I am appending to this article the text of an article that was posted to
the "alt.native" Usenet newsgroup recently and carried in Gary ("Night
Owl") Smith's "Wotanging Ikche--nanews04.032" newsletter. I have received
permission from the author of the article to re-transmit it.
I hope to eventually be able to set up a Web-enabled dialogue on this
subject so that all sides of the issue can be explored. Meanwhile, I'd
like to suggest that those who are concerned enough about the issues
involved to want to take action spend some time researching the history
of the situation and who are the players on each side and what kinds of
attitudes and actions they have each taken before doing so. If anyone
has more information on the subject which can help us sort things out,
please post it as a followup to this article.
Gary (gst@gnosys.svle.ma.us) ]
_____________________________________
Institute for Ecology and Action Anthropology INFOE
(Cologne branch office)
Melchiorstr. 3;
_____________________________________ 50670 Cologne
Germany
Tel./Fax:
++49-221-739 28 71
Dear friends,
As you may already be aware of, the situation at Big Mountain is very
critical at the moment.
The Dineh who have already resisted relocation for 20 years are under
severe pressure to sign an "Accommodation Agreement" before Jan. 1st,
1997. This agreement would allow the people to stay in their homes for 75
years, but with only 3 acres of land and under Hopi regulation. Three
violations against their regulation would already open the door for
eviction.
Those who do not sign this Accommodation Agreement by Dec. 31st, 1996,
will be charged with trespassing and subject to eviction.
To prevent this policy of termination immediate action is necessary. At a
meeting with Ted Begay and Kee Watchman from the Cactus Valley-Red Willow
Springs Sovereign Community and David L. Lujan from the Tonantzin Land
Institute, taking place in Cologne on Aug. 5th, we have agreed upon taking
the following steps:
Send faxes this week (no later than Aug. 9th) to the Special
Rapporteur to the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Prevention of
Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities, Mario Ivarra. Support him
in his effort to have the Sub-Commission send an observer or mediator to
Big Mountain this fall. (See attached sample fax.)
-------------------------sample fax-----------------------------------
To Mr. Mario Ivarra
Special Rapporteur of the
UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities
Fax:++41-22-917 0212
attn Sabine Schielmannn
Dear Mario Ivarra,
we have recently become aware of the critical situation at Big Mountain,
Arizona. The proposed Accommodation Agreement threatens the inherent
rights of the Dini to their land and religious freedom. The use of police
to prevent and disturb the sundance these past few weeks and the ongoing
suppression of spiritual and religious practices is intolerable and calls
for immediate action by the United Nations.
We urge you to do everything possible to convince the Sub-Commission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the need to
send an observer or mediatior to the Big Mountain community to document
and report or the urgent Situation in the community.
Thank you for your support
===================================================================
________________________
Public Key auf Anfrage - public key available.
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Date: Wed, 31 Jul 1996 14:50:53 LOCAL
From: cdm@azstarnet.com (Cynthia M. Dagnal-Myron)
Subj: Hopi Chairman Big Mountain Response
Newsgroup: alt.native
THIS IS AN EXCERPT FROM:
The Chairman's Report to the Hopi People July 19, 1996
Hopi Tutuveni
P.O. Box 123
Kykotsmovi, AZ 86039
ANY COMMUNICATION YOU WISH TO HAVE WITH THE CHAIRMAN OR OTHERS ABOUT
THIS EXCERPT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO THE ABOVE. THIS EXCERPT IS
OFFERED AS HIS INTERPRETATION OF EVENTS ALONE, OFFERED INITIALLY TO
THE HOPI PUBLIC VIA THEIR OWN LOCAL NEWSPAPER TO ANSWER OTHER ARTICLES
PUBLISHED WORLDWIDE ABOUT THIS EVENT.
"...The Chairman's office has been very busy protecting Hopi
natural resources on HPL at Big Mountain in the face of Sundance
activities in the area.
You may know that in the Big Mountain area of Hopi
partitioned Land (HPL), some Navajo families have hosted a Lakota
religious ceremony called the Sundance. There were two requests for a
Sundance, one which was authorized with conditions (camp #2). The
other was denied, because the request came from Navajos who were not
residents of HPL (camp #1). For the most part, the Hopi Tribe has done
very little in the past to respond to these ceremonies and to regulate
the large groups of people that have come from all over the world.
Here is some historical background: In the early 1980s, the
Sundance ceremony was originally established as a healing ceremony and
as part of the movement by some Navajos to resist forced relocation
from Hopi lands. The site identified by the relocation resisters for
this Sundance is southwest of Big Mountain and near Rocky Ridge. The
Big Mountain Survival Camp, as it is known, was established and
declared Sovereign Dine territory, even though it is on Hopi lands.
