Wotanging Ikche--nanews07.028

Gary Night Owl (gars@netcom.com)
Tue, 6 Jul 1999 18:52:24 -0700 (PDT)

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/ / / / / / /--/ / / / ___ / / / / ___ O o O
(_(_/ (__/ ( / (_ / (_ (___/ '__/_ / (_ (___/ ' O o o o o O
____ _ , ___ _ , ___ VOLUME 07, ISSUE 028 O o O
/ ' ) / / ) ' ) / / ' July 10, 1999 O o O
/ /-< / /--/ /-- Choctaw sassafras moon O
__/_ / ) (___/ / ( (___, Pomo manzanita ripens moon
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 Triballaw, Big Mountain & Nat-Film Lists;
Newsgroups: alt.native, soc.culture.native; UUCP email;
Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty
http://www.minorities-jb.com/native/apnews/newsframe.html

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.

From: "Larry Kibby" <kibbey@sierra.net>
Subj: Fw: "The Knee" by Dee Brown
------- FORWARD, Original message follows -------
Subj: "The Knee" by Dee Brown

> "The squaws offered no resistance. Everyone I saw dead was scalped.
> I saw one squaw cut open with an unborn child, as I thought, lying
> beside her."
>
> "I saw quite a number of infants in arms killed with their mother's."
>
> "In going over the battle ground the next day I did not see a body
> of man, woman or child but was scalped, and in many instances
> their bodies were mutilated in the most horrible manner-men, women,
> and children's privates cut out; and I heard one man say that he
> had cut out a woman's private parts and had them for exhibition on
> a stick."
>
> "I also heard of numerous instances in which men had cut out the
> private parts of females and strechted them over the saddle-bows
> and wore them over their hats while riding in the ranks."
> =============================================
> The above quotes expresses the unique and patriotic History of
> the United States Army, a history that has been endorsed and
> supported by every American President, a history which every
> genuine American has been proud of while they salute their
> freedom, democracy and independence, a history in which America,
> "Home of the Free, Home of the Brave" was built, and every
> Non-Indian in those days was proud of, for then, back in those days,
> "The only good Indian, was a dead Indian!"
>
> "HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY"
>
> Larry Kibby - kibbey@sierra.net

"Upon suffering beyond suffering, the Red Nation shall rise again and
it shall be a blessing for a sick world. A world filled with broken
promises, selfishness and separations. A World longing for light again.
I see a time long after the skies have grown dark and dirty and the
water has become bad smelling. I see a time of seven generations when
all the colors of mankind will gather under the Sacred Tree of Life and
one whole earth will become one circle again.
In that day, there will be those among the Lakota who will carry the
knowledge and understanding of unity among all living things and the
young white ones will come to those of my People and ask for this
wisdom.
I salute the light within your eyes where the whole universe dwells.
For when you are at that center within you and I am at that place
within me, we shall be One."
__ Crazy Horse, as he sat smoking the pipe with Sitting Bull for the
last time, four days before he was to be assasinated. (Sept 1877)

O'siyo Brothers and Sisters!

Many in the U. S. celebrated the vision of the "framers of the
Constitution", the vision of a new nation, free from the tyrany of
European monarchs, this weekend. I have searched, and cannot find one
instance of any politician anywhere in the United States saying to any
Native nation that the freedom for those fleeing European chains came at
the expense--great expense--of the human beings already living on Turtle
Island.

Perspective is a great thing. Apparently the one I hold is of little
significance. Certainly, it is not a view that warrants my being a
party pooper, just because my people were put on a death march in 1836.

=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=

I now have a very personal request.

- If you are in any way involved in support for Native Prisoners, anywhere,
- If you know of support groups that provide information and guidance to
assist any involved in assistance to Native Prisoners
- If you know of resources of any nature to support Native Prisoners
- If you can provide legal assistance to any of these issues
please contact my wife at jans@atlcom.net or myself at gars@netcom.com.

If you live in the Atlanta area, can pass a background check, and are
willing to join us three times a year at USP-Atlanta please contact us.

=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=/\=
This just in at press time - and confirmed.....

Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 21:55:26 GMT
From: Storm <stormr@pcl.lib.wa.us>
Subj: Whiteclay Occupied

Newsgroup: alt.native

I received a message that Whiteclay was occupied at 3:30 pm eastern
standard time today by AIM, and a call for warriors was made. Does
anyone have any other information?
Storm

Peace! Night Owl
, , Gary Night Owl gars@netcom.com
(*,*) P. O. Box 672168 gars@nanews.org
(`-') Marietta, GA 30287, U.S.A. gars@igc.apc.org
===w=w== Fax: 770-528-9643

----------- News of the people featured in this issue ----------
- Un-happy 4th of July - 25th International
- July 4th Comment Indian Treaty Conference
- The Oblates Apology of '91 - Adopting Reservation's Elderly
- Residential schools/THE book - Whiteclay, Nebraska
- Stealing Human Rights - Leonard Peltier on Whiteclay
- Shawnee Graves/ - Fundraising Breakfast
South Lawrence Trafficway - Peltier Conference
- Babbitt Called Before Grand Jury - LPDC Organizing Conference/
- Bombing Arizona Plans of Actions
- Mi'kmaq Protest Halifax Birthday Fest - Native Prisoner
- AFN Striving to - Dark Night
Occupy Lands and Trust Sector - A Hundred Years Ago
- Alaska Commission - Poem: A Simple Truth
on Rural Governance - Verse: Hawaiian Book of Days
- Cherokee Meeting Falls Through - Upcoming Events

--------- "RE: Un-happy 4th of July" ---------

Date: 05 Jul 1999 03:07:54 GMT
From: odawa4ever@aol.com (Odawa4ever)
Subj: Un-happy 4th of July

Newsgroup: alt.native

Today marks the day in which the Dominant Society claimed the right to be
the "land of the free, and home of the brave." As I sit here typing, I
can hear the pops and booms of the fireworks and guns all around me. I
think about how morbid it all seems in regards to their symbolism. The
death and total destruction of those they oppose.
The sounds that emanate within these walls, are not much different than
what my own Relations heard on the day they were forced to cross over,
their only crime was the color of their skin. The shots ring out around
me, and in another time not so long ago, those same sounds caused them to
fall. They watched their children fall, their parents and grand parents
fall, and I am sure they thought, as the life they loved, seeped from them,
that the bullets would not cease until the Red Race was wiped from this
earth.
But blood does a funny thing to the mind. When you cause enough of it
to flow, it literally stains you. You can try to wash it from yourself,
but somehow, it becomes a part of you. You can try to ignore it and turn
away from it, but its there, always. Even for such a common task as when
you bring a spoonful of food to your mouth, you not only see it, but you
can smell it. It reminds you of the ones you took in a bad way, even if
they were "only" savages. Blood is sacred, and for anyone that takes life
in a bad way, learns the lesson that will haunt them for life.
So the very blood that they took from my relations, in turn saved us,
because the rain of bullets stopped, or at least slowed enough to allow us
to still be here today.
As the Dominate Society dances around tonight and laughs at their tawdry,
yet symbolic display of destruction. I say a prayer for my Relations and
say "thank you.. Your blood, that stained their hands enough to cause
them to falter, is still pumping through my heart, and it connects me to
you in a sacred way. Today, on this day of their independence, I am proud
of who I am, because I am proud of you".
Miigwetch
Jimmie

--------- "RE: July 4th Comment" ---------

Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 10:06:37 -0700
From: "Larry Kibby" <kibbey@sierra.net>
Subj: Comment

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT IN A
RADIO ACTUALITY FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY

This weekend, as we celebrate the 223d anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence and the birthday of our great nation, let us reflect on what
it means to be an American. ===============================================
========= The following comment & opinion is my own.
Each year I try to understand American Values, each year I try to find
an avenue of truth, within the democracy, freedom, liberty and justice for
all, but how do I find these things, when the so-called Founding Father's
and the Signer's of the Declaration of Independence were not constructing
their values for the Sovereign Nations of the Native American Indian, but
were in fact making decisions and judgements in opposite of what they
claim America was built on.
Today, all across America, people will unite together to rejoice in
these freedoms, in these liberities, and rightfully so, for there are just
cause for some who believe in the American system, for those who gave of
theirselves so that America could be a world strength, a world power, and
for those brave American people who today continue to strive in protecting
the America, "Home of the Free", "Home of the Brave", but one only needs
to view the history of the Sovereign Nations of the Native American Indian,
for there they will find that historically, America was built upon the
Blood of the Indian.
Truth? How many broken treaties? Tribe after tribe, provided with
promise after promise, "For as long as the grass shall grow, for as long
as the river's shall flow", and yet, how many broken treaties? Where is
the American truth?
Liberty? What is liberty, when a people were being beaten, tortured and
murdered because of what they were, what they stood for, and for what the
believed in, trying to protect their home, their land, their people, only
to be incarcerated on a barren land called a reservation, how is this
liberty?
Justice for all? Murdering a people who were only trying to protect
their land, their country, their people does not define justice, but
greater America claims "They lost the War, they lost the land, that's all
there is to say!" And the instant Indians, phonies, fakes and frauds rally
around American Justice today in order to strengthen the "Justice of the
Anti-Indian Movement", and this is called "American Justice".
Freedom? What is freedom, when all the so-called Founding Father's and
signer's of the Declaration of Independence played a role in directing the
world's worst holocaust, with tribe after tribe forced onto lands hundreds
of miles from their traditional territories, reservation lands, and the
Indian became "America's First Prisoner's of War", and this is called
American Freedom!
Once so long ago, a people lived ever so quietly within their country,
and a foreign people came to their shores and through beating's, torture
and murder, stripped them of their "Freedom, Liberty, Democracy and
Justice".
And so on this 223rd celebration of the signing of the Declaration of
Independence, I will remember my Ancestor's and their Sovereign Nations,
the "Trail of Tears", the "Long March of the Navjo's", the many bitter and
hateful battles of American Justice directed towards the Indian, and I
will remember the many great leader's, like Roman Nose, Black Kettle,
Chief Joseph, Sitting Bull, Red Cloud, Dull Knife, Big Foot, Cochise,
Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Geronimo, Wovoka, and the many other's who
fought and gave of theirself for "Freedom, Liberty, and Justice" for their
people of the Sovereign Nations of the Native American Indian.
So for all my relations, all my relatives, all my ancestor's who have
gone before me, on this day, I remember you in honor, respect and dignity,
and know that the Sovereign Nations of the Native American Indian still
await, the American "Freedom, Democracy, Liberty and Justice for All!"
For even today in America, the Indian is still America's Prisoner's of
War, for one only has to view the incarceration of Leonard Peltier and
know, that America is still at War with the Sovereign Nations of the
Native American Indian.
As a Traditional Sun Dancer, I ask you all, Remember your Ancestor's,
Remember Leonard Peltier on this 4th of July, for their "Democracy,
Freedom, Liberty and Justice" needs to be put into place, it is time to
"Liberate" the Sovereign Nations of the Native American Indian, it is time
to "Liberate Leonard Peltier!"
Larry Kibby, Elko Indian Colony Home Page
- http://www.angelfire.com/nv/navalues/index.html

--------- "RE: The Oblates Apology of '91" ---------

Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 11:34:58 -0500
From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman)
Subj: The Oblates Apology of '91

Newsgroup: alt.native

d'laan'te'...
I was sent a copy of this by an archbishop of the catholic christian cult
in 1991, in English & in French. I made a copy & mailed the original back
to the pope, along with a note telling that s.o.b. what he could do with
it.., with no vaseline to ease insertion. My Rage roars into
heart-scorching flames as I address this issue, but I will hold back my
opinions on "christian charity" & the twisted hearts that wrote this. Some
may accept this 'apology'. I never will. I will curse christianity with
my dying breath. These are the very people that planted the bitter seed of
hatred in my heart. Let them reap what they have sown.
Note of explanation re citation: OMI = Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The
order of priests of the catholic christian cult who worked about 75% of
the schools in Canada. Also known as "the white fathers", this missionary
order still actively spreading the christian poison in North America,
Africa & Asia, in heavy competition for souls with the Jesuits. This was
re-printed in their in-house magazine called 'Kergyma'. I'm not
transcribing the whole ball of b.s. due to health considerations: words
from a christian priest's mouth makes me want to vomit. I transcribed
verbatim, with emphasis as in the original.
In The Struggle...
jaom/e'ne'thekwe'
------------------------------
Kergyma (Vol#25 - 1991 pp.129-133)

An Apology to the First Nations of Canada

On behalf of the 1200 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate living and
ministering in Canada.
Douglas Crosby, OMI, President of the Oblate Conference of Canada

[On the 24th of July, 1991, in the presence of media representatives and
between 15,000 and 20,000 Native people gathered at Lac Ste Anne for their
annual pilgrimage, the Oblate Superiors of the Canadian Region, through
their President, the Reverend Douglas Crosby, OMI, voiced this apology to
the Native peoples for certain aspects of their missionary presence and
ministry among Native peoples.]

