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"Big Mountain - Please lend your support!"
B"H Contacts:
Danny Blackgoat 928-779-2704
Bahe Katenay 928-607-2990
May 12, 2004
Press Release - For Immediate Release
The Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute: Breaking News
Hopi Tribe Threatens to Demolish Living and Historic Navajo Homesite
Monday, May 10, Hopi Tribal Officials approached guests of the family at the Blackgoat home, a Navajo homesite located on the disputed Hopi Partition Land. Officials told the guests that they should remove personal belongings from the structures there because the Hopi Tribe intends to level the home and the hogan (traditional round structure, used for living quarters as well as for ceremonies). They also instructed the guests to move the family's livestock, as a herd of sheep still roams the hills as they have for generations.
This homesite was lived in by the late Roberta Blackgoat, an internationally known Matriarch and great grandmother who traveled the world educating the masses about the Dineh (Navajo) people's plight to remain on their land in order to practice their religion. Blackgoat passed on April 23, 2002. Her children Danny, Sheilah, Harry, and Vici still consider this place to be their home, and they visit on weekends with their children, while friends caretake the site during the week.
The Hopi Tribe has an extensive history of bulldozing Navajo homes and confiscating livestock, generally with a preliminary notice. However, on August 17, 2001, the Hopi Tribe destroyed the active Camp Anna Mae Sundance Grounds in the Big Mountain region without prior written notice.
So far, no written notice has been provided regarding the intended demolition of the Blackgoat homesite. For information on "The Property Dismantling/Disposal Project," visit the website of the Hopi Tribe at http://www.hopi.nsn.us/view_article.asp?id=14&cat=1. The Relocation Act of 1974 (PL 93-531) and Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1996 provide the Hopi Tribe with a legal basis for evicting Dineh residents from what was then designated by the US government as Hopi Land.
The Office of Hopi Tribal Chairman Wayne Taylor, Jr. can be contacted at 928-734-3283.
The Office of Hopi Lands Director Clayton Honyumptewa can be contacted at 928-734-3646.
The Hopi Tribal Office of Cultural Preservation can be contacted at 928-734-3613.
The following concerns require prompt public explanation:
Does the Hopi Tribe truly intend to destroy this living and historic homesite?
Does the Hopi Tribe recognize that a ceremonial hogan is in use at this homesite?
What precautions are in place to ensure that Navajo burial sites on the Hopi Partition Land will be preserved?
Does the Hopi Tribe agree that in order to practice their religion, Navajos require access to their place of origin on a daily basis?
Does the Hopi Tribe agree that the Navajo homesites on Hopi Lands are eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places?
Will the Hopi Tribe follow a legal process which includes written notification of intention of destruction to the residents of this homesite? Why or why not?
What due process exists for the Blackgoat family who opposes this demolition? Have family members taken any of those steps?
What ramifications does the Hopi Tribe anticipate regarding the destruction of the home of the late Roberta Blackgoat, considering the international fame of her plight and the opposing position of her surviving family? Does the Hopi Tribe's commitment to the preservation of culture and history extend beyond the Hopi Tribe to other Native American groups?
On March 31, 1997, Roberta Blackgoat spoke at a vigil, explaining that she and all her children were born in the place where she was currently living. "I know each tree, each plant that grows right there. And they know me. The children, grandchildren, great grandchildren need to be right there. We need them to get back to the land and live on our ancestors' land." She said that the relocatees die of "worrines," missing their traditional food and not knowing where to go to pray. About the Accommodation Agreement and Relocation, Blackgoat said, "As long as I live, I'm not going to sign." She never did sign any papers, but lived at her home until the day she died.
Writes Bahe Katenay, Navajo resident, "We especially honor one of the last great Dineh leaders and matriarch, Roberta Blackgoat. She had wanted us to stop the butchering of our Altar: Black Mesa - our Female Mountain God. She had wanted us to stop the exploitation of Earth Mother's liver, the mineral coal, and to stop the shaking and sinking of our lands from the strip mining. She had wanted us to return to the Dineh Sacred Mountain Soil Bundle Way of Sovereignty and spread the words to save indigenous cultures throughout the regions encompassed by the Dineh's Six Sacred Mountains. So, join us to lay out the foundations for a future of peace and harmony where the future generations' will journey and thrive.
"We call this genocide because we, as a traditional society that share a common outlook and culture, are targeted specifically for extermination through false litigations and tribal misrepresentations. This is genocide because we have lost several thousand valuable traditional teachers due to them being forcibly removed from their ancestral lands. And it is genocide because there are only a few of us left to preserve the little history, language, culture and land based religions that we still hold, and our efforts to do so are continuously hindered by the authorities of the state."
Note: A quick web-search for "Roberta Blackgoat" will find you hundreds of hits about her work, her life, and her memory, as well as photos.
Black Mesa Indigenous Support (BMIS) is a group of individuals acting to support the sovereignty of the indigenous people affected by mining activities on Black Mesa, who face forced relocation, environmental devastation, and cultural extinction at the hands of multi-national corporations, and United States and tribal governments. http://www.blackmesais.org
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March 19, 2004
LANDSCOPE...News and Views from American Lands
Help Stop the Tongass from Becoming Plywood!
On December 23, 2003 the Bush Administration lifted protection for 9 million acres of roadless areas when it exempted the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule. This has opened the door for business to the logging industry and recently the Oregon-based Timber Products Company (TPC), has entered into negotiations to re-open a veneer mill in Ketchikan, Alaska. The mill would require logging old growth, roadless areas in the Tongass to make veneer, a product used in making plywood. According to the U.S. Forest Service, running the veneer mill profitably was contingent upon the removal of the Tongass from the Clinton era Roadless Rule. In preliminary negotiations, the Forest Service promised to work to provide a supply of trees from pristine roadless areas formerly protected by the Roadless Rule. Every tree cut from the Tongass is still an old growth tree. Please help defend the Tongass by calling TPC directly at 1-800-547-9520. Place your call anytime on Monday, March 29th and Tuesday, March 30th. Ask to speak to Joe Gonyea (Chief Operating Officer) and tell him (or whoever you are able to talk with) that TPC needs to stay out of the Tongass! Tell them that you will not purchase any TPC products if they run the veneer mill in Ketchikan and that you won't stop calling until they end negotiations. For more information please contact Patrick Shannon, Alaska Coalition at patrick@alaskacoalition.org.
