Wotanging Ikche--nanews07.027

Gary Night Owl (gars@netcom.com)
Tue, 29 Jun 1999 19:10:06 -0700 (PDT)

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_ __ _____ __ _ __ ___ ____ _ __ ___ O
' ) / / ') / / ) ' ) ) / ) / ' ) ) / ) O o O
/ / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ O o O
(_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O o o o o O
____ _ , ___ _ , ___ VOLUME 07, ISSUE 027 O o O
/ ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' July 3, 1999 O o O
/ /-< / /--/ /-- Dakota red cherries moon O
__/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, Wishram salmon go up rivers in a group
KANOHEDA ANIYVWIYA Ha-Sah-Sliltha Otapi'sin Atsinikiisinaakssin Un Chota
Es'te Opunvk'vmucvse ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min Aunchemokauhettittea
Ximopanolti tehuatzin, inin Mexika tlahtolli
( N A T I V E A M E R I C A N N E W S )
This issue contains articles from Big Mountain, FOL-L, MinnInd, Innu-L,
Hawaii Info & Nat-Film Lists; Newsgroup: alt.native; UUCP email;
Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty

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.

IMPORTANT!!
-----------
To all who send copywrite protected articles, make very sure you have
permission from the copywrite holder (a newspaper, the AP, a magazine, an
author) because a new law is now in effect that says you can be prosecuted
even if there is no monetary gain. Just because a newspaper has a website
where it posts some or all of its editions does not grant permission for
their redistribution. Be careful and be sure you pass on the items you do
with full permission.
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, all material appearing in
this newsletter is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a
prior interest in receiving this information for educational purposes.
<----<<<< >>>>---->
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 may be subscribed to via email by sending a request from your own
internet addressable account to gars@netcom.com
++ It is archived at http://www.nanews.org
++ There is also a hyperlinked version of the Current Issue at
http://bearvisions.com/NativeNews/NEWS.html

Borries Demeler advises AISESnet doesn't exist anymore, instead there is now
NativeNet where people can search for archives of Wotanging Ikche issues:
_ All past AISESnet archives (1992-1998) can now be found in:
http://aises.uthscsa.edu/discussion/
_ All new messages will be archived in:
http://nativenet.uthscsa.edu/archive/nn-dialogue/archive.html
The mailing address for AISESnet/NativeNet the lists have changed.
Please make a note of the new address.
The old address aisesnet_discussion@listserv.umt.edu should *NOT*
be used any longer. Instead please use:
nn-dialogue@nativenet.uthscsa.edu

Downloading Wotanging Ikche on AOL From: MAANG1419@aol.com <Valentina>
Just thought I would share some info. I could not download on to a .txt
because I kept getting the message (when I tried to retrieve it) that the
text editor could not handle the volume. This time I downloaded it on to
a .doc and when I retrieved it out of file manager, IT WORKED.

"American Indians share a magnificent history - rich in its outstanding
diversity, its integrity, its spirituality, its ongoing unique culture
and dynamic tradition. It's also rich, I am saddened to say, in tragedy,
deceit, and genocide. Our sovereignty, our nationhood, our very
identity - along with our sacred lands - have been stolen from us in one
of the great thefts of human history. And I am referring not to just
the thefts of previous centuries but to the great thefts that are being
perpetrated on us today, at this very moment. Our human rights as
indigenous peoples are being violated every day of our lives - and by
the very same people who loudly and sanctimoniously proclaim to other
nations the moral necessity of such rights."
__ Leonard Peltier, Ojibway/Lakota from _Prison Writings: My Life is my
Sun Dance_ by Leonard Peltier, Edited by Harvey Arden. I _STRONGLY_
urge you to obtain and read this book. I further urge you to order
it from Leonard Peltier Defense Committee, P O Box 583, Lawrence KS
66044, Phone 785-842-5774. If you order the book through the LPDC,
half of the money will be used toward Leonard's defense.

Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 06:58:28 -0500 (CDT)
From: "D. Patnode" <dbp@csd.uwm.edu>
Subj: Today in History: June 25th
>June 25, 1876
>Lt. Col. George A. Custer and more than 200 federal troops of the 7th
>Cavalry lost their lives in what became known as the Battle of the
>Little Bighorn, or Custer's Last Stand. The battle, which took place
>after the 7th Calvary attacked a large camp of Sioux and Cheyenne
>Indians, was part of a governmental effort to remove Indian groups
>from Southern Montana.
>
>Kate Bighead, a Cheyenne woman, participated in the battle:
>http://www.stedwards.edu/cfpages/farrall/eye.htm

O'siyo Brothers and Sisters!

The editor of _Sota Iya Ye Yapi_ felt Harold Ironshield's guest editorial
was worthy of the editorial space in that newspaper. I feel the message
Harold sends needs to be read and considered by as many as possible. It is
an honor to let it stand as this week's editorial.
Also consider subscribing to _Sota Iya Ye Yapi_ newspaper of the
Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux Tribe, SWST Tribal Mail Room, TiWakan Tio Tipi,
P.O. Box 628, Sisseton, S.D. website: http//www.earthskyweb.com/sota.html

Guest Editorial: Dishonoring Our Existence - An Indigenous Perspective on
Racism in Society

(Editor's note: The following guest editorial comes from Harold Iron
Shield. While prejudice and institutional racism are nothing new for
Indian country, this editorial commentary points to a disturbing rise in a
particular "brand" of racism coming to Indian Country.)

Historically, racism in all forms has been a fact among Tribal nations in
North America and it is devastating to all of its victims. To tribal
members wherever they are, racism is a combination of stereotyping,
prejudice and discrimination.

Historical racism in most instances carry the attitudes of many white
Americans who think they are better than the other. And, for Tribal
members it is hard to even exist in society back in the late 1800's.

In 1862, the largest mass hanging or execution in the history of the
United States took place in Mankato, Minnesota. The hanging of 38 Dakota
Warriors who defended their homelands was carried out by order of
President Abraham Lincoln. After the hanging the U.S. order the arrest of
Dakotas who were still free and offered bounties for their scalps.

Today, we understand racism from one generation to another. Racism is like
a sore, it won't go away. I carry the burden of my grandparents and their
parents as we attempt to live in harmony with those who hate us.

On July 3, 1986, a Tribal newspaper from the Standing Rock Reservation
reported the Dakota Action Committee based in Grand Forks is actively
seeking membership for the K.K.K. Its chairman, Adryan Killean, states
that, "Everyone is eligible to join the K.K.K if you are a red-blooded
Native American citizen and believe with us." On their recruitment
materials it states, "If you are a native born loyal U.S. citizen, 18
years old, a white gentile person of temperate habits, of Christian faith,
and believe in white supremacy and American, please fill in below."

White supremacy in the last few years has been moving closer to Indian
country. White supremacist type graffiti, swastika and other signs have
been growing on or near reservations nationally. Between 1993 and 1994,
the Aryan Nations expanded its operations from three to 30 states.

The history of White Supremacy is rich and growing in areas where people
of color are in large numbers. Many of us think of the devastating effects
of racism very often. We live our lives day after day never thinking about
the deep scars that incidents of racism leave.

Finally, in 1968, the Indian Civil Rights Act, also known as the Indian
Bill of Rights, was passed. This law provided for statutory restrictions
on tribal governments similar to those found in the Bill of Rights under
the U.S. Constitution.

However, this law has not succeeded in stopping racism or hate crimes
generated towards tribal members nationally who supposedly are protected
by this 1968 Indian Civil Rights Act. So far it hasn't worked.

In October 1992, the National Indian Education Association put out a call
for action the next 500 years. In the call it ask for a revalidation of U.
S. government-to-government commitments via Constitutional amendment,
treaty and/or federal legislation that will ensure the recognition and
protection of basic human rights of American Indian and Alaskan Native
people which includes the practice of religious freedom, the retention of
native languages.

And in today's society we strive for the best we can to survive and
continue the life that our creator has given us to enjoy. We try our best
to not allow the laws of the whiteman to disturb our livelihood as we live
in harmony with all creation.

Peace! Night Owl
, , Gary Night Owl gars@netcom.com
(*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@nanews.org
(`-') Marietta, GA 30277, U.S.A. gars@igc.apc.org
===w=w== Fax: 770-528-9643

----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------
- Whiteclay Protest Turns Violent - NA Church Says Military
- Alcohol Story from Whiteclay Members Can Use Peyote
- AIM Story from Whiteclay - AFN Asks Ottawa to Double Funding
- Pine Ridge Looks Forward to - Will Haskell Take a Payoff?
Visit by Clinton - All Groups Can Have Say in
- Chief Byrd Blames Wife for Fall Sovereignty Summit
Wiretapping Plan - Washington Court Limits
- Babbitt on Missing Funds/ Tribal Game Hunting
New System - Judge Rules On Motions in Case
- Ousted Sac & Fox Chief Ruled - Live Radio Interview with
Eligible Candidate Family of Anna Mae
- Gardiner Expressway - Homicide Lands in BIA Jurisdiction
Brought to a Standstill - Watchdog Urges Ipperwash Inquiry
- Tribes Take Issue - Jailed Protestants Freed in Mexico
with Red River Pact - Native Riot at Regina
- Stop the Reroute Update Correctional Centre
- Keweenaw Bay Lake Trout Production - Peltier's Case Back in Court
- Toxic Soup Threatens - Native Prisoner
Hopi Water Supply - Saw Her for a Minute...
- Navajo Nation Sues Peabody Coal - A Hundred Years Ago
- Daishowa Boycott Appeal - Poem: Doing Time
- Province Invited to Lubicon Talks - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days
- Betsiamites Montagnais Band - Upcoming Events
and Hydro-Quebec

--------- "RE: Whiteclay Protest Turns Violent" ---------

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 08:53:18 -0400
From: "Janet" <evestar1@email.msn.com>
Subj: Nebraska protest story

Whiteclay protest turns violent
BY JOE DUGGAN Lincoln Journal Star
[Editorial note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]

