were all Zunis and went to live in Hotevilla. When I was 6, I saw my first vehicle. It had wheels and I was afraid of it. Though I rarely saw a vehicle after that since we all mostly used horses. It was around this time I saw my first airplane. We thought it was a big monster eagle that would pick up people. We used to hide from it. When I was 10, I witnessed a great livestock reduction. It was done by 2 white men named Eyeglass Man and a Stew Mixer. A lot of our livestock were taken. They only allowed us 6 sheep, some families were only allowed 2. These people took almost all our animals and left a few painted ones for us to keep. This was the beginning of branding. When I started having kids I suffered from a second livestock reduction. That time my husband had livestock and half his livestock were taken away. We had a family, we did not have a job and depended upon livestock. Now with Hopi seeking enforcement of jurisdiction over grazing the next big livestock reduction is threatened. I have been told to have 2 s! heep. If this is all I am allowed, I recently ate one and gave one to a Medicine Man for ceremony. Is this all we are allowed. This is our good food that we depend upon. What are we going to eat again? There is no food. When I was 13, I saw a male Dine' hogan in Orabi built by a Spanish man that had a trading post there at the time. His name was Round Spanish. The hogan is one many Navajos, including me and my family spent the night there when we traveled there by foot and by horse. I also saw those stone houses on Oraibi, where the hogan was. These were the first buildings, now there is a larger community there. But I can still identify the old structures to this day. After that Spanish man died his brother came, Hard of Hearing Spanish man (otherwise known as Hubbel). Then he went to Ganado where he had Hubbel's Trading Post. He is buried on top of the hill now called the Hubbel Trading Post. The Mexicans, Spanish people made the Census number for us at that time. I was given a round silver coin with my Census number on and it was the first time I had a number in a coin. I still have it. Our Census did not come first by the US or the Navajo Nation. Later on, our Social Security came, just recently from Window Rock of the Navajo Nation. When I was 51 when P.L. 93-531, the Relocation law was passed. I was never informed about it before it was passed. I oppose relocation. Big Mountain is a sacred place. We make offerings there. It has a sacred name. It is our grandma mountain and we talk to them and pray to them. When I was 58, Peabody Coal mine came in after large amounts of coal were discovered. This was a money maker so the Hopi tribal government wanted part of it. When they discovered coal on Big Mountain that is why they want us to be out of the land. The Hopi claim they are the Anasazi but they are not. Anasazi is a Navajo word that means our ancient ancestors. Why are the Hopi claiming so much land when they are not big in number and we contributed to their population. To the Hopi tribal government I wish to say I will never move out, even if try to mine where I live I will stay. Yours sincerely, Ruth Benally P.O. Box 64 Kykotsmovi, AZ 86034 Contact phone, June Nelson: (520) 283-5618 Translated by: Irene Benally ========================================= Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: Seminole Chairman Faces Ouster" --------- Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 22:36:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SEMINOLE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Seminole chairman built tribe's businesses, now faces ouster Sunday, May 27, 2001 By TERRY SPENCER, Associated Press HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - During his 22 years as the undisputed leader of Florida's Seminole Indians, James Billie built both a colorful reputation and the tribe's hugely profitable gambling operation. He traveled in the tribe's fleet of helicopters and airplanes, including one formerly owned by Jordan's King Hussein, and drew a six-figure salary while running the tribe's enterprises. Those bring in $300 million annually and pay every Florida Seminole $2,000 a month. Stepping out of the tribe's corporate offices, Billie, 57, occasionally wrestled alligators for tourists, losing a finger to one last year, and crisscrossed the state to play with his band. He defeated the federal government when it accused him of violating the Endangered Species Act, winning acquittal after prosecutors said he killed a rare Florida panther. But now he has been temporarily ousted as tribal chairman amid allegations that the married father of five got his former director of operations pregnant. In a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month, Christine O'Donnell says he forced her to have an abortion and then fired her after she did. The Tribal Council voted 4-0 Thursday to suspend Billie indefinitely. It has also ordered an audit of the tribe's books and an examination of its business practices. Seminole officials also say the FBI is investigating the tribe, but the agency will not confirm that. Jim Shore, the Tribal Council's attorney, said Friday that the suspension is based on a section of the tribe's constitution that forbids leaders from acting "with gross neglect of duty or misconduct reflecting on the dignity and integrity of the Tribal Council." Shore said the council doesn't necessarily believe O'Donnell's accusations, but felt it had to suspend Billie until the truth can be determined. Its other option was to remove him, he said. "By suspending (Billie) rather than removing him, the council gave him the benefit of the doubt," Shore said. O'Donnell's attorney, Andrew Hall, said he plans to continue with the suit. Billie, who has been elected by the tribe's voters six times, declined comment Saturday when reached at the Florida Folk Festival in the north Florida town of White Springs. He lives in Big Cypress Indian Reservation, about 50 miles west of Fort Lauderdale in the Everglades, one of six reservations the tribe controls in central and South Florida. Robert Saunooke, Billie's attorney, said Billie "categorically denies any malfeasance" and charged that the council's action against his client violated the tribe's constitution. He said the constitution has no provision that allows the chairman to be suspended and that Billie was never given the opportunity to defend himself. Billie may appeal the suspension to the federal courts, Saunooke said. Florida's Seminoles are the descendants of those who successfully resisted U.S. military attempts in the 1800s to remove them from the state and force them across the Mississippi River to Oklahoma. On U.S. 441, which runs through the heart of the tribe's Hollywood reservation just south of Fort Lauderdale, the parking lot at the oldest of the tribe's five casinos was getting full Friday afternoon. Inside, gamblers play video gaming machines, bingo and poker around the clock at the 22-year-old facility, but no traditional slot machines, blackjack, roulette or other Las Vegas-style games - the state and federal governments have rejected Billie's attempts to add those games to his casinos' lineup. Also along 441 are about a dozen trailers and small shops selling discounted cigarettes. There are pawn shops, a few small Indian souvenir stands and museums, and a bikini-clad woman selling hot dogs from a cart. There are trailer parks, but most of the residents aren't Seminoles but snowbirds from Canada and the northern United States. Back off the main drag and along Florida's Turnpike is the tribe's lavish headquarters, which adjoins a neighborhood of tract homes where some Seminoles and non-Seminoles live. Several tribal members told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel after Thursday's vote that they want Billie reinstated, saying the tribe's prosperity is because of him. "He's the only one that's ever done good for the tribe," Joe Doctor told the newspaper. "Now, everything will probably fall apart." Copyright c. 2001 Naples Daily News. All rights reserved --------- "RE: Six American Indians Appear With New Attorneys" --------- Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 22:36:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHITECLAY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Six American Indians Appear With New Attorneys by AP, The Associated Press Rushville, Neb. (AP) - Six American Indians arrested in a 1999 protest at Whiteclay have made their first appearance with new attorneys in Sheridan County Court. The six were among nine men arrested July 3, 1999 for crossing a police line during a protest march at Whiteclay. The men each face two misdemeanor counts - failure to obey a lawful order and obstructing a police officer. John Yellow Bird Steele, chairman of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in nearby South Dakota, and former Nebraska Indian Commission member Frank LaMere were among the six who have turned down plea agreement offers. American Indian activist Russell Means last year accepted a plea agreement and was fined $100 for failure to obey a lawful order. Delays over questions of legal jurisdiction and the withdrawal of the six men's first attorney contributed to trial delays. No trial date was set for the remaining six during their appearance on Tuesday. Copyright c. by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 iMinorities, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Argus Leader: Lakota should not have to be Taxed" --------- Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 14:20:53 +0100 From: anne.bates Subj: Editorial- Lakota should not have to be taxed Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.argusleader.com/editorial/Thursdayarticle3.shtml Lakota should not have to be taxed Scott C. Barta Sioux City, Iowa published: 5/24/01 Why must Gov. Bill Janklow kick the Lakota when they're down? After years of oppression, seeing their lands exploited and forgetting they are an Indigenous Red Lakota Nation (instead of "Sioux Indians" from "South Dakota") the Lakota are being pressured by a governor who wants them to pay taxes and be "Americans" -- so much for sovereignty, the Constitution and "nation to nation." The United States allows Africans, Europeans and Asians to be "Americans" -- yet Janklow and the government want the Lakota to be only "full-blooded." The wolf killed by a cyanide pill near Pierre was "full- blooded" -- therefore protected under endangered species laws. Are the Lakota any different? The United Nations has black, white and yellow nations -- no red (U.S.