"The 'White Indian' is too susceptible to wrongdoing. He always wants
money. That is the reason for such poverty. What is being left for
our children - for the future generation? And what then will they
live on?
__ George Walters, White Earth Chippewa
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
| 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
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
Solar and Lunar reminder: This newsletter is being released on Thursday,
23 June 1994. Tuesday was the Summer solstice. Tonight there will be
a full moon. The next full moon is 22 July.
Date: 20 Jun 94 23:04:54 GMT
From: andrea@scicom.AlphaCDC.COM (Andrea Lord)
Subject: solstice
we dreamed in the winter
Newsgroup: alt.native sowed and nurtured in the spring
at solstice we manifest...
the solstice.....
good luck to all the dreams that
the rainbow .. a bridge walked in our hearts...
midsummers eve.. an archway
the solstice.. the pathway happy solstice
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 94 06:05:27 GMT
From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart)
Subj: Solstice:Kaw-ii-su--Skygate
Newsgroups: alt.native
Solstice the thunder remains in my belly
even when no one is watching
At first light of day I have seen the sky-gate
drumming I have sent a song through it
and feet which will stomp the earth I have gathered myself and named myself
salt, corn I have counted myself
tobacco drum
sweetgrass a morning feast feet
passed through invisible hands fingers
sky-gate opens I will press my belly to the earth
just a few feet away and sing from there
two-lane highway
air-conditioned indifference Tobacco Indian
magnificent oblivion Natural Man Runs Down-wind
Turtle Heart turtle@soft21.s21.com (Ahnishinabeg)
American Indian Computer Art Project BBS 619-374-2100
Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light
O'siyo Brothers and Sisters!
I recently have read some things with great sadness. Some of them I
share with you in this issue of The Peoples' News.
I pray that the events you read here can be reversed. That others
like them can be stopped before they begin.
The Hopi have a calendar that tells us what will happen if the greed
of man is not stopped and the hoop that is our Mother Earth is not
healed. It is not the place of myself or this newsletter to tell any
other how to live. It is only for me to share the knowledge of what is
happening to the first people all over Turtle Island, and let each of you
come to your own decision.
Go within and listen. Do you also hear sorrow?
Mitakuye Oyasin! Night Owl
, ,
(*,*) Gary Night Owl gars%owlstar.UUCP@mathcs.emory.edu
(`-') P. O. Box 672168 gars@genie.geis.com
===w=w=== Marietta, GA 30067, U.S.A. gars@netcom.com
------------------ clip here for news feature -- 8< -----------
--------- "RE: Claims Settlement" ---------
Date: Jun-11-94 16:30:42
From: Saitmaunte (saitmaunte@f59.n147.z1.fidonet.org)
Subj: Claims Settlement
FidoNet Indian Affairs Conference
ALL YOU CHEROKEES (REAL AND UNREAL:) BETTER CHECK THIS OUT!
(THE ARKANSAS RIVER RUNS THROUGH THE HEART OF THE CHEROKEE NATION OF OKLAHOMA)
ARKANSAS RIVERBED, SALE OR SELL-OUT? by David Cornsilk
I recently had the pleasure of reading the Arkansas Riverbed brochure
and listening to a tape recording of Principal Chief Wilma Mankiller's
speech before the employees of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma given
May 19, 1994.
As usual, her talk was beautiful and filled to the brim with moving
metaphors and other such verbal medicants that make her talks so interesting
to hear. However, the beauty of her message was soured by the content of her
talk.
Our Chief told the employees that she will continue to work on the
so-called, "Arkansas Riverbed Claims Settlement Act", to be introduced by
State of Oklahoma Representative Mike Synar.
Nicely packaged brochures were handed out to the employees giving them
an overview of the proposed settlement and making it quite clear the
decision to sell off our Riverbed is already made and no participation from
the membership will be tolerated.
A letter to the Cherokee people graces the inside of page two. In this
letter Mankiller tells us, in a nutshell, the long history of our tribe's
struggle to prove the Arkansas Riverbed belongs to the Cherokee people. She
talks about litigations, dashed negotiations and a general lack of ability
to get the job done or even know what the real job is.
What is really disturbing, but not surprising, about this letter is how
she describes our Riverbed. She says, "This settlement would trade UNUSABLE
LAND for land of practical value". How could it be unusable if in other parts
of the brochure she tells us there are approximately 3,000 individuals and
companies squatting on our land in just the first 28 miles of the river?