WILLIAM LAUER/ Lincoln Journal Star
Not welcome: Demonstrators carry the "Welcome to Nebraska" border sign
through Whiteclay, claiming the town should belong to the Pine Ridge
Reservation under a treaty land description. Rioting began after they threw
the sign on Nebraska 87 on the southern edge of town.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHITECLAY -- They marched for their dead brothers, their dead sons, their
dead people. About 2,000 Oglala Sioux people marched from the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation in South Dakota to this Sheridan County border town,
the center of anguish for those who've lost family members here.
For four hours, the emotional march progressed peacefully. Then, in one
hour of white-hot anger, it disintegrated into looting, arson and a police
standoff.
"We're here today to tell Nebraska, all the way to the governor, that
this is our land," said Russell Means, an Oglala and high-profile member
of the American Indian Movement, as he stood on the north edge of town.
Minutes after his speech, the blue-sky Nebraska day spun out of control.
Before it was over, a line of roughly 40 law enforcement officers --
some wearing Plexiglas face shields and carrying tear gas guns -- marched
into town.
As Nebraska State Patrol troopers and Oglala Tribal Police struggled to
gain control of the situation, a tense standoff ensued in the center of
the unincorporated village.
It started with about a dozen Indian men tearing down the large metal
"Welcome to Nebraska" sign on the edge of town and ended with looting and
a fire at VJ's Market in Whiteclay.
Protesters pelted officers with rocks, epithets and screams of
"murderers" and "killers." One Indian officer repeatedly beat a protester
with a baton, but no shots were fired. A Los Angeles Times photojournalist
shooting pictures of the looting was struck by protesters and had cameras
stolen. Another photographer also had his cameras taken.
"Whiteclay is no longer Whiteclay, you lost it to the Lakotas," one
woman shouted at authorities.
No arrests were made, according to Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman
Terri Teuber. An investigation is ongoing into the fire. No injuries were
reported, she said, but several Indian people appeared to have suffered
minor cuts, scrapes and bruises in the melee.
By late afternoon, officers regained full control, but the word around
the reservation was that some people were attempting to rally another
assault on the town.
"I just can't believe it can happen in the United States," said VJ's
market owner Vic Clarke, after firefighters had left and as he tried to
take stock of his losses. "I just can't believe it." Making sense of the
violence may never happen, but its roots go back 27 years to an Oglala man
named Raymond Yellow Thunder.
On a February night in 1972, the hard-drinking brothers Leslie and
Melvin Hare beat Yellow Thunder, stripped him from the waist down, stuffed
him in a trunk and drove around Gordon. At one point, they tried to force
the injured, half-naked man onto a crowded dance floor at the American
Legion.
Yellow Thunder spent the night in jail. The next morning, he went to a
Gordon used car-lot, sat behind the wheel of a pickup and died of a brain
hemorrhage.
"The Oglala people stood up and said that's enough and they took over
Gordon for two days," Means said Saturday. In a gymnasium full of tribal
members in Pine Ridge, he recalled the AIM protest he led to the Sheridan
County seat 27 years ago. Since then, there have been unsolved murders on
the reservation, but it's difficult to pinpoint an exact number.
During the lawless, violent times of the early 1970s, tribal police
known as "goon squads" hunted AIM members, who represented a threat to the
elected leadership, said Clyde Bellecourt of Minneapolis, one of AIM's co-
founders.
In the early to mid-1970s, more than 60 unsolved murders occurred on the
Pine Ridge Reservation, according to tribal members and scholars who've
researched the era.
Mark Vukelich, an FBI supervisory special agent in Rapid City, S.D.,
disagreed. He said the number of unsolved homicides is "a handful." So
when Wilson "Wally" Black Elk Jr. and Ronald Hard Heart were found dead
June 8 in a reservation highway ditch a few hundred yards north of
Whiteclay, it harkened to the days of Yellow Thunder.
Two weeks after the bodies were found, family members had received
little information about the killings. Tom Poor Bear, an Oglala living in
Rapid City who is the brother of Black Elk and the cousin of Hard Heart,
said he felt the old suspicions creeping in.
Rumors ran rampant, especially around Whiteclay. The village is the
closest place to buy beer for people living on the dry Pine Ridge
Reservation. Friends have reported last seeing the victims taking the two-
-mile walk south at various times before their deaths.
One of the most persistent rumors is that a Sheridan County sheriff's
deputy killed the men. Authorities, from the FBI to Sheriff Terry Robbins,
said the rumor is unfounded.
"They can deny all they want to the mistreatment of Indians, but we've
experienced it," Poor Bear said.
In addition, Poor Bear said there have been about a half-dozen
unattended deaths in and around Whiteclay in the past few years. Poor Bear
added that families of the deceased all saw evidence the victims were
beaten.
Sheriff Robbins said he was familiar with four of the cases and the
deaths were caused by alcohol, exposure, a fall and a pedestrian-vehicle
accident. Officials with the FBI and the Oglala Sioux tribal police said
they knew of no unsolved homicides in recent years.
When asked about allegations that Sheridan County law enforcement
authorities ignore crimes against Indians, County Attorney Dennis King
said, "I don't even want to dignify that comment. We do our duty and it
doesn't have anything to do with race." Pine Ridge is the second-largest
of the nation's 320 Indian reservations. Its boundaries encompass roughly
5,000 square miles at the foot of the Badlands, and it is home to about 18,
000 Oglala Sioux.
History breathes in the Pine Ridge, and it stirs the people like the
wind sways a field of buffalo grass. This is the land of Crazy Horse and
Red Cloud, perhaps the greatest warriors of the Indian Wars.
Each June 26, the Oglala call a tribal holiday to celebrate their 1876
victory over Lt. Col. George Custer at the Little Big Horn.
Once nomadic bison hunters, the government forced the Oglala to adapt to
the fixed lifestyle of white European settlers more than a century ago.
The government provided housing, food, medicine that began a relationship
of dependency that still exists today.
That relationship has not been good for the Oglala.
Residents of reservations face staggering unemployment. It is estimated
that eight out of 10 people living on the Pine Ridge are jobless.
Unemployment causes widespread poverty and Shannon County, S.D., is
considered the poorest in America.
Poverty leads to despair. Depression is common and suicide rates on the
reservation are six to eight times the national average. Social service
workers say up to 90 percent of Pine Ridge residents have alcohol problems.
"I don't think people truly understand the things we're faced with, it's
tragic," said Leon Matthews, an Oglala living in Pine Ridge village who is
pastor of the Lakota church, The People Gathered To Pray.
To make matters worse, the reservation is reeling from its worst natural
disaster. On June 4 and 5, tornadoes ripped through the reservation
village of Oglala, destroying 22 mobile homes and damaging 60 other houses
and buildings.
A 45-year-old Oglala man, Jonas Belt Jr., died in the storm and 40
others were injured.
People left homeless by the twisters now live with family or at
temporary Red Cross shelters set up in school dormitories. Nylon camping
tents -- usually reserved for traveling to sacred Sun Dance ceremonies --
are now common sights around Oglala village.
This is what awaited three of the American Indian Movement's most noted
leaders when they came to the reservation Friday.
Clyde Bellecourt, Dennis Banks and Russell Means led the siege at
Wounded Knee in February 1973. By the time the standoff came to an end 71
days later, it was the longest armed conflict on American soil since the
Civil War.
The three AIM leaders came back to protest what they see as the latest
round of racially motivated killings. Although not universally accepted
among Pine Ridge residents, they drew a packed house Saturday morning at
Billy Mills Hall.
"We're up against people who think it's OK to kill Indian people," Banks
said. "They think it's OK because they'll get away with it." The air
inside the gym was infused with the aroma of burning sage and tobacco.
Soon, a band of Oglala drummers sang a prayer song in honor of Black Elk
and Hard Heart.
Families and friends said both men were kind and willing to help out
others on the reservation. Black Elk, 40, was described as a spiritual man.
He loved his nieces and nephews and was working to put his life together
so he could obtain custody of his six children.
"The Great Spirit didn't call for him, somebody sent him," Poor Bear
said. "Wally had too many things to do here on Mother Earth." Hard Heart,
39, worked odd jobs and was always willing to help, said Bamm Brewer, an
Oglala who raises bison on a ranch west of Pine Ridge village. But Hard
Heart had a drinking problem and he hung out at Whiteclay a lot.
"Sometimes I'd pick him up, take him home and let him sober up," Brewer
said. "Now I wish I would have done a better job looking out for him."
After the rally, the marchers poured onto the streets of Pine Ridge. The
drum singers loaded into a pair of pickups and the people began their 2-
mile march to Whiteclay.
Several hundred yards long, the procession filled the highway from
shoulder to shoulder. Marchers sang, thrust their fists into the air and
beckoned people lining the route to join in. Family members carried
photographs of the victims.
When they reached the spot where the bodies were found, the families
walked down, said more prayers and planted flags in the ground. Then the
marchers crossed into Whiteclay. The procession went to the south edge of
the town and back to the state line.
Along the way, some people yelled "start it on fire," but people laughed
and seemed not to take it seriously.
Means told the people the Dawes Act of 1887 gave the pine-covered
escarpments of northwestern Nebraska to the Oglala. He said he will urge
tribal leaders to seek the return of the land to the Lakota.
Soon after, about a dozen Indian men began shaking a large metal sign on
the north side of Whiteclay. Before long, "Welcome to Nebraska, the Home
of Arbor Day," was being lifted by the group and carried through the
streets of Whiteclay.
They carried the sign to the south edge of town, where a pair of
Nebraska State Patrol cruisers waited. They slammed it down, spat on it
then taunted the troopers.
As they turned back into town, others smashed the glass doors of VJ's
Market. Soon looters began pouring out of the market carrying cartons of
Marlboros, cases of Pepsi, boxes of candy and even watermelons.
Observers said the looters targeted the market because its owner has a
reputation for mistreating -- even assaulting -- Indian people. Market
owner Vic Clarke called the allegations absurd.
As the State Patrol cars slowly crept toward the looters, rocks flew.
Soon, thin smoke started seeping from the market doors.
A fire truck drove up to the store, but firefighters abandoned it after
being pelted by rocks and bottles. That seemed to prompt the officers to
move in.
For what seemed like hours, angry faces shouted at each other over an
invisible line in the highway. Police wanted the protesters to move back
to the state line. The protesters refused to budge and they seemed
particularly incensed by the tribal police who stood side-by-side with the
Nebraska officers.
"Why don't you stay over there, traitors," a woman yelled.
Finally the tension eased somewhat when Chief Oliver Red Cloud, a
respected elder of the tribe, told the protesters to back up. Eventually,
most of the marchers left the town. The AIM leaders apparently left
earlier.
Meanwhile, the editor of the Scottsbluff (Neb.) Star-Herald, Steve
Miller, said he had received phone calls Saturday from protesters who
threatened to "take over the town" unless Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns
arrived by today.
"The governor doesn't deal with demands," said Chris Peterson, a
spokesman for Johanns. "Making a demand that the governor travel two miles
or two hours seems foolish, considering the governor's open-door policy.
His home phone number is listed and he is always willing to listen and
work with people." Sen. Bob Wickersham of Harrison said he was not aware
of the incident but said he "would have to hope" it was not the result
organizers intended.
"I can't imagine any circumstances under which it is appropriate as a
form of protest or expression to destroy property or to harm others," he
said. "I do not think that additional acts of violence will contribute to
any reduction in future violence, nor do I think it serves as a salve for
old wounds or injustices."

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.

--------- "RE: Alcohol Story from Whiteclay" ---------

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 08:54:54 -0400
From: "Janet" <evestar1@email.msn.com>
Subj: alcohol story from Nebraska

Beer retailers, critics disagree on alcohol troubles
BY JOE DUGGAN Lincoln Journal Star
[Editorial note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
WHITECLAY -- Quitting time at the Arrowhead Inn -- where the beer is cold
and sales are hot. Jason Schwarting handled a steady stream of customers
Friday night, taking orders for Budweiser and Old Milwaukee, fetching
singles, 12-packs and cases from walk-in coolers, tending a cash register
he rarely had time to close.
Almost all the patrons of the small, cinderblock beer store were
American Indians. They took their purchases, slipped into idling cars and
drove the two miles north to the 5,000-square-mile Pine Ridge Indian
Reservation just over the South Dakota border.
Outside the Arrowhead Inn, cars rolled along the stretch of Nebraska 87
that runs through this collection of nearly three dozen buildings -- three
grocery stores, a pawn shop, a service station, a cafe and a craft store.
More than half the buildings are abandoned, but the unincorporated town
of about 20 people has four businesses that sell beer. And, based on sales
figures from the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission, they sell a lot of
beer: nearly 4 million cans per year.
Not everyone who comes to Whiteclay drives back to the reservation. Some
walk to town, buy beer and drink along the highway. Some sleep on the
sidewalks. Others lean against a stucco-covered wall and panhandle from
anyone who happens by.
Many Oglala Sioux tribal members say the border town profits from a
historically exploited people, feeding life-threatening addiction on a
reservation where alcohol sales are banned. Some say the public beer
drinking in Whiteclay has created an atmosphere of lawlessness, where
Indians face violence, injury and even death.
"There's a lot of prejudiced people there," said Patricia Black Elk, who
lives in Pine Ridge village. "They don't like Indian people hanging around
up there, but they sure like them for their money." The store owners in
Whiteclay see it differently.
Don Schwarting, who took over the Arrowhead Inn from his father and may
one day pass it on to his son Jason, said he doesn't sell to intoxicated
customers and he doesn't encourage people to get drunk.
"I'm not the problem," he said, rejecting allegations that store owners
are racists.
He acknowledged some patrons of Whiteclay are alcoholics, but said many
others simply like to enjoy a few beers after work.
"I once heard a customer say, "I work, I earn my money and I'll spend it
how I want,'" he said.
Don Schwarting resents outsiders -- politicians, some tribal members and
particularly the news media -- who he said want to close his business.
"They're telling people how to live, and people here don't like it," he
added.
Across the highway at the Jack and Jill grocery, owner Tim Hotz doesn't
sell beer. His father was an alcoholic, he said, so he just wouldn't feel
right about selling it.
"But I would fight for the rights of the other store owners to sell
alcohol," he said.
He then made a common argument: Shutting down Whiteclay won't end
alcoholism on the reservation.
"There's already bootlegging on the reservation as it is," he said. "If
a person has a need for alcohol, they're going to get it." Meanwhile, a
coalition of social services workers, health care professionals,
counselors, clergy and law enforcement called Border Tiospaye -- Lakota
for "extended family" -- is looking for solutions.
So far, the group has strengthened alliances between law enforcement
agencies that deal with Whiteclay and developed programs to get chemically
dependent people into treatment. It has also obtained a grant from the
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the Nebraska
Commission on Indian Affairs to hire four American Indian social workers
to serve native families in the Panhandle.
Joan Frances, coordinator of Panhandle Partnership for Health and Human
Services, said group members want to address the roots of alcoholism on
the reservation, namely despair, poverty and high unemployment.
"Behind the problems of Whiteclay are oppression and racism," she said.
"And racism affects all of us. It's one of our national disgraces and we
need to address it."

