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
"I am a Shawnee. My forefathers were warriors. Their son is a warrior.
From them I take only my existence. From my tribe I take nothing.
I am the maker of my own fortune. And oh, that I might make the
fortunes of my red people, and of my country, as great as the
conceptions of my mind, when I think of the Great Spirit that rules the
universe.
__ Chief Tecumseh, Shawnee
+- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -+
| 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!
For the Sacred Hoop to be mended there must first be understanding.
There is a LOT of greed and manipulation and anger throughout the Peoples
of this, our Mother Earth. Make no mistake about that. There is a LOT
of discord and misunderstanding and finger-pointing. This is true.
There are also signs of understanding. Simple signs exist, not just
the Great ones like Miracle, the White Buffalo Calf. One of these signs
is a small, but growing, number of non-Indians who are starting to understand
that some places are Sacred and should be left to those who hold them
Sacred. The number of climbers at Devil's Tower declined by more than
1000 in June of this year, compared to last. The National Forest Service
altered camping regulations in some places to lessen the impact on the
bears.
There are still graves being desecrated to make room for shopping malls,
hate filled names that hurt and degrade like Squaw Valley (do they really
not know what that word means?), and the stereotypical misuse of names; but
there are signs of more understanding and there is hope.
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
- Things That Happen at Garage Sales - Conferences and Powwows - online
- Big Mountain - Last Chumash Village Site Threatened
- "God" & Other "Spiritual" Words - Hocak (Winnebago)
- Looking for a Sweat - NA Speakers Panel
- Kanesatake/Crisis in Leadership at Oregon State Prison
- Kanesatake/Unseat Peltier - California Prisons Protest
- "La Migra" Charts - Native American Resource Closing
a New Trail of Tears - Call to Action: NPR and Leonard
- Lawsuit Info Up
- Poem: Aztec Poem
- Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days
- Conferences and Powwows - offline
--------- "RE: Things That Happen at Garage Sales" ---------
Date: Sat, 29 Jul 1995 07:09:10 -0700 (PDT)
From: cherokee@WOLFE.net
Subj: Things That Happen at Garage Sales
UUCP email
O'siyo!
So..I called the Seattle PI and put in a ad...the weather person has
assured we in TVLAND that there will be no rain...So here they come..like
swarms of locusts...laughing...and things start disappearing but I
swear..there is NOT A DENT in the stuff..Is it multiplying overnight?
Grinning..
I am amazed at what people will buy...there is also a good side to
this..Most of it is NA theme things...and people see that and then look
at me..and hesitate..but get the courage up...and ask me about NA
things..So I am selling and teaching..SMILE...what a concept! I should
have thought of this long ago...grin. So..I am the cause of the major
traffic jam in our area cause people don't want to leave..they want to
stay and talk and they're asking me all kinds of questions..So I'm
serving coffee, talking, taking money and the street dept, who is fixing
the leak outside on the street sees the traffic backing up...cars
everywhere and comes up to see what is going on...laughing..I serve THEM
coffee..they look and buy and they stop to talk...so NOW I"m responsible
for the work stoppage for the Seattle Water Dept also...
YEs...I am GUILTY your honor...laughing...I can see that coming
next...grin Shall we all gather our Visa's and get SM out of jail for
having a gathering without a permit? Laughing
All in all...in case you can't tell...I'm having a GREAT TIME doing
this..and meeting all kinds of nice people with good hearts...
A beautiful thing happened...I had a stuffed toy wolf...someone gave
him to me a long time ago as I"m from the wolf clan...I saw this poor
family come up and this small child..about 4...kept looking at this
wolf..but dared not even DREAM to ask for it...Her parents were busy
looking at things and I watched this child just stand and stare at this
wolf..desiring it so very much. Well....sigh....You know wapani....So I
went over to her (I had NA beads in my hair and a blouse on with beads)
and knelt down and told her my Indian name...She said.."Do you know
Pocohontas?" Laughing...
So..I thought to myself...Here is a Dreamer....and I cherish them so
very much..smile...
I said, "Oh yes...She was a great leader among my People...Very, very
honorable..Do you know her too?" She just lit up.... Started telling me
all about P....smiling...I said...You know...I am from the Wolf Clan of
the Tsalagi..The cherokees.. and we love dreamers...Are you one of those?
Are you one who dares to dream and believe in the goodness of others?
She looked very solemn at me and seriously shook her head yes that
indeed she was and I said..."This is very honorable then...and I must
give you a special token to always keep and cherish." I handed her the
wolf...and her little eyes lit up like stars....Her parents had been
watching the exchange and were smiling so I knew it was alright to give
it to her.
I handed it to her and said...You must always give him lots of
love..and cherish him...for he is a dreamer to...Will you promise to do
this? She nodded up and down so I said..VERY GOOD...You are of good heart
and I know Pocohauntus would be so proud of you....smile...
Perhaps..that seed planted in that child will grow someday and she
will remember always to dare to dream and cherish that...smile..
The lesson is this...What we do and say today will affect seven
generations from us...smile...I just wished to share that with you
today...HUGS!
--------- "RE: Big Mountain" ---------
From: mdb2@dana.ucc.nau.edu (Malcolm D. Benally)
Subj: Big Mountain
Date: 31 Jul 1995 17:15:00 GMT
Newsgroup: alt.native
Here we are on the internet wanting talking about serious issues
concerning Native Americans, yet we get a bunch of weirdos looking for
Shamans who end up degrading Native American spirituality.
Recently, there was a youth council created at Big Mountain called the
Dine Youth Council. Many of the members are affected by a federal law
that prohibits them to live on their ancestral lands. A 1974 Fed
Govt Law, PL 93-531 partitioned the lands to the Hopi Tribal Council.