Stop Give-Away of Public Lands Management to Industry!
Senator Larry Craig (R-WA) recently introduced a damaging new bill in the Senate that would transfer management control of the Clearwater and Nez Perce National Forests from the Forest Service to a new "advisory panel" of local extractive industry interests, under the guise of collaboration and forest health. This bill would effectively do away with the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and exclude the public from public forest management decisions. Please tell Senator Craig that you strongly oppose this bill (S433), which would give management control of your public lands to self-interested grazing, timber, and energy representatives! E-mail comments by March 31, 2004 to Colin_Hayes@energy.senate.gov. For more information on the bill or how to comment, please contact Gary McFarlane, Friends of the Clearwater, at gary@wildrockies.org or 208-882-9755.
Gunnison Sage Grouse Headed for Extinction
The Gunnison sage grouse is on the brink of extinction. American Lands Alliance, Center for Native Ecosystems, The Larch Company, and Sinapu, represented by the Western Environmental Law Center, recently filed litigation in Washington, D.C. district court asking the court to order the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to emergency list the Gunnison sage grouse as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act. Livestock grazing, drought, motorized recreation, poor land use planning and the mosquito-carried West Nile disease all threaten the species' continued existence. Gunnison sage grouse is a distinct species of sage grouse that occurs in small, isolated populations in southwest Colorado and southeast Utah. Conservationists petitioned for Endangered Species Act protection for the grouse in 2000, when the total population comprised approximately 3,500 individuals. However, the species has continued to decline by as much as 30 percent in the past two years, to less than 2,700 birds. Bureaucratic foot-dragging by the Fish and Wildlife Service persists, even while the Gunnison sage grouse continues its decline toward extinction. For more information please contact Mark Salvo, American Lands Alliance, at mark@americanlands.org.
Spring Environmental Film Series
From March 26-April 16, 2004 in Ashland Oregon, KS Wild, in collaboration with the Siskiyou Project, is hosting the Spring Environmental Film Series to offer films on diverse topics about environmental issues. All showings are on Fridays at 7 p.m. and are free. For more information and show locations, please contact KS Wild at lesley@kswild.org. |
March 2004
68 wolves shot in Alaska - help stop the killing (DOW nbsk ANE)
68 wolves have been gunned down under Alaska's new aerial gunning program in the last month. Even worse, the plan is to kill 80% of the wolves in the 8,000 square mile area of the Nelchina Basin.
Aerial hunters gun the wolves down from the air, or chase them to exhaustion in the deep snow, then land and shoot them point-blank. Under the pretense of boosting moose populations for hunters, aerial hunters can even kill pregnant females and wolf pups. Numerous scientific studies show that wolves are actually beneficial to the overall health of natural ecosystems, and keep Alaska's moose and caribou populations healthy and strong.
Wolves, much like our family dogs, are pack animals with close bonds and family ties. But right now, they really need YOUR help.
Help us stop this senseless slaughter immediately by donating to Defenders of Wildlife's wolf protection programs today: http://www.care2.com/go/z/11925
Your donation will help Defenders:
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Shine the media spotlight on this barbaric practice to provoke national outrage to stop it.
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Persuade tourism companies in Alaska to call for a ban on aerial gunning.
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Mobilize Alaska's citizens to demand legislative action to halt the killing.
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Demand that Interior Secretary Gale Norton stop the killing as a violation of the Federal Airborne Hunting Act.
This is a cause worth fighting for. Plans call for up to 140 wolves to be killed in two areas by April 30th. We must act fast.
Show your outrage at this barbaric practice by donating today: http://www.care2.com/go/z/11925
Thank you for making a difference,
Randy Paynter
President, Care2 & The Petition Site
PS. Wolves are closely related to our own family dogs. If your beloved animal companion faced the same fate, would you fight for for her?
Bears May Be Next Victims of Aerial Killing in Alaska
Apparently, the current aerial gunning of wolves in Alaska is not enough for some trophy hunters and their supporters in the state government. The Alaska Board of Game, which previously approved the aerial killing of wolves, leading to at least 91 wolf deaths already, is meeting to hear a number of proposals, including some that call for aerial gunning and bait-and-shooting of http://denlines.org/030304/bears.html grizzly and black bears, as well as the selling of bear parts and the killing of bear cubs that are still with their mothers. The board may also extend aerial gunning of wolves to other areas. http://denlines.org/030304/savewolves.html Sign a petition to oppose aerial gunning.
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February 2004
Mercury a real issue here on the Cheyenne River Reservation
Dear Friends,
With mercury a real issue here on the Cheyenne River Reservation where I live, I hope you will take the time to respond to most urgest request below. The residents of our reservation are allowed to only eat one fish per week because of the toxic mercury levels. Many people eat more than that because of the poverty level. My ranch is located in the poorest county in the United States. Please read the following and act as soon as possible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 4.9 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. -- that's 8 percent -- have mercury levels in their blood that are unsafe. Exposure to unsafe levels of mercury can cause damage to a child's brain, delaying walking and talking, and even lowering a child's intelligence. The biggest source of mercury pollution in the U.S. is emissions from power plants.
Will you join me in helping prevent mercury pollution? The EPA is now accepting public comments on mercury controls, at: http://www.moveon.org/mercury/
The EPA is trying to back away from strict safeguards against mercury pollution from power plants, despite the advice of its own experts and advisory panels. In December, the EPA announced a mercury plan that will expose our children to far more mercury, for far longer, than what the agency has said is achievable and cost-effective.
