From gars@speakeasy.org Sat Jul 21 03:41:12 2001 Date: 10 Jul 2001 23:52:00 -0000 From: Gary Night Owl To: Internet Recipients of Wotanging Ikche Subject: Wotanging Ikche--nanews09.028 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 028 O o O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse July 14, 2001 O o O Ximopanolti tehuatzin, Mvskogee little ripening moon O inin Mexika tlahtolli Lakota moon when wild cherries are ripe ( 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; Our Red Earth, ndn-aim, Stop-the-Slaughter, Big Mountain, Frostys AmerIndian, Red Road Newsletter, Turtle Island Support, and indigenous_peoples_literature Mailing Lists; UUCP email 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.'" "There's no telling how long I'll actually be here. Once I counted in days, then weeks, then months. then years. Now I count in decades. I've already done two decades. Must I do two more? Three? Four? Seems the arithmetic gets easier as the time gets harder." "You can have mad thoughts in here. Like...tell me, when I die, do they bring my corpse back to my cell to serve out the full term of my second sentence plus those seven years? Perhaps I've already been brought back and have just forgotten it? Maybe I'm already a corpse? A breathing cadaver? But, no, no. A cadaver couldn't smile at himself this way. Somewhere, somehow, there's got to be something funny about all of this. Something horrendously funny. A wild cosmic joke on me, a real knee-slapper in some demonic heaven or hell." __ Leonard Peltier, "Prison Writings...My Life Is My Sun Dance" +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Indian Pledge of Allegiance | The Indian Pledge of Alleg- | | iance was first presented | I pledge allegiance to my Tribe,| on 2 December '93 during the | to the democratic principles | opening address of the Nat- | of the Republic | ional Congress of American | and to the individual freedoms | Indian Tribal-States Relat- | borrowed from the Iroquois and | ions Panel in Reno, NV. NCAI | Choctaw Confederacies, | plans distribution of the | as incorporated in the United | Indian Pledge to all Indian | States Constitution, | Nations. | so that my forefathers | | shall not have died in vain | Walk in Beauty! Night Owl +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | Journey | In the summer and early fall | The Bloodline | of 1998 the Treaty Unity Riders | | rode a thousand miles on horse- | For all that live and live by law | back, carrying a staff and | We Stand, we Call, We Ride | praying each step of the way. | For All that fear and fear by sight | | We Hear, we Listen, we Ride | These prayers were offered for | For all that pray and pray by strength| each of us, and that the Unity | We Feel, we Move, we Ride | of all Peoples might happen. | For all that die and die by greed | | We Hurt, we Cry, we Ride | Tatanka Cante forwarded this | For all that birth and birth by right | poem on behalf of all the Unity | We Smile, we Hold, we Ride | Riders that we might stop and | For all that need and need by heart | ask if the next words we say, the | We Came, we Went, we Rode. | next act we make is for the good | | of the People or is it from ego | Treaty Unity Riders | for self. +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ O'siyo Brothers and Sisters! A lot of very Sacred events are occurring this season of the year all across Indian Country. I will not desecrate them by discussing them or even calling them by name here. None of these, that I know of, belong in the public eye. They are times for individuals to make and keep commitments to their Peoples and their Creator. Many others stand in support at this time. I send thanks and praises for all these things. The prayers are needed. Hard times need strong commitments and strong prayers. All you warriors and dancers - this is a good thing. Thank you. Remember this. Words are just words (and ceremonies are just rituals) with little meaning or purpose unless they are supported by daily action. Commitments to the People don't end when the fires go out and the dancers go home. Every minute you must care for the children, the elders and the keepers of your ways. You have gathered another burden unto yourself. Carry it well. A lot of our ways have been lost. We live very much in the shadow of the dominant society that wants us to just go away. Your ceremony was carried at great risk by your ancestors so you might do what you have done. The People live because you now carry these ways to the next generation and beyond. Thank you. -- - - - Again - If you have not reviewed the clip of the Mi'kmaq boat being rammed please do. The video clip is up on two websites in RealMedia format: - http://www.owlstar.com/who_will_sing_for_us.htm - http://www.wintercount.org/whowillsing/ 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 ---------- - Homer St. Francis - Adopted American Indians - John Lane face Challenges - Drilling on Traditional - Radiation Victims Valley of the Chiefs May Soon Be Compensated - We Were Right To Fear Norton - Secwepemc Woman assaulted - Argus Leader: at Sun Peaks New BIA Official needs Results - Sun Peaks: Talking is Finished - Means takes Advantage of - NDP tells RCMP to Probe Harris Felon Voting Law on Ipperwash Role - Montana shoots Buffalo - B.C. Anglican Diocese - Pueblo of Santa Ana to go Bankrupt Bosque Restoration - Things to Keep an Eye On - Catawba Chief Won't allow - High Court Ruling on Arrests Tribal Council To Meet hurts Sovereignty - First Nations slam Cuff Report - Native Prisoner -- I Need a Vigil - Band says Land Claims - History: Carlisle Indian School govern Power Dam - Rustywire: - Indians say they need Food Waterhauling and the First Time - Pukatawagan Deal - Poem: Truth kickstarts Cleanup - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days - Nunavut to boost - Ute Tribe to get Portion of Coast Guard Auxiliary Olympic Spotlight - DFO approves of - Tribal School teaches Lennox Island Food Fishery Language, Traditions - Food Fishery angers - Plan would create Tribal College Non-native Fishermen with Doctorates - Upcoming Events --------- "RE: Homer St. Francis" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 07:21:24 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOMER ST. FRANCIS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/News/State/Story/29608.html Homer St. Francis, longtime Abenaki chief, dead at 66 July 10, 2001 The Associated Press MONTPELIER - Homer St. Francis, the longtime leader of the Abenaki Indian tribe in northwestern Vermont, died over the weekend. St. Francis, 66, died at his camp in Berkshire surrounded by family members, said his daughter April Rushlow, who became the Abenakis' acting chief in 1996. St. Francis fought lymphoma for nine years, and also suffered from emphysema and diabetes. A descendant of Chief Graylocks, who launched raids in Massachusetts and southern Vermont in the 1700s, St. Francis was the chief of the St. Francis-Sokoki Band of the Abenaki Nation of Missisquoi from 1974-1980 and again from 1987 until 1996, when he handed affairs over to Rushlow. "He had a vision for the Abenakis and never backed down, never compromised, never gave up," said Fred Wiseman, a Swanton Abenaki who directs the tribal museum in town, and is chairman of the humanities program at Johnson State College. "I think he's been the central person within the last 20, 25 years in the renaissance of the Abenaki." The tribe that St. Francis grew up in was one that had been devastated by European settlement and driven underground by racism. That racism found its purest expression in the "eugenics" campaign of the 1920s and '30s, which promoted the sterilization of Abenaki and other groups of Vermont's "undesirables." After military service, St. Francis tried to change the Abenaki world he had left. He wanted the tribe to be respected, and he wasn't polite about it. Claiming that the Abenaki had never signed any treaties and that their lands had been taken illegally, he led "fish-ins" in 1979, 1983 and 1987 to show he and his followers were exempt from state fish and game regulations. He won a short victory when Vermont District Judge Joseph Wolchik ruled in 1989 that the tribe had never ceded aboriginal rights - including the freedom to hunt and fish on their ancestral lands - but the Vermont Supreme Court reversed Wolchik's decision in 1992. In 1988, St. Francis announced he wanted tribal members to stop using Vermont license plates and start using an Abenaki version instead. "If I get a traffic ticket, I'm going to tear it up and throw it away," he said. "This is our land." He demanded return of the land on which the Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge sits and later insisted the tribe should be returned its ancestral homeland, which included all of northern New England and parts of Quebec. He didn't succeed. The tribe never achieved federal recognition, and only won state recognition from 1976-1977, but observers say he was the driving force behind an increased awareness and respect for Abenaki culture. When his daughter April found her eighth-grade textbooks described the Abenaki as "savages," St. Francis had a few words with school officials and saw that the language was removed. When he found out in 1989 that University of Vermont academics were using Abenaki remains as doorstops, he went to campus and told the researchers to return them at once - or he'd cremate them on the spot. "He put the nation back on the map, back in the history books," Rushlow said. "He took us out of hiding we went into because of the eugenics movement." Copyright c. 2001 Rutland Herald and Times Argus --------- "RE: John Lane" --------- Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 07:55:45 +0000 From: Robert Dorman Subj: A great person died today ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 21:31:46 -0400 From: "Marsha Monestersky" Mailing List: Big Mountain List Dear Big Mountain Supporters, I am most saddened to say, Mae Benally just called to tell me that John Lane, Rena Babbitt Lane's husband died today as as a result of excessive stress since the US Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA's) shut off 4 wells in the Red Lake/Tonalea area in the past 2-3 months. Such injustice must be accounted for by the US government, whose actions have caused John, a great man and my adopted father to pass on. Please pray for John's family, send cards and financial contributions to help: Rena Babbitt Lane P. O. Box 539 Tonalea, AZ 86044 Following, you will see a letter I typed for Rena and John just a few days ago speaking of the hardship they endure. Please write and call Mr. M. Douglas Scott, Assistant Inspector General, US Department of the Interior to support the Dine' call for an investigation of the actions of the Hopi area BIA. Mr. Scott's address is noted below. His phone number is 202-208-5745. Death is too high a price for such a great man to pay at the hands of the BIA, What a loss! Yours sincerely, Marsha Monestersky Rena Babbitt and John Lane P.O. Box 539 Red Lake, AZ 86044 Mr. M. Douglas Scott Assistant Inspector General Program Integrity Office of Inspector General US Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW (MC 5341) Washington, DC 20240 July 1, 2001 Dear Mr. Scott Re: Denial of access to water We live in on top of Black Mesa, Horse Corral Point and Look Out for Horses Point, Water Chimney, above the route of Peabody Coal Company^Òs/Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc. coal slurry pipeline. We and Caroline Tohannie, a neighbor, as you will see in the attached letter , are being denied access to water. We are suffering greatly because in the last 2 to 3 months, the US Department of the Interior^Òs Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) capped off and dismantled 4 of the windmills near where we live on both Hopi Partition Land (HPL) and Navajo Partition Land (NPL). In one case, the pump was disassembled or welded off at the water shaft. A child we know tells of a Hopi government man that shut off a windmill near us on Navajo Partition Land (NPL) just 2 weeks ago. We also know of another eyewitness that that corroborate this statement. At another water tank the BIA welded the well cover and dismantled the well. This is where we get our water. Why is th! e BIA denying us water? Windmills in the Bennett Freeze area are also not working. Is this a way the US government^Òs BIA forces the Dine^Ò on Hopi Partition Land and in the Bennett Freeze off the land? Now, the only place we can get water is from 27 miles away, each way. Even in Wildcat Peak, 22 miles away, the windmill is not working. How can the BIA justify, without consulting us, shutting off 4 windmills in our area in the last 2 ? to 3 months? There is an old hand pump by the road, Highway 160 that could be fixed. We rely on these water resources. Such action by the BIA is unjustified and unjustifiable. Just to get to the highway we have to travel 17 miles on rough dirt roads, since we live on a mountain top. This has caused our truck to have a broken frame. We have to haul 3 barrels at a time, two times a day, 27 miles each way, every day of the week. Sometimes we have to go 3 times a day. We have no other water sources left. We were not even consulted by the BIA before they came and shut off our water sources. Even if the BIA did this is because they did not have funds to fix them or because they ran dry, it is their Trust responsibility to notify us of the lack of water and arrange for ways they can deliver water to our home sites, for my family and Caroline Tohannie. We request these 4 windmills/wells be repaired immediately, those on Hopi Partition Land (HPL) and Navajo Partition Land (NPL). Funds should be appropriated for bulldozers to dig out water impoundment^Òs at locations we identify near our homes. We also want the US government to justify how they can deny us access to water that we need for our survival for us and for everyone living in the Bennett Freeze area. We can provide you with copies of my medical records to see the hardship we have endured by the BIA previously during livestock impoundment's. Therefore, we request that the US government provide us with a solar operated hand pump and fund the drilling of a water well for our home site and Caroline Tohonnie^Òs. In the meantime, please understand the severity of actions by the BIA and require local tribal agencies to deliver drinking water to our homes and provide us with a large water tank to haul water in and good quality home water storage containers until wells are drilled or repaired in our area. Please, Please investigate the actions of the BIA and help us. Yours sincerely, Rena Babbitt Lane John Lane Jerry Lane Mary Lane Witnessed and translated by John Benally Attachment: Letter from Caroline Tohonnie about lack of access to water --- Marsha Monestersky --- sdn57@earthlink.net ========================================= Please visit http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm for more background on the Big Mountain relocation issue. To post to the list, email your message to redorman@theofficenet.com. To subscribe, send an email to: BIGMTLIST-subscribe@topica.com. --------- "RE: Drilling on Traditional Valley of the Chiefs" --------- Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2001 10:04:18 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DRILLING HALTED" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.okit.com/news/2001/july/valleyofchiefs.html Drilling on Traditional Site Valley of the Chiefs halted until further negotiations