- sponsored racism and oppression). Article 1, Section 2, Part 3 of the U.S. Constitution states "Indians shall not be taxed." Article VI states "treaties made with Indian Nations shall be the supreme law of the land." Stop trying to take the rest of Indian lands; honor the Constitution; and reject the illegal Louisiana Purchase -- the Indians are still here. ===== 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: Indians and Bison Come Back to Plains" --------- Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 09:32:36 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PLAINS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm May 27, 2001 As Others Abandon Plains, Indians and Bison Come Back By TIMOTHY EGAN FORT YATES, N.D. - In writing the obituary of the Great Plains, social historians have looked out at the abandoned ranches, collapsed homesteads and dying towns huddled against the wind in a sea of grass and seen an epic failure. And the numbers do tell a compelling story. More than 60 percent of the counties in the Great Plains lost population in the last 10 years. An area equal to the size of the original Louisiana Purchase, nearly 900,000 square miles, now has so few people that it meets the 19th-century Census Bureau definition of frontier, with six people or fewer per square mile. And a large swath of land has slipped even further, to a category the government once defined as vacant. But something else is under way from the Badlands of the Dakotas to the tallgrass fields of Oklahoma: a restoration of lost landscape and forgotten people, suggesting that European agricultural settlement of big parts of the prairie may have been an accident of history, or perhaps only a chapter. As the nearly all-white counties of the Great Plains empty out, American Indians are coming home, generating the only significant population gains in a wide stretch of the American midsection. At the same time, the frontier, as it was called when it was assumed that the land would soon be spotted with towns and farms, is actually larger than it has been since the early 20th century. These changes have been under way for decades. But they have reached a point - 108 years after Frederick Jackson Turner suggested that the American frontier was closed, with the buffalo herds wiped out and native populations down to a few tribes - that there are now more Indians and bison on the Plains than at any time since the late 1870's. "What's happening is really quite astonishing," said Patricia Locke, a Lakota and Chippewa elder and a MacArthur Foundation fellow who returned to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation here several years ago. "It's like an evacuation one way, and a homecoming in the other." Indians, of course, are still a fraction of the overall Plains population, making up just under 8 percent of the population in the state, Oklahoma, where they have the biggest population, 272,601 people. But while many Plains counties lost 20 percent or more of their population, the overall Indian population grew by 20 percent in North Dakota, 23 percent in South Dakota, 18 percent in Montana, 20 percent in Nebraska and 12 percent in Kansas. Some of this can be attributed to better counting and higher birthrates, but tribal officials say there has been steady in-migration dating to the mid-1980's. In North Dakota alone, 47 of the 53 counties lost population. Among the handful that gained people were three counties populated primarily by Indians. In South Dakota, half of the counties lost people. But the second- fastest-growing county, Shannon, is in the heart of Indian country, on the Pine Ridge Reservation, a county that is 94 percent Indian and grew by 26 percent in the last census. And much of Montana is nearly as open today as it was when Lewis and Clark explored there nearly 200 years ago. All but four of the counties in the flat eastern part of the state lost population; of those with gains, three contain Indian reservations. "All of these numbers suggest that the experiment on much of the northern Plains with European agricultural settlement may soon be ending," said Myron Gutmann, a University of Texas professor who is an authority on Plains population trends. As Indians have moved home, on or near reservation lands, whites have fled the counties that were opened to homesteading in the last of the great Western land rushes in the early 20th century. The whitest county in the nation, Slope County, N.D., is down to 767 people; all but three of its residents are white. By contrast, in 1915, six years after the prairie was opened to ranchers and farmers through the Enlarged Homestead Act, Slope County was bustling, with 4,945 people. Now the county seat, Amidon, has 25 people, and the population density, less than one person per square mile, is well below the 19th- century Census Bureau definition of land that is vacant or wilderness. Much of North Dakota has a ghostly feel to it: empty homesteads and occasional schoolhouses litter the land, with caved-in roofs and grass growing where there used to be front porches. The wind blows so hard that a cup of coffee brought outside develops whitecaps. Cattle ranching and farming of wheat, barley and corn still prevail, especially on large corporate farms in the middle and southern plains. But in Slope, Hettinger, Adams, Grant, Burke, Divide, Garfield or any of the hundreds of other plains counties that seem to have one foot in the grave, land is being left to the wind and sparse rain. In publicly owned prairie land, the native grasses and wildflowers have returned, and species like prairie dogs, black-footed ferrets, burrowing owls and bison have made comebacks. Much of this land will never be plowed again, for a third of the nation's 3.7 million acres of national grassland is designated roadless under a measure started by President Bill Clinton over the objections of many in the region's Congressional delegation. Other parts are managed by private groups like the Nature Conservancy, which has been buying up ranches and homesteads. "I'm an old prairie guy, and it does my heart good to see so much of the Plains greening up again with native species," said Greg Schenbeck, a wildlife biologist with the grasslands division of the Forest Service. "And I tell you, people who come to visit are really excited - they talk about the expansiveness, the openness, the grass stretching to the horizon." At the turn of the century, only a few hundred buffalo were left in the West. Now there are 300,000, and more than 30 tribes in the northern Plains are controlling large herds on land where bison, unlike cattle, need no help to flourish. A third of the nation's 31 accredited Indian colleges offer bison management. "Just having these animals around, knowing what they meant to our ancestors, and bringing kids out to connect to them has been a big plus," said Mike Faith, who manages the bison herd on the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation here, not far from where Sitting Bull was killed. Indians have the highest rate of diabetes in the nation. Part of the overall restoration of the Plains is an effort to get bison meat, which is low in cholesterol and fat, back into the Indian diet. "We're probably one of the few ethnic communities that have been blessed with a God-given creature to help restore us," said Donald Lake, director of the Inter-Tribal Bison Co- operative of Rapid City, S.D., a nonprofit group that works to repopulate Indian country with bison. Mr. Lake, a Santee Sioux from Nebraska, has returned to the Plains after living for years in Los Angeles. He likes the slower pace, the connection to other Indians, the low prices. He winces at the description that the historian Turner used to describe frontier land as it became populated with Europeans. It was, Turner wrote, "the place where civilization meets savagery." Many Indians have moved back to reservations because of jobs in the casinos, the so-called new buffalo, which have been the main economic salvation. On the Standing Rock Reservation, for example, the casino is the county's biggest job provider, employing 376 people, and it has expanded six times since it opened in 1993. But Indian reservations remain among the poorest places in the nation, with high unemployment, high out-of-wedlock birthrates and chronic drug and alcohol abuse. Still, life has improved. Tourism has increased. People come to look at bison, tribal officials say; others pay up to $2,500 for the right to hunt them. People interested in the Plains tribes' history are also drawn to the prairie. "Sitting Bull is one of the biggest names in the world, and he still has family here," said Elaine McLaughlin, the Standing Rock tribal secretary. "A lot of people in state government seem surprised when people show up from all over because they want to know more about Indians." The re-emergence of a Great Plains of Indians and bison was foretold in 1987 by two Rutgers University professors, Frank J. Popper and his wife, Deborah E. Popper. They said white depopulation would accelerate, as it became clear that farming and building towns on the arid Plains was "the largest, longest-running agricultural and environmental miscalculation in American history." They proposed a "Buffalo Commons" in the empty counties, an open range populated by the species that once thundered over the land. People throughout the prairie scorned their idea, and the Poppers became the objects of intense hatred. But their idea has been revived of late, with little rancor. While the Poppers may ultimately be proved right in several respects, they were wrong in one major sense: In their vision, government would be the driving force, buying land and bringing buffalo back, then turning some of it over to Indians to manage. Now, in a twist, it is government that keeps the white farming and ranching communities alive, through annual subsidies of more than $20 billion. Many historians have long argued that white settlement, particularly of the northern Plains, was largely government-induced from the start, through subsidies to railroads and homesteaders. "If the government ever pulled out, the Buffalo Commons would come on like a storm," Mr. Popper said. Indians and bison have returned by self-initiative and free enterprise, helped by the success of casinos. "The people coming back, they get their degrees and they start their own businesses, or take jobs as teachers here on the reservation," said Anita Blue of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota, where the population in the Indian- dominated county grew 7.1 percent. The idea of Manifest Destiny in reverse is scoffed at by many people, especially in the dying counties. But a sense of irrevocable change pervades the northern Plains. "There is a lot of that Buffalo Commons idea that's probably true," said Gov. John Hoeven of North Dakota, a Republican elected on a pledge to revitalize the state. "It's never