This should trouble all of us. The EPA's job should be to protect kids and the rest of us from dangerous pollution.
Please join me in speaking up on this. You can send the EPA your comments here: http://www.moveon.org/mercury/
Thanks.
Karen Sussman
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Nez Perce Request for Support
The Nez Perce Tribe needs your immediate support. Below is a recent article on a "trophy-home" subdivision being approved for development on land next to the grave of Old Chief Joseph near Wallowa Lake in Northeast Oregon. This land is of significant cultural importance to the Nez Perce Tribe, and is known to contain two archaeological sites, the only known sites near Wallowa Lake. This Thursday, February 12, the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners is likely to approve this subdivision development over the objections of three Indian tribes, the City of Joseph and numerous local residents.
September 21st, 2004, is the centennial of the death of Chief Joseph, the son of Old Chief Joseph and one of the leaders of the Wallowa Nez Perce during the 1877 War when they were forced from their home in the Wallowa Valley. Beyond the special relationship of the Nez Perce to this land, and the archaeological and cultural values it contains that may be destroyed by the subdivision, the Nez Perce see this development as a disgrace to the memory of Chief Joseph, who died in exile on the Colville Reservation in Washington wanting nothing more in his final years than to be allowed to return to the Wallowa Valley of his ancestors.
Below is contact information for the Governor of Oregon, the Oregon State Historic Preservation Officer, and the Wallowa County Commissioners; for federal representatives in Oregon, Washington and Idaho; and for Senate Indian Affairs Committee leaders. If you agree with Nez Perce opposition to this development, please send your opinion as soon as possible to as many of these individuals as you can. If you do, please copy the Nez Perce Tribe at ricke@nezperce.org so that a list of supporters can be compiled for what will be an on-going effort. Even if you receive this email after February 12, it is still important that you communicate your opinion to these individuals. Anyone wishing to provide financial support for efforts to permanently protect this land through purchase may contact the Tribe at ricke@nezperce.org or The Conservation Fund at melsbree@mindspring.com.
Thank you very much for your timely support.
Gov. Ted Kulongoski
254 State Capitol
Salem OR 97310
Fax 503.378.4863, Ph. 503.378.3111
http://governor.oregon.gov/contact.htm
Michael Carrier, State Historic Preservation Officer
725 Summer St. NE, Suite C
Salem OR 97301
Fax 503.986.0794, Ph. 503.986.0681
michael.carrier@state.or.us
Wallowa County Board of Commissioners
101 S. River St.
Enterprise OR 97828
Fax 541.426.0582, Ph. 541.426.4543 ext.11
wcboc@co.wallowa.or.us
Sen. Gordon Smith (OR)
404 Russell Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Fax 202.228.3997, Ph. 202.224.3753
http://gsmith.senate.gov/webform.html
Sen. Ron Wyden (OR)
516 Hart Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Phone 202.224.5244
http://wyden.senate.gov/contact.html
Rep. Greg Walden (OR)
1404 Longworth Building
Washington D.C. 20515
Fax 202.225.5774, Phone 202.225.6730
http://walden.house.gov/contactgreg/ |
Sen. Patty Murray (WA)
173 Russell Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Fax 202.224.0238, Ph. 202.224.2621
http://murray.senate.gov/email/index.cfm
Sen. Maria Cantwell (WA)
717 Hart Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Fax 202.228.0514, Ph. 202.224.3441
http://cantwell.senate.gov/contact/index.html
Sen. Larry Craig (ID)
520 Hart Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Fax 202.228.1067, Ph. 202.224.2752
http://craig.senate.gov/webform.html
Sen. Mike Crapo (ID)
239 Dirksen Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Fax 202.228.1375, Ph. 202.224.6142
http://crapo.senate.gov
Sen. Ben Campbell (Indian Affairs Chair)
380 Russell Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Fax 202.228.4609, Ph. 202.224.5852
http://campbell.senate.gov/email.htm
Sen. Daniel Inouye (Indian Affairs Vice-Chair)
722 Hart Building
Washington D.C. 20510
Fax 202.224.6747, Ph. 202.224.3934
http://inouye.senate.gov/webform.html |
Tribe Battling to Block Housing Near Gravesite
More than 100 years after being forced from an Oregon valley, the Nez Perce fight to keep upscale development off the sacred land.
By Andrew Kramer
Associated Press Writer
February 1, 2004
JOSEPH, Ore. - In 1877, Chief Joseph and his band of Nez Perce Indians were forced to abandon their beloved Wallowa Valley in a trek that turned into a war with the U.S. Cavalry and ended with their surrender 1,500 miles away, near the Canadian border.
Delivering one of the most heartbreaking surrender speeches in history, Chief Joseph said: "I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever."
Joseph's band was exiled to reservations in Oklahoma, Washington and Idaho.
More than a century later, the Nez Perce are again engaged in a fight-this time a legal dispute over building 11 upscale homes on 62 acres on a grassy ridge near a Nez Perce cemetery that includes the grave of Chief Joseph's father, Old Chief Joseph.
The grave is on a 5-acre site that serves as the trailhead for a National Historic Trail that follows the route taken by Joseph's band of Nez Perce during their running battles with the Cavalry.
Because the subdivision is on a site closely tied to the tribe's history, fighting the development is a top priority for the Nez Perce, said tribal secretary Jake Whiteplume. "Remembering what our ancestors went through will help keep us going" in the legal fight, he said. "That was our homeland. We have that teaching in us today. We still remember."
The Nez Perce and two other Northwest tribes have filed a legal challenge to the proposed housing development with the Wallowa County Board of Commissioners. The tribes argue the whole ridge is a site of cultural significance and a national historic treasure.
The commissioners are scheduled to decide the issue at a hearing on Monday.
