_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ ' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) / / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ (_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' ____ _ , ___ _ , ___ / ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' VOLUME 15, ISSUE 016 / /-< / /--/ /-- __/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, WOTANGING IKCHE - Lakota - Common News Wotanging Ikche and Native American News Copyright c. 1996-2007 nanews.org Aboriginal/AmerIndian Perspective about the First Nations of Turtle Island April 16, 2007 Cree kiskipizun/gray goose moon Hopi kwiyamuyaw/windbreaks moon Zuni Li'dekwakkya lana/great sand storm moon Lakota Wihakakta Wi/moon when youngest girl is fat +-------------------------------------------------------+ | Much more happens in Indian Country than is reported | | in this weekly newsletter. For daily updates & events | | go to http://www.owlstar.com/dailyheadlines.htm | +-------------------------------------------------------+ Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin -- Blackfeet -- News for All the People Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min -- Ojibwe -- We Are Talking About Ourselves Aunchemokauhettittea -- Naragansett -- Let Us Share News Kanoheda Aniyvwiya -- Cherokee -- Journal of the People O Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse -- Creek -- People's New News O o O Acimowin -- Plains Cree -- Story or Account O o O Tlaixmatiliztli -- Nahuatl -- News O o o o o O Agnutmaqan -- Listuguj Mi'kmaq -- News O o O Sho-da-ku-ye -- Teehahnahmah -- Talking Birchbark O o O Un Chota -- Susquehannic Seneca -- The People Speak O Ha-Sah-Sliltha -- Ditidaht Nation -- News of the People Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli -- Nahuatl -- For you we offer these words It-hah-pe-hah Ah-num pah-le -- Chickasaw -- Together We Are Talking Dineh jii' adah' ho'nil'e'gii ba' ha' neh -- Navajo Nation -- What's Happening among The People News Okla Humma Holisso Nowat Anya -- Choctaw -- People(s) Red Newspaper Hi'a chu ah gaa -- Pima -- The stories or the talk of the People s ch mA mL tL squee Lux -- Okanogan -- News from the People Native American News -- Language of the Occupation Forces ++>If you speak a Native American language not listed above, please send us your words for "News of the People." We'd rather take up this whole page saving these few words of our hundreds of nations than present a nice clean banner in the language of the occupation forces who came here determined to replace our words with their own. email gars@nanews.org with the equivalent of "News of the People" in your tribal language along with the english translation <================<<<< >>>>================> This newsletter is produced in straight ASCII text for greatest portability across platforms. Read it with a fixed-pitch font, such as Courier, Monaco, FixedSys or CG Times. Proportional fonts will be difficult to read. <================<<<< >>>>================> This issue contains articles from www.owlstar.com; www.indianz.com; www.pechanga.net; www.indiancountrytoday.com; Mailing Lists: Chiapas95-En, Frostys AmerIndian, and Native American Poetry; UUCP Mail 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 | | Once a language is lost, it is | | Limerick summarized in "The | | gone forever | | Legacy of Conquest: The Unbroken | | * Of the 300 original Native | | Past of the American West... | | languages in North America, | | "Set the blood quantum at | | only 175 exist today. | | one-quarter, hold to it as a | | * 125 of these are no longer | | rigid definition of Indians, | | learned by children. | | let intermarriage proceed as | | * 55 are spoken by 1 to 6 elders;| | it had for centuries, and | | when they die, their language | | eventually Indians will be | | will disappear. | | defined out of existence." | | * Without action, only 20 | | "When that happens, the federal | | languages will survive the next| | government will be freed of | | 50 years. | | its persistent 'Indian problem.'"| | Source: Indigenous Language | +-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --+ | Institute | |http://www.indigenous-language.org| This issue's Quote: + -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- + =================== Along the U.S.-Mexico border, the body count continues to pile up daily. Meanwhile, the Minutemen patrol the U.S.-Mexico border and shameless politicians find it easy to denounce illegal immigration as the cause of all the nation's problems - including linking it with "the war on terror." Amidst all the clatter, the only views not being heard are the ones that matter most. Thus here, we bring you a truly historic column, featuring the views of those that have come before us to these lands: American Indians: On Haudenosaunee citizenship & naturalization: "Naturalization was not race-based as the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) granted citizenship to other ethnic groups. Once a person became a Haudenosaunee citizen they were expected to discard any previous connection to their birth nation. They had to speak an Iroquoian language, dress as Iroquois, contribute to the security of their host nation and provide for the well being of their new families and communities though a host of activities ranging from hunting, fishing, food preparation and home building. They took part in the elaborate ceremonies which defined Haudenosaunee spirituality and were given extensive instruction into the history, customs and beliefs of their new nation." "In the end, the Haudenosaunee people expected the new citizen to undergo an almost complete transformation; physically, mentally and spiritually. This process worked extremely well... [it] secured our survival and provided for our prosperity...." __ Doug George-Kanentiio, Mohawk writer +- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+ | 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 At an event this weekend I had an opportunity to talk to Brian Halfday and Helen Wolfe from Hamilton Ontario, who have been among those trying to prevent the theft of Native lands by developers near New Caldonia. Brian had a T-shirt that graphically said it all... it depicted the original treaty tract ceded and the remaining lands that represented less than 1/20 of the original treaty territory. There, in the botton of the remaining land was a bite the developer was attempting to steal. In a post to the Blackfoot Nation mailing list this week, Long Standing Bear Chief posted a call for assistance to support rights to water on the tribe's own lands ... "It has now become most important that we start a movement to inform the people of the world what is the situation we face and ask them to put pressure on officials in the United States Government and in the States who are trying to foist this foolishness on to us. I am sincere in saying this. How many of you here are willing to join me in a letter writing campaign and then sending that mail world-wide to help the Indian people get the justice they deserve? For example we have not been paid one penny for the billions of gallons of water that have been diverted from our homeland since the 1909 Boundary Waters Treaty between The United States and Great Britain. (Some of you might want to look this treaty up on the Internet)." In case you haven't added the two items plus hundreds more throughout Indian Country there is a common and sickening theme. One thing that is crystal clear is that the dominant society and their govenments really don't care one damn bit about hardships of our elders, the children we are losing to drugs and suicide, or the treaties they break without concern or regret. For the past 500 years they have wanted to answer the "Indian Question" with "What Indians?" When boarding schools and forced assimilation failed to eliminate us, they resorted to theft and lies that continue to this day. Blackfeet elder Eloise Cobell has been leading a fight to recover stolen trust funds, only to have one roadblock after another thrown in the path. There is no shame for them in what they do... none. We must quit fighting among ourselves, band together, and shine the light of truth on these vermin. It is the only way to make them even attempt to be accountable. I have spoken and these are my words. , , Gary Smith (*,*) wotanging@bellsouth.net P. O. Box 672168 (`-') gars@nanews.org Marietta, GA 30007, U.S.A. ===w=w=== http://www.nanews.org ----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------- Editorial Section: - JODI RAVE: Lost History . Deceit and Theft - YELLOW BIRD: - Blackfeet Water worries Red lies in wait like bad dream - Blackfeet walk out - GIAGO: Kill the Indian of Water Rights negotiations and save the Child - Probe: Local Indian Affairs - JODI RAVE: office troubled Blackfeet Water negotiation over - Eloise Cobell, - JODI RAVE: The Face of Courage Indians face Land Law changes - Hopi Traditionalism - AUBRY: Chiapas,The New Face of War on endangered list - Why Should we be Part - Mattaponi agree of the Cucapa Encampment? to drop Lawsuit over Reservoir - ROSS: Being Zapatistas - New Rule may help Tribes where we Live - Heartland reclaim Artifacts - Bankers' Master Plan - Panel said to alter finding for Turtle Island on Voter Fraud - 'Terrorist Invasion' - Nuvamsa says Hopi election of Deh Cho Territory is a National Issue - Kakegamic Family files - Tribe seeks Bison Fence $9.9-million Lawsuit - Governor signs - Deaths prompt outcry: Little Shell Chippewa land Bill BIA Law Enforcement failing - Grant helps - Native Justice Red Lake Fishery to reopen -- Domestic Violence - Going Native in State Capitals - Rustywire: - A Circle of Friends Tournament of Tribal Champions - Churches in Browning, - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days Poplar feature NA art - Lee Goins Poem: 13 Years - What's in a name? - American Indian Athletic A lot, Indians say Hall of Fame adds Five --------- "RE: Blackfeet Water worries" --------- Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:45:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="DOWNSTREAM USERS DECRY AGREEMENT" http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070411/NEWS01/704110301 Blackfeet water worries: Downstream users decry compact By KARL PUCKETT Tribune Staff Writer April 11, 2007 VALIER - A proposed water-rights deal between the state and the Blackfeet Tribe would be an economic disaster on the farm and on Main Street, downstream users testified Tuesday evening. A meeting called by the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, which is in negotiations with the tribe to quantify its senior federal reserved water rights claims, drew about 100 people to the high school here, including farmers, implement dealers and bankers They expressed specific concern about how the compact, as written, would affect users of the Birch Creek Drainage, 83,000 irrigation acres in the Conrad, Dutton and Valier areas. The proposed pact calls for an irrigated right for the tribe for 100 cubic feet per second, and 25 cubic feet per second of in-stream-flow right in Birch Creek. John Bloomquist, an attorney for the Pondera Canal and Reservoir Company, one of the state's largest irrigation projects, said those figures would result in a 10 percent to 50 percent reduction in the canal company's water supply. The canal company gets the majority of its water from Birch Creek, he said. Bloomquist said he's been "beating commission members over the head" to get the canal company's position across. The commission has been open to suggestions, he added. "Hopefully these things are going to be explored," he said. Downstream users testified Tuesday night that the reduction would be a disaster for them. Bernard Ries, who farms four miles north of Conrad, said the reduction would force him to seed fewer acres of land. Even a 10 percent loss of water would result in millions of dollars in losses for grain growers, he said. "This is not acceptable," Ries added. Conrad Mayor John Shevlin said the impact would be felt far beyond the farm. Agriculture, he noted, drives the economy of Conrad. He said the loss of water would create "a severe economic hardship," on all of Pondera County, which has a population of 6,148. Negotiators are trying to get the water rights settled in time to submit a pact to the Legislature before it adjourns later this month. But Jay Weiner, staff attorney for the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, said "We don't have a compact. We're very clear on that." Weiner said commission members have heard loud and clear from Birch Creek users. He said the pact isn't likely to get support in the Legislature if it doesn't have the support of the impacted communities. "This isn't going to be the final deal because it doesn't have the support of the public behind it," Weiner said. Negotiations are continuing in earnest. The Tribe, the state of Montana and the U.S. government have been in negotiations for over 20 years to settle the federal reserve water rights claims of the tribe. The parties announced a proposed settlement last month, which is out for public review and comment. The single greatest issue with the proposed pact has been the water rights allocation to the tribe in Birch Creek, Weiner said. What's next: A public negotiation session between the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, the Blackfeet Tribe and the United States, will be at 9 a.m. Thursday at the Colonial Red Lion, 2301 Colonial Drive, Helena. Copyright c. 2007 The Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Blackfeet walk out of Water Rights negotiations" --------- Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 07:57:27 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="CITING DECEIT, TRIBE WALKS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.billingsgazette.net/ articles/2007/04/13/news/state/43-water.txt Tribal representatives walk out of water rights negotiations By The Associated Press April 14, 2007 HELENA - Blackfeet tribal leaders, disturbed by the wording of federal legislation that would authorize $140 million to repair the St. Mary Canal, walked out of a negotiations session over tribal water rights here Thursday. The tribe and the state are negotiating rights to flows from the St. Mary, Two Medicine and Milk rivers and Birch, Badger and Cut Bank creeks, which together produce about 1.5 million acre-feet of water flow annually. The St. Mary River originates on the Blackfeet Reservation. A 90-year- old series of pipes and canals diverts water to the North Fork of the Milk River, supplying Hi-Line irrigators with water. "When they got to St. Mary's River, it pretty much blowed up right there," said Bob Sill, a board member of the Pondera County Canal and Reservoir Co. Chris Tweeten, chairman of the state's Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, said tribal leaders were "extremely upset" with the content of recent federal legislation regarding restoration of the St. Mary Canal. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., attached language to the Water Resources Development Act that would authorize $140 million in federal spending on the St. Mary project. A Senate committee approved it last month, but the bill hasn't been heard by the full Senate. Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Earl Old Person said the tribe received assurances last summer from then-Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., and Sen. Pete Domenici, R-New Mexico, that construction would not begin until the tribal water rights were settled. Domenici is the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "According to this bill that was introduced (by Baucus), that's what they're leading up to, that there's going to be construction," Old Person said. Baucus spokesman Barrett Kaiser said the senator had a "very cordial conversation" with Old Person later Thursday. Kaiser said Baucus encourages the state and tribe to resume negotiations toward an agreement on the compact, which requires approval by the Montana Legislature and Congress. Kaiser said there is plenty of time to work separately on the money, because funding on the project "has a long way to go." Old Person said Baucus told him the St. Mary's funding bill would not go forward if the tribe did not support it. "We need something in writing," Old Person said. He said the tribe's attorney was to contact Baucus' office Friday. The negotiations between the tribe and the state involve quantifying the tribe's water rights while trying to limit the impact development of those rights would have on downstream users. Copyright c. 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Probe: Local Indian Affairs office troubled" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:45:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="PALM SPRINGS BIA CONTINUES MASSIVE MISMANAGEMENT OF TRUST" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070410/NEWS06/704100319/1003/business Probe: Local Indian Affairs office troubled Woes highlighted in 1992 audit persist today Diana Marrero Desert Sun Washington Bureau April 10, 2007 The Bureau of Indian Affairs in Palm Springs, which manages millions of dollars in commercial leases for Indian landowners in the area, continues to be plagued with problems found in an audit 15 years ago, documents show. The local agency was the subject of a recent investigation by an internal auditor who found the office had not yet implemented all recommendations made in a 1992 audit report that found serious deficiencies in the agency's handling of leases. Management problems at the BIA are costing members of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians untold amounts of money because of delays on lease agreements, overdue payments and the failure to assess proper annual rent increases, documents show. The troubles within the Palm Springs office are emblematic of problems that have dogged the BIA for years, experts say. "The problems you have there with understaffing and the lack of systems and resources are a reflection of what you find in BIA offices around the country," said John Doffett, general counsel for the National Congress of American Indians. Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the BIA, said she could not comment on the investigation into the Palm Springs office because the inquiry was not yet closed. But she defended the work of the agency in general, saying officials are working to address its problems. "It's a difficult job people are doing," Darling said. "We're tackling the issues as we can." The BIA is under the Interior Department and collects about $330 million a year in royalties and leases on behalf of 300,000 Indians across the country. The department is the subject of a class-action lawsuit by Indian landowners across the country who say the agency has squandered millions in land revenues. Trust fund accounts from land in Palm Springs and other Southern California communities amount to about a fifth of the income generated from trust lands nationwide, said Vicki Forrest, a regional trust administrator for the Interior Department in Southern California. The Agua Caliente control much of the land in the Palm Springs area, with individual tribal members owning about 19,400 acres and the tribe itself owning about 3,200 acres, according to an Interior Department figure reported by the Tiller's Guide to Indian Country. Mismanagement claimed The investigation into the Palm Springs office was opened in October following claims of gross mismanagement of Indian trust funds made by Robert McCarthy, attorney for the office. "We confirmed that the BIA Palm Springs office has not implemented all of the OIG's audit recommendations, and officials conceded that problems remain within the lease management program," says a recent letter by Earl E. Devaney, the Department of Interior's Inspector General. Officials locally also said their office is understaffed and the automated lease system they use is insufficient, according to the letter sent to Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., in response to an inquiry by her office. The inspector general's office also confirmed that a BIA official and two staff members had received gifts - tickets to a Palm Springs film festival in 2004 and gift baskets stuffed with spa robes - from someone who leases trust land managed by the agency, the letter said. A request for an investigative report providing additional details about problems within the office was denied because the investigation has not been closed, said Mildred Washington, a records specialist at Interior. In a memo two years ago to the inspector general, McCarthy wrote that the Palm Springs office lacked any kind of routine system to monitor compliance with the terms of leases, including rent payments, bonds, insurance or completion of development. He also claimed that a software program had gone unused for years and that officials relied instead on "an ad-hoc system driven by complaints." "A substantial amount of trust income has gone uncollected and much of it may be now uncollectible, for reasons that include poor bookkeeping, failure to calculate periodic rent increases, the statute of limitations, expired leases, limitations in lease terms, lessee bankruptcies, and lost opportunities to terminate leases in favor of more profitable redevelopment," McCarthy wrote. He provided more than a dozen examples to the inspector general of instances where officials at the Palm Springs office had mismanaged specific leases, including one in which officials failed to collect rent for three years. The office also had delayed for years a multimillion-dollar land deal involving the cities of Palm Springs and Cathedral City and two tribal members, he wrote. Meanwhile, McCarthy has filed a complaint charging that BIA officials have retaliated against him by creating a hostile work environment and denying him awards. He contends his disclosure is protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act. The Merit System Protection Board last week denied his request for corrective action, saying that although his disclosures were a contributing factor in the actions taken against him, his case failed to meet certain standards for action. McCarthy says he plans to appeal the decision. "The most important thing that should come out of this is that Indians realize the full value of their land and that people who lease the lands are dealt with fairly," McCarthy said. "Ultimately, everyone will benefit if that is the outcome." Copyright c. 2007 The Desert Sun. --------- "RE: Eloise Cobell - The Face of Courage" --------- Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:01:33 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ELOISE COBELL" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.newwest.net/index.php/citjo/article/ eloise_cobell_the_face_of_courage/C33/L33/ Eloise Cobell - The Face of Courage New West Unfiltered By Joan Melcher April 13, 2007 Eloise Cobell spoke in UM's Ethics at Noon series on Wednesday, giving a succinct accounting of what shes been through in the last decade or so. Having taken on the U.S. bureaucracy, including the Departments of Interior, Treasury and Justice, in an attempt to right more than 100 years of wrongs in accounting on Indian lands, she is a figure larger than life for me. So when I heard she was going to be on campus, I scurried over to Turner Hall. I wanted to see what that kind of courage looked like. Eloise is a banker, but in her role as the plaintiff in Cobell vs. Kempthorne, she has become an educator as well. She mentioned how important it has been for her to educate people about what has happened and to encourage them to take ownership of their government and their lives. She gave a brief rundown of the early years of her struggle in the class action suit to reclaim land royalties and the various legal cases and maneuvers, painting a grim picture of the face of government she has confronted. She noted that the Secretary of the Interior, told the court when implementing the Dawes Act of 1887, that Indians were stupid and incapable of managing their lands and so the government was going to take control. At that point the Department of Interior became the trustee for lands owned by individual Indians, responsible for paying land owners royalties on oil, grazing and timber leases. Cobell said that at a hearing last week she felt those in charge were talking to her in a similar way - more than a century later. She talked about the weekend before she and her lawyer brought the first suit against the government in 1996 - walking down the Washington Mall and seeing all the granite buildings lining it. She said she became very frightened, and thought, "My God, Louise, you're taking on the U.S. government." She began to lose her confidence and called a friend, who asked her, "If you don't do it, who will?" Indeed. After winning several lawsuits that the U.S. government, ostensibly, has ignored, Cobell and those working with her were able to estimate what the government owes individual Indians. At the time it was about $14 billion, $176 billion including compounded interest. In 2005 they came up with a discounted figure, what she called "rough justice." It was $27.5 billion. Three weeks ago the administration responded, saying the government would be willing to "invest" $7 billion in payments as long as the Indians agreed not to sue again for past, present or future wrongs. Of course, that is not acceptable to Cobell. "We are in a total breach of trust," she said. She talked of her difficulty in finding senators or congressmen who will help her because of the system of trading votes. Getting money owed Indians for a century is clearly not a top priority, but she has hopes that newly elected Senator Jon Tester will help in the struggle. She ended by mentioning some of those who have opposed her case over the years - "a few are going to jail" - she said, adding, "When it comes to ethics, there are no gray areas. It is black or white, right or wrong. Give us justice." She said that justice may not come in her lifetime. Maybe it's because I'm naturally optimistic but I'm betting on Cobell. Copyright c. 2007 NewWest, All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: Hopi Traditionalism on endangered list" --------- Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:01:33 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOPI TRADITIONALISM" http://www.gallupindependent.com/2007/april/041307kh_hopitrdnlsm.html Hopi traditionalism on endangered list By Kathy Helms Staff Writer April 13, 2007 KYKOTSMOVI - There is a major effort under way within the Hopi Tribe to do away with traditionalism, according to Wilmer R. Kavena, spokesperson for the sovereign leaders of First Mesa. The current turmoil surrounding the tribe's inability to seat a chairman was created because the Hopi Tribal Council has stopped listening to the traditional leaders, they say. In nullifying the election of Chairman Ben Nuvamsa, Kavena said, "This council violated the constitutional rights of the general public, the Hopi Tribe. "The Hopi Tribe is a constituency of this tribal government. And the tribal government is supposed to be civil servants, serving the Hopi people. They do not take command themselves, which they're doing today," he said. Kuvena, who served in the U.S. Navy and is a retired engineer in addition to being spokesperson for the sovereign leaders of First Mesa, added that council is "not making comments or not asking any traditional group how to get involved in governmental processes. And that's where we're at right now that's how come they kicked this guy out after he was sworn in, and that's a violation of our constitutional rights. "Because 'we the people' are made of the government, for the government and by the government; meaning, of the people, for the people, and by government by the people. That's my understanding of constitutional law. "They violated that by trying to be dictatorial, and that I have no sympathy for whatsoever because I used to be on council, too, and I got removed by the council themselves," Kavena said. "The chief of the sovereign Village of Walpi installed us, and the tribal council removed us, because we were in tune with traditionalism and they didn't want that. Today, that's the main effort, is to do away with traditionalism. 