Articles appearing have been previously posted for public dissemination
and/or permission for inclusion has been secured.
Letters of authorization are on file. A list of those granting permission
to repost their words in this issue are listed at the end of part A.
I thank each of you for allowing your words to be shared with the people.
<----<<<< >>>>---->
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 is archived at the Native American FTP site ftp.cit.cornell.edu
in the directory /pub/special/NativeProfs/newsletters; and part A
is being sent to the NATIVE-L mailing list, one of the NativeNet
lists managed by Gary Trujillo (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us). It is also
echoed on AISESnet, IND-NET, and EIRP listservers and archived by
AISESnet.
Thanks to Marc Becker, mbecker@uclink2.berkeley.edu, issues of Wotanging
Ikche/Kanoheda Aniyvwiya are now being archived at a World-Wide-Web site.
The URL is http://ukanaix.cc.ukans.edu/~marc/journals/nanews/
This is a test site, and at some point in the future the location of these
files will change.
Thanks to Phil Duran, duranp@wsuvm1.csc.wsu.edu, issues are now being
archived at the Washington State University gopher in the following
directory:
gopher.wsu.edu /WSU Campuses Info /Public Services /Native Peoples
"The earth is our mother. She should not be disturbed by hoe or plough.
We want only to subsist on what she freely gives us."
__ Chief Joseph, Nee-Mee-Poo
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
| 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
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
O'siyo Brothers and Sisters!
Sweet Grass Hills of Montana and Sacred to Blackfeet, Assiniboine,
Plains Cree, Salish, Kootenai and Gros Ventre has a problem. Besides
being one of the single most productive places on our Mother for the
Sacred Sweet Grass, it also contains gold. Gold mining interests lust
after and have filed claim to. Gold that can only be strip mined.
Wounded Knee gleams equally large in the eyes of the National Park
Service. It will become, not a place to mourn past crimes and offer
prayer, but a monument of kiosks for sandaled feet and hot dog wrappers.
Write your congressional representatives today. Tell them these things
must not happen. Ask them to oppose the desecration of these Sacred places.
Peace! Night Owl
, , Gary Night Owl gars@genie.geis.com
(*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@netcom.com
(`-') Marietta, GA 30067, U.S.A. gars@igc.apc.org
===w=w=== NativeNet Node 90:133/2501 FidoNet 1:133/2501
----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------
Part A: Usenet and e-mail Part B: NATCHAT and NATIVE-L lists
- Power of the Children - Conferences and Powwows - online
- The Tribes Need Heroes - Native Youth Summer Program
- Round Valley Update - Peabody Kayenta Mine Permit
- Indian Owned Business - Davis Inlet Progress
- Oneida Nation Police Support Community - Native America Calling
- Indians and Mestizos in the Americas
- Wounded Knee 1995 Update
- More Interesting Story
- Indian/Blood Quantum Question
- Poem: Gathering Feathers
- Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days
- Conferences and Powwows - offline
--------- "RE: Power of the Children" ---------
Date: Fri Jun 2 18:30:59 1995
From: KEESH@aol.com
Subj: Power of the Children
UUCP email
I give you the following story to do with as you wish except to change it
of course.
At a sacred ceremony, while one of the elders was praying and talking to us
(200 or so folks at this outdoor gathering), he addressed the tree spirits
and thanked them for what they provide for us. He continued to praise those
helpful spirits, but even though he was standing not two feet from me, I
could not hear the rest of his talk until he was almost finished.
I heard a noise in the needles and in the leaves of the trees above my head.
I looked up to see thousands of tiny lights or sparkles. They were coming
out of the trees and were dancing about 60 to 100 feet above our heads. I
tried to look away for an instant to see if anyone else was looking at them,
but I was not able to turn my head away. Those spirits told me to tell the
children to pray for their parents.
I was very frightened at the whole situation and I began to cry (which is my
response to just about everything including tv commercials). Those happy and
powerful spirits danced around the whole time that one elder was talking.
Just about the time he was finished, I was able to move my head to look away
from the treetops.
My brother and other relatives noticed that I was affected in some way and
moved toward me. I waved them off because I did not want to leave the
circle, and I knew I could not form words to tell them what had happened.
After a few hours, I was able to tell the leader of the tribe that we were
visiting what had happened. I asked her what I should do about it. She
asked what I thought I should do. So, I took about fifteen of the children
upstream a little ways and told them what had happened in the circle.
Some of the children were stunned by what I had told them. Some continued
to play in the water. Two later asked me to run a lodge for them. I had
never been honored in such a way in my life before or since. I prepared it
in a day, and I was allowed to participate in the most remarkable lodge in
my life.
I was allowed to witness the incredible power of children. They are so
connected to everything, the stones, the earth, the medicines, everything.
I remain amazed.
However, for these children to remain strong, we must help them in any way
that we can. I don't mean that particular group of fifteen children, but all
of those who are coming now and in the future. They will be the ones to
guide us back to what is important. Even though we are just pitiful
creatures, we can help them to do their jobs.
Those of us who have already lived a while have created barriers that those
happy and helpful spirits find it hard to penetrate. The children don't have
those barriers. Those spirits can guide us back through the children.