Developers of the proposed project reject Nez Perce assertions that some of their ancestors may be buried beneath the site. The developers point out there is already a 7-acre buffer zone separating the privately held 62 acres and the cemetery.
The developers also say the construction project would bring much-needed jobs to this corner of eastern Oregon, hard-hit by the demise of the timber industry.
"This is a simple land-use issue, and to compare this site to the war in 1877, and the atrocities that took place, is not fair to the owners," said Rahn Hostetter, an attorney for developer K & B Limited Family Partnership.
The land was appraised at $1.8 million if it can be subdivided; if not, it is worth about $1 million, Hostetter said.
The city of Joseph and Wallowa County are at odds over the housing development. In December, the county planning commission approved a tentative plan for the development. But the city has supported the tribes' appeal, arguing that an archeological study contracted out by the developers is insufficient.
The subdivision and the Nez Perce cemetery are on a ridge overlooking Wallowa Lake, in the shadow of the snow-draped Wallowa Mountains. Nez Perce bands caught sockeye salmon in the 6-mile lake and hunted in the Wallowa Mountains. Young Chief Joseph was camped on the ridge in 1877 when his band of Nez Perce was expelled from the region.
The band had retained the Wallowa Valley as a reservation under an 1855 treaty signed by Old Chief Joseph but later renegotiated by the U.S. government and Nez Perce tribal leaders in Idaho without the consent of the Wallowa band of the tribe. The new treaty of 1863 ceded the entire valley to settlers.
On his deathbed in 1871, Old Chief Joseph reminded his son that he had not signed the revised treaty, according to Alvin M. Josephy's 1965 history of the Nez Perce war and exile, "The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest."
The old chief told his son, according to Josephy: "Never forget my dying words. This country holds your father's body."
But the band abandoned the valley when U.S. Gen. Oliver O. Howard threatened to attack. They fled through Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, fighting Howard's troops along the way. Chief Joseph surrendered at Bear Paw, Mont., 40 miles short of the Canadian border.
Over the last decade, retirees and tourists have been discovering the scenic Wallowa Valley. And the city of Joseph - named after the young Chief Joseph - has succeeded in reinventing itself as an artists' colony and retirement destination.
As Joseph has flourished, new homes and housing developments have begun popping up in and outside the city.
The fight over the gravesite comes as the Nez Perce reassert their ties to the valley. For decades, they were not welcome: Around the turn of the century, local residents unsuccessfully petitioned Congress to prohibit Nez Perce Indians from living in the valley after some had returned to hunt and work in hay fields.
Today, only two Nez Perce live in the Wallowa Valley. One is Joe McCormack, a tall, strapping man sporting a black pony tail and cowboy boots.
McCormack moved to the valley six years ago to work in a native fish restoration effort and as president of the Wallowa Band Nez Perce Trail Interpretive Center Inc.
One of his jobs is for the nonprofit center to buy land for the tribes' use. He has already purchased 320 acres near an abandoned Indian campsite.
The tribes may bid for the proposed development, called Marr Ranch, to preserve the site if legal efforts to block the subdivision fail, McCormack said.
"There have been other developments that built over gravesites," McCormack said. "I would rather not see it happen again here." |
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From: Eulynda Toledo-Benalli toledobenalli@yahoo.com
The Community of Sarayaku Declares State
of Emergency
El Comercio
Sunday, January 25, 2004
Puyo
The community of Sarayaku (Pastaza)[in the Ecuadorian
Amazon] has decided to declare a state of emergency to
defend its territories against oil exploration.
The decision was the result of a visit by President
Lucio Gutierrez and Minister of Energy and Mines Carlos
Arboleda to Pastaza on January 18. The two men ratified
their decision to "respect the contract with the Compañía
General de Combustibles (CGC), concessionary of Block
23", which implies seismic prospecting studies will be
continued in order to determine if there is oil in the
zone.
After Gutierrez's announcement, indigenous leaders returned
to the community of Sarayaku to coordinate actions for
the state of emergency that takes effect today.
Leader Mario Santi clarified that "2,000 inhabitants
will mobilize along the boundary where CGC last carried
out studies in February, 2003."
25 "Peace and Life Encampments", each with 150 inhabitants,
will be established along the boundary to prevent the
company from restarting the studies.
Each encampment will be organized to survive "until
the government and CGC cease oil activities in this community,"
affirmed Santi.
While the majority of Sarayaku's inhabitants will be
monitoring the community's territory, a group of women,
children and elders will be responsible for organizing
logistics in the community, preparing chicha (a traditional
drink), manioc, and plantain, as well as tending to gardens.
Sarayaku will receive the support of other indigenous
nations, such as the Achuar, Zapara, as well as indigenous
groups from Arajuno, Santa Clara, and Villa Flora.
The emergency means that school classes, teacher training,
a natural resource management project, and other events
will all be suspended in Sarayaku.
The president of Sarayaku, Marlon Santi, denounced that
militarization has already begun with the creation of
a new encampment in Molino (a pro-oil community), and
demanded the military's immediate withdrawal.
The company CGC is waiting for the government to provide
guarantees for continuing oil exploration. "We are only
requesting that the security of our workers be guaranteed,"
stated Ricardo Nicolas, the oil company’s representative
in Ecuador.
Other facts
The state of emergency will last as long as the government
and CGC continue attempts to enter the territory of Sarayaku
Association and its five communities.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
OR TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP GO TO:
www.sarayaku.com
Support the Sarayacu Indians in the Ecuadorian
Amazon
Actual
Sarayacu beg the world for help Oil alert
in Ecuador
For seven years, the Indigenous inhabitants of the Amazonas
region, of the people of the Sarayacu, already have been
struggling against the invasion of oil corporations into
their traditional tribal territory. The Sarayacu community
is situated ca. 300 kilo- metres to the south-east of
Quito, inside the Amazon rain forest. Since November 2002,
grave conflicts with the oil firm CGC, which intends to
exploit mineral oil in the home of the Indigenous, have
been taking place. The community, therefore, has announced
the state of emergency and mobilized its ca. 1100 inhabitants
to protect their traditional living spaces against their
destruction by the oil industry.