'Let's try a new life.' And it's not going to work." Kuvena said an Arizona Republic reporter once came out to Hopi to interview him. "I said, 'Our children, and our future children are between the devil and the deep blue sea because they don't know which way to go. They have forgotten most of their original ways, and that's a sad situation,' I said, 'I feel sorry for us.' " According to Kuvena, the Hopis chose a life of hardship, and gradually getting to association with the rest of society, which is what they are doing now. He said the Hopi were told, " 'Take your time.' Everything, as far as the Hopi is concerned, is 'Take your time.' And eventually you will learn the expertise that you lost when you migrated here, and then you will start evaluating what the riches are that you're sitting upon. "We're sitting on the richest real estate in this world. And the Anglo and all the rest of the identities are trying to take it away from us. And the federal government is in cahoots with them," Kuvena said. "The federal government says that they are sovereign. They are not sovereign. The Hopi is sovereign, because our jurisdiction and our establishments in the fields of expertise come from higher above. It's not God either. We don't call Him God. "That's where we got our sovereignty. And there are a few of us left that came off from sovereignty. There's very few," he said. Both ousted tribal chairmen, Ivan Sidney and Ben Nuvamsa, have told the Independent they believe their removal is somehow linked to their stance on preserving Hopi water and coal. Though on opposite sides of the fence when it comes to interpretation of the Hopi Constitution's election requirements, both agree that Peabody Western Coal Co. should seek an alternative means of transporting the coal it mines at Black Mesa, such as rail, rather than transporting it by using precious water from the N and C aquifers. The Navajo Nation, on the other hand, has favored development of a C- Aquifer pipeline, which is in line with Peabody's way of thinking. In the Black Mesa Environmental Impact Statement, rail transport was basically dismissed as an alternative because it was viewed as too expensive. Copyright c. 2007 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Mattaponi agree to drop Lawsuit over Reservoir" --------- Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:01:33 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="MATTAPONI WATER RIGHTS SUIT" http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096414831 Mattaponi agree to drop lawsuit over reservoir Posted: by: Bobbie Whitehead / Indian Country Today April 13, 2007 WASHINGTON - The Mattaponi Indian Tribe has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against the city of Newport News, Va., over a reservoir the city plans to construct near the tribe's reservation. To offset future limitations on the tribe's 1677 Treaty at Middle Plantation, which a Virginia Circuit Court ruled provides the tribe with protections, the Mattaponi has agreed not to bring further action in Virginia courts against the city. In the joint settlement, Newport News has agreed to pay the Mattaponi tribe $650,000. "One of the tribe's reasons for not going forward in the suit is the treaty belongs to all of the Virginia tribes, not just the Mattaponi, and they were afraid the lawsuit would affect the treaty adversely," said Emma Garrison, Mattaponi attorney with the Georgetown University Law Center's Institute for Public Representation. "There's always a chance a judge could interpret the treaty, limiting treaty protections. They wanted to make sure the treaty remained protected and intact." In February, Virginia Circuit Court Judge Charles Poston set a precedent by ruling that the Winter's Doctrine provided non-federally recognized tribes as well as tribes east of the Mississippi River reserved water rights. The Mattaponi and Newport News were set to go to trial, regarding the tribe's reserved water rights, in June. "One thing we're pleased to have gained is the precedential ruling on the reserved water rights," Garrison said. "The agreement that we reached preserves the tribe's ability to continue in the lawsuit filed in federal court, challenging the federal permit for the reservoir." Randy Hildebrandt, Newport News city manager, said the city is pleased to reach an accommodation with the tribe over the state lawsuit and issues related to the treaty of 1677. "The settlement agreement also establishes a process for us to resolve future disagreements with aspects of the project that might come up without resorting to litigation," Hildebrandt said. "We would rather invest this money by providing resources for the tribe to pursue their goals as a tribal council, rather than just spending this money on litigation." An appreciation exists between the city and the tribe that the two parties have differences over the project, Hildebrandt said. "But we understand that each party is acting in good faith, trying to accomplish their objectives, and ours is trying to secure water for the community in the future, and theirs is to pursue tribal goals they have and the viability of their tribe in the future," Hildebrandt said. "I don't think there's any ill will between the city and the tribe on any level." The settlement agreement explains that Newport News will notify the tribe about any changes that would alter existing reservoir permits. The Mattaponi also retain the right to participate in Virginia administrative proceedings that relate to the reservoir, according to the agreement. "If Newport News were to go back and revamp the project, double the size of the reservoir or increase the water withdrawal amount, then this agreement doesn't prevent the Mattaponi from challenging the project in court," Garrison said. "The tribe still is concerned about the impact the reservoir will have on the Mattaponi River and the tribe's fishing, cultural and religious practices. That's why we've retained the right to challenge the federal permit in federal court." The Mattaponi joined several environmental groups in November in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Clear Water Act Section 404 permit, also referred to as the federal wetlands permit, issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. This permit ultimately granted approval of the reservoir project. "This lawsuit was originally filed by several environmental groups in July last year," Garrison said. "We moved to intervene in November." The federal lawsuit involves an agency record review against the Army Corps and the Environmental Protection Agency. "The Mattaponi tribe still opposes the reservoir project," Garrison said. "The tribe has had multiple opportunities to educate the public and Virginia's governmental agencies about the Virginia Indian tribes. This is another aspect along with the ruling on the Winter's Doctrine that the tribe is proud to have accomplished." Copyright c. 1998 - 2007 Indian Country Today. All Rights Reserved. --------- "RE: New Rule may help Tribes reclaim Artifacts" --------- Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:37:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NAGPRA NOTIFICATION PROCESS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0412repat-ON-CR.html.html New rule may help Native American tribes reclaim artifacts Kevin Livelli Columbia News Service April 12, 2007 It's been nearly a dozen years since museums and federal agencies had to notify American Indian tribes about artifacts in their collections that might have been stolen from or lost by the tribes. But a new federal regulation may make it easier for the tribes to identify such objects. It was a hot and arid day in Pecos, N.M., when the elders and leaders of the Jemez Pueblo tribe welcomed an outsider into the fold: archaeologist William Whatley. Wearing colorful headbands, the old men sat down on the ground with Whatley. Then they began drawing images in the dust--images of bones, masks and pottery that had gone missing or been looted from the tribe. The elders implored Whatley to use his scientific knowledge to find the objects and help return them to the tribe. Not an easy task. advertisement That was nearly 20 years ago. Now, for other tribes searching for lost or stolen items, the process may get a lot easier. In mid-March, the Department of the Interior's National NAGPRA program, which helps carry out the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, announced a regulation requiring museums, universities and federal agencies in possession of Native American art and artifacts to provide new lists of their inventories and to share them with all federally recognized tribes within six months. The rule, which takes effect April 20, marks the first time in a dozen years that museums and federal agencies have had to share with tribes what's in their collections. This process may uncover many items missing for years, and it may make encourage tribes to start making repatriation claims to get their artifacts back. Repatriation is a process frequently fraught with tension between museums and tribes. Curators and scholars have an interest in preserving items for their educational and research value. For the tribes, reclaiming their objects can have a spiritual and cultural significance. But for some, it can lead to big business. A reclaimed object can establish a tribe's right to land, which it might want to develop--sometimes into a casino. "This promises to have a big impact for many tribes, especially those recently recognized by the federal government," said Dr. Rayna Green, a Cherokee and the curator and director of the American Indian program at the Smithsonian Institution. "And it's not just about cultural heritage. It's about money and land and property. This is America, after all." Yet even if the new rule helps tribes find many sacred objects, it won't necessarily help them overcome the many obstacles inherent in the repatriation process. "Tribes and museums approach decisions about sacred objects carefully," said Dr. Timothy McKeown, the senior program coordinator at the NAGPRA office and the man responsible for overseeing the entire repatriation process. "Repatriation is not just something you can do overnight." To begin with, tribes can struggle with issues of confidentiality when filing a claim. Many tribes, especially the Pueblo groups in the Southwest, have strict customs and rules about sharing tribal information with outsiders. Yet the law requires a tribe to reasonably establish its historical connection to a particular object. The Pueblo Indians of San Eldefanso made a claim in the mid-1990s but backed away when a dispute over the claim led to litigation in federal court. They didn't want to have to testify and reveal tribal secrets. Even putting together the claim can be a challenge. In many instances, a tribe's spoken language--like that of the Jemez Pueblo--isn't written down and can't be easily transferred into the legalese necessary to file a claim. And hiring lawyers costs money, something many smaller tribes lack. When claims are readied for filing, McKeown says tribes sometimes argue among themselves and with neighboring tribes over who has the right to proceed with that claim, who should act as spokesman and who will be responsible for the objects once they return. One such case currently under review by McKeown's office involves funerary objects and human remains that were recently found in Chaco Canyon National Park in New Mexico. Representatives from Pueblo, Navajo and Hopi tribes have all made competing claims for the same objects. The tribes' competing claims can stir feuds that go back hundreds of years. "It has to do with very old notions of clan and kinship and philosophical and religious ideas about death and the afterlife," Green said. "The issue is important because what you and I call artifacts are in their worlds living tribal members with the same rights as people," Whatley said. Once objects are successfully returned to tribes, one serious issue frequently remains. Many of the items belonging to tribes in the Iroquois Six Nations and the Hopi Nation are perishable--cornhusk masks or headdresses with feathers. When these items come into a museum's collection, they are often sprayed with arsenic or another pesticide for preservation. But upon return, the masks and headdresses are often worn in ceremonies, endangering the lives of tribal members and leaving the museum potentially liable for any resulting injury or illness. "That's something we in the museum world are trying to remedy," Green said. "We're looking now into alternative means of preservation, like flash freezing objects." Though the path to repatriation may take many years, Whatley says the end result will be worth the trouble for tribes. Over nine years, he has helped return thousands of objects to the Pueblo Jemez from museums around the country. Back in dusty Pecos, thousands of Indians gathered in 1999 to welcome home their "tribal members." Museum curators and staff were on hand too, watching from a respectful distance. Whatley, however, was by then a special guest of the tribe and had special access. He said he felt something that day that transcended science, money, land and all his pre-existing notions about Native American culture. The experience, he said, has stayed with him and opened his eyes to a new way of looking at life. "There's a lot more to this on the spiritual side than many non-Indians realize," he said. Copyright c. 2007 The Arizona Republic. --------- "RE: Panel said to alter finding on Voter Fraud" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:45:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="INDIAN COUNTRY VOTER INTIMIDATION" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/11/washington/ 11voters.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin Panel Said to Alter Finding on Voter Fraud By IAN URBINA April 11, 2007 WASHINGTON, April 10 - A federal panel responsible for conducting election research played down the findings of experts who concluded last year that there was little voter fraud around the nation, according to a review of the original report obtained by The New York Times. Instead, the panel, the Election Assistance Commission, issued a report that said the pervasiveness of fraud was open to debate. The revised version echoes complaints made by Republican politicians, who have long suggested that voter fraud is widespread and justifies the voter identification laws that have been passed in at least two dozen states. Democrats say the threat is overstated and have opposed voter identification laws, which they say disenfranchise the poor, members of minority groups and the elderly, who are less likely to have photo IDs and are more likely to be Democrats. Though the original report said that among experts "there is widespread but not unanimous agreement that there is little polling place fraud," the final version of the report released to the public concluded in its executive summary that "there is a great deal of debate on the pervasiveness of fraud." The topic of voter fraud, usually defined as people misrepresenting themselves at the polls or improperly attempting to register voters, remains a lively division between the two parties. It has played a significant role in the current Congressional investigation into the Bush administration's firing of eight United States attorneys, several of whom, documents now indicate, were dismissed for being insufficiently aggressive in pursuing voter fraud cases. The report also addressed intimidation, which Democrats see as a more pervasive problem. And two weeks ago, the panel faced criticism for refusing to release another report it commissioned concerning voter identification laws. That report, which was released after intense pressure from Congress, found that voter identification laws designed to fight fraud can reduce turnout, particularly among members of minorities. In releasing that report, which was conducted by a different set of scholars, the commission declined to endorse its findings, citing methodological concerns. A number of election law experts, based on their own research, have concluded that the accusations regarding widespread fraud are unjustified. And in this case, one of the two experts hired to do the report was Job Serebrov, a Republican elections lawyer from Arkansas, who defended his research in an e-mail message obtained by The Times that was sent last October to Margaret Sims, a commission staff member. "Tova and I worked hard to produce a correct, accurate and truthful report," Mr. Serebrov wrote, referring to Tova Wang, a voting expert with liberal leanings from the Century Foundation and co-author of the report. "I could care less that the results are not what the more conservative members of my party wanted." He added: "Neither one of us was willing to conform results for political expediency." For contractual reasons, neither Ms. Wang nor Mr. Serebrov were at liberty to comment on their original report and the discrepancies with the final, edited version. The original report on fraud cites "evidence of some continued outright intimidation and suppression" of voters by local officials, especially in some American Indian communities, while the final report says only that voter "intimidation is also a topic of some debate because there is little agreement concerning what constitutes actionable voter intimidation." The original report said most experts believe that "false registration forms have not resulted in polling place fraud," but the final report cites "registration drives by nongovernmental groups as a source of fraud." Although Democrats accused the board of caving to political pressure, Donetta L. Davidson, the chairwoman of the commission, said that when the original report was submitted, the board's legal and research staff decided there was not enough supporting data behind some of the claims. So, she said, the staff members revised the report and presented a final version in December for a vote by the commissioners. "We were a small agency taking over a huge job," said Ms. Davidson, who was appointed to the agency by President Bush in 2005. "I think we may have tried to do more research than we were equipped to handle." She added that the commission had "always stuck to being bipartisan." The commission, which was created by Congress in 2002 to conduct nonpartisan research on elections, consists of two Republicans and two Democrats. At the time of the report, one of the two Democrats had left for personal reasons and had not yet been replaced, but the final report was unanimously approved by the other commissioners. Gracia Hillman, the Democratic commissioner who voted in favor of releasing the final report, said she did not believe that the editing of the report was politically motivated or overly extensive. "As a federal agency, our responsibility is to ensure that the research we produce is fully verified," Ms. Hillman said. "Some of the points made in the draft report made by the consultants went beyond what we felt comfortable with." The Republican Party's interest in rooting out voter fraud has been encouraged by the White House. In a speech last April, Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's senior political adviser, told a group of Republican lawyers that election integrity issues were an "enormous and growing" problem. "We're, in some parts of the country, I'm afraid to say, beginning to look like we have elections like those run in countries where the guys in charge are colonels in mirrored sunglasses," Mr. Rove said. "I mean, it's a real problem." Several Democrats said they believed that politics were behind the commission's decision to rewrite the report. "This was the commission's own study and it agreed in advance to how it would be done, but the most important part of it got dropped from the final version," said Representative Jose' E. Serrano, Democrat of New York and chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee that oversees the commission. "I don't see how you can conclude that politics were not involved." Representative Maurice D. Hinchey, another New York Democrat, who requested the draft report from Ms. Davidson during a subcommittee hearing last month, agreed. "By attempting to sweep this draft report under the rug, the E.A.C. is throwing out important work, wasting taxpayer dollars and creating a cloud of suspicion as to why it is acting this way," he said. Some scholars and voting advocates said that the original report on fraud, for which the commission paid the authors more than $100,000, was less rigorous than it should have been. But they said they did not believe that was the reason for the changes. "Had the researchers been able to go even further than they did, they would have come to same conclusions but they would have had more analysis backing them up," said Lorraine C. Minnite, a political science professor at Barnard College who is writing a book on voter fraud. "Instead, the commission rewrote their report and changed the thrust of its conclusions." Ray Martinez III, the Democrat who left the commission for personal reasons, quit last August. He said in an interview that he was not present for any discussion or editing of the voter fraud report. Mr. Martinez added, however, that he had argued strenuously that all reports, in draft or final editions, should be made public. But he said he lost that argument with other commissioners. "Methodology concerns aside, we commissioned the reports with taxpayer funds, and I argued that they should be released," he said, referring to the delay in the release of the voter ID report. "My view was that the public and the academics could determine whether it is rigorous and if it wasn't then the egg was on our face for having commissioned it in the first place." In recent months, the commission has been criticized for failing to provide proper oversight of the technology laboratories that test electronic voting machines and software. The commission is also responsible for conducting research and advising policy makers on the implementation of the Help America Vote Act, the federal overhaul of election procedure prompted by the 2000 Florida debacle. Eric Lipton contributed reporting. Copyright c. 2007 The New York Times Company. --------- "RE: Nuvamsa says Hopi election is a National Issue" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:45:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="HOPI CHAIRMAN OUSTER" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.gallupindependent.com/2007/april/041107is_hpielcntnlisu.html Nuvamsa says Hopi election is a national issue By Kathy Helms Staff Writer April 11, 2007 KYKOTSMOVI - Even if the Hopi Tribal Council or tribal court judge opt for a quick-fix and unlock the doors to the chairman's office, newly elected Hopi Chairman Ben Nuvamsa says he still will seek damages from those involved in passage of the March 27 resolution that nullified his election. "This is a national issue where the civil rights of people are just blatantly violated. We've got hundreds of letters going to the tribal council secretary, and we have a petition to make it right," Nuvamsa said Monday while waiting to make a presentation to the tribal council. In response to council's decision, Nuvamsa filed a complaint April 4 in Hopi Tribal Court seeking a temporary restraining order and a preliminary and permanent injunction which would allow him to return to office, and suing council members, the tribal secretary and others for damages. "I have worked very hard in the 34 years of my career to build a clean record and a reputation. I am recognized throughout Indian Country by tribal leaders, by congressmen, and by state officials, federal officials. That has all been damaged by this action. So I have a right to claim damages against the effect on my character, my integrity," he said. According to tribal procedure, the complaint will be heard within 20 days. "However, the chief judge could simply issue us the injunctive relief and give us back our offices right now. He could do it now. He could have done it last week," Nuvamsa said. "Failing that, then we wrote it in a way, what we call the 'extraordinary writ,' that we elevated it automatically to the Appellate Court, and will seek remedy there. From there it goes to District Court." The quick fix The simple thing for council to do is pass another resolution rescinding the one passed March 27, he said. "It's a simple fix. But the other process will still continue, because of damages. Nobody has ever done anything like this. "People's rights have been violated before, not by the same council, but other councils before, and nobody stood up to them. We've got to stop them this time. We've got to stand up for our people's rights. Not just voting members, but every enrolled tribal member, their rights have been violated, " Nuvamsa said. Council removed the chairman, who was sworn in March 1, saying he failed to meet the Hopi Constitution's residency requirement, which mandates that candidates must live on Hopi for two years prior to seeking office. "The matter of our customary practices here and what we believe is our permanent home is: Where you're born, that's where you're from. That is your residence. When you participate in ceremonies, that's where you participate from. And when you pass on, you go home to that place again," Nuvamsa said. "That has case law in tribal court. That aside, the issue has now broadened to the point of violation of people's rights to vote, not necessarily for Nuvamsa, but for 13 others that ran in the primary election and in the general election. "That's all been nullified by the tribal council, and that's what the fight is about. That is why the majority, if not all of Hopi, are very upset with the tribal council," he said. "Not every council member is for this nullification. There were eight people that voted against it. Three people were absent, but we are confident that they would have voted against passing the resolution." Consequently, not all council representatives are named in the complaint. Beyond scope "There is no authority in the tribal council, and probably not anywhere in the country, that gives a governing body (the authority) to nullify people's votes," he said. "So they've gone beyond the scope of their authority." Because they went beyond that scope an "Ultra Vires" violation they now cannot be protected under the tribe's immunity from suit. "Tribes have a sovereign immunity from suit, and because they extended those, they cannot be protected by the cover of sovereign immunity. "And that is why we are filing against the 10, plus the vice chair because he was presiding officer the council secretary, and the two other individuals," Nuvamsa said. "We're being held out of our office. We cannot conduct business." Nuvamsa filed against council representatives both in their official and personal capacities, he said, "because they violated people's constitutional rights, they violated my rights, they violated my rights to due process." He said he was not given an opportunity to defend himself at either the council's Feb. 5 or March 27 hearings. "That is a gross violation of my due process rights that is afforded to me under the Indian Civil Rights Act and the United States Constitution, and the tribal Constitution," he said. "If they are found guilty in tribal court, and we're very optimistic that they will ... then they can be removed from office. Or pay a fine, and, or spend some time in jail. "Individuals also, as tribal members, can file individual complaints in tribal court or civil rights violations through the United States Civil Rights Commission. That's how big this thing is," Nuvamsa said. The tribe's mission is to serve the people. "They get their power, they get their authority from the people through the Constitution. I'm not representing just Ben Nuvamsa. I'm representing every tribal member," he said. Copyright c. 2007 the Gallup Independent. --------- "RE: Tribe seeks Bison Fence" --------- Date: Fri, 13 Apr 2007 07:37:29 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="ARAPAHO SEEK GRANT" http://www.casperstartribune.net/articles/2007/04/13/ news/wyoming/f26d178644f3f0d2872572ba007dd074.txt Tribe seeks bison fence By BRODIE FARQUHAR Star-Tribune correspondent April 13, 2007 The Northern Arapaho Tribe has applied for a $175,000 grant from the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust Fund in pursuit of a bison restoration program on the Wind River Indian Reservation. "The tribe wants about 47 miles of fencing so they can enclose bison on about 32,000 acres in the northeast corner of the reservation," said Bob Budd, executive director of the trust fund. The grant proposal is one of 59 applications pending before the trust fund board this month. Ken Trosper, director of the tribe's traditional resources department, said the tribe wants to establish a genetically pure, disease-free bison herd of 300 head on the Arapaho Ranch, bounded on the east by Boysen Reservoir and Wind River Canyon. The proposed range for the bison project has been evaluated by Bureau of Indian Affairs range scientists, who say the 32,000 acres can provide forage for 450 cattle, Trosper said. The project rests on both cultural and health goals for the tribe, he said - both to renew the Northern Arapaho's cultural ties to bison, as well as for the health benefits associated with bison meat. Indeed, the 1868 federal treaty with the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, signed at Fort Laramie, recognized the tribes' hunting rights for bison and other big game. The National Bison Association extols bison meat as nutritionally dense - more protein and nutrients with fewer calories and less fat. Readers' Digest magazine has even listed bison as one of the five foods women should eat because of the high iron content. Meanwhile, the Intertribal Bison Cooperative, which has a membership of 57 tribes, is conducting research on how a diet that includes bison meat can improve the health of diabetics, Trosper said. Once the bison herd hits the 300 mark, excess animals would be culled for their meat, he said. Otherwise, they'll be left alone. The Northern Arapaho hope to start with 20 bison in October, culled from the genetically pure and disease-free herd at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota, Trosper said. Many commercial bison herds have been crossbred with cattle, while Western ranchers fear bison as a source of brucellosis, a disease that causes cattle to abort. The Wind Cave herd has neither problem, he said. Trosper said Wyoming wildlife trust fund money is needed for fencing to keep bison out of Wind River Canyon and for the unfenced boundary of Boysen State Park. Sheer cliffs above the canyon can keep bison out of the canyon, but there are a few draws that lead down into the canyon that would need to be fenced. Trosper noted that Wyoming is a "fence out" state, meaning that if you don't want livestock, it is your responsibility to fence them out, not the owner of the animal to fence them in. Nevertheless, the Northern Arapaho want to avoid public relations problems associated with their bison going where they shouldn't. He doesn't anticipate that the bison would travel to Boysen Reservoir, as the countryside there is extremely arid, and there's plenty of forage and water elsewhere on the Arapaho Ranch. Copyright c. 2007 Casper Star-Tribune published by Lee Publications, Inc., a subsidiary of Lee Enterprises, Incorporated. --------- "RE: Governor signs Little Shell Chippewa land bill" --------- Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 08:11:47 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="LITTLE SHELL EDGE CLOSER TO RECOGNITION WITH LAND BILL" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070406/NEWS01/704060314/1002 State offers control of Morony Dam building to Little Shell Chippewa Tribe By Tribune Staff April 6, 2007 HELENA - A bill giving the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe an office building was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Brian Schweitzer. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, would give the tribe control of the historic Morony apartment building on the damsite outside Great Falls for the next 10 years. "The bill would give the tribe control of the old apartment building and the land around it, perhaps six or seven acres," said Roger Semler, regional parks manager for Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Great Falls. "There's been no discussion of any other acreage beyond that," said Semler. "Right now, we're looking at giving the tribe 30 or 40 acres of the Morony damsite," bill co-sponsor Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls, said Thursday. "We thought that if the Little Shell had a land base, maybe Congress would grant them recognition a little quicker." The Little Shell have sought federal recognition, which would enable the tribe and its members to qualify for government services and aid such as education and health care funding, for 115 years. FWP currently supervises the park. Under the new law, the tribe could renovate the two-story brick building with a porch that's falling off, and use it for offices and cultural activities, but the bill provides no state funding for it. "Obviously, it would be quite a costly endeavor to restore that building to its historic design," Semler said. "It could be well over a million dollars would be my guess." After a decade, the tribe can renew its lease, or the state can permanently transfer the building and acreage around it to the tribe. Details still need to be worked out, said Russell Boham, the tribal executive officer. "All of it, as far as the tribe is concerned, merely provides the impetus for negotiations," he said. "And until negotiations begin, everything is up in the air. "However, we're pleased that the legislation has been passed and signed, and we consider it a great opportunity," Boham added. The Little Shell currently operate out of offices in a Great Falls shopping center. Copyright c. 2007 The Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Grant helps Red Lake Fishery to reopen" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:30:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="RED LAKE COMMERCIAL WALLEYE FISHERY REOPENS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.shakopeenews.com/node/1928 Tribe's $1 million grant helps fishery to reopen Submitted by Pat Minelli on April 9, 2007 - 3:23pm. After 10 years, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa will be able to reopen a commercial walleye fishery with a $1 million economic development grant from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community in Prior Lake. The Red Lake Band of Chippewa plan to reopen the fishery this summer. The band opened the commercial fishery on Red Lake, the sixth-largest natural freshwater lake in the United States, in 1917 to help with the World War I effort to provide fresh meat for Minnesota citizens. Eighty-five percent of Red Lake lies within the boundaries of the Red Lake Indian Reservation and is entirely under the jurisdiction of the Red Lake Band. The other 15 percent is controlled by the state of Minnesota. The Red Lake fishery is the only commercial walleye fishery and one of the largest freshwater commercial fisheries in the United States. Through the years, the fishery supported several hundred commercial fishers and their families on the reservation and has been important to the off- reservation economy as well. Populations of walleye in Red Lake collapsed in the mid-1990s, forcing the closure of the commercial fishery for the first time. The Red Lake Band led an effort to bring walleye back, which commenced in 1999 with the signing of an historic 10-year agreement among the band, the state of Minnesota, and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. Other partners included the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of Minnesota, and the Red Lake Fisheries Association. The recovery process included a complete moratorium on walleye harvest and a large-scale stocking effort. It was uncertain if the walleye stocks could actually be recovered. The success the Red Lake walleye recovery team has had has brought the walleye population back from virtual extinction to an optimal level in just seven years. Fishing for Red Lake walleye resumed in 2006 under a sustainable- management plan guided by a technical committee of fishery experts. To ensure future sustainability of the walleye population, regulation of the fishery will be by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa. "We appreciate that the Red Lake Tribal Council wants to make life better for its members. It is very important to us to help other Indian people help themselves. It is an important step for tribal sovereignty for Red Lake to reopen their fishery and provide jobs and resources for their members," said SMDC Chairman Stanley R. Crooks. The Red Lake Reservation, which consists of 1,259 square miles in northwestern Minnesota, has a population of more than 6,000. In 2006 the SMDC awarded a $1 million grant to the Red Lake Band for a Boys and Girls Club. Copyright c. Shakopee Valley News - Southwest Newspapers 2007. --------- "RE: Going Native in State Capitals" --------- Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 07:45:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE LEGISLATORS" http://www.pechanga.net/ http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/ la-na-nativelegis8apr08,1,4554622.story? coll=la-news-a_section&ctrack=1&cset=true Going native in state capitals No longer cynical about 'this system,' Indians, Hawaiians and Alaskans have a higher profile than ever in legislatures. By Sam Howe Verhovek, Times Staff Writer April 8, 2007 HELENA, MONT. - Jonathan Windy Boy was a longtime champion of the international Grass Dance competition, a native event in which the object is to simulate the natural movement of tall prairie grass swaying in the wind. But, recalled Windy Boy with a laugh, "that was many years and about 40 pounds ago." Now Windy Boy moves his considerable frame around the House chamber in the state Capitol here, bargaining and cajoling as a leader of the 10- member Native American caucus in Montana's state Legislature. The caucus has the highest number of Indians ever elected to the 150- member chamber and reflects a broader trend of increased participation by Native Americans in state politics across the country. When legislatures convened earlier this year, at least 73 Indian, native Alaskan or native Hawaiian lawmakers were sworn in, the highest number in the nation's history, according to the National Congress of American Indians, a tribal advocacy group. Windy Boy recalled that while he was growing up on a Ojibwa-Cree Indian reservation in north-central Montana, "there was a lot of skepticism, a lot of cynicism about the idea of voting at all." "Some people didn't vote as a point of pride - defiance, even," he said. "But that's all changed. There's much more of a sense today that we can work within this system." The Indian vote was an important factor in several state races in 2006, and turnout on the reservations and among urban Indians in Montana was crucial to Democrat Jon Tester's razor-thin victory over incumbent Republican Conrad Burns in the recent U.S. Senate election here. For now, the Indian vote in Montana is solidly Democratic, and all 10 Indian members of the Montana Legislature belong to the party. "An Indian voting Republican is like the chicken voting for the colonel," said Gov. Brian Schweitzer, a Democrat. Republicans obviously reject that notion, noting that 15 of the 73 native lawmakers belong to the GOP, according to figures from the Denver- based National Conference of State Legislatures. And perhaps the best- known Native American politician of recent years, former Colorado U.S. Sen. Ben Nighthorse-Campbell, a member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe, started as a Democrat but switched to Republican in 1995. Oklahoma has the most native legislators, with 19, while Hawaii and Montana have 10 each, followed by Alaska with eight. Casino wealth and other development have made Native Americans increasingly politically active as they deal with regulation of their businesses as well as access to state funds for healthcare, tribal policing and other matters. And though the poverty and unemployment rampant on many reservations leave many disillusioned with politics, others have a sense of optimism about the impact of their vote. "There's been a sea change in my lifetime," said Jefferson Keel, lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma and a first vice president of the National Congress of American Indians. "What we have now is a lot of tribal development," Keel said. "It's not just casinos. There's a lot of manufacturing. So people feel a real stake in the system." The national Indian congress, a federation of tribes, launched a "Native Vote Campaign" in 2004 to "advance the Native agenda at all levels of decision-making and promote Native candidates to public offices," according to the group's literature. Here in Helena, Rep. Windy Boy said the Indian caucus had succeeded in recent years in gaining state funds for health clinics, water-reclamation projects and cleanup of mining areas. Indian priorities fared particularly well in the 2005 session because there was a Democrat in the governor's office and Democratic control in the Legislature, said Windy Boy. (Democrats still control the Senate, 26 to 24, but Republicans have a 50-49 edge in the House, with one other member affiliating with the Constitution Party.) But, said the 48-year-old Windy Boy - a tall man with a bolo tie and hair that extends almost to his belt buckle - that's not to say the Democrats should "take us for granted." For instance, both he and Margaret Campbell, an Indian who represents an Assiniboine and Sioux reservation in eastern Montana, said they oppose abortion rights and gay marriage, two issues that many Democrats disagree with them on. "There are very specific tribal teachings about life and the sanctity of life," said Campbell, the minority whip in the Legislature. "And I can't ever imagine being in favor of gay marriage. That would kill me in my district." Windy Boy, who during an interview kept bounding up from his chair to greet fellow lawmakers, aides and lobbyists in the chamber offices, said he decided to go into state politics after too many frustrating sessions as an outsider. As a tribal leader, he would come to Helena to lobby on matters ranging from healthcare to economic incentives to attract industry to the remote reservation. "It was very aggravating," he said. "I felt like we were being undermined in a lot of areas, like welfare and health issues. I thought we were victorious, but then the next day you'd realize someone had thrown up a mysterious obstacle to getting it done. "So basically, I concluded I was on the wrong side of the table," Windy Boy said. "I just decided that the next time I came back here, I'd come back as a state legislator." He won in 2002 and plans eventually, he said, to run for a seat in the state Senate. sam.howe.verhovek@latimes.com Copyright c. 2007 Los Angeles Times. --------- "RE: A Circle of Friends" --------- Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 07:45:07 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="STUDENT PENPALS MEET EACH OTHER FACE-TO-FACE" http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm? id=34079§ion=homepage&freebie_check&CFID=28837892& CFTOKEN=71745633&jsessionid=8830fb25e4a13c246758 A Circle of friends By Amanda Ricker, Herald Staff Writer April 12, 2007 WAHPETON, N.D. - After months of writing letters, about 60 students from Midway Public School in Inkster, N.D., traveled to Circle of Nations Indian School in Wahpeton, N.D., on Wednesday to finally meet their pen pals. The trip was part of a cultural exchange project aimed at bringing rural, Hispanic and American Indian cultures together. Midway students come from mostly rural families, and 30 percent are Hispanic. Circle of Nations is a boarding school for American Indian youth. It's the only off-reservation boarding school for elementary students in the United States, with about 100 students representing 17 states and 35 tribes. And next school year, the cultural exchange project is expected to grow, also possibly involving St. Michael's School in Grand Forks, East Grand Forks Sacred Heart School and Fort Totten's Four Winds Schools, according to Neal Tepper, Midway school counselor and project coordinator. Every sixth- through eighth-grader at Midway signed up to go to Circle of Nations on Wednesday, although the trip was optional, Tepper said. But even with some students' enthusiasm, Wednesday's pen pal introductions got off to an awkward start. Some pen pals didn't attempt to find one another. Others turned their back on their pen pal after just a "hello." Most conversations were brief. Still, there were several students who reveled in the opportunity. Pen pals Ethan Moreland, Midway eighth-grader, and Megan Patneaud, Circle of Nations eighth-grader, swapped stories about their common title of "class clown." "It's kind of one of these 'go figure' situations," Patneaud said. Both Patneaud and Moreland said they'll keep writing. Before the group was sent to find their pen pals, the students took turns presenting information about their schools and cultures. The Circle of Nations drum group performed while other students did an intertribal "friendship" dance. The dance is traditionally done in the spring to both spark and renew friendships, drum coordinator Jason Kingbird said. For many Circle of Nations students, attending the 99-year-old school is a family tradition, according to Jeanne Swartz, school representative and project coordinator. "For a lot of them, their parents went here they can even find their grandparents pictures in the hall," she said. Midway students talked about Hispanic and migrant cultures, with their families traveling back and forth from Texas to North Dakota to farm, and rural lifestyles, with several towns served by Midway School and several miles between each others' homes. "They have different cultures, but we're all the same," Charmaine Mitchell, Circle of Nations eight-grader, said of the experience. "It was pretty cool," Jessica VanGerpen, a Midway seventh grade student. VanGerpen said she found out her pen pal Holly, who is from Red Lake, Minn., is on the school basketball team just like her. The exchange project is being sponsored by Teaching Tolerance, a national organization that promotes diversity. Because of the unique combination of Hispanic, Native American and rural cultures, the group awarded the schools about $2,000 for the project, Tepper said. The Circle of Nations students will now be invited to visit Midway, Tepper said. Reach Ricker at (701) 780-1104, (800) 477-6572, ext. 104; or aricker@gfherald.com. Copyright c. 2007 Forum Communications Co. Fargo, ND 58102 All rights reserved. --------- "RE: Churches in Browning, Poplar feature NA art" --------- Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 07:45:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="NATIVE AMERICAN ART FEATURED AT AREA CHURCHES" http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article? AID=/20070408/LIFESTYLE/704080334 Churches in Browning, Poplar feature unique Native American art By STACY BYRNE Tribune Staff Writer April 8, 2007 Late Blackfeet artist King Kuka was teaching high school art in Browning in the mid-1970s when the pastor at Little Flower Parish asked him to design a stained-glass window showing the Holy Spirit. The pastor was impressed with Kuka's vision for stained glass, so he commissioned the talented artist to design Stations of the Cross for the church windows for the Native American-themed side chapel. Kuka painted the designs for Stations of the Cross and a few more decorative windows. The late Rev. Jim Barry created the stained-glass pieces. Mary Scriver of Valier said the windows are in the fashion of French painter Georges Rouault, who used colors violently in his expressionistic works. "It's very chunky glass in modern