--------- "RE: AIM Story from Whiteclay" ---------

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 09:00:25 -0400
From: "Janet" <evestar1@email.msn.com>
Subj: AIM story from Neb newspaper

American Indian Movement grew in response to its times
BY JODI RAVE Lincoln Journal Star
[Editorial note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
At its peak in the 1970s, the American Indian Movement was on the front
pages of the nation's newspapers. Today, it is a factionalized
organization with two competing chapters: Colorado AIM in Denver and the
American Indian Movement Grand Governing Council in Minneapolis. Each is
led by staunch native activists -- Russell Means in Colorado and brothers
Clyde and Vernon Bellecourt in Minnesota.
"Times change," said Robert Warrior, professor of American Indian
studies at Cornell University. "The organization didn't. It became
obsolete." Vernon Bellecourt disagrees.
"The American Indian Movement is not fractionated. What we're
experiencing is an infiltration of about 10 or 12 people. They tried to
make it appear that the group was divided. We're in the process of
isolating them." AIM made a low-key debut in 1968, when it was formed in
Minneapolis to protect the city's urban Indians from police brutality.
Dennis Banks, an Anishinabe Indian, and Clyde Bellecourt were the co-
founders.
Three years later AIM members were summoned from city streets to South
Dakota's Pine Ridge Reservation to seek justice for people who felt they
had none after the February 1972 slaying of Raymond Yellow Thunder in a
small, western Nebraska town.
Yellow Thunder, 51, died of a brain hemorrhage after being beaten by
Leslie and Melvin Hare. His slaying received little attention until the
American Indian Movement showed up. A caravan of about 150 cars and 600
Indians drove into Gordon to protest his death. The killers were convicted
of manslaughter.
"AIM was a response to the times," said Warrior. "It ended up becoming
an organization that responded to the lives of Indian people, first in the
urban areas, then on reservations. The real turning point for AIM was the
murder of Raymond Yellow Thunder in Gordon, Nebraska." AIM was born of the
U.S. civil rights movement. It was most active during the mid- to early
1970s and well into the '80s, said Warrior, an Osage Indian who wrote
"Like a Hurricane: The Indian movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee." A
four-mile caravan of Indian activists arrived in Washington, D.C, on Nov.
3, 1972, the end of what was called the Trail of Broken Treaties March.
When they arrived they took over and barricaded the Bureau of Indian
Affairs building. The standoff ended after five days. In February 1973 AIM
members occupied Wounded Knee, S.D., to dramatize their demands for free
elections of tribal leader, investigation of the Bureau of Indiana Affairs
and review of all U.S.-Indian treaties. The group surrendered May 8 after
officials promised to investigate its complaints.
The standoff cost the U.S. government $7 million and was the longest
armed conflict in the United States since the Civil War.
"There are unconcluded legal matters still rippling from that time,"
said Richard LaCourse, editor of the Yakama Nation Review. "One of them is
the trial and imprisonment of Leonard Peltier." Peltier, an American
Indian activist, was convicted of killing two FBI agents on the Pine Ridge
Reservation in 1975, but he maintains his innocence, and his supporters
contend authorities lacked sufficient evidence for his conviction.
Despite questions of AIM's effectiveness today, said Vernon Bellecourt,
"Even our detractors will say we brought about a rebirth of indigenous
thought. The American Indian Movement helped get people on the Red Road,
sparking spiritual, cultural, social, economic, political and
philosophical thought. That's our major contribution." *** Jodi Rave
covers Native American issues for Lee Newspapers. She is based at the
Lincoln Journal Star and can be reached at (402) 473-7240 or at
jrave@journalstar.com.

--------- "RE: Pine Ridge Looks Forward to Visit by Clinton" ---------

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 08:57:30 -0400
From: "Janet" <evestar1@email.msn.com>
Subj: Clinton visits PR

Pine Ridge looks forward to July 7 visit by Clinton
BY KEVIN ABOUREZK Lincoln Journal Star

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
PINE RIDGE, S.D. -- Officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oglala
Sioux Tribe, Housing and Urban Development and other agencies met with
White House delegates on Saturday here to discuss President Clinton's July
7 visit to the reservation. The visit represents the first time a sitting
president has visited the Indian reservation.
"We're making history," said Harold Salaway, Oglala Sioux tribal council
president.
Salaway welcomed Lynn Cutler, Clinton's senior adviser for Indian
affairs, and asked her to relay a welcome message to the president.
"We've got a big rez, but we've got big arms," he said.
The president's visit will coincide with the Native American
Homeownership and Economic Development Summit to be held in Rapid City,
S.D., at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center. Conference highlights include:
-- A meeting at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to learn about President
Clinton's New Markets Initiative, an effort to generate economic activity
on reservations. Housing and Urban Development officials will discuss key
housing and economic development issues.
-- Opportunities to network with corporate, public and nonprofit partners.
-- In-depth consultation between tribal leaders and HUD.
-- Opportunities to learn more about innovative housing technology, new
opportunities for homeownership programs and potential economic development
programs.
-- Cultural events, such as a traditional honoring dance and song
presentation, as well as a reception and luncheons.
Salaway expressed hope for Clinton's upcoming visit.
"The president's visit is going to do a lot regionally, not just for the
town of Pine Ridge," he said.
Council member Manuel Foolhead thought it was about time.
"The United States is obligated to other foreign nations," said Foolhead.
"We should be a priority." Cora Jones, area director for the Bureau of
Indian Affairs, described the need for such priority recognition.
"We live in Third World conditions," she said, while standing outside the
brick building that houses the Oglala Sioux tribal offices in Pine Ridge.
"We're tired of living in poverty, and it's time to make a change."
Meanwhile, three miles away in Whiteclay, American Indians erupted following
a protest march led by Indian activists. Little mention of the march was
made during the meeting between tribal officials and the Clinton delegation.
However, when President Salaway heard of the rioting, he expressed deep
concern.
"I've got a civil war on my hands."

--------- "RE: Chief Byrd Blames Wife for Wiretapping Plan" ---------

Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 12:29:00 -0700
From: gars@netcom.com
Subj: Cherokee Chief Joe Byrd Blames his Wife for the Wiretapping
'action plan'

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/5918/1999/jun99/
byrdblameswife.html

The Cherokee Observer, Inc.
"The Only Independent Cherokee Newspaper"
"The Original On-line Independent Cherokee Newspaper"
Copyright c. 1992-1999 All Worldwide Rights Reserved

Cherokee chief joe byrd blames his wife for the wiretapping 'action plan'
Chuck Shipley
Press Release
May 28, 1999
This week during a hearing before Magistrate Judge Eagan in the
wiretapping case against Chief Byrd and others of his administration,
Chief Byrd told Judge Eagan that the "Action Plan" for the use of the
illegally taped conversations was his wife's, not his. Under discussion
was the April 13, 1997 memorandum entitled "Orders from the Chief" which
describes how members of the Cherokee Nation Administration are to use the
tapes in order to discredit the Cherokee Supreme Court Justices.
Chief Byrd's brother-in-law, Terry Barker, immediately pointed out to
Judge Eagan that Joe Byrd was not telling the truth to the Judge with
regard to this "Orders from the Chief" memo. Mr. Barker, a Tulsa lawyer,
told the Court that it was Chief Joe Byrd and members of his
administration who had authored this document, not Susie Byrd.
Chief Byrd had taken this same position in his deposition in this case
on January 26, 1999 - that is, attempting to avoid responsibility for this
memo by blaming his wife for it. After the hearing with Judge Eagan, Tulsa
attorney Chuck Shipley demanded of Joe Byrd and his lawyer that they make
Susie Byrd available for her deposition in this matter to see if she was
the author of the "Orders from the Chief" memorandum. "This is one of the
more cowardly acts that I have observed by Chief Byrd," said Shipley.

--------- "RE: Babbitt on Missing Funds/New System" ---------

Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 01:41:44 -0500
From: hdqrs@worldnet.att.net
Subj: Babbitt said estimates of the money the government may owe
Indians are less important than the Interior Department meeting its
trust commitments.

Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu)

6/26/99 -- 1:08 AM
Babbitt says new system historic point in government-tribal
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) - Claims that the Interior Department mismanaged
billions of dollars in Indian funds are "wildly overstated," Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt said as he unveiled a new computer system for
tracking the trust accounts.
The $60 million project, introduced in the Bureau of Indian Affairs
office here, is meant to address decades of mismanagement of the accounts
containing money from leases and royalties on Indian land and from court
settlements.
The inauguration of the Trust Asset and Accounting Management System
comes as the government is defending itself in a class-action lawsuit filed
by some account holders claiming the mishandling of the accounts has
resulted in underpayments to Indians.
Babbitt said estimates of the money the government may owe Indians are
less important than the Interior Department meeting its trust commitments.
"I don't know if it's $10 million or $100 million," he said. "The dollar
figures are manageable."
The BIA handles 300,000 individual Indians' accounts worth $500 million
and another 1,600 tribal accounts worth $2.5 billion. But the accounts have
been plagued by inadequate bookkeeping and information systems, and records
have been lost or ruined over the years.
The new computer system, condemned by the General Accounting Office as
haphazard and possibly unworkable, is supposed to give Indians and tribes
better access to their records and to link land ownership files with
financial records.
"This event is going to turn out to be one of the important moments in
the history of government-tribal relations," Babbitt said.
He acknowledged the poor condition of some account records will mean the
new computer system will not be totally accurate: "There is no such thing
as 100 percent certainty; there is 99 percent certainty."
The computer system will be tested in Montana and Wyoming for two months
before it is introduced in other parts of the country. The project is
expected to be complete by 2001.
Copyright 1999 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

--------- "RE: Ousted Sac & Fox Chief Ruled Eligible Candidate" ---------

Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 08:03:56 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 06-25-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Ousted tribal chief ruled eligible candidate
c. Tulsa World
6/24/99
STROUD (AP) -- A judge has decided that Dora S. Young qualifies as a
candidate for the Sac & Fox tribe principal chief's job she has been
ousted from.
Tribal District Judge Phillip Lujan's order specifies that Young be
listed on the ballot in tribal elections scheduled for Aug. 28.
Young, elected principal chief in 1995, has been trying to get back in
office since the tribal council voted to remove her in March 1997 for
allegedly denying tribal members free speech.
She has tried several legal actions to get the position back. The
tribe's highest court in August ruled she was denied due process and
should get the job back, but the ruling has not been honored and she has
been barred from her office at tribal headquarters.
Arguing on Young's behalf, former tribal District Judge Jim Lyman said
last week that she meets all three constitutional requirements to be a
candidate -- she is a tribal member, over the age of 21 and an Oklahoma
resident.
Opponents have used a relatively new ordinance that includes an
additional nine requirements to keep Young off the ballot. Critics say
the ordinance was drafted specifically to keep Young out of the
election.
Young was first elected principal chief in 1973, becoming the first
woman to lead the tribe. She was defeated in a re- election bid after a
term marked with controversy and alleged misdeeds.