The children pray for their parents. The spirits help the parents to stop
their "toxic" behaviors, and the path we all need to follow becomes easier.
That is the story
KEESH@aol.com
KANER COFFEE COMPANY
2601 W. 6th
Topeka, KS
--------- "RE: The Tribes Need Heroes" ---------
Date: 5/31/95 1:38 PM
From: bill.rice@thor.law.und.nodak.edu
Subj: The Tribes Need Heroes
UUCP email
There was a post a few days ago asking where our Indian Heroes were today.
There have been some thoughtful responses, and some good ideas. After
thinking about it, I decided I would throw in my two cents worth for
whatever two cents will get these days. A few years ago, a young man came
to see Grandma looking for help as he was supposed to lead his college
Indian club as its President over the next year. While asking for prayer
so that he could do a good job in his new position, he asked the same
question - where are Dragging Canoe, John Ross, Lone Wolf, Quanah Parker,
Gall, Joseph, and the other heroes of old when we so desperately need them
today.
I thought I would share Grandma's reaction with you. After talking to
the young man for awhile, she got up, took him by the arm, and stood him
in front of the mirror in the bathroom. She told him she would pray for
him, but if he wanted to see today's leaders he needed to look one of them
in the face. I think, maybe, I understand a little of what Grandma was
trying to make that young man understand.
These old people were not heroes because they had 100 percent support
from their people. In fact, I suspect every one of them had detractors
within their own Tribe, Band, Clan, etc. who thought they were doing the
wrong thing. Sometimes they were -- they made mistakes just like we do.
They were, after all, only human. What made them heroes was not complete
support from their people (let alone all Indians), nor infallibility.
They are heroes (dare I say legendary) because they took whatever skills,
knowledge, and materials they had to work with and tried to make life
better for their people, and to protect the people when danger threatened.
We are generally :-} a humble people, and I suspect there is not a
single person on this list who would claim "hero status." Given how
Indians are, anyone who did would never hear the end of it. In fact,
anyone who would try to claim it probably shouldn't. The fact is, however,
that everyone who consistently works with the skill, knowledge, and
materials they have to protect and improve the lives and resources of
their people (and other Indians) should be acknowledged -- even though we
may not always agree with the positions they take on some matters.
In my opinion, we have Indian heroes all around us. We have doctors,
accountants, lawyers, politicians, police, faithkeepers (by whatever
designation your tribe uses), teachers, secretaries, administrators,
grass-cutters, commodity distributors, wood choppers, judges, business
people, computer-gurus, *~:-) and a host of men and women who have
spent/are spending their lives trying to help the best way they know how.
Far too often we do not take time acknowledge their efforts, but we always
seem to have time to criticize when things go wrong. When was the last
time you saw any of these groups recognized and honored at a powwow or
other Indian gathering? To sum up my thoughts on this _long_ winded post,
:-) I think we will find plenty of Indian heroes if we are willing to open
our eyes and look for them. We should, our children and grandchildren
need them.
G. William (Bill) Rice bill.rice@thor.law.und.nodak.edu or
grice@badlands.nodak.edu
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma
University of Tulsa School of Law; University of North Dakota School of Law;
Cornell Law School. My Opinions Are My Own (except when I get them from
someone else.)
--------- "RE: Round Valley Update" ---------
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 1995 15:52:58 -0700
From: nwilson@mcn.org (Nicholas Wilson)
Subj: Round Valley: Tribal council supports independent Investigation;
Manhunt continues; Ukiah Daily Journal editorial
ROUND VALLEY UPDATE
Friday, June 2, 1995
by Nicholas Wilson
The manhunt for Bear Lincoln continues today, seven weeks after the
triple homicides on the Round Valley Reservation in northern California.
The Mendocino County Sheriff has named Lincoln as a suspect in the killing
of Deputy Bob Davis, and the case was featured in a controversial
"reenactment" on TV's America's Most Wanted program.
The police story keeps changing as to what happened on Little Valley
Road where deputies killed Leonard "Acorn" Peters and an unseen assailant
shot and killed Deputy Bob Davis. This is consistent with some people's
belief that the Sheriff's Department has been putting out a false cover
story to cover their mistaken and wrongful killing of Acorn, who was
innocent of any crime.
The "America's Most Wanted" TV show broadcast nationally May 27
presented a new version of events which contradicted the sheriff's line of
the previous six weeks. Sheriff Jim Tuso told the local press afterward
that the AMW version was correct, and that the local press had it wrong.
Your correspondent has read the official police reports of the incidents
filed with the court to support an arrest warrant for Bear Lincoln. The
police reports do not agree with the TV version, which the sheriff now
says is correct.
Now even the conservative Ukiah Daily Journal, which has reported the
Sheriff's line from the very first, has begun to doubt whether the cops
have been telling the truth. In an editorial published May 31 the editor
criticized the sheriff for not leveling with the public. The text of the
editorial is attached at the end of this message.
At a meeting May 31, the Round Valley Tribal Council unanimously voted
for resolutions calling for independent investigations into the killing of
Leonard Peters and of police abuses against Native American people in the
manhunt for Bear Lincoln. Jonathan Hill, a criminal investigator with the
Jackson Rancheria Tribal Police under the B.I.A., will investigate the
charges of police misconduct.
