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The Dann Sisters and the Situation of the Western Shoshone
The story of two elderly Western Shoshone women who resist the
U.S. government and insist on their right to graze livestock on
aboriginal Shoshone land has received much attention nationally
and internationally. In Oct 1994, PBI's North America Project
sent an exploratory team for a visit to find out more about the
Western Shoshone struggle. Together, Alain Richard, Ulli
Laubenthal, Jack Ross and Carmen Fraser travelled hundreds of
miles throughout Nevada to introduce PBI, to listen to the
stories told by Western Shoshone and non-native people and to
report to the NAP committee on the potential for PBI
involvement. This is the story of a First Nation's revived
struggle for existence and sovereignty, confronting powerful
financial and political interests.
Some Historical Background
Before Europeans came to America, the Shoshone numbered about
60,000 and lived throughout a large area extending from what is
now Southern California through Nevada into parts of Idaho and
Utah. They travelled widely during the summer to hunt and
gather, but would spend the dry winter in clan groups around
various springs. In the spring and fall, representatives from
all the clans gathered together - these were spiritual
gatherings as well as meetings for decision-making.
After the European conquest of the Americas, Shoshone lands were
first claimed by Spain and later Mexico. In 1848, after the
United States defeated Mexico, Shoshone territory came under
official control of the United States. Discovery of gold in 1848
in California caused a westward migration of european settlers,
who travelled directly through Shoshone territory.
In seeking to negotiate with the various Shoshone peoples, the
U.S. divided the Shoshone people into five groups - the Western,
Eastern, Northwestern, Lemhi and Goshute - and signed treaties
with each group in 1863. The Treaty of Ruby Valley was signed
between the Western Shoshone and the United States, allowing
safe passage of US citizens through the territory. The treaty
also allowed railroad, mining and timber activities. According
to the Shoshone, when the treaty was signed they did not imagine
that so many people were going to come and live on their lands.
They also say that the treaty contained many words which they
did not understand and which did not exist in the Shoshone
language.
For the US, however, the treaty was a signal to begin the
exploitation of the region's resources. Minerals were discovered
and mining began. The bull pine and juniper forests which had
been thick were cut down to construct the mines. The railroad
was built through Nevada, for which the government sold off
large amounts of land. Following the Civil War, soldiers who
hadn't been paid were given land in the west to begin
homesteads. The railway also sold some of its land to farmers.
The remaining land was designated as public lands under federal
control, administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Today this still makes up 85% of Nevada's lands.
Alongside of this process, the Euroamerican ways of life,
beliefs and laws became the dominant culture. Europeans settled
near the springs where Shoshone homes had been, causing the
Shoshone to become homeless. Many Shoshone were forced onto
reservations. Yet, by scattering when US soldiers came to round
them up, many of them were able to remain on their land. Some
started living in colonies near the towns established by whites,
while others congregated around ranches.
The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 forced the Indians to
establish a new form of government known as the IRA system and
assigned the U.S. as trustee of the reservation lands. Because
not all Indians lived on reservations, only a part of the
Western Shoshone came under the IRA governments. With the
traditional settlement patterns changing and pressure from a
series of U.S. laws, the clan system, a primary basis for
Shoshone government, was slowly lost.
In 1946, the U.S. passed the Indian Claims Commission Act. It
was designed to clear up any outstanding land title disputes
with respect to the Indians and to pay for the land that had
been taken from them and damages done to them. It was under this
Act that the Temoak Tribes, a group within the Western Shoshone,
filed a land claim to obtain payment for their land. They were
heavily criticized by other Shoshone tribes because the Western
Shoshone had never ceded their land, either through a treaty or
through losing a war. However, the Indian Claims Commission
(ICC) determined that the land had been taken - by gradual
encroachment of whites. This finding allowed the ICC to choose
1872 as the year the encroachment process was completed and
establish the value of the land at the time of its taking.