going to look like it did before, when all the farms and ranches were healthy." Copyright c. 2001 The New York Times Company --------- "RE: Samish Nation Reclaims its Place" --------- Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 22:36:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAMISH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Samish Nation reclaims its place 05/26/01 MARINA PARR/Skagit Valley Herald ANACORTES - Most Indian tribes are tucked away on sprawling reservations, off-the-beaten-path kinds of places where tribal members keep the torch of an ancient culture kindled. Not so the Samish Indian Nation. For years members of this Northwest tribe have lacked even a sliver of land to call their own. Last October, however, tribal members used federal money to purchase an 80-acre parcel off Highway 20 near Campbell Lake in a bid to rebuild their homeland. "It isn't like we're some stranger saying `this is a nice place to live.' This is our home. This is where we come from," said Ken Hansen, the tribe's chairman. The purchase has thrust the low-profile tribe into the public spotlight - a place most tribal members are unaccustomed to being. Some worry their neighbors may frown upon a tribal housing development, thinking it might lead to a casino, for example - although tribal leaders say that's not what they have in mind. "I do know people are often nervous about Indian governments acquiring land," Hansen said. For years the tribe was constrained from buying land and setting up a reservation because it lacked official federal recognition. Without a reservation to help keep the tribe rooted, there has been more mixing with middle-class, non-tribal neighbors. Tribal members are as likely to hold jobs working at the oil refineries in Anacortes or at a local restaurant or retail store as their neighbors down the street. But that hasn't stopped the tribe from accessing federal money aimed at building low- and moderate-income housing. Hansen acknowledges that tribal members of all income levels will be able to purchase homes built on tribal land with federal money. The homes - perhaps as many as 16 - will be paid for out of U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funding. To date, the tribe has taken in about $1.6 million from two HUD programs aimed at Native Americans. There's a chance some tribal members exceed the federal income requirements. "HUD will only deal with certain income levels," Hansen said. "We have to buy it back, lot by lot, if people don't fall within those HUD guidelines. We're prepared to do that. We have a concept of a blended community, not only economic composition but making sure age and family size and types of units are blended as well." That a federal agency is helping foot the bill for the tribe's housing project is a victory for the Samish. For years, members have struggled in a long and bitter fight with the federal government in a bid for official recognition - and the federal money that flows with it. The tribe fell off the list of federally recognized tribes in 1969 because of a glitch in paperwork. That set in motion a protracted legal battle, which in 1996 was finally resolved in the Samish's favor. But by that point, the tribe, which numbers about 800 members, had no place to call home. "Lacking a central gathering place certainly posed obstacles," said Hansen. He noted that the tribe sometimes has held meetings to hear from its membership at Anacortes City Hall, the Swinomish Indian reservation or at a local grange hall. "We made do with what we had," he said. Hansen, a 49-year-old father of two, grew up in Federal Way. His Samish heritage is on his mother's side of the family; her father was Samish. But Hansen, who received a bachelor's degree in Indian Affairs from Antioch University, is quick to say, "I'm all Samish." By age 18, Hansen was sitting on the tribal council and in 1978 moved to Anacortes - where the tribe's main office is located - to help the tribe fight the clerical error that placed its federal status in limbo for about 25 years. He served as tribal chairman from 1979 to 1987 and was elected chairman again three and half years ago. Hansen's career has been spent working for various tribal governments, including a stint as a consultant for the Shoalwater Bay tribe. But the Samish Tribe is where he has poured most of his energy. The tribe has operated an administrative office along Commercial Avenue, Anacortes' main drag, since 1974. Over the years, the office has moved several times up and down the avenue. The tribe has kept financially afloat by operating state and federally funded programs, including a senior meals program and a child care center the past 12 years. The child care center, open to all low-income kids, is paid for by a state grant. The tribe, despite its well-placed administrative office and social service programs, has largely gone unnoticed, however. That's likely to change in the coming years as the Samish continue to collect federal money and the clout that comes with being a federally recognized tribe. Hansen said there are plans in the works to buy back more land and possibly build a hotel, sometime in the future. "We see tourism as a renewable resource that needs to be managed," Hansen said. "We've got some wonderful attractions and amenities we'd like to share with people. I think we can become a major player in that." Hansen said the Samish homeland touches on four counties, including Skagit, Whatcom, San Juan and Island. They are places that draw tourists with their brooding trees and breathtaking scenery. Some day the Samish hope to buy back more property in places their ancestors once called home. "We don't see 80 acres as an endpoint.... We're reopening doors back to our own homeland," Hansen said. Copyright c. 2001 Skagit Valley Herald. Copyright c. 2000 MyWebPal.com. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Saugeen Indian Band Barricades Campground Access" --------- Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 08:54:21 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SAUGEEN BARRICADE" http://www.pechanga.net Indian band barricades campground access Roadblock protests disorderly parties on land Roberta Avery SPECIAL TO THE STAR SAUBLE BEACH - Campers arriving here for the first long weekend of the summer yesterday found a roadblock and a campground barricaded by members of the local Indian band. About 50 members of the Saugeen First Nation erected the barricades in defiance of a federal court order prohibiting the band from closing Hideaway Campground, a popular party place. James Sebastian of Listowel, who operates it on leased reserve land, refused to comment. "We're a sovereign nation and we have a right to say what happens on our land," said Randy Roote, Saugeen First Nation chief. The band set up the barricade late Friday using huge trees to block a 10-kilometre stretch of County Road 13, a main access road into this Lake Huron community. By mid-morning yesterday, Anishnabek Police and the OPP had negotiated reducing the closed section to about one kilometre in front of the camp. "We're just here to maintain the peace," said Anishnabek Sergeant Warren John, from one of half a dozen police vehicles about 200 metres from a barricade. A similar mix of OPP and band police was at the other barricade. The band decided to close the camp and the adjacent overflow Nawash Camp, run by band members, following two deaths there last Victoria Day weekend and because of disorderly behaviour that has become the norm at this time of the year, Roote said. "We don't want this lawless behaviour in our community, we've done this to protect our people," Roote said. Through a deal overseen by the federal government, Sebastian signed a 20-year lease with private landowners on the reserve, Roote said. "It's in our territory but our council was not allowed any input into the deal," he said. The lease has four years to run. Allan Thompson, 26, of Proton Station, south of Collingwood, died after being shot last May 20 during what was described as a dispute over an extra $8 fee for camping in the overflow field. Garry Kewaquom, 56, of Saugeen First Nation, who was charged with second-degree murder in connection with Thompson's death, is out on bail awaiting trial. The following day, Charles Therrien, 43, of Mississauga died at Hideaway after choking on his own vomit. With a court order prohibiting the band from closing him down, Sebastian opened camp Friday. About 50 campers had checked in before the barricades went up. Usually 1,600 campers come on the May weekend. Police charged Roote with breaching the court order yesterday. He is to appear in court June 8. Sharon Isaac spent Friday night behind the barricades because she believes closing the camps will make her community on the Saugeen reserve safer for her daughter Kelsey, 7. "It gets wild here. The parties are uncontrolled and our kids are exposed to drugs and alcohol and even our police feel threatened," Isaac said. Copyright c. 1996-2001 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. --------- "RE: South Carolina Repatriations" --------- Date: Fri, 25 May 2001 10:24:20 EDT From: Gjsooner@aol.com Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CKR DRAFT" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Eastern Door Editorial: Taking a hard look at the CKR umbrella agreement, Part I http://www.easterndoor.com/Archivesx/10-15/10-15-editorial.htm Guest editorial by Taiaiake Alfred Our ancestors always stood up for their principles. When faced with challenges in whatever form, Kahnawakehro:non have always met them head on, and took whatever action was necessary to protect their families, their lands and their freedom. This is the spirit of our nation, and the true meaning of self-determination. It is a good thing that we have learned lessons from the past, because we have a challenge in front of us that is as great as any in our nation's long history. In the coming years, we will make decisions that will determine how Kahnawake is governed internally, and how we stand in relation to the powerful forces outside of our community. This is a time of serious and lasting change. Whether we like it or not, whether we are ready or not, we will be forced to re-make our relationship with Canada - the government of Canada has said that it will dismantle the Indian Act and impose a new set of laws to govern its relationship with Native people. The proposed First Nations Governance Act, the First Nations Land Management Act, a new land claims commission, and other changes will come into effect in as soon as two years from now. There is not much certainty about what this new set of rules will include and what exactly the new relationship will look like. But the one thing for certain is