The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Canada wish, after one
hundred and fifty years of being with and ministering to the Native
peoples of Canada, to offer an apology for certain aspects of that
presence and ministry.

A number of historical circumstances make this moment in history most
opportune for this.

First, there is a symbolic reason. Next year, 1992, marks the five
hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Europeans on the shores of North
America. As large scale celebrations are being prepared on this occasion,
the Oblates of Canada wish, through this apology, to show solidarity with
Native peoples in Canada, whose history has been adversely affected by
this event. Anthropological and sociological insights of the late
twentieth century have shown how deep, unchallenged, and damaging was the
naive cultural, linguistic, and religious superiority complex of Christian
Europe when its peoples met and interrelated with the aboriginal peoples
of North America.

As well, recent criticisms of Indian residential schools and the exposure
of many instances of physical and sexual abuse within these schools call
for such an apology.

Given this history, Native peoples and other groups alike are realizing
that a healing needs to take place before any new and more cooperative
phase of history can occur. This healing cannot, however, happen until
some very complex, long-standing, and deep historical issues have been
addressed.

It is in this context and with a renewed pledge to be in solidarity with
Native peoples in this common struggle for justice that we, the Oblates of
Canada, offer this apology.

We apologize for the part we played in the cultural, ethnic, linguistic,
and religious imperialism that was part of the mentality with which the
peoples of Europe first met the aboriginal peoples and which consistently
lurks behind the way Native peoples of Canada have been treated by civil
governments and by the Churches. We were, naively, part of this mentality
and were, in fact, often a key player in its implementation. We recognize
that this mentality has, from the very beginning and ever since,
continually threatened the cultural, linguistic, and religious traditions
of the Native peoples.

We recognize that many of the problems that beset Native communities today
- high unemployment, alcoholism, family breakdown, domestic violence,
spiraling suicide rates, lack of healthy self-esteem - are not so much the
result of personal failure as they are the direct result of centuries of
systemic imperialism. Any people stripped of its traditions and of its
pride falls victim to precisely these social ills. For the part that we
played, however inadvertent and naive that participation may have been, in
the setting up and maintaining of a system that stripped others of not
only their lands but also their cultural, linguistic, and religious
traditions, we sincerely apologize.

Beyond this regret for having been part of a system which, because of its
historical privilege and assumed superiority did great damage to the
Native peoples of Canada, we wish to apologize more specifically for the
following:

In sympathy with recent criticisms of Native residential schools, we wish
to apologize for the part we played in the setting up and the maintaining
of those schools. We apologize for the EXISTENCE OF THE SCHOOLS
THEMSELVES, recognizing that the biggest abuse was not what happened in
the schools, but that the schools themselves happened, that the primal
bond inherent within families was violated as a matter of policy, that
children were usurped from their natural communities, and that, implicitly
and explicitly, these schools operated out of the ludicrous and racist
premise that European languages, traditions, and religious practices were
superior to Native languages, traditions and religious practices. The
residential schools were an attempt to assimilate aboriginal peoples and
we played an important role in the unfolding of this diabolical design.
For this, we sincerely apologize.

We wish to apologize in a very particular way for the many instances of
physical and sexual abuse that occurred in those schools. We reiterate
that the bigger issue of abuse was the existence of the schools
themselves, but we wish to publicly acknowledge that there were instances
of individual physical and sexual abuse. far from attempting to defend or
rationalize these cases of abuse in any way, we wish to state publicly
that we acknowledge that they were inexcusable, intolerable, and a
betrayal of trust in one of its most serious forms. We deeply, and very
specifically, apologize to every victim of such abuse and we seek help in
searching for means to bring about healing.

Finally, we wish to apologize as well for our past dismissal of many of
the riches of Native religious tradition. We broke some of your peace
pipes and we considered some of your sacred practices as pagan and
superstitious. This too had its origins in the colonial mentality, our
loathsome European superiority complex, which was grounded in a
particularly narrow-minded and bigotted view of the world and of history.
We apologize for this blindness and disrespect.

Etc., etc.

--------- "RE: Residential schools/THE book" ---------

Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 11:33:23 -0500
From: not@inthe.game (justanoldman)
Subj: Residential schools - THE book

Newsgroup: alt.native

d'laan'te'...
In Canada, the most august & 'heavy' type of government inquiry is called
a Royal Commission. To American readers, a comparison might be made with a
Joint House Special Investigation Committee with St. Peter himself sitting
in the Chair.
The biggest & most recent Royal Commission in Canada's history has been
the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP). Costing 100's of
millions of dollars, it was co-chaired by De'ne' Nation member George
Erasmus & took the better part of this decade to research the status of
the First Peoples in what is currently called Canada. Every aspect of life
was given in-depth examination & analysis. Every Indian, Inuit or Metis
individual or group that had something to contribute was given the
opportunity to state their case, & the RCAP travelled millions of miles
across Canada, the biggest country in the world (for now). When the Final
Report was submitted to Parliament a couple of years ago it's twenty (20)
volumes stood over 4 feet in height. (website version is still available
from Govt of Canada sites).
But other than a few cosmetic dog & pony shows for the benefit of the UN
Human Rights Committee's benefit, the Canadian government has ignored
RCAP's recommendations. "So what else is new?" you might ask. Not much,
except that this past week something came out of that tremendous research
effort.
You see, one of the things that the RCAP had to deal with, the most
bitter of the poisons that continue to cripple the Nations, was/is the
"soft-genocidal" technique of choice invented by the colonialist
governments, now known as residential school policy & practice. The person
who was mandated by the RCAP to carry out the secondary research on this
issue (ie, the archival/documentary research, as opposed to primary
research interviewing its victims/perpetrators) is a man named John
Milloy.
Professor Milloy teaches History & Native Studies courses at Trent
University here in Ontario. He spent about 4 years sifting through the
archives of the predator-governments & their accomplices in this horror of
ethnic-cleansing, the christian churches/cults. The research encompasses a
period from 1879, when the wholesale destruction of the Nations via the
schools became official policy, until 1986, when the last of these
genocidal operations was finally closed.
Now John Milloy has published those findings in a 404-page book that was
released here in Canada this week. It's title is, "A National crime: The
Canadian Government & the Residential School System, 1879-1986". The
publisher is University of Manitoba Press & it currently retails at
$55/$25 Cdn.
I have bought a copy, but I'm pretty sure that this one will sit on my
shelf for some years yet until I crack it open. And if I do open it, I'm
certain that I won't be able to read more than 2-4 pages at a sitting.
Because.., it is a book full of demons, the very demons that have
tormented & tortured me, & HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF OTHERS, every single
minute of every day and every night, for all of our lives.
I tremble like a sick dog as I write this, just thinking about the
contents of this book. I would rather be doing anything else, I'd rather
think about anything else than this topic, & I have faced 2 wars &
skid-rows & solitary cells in prison with less emotion than is evoked in
me by the demons in this book. Over the past 20-30 years I have read
almost every archive & record that Professor Milloy examined & analyzed.
Residential school has left the deepest & most horrible scars on me, & one
every single person in my family from grandparents to grandchildren. It is
one of the 2-3 Yesterplaces that I try to avoid at any cost, & which
haunts me every minute of my life. But I still force myself to think about
& write about this topic again, so that I could bring it here, to urge you
to buy & read this book (or try to read it, if you are the sons or
daughters of one of the true-Nations of this land).
This book's scholarly & objective approach, & the incredibly thorough
research with full citation of all sources, makes it the most
authoritative work ever done on this topic. And it should be made
mandatory reading for every single literate non-Native North American. It
presents the UNDENIABLE fact: that apart from the instances of sexual,
physical, emotional & spiritual torture inflicted, the biggest crime
against humanity was the establishment & operation of the schools
themselves. (see following article I post, "The Oblates Apology of 91",
for the admission to this crime, clearly a Crime Against Humanity by legal
definition). The primary purpose of the establishment & maintenance of the
residential schools for Indians & Inuit, clearly & repeatedly
stated/recorded in hundreds of government & church documents, was the
total & complete obliteration of the First Peoples in Canada from the face
of the earth.
And reading this book may especially benefit a few certain young urban
dwellers who are so disdainful of the sacrifices that were made by their
families/Nations, just so that they could be who they are. Let them read
this & then try to imagine their parents & grandparents writhing in
agonies as painful as flames, let them think about the minds & hearts, the
values & religions & philosophies of the pseudo-humans that inflicted such
terror & horrors so ruthlessly, so piously, so inhumanely. Do they still
aspire to be part of a culture, a society that initiated & carried out
these crimes? Crimes of systematic genocide that makes Milosovic's actions
in Kosovo pale to the likes of a Sunday school picnic by comparison...
After reading this book, maybe some will stand on this land, on these
bones of their ancestors with perhaps some inkling of the bonds that are
forever. Then, perhaps, they will begin to feel what it is to be a part of
a true-Nation of this land, as a finger is part of a hand. Then,
perhaps.., they will give thanks for the invisible sea of tears & blood
that nurtures their own roots, of their family in the family-of-family
that is their Nation.
Who knows? In reading this book such people may even learn the real
meaning of respect.., and dignity.
masi:cho...
jaom/e'ne'thekwe'

--------- "RE: Stealing Human Rights" ---------

Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 00:24:46 -0700 (PDT)
From: Barbara Russell <brussell@oz.net>
Subj: Stealing Human Rights

The following article turned up on the KMA-List. Check the date. In
Washington State the leading Indian Fighter Senator Slade Gorton is up for
re-election. Gorton is working to terminate Indian Sovereignty. If he has
his way the reservation will be a thing of the past.
BARB
Date: Sat, 26 Jun 1999 05:28:51 -1000
Subj: On the Art of Stealing Human Rights
http://www.dickshovel.com/rights.html
On the Art of Stealing Human Rights

[Note: The following extracts are from a speech given by Gerry Gambill at a
conference on Human Rights at Tobique Reserve in New Brunswick, in August,
1958. In this speech, he warned native people about how this society goes
about taking away the human rights of native people...]