After the land was partitioned to the Hopi Tribal Council, 10,000
Navajo Families were forced to relocate. In 1974, many young Dine people
who have become adults were excluded their religious and ancestral
rights to remain the land. Today, the Dine resistors who remain on
their lands are fighting a whiteman's system to assert their religious
rights to remain on the land. There are many traditional Hopi's who
support the Dine struggle, since it is well known that the Tribal
Councils only want to sell the land for strip mining of coal.
The Dine youth Council recognizes the fact that there are many nations
who are in the same kind of struggle against genocide. It came up
as an idea to bring Hopi Youth and Dine Youth and other younger
Natives together to talk about various Native issues and indigenous
struggles in Big Mountain at some point in the future. Perhaps such
a gathering could create something similar to the AIM formation of the
International Indian Treaty Council in South Dakota a few years
back...
We, the younger generation need to get together and rethink our stance on
many issues which concern us a Red Nation. We need to make a stronger
stance to support our Lakota brothers, our brothers in Chiapas, and many
others who are involved in the struggle against cultural genocide.
Today many Native organizations like UNITY and AISES are good, but they
would rather sit in a fine hotel in some big city. Why don't they
seriously consider a youth gathering in Big Mountain or in the Black
Hills and meet with the elders. It's fine to sit in a Hilton, sipping
iced tea and weep and tell our life stories, but it also looks like a big
sell out in the eyes of the dominant society.
So, where ever a red brother be, grow your hair long, raise your fists to
injustice and seriously think about this. Any response welcome.
In the Spirit of the Red Nation,
Malcolm Benally
--------- "RE: "God" & Other "Spiritual" Words" ---------
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 95 08:59:06 -0500
From: pgiese@gold.tc.umn.edu (Paula Giese)
Subj: "God" & other "spiritual" words (importance of language)
UUCP email
This info comes from quite a lot of elders (mostly Lakota) and is "merged
and blurry" around the edges. Usually we were discussing why you have to
"interpret" and cannot translate "from Indian". It's because the whole
conceptual framework is differnt.
English "translations" of Indian spiritual words are not reliable for most
any native culture/language, because they tend to have been made by
Christian missionaries. Even if these missionaries spent years learning the
language (usually they relied on some very acculturated "translator") they
forced the meanings into the Christian molds. They were interested in how to
"preach in Indian" not in preserving or even understanding the often quite
complex philosophies they simply considered "heathen errors".
"Tunkashila" is correctly "translated" as "grandfather" but not as "God".
However the translation simplifies the concept. There is the connotation of
"tunka", rock in the word, he is the "earth grandfather" the "first" (the
rocks), the foundation on which the whole rest of the world exists and all
life depends on it. But he is kindly, a guide and teacher like your real
grandpa. To "interpret" the word, you almost have to give a whole
philosophical essay, not a single word.
"Wakan Tanka" is often translated "god" or "heavenly father". But this is
wrong. We (the Lakotas who told me) say "Great Mystery" as the best you can
do in English, but there is much more to it that you would have to write a
whole book to interpret just these words.
"Takushkanshkan" is sometimes just translated "sacred" but it definitely
means a " sacred wind or air or breath of life and spirit." It's another one
that there's a whole philosophy "packed" into 1 word, which would get pretty
long when you try to express the actual meaning in English.
"Ishpemming" is an Anishnabe word that has been translated as "heaven" ever
since Bishop Barraga wrote his dictionary for missionaries in the 19th
century, but this is not right. Originally it contained the idea of "north
in the sky" the pole star and milky way (galaxy) the spirit's silver road
(which was formed of sparks scattered by Mainguns, Little Wolf, brother of
nanabozho, so all of that's included there too--another book you have to
write to "translate" a single Indian word).
For individual people's spirits, I think this might be quite different
culture to culture, but both Woodland and Lakota elders seemed to agree that
in life there are several different words to designate "a person" depending
are you focussing on the body, the spirit, the "appetites and emotions" or
the mind, intellect.
After death, these parts of a person separate. A "ghost" is left behind,
and (some say) is made out of the appetites-emotions. The ghost is generally
bad because when these are not controlled by mind, spirit and even body
(which simply returns to earth, air, water, plants, other animals) the bad
ones like greed, fear, hate tend to take over. These aren't "bad" in life,
if held in balance--if we had no "greed" we would never "go after
anything"--would starve. If we had no fear, things actually dangerous would
soon wipe us out, etc. But after death, nothing balances or controls these
parts, so ghost-remnants are bad. Most that I have heard say "spirit goes
on, we don't know where really, though there are various stories about it
that might be true or might not be."
All of this (which I think is fairly accurate even if blurry) is very
different from a "WestCiv" language-and-conceptual framework where words
like "god" and "spirit" have *their* meanings. Also, the people who I had
these types of discussions with were mostly Lakota, and Anishnabe, and some
Northern Cheyenne people. I'm sure with other cultures it would be many
differences.
What seems to me most important is these words don't have a simple 1-1
meaning with "a word or short phrase" in English. It goes the other way,
too. "Apple pie" is short in English, and its "simplest" Anishnabe word is
pretty short ("Apples wrapped up"), but that *word* gets longer and longer
as "particles" of meaning go into it (it is still a word, not a sentence)
containing more and more specific instructions for making Apple pie. Some of
these "pieces of meaning" like to others that "branch off" into raising
Apple trees, and others branch "sideways" into berry pies, which connects
through "berry seeds" into "sacred seeds" (which is beads), which threads
around through "how to dry and drill holes in various seeds".
Anishnabe language is a network of meanings, all connected up, much more so
than English and I think more than Lakota too.