By Ruth Steinberger On June 20, 2001, a tentative agreement was reached between some western tribes including the Blackfeet and the Crow and Denver, Colorado based Anschutz Exploration Corporation, an oil exploration company, over company access to the site traditionally known as Valley of the Chiefs. The Anschutz Exploration Corporation agreement to halt pursuit of oil exploration in the Valley of the Chiefs and to negotiate with tribes over the next six months in order to find an alternative site came during what was the first formal meeting to discuss opposition to the exploration. The agreement to not proceed with exploration at that site stunned many tribal members as well as environmental activists. In addition to being an area with strong spiritual significance for numerous tribes, and with tribal people still actively using the area, Valley of the Chiefs also contains rock paintings that are over 1,000 years old. Nearby cave drawings have been seriously damaged by vandalism that tribal members believe could also occur in Valley of the Chiefs. The rock art represents one of the largest collections of rock art in North America. On June 22, 2001, tribal representatives, company officials, members of congress and a representative from the BLM met in Billings, MT, to discuss the arrangement and to consider the offer from the Blackfeet to exchange the proposed drilling in Valley of the Chiefs for drilling permits on the Blackfeet Reservation. The area in southeastern Montana that is traditionally referred to Valley of the Chiefs, Valley of the Shields, Valley of Peace or Weatherman Draw contains sacred lands that are of significance to numerous tribes, including the Blackfeet, Crow, Comanche, Cheyenne, Kiowa and others. Jimmy St. Goddard, Blackfeet, is a member of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council and has been an active and vocal member of the opposition to the exploration in the Valley of the Chiefs. St. Goddard told Native American Times that originally ten tribes and 31 individuals were involved in efforts to stop oil exploration in Valley of the Chiefs, but that quickly grew to over 50 tribes from the US and Canada and the number of individuals continues to grow daily. St. Goddard said that the June 20, 2001, meeting was supposed to be a, "Get to know" meeting. As the first meeting acknowledging the problems between the tribal communities and the exploration company's request to begin exploration in the area, no one expected any decisions to come about that day. The company has agreed to not begin drilling in the valley in the next six months and to consider options proposed by the Blackfeet and Crow tribes which exchange drilling opportunities on the reservations instead of drilling in the valley. Speaking from tribal offices in, Montana, St. Goddard said, "The valley is very sacred to us. I am true Blackfeet and have had the privilege of being in the valley. As Indian people we are very small in numbers, but you can feel the power and it is there." Bill Miller, Vice President of Anschutz Exploration Corporation told Native American Times, "Where we are at right now is both the Blackfeet and the Crow have proposed areas on the reservations as alternatives to the site in the lease. Once these issues were identified to us, we fully recognized the cultural issues inherent in the situation. We appreciate the forthrightness of the Blackfeet and the Crow in their willingness to offer alternative sites and we will look at what alternative opportunities there may be." The lease has existed since 1984, first belonging to a different company and transferring to Anschutz in the mid-1990's. In March, 1999, during the Clinton administration, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) declared Valley of the Chiefs as an Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC), however David Jaynes, of the BLM told Native American Times that because this designation came after the issuance of the original leases, it does not apply to the current controversy. Jimmy Arterberry is the Historic Preservation Officer and NAGPRA Official for the Comanche Tribe. Arterberry feels that the problem rests squarely with historical mismanagement by the BLM that has jeopardized sacred sites throughout the US. Arterberry explained that when merely one third of the sites were originally assessed, there was enough criteria to meet all of the criteria to be eligible for The National Registry. Arterberry points out that even after making such significant findings, the assessment was not completed and the area was never fully assessed before the lease was issued. Calling this a failure of trust responsibility by the BLM, Arterberry said, "That's when the problem began. The BLM didn't fulfill the assessment and then went ahead and issued the lease." Indeed, after a partial assessment in 1984 that lead to protection for 600 acres containing eight rock art panels, the BLM did no further study of the valley, and in 1985 issued a lease to the upper portion of the valley that ultimately proved to contain over 70 panels of incised and painted art. In 1999, the designation of ACEC was expanded to include over 4,000 acres. While the 1999 designation protects Valley of the Chiefs from future leasing, the permit to drill an exploratory well is based on the existent lease, which remains in effect for 37 months after drilling begins. Despite findings indicating the area had extensive tribal significance, Arterberry explained that the Comanche Tribe was not notified of the pending issuance of the permit until February, 2001, just 2 weeks before the permit was issued. The tribe asked the BLM to postpone the decision on the permit until the Comanche could complete their own survey and assessment. The BLM denied their request. Following issuance of the permit to begin exploratory drilling, an appeal was filed by ten tribes with the Interior Board of Land Appeals, a court under the Department of the Interior. That appeal is pending. Arterberry said, "The BLM is trying to ease out of responsibility to the tribes and for the situation that's been created. Whether or not Mr. Anschutz donates the lease, and goes ahead with drilling on Blackfeet land - that's between him, and the Blackfeet. Our issue is with the BLM." On June 1, 2001, the Comanche Indian Tribe, issued a proclamation designating special recognition to the Valley of the Shields, and proclaiming, "Valley of the Shields a Sacred site and inheritance of the Comanche cultural legacy." Referring to the shields that are incised into the rocks and then painted Arterberry said, "What it represents to us is part of our origins and our beginnings. Each shield represents an individual and our cultural legacy. This is the largest site of petroglyph rock art anywhere in the North American continent." Arterberry expressed concern that the scope of this issue, no matter how it is resolved, will require attention to ongoing management issues for the valley. Arterberry said, "The BLM has now exposed this place which is sacred. More accessible sites have been damaged, no one has offered a plan to protect this site adequately." Oil and gas development contains three phases; exploration, development and production, the final phase lasting up to 60 years. Bill Miller, Vice President of Anschutz Exploration Corporation, said that Anschutz is committed to providing 24 guards during the exploratory phase, but acknowledged that no provisions for ongoing security for the site have been made. The BLM currently has no ongoing plan for security for the site. Kirk Koepsel, of the Sierra Club said, "Obviously, because of the potential for vandalism, publicity is the worst thing that can happen to a rock art site. Publicity was weighed against the threat of oil development in the area. Nearby sites with oil and gas development include 20 acre spacing, meaning a pump jack exists on every 20 acres. It would go from being a wilderness area to huge industrial complex with people coming in and out continually. We did not feel the rock art would survive that." Commenting on the sites that are in accessible areas that have been heavily vandalized, Koepsel said "If you look at other sites containing significant rock art, for security they have ended up putting in an eight foot high chain link fence with razor wire to protect the rock art." Koepsel explained that few rock art panels remain in pristine condition and more accessible panels have graffiti over the art or have been blown apart by shot guns. Koepsel said, "It's just disgusting to see things like `Joe loves Lori', over ancient rock art." As the sixth wealthiest man in the US, Phillip Anschutz has acquired one of the foremost collections of western art. His collection is currently on display at the Corcoran Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute. Koepsel said, "It's ironic that his corporation could impact one of the most important Native American rock art areas and there has seemingly been little concern whatsoever." The Corcoran Gallery had no comment on the matter and the Denver Art Museum, management for the collection, did not return calls to Native American Times. Bill Miller of Anschutz Exploration Corporation said that the archaeological significance of the site was not known to Anschutz at the time the company acquired the lease to the land, which is BLM land. Native American Times is Copyright c. 2000-2001 Oklahoma Indian Times, Inc. --------- "RE: We Were Right To Fear Norton" --------- Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 10:03:29 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pureau Subj: We Were Right To Fear Norton! Mailing List: ndn-aim tip from AwarComp, thanks We Were Right To Fear Norton! By Geneva Overholser, 7/5/2001 WASHINGTON GALE NORTON MADE a pretty good case during Senate confirmation hearings on her nomination as interior secretary that way too many scare stories had been told about her. Give her a chance, she said, and she'd prove herself a reasonable person seeking the middle ground. Half a year later, the scare stories are looking mighty like foretokens. You had wanted to believe Norton when she said she was no distaff version of her mentor, the dreadful James Watt, that junkyard dog of anti-environmentalism under whom she served in the Reagan administration. With this as an apprenticeship, her dignified assurance to the senators - "I mean no disrespect to him, but I am my own person" - was something anyone would want desperately to count on. Certainly there had been cause for unsettlement. Norton's record clearly favored industry over environment. Much of the money she raised for her failed Senate campaign in Colorado in 1996 came from energy interests. She had once filed a brief challenging the constitutionality of the Endangered Species Act, which she would so shortly to be in charge of administering. Then there was the speech five years ago in which she appeared to equate the fight for the Confederacy with the fight for states' rights. But Bush hastened to assure us, "That's just a ridiculous interpretation of what's in her heart," and who couldn't want to believe this? At her confirmation hearings, seeking to soothe the worries, Norton came off as calm and reasonable. She valued both the preservation of our lands and the ability of people to use them, she said. She believed you could be both a conservative and a conservationist. Palpably reasonable positions. Then she got the job. Her actions and her appointments began to stack up. She was for drilling off the coast of Florida - against the wishes of the governor, Jeb Bush. She was for "boundary adjustments" to allow drilling in protected federal lands. Various Clinton administrative rules, many long in the making, were suspended. Enforcement of the Endangered Species Act was weakened. An energy industry lobbyist was nominated as her deputy, a grazing-rights advocate as Interior Department solicitor. And along came the administration's energy policy. Bush persisted in wanting Congress to open part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He instructed Norton to look at lands that had been withdrawn from oil and gas leasing, and to review restrictions on access. There would be a new look, too, at offshore exploration. As the reaction to Bush's energy and environmental policies built, Norton and her boss made visits to national parks. Posing against the grandeur of an ancient sequoia, they asked for more money to spend on these long-neglected lands. Much of the money, it turned out, was for building and maintaining roads, boat docks, and bridges. Norton's most recent appointments are among the most worrisome. She named Cam Toohey, leader of a group that campaigned to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, as her special assistant for Alaska. She named Drue Pearce, a former Alaska state senator who has lobbied for drilling in the Arctic, as her senior aide on Alaskan issues. Backers of oil development loved it. Oliver Leavitt of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp. said: "These appointments are great for Alaska." Environmentalists howled. Sara Chapell, an Alaska spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, said: "Today we've seen a hostile takeover of the Interior Department by the oil industry." Norton, meanwhile, seems more and more comfortable reverting to her old Wild West, scare-story stripes. In a priceless moment at the National Rifle Association's recent convention, she called NRA members "America's unsung conservation heroes." Whatever you think of NRA members - and plenty of them are indeed strong supporters of wilderness protection - one thing they are not is unnoticed. The NRA perennially tops Fortune magazine's list of top lobbying groups. Its hefty involvement in politics produces an unbeatable endorsement record (86 percent victorious candidates this last election, the NRA says). It claims 3 million to 4 million members. With one of America's loudest mouths and fattest pocketbooks, the NRA is about as unsung as our national anthem, and to call it so is downright wacky. Norton continues to try to sound reassuring. "What we're trying to do is to substitute cooperation for conflict," she said recently. "If you have that kind of cooperative arrangement, you can achieve great things." Really, though, how much credit can you give someone for seeking the middle ground, if she's always trying to drill on it? Geneva Overholser is a syndicated columnist. This story ran on page A9 of the Boston Globe on 7/5/2001. Copyright c. 2001 Globe Newspaper Company. ===== FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW STOP THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO SUBSCRIBE TO NDN-AIM SEND A BLANK EMAIL TO: NDN-AIM-SUBSCRIBE@YAHOOGROUPS.COM FOR OTHER ACTIVIST ISSUES: AMERI-ADVOCATE-SUBSCRIBE@YAHOOGROUPS.COM --------- "RE: Argus Leader: New BIA Official needs Results" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 07:30:50 +0100 From: "anne.bates" Subj: Editorial - New BIA official needs results with optimism Mailing List: ndn-aim http://www.argusleader.com/editorial/Sundayfeature.shtml New BIA official needs results with optimism Editorial Staff Argus Leader published: 7/8/01 There is great optimism as Neal McCaleb takes over as head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Here also is healthy skepticism. "We've had some problems with the Bureau in the past," Democratic Sen. Dick Hagen of Pine Ridge noted with tremendous understatement. "It's a handful. "I'll have to wait ... and see what he's doing." That is the bottom