By unusable I assume she means she hasn't been able to make any money
off our Riverbed. Do we always have to be so concerned with money? What
about the plants and animals that live along and in our Riverbed? Couldn't
we be stewards and offer our protection to our fellow earthlings who barely
cling to life as greedy developers destroy more and more of our natural
heritage? What about our children's future? They deserve to have something
left to work with, or are we just going to sell it all now and answer their
questions later?
I'll bet those 3,000 people trespassing on our lands don't think the
land is unusable. They must be doing something of value on it or they
wouldn't be contacting Congressman Synar to push this settlement through.
Ah ha! It must be the political machinery that makes Mankiller so eager
to sell out the tribe and turn our Riverbed over to the State of Oklahoma.
It would be interesting to see how many of those 3,000 trespassers have made
calls to Synar and other representatives to push this settlement through. And
while we're at it, see how many of them are wealthy due to their trespassing
on our Riverbed, and whether they are using their ill-gotten-gains to push
through this vile settlement.
Mankiller says we will retain the mineral rights to the first 28 miles
of our Riverbed. This is very suspicious to me. First, we already own the
mineral rights to the entire Riverbed, so they really aren't giving us
anything here. And why just the first 28 miles? If that holds the greatest
potential, and the rest of the river holds the least potential, why not keep
the whole mineral right. One oil or gas well on the remaining 34-36 mile
section is better than none at all. If there is no great chance of obtaining
oil or gas, so what, it is ours!
Why didn't Mankiller mention tribal hunting and fishing rights in this
brochure? She sure made them a prominent part of previous literature. Could
it be that she has already sold them and just doesn't want us to know about
it?
There is no mention anywhere in the brochure of how much money we can
expect from this settlement. Several figures have been thrown out, such as
$466 million,, $100 million, and so on. As the controversy of the sale of
the Arkansas Riverbed heats up, I am sure we will se the figure rise. I
suspect there is a concerted effort on the part of our leaders to cover up
the true amount. That way we never have to know what happened to all of it
and the theft of our Nation is all sanitary and without a trace.
Mankiller tells us that she wants to use the cash we might get from our
Riverbed for land acquisition, tribal programs and long-term investments.
She says, "Because regaining land taken at statehood is a priority,..."
Regaining tribal ownership of lands in Oklahoma has NEVER been a
priority of the Mankiller administration. With the pitiful growth in tribal
land holdings during the Swimmer/Mankiller years, I don't see anyone
believing that the money from the Arkansas Riverbed settlement will be used
to purchase our lands back. After Mankiller gets through with al of the
"compacting" she has done and will do with the State of Oklahoma, Cherokee
lands won't be much different from any other lands. She is selling or
sovereignty to the state in exchange for a few dollars of cigarette tax
money.
Even if the settlement amounted to nearly 100 million dollars, as we
have been told, Mankiller proposes to use only one third of it for land
purchases. After the federal government takes their cut, the tribal attorney
takes his cut and the other two thirds are spirited away for "tribal
programs and long-term investments", we would be lucky to have any left of
buy land.
What would we do with this land anyway? Economic development? That's a
real joke. We already have large tracts of land, some of them developed as
industrial parks, sitting virtually empty. Economic development to the
Mankiller administration means sucking down more and more federal handouts
and creating more and more dependency for Cherokee people.
We learn from the brochure the U.S. Government plans to give us "other
federal lands" of equal value to the Arkansas Riverbed, I say there are no
lands equal to the spiritual and national value of our Riverbed, even if
those lands are within the boundary of our Nation. We can always buy land,
we can never regain our Riverbed.
Mankiller makes a big deal of the fact that those lands would be placed
"in trust" like the other tribes land here in Oklahoma. That means that we
turn those lands over to the United States and they hold them for our use
and benefit. What good is that? We give them our Riverbed and then have to
turn around and deed them the land they just gave us. I'm starting to feel a
little queasy.
What does it mean to have lands "in trust"? It simply means that those
lands are under total federal control and only those things the federal
government allows can occur there. Even things Native American tribes are
usually allowed to do, may be restricted on land held "in trust". In other
words, the Cherokee people become the wards of the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and must pander to government officials to develop our (?) lands.
The Cherokee Nation, prior to 1907 held tribal lands in common through
a fee simple title. Our lands were not in trust then and do not need to be
now. Fee simple ownership of lands by the tribal government, within our
historic boundary, makes the land Cherokee country and Indian country.