The oil claim 23 in the province Pastaza is one of the
drilling areas which are designed to serve for the oil
for the WestLB pipeline. This oil claim is situated on
the territory of the Saranac Indians who belong the ethnic
group of the Chichewa.
The Saranac refer to their rights guaranteed by the
Ecuadorian constitution, and reject any oil exploration
on their territory. They, on the contrary, have applied
to the Ecuadorian government for the protection of their
land as a "zone for tourism and sustainable development".
After the Saranac, in January 2002, had forced a group
of oil engineers and workers to interrupt their seismic
blasts, and to leave their territory, the CGC now wants
to put through its plan with the help of the military.
The Sarayacu, however, are determined to defend their
territory, and, therefore, warn of a "bloody oil war"
on their land. In a declaration, the write: "We save the
rivers, the wood, and the biodiversity without poisoning
the environment. Our families - men, women, and children,
live on and with this land. No oil firm has the right
to destroy our live and our future."
Rettet den Regenwald (Save the Rain Forest) already
has warned for several times of the destruction of Indigenous
living spaces as a result of the WestLB pipeline. The
WestLB, however, points out, that it had nothing to do
with the treatment of the native people within the drilling
areas. It would only lead the underwriting syndicate which
finances the pipeline. Weapon traders argue the same way.
Please help the Sarayacu in their fight for the preservation
of the Amazonas woods with a letter to the Ecuadorian
president, to the responsible minister for the police,
and to the oil corporation CGC.
Go to: http://www.regenwald.org/mailaktion/aktion.php?show=9
and scroll down past the article in German to the email
form. While the letter is in English, the text areas asking
you for information are in German. In English they are:
- first name:
- family name:
- email:
- street:
- postcode:
- town:
- country:
The sample letter:
Mr. Lucio Gutierrez
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR
His Excellency Mr. Lucio Gutiérrez
I write to you because of the problems the Sarayacu
community is having with the Argentine oil company CGC.
The competent authorities of the Republic of Ecuador
have layed down that the CGC has violated the constitutional
rights of the Sarayacu people.
Therefore I request that you, being the president
of all Ecuadorians, provide full security to the Sarayacu
community in order to avoid that the aforementioned
company once again tramples the rights of Ecuadorian
citizens.
I thank you very much for the favourable attention I
am sure you will give to this petition.
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URGENT
HELP SAVE a SACRED SITE and NATIONAL MONUMENT
Dear Colleagues, Allies and Friends,
We need your help. For fifteen years, we have been trying
to stop a proposed commuter highway from cutting through
Petroglyph National Monument, a Native American sacred
site still in use for religious practice. It is a federally-recognized
National Monument and contains ancient petroglyphs dating
back 3,000 years.
Albuquerque's Mayor, Martin Chavez, is attempting to
desecrate this sacred area by building a commuter highway
through this area. He is seeking funding for this road
through Albuquerque¹s Street Bond election this October
28, in three short weeks.
We have an aggressive campaign to stop this bond, but
we need your help.
Our opponents the real estate development industry
have raised $150,000 to fight our campaign.
We need to raise $100,000 by OCTOBER 16 to put our television
ad on air. We are counting on you to be one of 4,000 people
across the country who can donate at least $25 for this
critical fight to protect a sacred area.
Please, make a donation today - visit our website at
www.stoptaxwaste.com and contribute $$25, $50, $100 or
$250 to help our campaign. We just need 4,000 supporters
at $25 each to reach our goal. For more information, you
can go to www.sagecouncil.org to find out more about the
Petroglyph struggle.
Thank you for your immediate action - we need your help
to save this sacred area from real estate interests.
Sincerely,
Winona LaDuke, Native American activist, White Earth
Land Recovery Project
Governor Myron Armijo, Pueblo of Santa Ana
Laurie Weahkee, SAGE Council, Albuquerque, New Mexico
P.S. Please donate at today at www.stoptaxwaste.com.
And please forward this to your friends!
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To: All Activists
From: American Lands Alliance,
National Forest Protection Alliance
and Greenpeace USA
Date: October 8, 2003
HALLOWEEN DAY OF ACTION
Friday, October 31, 2003
Bush's Forest Policies: Tricking the American Public,
Treating the Logging Industry
Join forest defenders from around the nation this Halloween
(Friday, October 31) as we call attention to the Bush
Administration's forest policy "tricks" designed to "treat"
the logging industry with more logging in America's national
forests.
The Halloween Day of Action will be a great opportunity
to draw attention to the "monstrous" forest polices from
the Bush Administration and Congress that are limiting
citizen involvement and undermining our nation's environmental
laws to increase logging on America's endangered national
forests.
It is also an excellent time to send a message to some
members of Congress and the Forest Service about their
"ghoulish" leadership in destroying America's endangered
national forests. Protecting our forests is not only critical
but fun! Let's show the Bush Administration our determination
and spirit!!
INTERESTED IN PLANNING AN EVENT IN YOUR AREA?
Contact nfpa@forestadvocate.org
with the details or call for organizing ideas (406) 542-7565.
Our goal is to have 100 events taking place across the
country! No event is too big or small!
NEXT ORGANIZING CALL:
Thursday, October 16, 2003. Email nfpa@forestadvocate.org
for number/time.
MATERIALS AVAILABLE (soon)
- Sample email alert
- Event Ideas
- Event Poster
- Press Release
- Talking Points
- Fact sheet
- Day of action website
- Sign-in Sheet
- Recruitment tips
SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS - National Forest Protection
Alliance, Greenpeace USA, American Lands Alliance, Native
Forest Network, The Lands Council, Southern Appalachian
Biodiversity Project, Siskiyou Project, YOUR ORGANIZATION.