A civil rights lawsuit against Mendocino County law enforcement is
getting under way. Seasoned civil rights attorney Dennis Cunningham from
San Francisco traveled to Round Valley May 28 to meet with residents, and
said he is willing to take on the case. Over 40 sworn written statements
about police misconduct have been gathered, with more to be added.
A wrongful death lawsuit against the county for the killing of Leonard
Peters has been started by his family. Sacramento attorney Carlos Alcala
is handling that case.
Contributions are urgently needed to help pay for costs of investigation
and for phone and legal expenses. Checks may be made out to Red Alliances
Defense Fund, and mailed c/o Pat Lincoln, P.O. Box 593, Covelo CA 95428.
The Ukiah Daily Journal editorial follows:
deleted for lack of copy permission
--------- "RE: Indian Owned Business" ---------
Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 14:34:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: Duncan Perrote <washakie@coopext.cahe.wsu.edu>
Subj: Indian Owned Business
Mailing List: IND-NET <IND-NET%WSUVM1.BITNET@cmsa.Berkeley.EDU>
Mailing List: EIRP <EIRP%WSUVM1.BITNET@cmsa.Berkeley.EDU>
This is to let you all know that we have a thriving business here on the
Wind River Indian Reservation. THis is the announcement:
"Wind River Optical Laboratory is owned by an Eastern Shoshone tribal
member. The purpose of the laboratory is to employ and train Native American
Indians in the Optical Industry. Wind River Optical has the finest
optical laboratory equipment available to produce quality eye wear, also
has the support and expertise of other major laboratories outside the
State of Wyoming.
Wind River Optical can supply the highest quality prescription lenses and
frames to meet any and all contract work."
Contact: Zedora M. Enos
WIND RIVER OPTICAL LABORATORY
P.O. Box 49
124 North Fork Road
Ft. Washakie, Wyoming 82514
1-800-597-2755
FAX: 1-800-241-0061
Wind River Optical Laboratory is currently contracting with Indian Health
Services on Wind River Reservation and Tribal Health.
As a person who really wants to see e-mail on reservations we can get the
word out on e-mail and track some major success in terms of opportunity
and economic development! Let's hear from you!
Hope all is well, Duncan :-)
Univ. of Wyoming Wind River Extension washakie@coopext.cahe.wsu.edu
Ms. Duncan Perrote, Director Family Living Agent
Ms. Mary Lou Wickstrom, Administrative Assistant
PHONE: (307) 332-2681
FAX: (307) 332-2683
--------- "RE: Oneida Nation Police Support Community" ---------
Date: Fri, 2 Jun 1995 14:33:39 +0000
From: rood@oneida-nation.org (Dale Rood, Turtle Clan)
Subj: Oneida Nation Police Support Community
NEWS -- NEWS -- NEWS -- NEWS May 24, 1995
For Immediate Release
Increased Law Enforcement Presence In Western Oneida County
Without Additional Tax Burden -- Thanks To Oneida Nation
ONEIDA INDIAN NATION TERRITORY, via Oneida, NY --
The Oneida Nation Police and the Oneida County Sheriff's Department will
share a Field Office at 5375 Route 31, in Verona. Residents of Western
Oneida County will benefit from this relationship with an increased law
enforcement presence in their communities without an increased tax burden,
thanks to the Oneida Indian Nation.
Both departments will continue to operate and police their own
jurisdictions. Nation Police provide law enforcement for Oneida Nation
lands and facilities and Sheriff's deputies provide enforcement throughout
Oneida County. The joint field office is an outgrowth of the Oneida
county Sheriff's deputization of the Oneida Nation Police. Since the
facility is Nation-owned, no additional burden will be felt by taxpayers.
"This historic initiative is a vivid example of two police forces,
representing different sovereigns and jurisdictions, working together by
sharing their combined resources. The result is enhanced law enforcement
services in the region with no additional burden to local taxpayers," said
Arthur Pierce, commissioner of the Office of Nation Safety and Public
Works.
The Oneida Nation Police/Oneida County Sheriff's Department Filed
Office in Verona, put in place and operated by the Oneida Indian Nation,
will allow Sheriff's deputies to respond to law enforcement matters more
efficiently in Western Oneida County. Previously, the nearest Sheriff's
Field Office was in Oriskany, about 13 miles away.
The Sheriff's Department operates field offices in Barneveld,
Waterville and Camden. "Field Offices are cost effective. They reduce
daily travel time for deputes, increases emergency response time, and
build strong relationships between deputies and members of the community,"
said Undersheriff M. Peter Paravati. "We are very impressed with the
leadership, credentials, and level of experience of the Oneida Indian
Nation Police. We look forward to working together with them," the
Undersheriff added.
"Police agencies that form working alliances significantly enhance
their ability to prevent and reduce crime. When this occurs, law abiding
citizens win and criminals lose," added Commissioner Pierce.