Presidential Race Commission has no First Nations representatives...
The art of denying Indians their human rights has been refined to a
science. The following list of commonly used techniques will be helpful in
"burglar-proofing" your reserves, and your rights.
GAIN THE INDIANS CO-OPERATION - It is much easier to steal someone's
human rights if you can do it with his OWN co-operation. So..:
1.Make him a non-person. Human rights are for people. Convince Indians
their ancestors were savages, that they were pagan, that Indians were
drunkards.
Make them wards of the government. Make a legal distinction, as in the
Indian Act, between Indians and persons. Write history books that tell half
the story.
2.Convince the Indian that he should be patient, that these things take
time. Tell him that we are making progress, and that progress takes time.
3.Make him believe that things are being done for his own good. Tell him
you're sure that after he has experienced your laws and actions that he
will realise how good they have been. Tell the Indian he has to take a
little of the bad in order to enjoy the benefits you are conferring on him.
4.Get some Indian people to do the dirty work. There are always those who
will act for you to the disadvantage of their own people. Just give them a
little honor and praise.
This is generally the function of band councils, chiefs, and advisory
councils: they have little legal power, but can handle the tough decisions
such as welfare, allocation of housing etc.
5.Consult the Indian, but do not act on the basis of what you hear. Tell
the Indian he has a voice and go through the motions of listening. Then
interpret what you have heard to suit your own needs.
6.Insist that the Indian "GOES THROUGH PROPER CHANNELS." Make the channels
and the procedures so difficult that he won't bother to do anything. When
he discovers what the proper channels are and becomes proficient at the
procedures, change them.
7.Make the Indian believe that you are working hard for him, putting in
much overtime and at a great sacrifice, and imply that he should be
appreciative. This is the ultimate in skills in stealing human rights;
when you obtain the thanks of your victim.
8.Allow a few individuals to "MAKE THE GRADE" and then point to them as
examples.
Say that the 'HARDWORKERS" AND THE "GOOD" Indians have made it, and that
therefore it is a person's own fault if he doesn't succeed.
9.Appeal to the Indian's sense of fairness, and tell him that even though
things are pretty bad it is not right for him to make strong protests. Keep
the argument going on his form of protest and avoid talking about the real
issue. refuse to deal with him while he is protesting. Take all the fire
out of his efforts.
10.Encourage the Indian to take his case to court. This is very expensive,
takes lots of time and energy and is very safe because laws are stacked
against him. The court's ruling will defeat the Indian's cause, but makes
him think he has obtained justice.
11.Make the Indian believe that things could be worse, and that instead of
complaining about the loss of human rights, to be grateful for the rights we
do have. In fact, convince him that to attempt to regain a right he has lost
is likely to jepordize the rights that he still has.
12.Set yourself up as the protector of the Indian's human rights, and then
you can choose to act only on those violations you wish to act upon. By
getting successful on a few minor violations of human rights, you can point
to these as examples of your devotion to his cause. The burglar who is also
the doorman is the perfect combination.
13.Pretend that the reason for the loss of human rights is for some other
reason that the person is an Indian. Tell him some of your best friends are
Indians, and that his loss of rights is because of his housekeeping, his
drinking, his clothing.
14.Make the situation more complicated than is necessary. Tell the Indian
you will have to take a survey to find out how many other Indians are being
discriminating against. Hire a group of professors to make a year-long
research project.
15.Insist on unanimity. Let the Indian know that when all the Indians in
Canada can make up their minds about just what they want as a group, then
you will act. Play one group's special situation against another group's
wishes.
16.Select very limited alternatives, neither of which has much merit, and
then tell the Indian that indeed he has a choice. Ask, for instance, if he
could or would rather have council elections in June or December, instead
of asking if he wants them at all.
17.Convince the Indian that the leaders who are the most beneficial and
powerful are dangerous and not to be trusted. Or simply lock them up on some
charge like driving with no lights. Or refuse to listen to the real leaders
and spend much time with the weak ones. Keep the people split from their
leaders by sowing rumour. Attempt to get the best leaders into high paying
jobs where they have to keep quiet to keep their paycheck coming in.
18.Speak of the common good. Tell the Indian that you can't consider
yourselves when there is a whole nation to think of. Tell him that he can't
think only of himself. For instance, in regard to hunting rights, tell him
we have to think of all the hunters, or the sporting good industry.
19.Remove rights so gradually that people don't realize what has happened
until it is too late. Again, in regard to hunting rights, first restrict the
geographical area where hunting is permitted, then cut the season to certain
times of the year, then cut the limits down gradually, then insist on
licensing, and then Indians will be on the same grounds as white sportsmen.
20.Rely on some reason and logic (your reason and logic) instead of
rightness and morality. Give thousands of reasons for things, but do not
get trapped into arguments about what is right.
21.Hold a conference on HUMAN RIGHTS, have everyone blow off steam and tension,
and go home feeling things are well in hand.
Barbara Russell & GYPSY
West of Seattle, Washington, West Coast North America

--------- "RE: Shawnee Graves/South Lawrence Trafficway" ---------

Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 03:13:19 -0500
From: hdqrs@worldnet.att.net
Subj: South Lawrence Trafficway, Shawnee Indian Graves, Baker might
withdraw wetlands offer, Dr. Still a non-Indian grave robber of
Shawnee Indian graves & SFAAP. To see how this all ties in together,
read on:

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

Listed below after the short short LJW story you will find reference to
Shawnee Indian graves that are located in the path of the purposed South
Lawrence Trafficway. Also notice Captains Creek starts on land known as
Sunflower Army Ammunitions Plant, SFAAP.
The following short short was cut from the total story published in
Lawrence Journal World.
http://www.ljworld.com/

Baker might withdraw wetlands offer
Updated 1:44:59 AM Sunday, July 4, 1999
South Lawrence Trafficway pushers may have to compensate Baker University
if its wetlands are to be given to Haskell as part of the project.
By Kendrick Blackwood
Journal-World Writer

Baker University wants some dough, too.
Dan Lambert, the school's president, said Baker is reconsidering its
agreement to donate the Baker Wetlands to help complete the South Lawrence
Trafficway.
He said a $5 million compensation package recently offered to Haskell
Indian Nations University by state highway officials has forced Baker to
look to its own interests. The state was using the $5 million carrot as an
attempt to coax Haskell's support for the proposed trafficway.

Published history of Douglas County:
Published history of Douglas County show many Shawnee Graves are located
in the path of the proposed South Lawrence Trafficway as follows:
The United Tribe of Shawnee Indians is very concerned about the protection
of subject Shawnee Indian graves.
>From KANSAS COLLECTION BOOKS
http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/kancoll/books/cutler/
------------------------------------------------------------------------
William G. Cutler's
History of the State of Kansas was first published in 1883 by A. T.
Andreas, Chicago, IL.
DOUGLAS COUNTY. EARLY SETTLERS.
Previous to May 15, 1854, the county was not open to settlement by white
people, being held by the Shawnee Indian as a part of their reservation
under the treaty between them and the Government in 1825. On the former
date a new treaty went into effect, by the terms of which the Shawnees
reserved 200 acres to each member of the tribe, or 200,00 acres in all,
most of it in Johnson County. The most of that lying in Douglas County
selected by them under the treaty was embraced in Eudora Township, in the
northeastern part of the county. As soon as the land was thrown open to
settlement, "squatters" came in from Missouri and from the Western and
Northwestern States to secure claims, the region, now Douglas County,
having been long known as a desirable location, from the fact that one of
the great highways of travel between the East and California traversed its
entire width. It was also the route over which the Pottawatomie trade
mainly passed, one of the great crossings of the Kansas River being at the
trading post of Uniontown, in what is now Shawnee County. These, however,
were not the first white men in Douglas County. In 1842, Gen. John C.
Fremont, on his first tour of exploration to the Rocky Mountains, after
leaving Cyprian Chouteaus's trading house on the Kansas River, six miles
west of the Missouri line, on June 10, which trading house was in latitude
39 degrees 5' 57" longitude 94 degrees 39' 16", elevation above the sea,
700 feet - encamped near the present location of Lawrence on the 12th, and
describes the spring near the residence of the late Bruce. He says of the
location:
"We encamped in a remarkable beautiful situation on the Kansas bluffs,
which commanded a fine view of the river valley, here from four to five
miles wide. The central portion was occupied by a broad belt of heavy
timber, and nearer the hills prairies were of the richest verdue."
Many other California emigrants passing over this route were particularly
struck with the beauty of the scenery, and the magnificence of the view in
the vicinity of Lawrence - among them Dr. Charles Robinson, who afterward
became one of her pioneer settlers and most honored citizens. Along the
California road, the first settlers located. This road entered Douglas
County at the eastern line of what is now Eudora Township, at the crossing
of the little stream then called Captain's Creek, and near the Methodist
Mission of Dr. Still. Passing two miles west, Dish's Hotel was reached-a
stopping place to which the Free-State settlers were always cordially
welcomed by the Shawnee proprietor. The road crossed the Wakarusa at the
house of Blue Jacket, a Shawnee chief, about a mile east of the reserve
line. Two miles from the crossing of the Wakarusa, the town of Franklin was
afterward laid out on the claim of Mr. L. B. Wallace, formerly of Indiana.
Associated with Wallace was a Virginian - Mr. Church, a famous violinist.
Mr. Wallace's house was one mile west of the site of Franklin. About four
miles further west, the road wound up a sharp prominence and "Hog Back
Point" was reached, the future Lawrence lying just to the north. Six miles
further was another rise in the prairie, the table-land then reached being
near the locality of a famous spring, near where Judge Wakefield afterward
settled. Eight miles further on - the road still passing over the high
prairie with a full view of the Kansas and Wakarusa Valleys to the north
and south - the "forks" of the road, the future site of Big Springs was
reached, and, a mile beyond, the road passed out of Douglas County. Among
the settlers who came into the county and settled along and in the vicinity
of this road in the spring and early summer of 1854, were the following: J.
W. Lunkins, of South Carolina, April 13; A. R. Hopper, May 9; Clark Stearns
and William H. R. Lykins, May 26; A. B. and N. E. Wade, June 5; J. A.
Wakefield, June 8; Calvin and Martin Adams, June 10; J. J. Eberhart, June
12; Brice W. Miller, June 6; J. H. Harrison, June 124; H. S. and Paul
Eberhart, June 15; S. N. Wood, June 24; Mr. Rolf, June 24; L. A.
Lagerquest, July 4; James F. Legate, July 5; William Lyon, and Josiah
Hutchison in July.
On the Wakarusa, south of the road, Joel K. Goodwin settled in May, and
William Breyman, July 18.
T. W. and R. F. Barber settled near the site of Bloomington in 1855, and
Oliver Barber at the same place, June 1. 1857. During the same month, John
A. Bean, N. Alquine and M. Albin settled a little further west, where now
is the village of Clinton, and a store was opened by the latter. As early
as May, Napoleon N. Blanton was at Blanton's Bridge, which crossed the
Wakarusa four miles directly south of Lawrence, and G. W. Zinn, A. W. and
A. G. Glenn, M. S. Winter and William Shirley, were among the settlers of
1854 on the site of Lecompton. In the southeast of the county on the
present site of Vinland, Jacob Branson, Charles W. Dow, Franklin N.
Coleman, George Cutler, F. B. Varnum, William White, Josiah Hargus and
Harrison W. Buckley, took claims during the year, and a little further
south, at Baldwin City, was Robert and Richard Pierson, Jacob Cantrel and
L. F. Green. Douglas, two miles south of Lecompton, was laid out on the
claim of Paris Ellison, G. W. Clarke and others being associated with him
as town proprietor; and late in the year, William Harper and John
Chamberlain settled at the forks of the California road at Big Springs.
The account of the arrival of the Eastern emigrants and the settlement of
Lawrence is given in that sketch of that city.
Account of A.T. Still - the Doctor:
http://www.rscom.com/osteo/atstill/still.htm