In fact, all of the land inside our historic boundary is Cherokee
country and Indian country, whether the Cherokee Nation holds title to it or
not. The mere fact that we privatized the ownership of tribal lands through
allotment does not restrict our right to jurisdiction and sovereignty over
those lands. The Cherokees have never been stripped of territorial juris-
diction within our boundary.
Does the United States give up the right to enforce its laws on the
vast land holdings of the Japanese in this country? It would be ludicrous to
say that land becomes a part of Japan when a Japanese citizen buys U.S.
property. The sovereignty of the tribes is no different. The private owner-
ship of land in the Cherokee Nation, by non-Cherokees and Cherokees alike,
does not restrict our sovereignty over those lands. The tribes have a
sovereignty above that of the states so how could our rights to jurisdiction
be any less than that of a lesser government?
Our treaties guarantee us the lands within our historic boundary, they
guarantee us that we may do as we wish with any white people (U.S. citizens)
who come among us and they guarantee us that no territory or state will ever
be extended around us.
Our tribal government is supreme within our boundary. The Mankiller
administration has simply chosen to bow to the wishes of the state of
Oklahoma in exchange for a high salary and the mother-load of federal
goodies.
Mankiller tells us in her brochure that many of the "trespassers" on
our tribal lands along our Riverbed are Cherokees. I simply find that hard
to believe. And how, for heavens's sake, could a Cherokee be a trespasser
on Cherokee land? But in case it is true, there is a simple solution which
would solve the problem for both the "trespassers" and the Cherokee Nation.
The Eastern Cherokees in North Carolina hold their lands in common,
just the same way we hold the Arkansas Riverbed lands. the Eastern Cherokees
issues what is known as a "possessory title" to the holder of the lands.
This is a fully marketable title and can be sold or deeded to other
members of the Eastern Band of Cherokees. Such a plan would keep the land
within the common holdings of the tribe, while at the same time offer
protection to those members of our tribe who, through no fault of their own,
become the owners of property with a clouded title and face eviction by the
Mankiller administration.
It is my firm belief that those members of our tribe who have lands
along the Arkansas River would much rather have a possessory title and
continue to enjoy the ownership of their property, than to be evicted, as
Mankiller says we must do.
Horrible things are about to happen to all Cherokees if Mankiller is
allowed to continue on the road she has chosen and sells/trades our
Riverbed. What it all boils down to is what value is our Riverbed to us, the
Cherokee people?
Our Riverbed, like our arms, legs and other body parts, is a part of
the whole. No part is useful by itself. What good is a hand that has been
severed from the body. But as a part of the body, the hand has built entire
civilizations and takes us beyond the limits of our imagination.
Our Riverbed, like our hands, is an internal part of the whole we call
Cherokee Nation. Our Constitution says in the preamble that Nation means the
same thing as tribe. What is the tribe? It is us. The people of the Cherokee
Nation make up the tribe. If we cut off our Arkansas Riverbed, we will be
severing a part of ourselves.
Perhaps that is why the Mankiller administration has never been able to
do anything with the Arkansas Riverbed. They see it separately from the rest
of our Nation. Such narrow minded thinking only serves to prevent growth and
stifles the welfare of our people.
How revealing it is to finally understand that the Mankiller
administration sees the various part of the body of the Cherokee Nation as
several and for sale. Perhaps even we, the Cherokee people are for sale. Or
are we already sold and just don't know it?
(David Cornsilk is an enrolled 100%, brown, full-blood Cherokee Brother:)
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[CUSTOM]: 502 YEARS OF RESISTANCE......
--- VFIDO 6.20.00 Gamma Candidate 5 Origin: -=} CyberZone {=- (1:147/59)
--------- "RE: Traditional Healers" ---------
Date: Jun-11-94 16:45:02
From: Saitmaunte (saitmaunte@f59.n147.z1.fidonet.org)
Subj: Traditional Healers
TRADITIONAL HEALERS/GOVERNMENT PROTECT MEDICINAL PLANTS
A group of traditional Indian healers has worked with the government of
Belize to create a 6,000-care sanctuary in the rain forest dedicated to the
protection and use of medicinal plants.
Belize is located in Central America and many of the Indians there are
descendants of the ancient and powerful Mayans.
The sanctuary, called the Terra Nova Forest Reserve, is intended to
insure that the plants and healers who depend on them will survive.
The scarcity of some species, however, is not the most urgent problem.
Most healers are now in their 80's and 90's or older, and few have passed on
their knowledge to an apprentice.