If one were able to go back far enough--and this might be easier for Cherokee
than many other tribal cultures because of the independent invention of
writing, the newspapers and other publications done by the people
themselves, etc.--you might find there were many words expressing subtle
shades of meaning and interconnections with other concepts. That would be
really impossible to "translate" into English, have to be interpreted, and
the interpretations might be long.
A contemporary example of the difficulties is to be found in (real, not pop)
science and mathematics. Not only do you have to jawbone, point, diagram
etc a lot to "explain many fundamental concepts, but really there is a whole
language (mathematics and its applications within the particular discipline,
plus the special vocabulary of that disci;line) that have to be learned,
that's what the pointing, jawboning, examples, etc. are all about. The
concepts translated into "everyday" language don't make sense any more.
"Something cannot both be and not-be at the same time in the same manner or
condition," sorry Aristotle, yes they can, and the discipline of studying
those things is quantum mechanics. Or "kinds of infinities", "fractional
infinite dimensions" etc. Without their languages (math) those are empty
words. Those languages are artifacts, constructed for the purposes of their
various scientific disciplines. But the importance of language for 'complex
conceptual meanings" is well demonstrated by them, and the importance not of
artificially preserving but really learning Indian languages is highlighted.
+______________________________________________________________+
| ,__, (* Who? whoooo? | Eniwek gaye nin, ko-ko-ko-koooo,|
| (0;0) | Ningosa nejike wubinanin.... |
| ((\ /)) Paula Giese | But Owl felt sorry for me. |
|==`\w=w/'== | Gave me her name. So I no longer|
| pgiese@gold.tc.umn.edu | Fear her, when I'm alone. |
*--------------------------------------------------------------*
--------- "RE: Looking for a Sweat" ---------
Date: 25 Jul 1995 11:57:31 -0500
From: nrhodes@mmc.mtmercy.edu (Nancy Rhodes)
Subj: Looking for a Sweat
Newsgroup: soc.culture.native
This argument is being waged in most every forum I read that deals with
the topic of American Indians.
Spirituality can't really be taught. It is a belief in something you
can not prove. It has no set structure except what each believer brings
to their life. In trying to fit in, I tried to become a Christian. I would
try to follow the path diligently laid down by those before me. I worked
hard to learn the lessons but I ultimately failed since I really did not
believe in the items being taught. Outwardly, I looked like I was being
successful in acquiring the belief. Inwardly, I was struggling to
maintain the outward appearance. Ultimately I failed since I did not
believe.
If a non native is in tuned with the red road, then it will happen for
them. One part of living with one's spirituality is learning patience. You
can't force spirituality into a time schedule. Sometimes a seeker needs
to practice patience. I always recall the saying 'When the time is right,
the teacher will appear.' At times I have felt impatient, wishing I could
hurry the process because I have felt I have lost valuable ground by
being on the wrong pathway for a couple of years. When I back off and
focus on other areas of my life, the teachers have appeared to help me
further my way of approaching their spirituality is a prepackaged set of
rituals and ceremonies that can be bought from the shopping network
channel. Many approach this topic most disrespectfully. If you believe,
then nothing will prevent you from benefiting but if you think there is
mystical powers that you can get from studying NA spirituality, then you
will be sadly disappointed. The idea of you have the right to force
yourself into the spiritual practices says there is much you need to
learn. Spirituality can not be forced. It also is not instant, even though
knowledge appears instantly at the stroke of a key. Some spiritual lessons
take years to learn and understand. It is not for the weekend, it
permeates through all of your activities. Most who want to avail
themselves of NA practices are unwilling to make the equal commitment of
helping the tribes with their struggles. It is selfishness to want to
receive without paying respect to the tribes. It is wrong for one to be
expected to pay a set amount for spiritual guidance and yet when it was
within the NA community, the seeker freely gave what was needed. They
brought food to the ceremonies to be shared afterwards with everyone, or
they had a giveaway to show the depth of their appreciation. It was
something of practical value.
Even in the Indian communities, the teacher could refuse to take on a
student. This might be a sign there is another path they perceive you are
to follow. Is that wrong? No. It is recognizing that not all paths are the
same and that we need to follow the path that is right for each of us.
When I try to live my life according to other people's expectations,
everything seems to fall apart. When I give in to what is my path, things
happen that I find amazing. I develop in many ways that I would not have
expected but find important to meeting the obstacles in my life.
So those of you who feel you have the God given right to practice NA
spiritual practices, reflect on how that attitude might hinder your
achieving that which you most vocally profess to want. Are you
approaching the area as a humble individual or do you charge in arrogantly
with no respect.
sincere and your mind is open, the teacher(s) will appear when you are
ready for what you need to learn. If the person seeking the sweat in
Denver was ready for a sweat the opportunity would have presented itself
without his having to advertise for it. I also got the impression the
person was out to experience a sweat because it is COOL. The power of the
experience is lost when you have it before you are ready.
--------- "RE: Kanesatake/Crisis in Leadership" ---------
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 10:44:59 GMT
From: bf145@FreeNet.Carleton.CA (Allen Gabriel)
Subj: Kanesatake
Newsgroup: alt.native
Crisis in leadership
Jacques Parizeau, Herb Gray, Ron Irwin, Jerry Peltier and Robert Gabriel:
all are spokespersons for various levels of the Canadian government. They
do not speak for Mohawks living in Kanesatake or anywhere else. The band
council, a colonial instrument forced on the community by the Canadian
government along with its Indian Act, has no real or moral authority over
the governance of Kanesatake and its citizens.