It was the custom in that day for country doctors to receive their
professional training by "reading" medicine, as their legal brethren "read"
law. And it was in such a manner the A.T. Still received his medical
education. After serving an apprenticeship under is father, he became a
licensed physician in the state of Missouri. Later, in the early 1860's he
attended the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1849, at the age of twenty-one, Andrew married Mary M. Vaughn, and for
several years he farmed and practiced traditional medicine in Macon County,
Missouri. However, this was a period of unrest in Missouri. It was
essentially pro-slavery, and as both Abraham and Andrew Still were strong
abolitionists, they moved their families to the state of Kansas. The
Reverend Abraham served as a missionary to the Shawnee Indians at the
Wakarusa Mission, six miles east of Lawrence, Kansas. Andrew farmed and
doctored the Indians and settlers. It was during these early days on the
Kansas prairie that Andrew first began to search for new methods of
treatment for the patients that he was unable to help.
During the years 1852-1853, Andrew Still was a scout surgeon under General
John C. Fremont. He became close friends John Brown and Jim Lane, the
anti-slavery leaders, and was active in the border warfare in Kansas. In
1857, at the age of twenty-nine, he was elected on the free-state ticket to
represent Douglas County in the Kansas state legislature. His wife died in
1859, leaving him with three small children. He was married the following
year to Mary E. Turner, who became his faithful and devoted companion for
the next fifty years.
War was inevitable and A.T.Still was among the volunteers of the Ninth
Kansas Cavalry. He served the Union Army as a surgeon during the Civil War
and was discharged with the rank of Major. (His surgical kit is on display
in the Smithsonian Institution). During the war, he was appalled by the
number of patients who died, and he abhorred the numerous surgeries and
amputations. He became concerned about the common procedures of bleeding,
purging, vomiting and blistering. The scientific world of that time knew
little about the drugs they used or about bacteria or antiseptics. Surgery
was performed without anesthesia and in unsanitary conditions. While in the
army, Dr. Still decided that when he returned to Kansas, he would study the
human body and find a better way to treat disease.
When a epidemic of spinal meningitis spread through Kansas in 1864, Dr.
Still watched helplessly as three of his own children died from the
disease. He gave over to deep despair; he hated the drugs for their
impotency. He found the existing medical theory totally inadequate and
unacceptable. This personal loss almost caused him to abandon his career,
but instead, he became more determined than ever to find the answers to
health and disease. Another factor which undoubtedly influenced his search
for health is the fact, recorded in his family history, that of the seven
children born to him up to that time, all had now died except one, the
oldest daughter. Three had died in the epidemic and three shortly after
birth. Therefore, at a time when medicine was primarily a series of
remedies that were more harmful than the disease, Andrew Taylor Still began
his search for a new method of medicine.
The next ten years of Dr. Still's life were spent studying, observing,
comparing and experimenting. After re-reading the medical books and finding
no answers there, he turned to nature. He dug up Indian graves to provide
him with the bodies for research. For over a year he concentrated on the
study of bones, experimenting to understand their relationship to one
another. Then he studied the blood, which he called the "river of life,"
and how the blood flowed.
As he pursued his research with severe intensity, he came to think of the
human body as a machine. He found that this machine, made up of a skeleton
with supporting muscles and ligaments, was subject to certain mechanical
laws and was, therefore, subject to stresses and strains. He learned that
the proper function of the nervous and circulatory systems was an important
factor to health and disease.
He believed that the body contained certain substances necessary for
health, and if properly stimulated, they might also cure disease.
Stimulation could be obtained by working with the musculoskeletal system by
applying pressure to restore normal function. These beliefs led him to the
theory that all parts of the body were interrelated and that man must be
treated as a whole. He believed that medicine must be more than "the three
R's of medicine: repair, remove and relieve".
He reached beyond the disease for the cause and hence the cure. Also, he
strongly advocated sanitation and hygiene, and his hatred of drugs led him
to eliminate many impotent and toxic drugs from his practice.
Through a combination of research and clinical observation, Dr. Still's
new medical philosophy evolved. He named it "osteopathy," a combination of
the Greek word "osteo" meaning bone and "pathy" meaning suffering. He chose
that name because his experiments started with the study of bones. More
that a hundred years ago, when Andrew Taylor Still was nearly forty-six
years of age, he announced osteopathy to the world: "On June 22nd 1874, I
flung to the breeze the banner of Osteopathy".

In the Encyclopedia Americana under Still, Andrew Taylor.
"discoverer and founder of osteopathy; born near Jonesville,Virginia, 6 Aug.
1828; died 12 Dec. 1917. . . . in 1853 he removed to Kansas, where mrs.
Still died in 1859. He farmed, practiced medicine among the pioneers and
Indians with his father, who had accompanied him, and eventually studied
medicine in Kansas City. He fought with John Brown in the border warfare;
was elected to the legislature in 1857, was one of the founders of Baker
University at Baldwin, Kansas. . . .captain and then major of 21st Kansas
Volunteers in Civil War. . . Ever a student of nature, he decided that the
God who made man had placed in the body everything necessary for health,
without the use of drugs. He studied the anatomy of the animals he skinned,
and disected many an Indian body in his search for truth. The war
interrupted his investigations, but when three of his children died of spinal
meningitis in 1864, he attacked the problem anew. . . "

In the Encyclopedia Brittanica, the relevant part of the article says "His
family moved in 1837 to Macon County, Missouri, and later to the Shawnee
reservation near Kansas City, Kansas. . ."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
To all concerned with the completion of the South Lawrence Trafficway,
please take note of the Shawnee Indian graves in it's path: NAGPRA
NAGPRA problems also include SFAAP.
Jimmie D. Oyler, Principal Chief
United Tribe of Shawnee Indians
http://home.att.net/~hdqrs

--------- "RE: Babbitt Called Before Grand Jury" ---------

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1999 15:04:00 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 07-01-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Babbitt Called Before Grand Jury
.c The Associated Press
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
6/30/99
WASHINGTON (AP) - Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt was called today
before a grand jury in connection with the investigation into whether
campaign funds influenced a decision in 1995 to reject an Indian casino in
Wisconsin.
The 14-month investigation by Independent Counsel Carol Elder Bruce
reportedly was moving toward conclusion. It was Babbitt's first appearance
before the grand jury.
Interior Department spokesman Mike Gauldin said he could not comment on
the case, referring questions to Babbitt's personal lawyer, Lloyd Cutler.
Cutler could not immediately be reached.
The special counsel is looking into whether promises of campaign
contributions to the Democratic Party influenced the Interior Department
decision in 1995 to reject a request by three Chippewa tribes to open a
casino in Hudson, Wis. Other tribes opposing the casino later contributed
nearly $300,000 to the Democratic National Committee.
Babbitt has vigorously denied any connection between campaign
contributions and the decision to reject the casino permit.
But a longtime friend, Paul Eckstein, who was a lobbyist for the tribes
seeking the casino, testified at congressional hearings that Babbitt
alluded to Democratic campaign contributions and pressure from the White
House during a meeting on the day the casino decision was made.
Among the questions the special counsel is trying to answer is whether
Babbitt lied before Congress when he described the events leading up to
the casino decision. Babbitt has said Eckstein misunderstood the
conversation and has denied misleading lawmakers.
Bruce was believed to be wrapping up her investigation.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune report today that Bruce anticipates
completing the fact-gathering part of the investigation by mid-August.
Bruce has asked the U.S. attorney in Madison, Wis., for an additional
60-day delay of a federal court suit involving the casino issue, so she
could wrap up her own fact-finding, according to the newspaper.
"We are nearing the end of our factual investigation and are in the
process of reviewing the facts and the law in order to reach a final
conclusion as to whether any indictment(s) should be sought," Bruce wrote,
according to the report.
The U.S. attorney in Wisconsin represents the Interior Department in the
lawsuit brought by the Indian tribes who had sought the casino permit.

--------- "RE: Bombing Arizona" ---------

From: BIGMTLIST <redorman@theofficenet.com>
Date: Sat, 03 Jul 1999 11:54:33 -0800
Subj: Denver Post article text

Mailing List: Big Mountain List <bigmtlist@hotmail.com>

Here is the text of the Denver Post article mentioned in a previous post.
Date: Fri, 2 Jul 1999 17:36:44 -0600
From: "Omar Jabara" <ojabara@sprynet.com>
Bombing Arizona
(Omar Jabara <mailto:ojabara@sprynet.com>ojabara@sprynet.com is a
Denver-area public affairs specialist living in Westminster--06-30-99)
Now that we have succeeded in halting most of the ethnic cleansing in
Kosovo, we need to fly NATO's warplanes stateside to bomb the S.N.O.T
(Systematic Native Oppression & Torment) out of Arizona. The reason?
Ethnic cleansing by your old Uncle Sam.
By February 1, 2000, all remaining Navajo Indians (about 3000 elders) on
what are called Hopi Partition Lands in the four corners region of Arizona
are to be "relocated" from their tribal homes to a desolate tract of land
on the Rio Puerco, just downstream from the worst uranium mine disaster
in U.S. history (Church Rock Mill). To date, 10,000 Navajos--known as
Dineh in their language--have been exiled to this site, with 25% of the
first group resettled in 1980 dying within the first six months of
arriving at the "New Lands." The remaining survivors suffer from
increased rates of birth defects and poisoned livestock.
In order to force the remaining Navajo elders from Big Mountain, the
government forbids them from repairing their homes, denies them access to
fresh water, and confiscates their livestock and firewood. In fact, Alice
Begay, a great grandmother whose family has lived at Big Mountain for
generations, had to buy back her cow from a livestock auction earlier
this month after the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) seized it
from her.
You see, it all starts in 1863 when Colonel Kit Carson and the U.S. Army
went on a rampage to exterminate the Navajo who had been residing in the
Big Mountain region for the last 600 years. After Carson spent weeks
killing thousands of Indians, the survivors were forced to march 400
miles on the infamous "Long Walk" to Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico.
Those who escaped Carson's grip hid in the canyons of the Big Mountain
region currently inhabited by the Navajo and the Hopi peoples.
The Hopi, an agrarian people, occupy permanent settlements in the
lowlands of the area relying largely on farming. The Navajo rely on sheep-
herding and dry-crop farming. In 1974, President Ford signed a bill
partitioning the Big Mountain area and ordered the Navajo to leave. This
was done in spite of a 1962 U.S. District Court ruling that the lands in
question were a Joint Use Area (JUA) cooperatively developed by both Hopi
and Navajo peoples (with the exception of the small portion occupied by
the Hopi settlements).
So why would the government care if the Navajo lived there or not,
especially since many Hopi elders believe that the Navajo have just as
much right as they do? Just follow the money: It turns out that during
the 1940s and 1950s, massive deposits of low-sulfur coal, oil, and
uranium were discovered in the mountains and canyons occupied by the
Navajo. The Peabody Western Coal Company began operating a 103-square
mile coal strip in the area in the mid-1960s (after first displacing 200
Navajo families).
The Navajo and Hopi tribal councils--created by the feds--get royalties
from Peabody's mining operations but those Navajo living in the mining
permit area get nothing (estimates show they live on top of 18 billion
tons of coal just six feet beneath the surface). In 1964, with the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) acting as an "agent" for the Navajo, Peabody paid
less than 2% in royalties to the Navajo under its original lease with the
tribe. In 1984, the tribe sought to adjust the royalty rate to 20 percent
to reflect market standards. The Department of Interior, which includes
the BIA, approved the increased royalty rate but Peabody (the world's
largest private coal producer) pressured then-Interior Secretary Donald
Hodel into overturning the decision. Last week, the Navajo announced they
were fighting back with a $600 million lawsuit against Peabody for
shortchanging the tribe since 1984.
Nevertheless, the lawsuit won't prevent the expulsions of the Navajo
elders from Big Mountain. If you want to help, please call 1-888-41-PRAYER,
or, e-mail <mailto:sdnation@earthlink.net>sdnation@earthlink.com. For
more information on this issue, visit the Navaho web site at
<http://www.solcommunications.com/dineh.html>
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
You are on the BIGMTLIST, a moderated mailing list of Big Mountain
relocation resistance information (not discussion or debate). To
unsubscribe, email redorman@theofficenet.com with "unsubscribe" in the
subject header. For non-list members receiving this post as a forwarded
message, you may subscribe by emailing redorman@theofficenet.com with the
word "subscribe" in the subject header. For Big Mountain and other
activist internet resources, visit "The Activist Page" at
http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/welcome.html
Also, for great internet tools please visit:
http://www.msw.com.au/cgi-bin/msw/entry?id=1271