The same problems fact the Cherokee and Creek peoples. Traditional
Cherokee and Creek healers, whom we call Indian Doctors, have also
expressed their concerns that many medicine plants are increasingly
difficult to obtain. Many of these plants are located along the Arkansas
Riverbed.
This occurs because as whites encroach more and more on what is our
land, the land is being fenced, woods are being cleared, fields are being
plowed, and these plants are disappearing. Also, many Indian Doctors cannot
go their traditional place for obtaining such plants because of fear of
being arrested for trespassing.
In addition, as the younger people become more and more involved with
white culture, they refuse to learn the old ways, preferring to go to the
modern hospitals and use the medicines they obtain there. Many of the
traditional Cherokee and Creek healers are now elderly, and few of the young
people are willing to dedicate the years it takes to learn the traditional
medicine ways of their tribe.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
[CUSTOM]: SAVE YOUR HERITAGE, BUCKLE UP!
--- VFIDO 6.20.00 Gamma Candidate 5 Origin: -=} CyberZone {=- (1:147/59)
--------- "RE: Planned Destruction of Cherokee Site" ---------
Date: Jun-12-94 20:22:02
From: Tom Kunesh (tom.kunesh@f122.n362.z1.fidonet.org)
Subject: FLASH! Planned Destruction of Cherokee Site
NEWS FLASH!!! for immediate release and action!!!
date: sunday, 12 june 1994
from: CITA - the Chattanooga InterTribal Association
-= CLEVELAND CITY OFFICIALS PROPOSE TO DESTROY FAMOUS CHEROKEE SITE =-
The City of Cleveland, Tennessee (about 30 miles northeast of Chattanooga),
wants a bigger airport. But instead of expanding their existing facilities
and condemning some 40 houses, they want to build a new airport on existing
farmland -- either the Beeler Ridge Site or the New Tasso Site.
The problem, as farmers John and Jack Moore, and local Native Americans see
it, is that the Beeler Site on the John Moore farm contains -= Rattlesnake
Springs =- -- site of the last Council meeting of the Cherokee Nation prior
to their "removal", -and- the remains of the "stockade" -- the concentration
camp used to warehouse the 13,000 Cherokee slated for then-President Andrew
Jackson's program of racial cleansing, and also significant Cherokee burial
grounds, -and- is the trail head of the "Trail of Tears". Rattlesnake Springs
is on the National Register of Historic Places and, according to local
Native Americans and CITA, should be preserved intact and in toto. The land
is currently owned by John Moore (Beeler Ridge Site) and his cousin, Jack
Moore (New Tasso Site), whose families have owned and farmed the land for 7
generations.
Tomorrow, Monday, 13 June 1994, the Cleveland TN City Commission is
scheduled to meet to discuss the proposed Airport construction. Meeting
times are scheduled for 11:00 am EST and 3:00 pm EST.
This information just came to us this afternoon.
-= Your help to save Rattlesnake Springs is urgently needed. =-
Please call:
Mayor Tom Rowland 615/ 476-8931
190 Church Street NE, Cleveland TN 37312
- or -
the Cleveland Community Development office 615/ 559-3330
- and express your opinion about Tennessee's continued desire to
"develop"/destroy land of significant importance to the Cherokee, keeping in
mind that the Cherokee were "removed" from this land specifically so that
there wouldn't be any problems of this kind for the White settlers.
Plans are still rolling to build an amphitheater for historical dramas on
Moccasin Bend in Chattanooga - site of over 1100 opened Cherokee (and
earlier) graves and what may be most significant ancient Native American
cultural site in the southeastern United States.
Your help is appreciated.
- tom kunesh, CITA public relations committee 615/ 267-1635
--- MacWoof 1.5.3
Origin: ... think radically, act logically ... (1:362/122.29@fidonet)
--------- "RE: Mohawk Mandate" ---------
Date: Jun-14-94 22:24:00
From: John Cross The River (john.cross.the.river@f502.n167.z1,fidonet.org)
Subject: Mandate
Long ago , when the Creator made all things for us to enjoy Life, He knew
that we would have many problems throughout the world with much suffering
along the way on this path called life on Earth.
So being of Omnipotent Wisdom he provided solutions to our problems,
knowing full well in our weaknesses we would miss many of the answers. This
is why he instilled within the nations of the world the Answers. No one
nation has all the solutions to all the problems, each and every Nation in
their primordial memory holds a Key.
Of all the Nations in existence the Mohawks are one of them, we like the
other nations have a "Mandate" from the Creator to fulfill in this level of
existence of our lives. Very few know what that mandate is,but those that do
know give a "warning" that incorporating a "Cassino" into our lives here in
Kahnawake will take the Nation further from the path which we were intended
to walk on to give the "KEY" to the other Nations of the world. In fact, the
Mohawks of Kahnawake are the last hope. If they fail, then the great Plan
that was designed for this planet will have to change.So let us hope that
the people reject the Cassino for this is the hope of the Creator for his
people for he has much greater plans for them. So be it, in the Great Law it
is Good.
Onen, John Cross the River, June 13, 1994
--- SLMAIL v4.0 (#1349)
Origin: Igloo Station (514) 632-5556 (1:167/502)
--------- "RE: Lumbee Continue Efforts for Recognition" ---------
Date: 94/06/21 04:28
From: Gayle Swanson (lady.vike@genie.geis.com) <Invisible Band>
Subj: Lumbee Continue Efforts for Recognition
GE Electronic Mail
CHARLOTTE OBSERVER (and Associated Press), June 20, 1994
LUMBEE INDIANS FEELING OPTIMISTIC
o NC-based Native American group keeping efforts for federal recognition on
the front burner.
After more than a century of trying to win federal recognition and a
voice in local politics, North Carolina Lumbee Indians say the tide might be
turning in their favor.
The 43,000 member Lumbee tribe is the largest in the eastern United
States. This summer, it's preparing to form its first tribal government,
watch its first candidate take office, and get another chance at federal
recognition.
"This is going to be the year of the Lumbee Indian," predicted Ruth
Locklear, one of the drafters of a constitution the tribe will vote on next
week.
The Lumbees are concentrated in Robeson County -- where 42% of the
population is Native American -- with large pockets in Greensboro and
Charlotte. Their struggle for federal status, which began in 1888, is still
being waged in the halls of Congress.
Sen. Lauch Faircloth, R-NC, has announced his support of a bill
giving the tribe federal recognition, which could provide members
educational and health benefits.
Fellow Republican, Sen. Jesse Helms, a vocal opponent of
recognition, has helped defeat past versions of the bill through tactical
maneuvers on the Senate floor.
Helms has argued that Lumbee recognition would require a new
government bureaucracy and cost up to $100 million per year.
A final vote on the bill is expected this summer. The Clinton Admini-
stration does not oppose the Lumbee recognition.
Meanwhile, a public hearing was held over the weekend on a
constitution that would set up tribal council elections and the first formal
government. Straw polls across the state suggest it has a strong chance of
passing when balloting begins next Monday (June 27th).
The first Lumbee to win a county wide race will be sworn in as clerk
of the court in Robeson County on July 1. More significant was the May
runoff for sheriff, in which Lumbee candidate Glenn Maynor clinched the
Democratic nomination -- virtually assuring his election this fall.
"The sheriff's office is The Big Enchilada. That's the top
political office in the county," said Connie Brayboy, editor of the Carolina
Indian Voice in Pembroke.
The turnout by Lumbee voters in the May elections -- a phenomenal
65% -- is one measure of the momentum the tribe has achieved this year, a
momentum expected to help carry the proposed constitution later this month.
LUMBEE FACTS
The Lumbee tribe has 43,000 members concentrated in Robeson County, with
pockets of several thousand in Greensboro, Charlotte and Baltimore. They
make up 10% of nonreservation Native Americans in the United States.
Here are some key dates in the tribe's history:
o 1885: Recognized by the State of North Carolina
o 1887: First Lumbee school began in Pembroke
o 1924: Lumbees granted U.S. citizenship
o 1956: Congress bars aid to Lumbees through the Bureau of Indian Affairs
or the Indian Health Service.
o 1992: Federal recognition fails by two votes.
o 1994: Tribe members prepare to vote on a constitution.
--------- "RE: Poem: Tobacco Dance" ---------
Date: Wed, 15 Jun 94 19:49:32 GMT
From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart)
Subj: Tobacco Dance
Newsgroup: alt.native
Sparks
fly from my feet
as I went whirling into the winds
as I went dancing upon the stones
as I sang to my toes
my belly was hot
and the sun touched the golden brown earth
of the desert
where my heart beats
and offers the rhythms I need
to remember
my dreaming
dancing in an old place
dancing in an old way
inside my skin
I have gone all around myself
(Tobacco Dance)
Turtle Heart turtle@soft21.s21.com (Ahnishinabeg)
American Indian Computer Art Project BBS 619-374-2100
Land of Kaw-ii-su ancestor: Land of Light
--------- "RE: Hawai'ian Sovereignty Gathering Momentum" ---------
Date: Tue Jun 14, 1994 at 23:09 EDT
From: PANTHER (Panther@genie.geis.com)
Subj: Hawai'ian Sovereignty Gathering Momentum
MOVEMENT FOR HAWAIIAN SOVEREIGNTY GATHERING MOMENTUM 5/25/94
MAKAPUU, Hawaii -- An ancient Hawaiian heiau, a sacred burial ground, on
this spectacular stretch of coastline northeast of Honolulu is covered by
a marine park and museum.