How ironic it is that each of these men is claiming that Kanesatake is not
their jurisdiction today when, five years ago, they were willing to bring
in the army to establish their jurisdiction over this same land. Somehow
I think they will feel rather differently again when the marijuana problem
goes away.
The imposed Grand Chief, Jerry Peltier, while claiming leadership,
professes not to have known anything about the pot fields until the media
reports of a few days ago. He also said that the properties concerned
belong to the federal government, and he has no jurisdiction to get
involved. Contrarily, band councillor, public security director and
Peltier's right-hand man, Robert Gabriel, says they found out in late
June, and destroyed about 20,000 marijuana plants on some of that same
federal land on July 1st. They video-taped the destruction of these
plants and Peltier acknowledged that he was advised of the tape's
existence by Gabriel earlier this month. It is also odd that Peltier
"knew nothing about this" when everyone else in the community admits that
it was common knowledge.
The Grand Chief has also said that, if people have known about this for
two years, they should have gone to the media earlier (note: gone to the
media, not to the Grand Chief). Apparently forgotten was the press
conference Peltier held earlier this year to refute charges made to the
media by members of the community. The truth of the matter is that
Peltier, and members of his council, have been protecting individuals as
they have engaged in all sorts of activities that are disruptive to our
community and to our neighbours. He has said they, "are exercising their
inherent right to trade."
The farcical game of ping pong we've been witnessing over the last few
days conveys the message: hear no evil, see no evil, anything requiring
the taking of responsibility is someone else's job.
Is this leadership? What kind of leaders know nothing about what is going
on in "their community"? Silence is collusion, and is particularly
galling when the people remaining silent claim to represent good and
transparent government. Peltier's carefully choreographed naivete barely
conceals evil, cowardice, greed and self-interest -- traits not
well-respected in traditional Mohawk culture. In fact, if these
attributes came to corrupt, and drive the conduct, of a Roiane (Chief)
after he was condoled, they would lead to three warnings and his removal.
Peltier says he and his council were not elected to become policemen, they
were elected as politicians. I say we don't need politicians. We need
Rotiianeson (Chiefs). Captain Peltier and the officers (members of his
council who back him up) of his sinking ship are men who are willing to
throw the women, children and Elders into the water for the spaces in the
best lifeboat. They lie to the federal and provincial governments, they
lie to the media. Most importantly, they lie to the people they claim to
represent.
Kanesatake is not only a place where huge marijuana fields are growing to
make a few people rich. It is not only a place where guns and barricades
caused two nations to make a stand. It is a community where people are
trying to heal and grow. They're doing their best to make their community
a better place, a safe place. This is not easy to do when you live in a
fish bowl, when every move is examined under the cynical microscope of
Canadian politicians and certain radio talk-show hosts.
The people in Kanesatake are trying to get out from under the yoke of the
Canadian and Quebec governments. And Peltier is doing his best to keep
them there. But he lives in a world of fiction.
What is real? These lands are Mohawk territory. They have never and do
not now belong to any part of the Canadian government. How can any Mohawk
have confidence in Peltier's ability to negotiate a settlement to the land
issues when he gives away the farm? His comments in the last few days
could be detrimental to our historical position -- that this is Mohawk
territory, it always has been and always will be.
But his current position on the status of our, Mohawk, territory is
consistent with the way he has handled things from the start. The
Memorandum of Understanding he signed with Michel Robert clearly shows
Peltier's personal agreement that the federal government acquire available
third party interests. He is negotiating from an incorrect and corrupt
position -- that our land does not belong to us. But then, it is
important to note that Mr. Peltier doesn't have the historical and
traditional perspective of any of the Mohawk communities. He is from
Wikwemikong, Ontario. Is this Peltier's vision of "self"-government? To
run, crying, to Ottawa every time he falls and scrapes his knees, or every
time he gets his head stuck in the banister.
It is absolutely true there is marijuana flourishing in Kanesatake. It is
also true that those individuals who have vested interest in the
continuing of this and other illegal activities, as well as the proposed
casino, are the same people who claim they have had no knowledge of these
dealings which take place, quite literally, in their own back yards.
What will they do to protect their vested interest? They will sell their
sovereignty. They will form policing units which will promote certain
individual interests over the good of the community. Where's the courage
and integrity? It's in the true leaders of Kanesatake -- those who didn't
get involved in the pot, or other activities. It's in the women who first
spoke out. These are the people who deserve the time and attention, and
the support of those willing to help build this community.
--------- "RE: Kanesatake/Unseat Peltier" ---------
Date: Mon Jul 31, 1995 at 18:51 EDT
From: Suzan Horovitch (a.horovitch@genie.geis.com)
Subj: Unseat Peltier
GE Electronic Mail
There is a meeting tonight in Kahnesatake by an influential group of
Mohawks in an attempt to unseat the chief, Jerry Peltier. Only one week
ago Jerry Peltier told reporters that he didn't know anything about
marijuana growing in this community, guarded by armed teenagers, even
though a number of community members went to him as far back as last
November to do something about it. The growing of marijuana in the area
was an open secret to even outsiders like myself as far back as July 94!
Jerry Peltier has not been seen in the community for the last 5 days.
The negotiations with the Peacekeepers for the Friday night cleaning up
and then the very delicate negotiations which allowed the provincial
police into the community without violence on Saturday was done by Chief
Billy Two Rivers of Kahnawake. It was also left to Billy Two Rivers to
explain why the SQ found much more growing than did the peacekeepers.
(helicopters and specialty cameras).
The people meeting tonight say there is a vacuum of leadership in the
community. The Office of Chief of the Band council is an office created
by the Department of Indian affairs and is not recognized by the majority
of the community. They want the hereditary chief... Clarence Hindman to
be recognized as their chief. The band council... a colonial instrument
forced on the community by the Canadian government has no real or moral
authority over the governance of Kahnesatake and its citizens.