line. McCaleb, recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate with little real debate, comes to the job with a history of success. The Oklahoma native and Chickasaw Tribe member served in the Oklahoma House from 1974 to 1982 and ran for governor in '82, losing in the Republican primary. Most recently he's been secretary of the Oklahoma Transportation Department under Gov. Frank Keating, who supported him during the Senate confirmation hearing. So far, so good. But heading the BIA isn't the same thing as heading a state transportation department. McCaleb told the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, for instance, that an accounting of what's owed and a reform of the Indian Trust Fund could be completed during his tenure. That's a tall order. The fund was created in 1887 to hold royalties from the sale of oil, gas, grazing and logging leases on Indian land. It's been a mess. More than 300,000 American Indians have sued the government saying they're owed at least $10 billion because of mismanagement and outright theft. At almost every step, the federal government has stalled and even lied in court proceedings. That is the environment into which McCaleb steps. No "simple" slow- moving, recalcitrant federal bureaucracy, but one that -- in case after case over the years -- has felt free to abuse the people it was established to serve. Even if McCaleb brings a new attitude and determination to the BIA, he must contend with the organization itself. Until he does that, he is likely to have little success dealing with the very real problems of American Indians on and off reservations. And they are many: Education. Success is low, drop-out rates high. This goes beyond the question of funding. Poverty and jobs. Jobs alone won't cure poverty because you need educated and trained people to fill them. Casinos have had mixed success and surely aren't the long-term answer, anyway. Substance abuse. It's related not just to poverty and education, but also to the long-term effects of reservation life and a sense of futility. Health care. Again, money alone isn't the solution. Take a look at education, poverty and substance abuse, and you start to get an idea of some of the health-care issues. Cultural conflicts. How do American Indians retain their cultural heritage and yet live in a modern world? Or can they? Racism. Cruz Reynoso, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, has said South Dakota has the worst racial problems in the country. With six specific reservations in the state, three other areas of tribal land and an American Indian population of 8.2 percent, it's clear there's a potential for trouble. Crime. Take a look at all of the above, and you start to see some of the causes, if not the solutions. So McCaleb faces all of this. We are supportive of him. We welcome him with optimism. But we're also going to take Hagen's wait-and-see stance. It is not enough that McCaleb has good ideas and the right attitude. He also needs to demonstrate some success. We wish him luck. We sure don't envy him. ===== 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: Means takes Advantage of Felon Voting Law" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 19:19:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RUSSELL MEANS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.minorities-jb.com/villages/native/Article_Detail.asp? Article_ID=5570 Activist Takes Advantage Of Law Allowing Felons To Vote by AP, The Associated Press SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - American Indian activist Russell Means, nominated last month as the Libertarian Party's nominee for governor in 2002, has taken advantage of a new state law that allows felons to register to vote. Means, 62, was convicted in 1975 of "rioting to obstruct justice" in connection with a South Dakota courtroom fracas the previous year. He was sentenced to four years in prison and served "one year, three days and 221/2 hours," he said. He was paroled in July 1979. The law under which he was convicted eventually was repealed, but the felony remains on his record. Means, who lives south of Santa Fe, registered to vote Thursday at the Santa Fe County clerk's office. "It feels liberating," he said. "After yesterday's celebration of liberty nationwide, I became filled with that need to be free." The registration law went into effect Sunday. State law also says convicted felons cannot hold public office unless pardoned by the governor of the state in which the crime took place, said Denise Lamb, director of the state Bureau of Elections. Means would need a pardon from the South Dakota governor or a special certificate from the New Mexico governor before he could be listed on New Mexico's ballot, the secretary of state's office has said. However, Means and state Libertarian Party chairman Joseph Knight cite a section of the state Constitution that lists qualifications for holding state office: being a U.S. citizen, a resident of the state for at least five years and at least 30 years old. "You cannot, by law, just change the state Constitution," Means said. Means, Knight and Lamb all predict the matter will end up in court. Means said Thursday he plans to make the first major speech of his candidacy at an upcoming meeting of the Coalition for County Governments in Catron County. "I want to reignite the Sagebrush Rebellion," he said, referring to a movement by Western farmers and ranchers opposed to federal authority over public land. "What made this a great country was adventurous and innovative family farms and ranches," he said. Means rose to national prominence as a leader of the American Indian Movement during the 1973 uprising at Wounded Knee, S.D., although he has since parted ways with AIM. Means made an unsuccessful bid for president of the Oglala Sioux tribe in 1974. When Hustler publisher Larry Flynt made a brief bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 1984, Means agreed to run as vice president. In 1988, he unsuccessfully sought the Libertarian nomination for president. He also has published an autobiography, recorded two albums and has appeared in several movies, including "The Last of the Mohicans." Copyright c. 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 iMinorities, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Montana shoots Buffalo" --------- Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001 18:20:05 -0600 From: Buffalo Folks Subj: Montana shoots Buffalo-News from the Frontlines.. BISON AND ELK PLAN Mailing List: Stop-the-Slaughter@vortex.wildrockies.org * Update from the Field * Bull Buffalo Shot Pass this on... Stop-the-Slaughter updates are mailed 3-4 times a month to share information about the last wild buffalo. All names are kept confidential and we never send "junk mail" or share your address. The Buffalo Field Campaign believes that people joining together and speaking out will truly bring resolution to this despicable treatment of a national heritage - the last wild, free roaming buffalo herd and their wild, healthy habitat. In honor of the bull buffalo who was shot on 6/26/01 - Please pass this on to one friend or family member who might care about the plight of the last wild buffalo - our national treasure. If this was forwarded to you - please send an email to mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter-on@vortex.wildrockies.org to receive these updates. thank you! For the Buffalo! _______________ 28 June 2001 Hi everyone~ It pains me to tell all of you who love the buffalo that the Department of Livestock shot a bull bison dead in the field on Tuesday. Their excuses were public safety, fear of property damage, and livestock health. (fear of transmittal of brucellosis) Buffalo Field Campaign offers a free fence-repair service, and we will fix any private property damaged by wildlife, especially by buffalo. Even theoretically, only female bison COULD transmit brucellosis to cattle. This disease is spread through infected fetus or afterbirth. The DoL know this. In their press release, the DoL claimed to have successfully hazed 1440 bison back into the park from the National Forest since this season began in September. This is a deliberate lie to let the public think how good they were this year. These agencies have fully realized that people are starting to keep an eye on them, that people care a whole lot about what they are doing out here in Montana. They need to try harder than ever to make excuses. The DoL did not try to move the bull back in the park that day. They went out and shot him because he had crossed our invisible human-made line after May 15. Now is the time to write letters if this makes you angry. Some of you know that in the past two years 90,000 people signed our petition, which was virtually ignored. Personal letters, even if short, have a lot more impact. Let those who are in charge know how you feel about the slaughter of Americas last free-roaming consistently wild herd of buffalo. The back page of our newsletter has addresses of those officials most involved/responsible. I urge you also to call or write personal letters to your Senators and Congressmen. Ask them where they stand on the issue of the Yellowstone bison herd. This is a national issue and it is important that these people know that their states care too. On a brighter note, we are doing great with our outreach in Yellowstone. Yesterday we broke our records. Over 400 people took a newsletter from us at Old Faithful, and we discussed the issue with 180 different people. It lifted our hearts a little, after what had happened the day before. We give a heartfelt thank you to all of you for your letters and calls of support, your prayers for the buffalo, and all the things you do to help protect them. We will be tabling in the Tetons soon, and are in need of camp food. If you have Y2K supplies lurking around your basement or shelves, and you're not sure how you'll ever eat all those dry goods, instant soups and dehydrated fruit, these are things we can use and it would be tax deductible for you! Until the next update, thanks again from all of us here. For the Buffalo, Felixa Buffalo Field Campaign (formerly Buffalo Nations) PO Box 957 West Yellowstone, MT 59758 406-646-0070 phone 406-646-0071 fax buffalo@wildrockies.org www.wildrockies.org/buffalo "The so-called random shooting at the Montana borders is actually eliminating or depleting entire maternal lineages, therefore this action will cause an irreversible crippling of the gene pool. Continued removal of genetic lineages will change the genetic makeup of the herd, thus it will not represent the animal of 1910 or earlier. It would be a travesty to have people look back and say we were "idiots" for not understanding the gene pool." Bison have developed a natural resistance genetically as long as they have enough to eat, limited stress and are not consumed by other disease. There is no magic bullet in wildlife disease, Therefore management is important. Vaccines are one management tool and one component, but genetic structure is necessary for future management. Every animal which is removed from the breeding population can no longer contribute to the genetic variability of the herd." Remarks made by Dr. Joe Templeton, Texas A& M University, Dept. of Veterinary Pathobiology, to the GYIBC on May 21, 1998 ___________________________________________________________ Info regarding the buffalo and how you can help at http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo Send an email showing your concern for the buffalo to public officials at http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politico00/sendmail.html "Stop-the-slaughter" buffalo updates are mailed about 3-4 times/month. If this is forwarded to you and you would like to receive it regularly - go to http://www.wildrockies.org/Buffalo/politk99/stssign.html Please talk to 6 of your friends regarding this issue in memory of the six buffalo that were needlessly killed this winter Contributions to BFC are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law and support our aggressive, front line volunteer campaign. We put the wild buffalo first! BFC is the only group working 365 days a year in Yellowstone with the buffalo. ===== List-Subscribe: mailto:Stop-the-Slaughter-on@vortex.wildrockies.org --------- "RE: Pueblo of Santa Ana Bosque Restoration" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 09:06:59 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="BOSQUE SANTA ANA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/07/07052001/santana_44152.asp Pueblo of Santa Ana bosque restoration Thursday, July 05, 2001 By Ben Ikenson, Environmental News Network Last January, an $80 million Hyatt Regency resort hotel - a lavishly appointed, adobe-style affair - opened for business just beyond the west bank of the Rio Grande, about 20 miles north of Albuquerque on the Santa Ana Pueblo reservation. No less impressive than the new resort are the conservation enterprises of the Pueblo of Santa Ana as its members attempt to restore the natural landscape of the river where it runs through their land. To tribal members, biologists, and indeed, guests of the new hotel, the restoration is already raising spirits and proving that a flair for business does not necessarily preclude environmental housekeeping. "Having an income from our various businesses, such as the Santa Ana Star Casino and the Hyatt Regency," said Tribal Administrator Roy Montoya, "helps us retain our cultural heritage." In this instance, retaining cultural heritage is bound together with the Santa Ana Pueblo Bosque Restoration Project. Launched in 1996, the Bosque Restoration Project aims to enhance the Rio Grande and the bosque (forest) that lines its banks. The Rio Grande flows through the reservation for six miles. Of that distance, the tribe and the Bureau of Reclamation have changed channel characteristics on a two-mile stretch. With some funding assistance from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pueblo has restored two miles of bosque on the river's west bank, just a stone's throw from the new hotel. Improvements on the east bank will begin soon, and plans are underway for restoring four more miles of the river. "Rivers that run through Pueblo country have religious significance to Pueblo members," explained Montoya. Both the Rio Grande and the Rio Jemez, which converge at Santa Ana, have religious significance to the Pueblo of Santa Ana. Historical anecdotes describe the Rio Grande as "a mile wide and an inch deep." But the river used to fluctuate dramatically between high and low flows. Flooding in the early 1940s impelled federal agencies into a construction mode of flood-control and river-channelization projects. They built dams and levees, and along the river banks, they installed jetty jacks (12-foot, cross-barred iron contraptions interlinked by thick metal coils) to trap sediment and debris during floods. These projects dramatically altered the character of the Rio Grande, converting it from a wide, shallow river to a much narrower and deeper one. "The river looks more like a ditch today," remarked Montoya. In the river's altered state, native trees like cottonwoods and willows did not have the floodplain conditions required to nurture germination. Meanwhile, nonnative vegetation, such as salt cedar and Russian olive, began taking root, quickly spreading through the bosque. These exotic plants compete with native species like cottonwood and willow for water, light, and nutrients and are more resilient to the fires produced by the understory fuel they generate