Over another burial site nearby is a state-built bathhouse and toilets
for the tourists who come to enjoy the bodysurfing and pristine beach.
Now hundreds of Native Hawaiians have made their own mark on the land,
erecting a tent city to defy state laws and to occupy a third sacred
ancestral resting place along the beach.
''We are Hawaiians and asserting our rights as Hawaiians to live where we
choose,'' said Bonnie Silva, 30, outside the open tent where she and her
husband, John, have lived for the past year. ''We're going to stay here.
These are our sacred sites.''
The Silvas, whose islander ancestors intermarried with Portuguese and
Spanish sugar cane workers, are part of a growing political, cultural and
spiritual movement demanding self-rule and land for Native Hawaiians.
Dismissed as dreamers a few short years ago, pro-sovereignty forces are
in ascendancy across Hawaii, where mounting civil disobedience is fueled
by impatience with unfulfilled government promises of homelands for
descendants of native islanders.
The issue gained national attention last year when Gov. John Waihee, a
Native Hawaiian, ordered the American flag lowered and the state flag
flown over Iolani Palace to mark the centennial of the U.S.-backed
overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani that ended more than 2,000 years of
Hawaiian self-rule.
Since then, activists seeking a semi-autonomous or independent Hawaiian
nation have stepped up land occupations and other actions challenging the
authority of what they regard as an illegal state.
''It is our land, they've stolen it, and they're not about to return
their stolen goods. That's what the struggle is all about,'' said Dr.
Kakune Blaisdell, professor of medicine at the University of Hawaii
Medical School and a leading independence advocate.
Activist Dennis ''Bumpy'' Kanahele and his Ohana Council, among the most
militant of the island's more than 40 self-rule groups, fanned out along
Waikiki beach and Honolulu's airport earlier this year to urge stunned
tourists to go home.
On Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii, some residents declaring themselves
kanaka maoli, indigenous or true Hawaiians, are refusing to pay for water
provided through the local water system.
Others sport ''Kingdom of Hawaii'' license plates on their cars in
defiance of the state. The largest of the pro-sovereignty groups, Ka
Lahui, or Hawaiian Nation, has set up a shadow government, advocating a
''nation within a nation'' autonomy similar to that of Native American
reservations on the U.S. mainland.
On Makapuu beach, brothers Allen and Maltbie Napoleon, Native Hawaiians
who claim descendance from the offspring of a Tahitian princess and
Napoleon Bonaparte's brother Lucien, rent out boogie boards and snorkeling
gear from an unlicensed stand under an upside-down Hawaiian flag, a
symbol used by the sovereignty movement.
They were run off Waikiki's beach after they refused to pay the license
fee. Now they defy state efforts to shut them down at Makapuu. ''It's a
Hawaiian Thing,'' reads the message on the front of their stand.
With opinion polls showing most residents support some sort of self-rule,
the state plans a plebiscite on the issue next year and hopes to convene
the equivalent of a constitutional convention to determine what form
sovereignty might take and how to achieve it.
So far that has been the chief stumbling block for a movement riven by
rivalries and infighting over tactics and goals.
''There are few today who doubt that sovereignty will happen,'' Gov.
Waihee declared earlier this year. ''It is a matter of how, when and in
what form.''
Pro-sovereignty forces reached a milestone earlier this month when the
U.S. Navy turned over control of the small island of Kahoolawe to the
state after an 18-year legal and political battle.
Long used for target practice, it now will be held in trust for a future
sovereign Hawaiian nation. But it will take $400 million and years to
clean the island of ordnance so Hawaiians can settle there.
More than 1 million Hawaiian natives populated the islands when Capt.
James Cook landed in 1778. Afflicted by dismal health standards, low
educational levels and widespread poverty, full-blooded Native Hawaiians
now total 10,000 and as a people, might no longer exist in 50 years. Some
200,000 of the state's 1.2 million residents claim some Hawaiian
ancestry.