that these changes are designed to move our communities closer to Canada's vision of the future; a future in which all of us pay taxes and have lost our reserve lands as well as all the entitlements and benefits we now have. The Canadian government has already said plainly that it will eliminate the tax exemption from the Indian Act in a few short years. Yet these changes are a challenge that we do not need to fear. After all, the Indian Act needs to be eliminated. There is nothing good in the Indian Act itself, which has been a tool to control us and to divide our people. Under the Indian Act we do not even own our reserve lands. Things like Indian status, the band council and Indian reserves (along with most of the money provided to us by the federal government) are not legal "rights" at all. These things are the legal creations and policies of the government of Canada - and they are things that can be taken away from us. It may be a hard thing to admit, but under the Indian Act nothing official happens on an Indian reserve without the approval of the Minister of Indian Affairs. Simply put, under the present system, we have no rights, recognition or respect. Now that we have the strength and the ability to force Canada to change the Indian Act, the question is this: What are we going to replace it with? With its own proposals such as the First Nations Governance Act, and others on land management, Canada is trying hold on to its power and force us to accept being part of the Canadian system. It has a strategy of changing the words, but keeping everything else the same. Its vision is still to have us assimilate and to turn our nations into municipalities - but it cannot use those words in this day and age. The important thing to realize is that Canada can only achieve its goal if we allow it to happen. This is why the CKR umbrella agreement is so important. If it is done properly, the CKR draft agreement can be used as a shield against Canada's full-on assimilation agenda. As with any arrangement negotiated within the box of Canadian law, we cannot expect the CKR to be perfect, nor can it reflect the ideal image of our nation as it was and as it should be. In this, it may be that the CKR is a reflection of our community as it actually is today. We have pride, honour, tradition and principles; but do we have the unity, the power and the practical ability to go any further toward our traditional ideal of a nation-to-nation relation with Canada right now? Are we economically capable of standing on our own? Tested against reality, the CKR appears to be an honest attempt to move Kahnawake out of the Indian Act and give us control over our own land, to give some recognition to our own form of government, and to protect us from the potential harm that could come out of the government of Canada's own plans for replacing the Indian Act. This is fair enough. The next question is this: Does this version of the draft agreement support our principles or go against them? Copyright c. 1997-2000 The Eastern Door. --------- "RE: Police Move to Fire Dudley's Killer" --------- Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 07:26:23 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DUDLEY'S KILLER" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm/ OPP moves to fire Indian activist's killer Officer was convicted in 1997 shooting Peter Edwards STAFF REPORTER ORILLIA - The Ontario Provincial Police force is seeking to expel Acting Sergeant Ken Deane because of his criminal conviction for shooting an Indian activist to death. Deane, 39, was convicted in April, 1997 of criminal negligence causing death in the late-night shooting of Anthony (Dudley) George on Sept. 6, 1995 at Ipperwash Provincial Park near Sarnia. Deane's conviction was upheld in January by the Supreme Court of Canada. Deane has been served with a letter from the OPP which states it is seeking his dismissal because he has been convicted of a criminal offence, Superintendent Rick Kotwa said in an interview at OPP headquarters. Mr. Justice Hugh Fraser ruled in his 1997 trial that Deane knew George was unarmed when he shot George with a sub-machinegun. George was one of a group of Indians who occupied the park at the end of tourist season, saying it was on a sacred burial ground. That claim was later upheld by the federal government. The OPP professional standards branch met briefly early this week on the Deane case. There, it was announced that the prosecutor in the force's hearing on Deane will be Denise Dwyer, who has worked for a decade as a criminal prosecutor in Kitchener and Toronto. Deane's defence will be handled by Ian Roland, general counsel to the Police Association of Ontario and the Canadian Police Association. Roland, an experienced lawyer in employment matters, was involved in the development of the Police Services Act, under which Deane is now charged. An adjudicator to preside over Deane's case has not yet been selected. "We would want someone separate from our organization," Kotwa said. The move to expel Deane caught Brian Adkin, head of the OPP Police Association, off guard. The association is funding Deane's defence. "I'm surprised by that," Adkin said, declining further comment. Deane was a leader on the OPP's paramilitary tactical unit the night George was shot dead. Deane is now working in an office job in the OPP traffic support bureau and does not carry a firearm in his current duties, Kotwa said. He was not at the brief hearing meeting Tuesday, where a date of June 6 was set for the next hearing. Copyright c. 1996-2001 Toronto Star Newspapers Limited --------- "RE: Native Protesters Arrested at B.C. Lands Office" --------- Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 22:36:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PROTESTERS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Native protesters arrested at B.C. government office WebPosted Sat May 26 15:01:01 2001 KAMLOOPS, B.C. - The RCMP Friday arrested 16 aboriginal protesters who had occupied the B.C. Lands and Assets office for three days. The protesters, most who claimed to be members of the Native Youth Movement, were demanding that the government stop selling Crown Land which they say is native property. They began their occupation of the offices Wednesday, and a court injunction against them was issued Thursday. Two aboriginal elders were among those led away in plastic handcuffs after the group refused to obey the original court injunction and then an enforcement order from the B.C. Supreme Court. The protesters were charged with criminal contempt for defying the court injunction, and were not expected to remain in custody for long. Written by CBC News Online staff. Copyright c. 2001 CBC News. --------- "RE: Children can't get Right Health Care in Nunavut" --------- Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 22:36:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NUNAVUT HEALTH CARE" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm May 25, 2001 You want health care? Go south, mother is told Inuit parents may never hear the truth: their children can't get the right health care in Nunavut. JANE GEORGE Nunatsiaq News You want health care? Go south, mother is told Inuit parents may never hear the truth: their children can't get the right health care in Nunavut. JANE GEORGE Nunatsiaq News MONTREAL - Families with severely damaged children need to leave Nunavut to get the health care they need. That's what Nunavut health professionals have been telling Jodi Jaffray of Kimmirut For 10 years she has been struggling with the health-care system to get help for her troubled son, who's suffering from serious physical- and mental- health problems. Jaffray fears Inuit parents in similar straits never hear the truth: that even doctors believe children can't get proper health care in Nunavut. "They say, `You have to move South,'" Jaffray said. "We've been here for 13 years, seven of them in Kimmirut. I'm sure if we had been born and raised here, they wouldn't be saying that to me." Nunavut's children, the territory's most vulnerable residents, may be getting the worst treatment of all in a health-care system that already ranks among the worst in Canada. Jaffray doesn't think that's fair, especially when all Canadians are entitled to an equal level of health care no matter where they live. Ever since Jaffray's son became prone to ear infections as an infant, health-care professionals have told her the only way to get help is for her family to leave Nunavut. Because of his hearing problems, the boy couldn't learn Inuktitut easily, despite being immersed in the language. In 1999, Jaffray and her husband paid to have an Ottawa specialist assess him. The specialist found he suffered from hearing and learning problems. "There are others who don't have the means to push as hard. He's not an isolated case," Jaffray said. In June of 2000, the school in Kimmirut wrote to the local health centre, asking them to provide more help for his many problems. Nothing happened. By February of 2001, the boy's difficulties had deteriorated into a crisis. Jaffray says her son "shut down," with crying spells and tantrums. He was hitting himself and he refused to go to school. A visiting doctor then told Jaffray that her son needed to be seen by a child psychiatrist. After two months, nothing happened. As Jaffray waited, she wrote a lengthy letter to Nunavut's health minister, Ed Picco, dated April 8. "My son has been in crisis for two months," she told Picco. "This is a young child who is struggling to survive. He is losing precious time in education because no one has identified or treated the disorder which causes him not to function in school. He is at risk for failure and dropping out of school in the future. Worse yet, he is at risk for committing suicide." "My husband and I have been told by several doctors that the Nunavut government is not willing to pay to have these children assessed because there are no follow-up services available in Nunavut at this time," she wrote. Although three months have passed since her son's crisis, Jaffray's son still hasn't recieved a full assessment from a child psychiatrist. She brought him to Iqaluit recently for a series of medical appointments, one of which was with a visiting psychiatrist, but no conclusive course of treatment resulted from the consultation. Jaffray says she's still waiting for a referral to see a children's mental health specialist. Meanwhile, she's giving her son medication prescribed by a child psychiatrist who has never seen the boy in person. The crisis passed, and he's back in school - for now. But Jaffray wonders what happens to children whose parents aren't as persistent as she, or parents who can't fight for their children in English. In her