--------- "RE: Gardiner Expressway Brought to a Standstill" ---------

Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 11:17:40 -0500
From: sisis@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
Subj: Native protesters block expressway in funding protest

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
GARDINER BROUGHT TO STANDSTILL
Toronto Star, June 17, 1999, by Peter Small
[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]
Native protesters blocked yesterday morning's rush-hour traffic on the
Gardiner Expressway for 1 1/2 hours in a battle over who controls federal
job-training funds for urban aboriginals.
"It's only the start of this issue," said Vince Hill, executive director
of the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management Board, one of the native
organizations that participated in the protest. "If they think they had a
problem at Oka, that was a family picnic," Hill said, referring to the 1990
armed standoff with Mohawks in Quebec.
At stake is who controls more than $3 million a year in federal funding
for native employment services and skills training in the Golden Horseshoe.
Thousands of commuters heading downtown were caught in the rush-hour chaos
as about 75 demonstrators blocked the eastbound lanes, chanting, banging
drums and carrying Mohawk flags and protest signs. Police finally forced
them to leave the Gardiner at Spadina Ave. about 9:30 a.m. The protesters,
most of whom wore red T-shirts, had marched on to the elevated expressway
at 8 a.m. from a ramp at the west end of Exhibition Place, accompanied by a
pickup truck. They initially occupied one lane and then, as cars slowed
down to take a look, were gradually able to occupy all three, said Toronto
police Staff Sergeant Michael Fenwick.
Police didn't make any arrests or lay charges, judging it safer to
allow the demonstrators to proceed to the nearest exit rather than risk a
potentially dangerous confrontation on an elevated road, Fenwick said. "We
did the best we could, given the resources I had under my disposal. I don't
have an army," Fenwick said. About 20 officers were sent to the scene and
they were backed up by traffic police.
After occupying the Gardiner, the protesters made their way up Spadina
Ave. and over to Nathan Phillips Square for a rally. Leaders said they had
no other way of getting government attention.
"Yes, we regret that those drivers were inconvenienced going to work. We
only regret that we didn't have work to go to when we're shut out of this
government," said Roger Obonsawin, a spokesperson for the Aboriginal Rights
Movement, made up of supporters of the threatened job training programs.
It was their second protest in recent weeks. On Victoria Day, protesters
blocked the Queen Elizabeth Way near Burlington, delaying holiday traffic
for more than an hour.
The Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training, on Yonge St.,
administered $3.2 million of federal money last year for native programs in
Toronto, said executive director Nancy Martin. The programs include job
counselling, academic upgrading and computer training. "What's really
successful is it's aboriginal people helping aboriginal people," Martin
said. Miziwe Biik and the Niagara Peninsula Aboriginal Area Management
Board fear that local control of the system will disappear now that the
federal government has changed the method of providing funds.
Starting Oct. 1, funding for federal job training will be controlled by
two other groups, the Ontario Federation of Indian Friendship Centres, a
network of 27 centres, and Grand River Employment and Training, on the Six
Nations Reserve. After winning a bidding process, these two groups will
have the right to control the delivery of the services across Ontario for
the federal government.
Reached in her Six Nations office, Elvera Garlow, director of Grand River
Employment and Training, said the two successful bidders have sent a letter
to Miziwe Biik, inviting it to continue delivering services and
administering funds as it does now in Toronto. Miziwe Biik's executive
director said she had not yet seen the letter, but added: "It's good if
that is happening." Martin said her experience with such offers is that
they sound good but that often "it's not what they say."
At the square, the protesters said they wanted to meet with Toronto Mayor
Mel Lastman. Lastman, who was attending a ceremony in Scarborough, said he
was unaware of any invitation but is willing to meet with the protesters.
"I'll meet with anybody who's trying to help themselves," he said. The
mayor said it was unfortunate that the protesters had disrupted traffic to
make their point, "but people do things out of frustration."
The groups are also demanding a meeting with Human Resources Minister
Pierre Pettigrew and say he has not responded to their requests. Bob
Howson, of Human Resources Development Canada, said the minister has
instructed him and another official to deal with the issue. Howson said the
two groups are not necessarily out of the running to continue delivering
the programs. "They could, or they could not," Howson said. Howson said the
change in funding is not a reflection on the quality of the work being done
by the two Indian organizations, but part of a national reorganization.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL : <sisis@envirolink.org>
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html

--------- "RE: Tribes Take Issue with Red River Pact" ---------

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 08:02:17 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 06-21-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Tribes take issue with Red River pact
c. AP
6/19/99
LAWTON (AP) -- The battle over the border between Oklahoma and Texas may
not be over.
Members of the Kiowa, Comanche and Apache Land Use Committee are upset
with the agreement the two states reached to decide the Red River
boundary and may go to Washington, D.C., to fight the plan.
"A lot of our people own allotments along the river," committee member
Emily Saupitty said. Members of the committee met with officials of the
U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs to discuss the boundary compact.
"They are going to lose land. They made the vegetation line the
boundary, and no matter how that line changes, we will lose land,"
Saupitty said.
Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating and Texas Gov. George W. Bush have signed
similar measures approving the boundary. The law will go to the U.S.
Congress.
The two states have battled over the boundary for years. The Red River
is the official dividing line for 440 miles. Commissions from the two
states were appointed to decide what constitutes the south bank. The
legislation identifies it as the vegetation line on the south bank.
Precise knowledge of the border is important because of property taxes,
mineral rights, criminal jurisdiction, and licenses for hunting and
fishing.
Oklahoma is ceding to Texas 10,835 acres from Sen. Robert Kerr's
district in western Oklahoma. Oklahoma is gaining some acreage on the
eastern edge of the border.
Kerr, D-Altus, plans to lobby against the boundary law. But he fears the
flood of litigation that he thinks will follow the law, not the loss of
tribal lands.
He said laws protect the Indians against a change of ownership.
The new law specifies that the compact does not change or affect the
sovereign rights of federally recognized Indian tribes on either side of
the boundary line the compact established.
"We are sovereign nations," Saupitty said. "They are going to have to
listen to us."
She said the tribes cannot trust Oklahoma or Texas legislators.
"We'll lose land to Texas," she said. "And we've lost enough land
already."

--------- "RE: Stop the Reroute Update" ---------

Date: Sun, 27 Jun 1999 08:25:06 -0500
From: Rob Callahan <rob@robworld.net>
Subj: STOP THE REROUTE update

Mailing List: Minnesota Indian Affairs <MINN-IND@tc.umn.edu>

The occupation to stop the reroute of Highway 55 could soon be at an
end.
MnDOT announced Friday their final deadlines for completion of the last
stretch of the new highway, stating that work on the road to 54th Street
will be completed by August 2nd, and that the area from 54th Street to
Highway 62 (including the Mendota oak circle, the grove, the spring and
the occupation) will be done in August. These dates apply only to road
construction. The clearing of the trees will be done prior to this work
(at a date and time conveniently left out of the MnDOT press release)
and the forced removal of Mendota/AIM/Earth First! protesters will
precede the cutting of the trees and the blasting of the spring.
MnDOT's announcement comes as a surprise to members of the coalition,
who thought they had just bought themselves a couple more months when
the Minneapolis watershed district voted to halt the project until a
hydrology study could be performed by a competent researcher not on
MnDOT's payroll. The hydrology study is not expected to be complete
until August 28, but the DOT seems to be barreling on ahead with the
project as they have from the beginning, seemingly under the premise that
all will be well so long as they can finish their road before the
hydrologists finish their study.
The occupation has been on yellow alert since June 18, and probably will
remain so for a while. For updates, see my new and improved site:
http://www.robworld.net/stop_the_reroute/

also, for pictures from the world peace and prayer day gathering, see:
http://www.robworld.net/stop_the_reroute/wwpd/

and if you haven't seen a thousand people standing in the snow spelling
out "STOP 55! GO OAKS!", here's your chance:
http://www.angelfire.com/wi/earthalliance/stop55.html

Pidamiigwitch. ;)
Rob Callahan

--------- "RE: Keweenaw Bay Lake Trout Production" ---------

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 08:02:17 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 06-21-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Fish
Isolation Facility Lake Trout Production
c. PRNewswire
June 18, 1999
FT. SNELLING, Minn., -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) and
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (Community) invite the public to attend a
fish transfer and ceremony celebrating the success of a two year Agreement
for the Community to operate a fish health isolation facility which plays
a key role in efforts to restore lake trout in the Great Lakes Region.
Those attending the ceremony, 11 a.m. June 22, will have an opportunity
to observe Community and National Fish Hatchery staffs load approximately
6,000 lake trout for delivery to Iron River National Fish Hatchery, Wis.,
and Pendills Creek National Fish Hatchery, Mich.
John Christian, Assistant Regional Director for Fisheries, said, "The
lake trout and brook trout restoration effort in the Great Lakes will
continue successfully thanks to cooperative efforts of the Keweenaw Bay
Indian Community. Fish hatcheries play an important role in achieving
mutual benefits for interjurisdictional fishery resources and lake trout
restoration efforts. Midwestern tribes have responded to the challenges
of resource management in their unique role as users and managers of more
than 900,000 acres of reservation inland lakes, treaty ceded territories
and the Great Lakes. Their contributions are vital toward restoring these
fish species and are greatly appreciated."
Dale Bast, Hatchery Manager, Iron River National Fish Hatchery, said,
"This agreement fosters the continued integration of fish health and fish
genetics into the Service's captive broodstock program. We need disease-
free broodstocks that represent the genetics of wild fish. The Keweenaw
Bay Indian Fish Hatchery first initiated a two-year cooperative program in
September 1995 and renewed it in 1997. Under the 1997 agreement, the
Community provided fish isolation facilities for wild lake trout eggs from
Klondike Reef (Michigan), Traverse Island (Michigan) and Apostle Islands
(Wisconsin). During the past two years the Community has successfully
reared lake trout through the required disease clearance period which
included 3 separate fish health inspections."
According to Bast, "The project was once again completed by the
community with excellent results. The three strains of lake trout
yearlings that were being held in isolation were given the very best of
care and, now that a pathogen-free disease history has been established,
these fish will be transferred from the Keeweenaw Bay Community Hatchery
to the Iron River and Pendills Creek National Fish Hatcheries," Bast said.
"There they can be safely used for further egg production and the
subsequent fingerlings will then be used to meet restoration stocking
efforts throughout the Great Lakes basin."
The cooperative agreement also includes the production of 100,000 lake
trout yearlings at the Iron River National Fish Hatchery and 7,000 brook
trout from Genoa National Fish Hatchery (Wisconsin), all supporting the
fish stocking priorities of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.
Wayne Swartz, Tribal Chairman, said, "Our agreements with the Service
have further enabled us to cooperate in native fisheries restoration in
the Great Lakes. The Community is pleased with the results of these
agreements and looks forward to working with the Service on other natural
resource projects."
Christian noted, "This agreement with the Community is vitally important
to meet the demand for new broodstocks until a long-term solution for
isolation needs is achieved. Also, it supports the Department of the
Interior's trust relationship with tribal government. And, equally
important, the agreement will help us keep healthy lake trout in the Great
Lakes for all of the people of the region to enjoy."
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Fish Hatchery is located in Michigan's Upper
Peninsula on the L'Anse Indian Reservation, about 7 miles northeast of
L'Anse, Mich. on Pequaming Road.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency
responsible for conserving, protecting, and enhancing fish and wildlife
and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The
Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System
comprising more than 500 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands, and other special management areas. It also operates 66
national fish hatcheries, 64 fish and wildlife management offices, and 78
ecological services field stations.
The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered
Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as
wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts.
It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of
millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to
state wildlife agencies.
SOURCE U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