Sovereignty advocates say living in a world transformed first by
Christian missionaries and then by a modern superpower into a tourist
haven with commercial values is at odds with traditional Hawaiian aloha
aina, love for the land.
Hoping to save a dying people by returning some of the land taken from
them in what President Grover Cleveland acknowledged was the illegal 1893
U.S. seizure of the islands, Congress passed the Hawaiian Homes
Commission Act in 1921 to set aside 200,000 acres of scattered tracts.
The lands were to be leased for 99 years at $1 a year to state residents
who were 50 percent or more Hawaiian.
Since then, Native Hawaiians have been dying, literally, waiting to
settle those homelands. In 73 years, fewer than 5,000 families from the
tens of thousands on waiting lists have received homesteads.
More than 1,000 others have been awarded lots but denied permission to
move onto them because the lots lacked water, sewage systems and other
infrastructure the state is supposed to build. Some 16,000 families
remain on the list today.
Meanwhile, the cash-strapped state Department of Hawaiian Homelands has
rented most of the land to a variety of interests, including
multinational corporations, the U.S. military, resort developers and some
of Hawaii's richest and most powerful families.
Civil rights attorney Keone Agard's grandfather died after 40 years on
the waiting list without receiving his land. ''What Hawaiians got was all
the barren land with no water and no money to develop the properties,''
said Agard, now an analyst for the homelands department. ''It was a farce
from the outset.''
Last year President Clinton signed legislation formally apologizing for
the U.S. role in the 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy. But his
failure to address reparations or recognition rankles in Hawaii. The low
point came when Clinton recently welcomed more than 200 Native American
leaders to the White House but snubbed Native Hawaiians.
--------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" ---------
Date: 94/06/19 19:54
From: Kepola (dfsanders@genie.geis.com) <Invisible Band>
Subj: A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 26-July 2
GE Electronic Mail
A HAWAI'IAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 26-July 2.
IUNE
(June)
(Kaaona)
26
Be one with the winds, and give your spirit wings!
27
The gifted storyteller brings the past to life.
28
In the chant of the ages lies the secret heart of the people.
29
The mountains stand like sentinels above my valley.
30
All space and time live within me.
IULAI
(July)
(Hinaiaeleele)
July was the month in which the ohia fruit began to ripen.
1
I am the moon's child, born of starlight and dewfall.
2
The beauty of the wilderness renews my spirit.
(c) Copyright 1991 by D. F. Sanders
Me ke aloha i ka nani, ... Moe'uhanekeanuenue
(With love and beauty, ... Rainbow Dream)
--------- "RE: Conferences and Powwows - offline" ---------
Date: Thu, 23 June 94 08:00 -0500
From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) <Invisible Band> (jans@genie.geis.com)
Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows not previously posted
to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L
GE Electronic Mail
=POWWOWS=
From the Internet and commercial on-line services:
Sender: news@ultb.isc.rit.edu (USENET News System)
Black Creek Native American Powwow
Two Weekends - Sat and Sun June 25 + 26
- Fri thru Mon, July 1,2,3,4
Six days of dancing, storytelling, game demostrations and native art
Hosted by Ver Hulst
Cobble Creek Farm
5161 West Ridge Road
NY (7 miles west of Greece Ridge Mall)
Ph: 723-8344
=:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:=
Sender: daemon@gnosys.svle.ma.us (Admin)
Original Sender: John Berry 301-443-5988 FAX 301-443-6385
12th ANNUAL POW WOW AND FESTIVAL - July 2,3
Garrett County Fairgrounds, Rt. 219, McHenry, MD
INFO. - write AIITCO, Twinbrook Station, POB 775
Rockville, MD 20848-0775
HOST DRUM: CEDAR TREE SINGERS
MC: Ezra Fields (Pawnee)
HEAD MAN DANCER: Clint Cayou (Omaha)
HEAD LADY DANCER: Lisa Drum (Omaha)
NATIVE AMERICAN SINGING, DRUMMING, DANCING, FOOD, ARTS & CRAFTS
ADULTS: $4.00, Children under 12: FREE, FREE PARKING
CAMPING ON SITE FOR PARTICIPANTS ONLY
NO ALCOHOL, DRUGS OR PETS
HANDICAPPED PARKING & SEATING AVAILABLE
For non-participant lodging or local info. contact (301)334-1948
AMERICAN INDIAN "POW WOW" AND FESTIVAL - July 2,3
Arcadia Volunteer Fire Fighters Co. Fairground, Upperco, MD 21155
HOST DRUM: Lords of the Plains - Lawton, Oklahoma
MC: Otto Mansetky (Commanche) Lawton, Oklahoma
DANCE COMPETITION: > $8,000.00 in Prize Money
NATIVE AMERICAN DANCING, DRUM COMPETITION, FOOD, ARTS & CRAFTS
AZTEC DANCERS - from Mexico City
WORLD LONGBOW CHAMPION - Sam Zimmerman, coach of 1996 Olympic Team
HISTORIAN - Harold Dillinger
ADMISSION: Adults $5.00, Children (5-12) $3.00
INFO.: (717)632-5246
=:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:=
From: "Mary.Ojibway" <msu.edu!20676MKB>
Subject: Ashishnabe Pow Wow
The Lansing (Michigan) North American Indian Center is having their "17th
Annual Anishnabe Pow Wow : Honoring the Generations" June 18 & 19 at Lake
Lansing Park North in Haslett, Michigan. Head Veteran Dancer: Jack Chambers;
Head Man Dancer: Andre D'Artagnan ; Head Woman Dancer : Rosie DeLand ; Host
Drum : Two Hawks Singers. Special children's activities tent open from 2-5
on Saturday for stories/arts/crafts. Traditional, family oriented pow wow.
