Dec. 3, 1996
Internet Reports Spread Worldwide Innacuracies
South Dakota State Electronic Mail Services Shut Down
An internet message which has claimed that a judge in a South Dakota lower
court issued a ruling that no more than 40 Native Americans may practice
their religion on public lands has turned out to be false, according to a
reporter from the largest Native American owned and operated newspaper. The
internet message which reported that the Lakota Nations spirtitual leader
was to attend the Dec. 3, meeting in Pierre, South Dakota was confirmed
false by the newspaper reporter who has verified that not only the
spiritual leader was in another part of the country and had no knowledge of
the meeting, but that serveral innacuracies have caused worldwide
pandamonium in a flurry of support for the Native American people via
intenet messages from the news media, organizations, and individuals
demanding justice for Native Americans regarding the issue.
The meeting said to be a public hearing regarding claims that a judge in
South Dakota overturned a Presidential Executive order issued by President
Clinton supporting religious freedom was actually in fact a meeting
sponsored by Paul Valandra and Representative Volensky for *economic
development* A proffeor who wrote a book about economic development called
the meeting.
A source close to the investigation, a trained journalist, suggests that no
such ruling was ever made in a South Dakota Court of Law. The fact that
there are ongoing cases regarding religious freedoms and any connections
with today's meeting on economic development have been negated.
Any court case or ruling similar to what is being claimed was a federal
case which was immediatly overturned in the 1970's.
The only discussions that are on-going, are negotiations with the US Dept.
of Fish and Game to give control over to Native American elders who would
determine who would have the right to authorize and practise ceremonies on
public land in South Dakota, ie: keeping new agers and non-Indians from
using/abusing these lands for their own ceremonies.
According to South Dakota Governor Janklow, there were, are, nor will be
any such actions or meetings to curtail Native American religious
practises, and that he has proposed to turn Bear Butte over to Native
Americans for religious use. He was quoted today as saying "there should be
special place in hell in hell for people who live off the tears of others"
siting todays barrage of internet mis-information.
While claims of verification of the alledged ruling have been spread via
the internet, no corroberated evidence such as paperork, or contacts to
persons initializing said claims could be attained or verified. The
internet messages originated from an individual who joinly runs a Native
American listserve in contact with an elder of which the spelling of the
elder's name did not correspond to that of any Native Americans of the
region and tribal affiliation. The email message was distributed to at
least six Native American listservers, some which only allow verified
information, or known to screen internet posts for accuracy.
At the time the post was read over the telephone on a six-way conference
call by a volunteer for Native American elders from South Dakota it seemed
legitimate given the circumstances and the usual reliability of the
electronic points of origin. The post was read from the computor screen to
the Lakota, and Dakota Native American elders who trusted the reliability
of the volunteer that the internet, or at least this post in its content
was fact. An elder was then delagated by of the group known as the United
Native American Television Broadcoasting Council (UNATBC) to travel to
Pierre to attend the meeting and investigate. During this call the group of
Native American people formed a consensus to issue a response via the
internet and a fax condemning the actions of the South Dakota Court. By the
next morning the original post had spread to ecompass the world and wake up
Native American supporters to action which have overwhelmed the emailboxes
of nearly all South Dakota's state agencies as well as colleges from around
the country, Native American organizations, and have since encompassed the
globe. Although the volunteer for the United Native American Television
Broadcasting Council recalled the post he sent out around 11:00 pm e.s.t.
on Dec. 2nd (the night before) it is not known that this post inflamed the
situation. It is the estimation of the UNATBC volunteer, Joe Campagna, that
because the post he sent out had correct names of Native American people
supported by addresses and phone numbers for their offices, that this post
along with the innitial post sent by the point of origin and which used the
widly recognized name of the Lakota Nations spiritual leader created the
problem.
"I claim full responsibility for my actions. It was I who had the trust of
these elders. They counted on me to provide reliable information and
trusted me, that I was reading reliable information. They have no eperience
on the internet so they counted on me and I let them down. I should have
questioned it as I normally do, and have been learning. It is unfortunate
that this powerful tool is in the hands of some irresponsible people some
with good intent, and I was speaking with these elders that they should
form their own network to have meetings and organize their project with
other Native American people. I want everyone to know that their Native
American Television Project is a good one and people should listen to them
and take notice and help them with it. I don't want my actions to hurt the
Lakota, Dakota, Nakota, or any Native American people or their project
which was designed by them to help their people. People on the internet
should take more precuations and learn who they are dealing with, where
they are at, and establish credibility with the person(s) or organizations
they recieve posts from before jumping on to a cyber-sleighride with them
-- or they may end up hurting somebody or themselves. I humbly appoligize
to these elders, United Native American Television Broadcasting Council,
and any Native and non-Native people by what my neglect may have caused or
supported. I will accept any punishement due if I have hurt these elders
who trusted that their names and their UNATBC organization would be safe in
my hands on the internet. I hope those who originated the post and
innitiated this problem are good enough people to come forward and admit
they were wrong. Who knows though this could have been designed as a way to
discredit the Elders on the United Native American Television Broadcasting
Council from an unknown source as corporate entities have tried to steal
the idea and circumvent the plan, a setup, since its public disclosure on
the internet. Anthing is possible."
- Joe Campagna