--------- "RE: Toxic Soup Threatens Hopi Water Supply" ---------

Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 19:08:42 GMT
From: "AliceH" <AliceH@gte.net>
Subj: "Toxic soup threatens water supply of Hopis"

Newsgroup: alt.native
http://www.azstarnet.com/public/dnews/LD0562.html
Sunday, 20 June 1999 Page Six--Section B
Toxic soup threatens water supply of Hopis
By Lukas Velush
Arizona Daily Sun
MOENKOPI - When Mildred Polewytewa was a young girl, she took pride in
lugging 5-gallon buckets of water from Susungva Spring to her mother's
kitchen. It was sacred water to be used for drinking and cooking.
Now, an older Polewytewa drinks out of plastic water bottles because she
fears being poisoned by water from nearby springs.
Within her lifetime, she has seen the springs threatened by a closed
landfill that violates safe environmental standards.
A long-closed uranium mill tailings site harbors a soupy mix of
radioactive contaminants mixed in with ground water below and two gas
stations with leaky underground tanks.
All three threats are within five miles of this 2,000-member Hopi village,
located just south of Tuba City. They also are directly above the many
sacred springs and shallow wells used by Hopi and Navajos who live in the
Tuba City area.
Although the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says the spring water is
safe to drink, most residents stopped drinking it at the beginning of this
year, when the severity of the upstream aquifer pollution became known.
``It's a hardship for us because the water is our life,'' said Polewytewa,
the chairwoman of Lower Moencopi Village.
Most residents of Moenkopi and nearby Tuba City drink water that's pumped
from wells deeper than the springs and shallow wells used by the 200
traditional Hopi who live in Lower Moencopi Village.
Moencopi is the smaller of two villages that make up the greater community
known as Moenkopi. (The spellings are different by local custom.)
EPA says it's fine to drink, but they're not drinking it,'' said Harris
Polelonema, community services administrator for Lower Moencopi Village.
Polelonema, who lives in Tuba City, where water is pumped into his house,
said some residents of Lower Moencopi continue to drink the spring water.
But most are relying on bottled water provided by the Hopi Tribe.
Yet there is a sense of optimism in the village, a hope that the
contaminated sites will be cleaned up soon.
That's because the U.S. Department of Energy has just started what's
projected to be a 20-year, $40 million effort to clean up the uranium mill
site.
The EPA is also taking steps to make the two gas station owners -
Thriftway and Superfuels - clean up the contaminated water and soils.
The future of the Tuba City landfill isn't as clear, yet the Bureau of
Indian Affairs and EPA are considering making it a Superfund site, which
would free up federal dollars to clean up the site.
``It's encouraging,'' said Robert Sakiestewa, governor of Upper Moenkopi
Village and its 1,800 residents.
``In the meantime, we're taking emergency measures to hopefully get the
Hopi Tribe to dig us another well for our livestock. (And) we're still
issuing bottled water because we don't want residents to take a health
threat at this time.''
While steps are being taken to clean up the mill and the gasoline
contamination, the Tuba City landfill is still in limbo. No arm of the
federal government has agreed to pay for the cleanup.
The landfill was operated for more than 50 years by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs before it was closed last year when Coconino County opened a solid
waste transfer station in Tuba City.
Testing done last year shows the aquifer directly below the 40-acre
landfill is contaminated with unsafe levels of uranium, radium and nitrates,
all deadly if consumed in such high concentrations.
The aquifer below the landfill also has unsafe levels of fecal coliform, a
sign of human waste.
When the BIA closed down the landfill, it put a sand cap on the 40-acre
site. But that does nothing to stop water from percolating through the sand
and trash and into the portions of the landfill with the toxic contaminants,
Morgan said.
The federal government is considering several options.
The Hopi Tribe prefers clean closure of the landfill, which means hauling
the contaminated soil to a toxic waste site. Once the trash is removed, the
contaminated water could be treated and pumped back into the aquifer.
The cost could be as little as $3 million if the ground water
contamination is only in localized areas rather than under the entire
40-acre landfill or beyond.
If the contamination has spread, clean closure could easily cost in the
tens of millions of dollars.
Besides, the dump was on Navajo land until 1992, when one part of a
long-standing Navajo-Hopi land dispute was resolved, giving the Hopis the
land.
Between 1956 and 1966 the Tuba City uranium mill was used to leach out
tons of uranium ore mined all over the western part of the Navajo
Reservation.
That filtering process left behind high concentrations of uranium, but
also sulfates and nitrates that were used to leach uranium out of the soil.
Unlined ponds were used to leach out the uranium, washing high levels of
the contaminants into a shallow aquifer below the site.
That made for water that exceeds safe water standards 10 to 20 times over,
said Randy Juhlin, a contractor for the U.S. Department of Energy working on
an on-site cleanup effort that started last year. Nitrates and sulfates used
to leach out the uranium are at extremely high levels.
The extent of the contamination plume is unknown, but at least 1.7 billion
gallons of water are thought to be contaminated.

--------- "RE: Navajo Nation Sues Peabody Coal" ---------

Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 13:50:01 -0700 (MST)
From: chris@Flamestrike.HACKS.Arizona.EDU
Subj: Navajos sue coal company for $600M:Claim land was 'energy colony'(Fwd)
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
Date: June 22, 1999
http://www.azcentral.com/news/0622navajo.shtml

Navajos sue coal company for $600M
Claim land was 'energy colony'
By Mark Shaffer
The Arizona Republic
June 22, 1999
Saying that Peabody Coal Co. schemed for years through corruption and
theft to keep it an "energy colony," the Navajo Nation filed a $600
million lawsuit against the company Monday in U.S. District Court in
Washington.
Peabody operates the Kayenta and Black Mesa mines on the Navajo
Reservation in northeastern Arizona.
Coal from the mines fuel much of the electricity in Arizona, Nevada and
Southern California. The coal is transported to the Navajo Generating
Station of the Salt River Project near Page and the Mohave Generating
Station of Southern California Edison near Laughlin, Nev.
Both SRP and Southern California Edison also were named as defendants in
the suit, in which Navajo officials say damages could approach $1.8
billion.
Navajo President Kelsey Begaye said in a prepared statement that the
damage caused by Peabody's "influence peddling is staggering" to the
nation's largest tribe.
Begaye said the tribe has suffered losses of $600 million just since
1984, 20 years after the original lease between the Navajos and Peabody
was negotiated.
As Peabody reaped "huge and illicit profits" from Navajo coal over the
years, Begaye noted that thousands of Navajo homes on the three-state
reservation are still without electricity.
Greg Leisse, a Phoenix attorney who formerly represented Peabody and is
named in the suit, did not return calls to his office Monday.
Under its original lease with the tribe in 1964, with the federal Bureau
of Indian Affairs acting as a steward, Peabody paid less than 2 percent in
royalties to the tribe. The lawsuit alleges that, by 1983, Peabody had
received $141 million for the coal and paid the Navajos only $2.7 million
in royalties.
The Navajos sought an adjustment of the royalty rate to 20 percent in
1984, as provided for by the lease. The suit claims that the Department of
Interior decided in favor of the increased rate but that Peabody used
illicit influence with then-Interior Secretary Donald Hodel, who
overturned the decision.
According to the suit, Hodel's action forced the tribe to agree to a
federal minimum 12.5 percent royalty rate in 1987. The suit claims that it
also forced the tribe to forfeit $89 million in back taxes and unpaid back
royalties and that the Navajos were forced to give up rights to 270
million tons of coal owned jointly with the Hopi Tribe.
***
Mark Shaffer can be reached at mark.shaffer@pni.com via e-mail or at
1-602-444-8057.
Copyright 1999, Arizona Central

--------- "RE: Daishowa Boycott Appeal" ---------

Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 16:46:41 -0500
From: fol@tao.ca
Subj: Daishowa boycott appeal coverage

Mailing List: FOL-L <fol@tao.ca>

Friends of the Lubicon
485 Ridelle Ave.
Toronto, ON M6B 1K6
tel: (416) 763-7500
fax: (416) 535-7810
e-mail: fol@tao.ca
The following is recent press coverage related to the appeal of an earlier
court ruling which protected the right of Lubicon supporters to boycott
Daishowa.
Note Daishowa spokesperson Tom Cochran's statement that Daishowa "still has
some concerns that people are allowed to demonstrate..."
Canadians will have to decide whether they want to live in a society that
is sympathetic to Daishowa's concerns.
Friends of the Lubicon
Tuesday, 15 June 1999
Peace River Record-Gazette

Daishowa Inc. builds case in 27 binders, files boycott appeal
By DEB GUERETTE
RECORD-GAZETTE STAFF
Daishowa Inc. has filed its appeal of an Ontario court ruling that upheld
the right of an Aboriginal support group to carry out a boycott campaign.
The Ontario based paper manufacturing company launched a lawsuit against
the Friends of the Lubicon in 1995. After 28 days of court proceedings
concluded in December of 1997, Justice P. MacPherson ruled in March of
1998, that, with some altered wording, the Friends could continue the
boycott that Daishowa has estimate cost it up to $20 million in lost
business.
Immediately after the 1998 ruling Daishowa said it would appeal. Appeal
documents were sent to court the first week of June, corporate
communications manager Tom Cochrane told the Record-Gazette, last week.
"All the papers are filed now," he said Thursday.
Daishowa "still has some concerns that people are allowed to demonstrate
and threaten to boycott our customers," Cochrane said, adding "to a great
degree this is a matter of principle. We don't think it is right and our
lawyers don't think it is valid."
Company lawyers will "use case law... to argue that the judge made the
wrong decision."
The judge "doesn't have the right to overturn all of that procedure,"
Cochrane said, noting the company "never questioned the right" of groups to
boycott it, but are "saying it is not right to carry out secondary pickets
and boycotts of our customers."
Friends of the Lubicon undertook the boycott campaign to pressure Peace
River based Daishowa-Marubeni International to commit to not harvest or use
timber from claimed Lubicon traditional territory until the band achieves a
land settlement.
After the May ruling, and some further discussions between the three
parties, DMI publicly stated in would not use timber from the disputed
territory.
Friends of the Lubicon spokesman Kevin Thomas says the group is concerned
about Daishowa's intentions.
"I have no idea why a company would pursue expensive legal action for the
sake of principle, so the question is why. Do they have some other agenda,"
Thomas said from his Toronto home Friday.
The Friends also have a motion before the courts to dismiss Daishowa's
appeal action, he said.
"We want to push forward that motion. There is no boycott and therefore we
think it is ludicrous to shut down a boycott that doesn't exist," he said.
The Friends have sixty days to put together a statement of defense to the
appeal, Thomas said, noting that Daishowa filed "27 books of stuff, (legal)
material and transcripts of their witnesses."
Sierra Legal Defense Fund lawyers will likely act for the Friends again,
Thomas said. "We have done some fundraising for legal expenses, (and
hopefully) expenses on an appeal should not be as high," as the lawsuit
trial expenses.
Defending itself from Daishowa's lawsuit would have cost the Friends about
$400,000 if legal work was not provided by the legal defense fund, Thomas
said.
Cochrane has declined to reveal how much the lawsuit cost Daishowa.
Despite the end of the boycott, Daishowa has not won back its lost
customers, Cochrane said.
Business is "still terrible. We never really recovered what we lost," he
said.
The lawsuit ruling saw the Friends ordered to pay Daishowa one dollar for
damages for using terms like "genocide" in their boycott literature. When
the two sides appeared in court again to argue costs, Daishowa was ordered
to pay the Friends one dollar for its legal expenses.
A hearing date for the appeal won't likely be set until September,
Cochrane said.