Dale Rood
Turtle Clan,
Oneida Indian Nation Men's Council Member
rood@oneida-nation.org
url - http://nysernet.org/oneida/
The Oneida Indian Nation - "The first Indian Nation on the world wide web"
--------- "RE: Indians and Mestizos in the Americas" ---------
Date: Thu, 01 Jun 95 10:17:38 EST
From: gwelker@mail.lmi.org
Subj: Indians and Mestizos in the Americas
UUCP email
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS REPRODUCED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHORS.
Chronicle Features
Release: On or after May 26
Indians and Mestizos in the Americas
by Patrisia Gonzales & Roberto Rodriguez
Alfonso Perez Espindola Tenoch, a holy man of the Lakota nation spiritual
tradition who lives in Laredo, Texas, languishes in a Mexican jail. His
"crime" was having helped lead a "Peace and Dignity" prayer run across the
Americas in 1992.
On Oct. 11 of that year, thousands of runners from hundreds of Indian
nations from North and South America met in the ancient pyramid city of
Teotihuacan Mexico to promote indigenous consciousness. They denounced
500 years of abuses against the indigenous (otherwise known as Indian)
peoples of the Americas.
A year later, Perez was arrested in Michoacan, Mexico, for possessing
peyote that he was taking to ceremonies with Huichol Indians. He was
accused of possessing and trafficking drugs authorized only for use in
religious ceremonies by Native Americans.
The government ceded that indigenous people have the right to perform
peyote ceremonies, but determined that the Mexican-born Perez was not
"indigenous, and sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
Many governments define "Indians" as people who live in native
communities and speak only a native tongue. When an Indian moves to a city
and learns Spanish or another language, he or she is no longer considered
"indigenous, but "mestizo."
Government sources estimate that there are 40 million Indians in North
and South America. Non-governmental sources put the figure at closer to
100 million. The discrepancy in numbers is attributed to the large amount
of "mestizos," or racially mixed people, who consider themselves or can
be considered Indian, yet are not recognized as such by their governments.
While human rights groups throughout the Americas call for Perez's
release, the issue of who is and who isn't "Indian" remains a familiar
topic to Chicanos and other Latinos.
Tupac Enrique, a Chicano from Phoenix, who is part of an international
alliance fighting for Perez's release, says that governments can determine
who is a citizen, but cannot determine people's identities.
Enrique, who is of the Mexica spiritual tradition, says that people
around the world determine identity differently from Western governments.
For many he says, "It's not racial. We, not government, have been keeping
indigenous identity alive for 500 years."
Most Chicanos and Latinos are at least part Native American and descend
from such nations as Mexica, Nahua, Chichimeca, Tarahumara, Pueblo,
Kikapu, Tarascan, Tlaxcalan, Mixtec, Zapotec, Maya, Quechua, Mapuche or
any one of hundreds of other Indian peoples.
Many of our own friends can trace their ancestry. Jose Barreiro, born in
Cuba and editor of the Native American journal "Akwe:kon Press" at Cornell
University, is Guajiro. Although Cuba and other Caribbean governments
claim that there are no Indians in their countries, Barreiro says they
do in fact live in the countryside, where Taino traditions are upheld by
Guajiros--the rural population.
Vivian Lopez, a counselor in Las Cruces, NM, who is originally from
Tucson, is both Yaqui and Apache, and considers herself Chicana. "To be
Chicana is be indigenous," she says, adding that she was raised among
people who, as a form of cultural resistance, took pride in not being
registered as Indians with the government. "I don't need to be on a
Federal (Bureau of Indian Affairs) list to know who I am."
And El Paso, Texas-born Arturo Flores, a high-school vice principal in
Washington, D.C., is Huichol. His sense of identity was not forged simply
by his physical features, but by ancient traditions which his family has
upheld "I've been nurtured by the same food my ancestors were nurtured by
for thousands of years."
Like us, other friends can trace some, but not all of their ancestry.
The reason, in part, is the role the Catholic church and missions played
during the colonial era in "reducing," or culturally obliterating the
Indian. The objective was to create a "Christian," and that meant to
spiritually and culturally stamp out the Indian.
One result was that Indians and mestizos developed a hatred towards all
things Indian--thus a hatred of themselves, which led to a denial of their
ancestry. In this atmosphere, "Hispanicized Indians" became "mestizos" and
mestizos became "Spanish." If you could claim one drop of European blood,
they did. To this day, many Latinos or Hispanics claim they are "pure" white.
Many Latino college students, aware of their history, have long
identified with their indigenous roots. Chicano students at St. Cloud
State University in Minnesota, for example, recently staged a hunger
strike. They demanded that the university eliminate the "Hispanic"
classification. The term, they maintain, is a negation of their
indigenous ancestry.
As Barreiro says, "Every mestizo is one less Indian--or one more Indian
waiting to reemerge."