By the time the government was ready to pay the Shoshone at 1872
prices, the Shoshone were determined to refuse any money and
maintain their title to the land. In 1979, the government
transferred $26 million from the Treasury to the Secretary of
the Interior, who accepted the money "on behalf" of the Shoshone
as their trustee. The Shoshone appealed this action, but the
court ruled that the transfer of money represented payment and
therefore, the Western Shoshone had lost their rights to the
land.
In 1982, traditional government of the Western Shoshone was
formalized as the Western Shoshone National Council (WSNC). The
Council consisted mainly of traditional tribes and bands not
recognized under the IRA system, but included some IRA
governments and offered participation to non-represented
Shoshone. In striving for recognition as the government of an
independent nation, the Council circulated a declaration of
sovereignty, issued its own passport, appointed marshals and an
envoy in Europe and began to hold gatherings at the Dann Ranch.
Chief Raymond Yowell is the current Chair of the WSNC.
In the non-native community, a movement called Wise Use has been
growing among Nevadans and residents of other western states to
gain local control of public land from the federal government.
People feel resentment toward the federal government which
dictates from afar how they should use their land. Mistrustful
of outsiders - some counties have formed citizen groups to
control immigration from the south - this movement's position
relative to the Shoshone struggle for sovereignty is unclear.
Currently, consultations are taking place between the U.S.
government and the different Shoshone bands and tribes about how
to settle the land rights question. The negotiations are held in
secret, and while the government mostly wants to talk about the
distribution of the money they set aside, Shoshone leaders
insist that they want to talk about land. However, many Shoshone
individuals, who do not believe they will get the land back
anyway, would be willing to accept the money to relieve
difficult economic conditions.
The Dann Case
Carrie and Mary Dann are the leaders of the Dann Band in
Crescent Valley, Nevada. They live on the Dann Ranch, which has
cattle and horses that graze on the surrounding land. In October
1973, the BLM (Bureau of Land Management, administrators of
federal lands) sued the Danns for trespass, for exceeding their
grazing permit by 332 cattle.
The permits issued by the BLM are for a certain number of
animals and months per year. Having more animals for a longer
time or grazing outside the official grazing season is
considered to be "overgrazing". As there are few fences and no
particular places for each rancher's cattle, overgrazing is not
determined by the state of the land, but rather the politics of
land ownership.
>From 1974 to 1991, the Dann case went through many courts. The
Danns maintained the land they used had been recognized under
the Treaty of Ruby Valley as Shoshone aboriginal territory, and
challenged the U.S. to prove its ownership of the land. After
many contradictory rulings and appeals, the case ultimately
reached the Supreme Court which ruled that aboriginal rights had
been extinguished. At that point, Carrie Dann says she has lost
all faith in the American court system and decided on peaceful
resistance. According to Chief Raymond Yowell, Chair of the WSNC
(Western Shoshone National Council), the Dann case has become a
test case for the Shoshone's rights to the land.
Recently, the WSNC established a national security zone around
the Dann Ranch, and formed the Western Shoshone Defense Project
(WSDP) to protect it. Most of the volunteers in the WSDP are
non-native supporters, but they follow the leadership of native
people. The volunteers are committed to nonviolence, which they
define as not being aggressive and not hurting people.
In 1988, the Alves family bought the neighbouring Dean ranch,
where they raise quarter horses and have cattle. Maynard Alves
has sued the BLM to force them to take action against the Dann
sisters, because of their overgrazing of federal land and his
own private land. According to Alves, he has been forced to feed
hay to his cattle and horses, which is very expensive, and has
also had to take on different jobs to earn extra money. He feels
caught in the middle of the conflict, and did not know about the
conflict when he bought the ranch.
Recent Chronology of Events
In June 1991, the BLM sent a notice to all livestock permittees
saying that all non-authorized livestock could be impounded
within 30 days. Between November 1991 and February 1992, the
Danns through a contractor gathered about 1800 horses and sold
them. The BLM later gathered another 161 horses.