--------- "RE: Mi'kmaq Protest Halifax Birthday Fest" ---------

Date: Thu, 1 Jul 1999 02:58:09 -0500
From: sisis@envirolink.org (S.I.S.I.S.)
Subj: Mi'kmaq protest Halifax 250th birthday fest

:-:-:-:-:-:-:-Settlers In Support of Indigenous Sovereignty-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
HALIFAX CELEBRATES 250TH UNDER CLOUD OF CONTROVERSY
CBC Radio News, WebPosted June 21, 1999
[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.]
HALIFAX - Celebrations got underway Monday to commemorate the 250th
birthday of the founding of Halifax. But controversy over the founder of
the city threatened to mar the festivities.
Hundreds of people lined the Grand Parade during the lunch hour as the
mayors of the Halifax regional municipality and Annapolis Royal officially
kicked things off.
For weeks Mi'kmaq groups in Nova Scotia urged planners to leave the
city's founder, Edward Cornwallis, out of celebrations. They claim he's
responsible for atrocities against the Mi'kmaq people. Aboriginal leaders
in Nova Scotia have been asking the mayor to not even mention the name
"Cornwallis" at Monday's ceremony. They say the city should not celebrate a
man who issued bounties for the scalps of native women and children.
But after the opening ceremonies, Halifax mayor Walter Fitzgerald told
reporters he can't change history. "That was a long time ago, that's old
history and the Mi'kmaq tribes killed white people too. They probably
killed more than we did."
Halifax became the capital of Nova Scotia after the community of
Annapolis Royal relinquished the role in the 18th century. The mayor of
Annapolis Royal offered more conciliatory remarks on the founding of
Halifax. "Well I know the Mi'kmaq have no great feelings on Cornwallis. And
actually I was expecting a manifestation of some sort which wouldn't have
been out of keeping at all."
Instead, the celebration began and ended quietly. It will continue this
weekend with a re-enactment of a camp the first settlers of Halifax set up
on the Commons.
:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:
CANADA: A NATION FOUNDED ON "ETHNIC CLEANSING"
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: AFN Striving to Occupy Lands and Trust Sector" ---------

Date: Fri, 02 Jul 1999 20:34:43 GMT
From: allan_west24@hotmail.com
Subj: EMAIL NEWS

Newsgroup: alt.native

AFN striving to occupy lands and trust sector
By Marie Burke
Windspeaker Staff Writer
OTTAWA
On a scale of one to five how would you rate the level of knowledge in
your community of Indian Affairs' policies in the following areas:
elections, environment, wills and estates, human resources,
membership, natural resources, moneys, additions to reserve, lands
management and law-making?
That is one of the questions being posed to First Nation people by the
Assembly of First Nations as they gather the information that will be
needed to change the policies of Indian Affairs.
For more than a year now, the AFN and Indian Affairs have worked
together on an initiative concerning lands and trusts services. At
least 80 per cent of the Indian Act, which governs the lives of First
Nation people who live on reserve, is related to lands and trusts.
In 1987, Indian Affairs reviewed lands and trusts policy after the
auditor general released a report that critically examined the way
Indian Affairs managed First Nation lands and resources.
National Chief Phil Fontaine said if First Nation people decide they
do not like the proposed process or outcomes, then the AFN will not
proceed further. The AFN is "cautiously optimistic" that the process
will be First Nations-driven. The gathering of input from First Nation
people across Canada is just beginning, and analysts at the AFN
maintain regional interests of First Nation people will be reflected
in the proposed changes to the policies of the Indian Act.
Ontario Regional Chief Tom Bressette, co-chair of the initiative, said
the team of researchers and analysts for the AFN are working with
certain recent key legal events in mind.
"In the Corbiere-Batchewana court decision First Nation rights are
being tested," said Bressette.
Last month, the Supreme Court decided off-reserve residents have some
rights to vote in some band elections. The court gave Indian Affairs
and First Nation leaders 18 months to revise the Indian Act to bring
it up to speed with the court's decision.
On June 11, the First Nations Land Management Act, otherwise known as
Bill C-49, passed in both houses of Parliment and royal assent will
follow within the next month.
In a press release, Fontaine approved of the bill, saying it will give
First Nations the right to set up property codes on reserve and
distribute leases and licenses for reserve land without the prior
approval of Indian Affairs.
The legislation will come into effect immediately for the 14 bands
that have signed agreements with Indian Affairs. There are more than
600 other bands in Canada who may follow in future agreements on land
management.
The Native Women's Association of Canada launched a breach of duty
lawsuit against Indian Affairs Minister Jane Stewart in mid-June,
claiming the bill discriminates against First Nation women's rights to
matrimonial property on reserve after a marriage breakdown. As the
legislation is now written, First Nations will be able to make
decisions on how matrimonial property will be affected, by developing
codes to be ratified through community referendums.
Fontaine insists that the joint initiative that will change policies
affecting First Nation people across Canada will be directed by First
Nations, not Indian Affairs. Ultimately, the initiative will result in
a framework agreement endorsed by the AFN and Indian Affairs, but
Fontaine points out, the initiative is not about making amendments to
the Indian Act at this point in time.
At a June 11 First Nations media information session on the AFN/INAC
joint initiative in Ottawa, the national chief and officials from
Indian Affairs explained the reason why the message of the lands and
trust services initiative needed to be heard.
"The fact is that the AFN is working on this initiative now by taking
the interests and concerns of First Nations people and making the
changes that will benefit them in the long run," said Fontaine.
The AFN received the go-ahead on the joint initiative from the chiefs
at their confederacy meeting in March 1998.
Indian Affairs' director general of registration, revenues and band
governance, Ray Hatfield, explained how the information is gathered on
a regional level.
"The AFN and INAC are not directly involved in the regional process;
each region uses different strategies and the consultation is based on
community involvement," said Hatfield.
The goal of regional information is to get the issues and concerns
that are specific to each region, said Hatfield. The involvement of
each region is coordinated by AFN regional vice-chiefs who will make
decisions on what the approach will be in gathering the information.
Indian Affairs officials said at least $5.2 million is earmarked for
the workplan outlining regional involvement, but an overall funding
figure or breakdown was not available at the information session in
Ottawa.
The reports are not back yet from most regions, said Hatfield. The
information-gathering consultations and research are expected to last
at least another 18 months. A progress report on the joint initiative
will be presented at the AFN's annual assembly in July in Vancouver.
Officials from AFN and Indian Affairs could not comment on how the
recommendations to change Indian Affairs policies will be ratified.
How referenda will be conducted will be decided at the annual general
assembly, said Hatfield.

--------- "RE: Alaska Commission on Rural Governance" ---------

Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:50:39 EDT
From: MarthaET@aol.com
Subj: Fwd: Commission on Rural Governance and Employment - Alaska

http://www.minorities-jb.com/native/apnews/newsframe.html

Knowles Commission Makes Recommendations On Rural Governance
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ANCHORAGE (AP) A committee appointed by the Knowles administration
says the state should formally recognize Alaska's tribes and tribal
governments, and should work to ease divisiveness between Natives and
non-Natives.
The recommendations are part of a report written by the Commission on
Rural Governance and Empowerment. The panel is scheduled to present the
report to Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer on Thursday in Anchorage.
The 22-member commission was appointed last year to examine the
relationships between the state, municipalities and tribes, and to make
recommendations on how to enable Natives to achieve more
self-governance.
"The movement toward tribal governance is not necessarily a rejection of
state municipal forms of government," the report said. "Rather, it is a
rejection of governance that doesn't work."
The commission, whose membership included 17 Natives and five
non-Natives, came up with five main recommendations.
Along with tribal recognition and easing rural-urban rifts, the
commission suggested that the state:
-Clarify policies regarding tribes and direct state agencies to work
with tribes.
-Improve communication between all local governments and state agencies.
-Encourage flexible and decentralized government.
The commission also said the state should invest more money in rural
communities to improve their economies, and that the state and federal
governments should work together on legislation to allow tribes to
handle alcohol-related offenses.
The rural governance commission was appointed by Knowles after the U.S.
Supreme Court's Venetie decision, which said tribes had only limited
authority in Alaska.
c. The Associated Press. All rights reserved

--------- "RE: Cherokee Meeting Falls Through" ---------

Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 09:42:34 -0500
From: berryj@okstate.edu
Subj: (FWD)Indian News 06-28-99
Roger Iron Cloud
FirstNations Listserv
202.358.3252
rironcloud@acf.dhhs.gov

Special Meeting Falls Through
c. Examiner-Enterprise
6/27/99
Tahlequah (AP) - The wrangling within the Cherokee Tribal Council
continued when a special meeting fell through because of the lack of a
quorum. Six council members who have boycotted. previous meetings called
by backers of Chief Joe Byrd sought the special meeting Friday night. But
this time, with one exception, it was the chiefs supporters who failed to
show. The six Byrd adversaries had hoped to approve special programs and
funding that has been waiting to help the Cherokee people.
"We had an opportunity to sit down and pass all these resolutions to get
funding and services to the people," council member Barbara Starr Scott
said. "Cherokee people are tired of the current administration playing
politics with their lives," said Chad Smith, a candidate in the upcoming
runoff election for chief.
"These councilors' refusal to attend the special meeting is proof of
Byrd's continuing personal agenda," Smith said.
On June 18, Cherokee Nation Special Prosecutor, Darrell L. Moore,
directed the tribe's Judicial Appeals Tribunal (JAT) to issue an Order
compelling Chief Joe Byrd and other individuals to appear in court to
answer and show cause why then should not be held in contempt of the
Court's Order issued on Feb. 17, 1998.
Byrd and other officials from the Cherokee Nation purportedly failed to
follow the Court's Feb. 17th order to return all court files that were
illegally removed from the tribe's courthouse in the Byrd ordered pre-
-dawn raid and take over of the Judicial Branch court on June 20, 1997.
The Court also ordered Tina Jordan and DeWayne Littlejohn, two Byrd
appointed District Judges, to cease and desist from any and all judicial
acts. Jordan and Littlejohn disregarded the JAT Order and continued to
operate an illegal court within the Executive Branch.
Deputy Chief Garland Eagle along with Byrd's chief of staff, Gary Stopp,
are also named as individuals in the Special Prosecutors Order to appear
in court to answer charges of contempt of court.
Another special meeting has been called for Monday night by the Byrd
faction. The six council members in attendance Friday Ms. Scott, William
Smoke, Harold DeMoss, Nick Lay, Troy Poteete and Paula Holder - said they
will not attend that meeting.
Ms. Scott said the legality of that meeting is questionable. Eight of
the council members must agree to call a special meeting. Ms. Scott said
she had been hopeful this time there would be a quorum since council
members Harold Phillips and Sam Ed Bush approved the meeting along with
the six boycotters.
Holder said the six refuse to attend meetings where the agendas address
controversial issues yet to be resolved by the Cherokee courts. The tribal
council has been split since turmoil broke out in February, 1997 when
tribal marshals raided Byrd's office during an investigation into alleged
misspending.
In the contempt of court matter, Stopp signed and forwarded numerous
check requests on behalf of Jordan and Littlejohn to the accounting
department after the Court had ordered they cease and desist from judicial
duties. The JAT also ordered and directed Donald Vaughn, Byrd's Interim
Controller and Daniel C. Howard, Byrd's Director of Accounting and all
employees of the accounting department of the Cherokee nation "not accept,
process, and or approve any request for any funds whatsoever from any
party whomsoever, which will not be, or may be, utilized by Tina Jordan
DeWayne Littlejohn and or their purported Court Clerk or Clerks in
maintaining their illegal court, or funding or paying any compensation and
or expenses relating to the illegal court system in operation at the
Cherokee nation Complex."
Byrd and Eagle, allegedly with knowledge of the Court's order signed
checks drawn on the Cherokee Nation accounts compensating Jordan and
Littlejohn for judicial acts performed after Feb. 17, 1998. Allegedly
Chief Byrd and Deputy Chief
Eagle signed additional compensation checks for Littlejohn in November
and December 1998 and January and February 1999.
Each of the individuals named in the special prosecutors notice were
apparently aware of the Court's Order of February 17, 1998 that
specifically warned that if the order was disobeyed the punishment for
said disobedience was contempt.
Each are charged with failure to comply with the terms of the Court's
Order. Moore has requested a date be set by the tribe's supreme court
(JAT) for an initial appearance by each named and charged individual. The
prosecutor's order said that each individual should be advised of the
punishment associated with a finding of indirect contempt; a fine up to
$500, imprisonment up to six (6) months, or both.
Byrd and others named in the order to appear in court will be given an
opportunity to answer and each individual shall be given an opportunity to
demand a trial by jury.