within the forest. The bosque has been dying a long, slow death. The Santa Ana Pueblo's Department of Natural Resources first documented baseline conditions by mapping vegetation and conducting soil and water table assessments. The results were no surprise: They found a jungle like infestation of salt cedar and Russian olive; highly saline, degraded soils; and a deeply cut river bed. Obviously, the Pueblo had high hurdles to overcome in returning the river to its natural conditions. Santa Ana Pueblo's Restoration Program Manager Todd Caplan said, "the Pueblo wanted to remove exotic trees, reestablish a mosaic of native vegetation, restore river channel characteristics, and improve fish and wildlife habitat for endangered native species such as the Southwestern willow flycatcher and Rio Grande silvery minnow." To deal with the infestation of exotic plants, the Pueblo has been working with New Mexico State University and Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in testing different herbicides on Russian olive root sprouts. Also, the Pueblo used heavy machinery and ground crews to eliminate thousands of salt cedar and Russian olive trees. The salt cedar was shredded into mulch; the Russian olive was cut into firewood and distributed to the Santa Ana Pueblo elders. After clearing 115 acres of salt cedar from what was previously a wet salt-grass meadow, Caplan and his staff amended the saline soils with gypsum and irrigation water and seeded the area with a native, salt- tolerant grass mix which will prevent erosion. They also planted more than 1,600 cottonwood and black willow trees in areas where the salinity levels are low. The plant survival rate of 90 percent is encouraging to the Pueblo, which is closely monitoring their efforts, surveying wildlife, testing soil treatments, and inspecting plant cover. Today, a 200-acre portion of the cottonwood bosque is free of nonnative trees. Many of the elderly members recalled the days of their childhood when the bosque was an open-gallery forest consisting of the old cottonwood and willow trees. "I think a lot of the elders were very pleased and some were emotional." said Montoya. "For me, it's been something on my mind for a long time to get the area restored as close to what it had been like as possible. When I was growing up, I didn't see many nonnative species in the bosque." Upstream, the Bureau of Reclamation joined the tribe in restoring channel characteristics to a two-mile stretch of the Rio Grande. By slowing flow velocities, preventing channel erosion, and promoting over- bank flooding, a combination of hard and soft engineering techniques have been used to restore native plant and animal communities, with an ultimate goal of restoring habitat for the silvery minnow, said Caplan. Still, as the project progresses, he finds it ironic that such engineering tactics are required to return the river to the conditions of a simpler past. Although changes in time require new ways of thinking, the Santa Ana people have not forgotten their heritage. Theirs is an important lesson: True progress requires environmental stewardship. While one hand builds a hotel, for example, the other must care for the land. Setting a precedent to their neighbors, the Pueblo hopes the efforts along the six miles of river running through their land will not end at the reservation boundary. The desire to heal the river, they hope, shall flow through the hearts of other communities living along its broken banks. The photograph was taken by the author, Ben Ikenson. Copyright 2001, Environmental News Network. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Catawba Chief Won't Allow Tribal Council To Meet" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 19:19:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CATAWBA" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.minorities-jb.com/villages/native/Article_Detail.asp?Article_ID=5545 Catawba Chief Won't Allow Tribal Council To Meet by AP, The Associated Press Catawba Indian Reservation, S.C. (AP) _ Chief Gilbert Blue says he won't allow members of the Catawba Indian Nation to gather at the tribe's Longhouse on Saturday. "It's an illegal meeting as far as I am concerned,'' Blue said Monday. Blue said the tribe must first approve a new constitution, as required by the 1993 settlement that granted $50 million to the tribe and ended 153-year-old land-claim dispute. A vote on whether to approve a new tribal constitution was considered invalid in May because too few voters cast ballots. Thirty percent of the 2,107 tribal members, or about 430 people, are needed to approve the new document. "If the constitution passes, we will call a meeting to schedule elections,'' Blue said. "If it fails, then we will have a meeting for suggestions on how to change the constitution.'' But some Catawbas assert that, because a new constitution has yet to be approved by the General Council, the constitution of 1975 is still in effect. That document called for the council, which is a gathering of all eligible voting members of the tribe, to meet on the first Saturday in January and July of each year. But the council has not met since 1998. Fliers have been circulated, calling for a meeting of the General Council at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Copies of the letter about Saturday's meeting were sent to Blue, a federal judge, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Rep. John Spratt, D-S.C., Sens. Strom Thurmond, R-S.C. Fritz Hollings, D-S.C., Sen. Wes Hayes, R- -Rock Hill, and Gov. Jim Hodges. Catawba dissidents have tried to hold a council meeting before, in an attempt to remove the tribal leadership. Should that happen, the tribe could hold its first full elections since 1975. The Catawbas held elections for only two positions secretary/treasurer and assistant chief in 1993. Copyright c. 2001 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Copyright c. 2001 iMinorities, Inc. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: First Nations slam Cuff Report" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 09:06:59 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NWT HEALTH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/07/03/03cuffkakisa First Nations slam Cuff report KAKISA, N.W.T. - Some aboriginal leaders in the Northwest Territories are giving 'thumbs down' to a new report on health care in the territory. Deh Cho leaders at the assembly in Kakisa say the Cuff Report is unacceptable. George Cuff, a consultant for N.W.T. government, recommended the territory abolish local health boards, and set up regional ones. The only local representation would then be with community advisory boards. Deh Cho leader's like Rita Cli says she will not accept the report's recommendations. "We have to send a message to government that no more are they going to take things away from us," she says. The resolution passed at the assembly also tells the territorial government to stop making laws without Deh Cho first nations approval. The Deh Cho assembly wrapped up Friday. Copyright c. 2000 CBC All Rights Reserved --------- "RE: Band says Land Claims govern Power Dam" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 08:10:53 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="POWER DAM" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/07/03/03aishihik Land claims govern power dam, band says WHITEHORSE, YUKON - A Yukon First Nation says the territory's water board should read their land claim agreement. The Champagne and Aishihik First Nation says that agreement would affect the operation of a hydro dam on Aishihik Lake. Hydro is applying for a renewal to its licence to fluctuate water levels on the lake to power the dam. However, the band's director of lands and resources, Lawrence Joe says the dam's operations have already made it difficult for people to practise a traditional lifestyle. Joe says the board should make the Corporation operate the lake within natural water levels. "We feel that there's more than enough water in the upper end of the range to meet current energy demands of all users on the grid and to accommodate some modest natural growth of demand," he says. "We support and we advocate a range that provides a reasonable amount of energy, at a minimum cost to the resource and as close as possible to the natural range." The band is negotiating compensation with the Yukon Energy Corporation over past damage to the lake. Copyright c. 2000 CBC All Rights Reserved --------- "RE: Indians say they need Food" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 09:06:59 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NEED FOOD" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thest=arcle &cid=994370614518 Jul. 6, 01:30 EDT Indians say they need food Band in dispute with Ottawa over finances Nicholas Keung STAFF REPORTER Members of an Ontario Indian reserve say they are scrambling for cash to buy basic food items after the federal government took over the community's finances. Stephen Turtle, of the Pikangikum band council, said yesterday his members have to put off bill payments for food because they are only left with a meagre social assistance from the province to survive. But a spokesperson for the Ministry of Indian and Northern Affairs insisted there is no food shortage at the impoverished reserve, 300 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg. "Everyone on social assistance has continued to receive their social assistance paid by their welfare administrator. That never stops," its regional director-general John Donnelly said in an interview yesterday. "I have checked with several large stores on reserve. They tell me that the shelves are fully stocked and they are doing twice-a-week shipments of fresh produce into the community. "There's no food shortage we're aware of. (This is) part of a public relations campaign." But Canadian Feed the Children has recently received an emergency request for food from the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority representing the 2,100 people - including 1,090 children - at the reserve. "I haven't seen this big a domestic emergency before. It's generally been in the context of natural disasters," said its spokesperson Gabriella Simo. "It's almost unbelievable to me that a community should have to worry about how they will feed their children, simply because they are in a dispute with the Canadian government." The organization funds nutrition programs for more than 20,800 children across the country each day, including the 30 First Nations communities of Ojibway and Cree descent in Northern Ontario. Turtle said the community hasn't had clean water from its taps for more than a year, the school is closed, there is a shortage of housing, and food is expensive. The reserve has been engaged in a political battle with Ottawa since May, when Indian Affairs Minister Robert Nault decided the department would take over the band's finances because of its incompetency in solving local social problems. But the band is fighting that decision in court. "We don't want to go back to the old days when we had a third-party manager running our reserve," Turtle said. Copyright 1996-2001. Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Pukatawagan Deal kickstarts Cleanup" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 02:31:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Paul Pureau Subj: Pukatawagan deal kickstarts cleanup Mailing List: ndn-aim http://winnipeg.cbc.ca/news/ Pukatawagan deal kickstarts cleanup PUKATAWAGAN, MB - The Mathias Colomb Cree Nation has signed an agreement with the Department of Indian Affairs Tuesday afternoon. The federal government will contribute more than $500,000 toward the cleanup of contaminated soil in Pukatawagan. Manitoba Hydro will also hand over between $1 million and $2 million for the cleanup, but CEO Bob Brennan says he stands by his assertion that the company has already met its cleanup responsibilities in the small community about 100 kilometres north of Flin Flon. Brennan says the money is just a loan to the Department of Indian Affairs. Diesel generators operated in two sites in Pukatawagan during the 1970s and 1980s. One site was established and operated by the federal government and turned over to Manitoba Hydro at the end of its life. The other site was operated by Manitoba Hydro. In 1993, Manitoba Hydro spent $1.7 million to clean up the site it fully operated. A 1997 agreement between Manitoba Hydro and the federal government gave the federal government responsibility for cleaning up the other site in Pukatawagan. Brennan says Manitoba Hydro is willing to help the federal government with their part of the cleanup. "We'll advance them money, but we'll be reimbursed by Indian Affairs," he said. "We're prepared to get them going, get electricians on the job, and all that stuff - if they give me a letter saying they will reimburse me." Brennan says the details of the loan agreement between Manitoba Hydro and the Department of Indian Affairs is still being worked out. Shirley Castel, chief of the Mathias Colomb Cree Nation, says she doesn't care who pays for the cleanup, as long as it gets done. Officials will start the work as early as July 9, when they will start digging to see how far the contaminated soil has migrated. Representatives from the Department of Indian Affairs say a full cleanup is expected to cost $14 million. ===== FREE LEONARD PELTIER NOW STOP THE ETHNIC CLEANSING OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLE TO SUBSCRIBE TO NDN-AIM SEND A BLANK EMAIL TO: NDN-AIM-SUBSCRIBE@YAHOOGROUPS.COM FOR OTHER ACTIVIST ISSUES: AMERI-ADVOCATE-SUBSCRIBE@YAHOOGROUPS.COM --------- "RE: Nunavut to boost Coast Guard Auxiliary" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 08:10:53 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NUNAVUT COAST GUARD" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://north.