Come by the kids tent and visit me! Adults (non-senior) $3.00. Seniors and
children $1.00.
=:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:=
From: <Art> a.horovitch@genie.geis.com
Abenaki celebration at Odenak (near Sorel, Que.) on July 1-4. The main
activiies occur on Sunday, starting with an inter-nation march, followed by
exhibitions,crafts sales, a presentation of Abenaki dances, story-telling
and totem carving. Information: Rick or Donna O'Bomsawin (514)-568-5551 or
(514)-568-0869.
The traditional spiritual gathering at Kahnesatake (Oka). July 8-11.
I have attended this one for two years now, and it is excellent for a more
traditional gathering, and away from some of the pow-wow competition dances.
(great for local color and meeting some of the Mohawks first hand, but
somewhat thin on the more spiritual aspect.) It had usually been held in the
Commons area of the Pines, but according to my sources at Kahnesatake, it
may be moved to the area south of highway 344 between the Lemennais school
and the Lake of Two mountains. More details as they become available.
Pow-wow at Kahnewake July 8-10. This is THE big one in southern Quebec. It
was attended by 15-20,000 people last year. It is a great place to meet the
Mohawks, see some spectacular costumes at the dance competition, and peruse
the craft stands. The artists are extremely friendly, and you are encouraged
to ask questions about what you see. They are eager to share.
Info at (514)-632-8667
=:=:=:=:<>:=:<>:=:<>:=:=:=:=
Sender: [Eric] e.bow@genie.geis.com
There is a K-W First Nations Pow Wow scheduled for the Kitchener Auditorium
June 18 & 19 that sounds interesting!
From: shupe@crazyhorse.rchland.ibm.com (Jim Shupe)
Subject: Pow-wow List
Oglala College Grads June 23-26
Kyle, SD 605/455-2323
Honor the Fire Keepers Jun 24-26
Lake Geneva, WI 414/472-7748
12th Anishnabe Way Jun 24-26
Hayward, WI 715/634-5806
17th Great Lakes June 25-26
Hannahville, MI 906/466-2342
Strengthening Our Traditions July1-3
Sault ST. Marie, MI 906/635-6050
Red Lake Nation Jul 1-4
Red Lake, MN 218/679-3341
16th Red Cliff July 1-3
Red Cliff, WI 715/779-5746
From the Fidonet:
From: Frosty Deere
POUNDMAKER POW-WOW
JULY 15 -- 17, 1994
POUNDMAKER CREE NATION
CONTACT 306-398-4971
ENOCH ANNUAL POW-WOW
10 MINUTES EAST OF EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA
JULY 15 -- 17, 1994
CONTACT 403-470-4471
WHITEFISH BAY POW-WOW
JULY 8 -- 10, 1994
CONTACT 807-226-5411
HANNAHVILE, MI
JUNE 25 & 26, 1994
CONTACT 906-466-2342
MUSKEG LAKE POW-WOW
JULY 29 -- 31, 1994
CONTACT 306-466-4959
ALEXIS FIRST NATION POW-WOW
JULY 8 -- 10, 1994
CONTACT 967-2225 ( SORRY NO AREA CODE LISTED )
Send notices of forthcoming powwows, conferences and gatherings to:
jans@genie.geis.com
gars@netcom.com