--------- "RE: 25th International Indian Treaty Conference" ---------

Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 08:22:35 -0700
From: Corecom <iitcakpp@corecom.net>
Subj: Article for publication and distribution on IITC Conference at
Bear Butte

25th ANNIVERSARY INTERNATIONAL INDIAN TREATY CONFERENCE
IN LAKOTA NATION TERRITORY
From June 23-26, 1999 hundreds of Indigenous representatives from
aroundthe world gathered at the 25th Anniversary International Indian
Treaty Council Conference, held at the Rosebud Tribes' Educational,
Cultural and Spiritual Center at Mato Paha (Bear Butte), a sacred
traditional area in the Paha Sapa (Black Hills), South Dakota.
Representatives from Indigenous communities, organizations and Nations
from throughout Lakota Nation Territory and the U.S., as well as Canada,
Alaska, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Brazil, Aotearoa (New Zealand),
Hawaii and Australia gathered to share grassroots and international
information impacting their communities.
The Conference focused on information-sharing as well as building and
strengthening strategies for confronting critical issues facing
Indigenous Peoples and lands. Youth workshops and programs as well as
evening cultural presentations were also on the agenda.
The presence and participation of many spiritual leaders and traditional
elders at the conference was noted and appreciated many times during the
four days by the IITC organizers. The conference begin a with a
traditional sunrise ceremony to light a sacred fire which burned the
entire four days. The program ended with another ceremony at the fire to
conclude the conference and to send the words spoken and decisions made
during at the conference forward during the year to come. An
international Pow Wow, celebration and giveaway followed.
As a part of the commemoration of the Battle of the Little Big Horn
Victory on June 25th, the descendants of the battle survivors were called
up to be honored and all conference participants shook their hands. A
forum followed focusing on the return of the Black Hills to the Lakota
Nation.
In honor of the host Nation and site, and in response to ongoing
international developments, treaty rights and violations were a primary
focus at the Conference including a review of final report of the United
Nations Treaty Study. According to Conference Coordinating Committee
member Stacey Scares Hawk, Oglala, and an enrolled member of the Cheyenne
River Sioux tribe, "It is important for grassroots and traditional peoples
to hear what is going on at the international level, especially how it
concerns our treaties. The treaties belong at the international level,
how they have been violated and how this can be rectified."
Other members of the Conference Coordinating Committee included the host
site managers Fern Bordeaux and Michael Botlz, members of the Hunkpapa
Lakota Red Robe Women's Society and Hunkpapa Treaty Council, the Wanblee
Wakpeh Oyate, Sinte Gleska University Treaty Law Society, and
representatives of the IITC Board and staff.
During the conference Indigenous speakers from many regions made plenary
presentations on Treaty rights, Freedom of Religion and Protection of
Sacred Sites, International work of Indigenous Peoples, and Environmental
Protection and Biological Diversity.
Conference participants also met in 12 Commissions over three days to
develop resolutions and action plans on a variety of critical issues
facing Indigenous Peoples. Commissions focused on Treaties and land
demarcation; political prisoners, including Leonard Peltier; rights of
children; environmental protection; cultural rights and safeguarding of
traditional knowledge; border issues and the impacts of immigration laws;
international developments including the United Nations Draft Declaration
for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; protection of sacred sites;
sustainable development and Indian to Indian trade; youth organizing; and
Traditional government and de-colonization.
IITC Board President Bill Means, Oglala, who moderated the Commission on
Treaty Rights, noted that "for the first time in 20 years every Treaty
organization throughout the Lakota Nation Territory was present and took
part in discussions together about how to uphold our Treaty Rights as a
Nation". Bill attributed this show of unity to the spiritual power of
Bear Butte as well as the unshakable shared conviction, upheld by all of
the Lakota Treaty People, that the "the Black Hills are not for sale".
Resolutions from the Commissions were presented for discussion and
approval by consensus at a General Assembly on the final day of the
conference. According to IITC Executive Director Andrea Carmen, Yaqui,
"the resolutions and strategies adopted at the Conference will provide
guidance and direction to the IITC as we continue our work in defense of
Indigenous Peoples' rights and survival in coming year. The ongoing
process of sharing information and creating bonds of solidarity and
friendship among Indigenous struggles around the world, which took place
during these four days at Bear Butte, is vital to the success of this
work".
The final General Assembly session, which opened with words of
encouragement by Oglala Lakota traditional elder Marie Randall of the Grey
Eagle Society and continued with the presentations of resolutions by each
of the Commissions, was broadcast live on KILI Radio. IITC wishes to
express its appreciation to KILI for their assistance in making this
important session accessible to a wide audience throughout the Lakota
Nation. The text of the final resolutions will be available from the IITC
in 30 days.
The IITC wishes to thank the Lakota Nation, the site caretakers, and the
many volunteers who helped out during the conference. The year 2000
International Indian Treaty Conference will be held in Guatemala, where
IITC has a Human Rights Office and several affiliated Indian organizations.
For more information please contact the IITC.

--------- "RE: Adopting Reservation's Elderly " ---------

Date: Mon, 05 Jul 1999 11:28:02 GMT
From: wlfskr@leba.net (Pat Morris)
Subj: Adopting Reservation's Elderly

Newsgroup: alt.native

July 5, 1999
Faraway Friends 'Adopt' a Reservation's Elderly
PINE RIDGE RESERVATION, S.D. -- Thaddeus Hust and his wife, Rebecca
Thomas, chose their grandfather because they shared an interest in
gardening with him.
For the last two years, the couple from Durango, Colo., have been
exchanging letters, phone calls and seed packets with Bernard Little White
Man, a 71-year-old widower, and helping to support him, through the Adopt-
a-Grandparent Program.
On Sunday, Hust spent about two hours grilling sausages at the
organization's annual breakfast on the reservation, where some of the
group's 300 members came to meet the elders they are sponsoring.
"We always felt this connection, this empathy for the Native Americans,"
Ms. Thomas said. "Then we heard about this grandparent idea, and it just
seemed like such a wonderful way to help the elders."
The Adopt-a-Grandparent Program was started in 1987 by a freelance
photojournalist, Gail Russell, who had visited the reservation while on
assignment for a magazine. Through friends here she learned of three
elderly women who had frozen to death in their own homes during a winter
storm. It is not clear whether the women could not afford propane for heat
or could not make the trip to get supplies.
"We were shocked about the news, and I asked some of the grandmas I knew
on the reservation to tell me why the programs they had didn't work," Ms.
Russell said. She had no plans to start an organization until an elderly
friend, Nellie Red Owl, asked her, "Wouldn't someone up your way like to
adopt a Grandma?"
"And it just clicked," Ms. Russell said.
Ms. Russell then founded the Mountain Light Center, a nonprofit
organization that runs the Adopt-a-Grandparent program. And now she often
makes the 12-hour drive from her home in Taos, N.M., to deliver food and
other supplies to the reservation.
The program began with 12 elders from the Wakpamni (Walk-pom-nee)
community here. Now more than 250 elders and their families are sponsored
by members of Adopt-a-Grandparent. About a dozen elders in New Mexico are
also sponsored by the group.
Word of mouth and a new Web site have helped attract new members -- most
from the United States, but some from Japan and the Netherlands. Ms.
Russell is hoping to double the membership this year. The budget for 1998
was $150,000, of which $63,000 went directly to the elders; an additional
$75,000 worth of goods was donated.
"A lot of members say they always wanted to help Native Americans in
some way, but there was no structure they were comfortable with," Ms.
Russell said.
That was the case for Pete Smith and his girlfriend, Marja-Liisa Bykonich,
of Longmont, Colo. "We see so much outpouring to help others in this country
-- it goes out to Kosovo or wherever," Smith said, taking a rest after
cooking several bowls of scrambled eggs at Sunday morning's breakfast.
"And this is the forgotten part of America, these people that were
conquered and just forgotten about."
Members of the program can either pay a membership fee of about $50
annually and have no involvement with elders or they can choose an elder
and establish a relationship. "Some write their adopted grandparent,
others send money, some send new blankets or sheets. There is no
prescribed do this or that," Ms. Russell said. In one case, a couple from
Washington helped build a house for their adopted grandparent.
The elders are chosen by sponsors from lists provided by Ms. Russell
that describe the person's health, hobbies, clothing sizes and other
information. A person must live on a reservation, be at least 60 years old
or disabled to qualify as an elder. Members may sponsor more than one
elder, and elders can be sponsored by more than one person.
"I have about three sponsors," said Emily Has No Horse, an 80-year-old
widow, who was munching on heart-shaped blue corn waffles that Ms. Russell
made Sunday morning. "One woman, Barbara, in California, sends me
materials for quilting, or sometimes helps with the electricity bill or
pays for propane."
Sitting behind Mrs. Has No Horse was Amelia Yellow Thunder, 70, who
showed off the red, green and blue plaid cotton skirt that one of her
sponsors had sent her. Both of the women said their only income was about
$500 a month from Social Security.
This level of poverty is typical on this reservation, which President
Clinton was scheduled to visit this week on a tour of impoverished areas.
About 24,000 of the Oglala Sioux's 38,000 enrolled tribal members live
here, including about 15,000 elders, tribal officials say.
Unemployment is about 85 percent here, with a median annual income of $3,
400, said Bart Merdanian, a legislative liaison for the tribe. In addition
to the financial straits, there is a high incidence of diabetes, heart
disease and alcoholism on the reservation, Merdanian said.
"Our grandmother, Rosemary Good Voice Elk, is diabetic and is in a
wheelchair," Ms. Bykonich said. "Her house was hit by the tornado this
year, and they lost part of the roof, one bedroom and a front window. I
didn't see any beds there when we went by yesterday, but we didn't come
right out and ask because they have their pride, too." Ms. Bykonich said
several children and grandchildren also live with Mrs. Good Voice Elk.
Speaking over the sound of powwow chants and a summer thunderstorm, Ms.
Russell said: "The Native American way of life is a circle, and we try to
have the energy of the organization in the same way. The sponsors say they
are getting so much more than they are giving, so it's like life."
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/national/native-grandparents.html

--------- "RE: Whiteclay, Nebraska" ---------

Date: Sun, 04 Jul 1999 01:53:21 -0500
From: hdqrs@worldnet.att.net
Subj: Whiteclay, Neb. (ap)