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/2001/07/04/04coastguard Nunavut to boost Coast Guard auxiliary IQALUIT, NUNAVUT - Ottawa is beefing up the Coast Guard in Nunavut. The federal government is giving $645,000 to the territory to expand the Coast Guard auxiliary. The money will be used to select and train the owners of private boats in 15 communities across the territory. Two or three boats in each community will be equipped with survival gear, and owners trained in rescue techniques. The Coast Guard has relied on private operators to help in searchers in the past, but this is the first time they'll get formal support to take part in operations. Eric Doig heads Nunavut's emergency management office. "People will be able to go and do the initial response and do it in a systematic way that hopefully will have a better record of achievement," he says. Members of the local auxiliary units won't be paid, but will be reimbursed for fuel and oil...and will be covered by insurance during searches. Copyright c. 2000 CBC All Rights Reserved --------- "RE: DFO approves of Lennox Island Food Fishery" --------- Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2001 11:09:29 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LENNOX FISHERY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://charlottetown.cbc.ca/editorServlets/View?filename=dforesponse20010706 DFO approves of Lennox Island food fishery Charlottetown - The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says it supports the Lennox Island band's plans for a food fishery, even without a quota. Instead the band will use its own management plan. Chief Darlene Bernard of the Lennox Island band says the quota system didn't work last year. She says people in her community felt pressure to get out and fish as much as they could before the quota was used up. Last year, the Lennox Island band had a limit of 20 thousand pounds for their food fishery. Jim Jenkins is in charge of resource management for DFO on P.E.I. He says, in principle, DFO likes what they see in the Lennox Island proposal. "They felt that the quota was causing a rush, a gold rush mentality, get out there, fish it, get it cleaned up, we've got to get the whole quota," says Jenkins. "Whereas, without a quota, there are other ways to manage a fishery." For example, under the Lennox Island management plan, band members over 18 will be limited to one trap per person. They may also be restricted to certain days of fishing. And the plan says anyone caught selling lobster commercially will lose their food fishery tags for this summer and next. Jim Jenkins says DFO thinks the new management measures could potentially work even better than a quota. And he's not worried that fishing without a quota sets a precedent for other First Nations across the country. "Depending on how things turn out, whether we would follow this model for another year or not, would depend on how we get along this year," Jenkins says. Jim Jenkins will now discuss the final details of the plan with the Lennox Island band. Their food fishery is expected to begin August 1st. Copyright c. 2001 CBC All Rights Reserved --------- "RE: Food Fishery angers Non-native Fishermen" --------- Date: Sat, 7 Jul 2001 11:09:29 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LENNOX FISHERY BACKLASH" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://charlottetown.cbc.ca/editorServlets/View?filename=fishermen20010706 Food fishery angers non-native fishermen Malpeque, P.E.I. - Non-native fishermen from Malpeque Bay have reacted negatively to the Lennox Island management plan for this year's food fishery. The band has said they will not use a quota this year. Instead, community members will be limited to one trap per person.There will also be strict penalties for anyone caught selling their catch. Chris Wall, who speaks for the Malpeque fishermen, says his group is opposed to any fishing at all after the commercial season closes on July 1st. He's also upset the band will not have any quota this summer. Wall says he doesn't believe the band is capable of monitoring the catch, or preventing the commercial sale of lobster taken during the food fishery. "Fishermen just can't believe that the department or even the natives would come up with that after experiencing less lobster this year themselves," says Wall. "We have no faith in Lennox Island and their management plan because the problems that have been there in the past have been ignored and never been addressed." Wall says his group will be keeping a close eye on the Lennox Island traps, once they go in the water August 1st. Copyright c. 2001 CBC All Rights Reserved --------- "RE: Adopted American Indians face Challenges" --------- Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 08:10:53 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LOST BIRDS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.dallasnews.com/texas_southwest/410937_lostbirds_05te.html Thursday July 5, 2001 Adopted American Indians face challenges, mixed emotions in finding birth families 07/05/2001 By Pauline Arrillaga / Associated Press BYLAS, Ariz. - She waited in the social services office while her husband went for a walk. They were a long way from home in Ames, Iowa, and more than a little nervous. They were about to meet their new son. Linda and Laurent Hodges had seen a blurb in the newspaper about American Indian children needing permanent homes. They liked the Southwest and were intrigued by American Indian culture. Most of all, they had been unable to conceive and desperately wanted a child. They contacted Iowa social services and put in a request: Could they adopt an American Indian baby? The couple had heard tales of American Indian children being snatched from their families without cause, under the pretense of rescuing them from a life of poverty and despair. So when they learned that Arizona officials had a 4-month-old Apache boy available, they checked the circumstances. The mother was unmarried, an alcoholic. The father was out of the picture. The boy's older brother was in foster care, and his sister already had been adopted. This child lived in yet another foster home. On June 2, 1970, the Hodges arrived at the social services office southeast of the San Carlos Apache Indian Reservation. Before her husband had even returned, Mrs. Hodges saw the social worker coming - with a baby the color of milk chocolate, wearing a sky-blue shirt and diapers. He had a tuft of brown hair and huge eyes to match. "He likes orange juice," his foster mother had scribbled in a notebook she sent with the child. "He isn't a cry baby." They named him Andrew, and the boy with dark skin and big brown eyes took his place among his new white family in middle America - far from his tribe and his heritage, far from the relatives the Hodges knew nothing about. It would be 26 years before Andrew would return. Long time coming This year, the head of the Child Welfare League of America offered American Indians something they had longed to hear for more than three decades: An apology for taking their children. From 1958 to 1967, the league, along with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, worked with social workers across the country to aid in the adoptions of American Indian children into non-Indian families. Those who created the Indian Adoption Project said it stemmed from a study showing 1,000 American Indian children were legally available for adoption but in foster care or being passed from family to family on a reservation, living in poverty and destitution. To American Indians, the project was yet another attempt by the U.S. government to assimilate them into white society, another attempt to "kill the Indian, save the man" - or, in this case, the child. "It was genuinely believed that Indian children were better off in white homes," says Terry Cross, executive director of the National Indian Child Welfare Association. "The philosophy was that Indian people would disappear and blend into society." In all, 395 children from 16 states were adopted through the project. But the long-term effect was greater. The Child Welfare League wrote about the project and encouraged member agencies to continue to promote such adoptions. In 1968, the project became part of the Adoption Resource Exchange of North America, a larger program for the adoption of "hard-to-place" children in the United States and Canada - the program through which Andrew Hodges was adopted. Andrew grew up amid the cornfields and college life of Ames, Iowa, a mostly white, middle- to upper-class university town. His father, a Harvard graduate of English and French descent, taught physics at Iowa State. His mother, a blend of American and Austrian, was a free-lance writer. For as long as he can remember, Andrew knew he was adopted and that he was American Indian. Until high school, he was the only dark guy in class. And, somehow, the empty dirt fields after an Iowa harvest reminded him of a reservation he'd visited only once as a little boy while vacationing in Arizona. Yet Andrew knew nothing about his native culture or his real family. It never occurred to him to ask. He was a Hodges, and an Iowan like any other - a boy who detasseled corn for extra money, worked on airplane and car models and howled with laughter at Laurel and Hardy films. "I didn't really think about it," he says. "I had everything I needed with my family in Iowa." 'Narrow-minded' Back on the reservation, a grandmother he'd never met enrolled him in the tribe. An aunt wondered where he was, whether he thought about them. A cousin didn't even know he existed. Shay Bilchik, the head of the Child Welfare League who made the apology to Indians earlier this year, calls the adoption project "narrow-minded thinking" - something "very hurtful to those children and their families." By 1974, some 25 percent of American Indian children had been removed from their homes, placed in foster care, adoptive homes, institutions or boarding schools. The majority were cared for by non-Indians. That started to change in 1978, with passage of the Indian Child Welfare Act. That law says that if American Indian children are removed from their homes, social workers must first try to place them with extended family, other tribal members or a different tribe before allowing adoption by non- Indians. The law also gives tribes jurisdiction over child welfare cases, allowing them to intervene in adoption proceedings. Today, 12.5 percent of American Indian children are in out-of-home care, but many of those are with extended family, according to officials. While the numbers have improved, the legacy of the American Indian Adoption Project lingers. Even now, officials cite problems. Sometimes social workers aren't properly trained to identify children as American Indian. Or agencies fail to notify tribes of adoptions. But the true legacy of the project lies with the children adopted during that time and since, the ones they call the "Lost Birds." Searching, questioning Among them is race car driver Cory Witherill, 29, of Santa Monica, Calif. , a Navajo adopted in 1972 who has searched unsuccessfully for his birth family for four years. And Carol Jean Shoemaker, 54, of Rupert, W.Va., a Cherokee who is not even sure where she was born. "I've written several tribes and sent pictures," she says. "It's kind of like putting my face on a milk carton, because I don't know what else to do." Others have reunited with their birth families only to alienate their adoptive families. After years of wondering why she looked different from her fair-skinned, blond sister, Diane Tommaney of Valley Center, Calif., was 36 when she finally confronted her adoptive mother. After tracking down her birth mother, her adoptive parents "freaked," she said, and wrote her out of their wills. She now goes by her Indian name, Diane Tells His Name. Others experience just the opposite - rejection from birth families who consider them strangers. "They don't know their language, their heritage. If they do come back, they feel totally like outsiders," says Marie Fox Belly, a Lakota who founded the Lost Bird Society, which maintains a Web site for adopted American Indians. Ms. Fox Belly unsuccessfully fought the adoption of her nephew by a non- -Indian family after his white mother gave him up. Ms. Fox Belly's brother, who fathered the child, had refused to acknowledge the boy. "The only thing that we can do is to pray, so the Lost Birds can find their way home," she says. "They are going to, but it's going to be a long flight." Andrew Hodges was lucky: His flight wasn't so long once he embarked on the journey. In 1996, when Andrew was 26 years old, he went with his parents to the county courthouse to help a friend track down the child she had given up for adoption years earlier. There, the idea struck. "Mom," he said, "we should try that." Within a week, Mrs. Hodges had called the social services office in Arizona, armed only with the name of her son's birth mother. A social worker asked a colleague if the name sounded familiar. The colleague happened to be one of Andrew's cousins. His brother called a few days later. Mixed emotions Over Mother's Day weekend 1996, Andrew returned to the San Carlos Apache Reservation to reunite with his family - his brother, Leo, who grew up in a foster home on the reservation; his maternal grandmother, Regina, who had enrolled him in the tribe; and a slew of aunts, uncles and cousins. He didn't get to meet everyone. His sister was adopted off the reservation as an infant. No one knows where she is. His father, Adam Mull, died when Andrew was 10. His mother, Juana Johnson, died the year after Andrew was adopted. "I was sad about it," he quietly recalls, not wanting to say more. Andrew moved to Arizona in 1997. He lives and works in Phoenix, and returns to the reservation whenever he can. He is learning about his culture and proudly shows off his tribal enrollment card. There was a time when Linda and Laurent Hodges wondered if they did the right thing. When they found Andrew's family and discovered he had so many relatives, when they learned those relatives never wanted him to be adopted, they wondered. "That made us feel very bad," says Mrs. Hodges, who along with her husband supports the Indian Child Welfare Act, even though they might not have their son had the law existed in 1970. "Everyone has the right to their own children," she says. Yet Andrew wouldn't change a thing about how he grew up, or the parents who raised him. "There are times when I'm driving through the reservation and I think growing up there would have been kind of neat," he says. "But I had a great life. I'm happy - happy I've got two families now." At least one birth relative agrees. "I'm glad for the way things happened for him," says Althea Pike, Andrew's maternal aunt. "If he grew up here, he wouldn't have what he has now. Here, things are hard." In June, Andrew and his parents returned to the reservation to visit his relatives. They stopped by the cemetery, and Andrew knelt by the graves of his birth parents, while the parents he grew up with stood back. That day, his two families huddled on his grandma's couch as Linda and Laurent Hodges showed snapshots of Andrew's life: a baby with his mom on the beach, a teenager with straggly hair - and the first photograph ever taken of Andrew, when he was just 6 weeks old. The social worker gave it to the Hodges the day they came for their son. Afterward, Andrew hugged his grandma goodbye. He and his folks stopped by his aunt's house for one more photo. Then, just as they had 31 years before, they climbed in their car and drove off - the boy with milk chocolate skin and big brown eyes, and the couple he calls Mom and Dad. Copyright c. 2001 The Dallas Morning News --------- "RE: Radiation Victims May Soon Be Compensated" --------- Date: Fri, 22 Jun 2001 08:02:24 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RADIATION VICTIMS" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Thursday, June 21, 2001 Radiation Victims May Soon Be Compensated By Robert Gehrke The Associated Press WASHINGTON - Ill uranium miners and residents sickened by radioactive fallout from nuclear tests are a step closer to long-awaited compensation from the government. Money to pay government IOUs worth $84 million will be included in the version of a $6.5 billion spending bill going today to the Senate Appropriations Committee. "Our people don't have to wait very long," said Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N. M. It was unclear, however, how soon checks could arrive if the spending were to be approved. Lori Goodman, a spokeswoman for the group Dine CARE, which represents sick Navajo Indians who worked in the uranium mines, remained wary: The allocation still must be approved by the Senate, agreed to by the House and signed by President Bush. "It's hard to get all excited about it anymore," she said. "We've been waiting, and we'll be cheering when it does happen." The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act was passed in 1990 to provide cash payments of $100,000 to uranium miners and $75,000 to "down-winders" - residents exposed to radioactive fallout caused by nuclear weapons tests in Nevada. Many