but recognizable mosaic," she said. "When you're inside the church and the sun hits it just right, it's really nice the way the colors come through with the light," added Marietta Kuka, King's widow. Beautiful works of religious art add sparkle to churches all across Montana. The pieces all share the same Christian principles, but the figures vary according to the culture of the area. Artwork in churches on or near reservations often intertwines Native American culture. The stained-glass windows at Little Flower Parish have a Native American quality but the figures are universal, said the Rev. Ed Kohler, the church pastor. However, a nativity set the church boasts is totally Indian. "It's very beautiful and all traditional Blackfeet; even the headdresses are Blackfeet," Kohler said. "It's really special. It's left out for the entire Christmas season." Blackfeet sculptor Gordon Monroe created the fiberglass nativity in the late 1970s. The detailed set Kohler calls "priceless" features a tepee instead of a hut and little Indian people. "It's inspired work," Kohler said. "It's just part of the experience of the Christian vein. As part of the texture of the Christian faith, there also is a clear appreciation of art." Another inspired artist, Roscoe White Eagle created three sets of the Stations of the Cross using all Indian figures. One set hangs at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Poplar, and the others are at St. Thomas Church in Brockton and Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Lame Deer. The Sioux artist, who died in 1991, used oils for his sorrowful designs and surrounded each painting with a wooden, tepee-shaped frame. "One of the Stations where Jesus falls, there is a figure behind Jesus who is kind of holding up the cross," said Deacon Joe McPherson. "He is definitely Native American, with braids and a bare chest. His features are Native American, too." McPherson said each Station is about a foot tall, and he believes all three sets are alike. The Indian motif is ever present in the stained glass at Browning United Methodist Church as well. The church has a series of windows depicting a stream running from Chief Mountain, which is visible from the church on a clear day. The stream runs down around the sanctuary to the prairie. The figures in the colorful glass are dark skinned with black hair. "They are extremely well done," said the Rev. Jody Campbell, who's been at the church for almost four years. Campbell said the "outstanding" stained-glass windows created by Brent Warburton are not typical church windows because they depict a nature scene. Still, the scene is spiritual. "It's both spirit in nature and sharing in God's creation," he said. Reach Tribune Staff Writer Stacy Byrne at 791-1490, 800-438-6600 or at sbyrne@greatfallstribune.com. Copyright c. 2007 The Great Falls Tribune. All rights reserved. --------- "RE: What's in a name? A lot, Indians say" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:30:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="WHO REALLY REPRESENTS THE CHEROKEE OF GEORGIA" http://www.indianz.com/News/ http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/ stories/2007/04/08/0408metindians.html What's in a name? A lot, Indians say 4 groups battle to be deemed authentic descendants of Georgia Cherokees By BILL TORPY The Atlanta Journal-Constitution April 8, 2007 Dahlonega - The summons looked official enough, with letterhead reading The Court of the Northern District of The Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee. So on the specified date last summer, Owen Gassaway, who runs a small Florida airport, sent a representative to Dahlonega. The "court" turned out to be the cramped dining room of Johnny Chattin, who calls himself the tribe's attorney general. Chattin - with bluish eyes, unnaturally black braids and metal bracelets accenting Popeye forearms - greeted the assembled with tales of Cherokee heritage and sovereignty. Then the unorthodox court ruled against Gassaway in a dispute over construction at his airport, ordering him to pay $709,000 to a Georgia man of Cherokee descent who built some hangars. The judgment was entered in Palm Beach County court, where the plaintiff sought a lien against the airport. "It couldn't get any crazier," said Gassaway, sounding like a man who'd entered an alternate universe. "What do they have in their pipes?" Though a Florida judge voided the judgment, Gassaway said he'd spent thousands of dollars fighting a legal system he calls a "sham and a fraud." He isn't the only one who thinks so. At least three other tribes claiming to be authentic descendants of North Georgia Cherokees argue the same thing. The four groups have battled for years, arguing they represent the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee recognized by the state General Assembly in 1993. The largely honorary designation allows members to sell "authentic" crafts but does not grant governmental powers. For 14 years, various factions have wrangled to claim the legislatively blessed name. Alliances form and then fall out. Sometimes they re-form. People question one another's Native American pedigrees, which draws howls of indignation and counterattacks. They have sued each other, threatened protests, slammed each other in print and insulted each other on the Internet. Dahlonega resident Martha Perry, a leader of the similarly named Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee Indians Inc., says Chattin is a "fake" who fashioned himself into an American Indian persona to flaunt the prestige of tribal politics and sell $299 Indian flutes. The leaders of the also similarly named Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, Echota Fire Inc. - based in Dahlonega, but with a CEO in Oklahoma - and the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee Inc., run by Cumming resident Lucian Lamar Sneed, agree with Perry. But their rancor isn't reserved for Chattin. They fight with one another, too. Former state legislator Bill Dover, who pushed the 1993 legislation and was recognized - at least by some - as chief of the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, said the squabbling is nothing new. "The one group of people who can't agree with one another is Indians," he said. "There's all sorts of people pointing fingers saying, 'You are and you aren't' " in the tribe. To cut through the confusion, the state Council on American Indian Concerns hired experts to identify which is the rightful tribe. Their study, started in 2005, was completed last week. The council is to determine which tribe should prevail and send its recommendation to the governor, attorney general and Legislature for action. Henry Flood, the Miami-based consultant writing the report, calls the situation "one of the most complicated Indian cases I've done in a long time." Picking the right tribe is difficult, Flood said, because the various groups "raise arguments that are plausible." To make matters worse, many tribal members admit, Cherokee blood has been so diluted that it's hard to distinguish who's genuine. The 1993 legislation left little guidance on how to determine the tribe's rightful members. Flood looked at ancestry, but also at each organization's community ties and internal governing documents. "There is not going to be a definite magic answer," he said. State designation would leave the winning tribe short of federal designation, a far more rigorous process that could lead to the right to build casinos, obtain government grants and even claim some sovereignty. There are no federally designated tribes in Georgia, although the number of people claiming American Indian ancestry has grown; 53,197 Georgians claimed at least partial American Indian heritage in the 2000 census. Dover, the former lawmaker, said the 1993 state designation was simply meant to preserve Cherokee heritage. 'Never ceded our rights' The effort for tribal recognition started in 1977 when Thomas Mote and his mother incorporated a group that eventually expanded from a heritage club. It created a tribal court with a magistrate and a marshal to handle tribal matters, Dover said. "We have been assimilated but never ceded our rights to the government," Dover said. By 1995, Dover and Mote, who was Georgia's first Indian council chairman, split ways. Mote, who did not return calls seeking comment for this story, wrote in a complaint to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs soon after the split that Dover "cannot document any Indian ancestry, and he is known to be recruiting members [in] some kind of scheme to assist the United Keetowah Nation of Oklahoma in bringing gambling to Georgia." Dover, who said he'd left tribal politics, said he is one-quarter Cherokee. He said he does not want to bring gambling to Georgia. Martha Perry, now a leader of the group Mote started in 1977, said Mote was later removed, although "Thomas is still a member of the tribe by blood." (Sneed, who heads the group in Cumming, said Mote is now with his group.) In 1996, Chattin and others formed the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee, Echota Fire. But a lawsuit from a previous incarnation of Sneed's group later prevented Chattin's organization from interfering with the activities of or holding themselves out as members of the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee Inc. or the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee. Undeterred, Chattin kept the name Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee. He also realized the state-recognized group's address was incorrectly listed in the state code. At the time, P.O. Box 1993, Dahlonega, didn't exist. "When Johnny found out the post boxes were expanding [in 2000], he ran down there right quick and reserved that box," Sneed said. "That's his claim to fame. He has that box." Chattin grins while recalling the post office box caper. "I'm a tactician," he said. It turned out to be a clever move. P.O. box a key acquisition Kenneth Van Way, who works at the Indian Arts and Crafts Board, the federal agency that monitors the authenticity of Indian crafts, said the Georgia attorney general's office told his office: "Whoever has the P.O. box cited in the law is recognized as legitimate. So the person with the P. O. box is the state-recognized tribe." Not to be outdone, Sneed, a former lawyer and a tactician himself, won on the Internet. "I tied up 67 dot-com names, every combination of Georgia and Cherokee and Indian you could think of," he said. Sneed has sold crafts on some of the Web sites, but he also has used them to launch withering attacks on Chattin, calling him a fraud, among other things. "I'm killing him," Sneed said with a hint of a cackle. Chattin's lips draw tight when he talks about Sneed. He pulled from a folder a copy of a 25-year-old criminal case against Sneed, who was convicted of mismanaging money. One thing most agree on is that there is money in this. Chattin's organization last year received an $88,850 grant from the federal Department of Health and Human Services "to teach and record traditional natural methods used in preserving Native foods," according to grant records. And in November, Chattin's organization was ruled eligible to apply for $2.6 million in rural development funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The tribe is seeking money to build a museum. Chattin fancies himself a man of destiny, drawn back to his ancestral grounds to pull together the people who were scattered 170 years ago on the Trail of Tears. He claims his tribe's "inherent sovereignty through treaty, statute or executive order." Gary Garrison, a Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman, notes that since there are no federally recognized tribes in Georgia, there are no groups with such sovereignty. Gassaway, the Florida airport manager, who fought in Europe in World War II under Gen. George S. Patton, has fired back against Chattin's tribe in a federal lawsuit claiming the group doesn't have legitimacy. Gassaway talks about his saga with Chattin as almost mythical: "Here he comes out of the northwest [Georgia] woods with all this tribal business, twisting things around, causing trouble - only in America." Sneed believes the Georgia Tribe of Eastern Cherokee Indians Inc., the group started by Mote 30 years ago, has the inside track to receive recommendation in the upcoming report. Sneed said he believes the group ultimately plans to build a casino. Perry, a leader in that group, denies seeking a casino, but said she does know what is needed, given the controversy among the tribes: "We should get a movie producer." Copyright c. 2007 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Lost History" --------- Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 07:45:21 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: HISTORY AS IT REALLY HAPPENED" http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/04/10/jodirave/rave06.txt Lost history By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian April 10, 2007 The Louisiana Purchase of 1803 was not the $15 million land deal of the century, despite "99 percent" of teachers and historians saying and writing so, law professor Robert Miller said Monday during a University of Montana lecture. In reality, the land deal cost the United States another $300 million over the next 15 years because Native Americans retained first rights to the land since they occupied it when the United States allegedly bought it from France. "The United States signed treaties and fought Indians for the next 15 years," said Miller, a law professor at Lewis and Clark Law School in Portland, Ore. The treaties forced tribes into land cessions for which they received cash and annuities, and remain legally binding. Natives still own millions of acres of land within the original Louisiana Purchase, an area stretching from the Gulf Coast to the northern Rocky Mountains. Miller, author of "Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny," spoke to an audience at the University of Montana Law School, which with the UM Native American Law Students Association is hosting Indian Law Week. His presentation focused on his book, which breaks new ground about how the Doctrine of Discovery influenced the taking of Native homelands. The book outlines how the "400-year-old racist, centrist, religious doctrine" worked in its day, and continues to affect tribes today, Miller said. About 55 million acres of Native trust land remains under control of the U.S. Department of Interior, meaning Native landowners can't sell, develop or lease their land without federal approval. UM law students invited Miller to open their weeklong event because his book explores the elements behind the Doctrine of Discovery, an international Christian-based law used for claiming land occupied by indigenous people. Miller explains how the doctrine led to the seminal U.S. Supreme Court decision of Johnson v. McIntosh, typically the first case studied when learning federal Indian law. "It completely changed the face of sovereignty for Indians," said Neal Dubois, president of the UM law student organization. "It set the path for Indians to lose millions and millions of acres of land." In addition to hosting daily speakers, law students are advocating that federal Indian law questions be added to the Montana