I did a quick NEXIS search and came up with the following:
*New York Times* October 5, 1994, p.A18:
"The Nez Perce Indians have lived in this valley for thousands of years,
their reservation overlaps private land being used for Almost Heaven. MARY
TALL BULL, a Nez Perce, met with Mr. Gritz (rhymes with bites) recently and
voiced a number of concerns.
in peace and friendship and he shook my hand," she said. It was, to some
Indians, a throwback to the days when whites would come into Indian
territory, shake hands with the locals, and then steal most of the land. Ms.
he Indians of this valley will not be easily swayed.
"Our main concern are the white supremacists who follow him," Ms. Tall Bull
said. "I asked him if he would be responsible for those people and their
actions. he said he would. We'll see."
FROM National Public Radio's Weekend Edition (Transcript #1091-6):
(Note from JHS: This transcript deals mostly with the local reaction, which
has been pretty oppositional. In fact, a human rights watchdog group was
formed in response to Gritz' presence (I think Mary Tall Bull is an
officer).)
LEY GARNETT (NPR Reporter): . . . [T]he Nez Perce tribe has gone on record
in opposition to Gritz's settlement. The tribal council says the Nez Perce
have had good relations with their neighbors, and its afraid Gritz will
polarize the community. Tribal activist Mary Tall Bull says she's met
several times with Gritz to express her concern. . . "
MARY TALL BULL: They have to accept us for who we are, and accept the
community, the reservation people, everybody the way things are. Like I toldf
him too, in a meeting, if you want change, stay where you are and change
things where you are. We like things the way they are now."
The press clippings that I've read paint Gritz as an anti-government, pro-
gun, anti-gay, and possibly racist Christian reactionary who wants to set
up his own little patch of paradise. Some articles allude to his belief that
the world will end in 1996, or at least things will get nastier. Per-
sonally, I can tell you that Gritz created a big stir here at UMass in 1992
when he made a stop here on his presidential campaign trail for the ultra-
right, white supermacist Populist Party. I didn't attend his speech, but
did hear that he put out a lot of very conservative, reactionary ideas that
riled some African-American and gay and lesbain folks on campus. The people
who are buying into his "development" are mostly graduates of SPIKE, which
stand for Specially Prepared Individuals for Key Events; it is an intensive
paramiltary survival course that Gritz teaches. I hate to make snap judgments,
but this sounds like just another wave of crazy, paranoid white folks.
I have other cites and info on Gritz if anyone's interested.
For more info or comments,
John H. Stevens
University of Massachusetts at Boston
8859JSTEV@umbsky.cc.umb.edu
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