Copyright Chronicle Features
Gonzales & Rodriguez can be reached at: XROBERTO@AOL.COM
Source:
22429bsc@msu.edu (belinda cook) MCLR List
--------- "RE: Wounded Knee 1995 Update" ---------
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 1995 19:20:17 -0400
From: Wanblisapa@aol.com
Subj: Wounded Knee 1995 Update 1
UUCP email
The Murder of the Wind of Peace by Black Eagle and Gerald Ice
It was the 29th day of the Moon of Popping Trees (December), 1890. Peace
was sleeping within the warm winter wind under the murderous eyes of
Gatling and Hotchkiss guns, which were dug into the ridges above the
Lakota encampment. Chief Spotted Elk ("Bigfoot" was the name soldiers gave
him), flying the white flag of truce within his encampment, was dying from
pneumonia. His people were dying from fear of the white soldiers who had
come to take revenge for the defeat of their unit, the 7th Cavalry, at
Little Bighorn in The Moon When the Chokecherries are Ripe (June), 1876.
All the soldiers needed was the smallest excuse to begin the massacre. A
single shot, according to a reporter on the scene, was fired from the
soldiers, and with that, the smallest excuse was manufactured. When the
rain of ammunition ceased, over 300 Lakota people lay dead from gunfire,
cannon fire, or manual butchering within the encampment and within adjacent
ravines up to two miles away. The dead were Lakota men who had been
disarmed before the weapons fire began, women, many with babes in arms or
waiting to be born, and children. The soldiers walked away from their
crime against humanity and left the dead where they lay. That night, the
sky cried snow and the warm winter wind of peace was supplanted by the
cold winter wind of grief. For four days, the dead laid where they were,
frozen into grotesque shapes of lifelessness. Finally, the soldiers came
and loaded the dead like cordwood in wagons, and hauled their loads to
hastily dug mass graves, where the dead were thrown in - the bodies of men,
women, and children whose spirits walked the encampment and ravines,
wailing. The mass graves were filled and the soldiers left. Eighteen
Congressional Medals of Honor for "bravery" were awarded to the soldiers
who participated in that heinous murder for their parts in fighting the
allegedly hostile "war parties" attacking them that day.
The spirits of the slain continue their walking and wailing. Red Willow
in great profusion, grown from the blood of all those who fell along the
banks of the creek that day, still grows thickly along Wounded Knee Creek.
Peace never again slept within the winds that blew along Wounded Knee
Creek.
The Massacre of Wounded Knee became a symbol for my people, the Lakota
Nation, of the lies and deceit of the "Great White Father in Washington"
and the U.S. Government. Their words of encouragement and promises of
help and peace were seen for the malevolent intent hidden behind the
facade. As more and more land promised to us forever was taken away on
the whims of Congress, our place to live became smaller and our pain and
confusion grew. The mass graves at Wounded Knee became a symbol to us to
never forget and never to trust again. The voices of our slain relatives
can still be heard, crying out from soil, the waters, the air, and we vow
time and time again to never forget, to be strong, to help our nation heal
and live well again.
Now the U.S. Government wants to take from us 1,800 acres (including
"lands, and all mineral rights, water rights, easements, permanent
structures, and fixtures on such land") to turn our sacred site, the
burial grounds, and "the historic landscape of Wounded Knee" into a
national park. The government claims that it wants to do this so that it
can "express its commitment to acknowledge and learn from our history,
including the Wounded Knee Massacre, in order to provide a proper
foundation for building an ever more humane, enlightened, and just society
for the future (quoted from the enabling legislation)." To do so, the U.S.
Government wants to remove and relocate any individuals and families
living within that 1,800 acres and restore the landscape to the
government's vision of 1890 historical conditions. Any buildings and
fixtures currently within the 1,800 acres that are not found to coincide
with that vision will be destroyed. The government also wants to build a
visitors' center, an amphitheater, roads, and trails, and to relocate the
three main roads that intersect at the current Wounded Knee memorial and
one mass grave site. These activities are wholly inappropriate for a
cemetery and burial site and will disturb the spirits of the people buried
there.
The enabling legislation to create the national park was introduced
simultaneously to both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives
on February 9, 1995, by the Congressional Delegation from South Dakota.
After introduction, the Senate bill, S382, was referred to the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs, where it remains at this time. Similarly,
the House bill, HR877, was referred to the House Committee on Resources.
Then, on February 15, 1995, HR877 was referred to the House Subcommittee
on National Parks, Forests, and Lands, where it remains at this time. The
opinions of the residents of Wounded Knee and the members of the Wounded
Knee Landowners Association were not solicited prior to this bill being
written or submitted, nor were we invited to or notified of the one
Congressional hearing that occurred on this issue.
We stand opposed to the creation of this national park for all of the
reasons given here and many others. We are asking you to help us in our
fight to save this sacred site from development. Please join your voice
with ours in opposing the creation of this national park. Write your
representatives and senators. Write the members of the Congressional
committee and subcommittee currently reviewing the bills. It is most
effective to generate a large number of brief e-mail postings or postal
service letters that simply state little more than the following: "Please
vote NO to HR877/S382. Signed, (your name, postal address, telephone
number)." Write letters to the editor of your local newspapers. For more
information, please contact Pamela and Gerald Ice, P.O. Box 199, Wounded
Knee, SD, 57794, (605) 867-1591.
Pilamayayelo (Thank You)!
--------- "RE: More Interesting Story" ---------
Date: Fri Jun 2 18:30:59 1995
From: KEESH@aol.com
Subj: More Interesting Story
UUCP email
I like to tell people that I'm Kickapoo. I don't go into a harangue about
how dumb they sound asking such an insensitive, callous (redundant?), and
inappropriate questions of anyone?