Last week.. each of the three levels of government, Federal, provincial
and Band council claimed that the pot fields of Kahnesatake were not
within their jurisdiction. It seemed said that five years ago, they were
willing to bring the army in to establish their jurisdiction over this same
land.
According to a statement by Allen Gabriel in the Gazette "Peltier's
supposed naivete looks disturbingly like a pose to conceal green and self
interest - traits not well respected in traditional Mohawk culture. In
fact, if these attributes came to corrupt and drive the conduct of a
roiane ( chief) after he was poke to, they would lead to three warnings
and his removal. Peltier says he and his council were not elected to
become policeman , they were elected as politicians. I say we don't need
politicians. We need Rotiianeson ( chiefs)"
There are a large number of people in this community who are trying to
heal themselves and their community. Gabriel feels these are the people
of courage and integrity who need the support of the community... the
woman who dared to speak out and bring this problem to a head last week.
Now they are meeting to see if they can solve the leadership problems in
the community as well.
--------- "RE: "La Migra" Charts a New Trail of Tears" ---------
Date: Tue, 01 Aug 95 13:23:11 EST
From: gwelker@mail.lmi.org
Subj: "La Migra" Charts a New Trail of Tears (fwd)
UUCP email
"La Migra" Charts a New Trail of Tears
By Patrisia Gonzales & Roberto Rodriguez
"You're late. The rooster crowed all morning. I knew you were coming."
Trini, a curandera, or healer, opens the screen door to her old farm. She
lives not far from Hillsboro, Texas, where around 1919, a black man was
burned at the stake by a mob.
We met Trini a few years ago, while driving down a country road that's
no more than a scratch in the earth. A handwritten sign that read
"TAMALES" caught our eye. And that's how we ended up talking about the
message of the rooster's crow, finding miracles in candles and, of course,
her famous tamales.
Trini's tamales have been known to attract people from as far away as
Dallas to these black lands where sweet corn grows tall. "Tierra caliente,
" Mexicans call it--or "hot earth."
Ever since she was a child she's also had the gift for divining. She
once found Spanish gold buried under a stick. These days, white farmers
sometimes ask her to show them where gold is buried on their land. They
say they've seen lights dancing on the earth at night--a sign of buried
treasure. But Trini refuses--for reasons rooted deep in American
history--"because of what the white man did to the black man, and for
taking the land from Mexico."
Trini's people have been here since before there were six flags flying
over Texas. Her grandparents were Cherokee and Mexican Indians who liked
to eat on the floor and asked to be buried in a mountain when they died--
-the Indian way.
Trini's skin is as brown and red as the earth. She looks like she's
always been here. And at age 72, she can't remember a time when her
relatives weren't here. Though she was born in these parts, she doesn't
speak English well, and cannot read nor write.
In other words, Trini would be a prime suspect for la migra--border
patrol agents who constantly search for "illegal aliens"--even hundreds of
miles from any border. If Congress has its way and adopts a national ID
card for everyone, it is people like Trini who will be constantly asked
to produce it.
In a great irony of U.S. history, the true natives of this land have
become the immigrants. People who can trace their ancestry back the
farthest are stopped and questioned because "they look Hispanic"--meaning
they look Indian.
Canadian or European immigrants, though, are not hunted down by la migra
in this way. To us, then, our nation's immigration policy is simply a
continuation of the Indian removal policy of the 1800s, when Indians were
removed from their lands and forced into Indian Territory.
During that era, Native Americans were forced to walk the Trail of
Tears--some 600 miles without food or shelter--to Oklahoma, which became a
deportation center, according to Antonio Bustamante, an historian at the
University of Arizona. Many fell along the way. As Bustamante says,
"There were many trails of tears for each group that was removed."
Today another trail of tears exists. People indigenous to the Americas
are being removed again--through deportation.
Mexicans and Central Americans going north to the United States die in
boxcars, car trunks, crawl across mountains, and trust the rivers and
deserts with their lives. They must risk this hazardous journey because
U.S. laws have made it a crime for them to work here, and have branded
them as criminals not worthy of human rights--in a land that was formerly
theirs.
And a man can still go free for shooting a Mexican in the back--as U.S.
Border Patrol Officer Michael Elmer did in 1994, after killing an
immigrant and then burying his body in the desert.
In indigenous culture, migration is part of a people's evolution and
spiritual journey. Certain places are deemed sacred because a people once
passed through there. In ancient picture books that show the founding of
Mexico, migration was depicted symbolically as footprints leaving seven
caves, an area which many believe to be the present-day Southwest.
Some Mexican Americans feel they are hated by "gringos" because their
Indian faces are reminders that they once owned the land--that they were
dispossessed and made illegitimate by an unjust war. Like Trini, Mexicans
and Central Americans are not immigrants. They have the land written on
their face, the age of the land etched in the deep color of their skin.
And the Hopi of the Southwest say, they are just following their right to
return home.
And they still leave footprints in the desert. Source: MCLR List,
22429bsc@msu.edu (belinda cook)
[Rodriguez and Gonzales can be reached at:
(915) 593-2387
P.O. Box 370394
El Paso, TX 79937 or
XROBERTO@AOL.COM]
--------- "RE: Lawsuit Info Up" ---------
Date: Thu, 27 Jul 1995 09:23:32 -0700
From: "Peter P. d'Errico" <derrico@legal.umass.edu>
Subj: Lawsuit Info Up
UUCP email
Please check out the pages at the URL shown in the attached notice...
thanks!