For more information contact:
Jeanette Russell, National Forest Protection Alliance,
nfpa@forestadvocate.org,
(406) 542-7565
or Anne Martin, American Lands Alliance, (509)624-5657,
annem@americanlands.org.
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![-[+]----------[+}----------](./common/sqrdotbr.gif)
October 3, 2003
A plea for donations for Oneidas for Democracy
Friends,
I wanted to let you know that we need to spread the word.
There are legal costs coming up very soon that must be
met for the Oneidas. The attorney needs 30 books made,
each is around 2,000 pages long. They must be done in
the proper legal manner, collated, bound and tabbed according
to the evidence and documents within. If they are not
done correctly, they will be thrown out of court. The
cost will be $3000.00 +. Checks need to be made out to
"Oneidas for Democracy, Legal Fees." Very important, If
checks and money orders are not made out this way, the
money will not be used for this purpose but will go towards
food, phone bills, batteries, etc. for the Peace Camp
vigils, and they will lose their case before the courtroom
doors even open. The Peace Camp observers are also important
so please make a memo on any check or donation as to what
purpose you wish your money to go to. The book keeping
for Oneidas for Democracy requires this. Oneidas for Democracy
is a non-profit organization devoted to ending the dictatorship
of Ray Halbritter and the Oneida Nation of New York, Inc.
see: http://www.oneidasfordemocracy.org
Could you please forward this information everywhere
you can think of?
I know that requesting donations is hard. There are
people who have nothing to spare and can only offer prayers,
and that is welcome. There are so many fights going on
in Indian Country to stop land grabbing, illegal mining,
students rights, etc. I do ask that you do help the people
in any way you can. Pick your cause as your heart sees
fit. Since we are in the East and know some of the Oneida
traditionals, we (like many on this list) have chosen
the Oneidas For Democracy as our focus. But the many causes
you read about here have great merit. Let's stand up for
each other in anyway we can.
Wanishi
Barbara Christy
Oneidas for Democracy
PO Box 555
Oneida, NY 13421
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19 September 2003
e-news from Survival International supporting tribal peoples
worldwide.
Founded in 1969, registered charity (UK) no. 267444
Brazil: compensation for Avá Canoeiro stopped
Compensation payments to one of the last groups of Avá
Canoeiro Indians have been stopped. FURNAS, the electricity
company whose hydropower dam flooded the Indians' land,
has broken an agreement to pay them compensation.
http://www.survival-international.org/news.htm
Bangladesh: tribal communities attacked
With the tacit support of soldiers, Bengali settlers attacked
tribal villages in the Chittagong Hill Tracts area of
eastern Bangladesh on 26 and 27 August, killing Binod
Bihari Khisha and eight-month-old Chikku Chakma, raping
women and burning down houses.
http://www.survival-international.org/jumma.htm
The European Parliament has this month adopted strong
new resolutions supporting indigenous peoples' rights
in Africa. The parliament announced it 'strongly' supports
the demands of the Pygmies, 'Bushmen' and others to be
recognised as indigenous peoples.
http://www.survival-international.org/eu_030915.htm
The Ecologist: special issue on the 'Bushmen'
The September edition of environmental magazine The Ecologist
includes an in-depth investigation into the eviction of
the Gana and Gwi 'Bushmen' in Botswana. It reveals that
since 1997 the government of Botswana has been uprooting
the Bushmen from their ancestral lands and moving them
to resettlement camps.
http://www.survival-international.org/bushman_030819.htm
http://www.survival-international.org
info@survival-international.org
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--- URGENT MEDIA
ACTION ALERT ----
ASSOCIATED PRESS MISSES THE BIG STORY:
GENOCIDE
Syracuse, NY -- Newspapers across the nation recently
published a thousand word story by Associated Press reporter
William Kates which painted a rather glowing picture of
Ray Halbritter, CEO of the Oneida Nation, Inc, owner of
Turning Stone Casino in Verona NY.
But Kates missed one tiny detail: Genocide.
Kates' story fails to mention that Ray Halbritter, over
the past 10 years has usurped power and is committing
what many are calling the genocide of the traditional
Oneida people. (Halbritter is recongnized as the Oneida
Nation representitive by the United States Government,
but not by his own people.)
The tactics by his all non-native police force and non-traditional
tribal courts against the traditional Oneidas, living
on the last 32 acre undisputed Oneida territory, have
included assault, theft, indimidation, coercion, threats,
false imprisonment, gross violations of privacy, disenfranchisement,
and worse: home demolitions and forced relocation.
Halbritter's private army has DEMOLISHED THE HOMES OF
14 POLITICAL DISSIDENTS, who do not recognize his authority,
and is about to demolish 4 more. These human rights violations
are forbidden by the Geneva Conventions, the United Nations
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the United
States Constutution.
But Halbritter gets away with these crimes due to a
"jurisdictional grey area", and due to the Bureau of Indian
Affairs failing to unseat him after his 1993 removal by
the Haudenosaunee (Iroquios) Grand Council.
ON FRIDAY, HALBRITTER (through his hand picked tribal
judge) ORDERED THE CONDEMNATION AND DEMOLITION OF FOUR
MORE HOUSES, including that of his aunt, Wolf Clan Mother
Maisie Schenandoah, age 71. She and the others will soon
become homeless; refugees on their own tribal land.
HELP MAKE THE MEDIA ACCOUNTABLE!! Here's what
you can do. Be sure to CC the following on all emails:
mediawatchdog@binghamtonpublicaccess.org
fair@fair.org
Also, you will be more effective if you remain calm,
polite, repsectful, and courteous at all times.
- Contact the Associated Press and ask them to cover
the complete story, including the home demoltions:
William Kates: wkates@ap.org
The Syracuse Building, Suite 216
224 Harrison Street
Syracuse NY 13202
(315) 471-6471 , 475-9819 Fax
International Headquarters
50 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, N.Y. 10020
212-621-1500
pr@ap.org
- Contact any of the papers which ran this 1/2 page
story, and ask them to devote 1000 words to covering
the complete story, including the home demolitions:
Las Vegas Sun
2275 Corporate Circle Drive, Suite 300
Henderson, NV 89074
(702) 385-3111
Editor: Brian Greenspun: brian@lasvegassun.com
Newsday
235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747-4250
516 / 631-843-2700
letters@newsday.com
Ithaca Journal
123-127 W.State St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
Estes, Bruce Managing Editor
(607) 274-9242 bestes@ithaca.gannett.com
Buffalo News
One News Plaza, PO Box 100, Buffalo, NY 14240
716-849-4444 , fax: 716-856-5150
Editor: John Neville editor@buffnews.com
Albany Times Union
645 Albany-Shaker Rd. Albany, NY 12205
(518) 454-5694
Editor: Rex Smith
rsmith@timesunion.com
Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin
4421 Vestal Parkway East
Vestal, NY 13850
Executive Editor: Rick Jensen (607) 798-1186 rjensen@binghamt.gannett.com
Here is the incomplete AP story:
www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2003/jul/22/515373363.html
www.theithacajournal.com/news/stories/20030719/localnews/606665.html
www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030720/1050297.asp
www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=152933
Here is the more complete story:
NY CASINO OWNER ORDERS EVICTION OF HIS
AUNT, AGE 71 AND HER HOME DEMOLISHED
ONEIDA NATION, NY -- Maisie Schenandoah, the 71 yr.
old Aunt of Ray Halbritter, has received notice that she
must vacate her home immediately, and that the home will
be demolished sometime between now and Aug. 20, 2003.
Halbritter is CEO of the Turning Stone Casino, Sav-On
Gas, and other businesses in Central NY.
Schenandoah, the Oneida Traditional Wolf Clan Mother
and Tribal Member, has occupied this home for over 30
yrs. The home is located on the 32 acre Oneida Territory,
and will be demolished under Halbritter's specious and
carefully crafted building codes, created for just the
homes he wishes destroyed.
Halbritter, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) backed,
self-appointed lifetime representative of the Oneidas
has doggedly hounded Grandmother Maisie and a group of
Oneida Traditionals because of their refusal to depart
from the Haudensaunee Traditional ways of spirituality
and the Great Law of Peace.
Halbritter siezed control of all Tribal funds, offices,
operations. He has branded Traditional Wolf Clan Mother
Maisie Schenandoah and this group as traitors for speaking
the truth, has taken their tribal voices, as well as all
benefits from them. He has entered into compacts and agreements
with the State of New York, without the approval of the
Oneida Tribal Members. This man is running a dictatorship;
with the backing and blessing of the BIA. He is waging
a reign of terror over those who refuse to give up their
traditional/spiritual/moral values and ways of life.
Last year, Grandmother Maisie was roughed up by Halbritters
non-native police/goon squad. This happened during an
illegal incursion into her daughter Danielle Schenandoah
Pattersons home, under the same specious building codes,
under the guise of a home inspection. Danielle objected
to this as an infringement of her rights and security
in herself, her family and her home as private property.
In front of numerous witnesses (including Danielle's children)
Danielle and her mother were roughed up, then access to
the home was gained with the use of prybars, forcing open
a rear door.
Home inspections are done without the permission of
the home owners and entry is gained by force ---breaking
in of doors while families are away, or even while the
home owner is in the shower, as happened recently to Diane
Schenandoah. Home owners and their families are denied
ANY security in their persons and property, they are denied
ANY rights of privacy and private ownership. The Traditional
families are the victims of continuous mental and emotional
battering by Halbritter and the goon squad he calls a
police force, which is under his direct order to render
these peoples lives a living hell.
Last year Danielle Schenandoah Patterson was arrested,
removed from the state of NY by Halbritter, held incomunicado
for an entire weekend in a prison in PA. She was striped
and cavity searched, denied contact with her attny. and
family, threatened with incarceration in an even further
distant state she was coerced to agree to allow her home
to be demolished. Halbritter through his reign of terror
had made she and her children homeless, he aided in the
removal of her children from her custody based upon that
homelessness and has done everything within his power
to keep her that way since. However, she has recently
secured a new residence and her children are now back
in her custody.
It is Ray Halbritter's intent to wipe the 32 acres clear;
so that he may use the land as he pleases. The roadblocks
in this effort are: Grandmother Maisie Schenandoah, who
he intends to render homeless before Aug. 20, 2003, and
the other Traditionals whose homes are in the same jeopardy.
The Honorable Norman Mordue, U. S. District Judge of
the Northern District of New York, has since March 2003,
not made a ruling in the matter before him brought by
the Oneida Traditionals. This action is asking that Halbritter
be temporarily restrained from demolishing their homes,
rendering them homeless, in that the building codes are
a Legal Bill of Attainder under law, which is illegal
under the United States Constitution and international
law. The action is based upon the IRCA (Indian Civil Rights
Act), as the plaintiffs have attempted to address these
matters before Halbritter's hand picked Tribal Court,
and have no recourse through that system. It seems that
Judge Mordue sees no imminent danger or threat in any
of Halbritter's actions. No threat to the safety, well
being of these Traditionals, nor any threat to their homes,
personal and private property.
This press release was written by Harvey Arden harveyarden@starpower.net
Assisted by Bill Huston mediawatchdog@binghamtonpublicaccess.org
Greater Binghamton Progressive Media Center
contact numbers for traditional (dissident) Oneidas
:
| 315-363-6248 |
Diane Schenandoah |
*** facing home demolition
|
| 315-361-5301 |
Vicky Halsey |
*** facing home demolition |
| ??? |
Maisie Schenandoah |
*** facing home demolition |
| 315-363-9517 |
Monica Antone
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|
| 315-361-4346 |
Danielle Schenandoah Patterson |
(home already demolished)
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| 315-361-4383 |
E Obomsawin
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| 315-363-1655 |
Jerry Shenandoah |
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"Seven Fires Foundation Spirit Walk - Please
contribute"
Tribe aims to preserve culture one step
at a time
By Jon Murray
jon.murray@indystar.com
August 31, 2003
They have walked 1,100 miles to highlight the loss of
an American Indian tribe's culture, and they have 600 more
to go.