White people do not go around asking each other what race they belong to
or where their people are from. I think we should ask. I think that
their's is a much more interesting story. More often than not, their people
had nothing and came from somewhere far away, usually because they either
faced a harsh jail sentence or deportation. Now, they OWN land, a car that
is less than ten years old, stocks and bonds, and they look down their noses
at folks who do not choose to accept their values and beliefs. That story is
interesting to me because I cannot believe that people actually live it and
own up to it. It baffles me and intrigues me. If you close your eyes, can
you not still discern whether or not you are walking around in do-do?
Q: Do you have Indian in you?
A: I am Kickapoo if that's what you mean. And you?
Q: Huh?
A: What is your story?
Q: I'm white, can't you tell?
A: That's a color. Who are you?
ad naseum
-KEESH
KANER COFFEE COMPANY
2601 W. 6th
Topeka, KS
--------- "RE: Indian/Blood Quantum Question" ---------
Date: 31 May 1995 16:19:21 U
From: "Bill Rice" <bill.rice@thor.law.und.nodak.edu>
Subj: Indian/Blood Quantum Question
UUCP email
Indian/Blood Quantum Questions 5/31/95
Every time I hear the question "who is an Indian", seems like my brain
automatically adds the phrase "for what purpose?" It appears to me that
the problem here is that we have a unique situation in which the term
"Indian" is being applied as a generic term to describe several different,
yet often overlapping, categories of persons who may lay claim to the
designation through various means. In contrast, to say a person is
"Black" or "Asian" is simply to designate their race. To say someone is
"Indian" carries (for different people) connotations or race, culture,
social condition, legal status, citizenship, and yes personal comfort and
relationships. #004#It doesn't surprise me that we have a lot of trouble
being able to reach a consensus about "who is an Indian and how do we
decide" because it appears to me that we are often coming at the question
from these different perspectives.
I have no ready answers, but perhaps it would be an easier topic to
discuss if we keep in mind the purposes for which the question is being
asked -- if it is possible to isolate the purpose into a category. I do
understand that often the question is asked in a context where one must
include more than one category in the discussion. Here are my thoughts on
some of the categories I (think) I know a little bit about (at least maybe
I can ask the question?):
Legal Status: Generally determined by the legal system in which the
question is raised. For instance, the US Government will decide by
reference to federal law. A Tribe would decide by reference to the tribal
laws. Each government would decide for itself what the standards are for
meeting the legal test. The US Supreme Court has said that being "Indian"
is not a racial or minority classification, but instead refers to people
who occupy a distinct and unique _Political and Legal Status_. The US
doesn't make treaties with minorities, nor does it have an entire Title of
the US Code labeled "Blacks" or "Asians." Generally a person is Indian
for US federal law purposes if they are an enrolled member of a federally
recognized tribe(FRT), or meet a federal statutory definition. Two which
come immediately to mind are the Indian Child Welfare Act, which defines
"Indian Children" to include those enrolled in a FRT, or are the child of
an enrolled member and eligible for enrollment, and the Indian
Reorganization Act which declares everyone of 1/2 or more Indian blood,
and persons "descended" from Indians living on a federally recognized
reservation on a certain date to be Indians. Most tribes recognize
members of other federally recognized tribes as Indians. Some include
tribes recognized by Canada or the states.
Citizenship: By this term, I mean eligibility for recognition as a
citizen (enrolled member) of a Tribe. Generally, each tribe as sovereign
has its own constitutional and/or statutory/traditional laws on who is
eligible for enrollment and the process one must go through to become a
recognized tribal citizen/member. Many now use blood quantum requirements.
Some continue to use their traditional methods of determining membership
questions. Some are asking themselves whether they should rethink their
requirements. A _very_ few Tribes have their membership requirements
established by the feds by statute.
Race: Who is racially an Indian? Who is racially Black, Asian,
Hispanic, Irish, German??? This is where minority classifications would
come in without regard to legal status or citizenship. As the foregoing
would show, you could be racially an Indian without meeting either test
for legal status or citizenship. You could also met the legal and
citizenship tests without being racially an Indian (the 5 civilized tribes
freedmen, Osage headright owners, and a few others come to mind). I don't
know the answers but at least this type of question could be discussed.
Culture/social condition/etc: It seems to me that this one has to
almost be a tribe by tribe determination, but get two Indians together on
this one and you'll have three or four opinions - each. I know full-blood
young & elderly who don't have a clue cause they drank, or didn't listen,
or where never told, or whatever. I know cases where a member of one
tribe married into another, and is now more knowledgeable about their
spouse's tribe's ways than many members of the tribe. I even know a few
of those 1/32? who really were raised by Indian grandparents, speak the
language, have lived in the community all their life, etc. And there are
a few non-Indians (spouses generally) who have been around long enough to
achieve at least some measure of cultural acceptance in their local Indian
community, at least for some purposes. --But I still don't want my
daughter to marry one! :-) (So flame me, don't want my sons to do so
either although if my children do so I will accept their decision.)