Peter
--
Peter d'Errico voice: 413-545-2003
Legal Studies Department fax: 413-545-1640
University of Massachusetts/Amherst 01003 derrico@legal.umass.edu
web page: http://hanksville.phast.umass.edu:80/~native/pde/
=======================================================
++ INFORMATION RELEASE FOR INTERNET **** Thursday, July 27, 1995 ++
AMERICAN INDIAN RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN PRISON - LAWSUIT REPORT
A preliminary injunction in favor of the inmates has been issued in a
lawsuit filed on behalf of a group of inmates who are part of a Native
American Spiritual Awareness Council in a Massachusetts prison. The case
is Trapp, et al. v. DuBois, et al., Massachusetts Superior Court (Worcester,
Civil No. 95-0779).
On May 12, 1995, after a hearing on plaintiffs' motion for preliminary
injunction, the Court, Justice Diane Kottmyer presiding, issued an order
permitting the use of headbands along with other sacred items and
permitting inmate participation in the Native American Spiritual
Awareness Council subject only to the approval of "an outside spiritual
advisor or sachem."
The Council maintains a weekly Circle and other practices associated with
American Indian spirituality. Among their spiritual teachers are medicine
people in the area, including Slow Turtle and Medicine Story. The Circle
has been in existence at the prison for more than five years.
Plaintiffs' complaint alleges an ongoing pattern of substantial
discrimination against and burden upon their free exercise of religion,
willfully and maliciously imposed by various administrators of the prison
system. At one or another time, articles of spiritual significance (pipes,
headbands, drums, etc.) have been confiscated as contraband. Inmates
who are not members of federally "recognized tribes" have been told they
cannot participate in the Circle. The complaint is supported by affidavits
from the lead plaintiffs (Chief and Sub-Chief of the Council) and from
Slow Turtle.
The lawsuit states claims based on state and federal constitutions and
statutes, including the 1993 federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act. We
argue that prison administration knowingly violated religious freedom and
intimidated inmates who expressed an interest in Native American
spirituality. We also argue the beneficial effects of the Circle for inmates
and for the institution, in order to prove that these practices do not
threaten the security of the prison (one of the factors typically considered
by courts in such cases).
The case continues, as plaintiffs move to enforce the court's order
throughout the prison system and to prepare further motions preparatory
to trial, including a motion for a speedy trial. The trial docket of the
court is about three years backlogged.
Plaintiffs' attorneys are Peter d'Errico, William Norris , and Robert
Doyle. We are interested in hearing from anyone with information that may
aid in the presentation of the case.
We have made documents from the case available on the World-Wide Web at
the following URL:
http://hanksville.phast.umass.edu:80/~native/pde/trapp
To contact us directly: derrico@legal.umass.edu, wnorris@legal.umass.edu
--------- "RE: Poem: Aztec Poem" ---------
Date: Wed, 26 Jul 95 17:03:36 EST
From: gwelker@mail.lmi.org
Subj: Aztec Poem
Aztec Poem
Like a quetzal plume, a fragrant flower,
friendship sparkles:
like heron plumes, it weaves itself into finery.
Our song is a bird calling out like a jingle:
how beautiful you make it sound!
Here, among flowers that enclose us,
among flowery boughs you are singing.
Madison, WI 53708-8306
Email <earthwins@aol.com>
America Online: EarthWINS
Permission given to reprint by author.
--------- "RE: Verse: Hawai'ian Book of Days" ---------
Date: 95/07/29 17:34
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 August 6-12
AUKAKE
(August)
(Mahoe-mua)
6
Your spirit will lead you to those you were meant to know.
7
Take time to look at clouds and sunsets and the beauty of nature.
8
Make your mind a quiet place of peace and solitude.
9
No truth is ever absolute.
10
The orchid embodies the perfection of diversity.
11
Never be afraid to experience life.
12
The song of the ocean is captured forever in the tiniest shell.
(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, 3 Aug 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: BrentMD@aol.com
American Indian Chamber of Commerce of Arizona
Flagstaff Organizing Meeting
Monday, August 7, 1995
7:30 A.M. to 12:00 Noon
Little America Hotel
Flagstaff, Arizona
(RSVP for FREE Breakfast)
Window Rock Organizing Meeting
Tuesday, August 8, 1995
11:30 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.
Navajo Nation Inn
Window Rock, Arizona
(RSVP for FREE Lunch)
Tucson Organizing Meeting
Monday, August 14, 1995
1:30 P.M. to 4:00 P.M.
Pima Community College District Offices
Community Board Rm (105), Bldg. C
4905C E. Broadway
Tucson, Arizona
For More Information call Norm Begody @ (520) 748-4906
Purpose
The purpose of these meetings is to organize a statewide American
Indian Chamber of Commerce. All American Indian Professionals and
Business Owners are welcome to attend.
The Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) are partially funded
by the U.S. Small Business Administration under cooperative agreement
#5-7770-0003-03. The support given by the U.S. Small Business
Administration through such funding does not constitute an express or
implied endorsement of any of the cosponsor(s) or participant(s)
opinions, products or services.
=========================================================================
Sender: owner-eirp@listproc.wsu.edu
From: EIRP News <eirpnews@coopext.cahe.wsu.edu>
Subject: Reminder about the EIRP Conference
Here's a reminder of the upcoming EIRP conference. -pablo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
[snip] ...announcement regarding EIRP Conference in November. [We] Want
to encourage participation. [We are] Planning some terrific workshops,
grant writing, storytelling, 4-H, ag and livestock, volunteer management
training and marketing. Something for everyone.
On our registration material that went out. Slight error on guest meal
fees: no charge for guest to attend receptions (IAC and SWIAA are hosting
these). If guest would like to attend banquet ($20.00) tour and lunch
($10.00) Full Breakfast (Monday, November 6th) $11.50, Continental
Breakfast (Wednesday, November 8th) $8.50. Sorry about the mistake.
Hope we have a good turnout.
Thanks for all your help.
Elaine
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
3RD ANNUAL EXTENSION INDIAN RESERVATION PROGRAM (EIRP) CONFERENCE
Grace Inn - Ahwatukee, Phoenix, Arizona
November 5 - 8, 1995
REMINDER: 3rd Annual (EIRP) Conference
THEME: "Sustaining Indian Country through Youth and
WHEN: November 5 - 8, 1995
WHERE: Grace Inn - Ahwatukee, Phoenix, Arizona
HOST: The University of Arizona, College of Agriculture/
Cooperative Extension jointly with the Southwest
Indian Agricultural Association (SWIAA)
PRE-REGISTER
BY: Wednesday, September 27, 1995 - cost $50 per person
AFTER: Wednesday, September 27, 1995 - cost $60 per person
REGISTRATION
HOTEL: October 6, 1995 at Conference Rate
After October 6, 1995 - space available basis
The Committee and I wish to encourage your participation at this
conference. Many interesting and educational programs are being planned
for you.
If you require a registration packet please contact Dr. Howard Jones or
myself at:
Dr. Howard Jones, Coordinator
Native American Programs
College of Agriculture/Cooperative Extension
Forbes Building #316
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
Phone: 520-621-1885
FAX: 520-621-1314
hjones@ag.arizona.edu
Mr. Matt Livingston, Extension Agent
ANR/4-H Youth Development
Cooperative Extension - Hopi
P. O. Box 1203
Keams Canyon, AZ 86034
Phone: 520-734-2441
FAX: 520-734-2331
Looking forward to seeing you in November.
MATT LIVINGSTON, Chair (EIRP) Conference
=======================================================================
Sender: owner-ind-net@listproc.wsu.edu
From: Walker River Reservation <wrwater@coopext.cahe.wsu.edu>
Subject: Klamath Treaty Days
The Klamath Treaty Days will be held August 26 & 27, 1995 in Chiloquin,
Oregon. Events include a Rodeo sanctioned by the Western States Rodeo
Association with all the standard events with $300.00 added. There is
also events for the younger folks like Jr. Steer Riding (7-12 years of
age), Mutton Bustin' (6 & under), Jr Barrels (12 & under), Jr. Calf
Riding. They also included the Red/White Team Roping for their
non-Indian friends. There will also be a Special Wild Horse Race "The
Waukeen Brown Memorial" (Limited to 24 teams) Entry Fee $150/team with
$1,000.00 added/Jackets.
This Rodeo is held in conjunction with the 1995 Klamath Tribes
Restoration Celebration which include a PowWow (Fri-Sat), Cowboy Church
(Sun), Free BBQ (Fri 3pm-7pm), CoEd Softball Tourney (Sat-Sun), Arts &
Crafts, Parade (Sat - Downtown Chiloquin 11am), Fun Run (Sat),
Traditional Walk (Sat).
Everyone is Invited. For More Information Call (503)783-7166 or
1-800-524-9787
========================================================================
From: rgoulais@onlink.net
Newsgroups: soc.culture.native
Subject: Labour Day Pow-Wow
The Nipissing Anishnabek welcome you to:
"Gathering of Teachers" NIPISSING FIRST NATION POW-WOW
Labour Day Weekend, September 1-3, 1995
N.F.N. Community Centre, Garden Village near North Bay, Ontario
Host Drum: TBA
M.C.: Ed Benton-Banai, Lac Courte Oreilles, WIS
Teachings, Sweat Lodges, Ceremonies
Feasting, lots of feasting
For more information E-mail:
rgoulais@onlink.net
or visit http://www.onlink.net/community/rgoulais.html
========================================================================
From GEnie Online Service - East RT Bulletin Board
Category 11, Topic 14
Message 59 Mon Jul 31, 1995
USA.GAYLE [Gayle] at 15:21 EDT
With thanks to several Native American friends who sent this to me today.
It's a LONG message, but worthwhile reading, and considering.
"Press Release"
*** ONE MIND, ONE VOICE, ONE HEART, ONE PRAYER ***
One People in Prayer
Sept. 29 & Oct. 1, 1995
On The Mall in Washington, D.C.
(next to the Washington Monument)
"If you prick the finger of a white person, the blood is red. If
you prick the finger of a black person, the blood is red. If you prick
the finger of a yellow person, the blood is red. If you prick the finger
of a red person, the blood is red. This proves that we are all One. The
blood flowing through all our bodies is the same color."
Harry F. Byrd, Lakota Elder
Paraphrasing
Fools Crow, Lakota Holy Man
(at the first of four convocations, Oct. 1993)
Our time is the fulfillment of prophesy. Opportunities to create an
experience of One Humanity, One Earth, One Sacred Life are essential. We
can approach and enter the next millennium with the wisdom, strength and
courage to actualize a better life on Earth for ALL or we can arrive
broken, doubtful and disconnected from each other. We can provide our
youth with opportunities to participate in our collective healing or we
can continue to barrage them with images of a conflicted world. We can
tap the resources of our elders to guide our passage or we can push them
into the background with our ignorance. We can continue to pour our
resources into the acquisition of things and defense or we can contribute
to the production of people, of character, of hope and of the experiences
necessary for an integrated and healthy world. The choice is ours.