state bar examination. States like New Mexico have already made such changes. "Our theme of 'Indian Legal Education for All' recognizes not only the addition of Indian law to the bar exam, but the reality that Indian legal issues affect all Montana practitioners, and that ignorance of Indian law in general, and federal Indian law in particular, has done much to frustrate justice and efficiency in our state," said Nikki Ducheneaux, a third-year law student and one of the student association organizers. Thomas Jefferson was one of the United States' biggest promoters of the Doctrine of Discovery, Miller said. "He was a devious and conniving character. He was the originator of the Indian Removal Act. We blame Andrew Jackson." But it was Jefferson who deemed Indians "the wild beasts of the forests" and proclaimed that "we will drive them to the Rocky Mountains." Jefferson applied Doctrine of Discovery principles, which allowed explorers to claim land by simply spotting it or by planting a flag in the ground to stake ownership, even if indigenous people lived on it. The Oregon law professor said he would exercise discovery principles while in Montana. "I'm coming to your house this afternoon and I'm planting my flag," he told his law school audience. "You'll probably call the cops or shoot me." How did Natives react when they didn't agree to sign a land-cession treaty? "Indians fought," Miller said. Jefferson applied doctrine principles in several ways, mostly by acknowledging the right of Indian occupancy, but clearly stating that when Natives decided to give up their land, they could sell only to the United States. It's history that most people don't know about. "It's something that anyone teaching history should be incorporating into their discussion," said Maylinn Smith, director of the Indian Law Clinic on the Missoula campus. "My job would be a lot easier. Then you don't have all these challenges, like 'Why do Indians get all these special privileges?' or 'Why do white people have to submit to tribal jurisdiction?' " Said Ducheneaux: "You waste your time educating people about things they should already know." Copyright c. 2007 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: YELLOW BIRD: Red lies in wait like bad dream" --------- Date: Mon, 9 Apr 2007 07:45:39 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="YELLOW BIRD: RED RIVER" http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm? id=33677§ion=columnists&columnist=Dorreen%20Yellow%20Bird Red lies in wait like bad dream Dorreen Yellow Bird April 7, 2007 Ten years ago this month, I stood with my bare hands on the rail of Sorlie Bridge and looked down into the icy, tumultuous waters running underneath. Fear grew in the pit of my stomach. The Red River was a monstrous, gray beast slithering and winding its way north. It was moving fast. The river rolled and wobbled, touching the sides of the banks spreading and growing, with the noisy ice chunks, big tree branches and debris making sounds like gnashing teeth and growling animals. My children lived in Grand Forks at the time; my son worked at the Herald, and my daughter and son-in-law were students at UND. Four of my grandchildren went to local elementary and high schools. We never dreamed a colossal event that would invade our lives in the weeks to come. As I looked down the length of the beast, I whispered a prayer, asked for calm and peace, then made an offering and moved off the bridge. I was nervous and told my children they had to stay away from the river, not realizing that it wasn't going to stay away from them. Part of my extreme nervousness came from a dream I had as a child that has haunted my adult life. In the dream, I am standing on a bridge similar to the Sorlie. The water in my dream is angry, too. It is nearly level with the bridge and beginning to crawl over the side. The dream ends as I stand in the middle of the faltering bridge looking out at a wide river boiling in muddy water. The fear in that dream had stayed with me. And after all those years, that nightmare of standing in the middle of a bridge in flooding water came back. Before the flood, as most people in the area know, we had snow and more snow. It fell until the entrance to my Fargo home was a tunnel. The sides of the snowbanks were taller than me. During that winter, I got my car "high- centered" several times; my car was low, and the snow was deep. It didn't take a genius to see that when all this snow melted, we would have flooding. But few of us realized how much flooding would come until it was lapping at our doors. I remember the day the Red breached the dike; I remember the day flames consumed the Grand Forks Herald. When serious things such as that happen in your life, time seems to stop, and you remember every detail of that day. Like all Americans who were alive at the time, I remember exactly was I was doing when President John. F. Kennedy died. I was working in the old Veterans Hospital in Minot; I stood in the waiting room and watched the television news. When the planes hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, I was driving past the Red Pepper sandwich shop in Grand Forks. I thought we might be at war. When I got to the Herald, I watched the towers fall. Fargo didn't flood to the magnitude that Grand Forks did; but if you drove south on Interstate 29, you saw miles and miles of water as far as you could see. The Wild Rice River topped its banks and contributed to the overflow. The rumble of trucks hauling gravel and earth-moving machines grinding back and forth became the sounds we slept by. The floodwaters in Fargo came within two blocks of my house, but then the weather changed, and the water stopped growing. During the flood, my children and several other people (18, to be exact) moved in with me. It was wall-to-wall people, but it was good to be safe and dry. Water filled the basement of my daughter's UND home but didn't reach the first floor. It ruined everything in the basement, including bedroom furnishings. My son had a second-floor apartment downtown; the fire skipped over his building, but one of his cats got away while the area was being evacuated. Then, when he returned after the water receded, the cat immediately came back. She must have been watching for him to return; cats are independent and resilient like that. In the past 10 years, I've avoided thinking much about the flood because there was so much disruption, sadness, loss and even anger. Seeing Grand Forks recover so nicely makes it easier to think about the event, and the completion of the new dikes makes me sigh with relief. Last year, when the Red rose up to its banks (but didn't overflow, thanks to the new dikes), I felt like thumbing my nose at the tamed beast. But I didn't. After all, there's no sense in tempting fate. --- Dorreen Yellow Bird is a reporter and columnist. Her columns appear Wednesdays and Saturdays on the opinion pages of the Herald. Reach her at (701) 780-1228 or dyellowbird@gfherald.com Copyright c. 2006 Grand Forks Herald, Forum Communications Co., Fargo ND. --------- "RE: GIAGO: Kill the Indian and save the Child" --------- Date: Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:30:59 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="GIAGO: RELIGIOUS RIGHTS" http://www.indianz.com/News/2007/002283.asp Tim Giago: Kill the Indian and save the child April 9, 2007 Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, speaking about the religious convictions of President George W. Bush said, I worked for two presidents who were men of faith and they did not make their religious views part of American policy." She also said that when Bush speaks of his war commitment he says, "God is on our side. President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War said, "We are on the side of God." I would think that the people of Islam would object to the comments of Dubya and the people of the Confederacy would certainly take exception to the comments of Lincoln. Since this is Holy Week in the Christian world one can find its reflection even in the Sunday comics, or "Funny Pages" as we old timers used to say. Sunday's comic pages had strips from The Family Circus, Hi and Lois, For Better or Worse and all the way to B.C. containing references to the Bible and to Jesus Christ. Radio and television commentator Bill O'Reilly is notorious for saying that "We are a Christian Nation," and he means this unequivocally to the near exclusion of all other faiths. For those who are not Christians the two holidays that makes them feel like strangers in America are Easter and Christmas. Nearly all-traditional Native Americans are at odds with the cultural and spiritual imperialism brought to this country from Europe that made their own religious convictions inferior and unacceptable to the devout Christian Pilgrims and the other Christian denominations that settled this land. Christianity brought into play the concept of Manifest Destiny. This was the policy adopted by the new government of the United States that looked west for expansion and used the doctrine of Manifest Destiny as a weapon of growth for a young, Christian nation. According to Webster, manifest destiny is an ostensibly benevolent or necessary policy of imperialistic expansion. In other words, the founders believed that it was decreed by God that they move west by whatever means even if it meant crushing and destroying the thousands of indigenous people already residing on the lands they coveted. France planted flags in the territory that would be known as the Louisiana Purchase and claimed it as their own. They did not consult with the people of the many Indian nations already living on those lands since time immemorial. And then France turned around and in 1803 sold the land they did not own to the United States under the auspices of Thomas Jefferson. We often joke in Indian country that perhaps we should now plant the flags of our sovereign Indian nations upon the lands stolen from us and reclaim it for our own. Of course, we also often joke about our lax immigration policy that allowed so many illegal immigrants to enter our country in the first place. But jokes aside, it took a powerful religious bent starting with the Papal Bulls to Manifest Destiny to all but destroy the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere. During this Easter Week I think all Native Americans should go back to their roots and examine the costly programs of this Christian Nation that took away nearly all of their freedoms. The thing most Americans fear is to have another nation impose its religious beliefs upon them or worse, to have one religion become so dominant that it can displace all of their religious convictions with its own set of beliefs. Most Native Americans had no choice when it came to religion. The United States government divided the Indian reservations up like so many pieces of pie and different religious groups were given land to build churches and schools in order to indoctrinate through education. Children were oftentimes taken from their homes in the middle of the night and hauled away to these religious and state-run boarding schools. The policy of "Kill the Indian; Save the Child" was the pogrom intended to acculturate and assimilate those people the United States could not otherwise conquer. Some portions of the program of cultural imperialism, particularly that portion handed over to the different church denominations, did work and as happened throughout the Americas under the Spanish invasion, thousands of Indians capitulated and became Christians. The Spaniards had a more liberal interpretation of "kill the Indian, save the child." They literally killed those standing in the way. But always making a mockery of total success for the American government and the Church were those hardcore traditionalists who refused to be indoctrinated. Many of these so-called non-believers were considered to be "off the reservation" and were hunted down and killed. Those not killed outright were imprisoned. They were labeled as "renegade Indians" and outlaws. Isn't it enlightening what a nation of Christians can do for the good of mankind? Undeterred, these "renegades" took their traditional religious beliefs underground. Because of the relative isolation of Indian reservations, they found the sanctity to practice their beliefs away from the unforgiving and prying eyes of the federal government and its minions in the different church groups. One should never forget that by making religion a part of its policy the United States forced its will and its religion upon the indigenous people of this continent. Although extremely spiritual in their own beliefs, the Indian people never said, not once, that, "We are on the side of God." Those Indians labeled as renegades by the government survived and are now bringing back the traditional spirituality to the Native people. And those who turned their backs on the traditionalists are now scampering, while still clinging to their Christian beliefs, to include this "old" indigenous spirituality into their own Christian beliefs. Well, they can't have it both ways. --- McClatchy News Service in Washington, DC distributes Tim Giago's weekly column. He can be reached at najournalists@rushmore.com. Giago was also the founder and former editor and publisher of the Lakota Times and Indian Country Today newspapers and the founder and first president of the Native American Journalists Association. He was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard in the class of 1990 - 1991. Clear Light Books of Santa Fe, NM (harmon@clearlightbooks.com) published his latest book, "Children Left Behind") Copyright c. 2007 Indianz.com. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Blackfeet Water negotiation over" --------- Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:01:33 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: NEGOTIATIONS BREAK DOWN DUE TO END-AROUND BY STATE" http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/04/16/jodirave/rave04.txt State, Blackfeet water negotiation over for now By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian April 13, 2007 HELENA - Two years of water compact negotiations between the Blackfeet Tribe and the state of Montana went into a tailspin on Thursday after tribal council members said they had been "blindsided" and declared a negotiation session over. Tribal leaders were disturbed after learning the state had pushed a $140 million authorization through a U.S. Senate committee to build a water diversion project within the Blackfeet Reservation borders without the tribe's consent or knowledge. "We want this issue cleared up before we go any further," said Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person during an ardent speech in which he stood before the negotiation team members. "It's not in our favor. We were not notified. We need to be part of this. ... We need to know how this is going to affect our people." The scheduled meeting began at 9 a.m., at the Red Lion Colonial Hotel and had followed a set agenda. But the tribe had requested an additional item be added, which led to discussion of the 2007 Water Resources Development Act, or WRDA, and rebuilding the St. Mary water project, which feeds water to users in the Milk River Basin. Tribal attorney Jeannie Whiteing reminded commission members that the tribe has repeatedly sought to have its federal reserved water rights quantified before money was set aside to rebuild the St. Mary water diversion project. Tribal members said they only recently learned of the $140 million authorization, which they called a betrayal. "Again, we've been blindsided," said Blackfeet Tribal Councilman Roger Running Crane. He spoke of a historical past, which has excluded and shortchanged the tribe's rights to federally reserved water based on the Blackfeet's 1855 treaty. "That's my question, `What are you doing?' " he said to the state committee members. "It was not done at our request," said Chris Tweeten, chairman of Montana's Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission. Hundreds of downstream water users, including farmers and ranchers, would benefit if the St. Mary project were rebuilt. The state's Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission has been pushing for - and was confident they would reach - a water compact agreement with the tribe and get it approved by the state Legislature before the 2007 session ended. The tribe's negotiating team called for a short recess during Thursday's meeting. When they returned, their position was clear. "Until the bill is halted and the Blackfeet are protected, I won't come back to the bargaining table again," said Running Crane. The rest of the council agreed. Blackfeet committee members said they directed some questions before the meeting to the office of Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont. Old Person said he talked to Baucus' legislative assistant, Paul Wilkins, about why and how the tribe wasn't notified of the $140 million authorization in the Water Resources Development Act. Barrett Kaiser, Baucus' communications director, said the senator called Old Person on Thursday afternoon and discussed the issue. Baucus urged the chairman to first work with the state to ratify the compact and then send it to Baucus, so he and the delegation could work on getting it passed, Kaiser said. "Max supports the tribe's compact and is committed to working together with all parties - the tribe, the state and the delegation - to get it done and do what's right," Kaiser said. "At the same time, he's pushing to get the St. Mary's project up and running because it's so important to the Hi-Line." Earlier in the day, when the Blackfeet delegation asked why they were weren't notified of the Senate action, no one in the room offered an explanation, and members of the state Department of Natural Resources Committee said they were just as surprised as the Blackfeet. Later in the day, in a phone call with the Missoulian, John Tubbs said he needed to clarify the committee's earlier statements. "We were surprised Baucus got it into the WRDA bill, but to be clear, we were not surprised because Baucus was looking for alternatives." Tubbs said his committee originally thought Baucus would get funding through the Bureau of Land Management, but the authorization ended up in the Corps of Engineers budget. "We'll continue when and if this issue is resolved," said Jeanne Whiteing, Blackfeet tribal attorney. Said Tweeten: "We regret that we're not able to move forward." Reach reporter Jodi Rave at 1-800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@lee.net Copyright c. 2007 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: JODI RAVE: Indians face Land Law changes" --------- Date: Sat, 14 Apr 2007 08:01:33 -0700 From: Gary Smith Subj: NA News Item - - - - - - -- - - - - - - filename="JODI RAVE: LAND LAW" http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2007/04/16/jodirave/rave03.txt Indians face land law changes By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian April 14, 2007 BOZEMAN - A "tsunami" is about to sweep over Indian Country and it's arriving in the form of the American Indian Probate Reform Act, said one of the country's leading land experts on Friday during a Montana State University symposium. The "Inheriting Indian Land" symposium was organized in response to the American Indian Probate Reform Act that went into effect last June. The complex law affects tens of thousands of people and is heavily dependent on Natives making a will in order to pass their land onto heirs. Already, the U.S. Interior Department and its Bureau of Indian Affairs have a backlog of 30,000 probates, and the backlog continues to grow despite a massive multimillion-dollar reform effort. "It's going to have a tsunami of effects and it's going to be devastating," said Sally Willett, an administrative law judge and landowner advocate from Phoenix, Ariz. "It's setting in motion forces that can't be controlled." In 1996, the probate backlog was only 3,000, said Willett, who questioned why it was costing the Interior Department hundreds of millions of dollars to "not do anything." The reform act is an amendment to the Indian Land Consolidation Act, which twice has been declared unconstitutional. It was first introduced to eliminate fractionated land holdings, which is land passed from one generation to the next resulting in dramatic numbers of landowners on small tracts of land. Willett said the new probate reform law is complicated - and is, in fact, a lawsuit waiting to happen because landowners or their survivors aren't being financially compensated for their property. "This bill taxes experts," Willett told the audience. "If you're struggling, you're not alone." Meanwhile, the backlog continues to build because the Bureau of Indian Affairs quit making wills for Indian landowners in 2006. The announcement was made without warning and instantly put tribes into the business of will writing and estate planning, something they weren't prepared to do. "They don't have the expertise or the legal reserves," said Dion Killsback, a lawyer in Lame Deer. "The decision was counterintuitive. The Department of Interior and the Congress passed this law to address fractionation, but the tool to prevent that is wills. But the BIA stopped doing wills, putting the burden on tribes." Even then, only 10 percent of Natives signed a will. Under the American Indian Probate Reform Act, it becomes ever more important to create a will, especially if the property interest owned is less than 5 percent as in the following cases: - First, if a will doesn't exist and a spouse is living on the property, the estate ends when the surviving spouse dies. "The single heir rule" becomes effective, meaning only one person can inherit the land, an oldest child, oldest grandchild or oldest great-grandchild. - Also, if there is no will or eligible heirs, then the property interest passes to the tribe without any payment to the estate. The Interior Department manages $226 million in annual receipts from 128,000 individual allotments. As written, the probate reform act could lead to the loss of 1/5 of Indian land holdings, including nearly 11 million acres of allotted lands. Symposium presenters encouraged participants to be more proactive about managing their land and protecting their rights as landowners. Key presenters represented organizations such as the Indian Land Working Group and the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. Ross Racine, executive director of the InterTribal Agricultural Alliance in Billings, said 80 percent of crop land being grown on Indian allotments was being leased by non-Natives. He encouraged students attending the symposium to take a more active role in preserving tribal land bases and making it more economically profitable. "Every presenter in this forum has gray hair," said Racine. "It's time kids, the guard is changing. You need to pick it up. It's a hell of a responsibility and it's going to be your charge. Be diverse and be open to ideas." On the Web For more information on the American Indian Probate Reform Act or will and estate planning, go to these web sites: http://www.indianlandtenure.org/ http://www.ilwg.org/ or go to www.indianwills.org Reach reporter Jodi Rave at 1-800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@lee.net Copyright c. 2007 Missoulian, a division of Lee Enterprises. --------- "RE: AUBRY: Chiapas,The New Face of War" --------- Date: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 03:29 am From: Chiapas95-english Subj: En;Jornada,A.Aubry:Chiapas,The New Face of War,pts1-2,Mar 24 Mailing List: Chiapas95-En This message is forwarded to you by the editors of the Chiapas95 newslists. To contact the editors or to submit material for posting send to: . Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2007 14:54:24 +0200 From: "Dana Aldea" Originally Published in Spanish in two parts by La Jornada March 24 and 25, 2007 Translation: Mary Ann Tenuto-Sa'nchez Chiapas Support Committee email: cezmat@igc.org Chiapas: The New Face of the War (Andre's Aubry) I The new pollution that disturbs what is called the conflict zone is due to old actors that changed tactics, gave themselves a new face and other names: URCI and Opddic. Before identifying them and analyzing the worrisome, profound and dangerous transformation of the Lacando'n Jungle's new panorama, it's important to traverse the process from its beginnings to the recent situation revealed by the spate of communique's that emanated not from the General Command but from the Good Government Juntas of all their Caracoles. The current objective of the counterinsurgency presents itself as a disturbance of the territorial geography, to return to their old owners "the recuperated lands" or those progressively liberated by the EZLN since the times of their clandestinity. Dispute over the "recuperated lands" Before the conflict broke out, the owners of the Jungle were successively the lumber camps for looting the forest's wealth, the chicleros, the unconstitutional large estates progressively converted into cattle ranches, the drug traffickers and 400 Lacando'n finally "concentrated" by Echeverri'a in what now is the national Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. Between these empires existed wilderness spaces, the national lands, which were offered to migrations of landless campesinos with the promulgation of "the opening of the agricultural frontier" by Jose' Lo'pez Portillo. The EZLN was born in this space in 1983. In the second half of the six-year term of Carlos Salinas de Gortari, the Zapatistas were already a powerful movement, although clandestine, and towards it converged thousands of migrants who aspired to make the jungle theirs, cradle of civilization, forming there new ejidos with cumbersome bureaucratic procedures, never finalized. The EZLN presented itself as a defensive army, to protect them from the old owners; that is to say, just as president La'zaro Ca'rdenas had given weapons to the campesinos to defend their first ejidos and rural schools a long time ago, so the EZLN progressively cleaned the jungle of those who had usurped it. The first to go were the narcos (drug dealers), therefore the police (always present now) did away with their weapons, offering them without problem to the Zapatistas, because they confused them with the cattle ranchers' pistoleros (hired guns), but didn't sell them (illegally of course) without prior training of their clients. Thus began a bad time for the cattle ranchers but also a good one for the campesinos: they were recuperating land with ejidos in formation until Salinas, in 1992, reforming Article 27 of the Constitution, declared that no longer would land be distributable. Under pressure from January 1, 1994, the large cattle ranchers also abandoned the Jungle. Since then, the EZLN initiated its public phase. To create the conditions of the first peace dialogue, that in the Cathedral, the commissioner Camacho's diplomacy achieved creating a "gray zone," without soldiers (grosso modo, that of the former national lands), in exchange for which the EZLN released former governor Absalo'n Castellanos Dominguez. Sub- sequently, the tragic day of February 9, 1995 happened, which endangered the truce pacted January 12 of the previous year. On March 11, the Law of Dialogue was promulgated, which made possible another dialogue, that of San Andre's. Camacho's gray zone, but without it in that new circumstance, was converted into the space in which the EZLN, in accordance with the new law, were transforming themselves from an armed movement into a "political force," with the progressive and peaceful creation of the Zapatista autonomous municipalities (counties). Starting in 2003, the creation of the Caracoles gave birth to an enormous peaceful and political effort, fed by alternative schools and clinics, agroecology programs and a direct (without intermediaries) promissory alternate economy of organic products. This ejido space (with presidential resolution favorable but not executed) is that which the EZLN calls "recuperated lands," not only in its agrarian aspect but also in terms of social management. Today, with URCI, the Opddic and even finqueros whose old ownerships were paid a good price by the government, it is once again threatened and, in spite of the cancellation of the agrarian distribution by Salinas in 1992, is now on the path to legali-zation through the Agrarian legal office for the benefit of these new usurpers. What is in play, therefore, is a return of the old prewar owners to the status quo ante. The victims are not just Zapatistas, but also the rest of the campesinos not affiliated with the EZLN, also beneficiaries of the plural management of the Caracoles. II Natural Resources: a casus belli (an occurrence giving rise to war). The counterinsurgency policies were structured in 1995 in spite of the recurring sessions of the San Andre's dialogue, defined in the two volumes of the Irregular War Manual edited by the National Defense Ministry (Sedena, its initials in Spanish). Its military theory remembers what Mao said about: "the people are to the guerrilla what the water is to the fish," but prefers another tactic: "one can make life in the water (in the campesino communi-ties) impossible for the fish, agitating, introducing elements prejudicial to their subsistence, or the most predatory fish who will attack them, persecute them and obligate them to disappear or to run away from the danger of being eaten by these voracious and aggressive fish" (Volume II, number 547). The grouping of these fish (the predatory, aggressive and voracious ones) are the paramilitary groups designated as "armed civilians." Effectively, Sedena emptied the water from the communities, it penetrated them. The most predatory fish are not external agents like before (the episodic hired guns, who returned to live in the cities after fulfilling their promise), nor guardias blancas (an exogenous elite which would disappear after their crimes); they are, to the contrary, indigenous people from the communities who "work" full time on site. The first ones were organized as the AntiZapatista Revolutionary Indigenous Movement (MIRA, its initials in Spanish), whose behavior was very discreet. This new formula needs financing, which, being official, must be justified with noble causes: in this case the "revolution." Others continue with more constancy, whose initials are decorated with "development," of "peace" or with "human rights" like Paz y Justicia, recruited within the PRI, whose laboratory was the state's Northern Zone, and its victims were many pr