opinion, Nunavut leaders should start putting their money where their mouth is. "If children are the priority, they should start putting more money into them," she said. Jaffray would like to see Nunavut children gain better access to early- childhood intervention programs. She says there should be more visits by occupational and speech therapists and more support in schools for children affected by fetal alcohol syndrome and attention- deficit disorder. Children suffering from mental disorders should be seen by a specialized child psychiatrist, too, she says. The Nunavut government should strike an agreement with the Chidren's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa to supply mental health services to children. Right now, their sole agreement for psychiatric services is with the Clarke Institute in Toronto, and that's for adults. Jaffray told health minister Picco all this in her letter back in April. But she says Picco still hasn't answered her yet, apart from an official acknowledgement that her correspondence had been received. Copyright c. 2001 Nunatsiaq News. --------- "RE: Community Pursues Navajo OK for Casino" --------- Date: Tue, 29 May 2001 08:36:36 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="TO'HAJIILEE" http://www.indianz.com Saturday, May 26, 2001 Community Pursues Navajo OK for Casino By Leslie Linthicum Journal Staff Writer Members of the To'hajiilee community west of Albuquerque plan to go back to the Navajo Nation government to ask for permission to start casino gambling on their lands. They will also press harder for federal recognition as a separate tribe, according to a member of the To'hajiilee Economic Development and Gaming Commission. The president of the Navajo Nation vetoed legislation that would have amended the tribe's laws to open the door for gambling at To'hajiilee, formerly known as Canoncito. The tribal council recently failed in two attempts to override that veto. Paul Platero, a member To'hajiilee's Economic Development and Gaming Commission, said the latest failure to get the tribe's OK makes the community's bid for recognition as an independent tribe even more important. "Our best route is to be brave and be sensible and just wait for our separate status," Platero said. The To'hajiilee community, about 25 miles west of Albuquerque, has always been aligned with the larger Navajo tribe while maintaining some independence. They established a community west of the Rio Puerco as early as the 1500s while most Navajos settled farther west in what is now eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Congress established the original Canoncito reservation in 1924. In 1949, Congress transferred more land to the Department of Interior to be held in trust for what became known as the Canoncito Band of Navajos. Canoncito has been treated by the Navajo tribe as one of its 110 political entities, known as "chapters," while maintaining a measure of independence. Canoncito officials in 1989 submitted a petition to be recognized as a separate tribe to the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Branch of Acknowledgment and Research, the agency that reviews requests by Indian groups that want the federal government to recognize them as tribes. The petition has been delayed due to differences of opinion within the community. Some members asked that it be withdrawn and it took years for a ruling from the federal government that those members did not have standing to squelch the request. In 1998 the Branch of Acknowledgment and Research told the group they needed further documentation on two of the seven criteria the government uses to determine if a group is a legitimate Indian tribe. A year later, the community voted to change its name to To'hajiilee, a Navajo word that describes the springs that drew the original settlers to the region. If they were to attain independent status, the To'hajiilees would give up the services they receive through the Navajo tribe - police, courts, housing and social services - and would have to provide those services for themselves with money apportioned from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They would also be able to pursue their plans to open a casino on I-40 just west of Rio Puerco. Plans for the casino have been on hold while To'hajiilee has tried to persuade the Navajo Nation to relax its prohibition on gambling. Casino backers hope to bring another proposal before the Navajo Tribal Council this summer. Platero said the new proposal would address some of Navajo President Kelsey Begaye's concerns, which included provisions for law enforcement and security, regulatory oversight and the tribe's liability. In the years since the casino was first proposed, four of seven original investors have pulled out, Platero said. Meanwhile, Platero said he is working on getting information to address the shortcomings the Bureau of Acknowledgment and Research found with To'hajiilee's petition - a better enumeration of how many members belong to the tribe and a better description of the local political system. Estimates of the number of people who can trace their lineage to the original To'hajiilee settlers range between 2,800 and 3,200. Copyright c. 2001 Albuquerque Journal --------- "RE: Tohono O'odham wants U.S. Citizenship" --------- Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 08:56:20 -0400 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: TOHONO O'ODHAM Albuquerque Journal - Sunday, May 27, 2001 Tribe Wants U.S. Citizenship for Members in Mexico By Guillermo Contreras Journal Staff Writer Members of the Tohono O'odham tribe say they are tired of being treated as noncitizens. A tribal delegation stopped in Albuquerque on Friday, en route to Washington, D.C., to petition Congress to change immigration law so that all members of the tribe are recognized as U.S. citizens. Tribal members say they are falling victim to consequences of immigration policy because their traditional lands span the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona and Sonora. Many say they are treated as illegal immigrants by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and Border Patrol, detained and deported. At a news conference hosted by First Nations North to South, an Albuquerque nonprofit group that works to unite native people regardless of borders, the tribe said it plans to ask Congress to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act so that tribal credentials are treated as the equivalent of federally issued certificates of citizenship or state- issued birth certificates. Their crusade is known as the "Make it Right" campaign. Rene Noriega, a spokesman for the Border Patrol's Tucson sector, which encompasses the Tohono O'odham Nation, said a packet of administrative proposals was drafted earlier this year in conjunction with the tribe and sent to INS headquarters in Washington. Part of the packet contains a proposal to grant citizenship to members of the nation on either side of the border "by birth," Noriega said. But the tribe seeks a permanent resolution, not just an administrative fix. The Tohono O'odham, once known as the Papago tribe, have lived along what is now the U.S.-Mexico border since long before the United States and Mexico existed as nations, the tribe said. With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War and with the Gadsden Purchase of 1853, O'odham land was divided between the United States and Mexico. The majority of Tohono O'odham remained in the United States, but a significant number remain in Sonora, along with important villages, planting fields, ceremonial centers and sacred sites. Of the 24,000 registered members of the Tohono O'odham tribe, 7,000 have no birth certificates. About 1,400 live south of the border and are not recognized as U.S. citizens, the Tohono O'odham said. "We Tohono O'odham are no longer able to move freely on our own lands," said a news release read at the news conference by Christine Zuni Cruz of Isleta Pueblo, whose husband is Tohono O'odham and part of the delegation. For fear of arrest, prosecution and deportation, members in the United States don't visit relatives on the Mexican side and those in Sonora are prevented by the Border Patrol from entering the United States or are deported, according to Tohono O'odham vice chairman Henry Ramon, who made the statements on a video played at the news conference. The delegation is scheduled to arrive in Washington on June 2. ===== Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com --------- "RE: Mexico's Indian Rights Plan may not bring Peace" --------- Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 08:54:21 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CHIAPAS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Mexico's Indian rights plan may not bring peace in Chiapas By Alejandro Ruiz, Associated Press, 5/22/2001 03:06 VENUSTIANO CARRANZA, Mexico (AP) Zapatista rebels reject Mexico's new Indian rights bill as too weak. Conservatives in Chiapas are afraid it is too strong. Few on either side believe it will bring peace to the troubled state. And some fear the autonomy bill even in the weakened version approved by Congress could make matters worse, seven years after a 1994 Zapatista revolt in the name of Indian rights left Chiapas a legacy of rivalries that have repeatedly erupted into violence. "This state is a powder keg," said Juan Gonzalez Esponda, a Chiapas official charged with reconciling Indian communities split between rebel sympathizers and supporters of the former ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI. "It's like walking through a minefield: One false step and it could blow up," Esponda said. Congress was aware of the explosive tensions in Chiapas when it watered down the rights bill, weakening chances for the kind of regional union of leftist Indian communities the rebels want. But while the changes prompted the Zapatistas to sever contacts with the government and soured Chiapas peace efforts, they may not be enough to calm the fears of Protestants, small landowners and conservatives who make up the state's non-Zapatista factions. Non-Zapatistas were the victims of the latest round of violence in Mexico's southernmost state: On April 19, masked gunmen killed eight PRI supporters all Tzotzil Indians as they returned from their fields in the hamlet of Venustiano Carranza. A leftist group that is not linked to the Zapatistas but has a long- running rivalry with the PRI is thought to be responsible. The attack left associates of the victims clamoring for justice or revenge. "If there is no (government) response to these killings, then the only thing people can do is to defend themselves," said Domingo de la Torre, a leader of the group that was attacked. "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." A land-rights dispute may have been involved often the case in Chiapas, where land titles are murky, many plots are communally held and fast- growing Indian communities expand cornfields into forests and jungles, competing with land-hungry cattle ranchers. The autonomy bill, in the original version pushed by the Zapatistas and submitted to Congress by President Vicente Fox in December, declared Indians had the right to "collective use" of land and natural resources in their territories. That concept sparked an angry demonstration in April by hundreds of Chiapas Indians afraid of losing their small farms or ranches. "It appears that Fox is in a big hurry to reach a peace deal that won't end up reconciling us," said organizer Jorge Constantino. Congress weakened the collectivity clause to stress respect for existing property rights. That angered Zapatista supporters such as anthropologist Carlos Montemayor, who called the protesters "cattle ranchers who want to go on stealing the Indians' land." Montemayor also criticized conservative groups such as de la Torre's farm cooperative, one of two dozen that have been accused of operating armed PRI-allied paramilitaries that reportedly got training and guns from the army after the 1994 uprising. While the Zapatistas say the bill doesn't go far enough to protect their interests, others feel threatened by it. The PRI lost control of both the state and federal government for the first time in seven decades last year, and people in PRI strongholds fear the Indian rights law would increase the rebels' power. "We don't have any support from anyone, not even from the government anymore," said Maria Santis, a Tzotzil Indian from Los Chorros, a PRI- controlled town. "We are vulnerable and unprotected, like animals." In the past, when Los Chorros has felt aggrieved, it has lashed out with violence. After disputes with the nearby hamlet of Acteal in 1997, dozens of men from Los Chorros massacred 45 Acteal residents who supported the rebels. Some critics say the Indian rights plan would also aggravate religious tension in Chiapas, where tens of thousands of Protestant Indians have been expelled from majority Catholic villages in three decades. The bill, which also must be approved by two-thirds of Mexico's 31 state legislatures, would allow legal recognition for traditional Indian government by village assemblies and councils of elders, bodies not known for their tolerance of dissent. While Congress altered it to subject the traditional forms of government to approval by state legislatures, some fear the safeguards are insufficient. "This hurry-up legislation could quickly be stained, perhaps in blood, mainly because of religious intolerance," said Arturo Farela, a leader of Chiapas' evangelical Protestant churches. Copyright c. 2001 Boston Globe Electronic Publishing, Inc. --------- "RE: Guatemala: Justice at Last for Disappeared" --------- Date: Tue, 22 May 2001 12:23:31 -0700 From: Native Americas Journal Subj: Native Americas Update--May 22, 2001 http://www.nativeamericas.com (800) 9-NATIVE The following is made available by Native Americas Journal, published by Akwe:kon Press at Cornell University's American Indian Program. For information on how to stay informed of emerging trends that impact Native peoples visit our website at http://www.nativeamericas.com. --------------------------------------------------------------------- GUATEMALA: JUSTICE AT LAST FOR "DISAPPEARED" By Bill Weinberg Copyright c. 2001 Native Americas Journal In a highly publicized case that finally brought world attention to the grisly human rights climate in Guatemala, the Western Hemisphere's highest international court has issued an historic ruling against that country's military forces, which carried out a genocidal counterinsurgency against Maya Indians in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After deliberating for several years, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) has found the Guatemalan military guilty of secret detention, torture, extrajudicial execution and obstruction of justice. The ruling came in the case of Efrain Bamaca Velasquez, a Maya guerrilla leader who was captured by the Guatemalan army on March 12, 1992-and secretly held and tortured at a clandestine prison for over a year. His case was one of many, but his wife, Jennifer Harbury, an American attorney, engaged in lengthy hunger strikes in both Guatemala and Washington, D.C. in an effort to save his life. In 1995, following congressional hearings, Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.) confirmed Bamaca's extrajudicial execution at the hands of Guatemalan military officials-one of them a paid CIA informant, Col. Julio Roberto Alpirez. The Bamaca case was an embarrassment to the U.S. government, which continues to fund the Guatemalan military, now under the War on Drugs. But Harbury is among many who accuse the Guatemala military with drug trading. The Torricelli investigation also linked CIA asset Alpirez to the death of Michael DeVine, a U.S. citizen who ran a small inn for tourists in the Guatemalan rainforest. DeVine was reportedly ordered murdered by Alpirez because he had discovered military-protected drug-smuggling routes through the jungle. In 1999, a UN Truth Commission found that the Guatemalan security forces were responsible for 94 percent of the human rights violations that occurred during the war, which officially ended in 1996, and rebuked the U.S. for its close ties to the military regimes that ran Guatemala. The Inter-American Court made clear that international law does not permit the use of secret prisons, torture or assassination by any government officials under any circumstances. Writes Amnesty International: "This ruling comes as a clear and sharp rebuke to military strongmen throughout the Americas, who have long sought to justify such abuses by claiming that their victims were either members or sympathizers of local guerrilla forces. From Pinochet in Chile, to army leaders throughout Central America, it has been urged that counterinsurgency efforts make such abuses permissible. International laws and treaties prohibit such human rights violations. As the Inter-American Court made clear in its resounding opinion, such legal prohibitions are absolute." Bill Weinberg is author of Homage to Chiapas: The New Indigenous Struggles in Mexico (Verso 2000). ------------------ HOW TO SUBSCRIBE To begin your subscription to Native Americas Journal call (800) 9-NATIVE, or use our secure subscription order form at http://formsite.com/akwekonpress/akwekonpress HOW TO ADD, CHANGE OR DELETE AN EMAIL ADDRESS As a member of our e-network of friends and supporters you receive free electronic updates and notifications from Native Americas Journal. To remove, change or add an email address simply click the email address below and send to: mailto:bfw2@cornell.edu WARNING!!! NATIVE AMERICAS NEEDS YOUR HELP. PLEASE REQUEST THAT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARIES SUBSCRIBE --------- "RE: Brazil: People of Roraima report Encroachment" --------- Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 12:17:21 -0400 From: Amazon Alliance Subj: Brazil: Indigenous People of Roraima Report Encroachment Mailing List: Amazon Alliance Indianist Missionary Council - Cimi - cimi@embratel.net.br Newsletter n. 461 Brasilia, 17 May 2001 INDIGENOUS PEOPLE OF RORAIMA REPORT ENCROACHMENT ON THEIR LANDS AND VIOLENCE IN THE STATE The Human Rights Committee of the Chamber of Representatives (CDH) held an extraordinary public hearing on Wednesday, the 16th, to receive reports of encroachments and problems related to the establishment of military units of the Army in indigenous areas in the state of Roraima. The hearing was attended by a commission of representatives of Macuxi communities of the Raposa/Serra do Sol and Yanomami indigenous areas, by the executive secretary of Cimi, Egon Heck, and by attorney general Deborah Macedo Duprat, who received death threats recently because of her work in defense of indigenous peoples. Representative Padre Roque (Workers Party state of Parana), who presided over the hearing, heard reports from the attorney general, from Funai's administrator, and from Cimi about circumstances of disregard for the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples. They expressed concern about the establishment of Army Platoons in indigenous areas close to indigenous villages, which has led to more violence and enhanced threats to the culture of these peoples. The Army ministry has plans to implement an additional Special Border Platoon (PEF) in the Yanomami area, where three of these units have been established already. In April, the Army secured an authorization from the Regional Federal Court (TRF to build the 6th PEF in the Uiramuta village, located in the Raposa/Serra do Sol indigenous area, 350 km from Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima. Davi Kopenawa and Alexandre Yanomami once again reported that Yanomami women have been sexually abused by Army soldiers. In February of this year, federal representative Marcos Rolim, who was then the chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Chamber of Representatives, visited a Yanomami village in the Surucucus region to hear reports of sexual abuse. During the hearing held on Wednesday, the report of the representative was questioned by a group of representatives from the Amazon region who support the position of the Army. Marcos Rolim refused to change the contents of his report and asked representative Padre Roque to consider the possibility of submitting the facts reported therein to the Inter- American Human Rights Committee of the Organization of American States (OAS). The Yanomami expressed their position against the establishment of more platoons in their area. Outraged, Davi said that indigenous people want to take part in decisions involving their lands. "If you want to build anything in our land, talk to us first," he said. He demanded respect for the demarcation of the land of his people, the bounds of which are being contested by politicians and constantly disregarded. The Macuxi Dionito Jose de Souza said that the rate of invasion of the Raposa/Serra do Sol area has increased because it is taking too long for the government to ratify its demarcation. On the evening of May 9, a group of drunken soldiers from the 7th Infantry Jungle Battalion invaded the Lage indigenous community, located at 8km from Uiramuta, carrying firearms and intimidating indigenous people with threats. Frightened, the children of the community hid in the forest and only returned to their homes in the small hours of the following day. The soldiers threatened the community with a "bloodshed" in the village. The spiritual leader of the community, Waldir Clementino, reported the incident to the Indigenous Council of Roraima (CIR) and Funai. Because of all these facts, general attorney Debora Duprat warns that the problems caused by the presence of the military in an indigenous area in Roraima are escalating. The city hall and the Army have intensified developments and illegal construction activities inside the indigenous territory as a result of the delay of the government to ratify the bounds of the Raposa/Serra do Sol area. In Cimi's opinion, the strategy of the Calha Norte Project of occupying border areas has disregarded the rights of indigenous people and has given rise to violence against them, as it is based on the same colonialist and prejudiced attitude that has marked the position of the State in relation to indigenous peoples in the last five centuries. "A change in mentality is urgently required, so that indigenous peoples may be heard and respected," said Egon Heck. INCRA DOES NOT ACCEPT DEMARCATION OF INDIGENOUS AREA AND WANTS CIMI TO BE "INVESTIGATED" The director of the National Land Reform Institute (Incra) in the state of Acre, Aldenor Fernandes, declared to the "A Gazeta" newspaper that he will ask the Federal Police to investigate Cimi's activities in the state. According to this director, Cimi "has been creating problems for the agency" for a long time by encouraging the creation of "new ethnical groups," this time for the purpose of turning the site reserved for a project called Amonia, designed to settle peasants in rural areas in Marechal Thaumaturgo (state of Acre), into an indigenous reservation. On May 11, the mayor of Marechal Thaumaturgo, Itamar de Sa, held a meeting with settlers, Incra representatives, and state representative Wagner Sales (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party) to explain to them why he is against the demarcation of the area. After the meeting, the climate between indigenous people and settlers became very tense. The "new ethnical group" which the director of Incra referred to is the reemerged Apolima people, which the agency has always treated as non- indigenous workers. In 1999, a group of approximately 270 people reported their indigenous origin to Cimi and claimed the demarcation of an area of their own, as provided for in the Federal Constitution. Cimi reported this fact to Funai. In a letter to Incra, the director of Funai in the state of Acre, Antonio Pereira Neto, confirmed the report about this reemerged people and the creation of a Working Group to study and identify an area to be called "Arara do Alto Jurua" in the first half of 2001. This work will be carried out despite the opposition of Incra. *********************************** Distribuido por: Distributed by: 'AMAZON ALLIANCE' FOR INDIGENOUS AND TRADITIONAL PEOPLES OF THE AMAZON BASIN 1367 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036-1860 tel (202)785-3334 fax (202)785-3335 amazon@amazonalliance.org http://www.amazonalliance.org Disclaimer: All copyrights belong to original publisher. The Amazon Alliance has not verified the accuracy of the forwarded message. Forwarding this message does not necessarily connote agreement with the positions stated there-in. Todos los derechos de autor pertenecen al autor originario. La Alianza Amazonica no ha verificado la veracidad de este mensaje. Enviar este mensaje no necesariamente significa que la Alianza Amazonica este de acuerdo con el contenido. La Alianza Amazonica para los Pueblos Indigenas y Tradicionales de la Cuenca Amazonica es una iniciativa nacida de la alianza entre los pueblos indigenas y tradicionales de la Amazonia y grupos e individuos que comparten sus preocupaciones por el futuro de la Amazonia y sus pueblos. Las ochenta organizaciones del norte y del sur activas en la Alianza Amazonica creen que el futuro de la Amazonia depende de sus pueblos y el estado de su medio ambiente. The Amazon Alliance for Indigenous and Traditional Peoples of the Amazon Basin is an initiative born out of the partnership between indigenous and traditional peoples of the Amazon and groups and individuals who share their concerns for the future of the Amazon and its peoples. The eighty non-governmental organizations from the North and South active in the Alliance believe that the future of the Amazon depends on its peoples and the state of their environment. ==^================================================================ amazoncoal-main-subscribe@igc.topica.com This email was sent to: gars@speakeasy.org --------- "RE: S.D. Patrol/Oglala Officers Unite on DWIs" --------- Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 09:18:21 +0100 From: "anne.bates" Subj: S.D. Patrol, Oglala Officers Unite on DWIs Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_div=3&u_hdg=0&u_sid=151812 May 28, 2001 S.D. Patrol, Oglala Officers Unite on DWIs Rapid City, S.D. (AP) - Authorities say they hope sobriety checkpoints around the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation will reduce the number of serious auto accidents in the area. The South Dakota Highway Patrol and Oglala Sioux tribal law enforcement officials plan to set up the checkpoints in the next few weeks. Lt. Chuck Hofman of the Highway Patrol said the effort will continue throughout the summer. Tribal officers will check motorists coming off the reservation, and troopers will check vehicles coming onto the reservation, he said. "The Oglala Sioux Tribe's Office of Public Safety and the Highway Patrol are concerned about the high number of very serious and fatal crashes in and around the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation," Hofman said. "We do not expect to increase the number of DWI cases in this area, but we do expect this event to be a deterrent to drinking and driving in this area." In addition, he said, the effort will create a greater sense of camaraderie between troopers and tribal officers. ===== 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: First Nation Prisoners Wide Class Action" --------- Date: Mon, 28 May 2001 14:30:54 -0000 From: drf21@airmail.net Subj: First Nation Prisoners wide class action Mailing List: Our Red Earth [[[Please read and forward to relevant lists and contacts as soon as possible.]]] All First Nations Prisoners can and should take part in the first nation-wide class action. The complaint is available to print on request or on Half-Moon's web page: www.halfmoonhelp.com Strength in Unity, Brigitte URGENT - READY TO FILE COMPLAINT TO DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Here we go!!! We are now ready to set the legal actions into motion. For those of you gathering information/affidavits from prisoners who wish to join in the nationwide class action, please not the following: 1.. Please send any original affidavits directly to Half-Moon, and a copy to Valerie Scott at NAPS. 2.. If the prisoner(s) you are helping have not given permission to release information within their affidavit(s), please send them a Complainant Consent/Release Form. Due to the short amount of time in which to file the joint complaint, prisoners should send these forms directly to the Department of Justice, with a copy to NAPS. The investigator assigned to this case is: Zaida Ortiz-Friedman Coordination and Review Section U.S. Department of Justice P.O. Box 66560 Washington, D.C. 20035-6560 3.. Although there are numerous affidavits being filed, they will ALL be filed under ONE complaint. Please ensure the prisoners are aware of our DOJ Complaint Number (171-50-16), which must be cited on all future correspondence. 1.. Letters from the U.S. Department of Justice are posted on Half- Moon's website for your information/assistance. 2.. If prisoners have forwarded affidavits containing the information listed in the DOJ Complaint Form, there is no need for them to also complete the form. 3.. Half-Moon must file the joint complaint by 15 June 2001 (30 days after he received the DOJ letters). 4.. Half-Moon is stressing the importance of unity in this matter, and has stated that if any prisoner currently involved in the nationwide class action now decides to go it alone, he will withdraw the complaint and will not pursue any further legal action. Please note that prisoners wishing to file independent complaints, cannot do so under the complaint number provided. 5.. A reminder that ALL prisoners and organizations involved in this case, are to register under the Four Directions Native American Church of NYS, for their own legal protection. Forms are provided on Half-Moon's website. Well, that's it for now. Let's make this happen!!! Valerie Scott, NAPS P.O. Box 52 Waglisla, B.C. CANADA V0T 1Z0 Thank you for your participation at Our Red Earth. --------- "RE: Eddie Hatcher Sentenced to Life Without Parole" --------- Date: Sun, 27 May 2001 22:37:38 -0400 Subj: Eddie Hatcher sentenced to life without parole From: kolahq@skynet.be (KOLA) <+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+> >From: "Thelma Clark" After listening to almost 3 weeks of testimony , from a total of almost 40 witnesses , looking at dozens of statements and re-statements and viewing more than 100 exhibits, it took the 12 jurors less than 3 hours to convict Eddie Hatcher of 1st Degree Murder and shooting into occupied property. However the young girl who was also in the house and was shot in the hip , the jury found Eddie not guilty. To convict Eddie of 1st Degree Murder under the Felony Murger Rule, they had to also convict him of shooting into the property or shooting the girl. They chose the charge of shooting into occupied property. Even with an forensic expert testifying and stating , " it was impossible to have been a drive-by shooting ". The DA , Johnson Britt used 4 criminals and 1 illeterate 20 year old to get this conviction. One of the states witness who was charged with 1st Degree Murder and shooting into occupied property, (he killed a man in his yard then shot into his house ) was out of jail within 2 days of Eddies conviction. Another one that had driving offenses including several DWI's, hit and run, carring a concealed weapon and violation of parole, served approx. 