The "One Mind, One Voice, One Heart, One Prayer" prayer vigil is a
gathering designed to (1) fulfill the meaning of prophesy, (2) come
together as One People in prayer, (3) create a forum for the Native
Wisdom Keepers of Turtle Island (North America), Central and South
America to share their knowledge with the public, (4) provide our youth
with a model for our collective healing and images of One People in
Prayer, (5) demonstrate the capacity to be One People without the loss of
cultural integrity, (6) strengthen the positive vision of prophesy about
the future, (7) establish our interconnections, (8) bring the federal
community together with Native Elders to learn about Care of Mother
Earth, and (9) promote an integrated and healthy world.
According to several Native American prophesies, the turning point
in history will be recognized by spiritual gatherings dedicated to
creating an integrated and healthy world. It is these gatherings which
lay the foundation for new alliances, new communities, new vision and new
wisdom to grow. Christian tradition teaches, "Where two or more are
gathered in love, the spirit dwells." "One Mind, One Voice, One Heart,
One Prayer" provides an opportunity for spirit and vision to dwell
together among us every October to the year 2000.
The year 1995 marks the second of the sacred Seven Years of Healing,
1994-2000. Our theme in 1995 is the healing of our relationship with
Mother Earth. Native American and other Indigenous people have been
subjected to humiliation, defeat, isolation, and rejection for more than
500 years. The world community, through the United Nations has
recognized this fact and declared the 1990s The Decade of the Indigenous
People. At one time Indigenous people were wise stewards of a great land
mass and all the life forms on it; now they are largely confined to
reservations and subjected to political and economic systems that regard
the land as something to be exploited. Too much has been broken: their
homes, their nations, their religions, their lives. But not their
spirit.
It is from this indomitable bounteous spirit--still rich with
hope--that healing becomes paramount as we approach the 21st century.
Native nations and cultures from throughout the United States, Canada,
Central and South America reach out now for an actualizing experience
that will usher them--and all of us--into this period of healing, a time
when their spiritual and cultural practices will no longer be diminished
by the dominant people, but in fact will shine with all the other
traditions that enrich the potent mosaic of cultural experiences in the
land of ours.
We invite you to join us on the Mall near the Washington Monument
for thirty hours of continuous prayer and related events. We ask you to
tell others about this event. Please keep One Mind, One Voice, One
heart, One Prayer and its intention in you thoughts and prayers.
artial Schedule:
ri. Sept. 29 -Day Blessing of Site - Erecting Teepee Circle
-Evening Healing Global Wounds Pow-Wow
at. Sept. 30 -Day Sunrise Ceremony & Prayer Vigil
Prayers offered by communities of
North, Central & South America
Continuous Drum and Music
Talks and dialogue on preservation
of Mother Earth
Round Dances
Sunset Ceremony
Sat. Sept. 30 -Night Ceremony and Prayers honoring the
youth of the Seventh Generation
Continuous Drum and Prayer
Movies and educational programs
Sun. Oct. 1 -Day Sunrise Ceremony & Prayer Vigil
Ceremony, Planting the Tree of Peace
Closing Ceremony
Highlights 1995, Third Annual Prayer Vigil
* International Tipi Peace Village - 12 tipis create a sacred
circle on the Mall. Tipis dedicated to continuous prayer,
education, and healing.
* Children's Torch of Hope - United Nation's first Torch of Peace
which circled the globe in 1986, traveling the US in honor of the
50th anniversary of the UN, will be run to the Prayer Vigil by
Native youth and youth of all races.
* Sunrise Pipe Ceremonies - honoring the birth of Miracle, a white
buffalo calf who symbolizes the beginning of peace and unity among
people.
* One Mind, One Voice, One Heart, One Prayer - Grace Smith,
Dineh elder, representative of 150 Hopi-Dineh elders and UN
representative to the Indigenous People's Working Group in
Geneva, SZ, will talk on the meaning of the Prayer Vigil.
* Wisdom Keeper of the Wampum Belts - William Commanda, traditional
elder of the Algonquin Nation, will speak to us of the prophesy of
love, peace, and harmony found on these ancient belts.
* The Great Law of Peace - Chief of Chiefs, Leon Shenandoah of Six
Nations will speak to us about the Tree of Peace and the laws which
influenced the US constitution, followed by a Planting of a Tree of
Peace Ceremony.
* Central & South American Elders & Traditionalists = 25
representatives will share their stories, prophesies and
cultural education with us.
* Seventh Generation of All Races - Honoring youth and prophesy
that this generation returns love, peace and harmony to Mother
Earth.
* Interfaith Community - Participation of the Interfaith Community
of Washington DC and Wisdom Keepers from around the globe.
* Meetings with Government Officials - Follow-up to 1994's White
House meetings on Sustainable Development.
For further information or to make tax-deductible and much needed
contributions contact:
From The Circle, California 510-531-7527
bestar@aol.com
Wittenberg Center, New York 914-679-9764
wicar@aol.com
Sacred Life Assoc., Washington 206-432-5412
wingz@ix.netcom.com
Juanita Neconie, Washington, D.C. 301/208-1407
JNeconie@IHS.SSW.DHHS.GOV
=========================================================================
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--
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:
Janet Smith, Debra F. Sanders(Kepola), EarthWINS via Glenn Welker,
Brookie M. Craig, National Commission for Democracy in Mexico <moonlight>,
Allen Gabriel, Suzan Horovitch, Tharon Paul Weighill, Sheila M Shigley,
Andrea (amt@teleport.com), Stephen Carroll(Press Release), Lyn Dearborn,
Todd Hiatt(jonto), Malcolm D. Benally, Paula Giese, Peter d'Errico,
Nancy Rhodes, Allen Gabriel, Patrisia Gonzales & Roberto Rodriguez
--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--//--
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
~ all items below this line have already been distributed via
the NATIVE-L or NATCHAT mailing lists.