--------- "RE: Province Invited to Lubicon Talks" ---------

Date: Thu, 24 Jun 1999 20:24:24 -0500
From: fol@tao.ca
Subj: Province invited to Lubicon talks

Mailing List: FOL-L <fol@tao.ca>

Tuesday, 22 June, 1999
Peace River Record-Gazette
Province invited to participate in Lubicon land negotiations
By DEB GUERETTE
RECORD-GAZETTE STAFF
The government of Alberta has been invited to join Lubicon Lake Indian
Nation settlement negotiations.
After 11 months of talks between the First Nation and the federal
government and with the crucial membership issue resolved, provincial
participation would "move us to the next phase," chief federal negotiator
Brad Morse told Peace River town council June 14.
The province must transfer back to the federal government land it needs
to create a Lubicon reserve, Morse said during the information session with
council before federal and Lubicon negotiating teams met in Little Buffalo
Tuesday and Wednesday.
With discussions on community construction underway, the province should
join negotiations at one of the next sessions in July, Morse said, adding
that both sides are "waiting for the province to decide their view of land
quantum."
The federal government is prepared to adhere to the 1988 Grimshaw
Accord's 95 square mile reserve territory agreement, Morse said.
"The Grimshaw Accord was initialed as done by one of my predecessors
along the way. The federal view is, it was an agreement between honorable
men representing their respective governments and therefore we would respect
that as being done. The challenge is for us to implement it," Morse said.
While private discussions with provincial officials have been "quite
positive," Morse noted "official discussion at the table can be different -
we have to wait for their official position."
"The federal position is, there has been an agreement reached in the past
on land quantum. If the province reiterates their commitment to that and to
the financial viability (of proposals) in current dollar terms, then I
think you will see us reach an agreement in short order," Morse said.
Lubicon Lake Indian Nation chief Bernard Ominayak says the band expects
the province to live up to the Grimshaw agreement he and premier Don Getty
worked out 11 years ago.
"The Grimshaw Accord was an agreement made by the provincial premier in
power at the time. That agreement should hold regardless of the change in
leadership, I don't see why one party shouldn't honor it," Ominayak told
the Record-Gazette Wednesday.
"We'd be a lot further ahead fast if there is some seriousness on the
part of the province. We hope they bring a positive attitude towards
negotiations. If they don't and they come and are not serious in trying to
(settle), it would be a number of steps back again," Ominayak said.
Progress continues to be made with the federal government, he said.
"We should give some credit to Brad. Things have moved a lot further than
ever before, even though they are not finalized yet. There is a willingness
to work through the problems we face," Ominayak said, adding, "the people
here deserve credit for their patience and the hardships they've faced in
trying to get some benefit in the long run. It has taken a terrible toll on
our people and it is not fair."
The Lubicon wanted to cover a little more ground with the federal
government before provincial officials pull up chairs around the
negotiation table in the community's long house, but the band will welcome
them in July, Ominayak said.
"Brad has been fairly aggressive about bringing the province to the table
and we've given it consideration because of that," he said.
While all three negotiating parties will require "some flexibility to
achieve an enduring settlement," Morse told town council public
encouragement can influence governments.
"If Peace River regards achieving a settlement as important, both
governments should know that. They may have heard it before, but maybe they
haven't heard it lately. My bosses and the provincial government respond to
public concern," Morse said.
Federal and Lubicon negotiating parties plan to meet again in Little
Buffalo in early July. Provincial officials are expected to attend a second
negotiating session in the community later that month.

--------- "RE: Betsiamites Montagnais Band and Hydro-Quebec" ---------

Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999 11:49:39 -0300
From: Larry Innes <innuenv@web.net>
Subj: News: HQ and Betasimites Band Council sign partnership deal

Mailing List: Innu People Forum list <INNU-L@YORKU.CA>
[Hydro Quebec Press Release]
Montreal, 1999-06-21
Partnership Agreement Between the Betsiamites Montagnais Band Council
and Hydro-Quebec: Hydroelectric Projects on the North Shore
______________________________________________
The Betsiamites Montagnais Band Council and Hydro-Quebec are forming
a partnership to execute hydroelectric projects on the North Shore.
The partial diversion of the Portneuf, Sault-aux-Cochons and Manouane
rivers calls for investments of some $82 million, and work done by
the Betsiamites Innu-Montagnais will account for 17.5% of this amount.
The agreement also provides for construction of a power station on
the Toulnustouc River, which will represent an investment of more
than $600 million by Hydro-Quebec.
The agreement in principle was signed today, which is International
Day of Aboriginal Peoples, by Chief of the Betsiamites
Innu-Montagnais Rene Simon, and Andre Caille, CEO of Hydro-Quebec,
near Betsiamites on the North Shore. The signing took place as part
of the ceremony inaugurating the Innu Culture Interpretation Centre
at Papinachois.
"The Innu-Montagnais of Betsiamites, their children and their
grandchildren will begin the next millennium with great optimism
that. This agreement in principle on our partnership will allow for
the creation of many jobs, the formation of new companies, the
restoration of one of the most beautiful Innu-Montagnais salmon
rivers and major developments that will have an impact on traditional
hunting, fishing and trapping practices."
Hydro-Quebec CEO Andre Caille made it clear he felt it "was a great
day. Hydro-Quebec is delighted to have found in Betsiamites a partner
that can participate in all phases of the work and in the project's
ultimate commercial success."
The diverted waters will be sent to the Bersimis 1 and 2 power
stations, increasing annual generating output by some 0.8 TWh, while
the Toulnustouc power station, with installed capacity of 440 MW,
will supply some 2.0 TWh of energy annually.
According to the agreement in principle, commissioning of the partial
diversions of the Portneuf and Sault-aux-Cochons rivers is planned
for the end of 2000, while the Manouane diversion should be ready at
the end of 2002. The Toulnustouc power station should be commissioned
at the end of 2005.
The agreement that was signed also provides for the execution of
studies for a possible partial diversion of the Boucher River.
In the weeks to come, the project may be the subject of additional
agreements with the Essipit and Mashteuiash band councils and the
Fjord-du-Saguenay, Haute-Cate-Nord, Lac-Saint-Jean-Est, Manicouagan
and Maria-Chapdelaine MRCs.

--------- "RE: NA Church Says Military Members Can Use Peyote" ---------

Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 12:58:28 -0700 (MST)
From: chris@Flamestrike.HACKS.Arizona.EDU
Subj: Indian Church Says Members in Military Gain OK To Use Peyote (Fwd)
- - - - - - -<Forwarded news>- - - - - - -
Date: Monday, June 21, 1999
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/1peyote06-21.htm

Monday, June 21, 1999
Indian Church Says Members in Military
Gain OK To Use Peyote
The Associated Press
FARMINGTON -- American Indian church leaders say the U.S. Department of
Defense has approved a proposal to allow the use of peyote by church
members who serve in the military.
Representatives from the federal agency and the Native American Church
of North America Inc. met here Friday during the church group's 50th
annual convention to discuss the proposal.
Earl Arkinson, a member of the Chippewa and Cree tribes, is president of
the Native American Church. He said Saturday that the military agreed to
allow the use of peyote by church members.
Arkinson called the deal with the military a significant achievement.
"It will allow those in the armed services to take part in the sacrament
peyote," he said.
Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Mike Milord said Sunday that he was unaware
of the church group's proposal.
Peyote, a button-shaped nodule that grows on cacti found only in parts
of Mexico and Texas, is used during religious ceremonies by members of the
Native American Church. Believers see it as a magical plant that can evoke
visions of truth and allow them to commune with God.
They also claim it can heal ailments from heart disease to rheumatism.
Congress had already recognized this by giving church members an
exemption under the Native American Religious Freedom Act to continue
practicing their religious ceremonies the same way they have for
generations.
According to church officials, the Department of Defense restricted
-peyote use for some church members who serve in the military. For example,
those members who work with nuclear weapons will not be allowed to use the
drug.
The agency estimated about 40 church members fit that category, Arkinson
said.
All other military personnel who belong to the Native American Church
can use peyote in religious ceremonies, Arkinson said.
At least 200 people from 23 states attended the church convention over
the weekend in Farmington.
Church members also discussed an effort by Texas lawmakers to restrict
the harvesting and sale of peyote to church members. It was decided that a
task force will meet with state officials in Austin next month to talk
about any proposed changes in the law.
Among the changes lawmakers are considering is a requirement for buyers
to have more documentation proving they are bonafide members of the
church.
Copyright c. 1997, 1998, 1999 Albuquerque Journal
Call the Journal: 505-823-3800 | Place an ad:
505-823-4444

--------- "RE: AFN Asks Ottawa to Double Funding" ---------

Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 11:18:48 -0500
From: sisis@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
Subj: AFN wants doubled funding

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
NATIVE GROUP ASKS OTTAWA TO DOUBLE ITS FUNDING - AFN not relevant: Reform
National Post, June 17, 1999, by Stewart Bell
[S.I.S.I.S. note: The following mainstream news article may contain biased
or distorted information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context.
It is provided for reference only.]
The Assembly of First Nations wants the federal government to more than
double its funding to almost $40-million, documents indicate. The AFN's
proposed budget calls for $39.4-million in spending this fiscal year,
including $8.7-million for staffing and $6.2-million for preservation of
aboriginal languages. A copy was leaked to the Reform party.
The group's budget was $18-million last year. Although the fiscal year has
already begun, the budget is still being negotiated by the AFN and federal
government officials. The AFN has signed an agreement with the Indian
Affairs Department that allocates $19-million to the group, but the
assembly is continuing to lobby for more and fears it will have to make
cuts if it doesn't get it.
Under the proposal, most of the money -- $30-million -- would come from
Indian Affairs, with the rest supplied by Health, Justice, Fisheries,
Foreign Affairs, Human Resources, International Development and Heritage.
The AFN acknowledged the budget was a "wish list," and said it would be
surprised to get what it asked for. It says it needs extra resources
because Ottawa is asking it to take on new responsibilities stemming from
the report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.
Reform says the AFN shouldn't get more. "I'd have to question whether most
aboriginal people in Canadatoday would find the AFN very relevant," said
Mike Scott, Reform's aboriginal affairs critic, who obtained the budget.
"Certainly a lot of the people I've talked to in the last year-and-a-half
don't believe that's the case, and question whether the AFN is really
representing their views and their interests. So it's difficult for me to
understand why the federal government would be contemplating doubling their
budget."
An Indian Affairs official said the budget was already set as far as he
was concerned, although other federal departments may still be negotiating
their contributions. "We have a signed agreement with the AFN," said Don
Cooke, director-general of service improvement.
The AFN represents Canada's 633 Indian bands, who elect a national chief
as well as vice-chiefs from each region.
The budget proposal is a bold step for the group, which only two years ago
was politically irrelevant, $1.6-million in debt and facing the loss of its
funding because it would not fully open its books to federal auditors. But
since the departure of Ovide Mercredi -- who oversaw the AFN at a time it
was ignored, marginalized and increasingly radical, calling for highway
blockades across the nation -- the group has been trying to recover.
Shortly after Jane Stewart took over as Indian Affairs minister in 1997,
Phil Fontaine was elected AFN grand chief, paving the way for better
relations with the government. The thaw in relations has apparently given
the AFN the confidence to ask for a hefty funding increase. The draft
budget proposes $20-million in base funding for categories such as
"executive committee" ($2.4-million), administration ($1.9-million), land
rights ($1.8-million) and communications ($1.8-million).
The largest single budget item is the $4-million for "LTS," an acronym
for Lands and Trust Services, while the second-biggest is $3.6-million for
"fiscal relations." Some of the budget items are difficult to comprehend. A
category labeled "eagle closure" is budgeted for $400,000 while $270,000 is
marked simply "international."
Part of the budget will pay for Mr. Fontaine's salary, which last year
jumped to $125,000 from $85,000.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL : <sisis@envirolink.org>
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html

--------- "RE: Will Haskell Take a Payoff?" ---------

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 00:26:00 -0500
From: hdqrs@worldnet.att.net
Subj: Will Haskell take a payoff?