This location served both as a site for the annual religious event,
and a base for resistance to relocation. The site also proved to be
helpful in gathering sympathy, support and aid from the rest of the
world in resisting relocation, because the Sundance attracted a lot of
non-Indians and Indians from remote locations who had no understanding
of the disputes between Hopi and Navajo. This gave the resistance
movement a large audience of easily influenced people, who could be
convinced to provide financial and political support for their
resistance movement.
The Sundance became more than a Native American religious
ceremony of healing. It also became a political weapon. By claiming
that any efforts to restrict these religious ceremonies was a
violation of their right to practice the religion of their choice and
a violation of the Native American Religious Freedom Act, (NARFA), the
resistance movement further complicated Hopi efforts to take
jurisdiction over its land and to protect its natural resources.
The argument that the Hopi Tribe's attempt to regulate
gatherings of a religious nature on HPL is a violation of NARFA is an
interesting one, but it doesn't work.
These events have proven to be more than just a threat to
Hopi natural resources. They have become a threat to the safety and
welfare of the Hopi people and HPL residents, both Hopi and Navajo.
On Sunday night, July 7, there was a shooting incident between the two
camps. Apparently, some individuals from Camp #1 (Survival Camp)
fired at some individuals from Camp #2 (Camp Ana Mae) with a high
powered rifle as they fled from the Camp #1 location.
The real issue is the Hopi Tribe's sovereign right to protect
its resources and to protect the welfare of the Hopi people!
About 5 or 6 years ago, there was a split in the group of
people who conducted and hosted the Sundance ceremony at the Survival
camp, which is referred to as "Camp #1." One faction moved to the
northeast, and established a new site referred to as Camp Ana Mae, or
"Camp #2."
Restrictions were stepped up this year because of the severe
drought and fire hazard conditions that exist on the Hopi Reservation,
which the rest of the region has also been experiencing.
Discussions with the hosts of the Sundance planned for Camp
#2 had been taking place six weeks before the ceremony. Permission,
with severe restrictions, was given to this group because they made
their request well in advance (not because they protested in
Washington, D.C., as they reported to the media). Among those
restrictions were plans for protecting the vegetation and wildlife of
the area from fire and a limit on the number of guests to 100.
The group at Camp #2 has made an effort to cooperate and to
comply with the restrictions. However, a second group came forward
only a few days before their planned event and informed the Tribe of
its plans, also requesting permission.
Because of the lateness of this request, the approved event
at Camp #2 for the same dates, and the fact that the requesters were
not HPL residents, their request/demand was denied.
This second group ignored the denial of their permit, entered
the area without permission, and initiated ceremonial activities in
the Survival Camp (Camp #1).
Before the Tribe could respond, a group of approximately 200
people were already gathered in the area led by a medicine man from
the Rosebud Sioux Nation, Leonard Crowdog, and set up camp. They the
proceeded to cut down a 30 to 40 ft. tall cottonwood from a nearby
wash for use in their ceremony.
Upon returning to the Survival Camp with the tree, Leonard
Crowdog was issued a citation for cutting a tree on HPL in violation
of Hopi Ordinance 47 and ordered to appear in Hopi Tribal Court. Due
to the large size of the gathering, and the potential for violence, no
evictions from HPL were made. Roadblocks were set up to keep the
gathering from getting any larger. No new people were allowed into
the area and anyone who left the site was denied re-entry. This event
at Camp #1 is now over. The Hopi Tribe will now be looking into
"reclaiming" the area.
I have made contact with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe regarding
the nature of Mr. Crowdog's activities. The representative from
Rosebud said that Leonard Crowdog is a legitimate Sioux medicine man
authorized to conduct the Sundance ceremony and that it is sometimes
offered to other tribes. He added, though, that permission from the
host Tribe must be respectfully sought and obtained in advance
whenever the Sundance is to be conducted on another Nation's land.
Mr. Leonard Crowdog and his Navajo hosts did not respect this protocol
prescribed by the Sioux Nation, and they certainly did not respect
Hopi protocol or the sovereignty of the Hopi Tribe.
In closing, the Hopi Tribal Council has been kept informed of
these activities and a Council member has been present at most of our
visits to Big Mountain. Once the events are over for this year, we
will be bringing this before the Council again as part of policy
making process in preparation for the Hopi Tribe's official position
on future activities of this nature."