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

http://www.ljworld.com/
Updated 11:59:34 PM Saturday, July 3, 1999
Whiteclay, Neb. (ap) -- Members of the Oglala Sioux tribe converged on
this tiny town Saturday to protest alleged treaty violations, unsolved
murders and alcohol sales, and nine people were arrested, including
activist Russell Means.
About 150 people marched the two miles from the Pine Ridge Reservation
in South Dakota, and scores of others rode in cars.
They were met by more than 100 riot-equipped Nebraska state troopers,
who stood toe-to-toe with the marchers and ordered them not to cross a
line of yellow tape at the edge of Whiteclay, about a city block from the
state line. Moments later, Means and several other demonstrators crossed
the tape and were arrested.
One man riding bareback on a horse skirted the police line and rode,
hollering, through an adjacent field. "I tried to fire my people up," said
the rider, Billy Joe Bean.
The demonstration later ended peacefully and most of the participants
headed back to Pine Ridge. Means and the others who were arrested would
probably be given misdemeanor citations for refusing a lawful order, state
police said.
The town's 22 residents had been ordered to leave the day before by
Nebraska Gov. Mike Johanns. While tribal leaders said it would be a
peaceful march, some participants had threatened to occupy the village
until state officials addressed their concerns.
A rally one week ago in Whiteclay ended with looting and burning.
The protest stems from allegations by AIM leaders and members of the
Oglala Sioux that the federal government has violated an 1868 treaty that
reserved parts of what are now North Dakota and South Dakota, Wyoming,
Montana and Nebraska for the Sioux.
Tribe members also are upset that four stores in Whiteclay sell more
than $3 million worth of beer each year, mostly to Indians with drinking
problems. Alcohol is banned on the reservation, a 5,000-square-mile
expanse that is home to 15,000 Oglala Sioux and has one of the nation's
highest alcoholism-related mortality rates.
Also, tribe members say local police have not done enough to investigate
the deaths of two Sioux men whose bodies were found June 8 in a culvert
near the Nebraska line.
Johanns said Nebraska could not offer much help because the bodies were
found in South Dakota. Federal and tribal police have announced a $15,000
reward for information on the slayings.
At a rally before Saturday's march in Pine Ridge, calls for militant
action in Whiteclay mingled with prayer drums and pleas for peace.
"If I had it my way, we'd tear the damn town down to the ground, but we
can't do that," American Indian Movement activist Clyde Bellecourt said.
AIM activist Dennis Banks said he was glad there was no violence at
Saturday's rally.
"Everybody has to share in the award for that," he said. "Any time
confrontation is looming, there should be some type of dialogue."
President Clinton is set to visit Pine Ridge on Wednesday, and is
expected to discuss economic development in Indian communities and tour
tornado-damaged parts of Oglala.

--------- "RE: Leonard Peltier on Whiteclay" ---------

Date: 02 Jul 1999 00:09:19 GMT
From: jtroad@aol.com (JT Road)
Subj: LEONARD PELTIER ON WHITECLAY

Newsgroup: alt.native

Leonard wrote the following and asked us to put it out to all supporters
and media. Thanks, LPDC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement of Leonard Peltier on Demonstration March to
Whiteclay, Nebraska Set for July 3, 1999
I know the situation in Whiteclay has reached the boiling point. Once
again, our people are being killed. Once again there is a call for justice,
for full investigations, for equal punishment for those responsible. Once
again, our pleas fall on deaf ears. And once again, violence is erupting.
Our people have legitimate concerns that must be addressed, and addressed
now. As I write this, my thoughts are with those planning to participate in
the march from Billy Mills Hall to Whiteclay tomorrow morning. The whole
world is watching. What will you do? I can only hope that everyone
involved will read these words and see that we now have a chance to make a
change, to make a difference.
As I sit "in here" and read about what's going on "out there" in places
like Whiteclay, I can't help but be reminded of what happened nearly a
quarter of a century ago at Pine Ridge, of the events that put me in this
cell in Leavenworth. It seems that we have come full circle. Over the
years, I've had a lot of time to think back about Pine Ridge. I can still
see the faces of those elders, the Traditionalists who asked for our help.
They knew who they were and where they came from. They didn't just talk
about their spirituality, they lived it. Those elders knew the power of
thought, and they taught us that when we become of one mind, all things are
possible. When people look back at what happened there on the Jumping Bull
property, they seem to forget that our little camp was a spiritual camp and
that we were spiritual warriors. That is, until that now infamous day in
1975 when the sound of gunfire shattered our unity, shattered our world. In
an instant, so many lives were changed forever. And I know I'm not the only
one doing time because of it. Each and every one of us whose lives were
touched, no matter which "side" we were on, is serving a life sentence,
because those tragic, mind-numbing events are burned in our collective
memory forever. Nothing can bring back those lost lives or take away the
pain of grieving families. Nothing can change what happened that day.
We are now back at the beginning. We have come full circle and we have a
choice to make. We can either mend the hoop once and for all, or we can go
back around and repeat the cycle of violence and destruction. It's up to
us. We have to trust in what our elders teach us. They aren't just making
it up, you know. Our traditional ways have sustained us for thousands of
years, through all kinds of adversity, and we're still here. A little
ragged around the edges, maybe, but still here. And in spite of all, we
still have our Original Instructions. Isn't it about time we started
following them?
As things heat up and we face off in places like Whiteclay, we must not
forget our pipes and our traditional manner. We must not exchange our
spirituality for violence and destruction. We are now at a place in time
where we have powerful allies throughout the world. If we keep our heads up
and follow the spiritual path, we can mobilize these forces. Are we going
to let history repeat itself? Will more people suffer pain and loss? And
more "Leonard Peltiers" going to be created? Or do we keep our heads
together and let the spirit of the old ways guide us to change the outcome
going into this new millennium? We can, if we remember who we are, if we
quit ignoring the experiences of those who have come before us. It's time
to take a long, hard look in the mirror. Are we living our spirituality,
everyday, like those elders, or are we just talking about it?
We must become of one mind, united in thought and action. Not just during
Sundance or when we're in the sweat lodge, but every single day of our
lives. Then and only then will change begin and doors be opened. Who
knows, one of those doors may even be the door to MY CELL. To those
planning to march to Whiteclay tomorrow, I urge you to follow your own
spiritual knowledge, not the path of violence. In everything we do, we must
think of the seventh generation to come. Mitakuye Oyasin.
In the Spirit of Crazy Horse,
Leonard Peltier
Leonard Peltier Defense Committee
PO Box 583
Lawrence, KS 66044
785-842-5774

--------- "RE: Fundraising Breakfast" ---------

Date: Thu, 01 Jul 1999 12:57:17 GMT
From: frosty@frostys.qc.ca
Subj: Did you know July 1 1,2

Newsgroup: alt.native

WINNIPEG (CP) -- About 900 people turned out for a fundraising
breakfast Thursday for two high-profile aboriginal leaders and a
social activist recruited to plow new ground for Manitoba Progressive
Conservatives.
All three are running for the Tories in the next provincial election
in ridings traditionally held by the NDP.
The presence of the aboriginal candidates may surprise some after
last winter's revelations of the Monnin inquiry.
The judicial probe heard how Tories tried to siphon votes from the
NDP in three ridings with many aboriginal voters in 1995 through
under-the-table financial support of supposedly independent
candidates.
The vote-splitting scheme was condemned by native leaders.
But that hasn't stopped Norway House Chief Ron Evans and Mary
Richard, president of the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, from
securing Tory nominations.
Richard, who is running in the inner-city Winnipeg riding of Point
Douglas, suggested aboriginal reaction to the vote-splitting scandal
was overblown by the media.
"I don't think the aboriginal people even think about it," she said.
"It's been dealt with, it's history, it's gone."
Evans, who will be challenging incumbent New Democrat and former
chief Oscar Lathlin in The Pas, said voting NDP is not an aboriginal
birthright.
"We must explore and make our own choice of government," he said.
The third candidate is Rev. Harry Lehotsky, a Baptist minister who
has built his reputation working on the mean streets of Winnipeg's
north end. He's running in the newly created inner-city riding of
Minto.
"Walking around the inner city and listening to some folks, you'd
think that every Conservative that's walking around is kind of like a
two-headed fire-breathing monster, seeking nothing but to devour the
poor and disadvantaged," he said.
"I can tell you that's not the people I've met."

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--------- "RE: Peltier Conference" ---------

From: cuauhtemoc@earthlink.net
Newsgroup: alt.native
Subject: peltier conference news article
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 07:25:37 -0700

Activists plot Peltier strategy
Posted Sunday, June 27, 1999
The Leonard Peltier Organizing Conference drew activists concerned with
human rights and political-prisoner issues to Lawrence to discuss strategy.
By Felicia Haynes
Journal-World Writer
Activists from around the country and the world are meeting in Lawrence
this weekend in support of prisoner Leonard Peltier.
The Leonard Peltier Organizing Conference at Haskell Indian Nations
University, which began Saturday and continues today, is focusing on
strategies to push for the release of Peltier and others around the world
whom the group considers political prisoners. Panel discussions Saturday
focused on grass-roots organization, political prisoners, prison issues
and Peltier's legal case. Around 200 people are attending the conference.
"These people are in prison not because of what they did, but because of
who they are," Lennox Hinds, a human rights activist and a lawyer who has
worked for Nelson Mandela, said during a session about the international
campaign for Peltier. "... We have to be clear about this. ... We have to
educate the American people about this."
Hinds, who recently joined the campaign, said the group is now in a
position to ask Mandela to endorse the cause.
David Dellinger, a lifelong activist and one of the Chicago Seven --
seven radicals accused of conspiring to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic
National Convention in Chicago -- talked about the movement to free
political prisoners.
"It is coming alive and involves more people than at any other time of my
life," he said. "They never had the grass-roots support they have now
around the nation and all over the world."
Dellinger spoke on grass-roots organizing during the panel, which also
included Ramona Africa of MOVE, a Philadephia-based organization.
"What we need to do is keep setting a strong example," she said. "There
is something that everybody can do. ... Injustice threatens all of us."
One action people can take is getting information out, she said.
"Leonard Peltier's name is known in Red Square and is virtually unknown
in Times Square," said Michael Yellow Bird, a Kansas University professor
and First Nation activist.
Other speakers Saturday included Geronimo (Pratt) Ji Jaga, a recently
released Black Panther, Pam Africa with the Friends and Family of Mumia
Abu Jamal, members of La Raza and Puerto Rican political prisoner defense
committees, and former prisoners.
Peltier, a member of the American Indian Movement, is serving two
consecutive life terms in the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth for his
part in a 1975 shootout on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota,
during which two FBI agents were killed. Four men were accused of
murdering the agents; two were acquitted and charges against another were
dropped.
Peltier was convicted. He and his supporters maintain his innocence,
saying that the government coerced witnesses and fabricated evidence at
his trial.
The conference, which is open to the public, today will feature a
presentation on lobbying by Jennifer Harbury, a human rights activist;
Ernie Stevens, junior vice president of the National Congress of American
Indians; and Keith Jennings, president of the African American Human
Rights Foundation. Other activities include formation of work groups.
-- Felicia Haynes' phone message number is 832-7173.
Her e-mail address is fhaynes@ljworld.com.

--------- "RE: LPDC Organizing Conference/Plans of Actions" ---------

Date: Thursday, July 1, 1999
From: "LPDC" <lpdc@idir.net>
Subj: LPDC Org. Conferenc-Plans of Actions 1999-2000

Plans of Actions
Below are some plans of actions which were proposed and
accepted at the June Leonard Peltier Organizing Conference.
The most important issues we will be organizing around during the
next year are: executive clemency, habeas corpus challenging the
parole commission, health, congressional campaign, spring parole
hearing, and the International campaign.
We hope that through our combined efforts we can build the
campaign to free Leonard Peltier into a strong movement. Therefore,
we suggest a plan of action that builds one event on another and
shows its strength through its continuity and coordination. In
between these dates we need to do as much outreach as possible
in order to build the base we need to make these successful.
[NOTE: We need to be prepared to fill the courtroom if we get a
hearing as a result of the habeas corpus petition. We do not know
when the hearing will happen, but it will be in Topeka, Kansas.]
**July
Share the strategies formed at the conference with your network,
friends family, etc. Begin planning concrete ways to carry out these
ideas. If you are not registered as a contact person, LPSG, or
Solidarity Organization with the LPDC please do so. If you have not
yet gotten the new LPDC Organizing Hand Book, we think it will be
helpful to have one -- suggested donation is &5.00.
If you are attending any kind of demonstration which relates to
prison issues, political prisoners, police brutality, environmental
issues, Indigenous Peoples issues, etc. try to make your presence
as a Peltier supporter known. Let other Peltier supporters know you
are attending and plan a meeting point in order to make Leonard's
case visible.
For example this July 3rd and 4th there will be a big demonstration
and civil disobedience in Philadelphia organized by MOVE and
International Concerned Family and Friends of Mumia Abu Jamal.
Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Janet Reno, etc. will be in
Philadelphia Furthermore, Clinton has invited a former political
prisoner from China and therefore it is important we make a strong
impression that there are political prisoners in the U.S. like Mumia
(death row political prisoner) and Leonard. Peltier supporters
attending this demonstration can meet at the LPSG Philadelphia
Peltier table.
**Sunday, September 12, 1999, - Leonard's 55 Birthday
September 12 is Leonard Peltier's 55 birthday. The LPDC is proposing
that we focus this day on public outreach and fund raising. Emphasize
to people that Leonard has spent almost half his life in prison for a
crime he did not commit. His health is deteriorating and his grandchildren
are now in their teens and growing up fast. It is important that people
understand how urgent his situation is. Organize video showings,
lectures, book readings, benefit concerts with speakers, distribute
flyers and set up information tables in busy areas. Encourage your
local radio stations and cable access stations to focus the day on
Peltier. The next day, try to do outreach in high schools, campuses,
shopping malls etc, in order to spread the information on Peltier's case
and to gather support from students. Through out this day and week
emphasize the Fall actions planned for D.C. Funds are desperately
needed to make the Fall campaigning a success. We are also in need
of funds for habeas corpus petition recently filed.
**October 12, 1999 - International Day in Solidarity with
Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.
On this symbolic date many events are organized for the struggle
of Indigenous Peoples. If there is something being organized for it in
your community make sure Leonard's case is part of the agenda. If
there is nothing being set up, we encourage you to organize something
for Leonard and Indigenous Peoples of the Americas on this day.
**November 1999 (National Native American Month) - Washington
D.C. Event (Lobby White House and US Congress) - two weeks
to 30 days (dates not set yet).
Jennifer Harbury will be focusing her efforts on lobbying the
Congress to support clemency and/or parole and subsequently for
Congressional Hearings for Leonard this Fall. By late October she
will have established a lot of support in Congress. Because Clemencies
are traditionally granted in December and this is the last December
Clinton will be in office, it is important that we hold public events in
late October and November in Washington D.C. that will have a large
impact on the media, Congress and the Clinton administration.
To really have an impact on Congress and the White House, we will
need to have a visible presence for at least two weeks. Therefore we
are proposing that there be a two to four week visible show of support
in front of the White House possibly beginning the last week of October
and continuing into November which has also been declared National
Native American Month by Clinton. It is important that this be culturally
relevant, visible, and have a strong impact. This will begin with a
delegation of Nobel Peace Prize winners lead by Rigoberta Menchu,
world known Mayan activist from Guatemala and current UNESCO good
will ambassador for the International Decade for the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples. Jean Day, Oglala Survivor, has also proposed that the Indigenous
Women Network, with Rigoberta Menchu, try to meet with Hillary Clinton
in this same time period. We also want to solicit help from well known
celebrities, tribal representatives, NGOs, and Indigenous peoples
delegations world wide. Your suggestions and contacts are needed.
The weeks that follow we are proposing that there be visible cultural
events, prayers, and speakers in front of the White House as well as
vigils at night. In order for this to be as visually attention drawing
as possible, Leonard has proposed that there be a display of tipis
near the White House during this time. We were also considering a
big one day Pow Wow in hopes to attract a lot of the Native and
non-Native communities to gather in front of the white house.
To begin organizing this we first need to build a Native advisory
committee to help with the cultural and spiritual aspects of the event.
We need Human Rights Organizations to co-sponsor and endorse
the event. We also need to build logistical committees who will help
with logistics in DC and transportation and outreach nationally. We
definitely need grant writers and fund raisers. Please give us your
feed back as to how and if this can be successful as well as what
you can do to help. Time is short!
**December 10th, 1999 - International Day of Human Rights
On December 10 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was signed.
On this day we should remind all relevant governmental agencies that
the U.S. signed this Declaration, and the continued incarceration and
refusal of appropriate medical care to Leonard Peltier violates it. Flood
your Congressional Representatives, Senators, and the White House
with phone calls and faxes. During the weeks prior to this date you
can collect letters and petitions of support to fax or drop off at their
offices. Arrange phone trees so that governmental representatives will
receive as many calls as possible on this day. If you are not in the U.S.
focus your efforts on the White House and the U.S. embassy in your
country. This will be conducted and coordinated internationally. This is
an especially important date because Clemencies are granted in December
and this is the LAST time Clinton will be in office during Christmas. Ask
your Congressional reps and senators to support the clemency petition.
**January
Begin letter writing campaign to the parole commission in support
of parole for Leonard Peltier. We will put a sample letter out to use
when the time comes near. Leonard's last Interim Parole Review
Hearing was in May, therefore the next one will also likely be in
May 2000.
**February 6th, 2000 - International Tribunal on the case
of Leonard Peltier UC Berkley
We want to organize a tribunal, possibly at UC Berkley. Witnesses
would include victims of the reign of terror on Pine Ridge, people who
have been intimidated by the FBI as a result of their efforts for Peltier,
lawyers and specialists on the FBI's COINTELPRO, etc. Because we
are in Kansas, it would be hard for the LPDC to take full responsibility
for the organizing. LPDC International Spokesperson, Bobby Castillo,
who organized the 1992 USA On Trial is ready to begin coordinating this
but needs a good team to work with. He will be needing to travel to the
U.N. during this time and will need reliable people to carry on the work
when he is gone. We realize this may not be enough time to organize
this well and we may need to postpone it to October 12, 2000 in which
case hopefully Leonard will be a witness. If we do not have the tribunal
next February 6th, the North West Peltier Support Network has an annual
demonstration at the U.S./Canadian border and maybe this would be a
good time for us to do demonstrations along the border as well. Towns
that are far from the border could focus on Canadian Embassy or
Consulates in protest of the illegal extradition which set forth the
tactics used to railroad Leonard.
**June 21st to 26th, 2000
June 21st is the International Prayer Day. Each year, Arvol Looking
Horse, along with other Native traditional peoples gather in order to
do ceremonies for peace. This year, it will be the 25th anniversary of
the Incident at Oglala. Therefore we are suggesting to start a six day
prayer, fast, vigil, etc, in front of the White House and FBI Buildings.
**June 26th, 2000- International Day in Solidarity with Leonard
Peltier 25th Anniversary of the Incident at Oglala
It is difficult to predict what will be happening with Leonard's
case at this time. Some people from South Dakota would like to have a
commemoration at Oglala, on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Others
have suggested to organize a new demonstration in front of the
White House. Let us know what you come up with.
**July 4th, 2000 - Possible Civil Disobedience
**August 14th, 2000 - Demonstration at the Democratic National
Convention (Los Angeles)

Emergency Network:
We need to establish an emergency network in order to be able to
effectively and quickly respond to a medical emergency and to mobilize
people to Kansas if we get a hearing as a result of the Habeas Corpus
petition. We need to find people who have transportation and will be
able to come to Kansas and we need to establish phone trees if
Leonard is transferred and possibly in danger.

International LPDC Lobby Work:
At an international level the LPDC will continue its work to present
the Peltier's case to the World community and to have investigations
on the wrong doings of the United States by the United Nations' Bodies,
foreign governments officials and recognized Human Rights
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
**July 1999
U.N. - Working Group on Indigenous Peoples
(July 26 to 30) - Geneva
The International Spokesperson of the LPDC will address Leonard's
current situation and make contact with indigenous delegations and
Human Rights NGOs to support the November action in Washington
D.C.
**August 1999 U.N. - Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination
and Protection of Minorities (August 2 to 27) - Geneva
The LPDC will be asking NGOs with consultative status with the UN
to address Leonard's case (in particular the denial of proper medical
treatment) and we will try to have a resolution adopted. Last year
Leonard was officially declared a Human Rights Defender. The UN
has set forth a new system which gives special attention to the
protection of Human Rights of those declared Human Rights
Defenders and we will try implement this to have Leonard's case
investigated. (United Nations - Declaration on the Right and
Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of the Society to
Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedom, General Assembly resolution 53/144, adopted
December 10th, 1998).
**August 1999
Bobby Castillo, LPDC International Spokesperson will do another
tour in Europe to gather new support and continue the momentum
with supportive organizations.
**September 1999
U.N. - Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (September 13 to 17) -
Geneva Leonard and the LPDC must send a new and accurate
communication with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention asking
them to investigate the case (we might have to use the Petition for
Habeas Corpus/Parole Commission). We need also to find NGOs with
Consultative Status to send such communications to the Working
Group on Arbitrary Detention.
**October 1999, U.N. - Working Group on the Draft Declaration
on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (October 18 to 29) - Geneva
The LPDC will make further contacts with indigenous delegations
and Human Rights NGOs to support and endorse the November
action in Washington D.C.
**October 1999, European Parliament: The LPDC and its European
Network will start a new lobby campaign at the European Parliament.
**March/April, 2000: U.N. - Commission on Human Rights
LPDC has to continue its lobby on government officials and NGOs to
push for the appointment of the Special Rapporteur on Torture and
the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to carry out a joint visit in
the USA to investigate the administration of justice in this country and
to investigate the case of Leonard Peltier, a recognized Human Rights
Defender, as well as the cases of other political Prisoners like Ramsey
Muniz and other Xicano movement prisoners, Oscar Lopez Rivera and
the Puerto Rican Independence prisoners, Mumia Abu Jamal and the
Black Liberation prisoners and the condition of detention of the 1.8
million prisoners in the United States, especially at the Marion Control
Unit, Leavenworth federal Penitentiary, Pelican Bay State Prison,
Florence Institution, among others. (NOTE: If you are on the board or
if you are a member of an NGO with consultative status with the United
Nations (category ECOSOC II), please try to have your organization help
us and get involved with Leonard's case. We also need the assistance
of students, professors or attorneys specialized in International Laws
and Politics to help us with our lobby work.)

DIFFERENT DELEGATIONS TO VISIT LEONARD
The LPDC is also working to have delegations visit Leonard Peltier
at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary such as the recent fact
finding mission lead by Danielle Mitterrand, Former First Lady of
France and president of the Human Rights NGO, France Libertes.
Rigoberta Menchu Tum announced that she will organize a Nobel
Peace Prize Delegation next October or November to visit Leonard.
Members of the Canadian Parliament, of the Mexican Parliament, of
the Belgian Parliament and of the European Parliament have expressed
their wish to go to Leavenworth. We are also trying to have several