Mailing List: TRIBALLAW (triballaw@thecity.sfsu.edu)

Payoff on table for Haskell's SLT support
React to this story
Updated 12:14:38 PM Thursday, June 17, 1999
A reported compensation package for the American Indian school has raised
more questions that it answered.
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer
The president of Haskell Indian Nations University questions the
significance of a reported multimillion-dollar package offered to the
school in exchange for its support for a 31st Street alignment to complete
the South Lawrence Trafficway.
"Until it becomes part of some document and has a signature on it, we
certainly wouldn't consider it an offer," Bob Martin said.
Sources involved in the trafficway debate said the package equates to
about $5 million in projects and cash for the school.
Martin said he was presented with what he called a "draft" list of
compensation in exchange for the school's support to complete the
trafficway along 31st Street, which cuts across the southern edge of
Haskell's campus.
Whether the offer is bona fide, it concerns Dan Lambert, president of
Baker University, which owns and manages the Baker Wetlands adjacent to the
Haskell campus.
Missing are references to a management plan Lambert said was agreed to in
principle by those involved with the trafficway.
"In my opinion, it seems to be uninformed," Lambert said. "It didn't
discuss some issues that would be important to Baker."
The package was presented to Haskell by Dean Carlson, Kansas
transportation secretary. The trafficway, originally seen as a highway
around the southern part of Lawrence, is being pursued jointly by Douglas
County, the Kansas Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway
Administration.
Gov. Bill Graves recently took on completion of the road as a personal
project.
Neither Martin, Lambert nor Carlson would specify the details of the
list.
Early versions included items in a proposed mitigation package released by
Martin last year and a federally required study called the 4(f) statement,
said Douglas County Administrator Craig Weinaug, who said he hadn't seen
the latest version on the table.
"Any mitigation plan offered by the state has to offer what was in that
4(f) statement at a minimum," Weinaug said.
The 4(f) statement included the purchase and removal of the LRM concrete
plant near 31st and Haskell Avenue; earthen berms to insulate the campus
from the trafficway; and the turning over the Wakarusa Township fire
station to Haskell.
However in trying to appease Haskell, trafficway proponents may have
angered Baker, which up to now has been willing to give up ownership of the
Baker Wetlands under the right circumstances.
"Ownership of the property is not important to us," Lambert said. "The
maintenance of it is critical."
Lambert said meetings with Martin had led to a plan that would turn
ownership of the wetlands over to Haskell but would put the property's
management in the hands of a trust to include at least representatives of
Baker, Haskell and Kansas University.
"We were close to a meeting of the minds on how we might cooperate and get
this thing moving," Lambert said. "In the absence of having those resolved,
we would not be able to go along with the recommendation."
Baker's involvement has been seen as an important part of the picture,
Weinaug said.
"They can't take Baker for granted," he said. "Clearly they can't offer
land the state and county don't own."
Martin said the Baker Wetlands were included in the package, but it
excused the issue of their management.
"This was a very brief document," he said. "There would be a lot of
details to be worked out across the board I think."

--------- "RE: All Groups Can Have Say in Fall Sovereignty Summit" ---------

Date: Fri, 25 Jun 1999 17:57:59 -1000
From: Hawaii Nation Info <info@hawaii-nation.org>
Subj: All groups can have say in fall sovereignty summit

Mailing List: Hawaii Nation Info <info@hawaii-nation.org>
http://starbulletin.com/1999/06/03/news/story7.html

All groups can have their say in fall sovereignty summit
The October gathering hopes to bring diverse opinions together
Thursday, June 3, 1999
By Pat Omandam
Honolulu Star-Bulletin
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (www.oha.org) wants to include all
sovereignty groups in planning its proposed Hawaiian summit this October.
It has hired a technical assistant to get it done. Julie Cachola, a
community planner who has worked with Ka Lahui Hawaii, the Hawaiian
Sovereignty Elections Council and its successor, Ha Hawaii, said dates
for the October gathering are just one of many issues she's working on.
Cachola told trustees yesterday there's been a lot of action in the
sovereignty movement in recent years, with people talking about the same
things but through different approaches.
"Its been seen as a lack of unity and it's divisive in the community,"
she said
"Basically, the time has come, I think, for a consensus-building effort
in pulling together the groups."
OHA Government Affairs Chairwoman Mililani Trask said planned
sovereignty conventions by Ka Lahui Hawaii and Ha Hawaii are reported to
be on hold, so now is the time to get everyone together.
Trask realizes unless OHA involved Hawaiians with diverse opinions in
planning for the gathering, it would become an event where opposing
views would clash and nothing would be accomplished.
"We're hopping that if we can build consensus, maybe it will be
possible for both those groups to come together," she said.
Cachola is working with a sovereignty advisory council that is attached
to Trask's government affairs and sovereignty committee. Its members are
Vicky Holt Takamine, Lehua Kinilau, Liz Pa Martin and Clifford Chee.
Cachola said she plans to use Web sites, video and community-based TV
programming to maximize exposure of the event.
The goal is to put together a package where people can learn about the
different models of sovereignty.
Organizers would then call for the question on native Hawaiian
self-determination, she said.

http://starbulletin.com/1999/06/03/news/story7.html
c. 1999 Honolulu Star-Bulletin http://starbulletin.com

--------- "RE: Washington Court Limits Tribal Game Hunting" ---------

Date: Fri, 18 Jun 1999 16:14:58 -0700
From: James Clearwater <Jclearwater@real.com>
Subj: Supreme Court limits tribal game hunting

Copyright c. 1999 The Seattle Times Company
Local News : Thursday, June 17, 1999
Supreme Court limits tribal game hunting
OLYMPIA - Indian tribes' treaty right to hunt game on "open and unclaimed
lands" is limited to areas in which each tribe has traditionally hunted,
the Washington state Supreme Court said today.
The nine-member court unanimously voted to reinstate criminal charges
against a Nooksack Indian who was arrested in 1995 for killing two elk
outside of hunting season and for hunting while his state license was
revoked. The case, which has ignited a smoldering dispute between Indian
and non-Indian hunters, was remanded for trial in Yakima County Superior
Court.
At issue is a hunting right guaranteed by the 1855 Point Elliott Treaty
between Northwest tribes and the federal government.
Donald Buchanan, the Nooksack accused of violating state hunting laws,
argued that the treaty gave him the right to hunt elk on "open and
unclaimed lands," in this case, public lands managed by the state
Department of Natural Resources.
A Yakima County judge had dismissed the charges against Buchanan on the
grounds that the treaty gave tribal members the right to hunt anywhere in
the "Territory of Washington." The state Court of Appeals upheld the
decision. But the Supreme Court, in a ruling written by Chief Justice
Richard Guy, said the lower courts' interpretations of the treaty right
were too broad. Instead, the high court partially agreed with Yakima
Prosecutor Jeff Sullivan's argument that the hunting right was intended to
diminish as settlers moved West.
However, the court rejected Sullivan's argument that today there is no
open and unclaimed land.

--------- "RE: Judge Rules On Motions in Case" ---------

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 08:02:17 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 06-21-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Judge Rules On Motions in Latest Case Brought by William Koch
C. Business Wire
June 18, 1999
TULSA, Okla., -- A U.S. Magistrate Judge in U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Oklahoma has ruled that a jury should be informed
that the federal government declined to intervene in an oil measurement
case brought by William Koch.
Under federal rules applicable in the case, the federal government could
have joined the action. In this case, the government decided not to do so.
In another ruling, the judge also upheld a motion by Koch Industries
preventing William Koch from entering into evidence a Senate Committee
report on Koch Industries' alleged business conduct on Indian properties.
The law provides that because the report was from a governmental
investigation, it normally would be admissible unless circumstances
indicated a lack of trustworthiness. The court found several factors that
raised trustworthiness issues, including the "political nature of the
investigation" and the "lack of procedural safeguards" (such as no cross-
examination of witnesses).
The court also noted that William Koch's involvement in the Senate
investigation raised trustworthiness concerns. The order states: "Courts
must view with some skepticism a public report being offered against a
party when the conclusions contained in that public report are based in
part on evidence solicited by the opposing party. It is beyond doubt that
William I. Koch, a plaintiff in this case, was involved to some degree
with the Special Committee's investigation."
The case is the 10th in a series of legal actions initiated by William
Koch against Koch Industries and its chief executive, his brother Charles
Koch, over the past 17 years. Each of those legal actions which have been
resolved to date have been decided in Koch Industries' favor. William
Koch's history of unsuccessful litigation against Koch Industries has thus
far occupied the time of 27 state and federal judges.
"We're pleased that the jury will hear a pertinent background fact -
that the government could have joined in prosecuting these issues but
chose not to. With that decision, the government didn't necessarily take
either side, but not telling the jury that William Koch is the one who is
asserting these claims would suggest the government is prosecuting this
case, and that's not right," said Jay Rosser, a Koch Industries spokesman.
"Also, the court's ruling means that a jury will hear the facts of this
case directly, not through the filter of a 10-year-old report which was
created by a political process influenced by William Koch and his
associates as part of his ongoing vendetta against our company."
These rulings by the court follow recent public statements by the leader
of the Osage Indian Nation, an allegedly aggrieved party in the lawsuit
brought by Bill Koch, defending Koch Industries and its business practices
and declaring the attacks on the company to have no basis in fact.
In a recent interview with the Tulsa World, Charles Tillman, chief of
the Osage Nation, said, "Koch has been up front with us and has been a
good operator. They have done nothing wrong."
Tillman said that in 1995 the Osage Nation opened up their files to
William Koch and their legal team. He said William Koch's review of the
tribal documents related to oil production did not turn up any evidence of
wrongdoing. Approximately 85 percent of the oil that Koch purchased from
Indian lands was bought from the Osage in Oklahoma.
Not since the Osage Tribal Council concluded a nearly year-long
examination and independent study of the issues in 1990 has a Tribal
leader commented publicly on the allegations William Koch has made against
Koch Industries. The Osage Nation has declined to participate in any legal
action against Koch and continues to do business with the company.
Since William Koch began aggressively pressing these allegations,
multiple federal agencies have conducted extensive investigations into
this issue. After the one-day hearing conducted by the Senate's committee
in 1989, the Federal Bureau of Land Management (B.L.M.) conducted a year-
long audit of the practices and businesses that are the focus of the suit
and found no wrongdoing on Koch's part. In their February 1990 report, the
B.L.M. stated their review "revealed no discrepancies or irregularities in
production accountability..."
In addition, after another lengthy review and investigation, the U.S.
Attorney's office in Oklahoma deemed it unworthy of legal action.
Following that, the Osage Agency of the Bureau of Indian Affairs also
investigated the situation and concurred with the B.L.M and U.S.
Attorney's findings.
"There's a lot of history behind this case, but the fact of the matter
is that it will be up to the court and, perhaps, a jury to evaluate the
facts here. And when that's said and done, we're confident our integrity
will be affirmed," said Rosser.
Koch Industries, Inc. through its subsidiaries, employs 16,000 people
worldwide and is involved in virtually all phases of the oil and gas
industry, as well as in chemicals, plastics, energy services, chemical and
environmental technology products, asphalt products, metals and mineral
services, agriculture, financial services, and ventures. For more
information on Koch, refer to www.kochind.com or www.kochenvironment.com
on the Internet.