of the uranium mines were in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona and many of the miners were Navajos. The down-winders lived in southern Nevada and Utah and northern Arizona, where fallout settled from nuclear weapons tests near Las Vegas. Last year, the act was expanded to cover more people, but no new money was added. Starting in May 2000, qualifying claimants received letters informing them the program was out of money. Several have died from their illnesses awaiting payments. "In a situation that has added insult to injury, the federal government has been issuing worthless IOUs for months," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., in a statement. "It is high time we appropriate the funds necessary for compensating the uranium workers who dedicated their lives to helping us win the Cold War." The Bush administration has proposed spending $97 million next year and $710 million over the next decade to pay RECA claims, but that money would not be available until the next fiscal year, which begins in October. Despite lobbying from southwestern members of Congress, Bush did not include the $84 million in his request for supplemental appropriations, which would be available much sooner. Domenici and Bingaman persuaded Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to add the money to the Senate bill. It was one of the few departures from the president's request, said Domenici, who was grateful for Byrd's consideration. The money will come out of a surplus in a loan program designed to help oil and gas companies hurt by foreign imports. The Senate vote could come as early as next week. Domenici said he expects Senate negotiators to persuade House conferees to include the money in the version of the bill to go to the president. On the Net Justice Department's Radiation Exposure Compensation Program: www.usdoj.gov/civil/ torts/const/reca/index.ht Copyright c. 1997 - 2001 Albuquerque Journal: Albuquerque, New Mexico --------- "RE: Secwepemc Woman assaulted at Sun Peaks" --------- Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 20:58:56 EDT From: sumerwcree1@aol.com Subj: native woman attacked support Sun Peaks protesters Secwepemc woman assaulted at Sun Peaks Native Youth describe it as a hate crime from frosty Skwelkwek'welt, Secwepemec Territory june 25, 2001 - A peaceful protest at Sun Peaks village yesterday was broken up by an attack on a 24 year old Secwepemec woman by an intoxicated and belligerent Sun Peaks resident. This man is well known to the Native Youth Movement, since their occupation at McGillvery Lake on June 1, 2001, for his constant harassment, racial slurs and threats towards them. Last night he punched Nicole Manuel, spokesperson for the Native Youth Movement, in the face. As a groups of approximately 20 Native Youth Movement members walked through Sun Peaks village singing traditional Native songs and voicing a firm stance against development on Skwelkwek'welt, the Sun Peaks resident walked off the terrace of a restaurant in the Sun Peaks day lodge, where he had been drinking with several other white men and shouting racial slurs at the protesters. He charged the group of Native Youth shouting, "Fucking Indians, get off our land!" and "You want war, come on!" He first swung several punches in the direction of the young men, then he directed his attention at Nicole Manuel, shouting at her and finally punching her in the face. She was immediately protected from further attack by a young warrior who later said: "The necessary actions were taken against this man for attacking our sister. We will not tolerate any more abuse and assaults against our women, our peoples or our land. We will protect them by any means necessary." The Native Youth Movement view this as a direct action of hate crime which is being tolerated and promoted by the RCMP and Sun Peaks. We have received continual harassment by the RCMP, BC and Canadian government officials and Sun Peaks residents and employees. These people must be held accountable of he actions of these parties and recognize that we hold Aboriginal Title to these lands and every right to be here. We will continue to exercise our rights and title to our lands on Skwelkwek'welt, which includes the Sun Peaks village. Today we find ourselves under the same attack as our ancestors did with horse carriages and wagon still making tracks of destruction on our land, but now they carry tourists who fund the destruction of our natural resources and way of life. As we observed one of these carriages going by in Sun Peaks village yesterday we did as our ancestors have always done in reminding the non-native that they are on Secwepemec Territory and that has never been sold or surrendered. We walked beside the carriage and sang our traditional songs and prayed for the immediate halt of the destruction of this land. Those who believe they can break our people's spirits with their wanton attacks are gravely mistaken. CONTACT Amanda Soper at Cell Phone (250)572-2327 SKEWLKWEK'WEK PROTECTION CENTER PRESS RELEASE Secwepemc woman assaulted at Sun Peaks - Native Youth accuse RCMP, Sun Peaks of tolerating violence against indigenous people Secwepemec Territory, June 25, 2001 - "Acts of violence against our people are a result of the campaign of harassment and intimidation that has been going on for the past three weeks," says Mandy Soper of the Native Youth Movement. "We hold Sun Peaks and the RCMP responsible for this escalation." Amanda Soper was referring to an incident at Sun Peaks last night when a group of Native Youth were carrying out a peaceful demonstration and a 24 year old Secwepemc woman was assaulted by an on-looker. "They were singing and drumming," Amanda Soper says, "and the man came off a terrace shouting 'Fucking Indians, get off our land' He then punched her in the face." This was only the latest incident since Sun Peaks filed a new injunction against the protesters at McGillvery Lake a week ago. "Several times in the past week," Soper says, "drunken whites have come up to the lake to harass the Native Youth, Elders, and land-users at the protest camp. A group of them even showed up at the end of the TNRD Public meeting to attack and insult us verbally. So far the RCMP have done nothing. They seemed content to let this harassment continue to the point today where our people are facing physical assault." Sun Peaks Management filed a new injunction forbidding protesters from wearing army surplus clothing, erecting bark houses or even putting up a sign. "At the same time," says Soper, "drunken whites are free to drive to and from the lake to use extra-legal measures to harass protesters. This is not a double standard," Soper says, "it is the old standard : White is right and tell the Indians to go back to their reserves." The Native Youth, Elders and land-users of McGilliveray Lake are demanding that the RCMP prevent inebriated whites from driving up to the lake to harass the peaceful protesters. They say that Sun Peaks is contributing to the fear and intimidation by inviting two RCMP officers to the TNRD public meeting at Sun Peaks by the request of Darcey Alexander. They also say that they will step up efforts to publicize this escalation of the attacks on protesters in British Columbia, Canada and internationally. Contact: Janice Billy at (250) 679-3052 For Rezlife egroups http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rezlife --------- "RE: Sun Peaks: Talking is Finished" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 19:19:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="SUN PEAKS TALKS FINISHED" Mailing List: Frostys AmerIndian Last Updated: Sunday 8 July 2001 Local News 'Talking is finished' Protest camp at ski resort will stay until land claim is won, say natives Damian Inwood The Province SUN PEAKS -- Native protesters say they will stop at nothing to win their land-claims battle at a $300-million ski resort. "Talking is finished," 78-year-old Sarah Deneault told about 50 people, some wearing camouflage outfits. "We are going to do whatever it takes to get this resolved once and for all." The flashpoint could come this week after the Sun Peaks Resort applies to B.C. Supreme Court in Kamloops tomorrow for an injunction to remove a camp at the entrance to the village. If the injunction is granted, RCMP may have to forcibly remove the protesters. "It's not over," said Leigh Ann Edwards, a Neskonlith band councillor. "It doesn't matter if they lift us off forcefully or bring in the militia." The protesters are opposed to a $70-million expansion at the ski resort, about 40 kilometres east of Kamloops. They claim the "unceded land" is their ancestral home, dating back to the 1862 Neskonlith Douglas Reserve. They describe their camp, which flies a Mohawk Indian flag above a makeshift cabin with a tarp over its roof, as a "protection centre." The camp sits on land the resort needs for an upgraded water main. Police kept watch from a bluff above the camp on Friday as a 5 p.m. deadline came and went without the protesters leaving. As a circle of men drummed and chanted, a pickup roared by on the road and a man yelled, "Get outta here." Some of the resort's 200 permanent residents are worried about their businesses, said cafe owner Tony Bagg yesterday. "Some are fed up -- they feel they are under siege," he said. "I think it will work out in the end, but it will just take some time." Bagg said he witnessed an ugly confrontation on June 24 when a group of protesters wearing bandanas and battle fatigues surrounded a horse-drawn wagon full of tourists. "They were yelling and screaming profanities, telling people to leave," he said. "It was absolutely disgusting. One said to me, 'What nationality are you?' and I said, 'Native Canadian.' He didn't know what to say." In a separate incident, a scuffle left one man hospitalized with stitches and a woman protester suffering from what she said was a punch in the face. One of the protesters was charged Friday with assault causing bodily harm and mischief. On Friday night, two men using two-way radios set up a "security" checkpoint at a second camp near McGillivray Lake, where about a dozen protesters have been living since June 1. A Province reporter was refused entry to the camp about eight kilometres east of the townsite. The men said they were among six people arrested on Thursday when police broke up a roadblock at Cayoosh Creek, south of Lillooet: "We're here to lend moral support," said Lawrence Pascal, of Mount Currie. Sun Peaks spokesman Chris Nicholson said the resort is caught in the middle and wants the federal and provincial governments to sort out the land- claims issue. "Non-peaceful tactics are not acceptable," he added. Copyright c. 2001 Southern Digital and Pacific Newspaper Group, Inc. The Province is a CanWest Publication. Subscribe: frostysamerindian-subscribe@yahoogroups.com --------- "RE: NDP tells RCMP to Probe Harris on Ipperwash Role" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 10:34:35 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="IPPERWASH" http//www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm Jul. 7, 05:50 EDT Probe Harris on Ipperwash role, NDP tells Mounties Churley calls memo the 'smoking gun' tying Harris to shooting death By Christian Cotroneo Toronto Star Staff Reporter The NDP is calling for a criminal investigation into "serious allegations against the Premier" in the shooting death of Aboriginal protester Dudley George. The allegations, along with "new evidence now made public in court, require swift police investigation by an arm's-length body," NDP Leader Howard Hampton wrote in a letter to RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli today. On Thursday, a memo filed by George family lawyers quotes Premier Mike Harris as being "hawkish" in his attitude toward First Nations protesters at Ipperwash Provincial Park and suggests that a hard-line response was a test of his leadership. Julie Jai, a lawyer with the Ontario government's Native Affairs Secretariat, wrote the memo at emergency government meetings that took place during the crisis. In her notes, she also quotes Peter Allen, of the Ministry of Natural Resources. According to her memo, Allen advised that the Ipperwash situation didn't require drastic measures. Yesterday, Hampton said the credibility of Jai and Allen were strong factors in calling for the investigation. "You're talking about two people here who have worked and served different governments over the years -- Liberal governments, NDP governments and Conservative governments. These are people with outstanding credibility within the civil service." The OPP, Hampton said, broke their customary rules of engagement at Ipperwash. "More and more documentary evidence accumulates which shows that it was the Premier who was in fact the active mind, demanding that the Indians be removed from the park immediately." At a press conference yesterday, Marilyn Churley, MPP for Toronto- Danforth said the Jai memo is the "smoking gun" tying Harris to the incident and suggested the Premier had played a major role in the park that day," Churley said. George was among several unarmed Chippewa Indians who occupied the park in September 1995, claiming it was a native burial ground. George was shot after police charged the protesters. OPP Officer Kenneth Deane was later convicted of criminal negligence. "I think the documentary evidence now establishes that just laying this at the feet of one OPP officer is just not credible any more," Hampton said. The George family has since filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Harris. During Friday's proceedings, family lawyers filed the memo as part of the trial disclosure process. Churley said the lawsuit is costing the George family "a fortune." "They can barely manage to keep this lawsuit going," she said. "We think the strategy of the Premier has been to just drag this on so long that the George family will run out of money and drop the suit. "It's very clear now that a criminal investigation needs to happen." The NDP has been asking for a public inquiry for months, but Churley said "we now have a direct link" between Harris and the police action. "That screams out to me and to our party that the Premier was directly or indirectly involved in the wrongful death of a peaceful First Nations protester." "I don't know how the Premier can live with himself if he is responsible for the OPP's stepping up the action that led to the death of an innocent, peaceful protester," Churley said. Copyright c. 2001 The Toronto Star. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: B.C. Anglican Diocese to go Bankrupt" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 19:19:12 -0500 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ANGLICAN BANKRUPTCY" http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm http://www.canada.com/cgi-bin/cp.asp?f=/news/nationalpost/stories/ 20010706/611059.html B.C. Anglican diocese to go bankrupt Oct. 15 Richard Foot National Post WATERLOO, Ont. - A group of Anglican churches in British Columbia will declare bankruptcy on Oct. 15, and the national organization of the Anglican Church of Canada expects to do the same soon afterward, because of the cost of lawsuits filed by former students of Indian residential schools. "It is our intention that on Oct. 15 our diocese will cease to operate," said Jim Cruickshank, Bishop of the Diocese of Cariboo, an Anglican district in the B.C. Interior, yesterday. "We will formally wind up our affairs in October." Although certain Roman Catholic groups are also imperiled, the Diocese of Cariboo will likely be the first Church organization in Canada to fall as a result of residential school lawsuits. At the start of a sombre national gathering of Anglican Church members here yesterday, Archbishop Michael Peers, the Church's senior Canadian leader, asked delegates to consider ways to continue the work of the national body if it, too, becomes insolvent by the year's end. "Never before have we contemplated a possibility such as the one we are now facing," he said. "We need to make decisions about our future. We are in a place where that feels enormously perilous." The Diocese of Cariboo is believed to be the first Anglican diocese in the Commonwealth ever sued into bankruptcy. It has spent all its money coping with lawsuits brought by a handful of native people who were sexually assaulted in residential school by a man later convicted of these crimes. Across Canada and for much of the last century, Church groups operated residential schools as agents of the government. Almost 8,000 former students have filed claims alleging widespread physical and sexual abuse and loss of language and culture. The Diocese of Cariboo is seeking legal advice about whether it will have to sell parish property to settle its debts after it goes bankrupt, or whether its church buildings and cemetery grounds can remain intact for the communities they serve. As for the national branch of the Anglican Church, it is spending about $100,000 a month, mostly on legal fees, dealing with the 1,195 residential school lawsuits it faces. The national Church has $3-million in remaining assets, plus $6-million in endowment funds that may be liquidated to pay creditors in the event of insolvency. All that will save it, Church leaders say, is a speedy agreement by the federal government to assume most of the Church's residential school liabilities. If the Church goes bankrupt, Ottawa will have to pay Church liabilities anyway as a co-defendant in all the aboriginal lawsuits. Some Church leaders are pinning their hopes on a series of meetings this summer -- three this month and two in August -- with federal officials working for Herb Gray, the Deputy Prime Minister. Last month, Mr. Gray received the go-ahead from the Cabinet to negotiate a deal with the four Christian denominations facing residential school claims. Church officials say Mr. Gray is bound by a set of Cabinet-prescribed limits, although none of the churches know what those are. The main stumbling block to a deal is the question of how much churches should have to put into a fund that would aim to resolve residential school claims. Federal officials have estimated the total liability of the churches and the government at about $2-billion, a number the churches consider too high. Anglicans have insisted that a deal should only require them to contribute money and human resources toward healing programs and other social work in native communities. However, Archbishop Peers said yesterday he might be able to convince Anglicans to contribute money toward individual legal settlements, as long as an agreement with Ottawa limiting overall liability is in place. Despite the meetings planned for the summer, some Church members are losing hope. Leaders such as Bishop Cruickshank say Mr. Gray is negotiating in bad faith and is not serious about keeping the embattled churches alive. But as Archbishop Peers told the faithful yesterday, even if certain parts of the Church go bankrupt, "We will remain the Church ... It is the structures that are at risk, not the essence of our life." Copyright c. 2001 CanWest Interactive, a CanWest company. --------- "RE: Things to Keep an Eye On" --------- Date: Sun, 8 Jul 2001 09:42:06 -0400 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: FWD: From the Red Road Newsletter, part 2 and 3 ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- Things to Keep an Eye On! Date: 7/7/2001 1:17:03 PM Pacific Daylight Time From: turislsuppgrp@yahoo.ca (Sylvia Goodchild) *** Nault's Governance Initiative *** Former Toronto-area NDP MP Don (Dan) Heap and his wife Alice have been reading up on the Minister's new governance initiative. Looking, in particular at information provided by Abenaki activist Roger Obonsawin (get more info from him at oigroup@oigroup.ca), Don has neatly summarized this project: "Trudeau's old Minister of Indian Affairs [Jean Chretien] intends, in his third term as un-elected king, to wipe out the Aboriginal peoples in Canada legislatively and reduce them all to Canadians with individual rights but almost no means to access them." This initiative is supported by an aggressive and VERY sophisticated media strategy, and will be "in the bag" by September, if Minister Nault has his way. Attractive buzz words like accountability, democracy and responsible fiscal management are the cover for legislative changes primarily intended to make reserve communities better risks for private investors. This does NOT appear to be about improving quality of life, but rather to be about providing greater political stability with longer terms for elected officials, better accounting systems, etc. (just like there is in Ontario and Ottawa!?!). Paving the way for multinational resource industries hasn't worked to the advantage of other Third World Peoples. Will it work here? It could if the investors care about anything other than the bottom line, but we know they don't. Look for Ottawa to use all its smoke-and-mirrors and divide-and-conquer techniques to move ahead this globalization initiative. Keep reading the fine print and between the lines to see if they will prove this prediction right or wrong. It says here that this so-called governance initiative will rapidly move First Nations from colonialism to the kind of post- modern-colonialism that can be evidenced today - for example - throughout the Caribbean: i.e. from the hunger and deprivation caused directly by colonial powers to those they cause by proxy, through their friends in business. *** Mi'kmaq Fishing *** Stand by!! It sounds like the lobster season will again bring choppy waters in the east. ARC Atlantic and Christian Peacemaker Teams are sending trained violence-reduction observers at the request of both the Esgennoopetitj (Burnt Church) and Indian Brook communities. TISG's own Robin Buyers, who is also Facilitator for the Coalition for a Public Inquiry into Ipperwash, will be there as an invited observer in mid-August, so we'll all be getting firsthand reports from her. Be prepared to again send letters, cards, bodies and cheques to help with this important campaign for recognition of the treaty and resource rights of the Mi'kmaq and other nearby First Peoples. To get info directly from Burnt Church/Esgenoopetitj, contact miigkis@nbnet.nb.ca. More information on CPT can be had at : http://www.prairienet.org/cpt If you want to get some info from down there about travel, and how to support, from a longtime TISG supporter--- try willi@web.net *** Aboriginal Rights Coalition *** Up 'til now, the national Aboriginal Rights Coalition has benefited from funding from Canada's major churches, but it has functioned fairly autonomously from Church mandates. Networking for and with Aboriginal and community partners, it has brought energy and prominence to important Aboriginal Rights issues. Some of the campaigns that ARC has taken up include: the Lubicon land negotiations, the struggles of the Innu Peoples, support for the fishing rights of the Mi'kmaq Peoples, the long legal battle of Delgamuukw, the fight for a public inquiry into Ipperwash, and much more. Currently the major funding partners of ARC (Roman Catholic Bishops and religious organizations, as well as United, Anglican, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and other Protestant denominations) have decided that it is more economical and will better address their policy needs to bring all the inter-church coalitions together under one umbrella board, which they have named "Canadian Churches for Justice and Peace" (CCJP). Affected organizations include inter-church groups that have been working for many years on human rights in Latin America, Asia and Africa, as well as refugee issues, corporate 'responsibility' and ethics concerns, etc. There is some recognition that ARC is a different kind of coalition from the others... but it is not yet clear how much of ARC's autonomy will be lost in the process of this amalgamation. As an activist network member group, which is NOT affiliated with any Christian or other faith group, TISG has endorsed a letter to the new CCJP Board asking that they take into account many concerns that we have about these proposed changes. More on this in the next Newsletter. *** Gathering Women's Voices for the WCAR *** The GTV Circle of Women met in late June to develop a format for the report that Spokeswoman Darlene Ritchie will take to South Africa for the World Conference Against Racism at the end of August 2001. This report will be released in the community and then to the media prior to the conference. It chronicles issues, examples and ways to address the racism experienced by Indigenous women in Canada, and sets these points in an historical and cultural context which points directly to both causes and means of resolution. For further information on this topic, contact Darlene at atlohsa@on.aibn.com or Bev at bearclan@netcom.ca *** Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (DDRIP) *** As previously announced by TISG, Montreal-based Rights & Democracy, the international human rights organization headed by Warren Allmand, has decided that their project for the World Conference Against Racism is to gather political support for the in Canada for the DDRIP. Many people in the TISG network have already responded to our request to endorse the open letter by Rights & Democracy on the DDRIP. If you haven't yet done so, you can find information about their campaign and how you can join it on their website at http://www.ichrdd.ca or by emailing Marie St. Louis at mstlouis@ichrdd.ca *** Coalition for the Advancement of Aboriginal Studies *** A relatively new national organization, the CAAS is focussed on improving what is taught about Aboriginal Peoples in Canadian classrooms. The need for this is known to all Aboriginal persons and what stated repeatedly in the RCAP report. The CAAS welcomes anyone interested in education - academics, anti-racism activists, classroom teachers, parents, Elders, traditional teachers, and more - to its mixed network of Aboriginal and Canadian [Newcomer] members. Your support can be useful to this new group in many ways. Check out their website - which is loaded with links and resources, including direct access to professional development supports for teachers - at . In particular, CAAS can use your help with administering their Student Awareness Survey (find out more on their site). You can email their Summer Coordinator, Anika Altiman, at < caas@edu.yorku.ca>. *** Caldwell First Nation: The Good News Department!! *** Opposition to the land claim of the Caldwell First Nation seems to be declining. A recent community meeting to whip up anti-Native Rights sentiment - and get people to donate to the legal costs of those opposing the Caldwell claim - was not as successful as organizers hoped. This doesn't mean we can call off the support efforts we have been making, but it does feel good to know that people can change their views and become more reasonable and fair. According to a mainstream media report of this meeting, "Some local residents just want to see all the anger subside and everyone to get on with their lives... Blenheim resident Deborah Dorner is just tired of all the animosity. "I would like to see the amount of energy and money going into the court battle to be used to find peace in the community and welcome the Caldwells," she said. "Some of us are quite happy to see a new dimension added to our community." She hoped that the CKCN and its supporters could sit down with members of the Caldwell First Nation. "If the Caldwells spoke about their pain and the CKCN spoke about theirs, there could be ground for healing." " Another report from the meeting said that "it was a very small hall... and [a] very short meeting. I thought it was a shame because most of the [people there] were senior citizens and they kept asking them for money... Not everyone at the meeting supported the CKCN, but went to see what they had to say. A few came up to me to say hello and introduce themselves, which I thought was great." For more information on how to keep the ball rolling in the Caldwell's favour, look up the Caldwell story at www. nativenewsonline.orgor contact kjacobs@ciaccess.com. *** International Cultural Award to Daughter of Esgenoopetitj Activists ** A Brief History of the Rosenberg Fund for Children (RFC) In June, 1950, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were arrested by the United States government and charged with "conspiring to give the secret of the atomic bomb to the Soviet Union." In four short weeks, they were tried, convicted, and sentenced to death by electrocution. In spite of three years of international efforts to save their lives - a campaign launched by progressives around the world who believed they had been framed - on June 19, 1953, the Rosenbergs were executed at Sing Sing prison. At the time of their deaths, their sons, Robert and Michael, were six and ten years old. The children endured considerable hardship, dislocation and painful separation until Anne and Abel Meeropol were finally able to adopt them. Robert Meeropol's dream of building a fitting monument to his parents took many years to realise. In 1990, he founded the Rosenberg Fund for Children which provides for the educational and emotional needs of children whose parents have been harassed, injured, jailed, fired, or killed in the course of their progressive activities. The Mary Pitawanakwat Fund of the Rosenberg Fund for Children (MPF/RFC) Mary Pitawanakwat, an indigenous Canadian activist who lived in Regina, died in 1995, one year after winning a ten-year legal struggle against sexual harassment and racial discrimination. The RFC provided support for her children in the early 1990s. In 1999, the RFC, in cooperation with supporters in Canada, began the Mary Pitawanakwat Fund of the Rosenberg Fund for Children. Grants from the MPF are awarded each year to the children of targeted Indigenous activists in Canada. The grants are made directly to the educational/cultural programs chosen by the Aboriginal families receiving the awards. MPF/RFC Awards Granted to Children of Two Indigenous Families, 2001 Award Continues to Kayla Jacobs - Caldwell First Nation, Blenheim, Ontario Kayla Jacobs, who won an MPF/RFC award in 2000, was granted a second award in 2001, so that she can continue her Tai Kwon Do program. She is the 9-year old granddaughter of Native rights activists of the Caldwell First Nation, Chief Larry Johnson and Theresa Johnson. Gunshots, vandalism, graffiti, and stalking by non-Native neighbours have been employed to intimidate, silence and discourage members of the Caldwell First Nation from pursuing the purchase of land in the Blenheim area. The right to land was granted to them in a 1790 treaty and has been verified by the federal government. Because of this dangerous racism and harassment in the community - which is being encouraged by non-Native local politicians - the Johnsons made the decision to move Kayla to a safer area. Thanks to the grant from the MPF, Kayla's martial arts studies will not be interrupted. Award to Sgoagani - Mi'kmaq/Wabanaki Nation Burnt Church, New Brunswick This year, the MPF/RFC has awarded a grant to Miigam'agan and gkisedtanamoogk of the Mi'kmaq/Wabanaki Nation for funding assistance to help their children, especially their oldest daughter Sgoagani, with a home schooling program. The home schooling program that Miigam'agan and gkisedtanamoogk provide their children reflects their extensive knowledge of Mi'kmaq language and culture. They are advocates for the return to Aboriginal teachings and community activism and life that reflects Mi'kmaq traditions. As activists in the Mi'kmaq community at Burnt Church, they have been targeted for their work in support of Native lobster fishing rights. gkisedtanamoogk has been struggling for many years for the right to cross the imposed international borders between the United States and Canada without signing on to citizenship in either country. And, after many hard-fought years, Miigam'agan, gkisedtanamoogk and their children won the right to use only their traditional names in government records. Throughout the province of New Brunswick, Aboriginal youth are facing challenges in the public school system from racism and from a curriculum and an education system that reinforces notions and impacts of colonialism. The MPF/RFC grant in support of home schooling for Sgoagani is in recognition of the need to address the brutal consequences of colonial western education on Aboriginal children and youth. ________________________________________________ Subscribe to The Red Road Newsletter by sending an email to: TheRedRoadNewsletter-subscribe@egroups.com The Red Road Newsletter is a free publication. Copywrite c. 2000 Contents may not be reprinted without permission ===== Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com --------- "RE: High Court Ruling on Arrests hurts Sovereignty" --------- Date: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 18:25:46 -0400 From: "Janet Smith" Subj: High court ruling on arrests hurts sovereignty High court ruling on arrests hurts sovereignty, tribes say By STEVE YOUNG Argus Leader published: 7/6/01 Oglala Sioux tribal officials are mobilizing against a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allows Nevada law enforcement officers to enter reservations to arrest Indians for crimes committed elsewhere. In a ruling last week, the Supreme Court said state law enforcement officers in Nevada could enter the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Reservation and arrest Indians on deeded or trust lands for crimes that occurred off the reservation. Oglala Sioux President John Steele said he will try to restrict the ability of South Dakota law enforcement officers to enter the Pine Ridge Reservation to investigate and prosecute crimes. He has directed Robert Grey Eagle, Oglala Sioux Tribe attorney general, to draft an ordinance requiring law enforcement to comply with extradition procedures in the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty in order to arrest Indians on the reservation. "I feel that ruling should be limited to Nevada since the ... history of that reservation is different from the Pine Ridge Reservation," Steele said. Larry Long, chief deputy attorney general for South Dakota, said the ruling is not likely to mean big changes any time soon in the way this state views law enforcement on reservations. "We're still reviewing the decision," Long said Thursday. "But we aren't doing anything and have no plans to do anything, except take a deep breath and move very cautiously, if at all. "This decision is certainly at variance to what the common practice has been in South Dakota for a long time." Typically, law enforcement officials ask tribes to extradite, or turn over, tribal members who are staying on the reservation but have been charged with state crimes off the reservation, Long said. Steele said the ordinance he is having drafted will be presented to the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council for approval during its meeting July 16-19. The tribe also plans to hold a meeting of all Sioux tribes at the Rapid City Ramkota Inn on July 26-28 to discuss the Supreme Court's move toward allowing state jurisdiction on reservations under the Nevada case. Sioux Falls lawyer Jim Abourezk, a former U.S. senator who represented the Yankton Sioux Tribe for eight years and has worked for other tribes, called the Supreme Court decision "a big-time ruling affecting the tribes." "It's just a further chipping away by the Supreme Court of the rights of Indian tribes," Abourezk said. "And eventually, I think it could spell doom for the tribes themselves ... that they will be sucked into the destruction of their tribal sovereignty by decisions like this." Johnson Holy Rock, a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe, said hundreds of Lakota warriors died in the 1800s so the tribe could have a permanent reservation free from state jurisdiction. "The Pine Ridge Reservation was not a gift from the United States," he said. "It was paid for by the blood of our ancestors. The Oglala Sioux Tribe cannot sit by and watch all this be erased by the stroke of the pen." Abourezk said the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled on a similar situation in 1990 in State vs. Spotted Horse. In that decision, the court held that a Mobridge police officer did not have the jurisdiction to follow a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe onto his reservation and arrest him for having invalid state license plate stickers on his car. "I think what that decision says is the South Dakota Supreme Court has outlawed that kind of stuff here," Abourezk said. Rolly Samp, a Sioux Falls lawyer who is a former chief tribal judge for the Flandreau Santee Sioux, said South Dakota has one of the clearest boundaries between federal and state jurisdiction on Indian reservations of any state. In 1953, Congress passed a law that allowed states to accept civil and criminal jurisdiction over reservations if voters elected to do so, Samp said. In South Dakota, voters decided not to take that jurisdiction, he said. "I'm not sure you can apply the Nevada case to this state." Gregg Bourland, chairman of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, said Thursday that he had not heard of the Supreme Court's ruling. "This is the first I've heard of it," Bourland said. "I'd be remiss to comment until I actually looked the ruling over. But I'm going to have our legal department investigate it right away." Janet Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com --------- "RE: Native Prisoner" --------- Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2001 20:34:13 -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: Fri, 6 Jul 2001 11:27:19 -0700 From: Kay Lee If you would be willing to join me in a vigil at FSP in Starke, Florida and/or the Bradford County Courthouse when Troy Griffin goes to court (tentatively August 14th), contact me: Kay Lee 2613 Larry Court Eau Gallie, FL 32935 321-253-3673 kaylee1@charter.net I NEED A VIGIL! 6/30/2001 Hello Kay Lee I'm not doing too good at this time, but I did receive your card and message and yes! I would like for you to place the story on the internet. Plus I thank you for helping me get my article out there to those newspapers. Kay Lee, I'm going to need support. On 6/26/2001, guards woke me up and told me that I'm going to Bradford County Courthouse. When I got there, the judge told me that I'm being charged with 'Battery on Law Enforcement Officer' [Yes, that's what the guards call themselves - kl]. The judge said this 'assault' was supposed to have happened on Nov. 5th, 1999, almost two years ago, when a fire took place here at FSP. When the administration allowed the guards to open up all cell doors and told us to come out and go towards the back door without any restraints, the officers seen so many inmates without any restraints, it caused certain officers to panic and react negatively. Now, after the building was cleared of all other inmates, me and another inmate was still in the building. I risked my life with all the smoke to help this friend of mine get out of his cell because his door was jammed and it had been over 15 minutes and nobody was helping him. After getting him out of his cell, we exited the building, entering a crowd of inmates and officers. As I was waiting in the crowd, Lt. Palmer appeared and threw me to the ground, where I was then attacked by several officers, and now they are trying to say that I assaulted an officer. Ms Kaylee, Please listen to me. I promise I didn't do anything wrong. Now, let me you tell why all of a sudden they're trying to give me another charge. I'll show you how they are trying to frame me. Number 1. I'm a writwriter. Number 2. As you know, the lawsuit that's now in effect that Peter Siegel is handling, I'm a prime witness in that case. Peter Siegal came out here to interview me concerning the lawsuit. He wrote me a letter asking me if anything happened to me since our last visit. I wrote him and told him that these guards have been constantly harassing me, threatening me about, "We are going to teach you about going out there talking to them lawyers. We are going to get you some more time in prison." These threats were occuring for a period of time. Peter Siegal and (list) Shirley have letters ahead of time, even before they brought this charge on me. Ms. Kaylee, the question is, why they waited this long to charge me? What transpired between 1999 to 2001, out of 96 inmates that were on the recreation yard that day and I'm the only one that gets charged. Something has got to seem strange about that. I got about 10 months at the most before I go home. I've done 7 years already. I have a very good and supportive family out there and a little son that's waiting on me. I can't allow them to frame me for another five years. That's what the charge they are dropping on me carries. I've seen these guards frame alot of inmates when they are about to come home, so that's what they are trying to do to me. They are trying to retaliate on me because of me coming forward to report the abuse that I and others suffered, and about the lawsuit. It's hard for me to explain everything to you on this paper. I know these guards are watching my mail, so I wish I had a phone call or a visit with you. This is what I want to set up. A protest where y'all would have signs, microphones, etc on my behalf and for others that are suffering. I'd love for y'all to set up on the outside of this prison, FSP, and the Bradford County Courthouse when I go to court. I want to know if you are interested and can you support me in that fashion? Please contact my dad also. I just need you to explain what you are doing on behalf of inmates. Also explain to him some of the harsh things that's going on in here. Mainly let him know that these guards are trying to frame me with another charge that carries five years. Let him know, "Don't Panic!" All I need him to do is help find a paid lawyer to represent me on this case. I can't have a public defender because I will lose the case. Also tell him to contact the NAACP. I need all the support I can get in trying to move this case out of Bradford county to Gainesville, because St. Pete Times, as well as Miami Herald, did a big investigation on this region and it is one county where everyone knows everyone and it's impossible for me to receive a fair trial. Please, contact my dad. I'm also going to have my mom contact you when she comes from camp after the 14th, but for the time being, I need you to contact my father as soon as possible. Explain to him what I've just told you. I'm sending you some names and addresses of some representatives that I need letters sent to by my family members and supporters to help me get a change of venue, get my case moved to Gainesville where I would receive a fair trial. Please forward these names and addresses to my father and explain to him that I need him to contact these people by writing or calling and let them know what they are trying to do to me. Explain that I need to have my case moved out of Bradford County in order to receive a fair trial. I'm going to write my dad too. I just need you to do around back in case they throw my mail away. If you can, I need your response on this asap. My next court date is August 14th, so I need your response. Can anyone help me file a motion for change of venue (to move this case)? If you can, I need for y'all to write letters to the judge, senate, etc. I mean you probably don't know how it feels to be abused and accused of doing something that you didn't do. Ma'am, they know I'm fixing to come home. See, they don't think I have any family or support out there. I'm going to do as you say, hang on to my spirit, because I'm not alone. But I promise, If I get five more years, I will kill myself! I can't do another five years. If anyone can refer me to any lawyers that are not attached to the DOC, lawyers that will at least put up a fight in my defense, please send me their names and addresses and phone numbers. My next court date is August 14th. I'm going to try to set it back for 6 months so I will have time to prepare for my defense. Please make copies of my letters as evidence that I did file that I knew they were trying to frame me before they framed me. I'm going to need your help seriously. I've come too far to let these guards frame me. I need all the support I can get. I really need the protest. I refuse to let them bury me. I have a son that's seven years old. I've been locked up ever since he was born. I can't do another five years for nothing. We've got to put a stop to these guards trying to frame inmates before they go home. I pray every night for you. There's not too many of you who have the heart to reach out for inmates. I appreciate every one of you. Please contact the Florida Justice Institute Peter Siegal 305-358-2081 Lisa Shirley 352-375-2494 On Behalf of Troy M. Griffin 550629 Florida State Prison P.O. Box 181 Starke, Florida 32091 MORE ON FLORIDA STATE PRISON http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/prison/state.html --------------------------------- 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 Smith Owlstar Trading Post http://www.owlstar.com owlstar@speakeasy.org --------- "RE: History: Carlisle Indian School" --------- Date: Mon, 18 Jun 2001 07:42:14 -0400 From: Barbara Landis Subj: History: Carlisle Indian School. June 15, 1888 INDIAN HELPER. [Editorial Note: These reprints are being included in this newsletter so that you might know the mind of those who ran institutions like Carlisle.] THE INDIAN HELPER ----------------------------- ~~ FOR OUR BOYS AND GIRLS ~~ ========================== VOLUME III FRIDAY, June 15, 1888 NO. 44 CARLISLE, PA. ========================== If anything unkind you hear About someone you know, my dear, Do not, I pray you, it repeat When you that someone chance to meet; For such news has a leaden way Of clouding o'er a sunny day. But if you something pleasant hear About some one you know, my dear, Make haste, to make great haste `twere well, To her or him the same to tell; For such news has a golden way Of lighting up a cloudy day. ------ A LETTER FROM MR. STANDING. How He Finds Things in England. From Charlwood Surrey, May 3rd, Mr. Standing writes : "On leaving Liverpool for our first journey on an English Railroad we were soon sensible of a chilly feeling. There was no warmth and the season much later than usual. All our wraps were in requisition and comfortable. We found the cars better than they used to be. Air-brakes were in use and