And yes personal comfort and relationships: The question "who do I feel
comfortable with?" often transcends the above ideas. For instance, a
"yes" answer to any of the following questions will get you an invitation
to visit me:
1. Do you make frybread I can eat? Sour cornbread?
2. Do you chop wood, haul water, or weed gardens?
3. Do you know how to fry a hog? Make Sofkee or Kinutchee?
4. Do you know where to find the wild onions, mushrooms, and how to cook
crawdads?
5. Do you know how to sit in the yard in the shade, and listen to the trees
visit the rocks without interrupting?
*
/
O | O
U
\_/
G. William (Bill) Rice bill.rice@thor.law.und.nodak.edu or
grice@badlands.nodak.edu
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma
University of Tulsa School of Law; University of North Dakota School of Law;
Cornell Law School. My Opinions Are My Own (except when I get them from
someone else.)
--------- "RE: Poem: Gathering Feathers" ---------
Date: 23 Jul 1994 18:09:03 -0500
From: turtle@aicap.s21.com (Turtle Heart)
Subj: Gathering Feathers
Newsgroup: alt.native
Gathered feathers
dropped like stones
into
a circle
no one can see
soaring silence for the gifts
and renewals
and passing on
dropped like a stone
in a sacred manner
a stone may fall like a feather
where the old woman
was sleeping
i looked inside her dreaming
we were in a safe place
so i slept all morning.
(Rock Polishing)
--
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: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" ---------
Date: 95/06/03 17:06
From: Debra F. Sanders (dfsanders@genie.geis.com)
Subj: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days
GE Electronic Mail
A HAWAIIAN BOOK OF DAYS, week of June 11-17
IUNE
(June)
(Kaaona)
11
Turn every hardship into a triumph.
12
If you would win your heart's desire, you must give your
heart to the task of winning it.
13
Give freely of yourself in all endeavors.
14
In all things, turn anger into industry.
15
Even the clumsiest hand can create a thing of beauty.
16
Acknowledge the duality of life in everything you do.
17
Embrace life with joy, and never let it go!
(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, 8 Jun 95 08:00 -0500
From: Janet Smith (Evening Star) (jans@genie.geis.com)
Subj: Upcoming conferences and powwows not previously posted
to Mailing Lists NATCHAT or NATIVE-L
GE Electronic Mail
From: kevin@anchor.engr.sgi.com (Kevin Dearborn Olson)
Subject: PowWows; upcoming
JUNE 8-11; RED EARTH NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL FESTIVAL
Myriad Convention Center & Plaza
Oklahoma City, OK; (405) 427-5228
JUNE 9-11; LOWER SIOUX ANNUAL POWWOW
LOWER SIOUX RESERVATION, MORTON, MN
(507) 697-6185
JUNE - SECOND WEEKEND - (phone 415/ 897-4064 for "day" verification)
ANNUAL TRADE FEAST; MIWOK PARK; NOVATO, CA
JUNE 10; DQ UNIVERSITY GRADUATION POWWOW
DAVIS, CA (916) 758-0470
JUNE 9-11; TREATY DAY COMMEMORATION
CEREMONIAL GROUNDS, WHITE SWAN, WA
(509) 865-5121, EXT. 328
JUNE - 2ND WKEND; ANNUAL INDIAN FAIR; MUSEUM OF MAN
BALBOA PARK, SAN DIEGO, CA, (619) 239-2001 Carla Edwards
JUNE - 2ND WKEND; SOUTHERN CASCADE ANNUAL POWWOW
INTERMOUNTAIN FAIRGROUNDS
MCARTHUR, CA (916) 243-1741 (Bev) or 335-5090 (Rex)
JUNE - 2ND WKEND; KLAMATH SALMON FESTIVAL
KLAMATH, CA (707) 482-5585
JUNE 11-12; TRADITIONAL POWWOW
COMSTOCK RIVERSIDE PARK, GRAND RAPIDS, MI (517) 487-5409
From: "Paula Giese" <pgiese@gold.tc.umn.edu>
Subject: Fwd: Peace Troupe Workshop: Meeting Our Earth
There's been considerable discussion of "fakes" on CompuServe lately,
just thought I'd forward this one (came over INDKNOW) to this list.
Storm was a big issue in the early '70's, a white guy who hung around
Northern Cheyenne for a while, then wrote a book called (by
coincidence) 7 Arrows, which was considered a travesty by Cheyenne
elders of this time. He was at that time calling himself Cheyenne
(wasn't). 7 Arrows as I dimly recall propounded this guy's own
"visions" as traditional wisdom.
----- Forwarded message begins here -----
From: troupe@tmn.com <troupe@tmn.com>
To: INDKNOW@u.washington.edu
Date: Tue, 30 May 1995 03:48:39 GMT
Subject: Peace Troupe Workshop: Meeting Our Earth
Hyemeyohsts Storm To Teach Ways of the Medicine Wheel
Author of SEVEN ARROWS Will Be in Asheville Area for
Three-Day Event -- July 28 - 30
(Asheville NC) -- Hyemeyohsts Storm, author the Native
American classic, SEVEN ARROWS, will explore the wisdom of Native
American spirituality after twelve years of silence on the
subject. Teaching in partnership with his wife, Swan, he will
expand upon the insights revealed in his new book, LIGHTNINGBOLT.