Four members of the Seven Fires Foundation making that
trek rested their legs in Indianapolis, taking a break on
a journey from the Pine Ridge Indian reservation in South
Dakota to Washington, D.C.
They spoke at the Eiteljorg Museum on Saturday about the
vanishing culture of the Lakota people after decades of
poverty. After the walk, the four hope to establish a learning
center at Pine Ridge that will help the Lakotas restore
members' understanding of their heritage.
"The Lakota culture right now is on the doorstep of extinction,"
said John LaFountaine, a Turtle Mountain Chippewa who has
worked with Lakota elders on the reservation for more than
15 years.
He started the walk July 11 with Tammy Van, Melody Comstock
and Janice Welk. They have walked mostly along state highways
and plan to leave town today and arrive in Washington on
Sept. 26.
Their goal is to raise $12,000 to buy 160 acres of reservation
land, with the hope of later building a learning center.
LaFountaine said they aim to start a cultural sharing program
that will restore an understanding of Lakota heritage and
traditions among children and adults.
Pine Ridge is one of the poorest areas of the country.
"There are children living in tarpaper shacks who don't
have clothes and don't have enough food," he told about
a dozen visitors in the museum's auditorium.
Comstock, a 49-year-old Catawba Cherokee, is a desktop
publisher in Redmond, Wash. She said the group began the
walk without knowing anyone between Pine Ridge and Washington.
"Once we got about midway through Iowa, people started
inviting us into their homes," LaFountaine said. Some nights
they've slept in rooms donated by motels, in churches or
under the sky in the middle of a farm.
Mary Hinck came to hear LaFountaine speak after a friend
told her about the group's Web site, www.7fires.org,
where the walkers have posted dozens of photos and an ongoing
journal. "I was really surprised about something like this,"
Hinck said.
The Seven Fires group will continue walking with the hope
that people like Hinck will be inspired to help the Lakota,
LaFountaine said. "Here is something that is vital to American
history as a whole," he said, "and it's slipping away."
Spirit Walk 2003 - In Indianapolis.
September 01, 2003
SEVEN FIRES FOUNDATION has
been updated at:http://www.7fires.org
.
See the new photos today!)
SPIRIT WALK 2003 is well passed the half way point! On
July 11th the walking group began the 1700 mile journey
from Martin SD, after prayers being offered at Wounded Knee.
Some 1,100 miles and mere 48 days later, we have arrived
in Indianapolis, Indiana...only 680 miles to go until we
reach Washington DC on September 26th.
We continue to be blessed each and every day with the
immense generosity, support and prayers of the people along
the way. We give our thanks to all of those who have provided
lodging each and every night, those who have cooked meals,
opened their homes, driven miles to greet us and share stories.
To those who have walked, donated supplies and those who
have given financial support for the Lakota Project and
Spirit Walk.
We give special thanks to the Methodist Church who's Illinois
Conference's really went out of their way to make our journey
through Illinois and Indiana very pleasurable and for their
help in spreading the word to support the preservation of
the Lakota language and culture for the children.
Check out the new photo's the Walk through Illinois at
www.7fires.org!
DON'T FORGET: You can also purchase an official Spirit
Walk T-shirt online for only $15 +shipping.
Thank you all again for your prayers and support! Together
we WILL bring the awareness to the people of this great
Nation to join together to preserve the sacred ways for
the children of today and for many generations to come!
Mitakuye Oyasin (we are all related),
Spirit Walk Team ~ John, Melody, Janice, Katie, Cassin, Bob
& Tammy!
Seven Fires Foundation is a non-profit
organization whose mission is to provide humanitarian services
and preserve the ancient traditions for the generations to
come. A vital part of this mission is to extend supportive
services, by helping to raise support, for children, traditional
medicine people and traditional cultures in need. For more
information, visit their website at www.7fires.org
dir@7fires.org
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Your
urgent help is needed.
Brother Adrian Esquino Lisco, The Salvadoran Indian Chief...
Mon, 25 Aug 2003
Dear Friends,
Your urgent help is needed. Brother Adrian Esquino Lisco,
The Salvadoran Indian Chief, is very sick and has been hospitalized
in El Salvador since a week ago. According to his doctor at
Rosales Hospital in San Salvador, he urgently needs two operations
that will cost approximately $3,000.
Chief Esquino Lisco, with whom I have worked for about 22
years, is the head of the three Indian nations of Cuscatlan
(now called El Salvador) that include the Mayas, Lencas and
Nahoas. He is the spiritual leader of the National Association
of Salvadoran Indians (ANIS) whose headquarters is located
in Sonsonate in the western part of the country, near the
Guatemalan border.
The Indians that brother Adrian represents in El Salvador
live on about ONE DOLLAR A DAY. Any contribution will be welcome.
Please make your check to Margarito Esquino Lisco (his son),
earmarked to Adrian Esquino Health Fund, and send it to:
8801 Plymouth St #6
Silver Spring Md 20901, USA
Phone (301) 585-3604
Or send a Money order made out to Fidel Crespin Esquino,
and sent it to:
Asociacion Nacional Indigena de El Salvador
Calle Obispo Marroquin
Oficina Antigua Aduana Ferrea 5-1
Sonsonete, El Salvador
Centro America
Phone (503) 451-0742 0r (503) 451-1721
Your immediate support will make a big difference in saving
the life of this important Native American leader in Central
America.
Please feel free to send this note to your network of friends.
Sincerely,
Dr.Francisco Acosta
Washington DC
Phone (202) 216-8457
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