10 days, (at his convience ) in jail. The scene was totaly tainted. After finding him guilty it took about 2-3 hours for the jurors to reach a sentencing verdict of , " Life without parole ". Eddie was immediately sent to Central Prison, 1300 Western Blvd., Raleigh , N.C. 27606. The DA , Britt was interested in one thing and it was not truth or justice, it was " Get Eddie Hatcher ". Eddie filed an appeal. Please help us . Thank you Thelma Clark , mother of Eddie Hatcher <+>=<+> 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: ICT Editorial: FBI Misconduct in Peltier's Case" --------- Date: Thu, 24 May 2001 07:26:23 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ICT: PELTIER/FBI" http://www.pechanga.net/ ICT Editorial: FBI misconduct in Peltier's case must be remembered in the interest of justice The recent FBI boondoggle in Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's case is indicative of a pattern of prosecutorial abuse going back decades. In case after case, withholding of evidence, intimidation of people under investigation and other questionable practices have made national commentators as well as Washington politicians call for a thorough review of the agency founded, and highly politicized, by J. Edgar Hoover. New York Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer, citing numerous other cases where FBI misconduct has become obvious, requested that President Bush appoint a special commission to examine the nation's primary federal law enforcement agency. Attorney General John Ashcroft already is investigating. Critics have recalled the case of Joseph Salvati of Boston, freed in January after serving 30 years for murder. A judge concluded in that case that the FBI, to protect an informant, hid testimony that would have cleared Salvati. Then there was the botched investigation of Wen Ho Lee, the Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist accused of 59 criminal counts and held for nine months in solitary confinement. After a horrific public disclosure campaign against him, Lee was cleared of all but a minor charge and released. So have critics recalled the case of Richard Jewell, targeted in the bombing at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics. The intense, no-holds-barred investigation and, again, devastating public disclosures, nearly destroyed a man who had rushed to help the victims and was the actual hero of the day. Jewell was lucky; he was exonerated after only three months. Others have pointed to cases of apparent excessive deadly force (Ruby Ridge, Waco), botched evidentiary science, and even simple incompetence, as in the case of TWA Flight 800, where the FBI never passed on to the National Transportation Safety Board crucial evidence that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms uncovered early on. But no one in the national media seems to have remembered Leonard Peltier. So we again wonder, what about the case of Leonard Peltier? In McVeigh's case, the most horrific of terrorists gets a reprieve of 30 days while more than 3,000 pages of evidentiary information are belatedly handed over to his defense team to study. But consider Peltier, who has served 25 years for the 1975 killing of two FBI agents. In his highly controversial case, the FBI continues to hold secret more than 6,000 pages of information, claiming national security reasons. This despite clear indications of misconduct, including falsification of evidence and intimidation of witnesses by various FBI officials, which forced the American Indian Movement activist's conviction. This much is known. In the climate of violence against traditional American Indians that characterized Indian country in the 1970s, FBI agents were all over the place, en masse, often in combat gear, constantly raiding the remote home compounds of traditional people who sympathized with the issues raised by AIM. The FBI's closest collaborators, the so-called Guardians of the Oglala Nation (GOONS), known for their night raids and drive-by shootings that left many wounded and some dead, were actually given arms by the federal agents. It was in that context that a young Leonard Peltier signed on to help defend elders at the Jumping Bull compound in Oglala district, where the FBI raid took place that would result in the deaths of one American Indian man and two federal agents. Judge Heaney of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, who heard an appeal in Peltier's case (denied on a technicality) wrote in a 1991 letter to Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii: "The United States government overreacted at Wounded Knee. Instead of carefully considering the legitimate grievances of the Native Americans, the response was essentially a military one which culminated in the deadly firefight on June 26, 1975 ... The United States government must share responsibility with the Native Americans for the ... firefight ... the government's role can properly be considered a mitigating circumstance." Judge Heaney, in this letter, recommended clemency/commutation of sentence for Mr. Peltier as part of the healing process. We know that Peltier was extradited from Canada, where he had fled, on the basis of an affidavit signed by Myrtle Poor Bear, who claimed to have witnessed Peltier shooting the agents. Poor Bear later recanted and testified to being intimidated by FBI agents, who confronted her with photographs of the murdered body of Anna Mae Aquash. At Peltier's trial, FBI ballistic expert Evan Hodge testified he was unable to perform the best test, a firing-pin test, on certain casings found near the agents' car, because the rifle in question had been damaged in a fire. Instead, he stated that he conducted an extractor-mark test and found the casing and weapon to match. But years later, an FBI teletype obtained through the Freedom of Information Act showed that in October 1975, a firing-pin ballistic test had indeed been performed on the rifle said to have belonged to Peltier and that the results were clearly negative. The jury never heard this crucial information. Considering the critical nature of the materials later disclosed, such as the ballistic tests, the approximately 6,000 FBI documents still being withheld in their entirety as well as 5,000 partial documents could very well contain evidence that would establish Peltier's position. A government attorney actually conceded in one appellate hearing that, "We had a murder, we had numerous shooters, we do not know who specifically fired what killing shots ... ." But Peltier, the government insisted, could still be guilty for aiding and abetting, a complete change of theory from that mounted at his trial. It is a crucial moment to remember Peltier. The national media must be made to remember his case among the numerous other cases of FBI misconduct resulting in the incarceration of innocent people. Clearly, the FBI's culture of concealment and sense superior purpose, which have led the agency into such transgression, must be challenged. Peltier's trial and subsequent intense campaigns by the FBI to deny him any relief must be reconsidered in light of the emerging pattern of abuse now revealed. Tell all the media; tell the U.S. Congress; Indian country demands justice for Leonard Peltier. Copyright c. 2001 Indian Country Today --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Sat, 26 May 2001 08:31:45 -0400 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: Sun, 27 May 2001 14:35:26 -0700 (PDT) From: orion-c@webtv.net Subj: Sweetgrass/Sage/Cedar Mailing List: ndn-aim Manuel is requesting donations of sweetgrass,sage, cedar and tobacco, as they are being allowed their ceremonies again in max. security. If anyone has any to spare he would appreciate it being sent to: Father Pins 400 Conley Lake Rd. Deer Lodge, Mt. 59722 He said to specify on the envelope it is for Manuel Redwoman #24920 in Max. Security. I have some sweetgrass I can send, but I am out of sage till I harvest some. Thank You for your help. ~Carol~ ===== 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 -- - - -from my mail- - - -- I was asked by one of my penpals at Montana State Prison if I could add him and one of his friends to penpal lists on the net and as I know of yours, I wanted to ask you, too :-) Could you please add the following individuals and their data (provided by them as follows) to the Native Prisoner Penpal List: 1. Scott Charlie #43566 700 Conley Lake Rd. Deer Lodge, MT 59722 USA age: 19 height: 5'7'' weight: 160 lbs Native American looking for an intelligent penpal of any race or gender to write 2. Merlin Ladue #37442 700 Conley Lake Rd. Deer Lodge, MT 59722 USA age: 26 height: 5'11'' weight: 170 lbs Native American looking for an intelligent female from ages 20 to 40 years old to write They would really appreciate it! --------------------------------- Please especially remember Leonard. Leonard Peltier #89637-132, Box 1000, Leavenworth, KS 66053 --------------------------------- Standing Deer's new address: Robert H. Wilson #640539, Estelle Unit, 264 FM 3478, Huntsville, TX 77320-3322 ---------------------------------- If you know of a Native American inmate who would like to correspond with brothers or sisters on the outside - please drop me a line with whatever information about them they'd like shared. Janet owlstar@speakeasy.org Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 22:37:22 -0400 From: Barbara Landis Subj: History: Carlisle Indian School, Feb. 17, 1888 INDIAN HELPER. [Note to my email correspondents: this week's HELPER is out of sequence since the May 18 issue is unavailable from USMHI. Somehow, I missed the 2/17/'88 issue in the series, so here's the catch-up. Next week's issue (5/25/88) will be transcribed early in June...Barb] [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ----------------------------- ~~ FOR OUR BOYS AND GIRLS ~~ ============================= VOLUME III CARLISLE, PA. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1888 NO. 27 ============================= A SHORT SERMON. ------ Children who read my lay, This much I have to say; Each day and every day, Do what is right, - Right things in great and small, Then, though the sky should fall, Sun, moon and stars and all, You shall have light. This further would I say, Be you tempted as you may, Each day and every day, Speak what is true, - True things in great and small, Then though the sky should fall, Sun, moon and stars and all, Heaven would show through. Life's journy through and through, Speaking what is just and true, Doing what is right to do Unto one and all. When you work and when you play, Each day, and every day, - Then peace shall gild your way, Though the sky should fall. -[Selected. ------------ A SLEEPING CAR. ----------- NATIONAL CITY, CAL. Feb. 7, 1888. MY DEAR MAN-ON-THE-BAND-STAND: - Many of the Carlisle boys and girls remember the long car ride they had when they went from their homes in the west to enter that school. It takes six days and six nights, in favorable weather to go from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean, across the United States, and that is twice as long as it takes the Dakota and Indian Territory cheildren to go from their homes to Carlisle. The Indian boys and girls will remember as they were travelling east how tired and sleepy they grew when night came, and they remember how they tried to sleep sitting up, or by curling themselves into all s