The Storms will speak of the Balances of Human Self and
Living Earth, of Female and Male. When they introduce the
Medicine Wheel known as the Circle of Law, they will also be
speaking of the political roots of the American Dream of Liberty
and Personal Freedom. This was the first form of democracy and
it is indigenous to the Americas.
The message that the Storms bring is a universal one that
speaks to every race, creed and culture.
Hyemeyohsts Storm is a Northern Cheyenne, Sioux and German
mixed blood who was raised on the Indian reservations of Montana.
As a mixed blood person he addresses our need to end the violent
racial polarizations existing today. "Modern people must realize
most of humanity is now a mixed blood, mixed heritage people,"
Storm says. "Our greatest need is to learn to respect and care
for the one thing we all have in common, our precious Planet
Earth. The Medicine Wheels will be the greatest guide for this
healing and transformation in human thinking."
Storm was the first writer to introduce the modern world to
the Sacred Medicine Wheels, the deeply sophisticated "earth
philosophy" of many Native American peoples. His internationally
renowned SEVEN ARROWS is now in its 45th printing and has been
translated into Japanese, Italian, French and German.
LIGHTNINGBOLT was released by Ballantine Books in 1994. It
introduces the Zero Chiefs and their message to take steps to
change our relationship with our Earth and to renew the Balance
of our world's peoples. LIGHTNINGBOLT also tells the story of
how Europeans met with and integrated into the fabric and culture
of our American ancestors.
This teaching event will begin with a public lecture at
Lipinsky Auditorium at the University of North Carolina at
Asheville on Friday night, July 28th. $10 admission.
On Saturday and Sunday, the 29th and 30th, Hyemeyohsts and
Swan Storm will lead a workshop at Warren Wilson College in
Swanannoa, North Carolina (just outside Asheville). The cost,
including dormitory and meals, is $250. Space is limited. A
deposit of $100 should be made (fully refundable until July 1st,
after which a $25 processing fee is deducted).
This event is sponsored by Peace Troupe and Energy
Management and Consulting. Peace Troupe consists of performer-
activists engaged in nonviolent struggle using the cultural arts.
Energy Management and Consulting serve the individual or group in
their healing classes and spiritual growth circles.
For more information or to enroll, write: Storm Event / POB
37 / Gerton NC 28735. Or call: (704)-628-3450.
==================================================================
In Print:
From _The Spike_
June 10-11: "A Historical Event Honoring America's Defenders"
Shippensburg, PA, 717-845-5935
Annual Powwow and Festival (Nanticoke/Lenni-Lenape)
Salem, NJ, 609-455-6910
6th Annual Inter-Tribal Barrie Native Friendship
Centre Competition Powwow, Barrie, Ontario
705-721-7689
June 15-17 Choctaw Indian Reservation Mowa Choctaw Indian Powwow,
Mt. Vernon, AL 205-829-5500
Rebirth of the Traditional Spirit Gatherings, Pembroke,
NC 910-521-4178
June 16-18: Eastern Delaware Nations 7th annual Powwow, Forksville,
PA, 717-924-9082
2nd Annual "To Honor Our Fathers" Powwow, East
Bethany, NY 716-343-5986
Ohio Beautiful Earth Powwow, Hubbard, OH, 216-536-6852
Gateway to the Nations Powwow, Brooklyn, NY
718-832-4884
Native American Indian Festival, Hot Springs, AR
501-525-9927
Father's Day Powwow, West Palm Beach, FL, 813-752-5521
June 17: Virginia Indian Heritage Festival, Williamsburg, VA
(Jamestown Settlement) 804-229-1507
From _News From Indian Country_
June 9-11 Four Winds Powwow, Seattle, WA, 206-296-6545
Red Earth Powwow, Oklahoma City, OK, 405-427-5228
NAES College Powwow, Chicago, IL, 312-761-5000
127th White Earth Powwow, White Earth, MN, 218-983-3285
June 10-11 American Indian Pow-Wow, Newport, PA, 717-632-5246
June 16-18 Carthage Heritage Festival, Carthage, MO, 800-543-7975
From _Char-Koosta News_
June 8-11 Oglala Lakota Vietnam Veterans Celebration, Pine
Ridge, SD, 605-867-1265
June 10-11 BCC Indian Dances, Blackfoot Community College,
Browning, MT
=========================================================================
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Notice of Copyright Clearance by Contributors:
The following have granted permission for their original articles to
be reposted in order to help mend the Sacred Hoop: Black Eagle,
Debra F. Sanders(Kepola), Janet Smith, Keesh, Bill Rice, Nicholas Wilson,
Turtle Heart(Mending the Sacred Hoop with song poems), Duncan Perrote,
Patrisia Gonzales & Roberto Rodriguez(via Glenn Welker), Dale Rood(release),
piersen@primenet.com (Dine' Alliance c/o)(release), Pamela Mason(release),
Gerald Ice, Mary Jane Cedar-Face(release), Jennifer Armstrong(release)
--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ all items below this line have already been distributed by our
brother, Jay Brummett, via the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists.