After nearly two decades of legal battles with Western Shoshone ranchers
Carrie and Mary Dann, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), along with local
Nevada law enforcement and a livestock contractor, initiated an armed,
military-style invasion, with helicopters, on the sisters on Thursday,
November 19. BLM agents are estimated to have confiscated 17 Dann horses
on Thursday.
A BLM spokeswoman confirmed that law enforcement personnel plan to round up
400 horses, saying that the Danns lack permits for the animals. The Dann
sisters maintain the land is Western Shoshone, and they don't need permits.
Blizzards have stopped further confiscation efforts since Thursday.
The American Indian Movementhas responded to an invitation to protect and
defend the sovereignty of the Western Shoshone. The occupation forces have
sealed off country roads surrounding the Dann Ranch, and the Indian
resistance has been joined by activists from the Nevada environmental
groups, and by supporters of Indian treaty rights.
The situation has the possibility of escalating into the largest
confrontation between Native Americans and the United States Government
since the Wounded Knee occupation of 1973. The Western Shoshone are
demanding that the US Government agree to participate in direct and
meaningful negotiations with the Western Shoshone National Council,
recognition of land rights, and cessation of plans for a roundup at the
Dann Ranch.
The basis of the land struggle is the Treaty of Ruby Valley of 1863 between
the US and the Western Shoshone Nation. In Article V of the treaty, the
eastern part of Nevada was defined and acknowledged as Western Shoshone
territory. No land was ceded, NOR HAS EVER BEEN CEDED, to the government.
At no since then has the US Government been able to produce documentation of
any title to any of the land.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY: Donate money and supplies.
Canned and bulk food, medical supplies, warm clothes, blankets, sleeping
bags, tents, size AA & D batteries, radios, binoculars, cameras, coffee/tea,
tobacco, cooking supplies, tarps, vitamins, boots, thermoses, misc. office
supplies (incl. fax paper), cash.
Donations can be delivered to the AIM office, 2017 Mission St., Room 303,
San Francisco, CA 94110.
PHONE TREE AND ORGANIZE IN YOUR COMMUNITY.
CONTACT KEY OFFICIALS.
Sen. Daniel Inouye, Chair, Select Committee on Indian
Affairs, US Senate, Washington, DC 20510
Tel. (202) 224-3934.
Cy Jamison, National Director, Bureau of Land
Management, 1849 C St., N.W., Washington, DC 20420.
Billy Templeton, Nevada State Director, Bureau of Land
Management, 850 Harvard Way, Reno, NV 89520
Tel. (702) 785-6590.
Secretary General and Human Rights Commission of
the United Nations, First Avenue and 46th St., NY, NY
10017. Tel. (202) 963-1234.
THE SITUATION IS CRITICAL.
Join the resistance and help out however you can.
For more information contact the AIM office in
San Francisco, (415) 552-1992.
[ The information in this article was taken from the most recent
press release from AIM, I have been informed by Chris Bail. --Gary ]