--------- "RE: Live Radio Interview with Family of Anna Mae" ---------

Date: 22 Jun 1999 02:39:34 GMT
From: annainc@aol.com (A.N.N.A. Foundation)
Subj: LIVE KBOO RADIO INTERVIEW

Newsgroup: alt.native

Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash daughter's Denise and Deborah, along with Robert
A. Pictou-Branscombe and Shannon M. Collins are scheduled for a live one
hour interview with Portland, Oregon's KBOO Radio Station. Copy of this
interview will be made available for distribution to other interested
networks. This is the first interview with Anna Mae's daughter's since
the loss of their Mother in 1975.
Thursday, June 24th at 2:00-3:00 pm Arizona and Oregon time.
Robert A. Pictou-Branscombe will end the interview with a discussion of
his personal investigation into the murder of Anna Mae. Aggressive report.
Deborah's voice sounds just like her mother.(Youngest daughter) Both
will share experiences they had with Anna Mae and they will express their
directives with the A.N.N.A. Foundation.
Please check out the "MEDIA AND INTERVIEWS" page of the A.N.N.A. Foundation
website at http://members.aol.com/ANNAinc/Foundation.html
Thanks for tuning in.

http://members.aol.com/ANNAinc/Foundation.html

--------- "RE: Homicide Lands in BIA Jurisdiction" ---------

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 07:53:36 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 06-19-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Homicide lands in BIA jurisdiction
By ROD WALTON
c. Tulsa World
6/18/99
The Adair County man apparently was beaten last weekend.
STILWELL -- An investigation that bounced around two sheriff's offices
before landing with the Bureau of Indian Affairs is looking into the
apparent beating death of an Adair County man last weekend.
Jim Chuculate, 56, died Saturday at St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa, said
Leon Glenn, Muskogee commander for BIA investigations.
He had been taken by ambulance to Tulsa after being admitted to the
Stilwell hospital.
"We are looking into it as a possible homicide," Glenn said. "According
to the Medical Examiner's Office (in Tulsa), he received a blow to the side
of the head, which resulted in his death."
The Medical Examiner's Office apparently called the Cherokee County
Sheriff's Office first, believing that the beating occurred in that
jurisdiction.
"We got word that a man had died . . . from a beating that occurred in
Cherokee County," Sheriff Delena Goss said, adding that the beating
allegedly happened at a bar in the southern end of her county.
However, investigators later determined Chuculate's fatal injury was
sustained in Adair County, where he lived.
Adair County investigators decided that the beating had happened on
Indian land, which made it a BIA case.
Glenn said his agency received the case Wednesday, four days after
Chuculate died.
The BIA commander said his investigators already have developed at least
one suspect, although he would not give any more details.
"We could make an arrest soon, or it could go to a (federal) grand jury,"
Glenn said. "There are a lot of witnesses to interview. It could take a
little time."
Glenn would not say why Chuculate's friends or relatives did not call
police when he was first sent to the hospital. Chuculate, who was disabled,
was married and had three children and a stepson.
He was buried Tuesday at a family cemetery.

--------- "RE: Watchdog Urges Ipperwash Inquiry" ---------

Date: Sat, 19 Jun 1999 11:18:02 -0500
From: sisis@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
Subj: Stoney Point: Ombuddy urges inquiry

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
WATCHDOG URGES IPPERWASH INQUIRY
The Toronto Star, June 17, 1999 by Theresa Boyle
[S.I.S.I.S. note: Ipperwash is not the correct name for the land concerned;
the name is Aazhoodena Territory, Stoney Point.
The following mainstream news article may contain biased or distorted
information and may be missing pertinent facts and/or context. It is
provided for reference only.]
The provincial ombudsman has called for a public inquiry into the police
shooting death of native activist Dudley George. "I think there are
questions that anyone concerned about fundamental justice would want
addressed," she said yesterday while delivering her annual report.
Acting-Sergeant Kenneth Deane was convicted of criminal negligence in the
Sept. 6, 1995 shooting of George during a standoff with native protesters
at Ipperwash Provincial Park. He is appealing. Jamieson said she received a
complaint last year about the incident, including "allegations concerning
actions by government officials," but couldn't launch an investigation
because of restrictions in her mandate.
However, on her own, she investigated a separate allegation regarding the
Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat and its conduct in response to the
occupation of Ipperwash Provincial Park by native protesters. "A concern
had been raised publicly in the Legislature and elsewhere that a change in
government policy had been approved by the Interministerial Committee on
Aboriginal Emergencies and that the Native Affairs Secretariat had failed
to follow its established practice of advising the First Nations concerned
of this policy change," she said.
Jamieson has advised the government that she cannot investigate the matter
further because of her limited jurisdiction and that the best recourse
would be a public inquiry. She said her limited probe "raised a number of
serious and complex issues," many of which were beyond the scope of her
authority to investigate. "I saw enough in the look I had... to tell me
there are serious issues that need to be addressed and there is nowhere to
take them, (nobody) to do an inquiry, a hard look, access to information
and make recommendations to put things right," she said.
Jamieson would not elaborate on what she discovered in her investigation.
Premier Mike Harris yesterday lost a legal battle to be excluded from a
lawsuit over George's shooting. The Premier, former attorney-general
Charles Harnick and Solicitor-General Bob Runciman must remain in a
wrongful death lawsuit filed by the George family, Mr. Justice James
Southey of Divisional Court ruled. The decision overjoyed George's brother,
Sam, but a government lawyer said he's exploring other legal avenues.
"Today's decision is really a victory for truth," George's brother Sam
said. "The delaying process that they're putting us through doesn't appear
to be working." Government lawyer Dennis Brown said he isn't sure if the
government will seek to appeal yesterday's decision.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
Letters to the Star -- mailto:lettertoed@thestar.ca
WE WILL NEVER FORGET DUDLEY GEORGE - WE WILL NEVER FORGET GUSTAFSEN LAKE!
For more info on the murder of Dudley George:
contact Pierre George <czavitz@xcelco.on.ca>
visit http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/Ipperwash/arch01.html
...and what about Gustafsen Lake?
For a Gustafsen Inquiry Now!
http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/GustLake/support.html
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is
distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed
a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
S.I.S.I.S. Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
P.O. Box 8673, Victoria, "B.C." "Canada" V8X 3S2
EMAIL : <sisis@envirolink.org>
WWW: http://kafka.uvic.ca/~vipirg/SISIS/SISmain.html

--------- "RE: Jailed Protestants Freed in Mexico" ---------

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 07:53:36 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 06-19-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Jailed Protestants Freed in Mexico
.c The Associated Press
6/18/99
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS, Mexico (AP) - Local officials have released
13 Protestants who were arrested after they angered villagers by trying to
build a church in the southern state of Chiapas.
The Protestants were jailed Tuesday in Mitziton, 10 miles southeast of
the state capital, San Cristobal de las Casas, and turned over to
authorities in neighboring Flores Magon, where they live. They were
released Thursday after negotiations between government officials and
local residents.
Many residents of the two communities see their unique mixture of
Catholicism and traditional Maya Indian beliefs as crucial to their
culture's survival. Hundreds of people had demanded that the Protestants
be expelled from their communities.
The Protestants said they were ordered to leave the area and were
threatened with death if they return.
"We are not afraid. We have the right to build our temple and we demand
that our right to worship be respected," said Carmen Diaz Lopez, one of
the group.
Tens of thousands of Protestant converts - and some Roman Catholics -
have been expelled from their Chiapas villages, often with violence, over
the past 20 years.

--------- "RE: Native Riot at Regina Correctional Centre" ---------

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 21:36:06 +0000
From: anishnabe <anishnabe@geocities.com>
Subj: Native Syndicate riot at the Regina Correctional Centre

Newsgroup: alt.native

After a weekend of hell (June 18- 20) at the Regina Correctional
Center the truth emerges. Members of Native Syndicate began a riot that
destroyed the jail. This was done out of pure anger and frustration. I
wonder what these males could be so angry about...hmmmm. Members slashed
their wrists in protest to a system that they see as the "enemy".
Statistics indicate that Saskatchewan leads in Aboriginal incarceration.
Aboriginal people only represent 3% of Canada's population but make up
16% of all admissions to federal institutions. Aboriginal incarceration
rate is 8 times the national average. Aboriginal people in Saskatchewan
are locked up at a rate of 1600 per 100000 as compared to non-aboriginal
people who are locked up at the rate of 48 per 100000. Aboriginal people
living on First Nations account for 30% where as Aboriginal people
living in urban centers account for 70% incarcerated. Seems Aboriginal
incarceration in Saskatchewan is "big business". FSIN now wants some of
this "big business' and is now developing a separate justice system
based on traditional cultural healing and justice. Canada will not deal
with the social structure that has created these social problems. They
have left these social problems to First Nations to solve who cannot
even begin to cope with social problems on the reserve let alone social
problems in the urban centers. Canada now is in the process of cutting
social programs because they can't afford to tax corporations. All this
is happening when there is an Aboriginal "baby boom" in Saskatchewan
and economic programs are failing Aboriginal people. Now to top it all
off the Native Syndicate may be at war with the Manitoba Warriors. Over
the weekend there was a drive-by in the "hood" in which one of the
higher members in NS was shot. Word on the street has it that the
shooting was done by the Manitoba warriors. At this point, these reports
are yet to be confirmed in any way. There will be more riots and wars if
nothing is done. There maybe no future for Aboriginal people if this
continues. We will be too busy killing each other

--------- "RE: Peltier's Case Back in Court" ---------

Date: Tue, 22 Jun 1999 19:00:03 -0500
From: "LPDC" <lpdc@idir.net>
Subj: Peltier's case back in court!

Dear Peltier supporters,
Here is another press release. Please fax it to your local media and pass
it on to other supporters. It is extremely important we prepare to
mobilize and fill the court room as soon as there is news of a hearing.
We will let you know what is happening every step of the way!
---LPDC staff collective

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 22, 1999
FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL CHALLENGES THE U.S. PAROLE COMMISSION ON BEHALF
OF NATIVE AMERICAN POLITICAL PRISONER, LEONARD PELTIER
Conact:
Contact:
Gina Chiala
Lawrence Schilling
The Leonard Peltier Defense Committee Law Office-Ramsey Clark
785-842-5774
212-475-3232
For the first time in any court, a habeas corpus petition challenging the
denial by the U.S. Parole Commission of Leonard Peltier's substantive and
procedural parole rights has been filed in federal district court in Topeka,
Kansas. This is the first attempt to enter Peltier's case into the courts
since he last appealed his conviction in 1993. Peltier, who is considered
to be a political prisoner by Amnesty International who insists he be
immediately and unconditionally released, has become a notorious symbol of
injustice against Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Peltier was
originally convicted in 1977 for the first degree murders of FBI agents,
Jack Coler and Ronald Williams.
The petition was filed by former Attorney General and lawyer, Ramsey Clark
with attorneys Carl Nadler and Lawrence Schilling. It was filed on June 4,
1999 and challenges as illegal, clearly erroneous, arbitrary, capricious,
and unconstitutional, the Commission's denial of parole to Peltier and its
decision to schedule Peltier's next parole release hearing in December
2008 -- 15 years in the future, 17 years in excess of the Commission's
applicable guidelines and 6 years after the date set by Congress for the
total abolition of the Parole Commission itself. Peltier's petition also
charges that as a result of changes in federal parole laws, practices and
procedures since 1975, Peltier has been imprisoned longer than the law then
authorized in violation of the Constitution's ex post facto clause, as well
as Peltier's right to due process and equal protection of the law