On April 10, 1992, the BLM tried to confiscate 25 head of Dann
cattle that were grazing before the beginning of the official
grazing season. When the cattle were gathered in a corral to be
loaded on a truck, Carrie Dann got into the corral, so that the
cattle could not be driven onto the truck without risking harm
to her. After some negotiation, BLM District Manager Rod Harris
gave the order to release the cattle. Later, he was heavily
criticized for that decision, which he says was made out of a
concern for Carrie's safety.
On November 20, 1992, the BLM rounded up 269 horses in Crescent
Valley. Many federal police were present when they tried to
leave with the first load of horses. Clifford Dann, the brother
of Carrie and Mary, poured gasoline over himself and threatened
to set himself on fire if they did not turn the horses loose. An
ensuing scuffle to separate Dann from the lighter resulted in
gasoline getting on a police officer, and in Clifford being
hurt. No fire occurred, but Clifford was convicted in federal
court of having assaulted a federal officer and spent nine
months in jail before being released on probation.
The WSDP says that in the case of another round-up, its task
would be to stop the BLM from taking away cattle or horses until
the Dann sisters or Chief Raymond Yowell could arrive to
negotiate. They are concerned about the possibility that the BLM
might come with a lot of police again and use violence to take
the animals away.
In April 1993, a BLM pickup with three people drove on a road
6-8 miles north from the Dann ranch. They were stopped by two
cars from the WSDP, and asked about their business. Being
outnumbered by people who appeared strong and determined, the
BLM people chose to avoid a physical confrontation and drove
away. They were followed for several miles. There have been
several other reports of Dann supporters confronting people
telling them to get out, and threatening them. At one point,
Maynard Alves was confronted by Dann supporters, and fired his
automatic gun in the air.
We understand that both the BLM and the Danns and their
supporters are concerned about possible acts of violence around
the Dann case. Yet, independently from each other, both Rod
Harris, District Manager of the BLM, and Carrie Dann made the
statement that this whole issue was not worth hurting or killing
a single person. The BLM employees we met with do recognize that
it is not possible to resolve the local problem without
resolving the source of the problem. But they are not authorized
to deal with land rights issues, and their regulations impede
them from efficiently addressing cultural and spiritual issues
that result in conflict.
The Mining Issue
Crescent Valley is also home to the Cortez Gold Mine whose
operations are located about four miles south of the Dean Ranch.
Mining, the most important economic activity in the area,
supports many shops, restaurants, transportation enterprises and
other industries. The mining company wants to extract a recently
discovered gold ore body by open pit mining. To prevent water
from filling the pit, Cortez would need to lower the groundwater
level by pumping. Bound by law to promote mining, the BLM is
currently receiving public comment on its Environmental Impact
Statement for the project.
Because the mine dewatering could affect wells at both the Dean
Ranch and the Dann Ranch, in this issue Maynard Alves is an ally
of the Danns. He approached Chief Raymond Yowell to suggest they
join efforts to oppose the mine dewatering. According to both
Alves and the WSDP, the cooperation in the struggle against the
mine has decreased the tension that existed between them around
the grazing issue.
Two Levels of Conflict
On the surface level of this conflict is the Dann case. PBI may
have a role in decreasing the violence in confrontations arising
from this issue.
However, this is just one part of the underlying, or source
conflict. By an overwhelming process of assimilation, backed by
violence and political power, US Americans have taken use of the
land away from the Western Shoshone. The Shoshone now wish to
reclaim what they consider to be their legal and sovereign
rights over the land. On both sides of the conflict, the land is
an essential part of their livelihood and culture.
The situation might very well remain calm in the future, but
this would not mean an absence of violence: the lack of
political autonomy, cultural and spiritual self-determination
and economic opportunity is a form of violence from which the
Shoshone have been suffering for some time. Creating space for
nonviolent change in this context is part of our ongoing
challenge.
The Project Committee of the North America Project is currently
evaluating the findings of the team. Although our understanding
of the situation is still limited, we have gained some basic
knowledge which would help us to act quickly if we received a
request from any of the groups involved in this conflict. We
hope that our visit to Nevada has helped people there to
understand about PBI and its possible roles and limitations, so
that they can choose to request our presence if they feel it
would be helpful.